May. 4, 2006
Thursday's random thoughts
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Things must be improving. Iwas able to eat breakfast before noon today. I put Esther in her swing and she actually slept there for a little while. I was able to eat a bagel and a cup of tea. Delicious! Now on my list of things to do today: 1) Go to the bank 2) Go shopping. The girls desperately need some shorts and I want a bouncer seat for Esther 3)Then I plan to have an extensive "How to properly clean the kitchen" session with my girls. They have been a huge help with straightening things up, but they have gotten sloppier and sloppier, so its time to do a bit of retraining. 4) Then I would like to go back over all our school stuff and see how far behind we are and what needs to be done to get back on track. I WILL START BACK FULL FORCE NEXT WEEK!!! Maybe if I say that loud enough I will have to follow through. My sister has been in town this week and that has thrown us off a little bit, but the new baby hasn't helped either, so next week is it! There is a young lady (college age), Hannah, who goes to our church that Ruby just adores. Christian informed me last night that Hannah is leaving for Uganda on Monday and her and Ruby have asked if she can come over on Sunday to play with Ruby. Ruby is thrilled and I think it very sweet that she wanted to spend that time with Ruby, but that means I have to get my house in order!  I was also hoping to take Izzy to the railroad museum to see Thomas The Tank Engine. My dad is working there and said we could go see Thomas without having to pay to ride. There are also all kinds of activities and games to do for free. I guess we can do that after Hannah leaves.On a different note, I believe Esther is a genius! She is already smiling at us and is soo alert. She seems to move her mouth as if she is trying to make sounds. She is so beautiful and I am so inlove! When I nurse her in the middle of the night and listen to her little sighing and swallowing noices it just melts my heart. I tend to wake her up a lot because I can't stop myself from leaning down and kissing her. She is such a squeaky baby. She squeaks all the time. I wish my camera wasn't broken so I could post some pictures (not that I have ever figured out how to resize them). I am reading a really incredible book. Let me first of all say that I am an absolute birth junkie. If you don't care in the slightest about birth, you will probably find this book really boring. The book is Lying In : A History of Childbirth in America by Richard W. Wertz and Dorothy C. Wertz. It is such an interesting book. It talks about the switch between birth at home with midwives to birth with doctors and then primarily in the hospital. How midwives were pushed out of the norm and portrayed as ignorant and dirty. It is much more than that, but that is the gist of it. I am loving this book and having trouble putting it down. Its a great read while nursing. It is incredible some of the stuff that happened during childbirth. It really shows what a blessing and a curse medical technology can be. I was stunned to read some ofthe things that were normal practice. I haven't even gotten into the chapters on legal restrictions to midwives. So far most of it has been the men being thrown into the arena of childbirth because of the money making posibility and the sure way to start a practice. |
Apr. 26, 2006
Life with a newborn!
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8:00 p.m. change and nurse baby go to bed and sleep while baby sleeps 9:15 p.m. nurse baby 11:30p.m. nurse baby 12:45 a.m. nurse baby 1:30 nurse baby and change her 3:00 nurse baby clean up baby puke 4:30 nurse baby and burp REALLY well this time walk baby around and put back to sleep 6:00 nurse and change baby 7:30 get up make a phone call 8:00 nurse, change and dress baby wake up girls and make them get dressed get myself dressed 8:30 go pay a bill 9:30 get home nurse baby and put to sleep in her bed (she actually stayed there for about 45 minutes!!) do some very neglected things around house 10:30 change and nurse baby hold and admire her very awake and interested eyes hold while I try to get some reading done 12:30 nurse and change baby 1:00 put baby in bed long enough to finally eat something 2:00 nurse and take a nap with baby while I have the other girls bribed to straighten up the rest of the house Well, that is about the extent of my days right now. I know this won't last long, but I wish I was able to put her down occasionally and get some other stuff accomplished. I had planned to start back to school after our new baby break this week, but Monday was the only day that Locksley did any school work. I will try again tomorrow. How do you get anything done with a new baby? I have a sling, but I can't really do much house cleaning or cooking with her in it. I can't pull clothes out of the washer, do dishes or bend to pick things up and I can't cook with her in it. I refuse to let a two week old "cry it out", so what do you do? She wants to nurse constantly! I know that she will be past this stage before I know it, but days like today are really frustrating. |
Apr. 13, 2006
Its a Girl!!!!
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That's right apparently
we only make girls, but I don't care! I am in Heaven! Rebecca Esther
Hooker (Esther is what we will call her) was born at 1:09 Tuesday
morning. She was 8lbs 14oz and 21 inches long. So much for that tiny
baby I was expecting. LOL She is doing wonderfully! We had no problems during labor and delivery. My midwife and her apprentice arrived at 9:00p.m. I was at 5cm and handling everything very well at that point. My blood pressure was fine, so I was able to get up. I sat in the kitchen with Debi and Michelle (mw and apprentice) and talked for a few hours while working through contractions. Then around 11:00, Debi suggested I try to lay down and rest for a while. As soon as I laid down the contractions picked up speed and intensity. After about an hour of those and then a long hot bath, she checked me again. I was 7 cm and we decided to break my water. It was 12:54 at that time and she was born at 1:09 after only two pushes. She nursed right away! I am so thrilled that she is nursing so well and is so healthy. She has a full head of black hair. If I can figure out how to resize pictures than I will try to get some posted soon. The only problems I had happened later after we were tucked into bed and everybody was trying to sleep. I woke up not feeling so hot and went to the bathroom. I started bleeding profusely all over the place. I'm talking clots as big as my open hand! It was a bit scary, but I am so thankful that God was watching over us. Normally Debi would have already headed home, but since it was so late and she lives an hour and a half away, she decided to sleep the rest of the night on the couch. So she was able to get me back to bed after I nearly passed out and then get all the clots out. I think I was more sore from that then the actual birth. If she had not been here, we would have been headed to the hospital for sure. So I have lots to be thankful for! Well, Esther is wanting to eat, so I better get off here. |
Mar. 30, 2006
Warning! This is a complete brag about my daughter
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I have been so overwhelmed with my messy
house and all that needs to be done and the thought that baby could
come at anytime. My wonderful daughter, Locksley (10), cleaned up my
kitchen and livingroom today without me even asking her to. Granted I
went back and did it a little more thoroughly, but she did a great job!
She unloaded and loaded the dishwasher, picked up all the stuff off the
floor, swept, cleaned off the table and counters and took the trash
out. Then she straightened up my livingroom, put away the all the
clothes that I had folded and cleaned up all the toys in the hallway.
She got everything to a point that I don't feel so overwhelmed and I
don't have to do much bending over. She is just the greatest! Everytime
I got up, she would say "Mom, just rest! I have everything under
control." She even made Peanut butter and honey sandwiches for her and
her sisters' for lunch. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful
daughter! I just had to share!
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Mar. 29, 2006
Wednesday March 29, 2006
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My appointment with my midwife went well
yesterday. I am only dilated to 1 cm, but the cervix is really soft.
So, I am using some evening primrose oil and black cohosh to encourage
it along. The black cohosh is some extremely icky tasting stuff! I am
suppose to take it three times a day. I guess because of starting it
all last night, I had lots of contractions during the night. None were
strong enough to make me think I was in labor, but just enough to be
uncomfortable and hard to sleep. She told me I could drink a glass of
red wine at night to help myself sleep better and I just might have to
try that tonight. I need to be rested up when I do go into labor and
last night was not very restful. I will call her when I run out of
black cohosh (which will probably be Friday) and then I will go back
and let her check me again. I am so excited about meeting my little
one. She says that this baby is pretty small (about 6lbs), but
otherwise seems to be doing well. I am praying for a healthy baby! As a
friend reminded me yesterday, I will fatten baby up in no time with
breastmilk, so no worries as long as baby is healthy. Now, all I need
to do to get ready is clean the house again! Yes, my very industrious
family wasted no time at all destroying it after my mom so nicely
cleaned it for me. Oh well, I guess that happens, but I refuse to let
it stay this way.So, I better get off the computer and start cleaning
and getting school done.
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Mar. 19, 2006
Just waiting, now!
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Well, the homevisit is over. I got
everything done that I wanted to before Friday and I am now breathing a
little easier. LOL I don't know why I tend to stress over this kind of
stuff so much. I just had this overwhelming feeling that I had to have
this stuff done because the baby could come at anytime. I guess that's
nesting for ya, huh? Everything went fine at the homevisit. We decided not to do an exam and wait until my next appointment (the 28th) to do one. I have started taking 5w and will start on evening primrose oil as soon as I get some. We don't want to go into labor until I am 37 weeks. I want to make sure the baby's lungs are fully ready. Of course, we have never been 100% sure of my dates, so I could be further than we are thinking. As long as I have a healthy baby I don't mind the waiting. I am completely ready for baby and just waiting now. My house is in order and I have all my baby stuff ready. I am getting very excited! I can't wait to hold my baby in my arms (not to mention bend over and breath at the same time, not worry as much about what I am eating, sleep on my tummy, and reach my shoes again :) ). Our van will hopefully be home tommorow. I have not been too upset without it, honestly. I have kind of enjoyed the excuse to not have to go anywhere. On Friday night, my parents had the girls spend the night, so Christian picked up stuff to cook for dinner and a movie. We watched Cinderella Man. It was an awesome movie! I highly recommend it. It was a true story about James J Braddock, a boxer in the 30's. It was about his struggle to provide for his family through the Great Depression. It was very touching! Today Christian took Locksley and Ruby to church (that was all that could fit in his truck). Apparently the sermon was about being in the word of God and teaching our children to stay in the word of God. After the service, Ruby was in the lobby looking at one of the children's bibles that are for sale. Travis, our pastor, asked her if she liked it and she said "yes, how much is it?". Another man, that we barely know, was standing by listening and stepped forward and bought it for her. Christian didn't even know this had happened until after the man had already left. Ruby was so excited about her new bible! She has had me read it to her several times since she has been home. I thought that was very sweet! I think I might have her write him a thank you note. She also told me that she wanted to save her money to buy bibles for other children who don't have them!  By the way, it didn't cost $1000 to get the van repaired. Christian had to tell the mechanic how to fix it, but at least its getting done at a cost that we can afford. Praise God! |
Mar. 14, 2006
Don't ever buy a VW van!!!
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So far, nobody else has been sick and
Locksley seems to be all better. I wonder if it wasn't just exhaustion
making her feel bad. Of course she was running a slight fever, but she
had been going non-stop all last week and I'm sure she was tired. We got bad news about our van yesterday afternoon. We thought it was going to be a fairly cheap and easy repair, but the mechanic called and said it would probably be around $1000 to repair! 
So, I will probably be without a car for a little while. I'm not sure,
yet. My husband is going to talk to him about another option that he
thought of last night. I am praying it will work. It will be extremely
hard without a vehicle. Christian has his truck, but I can't drive it
and it won't fit anybody but him and one passenger, so he will have to
go to the store, pay bills, and so on until I am able to drive again.
Of course it is not like it is life threatning, but it is an
aggravation. But, as Christian said, how blessed we are to have this as
a problem.I really like my van when it is running, but we have only had it for a few months and it has been in the shop twice, now. Every part is hard to come by, expensive and not easy to fix. It is an absolute pain! My husband is very good at car repairs and has always fixed our cars himself, but this car pretty much requires a mechanic to do all the repairs.So the moral of this story is Don't ever buy a volkswagon van!!! |
Mar. 13, 2006
Last weeks happenings
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Last Monday, my homeschool group threw me a
baby shower. It was so great! I had a lot of fun and got so many things
that I needed. I have enough neutral colored clothes to clothe this
baby for two weeks without washing! It was exactly what I needed. I ,
also, got my Motherease diapers in the mail. They are all washed and
put away. Now, I really feel ready for baby to make an appearance,
though I probably have a few weeks, yet. Christian and I spent this weekend getting some long needed things done around the house. We had planned to do tons more, but had a bit of a setback at Lowes. So, we will take care of that today and finish this week. I am nesting terribly and I wish everybody else in the house was, too. I got a rug for my living room, cleaned and organized the kitchen, livingroom, and my bedroom. Christian is going to hang some shelves for me in the baby's corner of my room. We are also going to hang some shades in the livingroom and a new miniblind in my bedroom. The house feels like it is finally coming together (I mean, its only been almost 4 months! Thats a record for us!) I am going to spend today cleaning my closet and organizing the girl's room after we are done with schoolwork. My mom is coming to clean house for me this Thursday and I want it to be organized, so that she doesn't have to pick up a mess before cleaning. Then, Debi, my midwife, is coming for the home visit on Friday. Now, for the crummy stuff that happened this weekend. I won't even go into what happened at Lowe's, but that just started off a whole slew of crummy happenings! Our kitchen sink has a huge leak underneath that Christian couldn't fix until tonight because of the whole Lowe's incident.So, I can only use one side of the sink or else water just pours underneath. Then, we discovered (since the weather has been very hot this weekend) that our air conditioner doesn't work. Have I mentioned that I am 9 months pregnant?! I have been dying from the heat! Finally around midnight last night, Christian went to the attic and found a box fan so I could sleep. It has been miserable trying to sleep in the heat. I hope it cools off again soon, at least until I have this baby. Then to clench it all, my van broke yesterday! We completely paid off the van last month, so of course it has to go in the shop. Our mechanic is out of town until Friday, so we had to call someone else. He is suppose to be picking it up in about an hour, so I hope he won't have it too long. I am so aggravated about the van breaking down, but I am also very thankful that we have the money to get it fixed. Also, Locksley camped out with a friend from church on Saturday night and came home sick on Sunday. She was running a fever and slept all day yesterday. That is very unlike her. She seems to be better today, but I pray noone else gets it. My sister was in town this last week and two of her kids came down with some sort of stomache bug while they were here. I pray that's not what Locksley had and that the rest of us stay well. We also got two new dogs this past week. My sister gave us her two german shephards. I am so impressed with these dogs! They look tremendously scary, but they are very gentle and well trained! They were raised around my sister's 5 small children, so they are very use to kids. They even get along great with our other dog, Caspian. They are great watchdogs, too. They bark at everybody that comes in or out of our diveway. Coda is a pure black german shephard and looks like a wolf, but Cleo is the typical grey, brown and white with a little black. She looks like a police dog. They come, sit, stay and go on command. We are really enjoying them and they seem to be very happy with us. |
Mar. 3, 2006
Come on, Spring!
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The weather has been gorgeous this week!
Wednesday, it got to about 75 degrees and I 'm not sure what the
temperature was yesterday, but it seemed to be close to 80. I am loving
this!. I saw my midwife on Monday morning and my blood pressure was high (suprise, suprise!). She said that she is going to "be sweating bullets over my blood pressure until this baby is born." She wants to make sure that I don't go over my due date. She wants to start prepping my body for labor at my 36 week appointment. I was pretty disappointed about that! I really wanted to just wait and let my body do everything on its own. But, at the same time, I probably have nothing to be disappointed about. She says it could take a month for my body to go into labor once we start. She is not talking about inducing me, just encouraging my body to do its thing. The exciting thing is, I will have a baby by the middle of April! I won't go over! I am getting so excited and anxious to see and hold my baby. To know if I'm having a boy this time or another beautiful girl. I really don't care which, I am just so thrilled to be having a baby! Christian and the girls really want a boy this time, so there is a big part of me that would be happy to see them all get their wish, but I just can't wait to hold this baby and I know that I (and them, for that matter) will be enamored whether it be boy or girl. One of the things that my midwife was insistant on me doing was walking everyday. And the weather has been really cooperating with this request. So, on Wed., we went to the Chattanooga Nature Center and spent the day. We had so much fun! We met some friends there and then ran into some more friends unexpectedly. When we got home, my blood pressure was awesome! So, I guess there must be something to this walking stuff. Then yesterday, after a very sleepless night, I took the girls to the Chickamauga Battlefield to walk. They had so much fun. It just starts our day out great to get some fresh air and walk. We are going to go back there again today. I think that will be my standard walking place. It only takes me about 5 minutes to get there and it is so much more interesting than walking around my neighborhood. I told the girls we could take a dog with us each time we go. As of this Monday, I will have 4 dogs. We have the two puppies we got in December (Spot and Caspian) and my sister is giving us their two german shephards (Cleo and Coda). We are excited about getting these dogs. They are really well trained, full blooded german shephards. They look tremendously scary, but are very sweet dogs. I will be more than happy to take one of them with me when walking around the battlefield. I won't have to worry about anybody messing with us, that's for sure. Christian is fencing off a seperate part of the yard for the dogs this weekend, so that when we have someone with kids that are scared of dogs over, we can put them up. That will be very nice to have that option. Well, I am hoping that today will be as pretty as yesterday, but I think it is suppose to be a little cooler. I slept a little better last night and my blood pressure is good this morning, so I am praying I will have a productive day. By the way, I got my birth kit and my Kozy Carrier this week. I am going to be ordering the cloth diapers this weekend ( I hope) and my homeschool group is throwing me a baby shower on Monday. I am finally starting to feel ready for the baby. I am trying desperately to get the house organized. My home visit with my midwife is on the 17th and my mom is coming to clean my house the day before. That will be very nice! |
Feb. 20, 2006
Isabel
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Isabel is such a silly girl! She has been
fascinated with my growing belly and the idea that there is a baby in
there. She is always asking me to pull up my shirt so that she can kiss
and hug the baby. At first she would say that there was a baby in her
tummy, too, but then she decided that it was a bird and not a baby in
her tummy. It is really cute! We will ask her " what is in your belly,
Isabel?" when she is trying to push her belly out to match mine. She
always answers (in complete seriousness) "A birdy!" "Well, how did a birdy get in there?" She gives us a look as if to say "duh" and points to her belly button. "It flew in there!" she says!  LOL She cracks me up! |
Feb. 18, 2006
Rash update!
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The girls are fine. Very itchy!! But, fine. It appears that they have a
really bad case of poison ivy or poison sumac or something. Locksley is
the worst. Ruby just has one arm that is itchy, but Locksley is red and
itchy from head to toe. She has taken about three oatmeal and calendula
baths today and I am giving her Benadryl. I'm glad its nothing
contagious or serious.
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Feb. 18, 2006
Rash!
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O.k., so the red itchy welts that the girls
have are not spider bites. Ruby's was not much of anything yesterday,
but Locksley's rash continued to get worse throughout the day. She was
up most of last night scratching. Her face is red and swollen and the
rash has spread to her arms, belly and legs, now. She is also running a
low grade fever. We are meeting our doctor at his office around noon so
that he can take a look at it. He was actually going to come to our
house for us, but since that is quite a drive for him, we said that we
would meet him at his office. I thought that was pretty cool that on
his day off he would be willing to make a house call to look at her
rash. You don't find many doctors willing to do that lately. We will
probably take Ruby now, too, because she is getting the rash on her
arms now. I have been giving them Benedryl, and had them both take an
oatmeal and calendula bath, which greatly relieved the itching. I hope
it is nothing contagious!
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Feb. 17, 2006
Delicious mornings!
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I really do like mornings, I just have a
hard time convincing myself of that in the mornings. I enjoy the
feeling of being warm and cozy under the blanket and hearing the sweet
rythmic breathing of Isabel asleep on her cot next to me (our solution
to her sleeping in the bed with us). But, when I do get up before the
girls, I really enjoy spending quiet time reading the bible. There is
no better way to start the day! So, today I did get out of bed when Christian got up. I was able to remind him to get the trash out, which could have been disastrous if it wasn't. Then after he left, I did my blood pressure reading (which has been excellent all week!),did my bible reading, and then spent some time in prayer. I have been following a reading plan for reading the bible in a year. I am way ahead of schedule so that when baby gets here, I won't get too behind. After that, I made a cup of tea and went to check my e-mail. Isabel woke up then and stood behind me demanding that I put on Bugs Bunny for her. LOL She had fallen asleep watching Bugs (her favorite), so that was the first thing she said when she woke up. Ruby and Locksley woke up soon after that and all piled in my bed. Locksley and Ruby have been apparently somethings feast in the middle of the night. They are covered with red, itchy welts! I made them all strip and climb in the bath to get scrubbed down. I stripped their sheets and threw them in the washer and am getting ready to examine their beds for signs of spiders. Their room stays such a disaster that I can only imagine what is breeding in there. But, all of this and it is only 9:30! I am feeling pretty accomplished already. I went to bed last night being achy and whiney. I have reached that complainer stage of my pregnancy and am trying to fight it like crazy. Last year after losing Mary, I found it really hard to hear people complaining about their pregnancies. Oh what I wouldn't have given to be in the position that they were in! So, I had promised myself that I would never complain about being pregnant again, but, alas, I am huge! I can't bend, my legs and back ache continuously, I have a hard time breathing, my hormones are so wild right now that I feel on the verge of crying all the time and my stomache feels so heavy. I had a dear friend remind me that because of The Fall, pregnancy is not perfect bliss. It isn't suppose to be and I should not be so hard on myself for realizing that I am uncomfortable. How wonderful to have friends who not only encourage me to be appreciative for this life, but that can also say, "it's o.k. to be uncomfortable! Don't feel guilty about that." But what a joy this life inside of me is! I love to feel him/her stretching and turning around. I am glad that pregnancy doesn't last forever, but I don't mind in the slightest if I don't have this baby a day before my due date. I always miss the feeling of baby moving around inside of me after they are born. Well, the girls are ready to get out of the bath, so I better go get them some breakfast and continue being productive. |
Feb. 15, 2006
Anniversary weekend
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My husband and I don't do the
Valentine's Day thing. Not because I am opposed to getting gifts (in
fact, I'm very much in favor of getting gifts), but because our
anniversary is on the 10th and that is our big "love celebration". So,
last Friday (the 10th) my parent's kept my girls overnight and we had a
whole night to ourselves. We went out to eat , then went shopping
without children. I love to shop! I know that sounds so prissy and I'm really not a very prissy person, but it all goes back to me loving to get gifts. I love when Christian takes me shopping on a gift getting holiday and let's me pick out what I want. I enjoy suprises, too, but usually his suprises are not very good. He tries, but he's not a very good gift giver. Last year for my birthday, he bought me a gun. I had mentioned before that since at the time we were not living in a very safe neighborhood, I would not mind having a gun that I knew how to use, but I sure as heck didn't want it for a birthday present! And a few years ago, he bought me a weed eater for Mother's Day. So, you see why I prefer for the gifts to be of my choosing. So, anyway, we went to Babies R Us to do a little window shopping. I didn't find anything that I really needed or wanted at the time. But, it was fun to look and spend time focusing on our upcoming baby. I bought a pack of cloth diapers for Izzy, but that was all I bought. Then, we went to Books A Million. There is something so fun about going to a bookstore without children. We spent a while browsing at books and then I plopped down in a chair and read until it was time for them to close. I bought The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. I know that just about every other christian in the world has read this book before, but I hadn't. It was such an incredible story! I spent most of Saturday in bed (due to blood pressure issues) and read the entire book in that day. I love when I am able to read a book like that without having to stop. We would normally go to The Macaroni Grill on our anniversary, but since I am having to watch my sodium intake, italian food was out. After ruling out mexican and chinese, as well, we decided on Cracker Barrel. I knew I could get grilled catfish and veggies there. And then we ate breakfast the next morning at Shoneys. Not the fanciest of meals, but yummy none the less. But I spent all weekend fighting my blood pressure back down. It never got dangerously high, but it was too high all weekend. I was extremely frustrated. I was frustrated that it was high, that I had to stay in bed most of the day (because everytime I got up and did anything it would start rising) and that the entire house went to pots while I was in bed. Christian would make meals and he did load the dishwasher, but that was it. My mom and sister brought the girls home in the evening and I was so embarrassed to have them come in and see the house in the condition it was in. But then on Sunday, Christian went and picked up my anniversary present. A new washing machine!! I was very excited. He bought me a new dryer around New Years, so now I have a matching set and they are so nice. I have never had new appliances before and my washing machine was on its last leg. It was really old, had a huge rusted out spot and didn't fit very well in the place alotted for my washer and dryer. There are cabinets overhead and the door to the washer would not stay open. It had a bad habit of falling on my arms as I was pulling clothes out. So, I have been washing my clothes like crazy since Sunday. So, that was my weekend. Warning: Mushy love stuff coming up!!! By the way, we have been married for 11 years! I have to say, we got married very young. I was a rebellious 18 year old. He was 19, had already been married and divorced with a child. We had been best friends for two years and then decided that we were in love and perfect for each other. We decided on a Monday that we would get married that weekend and we were married on Friday. We had not planned to tell our parents, but he kind of let it slip to his mom and then I felt guilty telling his parents and not mine, so I told them. I will never forget that conversation! I think in some ways I lived to shock my parents. I called my mom (who was on the other line with my dad, who was out of town on business) and said "Mom, I'm getting married tomorrow!" Her reply... "Who are you marrying?!" I think they would have loved for me to have said anybody but Christian Hooker. They knew that he was a high school drop out, already had a child, and he was a skater punk with long hair and baggy pants. They and my sister tried to talk me out of it, but I was just as stubborn then as I am now and we were married the next day. My parents, his parents, my best girl friend, Becca, and my other close friend, John (whose father married us), were there. My parents cried through the whole thing. Nobody thought that we would make it, but here we are 11 years later, expecting our 4th child together (our 7th pregnancy) and more in love now than ever! God had a plan for us and I have never regretted marrying him. He truley is the man of my dreams. He is an awesome father, husband and provider. He is still my very best friend! Even my parents have come to appreciate what a good man he has grown to be. |
Jan. 11, 2006
AAAHHH!!!
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Please kick me if I ever decide to take a
three week break from school again. We have had the hardest time
getting back into the swing of things this week. I had really only
planned on taking two weeks off for the holidays, but Jake, my stepson,
was off for three weeks. He was here pretty much the whole time. So, we
just decided to wait and start back when he did. We have all had
trouble adjusting to being back to school. I'm sure it doesn't help
that there are boxes everywhere, either. Lcoksley has acted like she is
being sent to the torture chamber everytime I announce that its time to
start our school work. Then she drags her feet on what she is doing.
And seems to not remember half of what she has already learned. It is
very frustrating! Ruby hasn't complained too much, but has seemed to
have forgotten many of the phonics that she did have down. So, we are
having to back track again. I just want to get her reading this year!
That is my biggest and most important goal for her. I have so many
other things that I would like to accomplish with all three girls, but
right now, I am trying to manage the basic school stuff and getting the
house organized.
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Jan. 11, 2006
Addicted to junk food!
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I had no idea how badly addicted I
am. Well, I had some sort of idea but I didn't really care until now. I
did great with my eating all day yesterday. I had hot Kashi cereal for
breakfast, wraps made with whole wheat tortillas, chicken, brown rice
and veggies for lunch (it was very yummy! Even the kids ate them and
said how yummy they were), then for dinner, we had more chicken and
rice in a different concoction. When I needed a snack, I snacked on
fruit. But, by evening time, I was about to lose it! I wanted something
sweet so bad. I wanted chocolate!!! I was almost in tears. But, I can
do this!!! I didn't give in. I just ate more apples and made some hot
tea with a little bit of honey in it. We finished most of the school I had planned to do yesterday. The only thing we didn't finish was Latin. Not a big deal! We will catch that up today. I am still trying to get everything unpacked and organized. My house is just total chaos right now. I had it pretty organized until this weekend. Then we went to storage and collected a lot more junk. Now, I have to go through a ton of boxes and decide if stuff goes in attic, to use or give away. We still have so much in the storage to get, so this will be a task for a while. I, also, attempted again to make bread in my bread maker. I have tried making bread in it about 6 times and have only had 2 loaves turn out. I am real unimpressed with the world of bread makers so far. I have tried different recipes each time, so I know it can't be the recipes fault. But, now, I am pretty much limited to whole wheat recipes and I am running out of those, so I need at least one to turn out. I have never had this many failures when making bread by hand, so I'm not sure what is going on. I will attempt to try again today using different yeast. I bought the bread machine yeast and perhaps there is something wrong with it. Well, I better go get some breakfast for us all. Then to do school before errands and more going through boxes. |
Jan. 9, 2006
Pregnancy Induced Hypertension
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I had an appointment with my midwife this
evening and once again my blood pressure was high. So, she has labeled
me as having Pregnancy Induced Hypertension. I thought for sure she was
going to refuse to keep me as a client, but I have convinced her to
work with me to keep it down. I had been doing so well eating the right
things and taking all the right vitamins until the holidays came. I am
such a weakling when it comes to food. But, there is no more playing
around with it now. She has put me on a pretty strict diet. I can eat
lots of raw fruits and veggies, protein, but low fat and low sodium, no
pork, no white flour and no sugar. So, I will now put all those Sue
Gregg cookbooks that I bought a while back to use. Christian (who much
prefers veggies and healthy food over the junk that I enjoy) seems
thrilled that I am having to do this and has declared that we will all
eat this way. We went grocery shopping after my appointment and stocked
up on all the foods I can eat. My midwife also gave me a blood pressure
cuff so that I can check my blood pressure twice a day. And she started
me early on a fetal kick count to make sure that we are monitoring how
the baby is fairing through this. Which he seems to be doing fine. I
was actually measuring large this week. I was measuring at 30 weeks
instead of 26 weeks which would be right on target. So, we know that
he/she is growing. I will meet with her in ten days to reevaluate and
see how things are going. So, if all I have to do to keep this baby
safe andstill deliver at home is give up my sweet tooth, then I can do
it! We'll see if that does the trick.
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Jan. 6, 2006
The Wost blogger EVER!!!
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Yes, thats me! I don't know why I have so
much trouble writing an entry. Maybe it is the fact that I don't have a
creative bone in my body and I get bored with myself when I start
writing about everyday happenings. Or maybe it is just that there has
been so much going on that I don't even know where to start. Its been
about a month since I last wrote an entry and I won't even try and
recap the whole month. I will do kind of a quick summary, though. The biggest thing that has happened and kept me the busiest is that we moved the week before Christmas. For those who don't know me, we were living in a one room cabin (not one bedroom, but just one room). There was a loft where the girls slept and the downstairs room was the kitchen and living room. There was a futon downstairs that Christian and I slept on. There was also a very tiny bathroom with just a shower anda toilet. The cabin was on 87 acres and owned by our only neighbors (another homeschooling family of six children). It was great through the summer, but was getting extremely crowded now that colder weather was forcing us inside more. Or maybe it was more crowded because of my increasingly large belly!Nonetheless, it was time for us to move. We are now in a two bedroom, one bath house. Most people would probably think it was a very tiny house for a family of 5 (6 when Jake, my stepson, is here. Which is a lot), but it feels so roomy after the cabin. I have a door on my bedroom, a bathtub, and my washer and dryer are right next to each other and in the house. I was washing my clothes outside and driving them down the long driveway to the woodshed where my dryer was set up. It is amazing what you appreciate when you have been without. We have lived in some pretty weird situations (the farmhouse, with no hot water and no bathroom), but I really enjoyed the cabin. I will miss it this summer, especially. I will miss the kids having the English children to romp through the woods with. But with another baby due in April, we needed more room. Christmas was nice. We went overboard on gifts for the children. We always do, but I enjoy buying for them so much that it is hard to not go over board. Christian got me a digital camera and as soon as I can figure out how to add pictures to an entry, I will do that. Everytime I have tried, the picture is so huge that you can only see an eye or something like that. The girls got two puppies for an early Christmas present. They are very cute. Two boys! The girls named them Caspian and Spot. We have a big fenced in front yard and a nice dog house, so they are outside dogs. I love puppies as long as I'm not having to clean up their messes in the house. Well, considering this is more than I have written all month, I better stop here. My hand is starting to cramp from typing so much. |
Dec. 6, 2005
Nevermind!
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Now that I said all of that, my comment went through. Oh well, I'm going to attempt sleep again!
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Dec. 6, 2005
Why can't I post comments?!
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How frustrating! I have tried several times
to post comments on blogs today, but each time I am asked for a code.
When I enter the code, it tells me that it was entered wrong. I don't
understand what is going on and its very frustrating! Then, it kept
giving me the "operation timed out while attempting to contact
homeschoolblogger.com" message. I give up for tonight (or morning
actually- fun insomnia )! Its way too late for this!
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