So they always told me that once you have three adding more is really nothing. I believed them. My third was a doozy. He has these big doe eyes and insatiable charm. Even at 5yrs old that kid could sell beachfront property in Arizona to anybody.
And so we believed them and added that fourth. Boy is she sweet until she's not. And when she's not she's really just comical. She just has these emotions that just course from the top of her head to the tips of her tiny stomping toes and the facial expressions that say she's ALL IN whatever she's feeling at the moment. And then, THEN, I was like eh, what's one more? Ha. And that little four month old has just completely stolen my heart.
I read this blog post the other day. The point of the post was finding meaningful ways to communicate with our husbands and other people that we are in relationships with - friends, parents, siblings, children. But what I saw at the start of the post was the perfect capture of all the mixed emotions a mother has on a daily basis.
My arms are tired because this baby is heavy and I'm tired of holding her. She's finally happy in the swing and I miss her so much I go pick her up. All in the space of thirty minutes. And this, this is motherhood. We're not complaining, we're really not. I wouldn't trade that heavy baby for all the world - it means she is growing which was a genuine concern at her start. I wouldn't trade that content baby for anything in the world because with her contentedness comes the worlds most unbearably cute smile and the most infectious laugh ever.
To those who have three considering a fourth I would say this: They're wrong. Adding more after the third does matter. It does make a difference. It is SOMETHING! It can have it's hard moments. Sure you're already outnumbered at 3 but adding a fourth or fifth certainly doesn't make you less outnumbered it makes you more. Have I ever posted about what little trouble makers my two S' are together? Oh my.
But I would also say this: DO IT! Each one is such a blessing. They are their own unique blessing. And the more I have the more I have to depend on God because really my human strength failed somewhere around the 36th hour of labor with the first one. And it is a gift. The deeper need for God is the gift that each child has given me.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Friday, January 3, 2014
Resolutely
I know we're a few days into the new year now but hey a few days is better than a few months right?
So resolutions. We all make em. Or most of us do anyway - whether we tell others about them or not I think most people at least make them privately if not publicly.
This year I've decided to keep things simple. Four areas to work on to improve myself this year.
As a mom - I want to purpose to have one on one time with each child each month.
As a wife - I want to purpose to have one date night a week - nothing hugely fancy most weeks, something simple at home, just a time to connect with Jay and remember to keep each other a priority in the busy-ness of parenting five busy children.
As a Christian - daily prayer and bible time - this is hard to get sometimes because of those five busy children but I want to make it a priority.
For myself - I want to get healthier. I saw great success with weight loss while eating a controlled carb diet during Lilah's pregnancy and I plan to return to that diet again now. I also want to add movement to my days to burn some extra calories.
And that's it. Those are my resolutions for this year. I resolutely resolve to be resolute.
So resolutions. We all make em. Or most of us do anyway - whether we tell others about them or not I think most people at least make them privately if not publicly.
This year I've decided to keep things simple. Four areas to work on to improve myself this year.
As a mom - I want to purpose to have one on one time with each child each month.
As a wife - I want to purpose to have one date night a week - nothing hugely fancy most weeks, something simple at home, just a time to connect with Jay and remember to keep each other a priority in the busy-ness of parenting five busy children.
As a Christian - daily prayer and bible time - this is hard to get sometimes because of those five busy children but I want to make it a priority.
For myself - I want to get healthier. I saw great success with weight loss while eating a controlled carb diet during Lilah's pregnancy and I plan to return to that diet again now. I also want to add movement to my days to burn some extra calories.
And that's it. Those are my resolutions for this year. I resolutely resolve to be resolute.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Lilah's birth story - better late than never
My dashboard here on the blog tells me I haven't posted since May. Wow. It's already nearing the end of October. That's a long time.
One month ago today Jay and I went to the hospital after dropping our four monkeys off with my mom. At 1:44 that afternoon we welcomed Lilah Ruth into our family, into our world. She was 9lbz 10oz and 20 inches long. It took me the better part of two weeks to realize we had FIVE children! It still sounds funny when I say it.
I wanted, initially, to write a long and in depth birth story for our dear Lilah. But really what is there to say? I had a scheduled c-section. I could mention that they were running behind and we were scheduled for a 12pm OR time and ended up heading back shortly after 1pm. I was really so at peace with everything. I had a small bit of anxiety about the spinal because it took them quite a few tries last time to place it but I was really at peace. I had gotten the ok from my doctor to have music in the OR and had Jay help me get the playlist onto the MP3 player. I look at Lilah's birth and I just want to recount the ways that God was there. First, the spinal took on one try. ONE try!! It took almost 20 minutes with Sierra. Then I find out that the anesthesiologist is a believer. What a blessing. The surgery was text book and went very smoothly. One hour from the time that they walked me into the room they wheeled me back out.
The nurses were great about letting me get my hands on Lilah as soon as possible. Lilah's sugar was borderline so they gave her a tiny bit of formula with a cup - they got my permission first. Every other sugar check for the next 24hrs was excellent.
We ran into problems with feeding our precious girl though. She dropped a full pound by our release from the hospital. She dropped all the way down to 8lbs 3oz at nine days old. I began pumping and supplementing after nursing sessions. I had two lc's tell me her latch was great but she wasn't having enough dirty diapers when she was just nursing. After supplementing she began to gain and I'm thrilled to say that although she's not at birthweight yet she was 9lbz 4oz yesterday at her one month well check. She has gained a full pound in three weeks! We're continuing to nurse, pump, and supplement and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
She's just amazing though. The kids love her. We love her. Ha, we've already talked about baby number six. Yeah we're crazy. No definite plans but no definite not happening either.
And another huge praise is that while I certainly have days where I'm at my wits end and incredibly overwhelmed as I'm sure any new mama has experienced, I haven't experienced depression or anxiety in the after math. That's HUGE.
January 2nd, 2014 - Lilah is three months old now. A couple of nights a week she still gets a two ounce bottle but she is primarily breastfeeding and growing great. Just before Christmas she weighed in at 12lbs. She's a very high needs baby which accounts for some of the reason that I haven't been able to post on here. But I adore her. I love watching her personality emerging. I love watching her watch the other kids as they run around like little crazies. I would LOVE it if she'd find a sleeping pattern she likes for both day and night but eh. This time is fleeting. And she's awake.
One month ago today Jay and I went to the hospital after dropping our four monkeys off with my mom. At 1:44 that afternoon we welcomed Lilah Ruth into our family, into our world. She was 9lbz 10oz and 20 inches long. It took me the better part of two weeks to realize we had FIVE children! It still sounds funny when I say it.
I wanted, initially, to write a long and in depth birth story for our dear Lilah. But really what is there to say? I had a scheduled c-section. I could mention that they were running behind and we were scheduled for a 12pm OR time and ended up heading back shortly after 1pm. I was really so at peace with everything. I had a small bit of anxiety about the spinal because it took them quite a few tries last time to place it but I was really at peace. I had gotten the ok from my doctor to have music in the OR and had Jay help me get the playlist onto the MP3 player. I look at Lilah's birth and I just want to recount the ways that God was there. First, the spinal took on one try. ONE try!! It took almost 20 minutes with Sierra. Then I find out that the anesthesiologist is a believer. What a blessing. The surgery was text book and went very smoothly. One hour from the time that they walked me into the room they wheeled me back out.
The nurses were great about letting me get my hands on Lilah as soon as possible. Lilah's sugar was borderline so they gave her a tiny bit of formula with a cup - they got my permission first. Every other sugar check for the next 24hrs was excellent.
We ran into problems with feeding our precious girl though. She dropped a full pound by our release from the hospital. She dropped all the way down to 8lbs 3oz at nine days old. I began pumping and supplementing after nursing sessions. I had two lc's tell me her latch was great but she wasn't having enough dirty diapers when she was just nursing. After supplementing she began to gain and I'm thrilled to say that although she's not at birthweight yet she was 9lbz 4oz yesterday at her one month well check. She has gained a full pound in three weeks! We're continuing to nurse, pump, and supplement and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
She's just amazing though. The kids love her. We love her. Ha, we've already talked about baby number six. Yeah we're crazy. No definite plans but no definite not happening either.
And another huge praise is that while I certainly have days where I'm at my wits end and incredibly overwhelmed as I'm sure any new mama has experienced, I haven't experienced depression or anxiety in the after math. That's HUGE.
January 2nd, 2014 - Lilah is three months old now. A couple of nights a week she still gets a two ounce bottle but she is primarily breastfeeding and growing great. Just before Christmas she weighed in at 12lbs. She's a very high needs baby which accounts for some of the reason that I haven't been able to post on here. But I adore her. I love watching her personality emerging. I love watching her watch the other kids as they run around like little crazies. I would LOVE it if she'd find a sleeping pattern she likes for both day and night but eh. This time is fleeting. And she's awake.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
How to keep your home company ready, without stress
So today we're going to talk about how to keep your home ready for unexpected company.
First thing in the morning you need to lock the children in their rooms. Insert food through slots in doors. Make sure you have a little potty seat in there for those times that they just have to go. Voila. Company ready home.
Seriously people, I clicked on a link on pinterest to a blog post titled how to keep your home company ready without the stress and well, we don't get unexpected company often but when we do you know it's at the worst possible moment. So I'm ready for this stress free company ready plan. I click on over there and begin to read. The pictures look like they're from a magazine. And ya know, that's great, I love beautiful magazine ready homes as much as the next person but the only magazine my home would ever consider being in is something along the lines of "toddlers live here today!"
So I continue on, hoping that even though I am super skeptical THIS will finally be that one thing I've been missing all these years.
Guess what people?? Her secret? She has NO toddlers. In fact all of her kids are my oldest sons age and older. Of course she can engage them to tidy the house and keep her own stress lower. When my kids are those ages I should be able to as well.
I felt lied to people!! There is no stress free way to keep your home company ready when you have young children. Especially when you have young children AND you homeschool. It's a deadly combination to the company ready concept. If I have three days notice I can have my home in okish shape for visitors. If you stop by unexpectedly then you get what you get.
My key is only making friends with other moms. Other moms have been there. Other moms don't care what your house looks like. At least I hope this is the case. Of course other moms are also not terribly likely to drop by unexpectedly because they are busy being moms. See? Now THAT is the key. And hey it's no stress too!
First thing in the morning you need to lock the children in their rooms. Insert food through slots in doors. Make sure you have a little potty seat in there for those times that they just have to go. Voila. Company ready home.
Seriously people, I clicked on a link on pinterest to a blog post titled how to keep your home company ready without the stress and well, we don't get unexpected company often but when we do you know it's at the worst possible moment. So I'm ready for this stress free company ready plan. I click on over there and begin to read. The pictures look like they're from a magazine. And ya know, that's great, I love beautiful magazine ready homes as much as the next person but the only magazine my home would ever consider being in is something along the lines of "toddlers live here today!"
So I continue on, hoping that even though I am super skeptical THIS will finally be that one thing I've been missing all these years.
Guess what people?? Her secret? She has NO toddlers. In fact all of her kids are my oldest sons age and older. Of course she can engage them to tidy the house and keep her own stress lower. When my kids are those ages I should be able to as well.
I felt lied to people!! There is no stress free way to keep your home company ready when you have young children. Especially when you have young children AND you homeschool. It's a deadly combination to the company ready concept. If I have three days notice I can have my home in okish shape for visitors. If you stop by unexpectedly then you get what you get.
My key is only making friends with other moms. Other moms have been there. Other moms don't care what your house looks like. At least I hope this is the case. Of course other moms are also not terribly likely to drop by unexpectedly because they are busy being moms. See? Now THAT is the key. And hey it's no stress too!
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Winding down the school year and some new plans
So it's May 1st. The end of our school year has been kinda blah. Kayd finished his math curriculum in February and I had the epiphany that spelling is mostly pointless with him. He inherited a natural spelling ability from both of his parents, poor kid.
So for the rest of the week and through next I plan to finish our read aloud unit of Charlotte's Web and continue letting the kids play with educational apps on my kindle. And then we're calling the school year officially over.
We're going to be trying something new this year. I have always liked the idea of year round schooling but we hadn't really had a reason to give it a go. Until now.
You see come the end of September and what would for "normal" people be the end of the first month of school we will be welcoming a new student. Of course our new student's coursework will look a lot like nursing and sleeping and numerous diaper changes. But as anyone who has ever had a baby can attest they do take a bit of time to find their rhythm and routine in the family.
And so I thought it would probably be good if a portion of our school year were finished before the baby comes so that we can enjoy our new bundle stress free.
So the kids will have a four week break for "summer vacation" for most of May and the first week of June. My overall intention was to do six weeks on and two weeks off but something came up for two weeks in July and so we'll do three weeks on, two weeks off, three weeks on, one week off, six weeks on, two weeks off, six weeks on, Thanksgiving holiday off, a special three week holiday unit, two weeks off for Christmas and New Years, six weeks on, two weeks off, six weeks on, two weeks off, six weeks on and ending the school year at the end of the first week in June. That would make 39 weeks of school in total. We generally do four days of school a week. The built in time off allows for make up days if necessary and also allows me to do my lesson planning in three and six week chunks instead of trying to do a full year at once which frankly overwhelms me.
So we will give this a try for the 2013 to 2014 school year and see how we like it.
Kayden was definitely reluctant about it when I mentioned that we weren't having a full summer break this year but I showed him a calendar and how it would work with the intermittent weeks off and he seems pacified enough for now.
So for the rest of the week and through next I plan to finish our read aloud unit of Charlotte's Web and continue letting the kids play with educational apps on my kindle. And then we're calling the school year officially over.
We're going to be trying something new this year. I have always liked the idea of year round schooling but we hadn't really had a reason to give it a go. Until now.
You see come the end of September and what would for "normal" people be the end of the first month of school we will be welcoming a new student. Of course our new student's coursework will look a lot like nursing and sleeping and numerous diaper changes. But as anyone who has ever had a baby can attest they do take a bit of time to find their rhythm and routine in the family.
And so I thought it would probably be good if a portion of our school year were finished before the baby comes so that we can enjoy our new bundle stress free.
So the kids will have a four week break for "summer vacation" for most of May and the first week of June. My overall intention was to do six weeks on and two weeks off but something came up for two weeks in July and so we'll do three weeks on, two weeks off, three weeks on, one week off, six weeks on, two weeks off, six weeks on, Thanksgiving holiday off, a special three week holiday unit, two weeks off for Christmas and New Years, six weeks on, two weeks off, six weeks on, two weeks off, six weeks on and ending the school year at the end of the first week in June. That would make 39 weeks of school in total. We generally do four days of school a week. The built in time off allows for make up days if necessary and also allows me to do my lesson planning in three and six week chunks instead of trying to do a full year at once which frankly overwhelms me.
So we will give this a try for the 2013 to 2014 school year and see how we like it.
Kayden was definitely reluctant about it when I mentioned that we weren't having a full summer break this year but I showed him a calendar and how it would work with the intermittent weeks off and he seems pacified enough for now.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
I LOVE my kindle!
I love my kindle, yes I do! I love my kindle, how about you??
So first I finally got the kindle because I really wanted something more portable. I use recipes and sewing tutorials from blogland a lot and having to print things off constantly was a real pain - not to mention a major cause of clutter. And have I ever mentioned how disorganized I am with paper? So I knew that the kindle would allow me to have my sewing tutorial open right next to my machine and my recipe open in the kitchen. I also knew that I could have the fitness pal app and thought that it would be more convenient for tracking my food. On top of that I thought it would be great for educational games and apps for the kids as well as e-readers.
Is it everything I thought it would be when I purchased it? Oh so much more than I could have dreamed possible!
I've had it for one month now. Now I got the regular kindle fire with the 7inch screen. Nothing overly fancy here. But it has been phenomenal.
I have my facebook, pinterest, and email accounts linked to it. I found a great feature through flylady - the cozi family calendar, and since I created my account through flylady it has the daily zone tasks auto programmed into it which I LOVE. I do have the fitness pal app but I'll be honest in that I don't use it.
I have downloaded a number of free apps and games and tried several list making apps, grocery shopping list apps etc. I find that I prefer Cozi for pretty much all of that. I can make unlimited lists on it and I like the way it works, it's really easy to use, in my opinion anyway.
And then today, today I did something that I had no idea my kindle could do. Something that will completely revolutionize our homeschool. My life has changed. Today I found that I can in fact put pdf files on my kindle and read them! This is amazing to me because several of my teacher manuals are pdf files on my computer and this means I can have my manual right there are the table as I teach! I don't have to print it out and use all that ink and paper and I am in LOVE.
Oh and did I mention the freebies?? I have gotten so many free kindle books it's crazy. There are several bloggers out there that post freebies or low cost e-books. The ones I read are geared towards homeschoolers and I've gotten a number of easy reader books to work with Colton with and that has been an amazing resource. I've also gotten some free books for myself or books that I think we might use later as reference books.
Seriously, if you have ever considered it I highly recommend a tablet of some kind. We haven't once regretted our kindle purchase this past month and it has really streamlined a lot of stuff for me.
*This post is not sponsored in anyway. I'm just a normal person who found a product she loves and is happy to tell people about it.*
So first I finally got the kindle because I really wanted something more portable. I use recipes and sewing tutorials from blogland a lot and having to print things off constantly was a real pain - not to mention a major cause of clutter. And have I ever mentioned how disorganized I am with paper? So I knew that the kindle would allow me to have my sewing tutorial open right next to my machine and my recipe open in the kitchen. I also knew that I could have the fitness pal app and thought that it would be more convenient for tracking my food. On top of that I thought it would be great for educational games and apps for the kids as well as e-readers.
Is it everything I thought it would be when I purchased it? Oh so much more than I could have dreamed possible!
I've had it for one month now. Now I got the regular kindle fire with the 7inch screen. Nothing overly fancy here. But it has been phenomenal.
I have my facebook, pinterest, and email accounts linked to it. I found a great feature through flylady - the cozi family calendar, and since I created my account through flylady it has the daily zone tasks auto programmed into it which I LOVE. I do have the fitness pal app but I'll be honest in that I don't use it.
I have downloaded a number of free apps and games and tried several list making apps, grocery shopping list apps etc. I find that I prefer Cozi for pretty much all of that. I can make unlimited lists on it and I like the way it works, it's really easy to use, in my opinion anyway.
And then today, today I did something that I had no idea my kindle could do. Something that will completely revolutionize our homeschool. My life has changed. Today I found that I can in fact put pdf files on my kindle and read them! This is amazing to me because several of my teacher manuals are pdf files on my computer and this means I can have my manual right there are the table as I teach! I don't have to print it out and use all that ink and paper and I am in LOVE.
Oh and did I mention the freebies?? I have gotten so many free kindle books it's crazy. There are several bloggers out there that post freebies or low cost e-books. The ones I read are geared towards homeschoolers and I've gotten a number of easy reader books to work with Colton with and that has been an amazing resource. I've also gotten some free books for myself or books that I think we might use later as reference books.
Seriously, if you have ever considered it I highly recommend a tablet of some kind. We haven't once regretted our kindle purchase this past month and it has really streamlined a lot of stuff for me.
*This post is not sponsored in anyway. I'm just a normal person who found a product she loves and is happy to tell people about it.*
Thursday, April 18, 2013
If you give a mom
If you give a mom a sense of discontentment about how cluttered her house always feels she will tell her sister about it hoping for some tips or input that has as yet escaped her.
If a mom talks to her sister about how cluttered her house is it will cause her to think about how nice it would be for her oldest son to have his own room.
If a mom decides to give her oldest son his own room she will feel highly motivated to declutter the room he will be moving into.
If a mom begins decluttering the bedroom her son will be moving into she will realize she needs a new home for her craft stuff.
If a mom realizes she needs a new home for her craft stuff she will realize that she needs to move the tv off her desk upstairs and into the kids' room.
If a mom realizes she needs to move the tv she will realize that the stand is in corner not remotely close to a single outlet.
If a mom realizes that she needs to move the tv stand she will realize that with her oldest son getting his own bedroom there is room in the kids' bedroom to put their dresser.
If a mom realizes that she can move the dresser from the landing to the kids' room she will then realize that she can move her desk onto the landing creating a craft area for herself.
So here's a warning, if you are a mom, perhaps you should reconsider giving your oldest son his own room. Otherwise you might feel a sudden undeniable urge to clean through EVERY room of the house. Of course that could be a good thing. I feel like a mouse with a cookie, only I don't have a cookie! Bummer.
If a mom talks to her sister about how cluttered her house is it will cause her to think about how nice it would be for her oldest son to have his own room.
If a mom decides to give her oldest son his own room she will feel highly motivated to declutter the room he will be moving into.
If a mom begins decluttering the bedroom her son will be moving into she will realize she needs a new home for her craft stuff.
If a mom realizes she needs a new home for her craft stuff she will realize that she needs to move the tv off her desk upstairs and into the kids' room.
If a mom realizes she needs to move the tv she will realize that the stand is in corner not remotely close to a single outlet.
If a mom realizes that she needs to move the tv stand she will realize that with her oldest son getting his own bedroom there is room in the kids' bedroom to put their dresser.
If a mom realizes that she can move the dresser from the landing to the kids' room she will then realize that she can move her desk onto the landing creating a craft area for herself.
So here's a warning, if you are a mom, perhaps you should reconsider giving your oldest son his own room. Otherwise you might feel a sudden undeniable urge to clean through EVERY room of the house. Of course that could be a good thing. I feel like a mouse with a cookie, only I don't have a cookie! Bummer.
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