Socks, Nursing Attire, Bloggy Authenticity and Catholic Diversity (and more Socks!)

--- 1 ---

7QT is awesome, because I have ideas for blog posts that will probably never be adequately developed to be posts, but they fit in here great! One idea I had was to talk about socks. No, really. It is a daily battle to fight against them taking over my house. So with each Quick Take today I will share a pic of socks in a different part of my house. (And not even bedrooms, because that's a given, right?)

Ah ha! socks in the schoolroom

--- 2 ---

I really want to read Something Other Than God, (which I think is an awesome title, by the way) and I'm going to ask my library to buy copies. I need to make a list, actually, because it seems that most of my fave bloggers are publishing books.  In case anyone is reading this post (hi Mom!) you can buy the book at lots of booksellers, including Amazon. Raised by an intelligent man with a great sense of wonder and love for science, Jen grew up an atheist. She is a really enjoyable writer, and a super intelligent, articulate and funny convert to Catholicism. I learned about her when another blogger mentioned her reality show. I cant wait to dig into the book!

Socks in the kitchen??

--- 3 ---

I was writing a Take on breastfeeding, but I think it turned into a post. Yay! (For this take, suffice it to say that low-slung jeans are not a helpful style for people who are trying to discreetly lift the hem of their top. But never fear!) I'll finish that and post it on its own soon. (I did it! Read it here.) Here, have some more socks.

No, not the rocks. Over there; see that little baby sock? 

--- 4 ---

Kendra was talking in her Quick Takes about bloggy friendships and being authentic in our blogs.  She has a point. When we are meeting people we want to be open to developing relationships with, friendship will not get anywhere if we are holding back. One reason I started this blog was a desire to be included in the awesome sisterhood of bloggers that I love and admire! But I am with Jessica Housewifespice when it comes to the kids' names. I want to share my life, but not share too much about my children that will become attached to their names on the interwebs forever! Or, as Jessica says 'I use fake names for my kids so that if someone googles my son's name the story about how the inside of his cast smelled doesn't pop up'. Yeah.

Another baby sock! Where's its partner?

--- 5 ---

I let my three oldest kids (ages 12, 11 and 8), go exploring on their own all the way up the road to the ravine and pond past the cemetery! We just usually all take walks together. And, frankly, I am not immune to my generation's fearfulness about our kids' safety. Deep down, I value freedom, and I loved to explore as a kid. I love the books in which kids have adventures without the help or interference of grownups. And I was really impressed by this article in The Atlantic called The Overprotected Kid, (Pretty long, but very good). But it was still kind of hard to just say "have fun! Come back for lunch!" and let them go that far. They had a great time. Got drenched by rain and all muddy and everything! Successful adventure, high fives all round. I meant to take a photo of them when they got home, cuz I knew they would be a sight, but I forgot. They were eager for warm showers, and all I got is this:

Yep. Shoes and socks.

--- 6 ---
Allergies.
 Oops, I almost forgot to flesh this one out. But who wants to hear it? I'll just give you a fun song: 

And a sock...

I see it! There's the match!

--- 7 ---

Here's a link to a great little piece called Here Comes Everybody. When it came out, I could really identify with the first paragraph:
"We envy our Evangelical friends for the vibrancy of faith in their communities. (Causing our Evangelical friends to wonder whether we're been hitting the communion wine too hard.) We envy our friends in the historically black churches for their great preaching and singing... We envy our Eastern Orthodox friends for having a beautiful liturgy. We envy our Orthodox Jewish friends for understanding the value of tradition....' Not that I exactly envy; but I see things going right in certain respects in many different faith communities. I am part of an ecumenical community because I value what I have in common in important areas with all other Christians. But I do love the Catholic Church, and thank God for the stability of the teachings and tradition that have stood the test of time, even when we humans in space and time have messed up (sometimes very badly). And this: "Sometimes, one notices the little things that make it great to be Catholic. Like diversity". I personally experienced the joy of sharing our daughter's First Holy Communion day with many diverse families in our parish. Nothing brings out people's cultural flavors like the chance to dress up for a sacrament and a celebration! It was a joy. I particularly treasure the sweet interactions between my baby boy and the big strong Hispanic man, someone's godfather, in the pew behind us.

Have a great weekend! Excuse me while I do some delegating, and keep these socks at bay for another day.

Yes, front stairs and back stairs. Thank goodness sandal weather's around the corner!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!