Long time, no quick takes?

I hesitate to say, "I'm back!" but it has been quite a while since I contributed anything to ye ole blogosphere - so here I be to remedy that. The top 7 things that have happened since my last 7QT!

- 1 -

The Spitfire started preschool! This was such a hard decision for me to make... almost as soon as we enrolled her I started researching homeschooling in earnest! What can I say? I love my little girl. But I see quite clearly how she is getting so much out of the experience. If nothing else, her desire to paint huge sheets of paper is getting satiated - and that is definitely something that doesn't happen at home. So I'm sure for her, it is worth it. :)

- 2 -

Before and After

Little dude got his first haircut! Props to the lady who (attempted to) cut his hair. She did her best to get a few chops in while he was playing at the table pictured above, but he really wasn't very cooperative. And now of course, since it has been nearly 2 months since this picture was taken, he's overdue for another go round. Maybe this time it will go better? (ha!)

- 3 -

Top: Yours truly with Kendra of Catholic All Year and Kirby of Under Thy Roof
Bottom: Me, Micaela from California to Korea, Meg the hobo missionary and Kirby

My first overnight away from the kiddos! (I realize everything here is exclamation points, but I can't help it. These have all been pretty big deals. Especially this one.) I was quite nervous about leaving the little ones to head down to Pasadena for the Setting the World on Fire: An Instruction Manual event. I knew my kids were in good, capable hands (hi, honey!). I just didn't know how the kids would take it. But as it turned out we were all ok! More than ok really, because I got more than 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep! And I got to meet some wonderful, amazing women, and be encouraged to give and live generously.

Coffee in hand, heading home, ready to set the world on fire. Thanks #stcathconf

A photo posted by Sara Rooney (@rooney.sara) on Sep 25, 2016 at 9:29am PDT

- 4 -

Helloooo world!

Ok, a little bit out of order here - but a week before the conference my little sis and her hubby welcomed this little man into the world! Precious bundle whom I can't wait to snuggle. The little guy has got quite the personality already, as you can tell. :)

- 5 -

Lots and lots of time with these goofballs. (Commence Photo Dump!)

- 6 -

Another retreat! This time with Sarah Hart - a singer/songwriter from Nashville, who's sung for Pope Francis (!), and has also written songs for Amy Grant and (my favorite) Audrey Assad. She was great. Made us laugh, got us sharing (which made me cry - good tears), and was truly refreshing. Frankly, I amazed that someone of her caliber would come to our neck of the woods! But I'm so glad that she did because I left encouraged and grateful for the reminder of how very much we are loved.

- 7 -

Grammy and Poppy came for a visit! So well timed too, what with my husband going on a 2 week business trip at the same time. Can I just say I love my parents? I do.

Their visit kicks off a whole season of family visiting - Grandad comes soon, and our other new nephew arrives with his parents not long after that! So I hope it won't be as long as a wait before I get on here again. It really is good to get stuff written down, out of my head. And believe me I do have a lot of stuff rattling around in there!

Well, I'm amazed you're still here reading! If you're looking for more, head on over to Kelly's. I heard she was sick and could use some get well soon cheer...

Library Haul for the Last Week of October

Am I the only one that walks into the library with my littles and wonders, "Ah! What should I pick out for my kiddos?" (Besides the obligatory Maisy mouse books, of course.)

It never used to be an issue. Me and the wee girl would sit in the board book section, pulling out books one by one... perusing... reading... putting one back and finding another...

Then her brother came along - and of course - she grew out of board books (mostly). Now when we walk into the library it's full-on monkey management trying to keep the little dude from either breaking all the computers or pulling all the books off the shelf. Meanwhile, the wee girl is keeping herself busy at the touch-screen computer that lets her paint or "play with letters" (as she says) - but she's no longer picking out any books. Basically, this means I need to have some books in mind if we're going to walk out of the library with something other than Maisy.

(By the way, I'm not really bagging on Maisy. She's great... in her own way. Just trying to expand my daughter's interests!)

So I was really excited to find this LinkUp hosted by A Gentle Mother! Yay for inspiration! Hope you'll find some too... let's get to it.

The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots - by Beatrix Potter
I was so excited to find this book! It's a story that Ms Potter wrote, but never published - probably because she never finished the illustrations for it. So the quirky Quentin Blake filled in for her and then Helen Mirren did the audio recording for it, and voila! Instant classic (if you ask me).

Pumpkin Soup - by Helen Cooper
We've been loving this story of a trio of animals who each have their own special role to play in making their nightly meal of pumpkin soup. All is bliss - until the duck goes and messes things up by demanding to do squirrel's job. The illustrations are fun and the tale of how they all fall out and then come back together again seems perfect for this stage in life, where the wee girl and her brother are also constantly falling out and coming back together again.

Knitty Kitty - by David Elliott
I grabbed this book on a whim, and it has ended up being a really sweet book, perfect for bedtime. Knitty Kitty knits hats, mittens and scarves to keep her kittens cozy on a winter night - but nothing substitutes for the coziest thing of all... This is very much a seasonal tale really best for winter weather, so I think I'll check this out again come December.

Thanking the Moon - by Grace Lin
Two of our good friends are part Chinese, so whenever we see books from Grace Lin we typically check them out. This one was perfect for October as the Mid-Autumn Moon festival is celebrated in September/October (this year it was apparently September 15th but next year it will be October 4th - so let's see if I can set a reminder to check this out again next year!). My little girl is now obsessed with moon cakes - but, apart from driving down to Chinatown in SF, I'm not sure where we'll be able to find them. Ideas, anyone?

Make Way for McCloskey
Since the wee girl is learning about the letter D at preschool, I thought I would check out "Make Way for Ducklings" as a tie-in. Alas, all the copies of "Make Way for Ducklings" were taken at our library - but this one! The added bonus was that it contains "Blueberries for Sal" which I had never heard of before, but since becoming a fan of the Read Aloud Revival podcast, have not stopped hearing about. So it was a great 2-for-1. I can see this one landing on our Christmas wish list....

And that was it for this week! Oh... except for these:

of course. :D

What did you pick up at the library this week? Alternatively, what are you going to pick up next time you're there? Please share!