Home Sweet Home

New Items in my Etsy Shop

2011-11-25T17:42:00.001-06:00

Look for special deals (10% off everything today...and tomorrow....and Sunday!)...and FREE SHIPPING on Cyber Monday...at MyHomeSweetHomeMades...

For posterity...

2011-11-02T23:15:00.006-05:00

2009

2010

2011

The birth story. Kinda.

2011-09-16T23:37:00.001-05:00

He's a month old today. I think I'll rename him Tank. When I weigh him on our bathroom scale (me, holding baby - weigh, then put baby down and weigh me again), it says he's up around 12 lbs already. !!

I keep meaning to get it written, this birth story. There are so many things God spoke to me and did for me, it just wouldn't be right to not tell about them. That, and I love reading birth stories, especially the really detailed ones. Not the ones that go like this:

My water broke on Sunday morning, and Monday night my contractions started. I had a few that were 10 minutes apart, and then they got really hard and fast, and 40 minutes later the baby was born in the bathroom and my husband caught him and it was greeeaaaaat.

Sure, it tells me essentially what happened, but c'mon! I'm one of those people who reads stories and LIVES them (minus the labor pains)....and there is no LIVING going on in that paragraph up there. No. No, I want a story that goes into all the details, the things she thought, the way she felt, how long it took to get the baby out, etc. BUT...I know some of the people who read this blog, and they aren't all women looking for a juicy (sorry!) birth story. So, to protect some peoples' innocence, I will only write a slightly more detailed version of the above. :)

Sunday, Aug. 14, I woke up to get ready for church and my water broke. Thankfully, it did NOT make a mess on our nearly-white bedroom carpet (a fact that I am very thankful for, as it was something I had worried about during my pregnancy!). We informed our families and some friends took our children to church with them and handed the kiddos off to one of their grandmas. My midwife came out and checked to me over to make sure the baby was OK and nothing was presenting that would cause a problem (cord prolapse can be an issue). Everything was good, and since I wasn't having any contractions, she left for church and Tyson and I sat/laid around and waited for labor to start.

Around 4 that afternoon, my midwife came back out to check on me again, and I discovered when she got here, that she intended to stay at our house until the baby came - a fact that bothered me as I had just talked to her a few days before about my desire to labor alone as long as possible as I didn't like feeling like people were waiting for me to "get the show on the road", as it were. I wasn't having contractions, but she gave me 4 doses of a natural labor stimulant over the course of the evening that would "put me into labor if I was ready to go into labor, and would do nothing if I wasn't." It didn't do anything. We stayed up until midnight talking and watching old movies, and then I went to bed.

I had some contractions around 3 the next morning that kept me up until 5 - that's when Tyson woke up, and as soon as I told him I'd been having contractions, they stopped. >:( We had breakfast with our midwife, and she decided to check me out again to see how/if I was progressing. I wasn't, but the baby sounded good and all else seemed fine. I was feeling a bit stressed that I hadn't gone into labor and was feeling like the watched pot that never boils, and broke down crying on Tyson's shoulder. The two of us talked for a bit and decided it was best to shut off our phones, have the midwife go home, let the kids stay with their grandma, and the two of us would just rest for the day.

So, that's what we did. It was around lunch time when I realized I'd been having one contraction an hour, every hour, since sometime early in the morning. 12:22, 1:19, 2:25, 3:15... I kept track until I fell asleep for a few hours in the late afternoon. When I woke up, the contractions seemed like they were gone - and I was disappointed. Tyson made us supper, and we decided to take the dog out for a walk in the country. I figured it wouldn't hurt anything, and it was such a nice evening, and maybe the walk would stimulate SOMETHING to start happening here! We walked (very slowly) for nearly 2 miles, and I was definitely feeling the baby settling low in my belly. When we got back home, the midwife had called (and a million people had texted to see how things were going - it made me laugh til I was almost crying to hear all those message alerts beeping through once I turned my phone back on!) to see how we were doing/if anything was happening, and she suggested I do a castor oil ice cream treatment. I wasn't sure I wanted to mess with the natural order of things, so I said I'd think about it, and Tyson and I picked another movie to watch.

It was getting late and I'd been having more random contractions since our walk, and I decided the castor oil would either put me into labor or it wouldn't, so I decided to do it. That was around 10pm. At 11:24, I had a contraction. I asked Tyson about the time, and when he told me, I just thought, "Oh, it's that 20-after-the-hour contraction I've been having all day." Fifteen minutes later, I had another contraction, and since I was pretty tired, I decided to get ready for bed. Ten minutes later, another contraction. I didn't think much of them, except to note that I was having them.

By the time I had picked up the house a bit and was ready for bed, I'd had 2 more contractions 10 minutes apart, so when I finally got into bed, I thought I'd time them on the nifty little app I'd downloaded on my phone specifically for that purpose. Within 5 minutes, I was having contractions one right on top of the other. They were lasting for a minute, two minutes, FOUR minutes, and only giving me 30 to 45 seconds in between. After a few minutes of this, I thought I should get up to see if they would change - it was happening so fast, I couldn't really believe I might be in real labor, and false labor (which I've had a lot of) will act the same, but stop progressing if you change positions.

This labor just got harder and more aggressive. I started shaking as soon as I sat up in the bed, and felt very much like I wanted to throw up. While I was trying to convince Tyson to bring me a bucket QUICK!, I was also thinking, very rationally, "These are CLASSIC transition symptoms...but I can't be in transition yet...I've only been having contractions for 10 minutes!" Tyson asked if he should call the midwife. Yes, I said...then No...then I don't know! since I still wasn't convinced I could really be in labor.

He'd had his finger on the button to call her, so when I said yes, he pushed the button...and when I said no, he hung up - but it had been just long enough to ring through to her phone and wake her up. That was around 12:30 Tuesday morning. The contractions kept coming fast and hard, and I went to use the restroom between some of them while Tyson got our bedroom set up for the labor/birth (ha!). The contractions were coming so fast, I never got out of the restroom before I felt the baby coming. Tyson helped me to the floor...and in just 3 more contractions he "caught" Henry. That was around 1:15...and the midwife wasn't there yet! She came dashing in with her assistant about 5 minutes later and they helped us get into bed and then did all of the post-birth checking, etc., of mother and baby.

And that is the birth story with most of the personal drama and gory details deleted. There were quite a few things I learned with this pregnancy and labor, but they can wait for another post. :)

August. and a Boy.

2011-08-23T11:45:00.000-05:00

Henry Tobias zoomed into the world after 40ish minutes of labor on August 16 (almost 3 weeks early!) at 1:15a.m. He came so fast, the midwife didn't make it to the birth and Daddy and Mommy delivered him all by themselves! (Daddy was quite proud of himself for catching the baby - he was very cute! "I...I delivered the baby!" (chest thumping)) Our little man weighed 7 lbs 12 oz, our smallest baby yet, and was 20" long. And once I get my brains back and we get settled into some semblance of a routine, I'll write more about the night he was born!

August or September? Boy or Girl?

2011-07-27T11:25:00.000-05:00

Only 5 more Sundays until my "due" week.
(The view from here. :) )

These are the questions I've been asking in my heart (and hearing others ask me) for the last several weeks. I am 34 weeks 5 days now. I have gone post-dates once for sure (6 days), and once (by 2 weeks) according to the doctors who nearly killed me and then delivered my baby and told me she measured less than full term, and once smack on the due date. I am hoping and praying for a different kind of delivery this time - one without crippling back labor; one where the baby comes EARLY!; one where it doesn't take longer to deliver my 4th baby than in did to deliver my second(8 hrs) or my third (10 hrs), and definitely not longer than my first (42 hrs, surgery); one where I feel I've handled labor well, rather than just having made it through.

I am anxious to see who we have coming to us this time. I already know a little bit about this little person - he/she doesn't like to be crowded, whether it's because my waistband is too tight, or because I've leaned against the counter too hard while doing dishes. It's almost humorous to think about this considering this one is #4, and will definitely find its personal space "violated" multiple times a day! This baby also likes to stretch its legs - a most painful motion performed as the baby seems to demand there be more room in its rapidly shrinking cocoon. Baby wakes up early, and is busy wiggling between 9 and midnight. It gets the hiccups, but not as often as its older sister, and without the accompanying "fussing" that we discovered after she was born that she really was doing in utero, and just this week discovered it has a thumb, and that thumbs are really good for sucking (judging from the rhythmic pulsing that goes on for 30 mins + in the region of baby's head/hands).

The older children are very excited for this baby. They've helped to set up the new bassinet, to pick out the tiny clothes from the boxes in the basement, to come up with names (none of which we will be using as they all seem to be names of people we know!). My 3-year-old asks almost daily if today I will "'queeze yo' baby out, plalalalalalalalalease, Mommy?" I laugh, but if it was just a matter of will, I would so oblige her.

I am waiting for the "nesting" to kick in so I will have some energy to get things checked off my "still need to do" list. Still need to make sheets for the bassinet. Still need to get the house cleaned (sooooo tempted to hire someone to do that for me!). Still need to sew for my girls - they are getting so tall, and the hand-me-downs (non-existent for #1) are so worn out for #2 it's embarrassing. And then there are the things I'd like to do for myself. I've never had a nice nursing/transitional wardrobe to wear while I'm trying to come down from my pregnancy weight. Mostly I've just worn whatever large things other people have given me...and trust me, ugly, large clothing is NOT what an overweight, hormonal, sleep-deprived new mom needs to be wearing. So, I'd like to sew/buy myself some pretty things to wear while I'm adjusting to new motherhood again, baggy belly, baggy eyes and all.

For some dumb reason, I've been having a harder time mentally this pregnancy. I lost a lot of weight last summer and was really looking forward to "being myself" again - having a waist!, wearing clothes I consider cute, etc. this year. And then I got pregnant. And that means, I gain...and gain...and gain.... I did the math this morning... if I don't gain any more weight before the baby is born, and I work on losing a reasonable amount (less than 10 lbs/month) every month after that, it will still take me at least 9 months to lose what I've gained, and then I will still be a good 25 lbs. heavier than my pre-any children "normal." Ugh. From here, that's pretty daunting.

I am definitely ready to be done being pregnant this time. I don't like labor one bit, but I feel a bit like, "just bring it on and let's get it over with."

Conversation

2011-06-14T12:07:00.003-05:00

Overheard between sisters as they built a block house for their dolls:

Younger: Is THAT the room you're giving her?

Older: Yeah...why?

Younger: She's MOM. She deserves BIG.

(I had to smile at that one!)

Sigh :-)

2011-06-09T22:22:00.001-05:00

Something "new", Day 3

2011-04-06T10:19:00.006-05:00

So I didn't post how day one went, or what we did for day 2. I was tired yesterday. Had a headache. Laid on the sofa and directed children while I alternately felt hot, then cold, then hot. I wasn't sick, just exhausted, and my body wigs out on me when I get really tired.

Anyway.

We did accomplish what we set out to do on Monday! The hall bathroom got completely cleaned, as did the master bathroom (which actually feels like 2 bathrooms since there is double of everything but the toilet, practically). All the sheets got changed BEFORE bedtime was even close, and all the laundry that was washed that day also got folded and put away...on the same day. Woohoo! We did school, too, (except history - Mommy was tooooo tired by that point) and though it took us all day to get everything done, we got it done! :)

Which is why I was so tired on Tuesday. Low blood iron (working on that), and being pregnant means I get breathless and worn out really fast. We worked on school in the morning, and got most of it done by lunch time. The girls finished up the last bit after lunch while I was putting the 2 y.o. down for a nap (and taking a bit of a nap myself). They also cleared the junk off the tops of their dressers (though upon inspection at bedtime it was discovered that "junk" to one person is "treasure" to another...we are going to work more on the "treasures" today) while I rested, and then we set out to clean the living room. All the toys and books got put away NEATLY, the cushions came off the sofas and both sofas and cushions got vacuumed. The rug got vacuumed, the rolled back to get all the crumbs cleaned up from underneath it. We moved all the sitting furniture and swiffered the wood floors thoroughly while middle daughter crawled around and dusted all the baseboards and trim. I would have washed the floors, too, but my head was killing me so we put the room back together and called it finished. It really does look much better, and knowing that dustbunnies aren't going to go blowing around the room like tumbleweeds the next time we open the windows is comforting. :)

Today...I am hoping will be an easier day. No furniture to be moved today. Just dusting and vacuuming of bedrooms. Cleaning off dressers that aren't quite cleaned off (mine will be the biggest job - it hasn't been done in a long, long time). Then we will pick up all the little bits of this and that that gets strewn around our very large kitchen and sweep it thoroughly. And we'll clear off the clutter corner of the counter. I think that will be enough for today. And if starting on the kitchen becomes too much for today, that's OK. I was planning to give that room 2 days because it requires sooo.much.washing to clean it. Washing is much more labor intensive than just dusting and vacuuming.

As I read back over this, it seems more like spring cleaning than just regular house cleaning. I'm still trying to figure out if we need to clean this intensely every week - or if this isn't intense cleaning at all and only seems extensive because it's so much more than I usually do. That sounds terrible, but that's the truth. One thing I do know - I've got to figure out how to get it all done without it taking all day long. I need to have time to sew and make jewelry, too, and I am just too tired in the evening to want to do much more than stare slack-jawed at the blogs I didn't read all day.

Trying something "new"

2011-04-04T10:49:00.000-05:00

Contrary to popular belief (HA HA HA! I *KILL* me!), I am not an exceptional housekeeper. I'm not even a very good one. I don't even know if I'd make it on an "average" list. While I try to make sure the bathrooms get cleaned sort of regularly, and I do like to get the vacuuming and laundry done, dishes, dustbunnies and super-huge piles of clutter populate most free spaces in our house. I've been working on improving since I got married 10+ years ago and someone else was there to care how things were kept, but as the saying goes, "old habits die hard."
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BUT... we are having another baby this summer, and it has the AUDACITY of being due RIGHT at the beginning of a new school year. That, and the fact that this will make 4 children for me, and that my big girls are getting bigger (by the second! What up with that??) and are needing a better example of general housekeeping, AND the fact that I'm rather sick and tired (literally and figuratively) of feeling overwhelmed with the care and upkeep of my house has made me decide we really MUST try something my husband has been urging me to do from almost the beginning of our marriage.
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I am going to try cleaning my house, one room per day. (Don't faint.)
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Typically, housecleaning goes something like this for me: I wake up all determined to get THE WHOLE HOUSE CLEAN *TODAY*. I start with stripping the beds...which leads me to the laundry room to start the wash. While I'm in there (which is in the kitchen), I decide to clear the table and load the dishwasher...and I go to the livingroom to gather up any dishes that might (ARE) residing under my hubby's sofa. I get distracted with all toys and gunk on the floor, so I set about getting that picked up so I can vacuum. Meanwhile, my children are playing and creating a mess elsewhere (or everywhere at once). I set them to picking up their room, which takes them an infinite amount of time if I don't remember to set them a minute limit. I get the livingroom vacuumed, and decide ALL the carpeted rooms need to be vacuumed...but the floors in those other rooms need to get picked up first. So, I get the girls picking up as fast as they can while I go and spray down the showers with cleaner. (Can you see where this is going?) About that time one or all of the kids starts crying hunger, so I go back to the kitchen to make lunch...where I remember I was loading the dishwasher, and discover that my bread dough is WAY more than well risen, and that the wash load has been done for quite some time. I may or may not get those things taken care of, and then lunch is over and it's time to put the 2 y.o. down for her nap...which is when I remember that, oh yeah, I stripped the bed, but never got clean sheets on it. I go out from laying her down on the blankets hastily pulled onto the bed (because she's already asleep in my arms), and run into the vacuum, which was left in the hall awaiting it's use in the bedrooms - only I can't run it NOW, the baby is sleeping. We sit down to do all our school, and by the time that is over, it's time to start dinner. Then my husband comes home and goes to take a shower, which is when I remember I sprayed the showers, but didn't actually scrub them down. Etc., etc. Most of the time, sheets get put back on the bed when I'm bleary and wanting to go to bed, and/or the kids are needing to go to bed themselves. The dishwasher usually gets run, because if it doesn't, we are overwhelmed with the dirties, and certain people get cranky because there's no silverware or coffee cups to be had. We always get most of the school done (history seems to get put to the side - it requires a lot of reading aloud by Mommy, and is often contingent on how tired I am by that time of day). The vacuum gets put into a corner in the room I was meaning to vacuum next... I usually end the day feeling a bit frustrated and defeated because, even though I SWEAR I was busy all day long taking care of my house, you really can't tell I did anything at all. No one room is all the way clean, and many, most, of the jobs I did do were only started, but not finished.
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So, with all this in mind, we are trying my husband's suggested method of housecleaning. Today we are taking care of the hall bath and the master bath (2 rooms, but same job, basically) - washing, scrubbing, changing out towels, laundering bath mats. We will concentrate on cleaning just those 2 rooms all the way until they are done. Laundry is always a Monday necessity since it is the day we change the sheets, so that is getting done today, too, and of course, general upkeep in the kitchen. I am not going to worry that the rugs in all the bedrooms need to be vacuumed - we can do those tomorrow. I am not going to get all distracted by the piles on every flat surface - we will tackle those on Wednesday and Thursday...or later today if the children need something constructive to do after school. Actually, the decluttering will probably happen in small snatches all day every day. I discovered a couple weeks ago that if I just work for 5 minutes on a spot, even if I don't get it totally cleared, the impact of getting some or most of it taken care of is IMMENSE. Do that over half a dozen "spots", and the room begins to look - GASP - neat!
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So here's to turning over a new leaf, teaching a (somewhat older) dog a new trick, and generally just getting a grip on something that has made me feel a bit of a failure for, oh...forever.
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:)
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(Another BIG part of my motivation to change...) - Proverbs 31:10 ¶ Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. ... 27 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. 28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. ... 31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

Life and stuff

2011-03-25T10:41:00.002-05:00

Real attention grabbing title, huh? :) Tells you how well (or not) my brain's working these days.

Randomness.... after several days of BEAUTIFUL WARM SPRING WEATHER, we are back to cold, gray, and threats of snow. I'm going to combat the glums by getting my trays filled with dirt and my flower seeds planted. :) And then I'm going to work on some spring and summer sewing for me and my girls.
After trying since early last summer (and finding it to be a catastrophic failure), the 2 1/2 year old is potty trained! She pretty much did it herself - waking up dry, gasping with shock as she realized she was "going", and wanting to be a big girl in "o-pants." I am glad, glad, glad to be out of the diaper routine for a few months!
Um....yeah....a few months. About 5 more, to be exact, and then Baby Asbill #4 will be joining us right around Labor Day (no pun intended). :)
And in "celebration" of the new baby coming, for the first time ever, I bought a stroller. Yes, I've had strollers, hand me downs, and a new one when my first daughter was born almost 10 years ago (eek!), but they were all in serious states of ... well-used-ness ... and some so close to falling apart I was afraid to put the little one in them... so we used a little tax return and bought a nice jogging stroller. Not that I plan on jogging. Nice, brisk walking is much more my style. Our 2yo is in LOVE with the new "stwollah" and sits in it as much as she can (it's residing in the living room, currently). I am looking forward to the return of that nice spring weather we had earlier this week so I can get out there for the stroller's maiden voyage. :)
With the advent of another baby in the house, our big girls are learning to take on more of my domestic "joys". Laundry is being taught, as is bread making, bathroom cleaning (already established, just working on getting a better, more consistent routine with it), dusting, vacuuming, and dishes (in addition to getting more diligent about getting their school done IN A TIMELY MANNER. No need to drag it out over the entire day. This isn't public school.) Don't worry - I still have plenty to do even though that seems to be the sum total of domestic life. Oldest daughter is especially keen on learning how to cook - she's already making plans for how she's going to bring me breakfast in bed when the baby comes (who can argue with that? :) ).
And, after a rather long and unplanned hiatus from my Etsy shop, I'm going to be making (!) and posting (!) more jewelry in the coming week or two. Morning sickness (morning, noon, night, it knows no time of day) and general fatigue made making anything more of a punishment than a pleasure.

Just for fun...

Some songs...

2011-02-10T14:26:00.003-06:00

...hit just a little too close for comfort.

That's How I Ended Up Here - Jason Gray

There's something I need to confess
At the risk of exposing my faults
But I'm starting to find that most of the time
I just don't like people at all
When I saw you five minutes ago
I was afraid you might talk off my ear
I panicked inside and decided to hide
And that's how I ended up here
Crouching behind the live lobster tank
Hoping you'd just pass me by, oh...
That's how I ended up here
That's how I ended up here

Oh how I wish I could say
It's my first time to hide in this spot
But with all of the people I try to avoid
I find myself down here a lot

I mean, just look at these guys in the tank
With the red rubber bands 'round their arms
If they don't open up
And just keep to themselves
They won't do anyone harm

So I screen my calls, don't answer the door
Sometimes wish I could disappear, oh...
That's how I ended up here

That's how I ended up..

..Building a wall so no one could bother me
Living my life in isolation
Opening up to only those close to me
Nobody's close to me, what have I done?

See, I really want to be known
But I'm not quite as strong as the fear
That you won't understand the fool that I am
And that's how I ended up here

That's how I ended up here

That's how I ended up here

Shhhh.....it's snowing.

2010-12-24T17:22:00.001-06:00

It's the quiet, sound-dampening kind of snow. The whole world sounds quiet and peaceful. So lovely.* We're working on a new hair-do. Daddy's a big fan of long, long, LONG hair, and found a how-to video for a "hair bow". So we tried it. Eldest Daughter insisted she didn't really like it, didn't want to wear it to next week's school program, and proceeded to take at least a DOZEN self-portaits after her hair was done up. Second Daughter liked it right off the bat, but her hair didn't want to co-operate as well. We're going to work on it, because she DOES want to wear it for the program!

*I've posted new things in my shop. So far I'm having great success...selling to my mom and sisters. :) I guess I have to start somewhere...

*My oven went BOOM! quite literally about 3? 4? weeks ago. We've been baking with a borrowed toaster over and using a 2-burner camp stove-type thing for cooking. I thought I was going to have to wait until we got our tax return to get it repaired or replaced...but I was told my dear husband is going to try to get it taken care of TOMORROW! I am really looking forward to having my stove and my counter space back!

*Busy week coming up - mother-in-law and nephew are coming to stay, which means quite a bit of extra cleaning and organizing must be done. Getting my waist-length hair ...cut... how short is yet to be determined. "Getting a year older" and my hubby is taking the day to take me out (he's so sweet). Co-op program = art projects to finish, and skirts to be made since there is a dress code this year. Family gathering with my side of the family on New Year's Eve...when I will probably be too tired to ring it in!

Necessity is the Mother of Invention.

2010-12-14T22:01:00.004-06:00

And, so, since we have a need to eat, and wear clothing, and have gas in the van,... and since I can and do make stuff, I decided to open an Etsy shop. There are only a few things there at the moment, but I expect to add to it several times a week!

My current offerings are...

You can visit my shop here!

A Few More Quick Takes

2010-11-17T09:22:00.001-06:00

The last rose and purple marigolds from our gardens.

~ Finally, at 2 years, 4 months, and 2 days, the baby slept all night long. Whoooopeeeeeeeeee!!!!!! We've been trying for a couple of months to get her completely weaned and sleeping all night long (she was waking me up 4-10 times a night - ouch) but we just couldn't shake one middle of the night nursing. Two nights ago she woke me up as usual, and as I was trying to talk her into going back to sleep, a noise in our bathroom scared me half to death... and then I realized my husband was coming to bed. Hmm. He often comes to bed in the middle of the night, and she often wakes up at approximately the same time.... So, yesterday we carefully maneuvered her crib out of our room and into the tiny bedroom her big sisters share. She wanted to "go to bed" at 4:30 in the afternoon, she was so excited. It was too much change to actually put her to bed at the same time as the big girls, so a little cuddle and a piece of toast later, she was put into her crib........and she didn't wake up until about 7 this morning. Did she want me when she woke up? Oh, no. She wanted her sisters, some cereal, and permission to watch a show on PBS.

~Craft class is going well. At least, it is now that I've gotten the supplies for what is truly an interesting craft/art project! We are doing block carving on vinyl tiles. My girls wailed in dismay that they weren't getting to do this craft (it's for the older kids) when they saw the supplies. We may have to invest in some tiles and cutters for our personal use. (I won't mind - it's fun!)

~We had the house insulated yesterday. Yes, we do live in a new house, built in the last couple of years. Yes, you'd THINK that, living in a new house, it would be properly insulated. BUT - this house was built by someone who had some basic knowledge about nailing things together, but was in no way qualified to build a house. It's been...interesting...to live here and discover all the bizarre things he did (or didn't do) while spending our landlady's money like crazy. Insulation was one of the areas he decided to "save" money on, so the house, once it got down to about 50 degrees F outside, felt like it was about 50 degrees F on the inside, too, and the furnace was constantly running. Makes for a fantastically huge gas bill. So, we had an inspector come in and check things out, and it turns out we had only 1/4 to 1/3 of the insulation in the roof that we should have had (4-6" where there should have been 12 - 18", or something like that), and there was nothing around the foundation of the house to keep any cold (or bugs) from coming in around there. The guys came yesterday and did the basement first....and we thought we were imagining how IMMEDIATE the change was in the temp down there. It was almost warm in comparison. Then they did the roof... and our bedroom stopped feeling like there was a cold wind blowing through it. Hubs was rejoicing that the furnace had only kicked on once or twice last evening, and he was able to walk around in a short-sleeved shirt with the house set at 64 degrees. (It was warmer, but I must be part amphibian, because I was freezing in my long sleeved undershirt, turtleneck sweater, thick leggings, long corduroy skirt, thick socks, and slippers....) "Mommy's got cold hannie's (hands)" is one of my fave things to do to the girls (slide my ice cubes up the backs of their shirts) - always gets a good squeal and hysterical laughter as they try to get away.

Ahbdee, ahbdee, ahbdee.... that's all, folks. At least, that's all I can think of for now! :)

Annual Portrait Attempt #2

2010-10-31T17:44:00.002-05:00

I think...we have a winner....

...although I really like how goofy/laughy they all look in this one, too... :)

Say Cheese! Please?

2010-10-27T06:00:00.000-05:00

Or rather, don't. Just look at the camera and smile for Mommy, okay?

....sigh....

It's OK. I discovered after I'd taken about a million photos of her and her sisters that I hadn't changed a setting on the camera and I wouldn't be able to enlarge these pictures any bigger than a 4x6. Grr. And now the weather is bad and really windy, and my leafies are getting blown away...

Annual Portait Attempt #1

2010-10-26T14:35:00.000-05:00

Setting up...

...but not quite right. And Number 2 is about to freak out a la last year about being up the tree.
Still not quite right...#2 about to freak out because she's up a ladder. Let's try something else. And let's dress up first in case some of our "trying" turns out to be a good picture!
Not too bad! But lets see if we can do better...

#2, I need you to focus... and smile a little... ummm..., say "Cheese!"

OK, now she's manic. Lets try again.
Oh, dear. TOO much smile, and too much cheese from #1.
That's not too bad, but lets open our eyes a little more for the next one. And close our mouths a little. And baby girl? Forget I told you to say cheese.
I said, FORGET I told you to say cheese, not, "Stand up and say cheese even HARDER!"
We're definitely losing it here.

OK. I think I can live with this one. Mostly because I DON'T think I can lay here on my belly anymore trying to get all 3 of you to smile nicely, keep your chins and skirts down, eyes open, mouths (mostly) closed, sitting, and looking at me ALL AT THE SAME TIME.

(And only THEN did I discover that I was taking photos that would only be able to be printed as big as 4x6's without completely losing their integrity....because I forgot to change a setting in the camera. Aaargh!)

7 Quick Takes

2010-10-07T11:15:00.004-05:00

The girls playing "wind war" on recent picnic at Daddy's then-work site.

Quick Takes inspired by Jess over at Making Home.

1. Today I start "teaching" arts and crafts at our homeschool co-op. The kids will be 6-9 years old, so that's not a big deal...but in 4 weeks, I'll be teaching the 10-15 year olds, and that is making me nervous.

2. The squirrels we were hand-raising moved outside a week and a half ago... and are already so wild again, they won't let us touch them and they run away when we come outside. That's a little disappointing because I hand-raised a squirrel 8 years ago that came home and climbed on my shoulder and let me pet her for a couple of year after she was let go. We thought it would be the same with these 3, but apparently, when they are raised with other squirrels, they stay more....squirrelly.

3. My big girl celebrated her very last single-digit birthday this week. !!! It really is amazing how quickly time goes by, and how fast they grow up. She's started cooking breakfast (scrambled eggs), and taking on other "grown up" activities that, frankly, I'm just not ready for her to be big enough to be doing.

4. My middle girl celebrated her 7th birthday this week, too. And looking back at her baby pictures - or even pictures from just a year ago - it's astonishing how much she has changed, how less baby-faced she is, how SKINNY she's gotten!

5. We have been processing apples for days, and days, and days. I have multiple pint jars, and half-pint jars, of apple butter, quarts and quarts of applesauce, bags and ice cream pails of dried apple slices... and almost 2 square laundry baskets full of apples still to go through. Whee! :-/ At least we'll have something other than pickles to eat if we can't buy groceries this winter!

6. My baby is learning how to talk. She's been the slowest of my 3 to speak intelligibly, but she is finding her words, and starting to talk up a storm. In just the last week, she's gone from saying "uh huh" to "Yish" every time she's asked something that needs a positive answer. And everything is hers. "Ess MY (fill in the blank)?" (Ess my Gamma? Ess my glasses? Ess my goggie (dog)?) It's like she jumped over some hurdle, because there are SO MANY things she says now that just 2 weeks ago she didn't say at all.

7. The van we were given this summer had a little leak in the brakes, but we got that fixed a few weeks back (or months, now), and we're free!! We can go ...wherever...whenever... we want! It makes me almost giddy! (THANK YOU, DAD!!) I find myself so thankful every day that I have my own vehicle - loading things into it that have to go somewhere so that I don't forget to take them when I do go, being able to just jump in and run without having to plan the trip and ask someone else for their vehicle... You never know how much you appreciate the privelege of having your own vehicle until you don't have one at all.

Clothing Aspirations (or inspirations, whichever!)

2010-09-01T17:16:00.000-05:00

If not to buy, at least to copy and make...

I have the dark wash denim already...and PINK topstitching thread because it's cute and girly. (Picture, Old Navy) (I had the idea already.)

Not fond of the bias cut, but an A-line? out of baby corduroy? in chocolate brown? Yes, I think that would make a VERY NICE, fun winter skirt. :) Thank you, Boden, for the idea. (And yes, I WOULD take the time to put on all the sequins.)

Oh, Anthropologie...I wish you weren't so expensive (for me). (above and 3 below)
(To wear under something, of course.)
Red dress, I don't remember where you came from, but I am going to copy you in a beige linen/cotton I have, and then dye you bright TEAL (I think...)....after I go find a dress like you to try on to see if I even LIKE ruffles like that on me! Not the most practical winter dress, but I still like it. (Same with you, frilly, floral Anthro dress.)

Another Anthropologie... I think you would be very pretty in a stretchy velvet. In a more rosey pink. Or cream.

And I just LIKED these. They would be very cute with my pink topstitched denim pencil skirt. :)

And of course, since my current...employment...has me doing a lot of bending and moving and cooking and cleaning, and holding kids... I would need a few of these in various colors. (Land's End)

And this dress has given me an idea for what to do with a skirt I have and like, but don't have anything to wear with it. Thinking, thinking...

And Anthropologie again... (they have such good inspiration on that site!).

And all this came about because I'm down another 22 lbs. :) Only 15 to go and I'll be at my goal!

Roses from my garden

2010-08-10T10:53:00.001-05:00

...just because they're pretty...

Two

2010-07-15T08:01:00.013-05:00

July 15, 2008. Just over 2 hours old.

Happy birthday, Pandabear.
We love you!

Someone left a gift...

2010-07-11T00:08:00.006-05:00

...in my driveway.It's not new. It's not fancy. But we know without a doubt that it is what God provided for us, and we are very, very thankful.

Ten

2010-07-02T15:00:00.002-05:00

Happy Anniversary, Honey.
I wouldn't trade my life with you for anything in the whole world.

In which she builds things.

2010-06-25T16:11:00.004-05:00

My eldest daughter likes to building things.

...craft stick picture frames and corner shelves...

...and playdoh "fondant" cake sculptures...

She used to sit on the floor as a 2-year-old and create giant sunburst patterns on my floor with the clothes pins, and intricate geometrical designs with all the pencils, pens, colored pencils, markers, crayons... anything straight she could get her little hands on.

Do I see "builder" and "designer" in her future? Hmmmm...

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-19T23:38:00.000-05:00

They love their daddy.

Me, too.

Out of the Mouths of Babes...

2010-05-27T08:36:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was my nephew's birthday, so the girls and I were online at a certain Christian card store looking for e-cards to send to him. We had looked at quite a few cards, reading the Bible verses at the end of each card, and noting what translation of the Bible they were using for each different card when we came across a translation I wasn't familiar with.

"I wonder what version ICB is?" I said out loud.

After a few moments thinking, Oldest Daughter said, "It's probably the InCapable Bible."

Heart and Soul

2010-05-05T17:48:00.003-05:00

Pretties in my living room

2010-04-26T17:57:00.004-05:00

Sumpthin's wrong with this picture...

2010-04-25T16:09:00.002-05:00

It's hard to post when you're feeling discouraged.

2010-04-23T12:00:00.006-05:00

No, really, it is.

I started out this year, full of vim and vigor, hope and a little bit of crazy. I was going to lose weight like nobody's business, and for the first month, I did. I was glad to finally be shedding the "fat suit" I'd put on during my first pregnancy 8+ years ago. I was going to feel normal - and pretty - again! Visions of me in cute clothing danced in my head, and the anticipated (and real) looks of admiration from my husband kept me motivated on the nights I went to bed decidedly hungry.

Then February came and went, and the realization set in that maybe I'd been a tad cocky about how easy the trip to Thin-dom was going to be. After 5...6...7...more...weeks of losing and gaining and losing again the same 3 pounds, I took my weight loss ticker off the top of my blog and put it at the bottom so I wouldn't have to look at my non-progress every time I logged in. I began to think that maybe I should just be happy with the weight I was - even though it was the same weight that had had me in near hysterics a few years back when it was my "high" weight.

But one day my friend Julie wrote and asked me how the weight loss was going, and I just couldn't write her back and tell her I was stuck, that I was failing at my own challenge. No. NO. I decided I would, I MUST, get back on track and start losing again before I said anything at all to her about it.

So here I am. I've managed to shake free from the grip of that 3 pounds I couldn't lose, and I've lost about 3 more. I don't plan to do anything drastic to make sure I've lost 45 by July. I wanted this weight loss to be natural and something I could sustain and maintain when all was said and done. We have a limited grocery budget, which means there are many times when I just have to eat what we have (a.k.a., there are no fresh fruits or veggies in the house), and what we have isn't always conducive to great dives in the numbers on the scale. I am also married to a man who likes dessert, and we have 3 children who he's trained to follow in his footsteps. Do you know how hard it is to make a chocolate chocolate-chip cake with chocolate frosting...and not eat any of it?? (It's hard. Chocolate is my favorite.) I didn't want to live the rest of my life having to exercise every day and avoid all things yummy just to be in a certain 10-pound range.

So, I am relaxing about the 45 lbs (as in, I am not going to beat myself up because I won't have lost 45 by July). I am losing at the rate my body seems to be happiest with. If that means only 20 lbs by July, that will be OK (I say that, but I'm still going to try for a little more if I can). I will work toward the 45, but just at a slightly slower pace than I originally thought I could do.

********************

This year (thus far) has seemed unreasonably difficult. First, the stuck weight loss. Second, being isolated 1) because we have no vehicle, and 2) because we were waiting for the chicken pox to strike our youngest daughter. That meant many a missed Sunday meeting (the only day I am guaranteed to see other people) and the Sundays we were able to get out, I wasn't allowed near my friends (OK, specifically my sister and new niece) lest they get the pox when they most definitely didn't want to. I felt like I was on a desert island for some reason. (Panda finally got the pox and is completely over it. I've been able to visit with my sister and kiss my niece's chubby cheeks and rejoice over how squashy and fat her thighs are.) Third has been very very little work for my self-employed husband. I think we are seeing a little light at the end of the tunnel there - he has a job to look over on Saturday, and got a call to do some work for someone else next week. Hopefully that will turn into work that lasts for a while!

********************

The "no car, no car in sight" situation is starting to grate. It was especially hard when we realized that we couldn't use our tax return to get us a vehicle - no work for my husband meant we needed to use the tax return just to pay bills and live...which is fine, but when you've had your heart set on getting your own vehicle, it feels rather crushing. But I still have Ada - she came to me last night and told me she goes nowhere on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, and if I wanted her van any or all of those days every week, I was welcome to it. And I think I will take her up on it. At least on Wednesdays. One more guaranteed day out per week would be really nice.

********************

On a more cheerful note, spring has come to my neck of the prairie. We spent a few days this week reseeding the lawn (per a previous agreement with the landlady). The New Dawn roses I got on super-clearance a couple of years ago survived their transplanting last fall and have lots of leaves and shoots and buds (yay!). I've planted daffodils and tulips in the flower beds, and cheap hydrangeas from ALDI around my air conditioner unit. My friend Kristi is going to give me some of her hostas, and my friend Melissa will (hopefully) bring me lilacs and columbine and other perennials when she comes back from clearing out her husband's childhood home a few weeks from now. My husband (also hopefully) will use some of the leftover lumber from building this house and will make me some beds for growing our own veggies.

Not buying a car with the tax return has meant we have been able to purchase things we'd normally just sigh and daydream about. I now have curtains - great big curtains - for the great, big windows in my living room. It feels so nice in there now! No more old bedsheets hanging tucked in the top of the windows! We're going to buy some more roses to go in the gardens around the house. I've been able to buy some clothes for my husband and I. We're usually last on the "buy clothes" list, and some ...most... of my things were looking especially shabby (and they were getting too BIG - woohoo!). His dress shirts were mostly from when he was in high school (13 years ago!) and they looked like they were that old. A new mouse for the old computer, a HAIRCUT, replacement parts for the sewing machine... All things that get put off in order to pay bills and buy groceries most of the time. So, there is some good even in the midst of disappointment. :)

Do You Have Sparkle?

2010-04-08T14:47:00.000-05:00

When King Lear dies in Act 5, do you know what Shakespeare has written? He's written "He dies." That's all. Nothing more. No fanfare, no metaphor, no brilliant final words. The culmination of the most influential work of dramatic literature is, "He dies." It takes Shakespeare, a genius, to come up with, "He dies." And yet, every time I read those two words, I find myself overwhelmed with dysphoria. And I know its only natural to be sad, not because of the words "He dies," but because of the life we saw prior to the words.

I've lived all five of my acts, Mahoney, and I am not asking you to be happy that I must go. I'm only asking that you turn the page, continue reading...and let the next story begin. And if anyone ever asks what became of me, you relate my life in all its wonder, and end it with a simple and modest, "He died."...

Your life is an occasion.

Rise to it.

(My favorite quote from the movie, "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium". It gets me teary every time.)

Jumping for the Moon

2010-03-23T19:46:00.003-05:00

The moon was out early tonight.

She found it...

...and kept jumping to get it.

This just won't do.

2010-02-19T13:30:00.000-06:00

Oh, you nakey bathroom window. You have taunted me long enough with your promises that you aren't see-through. You say you aren't transparent, but I don't believe you.
At least this will distort even more anything that can be seen through your supposed opacity.
Your twin sister is getting the same treatment.

And the wall across from you was feeling a little nakey, too, so I dressed her as well.

Well, we can't have nakey-ness, now, can we? :)

Downed...but not out.

2010-02-19T07:33:00.002-06:00

::My weight loss is stuck, and has been for the last 2 weeks or so. I'm tucking my chin and forging on ahead anyway, making changes where I can. (And probably adding in exercise...shudder).

::We have yet to find a place to finance us for a "new" vehicle. Frustrating, but we haven't tried everywhere yet.

::Husband's work van broke down yesterday...in another town. Yup, that means we are completely without vehicle now.

And wouldn'tchaknowit... we're sort of going through a dry spell, business-wise. It seems like this kind of stuff - stuff that needs money to be spent - always happens when we don't have any. Why is that?

BUT - we're not moping. We know God is in control and knows where we're going, even if we don't. So we just ask Him to talk to us (not like He isn't) and help us hear what He's saying (which is more likely the issue - we aren't hearing - or listening - or understanding).

:)

Frosty Morning

2010-02-13T16:16:00.002-06:00

Happiness...

2010-02-11T11:26:00.003-06:00

...is a tricky word because it is not a destination you arrive at or a sustainable state of being. It's a feeling that you experience, just like any other, and it comes and goes. You can generate it, but you can't keep it; you can make it, but not necessarily hold on to it... The unhappy woman believes she should be happy all the time. The happy woman believes that there will be times when she is unhappy.
~The Nine Rooms of Happiness: Loving Yourself, Finding Your Purpose, and Getting Over Life's Little Imperfections by Lucy Danziger and Catherine Birndorf (as quoted in the Reader's Digest, March 2010)

When I was a teenager working my after school job as a cashier at our small-town Wal-Mart, there was a woman who would often come through my line, and I remember her because she was always cheerful. ALWAYS. And I don't mean that she just smiled at me and was very nice. No, this woman was bubbling over with what could only be described as extreme joy. It didn't matter if the line had been a mile long, or if it was raining buckets, or if the power went out and she had to stay where she was until it came back on (it happened). She was radiant, all the time. And I always wondered at it.

So, one day when she came through my line, I asked her why she was always so happy. I thought for sure she would tell me that she had Jesus and that made all the difference for her (at the time, for me, "having Jesus" meant that I wasn't going to go to hell (I hoped), and/or that I would be raptured up with everyone else when the world came to an end - it certainly did not mean joy), but she just looked at me and said, "I have a lot to be happy about." When I asked her, "Like what?", she just looked at me, slightly consternated, and said, "Well...just... a lot of things", but her look and answer together said to me, "Doesn't EVERYONE have A LOT to be HAPPY about?"

That was probably 20 years ago. I'm going to guess that that woman doesn't ever think of me, but I think of her and rather often. As someone who has to overcome the tendency to dwell on the negative, I was confused by this woman's happiness - I just could not figure out how and what to be happy about.

But then God got me married, and gave me three lovely little girls. And in my efforts to raise them right, I started teaching my children to pray. Though they had listened to me pray for years, when it came time for them to pray, it always went something like, "Dear Jesus....uuummmm..." So, I started prompting them. "Thank Him for the bed you sleep in. You could be sleeping on the floor. Thank Him for the blankets you have - you could be on the floor and cold. Thank Him for this house (even when it was the old, leaky, wet one) because we could be living with someone else, or worse, living outside. Thank Him for bringing Daddy home safely again today. Thank Him that you have a Daddy..." Etcetera.

And I discovered something in myself. Even though I wasn't always feeling particulary happy with or thankful for the things I was telling them to be happy with/thankful for, I found MYSELF BECOMING both happy with and very thankful for all the little (big) things that so often, we just take for granted - or worse, just assume that we deserve. Teaching my children to pray, and to be thankful, was producing...joy...in me.

No, my life is not one "cherry on top" after another - we still have no family vehicle, and we've been discouraged from asking for a loan at one bank, and turned down outright from another, so I don't know when or if we'll be able to get a vehicle. BUT - I have a husband who is more than willing to pick up what we need from the big town, and I have a friend nearby who is more than willing to let me borrow her van whenever I can work up the courage (work down the pride) to ask her for it.

The Bible tells us, Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things (Philippians 4:8). I had read this verse for years, but hadn't found a way to really implement it and make it stick with me. The negatives always reared up and blotted out all those true, honest, lovely, good, etc., things that I was supposed to be thinking on. But when I began to be THANKFUL for them, I found...they really do produce a joy unspeakable.

Slowing Down...

2010-01-28T09:19:00.004-06:00

In mid-December our van blew its motor. Besides being at my house, pretty much the only other place I have been to is church on Sunday for the last month+. I think we’ve started to seriously look for a vehicle (as opposed to continually combing the auto lot websites and daydreaming), but I still don’t have any idea as to when I might be with car again. I kind of have my heart set on this black Honda Odyssey on one of the used lots – it’s older, but it’s really nice inside – but my dear hubby is worried that we won’t get financing for a vehicle its price. I’m still hoping, though.

~~~~~~~~~~

Around the same time that the car broke down (the same night, actually), the magazines I edited for stopped production. If or when they will be printing again is still to be determined. If I will be involved again is still to be determined, too.

~~~~~~~~~~

A week or so after the van broke down and the magazines closed down, the homeschool co-op wrapped up for the year. And without a vehicle to drive me the 15 miles back and forth, we don’t know yet if we’ll be participating in the spring semester. My girls don’t know this yet…I’m putting off telling them as long as possible – though to be honest, if we don’t go, it will just mean I don’t have to be responsible for teaching anything more than the subjects we are doing here at home (which doesn’t bother me IN THE LEAST, and my husband would prefer it).

~~~~~~~~~~

So… having no place to go and no way to get there even if I did, and nothing to do for anyone else (save for a little bit of digital picture coloring)... has made my life very quiet and peaceful. And, actually, I really like it. My husband does the grocery shopping, which means that I don’t have any stress over what we can or can’t buy (although I do wish he would stop fussing about the price per pound of almonds – I don’t need to have a whole pound! A small scoopful will do!) and he comes home with nearly everything on the list, nearly every time.

I’m learning my house. I’ve never felt very confident about my housekeeping skills, and having my time split 4 or 5 different ways didn’t help me get any better at keeping the home clean. Now, it’s my main job. And cleaning isn’t the nightmare it always seemed to be. Of course, having half the clutter probably helps things, and having a place to put the things we do have probably helps. And not trying to clean the whole beast in one day I’M SURE helps it to not feel so awful, too. I’m starting to get into a rhythm with it all – 3 bathrooms one day, vacuum everywhere another day, dishes and laundry every day, sweeping and mopping on a completely different day than the vacuuming and bathrooms… Taking it in smaller bites sure does make the job more manageable. (And yes, my girls do help, too. Even the baby gets in on loading the dishwasher. She adds the soap cube. :) ) Taking things a little at a time – everything I do – makes me stress less, and enjoy even the mundane things a little more. (I don’t like scrubbing the grout in the kitchen – today’s chore – it takes a couple of hours, and my back complains the whole time.) **I wrote this early in the day, and then was able to FINALLY cash in on a promise my dear sweet husband made me a month ago to scrub the floors. Yay!!

~~~~~~~~~~

Taking things in smaller bites when I’m eating is making eating less better, too. When I first started out on this endeavor, dishing myself up approximately the same amount as I was giving my 8 year old, but still eating as if I had my usual plateful of food…well, let’s just say, dinner was over very quickly for me, and I found myself wanting more, just because I wasn’t ready to be done tasting whatever it was we were having. I kept hearing in my head (and I believe it was God talking to me) to start slowing down, take smaller bites, taste the food and pay attention to what I was eating (you know, if you look at any diet site or book, they all say this, and it sounds totally hokey, but it really does make a difference!). I’m not becoming a foodie by any means, but I am finding myself a lot more satisfied with a lot less. So, baby step #4 – slow down (take smaller bites and TASTE what you’re eating!).

Cutie Pies

2010-01-21T20:49:00.003-06:00

Not *exactly* on the list of acceptable foods to eat while trying to lose weight...(but they're sure yummy, and just one can't hurt too much, can it?) :)

Water

2010-01-12T15:14:00.000-06:00

Down 3 lbs. 42 to go.

I’ve known for almost 7 years now that I need to drink copious amounts of water. After telling them tales of how, during my first pregnancy, my legs swelled so badly you could leave dimples in them when poked, my midwives informed me during my second pregnancy that I should be drinking half my weight number in ounces of water. Gag. Thaaaat’s a lot of water. I’ve never been very good at drinking water.

But, in light of my current endeavors, I’ve been making a valiant effort to drink water during the day (I am definitely NOT up to the ounces I should be drinking. I figure, some water in is better than what I usually do, which is drink just about nothing at all.) Most days I do well, and my weigh-ins show a modest decline of chubbiness. And then, I have a day where I forget until late in the afternoon that I need to drink something, and the next morning the scale says I’ve gained (sometimes up to) 2 pounds. Just from water. Who’da thunk it?

So, this is baby step number 3 for me – drink more water.

Winter, Inside and Out

2010-01-07T08:09:00.002-06:00

Baby Steps

2010-01-06T16:52:00.000-06:00

Down 1 lb. 44 to go. Woohoo! (and that actually makes almost 17 since last January, almost 12 of it just since we moved to the new house! I lurv my house for so many reasons...)

I was talking to my sister the other day, and she was telling me the myriad of things she needed to do to drop the weight she is also working at losing. I got a little overwhelmed by the list of changes she was telling me she needed to make, and encouraged her to just pick one thing at a time to work on.

For me, it's eating less sugar. Since I've been married, my sugar intake has increased exponentially. My husband likes his treats, and there is never a shortage of candy/sweet cereals/desserts in the house (and when you're home all day, and those mid-whenever need-to-eat-somethings hit, it's waaay too easy to reach into the cookie jar, or grab some chocolate, or both...). We also have always had sweetened and flavored creamers for the coffee, and I have always indulged liberally in them.

Until a couple of weeks ago, when we ran out, and for some reason, didn't buy more. We were going through quite a spate of baking at the time, and happened to have some half-n-half in the fridge. So, I began putting a little bit of regular sugar and the h-n-h in my coffee... and discovered something remarkable. I stopped having sugar cravings at any/all times of the day. I used to eat breakfast, and then be nearly fainting and quaking with low blood sugar by mid-morning, and again by lunch time. I'd need more coffee in the afternoon because I was so tired, and had to snack before dinner was ready because, again, I'd be quaking/fainting before then. When we ran out of creamer, I lost almost 3 pounds in about a week, probably a combination of the fewer calories in my coffee, and the fact that I wasn't snacking as insanely as I used to be. I'm blaming it all on the corn syrup in the creamer. Yup, it's the corn syrup.

As I am writing this, I'm coming to realize that I'm actually on my second "baby step." Step 1 - cut back on sugar. Step 2 - make a conscious decision to control my portion sizes and let myself feel hungry. I couldn't let myself feel hungry before. It was scary and often led to near-blackouts and a total inability to make any kind of rational decision (that's way no good when you're taking care of 3 little ones). But so far, being hungry hasn't been too bad.

And seeing that number on the scale go down hasn't been bad, either. :)

Scary

2010-01-02T18:53:00.002-06:00

I made a new little button for the side of my blog. It's over there on the left.

It's scary because I'm making it public, and now I'm accountable to do it. I can't just let this goal slip by, like I have soooooo many times before. I'm already scared I'll fail. (Great way to start out a "project", huh?)

July 2nd is my 10th anniversary. My goal is be able to fit into my wedding dress again (just for nostalgia's sake)(and for my mental health).

Wish me...success!

rrrrRRRRAAAAAAaaarrrr!

2009-12-16T13:26:00.001-06:00

Retrospect

2009-12-05T17:00:00.000-06:00

This post really isn't about that picture. It just happens to be the girls' portrait for this year, so I thought I'd post it. They're up the tree in our front yard, and you can't tell it from this picture, but A is scared to DEAth up there.

Anyway. It's been about 2 months since I posted, and I thought it was about time I either put something out here, or close up shop.

So, what have I been doing that I haven't been able/wanted to post for the last couple of months? Well, I/We

recouped from a hurt back (2 weeks)
had weekend guests
went through the sudden death of a close friend
had more weekend guests
had my nephews over while my niece was born
had a funeral
and more weekend guests
had another funeral
had a visit from my dad
did the decorating for a wedding
and then went to the wedding
had another visit from my dad
had Thanksgiving with one side of the family
had Thanksgiving on a different day with another part of the family

and homeschooled, cleaned house, used up almost every bit of our groceries, then finally go to go shopping (it took 7 hours...gaaaaaaaah), and we just enjoyed one of the first Saturday/Sundays where we didn't have one single thing going on. I wish I could have a week of days with nothing going on, where I can wear my stretchy pants and a big sweatshirt and laze around all day. It seems like the pace of our lives has increased 10-fold since the move, and I am looking forward to it slowing down for a while (though I am not guaranteed that it will!). We are planning to have a big family breakfast with my husband's family at the end of the month, so we are painting some walls, and hanging pictures, hanging curtains (funny how doing that makes a house feel like a home!), and trying to figure out from whom to borrow all the serving pieces I'm going to need for the breakfast (big on food and family).

So, that's been my life in a nutshell...and when I type it all out, it doesn't seem like much, but it sure felt like a lot and it definitely used up a lot time.

Pictures

2009-12-05T16:34:00.000-06:00

Hey, it's a gorgeous day! What should we do?

Oh, I know - let's thrust the kids up the tree and take their yearly portrait!

Now that everybody's in the tree, could we get the picture taken please?

Panda, the camera's that way...

A's still not looking too sure about this...

but about 90 pictures later (I so like digital cameras!)....

That's great! Let's call it a day!

Now, to just get them printed off....

Rainbow Cake

2009-10-08T23:29:00.002-05:00

Not one of the birthday girls, but enjoying a candle nonetheless.

And I forgot to mention one of the big activities we did during September. We went to the Extreme Makeover Home Edition Reveal in a nearby town. And we discovered why they cheer so enthusiastically at when the family finally arrives - it's because everyone's been standing there in the blazing sun for at least 5 hours because the reveal happened 2 hours later than the latest time they said it would happen because the director didn't like how the sun was shining on things (only we didn't find this out until we got home all scorched and lobstery) and they're cheering because they're JUST SO GLAD IT'S FINALLY OVER..! (Ask me how I know this. My skin is tan now but only on the side that was facing the sun for 5 hours.) We're looking forward to seeing if we made it on TV. :)

September in a nutshell

2009-10-07T23:36:00.000-05:00

I'm noticing a trend on my blog. If I remember correctly, the past few years have shown that I don't blog during September. I don't know what it is about September - the start of school, the wrap up of other summer things, whatever - but I just can't seem to get it together to blog during that month.

So here I am, once again recapping all that went on in September.

We went to a concert in the park - the Writer's favorite group, downhere, was playing. I have to admit, they have really good lyrics. And it was fun. :) The park was in a town about an hour from here. We made a day of it, and even the baby had a good time (well, she never fussed, anyway!).

Our houseguests moved out. They were nice to have around, but it has been nice learning to live in this house by ourselves.

We started school. C is in 2nd/3rd grade, A is somewhere between K and 1st. Homeschooling is always interesting, especially when your "curriculum" consists of hand-me-downs and photocopies from other people, or whatever you can dredge up free online. *sigh* That, and my kids don't fall into a clear cut grade level. Half the stuff they say is for 6-year-olds is too easy for A, and it's the same for C. I am putting together my yearly list of "wants" and hopefully we'll have it all in time to finish it by the beginning of next summer.

We threw our first house party. It was a potluck and a lot of people came. I've HEARD everyone had a good time. Being hostess, I feel like I really didn't get to talk to many people, but I sincerely hope everyone went home well-fed!

We went to one, *1* homeschool co-op school session at our church. I'm trying to fit that in, but I'm not being very successful at the moment. The girls *LOVED* it, so I'm hoping we'll be able to go every week.

And then last weekend, I baked for all day Friday for the Saturday bake sale, baked all day Saturday for the baby shower we threw my sister on Sunday, and put together a beauty of a birthday cake for C & A on Monday (rainbow! 6 colors! in layers! and fully frosted and decorated!). Normally, they each get their own cake on their birthdays (C on the 4th, A on the 5th), but I was EXHAUSTED from the previous 3 days, so we worked together to create one really nice cake. And they totally love it. Thrilled to pieces with it. I thought they'd be disappointed at having to share a cake, but they couldn't be happier about it. I'm not sure they'll let me do it again next year....but at least they're happy this year!

So. We've been busy. And when my back stops killing me (who knew bending to pick up a bar of soap could result in such pain and immobility?! I'm way too young for this kind of nonsense!!), I'll crawl upstairs and upload the pictures from my computer and post a few. Maybe. I'd really like to show off that rainbow cake. :)

And we're walking...

2009-08-27T18:55:00.002-05:00

First Piggies

2009-08-13T11:13:00.001-05:00

The Rare Holstein CAT

2009-08-12T15:21:00.005-05:00

C, whispering: "Mommy, do you like the kitty I drew?"

Me, whispering back, since we were at Bible study: "Oh, yes, it's very nice. ... Um...what's that under the kitty?" pointing at what looks decidedly like a cow's udder.

C, whispering: "Oh, well, it's a FEmale cat, Mommy."

(choke, choke, hardy har har har, snort, choke!!)(Mommy trying hard to stifle the laughter.)

........aaaaaaaaand we're moved.

2009-08-08T13:14:00.007-05:00

Out with the mold...

...in the bedrooms... (this was under our bed - the wood planks were U-shaped all winter because of the water condensing on the floor)... ...in the living room....(serious condensation issues in this room - as in, that's not dirt or dust you see - it's water damage...)(ok, except for the square in the middle - that's carpet rub on the wood floor) ...in the dining room... (anywhere we had a piece of furniture, the wall molded) ...in the kitchen...
...and in with the new (oh, how sweet it is!)...
We're still working on unpacking, hence the super-sparse look. I'm sure it will fill up eventually....although...it sure is easy to keep clean when it's this empty...

Sniff

2009-07-24T13:35:00.001-05:00

For the first time since this move began, I actually got a little teary about leaving this place for good.

.
.
.
*Ahem.* OK. Enough of that. Back to packing.

One

2009-07-15T16:32:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday!!

She can't possibly be old enough for this already.

2009-07-04T07:57:00.002-05:00

NINE WHOLE YEARS

2009-07-02T10:34:00.000-05:00

...and from the getgo, they've all been...

...interesting.

I love you, my TLA.

Morning Walk: 6AM

2009-06-29T11:45:00.000-05:00

Inside THE HOUSE

2009-06-24T11:42:00.004-05:00

It's funny the things that are making me happy about this house! For one, I'll have a utility sink. I've always wanted a utility sink (happy sigh).

For another, I'll have cabinet space in my kitchen. This is more exciting than you could possibly know! And this picture is showing LESS THAN HALF of the cupboards I'll have!

WE'LL HAVE A BATHTUB THAT'S BIG ENOUGH FOR AN ADULT TO SOAK IN!!!!! I've never been a "bath" person, but this tub might change my mind about that!

The living room is 15 feet wide and 25 feet long (give an inch or two - my tape measure wasn't quite long enough to be totally accurate). Are you KIDDING ME??? That's about TWICE what I've had for the last 8 years! ....And to be honest, it's a little intimidating. I don't have nearly enough furniture to fill this room....but then, all the wide open space might be reeeally, reeeally nice!

Eleven Months Old

2009-06-15T18:51:00.001-05:00

Hey, baby girl! You're eleven months old today! Let's take some pictures.

Would you like to hold your dolly in some of the pictures? C'mon...hold the dolly....

...y'know, you look a lot better when you're sitting up by those pillows.

OK....but now you need to smile. Can you give me a smile? KootcheekootcheKOOOOoooo....

.......That's not a smile.

There we go! That's gorgeous! Let's see if we can do it again.

Hey! You were supposed to stay by the pillows for the second take!

I'm serious. I think I need to take another picture of you smiling. Would you please go back to that spot by the pillows?

WHOA! Hey! NO TOUCHY the camera!

.........Hi.

Our New House - WHOOOOOPEEEEEEE!!!

2009-06-10T20:40:00.004-05:00

Isn't it nice?!

OK. The yard...it doesn't look so good. But this picture was taken a year ago by my hubs before the landscaper had been by to grade the yard and plant the grass.

So here's the story.... a couple years back, my sweet hubby was hired to build the porch you're looking at. One thing led to another, and he ended up laying the floors (hardwood and tile), building/putting in the kitchen cabinetry (granite countertops!!), doing tile work in the bathrooms, and then basically finishing the house. There are tiny things left to do, but for the most part, it's finished.

And the house has stood empty this entire time.

Meanwhile, we were living in a petri dish. I don't know what it was about the last couple of winters, but the mold in our house literally seemed to have EXPLODED. It was absolutely everywhere. I prayed and prayed and prayed. I wanted OUT OF HERE.

And finally, this spring, my hubs came to the same conclusion - we just couldn't live in our house anymore. Hubby said that he thought we should move out of our old house by August. Then we found out that our landlord's daughter wanted to buy our house from her dad. We said, "But the mold, the rotten floors, the rotten roof, the failing foundation." He said, "I know, I know. They're just talking. I'm not telling you to move."

So we (I) started actively looking for a house. And we found out just how REALLY, REALLY expensive homes are in our little town. Ridiculously expensive. Way out of our league expensive. We did some research on buying a house and discovered....we could only afford to buy a place that was in even worse condition than our current house, and aside from that, we just didn't have any peace about buying at this time. So we looked for affordable, DECENT rental places in Mahomet....and found none. The houses we found that we could afford to rent were...well, just as bad as the house we were currently living in. If we wanted to get rid of our cat and dog, have no yard, live in an apartment that was smaller than our current house....yes, we could probably have found something like that in town. But we didn't want to do that. So we kept on looking, and praying for God to show us the house He had for us. We kept looking and praying and praying and looking... and feeling generally very discouraged.

Very discouraged. At least, I was. And a little desperate.

So, after much praying, (have I mentioned that we prayed about this a lot?) hubs gently broached the subject of renting that nice house from the lady who owned it. She'd been a little worried about it sitting empty, but she didn't really want to have tenants to take care of way out where the house is. So, we kept praying while she thought it over.

My sweet husband was pretty sure, considering the VERY NICE materials that are on the interior, etc, that the house would be waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too expensive for us to rent it, if she thought renting it out was a good idea. So we continued to pray, and he set before the Lord a certain price that we said, if she wants more than that, we know that its NOT the house for us. The price we set was...ridiculously low. Within a couple of days, she got back to us. Yes, she would LOVE to rent US the house....she was relieved that someone would be living there, and that she could trust them to take care of it, and, oh, she supposed she would rent it for....and the price was $50 LESS than the ridiculously low price we'd set before the Lord. And she said even that price was negotiable - if any work gets done on the house, it goes toward the rent.

So we agreed to rent the house. We believe that it's God's provision for us. We are very much at peace with it. Every "but" we've come up with has been met with a peaceful answer.

On Saturday, we came home to a note on our door telling us that the daughter was planning to close on the sale of our house August 1st.

And today, we made it final with the landlady, went and looked for a fridge and a dishwasher (she's supplying, but wanted us to pick something we'd like), and that's....it. We're going to move. And we get to move into a PALACE.

The one sacrifice we make in moving to this house is that we move out of our current little town. The house is 15 minutes to the west-ish from here, in another little town. It's two blocks behind my step-sister's house, so my girls are already planning how they'll play with their two cousins that live there. It will be an adjustment, but both of us, my hubs and me, think it will be a really good opportunity to begin to live deliberately, instead of just letting life take us where it will as we have been for the last 8 years.

We are going to start moving all our non-essential stuff in the next couple of weeks, and we plan to move officially after the beginning of July.

I am so excited!!!!!!!!

Today's the day.

2009-06-10T09:16:00.002-05:00

Today, Lord willing, we will have finalized our new living arrangements.

A house.

A nice house.

A really, really, REALLY nice house.

OK, maybe it's just a normal house. I don't know. It seems really, really, REALLY nice compared to where we are living now.

But today we'll know for sure if we get to live there, and when.

I am so excited.

And really nervous.

But mostly excited.

Panda wuvs her Deetdah

2009-06-09T12:05:00.000-05:00

I think Deetdah wuvs her just a little bit, too.

Feeling nostalgic...

2009-05-21T22:26:00.004-05:00

...and we haven't even moved yet. Soon, though, I think....very soon....

**Addendum: May 22 - Have we found a place? We've been looking...A LOT...but have nothing that's final. But we know we're moving this summer. And with all the planning to move (not IF, but WHEN), I'm suddenly finding myself feeling all kinds of fondness for certain things about where we live. NOT tooo many things about the actual HOUSE, per se... but the big yard, the windows at the head of our bed (and mostly, the little ones that have gotten such a thrill crawling around on our bed looking out them), how close we live to all of our friends and most of our family... I guess I am feeling for the familiarity of it all. I'm not big on change, and there's been a lot of change in the last 12 months.

Just in case you were wondering...

2009-05-21T20:04:00.000-05:00

...she really likes her Oreos. (And this from a child who is still completely dependant upon nursing for nourishment because she refuses to eat food!)

Waboowaboo

2009-05-07T11:32:00.001-05:00

Chattin' it up with the baby in the video monitor...

Bread

2009-05-03T23:50:00.005-05:00

This is for you, B. Because you shouldn't be intimidated to make such a yummy and practical baked good. (Can you say that? or is it always "baked goodS"?) I decided to NOT take the time to fix all the colors and darkness in the pictures, because, well, I have a life, and I was feeling lazy and tired. And besides, when I made this bread, I didn't remember I needed to bake until it was practically bedtime (ok, the girls' bedtime) and it WAS sorta dark outside. So, they're realistic. Whatever. :)

First of all, gather up all your ingredients and get them in your mixing bowl. I gave you the benefit of the doubt that you could measure flour, etc, and put it in a bowl, so I didn't take any pictures of that part. Besides, knowing me, I'd forget how much of what I'd put in and I'd end up mixing brick mortar instead of bread, so it was better I didn't try to photograph that part anyway.

After your stuff's all in the bowl, mix it together. (duh, i know.)

here it is getting all mixy-mixy. because I make a double batch, the dough tends to like to climb up and out of the bowl. i live dangerously and just grab the end of it as it whips past my fingers and shove it back down in the bowl. be careful, though - i have about broken my fingers but good on the disky part of the dough hook. wowie, did that hurt.

and just so you know, there's waaay too much typing to do in this post for me to be bothered with things like capital letters. i'll just use them for emphasis whenever, ifever, i need anY.
ok, so you've mixed the dough (i think i told you to do it for about 10 minutes. if i didn't, mix it for about 10 minutes.) then i take the dough hook off my mixer and sort of wad the dough into a ball.
there. dough wadded into a ball. note: i did NOT remove the dough from the bowl. that would be way too much work.
then i spray the dough with some fakey butter-flavored cooking spray (because it's what i have, that's why)...

... and i cover it with plastic wrap...

...and i set the whole thing into my slightly warmed oven. (by slightly warmed i mean, turn it on to 350 for about 3 minutes, then shut it off and put your dough bowl in).

then i set my timer for 45 minutes...

...and when i come back, my dough looks like this. nifty, huh?

then i put the bowl back on my mixer, put the dough hook back on, and give the dough a good beating...

...until it looks all deflated, like this:

and then I pat it back into a ball like i did before, spray it, cover it, put it back in my still-slightly-warm oven, and set the timer for 30 minutes to let it rise again.
oops. one minute had already gone by when i snapped the picture. you'll just have to forgive me.
and now it's risen again.

ooo, see? it's risen up much higher this time.

be sure you take a moment to enjoy the baby who's been cheesin' it on the floor next to you for quite some time by this point.

enough baby enjoyin'. go sprinkle your counter with some flour...
...AND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THIS WHOLE PROCESS, get the dough out of the mixing bowl.
see? no more dough in the bowl. :)
now, knead it a few times and shape it into a loaf. it will be very large.
(the large loaf). cut that large loaf in half. you're baking two loaves of bread here. although.....you could wrap up one of the halves and put it in your freezer to bake at a later date.... i never do that, though. i only just now thought of it, and it seemed like a good idea, so i thought i'd put it in for good measure.
form the halfadoughball into a new, smaller loaf...
and plunk it into one of two greased bread pans. (yes, i sprayed them. don't you get it by now that i'm totally into spraying???) :)

after you've plunked the dough into a pan, give it a good shove and a pat or two to get it to actually fill in the pan.
yes, like this.see, now, doesn't that look nice? i like to sorta tuck the ends down a little so that the ends of the loaf end up shorter than the middle when it's all said and done.
and yes, you have to do it to both loaves. unless you're going to freeze one. and then you don't.
spray them again......and cover them with the same piece of plastic wrap you've been using this whole time. i just had to say that, so you wouldn't think i'm just a plastic wrap junkie and have been ripping myself new pieces for every covering we've done during this baking session.

then, turn on your oven to 350. my oven takes .... forever....to heat up. at least, it seems that way. but you need to wait until it's up to temp, or 20 minutes or so, before you can put your bread in anyway, so i guess it doesn't matter. (it's really late at night for me, so please forgive any babbling, real or perceived.) (thank you very much.)
oh, looky. it's been about 20 minutes, and the oven is hot.... and the bread loaves have risen.
they should be about... ...before you gently place them in the oven and let them bake for.. oh, 25-35 minutes, depending on your oven. you won't actually know how much time to need to bake them until you make bread for the first time and either under- or over-bake your loaves. then you'll know. :) for your first time, always err on the lesser time. take them out of the oven, promptly dump them out of the pans onto a lovely cooling rack and let them sit for a little. i like to wrap my loaves in CLEAN dish towels and a plastic bag to "steam" them as they cool - they don't get as dried out that way. if you have any left by the time they're cool, bag and put in the fridge. these don't have all those wonderful preservatives in them, so they will spoil (aka, mold like crazy...unless that's just my house...) if you don't keep them someplace cold. i usually put one in the freezer while we're eating the other one.

and that's it! if you can't make bread now, then i have totally wasted about 3 hours taking pictures and uploading them, and getting them to be in the right order on blogger (picture cameron frye again), and i'm not fit to be called your older sister who knows almost absolutely everything and is totally amazing in just about every way.

what? it could happen.

Patpatpat...

2009-04-23T18:21:00.001-05:00

One of the sweetest sounds in the world...

30

2009-04-20T17:41:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to the most handsome, most wonderful, most incredibly expressive, goofy guy I know.
I love you!

Just Say NO, kids. Just say no.

2009-03-28T22:48:00.000-05:00

First Weekend of the Month Visitation. Crime? Nursing without a license.

I'm innocent, I tell ya.

No, really - I didn't do it.

Where you goin'?? You gotta get me outta here!!

MOLD

2009-03-25T23:24:00.000-05:00

- has made me clean places I've never thought to clean, like the inside of my dresser. Yes, the drawers, too, but I'm talking about INside, where the drawers live.

- has eaten up my time with dozens and dozens of extra loads of washing - washing I wouldn't normally be doing, because who decides they just need to wash *all* of the sheets and towels, summer and winter clothes, in the whole house, all at once?

- has caused me to throw away an untold number of items - sheets, towels, shirts, shelving units...

- has forced me to go through all the things I had tucked away in my closet, all the the clothing that I had hoped to someday fit back into, and get rid of nearly all of it. (that's been hard.)

- has meant that for the last 2 weeks, my living room has looked like a chinese laundry, only messier.

- has brought my husband to the conclusion that we just can't live in our house anymore.

More Giggles

2009-03-11T12:42:00.001-05:00

Giggles

2009-03-11T12:36:00.001-05:00

Happiness is a bath

2009-03-03T15:27:00.003-06:00

She wasn't happy...

2009-02-18T14:43:00.000-06:00

...until she was sitting at the table "doing school", too.

(sigh).

Tooth tooth number two! (shoomp!!)

2009-02-09T11:58:00.000-06:00

It's official! We knew it would be soon, and I thought I could see a corner of it yesterday, but today, there's no doubt. Tooth number two is in!

LOOKYLOOKYLOOKY!!!!!

2009-02-06T11:17:00.003-06:00

Remember this post?

Look what came via UPS yesterday!!!!!!!!!My hubby bought me a tax write-off! Whoopeeeeeee!! :)

Tooth tooth number one! (shoomp!!)

2009-01-31T20:43:00.002-06:00

OK, so if my sisters are on the ball, they'll get that the title is .... well, spawned from something else. (you guys better get it) :)

August 26, 2008 - 6 weeks old

And what I mean by it is Baby M cut her first tooth! Bottom center left came through today, and bcR is not far behind. She's a couple weeks older than her sisters were when they cut their teeth, and quite a bit fussier than I remember either of them being. Naps have been few and short the last week or so, and there's been much whimpering, roaring, out-and-out SCREECHING going on here. She's weeping for her daddy as I write. Rather, she's weeping because of her dad - he's holding her right now, but these days, nobody but Mommy will do for her.

January 15, 2009 - 6 months old

She's started saying "mamamamama", "nanananana", and she looked right at her dad yesterday and said, "dadada," and reached her hands toward him.

Yesterday. Willing to chew on ANYTHING at that point. My lunch used to be on that plate.

These kids. They just grow up way too fast.

Hi!

2009-01-30T11:30:00.003-06:00

I posted last week, and waited by my email to see if anyone would comment about my returnedness...and didn't get a single notification. I thought, "Wow, I've been gone so long, my blog died all by itself!"...until I looked back at my actual post and saw that I had two comments.

???

See, while we were busy driving the Writer to and fro, someone else got busy and stole my debit card number, email, etc., and started some...waaaaaaaaaaaay less than desirable web subscriptions for me. And while we got that resolved right away (Thank the LORD I thought to look at my online checking account - we caught it before $100 had been stolen, and we got all our money back), it required cancelling our debit cards and getting new ones, and when the nasty/disgusting/make-me-shriek-and-cover-the-computer screen-while-I-delete-them emails kept on coming, courtesy of those subscriptions I was purchased, we had to change our email address, too. Do you have any idea how many places you give your email address to, and how many places you have to go and change it, when you've had that address for 4+ years? A LOT. And while I got it changed for my log in to Blogger, I forgot/didn't realize that I had to go someplace else to be notified that someone had left a comment on my post.

So, thanks for coming by to check on me! It's nice to know that someone out there still stops by once in a while!

Getting back to normal.

2009-01-21T17:20:00.001-06:00

So. It's been a while. And I would be tempted to continue on in my non-posting ways if it wasn't for a couple of people HOUNDING me (aroooooo) to post something. So, to satisfy them, and to get me out of a postless slump... here's a mini re-cap of the last 6 months.

Baby M was born in July, six days after the Writer did this to his van:He came away with just a scratch on his shoulder, and we were thankful that nothing worse happened. (I kept thinking, “OH MY GOODNESS, I could have been a widow. I’m overdue with baby #3, and I COULD HAVE BEEN A WIDOW!!!!” *faints*)

But, doing that to his van resulted in certain fines, which resulted in a suspended license, which resulted in ME driving my husband around to work from the end of September until the end of December. That was fun – I enjoyed the extra time I got to spend with him, BUT… it made for one crazy daytime schedule, especially with a having a new baby, doing the Keeping In Touch, and trying to homeschool C. And not to leave A out, I was "schooling" her, too. In my mom's van, because our car broke down a week before we were notified that the Writer's license was suspended. (Thank you, Dad and Mom, for the van. It would have been a NIGHTMARE to spend those 3 months driving around all day in our little black car!! *shudder*).

And that is why this post is about getting back to normal. Now that I'm not driving my sweetie around all day, and he's back to working every day (the holidays mean that he hangs around the house a lot...not that we MIND or anything, but it changes the flow of the day) (dramatically), we are starting to get back into the swing of a regular, stay-at-home, raise the kids, homeschool-and-do-the-laundry/dishes/dinners kind of life.

I don't mind it one bit. :) Though I do miss the time I got to spend with my guy.

3 months old

2008-10-18T14:54:00.002-05:00

Conversation between sisters

2008-10-18T11:29:00.000-05:00

So.

I keep trying to upload this video of M talking to A, but...several tries on several different days has yielded...nothing. It won't load.

M is "talking" now, and her favorite person to converse with is A. It's so cute! They sit face to face and gooo and gaaahh at each other (until I tell A to stop - M is cute, but it gets old when the 5-year-old goes on and on and on and on and on and on...)
A "reading" to M.

Kidspeak

2008-09-23T21:37:00.002-05:00

Overheard from my children today:

Oldest Daughter to Middle Daughter: “Stop arguing with me! You’re just being contentierary!”

***

Me to Middle Daughter about Baby: “Is she smiling?”

Middle D: “No, she’s just talking and breathing at me.”

!

Sometimes they're just too, too funny.

Isn't she CUTE??!

2008-08-29T16:38:00.001-05:00

Like I said, I think of nothing but my baby... :)

Excuses

2008-08-27T22:39:00.000-05:00

Everything, for me, at least, has been baby-baby-baby around here this summer, what with getting ready for her birth all of June, having and recovering from having her all of July, and figuring out how to function now that she's here. My days have revolved around diapers, and nursing, and naps (or in this case, NO naps - it's been interesting!) and trying to keep up my house and my OTHER children in between. I feel like my brain is only working at half capacity most of the time, and quite often just stringing together a few words to make even the simplest of sentences is a lot of work!

Where was I going with that? Nowhere. I just signed on to post more pictures of my littlest sweetie, because, you know, that's all I think about, and I needed to justify my being obsessed with my baby. And give a reason for why I don't write more on these posts. I'm busy! or at least, preoccupied. And my brain is numb.

And now that I've written all of that (actually, it was written HOURS and HOURS ago, but like I said, diapers, naps/no naps, other kids, nursing, etc, all got in the middle...oh, and a husband and dinnertime, too), I'm not actually going to post any pictures because it's late and I need to sleep while I can (a.k.a. sleeping when the baby sleeps).

:)

She smiles!

2008-08-08T20:03:00.004-05:00

I've been both happy and sad to see the development of this baby. While it's thrilling to see her start to focus and recognize people, it also seems like time is going by too fast. I mean, in a week, she'll be a month old already! That being said, I was more than happy to see her smile at the ripe old age of 3 1/2 weeks. :)

Kung Fu Kid

2008-07-31T13:40:00.003-05:00

haaaaaaaiiiya!

JUST KIDDING!

Our Newest Sweet Pea

2008-07-18T19:51:00.001-05:00

Our newest little sweetie...

...getting cuddled by Daddy...

...the old baby loving on the new baby...

...and another tooth bites the dust...

2008-07-09T16:07:00.004-05:00

Lovely!

2008-06-11T13:06:00.001-05:00

The first rose off the bushes I bought on clearance last fall. I wasn't sure they'd make through the winter, but I now have hope that we will have a porchful of climbing beauties in the near future!

A Little Announcement...

2008-06-11T07:51:00.004-05:00

...no, we haven't had the baby yet, though it's getting close enough that I wouldn't mind!
No, actually, it's wedding bells we hear ringing, not a baby's cry. These two announced on Sunday what God has done and is doing for THEM, and so we are looking forward to another, different kind of "blessed event" in the near future!
We love you!

Question of the Day

2008-05-28T12:21:00.003-05:00

"Mommy, will you feel it when they cut the extension cord between you and the baby when it's born?"

AND THE SHEEP HAS BEEN SHORN!!!!!

2008-05-16T15:27:00.001-05:00

April 28... (it was the most recent "before" picture I had)
Today...He doesn't look totally thrilled, but really, it was his idea!!
...and I do give a good buzz cut, if I say so myself...
(hee hee hee!!!)

Stupid Dog Tricks

2008-05-16T15:18:00.002-05:00

What we do to keep our kids from being bored...

He is SO dumb.

2008-05-08T15:43:00.007-05:00

This is the scene that greeted my eyes Sunday morning when I went to put the cat out.
He'd only been out about an hour - hopefully he hadn't been in this position that long.

Notice how the swing is pulled to one side - he didn't bark to let us know he was in trouble because he was being strangled by his own collar. HE IS SO DUMB.

We had to take his collar off - the lead was so tight, Oldest Daughter couldn't undo the hook.

HOW he managed to get himself stuck in the swing I can only guess. Oldest Daughter wasn't quite strong enough to lift his hind legs over the swing, so I had to haul myself out there to help (I was still in my jammies, or it wouldn't have been a big deal). He laid on the back step quite subdued the whole rest of the morning.

Sigh.

2008-05-08T15:33:00.002-05:00

Take the Quiz here!

She's very nice, but not very exciting, I guess... I tried to get the Writer to answer the questions about me, since I don't think I see myself as I really am, but he was reading a book, and not feeling terribly helpful at the moment. I was HOPING I'd turn out more like Jennifer Ehle's Elizabeth Bennett - witty and spunky and cute. Oh, well. :) And having the best description for "my kind of beauty" be the answer that said "characterized by bright eyes and good teeth" isn't very encouraging - for some reason, that sounds more like someone was looking over a horse, not a lady...

Sometimes....

2008-04-25T11:56:00.000-05:00

...you have to make a mess to clean one.

Much better. One room down, six more to go. And about 10 weeks to do it all in. When you're 7 months pregnant, 10 weeks doesn't seem like quite enough time to slog through everything.

Oh...My.

2008-04-18T09:17:00.003-05:00

I came out of the girls' bedroom from putting them to bed last night to discover the back end of my house was on fire. Well, not really, but the BRIGHT orange light coming through my kitchen windows was a tad alarming, until I saw that it was just my dear husband finally home for the evening, burning all the brush he'd raked up earlier in the day.

We had a lovely fireside chat, said goodbye to our old back door (good riddance, too - see the smoke coming through those cracks? In the winter, they allowed LARGE ice formations to build up on the door), ate some ice cream together, and enjoyed the night. The dog snuck off while we were blinded by the firelight, so hubby left to drive around town to see if he could find the mutt. I went to bed. He didn't find said mutt.

Around 2:00, I woke up because a dog was barking. A dog is barking. OH. THE DOG is barking, and I went to let the naughty hairball in. (He's currently grounded, tied to his lead in the back yard. Normally, he gets to go in the truck with my DH, but he's being punished for being such a sneaky snake last night.)

Youngest daughter woke me up around 4:00, but since I wasn't in the mood to let her wiggle next to me for the next half hour at least, I took her and put her back to bed. I had just gotten back to sleep when it seemed like something catastrophic was happening. I woke up, thought the dog was scratching and thumping, realized he wouldn't make my bedroom move, thought one of the girls was running out of bed, realized they weren't, thought a truck was going by, realized there was no traffic, thought the house might have been hit by a car, realized that wouldn't have continued beyond any potential impact, thought maybe the gas main was exploding, wondered if the chimney had decided to finally fall all the way down just then, thought my husband was having a violent dream, except it seemed to be affecting the livingroom too.... and then I WHAPPED him and about hollered, "HONEY!! The whole house is shaking!!!" - all in about a millisecond. He woke up right away and got up to check things out. By this time most of the shaking had stopped, so he sort of wandered through the place and came back saying that it must have been the wind (couldn't have been a stiller night), or that I must have been imagining it. I told him I'd heard the china rattling in the diningroom, and then he said, "Oh, it was probably just the house settling."

A real comforting thought, that.

I told him if the house "settles" like that again, I'm going to insist we not spend the rest of the night in it. (We live in an OLD house, the foundation of which looks less and less supportive by the day - I don't think it's even holding up the east wall of the livingroom anymore...) I remembered that Illinois sits on a fault line, and asked if it might have been an earthquake, then spent the next hour WIDE AWAKE HOPING that it had been an earthquake and that it really wasn't just our house "settling." I was very glad to turn on the news at 6:00 and see that it indeed had been an earthquake and it wasn't just some anomaly specific to our house.

I'm a little tired this morning. I'm hoping for a totally uneventful day consisting of nothing more exciting than some dish washing, laundry, a little reading class for eldest daughter, a trip to the farm to water my plants, and a nice afternoon nap. If my kids cooperate, I might get one or two of these things done today. :)

Queen for a moment...

2008-04-16T11:28:00.000-05:00

Last week was...different. We had spent the weekend at the home of some friends, and though THEY were incredibly busy all weekend, I got to relax. I didn't cook. I didn't clean. I was told emphatically to stop even rinsing the dishes for the dishwasher. I didn't even really watch my children. They were there, but so engrossed with playing (NICELY!) with the children of the house that I did little more than get them dressed in the morning, and put them to bed at night. I felt like I was Queen for the Weekend.

And things continued to be different when we got home. I felt refreshed from the weekend, if not totally rested. Things at home were...peaceful. Taking care of my own house didn't seem like such a chore. Parenting my children was actually pleasant, and not just work.

And then came Friday, but even in that day, things were "different." The girls were outside playing when I heard one of them scream, but this was not unusual as I often have to tell my children not to scream when they are playing in the yard. I hauled my pregnant self up out of the computer chair to remind them of this once again, and found my eldest writhing around on the ground some distance behind the swingset. It took a second to register that the strange sound she was making wasn't laughter. I called her to me (she's a bit dramatic, so even a paper cut is nigh unto an amputation coming from her), not sure if she had knocked the wind out of herself ("I can't BREATHE!" she hollered), or hurt her leg, (I can't WALK!" - as she walked toward me) and finally got her to tell me what was really wrong with her - "I can't move my arm" - which was hanging rather limply by her side. My heart sank. A few seconds of checking her out, and I knew right away what the problem was.

And I didn't freak out. We iced her wrist, splinted and wrapped it up. I was a tad stressed, so we went and bought lunch, then we all laid down for a (very short) nap. X-rays showed a nice crack right across the big bone on the inside of her wrist, so the Dr. gave us a "real" splint to wear until the swelling went down. Yesterday we got a very fashionable plaster cast in her current favorite color.
You shouldn't hesitate when trying to jump out of a swing you have just been swinging in as hard as you can. The swing will have its revenge - in this case, by sending her flying through the air on the BACKswing. Let's just say she won't be trying THAT again for at least the next 3 weeks.

I feel lost....

2008-03-20T11:41:00.000-05:00

I like reading blogs. I especially like reading blogs with pictures. And, unfortunately for me, I like posting with pictures. This is unfortunate because I don't own a camera. Those other pictures on my blog? Those were taken with a borrowed camera, but the owner of the camera asked for it back a few weeks ago. And since the owner of the camera doesn't live in my house, and technically the camera is for WORK and not play, I don't feel like I can ask for it to take pictures so I can blog (which I am SURE they'd think is a collosal waste of time anyway). Y'know. So... I'm thinking I'll save up (somehow) for my own camera. I'd like one like the borrowed camera (which I happened to research and recommmend to the owner as the one they should buy, so I know it really is the one I want). And if the Lord tarries, and my computer work continues at approximately the same pace as it has been... I might be able to afford it in about 2 years. (sigh) Maybe my husband will have mercy and meet me halfway.

Tagged

2008-02-20T19:40:00.003-06:00

Here are the rules:
: Link to the person that tagged you.:
: Post the rules on your blog.:
: Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.:
: Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.:
: Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

1. I am doing this to humor An Old Fashioned Girl. :)

2. I dislike spiders very much, but not as much as my children because I can actually squish them (the spiders, not my children!) with a thick layer of kleenex, whereas they just run screaming.

3. I REALLY LIKE small pretty things. Like these...
Cute pin cushions...

Fluffy, bright colored purses...

Frilly flower pins...

White picket fences... trellises... flowers... small houses in pretty colors...

4. I really like flowers...and though I grow them for the farm, I don't really know how to take care of the plants they grow on. I just plant and hope like crazy they all live. This is why you rarely see flowers growing at my house. I think it might have something to do with watering...

5. I am a terrible procrastinator. This applies to just about everything. :(

6. I like to vacuum. I do not like to wash dishes.

There. And NOT in the spirit of this sort of post, I shan't be tagging anyone.
Besides, I'm not sure I actually know six other people who haven't already been tagged by this anyway. :)

And by the way, I am 20 weeks through my pregnancy today. That's half way!! :)

The Wedding we ALL were waiting for!

2008-01-28T10:27:00.001-06:00

Getting ready...
Men in waiting...
Bridal flowers...
Almost ready...
Mom and Sister bouquets...
Some of the musicians...
Wedding cakes made to order...
Waiting to start...
Communion will happen...
Getting a little more ready...
One last moment of sisterly love before walking down the aisle...
HERE SHE COMES!!!
The Groom's face for most of the day...
Exchanging vows...
Exchanging rings...
Communion...
Hmm? What could they be doing here??? :)
Mr. & Mrs. Happily Ever After
Dining tables...
The Bridal Table...
What we allll felt like doing towards the end!
What a lovely day it was...

Home Sweet Home

New Items in my Etsy Shop

For posterity...

The birth story. Kinda.

August. and a Boy.

August or September? Boy or Girl?

Conversation

*Sigh* :-)

Something "new", Day 3

Trying something "new"

Life and stuff

Some songs...

Shhhh.....it's snowing.

Necessity is the Mother of Invention.

A Few More Quick Takes

Annual Portrait Attempt #2

Say Cheese! Please?

Annual Portait Attempt #1

7 Quick Takes

Clothing Aspirations (or inspirations, whichever!)

Roses from my garden

Two

Someone left a gift...

Ten

In which she builds things.

Happy Father's Day

Out of the Mouths of Babes...

Heart and Soul

Pretties in my living room

Sumpthin's wrong with this picture...

It's hard to post when you're feeling discouraged.

Do You Have Sparkle?

Jumping for the Moon

This just won't do.

Downed...but not out.

Frosty Morning

Happiness...

Slowing Down...

Cutie Pies

Water

Winter, Inside and Out

Baby Steps

Scary

rrrrRRRRAAAAAAaaarrrr!

Retrospect

Pictures

Rainbow Cake

September in a nutshell

And we're walking...

First Piggies

The Rare Holstein CAT

........aaaaaaaaand we're moved.

*Sniff*

One

She can't possibly be old enough for this already.

NINE WHOLE YEARS

Morning Walk: 6AM

Inside THE HOUSE

Eleven Months Old

Our New House - WHOOOOOPEEEEEEE!!!

Today's the day.

Panda wuvs her Deetdah

Feeling nostalgic...

Just in case you were wondering...

Waboowaboo

Bread

Patpatpat...

30

Just Say NO, kids. Just say no.

MOLD

More Giggles

Giggles

Happiness is a bath

She wasn't happy...

Tooth tooth number two! (shoomp!!)

LOOKYLOOKYLOOKY!!!!!

Tooth tooth number one! (shoomp!!)

Hi!

Getting back to normal.

3 months old

Sigh :-)

Sniff