The Happy Half A Dozen

New Blog

2011-01-15T20:54:00.001-05:00

I started a new blog. Head on over to
Seven is Heaven

37 Week Pic

2010-12-01T19:20:00.003-05:00

For you viewing pleasure : )
This was taken yesterday, 37 weeks!
I am having the baby next week on Friday, December 10th.

Close Call

2010-11-19T10:53:00.002-05:00

I bet you think I disappeared off the face of the earth, didn't you?
Well as you can see, I didn't. Life has just been busy and I have been enjoying reading other people's blogs.

I do want to give you a quick update though.
I am now 35 weeks pregnant with baby # 7. I am scheduled for a c-section (my 4th) on December 10th.

HOWEVER, last night I was in the hospital with contractions 2 to 4 minutes apart. I am praising God today that they were able to stop them (after 2 doses of Procardia) and send me home on bedrest.

God has a way of teaching us lessons. I am, by natural, a control freak (yes, I will admit it). God is showing me more and more that I am ultimately NOT the one in control but HE is.

Under Construction

2010-07-14T17:15:00.002-04:00

Blog is Under construction.
Morning sickness is gone and I am feeling better (17 1/2 weeks!)

Planning on updating look and start posting. Plan is by this weekend!!

See you then : )

YES!!!!!

2010-05-06T11:34:00.002-04:00

I am thrilled to announce that YES, I am indeed expecting (again!)!!!! : )

Number 7!!!!

I am 7 1/2 weeks.

I am due on December 20, 2010. However I will be having a c-section around 38-39 weeks.

Nicholas and the baby will be less than 15 months apart. (About 14 1/2)

Yes, we were shocked. I would have never thought in my "Advanced Maternal Age" I would have back to back pregnancies.

We are thankful for this blessing God has given to us.

Please keep me in your prayers. Morning sickness has struck. It isn't as bad as with Nicholas. I think in part because as soon as it started I called the doctor and got put on Zofran. Also, even though I don't feel like eating (and can easily go the whole day not eating) I have been forcing myself to eat. No easy task. I am finding that even though I feel sick before and during eating I usually feel better after and the morning sickness lets up for a little while.

Guess.....

2010-04-29T12:42:00.001-04:00

December 20, 2010.
: )

Still Standing....

2010-04-25T11:12:00.002-04:00

Have you missed me? I haven't blogged in almost 7 weeks. Here's a quick breakdown of what has happened----

March 24th---Grandmother died (dad's mom)

March 25th---My Mom had a stroke

March 31st---Dad diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and coded after the biopsy surgery.

Both parents were in the hospital at the same time. I spent 2 weeks going back and forth, spending hours upon hours out of the house. Have I ever mentioned how much of home-body I am? I can be home for days upon days without going out and be perfectly content with it.

Dad went to a nursing home for about 10 days and ended up back in the hospital. I thought we were going to lose him on April 16th. He is suppose to be discharged Monday or Tuesday back to a nursing home and then he will start chemo. Chemo is NOT going to cure him, just give him some more time.

Mom has been at my house for the last 2 weeks recovering from her stroke. She is coming along fantastically. She will be spending another week here and then transition back to her house.

In the last month my life have been turned upside down. To have BOTH parents be so critically ill at the same time has been heart breaking. All this and still trying to meet the needs of my 6 precious blessings. I thank God that I have such a wonderful husband that helped me through and filled in so much at home and with the kids.

I spent my time driving back and forth to the hospital praying and worshiping our Lord. I rested in Him. He has given me a peace through all of this.

Age...a 9 Year Old's Perspective.

2010-03-10T10:02:00.004-05:00

Here is a conversation I had with Jessica (age 9) yesterday:

To set things up, we were talking about an actress and Jessie asked me if the actress was young--

Me--"Well, what do you consider young?"
Jessica--"20."

Me--"What do you consider old?"
Jessica--"40." Let me remind you I am 36, going to 37 in May.

Me--"Well, Jessie, Auntie Glenda is 47, you consider her old?"
Jessica--"Oh yeah, she's REAL old." (she had great emphasis on REAL)

Me---"Well Nana is 65, what do you consider her?"
Jessica--"Oh I consider her almost a member of God's house."

My jaw dropped open.

Me---"What did you say?" Thinking maybe I heard wrong.
Jessica--"I said, she is almost a member of God's house."

I heard right.

Me---"Of God's house?"
Jessica--"Yes. You said when you accept God as your Savior than you will live with Him forever. So she is almost ready to live there so she is almost a member of His house."

Speechless.

Just Be Mom

2010-03-07T22:11:00.006-05:00

Day number 10 with someone being sick in the house. Today Jessica had a fever and Nicholas vomited 5 times. It wore that poor baby out.

I had my day all ready-set this morning. I sent the boys to church with my mother and I stayed home with Jessica, Emily and Nicholas (Chris works on Sundays). Jessica laid on the loveseat sick, Emily sat on the couch watching Mickey Mouse and Nicholas sat in his highchair watching me clean the kitchen. I had taken the time to write a list of things I wanted to get done for the day. It was a long list but I thought a pretty doable one.

Nicholas has been sick all week. Tuesday through Friday Pedialyte was the only thing he could drink or eat. Saturday he was able to have formula and not bring it back up. He seemed to be back to his old (5 month) self. Today I figured I would try oatmeal cereal with some bananas mixed in. I figured it was the next progressive step. BIG MISTAKE!!! About an hour and half later----let's just say yuck x 4. My day went from a list to sitting on the couch holding a sick little boy.

I am embarrassed to say that I was a little upset that my plans got interrupted. Sitting on the couch was not anywhere on my list. Chris encourage me to go upstairs and rock Nicholas and just chill out for the day. I would love to say I did....but I didn't. I told him I would fall asleep if I rocked him. Chris reaction "And the problem is what?". He could see it was a losing battle so he went and laid down himself (he gets up every day at 3 am). Then Nicholas decided to be a water fountain all over while I was changing him. So even though bath time is at 7 every night, I was now giving him a bath at 4.

While giving Nicholas a bath it hit me.....It was like God {gently} gave me a slap upside the head "This is what you ARE suppose to be doing. Everything else is secondary to your children. You are the mommy...BE A MOMMY." I felt the correction God was bringing me, asked God for forgiveness and changed my whole attitude in a matter of a second.

Can you guess what I went and did? I went upstairs with Nicholas, feed him some Pedialyte and rocked him to sleep. Just me and him. I listened to K-Love, prayed, thought about what I was doing this time last year, and thought about the last 5 1/2 months. About 45 minutes later I did fall asleep----and the world kept spinning----imagine that!!

I was reminded today how much I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, how much I wanted to have a large family and how long I waited for Nicholas. This time is precious. I need to be reminded sometimes to step back and just be mom : )

Weekend!

2010-03-06T21:14:00.003-05:00

Enjoying the warmer temps. It was 54 today here in MA. This was a welcomed break from the 30's and snow/sleet we had ALL week.

The kids ditched the sweatshirts and my oldest wanted to break out the shorts.

Enjoy!!

Do You Have One?

2010-03-05T22:00:00.001-05:00

If you don't you should.

Wondering what I am talking about?

Me and Wendy
April 2005

A friend like Wendy!

We have known each other since we were 11 years old. We are talking 25 years here.

She is more like a sister than a friend.

She is the friend I can call up and just be myself---the good, the bad and the oh-so-very-ugly.

Take today for instance. She called me today to see if I wanted to come over with the kids. Both sets of kids definitely have cabin fever and are sick of being stuck in the house. I would have loved to jump at the opportunity to spend the afternoon chillin' at her house while all the kids played, BUT Nicholas vomited yet again today (everyone except my oldest has been sick). I wasn't bringing him out and the last thing she needs is for her family to get sick. So with a sad heart I had to say no. We were ALL disappointed (me and her as much as the kids).

As we talked on the phone you can sense the frustration we were both having with the kids (it happens sometimes). I have been dealing with someone being sick for a week now. Today I had baby still vomiting, 1 child who kept getting themselves in trouble with one bad decision after another, 2 that had ants-in-the-pants, and a toddler who kept grabbing a small electric keyboard and insisted on playing "beautiful music". Bedtime couldn't come fast enough---and it was only 11:30 in the morning!!!

After Chris came home another friend contacted me. We needed to meet up so I could give her products she order from a Wild Tree party I had 3 weeks ago. I couldn't get out the door fast enough when she suggested we met at Target since she doesn't know where I live and she needed to go there anyway. So with Chris' blessing, off to Target I went.

Oh, how I love Target. I call it my "Happy Place". I can just walk around there for hours looking at this and that. During the week the store is (usually) very quiet. On my way I called Wendy and told her I escaped and I was on my way to Target. She too calls it her "happy place".

I met my friend, had small talk for a few minutes and then went our separate ways. I hit Starbucks and began to decompress as I strolled the aisles of my favorite store. I was just about ready to leave when the phone rang....it was Wendy wondering if I was still at Target. She was on her way to escape.

I met her at the front entrance. She too made a B-line for Starbucks when she got there (sound familiar). We spent the next hour (or two) walking around Target talking "mommy".

We were able to share our frustrations with each other without having to worry about being judged.

We were able to give words of advice and encouragement to each other knowing we only want to see the best for the other and their family.

We laughed...boy did we laugh : )

And I would have to say, when I was ready to leave Target and return home to my family I was a better person, in a better place than when I left my door. I was able to come home fresh and enjoy the rest of the night with the kids. They even got to stay up later than their bedtimes to play WII. All the same "frustrations" were at my house after I went to Target as before, but because I took a little time to get away and enjoy another grown-ups company I was able to handle it all much better.

So Thanks Wendy! Thanks for being a great friend and someone I can just be myself with!!

So what about you? Do you have a Wendy?

Menu Planning Revisted

2010-03-04T21:15:00.002-05:00

I am frustrated right now....with myself. I feel like the household (and life) spun a little too out of control for my liking. My personality is "I want it ALL fixed right now." but realistically I know that can't happen. One step and a time. I am going to pick one area this week to concentrate on. And the winner is: Menu Planning.

Have you ever heard the saying "if something isn't broken then don't fix it". Yeah, well during the summer I had a really good system in place. Then for some odd reason I tried changing things up.....always looking for bigger and better I guess. Instead of "Bigger and Better" meal time and grocery shopping has become "Expensive and Unorganized".

I honestly have no idea right now how much we are spending on food. Trips here, there and everywhere add up...and fast.

So I need some Goals:
1. Inventory. I need to take an inventory of what I already have in the pantry, fridge and freezer. Certain foods I do like to have a stockpile of, but other things (like olives or green chili peppers) I only need a couple in the pantry at once. Buying duplicates of items I don't need is just wasting money that could be used towards other things I need or want.

2. Menu Plan. Once I have a list, I can start building meals and snack around what I have on hand. Have you ever had all the ingredients for a meal except one thing? I find with my staples I am able to make most meals minus one or two things. Also, if I am buying an ingredient that I know I am not going to use all of it for one recipe and it will go bad if not used within a certain amount of time, I will try to incorporate it into something else. A good example of this is sour cream. I have a coffee cake recipe that calls for it. It doesn't take the whole container though. Letting in go bad in the fridge is kissing money goodbye. So instead, I would plan on making fajitas within a few days of the coffee cake so I can use the leftover sour cream on the side as a dip.

3. Food/Drink Breakdown. I would like to break down how much we spend on Food/Drinks separate from hygiene, cleaning and baby products. It could be a little challenging since I do buy the majority of my food at Walmart and Target. But again, I guess the easy solution to that is to separate my order and check out twice.

4. White Board. During the fall I used a large white board to write down daily the menu plan for the day. It helped to let everyone know the plan for the day. I also included who the helper was and what--if any--meal they were to prepare.

5. Weight Watchers. I am doing Weight Watchers. I started back in January. I was doing great until Nicholas got sick. Once that happened counting and measuring was the least of my concerns. I NEED to start back tomorrow. I went to a meeting tonight so I feel all pumped up and ready to start. With this comes tracking and measuring what I am eating.

So this is a starting point. A very doable starting point.

Patriots!!!

2010-03-03T22:10:00.002-05:00

Talk about a big thrill for the boys today. My friend Wendy's son's birthday was Monday and to celebrate they went for a day of fun....they got to go to the Patriots Place which the home of the Patriots Hall of Fame. WOW!! They LOVED it! You have to understand, here in New England, we take sports seriously..... even as a child ; ) And here's another great reason to love homeschooling----they were able to go on a week day during school hours. Can you say field trip : ) They had the place to themselves until the end...and then there was only 2 other people there. Fun for them! Enjoy the pics.

Trophy Case

Replica of the locker room

Makes you feel like you are on the sideline.

From L to R
Jimmy (my friend Wendy's husband)
CJ (my oldest)

Chris (the love of my life)

My boys with the THREE Super Bowl Trophies

How cool is that!!

CJ, Zachary and Alex

One of the actual Super Bowl Rings
(sorry it is blurry)

Chris--The Enforcer

The kids (little and big) got to dress up as a Patriot.
Here, they are in huddle. Those are not the men.
It was actually interactive mannequins.
Brady called a play and everything.

Another Trophy Case
AFC trophies

Alex

Zachary

Boys sitting on the sideline.

Chris with Zachary and Alex

We had fun!!!!

One Step at a Time

2010-03-02T20:55:00.000-05:00

Right before Christmas my love bought me a treadmill. I had been wanting one for quite some time but had a hard time forking over the big bucks for a good one. To my surprise one day, Chris came home with one he bought off someone at work. I love getting a good deal and this was surely one. I looked up the treadmill online for a price comparison----this specific treadmill new is around $600......Chris got it for $150!!! YAHOOOOOO!!!! What a deal!!!

Have you ever heard that if you do something everyday for a month it becomes a habit? I was doing really great with getting my butt on the treadmill everyday. Then Nicholas got sick back in January and I haven't stepped foot on it since. Ugh! The habit works both ways you know! I have got in the habit of skipping it again. BAD HABIT! I was up to 50 minutes on the treadmill and the thought of getting on it for that long seems impossible.

It can be hard when you live a sedentary life and are over-weight to have the motivation to get up and go. So what is a girl to do? Here's an idea: get my sneakers on and GET ON THE TREADMILL!!!! It really is that simply. Hoping, wishing and talking about it isn't gonna make it happen. Getting on the treadmill and hitting the start button...that will.

You want to know one of my secrets for getting up to 50 minutes before? The first time I got on the treadmill I only did it for 10 minutes. Yup, that's it....10 minutes. It woke my body up to the idea of exercise. The next time I did it for 15 minutes. I actually did this for a few times. Believe it or not, when you haven't had exercise as a regular part of your life, 15 minutes wears you out (sorry, this isn't the Biggest Loser ranch where I am gonna kill myself exercising for 8 hours a day). From there I started challenging myself. I told myself---"If I can do 15 minutes, I wonder if I can do 25 minutes." Then it was "Wow, I can do 25 minutes, I bet I can do 30!" I kept challenging myself with a little more time. Next thing you know, I was doing a little more than 2 miles in 50 minutes : )

It looks like I am back at the beginning. But that's okay!!! The important thing is I am going to start. It is March after all : )

**Update---I did 30 minutes today!! I had only planned on doing 10-15 minutes but once I got on it and started moving it felt great!!!**

Yippy!! March 1st!!!

2010-03-01T20:24:00.002-05:00

I LOVE March 1st! Why you may ask? Well I have SAD (seasonal depression). Winter can be real tough. December, January, and February equals cold weather, being cupped up in the house, less sunlight, and the grass being covered by that awful white stuff. March 1st means I made it through another winter. YEAH!!!

March is a new beginning.
Spring is within reach. Now if it snows, I know it will be gone within a few weeks.
The days are getting longer--- I love sunshine.
Days are getting a (little) warmer. Here in New England, the kids are trying to ditch their winter jackets when it hits 40.....by 50, it is sweatshirt weather, and 60's you will see kids in shorts (I kid you not).

So with this new beginning comes a new beginning of sorts for my blog.
If you notice, I haven't blogged much since Nicholas was born. It isn't that I haven't wanted to. It isn't even that I didn't have time. My biggest obstacle.......myself! I have lots of things I would like to blog about, but then I talk myself out of it, figuring people wouldn't be interested. Then it dawned on me, something is better than nothing! Some of my favorite blogs have small entries about this or that. I can do that.

My goal for March....every day to post this month. Can it be done? I guess we are about to see.
See you tomorrow! : )
Judy

Look Who's Sick : (

2010-01-31T11:33:00.000-05:00

Nicholas on his pacifier nebulizer

Nicholas with his "fishy face" mask doing his nebulizer.

It has been less than fun around here for the last week. On Sunday of last week (the 24th) Emily (3 y.o.) started with a cold. As much as we tried to keep her away from Nicholas (4 months) he still got sick. He was coughing, running nose and just plan old yucky so I brought him to the doctor's on Tuesday. Since we were going, I figured I would have Emily checked out too.

We were told on Tuesday to just keep an eye on Nicholas. His ear drum looked "dull" but not infected. Emily however, did have an ear infection in both ears. Glad I brought her since she never complained of pain. She just was just extra quiet and a little whiny.

Over the next 2 days Nicholas seemed to be getting worse instead of better. On Friday morning I had a feeling something just wasn't right. His breathing seemed labored and I thought I could hear wheezing and crackles. I called and made an appointment for him to see the NP again at the doctor's office.

Throughout the day Nicholas would have episodes of looking better and even playing and laughing. They were short lived but there. He seemed to sleep more than he usually did. Back and force, back and forth I went. Was I just being an over-paranoid mother again? I keep thinking. Something just told me to follow my "mommy instincts".

I had an appointment that afternoon so Chris said he had no problem bring Nicholas to his doctor's appointment. Even as he was getting ready to leave I was second guessing myself. I even told Chris "When everyone at the doctor's gives you the-you again-just let them know it was my fault. I am afraid on missing something and ending up in the ER over the weekend." With that, he left.

Now imagine my surprise when CJ called me from the dr.'s asking me if we still had a nebulizer machine!!! I was shocked! Come to find out Nicholas has an ear infection and bronchitis. They gave him a breathing treatment right there in the office. We have been continuing to do them every 4 hours.

He is sounding much better now that he has been doing breathing treatments since Friday. He can actually sleep peacefully. He is playing and smiling more too : )

I hated to be right on this one but I am glad I went with my gut. Oh, btw, I am now sick with a cold.

18 Years...and Counting!!

2010-01-18T22:19:00.000-05:00

~~Happy Anniversary to the Love of My Life~~

18 years ago today I was a young bride in love. I saw the world through rose colored glasses. I was ready to face the world, just you and me.

Today, I am more in love with you. I understand what true love is. We have faced many of life's challenges head on---together. They have made us stronger not only as people but as a couple.

We were so young when we got married. Can you believe CJ is only 2 years younger than I was? It is true. Most couples that young don't make it. But we have always been a team.

They said we wouldn't make. I bet they would be shocked to see us now. We are quite the couple, you and me. Better together, more than one would ever believe.

You helped me to see it's alright to have dreams. We have had many together so many still to be. I can't wait to talk about how great they were when we are driving around someday in our RV : )

I love you!!!!

Snow is on its Way!

2009-12-19T09:27:00.005-05:00

Our first real snow storm of the season is on its way and it's gonna be a doozy!! They are calling for at least a foot of the white stuff and blizzard conditions. We are lucky...there are places that are going to be getting 2 feet of snow from this storm.

So what does the snow mean for us.....Family Time!!! Chris usually works on Sundays but he had put in to take it off so we could go to church as a family. We won't make it to church in this kind of weather but at least Chris won't have to drive to work in it either (yes, no matter the weather he still has to be at work for 5 am!).

So my plans----
Games---I picked up Yahtzee for $5 last night at Wal-mart. Can't wait to play that along with Uno and Mancala. All family friendly games that even Alex (who is 7) can play easily.

Food---Hot chocolate, popcorn, brownies, these are a few of my favorite things : )

Movies---We rented all 3 Santa Clause movies from the library so we will be watching them while eating the brownies, popcorn and drinking the hot chocolate : )

Reading---I just got in Family Feasts for $75 a Week by Mary Ostyn.

Cuddling---I've got to keep my Nicholas toasty warm!!!

What about you.....any plans for the weekend?

Still Here!!

2009-12-13T14:06:00.000-05:00

Can you believe we are approaching the middle on December already! The last 2 weeks have pretty much been a blur.

Highlights:
Thanksgiving was laid back and relaxed....just the way I like it. My mother, sister in law and 2 nephews came over. They all actually slept over from Wednesday night to Friday afternoon. CJ played in the Thanksgiving football game at the high school (they lost).

CJ was in the church musical this year. They did A Baby Changes Everything. He played Joseph. What a great job. CJ along with the girl who played Mary spoke volumes without ever saying a world. It was the first time I really looked at Joseph as Jesus' earthly father. I was one proud Mama : )

We *finally* got our Christmas tree up.

Chris and I went Christmas shopping on Thursday. Over the years we have cut our list WAY down. Now we buy for: Our kids, my Mom and Dad, my Dad's girlfriend, our 2 nephews, and our great-nephew. My 2 nieces are adults now and I am not sure what I am going to about them this year. My sister said not to worry about them, but how can I not. I am thinking of getting them Christmas ornaments since this was an eventful year for both---one got married and the other had a baby.

I guess my younger children are on a break from school---atleast from the regular subjects. We made snowflakes the other day out of paper. That counts right? CJ has been very diligent and has been doing school on his own. I am not sure when he is taking a break.

I am hoping to get back to blogging on a regular basis.

The Homemakers Haven--Week 2

2009-11-23T12:02:00.002-05:00

Have you ever heard of the saying "If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy."?

I know in my home I tend to set the tone for the whole house. I hate to admit it but that isn't always a good thing. Just last week on Monday, Zachary said to me with all sincerity, "Mom, this has been a really good day! You haven't been stressed out or anything!!" OUCH!!!

I have to admit:
I don't smile as often as I should.
I can sound annoyed when the kids are asking me a question or asking me for help in school.
I say no alot just because I don't want to be inconvenient.
I yell way to often.

How's that for honest. Embarrassing but honest. You are going to laugh, but do you know when this hit me.....A few weeks ago I was watching the Amazing Race and there was a christian couple on it who are dating. That week, the girl did NOT want to do the last challenge, going down a huge water slide though a shark tank (you were glassed off from the sharks). Her too biggest fears-water and heights-both in one challenge. By not doing this challenge she was dropping out of the race and a chance at $1 million dollars.

Her boyfriend was trying to physically push her down the slide. As we watched this unfold on TV my hubby said "Isnt' this suppose to be the christian couple? He isn't acting very christian right now."

That stayed with me. How would I look if someone filmed me 24/7 with my kids. Would they see a mother who loves staying home with her 6 children, homeschooling? Or would they see someone who actions tell another story?

Last week I really made an effort. I noticed a difference. So this week, to make my Home a Haven I will:
*Smile more.
*Say yes more.
*Hold my tongue and count to 10 when I feel I am going to respond out of frustration or anger.
*Praise my children more for the effort they put in.

Head over to A High and Noble Calling for more Homemakers Haven.

Online Coupons

2009-11-19T14:57:00.002-05:00

I LOVE to order online-----but I HATE paying shipping. Three times since September I have used this webiste:

powered by

Retailmenot saved me $40 in shipping charges---$19.95 on American Girl, $9.95 for Hanes and another $10 from CBD. That is money in my pocket!!!!

Super easy to use---go onto the website, put in the store or website you are shopping at and *ta-da* codes will appear. Could it be any easier : )

Happy Shopping!!!!

Random Family Pictures

2009-11-18T16:41:00.005-05:00

Random Family Pictures

Nicholas

Emily and Nicholas

My Dad with Nicholas

Sisters

CJ giving Jessie Birthday hugs

Works for Me Wednesday---November 18

2009-11-18T13:53:00.000-05:00

Each meal at our house consists of 5-7 people eating at once (sometimes more). To cut down on the confusion of who gets what and how much I have come up with this system:

We make everyone's plate in the kitchen. This lets us see how much food is on each plate---making it easier for us to keep kids size portions vs. adult size in check (I have one child who would just eat and eat and eat if you let him) and lets us see that they have eaten (if you don't eat your meal, you don't get snacks).

**ADDED BONUS** Less dishes to wash!!!! I just cut out having to wash serving dishes : )

Well here is the REAL tip----when I make everyone's plate I line them up in order from oldest to youngest (left to right). I also do this when pouring everyone's drink too. This helps me keep track of who's plate is who's. Also, because I have been using this system for so long, when the kids come get their food, they know to count over X amount of spots for their plate depending on where they fall. Example---lunch time: On this day Chris is at work and CJ and I are not eating the same thing as the kids. I make PB&J sandwiches. Alex comes into get get his plate. He will count over 3 plates----Zachary, Jessica, Alex and Emily. Because the kids know the system so well, they can usually tell when I plate is missing---like if Jessica already came and got her plate Alex would see an empty space and then 2 more plates. He would assume Jessie came and took hers.

This system Works For Me!!!!

Head on over to We Are THAT Family for more Works for Me Wednesday.

The Homemakers Haven---Week 1

2009-11-17T11:57:00.001-05:00

I found a new blog I LOVE! Can you guess? A High and Noble Calling. I love Stephanie's writing, her insight, her little-bit-of-everything. She is doing a weekly meme called The Homemakers Haven. When I read about it last week, I was instantly drawn in by her first 2 sentences.

Over the last 2 weeks I have had a work going on in my heart. First off---I have to get rid of the picture I have of others in my head (the "perfect homeschool families"---you know the ones) and stop comparing myself to them. My family is not going to be exactly like yours----I wouldn't want to be!!! Don't get me wrong, I definitely do glean from others.

I do know that I have to get myself and my home back in order. That is why I am so glad for this new weekly series. It will help keep me accountable. Also, my personality is a "check off the box" kind of person so to have things written down that I can then cross off is GREAT!!!! Stephanie has given 5 areas to work in.

So here is what I want to work on this week to make my home more of a haven:

1.Beginning Day in God's Word

I sure do notice a difference when I start the day off with God and give it over to Him compared to when I leave it up to myself. This week I am working on getting up with Nicholas' 6 am feeding and staying up. I usually go into the nursery, close the door and feed sitting in the rocking chair listening to K-Love (christian radio network). Now here is where the change comes in. I usually falling asleep holding him after this feeding and waking up when the kids come in one-by-one. Not anymore!!

Goal: Listen to music as usual but after Nicholas is done eating get right into God's word. I am using my Mom's devotional Bible right now. It has a short devotion to read along with scripture verses. After that, spend some time in prayer.

2.Complete Your Morning Routine

It is not uncommon of me to stay in my pajamas ALL day. Over the last 2 months, if I was staying home for the day I would stay in pj's, take a shower (at some point) and put on another pair. About 2 weeks ago I got an email devotion from Alpha Omega Publications. It talked about how if you were at a job how would you look---nice clothes, hair done. Compared to how we (or should I say I) look as a homeschool mama---pjs, hair in a messy bun, slippers. OUCH!! What kind of example am I to my children?

Goal: Before I come downstairs (and I get caught up in whatever is going on) I am to take a shower, get dressed in REAL clothes including shoes, make my bed and dress Emily. I also need to do my light for Seasonal Affective Disorder (winter depression). It makes a world of difference.

3.Have a Plan

Honestly, need to think and work on this one.

4.What's for Dinner

I posted my menu yesterday. I am pretty good about making a menu. It's the taking something out to defrost I am terrible at!!!

Goal: Take whatever meat needs to be defrosted out in the morning.

5.Compete a Project!
Oh boy, do I have projects I need to complete.

Goal: School books are all over!!! Because of taking time off during the pregnancy from being sick we did school though the summer. Before Nicholas was born , I was having the kids work on the books from last year that they didn't finish. Because of this, I have 2 different years worth of books in one area. AAHH!!!!! I have already switched a couple of things and I still have crates sitting in my dinning room with books that were "suppose" to be put away (like 3 months ago). I am determined to get my school area clean and organized.
2. Catch up on laundry.
3. Organize Nicholas' closet. Chris took everything out so we could reorganize it. However, before we can put his stuff back in it I need to do the school books so I can put them at the back of his closet (it is a long closet to the side).

Okay, I think that should do it. Don't want to make my goal so huge this first week that I don't meet them.

Oh, one last goal for the week---Smile More!!!

TOO PC

2009-11-16T20:45:00.006-05:00

Have you seen this commercial? While watching the Patriots last night with my hubby my jaw dropped open when I saw this. Why? I have never seen such a PC (Politically Correct) commercial before. They threw everything in their as to not offend anyone. Then at the end it tells you to "86 the rules and just do what feels right."

That is what we have come to as a country. It's ALL okay, no real right or wrong, as long as you don't offend anyone in the process. You must have heard the saying "If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything!" Now that I think of it....kind of like the girl does at the end of the commercial : )-

Menu Monday---November 16th

2009-11-16T11:46:00.001-05:00

I tried to plan this weeks menu from the food we already had on hand. I didn't want to spend alot of money on food this week. I was pleasantly surprised to see that most of our meals could be done and we actually only needed a few ingredients for the rest.

I started my menu on Friday's since that is the day I go (or try to go) grocery shopping. I would like to eventually change this to a Tuesday afternoon or a Wednesday. It just hasn't happened yet.

Friday
B--Cereal
L--Left-over Chicken Chili with rice
D--Chicken Pot Pie (from the freezer)

Saturday
B--Pancakes (I made a triple batch and froze a huge amount)
L--Cheese and Crackers with Apples
D--Pizza Night (I did order this out. I have tried 3 times now to make homemade and it just doesn't taste the same to me.)

Sunday --- Jessica's Birthday ---- Menu picked out by her
B--French Toast (made extra and put it in the freezer)
L--Fruit and snacks
D--Tacos (hamburg and chicken) with Rice, veggies

Monday
B--Banana Bread (made 2 yesterday, 1 went in the freezer)
L--L.O. (left over) Tacos and Rice
D--Portuguese Soup and homemade bread

Tuesday
B--Muffins (I made them over the weekend and put them in the freezer)
L--L.O. Portuguese Soup
D--Lasagna (from the freezer)

Wednesday
B--LaMuffins
L--L.O. Lasagna
D--BBQ chicken, Rice and Corn

Thursday
B--Oatmeal
L--BLTs and Mac and Cheese
D--Chicken Stir-Fry

The only food I bought this week:
Taco Dinner Mixes x 2
Taco Cheese
Tomato
Grapes
1 box mac and cheese
ice cream (to with Jessica's birthday cake I made)
soda
butterscotch tips (planning on making cookies today)
bottled water
chips
vanilla
Nicholas' formula
milk
1 juice

I think that is it. Not bad for a family of 8!! I still could have went without a few of those things.

Head on over to I'm an Organizing Junkie for more Monday Menu Plans.

Busy Season

2009-11-15T22:15:00.001-05:00

Today officially begins our family's busy season. Between today and the 1st of the year we will celebrate 3 birthdays and 3 major holidays. And we don't get to rest too long in January before our anniversary comes. Here's the breakdown:

November 15---Jessica's birthday
November 26---Thanksgiving
December 16----Emily's birthday
December 24/25---Christmas Eve and Day
December 29---Zachary's Birthday
December 31/January 1---New Year's Eve and Day
January 18---Wedding Anniversary.

Phew......WE ARE GOING TO BE BUSY : )

It would be easy to get caught up in the materialistic aspect of the season along with the stress. So how do we get through without going crazy?

First and foremost......downsize birthdays. Up until a few years ago we use to go all out, go crazy and broke. I am talking 2 parties per kid (one for adults and one for the kids) on the same day!!! I would invite kids over, along with their parents during the day. We would have games, food and cake. Clean up, and then family would come over....which meant another buffet of food (usually Chinese for family), another cake (btw, these are store bought cakes) and another mess! I was always stressed out leading up to the day. The day of, I was usually unbearable (I can admit it). It sucked all the fun and life out of the day. On top of that, my pocketbook would be about $400+ lighter between food, supplies, cakes, party favors and presents---and this is probably a conservative estimate. Afterwards, I was exhausted, broke and STILL stressed because I had another mess to clean.

A few years ago we smart'n up. Now only "milestone" birthdays have a party that is more than just our family. This would include--1st birthday and 10th, and 18th (I think, CJ isn't there yet). This is not to say that we don't make each birthday special, we just do it in a different way.

An example of a typical birthday in our house:
*Birthday child picks the menu for the day.
*No chores---great chance for siblings to bless the birthday child.
*No school--birthday's are family holidays.
*Present---This is when the child gets their "big" present for the year(instead of Christmas). We decided this would be the time to give the big gift (like an American Girl Doll or Nintendo DS) because it would be almost impossible to afford these kinds of gifts x 6 at once. Also, I think it would take away from Christmas. I would rather spend the extra money on a present than on a party.
*Child picks out what kind of cake they would like, either ice cream cake or a cake made by me.
*A special countdown song leading up to the big day.
*This year we added---each person at dinner says something about the birthday person that makes them special.

We have, on occasions, gone out to dinner as a family and something fun like bowling or mini-golf.

My children are just as happy with the way we do birthday now as we use. And myself? I LOVE it!!! My stress level is way down since I don't have to worry about getting the house ready for company. Instead, I get to enjoy the birthday child.

Today I brought Jessie to Starbucks to get a Frapacinno---just like Mommy, buy nail polish and a pack of gum. When we got home, I painted her nails as Daddy made tacos. After, she played with her new American Girl Doll we splurged on. It was a great day!!! Including her gift, the day cost around $120 ($95 on doll, $7 hairbrush for doll, breakfast and dinner under $10, cake less than $2, ice cream $2, birthday plates and napkins $3. That is a far cry from the $400.

Love This Commercial!!!

2009-11-06T21:23:00.003-05:00

Every time...and I do mean EVERY time, I see this commercial I can't help but crack up : )-
Enjoy!

New Name!!

2009-11-06T09:52:00.000-05:00

I don't know if you noticed but I changed the name of my blog today to "They are ALL my Own". You might be wondering why the name change? Well there are 2 major reasons.

1. When I first started blogging I thought it would be a blog about homeschooling. However, it turned out to be less about homeschooling and more about my life, my kids, and my general thoughts. Therefore, I didn't feel that "My Adventures in Homeschooling" was appropriate anymore.

2. Now as for the new name itself. It is no secret that I have adopted 3 children. I am pretty open about it and I love to talk to people about it. I have found that people have a preconceived notion about what "adopted" children look like and act like. I have heard to many times "Well I couldn't adopt because I would be afraid to. You never know what you are going to get." Well I am hear to tell you.....You NEVER know what you are going to get when you give birth to a child!!! How many times have you seen a family with 3 children and they grow up to be totally different. In my own sibling group I have a brother who has MAJOR mental health issues (bipolar, schizophrenia) while me and my sister do not.

While people know I adopted they sometimes have a hard time figuring out which 3 were. I like the guessing game, and quite honestly, I think it is funny when people pick the wrong ones. Unfortunately though, more times than not (and more than I care for), people will say "Which ones are your own?"

Do you see where I am going with this. You see, They are ALL my Own!!! I am not babysitting here, or raising these kids until their "real" parents come back. I am their real mother, Chris is their real father, they are real brothers and sisters and they are ALL mine.

I love the uniqueness of our family. Each and every one of them was picked out by God. I am proud to say, they are ALL my own : )

Interesting....

2009-10-27T14:42:00.002-04:00

Interesting....VERY interesting. President Obama's daughters are NOT getting the {hyped up} Swine Flu Vaccine. Interesting since the President just made the Swine Flu a National Emergency. You can check out the story at the website below.

http://hubpages.com/hub/Sasha-Malia-Will-Not-Receive-the-Swine-Flu-Vaccine

2009-10-21T07:49:00.000-04:00

Having a new baby can be time consuming to say the least. Add a house full of kids and you learn early on in the early days that simplicity is the key.

For me, one thing that Works-for-Me is paper plates and cups. I use them whenever I can---breakfast, lunch and snacks. It makes clean up a snap---just throw the plates away and rinse the cups out before putting in the recycling bin. Having a sink full of dirty dishes is one less thing to worry about.

To me, the $4 I spend on plates and the $3 I spend on cups is WELL worth it. It Works-For-Me!!!

Head on over to We Are THAT Family for more Works for Me Wednesday.

Menu Monday-- October 19th

2009-10-18T23:14:00.000-04:00

I am slowly (but surely) getting life back to "normal". Chris was home for 3 weeks after Nicholas was born (what a blessing). He took care of everything from laundry to homeschooling. I have been doing more and more. Last week I made my first menu and went grocery shopping. Boy, was it hard leaving Nicholas.

Chris and I have both been cooking dinners. I have been trying to keep breakfast and lunch to things that are easy. Honestly, in the morning, if I had a rough night, I catch a little sleep with Nicholas after his 6 am bottle. A sleepy cranky mommy makes for a long day.

So here is the plan for our menu---which is ALWAYS subject to change.

Friday
B-Banana Bread
L-Left over pasta
D-Chorico and Fry grinders

Saturday
B-Bagels
L-Turkey Sandwiches
D-Homemade Pizza----YES, I actually made homemade pizza. It was pretty good. I would make the crust thinner next time.

Sunday
B-Cereal
L-Left over Pizza
D-Roasted Chicken with chorico, potatoes, corn

Monday
B-Oatmeal---Zachary will make
L-Grill Cheese
D-BBQ, Rice pilaf

Tuesday
B-Blueberry Muffins
L-PB&J
D-Taco Tuesday!!! Taco, Rice and veggie platter

Wednesday
B-French Toast----Chris' day off : )
L-Mac and Cheese
D-not sure yet. Something with chicken.

Thursday
B-LaMuffins (egg sandwich on a english muffin. Our last name starts with "La")
L-BLTs
D-Pasta

The kids have a healthy snack mid-morning of either fruit or yogurt. They also have a afternoon snack. This week they will have a choice of granola bar, fruit grain bar, zucchini bread, pudding, and popcorn.

A few times a week I let them have a dessert after dinner. Chris made cupcakes Friday night (yummy) with Zachary. Apple crisp is a favorite this time of year. Ice cream is a favorite all year round.

Head on over to I'm an Organizing Junkie for more Monday Menu Plans.

Game Day

2009-10-18T18:23:00.000-04:00

Chris and the girls watching the Patriots' game.

Look Who's 1 Month Old Today!!

2009-10-17T17:34:00.003-04:00

Nicholas!!!
This picture was taken this morning.

4 Weeks old.

13 Days old

Today.

Blogs I Love

2009-10-13T17:44:00.003-04:00

Today, after reading a wonderful comment left on my blog, I realized that I didn't have this person's blog (which I read daily) on my list of favorites (which it is!). So I figured it was time to do some updating.

I added 11 blogs to my favorite list today. You can access each of them from my side bar. I hope you will go and check them out. I think there is a little something for everybody.

Glimpse of Sonshine (BTW, this is the blog that started it today)
Amy Loves It (I have only been following this a short time, but love it already)
Generations Cedar
Pursuing Titus 2
A High and Noble Calling
Lynn's Ktchen Adventures (some great recipe ideas on this one)
The Finer Things in Life (makes you stop and think about what is really important in life)
$5 Dinners (She actually got featured on Rachel Ray for her great savings tips. I followed her before she was on the show).
4 Little Men and Girly Twins
Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers (Don't you just love the name!!!)
Mommy Matters

Enjoy!!!!

Getting Back......

2009-10-02T12:17:00.003-04:00

Hello All!
Just wanted to let everyone know that I am here! : )

It has been a time of adjustment around here......mostly on my part. I started out breastfeeding Nicholas. After 11 days I had to start giving him the bottle. It was a heart wrenching decision that I did NOT take lightly but it had to be done. I will some day give more details about it but not right now (still too painful). All I will say is it was an internal battle that I was fighting.

I summarized it this way to my husband.....I feel like the post-partum period is a cruel joke. You wait 9 months--you dream, you plan and are excited beyond belief. Then you have the baby. Then you are sleep deprived and hormones kick in. Dreams get scattered, plans get thrown out the window and you look at this brand new little one who depends on you.....and you wonder what you are suppose to do next.

I am feeling much better now. I am actually feeling comfortable now in my efforts. He is a beautiful gift, given to me from the Lord after many-many years of wanting to give birth one more time.

INTRODUCING............

2009-09-22T13:03:00.004-04:00

Nicholas Jude
7 lbs 2 oz
20 inches
Born @ 11 am

1 Day to Go!!!

2009-09-16T05:21:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY!!
Lots to do today to finish getting ready. I also want to spend the day with the kids doing something fun.

I am trying to wrap my brain around the fact that tomorrow I in fact am going to be giving birth. Honestly, I am in "surgery mode" not "I am having a baby!". Believe me I am excited about having him. It just hasn't become real yet....and probably won't until I hold him in my arms.

Emotions are running high for me today. It's a bitter sweet day.

I am a little sad to know that this will be the last full day that I probably will ever be pregnant. I consider it a miracle that I became pregnant and looking back over the last 9 months I wish that I had let some things go and just been a little more selfish and just relaxed and enjoyed it.

I am nervous. You would think since I have had 2 c-sections before that this would be old hat for me. Being a nurse, especially a nurse that worked on post-surgical patients actually has put a fear in me. You know the say---ignorance is bliss. I wish I was more ignorant right now. Peace. I just want to rest in God's peace right now.

I am worried. Worried about my children being without me for 3-4 days.

I am excited. I finally get to meet our little guy. This is a new chapter for our family. I am looking forward to what that may be.

Prayers.....I could use them right now.
Thanks.

Happy Birthday!!!!

2009-09-15T08:33:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday to the love of my life Chris!!!!

I have a very selfless man. He took today off from work not because it is his birthday but so he can bring me to the doctor's this afternoon. I have my last appointment with the OB before Thursday's arrival. I am seeing the actual doctor who will do the c-section. After that, Chris is going to drop me off at the hospital for pre-admission testing. While I am there he is going to take the kids (minus CJ who will be at football) to the park. I was willing to change these appointments when I go them in the mail but he said no. He is always putting others before himself.

Just another reason I love him : )

Oh and......2 MORE DAYS TO GO!!!!

3 Days to Go!!!

2009-09-14T10:19:00.002-04:00

Only 3 Days to Go!!! And I am feeling VERY overwhelmed at this point. I have lots I WANT to get done.....but no energy to do it. I will admit, because of this, I feel snappy.

Chris keeps telling me to relax. In fact, I was up in the middle of the night (big surprise) so he called me on his way to work (about 4:30 am). He told me he wanted me to take it easy and just worry about doing my menu planning. That's it. He said he would take care of everything else when he gets home.

I have an incredible husband and I love him so much. The guilties come in for me. I feel bad that after being up since 3 am he is going to come home and do all the things I want to do.

Today is Chris' last day of work until October 9th. Tomorrow is his birthday. I am hoping to make it a special one for him......in between my doctor's appointments.

Please keep me in your prayers that I would be able to stay in peace the last 3 days of this pregnancy. I do truly feel blessed for it.
Judy

A Reminder to Self

2009-09-11T11:18:00.000-04:00

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9

You know what......being a homeschooling mama can be hard!!! You don't get to call out sick, have a lunch or coffee break or leave the job behind at 4 pm. Attitudes can pop-up at any time (and I am not just talking about the kids here) and you have to be really good at multi-tasking.

A mentor I look up to told me that while she was homeschooling she had this verse on her fridge as a reminder to herself. I have been look at this scripture alot lately. Trying to remind myself to press on.

I have had one child in particular who drives me to my knees. The whole summer has been a tug-o-war with them in regards to 2 areas of sin----lying and not doing chores. Frustrating to say the least!!! We can have 3 great days followed by 4 horrible days. I have shed more tears than I wished to over this matter. In my mind, I just don't get it. How hard is it to just tell the truth!!

But then I a quiet reminder comes to me about my own sin. What is my reaction to this child? I would love to say that I have a sweet tender voice and heart while correcting but that just doesn't happen. I take this child's disobedience VERY personally and get angry. I let it set the tone for the whole house. Talk about not being fair to the other children, my husband, myself and the original child who was disobedient.

I am working on it. First off---I have been praying about this area in particular for this child and myself (their lying and my reaction). Next, I have been having this child write out a scripture many-many times (Proverbs 12:22) and also have them wear an index card with the scripture pinned to their shirt as a reminder (an idea from a friend).

In regards to chores---I have noticed over the last 3 weeks this child has been saying "I don't like to_______ (fill in the blank---clean their room, pick up toys, do their chores, basically anything we have been asking them to do) ALOT! A friend of mine told me how she went through a similar problem with her 2 older children when they were little. Her first word of advice----speak only ONCE! She said if she told them to clean their room in X amount of time and they didn't, she went in with a garbage bag and cleaned it for them. The kids did have an opportunity to eventually earn the toys back---one at a time.

After getting VERY frustrated on Tuesday and hearing at 3 different times how this child does not like to ______ I decided to take action. The garbage bags came out and their room was packed up. Tears were shed as this child saw that I was serious. I used this as an opportunity to talk (yes, I talked very calmly) about how God entrusts us with a little and when we show we can handle it He gives us more.

This gave us both a great life lesson. This child learned there are consequences for not being obedient and for not being content with what they have been given. It gave me the chance to correct this child with a calm voice and a loving heart.

Wednesday and Thursday were great days with this child. However, today they got up and decided NOT to do their chores. I am happy to say that I stayed calm, I didn't take it personally (had to remind myself on this one) and gave the child their consequence nice and calmly. This child came to me on their own and has since apologized. I accepted and had them go and do their chore (instead of having them wait until Chris got home). They will now have 3 extra jobs to do (since there was 3 jobs they decided not to do) while the other children enjoy some play time. After they get their jobs done I will let it go and let them continue on with the day (this is a new one for me).

Prepping the Mommy!

2009-09-10T20:08:00.002-04:00

New-Do

I think my belly looks bigger than yesterday!!

Today was Prepping the Mommy!! I went and got my haircut. I didn't want to scare the baby when he sees me : )-

Believe it or not, I took 3-4 inches off! Chris even said he didn't realize my hair had gotten that long. Now *hopefully* I will be able to blow-dry my hair out like this myself. I wonder if my hair dresser makes hospital visits ; )

37 1/2 Weeks

2009-09-09T20:30:00.000-04:00

Today's appointment with the midwife went very well.

BP 110/72
Wt---stayed the same : ) Total weight gain (according to them) 22. According to what I weighed the day before I found out 16!!!

She didn't bother measuring me. She said she has no worries and added"oh, your good"....with a laugh. Last week I already measured 40 weeks so I can only imagine what I was this week. I don't think there is any more room at the inn ; )

Everything is going according to plan. My next appointment, on Tuesday, will be with the doctor who will be performing the c-section. After the appointment I will go to pre-admission testing at the hospital.

I can't believe he will be here in 8 days----actually, more like 7 days, 11 hours but who's counting : )

Please keep me in your prayers. My mind can go a hundred miles per hour and can get away from me. I am trying to take every thought captive.
Thanks!

CJ's Dream Car

2009-09-08T13:14:00.001-04:00

My Dad came to visit today. To our HUGE surprise he told Chris to bring CJ for a drive in his car. I had to stop to clarify when I saw him hand CJ the keys. I couldn't believe he wanted CJ to do the driving!!!!!

Talk about a giant smile on someone's face walking out the door.

First thing he did was put the top down.

Cool.

Chris and CJ

Ready to go.

Buh-bye!

I went to remind my father that CJ is the oldest grandson.....then I remembered the technically he isn't (my brother has 3 kids we haven't seen in 15 or so years). Man, I thought I could get him with that one ; )

Baby Update--Week 36 1/2

2009-09-03T09:16:00.000-04:00

I went yesterday to see the midwife.

BP 116/70
WT up 1 lb.....total 22
Measuring-----40 weeks!!!! Yup, I am measuring 3 1/2 weeks ahead, however my ultrasounds have always been right on target. Julie (my wonderful midwife) again said I am looking at an 8 pounder at birth.

When she went and listen to his heart rate he kicked right where she was listening to to move it. She looked at us and said "look at that attitude!" Gee, I wonder where he gets that from ; ) Everything else looks good (I still have ankles) and I go back and see her for the last time next week on Wednesday. Then I see the doctor the following week on the Tuesday and have the baby on the Thursday. WOW!! It is coming fast!!!!

Funny story----
While driving yesterday. Conversation between Chris and me:
Me----"Can you believe I am measuring 40 weeks already?"
Chris---"YES---your HUGE!"
Me---(in disbelief) "What! I can't believe you said that! I am putting on my blog that you think I am huge."
Chris---"Well if you are going to put it on your blog that you can use GINORMOUS!" (he was laughing----I was sitting there with my mouth open).
Me---"I can't believe you said that." (me laughing)

My Cute Nephew

2009-09-02T20:34:00.001-04:00

Nathan Anthony
September 1, 2009
5:34 pm
7lbs-1oz
20 inches

Proud Papa

3 Generations!
Me, Niece Laura, Great-Nephew Nathan
Boy, that makes me feel old!!!

The New Mama with her little bundle.

The love of my life--Chris taken it in.
He is a natural with babies.

What a cute baby!!!

The Happy Family

I forgot how small they come out!!
I can't believe I will have one of my own on the 17th!!

Wide Awake : )

I think he was wondering if anyone was going to pick him up ; )

I saw the midwife myself today that delivered Nathan yesterday. She told us what an AWESOME job Laura and Brandon did with labor and delivery. I am VERY proud of the two of them.

Our family is extremely excited. With the birth of Nathan there are 5 generations alive right now in our family.

Nathan---age 1 day
Laura---age 19 Nathan's mom
Glenda---age 45 (46 on Sunday) Laura's mom
Joe---age 70 Glenda's dad
Irene---age 92!! Joe's mom

Laura's Baby!!!!!

2009-09-01T18:37:00.001-04:00

HE'S HERE!!!! My niece, Laura, had her baby : )
Nathan Anthony 7lbs-1 oz.
Mom and Baby are doing well.

Number 19!!!!

2009-09-01T10:13:00.000-04:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I have to tell you.......I love this family!!!!!

Laura Update

2009-09-01T09:59:00.001-04:00

My niece, Laura, is in labor. Please keep her in your prayers today for a fast, safe delivery.
I will update after she has her bundle of joy!!

Giving Credit---CJ

2009-08-31T12:14:00.000-04:00

What a summer!! I always look forward to September. To me it brings routine back to our life. Once the summer hit, I knew my pregnancy was going to fly by-----and it did.

But this post isn't about school, routine or pregnancy. No, it's about CJ. I have to give that kid credit where credit is due. He has been no stop with sports since March and it will not end until after Thanksgiving.

He has an enormous amount of dedication----whether it be to God, his family, friends or sports. When he has decided to be dedicated to something, he gives it his all.

God
I stand in awe at times at the dedication CJ has to the Lord. It is a steadfast, unmovable dedication that is not afraid to stand up to a bus load of football players firing questions at him from everything from dating, differences in religion to how he feels about the death penalty. And it isn't just the players......he will take the time to have real conversations with the coaches too. He doesn't back down when he has a bunch of teenage boys "trying" to tease him because he doesn't date. Noticed I said "trying". That is because CJ (not us) has made the decision not to date. Because he came to this place on his own, he has a true conviction---not just mom and dad saying "no girls".

On his own he reads daily. For Christmas last year we got him a Chronological Bible. He is working his way through. He also enjoys reading books on worldview. Right now he is reading a book by John Piper.

Family
Football started last week. CJ was gone ALOT. Monday-Wednesday he left the house at 7 am and returned around 1. Thursday and Friday he was gone 7 am until 5ish and Saturday 7 am-1. LONG days. (Again, this is where his relationship with the Lord is truly tested. He is now out in the world, with no parents around.) CJ said something on Friday that I found very interesting and showed me where his heart really is in regards to our family. When he came home Friday I was upstairs resting in bed. He always comes and finds me to say hello. After jumping on my bed (yes, even at 16 he comes in and jumps on my bed) we got to talking. We started off with practice, the team ect....When we finished he got up and said "I feel pretty non-existent with the family this week. I don't like it." WOW! The world would have you think it is "normal" for a teenager to want to be away from their family. CJ didn't like being away from us so much. He is family oriented. He spends very little time in his room alone (usually only when he sleeping, cleaning it and practicing his guitar--with the amp). He likes being around us. I will take it!

CJ bringing Emily down the slide on a recent park outing.

CJ giving Emily a BIG hug after going down. He loves that girl!

Friends
I would say CJ is known by alot of different people----but true friends are but a handful. He knows the value of having like-minded friends. It is extremely important to have friends that love the Lord, respect each other and be able to share your heart with. He is faithful to his friends and would be there in a second if they needed anything.

CJ and his friends doing the Polar Plunge on January 1st, 2009.
There was snow on the ground, 30 degree air temp
But their friendship kept them warm : )

I have also seen CJ be a friend to those who others would find less desirable. He has such a heart of compassion. While others may be making fun of someone for being different, I have seen CJ lend a hand and encourage them. Baseball season comes to mind. There was a kid trying out that had one short arm (I am not sure why) and wasn't very good at baseball. I remember CJ coming home one day from tryouts upset because this kid thought whole-heartily that he was making the varsity team. CJ knew the ability wasn't there but didn't want to see this kid crushed. He encouraged him during try out and helped him out. CJ was thrilled when they ended up making this kid that team manager. CJ did everything he could to make him feel part of the team and have him join in.

Sports
I don't know how he does it. Sports are non-stop around here. From March until June CJ played on the varsity baseball team at the local high school. This meant practice/games 5-6 days a week. The day after baseball ended in June for highschool he started practice with the town team. He had practice once a week plus 2-3 games a week. He also helped Chris coach Zachary's team and went to all of Alex's games. Then on top of all that, he made the All-Star team, which meant another practice and more games during the week. There were times during July/August that he played 5 games total over a 3 day period. He did it----and did it without complaining.

CJ pitching during a game with the town team.
CJ plays many different positions including
catcher, pitcher, outfield, short-stop and first.
Each team utilizes him in a different way.

To our relief, he did get a break between baseball and football-----4 DAYS!!!! He made the most of those days. Now football season has begun and that will be 5-6 days a week (a total of over 25 hours a week). It takes dedication to work your body physically that much a week.

As you can see, I am pretty proud of my son and the choices he is making in his life. He is becoming a great young man. I am enjoying his "teenage" years. Our biggest problem----ALGEBRA!!!!! In the big scheme of things....if that is my biggest problem than I think we are doing alright.

On the surface, if you didn't know CJ personally you would think sports is his life. A few years ago I might have agreed with you. But with maturity he has put it in its proper place. CJ has this as his tag-line on his emails----I think it says alot......

"If I'm only remembered as a good athlete, I've done a bad job with the rest of my life."

Menu Monday---August 31st

2009-08-31T09:32:00.001-04:00

Last week I made a menu, I just never posted it. There are actually a few carry over meals this week since for some reason or another we didn't make what we had planned. Those nights we did quick easy meals. Needless to say, I didn't have to spend a ton on groceries this week : )

As always, meals are subject to change according to schedule, needs or cravings. Also, I start my menu on Saturday since we usually go grocery shopping on Friday's.

Saturday
OYO (own you own)
Pasta Fazole
Pizza night---take out. Chris worked a double and I was too tired to even think of cooking.

Sunday
Donuts---my craving
Mac and Cheese
Chicken Patty sandwiches

Monday
Zucchini bread
PB & J
Calzones

Tuesday
Bagels
Chicken Nuggets
Fajitas and Rice

Wednesday
Pancakes
Grill Cheese
Chorico and Fries

Thursday
Egg Omelet
BLTs
BBQ Chicken (on grill), Potato Salad, Corn-on-the-Cob

Friday
Cereal
OYO
American Chop Suey

Head on over to I'm an Organizing Junkie for more Monday Menu Plans.

Prayer Request---Laura

2009-08-28T11:56:00.002-04:00

My niece Laura is due on Thursday for her baby. However, the doctor's office has been watching her because he blood pressure is at the highest "normal" it can be. She just called me. She was leaving the doctor's office. They told her she has the beginning of pre-eclampsia. They did a ultrasound and non-stress test. Baby looks good.

The plan is to induce her this Tuesday, September 1st. BUT, guess what....while she was having her non-stress test she had 3 contractions 10 minutes apart!!!! The midwife thinks she'll end up going on her own this weekend : )

So could you please keep Laura in your prayers. I am praying that this IS the beginning of labor and she will have the baby today/tomorrow.

Oh, one more prayer request. I haven't been feeling too good this morning. Tired and my heart was racing at about 120 for about 2 hours. It is down to a normal rate now. I just have so much I need (want) to get done.

Thanks!

Menu Planning-----Assignment 2

2009-08-27T12:56:00.005-04:00

Toni over at The Happy Housewife is continuing her series on Menu Planning. Since I do menu plan, I thought I would join in. I am sure though that Toni could still teach me a thing or two.

This week's assignment was to come up with side dishes for our meals. This is something I already have. It could use some revising so I will take this opportunity to do so. Here is what I have so far:

Lunch Sides:
Fries
Fruit---whatever I have on hand that the kids didn't eat during healthy snack time or breakfast.
Chips---I don't do this one too often.
Veggie---carrots, cucumber
Pudding---this is to be eaten after the main component of their lunch.

Dinner Sides:
Egg Noodles
Rice
Veggie Platter---raw veggies--green & red peppers, cucumbers with or without dip
Salad
Chicken Flavored Rice----this would be the pre-packaged rice from Lipton
Mashed Potatoes
Red Potatoes---when I say red potatoes I mean potatoes with tomato sauce, onions and garlic. This is a delicious way to make a roast.
Baked Potatoes

Not sure what to add to the lunch sides. You know what I noticed about my dinner menu....veggies are missing. Yes, we do have veggies. But for some reason I did not put them on my list. So here are some sides I left off my original list:

Corn
Corn-on-the cob---summer time favorite
Green beans
Potato salad---summer time favorite
Pasta Salad
Watermelon
Chips---on grill night the kids will sometimes have chips with their hamburg or hot dog.
Carrots
Olives
Stuffing

I am sure I am still missing things. But one of the great things about having my Master List on the computer is I can go in and update it and print off a new one.

Baby Update---Week 35

2009-08-26T19:05:00.000-04:00

Today I had a visit with the midwife.

Wt---up 2 pounds from 2 weeks ago (which is good since I lost a pound last time I went). This makes my total weight gain (according to them) 21 pounds. I am actually up 15 from the day before I found out I was pregnant. I lost 6 pounds at the beginning of my pregnancy before I saw the doctor (due to morning sickness). In either case, it is still not a bad weight gain.

BP---116/60. Fantastic!
Measuring at 37 weeks (I am 35 weeks and 5 days) so just a little bit bigger than number of weeks.

Today's visit was great. She said I look great : ) She couldn't believe I still have ankles (thanks to my hubby who has me off my feet as much as possible).
When she asked how things were going she was shocked because I said "good". I had no worries, anxiety or concerns this week. She looked at Chris and asked him if he gave me a happy pill before I came today.

When she felt around my belly she asked what the weight the ultrasound said. I told her 5.8 and that was almost 2 weeks ago. She laughed as she measured me. She is guessing he is about 6.8 by now (which would have me on track to have an 8 pounder-----have I mentioned I am only 4'11" if I stretch!!!!). I guess time will tell. : )-

I am on weekly visits, so I will go back next week on Wednesday. I can't believe I only have 3 weeks tomorrow!!!! It is coming VERY quickly now.

Chris put the first coat of paint on the baby's room today. LOVE IT!!! It is all coming together so nicely now. I just need to get a few big items (crib, crib ensemble, mobile and a small table to put next to the glider rocker). We are hoping to get them next weekend (the weekend of the 4th). Even if we can't get them until after Nicholas is born I am okay with that. I actually feel ready for him now : )

Almost Home!!

2009-08-25T12:15:00.003-04:00

I have to tell you. I am excited!! My hubby will be home in a little more than an hour and then his weekend starts : ) He works Friday-Tuesday and has Wednesday and Thursday off. So for him, today is like everyone else's Friday.

We have baby prep to do over the next 2 1/2 days.
Today we are going to pick up the paint for Nicholas' room.
Tomorrow I have a OB appointment.
Between Wednesday and Thursday Chris will be painting Nicholas' room.
I will then start setting things up (like the draws and closet).

Chris is a HUGE help to me around the house. Especially now since I have 2 speeds----stop and VERY slow. It takes me atleast 3 times as long to do anything I use to---plus lots of breaks. With 23 days until the the BIG DAY, my nesting is really kicking in. I want everything clean-clean-clean.

Of course I look forward to also spending time with him and as a family. I just love that man!!!!

Menu Planning---Assignment 1

2009-08-22T21:45:00.001-04:00

Toni over at The Happy Housewife is doing a series on Menu Planning. She was surprised to find out that there are quite a few people out there that don't menu plan and don't know where to start. So she came up with this series to help walk people through the process. She is giving out weekly assignments to help the process.

I do menu plan. I find when I do, my grocery shopping and budget are both under better control. The first assignment was to make a master list of meals. I already have one made up for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner along with side dishes. I have a hard copy on my computer. I have another copy in a page protector that I make reference to when I am doing my planning for the week. Next week's assignment is to list side dishes so I will only share with you this week my master meal list.

Master Breakfast Menu
1. Cereal (this use to be the standard, now it is the stand-by)
2. French Toast
3. LaMuffins
4. Scrambled Eggs with Bacon
5. Oven Omelet
6. Banana Bread (I always make 2 at a time and put one in the freezer)
7. Blueberry Muffins (I double the recipe and put whatever we don't use the first day in the freezer)
8. Waffles (I admit it, these are store bought froze waffles. I buy them when they are on sale for $1 a box)
9. Pancakes
10. Oatmeal
11. Peanut Butter Oatmeal
12. Bagels

Master Lunch Menu
1. Chicken Nuggets
2. PB & J
3. Pasta Foozle
4. Grill Cheese
5. English Muffin Pizza
6. Pizza (frozen store bought)
7. Left-overs from the night before
8. BLTs
9. Hamburgs (on the grill)
10. Mac and Cheese
11. Turkey Sandwiches
12. Chicken Patty Sandwiches
13. Chicken Roll-ups

Master Dinner Menu
1. Pizza
2. BLTs
3. Chorico and Fries
4. Grill Nite--Hamburgs and Hot dogs
5. American Chop Suey (I believe in other parts of the country you call this goulash)
6. Sloppy Joes
7. Fajitas
8. Chicken and Beans
9. BBQ Chicken
10. Chicken Tacos
11. Chicken Stir-Fry
12 Chicken and Veggies over Pasta
13. Chicken and Broccoli
14. Chicken Chili
15. Roast--in the crockpot
16. Roast Chicken (usually Portuguese style with chorico)
17. Chicken Casserole
18. Hamburg Rice
19. Lasagna
20. Steak
21. Wet Burritos
22. Chicken Parmesan
23. Sheppard Pie
24. Chicken Pot Pie
25. Chicken Bowl
26. Hot Chicken
27. Paprika Chicken with Egg Noodles
28. Portuguese Soup
29. Pork Chops (on a very rare occasion, but I have to be out for the night because I can't stand the smell of them).

As you can see most of our meals have something to do with chicken. That is because I do not eat red meat or pork. However, the rest of the family does. Because of this, I do try atleast once a week to have red meat with the meal. On these nights I either have everything except the meat, cook up a piece of chicken for myself (as an example, when I make a roast in the crockpot I just throw a piece of chicken in there with the roast while it cooks) or I don't eat what is cooked and have a bowl of cereal (Remember my post last week on Picky Eaters---I want to be an example).

I do try to mix things up while making my menu. I try to have 1 pasta dish a week. If there is 2 I have a couple of days atleast between them. I try not to have 2 spicy meals in a row and I also try not to have 2 meals next to each other that have the same base ingredients (like 2 tomato sauce based meals).

I must be doing something right. I haven't had a complaint yet : )

Unexpected Blessing

2009-08-22T21:12:00.000-04:00

Wednesday I got a huge surprise.....my friends Wendy and Pam threw me a baby shower!!!! I was overwhelmed to say the least......

Yes, I started crying right then and there. I couldn't believe it. Let me set it up for you. I was thinking I was going to a girls' before school starts get together. Pam mentioned to me back in May that she would like to have one during the summer. So why would I think anything when she asked me. I asked her the night before if I could bring anything---so I actually brought brownies : )

I walked through the door and there was 12 ladies there singing to me "Rock-a-bye baby"----cue waterworks. I looked around and couldn't believe it. They were there to help me celebrate the birth of our 6th child. Wendy came over and put a button on me and Pam asked Chris if I was alright (all this while cameras were going off). I walked around for a good 10-15 minutes in a daze, taking it all in.

Presents

Yummy food

We had games, food, presents and dessert. Knowing my love of chocolate, they gave me a chocolate buffet of desserts (plus one fruit dessert for good measure). There was chocolate cupcakes, a chocolate frozen pie, a chocolate truffle, and fresh fruit salad. The favors were even chocolate!! Do these ladies know me or what : )-

Chris showing off my belly

Emily taking a break from all the action.

The girls stayed with me during the shower. They were a HUGE help.
Here Jessie is helping me open the baby swing my Mom got me.

Emily started getting really into it.
She started taking things out of the bag before me
and showing the stuff off.

Emily's favorite card.
It played "I'm so Excited".

The Ladies of my family.
from L to R
Jessie, Me, Emily, my niece Laura, my sister Glenda and my Mom

Me and Laura comparing bellies. She is due 23 days before me.
She is due on Sept. 3rd
Boy has she sprouted!!!
I am having Nicholas and she is having Nathan.

The Ladies who did this for me---Wendy and Pam.

I feel truly blessed and honored that Wendy and Pam would take the time out of their busy lives to do this for me and my family.

Thank you....I love you both : )

Picker Eaters Beware

2009-08-18T09:15:00.000-04:00

Are you one of these moms (or dad) who ends up making 4 different meals to suit the taste everyone at the table? Well repeat after me....

"I am not a short order cook."
"This is not a restaurant."
"It's this or nothing."

There use to be a day when I would try to please everyone with a meal. But as the family grew so did my impatience. You see, I have a house full of monkeys-----you know "Monkey see, Monkey do!" Once one child started with "I don't like that" or "Can I have no tomato sauce on my spaghetti? Can't I have butter instead?" than the next thing I know, the "monkey" would ask for it a certain way. With 5 children (soon-to-be 6), who has the time to custom make all those meals. After all, Chris and I do like to sit down too to a hot (or atleast warm) dinner.

So I have implemented a very simple but effective rule:

"You eat what is put in front of you.
You DO have the choice not to eat it.
If you so chose to complain or not eat what is placed in front of you
Than you do NOT get a substitute meal
NOR, do you get snacks the rest of the day."

You would not believe how this simple rule can motivate a child to eat---especially when they are told no snacks for the rest of the day (or the next if it is dinner).

As for complaining, I don't allow it. I do not want to hear "Jessie got more juice than me" or "He has more fries than me". If I hear this, your meal or drink are taken away. I try to make things as even as possible for the 3 middle children, but I am not about to count out fries or get the measuring cup out to make sure everyone got exactly the same amount of food. I believe in being thankful for what we DO have, not for what we don't.

There are other times that one of the children will prepare the meal (usually breakfast or lunch) and another child wants to be critical of it. Just a couple of weeks ago Zachary made English Muffin Pizza's for lunch. Jessica decided that he put too much sauce on it and she didn't like it. My response "Zachary cooking was a blessing to us all. If you don't want to eat it then you don't have to but there will be no other lunch served and you will not have snacks for the rest of the day. Go and drink your milk." This day, Jessica decided that she would rather go without than give in to the meal. That was her choice. I promise you, your child will not starve or become malnourished because they missed a meal.

You might wonder why I take snacks away. Well I have found children can (or will try) to live on snacks (I know I could!). While morning snack is always a healthy one (fruit or yogurt) our afternoon snack is usually something not-so-good (popsicles, ice cream, cookies, pudding). We don't regularly have dessert at night.

And just so people don't think I am the meanest mother in the world----I want it to be known that I do not serve exotic meals with far-out ingredients. I do understand that there may be a food here or there that my children don't like (CJ won't eat American cheese but can eat a whole pack of taco cheese himself ). I am mindful of those things, but some of the things are truly in their head (like Zachary will pick green peppers out of his spaghetti sauce but yet he doesn't in Fajitas). I do not penalize for green peppers on the side of the plate, however I will make Zachary take a bite or 2.

I will keep putting food on their plates even if they say they don't like it. You would be amazed at how a once thought of "yuck" food can turn into "yum" (zucchini and broccoli both come to mind with this one).

As for exceptions to this rule---Emily and CJ. Emily is only 2. As a baby she gobbled up fruits and veggies. Now she will only eat bananas for fruit and corn for vegetables. I do keep putting f & v on her plate. She can also be a little picky with eating. As an example, pasta with chicken---one day she will down the chicken and want nothing to do with the pasta. The next time we have it, it may be the pasta she only wants and no chicken. While we encourage her to try the other thing she doesn't want, we will give her more of the food she is eating that day. I believe it is sometimes her body looking for the nutrition it needs for the day (like protein).

CJ (who's 16) most of the time makes his own breakfast and lunch. I allow this if he: 1-cleans up his mess. 2--doesn't use ingredients that I have marked for another meal (again, taco cheese comes to mind). Lunch time for him is usually leftovers from the night before, which is a help to me---no wasted food!!

Menu Monday---August 17th

2009-08-17T09:43:00.000-04:00

We didn't get to grocery shopping on Friday due to a busy day. I did pick up a few things to get us through the weekend. We are going today. I am trying to eat as much as possible out of the pantry the rest of the week so we shouldn't need much at the market.

We are doing pretty good with the budget. This month seem to work out pretty good. I am going over numbers to see how we offically did. I know we did lower our grocery bill and we haven't starved with me only getting what I need at the market weekly. I have also found that I am throwing less food away (is there anything worse than throwing away food that expired or went bad because people didn't know it was there.).

Here's our menu for the week, which we start on Saturday's.

Saturday
OYO
Yogurt smoothies (big hit!)
Pizza Night!! Take out

Sunday
Banana bread---from the freezer
Grilled cheese with apples
Tacos, rice and veggies

Monday
Cereal
PB & J with a fruit (Zachary will make)
Grill Night---Hamburgs or Hot dogs, Pasta Salad, Corn on the cob

Tuesday
Oatmeal (Zachary will make)
Pasta Fazole
Family Night at a baseball game. Cookout included : )

Wednesday
LaMuffins (egg sandwich with turkey bacon on a english muffin)
Chicken Patty sandwich with fries
Hot Chicken, egg noodles, corn

Thursday
Pancakes (Zachary will make)
BLTs
Chicken and Broccoli over Pasta

Friday
Blueberry Muffins
Mac & Cheese (Zachary will make)
Cooks choice (after what I am sure will be a long afternoon of grocery shopping)

As you can see, Zachary is my resident kitchen helper.

Head on over to I'm an Organizing Junkie for more Monday Menu Plans.

1 Month Today!!!

2009-08-17T04:18:00.001-04:00

Exactly one month from today, Nicholas will be born!!!!
I am so excited!!!

NO Swine Flu Vaccination Here!

2009-08-16T10:45:00.000-04:00

I have been hearing on the news quite a bit lately how the government is working hard to have the flu vaccine and the the swine flu vaccine ready ASAP. They want to start giving people the regular flu vaccine next month followed by 2 shots, 3 weeks apart, for the swine flu.

My family will NOT be getting any of these shots. Why? Because I do not think enough research has been done to know not only the effectiveness of the shot but also the side effects.

I have heard (and I did some reading too) about the side effects that came about in the 1970's when the government was trying to get every man, woman and child vaccinated against the swine flu. I believe the government tried putting an unnecessary scare in people then---just like they are trying to do now.

Did you know that the swine flu is.....are you ready.......the FLU! While not a barrel of laughs (especially when you have a large family and EVERYONE gets sick at once), the flu is manageable. The key---hydration-hydration-hydration! To the normally healthy person, it should pass without major complications.

It actually scares me how the government is pushing so hard lately for certain vaccines (Gardasil anyone?). It makes me wonder what part the pharmaceutical companies have in all this.

And just one last thing for food for thought----Did you know that Malaria occurs in between 350-500 MILLION people worldwide and it kills over 1 million---mostly children---a year? This sounds like more of a problem to me than the swine flu. Could it be that most of the one million that die from Malaria are from South Africa and the pharmaceuticals would NOT be making the big $$ on vaccines there? Just a thought.

CJ's Big Day!!!!!

2009-08-14T17:12:00.000-04:00

CJ's Birthday was Wednesday and what great day it was!!!!
My day started off at 2 am. I woke up and went down stairs. At exactly 2:19 am---the time CJ was born at---I jumped onto CJ's bed and started singing Happy Birthday!

I went back to bed after that and we all woke up to VANDALISM!!! Look what happened to our Suv..........

Isn't it AWESOME!!! CJ's friends--Luke, Tasha, Brianna, JoHannah, Clara and Allison all snuck over to our house the night before around 10:30 and did this! I LOVED IT!!! I can't believe we didn't hear them and the dog didn't bark.

PEDS--Beware. Courteny Jones

CJ actually stands for Christopher Jr., however, when CJ started playing sports at the local high school he got sick of the kids asking a million and one questions. One that came up often (right after homeschooling) was what did CJ stand for. He decided to have fun with them and tell them silly names----Courteny Jones was one of the names.

Danger**New Driver**
Stay Off Sidewalk
Jo was here : )

We actually caught someone while in traffic taking a picture of this---LOVE IT!! We drove around for 2 days with the writing on the Suv (we did have to take off the balloons and tp to drive safely).

Keep back 100 Feet

Here a few of the kids wrote their names with CEE JAY in the middle

Peds Beware!!!
16!!!
More names

To the back of the Suv was an empty milk jug that said "Don't drink and Drive!!!"
You have to give them points for creativity.

There was also a package on our front porch.
They gave him a "Cars" (the cartoon) birthday card
Then they wrapped 4 presents up in the local car ad newspaper.

CJ's presents
Band-aids---"In case of Boo-Boos"
Toy Car---"Car of your Dreams"
Sunglasses---"Wear When Driving"
Keys--"Keys to your Future"

Does it get any better!!!!

After breakfast we went to my OB appointment. Right after we headed to the RMV. I am not sure who was more excited about CJ getting his permit---me or him!!

CJ and I waiting in the LLLOOONNNNGGGG Line.

Chris----Jr and Sr.

CJ took his test and passed. We headed over to Olive Garden to celebrate the day. It was great having lunch just the 3 of us.

After CJ took this picture I looked at it and said "I do NOT look old enough to have a 16 year old, you do Chris, but not me!!! : )

My handsome guy!
Must be good genes ; )

Of course we had to have them sing to him.

The time has come-----
"I feel the need--the need for speed" NOT!

Chris brought CJ for his first driving lesson. Overall he did good. He just needs to learn to press on the break and a corner at 5---not 25!!! >: O

CJ then made everyone a delicious dinner, Fettuccine Alfredo and salad. We enjoyed an ice cream cake with the kids.

"Another picture Mom"

CJ re-lit 3 candles for Emily. Leading up to CJ's birthday, Emily insisted it was "her" birthday. Of course, because it was Emily, CJ fed into it each day. He actually told her she could have her birthday instead.

Emily blowing out her 3 candles.

We put the kids to bed and watched 17 Again with CJ. I don't know about CJ, but I had a fantastic day celebrating his birthday.

16, Wow! Can I tell you a secret....I know that you hear terrible things about the teenage years. I am actually enjoying them----atleast 95% of the time. If only I could get him to do his Algebra!

Pregnancy Update--Ultrasound

2009-08-14T15:17:00.002-04:00

We just got back. We had an ultrasound of Nicholas and we spoke with the midwife afterwards.

EVERYTHING LOOKS GREAT!!!!

The midwife said there is nothing to worry about, it just looks like I am going to have a good size little boy. Today the ultrasound showed he was 5.8 pounds (so I little more than 5 3/4 pounds). I will be 34 weeks tomorrow. She said I am looking at an 8 pounder by delivery.

God is so good. Wednesday I was upset but tried not to show it because I didn't want to ruin CJ's birthday. When I woke up yesterday I felt at peace. I had given it up to God the night before. I told myself that God knows if something is wrong or not. I know that God is not going to give us something we can't handle......we might not like it, but we would handle it with God leading us.

Thank you to all those who prayed.
Judy and Nicholas : )

Pregnancy Prayer Request

2009-08-12T16:12:00.000-04:00

I went to the doctors today. I could use your prayers.

BP 122/74
Wt---down 1 pound. Total weight is now 19 pounds.

Measuring----this is where I could use your prayers. I am 33 weeks and 4 days. I measured 36 weeks. The midwife wants me to go for an ultrasound. It was going to be next week but when I started crying she told her medical assistant to get me in this week. The midwife told me 3 different times that she is not worried (I told her I wanted her to be upfront and honest with me). She said it could be: 1- I am carrying high up. 2- baby's position or 3- I am just having a little sumo wrestler. Of course I have googled it and found other reasons too. I am trying not to think of those things.

While to most people measuring big wouldn't bother them, the nurse part of me freaked out. I worked for 5 years on the surgical floor at the hospital. If something went wrong with a pregnancy then they would send the patients to our floor to recover. I heard or saw too many broken hearts (one was too many).

There is a saying, ignorance is bliss. With Zachary I actually had atleast 3 ultrasounds at the end. I am trying to remember why. I think it was because I was on heart medication. I am not on any now.

Fear-----it knows how to get a hold of me. I am trying to rest in God's peace. I know that Nicholas is ultimately in His hands and belongs to Him.

So please pray for us. The ultrasound in Friday, August 14th at 12:30 pm.

Fortune Cookie Wisdom

2009-08-11T09:25:00.003-04:00

Recently, Chris and the kids got Chinese food for dinner (I had pizza that night---got to blame cravings : )-

I found this gem inside one of the fortune cookies:

"Money can buy you a physician, but it can't buy you good health."

Just another reminder that money can't buy those things that are truly important.

Menu Monday--August 10th

2009-08-10T09:25:00.002-04:00

I have been working very hard to stay as close as I can to our new food budget. I set it at $700 for 4 weeks, but I think it would be more accurate to make it $800. This would break down to $100 for meats for the month and then $175 a week for 4 weeks (up from $150 a week). This will include food, toiletries and cleaning products. This will NOT include things for baby, wipes, diapers, ect. I do not feel that what we eat for the week should depend on how fast Nicholas goes through diapers. This will be a separate expense. Also, we have to pay for "special" town trash bags. This is not included in the grocery budget but a separate one.

We did go over budget this week because I bought a few bulk items this week from BJ's---box of hamburgs for the grill, hot dogs and turkey bacon. These 3 things together came to $34 but they will be used throughout the month. My goal next week is to make our menu from as much pantry food as I can so I can try to stay within budget. I think I can do it!!!

So on to this weeks Menu. Because I have been grocery shopping on Friday afternoons, I start my menu on Saturday.

Saturday
B--OYO (own your own)
L--PB & J
D--Grill--Hamburgs, hot dogs and chicken for me. Potato salad

Sunday
B--Cereal
L--Pizza (frozen)
D--Chicken Chili with Rice

Monday
B--Bagels (Zachary will be making this)
L--Grill Cheese (Zachary might be making this too)
D--Chicken with Potatoes and corn in the oven

Tuesday
B--French Toast
L--Hot dogs (they are 100% beef)
D--Fajitas, rice and cut-up veggies

Wednesday----CJ's 16th Birthday!!!!! Birthday Boy has his choice of menu for the day.
B--Scrambled Eggs with Bacon and homefries prepared by Dad
L--Chris and I will be taking CJ out to lunch after he goes for his driver's permit (Yikes!) The kids will be at home with my mom. They will have chicken nuggets and fries.
D--CJ has requested to make dinner. He will be making Chicken Alfredo and a salad. He has been asking a while to make this and jumped at the opportunity since it is HIS choice for dinner.

Thursday
B--Oven Omelet
L--BLTs, cut up veggies
D--not sure yet.

Friday
B--Oatmeal (prepared by Zachary)
L--Mac and Cheese (prepared by Zachary. He is my chef in the making---just like his Dad!)
D--Sloppy Joes with fries.

Snacks available for the week:
Fruit, Pudding, Yogurt, Yogurt smoothie, Cheese & Crackers, Ice cream, Birthday cake, Popcorn, Popsicles, Oatmeal cookies and Brownies.

Just a disclaimer---We do have fruits and vegetables throughout the day with our meals. I don't always write it in because the kids morning snack is either a fruit or a yogurt. So then at meal time, I need to see what is available for all of us to eat.

Also, we have OJ with breakfast and milk with lunch and dinner (water throughout the day).

Head on over to I'm an Organizing Junkie for more Monday Menu Plans.

Grocery Shopping with My Honey

2009-08-09T10:53:00.001-04:00

Since I am not driving right now, my Honey has been bring me grocery shopping on Friday afternoons. I have to tell you, I have never been grocery shopping so FAST!!! On Friday, we went to 3 different stores in 2 hours!

Going with him on Friday's has been great motivation for me to have my menu planned out and the grocery list ready for when he gets home. To accomplish this, I actually print out my menu and grocery planner on Monday (I get both from Donnayoung.org). This gives me all week to start filling it in.

My grocery planner has 4 columns---
1--Refrigerated Goods
2--Dried and Canned Goods
3--Freezer Goods
4--Miscellaneous

In my Miscellaneous column I put my cleaning, personal care and household items down (printer ink for example). There is a space at the bottom of the paper for Notes. I split this area up into 2 sections. 1-deli items (if there is any) and 2-Fruits and Vegetables.

I know some people keep a price book. I probably should. But, I do a huge amount of my shopping at Wal-mart. Unless a grocery store is having a fantastic sale, they are not going to beat Wal-mart's prices. After Wal-Mart I head over to Target and get what I can from there before heading to the grocery stores in the area. I try to reserve the markets for my deli, fruits and vegetables.

The grocery stores start their sales on Friday and I get the fliers in the mail on Wednesday. I go through them looking for any real sales.

While making out my list I notate what store to get it from---W, Wal-Mart. T, Target. B, BJ's, SS, Stop and Shop. SH, Shaws. I also mark next to an item if it is on-sale, which store and how much it is.

I didn't realize how detailed I actually made my list until this past week. Chris and I headed to our first stop, Wal-mart. I hadn't eat lunch yet so I got a sandwich at the Subway inside the store. While I did this, Chris started off with the clip board. To my surprise, by the time I got done eating (say 15 minutes at the most) he was on his last aisle!!!! I couldn't believe it. He just had 1 thing he wasn't sure about buying and he left it for me (Salsa. He didn't see the kind we normally get). I was honestly dumbfounded and what a great job he did without me!

At first, I took it as "I guess he really doesn't need me" : (
We were talking about this on our way to the next store. He actually gave me a HUGE compliment. He told me if it wasn't for how detailed my list was he wouldn't have been able to get through the store so fast and stay within our budget. He said I couldn't have made it any easier for him. He said it was like me giving him a road map and highlighting the exact route to take and he would be pretty dumb not to follow it. Boy, did that put a smile on my face
: )

With 5 more Friday's between me and baby, it feels great to know that my husband will be able to handle going grocery shopping while I am recovering from a c-section.

Just another reason why I love this man!!!!

33 Weeks!!!

2009-08-08T22:13:00.001-04:00

It has been a while since I posted a picture of me and my belly. So here is a picture I took on Thursday....

I went to the doctor's a week and half ago. I never update my stats from that visit. I figured I should since I am now on visits every other week and go again this Wednesday (which happens to be CJ's 16th birthday!!!!).

Visit on July 29th
BP 116/60-----my blood pressure is better now than before I got pregnant!
Wt gain---4 pounds. Total weight gain is 20 from my first doctor's visit. If you count from the day I found I was pregnant than it would be 14 since I lost 6 pounds from morning sickness before I saw the doctor.
Measuring on target. I measured 32 weeks and I was 31 weeks and 5 days.

The only thing that was of concern to the midwife was the fact that I am "very anemic" (as she put it). I am taking 2 iron pills and a multivitamin a day. She said it is very important I get that numbers up before my c-section.

I am starting to get anxious about the c-section. I have cried many a times through the pregnancy because I wish I could VBAC. However, the hospitals around here don't allow them and the closest hospital that does is----on a good day----atleast a 45-50 drive. That is, without rush our traffic. I decided not to do that hospital for 2 main reasons. 1---I felt it was a little to far to drive doing a VBAC due to the possibility of uterine rupture. 2--The other reason was I was afraid I would go through the whole pregnancy and then end up with a c-section anyway. Then I would be further from home and it would be harder for Chris to get the kids back and forth.

I was just talking to a dear friend tonight and I was telling her about how I have been upset still about the c-section. She reminded me again that I need to focus on the end result and not how Nicholas gets here. I told her that I do know that either way--nature or c-section----I know I would be anxious. If I did a VBAC then I would be worried all the way through labor of rupture. The c-section.....I am just sick of surgeries and I had an awful first day when I had Zachary, I don't want history to repeat itself. The nurses did tell me Thursday that my doctor's patients do "very well" after a section. That is reassuring.

I will try hard to update after Wednesday's doctors visit.

Park Day

2009-08-08T21:52:00.000-04:00

On Thursday we brought the kids to the hospital I will be giving birth to take a tour (even though I worked at that hospital for 5 years). It gave the kids an opportunity to see where I would be staying, what a hospital room looks like, and the baby nursery. If you asked the kids what there favorite part was though, it would have to be hands down seeing a real newborn up close. When we were outside the nursery there was 3 babies in there. A very kind nurse held one baby right up to the glass. The kids were in awe. They were all surprised at how small a baby really is at first. Alex surprised me the most. When asked by the staff that was giving the tour what he thought of the baby he said "the baby is perfect" : ) He has asked me several times a day since then to go back and see the baby.

After the hospital we picked up some sandwiches and headed to the park for a picnic. A good time was had by all (even me!). The temperature was just right and the humidity had come down. Here are some pictures from our time at the park. Enjoy!

Me and my Honey

Alex

Jessica

Zachary

Emily doing what she does best.....being cute : )

Great action shot taken by CJ

My girls.

Mommy and Emily

You Know your Short When.......

2009-08-04T20:10:00.003-04:00

Chris and I headed to JCPenny today to buy me nursing bras and PJs for the hospital (btw, I don't fit behind the wheel anymore so he is now my chauffeur).

Being that I am 4'11"---if I stretch, I have always had some difficulty finding clothes (especially pants) that fit me properly. I tried on 2 pairs of pjs and, as usual, they were very long on me. I am pretty use to it and I know it is something I have to live with. So imagine how excited I was when Chris handed me a cute pair of pajamas that actually fit!!!! They were perfect. They came just to my ankles. A pair of pajamas that I won't be tripping on!!! I came out of the dressing room to show him with a HUGE smile on my face : )

I told and showed him how great they were. That is when he started laughing. Then it dawned on me.......they are SUPPOSE to be capris!!!!!! Guess what.......I DON'T CARE!!! THEY FIT!!!! We both started laughing because this, yet again, just shows just how short I really am.

Large Family?

2009-08-04T18:50:00.000-04:00

Next month, September 17th to be exact, Nicholas will be entering the world. I am getting very excited.

One thing I have been thinking about lately is our family size. I know this is going to sound kind of a "dah" to some but here goes any way....it just dawn on me recently that we, according to most, are (or will be) a large family.

When did this happen? At what point did we go from being an "average" family to be a "large family"? I honestly do not know. Was it when we got Jessie and Alex and overnight went from a family of 4 to a family of 6? Or is it when we added Emily? Can it be that NOW we are with our new addition coming?

I guess it all comes down to perspective. I would consider us a typical homeschool family. But why? Well, most of the families that I know who homeschool have atleast 4 children (some do have less). Some have 5 or 6. So it doesn't surprise me when I see a family with that many children. I look at a family of 12 (10 children plus parents) as large. However, when I was a mom of 2 with CJ is school, I would have looked at a family with 6 large. Why? Because the "norm" around me was families with 2 kids.

So what do you think? What do you consider a large family? We will be a family of 8, do you consider us a large family?

BTW........I LOVE being a large family : )

I DID IT!!!

2009-07-28T17:01:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, thanks to Toni over at the The Happy Housewife I FINALLY made bread utilizing my bread machine.

I have to admit, I have been very intimidated by this machine. I read many a bread recipes but didn't know where to start. Then, way back in May, Toni posted a video of herself making bread (check it out on her other blog Happy to be @ Home). It still took me 2 months to try it, but yesterday I did it.

You know what? I can't believe how simple it really is to make homemade bread!!! I tried estimating the time, here is what I came up with:

Getting all the ingredients and measuring cups/spoons out---3 minutes
Putting all the ingredients in bread machine---5 minutes
~Walked away and let the machine do its thing~
When dough setting was done, grease 2 bread pans, split dough in half and rolled each out--5 minutes
Put ingredients away and cleaned mess---2 minutes
~Walked away again while bread did it second rise~
Preheat oven--2 seconds
After second rise put bread in oven and set timer--30 seconds
~Walked away for a third time~
After 25 minutes took bread out oven and check for doneness--1 minute

My TOTAL time spent----approximately 16 minutes and 32 seconds
I couldn't believe it!!! That's all it took to enjoy fresh bread. I can't believe I let that little ol' bread machine intimidate me like that. Well let me tell you----NOT ANYMORE!!!!

I spent some time this morning looking up other bread recipes. The choices are endless. I can't wait to make another loaf. Thanks Toni!!!! : )

It's Hot....and Humid!

2009-07-28T15:25:00.000-04:00

Summer is finally upon us here in Southeaster New England. It's HOT and HUMID! YUCK! I know some people have been dealing with heat well over 90 and even over 100. I know you think I have no room to complain....but I still am : )-

You see, here in good old New England you never know what kind of weather you are going to get (unlike the south---which I did live in North Carolina for 4 years-----once it gets hot, it stays hot!). In May, I had Chris put the air conditioner in our bedroom in because we had a weekend of temperatures in the 80's. I thought for sure we were in for it. I should have know better.

Most days in June rained....no seriously it did. We would have one day of a temperature of 78 and then next day 61. You just never new what kind of day it was going to be. I don't think I used my a/c the whole month. I could deal with temperatures and actually enjoyed having the windows open, especially when there was a nice breeze. July has been hovering around 75ish. I was not complaining then. I still didn't use the air conditioner (except at night when I went to bed.) The humidity was low and it was VERY comfortable.

BUT, Since Thursday of last week we have been hit with higher temps (mid 80's) but the humidity is a killer. It is like stepping into a bathroom with a hot shower running. Some thrive in this weather. Me, I am stuck in the house with all 3 air conditioners on. Yes, I said 3.

Honestly, I have a medical reason for this. I have Raynaud's syndrome. Extremes in temperature affect me. In the winter it is the extreme low temperature. I can't seem to stay warm enough. I am cold down to my core. I have to keep the house at 72 degrees or I will end up with a headache, blue fingers and feet (literally) and they are in pain.

In the summer, high temps will make me sick, headache, dizzy, nausea and weak to name a few symptoms. And believe me, it is not due to dehydration because I drink between 4-6 16 oz bottles of water a day!

This weekend I turn 32 weeks----8th month of pregnancy. I find no reason to suffer with the heat. So yes, you will find me at home, sitting in my favorite chair with all 3 air conditioners on....and I am okay with that : )

19 Years Ago Today.......

2009-07-27T22:15:00.000-04:00

Chris and I officially started dating : )

We were both 17.
We met when I was 14 and he was 15.
We were friends for 3 years.
He asked me out constantly.
I only started dating him because I knew he was the one I was going to marry.
We got married 1 1/2 years later.
I was 18, he was 19.
We had CJ a year and a half after that (3 years after we were together).
We were both 20.
19 years later we are expecting our 6th child.
Would you believe I am only 29? Okay, I didn't think so. We are both 36 as of today.
We have had some sad times.
Mostly happy times.
All have brought us to the place we are today.
He is my best friend and I am his.

I LOVE YOU CHRIS!!!!

Menu Monday--July 25th

2009-07-27T09:25:00.000-04:00

Time to get back on track. Last week I was exhausted from doing my niece's shower. I did do a menu last week but didn't post it. So I am back. I am seriously trying to take back control of our grocery budget.....or should I say lack of one. The first step, Menu planning. Second step, I am trying to do once a week grocery shopping vs. every 2 weeks (with alot of trips in between). I started this menu on Saturday and ends on Thursday.

All meals are subject to change---especially if I have a craving : )-

Saturday--
OYO (own your own)
PB & J
BBQ Chicken, Rice and corn

Sunday--
Cereal
PB & J (I know, again. Chris ended up taking all the kids to CJ's baseball game and I threw this together at the last second).
Grill Night. Kids--Hamburgs. Chris and CJ--Steak. Judy--Chicken (what else). Pasta Salad

Monday--
Blueberry muffins
BLTs
Chicken Parmesan, spaghetti, salad and MAYBE homemade bread

Tuesday--
Oatmeal
Homemade Pizza
Chicken Stir-fry over rice

Wednesday--
French Toast
Mac & Cheese
Chicken Chili over rice (I have been in the mood for this. Yes, I know it is July)

Thursday--
Oven Omelet
Chicken Patty Sandwiches with Fries
Dinner---not sure

Head on over to I'm an Organizing Junkie for more Monday Menu Plans.

Big Weekend

2009-07-17T11:19:00.006-04:00

I have been busy the last week and this weekend will be just as busy---if not busier.
I have been going through closets and clearing things out. It has been a great motivation having the Itch to Pitch over at The Happy Housewife. I didn't get to post all that I did on Monday. Hopeful this Monday I will.

Baseball is winding down for 2---Zachary and Alex (thank goodness). Their last games are on Monday and Tuesday. CJ will be going through mid-August. In fact, this weekend he has an All-Star tournament. He has made All-Star's every year since he was 5 except for the year they didn't have a team his age playing. Tonight we will going as a family to watch him.

Sunday I am throwing a baby shower for my niece Laura who is due 3 weeks before me. I am looking forward to it. I have a few people making some food along with me. This is a HUGE help. I don't think I could do it without them. I run out of steam pretty fast these days (30 weeks tomorrow!). I am pacing myself and have been spreading things out over this week. We have 32 adults guests, 6 children plus the happy couple. That is 40 people!! Isn't' that FABULOUS!!! I hope she sees this as the blessing it is.

Well must go....Emily is doing great with potty training and needs me.

Thirsty Thursday---Ebaying

2009-07-09T20:47:00.000-04:00

Do you Ebay? This is my favorite way to buy and sell used curriculum.
I know there are many people who don't know how to sell on Ebay. Let me tell you....Super Easy!! And this is a GREAT time of year to try it out.

Let me give you some tips.

1. Take a good picture of the item you are selling. It only takes a few clicks to upload your picture. People like to actually see what they are buying. Ebay does have some pictures of books as stock photos. You can use them, but I know when I am buying I like to see the seller's actual item.

2. Know how much your curriculum sells for new. This doesn't take much work. I check CBD first. If they don't carry the item than I google the curriculum and go on their home page. I put in my description how much it sells for new. It gives people an idea of how much money they could save by buying your item.

3. Be HONEST about the condition of the item. It goes a long way. If there is writing--say so. If there is a torn page--tell them about it. As an example, I just sold a science book I used at co-op 2 years ago. It had underlining in it, highlighting and a few places I had notes in it I wrote in pen. Brand New on CBD the book, solution manual and companion CD retail for $73. I just sold it on Ebay for $51!!! I think that is a good return.

4. Think about the absolute minimum amount of money you are willing to accept for an item. I use this as my starting bid.

5. Check out Ebay, Amazon and HSLDA to see what your item is going for. This is important if you are going to use the "Buy It Now" option.

6. Set up a Paypal account and have it confirmed. Paypal is an account that allows money to be directly deposited into an account. Your email address is your user name. You can link a credit card, debit card and/or bank account to it. To confirm, Paypal deposits $1 into your bank account to "confirm" you. You can have the money deposited from your Paypal account to your bank account for free. It takes about a 3 day turn around for this.

7. Set up how long you will take to mail your items. Some people mail within 2 days of a cleared payment. I mail out on the Friday after I have a cleared payment.

8. It is usual for the seller to pay for shipping. You can also add a handling fee that the seller does NOT see. It is hidden in the shipping fee. I cover my packing cost, which is about $1 for a bubble envelope and $1.50 for a box. Talking about shipping, I put 3 options for shipping: Media mail, Priority Mail and UPS. 90% of the time I have people pick media mail. It takes about a week for delivery.

I hope this helps. If you have any specific questions about selling on Ebay feel free to ask.

Want some more homeschooling blog posts? Head on over to Five J's to quench your thirst.

10 Weeks and Counting!!!!

2009-07-09T19:52:00.000-04:00

I got Nicholas' birth date in the mail today-----September 17th we will welcoming him into this world : )

I will be 38 weeks and 5 days......Exactly 10 weeks from today.
I will admit, getting the letter in the mail today made it VERY real and made me freak a little. I feel like there is so much to do and time is just flying by!!!!

Chris is great at bringing me back to reality. I know we will be fine. After all, we got ready for Emily is 5 days. For me the difference is I know I will NOT be up to doing much after he is born.....atleast not for a while.

I went to the doctor's on Monday. 28 weeks. Every is going great.
Wt---up 4 pounds. Total weight gain 16 pounds
BP---120/78
Measured on target.

I met the doctor who will be doing the c-section. Dry sense of humor, but he cracked a smile once in a while. He delivered my friend's son 10 years ago and he was great in a crisis (her son had open heart surgery at 2 days old). I know that is more important then him having a fantastic bedside manner----it just helps : )-

I go back on July 29th.

Works-for-Me-Wednesday

2009-07-08T10:53:00.000-04:00

Emily is the 4th child I have potty-trained, first time being a girl. All 3 boys I waited until they were 3 years old. I heard girls are easier (Jessie was my easiest because she came potty trained : )

Way back in January/February I figured I would start the process with Emily (who had turned 2 in December). It was right around the time I found out I was pregnant. This time around, out of pure convenience on my part, I decided to try Pull-ups. You know what happened.....NOTHING! Emily had no desire to potty-train since she was dry feeling all the time.

That was until last week on Tuesday. She is now 2 1/2, baby Nicholas is coming in September and I can't STAND spending that much $$ on Pull-ups anymore. So I switched Emily over to training underwear (you know the kind, they are underwear but they have a thicker middle part). Guess what happened! Emily HATES being wet!!!!! Once she wet her pants once she realized it was a different ballgame. I now only use the Pull-ups for bedtime at night, but even then she has been waking up dry. I do put Emily on the potty every 1 to 1 1/2 hours. If I lose track of time she has had an accident (but that is why I have 8 pairs of underwear for her).

In full discloser, Emily still hasn't gotten the idea that twosies gets done in the potty. I am at a loss with that. All the boys, once they did that a couple of times in their pants hated it and started doing it in the potty.

Real underwear.....Works-for-Me when it comes to potty training!!!

Head on over to We Are THAT Family for more Works for Me Wednesday.

Itch to Pitch---Week 4

2009-07-07T10:40:00.000-04:00

Aaahh....another week, another room clean. Boy that feels good : )

I got 2 out of 4 of my goals done. My bedroom is clean!!! Now I don't need to worry about Nicholas getting lost in there : )-

I got rid of one trash bag of papers/magazines and plan-old-junk! A small bag of clothes to goodwill and the kids stuff went to the kids rooms.

2 Hot spots in my room Before:

Night Stand

I had already started cleaning this off when I took the picture. It WAS much worse.

And the After:

WOW!!

The other thing I did accomplish was Ebaying. I listed and sold 5 homeschool curriculums (HUGE smile on my face from this). I still have more to sell and I need to get a move on. The money I make will be going towards new curriculum I need to buy. My original goal was to start the new school year on August 17th. I would like to have everything bought by the end of the month so I can have a full 2 weeks to set up.

As for the 2 goals I did not accomplish this week, I do have an excuse.
1. Bathroom closet. I went to go and do this yesterday but then soon realized that neither Chris nor CJ are home to take everything off the top shelf and return it there. Chris would FLIP if he found out I stood on a chair at 7 months pregnant to do it myself. He starts his day off this afternoon so it is high on my list to accomplish over his "weekend".

2. The hallway closet. My road block with this....no storage containers. I went out on Sunday night and bought 3 large storage bins and 2 smaller ones. I don't think I will need all this for the one closet but I am sure they will get used somewhere in the house. Yesterday was too busy a day to do it. I plan on getting to it today.

Goals for this upcoming week:
1. List 5-8 things on Ebay.
2. Hallway closet-----clean out and put containers that have been waiting for a home in there.
3. Bathroom Closet
4. Go through all the games in the house. Ditch the ones that have missing pieces.
5. Start on my bedroom closet----this will have to be done in stages over atleast 2 weeks. This weeks goal will be to go through the top shelf.

These are goals I am hoping to get done. I do get tired. I find that working for 40 minutes and then taking a 20 minute break works out well. Also....LOTS of water.

What about you? Have you joined in the de-cluttering, reorganizing and pitching what isn't needed?

Head on over to The Happy Housewife for more Itch to Pitch. Come on and join in!!!!

Menu Monday-----July 6th

2009-07-06T08:35:00.003-04:00

Last week went pretty good with menu planning. Most days we stuck to atleast 2 out of 3 planned meals each day.

I will have to admit, having no sports last week was GREAT!!!! We are back to baseball this week. CJ is away so we only have games Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. He will be back on Saturday and he and Zachary will have practice----which takes up all Saturday afternoon between the 2 of them. Only a few more weeks for Zachary and Alex to play. CJ will be playing ball until the middle of August and will be overlapping with the start of high school football practice.

Today I am heading to the doctor's for a baby check. I will update later on that.

Here's this week's menu. As always, it is subject to change------or cravings ; )

Monday
(B)--Banana Bread
(L)--PB and J
(D)--Tacos, Rice with veggie tray

Tuesday
(B)--Waffles (frozen)
(L)--Grill Cheese (Zachary will be making)
(D)--Homemade Pizza---I still haven't made this. I will admit, I am nervous about it. What happens if it comes out terrible!

Wednesday
(B)--Pancakes with fruit
(L)--BLTs
(D)--Stir-fry with Rice

Thursday
(B)--Eggs with Bacon
(L)--Hamburg or Hot dog on grill with chips
(D)--Chicken with Pasta and veggies

Friday
(B)--oatmeal
(L)--mac and cheese (made by Zachary)
(D)--Sloppy Joes

Saturday
(B)--cereal or whatever they can find in the freezer
(L)--OYO (Own Your Own)
(D)--BBQ chicken on the grill, macaroni salad, watermelon (I have actually been craving watermelon lately---I guess it is better than me wanting chocolate all the time!)

Sunday
Don't know yet. I haven't worked on the next 2 week block yet. I am sure it will be something easy.

What about you? Is this time of year busier or more laid back for you?

Head on over to I'm an Organizing Junkie for more Monday Menu Plans.

Family Day

2009-07-02T22:48:00.002-04:00

It has been very rainy around here. We have literally had rain just about every day for the last month. We had planned on going to a beautiful park by the water on Wednesday, but it rained. We didn't want to just sit around on another one of Chris' days off. At the last minute we decided to head over Providence and go to......

By the time we got there everyone was hungry. We picked up sandwiches on the way and I packed drinks and snacks. So we started out with lunch first.

Then off we went.

Emily was not impressed at first and spent the first 10 minutes crying and afraid. I thought for sure I was going to end up sitting in car with her while everyone else enjoyed.

But this......

Soon turned into this.....

There was dress up....

There was role playing.....

And just lots and lots fun being together......

And everyone's favorite.......the water table room.

We finished up the day with a trip to.......

Eveyone LOVES ice cream.....

Okay, maybe not as much as me. Don't blame me! Nicholas made me get it!!!

We all had a blast being together as a family.

A New School Year-----An Old Way

2009-07-02T21:55:00.001-04:00

In August we will be beginning our 8th year of homeschooling. WOW!! Time sure does go by fast. It seems not too long ago I was at my first homeschool convention overwhelmed by the choices. That year, I ended up going over to the Abeka table and buying the whole kit and caboodle for CJ who was entering 4th grade.

The second year I tried to mixed a few things up but ended up doing all Abeka again. It worked.

By the 3rd year I had been to enough homeschool meetings, talked to enough moms and been to enough curriculum fairs too know there were TONS of choices out there. So I jumped ship with Abeka (even though it had been working) and decided to go on my own and put together everything I thought would be best for homeschooling. In all honesty....this was the year the confusion started. By this past school year---my 7th, instead of feeling confident in what I was doing I was frustrated, confused, overwhelmed and pretty much dreading homeschooling. A few times this year I even told Chris that I was putting them ALL in school.

In April, I went to the homeschool convention. I mostly walked around thinking about the upcoming school year and wondering how on earth I will be able to juggle homeschooling a high schooler, 3 elementary age (with one of them needing LOTS of help with reading), a toddler and a newborn. When I got home I was happy to see a book I ordered had come in. Managers of Their School Steven and Terri Maxwell's newest book had not only come in but it was an answer to prayer!!!

I had already been re-evaluating my homeschool before the book had come in:

First question: What year was the best?
Oh, that's easy, the first 2. Those two years we got the most work done, it was organized AND we got done with school by May.

Second question: What year did I think was the worst?
I would have to say the years have seem to get progressively worse.....not better. So this last one probably takes the cake.

Third question:
What has been the biggest change to our homeschool?
At first I would say number of children. But after further evaluation I would say curriculum type. First year it was layed all out for me. As the years progressed, I picked curriculum that required more setup on my part. This might work for some, not for me.

Fourth question:
I look to my oldest----Does he have gaps or holes in is education? No, not really. He has always thrived on textbooks and the times I tried to switch it up with him we would struggle and go back.

It all was pointing back to textbooks. But textbooks I asked myself? That is like a bad word in homeschooling circles. I have found that the general train of thought in regards to homeschooling with textbooks is only a cop-out of a mom would use them. Only one that wants to copy "school" at home. It was something to be almost ashamed of. It isn't the "thing" to do!! What would others think?

Can you believe that even at MY age and in homeschooling there can actually be peer pressure? Don't believe me? I will give you an example. Most people heard of Tapestry of Grace. While I think it is a great curriculum I KNOW that it is not something that would work for my family. Atleast not at this stage of our life. I know of 2 families that used it and LOVED it. They both have been using it for years. Neither one of them have ever tried to push it on anyone. Oh sure, they would talk to you about it all day if you wanted to, but both would tell you that you need to look at your own life with your own children and circumstances to see if it is the right fit for you. Well last year at co-op TOG became the hot curriculum and before I knew it, 9 new families were jumping on board. Yes 9!!! I had people all the time ask if I was going to join in. It was hard, but I said no. I just knew it wouldn't work for us.

Long story short, out of the 9 families that started, I know for sure that 7 of the families stopped using it (if they even started at all). The other 2 families, I have no idea how they are doing. That's alot of money to spend on something to be doing the "in" homeschooling thing.

So after a huge amount of prayer, thought and consideration I was almost at my decision. That is where Manager's of Their School comes in. After reading the book, I can say, WITHOUT shame or embarrassment, that I will be going back to our old way of doing homeschool. We will be using textbooks, mostly Abeka. Terri's book put into words what I have been feeling. It gave me solid reasons to feel comfortable with my choice. I just wish the book had come out years ago. It might have opened my eyes then and I could have forgo alot of confusion.

A wise woman has said to me time and time again "Judy, it's not about the curriculum. The curriculum is a tool." I think I finally get it. It's not about searching and always trying to find "the best", the "in" or the the curriculum you think will be accepted by others. It's not about curriculum X, Y or Z being the "right" one that guarantees if you use it you will have children that are ____ (fill in the blank). It IS about listening to God and seeking what choice He has for you and your family. For me, I believe textbooks is the way to go. I know it has worked very well for us in the past.

Want some more homeschooling blog posts? Head on over to Five J's to quench your thirst.

Works-for-Me-Wednesday

2009-07-01T08:49:00.000-04:00

Okay, nothing earth shattering here, but still a tip just the same. I like to change my dish towel and cloth every day. I also can't stand to see a dirty kitchen trash can. So what I do is every morning, I get up, take my kitchen cloth, wipe the outside of the trash can down. Then I toss the cloth along with yesterday's dish towel(s) into the wash. I finish up with spraying the can with a bleach spray. It's simple....but it Works For Me!!!

Head on over to We Are THAT Family for more Works for Me Wednesday.

Itch to Pitch---Week 3

2009-06-30T06:50:00.007-04:00

Life doesn't always go as planned. I had a list of things I wanted to get to last week but life took over.
Tuesday--Chris came home from work sick.

Wednesday---I had my 3 hour glucose test at the hospital and was gone half the day. The other half I wasn't feeling all that great. And BTW, I do NOT have gestational diabetes! : )

Thursday--I had such plans for this day. Chris took ALL the kids to CJ's baseball practice in the morning to give me time to do something around the house that I wanted to get to but couldn't because of the kids. I was so excited. And then.....about 15 minutes after he left, I walked a couple of times up and down the stairs and I started with my heart racing, palpitations and shortness of breath. I was so upset. I had work I wanted to get done : ( Needless to say, when you have a resting heart rate of about 130, you can't get much done. I called Chris to let him know what was going on. He told me to go and put my feet up and rest. I did for about an hour and then went to take a shower. Zachary had a dentist appointment because something was wrong with his gums and I wasn't sure what. To my surprise, Chris stopped home while I was in the shower and decided he was going to take Zachary and the other kids (minus CJ, who was still at practice) to the dentist. This turned into Chris not only taking them to the dentist but to the library too. What a good dad. All this to say, I didn't get much done besides "normal" stuff because of the cardiac issue.

Friday--Spent the afternoon bringing Zachary to an oral surgeon (dentist wasn't sure what was wrong with his gum), bank, Target to pick up Zachary's prescription, post office and then home for Zachary's baseball game.

Saturday---Spent morning cleaning and ALL afternoon working on budget/menu planning/ grocery list. Then 3 1/2 hours grocery shopping (after a quick stop at Kohl's). Didn't get home until around 10:30 pm, helped unload groceries and then collapsed on the couch.

Sunday----Saturday's adventure kicked my fibromyalgia into high gear. I was in awful pain throughout my body all night. It settled down enough for me to sleep for few hours after I took some Tylenol (at 3:30 in the morning). Tried pushing through all day. I started on the black hole (ie: my bedroom). I threw away a trash bag worth of papers, magazines and plan old junk that had made its way to my room. I have a bunch of piles organized on my floor right now for me to find a permanent home for.

Jessica (who's 8), was a big help. She did this for me

She turned this.....

Into this : )

She then helped my mom reorganized my cupboards that have the dishes in them.

CJ and Zachary did yard clean-up. They spent more than an hour back there. They even washed out the trash barrels.

So far, I have one thing posted on Ebay. More to come.

This weeks goals are alot like last week:
1. Bathroom closest clean out.
2. List atleast 5 more things on Ebay.
3. Finish bedroom.
4. Hallway closet

Head on over to The Happy Housewife for more Itch to Pitch. Come on and join in!!!!

Bargin Meal of the Week

2009-06-29T11:57:00.000-04:00

This is my first Bargain Meal of the Week !!! With our ever growing family and a budget out of control, I have been trying think of meals for dinner that are 1- Healthy 2- Filling and 3- Economical. While browsing the blog-world, I noticed that prices in other parts of the country are much lower than here in good-old Massachusetts. In general, I do not think our local grocery stores have that great of sales. Every once in a while you can find a deal....so you have to get it while you can!!!

This week Shaw's Supermarket has boneless chicken breast on sale for $1.99 a pound and pasta for $0.88. I will have to admit, I buy most of my frozen veggies at Target because they are cheaper.

Here's the breakdown for our meal. This was for 8 of us: Me, Chris, my mother, CJ (15 y.o. boy who can eat as much as the father), a 10, 8, 7 and 2 y.o.

Shaw's Boneless skinless chicken breast 1.5 pounds @ $1.99 lb = $2.99
Shaw's Pasta, 1.5 boxes @ $0.88 each = $1.32
Target Broccoli, frozen cut-up 1 bag = $1.50 (I think)
Olive oil, garlic and black pepper to taste.

Cut up chicken into bite size pieces. Cover bottom of frying pan with olive oil, add chicken, garlic and black pepper. Cook through. Add frozen broccoli and more olive oil. Don't forget, the oil and garlic is the sauce for pasta. While this is cooking, cook your choice of pasta according to directions. When pasta is done, drain, put on plates and top with chicken and broccoli mixture. Top with Parmesan cheese (if you wish). Enjoy!!!

As a comparison, one of my favorite local restaurants that Chris and I go to on date night has this exact meal (which I usually get when I go) for $12.99---that's for one person!!!

Grand total for my meal, a family of 8= $ 5.81. That is $0.73 a person!!!! The kids all asked for this one again. And BTW, I doubt I will be getting this anymore when we go out.

A big thanks to my sister Glenda for giving me the recipe for this meal : )

Cloth Diaper Give-Away...Oh, I HOPE I win : )

2009-06-29T08:37:00.003-04:00

Rhen at Yes, They are All Mine is doing a great give-away for all you expecting mamas out there. 2 FREE cloth diapers w/ liners. I would LOVE to win this!!! I have been wanting to try cloth for our new little one coming in September, but I am afraid to make that financial commitment. I have heard, though, that cloth diapers have come a long way in easy and durability and I heard in the long run they can save you a TON of $$$. So, I have my fingers crossed that I win this one.

Menu Monday---Week of June 29th

2009-06-29T08:33:00.000-04:00

My budget has been extremely out of control lately. I feel instead of me controlling my money, my money has been controlling me. I decided to change this. Friday I worked on the budget. It is looking pretty good. Some things might need to be changed but all in all, I believe it is workable.

One of the biggest areas I believe the money is just being eaten up (figuratively and literally) is groceries. Not being prepared for meals and therefore too many stops to the grocery store really does and up!!!

So Saturday, I spent most of the afternoon working on preparing a menu for the next too weeks---breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Then I spent 3 1/2 hours, and 3 different store grocery shopping with my oldest, CJ. I am at the point that pushing a carriage full of groceries for 7 to 8 people (mom is staying with us this week) is too much for me. Chris also did 3 stores for me on his own. He hit the meat market and Stop and Shop on his way home from work Saturday to pick up sale items. On his way home Sunday, he went to BJ's to get a handful of bulk items I needed. CJ and I hit Wal-mart, Target and Shaw's. The majority of my shopping is actually done at Wal-mart. Target is right across the street from Wal-mart and I pick up a few items there that Wal-mart either runs out of or doesn't carry. At Shaw's I picked up some sale items and a few fruits and veggies. I have a HUGE farmer's market order coming in on Thursday so I only wanted to get F & V to last me until then.

So without further ado----My Menu (which is, of course, is subject to change : )

Monday--(B)Bagels with catalope, (L) Pasta Fazole, (D) not sure yet

Tuesday--(B)Waffles (frozen), (L) PB & J sandwich, (D) Fajitas with rice

Wednesday--(B)LaMuffins, (L) Chicken patty sandwiches w/ fries, (D), American Chop Suey

Thursday--(B) Oven Omelet , (L) Dad's Choice, (D) Homemade Pizza---this will be my first attempt at this.

Friday--(B)Blueberry muffins, (L) Mac and Cheese, (D) Chorico and Fries

Saturday--(B) Pancakes, (L) English Muffin Pizzas, (D) Grill. Steak (chicken for me), corn-on-cob, watermelon, chips, potato salad and 4th of July cupcakes---yummy.

Sunday--(B) Cereal (recovering from the night before), (L) OYO (own-your-own) lunch, (D) Chicken Pastina (new recipe)

I have a long list of snacks available to the kids over the next 2 weeks:
yogurt, yogurt smoothies, fruit (usually their morning snack), cheese and crackers, fruit grain bars, popsicles, ice cream sandwiches, granola bars, brownies (Emily LOVES making these with me), chips w/ salsa, pudding, popcorn, and mixed nuts

That about sums it up.

Head on over to I'm an Organizing Junkie for more Monday Menu Plans.

Itch to Pitch---Week 2

2009-06-23T13:55:00.000-04:00

Another week-----yaaaahhh!!! I love participating in this because it gives me a goal and incentive to get things done : )

This past week I finished up the old school room. Everything was organized into piles. Just one problem.....where to put it all! Have you ever noticed that sometimes when you are orgazing one area it leads to other areas needing to be done to make room? That is what has happened. I have a bedroom and hallway closet that are in desperate need of some TLC (hopefully next week). Until then, Chris stacked all my crates neatly into the boys closet.

Old Schoolroom...orgazing into piles.

School stuff was brought upstairs and put away in the new school room.
On Thursday, when I was out, Chris and the boys washed the walls and rug. CJ took apart the boys' bunk bed and moved it into their new room.

Zachary and Alex's "new" bedroom

Our "baby" goal this month was to have the boys into their new room. Goal met!!!!

Over the weekend I tackled something I have been putting off for months.......

Going through Jessie and Emily's clothes.

Another small pile of clothes.

Boy did it feel good to get this done!! I ended up with 3 bags of clothes to give to goodwill, 1 bag that had Jessie's old comforter set, a small bag of clothes to give to someone I know who is having a girl and 1 tote full of dresses I want to pass down to Emily someday.

When going through all this, I had to keep my emotions out. I could have spent all day thinking about each "special" outfit of Emily's I picked up. I also had to remind myself that I am having a boy and chances are I will not be having another girl someday. I thought about the happy mother who comes across these outfit and gets to dress her little girl in them.

Now for some goals for this upcoming week.
1. My bathroom closet
2. List some curriculum that I need to "Pitch" on Ebay (I have 3 milk crates full)
3. My bedroom (this is a never ending problem for me). Specifically in my bedroom, I want to clean off my chest of draws and the huge pile of books, papers, toys that have made its way to my room (my room is the catch-all for the rest of the house).

Head on over to The Happy Housewife for more Itch to Pitch. Come on and join in!!!! : )

Week 26 Update

2009-06-21T14:11:00.004-04:00

26 Weeks!! YEAH!!!!
As you can see, I am really getting there.

I went this past Wednesday for blood work. Not so good. 1st off, I failed the one hour glucose test (can't say I am surprised). I am now going to the hospital on Wednesday to do the 3 hour glucose tolerance test. I have had trouble throughout the pregnancy with low blood sugar. The last couple of weeks I have been suspecting that I am going too high after eating. I checked my glucose Wednesday myself before and after. Before the test I had dropped to 77 (80-120 in normal). As soon as the phlebotomist drew my blood after the one hour test I checked my level and I got 175 (one hour after they don't want to see it higher than 140. The blood they drew came out as 158). One hour after that (now 2 hours after I drank that horrible stuff) I was already down to 82. I feel like a ping-pong ball. I can feel my levels going up and down and it doesn't feel that great : (

Wednesday's blood work also showed that I am still anemic. In fact, my level dropped from the last time, even though I have been taking a multivitamin AND iron pill. I was 11.1 around 18 weeks, now I am 9.7. I am now taking 2 iron pills plus the multivitamin.

I have been feeling tired lately. I just thought it was because I have been not sleeping well. The last two weeks I have been having episodes of dizziness and a couple of time where I have had a fast heart rate again and out of breath. I just thought "part of pregnancy".

Surprising though, I am getting more done now than I have in a long time. I just keep pushing myself. I figure the little fairies aren't going to get the house ready for baby ; )

With all that is going on, it might also be surprising to know that I am enjoying being pregnant, wouldn't trade this for anything and I would do it again. I have taken better control of my stress level too.

100

2009-06-18T08:12:00.000-04:00

100 Days until My Due Date!!!!

13 Things I Would Like to do This Summer

2009-06-18T08:10:00.000-04:00

1. Get ready for baby.

2. Roger Williams Zoo

3. Colt State Park

4. Play mini-golf

5. Cape Cod

6. Go camping for 2 nights/3 days

7. Have a extended family cook-out. -----hint-hint Sissy : )

8. Clean out EVERY closet in this house

9. Read through my summer book list

10. Organize and do actually lesson plans for school

11. Go to the drive-in to see a movie (the closest one is about an hour away)

12. Go to farmer market on a regular basis

13. RELAX!!!! : )-

Head on over to Happy to be @ Home to view other Thursday Thirteens.

Works for Me Wednesday

2009-06-17T19:17:00.000-04:00

I love finding recipes on the web....either through other's blogs or Allrecipe.com. At first it was getting very messy trying to keep track of them. That was, until I came up with this idea

I have all the recipes I have collected over the last year are in a binder. The binder is separated into categories: Breads and doughs, Appetizers, Main dishes, Sides, Salads and Desserts.

To protect my recipes while I cook, I put each in a page protector. Then I can just wipe it off when I am done cooking (I will admit, I am a very messy cook).

This has made life much easier for our family, especially since my husband does a good amount of the cooking also. This works for us!!!!

Head on over to We Are THAT Family for more Works for Me Wednesday.

I’ve got the Itch to Pitch Challenge--Week 1

2009-06-15T12:29:00.003-04:00

Over at The Happy Housewife, Toni has issued a summer challenge----to clean, declutter and organize our homes. Since I wanted to do this before the baby came I was thrilled to join in. Basically, each week pick one area of your home you want to work on, take before and after pictures and work on it throughout the week. Then every Monday Toni will be posting a link to her site. What a great way to have accountability.

I don't know what has happened to my house over the last 5 months...it's a disaster!!! Actually embarrassing. Honestly, most rooms have a mess in them. Last weekend CJ did an AWESOME job going through his room and cleaning it out. Doesn't that say something when a teenage boy's room is the cleanest in the house: )-

So this week, we tackled 2 rooms and one "hot" area. I saw "we" because I had the kids joined in. I figured they did a fantastic job messing it, they should help in the cleaning. First up----the family room. I wish I had pictures but my batteries on my camera died. So I guess I will have to tell you what they did.

CJ moved a mattress and bed frame out (it is temporary being stored in the end of a hallway (we will be finding a place for it eventually). Clothes that needed to folded were moved out and put into the living room. Jessie and Alex worked on them.

Zachary cleaned out the entertainment center, wiped it down with cleaner and took all the movies out and put them in their correct case. Jessie took ALL the books off the bookcase (Alex and Zachary both helped her at different times, however, she did the majority of the work on this one.), dusted it and re-organized the books . All the toys down there were sorted, broken ones thrown away and organized into there correct bin.

The couches were vacuumed out. They then washed all the walls and the baseboard heater. Chris then moved the tv up to the main floor into the living room. The room was then rearranged. It makes the room look HUGE! What a difference a day makes. Yesterday morning I could hardly walk through the room without worrying about tripping over something and now......lets just say the kids did a mama proud.

When Chris got home from work he got busy right away washing rugs with the rug cleaner. He helped the kids finish up the family room by directing them on what to do.

While this was all going on, I was cleaning out the old school room. I am still not done in there. My goal is to be done by Wednesday so we can wash the walls and rugs on Wednesday.

Also this week, I went through all the school book we had. I put the books we are using and the books for the upcoming school year on the shelves in the new school room. Next, I put all the books to sell in 3 milk crates. I have one milk crate left with book we will use someday in the future. Alot of old papers and books (ie: dot-to-dot books and old coloring books) were thrown out.

I would say we had a successful week. This upcoming week we will be working on finishing up the old schoolroom and going through Emily, Jessie, Alex and Zachary's clothes. I should have pictures to show for this one because I am going out today and buying some ; )

When Are We Going to be Done.....

2009-06-12T21:29:00.000-04:00

This has been one wacky kind of school year. It started off pretty good the first 2 months. Then November came. That starts a busy 7 weeks for us. Starting November 15-January 1st we celebrate 3 birthdays and 3 major holidays. It seems like every week there is something. Because of this, we have be taking this time of year off or doing a much lighter load.

Every January we take the week of our anniversary off from school because Chris always takes the week off for vacation (Chris and I usually go away for 2 days). However, this past January Chris had surgery on his nose for a devated septum. Poor guy was miserable. Surgery was on a Tuesday---I found out was pregnant 3 days later on Friday and morning sickness started a week and a half later. There were many days during my first 16 weeks of pregnancy that I couldn't make it off the couch because I felt so horrible. This made for a very tough time homeschooling.

During those 10 weeks of extreme morning sickness, I was happy with the kids just being quiet and not killing each other. The kids did try working in their books independently but that came back to haunt us in the end (more about that in a little bit). Chris would try to work with them on his days off or when he got home from work but there is only so much time in a day. He was usually spending his home time taking care of me, the kids and the house. He cooked, cleaned, ran errands....basically he took over my job (which I will forever be grateful).

Like I said, the kids did try to do work independently, however, when I was finally feeling better I went back and started correcting the work they did during that time. Oh the horror. Have you ever tried correcting 10 weeks worth of school for multiply kids!!! Needless to say, concepts were missed or not understood, they got sloppy with their work and all in all, I had a mess to clean up. In some of the books, we had to actually go back and start back where we were before I got sick.

So now here it is, the middle of June and where does that leave us......BEHIND!! There are some subjects we really didn't even touch this year, like bible, art, music, history or science (the kids did get some science this year though. They had science once a week in co-op, so maybe 20 classes for the whole year). I am not even talking about THOSE subjects. I am talking about them behind in phonics, reading, math, spelling and grammar.....you know, the 3 R's.

I have been trying to figure out what to do about it and the summer. At first, I was going to do school until June 26th. But I can't justify taking the whole summer off when they took A LOT of time off January-April. Then I thought of just taking July off. But you know what I find, when my kids don't have something constructive to do, they get into more trouble!! So I think (maybe) that I have an alternative. I think we will be schooling through the summer (gasp) on Monday, Tuesday and Fridays. We will take Wednesday and Thursday off since they are Chris' days off plus the weekend. This is of course subject to change and at any time I could change my mind. CJ needs to do school atleast 4 days a week this summer----it really should be 5.

For the 3 elementary age kids they will be working on the 3 R's. I am starting to see progress and I don't want to lose steam now. We are getting into a flow with me sitting at my desk and helping one child at a time. During this time, I help with math lessons, check to make sure they understand a grammar concept and listen to them read outloud to me. The others sit in the other room working on their working independently. Of course there is always room for improvement and I am hoping to have a real schedule up soon for this. If everyone cooperates and does what they are suppose to do, we can be done in 2 hours (or less). I think that leaves plenty of time for them to have summer fun : )

CJ will be working on Algebra (still), Bible and History. Sports and co-op took up a great deal of time this past school year and now we need to play catch-up. I suspect we will be doing algebra the whole summer but the other 2 subjects he doesn't have too much more to do and I keep encouraging him to do extra in those subjects to get them done faster. Still, with those 3 subjects we are only talking about a few hours of school a day and he could easily be done before noon.

With 9 weeks until I want to start the new school year (my goal is August 17th), I am hoping this schedule will give us the needed push we need to catch up.

In the near future I am hoping to do a few other posts regarding the upcoming school year and decision we have made (like curriculum choices and why we won't be doing co-op again).

Quick Dr. Update--Week 24

2009-06-10T20:50:00.002-04:00

Went to the doctor's today and saw the midwife.
Wt gain for the month---2 pounds. Total--12 pounds : )
BP---118/64. I was shocked! I thought for sure with all my stress it would be elevated.

Talking about stress, the midwife said I need to chill out. She agreed with Chris that all the stress I am under is not good. She said when Chris wants me to go up to my room and relax to just do it. She did mention how stress can cause pre-term labor. That was all I needed to hear.

So as selfish as I feel, I am going to put myself first. No correction, I am going to put baby Nicholas first. I will do what I need to do----or should I say---I will NOT be doing certain things, like trying to help everyone fix their problems. I am going to be the queen that I am, relax, and enjoy the rest of this pregnancy (even if it means not answering the phone for the next 15 weeks.)

On a happier note, she said Nicholas' heart rate sounded nice and strong and I was measuring good. I am going next week on Wednesday for the (dreaded) glucose tolerance test (yuck). My next appointment in July 6th.

Be Still......

2009-06-09T20:39:00.004-04:00

Psalm 46:10

Be Still and know that I am God

As I mentioned Saturday, I have been feeling physically better than I have in a long time. Emotionally....well that is a different story. I have been feeling like I am carrying the weight of others on me. I want to help. I want to fix things. I want to be whatever people need from me. Unfortunately, this is at the expensive of myself (and baby Nicholas).

I was such an emotional wreck that Chris called out of work today. He knew I was at my breaking point last night. Have you ever gotten that bad? It's awful.

Today was a refreshing day. First off, I slept until.....are you ready for this.....10:30!!!!! I guess I should put this a little in perspective. I haven't been sleeping well.....AT ALL. I am usually up, wide awake from anywhere between 2-4 hours, every night. I can't remember the last time I slept through I whole night (minus bathroom trips). Even before I got pregnant I didn't sleep well due to fibromyalgia. Last night was no different. I went to bed at 11 pm, woke up at 1 am and didn't get back to sleep until after 4:30. I was woken up by the phone at 6 am. I was going to stay up but Chris encouraged me to go back to bed (or should I say the comfy couch we have in our living room). I did, and actually got into a great sleep. At one point, I popped my eyes open long enough to see him walk by me to go downstairs to the family room with the milk, cereal and bowls.

When I finally woke up I was SHOCKED when I woke up and found it was 10:30 am!!! Part of me felt guilty...but you know what....I felt refreshed!!! What a great feeling. The day was spent with Chris taking care of the kids fully. I just chilled out. Chris even took all the kids to get his coffee at noon time and spoiled me with take-out from Friendly's. I was not allowed to take any phone calls (until an emergency one came in. He took the message but I did call my sister to let her know what was going).

I feel so blessed to have my husband. I called him my gatekeeper today, protecting my fragile emotional state. He was not going to let any outside influences get to me. He wanted me to focus on me today (boy is that tough). To know someone loves me that much to put my needs well above his is unbelievable.

Ephesians 5:25

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her

What a great example Chris was of this today. He showed the children how it is his job to protect his wife, love her unconditionally and put her needs above his own.

24 Weeks!!!

2009-06-06T12:58:00.000-04:00

Time is just flying by. I can't believe I am 24 weeks now. May seemed like a blur.

Excuse the hair. I just got out of the shower this morning when I took this.

I am feeling the best physically I have since finding out I was pregnant (iron pills are a great thing!!!). I am still very emotional. God has been working in some areas of my life too. I am trying not to take on the problems of the world but instead to focus on God, myself and my family. Not always an easy task. I like to be there for people and try to fix things (probably why I became a nurse). But it has been taking its toll on me. I have not been very peaceful during this pregnancy and I came to the conclusion that, that is going to change. Chris has been really after me about this and it's about time I listen.

Lots of reorganizing going on around the house. Chris has finished painting the "new" schoolroom and I have been working the last few days going through ALL my school books. I know the direction I want to go for the next school year. It is a matter of now seeing what I have and ordering the new stuff.

Chris put together the bassinet this week.

This wasn't the original plan but I opened the box up and pulled everything out to see if it came with a mattress. Since I had it out he figured he would put it together. It is now in our bedroom. Putting it together brought the growing belly to a realization-----there is going to be a baby here soon!!! : )

On Wednesday, Chris, Zachary and Alex all got to feel baby Nicholas kick. I have been feeling him kick for 8 weeks now, but the kicks are getting stronger and this was the first time they could be felt from the outside so clearly.

Well that is what's new on the baby front. I go to the doctor's on Wednesday for my belly check.

Thursday 13---Things I LOVE About This Time of Year

2009-05-28T11:50:00.003-04:00

Over at Happy to be @ Home, they do a series call Thursday Thirteen. You pick a top and list 13 things on it.

This week I am doing my on the Thirteen Things I love about this time of year. It is--by far---my favorite time of the year.....here's why:

I love:

1. The sound of a baseball cracking off a bat.
2. The soft breeze that comes through the windows I can now open all day.
3. Average temperature----low 70's.....PERFECT! Warm enough to wear short or capris but cool enough that I am not overheating.
4. Taking walks with my Honey.
5. All the beautiful colors I see around me....the purple flowers, the white trees, hanging plants, blue skies, green grass....I just love it all!!
6. The kids being able to play outside (with minimal effort....no boots, gloves or hats to find).
7. Cookouts!!
8. Watermelon, corn-on-the-cob, potato salad....these are a few of my favorite things : )
9. Family trips to the zoo.
10. Sunshine!!!!
11. Seeing my girls in their spring dresses.
12. Waking up to the sound of the birds singing outside.
13. And last.....NO MORE SNOW!!!!

CJ Baseball

2009-05-28T11:44:00.001-04:00

CJ came home Tuesday night with this......

My boy is a letterman!!!

Not bad for a homeschool sophomore!!! The town we live in allows homeschoolers to play sports on their high school team. I remember when I first wanted to homeschool, one of my husband's biggest questions was whether or not CJ would be able to play sports in high school (CJ was going into 4th grade at the time). I did research and found out the in MA it is a town-by-town decision. I then looked up colleges and gave Chris a list of over 100 top colleges that did accept homeschoolers. This relived Chris' concerns.

Now you might be asking----"are sports really THAT important". The only way I can answer this is by telling you that it matters the circumstances. You see, in general I would say No, sports are not that important. BUT, Chris and I, along with CJ truly believe, 100% that CJ's sports ability is given by God, the same way that some are inclined to a musical instrument.

We have seen God use CJ, in his sport capacity, to bring glory to Him.