7 Quick Takes Friday #37 (some) Stuff Making Me Laugh Right Meow.

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Linking up with my favorite, Conversion Diary for my favorite: 7 Quick Takes Friday. Always a fun read everywhere.

–1–

My boys enjoy watching a YouTube channel called KidsTV123.  It’s educational and all that nonsense, but the reason I like it is because every video is a song, sung John Mayer-style, accompanied with acoustic strummings.  Not that I particularly like JM (but I do sometimes), but it’s a balm of a sound compared to some of the overly bouncy, ear-scathing children’s songs that exist.  ALSO, the singer is British and anything with a brit accent makes it all smarter, right?  Making my own brand of YouTube-reared Little Einsteins, right here at Happy House. Charmed.

Honestly though, the videos have been really helpful to our Emmett.  He doesn’t spontaneously communicate, but he sings these songs, literally all day.  I literally mean it when I say literally.

So while Emmett doesn’t say, “Hey mom, I don’t like that shirt, can we please not?” He will sing the alphabet, not only by the letters, but also by the words that start with the letter.
Example:
“Apple, Ball, Cat, Dog, Elephant, Fish, Gorilla”

Recently, however, Emmett is really enjoying this phonics song which is hilarious, because the British/Mayer guy sings the alphabet by belting out the pronunciations in punctuated barks.

When he arrives at certain letters, like “U’ for example,  he sings, “U makes UH-UH-UH-UH-UH-UH-UH-UH!”

All that ‘splaining just to say, Emmett likes to practice his alphabet sounds skills during Mass:
“Ell makes UHLLLLLLLLLLLL, em makes MMMMMMMMMM, en makes NUH-NUH-NUH-NUH-NUH-NUH-NUH!”

To make it more spectacular, Emmett is my baby boy and of course cute as a button and all that gushy mommy stuff, but he’s atrociously a tad tone deaf. So unless you know what he’s talking about, you don’t realize he’s even singing. It’s still music to my ears.  …I know. Only a mother…

Now I know that next time I come across someone raving like a lunatic, they might just be singing this song. You never know.

–2–

Lexington loves this shapes song because Brit-man breaks it down like a boss and names all of the -agon shapes. I was watching, blankly staring at the screen over my coffee mug going “mmhmm, another boring shapes song —wait, what!? DODECAGON? I didn’t even know there was a name for that!”

Lexington’s challenged himself to memorize them all, and I’ll daresay he’s close.

–Okay, brb, Collin is taking a highlighter to the floor.

–3–

Instead of coloring books– which drive this art nerd INSANE with the maniacal delusions of “staying in the lines!”– my boys really enjoy coloring free-bird-style on a roll of poster paper, taped with painter’s tape to the floor or the counter top.  Like so:

Usually, we draw roads. they drive cars on the roads. Collin rips it all up or lies full body over it all, frustrating the whole room, and we end in tears.

I know staying in the lines has a purpose and is good for fine motor skills and learning to follow directions.  But I feel like equally as important is learning at an early age that (artistically speaking), creativity and “good jobs” are not solely contained inside a set of predefined lines.

No, we can create the lines.

Ooooooh, okay, Mrs. Black Beret and la cigarette, too hip for Disney coloring books –no, that’s not what I’m saying, okay, coloring books are expensive and my boys tear through those puppies like a bag of potato chips. But whatever.
…puff puff.

–4–

This is not where I wanted to go with my quick takes today, but I haven’t spoken to an adult all week so I feel like I’m locked in Mickey Mouse’s Clubhouse. I wanted to share that Jen is doing her yearly Saint Name Generator.  I love participating because it’s a fun opportunity to learn about a new-to-me saint and how that person, human as you and I, struggled through life, and still found  and followed Christ.

This year I got St. Maurice. 

It’s kind of like adopting an extra prayer warrior. Fun!  Go check it out, tell me who you got!

–5–

I’ve always greatly troubled over the question, “What animal is most like you?” or something along those lines.  Most likely it’s a trademark of an INTJ to not be able to find the perfect thing to represent myself.  Jen once posted something asking reader “What would be the theme song of your personality?”

I didn’t participate because I knew right away that aside from creating my own tune, which a musician I am not, it’d take me the rest of my life to find the right theme song. So trying to think about what animal best represents me has been a life-long quandary –UNTIL NOW.
My college friend shared this Buzzfeed post What is Your Animal Soulmate ? Quiz, and I’m always up for a fun Buzzfeed post, so…

After years of strife, I finally have my animal and it fits LIKE-A-GLOVE:

Streep
It’s such a relief to have an answer to these life questions.

Disclaimer: The views expressed by Meryl Streep do not necessarily blahblahblah you know the drill.

–6–

Lexington made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and that was the highlight of my week.  But we’re out of bread so he hasn’t made another one since.

–7–

Simcha Fisher, from I Have To Sit Down (best blog name in the world, in my opinion), shared this on Facebook this week and I thought it was well-timed for me to read it.  

Something else the Langenkamps have given to me as advice when asked about homeschooling and parenting is this diamond:

“We are raising saints, not scholars.  If they become scholars in the process, that’s great, but Heaven is the goal.”

This has been the most valuable piece of advice given to me to date and I want it tattooed on my eyeballs.  It helps me calm down from feeling societal pressures to get my kids involved in every knick-knacky little activity known to pre-school-dom, to ensure “they are well-rounded and socialized.”  Tie this advice into Simcha’s Facebook share:

“If we don’t raise our children to be moral first and foremost, then we miss the point of parenthood entirely. We have enough financially successful, popular and “happy” degenerates out in the world already. What we can never have enough of is saints.”

But more on that later. Maybe.
As Lexington would say, “Have a great and good weekend!”

Ended in tears.
 

8 Comments

  1. Here from Conversion Diary. I’m INFJ and all the INTJs in the blogosphere has me reflecting a lot on “What makes us different?” So I’d be a fly on the wall at your dinner.

    And I’m so TAPING paper to the floor. Awesome awesome idea. Was it Pinterested?

  2. “We are raising saints, not scholars. If they become scholars in the process, that’s great, but Heaven is the goal.” Love this!

    I’m going to check out those videos, too! Thanks!

  3. Just found your blog via Conversion Diary.
    When I was a kid, my mom RARELY purchased coloring books. We had plain white paper (love how you taped it to the floor!)…we could draw anything we wanted to. I didn’t even like coloring books when I visited friends!

  5. I’m going to attempt PB&J making with Emerson today, thanks to your recent posts:) Wish me -and my counters and floors- luck!

    1. Haha yay! I bet she’ll do it like a boss! Girls tend to have more patience and coordination and seem to get things a little quicker. If not, fear not, try again in a month! Let me know how it goes! Better yet, Instagram it!

  6. Snape, Putin, Mr. Darcy and now Meryl Streep huh? An INTJ dinner party would be . . . Weird.

    We INTJs are ridiculously overrepresented as bloggers I think.

  7. When I saw your saint the first thing I thought of was Belle’s dad from Beauty and the Beast…then I saw that he was the patron saint of cramps and thought oh that is good to know! I then told my cousin who gets stomach cramps often to start praying to him IMMEDIATELY!

    I am totally with you fellow INTJ I have no idea what song, animal, car, celebrity is most like me….

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