Why small success? Because that’s the only kind I know! Even the big ones come in small steps. Here’s my paltry offering for the week.

1. Spared my fresh veggies from waste. For many years, we’ve purchased a share in a local, organic farm. For those not familiar with community-supported agriculture (CSA) shares, we pay a set price and receive a weekly allotment of the farm’s harvest. The produce varies from week to week depending on what is in season. While our family goes through many of the fruits and vegetables quickly (corn, squash, lettuce, potatoes), there are others I’m not sure how to cook (turnips, kohlrabi, collard greens, swiss chard). Spiral Path Farm provides recipes with its produce each week, which should make it easy. Still, I’m ashamed to say sometimes unfamiliar items spoil before I’ve figured out to prepare them. I’ve been making an effort use every fruit or vegetable we receive and avoid any waste. I made Collards Sweet Potato Pot twice now, and it is simple and delicious! And if you have a favorite turnip recipe, would you please share it?
   

   Collards Sweet Potato Pot
   I switched out collard greens for Lacinto kale and Italian sausage for smoked sausage.

1. My little girl used the potty (for #2). Twice. Granted, this is more her success than mine, but I guarantee I was happiest about it. She’s right on track tomeettheAstfalk Family Low Standard For Potty Training. She should be wearing her Dora the Explorer panties two weeks before preschool begins.
   

   This is how she attempted to use the potty when I first introduced it to her in October of 2013. You can see why it’s been a bit of an uphill climb.

2. Transplanted Long-Suffering Plants. For some reason, my kids have been bringing plants home from school. Within a couple of weeks, we’ve adopted a pine seedling, a tomato plant, and a Venus flytrap. The kids took care of the tree and tomato plant, and I transplanted the fly trap and a pathetic spider plant baby that has been living in a plastic cup for more than a year and a half. I’m hoping the flytrap makes it. My son had one several years ago, and we enjoyed feeding it houseflies. Muhaha.
3. We made it through Toddler Time. I signed my two-year-old up for Toddler Time at the library – a half hour of stories, songs, and rhymes. My other children enjoyed it and participated relatively well, at least for two-year-olds. This kid made it through the first week with me repeatedly straining to slap his hands away from the handicap-accessible (and small child-accessible) light switch. The following two weeks, he shoved open the double-doors and escaped in a mad dash through the library four to five times before we’d even gotten through the hello song. Library patrons were treated to watching the crazy lady hop over pillows, through doors, and between stacks trying to retrieve a small boy. (As I’m running by, I often hear people commenting, “He’s really fast!”) I didn’t have it in me to even try the fourth week, but this week we made one more go of it. He fled the room three times, but by the end, I’d wrangled him into containing his antics to the room we were in, and he paid attention enough to enjoy some of the rhymes and songs.
4. I listened to my daughter sing. My seven-year-old has been practicing a song for next week’s school talent show. The other night, it was late, and as she climbed into bed I realized she hadn’t practiced yet. She usually sings to a karaoke accompaniment we play on the iPad Mini, but since the device wasn’t nearby, I told her to sing a cappella. With the lights low, she lay under her covers, and I knelt at her bedside and listened to her soprano voice hit every note and every word of “The Rainbow Connection.” I just listened. No other kids demanded my attention. No noise filtered in from the other rooms. No lights. No devices. No distractions. I just focused on her. I’m ashamed to say how infrequently that happens. She sung beautifully.

That’s all I’ve got. Celebrate more small successes over at CatholicMom.com.

Have you had any small successes this week?