Friday Fragments

Friday Fragments are bits and pieces of your week that are usually brief; too short for a stand-alone post, but too good to discard. Collect humorous observations, "Heard" items, and other small gems and put them together in a Friday Fragments post.

Friday Fragments are the brainchild of Mrs.4444 and you can find more at Half Past Kissin' Time.


~ I have a billion thoughts swirling around in my head right now, but of course it's late at night and I can't stay up all night writing, plus the baby will probably wake up and want me to hold him anytime. Sam started school this week, so I'm hoping that I can somehow manage to get Danny to nap while Sam's at school so I can spend that time writing and catching up online.

~ I finished Mockingjay this week (so good!) and went and saw The Other Guys with Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. I'll have review posts on each coming up, hopefully next week!

~ I discovered the blog Paper Hearts when Shane Nickerson highlighted it on his blog. At Paper Kids, Sabra writes about her daughter Emma. Emma has autism, and was non-verbal until she was 9 years old. Then, in May of this year, Emma started spelling things out on a keyboard and now they're able to communicate. This week she wrote a post called I admire your rewire. It touched me, but in all honesty I find that almost everything she publishes touches me. I am somewhat fascinated by autism and find that the blogs I read of people whose children have autism often highlight these wonderful, amazing beings. From kids who are non-verbal like Emma, to severely autistic kids like Kelley's Boo, to kids who are 'quirky' like Heather's Payton, to kids like Amalah's Noah, the posts these mothers write about their children show amazing thought processes, intuitions, creativity, and the overcoming of obstacles that stand in these kids paths. Sometimes I think that these kids just think differently - and that's not always such a bad thing. I often think we could learn something from them.

~ I haven't been cooking this week because we ran out of money and couldn't buy groceries really. But I am enjoying being on Weight Watchers again. On Wednesday I had a doctor appointment and I parked away from the doctor's office, so it was a brisk 30 minute walk there and another 30 back to the car. Creative ways to fit exercise in the schedule! And I'm enjoying it. I have not been to a meeting yet because it hasn't worked out, Justin and I need to put it into our regular schedule so I have a set meeting every week I go to. I'm a little bummed because the one I REALLY want to go to is at 5:30 on Tuesdays, but that would mean Justin getting off work early. The 6:00 on Wed would work better timewise, but I don't really like the leader of that one. So, we'll see.

~ Sam started school this week, and he seems to be liking it again. Yesterday he came off the bus in the afternoon talking about his friends and wanting to play with them some more. I am thinking of having a little party at our house (Halloween maybe?) and inviting all the kids in his class (probably 8-12) so that I can meet and connect with their parents for possible playdates in the future. Last year I never met any of the other parents, and I'd like that to change this year, especially so we can give them more time together if they play well together.

~ My Mom randomly called me yesterday and told me she wants to babysit on Saturday night. How awesome is that? Justin and I will have a date night, and I didn't even have to ask for it!

~ Many of you have probably heard that Rev. Terry Jones of the Dove Outreach Center in Gainesville, FL intends to burn the Qur'an on Sept. 11. This is a despicable act, one of hatred against Muslims and blind to the difference between people of a religion and their extremist counterparts. Well, something really cool is happening - the Massachusetts Bible Society is having a "Burn One, Give Two" drive. They have pledged that for every Qur'an that is burned, they will GIVE TWO. They will distribute them to Muslims in prisons, hospitals, shelters, anywhere they don't have access to their sacred text. People, THAT is Christianity in action. It's an example we should all follow. If you'd like to support the drive, you can visit through the link above and make a donation. Or, just spread the word. There's been WAY too much hatred lately, and this is a wonderful message of acceptance.

~ I feel like I could keep writing for a couple more hours, but I need to get to bed since Sam will be up dragging me out of bed before I know it. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.