Whatever things are true...

Barefoot?

2011-12-02T21:34:00.000-08:00

As a SAHM, I've been going barefoot for so long I feel weird when I put on shoes. I wear mostly flip-flops when out of the house, and I cringe when I put on a pair of real shoes. Lately, I cringe more.

A couple of weeks ago, I wore a pair of heels for several hours. Then I noticed some foot pain that afternoon. Just a nagging pain at first, but soon I realized it was swelling and I would not be able to run the next day. (Of course, the pain could also be due to running 4 miles in the rain in my OLD running shoes the previous day. But, ahem, I want to blame the heels)

I took it easy last week, no running, very little walking, no cardio. I was going crazy! But the pain was getting better. Till I wore the same stupid heels the next Sunday. (I guess I really should toss them!) I had to cut back to no walking for a few days. No activity makes me VERY cranky! LOL Just ask my kids. I had to take many deep breaths this week and remind myself to chill.

Yesterday I was able to run 1 mile, and today 1.5 miles. I was on my feet for a few hours today, and tonight I have very minimal swelling! No pain. I probably should take more time off, but apparently not running also makes my dog cranky. And destructive.

I will have to be on my feet for a few more hours tomorrow while I help host a ladies' brunch. I should wear dressy shoes. I will NOT wear heels. I wonder if I could get away with weary my "dressy" flip-flops? Or would they notice if I was barefoot? Well....ok....I guess that won't work ;)

Oh, and somehow even with all that inactivity I was able to maintain my weight during Thanksgiving! I had planned on losing weight that week. And even without running, I probably could have but I did give in to 2nd helpings and 2nd desserts. I guess it helps that most of the food I am eating now is healthier, so 2nds didn't do much damage :) Hopefully when I get back on track with running, I can get back on track with losing these last few pounds!

Weird observation I had this week....I have lost enough weight that I can count the bones in my feet. I never even realized that I had gained too much weight that I couldn't feel the bones on the top of my foot! Kind of like when I realized my shoulders and elbows really ARE pointy!

Vision Forum Giveaway!

2011-11-21T10:05:00.000-08:00

Have you ever heard of Vision Forum?

We recently received their catalog, and spent a long time pouring over their great Christian products. I do not remember signing up for this catalog, but was so grateful to have it! Also, The Modest Mom's Facebook page shares when they have good deals going on.

They have some adorable dolls, doll dresses, and books that remind me of American Girl. But these dolls are based on true historical characters, which made my history-loving girls so happy! I had to actually take the catalog away from Heidi, because she would literally just sit and look at it all day! Of course, Jeremy was excited by all the adventure stuff-toy swords, walkie-talkie watch, sling-shots, and some really cool Knight legos sets.

What did I like? Well, it was hard to pick! So many great books and videos, based on history, creation science, and parenting. There is one video series on the Amazon that looks amazing. I would have a hard time choosing just a few things :)

So.....the giveaway! Go over to The Modest Mom's blog, and read how to enter to win a Vision Forum gift card. They are giving away 3 cards, $100, $200, and $300! Just imagine the great Christmas presents, books, or homeschool curriculum!

No More

2011-08-09T19:14:00.000-07:00

I just want to kick myself right now. Do you ever have days where you feel like a failure as a parent? I honestly normally don't. Don't get me wrong, I know I am not a perfect parent and make MANY mistakes. But I feel I generally do a pretty good job. However, today I just feel like I failed in protecting my child.

We took Heidi off ADHD meds again. We had noticed several bad side effects and were concerned mostly about her eating, sleeping, and personality change. When I got out the notebook that I log all this info in, I was staggered to see just how many bad side effects there were.

Negative side effects:

stomachaches
loss of appetite
worsened food aversions (sometimes doesn't even want her favorite foods)
some emotional outbursts in the evening
extreme focus on 1 thing (drawing, plans, art) for hours at a time, to the point that she cannot do school work or even eat
almost OCD about some things
very down on herself for very minor mistakes
very sleepy
very sad for no apparent reason
insomnia
fear at night (maybe because she is awake more and thinking too much?)
irritablility
anger outburst
can't let things go (when angry or upset over something)
nose bleeds (very slight, but she's had several)
chest pains
VERY slow in schoolwork, chores, and even play

Possible side effects:

ear pain (started at same as chest pain and pediatrician was unable to find cause-no infection or fluid)
hair loss
always cold and wears a jacket even outside in the heat

(*maybe these last two are due to weight loss???)

Positive side effects:

Excellent handwriting
super calm during the day (this lasted only during the first week)

I am so very relieved that she will not be taking Vyvance any longer. Now I am just asking myself why I didn't take her off of it sooner! I think the meds were not consistent. We would have a few bad days and then a few good days and we would get fooled into thinking the side effects were getting better. Then slam-another bad day. Lately there been mostly bad days. It's just not worth it when the only positive we saw was improved handwriting. School was still a very big challenge everyday on these meds.

I just don't think any of these meds will work well for Heidi. We have tried several and had very bad reactions with them all. At least we can say we gave this one a fair chance. I am taking my long list with us when we see the neurologist on Thursday. He is the one who requested she go back on meds. He thought it would help when she was tested for learning disorders (which never happened). I'm gonna be standing tough, ready to defend our choices.

And now back to finding ways to help Heidi learn to focus during school ~without drugs.

20,000 Questions

2011-08-07T15:31:00.000-07:00

Ok, first off, don't judge me when I say something my child does is annoying. You all know you have the same thoughts sometimes! Right?

My 9yr old Hannah loves to ask questions. One of her very first words was "What?"

I would follow as she toddled around the house, pointing at things and asking "What?" and then "What this?" Was it any wonder she knew 80 words (ok, so only Carl and I could translate some of those) by the time she was 13 months? This has just always been her main source of learning.

I love this about Hannah. I love to see her inquisitive nature, and see the wheels turning in her head. I love to see her learn, and wonder about things we cannot answer.

This questioning nature may be one of my favorite things about Hannah, but is can also be one of the most annoying things. We joke about it sometimes. We say, "Oh here we go, time to play 20,000 questions again!" because 1 question always leads to many more.

We had to make rules about no questions during dinner, or I would never get to eat a bite. No questions as I drive, because it is proven I will miss a turn or loose track of where I am going. Sometimes I get headaches, because it seems like my brain just can't handle thinking up answers any longer.

Today she started on one of her questioning sessions, and I had to stop her. The question were just all very random. And not all pleasant.

"Mom, how did they get the bits of glass into a whip in the old days?"

"Did you like to squish bugs when you were a kid?"

"What's your favorite flower?"

These were back to back, in about a 30 second time span. My brain had trouble keeping up with her train of thought, but I understood one thing. She just wanted to hang out with her mom and talk.

So I went with it. But I did say, "can we just talk about the flowers?" I didn't really have answers about whips, and winced just thinking about it. And I was cooking dinner and didn't want to think about squished bugs either haha! So we had a nice chat about flowers.

I know one day things could be different. She will be older and not so interested in talking with her mom. Or she will take her questions else where, not interested in my answers or thinking I am not interested in her questions. I will miss those questions. I will dread the silence.

So today I listen. And answer what I can.

Oh, and I learned her favorite flowers are violets :)

Sigh of Relief

2011-08-07T15:06:00.000-07:00

I have to tell myself over and over not to worry about Heidi and her school work. I just need to realize she is learning and progressing, and that's what matters. It doesn't matter if she is at the expected grade level, or able to accomplish what other children her age can do. What matter is that she works at her own comfortable level.

But I really, really wanted to be done with 2nd grade by August. (sorry for the whine) We started 2nd grade last August, and I thought a year should be sufficient. I have to make myself remember what this last year has been like.

My older daughter had 2 eye surgeries. Both had complications and we were at the doctor's office daily for a while. At the same time Heidi was losing weight and we were trying to find a doctor to help. Just as we got done with all the ophthalmologist visits for Hannah, we started speech/OT twice a week for Heidi. We were at some sort of medical appointment 2 or 3 days a week. Between all that, Heidi's focus troubles and eating issues, we did good to get 3 lessons done a week.

We've also had several breaks from school. We went to Arkansas in January, had visitors in February, during our Spring Break we moved to a new house, and we took off 3 weeks in June due to VBS and just plain burn-out.

I was feeling guilty again this morning, so I went through Heidi's records and some tests she had taken recently. Some of our curriculum does not go by grades, but by levels. I discovered Heidi is already working at a 3rd grade level for math and spelling. Whew! I don't feel so bad anymore! I'm not sure what reading level she is on, and I still suspect some dyslexia issues, but her reading has vastly improved this year.

English is just rough. She can learn it. That's not the problem. With her hand writing issues and focus issues (even on meds), it takes a long time to finish one lesson. I do as much of her lesson orally as we can. This helps a bunch! But it could take her 30 minutes to write 5 sentences. It may take us 2 days to do 1 lesson. We have a really hard time getting more than 2 subjects done a day. So, she seems behind in English. She has 65 lessons left (out of 150). I really don't want to rush or skip through it and cause troubles later down the road. But I think I need to go through her 2nd and 3rd grade books and see what is really necessary for now, and what will she learn all over again.

For now I will just have another sigh of relief, and tell myself not to inwardly grumble at the English textbook every time I pull it out.

Will you serve, even knowing it will bring pain?

2011-07-19T12:28:00.000-07:00

People sometimes get the mixed up idea that being a Christian means a happy life, getting everything you've ever wanted, and no more problems. Wrong! In the New Testament, Jesus tells us there will be trials, we will be persecuted. Paul tells us to take joy in our trials. What we also forget is that God is with us to carry the burden of those trials, to fill us with His joy and peace.

I was amazed to discover something in the Old Testament earlier this year. It's always been written there, I'm sure I have read it before. But it's amazing when you read something with new eyes, not the eyes of a child. I have the wrong idea about so many of my childhood Bible lessons!

Here is the part I remembered well :

1 The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.

2 "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." Genesis 12:1-3

Here is the part I missed:

12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."

17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river [d] of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates- 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites." Genesis 15:12-20

How did I miss that? I always thought Abram followed God for two reasons: 1) his love for God and wanting to follow His will, and 2) the promise of a great nation. But I never knew Abram willingly followed God, KNOWING he and his family would suffer. I guess I always had the impression that Abram followed, and troubles just kind of happened to him, as it happens to us, without being prepared. But that's not what happened. He knew. He knew his family would suffer. End up as slaves. For four hundred years. Yet he STILL followed.
How many of us willingly raise our hands and say "Here I am, send me! I'll suffer!" Ugh. Makes me feel so low, because I know I cringe at the thought of suffering. I can handle trials, but to ask for them?

We have several missionary friends. Some of them in their first years of serving. We have seen how they have suffered. The troubles their family has endured. The sacrifice, the pain. But do they turn around and say, "Never mind! I can't handle this!" No. They still serve with a love for God and a joy that I envy.

THIS is right. I don't want the easy life. I don't want a life with no real meaning. I want to follow Him, no matter what. I want to tell others about God, see their curiosity, their joy at first knowing Him, of knowing there is a Creator, a Savior who loves them. I want to serve.

Confessions #23 & 24

2011-07-19T12:19:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I think about waking my children during the night and telling them I can't sleep and ask for a drink of water.

Sometimes I have gotten tired of hearing their whining and fussing, so I decide to just whine and fuss along with them. (Hey, it works! It gets them to stop and stare at me for acting crazy)

Disturbing!

2011-07-02T10:53:00.000-07:00

Reason #5 our children will never be allowed to eat Fruit Loops:

Someone gave Carl a bag of trail mix at VBS this week, and he stuck it in his pocket. After getting whip cream pie in the face and all over his clothes, I put his clothes in the extra long soak, double wash and double rinse cycle.(about an hour long)

Yep, the trail mix was still in the pocket!

All the cereal and crackers dissolved into a gross brown liquid.

But not the Fruit Loops.

They were still completely intact.

Di. Stur. Bing!

Punching Lesson

2011-06-30T08:08:00.000-07:00

Our church is having VBS this week, and we are having a great time making new friends.

But Hannah (my 9yr old) just let me know one of the boys is her class is making her uncomfortable. It took a while, but she finally told me what he was doing.

He told her she was pretty.

He starred at her.

He flirts with all the girls.

He made them walk in front of him and made kissy noises as they walked by.

This boy may be innocently flirting (although I'm not sure that phrase can be true since flirting usually suggest intentions), or he may be trying to pester the girls.

Either way, Hannah is uncomfortable. I assured her we would check out the boy, watch him, and if he needs to be dealt with it will be handled by one of the adults. Her teacher may already be aware since he sounds like he is always a handful during class.

We had a good lesson on how to effectively deal with unwanted flirting. First, if a boy tries to hold your hand or put his arm around you, with some attitude in your voice (but not hatefulness) say something like "PLEASE don't touch me." But I told her if he kissed her (or inappropriately touched her) , she had our permission to hit him. We even had a short lesson on the right way to punch.

Some people may think this is going overboard, but if some boy kisses her , you can bet he'll get a punch from either her, me, Carl, or from all of us! This is just too young. I told her to hit him, just to put a stop to it, and if an adult gets on to her, she could tell them to come speak to us. Since we are not there when this happens, we have no way of knowing if the actions of this boy are innocent, or something more serious.

I am glad she was offended, instead of wanting to return the attention. (I dread those teenage years!) I told her some kids her age like to flirt, kiss, and have a boyfriend/girlfriend. You should have seen her grossed out face!!

Now, for the funny part of the conversation.....

Jeremy was listening and said, "Mom, if someone tries to hug or kiss me, I will hit them!"

I had to stop and correct that LOL! I could just see one of the ladies coming and hugging him at church, and then him socking them! I let him know this rule was only for the girls.

Next he goes and stands in front of Hannah, with a sly grin on his face. I asked what he was doing and he said he was going to hug and kiss her. Stinker! He was trying to make her hit him! Haha, I can never tell what he's going to do next.

I'm sure this is just an innocent situation, but we are prepared. I let Hannah know she may never have to hit a boy, but it is always good to know how to take care of yourself.

Edify

2011-06-22T15:25:00.000-07:00

My sweet friend Mel wrote a great post on the word "edify". Here is a quote from her post:

Do you ever just long for someone to say something uplifting and encouraging to you? What would your life be like if you walked around all day long, everyday, and no one ever gave you any edification? I don't know about you, but I wouldn't hold myself together very well. One day of just negative things and I'd already be shaken!

You really do need to pop on over and read the rest of her post! (Did I mention giveaway?)

As a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM) I sometimes find myself isolated from people, and really feeling the loss of friendship, or even just adult conversation. It hits me sometimes, "How can I encourage someone, if I don't ever see other people? How can I tell them about God's love? How can I help someone else when all I see are my own 3 kids?" I started praying for ways to get out and see other people, and asking God to put people in my path.

This year we are out-and-about a lot more. But most of this time is spent in waiting rooms at doctors, dentists, speech/OT therapy. Now I pray, "God, if there is someone I can help today, someone I can encourage, let me see." Some times it is easy to stay self-focused, to focus on my kids, but I'm trying to be more of an encourager to others. Whether it is simple smile and sincere "How are you today?" or "Thank you" to the stressed receptionist, holding the door for a mom with her arms full, giving advice to a new homeschool mom, having a good chat with mom with twins, sharing Bible verses to someone in need, letting someone know God does love them, He is there, even when you feel alone.

Sometimes you don't have to do something big and grand to help someone. Sometimes you just need to be there. You just need to be aware. And let God show you someone's heart. This is someone He loves. Someone he created. Someone who is lost, angry, hurting, stressed, in need of help. Maybe we can be the person to encourage them today.

So today, as I head out again, I will pray that God will remind me it's not about me. It's all about Him. It's about His children. It's about loving other as Christ loves us.

Therefore comfort each other and edify one another,

just as you also are doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:11

Sometimes it is not what you think

2011-06-15T21:40:00.000-07:00

Want to hear something funny?

I bought a pair of pants, oh, about 10 years ago. It was several weeks after I had my first baby in 2001. I was excited that I had lost all my pregnancy weight plus an extra 8 pounds by 6 weeks. But, I tried these pants on and they didn't quite fit. I thought surely I would be able to get back into my pre-pregnancy size in no time, so I went ahead and bought them.

These pants have been sitting in my closet ever since.

Every year, I would clean out my closet and think "Maybe these should be in the give-a-way pile." But then I would think, "No! I WILL fit in them one day!" And I would work out, try to eat better, lose weight, but never get to wear these pants. I always slipped up, gave up,or messed up. They became something I hated, but wanted. I kept them, but ignored them, buried them so I wouldn't think of failure.

Well you know what? NOW the pants fit!!! And I hate them.

I was so excited to put these on, zip them up, and still be able to breathe well haha! But they are just not what I expected.

They fit well, but they are cheap pants, and just not a style I really like now that I actually have them on. I like a mid-rise waist and these are definitely not mid-rise LOL! I have a short torso, and anything that comes up high just cut into my ribs now matter what the size.

So I wore them to church anyway, knowing they would not be comfortable. How could I NOT wear them, at least once, after all these years? I wanted a few hours to enjoy knowing I was finally making some good progress, and finally fit into these stinkin pants.

But now I'm thinking I need to go find me a better pair of "goal" pants :)

Here we go again

2011-05-28T13:31:00.000-07:00

Everytime I start to think things are in an upward turn in relation to Heidi's medical care, it seems we take an even bigger downward turn. Doctors don't seem to want to give her a real diagnosis, but just say, "Well, it could be this, or it could be that." And trying to get proper testing to help with a diagnosis? An even bigger issue.

For now, I will be thankful that she is recieving Speech and Occupational Therapy to help with several issues (Thanks Aunt G for the great advice!). This has been her biggest help. And the neurologist, while not really concerned with helping Heidi, did say she needed to continue with the therapies.

Our biggest achievements this spring:

Heidi was eating so well, and expanding her food preferences, that she finally gained weight! She gained back the 6 pounds she lost last fall, then gained 4 more! When the scales showed 56 pounds I cheered! Bless you Miss Brittany, for showing Heidi food can be wonderful :)
New foods she enjoys-apples(she will eat every bite!), white rice, eggs, chick peas, and black beans
Heidi's speech is improving, if slowly. She has been working on the "s" sound since mid December. They have also helped with her conversational skills. I can see her thinking it through, but she tries to remember to look people in the eye. She tries to focus on another person's part of the conversation.
She is now more than 1/2 done with 2nd grade! I'm hoping to be done before fall. Her reading is really progressing, and as long as her focus is well she does excellent in math. She has been on ADHD meds for 2 months and it amazes me how her focus (and even handwriting!) has improved.

Our downturns in May:

The doctors and nurse that seemed so gung-ho to help, have suddenly decided they can't help her. "If she had a different insurance..." or "if she was in public school..." I don't like hearing those phrases!
The docturs seem to thing ADHD meds will cure all her issues, and aren't willing to help us find other help.
These wonderful ADHD meds have awful side-effects. Headaches, stomachaches, loss of appetite, more food aversions, emotional swings, depression, OCD tendancies, "crashing" in the evening as meds wear off, Heidi feeling really down on herself for minor mistakes.
From the above side-effects, Heidi has now lost 4-5 pounds in just 2 weeks. She is still at a decent weight, but her appetite seems to be worse every day, so I'm sure the weight will continue to drop if we continue meds.
Heidi's hair is starting to fall out again. She is cold, wanting to wear long sleeves, pants, and jackets around the house.

The doctors/nurse seem to think it's no big deal that she has stomachaches. They keep asking me, "Well, are you making sure she eats a good breakfast before she takes the meds?" Yes!! I am. But the stomachaches last all day, no matter what breakfast she easts. They just switch her to a different med, which just has the same side effects. She has been on 3 meds in 2 months.

I dread calling the nurse on Tues, because I know she will just ask the same question, and say,"We'll try a new med." Are any meds really going to help her focus without hurting her? I'm starting to think no. She has tried 8 different meds in 2 years, all with bad effects. I only tried the meds this time because the doctors seem to think focus is her biggest issue. I thought if we could get her on meds, then they could see what other issues were still present. Instead, the testing got cancelled, and the doctor now doesn't seem to want to help us figure out what to do next.

At this point I just want to give up again. Maybe one day we will have decent insurance and can get Heidi real help. For now, I am SO very thankful for her SP/OT therapists. They see the issues that we see. They understand. They want to help. They sympathize when Heidi has problems. They rejoice with her accompishments.

Heidi wants to know how will she focus when she is not on meds anymore? Well, we'll just do our best. She will still learn and progress, it will just take more time and lots of work from both of us. I would rather deal with frustrations and more work than see my child hurt. 2 more days...I will give it 2 more days to see if things improve or worsen. But I won't let Heidi go so far as she did in the fall.

Yummy, Yummy

2011-04-18T09:13:00.000-07:00

Heidi is still braving new foods. This weekend she tried 3 new foods, and retried 2.

Crab cake-Yuck! I didn't think she would like this one, didn't even offer it to her, but was proud of her for asking to try!

Steak-She said yum, but then only ate 3 tiny bites. When asked the next day if she wanted more, she said no.

Lemon meringue pie-Double YUM!

Black beans-She has had these before, but during her food troubles this fall decided she did not care for them any more. This time she ate them all, and ate them quick :)

Apple-Braeburns are not her type! But we tried another red apple (forget which one) and she LOVES it! She ate a WHOLE apple today, even the peel! It took an hour, but she enjoyed it.

Oh! And she tried bologna (I shudder as I type) last weekend. This was a Mom's-out-of-town-so-Dad-tried-something-new type of food. But she likes it! She's even making her own Bologna-Grilled Cheese sandwhich right now. (double shudder!)

Tomorrow during occupational therapy, she will try a new veggie. Probably broccoli. I gave her choices, and she wants to take both raw and steamed to see which one she might like. We'll probably swing by the grocery and see if we can find some kind of veggie dip :)

Slightly off topic: Heidi had an appointment with a neurologist, and we were very pleased with how thorough he was. But.....we have been waiting more than 2 weeks for the referrals to go through for further testing. He referred her to another neurology clinic for neuro-cognitive testing (for any possible learning disorders) and to the Autism clinic, which we've heard there is a year wait. I guess I will be doing some calling today to see if I can get any answers about appointments :)

No More

2011-04-16T20:07:00.000-07:00

All winter I had an issue with clothes.

Clothes have always been an issue.

But this year, instead of dealing with clothes that are too tight, all my clothes were too loose.

I know, hard problem to deal with isn't it? ;)

I loved that my clothes were too big, but got tired of not being able to find something to wear.

So I made a promise to myself. When it came time to pack up winter clothes-don't pack anything that is too loose. I know I will NOT gain the weight back this time. It has been one year of steady weight loss. And if it doesn't fit now, it will only be bigger next year :D

So, this is what I was left with to pack up for next winter.

5 shirts and 1 pair of jeans. Nothing dressy.

Technically I cheated.

2 shirts and the jeans are too big.

But they are comfy, and my favorites.

And they are only 1 size too big,

compared to others that were 3 sizes too big.

I'm sure I will have to get rid of them by winter time,

but hey, I gotta have something to wear when it's time to go shopping next year, right?

33:13!

2011-04-11T12:30:00.000-07:00

I did it! I finally did it!

I ran my first official 5k race!

It has been one year since I started C25k, I graduated the program in July, and now I've had my first race!

Our promised "beautiful beach view" was very foggy. All weekend. It was disappointing, but I took it as a blessing that I did not have to worry about sunscreen or sunglasses.

And I have to say, it is just torture to see smashed Krispy Kremes on the road during the hardest part of the run.

I did not really have a goal for my time for this race. I just wanted to finish without having to stop to stretch. I wanted to do my best, but knew that sometimes races just don't go the way you planned. But I really did not think I would do as well as I did!

When I finished the C25k program, I think I was running a 5k distance in about 44 minutes. I was seriously slow, but I could do it!

I finished this race in 33:13!

When I came around the corner and saw the finish line, looked at my watch and saw how fast I was going, I was thinking "No way! This is awesome!" I could have tried to push harder that last .15mile, but I was already pushing hard and didn't want to pass out or get sick at the finish line haha!

I drove to Destin for this race, and met my good friend Clara there. She is one of the friends that got me started on C25K, and has been a great encouragement during this last year. It think having her by my side for this race was awesome. Anytime I got to thinking I couldn't do it, it was too tough, I would think of Clara and what she has accomplished these last 2 years, and think of all I have accomplished this last year. I know better than to think "I can't do this!"

I prayed through parts of the race, "Please Lord, don't let me pass out! Please God, help me know when to slow down and when to push harder." Sometimes I was concentrating so hard on breathing right that I couldn't think of anything haha! God has shown me what is possible when I am willing to submit, work hard, and trust Him, even with something as "little" as learning to run. He's taken me on a great journey this last year. I can't wait to see what this year has in store!

Thank You, Rice!

2011-03-08T18:36:00.000-08:00

Heidi has been trying new foods with her Occupational Therapist. Heidi sees Mrs. Brittany twice a week and they explore a new food. Heidi thinks it is incredibly silly. She smells the food. "Kisses" the food. Then licks the food. On the 2nd or 3rd visit with this food, she will take a bite. We follow up with the silliness at home to get her familiar with the new food.

She has tried mandarin oranges, peaches, grapes, chicken noodle soup, and fried chicken with Mrs. Brittany. She did not like any of them. Well, she tolerated the soup(noodles only, she avoided the meat and veggies) and peaches, but she would not willingly eat them again. She did like the first fried chicken, but did not eat the 2nd piece. I guess we can try that one again sometime.

At home she has also been more adventurous. She has asked to try chili, eggs, pears, grapes, and corn dogs. She did not like the chili. She had such a problem with it that she threw away an entire hot dog because there was chili on about 1 inch of the dog. She says she liked the eggs, but only ate 2 bites and has refused to eat them again. The corn dog we did not let her try because we were at a restaurant. (We promised we would buy some for her to try at home. Oops! Need to get those on the shopping list haha!)

Today she tried rice during OT. She had asked to try it over the weekend; it is always amazing when she asks to try a new food! We planned to wait and take it to OT today, and she helped plan how we would fix it. I made both brown and white rice. We added butter, and a dash of salt and sugar. She said it was great! She ate 5 bites for Mrs Brittany. She says she prefers the taste of the white rice better. So I made her some more to have with supper, this time with a bit of cheese on top. She had some troubles at first, because the rice had gotten cold and she couldn't figure out how to scoop it onto her spoon. But she ended up eating about an 1/8 of a cup! I know that's not really much, but for Heidi that is a lot!

I am so grateful that she seems somewhat open to trying new foods. Would you pray that she will find a few things that she likes? If we could find at least 1 or 2 things, especially a fruit, that she could tolerate it would be wonderful. I will not push the meat issue though. I will encourage her to try it, but I have my own issues with meat haha!

We are still working on getting some more weight on my skinny girl. When she was 6 years old she weighed 52 pounds. Now she is 8, and weighs 50 (up a few pounds after dropping weight this summer) and is several inches taller. Does this sound wrong to anyone else???

For now, I am saying Thank you God for Mrs. Brittany and Heidi's huge appetite. (Seriously, it's hard to fill this girl up now LOL. She's just full of bread and potatoes.)

Saturdays :)

2011-03-05T14:27:00.000-08:00

I think Saturdays are my favorite day of the week!

Here are a few reasons why-

No school; even I enjoy that free time!
Playing outside with my kids
I'll admit, I enjoy watching the kids shows too. Like Cowboy Dan, iShine Kinect, and Adventures in Odyssey.
Taking a nap! (That didn't go so well today. JJ apparently spent most of his naptime playing in the bathroom. Without all his clothes on.)
Spending time with Carl
Getting to run later in the day, when the world is awake
Carl cooks!

For that last reason, I am so glad today was a run day and that I put in those extra 7 minutes! Carl is making steaks, homemade augratin potatoes (there is a huge difference from the box kind!), salad, cheesy garlic bread, and peanut butter brownies! My one contribution to the meal will be some homemade vanilla ice cream. We have some cream left over from our last batch of ice cream, and I can't let that go to waste haha!
Carl's mom and nephew have been visiting with us this week, so I'm glad we can enjoy this meal with them :)

So, what are you doing with your Saturday? Share the fun! I wanna know what you are up to.

Tricky Scales

2011-03-02T14:51:00.000-08:00

I realize it has been a while since my last post on Heidi, and I kind of left things hanging last time. But a good update will have to wait until things are not so crazy here! We have family in town, and several appointments this week.

Heidi stepped on the Wii Fit today, and I was happy to see that it said she weighs 53 pounds! That is, until I tested it with our bathroom scales and realized she is still at 50. But, she is slowly gaining back some of the weight she lost last year.

We have not been back to her pediatrician since the fall, because I just wasn't so happy with her last time. But I do need to go see her again. I don't know how much a child Heidi's age/size should weigh. And how much should she grow? (I did some looking online but only got more confused LOL) She is definitely taller this year, but still weighs less than she did at age 6. (She is now 8) Questions, questions. We'll see if this time the ped can answer them.

Heidi's appetite is huge now. She is slowly able to eat more, and is asking to try new foods occassionally. So far she has only liked one new food-scrambled eggs with cheese. She only ate 3 small bites, but that is progress!

Dad Dueling DInosaurs

2011-01-31T02:36:00.000-08:00

I am really enjoying teaching Hannah's 3rd grade English. She grumbles and groans through it, just as much as I'm sure I did in school. We share a huge dislike for grammar. Why am I enjoying it now? Because I am actually learning it. Her curriculum just explains it in a way my teachers never did. It's not just a list of rules that you learn, and take "Just memorize it, this is how we do it", but they tell you WHY.

What I am NOT enjoying? Having my dreams be full of my Dad dueling dinosaurs (for real y'all, it was intense LOL) and in the midst of the gruesome fighting we are diagramming subjects, predicates, direct objects, and trying to fix dangling participles and misplaced prepositions.

The participles and prepositions are a bit ahead of where Hannah is in her studies, but I think it is on my brain because I know it is something I have a problem with. (Yes. I know.) But don't think just because I am aware of the problem, that I will fix that problem. That little disclaimer on my sidebar is bound to stay there because while I am enjoying learning, I am bound to want to grumble and groan if I was to fix my own mess of writings.

Don't worry, the dinosaurs were slain. My Dad is a Hero.

These are my thoughts at 4:30a.m. Let's see how coherent I will be at 4:30p.m.

Gearing Back Up

2011-01-17T11:22:00.000-08:00

I had 2 weeks off from running. I didn't want that time off, but between bad weather, flu (I think Carl was the only one spared), pulled muscles(not running related), and traveling, it just didn't happen! I was a little bummed that I didn't get to run my favorite trails in Arkansas, or run through the country, or even enjoy the free indoor track. But we did get to enjoy a rare snowfall! We had a blast making snowmen, wrestling, and snowball attacks (as my kids call them).

I have had 2 short runs since I have been home. I ran 1 quick mile one night, to kind of test myself. Then the next morning got up and ran 2 miles. I felt great! I was tired, and my muscles told me I need to be better with my stretching, but I was happy. I was supposed to run this morning but decided to sleep instead haha.

Carl has been doing C25k with a friend, and I think he's pretty much conquered it! He makes it look so easy! It took me months to work up to a 10min/mile pace when running 2+ miles, and he is already at that pace. He's encouraging me to do better and stick with it. A little competition is always good!

I am definitely a wimp when it comes to freezing temps, but luckily we don't have many of those days here! For my new strength training and cardio, I was excited to find several videos on Netflix Wii, so I didn't have to go buy any new DVDs without knowing if I would like them. These workouts kick my booty but I always enjoy them and I can tell they are helping! I really need to find some new stretches for my shins/ankles. They do not hurt, but I can tell they are tight.

3 more pounds till my original goal....then I'll work on a new goal!

Now, if I could just find a running buddy!

Random Signs

2011-01-17T10:55:00.000-08:00

In our long drive to Arkansas, I entertained myself by reading signs. Or maybe drove myself crazy. Whatever!

I think Alabama had the craziest signs of all.

There was one strip of road that had several in a row.

Church sign:

"Free Trip to Heaven"

House next door:

"Kittens are great stocking stuffers"

Business across the street:

"Chili and Bloody Mary Cook-Off"

Further down the highway:

"Mr. Bill's Antique and Fresh Junk"

"Overlookit Used Furniture"

"Celebrate New Years with Artillery Shells and Awesome Cake"

Well, ok, maybe you need to be seriously bored before you find these signs funny, but they made me laugh :)

Enjoying some hugs :)

2011-01-04T06:29:00.000-08:00

I am back in Arkansas, after missing my kids for a week. They stayed with my parents while we were in Tennessee on the youth trip. I have never been away from Jeremy that long, and it has been a few years since I have been away from my girls that long. I really missed them!

All 3 kids were sick while I was gone. You know that just made me miss them more! I am glad my mom and dad were with them to take such great care of them. I had 24 hours of trying to stay calm while we had no cell service in the mountains, and I was hoping no one needed to reach me if the kids got worse. There is still lots of coughing going on in this house!

Carl and I will enjoy our quick time in Arkansas, including watching the Sugar Bowl with the family tonight. GO HOGS! Then it will be back to normal (whatever that is LOL) at home!

I have lots of great pictures to post of Christmas and fun with my kids from the last month. But, I think I'll too busy hanging out with my kids, taking care of these yucky coughs, and getting and giving some hugs! I'll post pics......sometime LOL.

A New Year, A New Me

2011-01-04T06:16:00.000-08:00

Don't be fooled by the title. I am not making New Year's resolutions. I despise them. It seems they just lead to failure. Now, some people can make the list, and follow through. But for so many, me included, it just doesn't pan out. I also feel if change is truly needed, why wait for January 1? Get busy right away!

I am starting the new year feeling like a new person. I have lost almost 30 pounds, many inches (I don't keep track) and I'm down more than 2 sizes. I haven't tried any new clothes lately, so I have no idea what size I really am right now. I was formally a size 16, more likely should have been 18. My new jeans I got in August that are a size 14 are already too big. I have some 12s I pulled out of the depths of my closet that also seem too big. It's a great feeling to be frustrated on Sunday mornings when I pull out 10 outfits to have only 2 sort of fit right, but this time they are too large instead of too tight!

I can run 3.5 miles and not seriously hurt or pass out from lack of breath. I can do some intense workouts and finish the full workout, without feeling like I am about to die. I feel great afterward! I love the feeling of pushing myself, but not pushing out of desperation, instead just enjoying the challenge of seeing what I can accomplish.

We went skiing last week, and I got to tell you, there is NO WAY I could have handled that last year! I truly didn't ski much, I did the 1 1/2 hour school, then went down one green hill. After falling 3 times on that hill I decided I was done! (My one fear was messing up a knee, breaking something and not being able to run for months. I'm too addicted to give it up now!) But with my bit of skiing, and all the time I carried around my gear, wearing ski boots, walking up and down hills, up and down steps, I would have been huffing and puffing last year! I was able to breathe well, my muscles only hurt that day, and I felt great the next day! (Ok, not my shoulders which took the brunt of my falls LOL)

To help with all the unhealthy eating I knew would come with the ski trip, I packed a few things to take as snacks, breakfasts, and treats to help avoid giving in to everything. Yes I ate some cheeseburgers, some biscuits and gravy, flautas, donut sticks and many cups of coffee and coke! (I decided a teen trip was worthy of breaking my no-caffeine rule! LOL) But I also had some Kashi granola , green apples, honey almond flax cereal (YUM!), and some Dove dark chocolate squares. I packed 8 squares, and I think only ate 2. Not bad!

I wanted to be down 3 more pounds by the end of the year, to make that full 30 pounds, but I missed that mark. And you know what? I'm ok with that! I lost 2 pounds over Thanksgiving, and lost another 2 pounds in early December. I did not lose any weight after about Dec 20, but hey, I gained nothing back and I ate ANYTHING I wanted to at any holiday meal and party!

I stepped up my strength training and indoor workouts over the month of December. I run every other day, and on my no-run days I do some cardio and target one area of muscles. The scales may not have gone down, but I am definitely slimmer and more toned! I think my lack of weight loss has more to do with trading fat for muscles. So really, I am ok that I did not hit that 30 pound mark! I'll keep up the work, and I will hit it soon!

Do I sound like I have a pride problem? Maybe at times. But mostly I am HAPPY! I am happy to have energy and strength that I haven't had in years. I am happy to no longer cringe when I look in the mirror. I am happy to wear clothes I haven't fit into in 10 years. I am happy to run and play outside with my kids and be able to keep up with them. I am happy.

Christmas!!

2010-11-28T15:10:00.000-08:00

It's time for our 2nd annual Christmas Unit Study! I haven't planned anything yet, but still have my stuff saved from last year. We only did half of what we planned, so I think we will pick up where we left off and go from there.

We use some of the popular unit studies you can find online with Easy Fun School based on the Names of Jesus, Christmas Symbols, and Christmas Carol.

Here are 2 websites with a long list of activities and studies that are great for this season.

http://www.squidoo.com/Christmasactivities1

http://www.easyfunschool.com/IndexChristmas.html

I'm excited to put away our school books (ok, except for math, we can never take a long break from math!) and dive into some fun learning with all 3 kids this year! We will do something each day from the EasyFunSchool studies, along with a Geography study on Israel. Our Israel unit study will be from Galloping the Globe, along with whatever I find to go along with it! It just means I need to get to work!

I can't wait!

Color

2010-11-27T15:09:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago on the morning of Carl's birthday, we woke up to this delightful discovery in our backyard.

Fall is finally here!

I wasn't even aware there were real

trees in the midst of this jungle.

After a couple of rain storms, all the leaves are off this pretty yellow tree, but I loved the colors while it lasted.

Not Just Shy

2010-11-27T14:05:00.000-08:00

I was not so happy with Heidi's new doctor, but I'm still giving her a chance. Along with doing what every doctor hates-giving her my advice on what needs to be done and taking things into my own hands.

Dr. K's first assessment was that Heidi just has poor social skills, is overly shy, and overly picky when it comes to food. All because she is homeschooled.

Really?

I won't go into that whole rant here.

I did make sure Dr. K heard all my concerns in further details and understood that we need help. She said she wasn't sure what to do, since they normally send these kids back to the public schools for testing and therapy.

I won't go into that rant here either.

She referred us to a clinic for speech/behavior testing and made an appointment to come see her again in 2 months. She said she needed time to review Heidi's medical records and figure out how to best deal with her eating issues.

*sigh*

I made sure she knew there would not be much in Heidi's records, since every doctor has brushed off our concerns when it comes to Heidi's eating troubles. All she would find would be Dr. D's list of drugs we tried for ADD. I called the clinic she suggested and found they only have psychiatrists, no speech therapist. I was frustrated since I had told Dr. K we did not want to do meds right now (which is exactly what a psych will want) and if there's no speech therapy or anything else there, why refer us?

After some great advice from my aunt, who is a physical therapist, we have a new game plan. She suggested Heidi needs an Occupational therapy evaluation. I have wondered about sensory issues (along with or instead of Asperger's or some other ASD), and my aunt felt this could likely be an issue with Heidi. She even looked up clinics in our area and suggested 2 to call. I have already called the doctor back and asked for a referral for the OT eval. She was quick to call it in, and now we are waiting for an appointment.

I gotta tell you, between my aunt and the OT clinic, it was great to talk to people who understand what we are dealing with, and give us some hope that they can help. Heidi's issues are not severe, but they are there.

Some positive news from the doctor-Heidi has gained back 4 of the 5 pounds she has lost! She was underweight to begin with, but since her appetite is back and we have an OT eval soon I am hopeful.

Wooo Hooo!

2010-11-19T05:36:00.000-08:00

Heidi's appetite is BACK! She is now so hungry, that I'm having trouble making her realize her stomach can't hold much food yet. She is eating 3 meals a day, with several snacks so that she doesn't eat too much and get a stomach ache. She still complains of stomach pains every time she eats. I don't know if this is still part of her normal issues, or because her stomach is not used to being full.

What brought her appetite back? More insurance mess up that kept us from being able to refill her Strattera. I've been wanting to try her with no meds for a while, but the doctor was sure this was not causing her loss of appetite since she did so well the first few months. I hate to realize he was wrong after 4 1/2 months of watching her not eat, lose weight, lose hair, deal with being so tired she almost couldn't function, and just being sad. I'm not going to focus on that, and just be thankful she is now hungry and hope the weight loss is over!

I will still mention this to her new doctor this week, since she still has serious food aversions. I also want to be sure that there is not something else to be concerned about that causes her food issues and stomach aches. I will not be brushed off by this doctor! But, I feel pretty confident with this one. She is the doctor that JJ sees, and helped diagnose Heidi's heart murmur when she went to emergicare in the spring. So I'm hoping she will be just as thorough as Heidi's new pediatrician.

We will be asking about testing for Asperger's or some other ASD/sensory problems. But I will not be asking for a psych referral! She is doing well without the meds for school. It is a challenge, but she is able to do her work and do it well! She even went from normal addition to multiple digit addition with carrying. I was afraid it would throw her for a loop, but she loved it and did great!

I love how God works things out. Months of insurance struggles. Now her new plan does not allow her to see her old psych doctor, and her primary doctor retired this week (our 2nd doctor from this group to leave this year). Things finally worked out so that we can see a new doctor, and the clinic JJ goes to was able to accept Heidi as a patient (whereas they were previously not accepting new patients).

Maybe I was impatient on the timing, but I'm glad it is worked out! I'll let you know how the appointment goes.

Heidi is hungry! I better go feed her! :)

Tea Party

2010-11-18T10:57:00.000-08:00

I am a bit behind on my blog posts. I'll try to catch up soon! For now, her are some pics of the girls preparing for their tea party last month. I failed to remember to use the camera during the party when their friends were here, but they had a good time!

Petit Fours my girls decorated.

Name Cards were a joint effort-Heidi and Hannah stamped and chalked them, while I added ribbons.


Hannah found a page in her AG book showing how to fold a napkin Bishop's Hat style. The flower was her idea. She pulled them off their fake bridal bouquets we got from the dollar store.

I suggested Hannah put the napkins in the center till it was time for the party. She placed them around the tea pot. I think it is kinda cute!

Hannah and Heidi set the table all by themselves, with the help of the Samantha Friendship and Fun book.

Heidi and her Caitlyn doll.


Hannah and Eva.

P.S. The girls' dresses with matching doll dresses came from Kmart. They also have nightgowns with matching doll dresses! Super comfy and cute.

P.P.S Blogger has changed some things lately with their spacing, and I haven't been on enough to figure it out. It's driving me nuts!

Comparison

2010-10-30T20:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we celebrated our 11th Anniversary.

We had a wonderful day.

We were crazy and took some teens from our

church to the fair haha! We stayed out till *gasp* 2:30 a.m. !

Seriously, it was the most fun I have had in a while.

But I told Carl we need to do something "normal"

next year for our anniversary.

In the past 4 years we have gone to 2 fairs and camping LOL!

I loved camping, and this year the fair was awesome fun, but

I don't want to make that our normal thing to do LOL!

Maybe a nice restaurant, hotel or cabin would be good next year?

Here is a cheesy picture from last year's camping trip.

I do not like this picture.

I do love this picture, for the fact that it shows

how happy we were, and we really enjoyed

having some time just the 2 of us.

But I do not like my face, my almost-double chin.

This is when I realized I have got to

get more serious, and get healthy.

So, fast forward to this year's cheesy picture.

There is not a huge difference in how we look.
Still looking really happy!

11 years, really? I am so blessed.

I pray we have so many years together that we lose count :)

But I am glad that double chin has gone away!

(And I no longer have bent glasses haha!)
My goal seems attainable now.
Only 6 pounds till I reach my pre-wedding weight!

Yes, I can be vain.

But so much of it goes back to wanting to be my best.
I cannot fully serve God, be a loving wife and mother,
take care of our home, teach homeschool,
or anything else God asks me to do
if I am not healthy.

I did not feel healthy when I was 20+ pounds heavier.
I felt tired, had constant headaches, and was down a lot.
I am feeling so much better these days!
I still don't eat perfect, but so much better
than before. I am still running, and I'm very proud
that Carl has now started the Couch to 5k program.
Maybe we can run a 5k together one day!

I look forward to next year's cheesy picture.

Another Birthday Panic Success :)

2010-10-18T18:58:00.000-07:00

Birthday's lately tend to put me in a bit of a panic.

My kids always love to plan their parties months ahead of time.

And somehow they convince me of these
big projects-Thomas, Belle,

and now an American Girl themed party complete
with homemade petit fours.

Hannah has been talking of a Samantha/1904
themed tea party since spring.

Sure, it sounded so easy, so I said, "No problem!
Write down the plans and we'll do it."

But I did not realize that Hannah would be having
2 eye surgeries in the 2 weeks before her birthday.
We didn't exactly have an easy prep time,
and even considered calling
off the party at one point. But after so
much build up, it's gotta happen!

And after googling hundreds of petit four recipes
(you think I'm joking? Nope!),

I realized this would not be so easy!

After seeing some disaster pictures other people created,
even Hannah was suggesting Publix haha!

I kept Publix bakery in the back of my mind,
but was determined to give this a try.

We still have not had Hannah's party;
so I have a few days to work on my skills.

We decided to take a somewhat easier approach this first attempt.

We bought a Sara Lee pound cake.

It's strawberry swirl, which my girls think is fancy :)

But the glaze is homemade!

Maybe next year we will attempt the cake.
Maybe.

Attempt #1 at glaze-Ewwwwwwww!

I dumped it down the sink, and went on to the next recipe.
(After rechecking the recipe, I realized it came from a food blog originating from India. Hmmmmmm.....)

Attempt #2 got a "Yes!" vote from Carl and all 3 kids.

They say it compares to Krispy Kreme glaze.

Carl is at this moment hunting down a donut cutter at Walmart

so I can make my first attempt at donuts.

Think I'm kidding again? Ha!

You just gotta know Carl.

Here's an easy rundown of what I did. I'll post the recipe later.

I did not get a pic of Step 1-boiling sugar into syrup.

It was fairly easy, just stressful having to keep my
mind focused on checking the thermometer
often while I dealt with supper,
washing dishes, and general afternoon chaos in our house.
My own fault, but I just couldn't wait to try it :)
(Pics are above their descriptions)

Step2-sifting confectioner's sugar into the cooled syrup.

Hannah sifted while I stirred.
We added less than 1/2 the amount of powder,
because it suddenly was so cool and thick that the
spoon stood up LOL!
After sneaking a taste, we decided it was sweet enough.

Step 3 & 4-thaw and trim pound cake.

Step5-cut pound cake into "neat" squares.

This is where I have to forget any perfect tendencies.

Step 6-Reheat glaze.

This is my rigged-up double broiler using a fry daddy strainer.
I was relieved that the glaze reheated well,
no grittiness, or having to thin it with water.

Step 7-spoon glaze over cake,
yet again not worrying about perfection.

The rack allowed the glaze to dribble onto
the plate beneath it, so I could reuse the

extra glaze. The lumpier pieces were my first try. The smoother

pieces are my last try when I got the hang of one large drizzle

over the cake to cover all the sides.

Step8-Let petit fours cool, then transfer using a sharp knife.

I managed to do this without damaging the petit fours, or myself.

Big accomplishment people, big accomplishment!

Tomorrow my girls and I will try to decorate the petit fours.

These are just our practice pieces, and we'll do
the rest of the cake on Thursday morning.
So be expecting another, hopefully not-so-long post
with some awesome looking petit fours!
I'm simply amazed these turned out so well!

Food Aversions

2010-09-26T15:30:00.000-07:00

Heidi, my 7 year old, has always had struggles when it comes to food. She goes beyond being picky. She deals with some serious food aversions. We have always joked that she got the worst of me and Carl. She got my meat aversion, and Carl's fruit/veggie aversion.

As a baby, Heidi ate well. She was not failure to thrive, but a chunky baby girl. She had no problems with a bottle, cup, or baby food. Yet when it came time for table foods, it was a struggle.

She loved those gross jars of green beans and rice, but eat real green beans? No way! For a short time I could hide foods in soup or rice and she would eat them. I think she must have caught on, because by 2 1/2 years old she no longer ate soups or rice, and still won't to this day.

What does she eat? Here's the list.

grilled cheese or cheese toast
yogurt
cereal, of the bland healthy variety
crackers
bread of any kind
quesadillas
refried beans
noodles with butter and Parmesan cheese
pizza with no sauce
pancakes/waffles
mashed/baked potatoes

(Did you notice most of these are "white" foods? And bland?)

She will sometimes eat mac & cheese, hot dogs or chicken nuggets, depending on the brand, how it is cooked, and her mood.

And that's it! Not a long list, when I compare what foods my other children willingly eat.

Her aversions have gotten worse this year. She used to eat peanut butter, applesauce, beans, and bananas, but no longer tolerates them. She is losing weight, only a few pounds, but she is already so skinny. Her hair is thinning. She is always cold, even on some of the warmest days. She has always bruised easily.

I have mentioned Heidi's food struggles to several doctors over the years, but they always brush me off. "She's just picky. Offer her healthy choices. She'll outgrow it." Well, she did outgrow a few aversions when she was five. This is when she ate her first nugget, hot dog, and pizza. Sometimes. Yet she will still gag or refuse to eat anything normal. I don't mean that she is stubborn and just won't eat what we cook, but she will seriously not eat anything if it is not on her "list" of foods. I can't force her to eat, and I can't starve her.

I am at the end of my rope. We are switching doctors this month, and maybe this time the doctor will take me seriously. I will not be brushed off so easily now.

Los Piropos

2010-09-14T13:49:00.000-07:00

We have this book for Spanish curriculum, Spanish is Fun.

It is not labeled for a specific age, just as a beginners level.

It is not my preferred curriculum, but it was only $7 at our local homeschool strore, so it will do for now!

I was preparing our next lesson, which deals with conversations. There is a section called "Los Piropos", which they translated as "a flirtatious or poetic compliment to a woman."

Seriously, here are a few of the phrases from this section:

"Be careful when it rains, because sugar melts in water"

"You are a walking doll!"

"Blessed be the tree that gave the wood to make your cradle, good-looking!"

That last phrase really cracked me up.

I think the Newman's can skip this lesson and just go

on to "Mi Familia" LOL!

Wanted: Assistant Teacher for Homeschool

2010-09-14T08:20:00.000-07:00

I think all homeschool moms understand this feeling! We need assistants. Or at least receptionists to deal with phone calls, paperwork.

Being a teacher/mom, it is really hard to make it through the day without interruptions. Anytime a problem comes up, school stops while I deal with it. When I look back at the last 3 years and think of our toughest times, it was not when we had a baby, or was dealing with a move. By far the worst school days were when I was potty training my toddler, and was also babysitting another potty training toddler. We couldn't make it through 5 minutes of work without stopping to take one of them to the bathroom, or clean up a mess. These days are much easier in that aspect! Potty training is done!

When a child has a cold, we plod on and try to get done what we can. It may be a bit tough, between taking temperatures, pushing fluids, and keeping track of all the loose klennex, but we'll make it. If we took a sick day anytime someone felt a bit sick, we would never get done! If all 3 kids are sick, or there is a stomach bug, we'll take a sick day.

For some reason, my son has a thing against English this year. Anytime I start teaching my oldest daughter her lesson, I seriously can't get one sentence spoken before he interrupts. Asking for food, needing help with something, looking for his favorite car, wanting me to play, asking for tv, wanting to cuddle, making a mess, throwing a fit....I have suggested we start doing English during his naptime LOL! I guess he prefers math and science. He has no problems (ok, not as much problem) letting us work on other subjects.

These days our biggest problems are doctors and doctor related phone calls. Our first 5 weeks of school had 5 days of appointments. Any time we have one appointment, the whole day is messed up, and sometimes the next day. (we also had 2 days scratched due to meetings) We may get some math done, reading if we're lucky, but real school time is scarce. We've also had multiple days of phone calls between doctors' offices and insurance companies to straighten out paperwork messes and setting up appointments. Basically, we are only managing 4 day school weeks right now. I think I'm ok with that, and may just stick to that routine. We have still somehow managed to get 7 weeks worth of work done in this time.

My oldest is having eye surgery next week. So I had this nice plan of taking it easy this week and just having all the fun we can. Today we planned to be done with school by 9, and then head out to the pool. Instead it is almost 10, we have not even started school, I haven't dressed or eaten, and I see no relief in sight.

Why am I blogging now, you ask? Well, I'm on my 4th phone call between 2 doctors' offices and on hold. Again. And it looks like we will also have to scratch tomorrow off our "easy" day list because we now have another doctor's appointment.

This is where the assistant comes in. If I had an assistant teacher they could handle the teaching while I field all the problems. Or a receptionist could deal with the problems and I could teach. That sounds like a much better idea! I would rather be reading about Sacajawea, diagramming sentences, or playing with light during our science time than fighting with insurance or doctors offices and sitting on hold listening to music that is bound to put me to sleep.

While we are dreaming, a personal chef, maid, and professional laundry service would be nice :)

Who's with me?

I concede!

2010-09-02T17:12:00.000-07:00

That's it, I give up! Admit defeat! I can't handle the pressure.

Our battle?

Vegetables.

I tried switching to frozen veggies a few months ago. I know veggies lose some of their nutrients in the canning process. I am also trying to keep from boiling the remaining nutrients right of them LOL. But, my kids (and husband, although he was nice about it) resisted the change.

These frozen veggies, they just can't stand them! Hannah will actually turn up her nose, hem and haw, whine, when she has always been nice about eating canned veggies. Heidi will just refuse to eat anything! Seriously. If it comes down to eating green beans or eating nothing, she just won't eat. So I give up!

I even tried to be gradual about it, boiling the veggies till they were nice and limp.(ugh!) I figured over several months I could boil them less till the kids got used to the texture change. But nope, they just won't have anything to do with frozen veggies.

I'll switch back to canned veggies. I'll try again in a couple of years, and maybe I'll have better luck next time. I have already been making my own veggies, either sauteing, steaming, or roasting them.

My family has been great at allowing me to make several changes in our cooking. I have been able to switch to whole wheat flour for our pizza crust, pancakes, bread, pitas, muffins, and even some cookies. I was amazed when I made some banana muffins using applesauce, whole wheat flour, and rolled oats. My girls said they were the best muffins! I seriously thought they were ok, but not the best. A good substitute though. I guess I will just count myself lucky that I can make some healthier changes, and not push for more right now. I am glad they will at least eat canned veggies!

New Year of School

2010-08-27T10:37:00.000-07:00

We choose to have school year round, and I gotta say it really works for us. We took off 3 weeks during July/August, and then jumped into a new school year.

Heidi started 2nd grade, and is really progressing with her math and reading. We just found out she needs glasses, so hopefully this will help with her reading, focusing, and handwriting! I felt bad when I found out, because apparently her sight is pretty bad. But I'm just glad she will now be able to see better! She is still taking her "focus" meds, and she has an equal amount of good and bad focus days.

Hannah started 3rd grade in the spring, but just now received a new English and Math curriculum. So it seems like a whole new year for her. She is so happy to be learning multiplication and cursive. History is her favorite subject, and I am trying to work harder to be sure she is able to have time for this, and give her new challenges with her lessons.

Jeremy is also starting "official" PreK at home with us. He already knows all of his ABCs and their sounds, colors, several shapes, and can count to 20. Right now we are working at recognizing the written numbers, learning about same/different, and just being able to sit at the table for a few minutes. He will be moving up in Sunday School soon, and I would like him to be able to sit "still" for a while LOL. It is challenging, adding a 3 year old to the bunch, but I must say it is still easier than last year when I was trying to teach the girls and potty train a two year old!

I think my favorite things about this new school year are the subjects that we work on together. We read our Bible, then work on a project with the story. This past week we learned about Creation and The Fall in the Garden. We had a lot of fun (and mess!) making pictures of the Garden of Eden out of finger prints. We are learning Spanish. Hannah gets the most out of this. I'm trying to teach her some of the rules that go along with the language, but Heidi and Jeremy just learn some of the vocabulary and phrases with us. We also have some fun Science workbooks. The girls keep a journal, which they think is fun after watching Sid the Science Kid. Jeremy does not journal, but loves to help with the experiments. This week we are learning about light, so he gets to help with the flashlight when we need it.

We will be participating in a Co-op again this year, and my children are so excited to see their old friends and make some new ones! They will take Art, Current Events, and maybe American Sign Language. This will be the same day as our league PE, and will make for a very long but great day!

This year is already proving to be a challenge: scrambling to keep up with 3 kids, housework, cooking, preparing lessons plans (so not my style haha!) and keeping up with our school work. I'm thinking about switching to a 4 days school week, since that seems to be what we manage anyway. But even with the challenges, I really am loving school. Sitting at the table or couch with my children close, seeing them have fun with learning, struggle and overcome problems, growing together. I just couldn't ask for more!

Slacker

2010-08-24T13:44:00.000-07:00

I have been such a slacker for the past 6 weeks! Yes, I am still running. But instead of one day betweens runs, I have gone to 2 days between runs to see if that helped my mysterious foot swelling. It did! But I also cut out my off-day workouts. I would usually do a workout dvd, go walking with my kids, chase my kids (haha), or go swimming. But these last weeks have been really busy with family in town, a 3 week trip to Arkansas, coming home to 3 sick kiddos, and starting back to homeschool.

The good news? I made it through all of that, add in some unhealthy eating, and I still managed to lose 2 pounds! Even though I gave in to some fast food and late night Dairy Queen Snickers Blizzards (don't judge me haha!), I've been balancing my other food choices wisely.

So what does this tell me? If I get myself back into gear this month with my run days, workouts, and wiser eating choices then those next 20 pounds should go a lot quicker!

I finished my first round of Couch to 5k, and I'm going to follow in my friends steps and start the program over. This time I will work on my speed. I would love to be faster before I run my first official 5k this fall! My friend Clara is one of the gals who inspired me to start this journey. You should check out her blog Changing My Blueprint, where she journals her progress to being a "former thick chick". She's awesome! I always love to hear what she is eating, because even if it is something very healthy, she makes it sound gourmet. Her "Before" and "Now" pictures are amazing. She has lost more than 60 pounds this year, and is enjoying the benefits of that better health. I'm so glad for her and several other friends who have kept me going this year.

It's amazing to think back to earlier this year, when the thought of a 90 second run was intimidating. Now I can run about 40 minutes! When I started C25k, I was a size 16. Truthfully, I was probably 1 pound away from being a size 18 which put me into a panic. I did not want to have to move up that size and admit that I was that big. I have now lost down to a size 14, some things I am able to wear a 12. It was awesome to go buy some new shirts recently and realize that I am no longer an XL size! I was able to buy a M and L. My next goal is to get down to a size 12, which is the size I was wearing when I got married. After that, we'll see!

Post Vacation Catch-Up

2010-08-08T14:37:00.000-07:00

It has been so long since I have written a post, that I can't even remember what I last posted.

It has been so long since I have written a post, that the blog templates I use for both blogs are no longer available!

I guess I will be doing some template searching this week. You know, after taking care of my sick kiddos, planning our first week of homeschool, unpacking from our 3 week long trip, jumping back into local activities, catching up with our 3 pets.........

Happy

2010-07-22T09:01:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting in my parents back yard.

20 trees before me.

12 trees behind me.

Covering me with shade.

Green everywhere.

Spots of colors where flowers bloom.

Crickets chirping.

Bugs buzzing.

Frogs hopping.

Birds singing.

Breeze blowing against my face.

Children laughing.

Rollie Pollies to inspect.

Sand flying.

I am happy.

Fresh

2010-07-05T14:11:00.000-07:00

The only thing that would make me happier than seeing this pile of beautiful fresh veggies sitting on my counter (some of which I have already eaten, haha), would be to walk through the fields where these veggies grew.

Dirt under my feet, warm sun on my back, breeze on my face, row after row of produce....
I miss it!

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-04T18:16:00.000-07:00

We celebrated by hanging out with good friends at a cookout and swimming. Then we played in the yard with a few small poppers.

Now Jeremy and I are home watching "A Capital Fourth". I think it's nice. Bug free, crowd free, smoke free, comfy chair, air conditioning haha!

Carl and the girls are at a local beach to see the fireworks show there. I hope they have a great time!

What are you doing to celebrate?

Sweet Summertime Treat

2010-06-23T11:25:00.001-07:00

Want to know how to make a really simple, healthy, delicious summer treat?

Take one of these...

Cut a small slit in the top, and insert a popsicle stick.
Leave it in the freezer over night.

And voila! You have an easy way to make 3 tired kids happy after a swim in the pool!

I'm going to try to freeze some Simply Go-gurt packets next. They look just like those icee pop things that are basically made out of koolaide, so I thought it might work out good!

Relaxed

2010-06-23T11:24:00.001-07:00

We do school during the summer.

Yes! That's right! I deprive my kids of 2 months with no school, no work, no routines. (Well, alright, so we are never really into a routine.) So many people gasp when I admit this to them. But we just don't like taking all that time off. My kids will even ask for school during breaks.

Here's our reasons for year-round school:

1) My kids get bored and wild with too much time off

2) We like to take random breaks during the year, a month off for Christmas, a day (or week!) off for birthdays, maybe 2 Spring Breaks. If we have school during the summer, then we are allowed those extra breaks.

3) My kids will forget their work after too much time off, and I really don't like starting over.

But don't worry! My kids really are not missing that much. We take breaks during the summer, maybe a week here and there. We are REALLY relaxed with our work right now. If we want to take a day off and go to the beach, we do. If we want to go to the park, or see friends. Alright, let's go! Our library has an awesome summer program, so we'll be counting those as field trips :) We plan to hit the museum a few times also.

When I said we were relaxed, I meant that. Here's an example of our day so far:

We had breakfast-oatmeal and peanut butter toast. Then we went to our neighbor's house and swam in their pool for an hour. What fun! Then we headed back home, and had frozen yogurt pops and animal crackers for snack. We finally sat down to do school at 10:45. We finished math, and I hope to finish reading before lunch. Then guess what, my favorite time of day-naptime! I think after all that swimming we will need the rest. In the afternoon we will do some science and read library books.

See? Pretty relaxed. We really have been doing only half the amount of normal work this summer. Jeremy's birthday is this week, VBS next week, then the 4th of July. After that I plan on getting more serious about our work. Heidi will be finished with her 1st grade work and ready to start 2nd grade. Hannah will have finished her Beta level of math and ready for Gamma. And I have yet to buy her 3rd grade Grammar book. There's something about new books that always gets them excited about school!

Getting There

2010-06-14T12:56:00.000-07:00

My apologies to anyone who gets bored of hearing me talking about running. Posting on my blog and Facebook have really kept me accountable. If I didn't post, it would be so easy to take a day off, a week off, just give up completely. But knowing there are other people keeping up with what I do helps keep me in line. So post, I will.

I feel like I'm finally making some good progress. When I first started C25k I quickly lost 10 pounds, and my legs shaped up nicely. I will always loose weight there first. I was a bit disappointed that I did not lose much else for a few weeks, but I knew I just needed to stick with it. I also knew I would need to get more serious with my eating in order to lose more.

I was soon able to see a difference in my face, legs, arms, and stomach. And even that one roll I didn't love. What I really loved was pulling out some clothes I hadn't worn in a while, wear them, and be able to breath normally haha!

I finally got brave enough to step up on the scales this weekend. I am only down 2 more pounds, but have definitely lost more inches. I really noticed my curves are all down in size. That was an awesome feeling! Those are the tough spots for me. I am really encouraged now to continue on, finish this run program, and get my body healthier.

One awesome improvement-my headaches are getting so much better! I have frequent migraines, and daily severe headaches. I started avoiding foods that were in a can, bag, or box, and I think that has done the trick. I knew certain preservatives and seasonings were triggers for me, like MSG, but I guess there are a lot more than I realized. I found a list of free glutamic acids to avoid. The list was so long, and it seemed like such a bother to read the labels, that I decided it was just easier to avoid those foods altogether.

I am 10 weeks into the C25k program(I think), but on Week 7 of the run since I repeated a couple of weeks. 10 weeks doesn't seem like so long! I wonder how I will feel in 10 more weeks? Sticking through the heat of summer will be the tough thing.

Squash-orama

2010-06-14T12:39:00.000-07:00

I ate 12 squash on my own last week. I don't know if I should be proud or embarrassed. But I am totally on this roasted veggie kick. I managed 12 squash, 2 bell peppers, 3 large onions, 2 potatoes, 1/2 cucumber (that's a whole 'nother story!), and 6 tomatoes. YUMMY! I hated that Carl was out of town for a family emergency, but I did enjoy being a vegetarian while he was gone.

Carl asked what protein did I eat last week? Ummmmmmm.....was my response. Usually I am good about trying to have eggs, peanut butter, nuts, yogurt, fish, or something when I am in my meat aversion stage. But I only had 5 fish sticks (yuck!) early in the week, and no peanut butter (unless you count the times I licked the knife after fixing my kids' sandwiches). Oops! Carl remedied that real quick LOL. I try to be careful to get a good balance of foods, especially when I am running. Since I didn't run last week, I wasn't careful enough.

Carl went and bought me some meat, grilled it for me, yet also got me some more squash and some zucchinis. I love it. He watches out for me, yet will feed the vegetarian in me too.

Run On

2010-06-12T13:39:00.000-07:00

I am far from being a real runner. I merely jog, and jog slowly. But I'll get there! Here are some signs that I am on my way.

Things I have encountered on my run, yet I kept on running without missing a beat:

1) A heron stalking me for my whole run. I imagined he was cheering me on as he squawked.

2) Getting caught in a swarm of mosquitoes, gnats, and yellow flies which led to lots of silly swatting and ducking.

3) BIG scary dog that refuses to let me come near his house, or even his end of the street. When I attempted, he got so close his nose was touching my elbow as he growled and barked.

4) 2 BIG friendly dogs that just want to play with me. One clawed the back of my leg.

5) Bug getting stuck in my eye, and having to take off my glasses and fish it out.

6) Sea gull swooping and diving AT MY FACE repeatedly letting me know I was too close to its nesting spot.

I laugh at these, since they all involve bugs and animals. After reading other runners' stories, I am sure I will have even more interesting mishaps come along. I say, "Bring it on!"

Thank You God

2010-06-12T11:13:00.000-07:00

After being stuck indoors for my exercise this week, I was so glad to head outdoors this morning. But I didn't want to run in my neighborhood like normal, I wanted to get OUT. So I headed 5 minutes down the road to our favorite beach. I was nervous, not knowing what I would see. I've heard so much on tv this week, tar balls, and bits of oil washing ashore. But I did not want to see the real images. It just breaks my heart.

Here is what greeted me.

Thank you God. I know it is coming, next week I may take very different pictures, but I am thankful for the beauty that is still there. I read Psalm 104 today, amazed again at God's creation, and His power. God may not wipe this mess away, we may not get the miracle so many are praying for. But I wonder, years down the road, what beautiful things may have come from this. What hearts will have changed, who sought out God? Who grew, became more aware of others around them rather than focusing on themselves.

How will I change?

Oooooh ooooouuuuuch!

2010-06-10T18:02:00.000-07:00

I'm stuck indoors for exercise this week. To keep the boredom to a low level, I tried out some new workout videos online.

I think next time I hear the instructor say, "You can put the weights down for this exercise if you need to", and after the sixth time I think "Hmmm, maybe I should listen", that I will PUT THE WEIGHTS DOWN!

OUCH!

Labels

2010-06-07T07:07:00.000-07:00

I now have labels posted on my right sidebar. Ok, most of you know what that means, but for those of y'all new to blogs, scroll down and you will see a list of words like Arkansas, Hannah, recipes. Click on one of those words and a lists of posts about that subject will pull up.

Most of my bloggy followers (ha! I have SO many you know LOL) will not be too interested. But I thought my family might like to know. It's especially nice on my Precious 3 blog, where you can go back and look at posts of the kids when they were younger. *sigh* I had such a good time going through lots of old posts and seeing my cute baby faced girls, and a plump happy baby boy!

I had to fix lots of problems with my labels. My sister first set up our first blog more than 3 years ago, and I was still asking "WHAT is a blog?", so labels were beyond me. I found lots of posts that did not have labels, posts that had labels that were useless, or labels that needed to be simplified. Like "Trip to Arkansas", "Arkansas trip", "Arkansas in June". I had to fix those labels all to "Arkansas" and "trip".

One random thought-I was bothered by how many posts had "moving" as a label. Hopefully our family won't have those posts for a while!

Confession # 20

2010-06-05T20:22:00.000-07:00

I checked out 2 great books at the library last week. They were, um, both from the children's section. And they were for me, not my kids :)

Year Down Yonder, by Richard Peck
I laughed out loud many times!

Trixie Belden-The Arizona Mystery, by Julie Campell
I used to love reading my aunt's Trixie Belden books when I was younger.

Oh. My. Goodness.

2010-06-05T17:13:00.000-07:00

I just found the most amazing site.

It has awesome recipes, like snicker doodle ice cream,
spicy honey chicken, and no-knead (that's right!) multigrain bread.

It's called Our Best Bites, and includes great
tips for those who are not natural cooks. Great for me!

There is a side bar with pictures and links to
their other recipes, like about 50 of them.

I want to eat them all.

Run, Run, Run!

2010-06-05T06:46:00.000-07:00

I am back in training! I LOVE running, but have had some joint problems and it's been a few years since I could really run. I'm giving it another try!

Have you heard of Couch to 5K? It's a great program, and similar to the program that I used when I was younger. I am in Week 6, and doing better than I thought! I did repeat a couple of weeks, thinking my body needed longer to adjust. Going good so far! Maybe I shouldn't blog that this early?

The first few weeks I dealt with shin splints. I have really old running shoes, so I knew that could be a problem. After doing some google searches (you know how I love those!), and reading some running forums, I found some good solutions. I tried walking on pavement, and running on grass. That worked great! By Week 4 I went back to running on pavement and had no problems. I didn't think the neighbors would appreciate me running on their grass, haha!

During the first 2 days of Week 6 I started having some left knee and hip pain. Again, probably the running shoes and the fact that I am running more than I am walking now (yes!). The pain is not bad, and not until the end of the run. I guess we'll see how it goes after I run Week 6 Day 3 tomorrow, a solid 25 minute run! Yikes!

But you know what? I'm doing it! I off the couch, and out the door! Even though it can be tough, I am loving it! I have lost weight, down one dress size, built muscles, and I feel great! I am proud of myself for what I have accomplished. I can run 5 minutes with no problem. I can push through and run 8 and 10 minutes. I have to push really hard (and pray!) and work on my mindset to run 20 minutes. So I need to get my mind ready to run these 25 minutes tomorrow!

I have a few things that have really helped me. A few good friends who are also doing C2-5k, they really encourage me. If it wasn't for them, I probably would have given up by now! The C2-5k Facebook page is full of information and other runners just like me. I can always find someone who is at my running level, or someone to share how the next run should go. Someone to say "You can do it!" When I have a problem with a run, I can always find a solution on this page.

Carl has also been a great encourager. He lets me know he is proud of me for just getting out there and doing it. He has even made me my own playlist with prompts for my run/walk times. That has been great! I love running to my own music.

God has been my best running partner. When I am running and I think I can't go any further, He finds a way to show me "Go further! Don't give up!" I run early in the day, so just as I am finishing my run the sunrise is at it's best. It always encourages and amazes me those last 5 minutes when I am coming near the bay and see the sun shine on the clouds, the water, the land, feel the cool breeze on my face. The view of God's awesome creation helps me find the strength to push on. Then I reach the bay, and just sit and soak it in, thanking God that He helped me finish another day.

My parents have been training for marathons the last few years. They have done great! Who knows, maybe in a few years I'll make that big reach for a marathon, but for now I will be really happy when I run my first 5k!

Click for the link to the Cool Running site with lots of good Couch to 5k info.

Here is the link for the Couch to 5k site.
There are several places you can find free podcasts with music and prompts for when you need to run/walk. It really helps! I have to have fast music in order to run and don't want to be worried about checking my nonexistent watch for when I need to run.

I'll let you know how it goes! A few more weeks of training, and if it continues to go well, I'll be a C2-5k graduate!

Sunscreen is Damaging?

2010-06-01T19:33:00.000-07:00

I've been doing some reading on sunscreen. And then avoiding what I read. Cuz it can just get your mind going! I hate when you read about something that you've been told for years is healthy and the best thing for you, and then come to find out, maybe it could be doing more damage. You know, like drink milk, take vitamins, slather on so much sunscreen that you feel you should have taken out stock after covering your family of 5.

Here is a link to the EWG's Top Sun Safety Tips. http://www.ewg.org/2010sunscreen/top-sunscreen-tips/

There is a "Find Your Sunscreen" button to let you test you sunscreen and see how safe it really is.

I was appalled to find that the 3 main sunscreens our family uses scored a 7 out of 10, and made the "avoid" list. It was not the best time to read this article after a week of being out in the mid day sun everyday, the whole family slathered in sunscreen.

*SIGH*

I guess I'll be searching for some new sunscreen!

I know some of the best ways to prevent sun damage is to avoid the sun, or cover up. But we live by the water, and it is really hard to avoid sun all summer! I guess I'm glad that typically we try to go out early or late in the day when we do not need sunscreen.

The EWG has articles and info on lots of other products we use, but I think I will avoid those for now. I have enough info for tonight!

Confession # 17

2010-05-27T06:18:00.000-07:00

One of my silly fears is going into the garage to get a fresh load of laundry out of the dryer and discovering that our "pet" lizard Fred (who lives by the water heater) climbed into the dryer the night before when I left the dryer door open.

Success!

2010-05-27T05:57:00.000-07:00

Heidi has another doctor appt tomorrow, and I am so happy to go in with a good report!

Strattera is definitely working for Heidi! The first week was rough, but since then she has not complained of any side effects like headaches or stomach aches. She has a normal appetite. I have not noticed any mood swings, extreme sadness, or seen her seeking isolation.

And she is focused! I'm so glad this med is working right now, because I did not think I could try anymore. I still have some reservations, but for now we are happy with her being on meds. I will still seek out some natural remedies, and try to work out some things that will help her with school work so that one day she will be able to cope without the meds.

I'm so proud of Heidi! She started 1st grade last spring, and it has been a rough year. But she has made great progress. She has about 5 weeks left in her reading and math workbooks, then she will start 2nd grade!

Homeschool Spotlight

2010-05-19T12:40:00.000-07:00

I have thought about this for a while, and now I'm putting my thoughts down on paper. Er, well, you get the idea!

I'd like to post once a week about homeschool with our family. Maybe a Unit Study, project, or field trip. Even just those days we decide to put the books away and just study one thing-like dolphins or volcanoes.

My first post is already written in my head, I just need to get it typed up sometime. It will be about teaching preschoolers. I think I am almost a "Pro" at preschoolers, but this elementary school thing is tough! Haha!

First, I think I will take a pole. How do YOU write Homeschool?

I have seen it spelled these ways:

Home School

Home-School

Homeschool

Which is right? Or does it matter? I prefer the last option, but then I sometimes prefer the wrong way of things :)

Confession # 13

2010-05-18T14:36:00.000-07:00

I like to watch kids shows.

I love Hermie and Wormie, they crack me up! And I love how they talk to God like He's right there by them.

I love Electric Company, the music and rhymes are always getting stuck in my head. You can often find me dancing around the house singing "I've got a pocket full of H's" or the "Hard and Soft G" rap.

I can't BELIEVE I am posting this!

2010-05-17T19:01:00.000-07:00

I must be crazy!

I have naturally curly hair. For many of my early years, my hair was straight or just kind of wavy. But once those curls hit, we had no idea what to do with my hair! Everyone else in my family had impossibly straight sleek hair.

(On a side note, my cousin did a pretty good job of convincing me I was adopted since I was the only blond haired blue eyed person in my immediate family, haha)

My hair got kinkier and darker as the years went by.

Be warned some of the photos may be scary. And these are the decent pictures! I couldn't find any of the truly scary ones, haha.

Here I am in Junior High, being crazy with some friends, with some pretty wild hair. Seriously, this is tamed compared to some pics. Sometimes my hair was almost a fro, and sometimes it so heavy with gel or mousse that I'm not sure how I could stand!

Skip ahead to High School. I finally realized bangs were NOT a good idea, LOL. The curls are a little more controlled, but now I suffer from triangle head.

Here I am today. This is my proof that I MUST use hair products, no matter if they are bad for me or the environment. I can't go around scaring people! Actually, I do have some leave-in conditioner on, and that is helping tame it some. Otherwise it would be much scarier!

(Heidi said I look like a rock star. I will come in from jogging, be red faced, sweaty, dirty, with frizzy hair and she will say I look so beautiful! She's so kind haha.)

Finally, a decent picture! This was taken by a friend on Sunday. My hair may not be perfect, or just how I like it, but not so scary!

And I have not used shampoo in months! I guess this Curly Girl method works for me!

Oh Dear

2010-05-13T18:01:00.000-07:00

I MUST love my family.

To let this thing in my house. *shudder*

Still, he (she?) is kinda cute.

When Mom has a bad day...

2010-05-10T11:33:00.000-07:00

...you just might be able to...

...get away with...

...emptying the panty/school cabinet....

and using all the cans to build a tower.

And Mom won't care one bit.

Heidi's New Meds

2010-05-10T07:10:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged in a while about Heidi and her meds. Let's just say frustrated was not a strong enough word, and I just didn't feel like talking about it. Thanks to our insurance, she was unable to try her 4th meds. And after a nasty stomach bug we found out she has a heart murmur, so she went several weeks with no meds till she saw a cardiologist. Yet again more problems with insurance.

They decided the murmur was too slight to worry about and meds would be ok. So on Friday she started her 5th meds- Strattera. The doctor was pretty confident about them, and said it helps many kids who have ADHD and Asperger's. Previously he was subscribing meds that he was not confident about, but thanks to our insurance (that's the last time I'll use that phrase, I promise) his hands were tied about choosing better meds.

Our first problem with Strattera-it is a capsule. Heidi had no problem swallowing previous pills, but the capsule was just too much for her. We tried several things-putting it in peanut butter, applesauce, but she would swallow the food and not the pill. We tried having her chew her food, then putting the capsule in her mouth just before she swallowed. She would get very distressed, and at this point the capsule started dissolving in her mouth. After that the bitter taste really distressed her. Somehow, we finally got the pill swallowed.

Day 2 she was able to swallow the capsule whole.I'm not sure how! Day 3 was just like Day 1, but with added tears and choking. After some peanut butter with a dash of chocolate syrup she finally got it down. Day 4 we found new advice-use a straw! That worked today, and I put bendy straws on our shopping list!

Our second problem with Strattera-if she swallows the pill whole, I do not notice any side effects (yet). But if she cannot swallow the pill before it starts to dissolve there are worse side effects. Very emotional, very irrational. Huge mood swings! Stomach aches, headaches. We left church after Sunday School yesterday because she was very upset and there was no calming her down. We both left in tears.

I'm trying this med again today only because I noticed no problems on Day 2. BUT-if there are any problems today, you can bet we will be throwing these pills out! We will probably go back to no meds at all. I was enjoying her sharpened focus, and all the progress she was making with her school work, and she also liked how her focus helped her. But it's just not worth it when your child is hurting physically and emotionally.

Our Week

2010-05-08T05:16:00.000-07:00

Here's just a few things we have dealt with this week:

colds, seasonal allergies, stomach virus, MRSA (although I doubt this diagnosis!), Shingles, multiple doctor visits, a van that decides it doesn't like us, a 2 year old with a messed up sleep pattern (never a good thing), and Cabin Fever from the before mentioned illnesses.

Part of me is now questioning my decision to get rid of all our antibacterial products last week.......

Guessing Game

2010-05-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

We got a package in the mail today.
It was small, but packed full of fun stuff.
Thanks Nana!

These are the coolest toys. Anyone want to guess what they are?

Carl and I may be fighting with my kids over them!

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

2010-04-30T19:35:00.000-07:00

Let me start off by apologizing-I am not a photographer, and I'm not good at food pics. The lighting is awful, but this was a totally spontaneous decision to document this recipe.

I have been making whole wheat pizza crust for a few years with a bread machine. I decided to be brave and finally make it all on my own! I don't know why I was so intimidated-it turned out really easy!

This is the link to the recipe. I will not write out all the steps.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/amazing-whole-wheat-pizza-crust/detail.aspx

First I worked with the yeast, oil, and a bit of sugar. I had to modify the recipe because I was using bread machine yeast.

Let it sit and foam.

Mixed in some flour.

Working the flour into the dough.

The dough ball!

Brushed with oil, ready to cover and rise.

Risen, separated into 2 balls.

After the 2nd rise.
I did not let them rise the suggested time, because they were rising much faster. Maybe the difference in yeast?

Patted out on a pan. Heidi loved helping with this part!

Jeremy also helped pat. He then decided to try the dough.

The pizzas are topped and ready for the oven!
One pizza has sauce on only one half, since I have one son who is allergic, and one daughter who is opposed to sauce.

The second pizza, one half meat and veggies, one half meat.

After baking, yum!
(If you think the pepperoni looks odd-it's turkey! And I didn't let it crisp enough because the dough was so thin I didn't want it to burn on the bottom.)

And this is when I realized I forgot my veggies! I was so depressed!

The pizza MUST have been good, because I caught Jeremy sneaking into the kitchen 3 times to steal a piece! (Luckily only one slice had sauce.)
I loved how crispy, yet soft the crust was.

One reason I chose to make this recipe: 2 pizzas are no longer enough for our family. So I make 2 crusts in the bread machine, and 2 crusts by hand. (The bread machine pizza snuck into the corner of the 5th picture. I was too lazy to crop it out.) We added some garlic powder and Parmesan cheese to the crust. They were by far the best pizzas we have ever made!

Yummy!

2010-04-30T17:10:00.000-07:00

Look what my neighbor brought this afternoon.

Yuuuuuum!

I've already got my cobbler recipe ready.

All Mom Wants

2010-04-28T09:59:00.000-07:00

Here's a little video preparing for Mother's Day. There are some great tips for presents, haha. Enjoy!

All Mom Wants « Videos « The Skit Guys

Battle in My Mind

2010-04-27T20:32:00.000-07:00

I struggle sometimes with knowing how to make the right decisions for Heidi. We are still figuring out all this Asperger's stuff. There is a lot to figure out, and every child is different. I run on Mommy Instinct a lot of times. Sometimes I'll try advice I've heard from someone else. Or try something I have read about. And sometimes we just wing it!

Heidi received a new bike for Christmas. Her first bike without training wheels. I knew it would be a struggle for her, but I thought "She's 7, she'll get it soon. Hannah rode without training wheels at age 5."

We have practiced some with her, and I just don't think she can handle no training wheels right now. She can't process everything at once-steering, peddling, balancing, watching for cars, trash cans, and curbs. I remember those early days of learning to drive a car and how overwhelmed I would feel and my brain just couldn't handle it at first.

So we had to make a decision. Stick with it and hope she'll get the hang of it? Or go buy her some training wheels? We gave in and bought her some training wheels tonight.

I want bike riding to be fun for her. I don't want it to be a chore, frustrating, something she feels she fails at. I don't want her to start to hate the bike she loved at Christmas.

Maybe I'm wrong and she could handle it on her own soon. But I would rather try it this way, and be wrong, than push her too soon and be wrong.

I don't want to baby her too much, so that she never learns to fly on her own. But I don't want to push my baby bird out of the nest till her wings are ready to fly on her own.

Help! Flower bed ideas?

2010-04-27T06:15:00.000-07:00

Here is our new house. Or, at least the half that we live in. I'm surprised we found a duplex that fits our family so well! It is actually larger than our last house, with a garage and larger closets. Except in the master bedroom. My clothes are in Jeremy's 2nd closet since they will not fit in the little closet tucked under the stairs in our room. I'm not sure what the designer was thinking.

I will have to take pictures of the kids' closets, they are so cool! They are huge, with a step down, double doors, and they even have vents so the kids can play in the summertime without getting too hot. They love to play in there! Heidi has asked to sleep in the closet with her sleeping bag. What I love the most is that EVERY bit of their toys fit in these closets, and they still have room to play. I love to shut the doors at night, and look at their neat rooms.

Anyway, enough about our closets! And now the real reason I am posting this morning.

Do you have any ideas what I can do with this plot of dirt? It is about 10 feet by 7 feet. It is on the east side of the house, very shady, and more sand than dirt.

I can't plant anything with a big root system, because they just dug up a palm here last month and broke a water line and electrical line. That led to 3 weeks of plumbing problems! I don't want to mess with that anymore, haha.

Oh, and I'm likely to kill whatever I plant here, so it needs to be something hardy that can withstand over-watering, under-watering (most likely), scorching, and a toddler.

I'm also tempted to just leave the plot empty, and let Jeremy dig here. But it just looks awful, and we haven't had a flower bed in years.

Any good ideas?

Truth and Catching Double Dippers

2010-04-26T07:19:00.000-07:00

I have always tried to teach my kids about healthy living. Eat right, exercise, drink plenty of water, get good rest, sunshine and fresh air. But I have not always lived up to those standards. Yes, I love to eat fresh fruits and veggies, I stay away from caffeine and soft drinks. I try to exercise regularly. But I also like late night snacks. Chocolate! And my portions aren't always the size they should be.

Heidi shocked me last month when she said, "Mom, I wanna grow up and be fat like you." What?! I knew she must not understand. After talking with her, I realized because I always talk with the kids about healthy living, Heidi assumed my size must be normal and healthy. Now, I am not morbidly obese, and my husband will be upset that I am even using the word "fat", but I KNOW I am overweight.

I came clean with the girls that day. I told them yes I do like to eat healthy things, but I also eat some unhealthy things, and I eat too much. I also let them know I have been trying to change those unhealthy habits. We've been talking in our health class about more specifics in healthy versus unhealthy foods. They are being my helpers! We are trying to cut out high fructose corn syrup, and they are helping me check labels. When we find something we eat has HFCS, we talk about some healthy alternatives. I am trying to eat more whole foods, and much less processed foods. Which is a good thing since I am allergic to so many preservatives and some seasonings, and my kids are allergic to most food colors!

We even talked about God wanting us to live healthy lives. We learned 1 Corinthians 10:31, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." How can we live our lives the way God wants, do the work God has planned for us, if we do not take care of ourselves?

I thanked my girls this week for their help and encouragement. I told them we are eating healthier, but still have a ways to go. I have lost at least 10 pounds, maybe more. (I don't weigh often, so it had been about 6 months since I have weighed.) I thanked them for being such great encouragers to me, and that I hope to continue living more healthy.

We love to watch The Skit Guys. They are Christian comedians, who have some hilarious skits, which get you thinking about Truth. This video is a parody of Dateline, where they catch pedophiles. Here they are catching Double Dippers. The thought behind it is you are only as deep as the secrets you keep. You may be showing one character to the public, but your true character is based on the secrets you keep. Click the link below to watch the video.

To Catch a Double Dipper « Videos « The Skit Guys

Good Intentions

2010-04-26T06:34:00.000-07:00

You want to know what I find hilarious? Okay, hilarious AND frustrating?

One reason we agreed to move into our new duplex was because of who the neighbor was. I did not want to move into a duplex and then annoy some person all day with our noise. We are at home so much, that I knew it would be a problem if the neighbor was also home.

I was so happy to learn that our neighbor is a single man, who works in the next state over. So he lives and works there, and used the duplex as a vacation spot. It sounded perfect, right?! We would hardly ever have to worry about bothering someone with our loud craziness. I wouldn't have to bug my kids and constantly say "SHHHHHH!" and "Please use your inside voice!"

Well guess what? The neighbor is out of work, and has been in town the whole time! The first week we thought he was just on vacation. But I began to be suspicious when I notice boxes piling up in the yard. Uh-oh.

Yep, out of work, and apparently living here while he is looking for work. Which means he is literally home ALL THE TIME! All day!

At first I wasn't too concerned, because the noise didn't seem to carry through the walls. Until one evening when I hear the neighbor yelling at his dog for getting into the trash. And I could understand EVERY word he said! Oops! That means he can also hear every word we say. Every toy my kids drop on the tiles. I can hear him every time he coughs. We hear his dog dropping a golf ball on the tiles late at night. It sounds so close that at first my husband was looking to see what fell in our living room.

I'm trying to keep the kids quiet in the early morning hours. And yes, I'm saying "Use your inside voice" more than I care to. I hate sounding like a teacher. But that's what I am, right? Other than that, I try not to worry about it. We live here. So we have to live without worrying about whatever noise we make.

As I type this, I hope our neighbor is awake already this morning, because I can contain the kids no longer. There are now elephant feet, banging, and loud singing upstairs. Which is right next to his bedroom! Good morning neighbor!

My Sweetie

2010-04-21T05:29:00.001-07:00

I love, love, love my husband. I love his laugh, his serious nature, the way he rough houses with the kids. I love how he can read me so well (ok, MOST of the time, LOL) just by looking at my face. I love hearing him talk about God, what he is learning about God, and how he can take those really tough Bible verses and explain them to me. I love seeing how excited he gets when he learns something new.

Here's another reason why I love him. I had a horrible migraine yesterday. One of those that nearly knocked me off my feet. Yet when he came home I was still trying to function, and he could tell it wasn't working so well. So after supper he helped Hannah with her math work, changed the oil in his truck, loaded all 3 kids up and took them to Auto Zone. When they got home he helped get Jeremy to bed, then he headed back out to get groceries. All without complaining.

I almost cried when he left with the kids, because the blessed silence was so sweet. Add to that no pressures of needing to do anything-even with the pain, dizziness, nauseousness, and a multitude of other symptoms-I felt such relief. I turned off all the lights and just laid on my bed. He could tell that I still felt horrible later, but I told him if I had been trying to take care of the kids during that time, it would have been so much worse.

Thank you sweetie. Thank you for jumping in and saving my day!

Lost

2010-04-18T18:26:00.000-07:00

3 weeks we've been here, and I still can't find the battery charger! I've unpacked many boxes, looked through many more, and still have no clue where it is.

My camera is dead, remote control, flashlights, toys...all waiting for this charger. I think I'm most bummed about missing out on Mom n' Me Monday tomorrow if I can't find it. There have been several times this week my hand has reached for my camera, and then -Darn! Dead batteries.

Maybe if I actually unpack those boxes that are standing in the corner, I'll find it!

Finally!

2010-04-13T08:36:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to try homemade laundry soap for a few years, and I am finally taking the plunge!

I have used baking soda and borax when we have been out of detergent and in a pinch, with vinegar as a rinsing agent and it worked well. But I wanted something else for more frequent use.

Here are 3 recipes I am going to try:
(click to see the link)

Laundry Detergent
I'll be trying Recipe #3 since it is powdered (and easier!) but will later try a liquid form.

Dishwasher Detergent
I have been using recipe # 2 for a while. Works great! Maybe I will try some essential oils with it now.

Liquid Dish Soap
I'm not sure which recipe I will try, it may depend on what soap I find!

Whew! I think I will feel better once I get this started! These recipes are more environmentally friendly, healthier for us since we have many allergies, and definitely more frugal!

Another bonus-this liquid dish soap should not bother Hannah's sensitive hands and eczema, so she will be free to help wash dishes again! I'm sure she will be so happy ;)

Stone Cold

2010-04-12T08:42:00.001-07:00

Jeremy has decided he does not like
his breakfast foods in the usual manner.

He now prefers his rice krispies long after
the milk is poured, it is room temperature and mushy.

He also prefers his oatmeal two hours after
it is cooked and is thick and stone cold.

*shudder*

Silly, I know

2010-04-07T14:06:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I will find Woody laying on the floor like this....

...and I feel guilty. I remember how sad this made him in the movie.

So I have to sit him back up,
or take him back to his prized spot in the girls' room.

Silly, I know, but I can't just leave him laying there.

Arthur's New Asperger's Episode

2010-04-06T18:57:00.000-07:00

My kids and I were flipping channels yesterday to find something to watch, and found Arthur on PBS. We were surprised to find there is a new character, Carl, who has Asperger's!

Hannah got excited, since we had just had our first talk about Asperger's an hour earlier. She realized there were some differences between Heidi and Carl, like how they have their meltdowns. Carl bawled like a baby and I think banged his head (I was out of the room with JJ at this point so I'm relying on Hannah's words), where Heidi has anger or just extreme sadness. She will cry uncontrollably without knowing why she is sad. Hannah called Heidi's anger "Huff-outs".

Carl's obsession is trains. He knows every train ever made, and every detail about them. We've noticed Heidi changes her focus every few months, and right now she is focused on the Smithsonian and Amelia Earhart. I cannot begin to tell you how many times a day we discuss these things! She was incredibly happy to go to the library last night and get an Amelia Earhart biography.

Hannah got excited at one point, and said "Oh so THAT'S why Heidi gets so upset and wants the door shut at night! She's really sensitive to sound and light!" I think it helped her understand Heidi a bit more, and make it more real being able to see other people that also deal with these issues.

Here is a clip of the episode, where Brain, who has an uncle with Asperger's, explains explains the syndrome to George.

Here is a link to the full episode. Click "Shows", then Arthur's picture, then click "When Carl Met George".

http://pbskids.org/go/video/

I hope you enjoy!

Introducing Siblings to Asperger's

2010-04-06T10:05:00.000-07:00

I haven't given much thought yet about educating Hannah on Asperger's. She tends to worry about medical things, and I figured Carl and I needed some time to adjust first. I figured Hannah already has enough things that she worries about.

I decided to first teach Hannah about ADD and ADHD. We got a book from the library, and talked about ways it affects Heidi during her school work. I also told Hannah about Heidi's issues with communication and noises. I thought it would help her understand Heidi's issues without putting that label of "Asperger's" on her just yet. My girls have a lot of trouble getting along, and I know it is mostly because they do not understand each other.

On world Autism day, I spent some time reading articles and watching videos on Autism and Asperger's. Hannah came downstairs while I was watching one of these videos and she started asking questions. So I decided, "Ok, I guess now is a good time to talk about it!" I just reminded her of the conversation we had before, and let her know this is part of Asperger's, and we are pretty sure this is what Heidi has. It is nothing that harms her, we just need to learn some ways to communicate with her better.

She seemed to take it ok, and didn't worry as much as I thought. I know the girls will continue to have struggles as any siblings do, but I hope we will be able to help them understand each other better.

How about other families? How do you teach your children about Autism and Asperger's?

Tomb Cookies

2010-04-05T05:25:00.000-07:00

Have you ever made Tomb cookies before? We found out about them last year from a friend, and decided to try them this year. The recipe takes you through the story of the Resurrection. For example, the first step is crush some pecans with a wooden spoon and talk about how Jesus was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Then you smell vinegar and talk about how Jesus was offered this to drink when he was on the cross. I warned the kids they may not like the taste of the cookies, but this was just a way to understand the story a bit more. I don't want to post each step here, but I will post a link at the bottom of this post.

Beating egg whites

Stirring in the pecans

Dropping the cookies on the sheet. Hannah got her finger in the mix, and her funny face is because her finger feels "icky".

So pretty! But now I wonder if our blobs were too large.

Sealing the oven with tape.
This symbolizes how the tomb was sealed.

We left the cookies in over night,
then unsealed the "tomb" in the morning.

Peeking, what do they look like?

Bummer, our cookies didn't turn out! I'm not sure what went wrong since I was careful to preheat the oven like the directions said. I felt better when a friend said their cookies didn't turn out this year either, and maybe it was the humidity. The cookies are supposed to be cracked, and hollow inside. This of course represents how the tomb was found empty on Resurrection Day. My girls had a good time with these cookies, and I'm sure we will try them again next year.

Here is a link to the recipe story. You can do a search and find many similar ones.
http://www.jennifersikora.com/2010/04/empty-tomb-cookies.html

Moving, Dryers, and Electrical Messes

2010-04-04T19:09:00.001-07:00

Whew! We survived the move, but just barely. I'm thankful we had some good friends who helped out. Amy watched the kids for me so I wouldn't have to worry about someone tripping over them or Jeremy making a run for it. Paul, Eric, and Ty helped Carl move furniture. Did I forget someone? It's possible. Everything seemed like a blur!

Our biggest problem was our dryer. When I started my first load of laundry here I told my husband I didn't think it was working right. Telling him when he was in the midst of moving stuff wasn't a good idea, but I was worried about it. What does a family of 5 do without a dryer?

Sure enough, it took 3 hours to dry a light load of laundry! Then I realize the timer went out. I started the dryer and left to go clean the old house. When we came back a few hours later, it was still running! So the next day or so I had to set a timer for 30 minutes each time I started a load. And of course since it wasn't drying well I would have to run back and forth several times with one load. Carl finally realized there was indeed a problem.

He worked on it for 2 days, (or 3? seriously, it's all a blur this week) and then the power to the house blew. The kids and I decided this was a good time to head to the beach! We now realize there was some electrical issues with the house itself, that caused our dryer to go pfffffft! But at this point we still weren't sure what the problem was. We (so when I say "we" with anything in this post, it probably means Carl, lol) discovered the power problem was on the power company side and Gulf Power came and quickly got our AC and lights back on.

We bought a used dryer after 2 days of checking Craig's list, local used store, and Home Depot. We get it home hook it up, and ugh! It runs 5 seconds, is very loud, then shuts off. I thought Carl was going to go crazy at this point! Bless his heart. It's been a tough week for him. I guess this is the point when "we" realized the outlet for the dryer was wired wrong, which caused all the electrical problems and both dryers to go pfffffft! Carl got the wiring fixed, but still no working dryer :(

Our landlord had been out of town during all this mess, and when Carl noticed they were home tonight, he headed over to talk to him. Since the fault was with the house being wired improperly, the landlord said let him know what the cost of damages is and he will take care of it. Whew! I'm thankful for that! After 2 busted dryers and whatever electrical supplies Carl had to get, we could use the help.

We have a wonderful friend who lives on the next street over who has been drying (and folding!) our laundry for us. I wonder what Carl will do about the dryer issue this week? He was more than glad to ignore it last night and today so that we could focus on Easter, but we can only ignore it for so long! Bless him, he's had so much to deal with this week, it was nice to just relax tonight.

I'll post pictures at some point. Once my house doesn't look like a warehouse, haha.

The boxes are taking over

2010-03-23T18:58:00.000-07:00

Is it any wonder that I am tripping every time I turn around this week?

Weekend

2010-03-22T06:54:00.000-07:00

I have never been so happy to see a weekend be finished! Monday brought the promise of stomach bug freedom. Heidi is still sick, but MUCH better. I feel so bad, because I told her stomach bugs usually last only 24hrs. This bug started Thursday, and she's still battling it!

She has back some of her energy. It was great to see that first smile yesterday! You forget how much you miss those smiles and laughs. She started the BRATY diet yesterday, and is handling it well but still having some tummy troubles. PRAISE GOD no one else has gotten this bug!

Today we go in search of more boxes. We still have about 50 empty ones in our living room, but they are all large boxes. I can't seem to find any small ones for all the heavy and breakable stuff. Hannah loves going to the dumpster behind the dollar store to help me find some boxes. My germ-a-phob kid! We will keep packing this week, Carl will start hauling boxes to the new house. Still no idea what day we will move the furniture. We are just kind of winging it over here!

Spring Break Bust

2010-03-19T12:46:00.000-07:00

This was supposed to be an early Spring Break for us. We were going to finish packing boxes (we should move sometime next week!), go to the park and beach, play board games, pancake breakfast and prayer walk with our church, and just forget about school work!

Well, we have successfully forgotten school work, but the rest of the list is out the window! We ALL had colds earlier this week, doctor's appointment Wed, and now Heidi has a stomach bug!

We spent 4 hours at the ER last night because she had a really high fever and was crying about her underarms hurting. I called the doctor and he said bring her in. These were her only symptoms, and since her lymph nodes were not swollen at all they just decided it was a virus and sent us home.

We sat in the ER waiting room while Carl got the car, and Yep! It's a stomach bug! I felt bad that Heidi ruined the only bathroom in the waiting room with at least 40 people there. But I just told the lady at the desk, grabbed a lovely pink tub, and home we went!

So far she is the only one sick, and seems a bit better. She has braved some Gatorade and toast, and so far she's kept it down. I'm managing to still get some packing done. Today is Carl's day off, and he has helped by running errands and taking Hannah and Jeremy with him.

I've decided we will just have to have a second Spring Break when everyone is well and we can enjoy it!

Victory Bran Dance

2010-03-15T05:50:00.000-07:00

Does anyone else have a child that will do a victory dance when you bring home a box of Bran flakes they have been begging for?

Wanna find something that you lost?

2010-03-14T18:16:00.000-07:00

Just blog about it! (and maybe mention them to your husband half a dozen times) We've had things that have been missing for months. Since I have posted a list of them we have now found these things:

1) Umbrella stroller-we left it in Arkansas!

2) Phone battery cover-tucked into the couch

3) Remote control-tucked into the back liner of the couch-I KNOW I have looked
there a few times!

4) DVDs: Cars (upstairs desk with 2 others), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
(tucked into our Christmas CDs), Hermie (in another DVD case)

5)One flashlight-in a kitchen drawer, another one in the van

So I guess I'll say it again: I really hope when we move I will find my MP3 earbuds! Jeremy loved to take off the comfy rubber buds and play with them, tuck them in silly spots. I'm hoping he did not swallow them, or put them down an air vent. Either way, they would be lost for good!

Do It Yourself Queen

2010-03-13T13:54:00.000-08:00

I have become the queen of Do It Yourself articles and videos online. There's just so many simple things that I have never learned how to do on my own. Here's just a few examples:

1) How to cut up a whole chicken

2) How to cut butter into flour

3) How to unclog a drain

4) How to teach your kid to swim (I'm still clueless!)

5) How to cut your own hair.

6) How to knit (Still confused, but working on it!)

I have so many How-to links saved that I don't remember and look them up again!

Today I tried a new one- How to cut your child's hair into layers.

Yikes!

I was really nervous! But I did not want to cut my girls' hair into just a blunt cut. So I sucked it up, prayed, and did it! The girls are happy, they say Heidi looks like a rock star! Hannah even asked me to cut her hair even though she felt like it was just growing out to a decent length from her last cut. I may have gotten her top layer too short, but it will grow quick and looks cute. I'll post pictures another day. They are all dirty from playing at the park!

I also cut my hair. I'm waiting for it to dry so I can inspect it. Curly hair is hard to cut, but somewhat forgiving.

Here's a few links I looked at when deciding what method to use. (I have so many more saved!)

http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-cut-curly-hair-layers-226849/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62RuCJBbjd8 (I like this one, I may try it sometime!)
http://www.wikihow.com/Layer-Cut-Your-Own-Hair

I used this next video a few months ago. I was pleased with the cut, although it looked nothing like this girl's hair! I cut it so it SHOULD have been longer in back, but somehow still ended up with shorter layers in front.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Phfv9TuyQwk&feature=PlayList&p=290AF309AD3BCCAB&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=8

For all 3 of us, I used this method to get layers:

Brush hair. Bend your head over and brush hair straight down. Put in a ponytail, slide ponytail down to length you want to cut off. Snip, snip, snip! Then flip your hair back over and check it out. You just have to be careful where you place the ponytail-if it's too far forward your top layers will be shorter. I think I will have to go back and trim everyone's long layer; they are just a bit longer than I want. But I was very pleased! I'm also very pleased not to pay to have their hair cut!

Things I hope to find when we move

2010-03-12T18:01:00.000-08:00

1) Remote control for our digital antenna (we haven't been able to change tv channels for 3 months, haha)

2) Battery cover for phone (we just found the phone after it was missing for several weeks)

3) DVDs-Cars, Bearenstein Bears, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Hermie: To Share or Nut to Share, and several more movies

4) Comfy ear-bud covers for MP3

5) Umbrella stroller

6) Various flashlights

7) My sanity

I believe all of these things are lost due to my 2 year old!

Cardboard Boxes Taking Over!

2010-03-12T14:36:00.003-08:00

MMMmmmmmm, the fresh smell of cardboard.

I'd better get used to it!

Jeremy is putting the empty boxes to good use.
He uses one as a doghouse for his favorite puppy.
This box, well, you can see what he does with it haha!

Spring

2010-03-09T12:51:00.000-08:00

Ahhhh, Spring!

It leads to some

(ahem) serious studying outside!

2 Months of Adderall

2010-03-08T06:22:00.000-08:00

Did not go well!

The first 2 weeks Heidi was almost high, very happy, had great focus, complained of no headaches and had a bigger than normal appetite. The drawbacks we saw was that she was so bouncy she had trouble being still enough to write her school work, and had a big crash in the afternoons. In week 3 she settled down, and her focus was not as good so we went from 1/2 pill to a full pill. The doctor had suggested upping her dose every week till we found a dose that worked well, but I was not comfortable upping her dose when her mood swings were still so big.

Ugh! With this new dose she was not a happy girl, focus still not that great, bad crashes in the afternoons, no appetite, and had headaches. She also had a sinus/ear infection during this time, so I was never sure how much of her problems was the meds and how much was the illness. So I continued to give the meds to her, until she was well and it was clear the problem WAS the meds.

Whew! She was a happy girl again! Her focus was so-so, and we managed through school ok. We went back to the doctor Friday, so we'll be trying a new med this week.

Crystal

2010-03-08T06:02:00.001-08:00

My sister passed on this blog post, by Hurley from Lost, in response to my last post. Loved it! I also read every single comment. I haven't watched Lost since part way through season 3 (no cable anymore), but loved Hurley's character. Wonder what he does about sweat/salt rings on his clothes?

http://dispatchesfromtheisland.blogspot.com/2009/02/i-cant-believe-this-thing-works.html

You may have to copy and paste, not sure what I did wrong with the link!

Thanks Laura, for passing it on!

Guy Bloggers, Magic Erasers, and Other Ramdom Things

2010-03-05T06:41:00.000-08:00

I haven't read too many guy bloggers, and I've always wondered what do guys blog about? I found one that cracked me up. Mad Scientist Matt's Lair talks about cars, engines, mileage and other guy stuff. I enjoyed his blog, even it some of it was too technical for my girl mind, haha.

I found his blog through a search for a Magic Eraser recipe. His post tells about his own search for a recipe, and what he found out they are made of. They are made of melamine foam which is used as a sound insulation and a fire retardant. Supposedly no harmful chemicals and environmentally friendly. Cool! A friend of mine used to joked that these sponges are amazing, seem harmless, but wondered if we would get cancer or birth defects after years of use? After all, how many things seemed harmless in "the good old days" but now they have discovered are quiet harmful? I think I will trust that these sponges are safe for now!

I've done some searches for some other weird homemade things this week, to add to my list of other natural cleaning/beauty tries:

drano
magic eraser
carpet cleaner
natural deodorants

I haven't tried the natural deodorant thing yet, I'm a little nervous. I'll probably try it at home, but still use regular deodorant when I'm out in public. Here's the link to the recipe I will try first. There are a ton of good recipes and tips I found in a Google search, but this was the simplest and cheapest sounding. That is part of my reason for using all natural things, not only being healthier and environmentally safe, but to save us some money!

By the way, do any of my many readers (ha!) know where I can find witch hazel extract? Is that something I can buy at Target, drug store or something?

I've also been using natural shampoo and conditioner, getting ready to transition to NO shampoo soon. I've tried this before, with bad results. If you have a few spare minutes (Ha!) you can check those posts out here and here I think I am more educated (another ha! I am just full of sarcasm today!) and better prepared. I've forewarned Carl that I may look odd for a few weeks till my curls get used to it. I'll write another post in a couple months, with before, during (scary!) and after pics. I'm kind of excited!

PureNRG Craziness

2010-03-01T17:19:00.001-08:00

It's storming pretty good right now. With one great crack of thunder during supper, the rain started coming down. We all jumped, haha! With the kids already being down without their Daddy here, I knew it was time to get a good distraction going.

Our solution: glow sticks, dancing to PureNRG, and hide and seek in the dark.

Glow sticks will forever be a part of our emergency pack! They are a great distraction for kids scared by a poweroutage. Our power is still on, but I thought the distraction was still needed.

I wish you could hear the kids! I'm sure the neighbors can, because they are having such fun!

Unpredictable

2010-03-01T13:54:00.000-08:00

This week is proving to continue in last week's unpredictability. Now some big things are starting to pile up with the small things. But we are still managing well.

Friday Carl went fishing and got stranded when his buddy's boat died. I laughed when I got the call to come pick him up at the bridge on the state line. I just grabbed some PB crackers, some books, and off we went! We had to wait a while for the boat to drift to a dock. It made for an interesting afternoon, but the weather was beautiful, so I just rolled the windows down and enjoyed the view (ignoring the highway and used car lot we were parked at). So my toddler had PB crackers and juice for lunch, and my girls didn't eat till 2:30, but they didn't mind! They thought it was a cool adventure. Jeremy was a bit disappointed that he didn't get to ride the boat or go in the water.

Carl is now on his way to Illinois for a family funeral. That was a bit of a punch, but we are still flowing with it. It just meant lots of scrambling for laundry/packing, and rearranging our week a bit more. I am glad Carl got the chance to go; I know it was important to him.

Some things I am thankful for: two sweet girls who can't get enough hugs, a boy who always makes me laugh, a husband with a big heart, discovering the rent house we will move into soon is a bit cheaper than we thought, a good friend who always knows just what to say and has a great laugh, knowing we are right were God put us. I'm still listening for whatever it is that God wants me to learn from this week. Even with all the extra craziness, it has been a good week :)

Do you Wonder?

2010-02-25T08:15:00.000-08:00

Do you ever wonder what God is trying to tell you? I've been praying about my priorities, that God will show me what HIS priorities are so I can try to refocus mine. I tend to cycle-God focused, husband focused, kid focused, housework focused, ME focused. I will break that cycle for a while, but I get comfortable and forget to stay God focused, or I let circumstances take away my focus.

This week I felt like I've been doing pretty good, trying to find a balance with all the things a wife-SAHM-homeschool teacher must juggle. We were having some great days, great attitudes, great balance.

Then yesterday, stuff happened. For the most part my attitude stayed positive. My laptop finally died-the cord had been working on splitting in two. I was disappointed for many reasons. The laptop kept me connected to my family, and this is a week where most of them have stuff going on and I felt like I needed to be connected to them. We also use the laptop for schoolwork, so now I'll have more of a challenge for some of the girls' work, and school records. But still, a laptop is not THAT essential; we can live without it.

We had planned to go to the library yesterday, so Jeremy could experience his first story time there. We had an early breakfast, did our school work fast, got ready to go, then OOPS! We realized Jeremy's car seat was in Carl's truck. Oh well! Instead we played dress-up, Bob the Builder, and got some extra cleaning done.

Last night was church night, which means Team Kid for most of us. The kids LOVE it! They also enjoy listening to Adventures in Oddessy on the radio on the way there. It's one way I can keep them moving so we are not late, they know the program starts at 6pm. We ran to the van at 6:01, a little stressed, and the VAN WON'T START. The van never likes the cold, so I tried a few tricks that usually get it working but had no results. Now I have 3 crying kids.

We all trudged back inside and called Carl to tell him we couldn't make it. Now everyone's mood was down, and I had to think fast. Heidi and Jeremy settled for listening to the radio program inside, but Hannah was down because she knew what a broken down van meant. Stuck at home!

Sure enough, we are stuck at home today. No Co-op classes; this was to be our fist week since mid December. No PE, also their first week back. No trip to the store for groceries and packing boxes.

So what is God trying to tell me now? I HAVE NO IDEA! Haha. I guess I'll just have to keep going with the flow, dodging rocks when I need to. I'll keep trying to find the positives in the day, instead of counting what we are missing. And I'll have to keep on listening for whatever it is God is trying to show me this week.

Today I am thankful for eggs and flour, so we could make our own bread. I am thankful not to have to rush around today to get our stuff done and race between Co-op and PE. I am thankful for my husband's understand boss, who is letting him take the afternoon to try to fix the van. I am definitely thankful we have a back up vehicle this time!

I'm so Proud!

2010-02-22T06:29:00.000-08:00

Jeremy is now completely potty trained! He's been day time trained for several months, and now is night time trained!

I really didn't expect it this soon. He is only 2, won't be 3 till the end of June. I was prepared to start working on that after we moved to our new house, and work on that and getting him to stay in his bed all night at the same time. (Yep, we've created that problem ourselves.)

While we were in Arkansas Jeremy started throwing fits when we would put a diaper on him at night. He wanted his underwear to sleep in. It continued when we came home. Serious fits. It was NOT pretty. I would tell him that he needed the diaper so he wouldn't wet the bed at night, and when he stopped wetting, he could wear underwear at night. I really wasn't sure what he understood, and how much control he really had over that.

I guess he understood perfectly! He has now been dry 5 nights in a row! Hopefully he won't prove me wrong now that I have blogged about it, LOL. I just had to brag on him a little.

Rare? Seriously?

2010-02-18T05:55:00.001-08:00

I am planning a garage sale, and I am looking up items online to compare pricing. We have this Cars plush chair.

I was thinking maybe $5 was ok. But when I checked on Ebay, I found this chair for sale for $125! And $20 shipping! Her chair is also missing the sound box and steering wheel. Our chair still has both. I was not aware this was a "rare" item. Think I can get away with charging so much? Hmmmm, probably not!

Belle Cake

2010-02-16T18:13:00.000-08:00

Is this not pitiful? Haha. But Hannah said it was beautiful and Heidi said it was the best birthday cake ever! So I guess it was good enough. The top inch and 1/2 is pure frosting, since my cake was not tall enough. It was very yummy!

My Valentine Baby

2010-02-15T06:42:00.001-08:00

This is a picture of me and my Valentine baby. Heidi arrived 2 weeks early, at 1:54am on February 14. She was a sweet surprise! I am still working on her birth to now blog post, like I did for Hannah's birthday, but it still needs a lot of work! We are celebrating her birthday a day late, since our Sunday was packed with church activities. We will open presents, have cake, and have a family dinner at Lambert's.

I'm so excited! But I am seriously in panic mode now. I've got so much to do, and very little time to do it. Plus I still have all my normal motherly duties today. Can't really ignore the kids all day can I? But we have no school, since we always take off for birthdays. Hannah has offered to be my helper, so I'll have her wrap some presents for me, and maybe help with some post-cake clean up.

The votes are in, and The Belle cake won. It's in the oven now, we'll see how it comes out! I don't have all the proper pans/tools, so I'm kind of winging it. Whew! Gotta get to work!

If ever there was a time...

2010-02-13T18:17:00.000-08:00

...I wanted to strangle my child it was tonight! Don't worry, instead of strangling her I just put my head in my hands and laughed.

This Belle cake that I JUST blogged about? She's decided she no longer wants it. After 2 months of planning it together. Down to very specific details, like purple frosting (ugh) for the bottom layer of cake, 2 yellows for the dress with yellow glitter (sugar sprinkles) and pink gems (candies) and 7 pink candles. We looked about 100 cake pictures on line, and she drew several pictures so I will remember what the cake should look like.

Today I went and bought all the supplies, telling her she might have to deal with a few improvisions. I love her, but I seriously can't stomach the thought of purple frosting.

Then at our church Valentine's dinner she decided the Valentine's cake they had was pretty awesome, and maybe that is the type of cake she should have for her birthday. I so nicely told her to ~~get over it, she would have a Belle cake or no cake~~ enjoy the cake she was eating, and not to worry about her birthday cake.

*Sigh*

So now I am telling myself to get over it and not worry about it. Juries still out about what I'll do. I did see some cute small Valentine's cakes for $7, so I could take back all the Belle stuff and get one of those, or just go ahead and make the Belle cake. It would be easier to get a store bought, especially since I am so nervous about making the Belle cake, but it would just feel very anticlimactic.

I'm laughing people, don't worry, I'm laughing.

Birthday Panic Mode

2010-02-13T11:15:00.000-08:00

My daughter wants me to bake this Belle cake for her birthday. Eek!

I have no real creative skills. I guess it's a good thing kids don't always notice those, um, little mistakes!

I did manage to create this Thomas the Train cake for Jeremy's 2nd birthday, so hopefully I can create a princess dress out of frosting!

By the way, you know what happens when you wait till the day before your daughter's birthday to do her present shopping? You go from Plan A, to Plan B and C, then have to create a whole new Plan D in the midst of a busy Target toy section!

To be fair, we've been traveling, dealing with nasty weather, and illness. I better get to work! But first we girls are off to The American Girl Club at our local library then later to a Valentine's Dinner at our church. I hope you are also having a fun filled weekend!

Random questions...

2010-02-12T22:46:00.000-08:00

When did the Newsboys-a Christian band from Down Under-become a Christian band with 3 guys from the US and 1 guy from Australia???

And is it just me or does Micheal Tait try to sing with an accent to sound like one of the original band members?

There...I can sleep now that those questions aren't floating in my brain.