Feb. 24, 2008 - Feeling much better

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Feb. 19, 2008 - Suffering in(for) Christ vs finding a cure for what ails us!!!

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Jan. 25, 2008 - Are You a Glutton? (On Finding Freedom)

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Jan. 17, 2008 - A Personal Argument Against Disposable Diapers and More

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Jan. 9, 2008 - The Business of Being Born

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Jan. 2, 2008 - New Post on my New blog

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Nov. 17, 2007 - New Blog!!!!

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Aug. 22, 2007 - Adventures in Potty Training

Posted in For Your Health

            Well, Pee Pooh has decided he's going to potty train.  Of course, he decided all this the first week of school.  What is it with my boys?  Bud decided that he needed to potty train the week of Christmas (before his 3rd birthday) AND the week we were moving into a home.  Now Pooh decides that he MUST start using the potty the very week we're starting a brand new curriculum and full blown school for two children. 

          This morning was the icing on the cake though.  He did the hardest thing in the potty and he's done it twice.  Talk about throwin' a party.  He seems to be very stimulated to use the potty when his brother in there using it with him.  LOL!!!!  (It's a little gross but I suppose you could call it male bonding.) 

         I have been thinking about all my potty training adventures.  My children are getting to the age now that other mother's will ask me for advice.  I usually tell them NOT to potty train their children.  That usually catches their attention.  Let me explain. 

          My first experience with potty training JB did not go well.  I asked her at about 2 1/2 yod if she wanted to try and use the potty.  She thought about it and said "Yes!!  So we skipped the potty all happy.  Nothing!!  We went through this routine several more days and finally something happened.  That was it.  She was hooked.  But that little girls absolutely refused to use the potty for number 2.  She would wait for her pull up at night and then go.  She was like clockwork though.  Underdog and I took turn changing her each night.  She did this all the way up to 3 1/2 yod when I forced her hand (I was due with baby #3 soon.)  She would not dare poop in her cloth panties.  They were too cute and delicate.  SOOOO, I bought her cloth pants to wear at night.  She went 6 days without going to the potty.  Then one day she announced she had to go.  I was thinking "Yea, right!!"  But she did.  I pulled out the only lollipop that girl has ever had in her life.  I had been saving that thing for months.  She also night trained in the process.  So when it all added up it took her over a year to potty train. 

          I had heard that boys were harder to train so I resolved that just simply was not going to even try to potty train Bud.  Of course, I have already mentioned that he told me he was ready the Christmas before his 3rd birthday (in January.)  It took him about 4 months to completely train.  Somewhere betwen 4 and 5 yod he nighted trained. 

          Schmoo was a little different but still I never purposely trained her.  She told me right after her 2nd birthday that she wanted to use the potty.  She did.  Everything.  On the spot.  I never had to do anything.  Then 3 months later she changed her mind.  I didn't say anything.  I just put her back in diapers and figured this was best.   I was due with a baby soon so it just sort of made things easier.  Two months after Pooh was born she declared she wanted to use the potty and has never turned back.  She is struggling to night train but I think she's just a heavy sleeper.  She asked to be moved to big girl pants and then after too many nights of accidents she  asked to be put back in Pull Ups. 

          I am now we're at Pooh.  I didn't ask him at all.  I did have the potty out and available to him but it wasn't my idea.  In fact, I wanted him to wait because it was the start of school.  But you can't stop God's creation from doing what it was designed to do.  Nor can you put off the timing.  I supposed that's my point in writing tonight.  I see so many mother's worrying about potty training their children.  They want to know how.  They want to know what all the signs to look for.  They make a big deal of it.  I see soooo many mother's who make plans into their scheduel to spend all day at home drinking tons of juice and then running to the potty every hour.  Who's trained in all that?  And I know that it works for those moms.  But I do think this is one of those areas where we simply create more work for ourselves than is needed.  If we are patient, their bodies will tell them it's time.  Now, there may be some incidents where you have an older child that is simply being strong-willed.  I know there are exceptions.  But I think if most moms would simply relax, they will find that their precious little ones will eventually be ready.  And they won't have to work so hard. 

          With all that said, I do want to offer a few potty training tips for those who are in the midst of this adventure. 

1.  DO NOT USE PULL UPS!!!  Yes, yes, I know that I mentioned above that my oldest was in pull ups at night.  There is a time and a place for Pull Ups.  Running errands and grandma's house are the ONLY reason we use Pull Ups.  But those are places that we rarely venture out to (once a week maybe.)  But as soon as we are home I change back into cloth pants.  They can't tell what wet feels like unless they are really wet.  (And phooey on those cool response things that Pull Ups brand is putting out.)  Pooh was confusing the need to potty with having already pottied in his first week.  It took him about 5 days of spending mornings in cloth pants to figure it out. 

2.  Stay Home!!!!  That goes along with number 1. 

3.  Don't be afraid to offer an incentive when they have a success.  But don't use it for very long.  When you begin to see consistent dryness, begin to taper off the incentive.  For our family, the incentive is a jelly for pee and 5 jelly beans for poo.  

4.  If you have a two story house, you need a baby potty for up and down stairs. 

5.  Teach the little boys to sit backward on the potty.  This will get them ready to stand (if they aren't ready for it.) 

6.  Gerber makes thick training pants that are PERFECT for training your child at home.  If you desire, you can even use the plastic pants to put over them.  I have never needed it because the pants absord everything.  Make sure you keep plenty of pants on hand for accidents or plan to do extra washing. 

7.  If it the warm months, encourage your little boys to play outside with a t-shirt and no diaper.  This will help them see and understand what their little part does. 

8.  Make sure you teach your little girls to wipe from front to back.  This is important to keep them from getting an infection.  And it's important that you monitor them through their preschool years.  If a little girls doesn't wipe she will develop something equivalent to a diaper rash.  The acid from the urine will irritate the skin.  Nothing a little diaper cream and consistent wiping won't fix. 

9.  Don't waste your money on the gimicks for potty training.  I have seen the special soaps for children (although the foamy soaps are cool.  Pampered Chef sells sells a soap dispenser that you can add your own soap and it will make foamy soap.  They cost about $9.)  I have even seen toilet paper design to teach them how many squares to use for wiping.  Cottonelle by Kimberly Clark makes these.   The gimicks just simply aren't worth the money.  (Believe me, I know this from experience.  I don't buy them anymore.  I wish I had been wiser with my money in my early days as a mom.) 

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

          Potty training is an adventure.  Despite the fact that I have waited for my middle three to tell me when they are ready, we still have to go through the process of training.  But I do believe I have saved much heartache and time by not trying to persaude them to do something their little minds and bodies weren't ready to do.  And I have had such a joy rejoicing with each one and they take their next step toward being a little more grown up. 

May. 14, 2007 - Needed an Adjustment

Posted in For Your Health

          I wrote last night about my not so great Mother's Day.  I was in serious need of an adjustment. . . .an attitude AND chiropractic.  LOL!!!!  I am so amazed at this wonderful body that God gave us.  Even more so, I am amazed at what can happen when I don't take care of it. 

          I slept for almost 8 hours last night.  My alarm didn't go off this morning.  My dh said when he came to bed last night that Josiah and I were both sleeping.  (That reminds me.  I have read that co-sleeping allows the baby's breathing to regulate with the mommas.  I suppose that Josiah and I proved that right because Underdog said we were both on the same rhythm with our snoring, I mean, breathing last night.)  I had a hard time waking up this morning.  It was very obvious that my body was still working to digest the bad food yesterday. 

          Poor little Josiah is still struggling with a hernia and I guess what is called ileocecal valve syndrome where the valve between the small and larger intestine doesn't completely close.  He spits up mucus, struggles with mild reflux, and spits up a good portion of his milk after he burps.  He's still growing though so we aren't too worried about it right now.   My pediatrician has no problem with me taking him to the chiropractor to fix all this.  I love my ped.  She's awesome.  Josiah currently doesn't have insurance (long story) so having the chiropractor who will adjust him for free until he's one year old is such a blessing and an answer to prayer.  So I decided to take him back this morning and got permission to have myself adjusted. 

          I was achy by the time I got to her this morning.  I told her that I am depressed again and that I ate bad food this weekend.  I asked her about Candida and if she had anything to battle Candida.  She gave me some AWESOME stuff.  She adjusted me and then had me turn over.  She pressed really hard on the small intestines.  Boy, did that hurt.  I asked her what she was doing.  She told me she was making it so my intestines will move things through quicker.  Almost 12 hours later it worked.  I do feel much better.  I took some of the Candida stuff she gave me and that seems be clearing the brain fog out as well.  I am hoping that Josiah will get a little of it through my milk.  I am going to get a bottle of this for my children next month and see if i can kill off some of the candida in their bodies. 

                     I had such a bad attitude last night.  Even a good night's sleep didn't help.  But getting that physical adjustment made all the difference in the world.  I am hoping tomorrow will be an even better day. 

May. 7, 2007 - Why I don't like the Backyardigans!!!!!!!

Posted in For Your Health

          For those of you who might not watch TV or who don't have access to Nickelodeon, there is a cute little show on for preschoolers called the Backyardigans.  The basic plot of the program is that these 4 or 5 little preschool children share a backyard.  They meet in the backyard and go on these great adventures together.  Of course, as they begin to play the screen they are in slowly turns into the location of their next adventure.  So far I have seen them go to the desert and the South Pole. 

          Much to my dismay, my children love this show.  Even my almost 8 and 6 yod love it.  Of course, I think they like to watch it partyly because it's TV and partyly because they still carry within their hearts the innocences of their preschool years (which is really such a blessing.) 

          Two weeks ago, my 6yod ds came to into my craft room and announced that he wished he was on the Backyardigans.  I asked him why he wanted to be on the show and he told me that it was because they get to go on adventures.  "URGH!!!!!" was my first thought.  Ahhh, the magic of adults trying to market toward children.  My disdain for the children's television began to reach it's head. 

          So why don't I like such a cute show like the Backyardigans?  Because it's deceiving to my children.  Up to a certain age, children cannot differentiate between what is reality and what is pretend.  So they really can't understand what the writers of the show were writing intending.  They were simply illustrating that these children meet in the backyard (like many average American child) and they create adventures for themselves.  But when preschoolers particularly watch this show, they don't understand that when that screen changes to a different setting for their adventure, the children are really just pretending to be in that place.  It's supposed to be in the head of the children on the screen.  But any child watching sees them go to different places.  They make their adventures come too much to life. 

          I want my children to live in the real world and act out their own adventures.  I want them to go in the backyard and do just what those little cartoon preschoolers are doing.  But when they watch TV shows they somehow loose the ability to pretend.  We let them watch a little more TV this past weekend.  Saturday and Sunday afternoon we sent them into the backyard.  What did they do?  They sat on the porched and made annoying noises and did nothing.  We finally told them that the porch was off limits and they had to go out on the grass and play.  Still nothing.  The imagination of my children has been sucked out of their hearts and minds. 

          I think this is about to turn into a rant about the TV.  Or at least I wish it could.  When my oldest dd was a baby, my dh and I went on a TV fast for 30 days.  We broke it and watched the superbowl that year and then we turned it off until the Stanley Cup finals (I think that was one of the years the Dallas Stars were in the playoffs.)  Then we turned it off again and it pretty much stayed off. . .until I got pregnant with my 2nd.  We've been through several times where we fasted from the TV but for whatever reason it always comes back on.  Yesterday I had had enough.  I told my dh that I hated the TV.  He told me he loved it (meaning that he loves his sin.)  I told him that I loved it too and that was why I hated it so much.  It distracts me from the things of God.  As we were talking he walked over and unplugged it.  It's a flat screen and it's heavy.  He went to get the cart we use to wheel it off and we put it in the closet.  But I was very blunt with him. . .I want it out of our house.  There is nothing redeeming about that box.  Sure, we watch movies as a family sometime.  But we did that this weekend and it still numbed the brain of my children.  We didn't spent time relating.  And we ended up watching "Facing the Giants" which we all have memorized because we've watched it so much.  I could keep it to be informed about bad weather (you know all those potential tornadoes that could come through here - the news coverage on the weather is really starting to get out of hand.  I am a weather junkie.  I will sit and watch all the stupid coverage until I have worked myself into a panic and have the closet under the stairs cleaned out for our safety.  It just feeds my sinful fear.) 

          The sad thing about putting it away is that we both started to miss it.  We didn't know what to do with ourselves last night.  We've done this before.  It takes a few days to adjust and then we'll be back to reading or spending our time constructively.  But it was really sad to find just how addicted we are to it.  I was also blunt and told my dh that if he wanted to sell it I did care.  It's up to him.  He bought it and I feel that it's his.  I am praying though.  As hard as that sell will be on the whole family, I know that in a year, we really won't miss it.  And we'll be better for getting rid of it. 

          The Backyardigans still exist.  There names are Jenny, Josh, Ally, and Drew (and eventually there will be a Josiah added to the cast.)  My prayer for all this change is that the adventures in my backyard will far surpass any adventure they watched a bunch of preschool cartoons go on. 

Mar. 10, 2007 - Update on our illnesses

Posted in For Your Health

          Just a bit of advice. If you plan to lock your children in a closet or place them in a bubble to prevent them from getting sick, you must do it DAYS before the other children in your family get sick.  LOL!!!  Not two hours after I posted my last blog my oldest dd got sick as well.  And it happened again to me.  I was changing the babies diaper when I looked up and had TWO throwing up in the trash can. . .AT THE SAME TIME!!!  Not only that but they both thought they were done so they got up.  NOPE!!!  BOTH of them got sick all over the floor. . .AT THE SAME TIME!!!!!!!  Talk about a desperate need for grace at that point in time.  LOL!!!  I did manage to clean it up by myself.  It took alot of effort on my part though and tremendous strength from the Lord. 

          I let everyone watch "Cars" to try and pass time until bedtime.  They ended up staying up way later than we planned.  (I think secretly dad and I wanted to finish the movie as well and 7pm was just way too early. hehehe!!!)  After that my dh and I ate dinner together.  About an hour later I got a headache.  I thought maybe it MSG in something that my dh brought home for dinner.  I found out at 5am the next morning that it was , in fact, NOT MSG.  That's right!!!  Mom got sick as well.  I am so thankful that my dh has the ability to work from home if needed.  He took over everything for me.  All he did was bring me the baby to nurse and had me lie down with Drewpy-Pooh (aka: Drew). 

          Drew has been hit the hardest with this bug.  He and I are both still under the weather.  I couldn't figure out what might be wrong with him until about 2 hours ago.  I noticed that my gums were starting to hurt.  Then my head started aching.  Right now my joints are starting to stiffen a bit and I have a headache growing.  I suspect that he probably feels the same way.  I have started him on a natural antibiotic and some of my essential oils to help him.  He had a lot of Sonic ice yesterday (he won't drink or eat much right now) so that helped the dehydration.  He's been a limp noodle all afternoon.  However, I guess he's feeling well enough to start talking again and dad convinced him to go outside and sit in his car while dady pulled weeds.  I am hoping he'll be back to normal by tomorrow morning since my dh will be gone for 4 days this week.   

          The most amazing thing to come out of this is that my 4 yod manage to escape the tummy bug.  This is the child who is ALWAYS the one that gets sick.  She was sickest back in January when we all had the flu (or whatever it was.)  I am so thankful that she was finally spared being the one to be sick.  I have been doing a mild Candida cleanse with her.  Perhaps God is allow her body to get rid of the Candida and builidng her immunity. 

Mar. 8, 2007 - there is nothing worse. . .

Posted in For Your Health

          My toddler has been sick with a tummy bug for two days now.  He threw up all yesterday.  Of course, I don't mind tummy bugs. . .as long as my children can make it to the toilet or trash can (for my dh to clean up later.)  Tummy bugs really stink when it's your toddler that has it.  Right now, he's wrapped in a beach towel watching "Baby Songs".  I have the weakest stomach in the world.  Cleaning up anything that went down as food and comes back up partially digested makes me sick to my stomach.  I even get sick watching my children eat sometimes.  Bleech!!!! 

          My 6 yod has been complaining of a tummy ache all day.  He's been trying to throw up to make himself feel better.  At one point he even lied about throwing up so he didn't have to do his school work.  Finally this afternoon I could tell he was really serious.  I sent him to rest on his bed and read.  He did get sick about an hour ago and I told him to put the books away and rest.  He's going to need it since his brother is running a fever now.  He will be as well.

          I was sitting here typing another blog entry when I heard my toddler cry out.  That is usually his sign that it's coming up OR it's already come up.  Then I heard someone else throw up.  My worst nightmare has come true.  There is nothing worse in this life than having TWO throw up at the same time.  The only positive part of that is that my 6 yod has a trash can. . .which I dutifully emptied so my dh doesn't have to do it tonight.  (But I did it holding my breath and closing my eyes!!!!!!!)   

          I have a list of questions I really want to ask God when we get to heaven (assuming we have time and He lets me.)  One of my questions is why barf (which is a word I can't stand but it's what my dh uses so I really have no choice but to use it.)  I mean, why torture the human race with making us see what we've previously eaten? 

         Ok, I am through, finished, done.  If I talk about this anymore I will get sick myself.  That is the last thing we need.  I need to go scrub my hands thoroughly with my new Bath and Body works vanilla hand soap to see if I can get the smell off from cleaning up my toddler.  Then I must pray that my two girls and newborn will not get sick. After that, I think I will lock the girls in a closet and place my NEWBORN in a bubble until everyone is well.  It's going to be a long rest of the week.