potty training (eldore edition)

I realized the other day that this is my fifth go-round with potty training. I also realize that I typically don’t talk about this at all because really, who wants to read about potty training? (Unless one is in the throes of it oneself…that is, doing the training, not being trained.) Either Eldore is very easy, or I’ve relaxed considerably. It’s probably a little of both. He’s been the easiest boy so far (meaning I will now measure the process on a scale of Eldore to Ephraim) and, either because of the aforementioned relaxation or the fact that the fifth go-round has made me lazy, we have taken this round on without the use of any treats, bribes, stickers, charts, whatever–none at all. (Actually, only one of the things on that list did we ever use to begin with.) Eldore is much more self-aware, I think, than the other boys were at this age, and he’s also much more verbal. That has helped things a lot.

garden work

We did manage to get a garden going this year, hugely due the to the fact my parents were here to get everything started. Everything is coming along very nicely, and Eldore and I like to go out and pick snap peas together and say mmmmmm while we eat them.

pregnancy

I’m really behind on monthly updates, as I knew I would eventually get. It probably doesn’t help that I don’t ever share that I’m writing them.
Still having a lot of trouble with being dizzy, having labored breathing when I’m on my feet. As a result I have still been doing what feels like the bare minimum around the house. It’s frustrating. On the upside, I’ve gotten a lot of reading done.

I failed the 1-hr glucose test for the first time and have been very bummed about it. My doctor says that is because I am “elderly”. (Actually he said it’s because I’m 36 but since that age counts me as “elderly” on my medical records I am assuming he wanted to use that term but was just being polite.)

I am about 24 weeks at the time of this gallimaufry update, so I’m expecting another 14 weeks are left to go. Unless of course there are any other nasty surprises waiting for me due to my elderly status. I am trying to be neither too confident nor too apprehensive.

reading

At the beginning of the year I outlined a modest reading plan, then read one work from it and nothing else while I battled the worst of morning sickness. Now I’ve emerged from the other side, I have a totally different set of books I’m reading. This is why I should never make reading plans. Or at least, I should never tell anyone about them.

The Habit of Being (Letters of Flannery O’Connor)

I love her sense of humor and way of looking at things. This has also been an interesting read regarding the writing and publishing process. You certainly have to have a very thick skin to be in that world. This is probably why I will never, ever publish anything.

Metaphysics (Aristotle)

I am reading this with the Scholé Sisters group online. This means that, in addition to just reading it, I have to narrate and then sometimes converse intelligently about it. These are not great skills of mine, and Aristotle probably wasn’t the wisest of works to try honing them on, but I’m doing it anyway. I’ve only cried once.

Three Views on Eastern Orthodoxy and Evangelicalism (various authors)

Jeremy and I have been reading this together in the mornings. Several Orthodox and Evangelical theologians give their views on whether the two branches are compatible. Spoiler alert: the three views are Yes, No, and Maybe.

The Republic (Plato)

After listening to me moan about All The Things I Should Have Read Already But Haven’t, Jeremy graciously offered to read The Republic with me. We read it in the mornings that we’re not reading Fr. Berzonsky barely restrain himself from calling all Protestants damned. (He’s one of the contributors to the aforementioned book, and I’ll let you guess which view he subscribes to.)

The Language of Creation (Matthieu Pageau)

This look at symbolic language in the Old Testament starts out deceptively simply and then gets very complicated. I’m halfway through, but will probably have to tackle it a second time.

I probably should have made the reading list its own post. This is why I’ll never be a real blogger.

aurick virgil

Biggest news of to come out of June was we’re expecting our fifth boy! Elvie was disappointed at first, but she has come around. We have all been practicing saying his name correctly. (Some of us need more practice.) Eldore likes to sit in Aurick’s closet and ask why he’s not here yet.

Tampering with the time-space continuum

Having scheduled weekly events makes time move too fast.
A few months ago we established Friday nights as Movie Night. It is astonishing how frequently Movie Night comes, even though it’s only once a week. It happens far more often than just plain Fridays ever did. This pregnancy is absolutely flying by, and I think part of the reason is because Movie Night has significantly sped up the passage of each week. Let this be a warning to anyone considering implementing a similar weekly ritual.

That’s all

I have managed to write this entire post while maintaining a smiley-face on my “readability” assessment, which means none of my sentences are too long and I didn’t use passive voice too often and I have lots of headings. I will compensate for this miracle by refusing to post any pictures in this post.