7 Quick Takes Friday - #12

Here's this week's 7 Quick Takes:
  1. This week, I spent some time flipping through youtube finding some of my favorite musical theater song & dance scenes and introducing the kids to them... West Side Story's "America", Oklahoma's "The Farmer & the Cowman Should Be Friends", Seven Brides for Seven Brothers' "Barn Dance" scene... want to recommend others in this style-- big, fun music with show-stopping dancing?

  2. Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day: I got this book for Christmas and have been putting it to use-- and we've had some delicious breads! The basic bread is great... and we've tried Pumpernickel, Honey Wheat, and Italian Semolina... I'm loving how little time it takes and that we can have fresh bread, often... now, here in Turkey, fresh bread is their specialty... but kinds like I mentioned aren't generally available, so now I can make them from home, and it really is a 5-minute effort. Works for me!

  3. For those of you who have asked about specifics, I found out today that I have lost 3 pounds, total, since starting the No S Diet in December. Not so shabby for having made it through Christmas and New Years (read: I picked up a few pounds, so had to lose those in addition to these 3)... and the fact that my hunger is still in that ravenous-leave-me-alone-I'm-starving stage of nursing. :)

  4. Mold. Ugh. moving on...

  5. I filled up a bag of trash today. Random mostly-used not-very-special candles, sippy cups we brought overseas with us that should've been pitched ages ago, not-special-but-somehow-they-ended-up-in-our-house stuffed animals (shhhh!), and that sort of thing. With our time in the US rapidly approaching, I really want to get rid of some of the clutter here. Anyone else doing regular decluttering?

  6. Our kids are awesome. Today, while we were stuck in traffic, Maranatha (4), Ethan (8), and Silas (2, almost 3) had a conversation in the backseat speculating about where Bono from U2 lives. Awesome. A couple days ago, Ethan asked if he could make some cookies "all by myself" -- and so we had Chocoluxe cookies that I did very little to assist with. Awesome. While in the Ikea playground, my very-hilarious-with-people-he-knows-but-almost-painfully-shy-with-strangers 6 year old, Baxter, approached the lady in charge all on his own and asked for water. In Turkish. Awesome. Moses was laying by me on the floor tonight and kept lunging at my face trying to (I think) give me slobbery kisses. He kept making these wonderful inhaling-happy-shrieks and I was all warm and fuzzy. Just after lunging for me, he leaned slightly back, and out came an avalanche of mixed veggies. And none of it got on me. Awesome.

  7. And finally, I have two links for your enjoyment:
    Will Ferrell sings "Maria" from West Side Story. Kind of.
    And my favorite:
    Will Ferrell's version of "Music of the Night" from Phantom. :)

Enjoy!

9 comments:

Mahers Hill Academy said...

LOL on the mixed veggies! :) That bread book looks great! I always shudder at the ingredients on the store-bought bread, and long to make my own, but dread the time commitment. :) I'll have to check this out. Thanks for sharing!
Anna

Leah F said...

Jess--you don't know me, but we have a few mutual friends in various parts of the world:-)

I LOVE musicals, so I wanted to comment and give you a couple of ideas.
-Marian Librarian, Seventy-Six Trombones, and Shipoopi from The Music Man
-Minstrel Number from White Christmas
-There is Nothing Like a Dame and Honey Bun from South Pacific
-Put on Your Sunday Clothes, and Hello Dolly from Hello Dolly!
-Getting to Know You from The King and I
I know there are a lot more, but these are the ones that come to mind. For a good laugh, check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhXsJjVdj1E
Blessings to you and your family!
~Leah F

Brenda said...

Don't forget "Doe a Deer" from The Sound of Music. I'm sure that isnt' the title, but you get it.

Jess Connell said...

Anna,
You should give it a go. If you really want to do it, go to Half Price Books and get a copy or something. Or check it out from the library (I forget you guys have those, ha!). The only thing I had to buy was a large plastic lidded (not airtight) container to store the wet dough each time. Anyway, let me know if you do it... it really does produce artisan-looking, great-tasting bread for very little active effort.

Leah,
Thanks for all those great recommendations-- except for Hello Dolly, I've never seen any of them!

Brenda,
That's the song that actually started it... we had my parents bring us Sound of Music when Moses was born, and the kids LOVE it (of course!). Silas (2) has been singing it for months. He loves "Do, a Deer"! So then I got to thinking about what other (clean) fun musical songs they might enjoy. We've watched Godspell, and then I've introduced them to bits and pieces of others.

Erin said...

My crew loves "If I Were a Rich Man" from Fiddler on the Roof. And lots of other songs from that one, its our fave here.

Thanks for the bread recipe, I can't WAIT to try it! I make whole wheat bread once or twice a week, and I'm always looking for more styles to try!

on the eastern journey said...

I love your Friday quick takes!

As for preparing for the states... I would sift through as many toys and clothes as you can.

When we got back from the states, I put all the new toys (given to Schäfer from friends/relatives) on one couch. Then I put quite a few old toys that he no longer plays with on another couch. He had to separate the toys into two boxes. One for keeping & one for donating. We just did this again since he had (dare I say too many!) Christmas and birthday gifts. This go around he donated a lot of stuffed animals. yeah!

Love your quick takes!

Unknown said...

Hi, Jess. I haven't stopped by in awhile, and I was doing some blog hoppin' and you came to mind. It was fun catching up a little on what you are up to. I've been blogging for about 3 years now....so weird that it has been that long. God has done so much and changed me so much...my blog has changed too...much more grace I think. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.....much more grace I KNOW! I still have a way to go. But I was thinking about that letter I wrote you awhile back, and am wondering if maybe you should take it down (it's up to you). I feel like it lacked grace. I feel like if I were doing it now I would have done things a bit differently. Anyway...I just wanted to throw that out there. Keep up the good work, girl.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for all your ideas, insights, and information! It's really helpful to see how God's working in your life, and the BabyWise and sleep portions are really inspiring to me at the moment, as a mother of 2...both of who wake up at night! Anyway, thanks for the encouragement, and I had a quick question of which CDs you use at night for your children to listen to when they fall asleep. I grew up with Psalty, but it's not quite right for my 2 1/2 year old or 10 month old. Do you have any that are your favorites? Thanks! Renee

Jess Connell said...

Hey Renee... there are some fun ones Steve Green put out called "Hide em in my Heart" of Scripture verses. Our kids also enjoy Hillsong, Robin Mark, and have listened to Bible story tapes, classic storybook tales, etc. We haven't been able to do that in a while because our tape players don't work, and we haven't invested in a different system.