7 Quick Takes Friday

--- 1 ---

Yesterday I gave Sadie a little test.  You see, back when she was three I posted a video on here and got comments about how I needed to send that child to speech therapy ASAP because she should be perfectly understandable at that point.  Instead she and I started reading poems together.  I would say a line and then she would say a line and we worked through some beautiful children's volumes of poetry.

In the beginning there were about thirteen letters she really struggled with.  Recently a book arrived at our house that involved an articulation test and I thought we'd try it again and see how she did.  It listed words with each letter at the beginning, middle and end of the word (and some small groups of letters).  Within fifteen seconds though I was trying not to laugh.  Within a minute we were both hysterically giggling.  The problem was this.

I was supposed to point to a picture and have Sadie say the word.  The pictures were simple black and white drawing.  The following conversation unfolded as she cuddled next to me and we peered at the pictures:

Me:  "Can you tell me what that is?" (pointing to a drawing of a slice of pie)
Sadie:  "It's a sandwich."
Me:  "Hmmm... not quite.  What if I told you that those were berries in the middle?"  (She gives me a funny look.  Apparently I don't make pie very often... and now that I think about it... other than chicken pot pie that falls apart and which we haven't had in a very, very long time, I have never made pie... which explains the confusion.).
Me:  (finally)  "It's supposed to be a piece of pie.  Can you say pie?"
Sadie:  "Pie!"
Me:  "Can you tell me what this one is?" (I point to a picture of a puppy)
Sadie:  "It's a big brown dog!" (remember these pictures are in black and white)
Me: "What's this one called?  The little dog?"
Sadie:  "A little brown dog!"
Me:  "Can you say puppy?"
Sadie:  "Puppy!"
Me:  (Tapping on a picture of a cup) "What's this?"
Sadie:  "It's a glass of water."
Me:  "Can you say cup?"
Sadie: "Cup!"
Me:  "What about this one?" (The book was looking for the word "boy").
Sadie:  "It's a human!"
Me:  "What's another word for this picture?"
Sadie:  "A human person!"

And so it went.  We both laughed a lot as she tried to come up with the most creative answers she could think of.  When we reached the end the only sounds she'd struggled with were "ch" "sh" "th" and "blends" (like star and tree) which were all listed as normal for kids under six or seven to miss.  So it looks like we're on track and the poem reading was, in my mind at least, a success (especially since she could say s, r, t, j, p and l, which we had to work so hard on!)!

--- 2 ---

Nani and Grumpa took pity on my pathetic posts about air conditioning, humidity and the fact that I've been melting here in Michigan and sent us to Lowe's to pick up a new 10,000 BTU air conditioner that should make the downstairs feel like a dream.  Paul will hopefully get it installed today and then I will no longer feel like I'm living in a big sticky brick oven.

Because this thing can't be felt from three feet away...
And it sounds like it's dying a loud... painful death...

--- 3 ---

Today is a very exciting day for Sadie (and me).  She received birthday money and gift cards and I promised her we would go shopping, just the two of us.  I told her we could go wherever she wanted and asked what she was thinking of spending her money on.  Toys?  Shoes?  Clothes?  She informed me she was shopping for dresses (which is wonderful because she's growing out of her 6x dresses since she's so tall... they mostly still fit around her shoulders and chest, but they're all too short), and in particular, she wants a black dress with a fluffy skirt with layers.

Okay.  I'm sure that will be easy to find in the Little Girls section...

--- 4 ---

I am embarrassed to admit that I have seen the dominoes delivery guy far more often than I should have this past week.

You see, you can order Dominoes pizza without cheese online (although you have to go with thin crust, otherwise you'd need to call and tell them to hold the butter).  They also have a gluten free pizza, although these have been ill advised gluten days for us, mainly because you can get a regular pizza for $5.99 and the gluten free pizzas are a bit more pricey (although we have had them and they are good).

But this week and next week have basically been finals weeks for Paul.  Since last Saturday he's left early in the morning and (with the exception of last night when he got home at 9pm) has come home around midnight while working on two papers.  So it's just been me and the babies through lunch, dinner and bedtime... and Patrick has been going through a phase where, if he's not within twelve inches of Mommy all the time he is likely to scream that I've abandoned him and need to come back right this second.

And did I mention that we desperately need to go shopping and were out of any ingredients that might have made for an "easy" meal?

Anyways, Dominoes has pretty much saved me as I've dragged myself through finals week.  I'm amazed that they can make a pizza and get it to my house in about 25 minutes.

I'm ready to get back to healthy meals with the whole family again... just need to survive one more week...

--- 5 ---

Did I mention that I canceled cable?  I know that will make some people feel better (insert eye roll here).

However, I was disappointed with my "big" savings from this sacrifice.

Paul got home from the Comcast office and I asked how much less it was going to be and... drum roll please... we are saving a grand total of $20 a month.

Ah well... it's something.

In other news I have yet to receive a bill... ever... from Comcast.  I've gone into the office and asked.  My husband has asked.  They assure us that there should be a bill.  They've suggested that the mail man has a problem with us and isn't delivering our bill (yeah... it's funny how it's just the cable bill, right?).  I've explained that there's still no bill, confirmed my address for the umpteenth time and I'm pretty sure they think I'm crazy.  How hard is it?  Just send me a bill, so I can get it and return it with a check.

Apparently, however, there is a glitch somewhere... and I am bill-less.

--- 6 ---

This picture of Sadie "sharing" her sisters popcicle
seemed appropriate.

Mae has learned a new phrase.  She said (shouted) it, for the first time last night.  Her big sister kept coming over and bear hugging her and it was pretty clear that Mae wasn't in the mood for a bear hug.  And suddenly Mae shouted: "Back off!  Back off!  Back off!"

From the look that accompanied it Sadie's lucky it wasn't accompanied by a good hard swing of her arm.  Some self control was involved.

When I repeated that it looked like Mae didn't want to be touched Sadie countered with:  "But I just want to hug her so much!"  an argument which, despite the sweet sentiment, did not carry the day.

--- 7 ---

And you guys!!!!  Have you seen the update for the Laundry Room Fundraiser?  It's amazing!  I'm seriously stalking Cari's page for updates (updated totals can be found here) because it makes my day every single time I see it go up!  And if you missed it, this is the laundry room.  See how important this is!  I can't wait to see the pictures when the risk of electrocution is gone and Dwija has a beautiful laundry room!  And please keep praying that her little one keeps growing and is healthy and strong (and for Dwija and her family too!)!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!