Weekend linkage

1)

No news on the jellybean front; it is growing, I assume, and I am still sick. This week I have looked in the mirror a few times and thought "Hey, I look pregnant!" which is nice. I dislike the in-between stage where you just look bloated and thick. Now I'm moving towards a legit bump.

We have moved Ellie to a one-nap schedule in an attempt to get her to sleep longer in the morning. It seems to have done the trick! Now she sleeps until 7 or even 7:30, rather than crowing us all awake at 6. And she seems much happier, too; she had been acting uncharacteristically cranky, and I chalk it up to insufficient sleep at night.

I think she comes close to eating her body weight some days. She's constantly snooping in the kitchen and making her signs for "food" or "water" . . . I don't know where she puts it all, because she is so tiny. She looks a little taller to me lately, but still, not chubby (apart from her bulbous baby belly).

2)

The funnies: "What the British Say and What They Really Mean." You can apply this to most of the World Cup commentators: "he's taken a bit of a tumble" means "he's gone sprawling head over heels across the pitch and is now writhing in agony."

The agony and ecstasy of life with a toddler. Reading books to Ellie is EXACTLY as they describe.

Prince George is not amused. The last one really makes me giggle.

"Client Feedback on the Creation of the Earth." Ha ha.

3)

This is the weirdest: "Sabbath Elevators." It makes me think of living alongside the Amish here in Lancaster. You can respect them for their stubbornness, but-- if you're me-- you mostly shake your head at their ingenious workarounds and wish they would just get cars so you don't get stuck behind a buggy for ten minutes on a winding road.

4)

Interesting if you have time for a long (and fairly graphic) read: Paul Fussell's "Thank God for the Atomic Bomb."

5)

"Inside an Amazon Warehouse." You may find this interesting if you purchase as much from Amazon as we do!

6)

I had a post published on Ricochet this week. The post itself isn't anything special-- it's a question about teaching American history, specifically, how one can honestly present our "warts" without compromising on our country's genuine greatness. The comments are the good part, as is typical of Ricochet (the only place I know on the internet where comments are reliably well-informed and civil, due in no small part to the fact that you have to pay for a membership in order to comment!).