Friday, November 13, 2020

7QT: An Acceptance, An Earthquake, and Another COVID Test

1)

JP's first college acceptance came in the mail and it was to Franciscan University!  JP has great grades and a difficult course load and did well on his SATs, so getting accepted to Franciscan wasn't a worry, but what was very happy news was that he won the Chancellor Scholarship, which is the highest merit scholarship they have.  Good work son!  The financial aid package should be coming in the mail any day now, and we are still waiting to hear from nine other schools, so the decision is a looooong way off from being made.  He has an interview with a prestigious six year PA program next week, and has added an internship with a doctor to his busy schedule so that is his focus right now.  Does this college talk bore you all?  I felt so in the dark when it came to the procedures and applications when he became a junior in high school, and I wished people would talk about it more, so here I am...at your service.


2)

When you have lots of kids, it's fun to see the different sibling dynamics that take place.  Well, the argumentative ones aren't fun, but the siblings who seem to get along well 99% of the time are the best.  Declan, age 6 and Brendan, age 4 have been so close.  Brendan just adores Declan and Declan loves being adored :)  I caught them watching a movie like this...when there were literally six other seats available.

Brothers gotta snuggle!

3)

We had an earthquake last Sunday morning!  

We were at Mass, and all of a sudden the whole church shook and there was a very loud rumble.  Honestly because we live in Massachusetts, an earthquake never crossed my mind.  All of the church windows were open to help with ventilation during Covid, so I though a huge truck had just rolled on by.  Other people thought maybe the furnace had exploded, or something like that.  The reader continued reading, and the gospel was perfect for the occasion:

So stay awake, because you do not know either the day or the hour.

Creepy, right?

4)

Cari is blogging again!  I hope that the recent developments of people being censored on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram will force people back to blogging, my favorite form of social media.  All for the greater reading pleasure of Colleen - mwahahahahaha!

5)

Well, we had our fifth Covid test done this week.  Alexander caught a stomach bug, and SINCE EVERY POSSIBLE SYMPTOM OF ANY ILLNESS EVER is also a potential Covid symptom, he had to get tested.  This was our first time getting the test done right in the car.  There was a long line, but the process was pretty great.  No appointments necessary, you just pull up, they hand you a paper, you fill it out (no ID or money needed) and then the nurse comes over to the door where the patient is sitting, you roll down the window and she sticks the long Qtip up your nose.  Then you drive away, and get the results online.


6)

What are you all doing for Thanksgiving this year?  In MA, we are not allowed to have indoor gatherings of over ten people....and we are already a family of nine.  So if any ONE person is lonely and wants to come over, feel free!  Seriously though, this holiday season is going to be so sad without a lot of intentional creativity and fun from me.  The additional pressure paralyzes me at times, and I just want my mommy but then I remember that I am their mommy and I need to step up and show up.  So give me some of your ideas!

7)

Last night we had grilled chicken and salad for dinner, and I was trying to figure out a carby side (because, kids) and I remembered beer bread!  



Such a quick, yummy buttery bread that everybody loves.  Just in case you're also struggling with ideas for sides, don't make my mistake and forget about beer bread.  I used this recipe (with only 1/4 stick butter).  When Maggie heard what it was called she said "So am I gonna get drunk?!?"  "No just tipsy" I told her ;)

Have a wonderful leaf-raking, bread baking, football watching, relaxing weekend everybody!

Go visit Kelly for more.

6 comments:

  1. Thanksgiving. My 8 siblings are spread out around 4 different states, so we're not getting together. I'm putting together care packages to send out that everyone can open on Thanksgiving day. I've been gathering stuff from Hobby Lobby and the Dollar Tree for about 6 weeks. It will include things for a table place setting, a small craft, a Thanksgiving decoration (that my one sister painted for this purpose). I'm also including a Thanksgiving mad-lib and I'm hoping we can do a video chat and the cousins can do the mad-libs live.

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    1. Wow, you are awesome! I wish I was your sibling :)

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  2. Congratulations to your son! It's an impressive achievement - I hope the financial aid works out for him. It's such a relief for the parents once they get their first acceptance - at least you know they have someone to go! (My daughter last year had to sit through several wait-list notices before she got her first acceptance - it was unnerving to say the least.) My son this year went with Early Decision at his first choice - if it works out we only have one set of forms to fill out for financial aid! We're on the 6th kid applying to college and I hate the process. I wish more students realized that most colleges offer good programs and opportunities if one is willing to work hard and show some initiative - the college choice is not a life and death situation that some make it. And if a school isn't a good fit - it's not the end of the world. Transfer and find someplace better!
    Off my soapbox now.
    Enjoy the weekend!

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  3. Congratulations JP! That’s an accomplishment and I find the process so interesting.

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  4. /makes note to buy ingredients for beer bread tomorrow

    I haven't had it in at least a decade, and I had never seen just a plain recipe for it. Dassant put out a mix for it when I was a kid and we'd get it at the local "interesting" grocery store. When I lived in Montana, touristy places would sell a special mix that comes in a beer bottle.

    Regarding Thanksgiving, I'd think your family would be exempt from the 10 person requirement. It's just going to be my parents, my son, and me as we're having a massive spike in my county (cases are 7-8x higher than they were this spring), and that's OK. We'll have a Facebook messenger call with my evil twin and his family, and we've arranged for certain family tradition foods to be sent to them.

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  5. As soon as Ken told me about the earthquake, I thought of you all. Bonus points for being at Mass when it happened!

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