ECing and attachment parenting

Welcome Baby Rachel

2011-07-05T19:38:00.000-04:00

We would like to welcome Rachel to our family. She was born yesterday, July 4 2011 and weighed 8 lbs. She is 19 and 1/2 inches long and here is are some pictures.

In case you want to go.. .

2011-06-14T01:14:00.000-04:00

My hometown is having a highschool roundup reunion.

I am making some changes to the flyer to preserve the anonimity of my hometown, but anyone to whom it pertains will know anyway.

I was not our class president, but the person in charge could not contact him, so I am now in charge of contacting our class. If you were ever in my class, please feel free to email this page to anyone else who might be interested.

M H S BUCKAROO ALUMNI

“ROUNDUP”

Friday & Saturday, July 22 & 23, 2011

AGENDA

Friday, July 22nd –

1:00 p.m. Meet at MHS to decorate Saturday parade float

7:00 p.m. Meet at MHS Auditorium for program, sock-hop, refreshments

Saturday, July 23rd –

8:00 a.m. Meet at Cemetery for Memorial Service honoring

deceased Buckaroos

10:00 a.m. Watch parade featuring Buckaroo Alumni Float

12:00 noon Fellowship - Veteran’s Park - Buckaroo Alumni booth

4:00 p.m. Meet at Blue Mountain Dude Ranch –Hometown pavilion
– for catered meal and entertainment

REGISTRATION:

Send mailing address, Email address, phone numbers, and funds in the amount of $20.00 per person for Buckaroo Alumni Association Membership and $25.00 per person to attend the Roundup. Make checks in favor of Buckaroo Alumni Association. Send to Buckaroo Alumni Association, P.O. Box 305, Orem, UT 84059. Include your Class Year and names you want printed on your name tags. Please RSVP early to help planning.

NOTE: For Saturday meal at Dude Ranch, indicate meal choice: steak or chicken

ENTERTAINMENT: Contact Roundup Committee with ideas for recognitions and entertainment at Friday evening and Saturday afternoon events.

DECEASED BUCKAROOS ROSTER: Please send name, date and place of birth, date and place of death, and cemetery or place of interment. These names will be included in the Roundup Directory and Agenda and announced at the Buckaroo Memorial Service on Saturday morning. A balloon will be released in each deceased Buckaroo’s honor.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS:

Please submit nominations to the Roundup Committee for the following 10 Buckaroo Alumni Board positions to serve thru the next Roundup in July 2015:

President

Executive Vice President

1st Vice President – Buckaroo Roster 1929 thru 1954 = 26 years

2nd Vice President – Buckaroo Roster 1955 thru 1969 = 15 years

3rd Vice President – Buckaroo Roster 1970 thru 1984 = 15 years

4th Vice President – Buckaroo Roster 1985 thru 1999 = 15 years

5th Vice President – Buckaroo Roster 2000 thru 2015 = 16 years

Secretary

Treasurer

Historian

QUESTIONS & COMMITTEE INFORMATION – Contact Clayson Lyman –

Home/Office: 801.221.7789, Fax: 801.221.7791, Mobile: 801.376.2627

P.O. Box 305, Orem, UT 84059 - Email: claysonlyman@comcast.net

It's a girl

2011-02-20T10:52:00.000-05:00

For those of you who don't know, I am due on July 3. I found out this week that it's a girl. I have been trying to upload pictures from my ultrasound, but I'm having severe problems with my scanner and computer working together. So, instead of some cute 3d and 2d pictures, you get a short message instead.

Fantastic Phenominal Deal!!!

2010-11-13T19:10:00.002-05:00

Need a nursing cover up?

Udder Covers is having a deal. If you want just a Nursing cover up, it is only the $9.95 cost of shipping. If you want to buy a gift set, (usually in the $40 range) it is $5.00 plus the $9.95 cost of shipping. Use the Promo code Thanksgiving.

If you want to do this for a couple new moms you know, you may use it multiple times, but you need to place seperate orders.

Awesome deal, eh?

Even better: After I ordered a gift set, I got a promo code for 100% off slings at sevenslings.com. Therefore, if you are in the market for a nursing cover up and a Tube sling, or you have someone's name for Christmas who could really use either of these products, here is the place to go!

A LONG time between posts

2010-11-13T11:48:00.000-05:00

Although it has been a long time between posts, I finally downloaded pictures from my camera today. I am going to post pictures of the day before Jackie's first day of school and her first day of school. She loved her hair.

We rolled her hair in rags the Saturday night. She slept in them that night and got to wear curls for church on Sunday. She loved it. Her hair was still extra curly on Monday, the first day of school. She asked me to pull her hair up into pigtails, so she has two cute little curled up pigtails. She is very proud.

Since I am including pictures of Jackie's hair tied up in rags in this post, I will also include instruction on how to tie hair up into rags.

When cutting rags, it is best to use a wicking fabric. (Wicking is a way to say soaks up water.) I used flannel.

Cut the strips about an inch and a half wide and about 8-9 inches long. If you have longer hair, you might want to cut a little longer. IF there is too much hair, it is harder to tie, but also, if you have too long on your tails, then it is harder to sleep with.

Then, use a fine tooth comb, and seperate hair into sections. It is easier to move the top hair out of the way and sort of go from bottom up. You can also notice, that I could have done jackie's very bottom hair, but it was a little too short.

Make sure when rolling the hair to fold the very bottom edges into the fabric, so it catches it and rolls a little more easily.

The rags are softer to sleep in than sponge curlers, so we use them instead. If you decide to try it, good luck.

An Update on Life

2010-08-10T08:07:00.000-04:00

I know that some people read my blog for the interesting posts that I put on here, but I do realize that some people actually read this blog to find out what is going on in our lives. Suffice it to say that there are some large things going on in our lives, but I can't blog about them. Some things just do not belong on a blog for the entire known world to read about. I could switch my blog to private and put more personal stuff on it, but at the end of the day, my blog is a social networking tool, and I like to find other people who like ECing and attachment parenting, and I have made some really cool friends and met some pretty spiffly people through this blog. Therefore, for the known future, I will keep it public, but I will also not put on the really big nasty stuff that happens in life.

However, that said, there has been a lot happening in our lives lately, but it's not stuff I feel that I can share.

On the other hand, here is a short synopsis of the summer travels.

Three days before Jackie got out of school, we had a family emergency, and we left for Monticello. Rob came back almost immediately, but the kiddos and I stayed 10 days.

Then, we came back, and four days later, the older two kids left for Georgia with Rob's mama. They went to Virginia with her to see Rob's sister and her two kids, and then they went back to Atlanta where they all met Daniel and me at the airport. We continued to south Georgia where we hung out there for a month.

We got to play with our friends who still live there, and we had a ball. My kids love Rob's parents, and we really miss them while we are out here.

Then we came back home and spent a lovely two weeks in our clean house that Rob worked so hard on and then the kids and I packed up and went to my mama's house for the 24th of July. It's a huge holiday there, and it was so much fun. The kids loved the parade where they got huge amounts of candy, and they enjoyed the park where we ate Najavo tacos, cotton candy, and snow cones. It was lovely. We also played a lot with Camille.

Then, we came back, and we are almost caught up from that trip. We probably would be except that we have had several bouts of sickness since then.

Daniel has had yet another ear infection, and Jackie was blowing chunks while at the same time, her tonsils got so swollen that she was having some difficulty breathing. The antibiotics worked alright for both of them.

On Friday, we took Rob to the airport where he flew to Montreal, Quebec, Canada to attend the Acadamy of Management conference. We are missing him, but we get to pick him up at 1:30 today.

Now, our goal is to get ready for school to start. We find out who Jackie's teacher is today, and I am also going to see if I can enroll Ben in preschool this week.

I don't email family letters anymore. Maybe I should.

Smart for Life

2010-07-12T13:36:00.003-04:00

I was ecstatic to find a box on my doorstep from Smart For Life. Mom Central is hosting a blog tour for under-WAY and Smart For Life products.

Their product idea is that you eat cookies and drink lots of water, and you lose weight. I don't really need to lose any pounds, but my body could use some toning after having three babies.

They sent cookies, a bagel, and some no calorie drinks. The drinks are sort of like a flavored water or a sports drink in flavor, but they taste all right. The one problem that I see with them is that they still taste like they don't have any sugar in them. I have never been a fan of aspartame or sucralose, so these products don't completely do it for me, but I had an ulterior motive for wanting to be a part of this blog tour.

Most people who read this blog know that my husband is overweight and a diabetic. He doesn't always want to eat what he should, so I have been keeping my eyes open for diabetes friendly foods. Smart For Life totally fits the bill. The products are flavorful, full of good nutrients, and full of fiber. My favorite of all of them were the chocolate chip cookies. They were soft, and when eat them and drank one of the under-WAY waters at the same time, they were not only edible, but pretty yummy. If I were really wanting to lose weight, Smart For Life would be a blessing to me.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of underWAY and Smart for Life and received samples of the products to review.

A trip to Scotland

2010-07-09T10:44:00.000-04:00

Jackie: Hey Mom, Ben and I are going on a trip.

Mom: Really? Where?

Jackie: Scotland

Ben: Scotland is in Jackie's room.

Mom: How are you going to get there?

Jackie: We were going on an airplane, but the airline canceled our flight.

Mom: Really. So what are you going to do instead?

Jackie: Drive.

Mom: You can't drive all the way to Scotland. You have to cross the water to get to Scotland.

Jackie: Oh. pause We'll drive around the water.

Mom: But Scotland is all the way across the ocean. You can't drive that far.

Jackie: Oh. Then we'll take a truck to the ocean and go in a boat.

Mom: What type of boat.

Jackie: A motor boat.

Ben: I built the motor boat.

Jackie: He built me one too.

Ben: Nope. I only built one, but I am going to share with you, Jackie.

Jackie: We're going to share Ben's motor boat across the ocean.

Mom: OK.

Ben: And we are going to walk when we get there. And really, we are just going to walk. Scotland is in Jackie's room.

Life

2010-06-23T23:29:00.000-04:00

So, things haven't really been going on on this blog much, and if I even still have any readers, I may be shocked. However, I am happy to announce that I am visiting my in-laws for the next few weeks, so to those of you who are in this neck of the woods, let me know if you want to get together. If you don't know where I am, shoot me an email at le35@yahoo.com. I don't share locations with just anyone, ya know. :) So, my book is coming a long, and I have about half of it written. Jackie will start first grade this fall, and she is reading pretty well. Things are going alright with us now, but things got rocky there for awhile, so I just had to let things go. One things I let go was this blog. My next plan for the blog is to do a series of posts about a few sewing projects and a few posts about how I part time EC'd Daniel, and how sometime he cries if he has to poop in his diapers now. All things considered, things are good.

Class reunion

2010-04-30T22:13:00.000-04:00

Just so people know. This summer is our 10 year class reunion. If any of my classmate readers want to pass this message along, please do.

Our 10 year reunion is going to be over the 24th of July in our home town. Look up Ken on Facebook and join his fan of Class of 2000 facebook site. :) Smile big, and I hope to see many of you there.

My book

2010-03-12T12:33:00.000-05:00

So, I am certain that some people are wondering why I haven't been posting all that often lately, and I know that's not a very big difference, but I have looked at my post list and realized that until the last few days, it has been even less often than usual.

Therefore, I am going to tell you that I am writing a book. It is an LDS fiction novel and therefore, not all of my readers may enjoy it, but I think that it's interesting. (Hence the reason I'm writing it.)

After much soul searching I have decided that I want to post the first chapter on my blog. I haven't decided how to do that. I would like to put it under a new tab, but I don't know how. If any one has any suggestions on how to post it or how to insert a new tab into my home page, feel free to let me know. Thanks.

Miscellaneous

2010-03-10T21:52:00.000-05:00

First off, thanks to all people who wished me happy birthday today. I had a great birthday. I got my first (and probably only) professional massage, and it was absolutely wonderful. A great huge bucket full of thank you to Rob. I am not even going to try to ask how we are paying for it. . . That's between him and his fun money.

I really ought to write something lovely about my father's funeral, but really, it's all so close to my heart, and I'm still slightly depressed about that, so I am not going to write about it. All I am going to say is that the funeral was absolutely beautiful, and all nine of my brothers and sisters and I participated in it in some fashion. It is the only time I have played the marimba where I couldn't see the keys. According to everyone else, it sounded beautiful.

This next part is only for adults. A southerism. . .

Definitions.

Naked: Ya got all yo clothes off boy.

Nekkid: Ya got all you clothes off boy, and y'up ta sometin'. From Lewis Grizzard

Last complete family Picture

2010-03-02T06:10:00.000-05:00

This is a picture of my family that we took at Ruth's wedding. It is the last complete picture of my family with my brothers and sisters and parents. Aren't my sisters just beautiful???

Information

2010-03-02T06:04:00.000-05:00

I was going to write a tribute to my dad, and I really still want to, but every time I start, I get about four words in, and then I can't see the screen, so instead, I am going for something different. Instead, I am going to give the information.

For anyone who knew him, I am letting you know that my dad's funeral is at noon on Friday. There will be a viewing first from 9:30-11:30 at the stake center in my home town.

Rest in Peace, Dad.

Going

2010-01-24T12:25:00.002-05:00

I'm going to find myself. If I get home before I get back, keep me here.

---Author Unkown

Highilghts and Action Shots

2010-01-13T11:23:00.002-05:00

Since I have been a horrible blogger, and I haven't gotten everything finished, instead of several really wonderful posts, I'm trunkating and giving one post with medium goodness. Here's the deal.

We were planning on flying out of Lubbock's airport at 5:45 am on Christmas morning. However, weather conditions were not favorable due to a big snow storm on December 23rd and a good inch of ice on the roads that didn't melt on Christmas Eve. However, we did get some good times in the Snow. We were going to build a good sized snow man, but the snow really didn't pack well. Here is a picture of Rob throwing a snowball, but notice how the snow ball fell apart.

So, we still let the kids open their presents on Christmas Eve and only did Santa presents Christmas morning because we had promised the children. We got a nice relaxed Christmas at home, in a clean house. However, my house was not clean when we left for Georgia on the 27th. We landed in Georgia, and Papa, Grandmama, and Rob's sister and her family were there to meet us. The kids had a ball with Grandmama Robinson. We even got to go to build a bear. That was a great experience for my kiddos. We had a blast with them, and then they left from Grandmama's and then Rob's stepgrandmother came to visit, and my kids loved that too. While we were there with Grandmother Pauline, we decided to have a birthday party for Daniel, so here are some highlight pictures from that.

Daniel with his birthday cake before it was cut. My friend Kim made the cake for him as his birthday gift. She's amazing!

Daniel with his birthday cake

Kim's daughter Tolina. Isn's she gorgeous?!?

Jackie swinging on the swing in Grandma's yard.

Rosarita Salsa

2010-01-07T10:45:00.000-05:00

Rosarita is launching a new salsa, and I have been granted the chance to try it out. I really liked it. The hot is HOT, and I'm too much of a sissy for that, but I really liked the Mild. It has a nice kick to it, but it doesn't burn my mouth, and the flavor is lovely. The salsa has a nice sauce and is full of vegetables that give it a rich flavor. I really liked it and would like to try it again.

This salsa is only being launched in select cities, namely LA, Dallas, Denver, and Phoenix. If you're someone who lives in one of these areas, this product will be available at select Walmarts and other grocery stores.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Rosarita and received a sample to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

aiwa sound commercial

2009-12-31T21:23:00.000-05:00

OK, I have two favorite commercials. My first favorite is a Dr. Pepper commercial set to the song "I Would Do Anything For Love." If anyone wants to find it. Leave a comment and let me know. My other favorite is this Aiwa Sound commercial. I hope you like Queen.

Technical Difficulties

2009-12-26T15:28:00.002-05:00

Due to technical difficulties, the my rotten nature to procrastinate, and the nasty weather that made our flight get cancelled yesterday, I need to write an appology. I wrote a blog post awhile ago where I was willing to swap with people for a gift made just for them. It was supposed to be sent by the end of the year, but those items will have to wait until after the New Year to come. I will have each of them to you by Jan 31st. I'm truly sorry, and I know that I'm an enormous slacker. Good luck. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and has a Happy New Year.

O Christmas Tree

2009-12-24T01:37:00.000-05:00

I am a master procrastinator. I can procrastinate until pretty much the last minute and then be able to pull off a beautiful project. When I put my mind to something, I am able to accomplish amazing feats in not very much time. I think it may have something to do with the fact that I'm either an ENFP or an ENTP. Every time I've taken the tests, the F and T are tied. What this gives me is the amazing ability to see a project and a way to finish it and lots of energy to get it done. I'm not sure energy is the right word. Maybe it's lots of adrenaline to get it done as long as the timing is down to the wire. Saturday of this week rolled around, and my Christmas tree was still in the attic. Because I couldn't face having to drag it down and then try to keep Daniel out of it for the rest of this week while I have been trying to pack, wrap presents, and got sidetracked by various other activities, my Christmas tree is still in the attic. We did decorate a Christmas tree Saturday night though. Here are some pictures. It's made out of poster board.

Due to technical difficulties, you only get one. However, it's the best of all of them except for the pictures with the kids too. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good-night

Law School

2009-12-20T21:23:00.001-05:00

Most people who know me know that one of my main goals in life has always been to go to law school. Just a heads up to the world. . . I am in the process of applying.

A GREAT BIG THANKS

2009-12-11T16:47:00.001-05:00

Here's a HUGE thank you to Crissy!!!

I have loved Stan Freeburg for a LONG time. For anyone who wants a decent laugh. Here's a link to a good You Tube video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1vJ4sXetw4

THANKS AGAIN CRISSY!!!!!

A Conversation

2009-11-23T19:37:00.001-05:00

Jackie: I love you Daddy.
Rob: I love you too Jackie. I loved you before you were born.
Jackie: Did you hug me while I was in Mommy's tummy.
Rob: I loved you in Mommy's tummy and I loved you even more the day you were born.
Ben: I love you Daddy, but I wasn't born.
Rob: You weren't born? Did you come by the stork?
Ben: Yes.

This movie is beautiful

2009-11-18T09:19:00.000-05:00

Some of the pictures are cheesy, but I cried by the end.

Here is the link: http://www.teachermovie.com/

Our Pumpkins

2009-10-31T13:15:00.001-04:00

The kids and I used the Pumpkin carving kits for the first time this year. Our pumpkins turned out pretty cute. The scoops work way better than a spoon. The little tiny saws make little cuts possible. I liked it. Here are our results.

On my back

2009-10-21T12:20:00.000-04:00

OK, so I have read from many people that wrapping your baby on your back was not only possible, but quite easy. I have not found that to be the case. However, I have successfully put my baby on my back several times. I don't feel very comfortable though. Here is a picture (it's crummy because I took it in the mirror) of Daniel on my back.

He doesn't want to keep his arms in the fabric, and I have a hard time keeping it tight enough all the way around. So here is my all around idea on a sling. I'm still planning on posting pictures of me wearing the different styles of homemade carriers, and showing the beauties of them. However, for now, this will have to do.

Tube sling: Great for brand new baby. However, this type of sling only allows for putting the weight on one shoulder, so once the baby starts to weigh much, the baby gets heavy quickly.

Mei-Tai: This sling is wonderful, but wearing the baby on the front, facing out is more difficult. You can do it, but just not for long periods of time. However, this one is awesome if you want to put the baby on your back. It distributes the weight on to both shoulders, your back, and your waist. It's like giving the baby a piggy back ride but without you having to use your arms. I can carry my baby quite comfortably this way for several hours.

Wrap: I have tried three different wraps. I have tried a 5 yard knit wrap, a 5 1/2 yard knit wrap, and a 5 1/2 yard woven wrap. The bigger the child gets, the easier it is to use a woven wrap. The woven wrap seems to me to hold more if the weight of the child. The knit wraps are easier if you want to be able to take the child in and out. The 5 1/2 yard wrap is more versatile, but in the end, if you don't mind tying in the back, the 5 yard wrap is easier to deal with. The tails don't seem to go on the ground as much. This wrap is wonderful for any of the front hold carries, but I have not yet found a comfortable way to put the baby on my back for a long time. I think it may just be that I need to do some more adjusting with certian parts of it, but it is still time consuming, and I would rather not spend the time when the Mei tai works quickly.

Happenings

2009-10-20T12:03:00.002-04:00

I am very ashamed that it has been more than a month since I posted. This is part of the way I journal, so it's yucky that I have been so remiss in this.

Things that happened since my last post.

--Several people I know have had babies: Congrats to Marth and Brian, Amber and Eli, and Kim and Allen.

--We went to El Paso to see my friend Wanda. It was wonderful and exciting. I want to go again.

--We have been sick off and on all month.

--My house looks like a Tornado hit it. I hope that Child Services does NOT come to see me any time soon.

Pic's of the fam

2009-09-12T08:12:00.001-04:00

Here are some pictures of my little family. We quit before we could get a great one, so here are all of our attempts. We turned the timer on the camera and tried it.

This is probably the best one but you can see why I don't post pictures of us much.

Tribute to 9-11

2009-09-11T08:00:00.001-04:00

Eight years ago, I remember walking into my dorm at Snow College and seeing a whole passel of girls sitting in the foyer with the TV on. I was coming from my 7:30 class, and I thought, what's going on? No one watches TV at this time of day. When I got to the door to my apartment, there was a note on the white board from my friend Leah, who lived down the hall. "Ellie, turn on the TV" immediately, I thought, which channel? But I turned on the TV, and it didn't really matter which channel it was on, a plane had flown into the World Trade center. Right then, I saw the other plane hit the other tower. I stood there, in shock, watching and waiting for a little while. Then, I changed out of my PE clothes and walked to my Music Theory class. We didn't have any homework that day, and a couple of teachers canceled class for the rest of the week. One thing I remember is how it brought our country together. We were one nation. under God. Now, thinking that it has only been eight years, I wonder how quickly we have forgotten and started fighting with each other.

Well, in memory of the men and women who died in the buildings, on the planes, and in the process of saving lives, please take a moment of silence. In thanks to the U.S. Armed forces, please take another moment of silence. For the men and women who died, for the men and women who sacrifice the time with their families, and for the men and women who stay here and lay the groundwork so others can have a better chance at living.

Posting Pictures of the kiddos. Finally

2009-09-10T09:59:00.004-04:00

Everyone loves to see pictures of the kids. So here are some. I'm writing this while I should be at Wal-mart. But in procrastinating taking both of the boys to Wally World, I'm downloading pictures of my kids from my camera. Here are the their new haircuts. Rob and I did Ben's together, and then I did Jackie's.

Ben's cut isn't even but at least it isn't in his eyes anymore.

She cut her own hair, hoping to get to go to the beauty shop and have it fixed. I figured that it was a good time to learn how myself. It isn't great but not too bad.It isn't any shorter than she did herself.

Haven't even read, let alone written

2009-09-08T22:49:00.002-04:00

So, the long and short of it is that even my email is getting behind. I have 50 unread, important messages in my inbox. This is after I weeded through the unmentional amount of SPAM I had in there previously and read and responded to the things that were most urgent. I haven't read anyone's blog yet this month. I'm really looking forward to going down the blog rolls and looking at people's blogs.

So, a brief recap of our week. I spent the first half of it cleaning relentlessly because we were all so excited for Rob's parents to come and visit. Then, Thursday, while Rob hadn't yet gotten home from the 2 1/2 minute drive to take Jackie to school (she missed the bus) the school called and told me that she threw up in the hallway, and would I please come and get her? So I gathered her up a new change of clothes and walked out to meet Rob.

I walked in and my poor girl was sitting on the potty with a puddle of up-chuck (as my mom likes to call it) at her feet. I felt so bad for the girl. It was coming out both sides at the same time.

Well, that disease RAN it's course through our whole family, so I couldn't keep cleaning my house. In downsizing our home, we have given up a spare bedroom. Therefore, I was planning on having Rob's parents sleep in my bedroom. Due to cleaning up throw up and runny poops Thursday and Friday, I didn't get a chance to clean my bedroom. Jackie's room was beautifully clean, so I put my in-laws in her room. My poor parent's in-law. Right after we picked them up from the airport on Saturday, I came down with it. I felt so sick that all I did was hang out in my room, sleep, and use the bathroom for one purpose or another ever 10 minutes or so. So, they didn't come home to the lovely house I imagined or a cute bedroom of mine. We were so looking forward to this visit ever since they planned it. (Which means within days of moving here.) However, poor Mom-in-law is sick ON THE PLANE. Poor wooman. I love that woman. So, now, I put them back on the plane this morning, dealt with sad kiddos, and I am finally getting around to the blogs. I'm on my way to start by reading those on my delightful list. YAY!

Not doing so well with the posting

2009-08-20T16:03:00.004-04:00

Still not doing so well with the posting. I need to just sit down and write about 1o posts at a time and schedule them for one day and then the next, so you get all the news, and I get my events posted. However, not knowing if I will or not, I definitely make no promises.

So, for this post, I'm going to put two of my favorite pictures I've taken recently. When we were packing up and moving out of our rental house, the kids were outside blowing bubbles. I hadn't mowed the lawn in a long time, and they weren't popping immediately.

The children had all sorts of fun blowing bubbles that day. As we're in our new house and hanging our pictures again, I'm reminded of some of my very favorite pictures that I've ever taken. These two are some of my very favorites. So, I'm hoping to get to take some more really awesome ones, but now that I have my SLR out of storage, I can't find the battery charger. So as soon as I get all of that figured out, I will be able to use my SLR to take pictures again. I'm looking forward to that.

Long Time No Post

2009-08-11T20:58:00.006-04:00

So, it's almost been another month since I posted. I have a TON of posts that I want to write about. Therefore, I'm going to start with some of the most current ones and then go backwards. I hope to have a post every day for the next two weeks from things that have happened the last two months. I finally got my pictures downloaded to the computer. Here's a picture tour of my family reunion. I LOVE my family!

Two of my nieces out by Newspaper Rock in Canyonlands National ParkTwo more of my nieces right in front of my mama's beautiful baby grand. Aren't they gorgeous?Blue Mountain you're azure deep. Blue Mountain with sides so steep. Blue Mountain with horse head on your side, you have won my love to keep. Can you find the horse head in this picture?My family from my parents on down. Minus a few people. I'll treasure this picture for ever!

Unbelievable

2009-07-14T15:55:00.001-04:00

OK, I know that no one thought this would be my first post once we got settled, and we mostly are, but I saw this on an email and I'm still utterly shocked. Anyone want this Jeep???

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=7010177&cat=264

I'm hoping to download my pictures and do a slew of posts, scheduling them to post for several consecutive days once we get our internet here hooked up. Then for anyone who knows where it is and will be in the area, we're going to be in my home town for 10 days.

Packing

2009-06-09T09:08:00.002-04:00

Today, I'm starting to seriously pack. Last night, I had my last marimba recital, so Rob and I decided that instead of unpacking the marimba to put it back up and take up space in my living room (since I will not have time to play it), we just left it in pieces all wrapped up in blankets in the van. The van is now sitting in Mom and Dad R's garage for two weeks until we can move. We also now have room in our living room to stack boxes. That one 8 1/2 piece of furniture sure takes up some space. So, we're seriously packing. I have some great pictures of a wedding that we went to this weekend, and an awesome picture I want to share of some bubbles. . . But that will probably have to wait until we are driving down the road, and I can download the pictures onto my laptop. Then, we will have some picture mania on the blog, I think. However, Rob already shared the brick picture of the house. If you want to see our house all covered in brick, go to this link.

Completion Date

2009-06-02T10:17:00.002-04:00

We got a very important phone call yesterday. Our house has a completion date. Three weeks from yesterday. We are leaving this house sometime around the 21st of June, and we should be able to close on our new house on the 25th of July. We can move in immediately after closing!!! YIPPEE! We're also thinking of maybe going to Disney World one more time while we still live this close. So in the next two weeks, don't expect very many posts. I may have to post to keep my sanity, but we'll see. So, we're starting to get very excited, and at the same time, I'm starting to get slightly apprehensive.

My Blog Roll

2009-05-26T23:15:00.002-04:00

OK, if you notice the new addition to the right hand side of my blog, you'll notice that I have changed the style of my blog roll. If you know that I read your blog, and you aren't on there, I would like you to be. Please comment at the bottom and leave your link, so I can add you. It takes time to go surfing through all of my friends' blogs to find your links periodically. If you aren't here, and you want to be, you probably belong in group number one, so please comment here, and leave your link so I can add you. :) If you don't want to be on the side, and you want me to remove you, I will, but it will really cause me pain, so please mail me cookies to take the edge off. :) This new method is exciting. It lets me know when people actually post, so I know when to go looking and when going to the blog to see the same post that has been there for three weeks (I know, I'm just about the only person that does that) is a waste of time. Thanks!

Conundrum

2009-05-26T21:54:00.003-04:00

*Disclaimer: If you're an animal rights activist or a person who loves all animals equally, or a person who loves mice and thinks they're adorable, cute creatures, this post is not for you. Please don't read it. I mean it. Honestly, I don't want your advice on this one, and this post may make you angry, so just do yourself a favor and skip this one.*

Mice. On Cinderella, they're these cute little creatures that wear clothes, help clean and sew a dress. In real life, they're creatures who take over your house, poop everywhere, and walk all over your clean dishes. I'm still not over the slow cooker incident. I'm not sure if I shared it on here or not, but for those curious people, I will write a shortened version in this post.

One night, very soon after we moved into this house from Mom-in-law's house, knew we had mice. I worked really hard to put all of our food into plastic, airtight containers, (I mean, $150 worth of plastic containers hard) cleaned my kitchen to where I could not see a speck of food out of place, and vacuumed my living room until I thought my arms were going to fall off. The only problem was that I as I was scrubbing my slow cooker, I couldn't get all of the stuck on food off. I tried. Really I did. I scrubbed and scrubbed at that thing, but sometimes, all scrubbing is useless unless you let the water do the job of softening it up over night. So, I filled up the slow cooker bowl with water, put some detergent in it, left it in the sink, and went to bed. The next day, I picked it up to dump out the water, and as the soap suds poured down the drain, there, floating in the water was a dead mouse. Yes. Dead Mouse. AAAAHHHHHCCCC. Rob swears that when I saw it and screamed, I also jumped at least 2 feet off the ground when I jumped backward. Knowing myself, I probably did.

So, with the slow cooker incident in the back of your mind, know that I sticky traps and mice cubes all over my house. I don't have the kind that snap shut only because I don't want one of my kids to find one and have it snap on their fingers. I have no qualms about breaking the mouse's leg and letting it die. Some people want to just catch it, and let it go back outside. I don't. He found his way in once, and mice can do a maze over and over again. I don't want him to find his way back inside again. Also, I don't want to get close enough to actually touching the mouse to let it go. Into the trash can they go. Safe and snug inside their little mouse cubes.

So, here in lies the question. There have been mice in this house since we moved in. I know that the ovens worked when the people before us lived here. However, the mice got behind the ovens in the time between the previous family and our family. I think that they might have gotten to some of the wiring.

Not knowing that the ovens do not actually work, I'm afraid to call the landlord and tell them that they may be broken. On top of that, I'm afraid that if I call him to come see if the ovens, work, he may turn them on to find out. If he does, and the mice did get to the wiring, we wouldn't know it until something drastic happened. When we moved in, we went and bought a tiny toaster oven. I successfully made cupcakes in it the other day. I had to cook 7 cupcakes at a time in the individual metal cupcake wrappers. It took four times through the toaster oven before they were all cooked, so in the 22 minutes they would cook in a real oven, it took almost an hour and a half of just baking to finish them in the toaster oven. I sort of figured it was a small price to pay to have the house not burn down. However, I am wondering how in the world I am ever going to make Jackie's birthday cake this year. I could go bake it at Mom R's house, or I could just buy one. Homemade cakes tend to taste better than store bought cakes, and asking about Mom R's kitchen makes me slightly uncomfortable. Should I just break down and call the landlord? What if we check it, and it seems alright, but when the wires really get hot from the oven being on for awhile, we find out we were wrong? Also, what if we don't have the mice gone, and they do more damage than we think they should? So, there is the conundrum. What do you think? Call the Landlord, buy a cake, or ask Mom R?

One of the cutest all time pictures ever

2009-05-22T18:02:00.002-04:00

OK, so this is completely opinion based, but this is a picture of my friend Amber while we were at her house. We went to Warner Robbins to see the air show a few weeks back, and I finally got the pictures downloaded to my computer. Here is a picture of Daniel sleeping on Amber. She was lying on the couch with Daniel on her chest and he scooted up there all by himself. She was awesome about it too. She just laid as still as she could.

I won I won I won

2009-05-18T08:00:00.000-04:00

So, I had a wonderful, Medela Pump In Style, and I loved it. However, I don't know how, but it somehow ended up in storage. I thought it was in one specific box where I told Rob to put it, but when I pulled out that box after Daniel got here, the pump is not in it. It's gone. GONE! Well, I love my friend at Life As Lou. I won a breastpump! It's one of Evenflo's new double electric pumps and it's BPA free! That's right friends, Evenflo has created a BPA free breast pump, and I'm doing another happy dance. Thanks Lou!!!

Movin' right along

2009-05-17T18:53:00.005-04:00

So, not very much later, and look at my house again! Yippee yippee yippee. Yes, this is me doing the happy dance. Check it out!

OK, the picture is not of me doing a happy dance, it's of the front of my house. The roof is finished, garage door inserted, and look at my beautiful Bay window!!! The inside is moving right along, too, but I'm not planning on posting the rest of my pictures, I want it to work. :)

Our House is Framed

2009-05-11T07:53:00.004-04:00

For all Mom's reading this, I hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday. I did.

I have been promising to post this post for a while, but here it is. Our house is completely framed.

Here is the picture of it so far.

So much for the once a week goal

2009-05-04T09:41:00.002-04:00

I know that there's a once per week goal. I have several pictures downloaded, but lately, I have had a hard time getting them downloaded to my blog. My internet connection has been pretty crazy. I have pictures of this, but since I'm afraid to try to put them on my blog, I'm just going to write about our time in Warner Robins. We went to the air show at Warner Robins this week. It was so much fun. Thanks to our friend Amber for inviting us! We had such a great time.
We left Friday after Rob got off work, and we got to Warner Robins about 9. We wanted to play games, but the kids didn't go to bed until late.

The next morning, we left for the air show around 10, but it took us longer to get on base and to the place. The coolest thing about the air show was getting to walk through the planes. They had a C130 that when I called my dad about it, he said he had ridden in one when he was in the air force. I loved seeing how it might have been for Dad a little bit. The kids really loved getting on the airplane and taking pictures. Jackie and Ben both took pictures, and it they turned out great.

We also got to see a bi-plane doing stunts. It was incredible. I was so glad to see this.

Daniel didn't like the noise very much. (Read: as soon as the jets started, he started screaming until we left.) So we left about noon. But the kids had a ton of fun playing outside in Amber's backyard with her sidewalk chalk and running through her sprinkler. They loved it. They got so tired that they fell asleep in the car on the way to dinner, so we just got Japanese food and took it back home. However, they did wake up as soon as we got home, so when we put them to bed at bedtime, they didn't go to sleep. Instead, they found the sunscreen in our suitcase and smeared it on Amber's walls.

Instead of church Sunday morning, Amber took me to Wal-mart to get paint supplies so I could repaint her walls. If these had been my walls, I would have waited, but I couldn't just go home and leave her house with the damage all over her walls. So a great big huge thank you to Amber, and we had a great time. And again, I'm sorry about her walls.

Children: The Challenge: A Book review

2009-04-18T03:53:00.006-04:00

Children: The Challenge by Rudolf Driekurs is an excellent book. I highly highly highly recommend it. If you are a parent with children under 10, and you are constantly in one power struggle or another with your child(ren) then this is a book for you. I mean it! I have rarely, if ever, spent time that I thought was more quality while reading a book than the time I spent reading this book. OK, OK, so the scriptures don't count. But seriously, folks, this book ROCKS. It Rocks so much that I immediately bought three copies (I only meant to buy two, but when I accidentally bought three I did NOT send the third one back.) At the suggestion of my excellent mother, I borrowed this book. My Mom-in-law happened to have it. I'm very grateful that she did since my copies from Amazon took a little longer than usual since, in my exhaustion, I forgot to change my shipping address from my old house (which we no longer own.)

However, I borrowed this book, and I could not put it down. There are so many good ideas in it. I am loving the ideas. This book gave me such a sense of empowerment that I could again be the leader of my household. I need to work harder at taking my sails out of my children's wind, but at the same time, I am going to work to leave the power struggles behind. There are some ideas that the book shares that I don't like, but at the same time, the idea behind this book is to raise the child with respect. Teach the children respect for you, each other, and order. At the same time, I have gained more respect for Robert, my children, and order. If you know me at all, you know that giving me a respect for order is like trying to teach a bird to swim. So, helping me gain a more healthy respect for order is beautiful too. I love this book. Here is a link.

The Facebook Quandry

2009-04-18T03:40:00.002-04:00

OK, so I have some really great ideas about some parenting posts that I want to do, and I have another post about conventional potty training (which, after ECing Jackie and working with Ben to potty train (because he isn't potty trained yet)) instead, I'm writing a post about Facebook. I know, strange, crazy, and probably stupid, but I think that many of my friends out in internet land have some good ideas on this one, so I'm hoping that you can help me.

I have some close friends who have a Facebook account, so I signed up mostly just to keep up with those friends and to play some of the games that you can play. However, I am finding that it's an incredible way to find out what some people, about whom I have been mildy curious to find out what has gone on with them, are doing with their lives. Like I said, I have added several of my close friends to my friends list, and I've added as many of my family members as I can find. However, here's the quandry: If I really want to find out about these people, (some of them are truly awesome specimens of human souls) do I just go try to add them simply because they have previously been an aquaintance of mine who I just admired from a far? Or do I just go on with life wondering about them?

Now, I know that sounds really stupid, and you're probably thinking, "Why do I care who you put on your facebook list?" But really, I want to know the opinions of people. I grew up in a tiny town where everyone knows everyone, and my parents still live there. New travels at about twice the speed of light there, so I don't really want to annoy anyone. I've been a big enough annoyance in that town for quite some time.

I'm also finding that, although I admired these people, I think that they were either indifferent to me (which is hopeful) or truly bugged by me, so if I try to add them to my facebook as a friend, I'm wondering if I will get some messages back saying, "Why in the world would I want to add you to my facebook page? Crazy. Go away and leave me alone." So in the end, I'm sitting here at 3:51 in the morning, wondering whether or not to add these people. It's probably not a big deal whether I do or don't, but still, I think I'll wait until I get some feedback.

On the other hand, it may be like blogging. When I read my friends' blogs, I go down their lists and look at other blogs to see if there are people I know and am interested in. If so, I go over, comment on their blog, and whenever I get around to it, I add them to my blog list. I figure, it's the internet. If they didn't want people looking, don't post it online. Maybe Facebook is the same? Anyway, I really do want opinions from people.

Hero of the Week

2009-03-30T22:52:00.004-04:00

My friend Katie does a Hero of the week on her blog each Monday. I have been wanting to do this one since she started this. My hero in my life is my dad. I have yet to meet anyone with more patience in life than my father. Also, in his fight with cancer, I have not heard a single complaint from him. Really, not one. I have been so blessed to grow up with my dad for a father. I can only remember one spanking while I was growing up. My father heard me swear at my mother. I deserved it.

My dad was always there to listen when I had a question for him, and he is always good about really listening. He gets through to the heart of the problem. He also never lets others treat him unkindly either. He has found the balance. So, here's to my dad. This is short because I am planning on writing him a hand written letter, and I don't want to forget something important in it.

Comment At Your Own Risk

2009-03-16T10:41:00.002-04:00

Lucky you! I saw this on my sister-in-law's and cousins' blog and wanted her to make me something bad enough to post the same offer here. Here's how it works! The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you. This offer does, however, have some restrictions and limitations...

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It'll be done this year.
4. You will have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. It may be poetry or maybe even some creation I haven't even invented yet (but Heaven knows it will most likely be totally fabulous and creative... :). I may draw or paint something. I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure! (I know you're all hoping I'll paint you a picture or write you a poem. Too bad... you can't make requests!)
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange. (Not intentionally strange, but you may label it that way)The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re-post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so (and leave a comment telling me they did) win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! (If you don't have a blog, you can still leave a comment and win... we'll work something out. Maybe you'll just have to give all 5 of your homemade gifts to me! Sounds fair, right?)Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

Missed my blogversary and my birthday

2009-03-11T10:10:00.002-04:00

What with one thing and another, I just realized today that I missed my blogversary. It was in February, and since we were on our trip out west, it completely escaped my mind. Then, :yesterday was my birthday. It was a very busy day.

Just a note: Don't ever start out your birthday with a visit to the Dentist.

First, I got up late. Jackie has to be to school by 8, but no one in our house woke up until 7:50. I woke up at 7:50, realized that Jackie had to go to school, and I needed to be at the dentist's office at 8:15, and then got going. I woke Jackie up, found her some clothes, and then found some for me. It was 8:00 by the time we were out the door. I'm actually pretty proud of that. Jackie even had some cereal to eat on the way. . . Four minutes of dry cereal does not a breakfast make, but it was the best we could do under the circumstances. I ran her into her classroom and then ran back out to the car. I pulled into the dentist's office at 8:17. So, I found out something interesting. Did you know that stomach acid can tear apart dental filling composit? Appearantly, when I was pregnant with Daniel, my morning sickness tore apart the fillings I already had in my mouth. So, now, I have 14 cavities to have filled. 14! Do you know what that costs without dental insurance? 14 cavities!!!!!!! $2,212 and some change. So, Happy Birthday to me. However, I did get two birthday celebrations yesterday, so by the time I had eaten cake at story time and fondue at supper, I felt much better about my B-day. A little chocolate fondue makes me feel lots better. Chocolate fondue with marshmallows, strawberries, bananas, rice crispy treats, and cheesecake to dip in it. YUMMY! Anyway, I feel much better today after a night's sleep on a stomach filled by The Melting Pot. If you ever have a very special occasion that gets ruined in the morning. A meal at The Melting Pot is the way to fix it.

Hot Diggity Dog

2009-03-01T23:41:00.002-05:00

I have to post a great big sorry to my faithful readers for not posting for more than two full weeks. However, I was out west for most of that, and I did have a great trip. I hope to post all about the trip sometime this week. However, I have a TON of catching up to do on grading papers for my two online algebra classes, so please cut me some slack.

On our way home from our trip, we stopped at a mall food court to eat lunch. I think this one was maybe in Albuquerque, NM? (The question mark is not for how to spell Albuquerque, it's more a question of where the stops were. After 60+ hours in the car, stops all sort of run together.)

We were sitting in the food court eating lunch, and Jackie pointed to the store and said, "Hot dog! That store says hot dog!" We had ordered Jackie a lemonade from this store, but at the same time, I had not told her what the store was called. She is starting to understand the idea that letters stand for sounds and those sounds make up the words. She knows which sound each letter makes, but as a whole she does not 'sound out' words. In this case though, she had sounded out the words and had an epiphany. She is right on the verge of completely opening up and reading, and I'm very excited for her. Here is a picture of the store.

Why must they be in Amarillo?

2009-02-13T14:30:00.004-05:00

Disclaimer: If any of you live in Amarillo and/or have strong positive feelings for this town, please skip this post and come back a different time.

My previous post about the time on Ben's watch never changing ended with the comment, "They must be in Amarillo."

If you are curious about Amarillo, please be assured that the idea of time never changing in Amarillo is not an understatement. About five years ago, Rob and I, with my friend Tracy, were getting ready to move across the country, and we wanted to close on our house, so we started driving from Idaho to Georgia. Since it was January, we decided to go south through New Mexico, across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. The first night, we stopped to stay with my brother, who at the time lived in Albuquerque, NM. Then, the second night, we drove into Amarillo, TX. As we drove up, we looked at the clock in our car, and it was just turning 8:00. Rob went into the hotel to check in. While in there, he asked the receptionist "What is there to do in Amarillo?"

"Nothing," replied the receptionist.

"Isn't there a mall or something?"

"Yeah, there's a mall, but it's closing right now." (We had forgotten about the time change.)

"Isn't there some sort of park or movie theater?"

"Well, there's a bar about a mile away with pool tables."

"Isn't there anything else?"

"Nope."

So Rob comes out to the car, and I asked him if there was anything to do. He says, "Nope." And he related the above conversation. So we go into our room and watch whatever happened to be on TV. Since it was January, we couldn't even swim in the hotel swimming pool.

The next morning, we wanted to get an early start, so we left the hotel around 6 am. As we looked around for someplace to eat, the only place open seemed to be McDonalds. We walked in and up to the counter to order.

"You're up early on a Saturday," said the girl behind the counter.

"It's Tuesday, miss."

Appearently, Amarillo is the type of town where it's always Saturday, and there's nothing to do.

When we told my family this story in our weekly letter, my brother told his own story about when he was stuck there with a broken down car. He agreed that it's always Saturday, but there's really nothing to do.

A Conversation

2009-02-01T18:41:00.005-05:00

Ben came to me and said, "Mama, put on my watch." (Mind you, this isn't really a watch, it's a pink bracelet that straps on like a watch, has a heart on the fron with a unicorn inside it and three tiny metal balls that the wearer is suppoed to try to get in holes.)

He then proceeded down the hall triumphanly calling out to his sister, "Jackie I have on my watch!"

Jackie sees the watch and says, "Ben is that your watch?"

"Yeah, I got my watch."

"What time is it?"

"It's 7:00." (I have no idea what the significance of 7:00 is BTW)

"It's 7:00 Ben?"

"Yeah, it's 7:00."

About 45 seconds later. . . "Ben, what time is it?"

"It's 7:00 Jackie."

"It was 7:00 last time. Isn't it 8:00 now?"

"No Jackie, it's 7:00."

I overheard the conversation and repeated it to Rob. He said, "Ben's smart, he knows that time doesn't move that fast."

But about 5 or 10 minutes later, Ben's 'watch' must have fallen off because he came back to get me to put it on again. Again, he runs down the hallway saying, "Jackie, I got my watch."

"What time is it?"

"It's 7:00"

"It has to be 8:00 now because it's been a long time since I asked."

"Nope, it's 7:00"

So I commented to Rob, "They must be in Amarillo."

The best posts have pictures

2009-01-30T16:52:00.002-05:00

I know that the above is true, and for the first three months, I probably ought to post at least onepicture of Daniel per week so all of his aunts and uncles along with his maternal grandparents can keep track of what he looks like but honestly, that entails dowloading pictures off my camera once a week. At this point, I am completely swamped and exhausted, (Did I think I was tired with seminary before the baby was born???) and I can't seem to think straight let alone make it to places on time. Also, I start teaching two online courses for an online school on Monday. With setting them up, I'm not sure when I'll get sleep. At least I will have fun in the process, right?

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. . .

Having had the chance

2009-01-21T16:36:00.002-05:00

Now that the baby is exactly two weeks old, I have had the chance to try out my wraps with him. I have to say that I LOVE them. I love them bunches. I have tried out both the woven wrap and the knit wrap, and they both have their pros and cons. I with the little baby, I like the stretchy wrap better, but I think that as he gets bigger, I will like the woven one better. I like the cradle hold in the woven one better than the cradle hold in the stretchy one because as I keep wearing it, he starts to fall in the stretchy one, but with the hug hold, I like the stretchy one better mostly because once he is in, it's easier to move him around and nurse him. I have successfully fed him in the wrap while walking through a restaraunt, and you couldn't tell. I'm VERY excited. So, for nursing and the versatility, I highly recommend the wrap out of all of the different types of baby carriers that I have tried. However, for the ease of putting it on and the versatility, I still vote for the Mei Tai. But for the ease of taking it with you and for the speed of putting it on and the speed of putting in the child, I recommend a tube sling. So, mostly, for the next little while, I will use the wrap. I think that when the baby gets older though, I'm going to put him in the Mei Tai more. It's easier to put the baby on my back. Right now, I'm worried about putting him on my back in the wrap. I think that I could do it in the Mei Tai. However, since my Mei Tai is in storage, I won't be using it until Daniel is about six or seven months old. I'm really missing it. :( But I do love the wraps. They make life so much easier. I do like the tube sling too, mostly for the cradle hold. One big drawback to the wrap is that it's so big! It's harder to fold up and put in the diaper bag. (Five yards is a LOT of fabric.) Another drawback to the wrap is that I can't hold the baby and tie it on to begin with at the same time. It's easy to do both with a tube sling, and it is hard but possible with the Mei Tai. So there you go, after a good chance to try out all three different styles, I have come to the conclusion that good baby carriers are necessities, and it's a HUGE blessing to have more than one style.

Sewing Instructions:

For instructions on an easy way to make a Tube Sling: See Here.

For instructions on how to sew a wonderful Mei Tai style carrier, see Here.

To make a wrap, just go buy five and half yards of fabric, cut it lengthwise down the middle, and then, depending on the type of fabric, either zigzag, serge, or hem around the edges. If you have a serger, feel free to serge around the edges of any type of fabric. If you want to buy a wrap, I highly recommend the Moby Wrap.

I do want to put an informational bullet in here about ring slings. These slings are the most versatile slings around because they are so easy to change the way you wear them in the middle. Also, they don't have nearly as much fabric as a wrap, but they tend to work like a mix between a tube sling and a wrap. However, I can't in good conscience recommend them because many of the companies who make them have been recalled because the rings have broken where the ring comes together on itself. I have been to scared to try one out, but I have seen how they work, and they are really an ingenious invention. There is a company that makes wring slings that I have not heard of a recall from. If you want to try out a ring sling, I recommend this company mostly because the local La Leche League sells them, and they are pretty picky about their choices. So if you want to buy a ring sling, I recommend a Maya Wrap. Also, their fabrics are lovely. So if you are in the market for a baby carrier for yourself or some new mom you know, try these out!

Coming Home

2009-01-13T22:08:00.007-05:00

Our house is a whole new world after coming home from the hospital with Daniel than it was before we came. I think that I'm feeling it a whole bunch more this time because I am minus my mother this time. With each of my other children, my mama was there when I came home from the hospital, and maybe she buffered some of the hardships for me and my children. This time though, it's just my little family--my husband, me, and my three children. I have noticed that since we've been home, it seems like our life is all about relationships. I guess that I pictured that we would have to form a new relationship with the new baby, but at the same time, I am realizing how much it changes the relationships we have all formed.

I'm seeing that as Jackie and Ben form a relationship with the baby and as I take care of the baby, it also changes the relationship I have with them. They love the baby, but at the same time, it's hard for them because it's one more person to share my lap, and Daniel needs my lap more often than he doesn't. Daniel is a very happy baby, but he loves to be held all the time. I'm starting to get him to stay sleeping for short periods of time when I put him down, but there are more times than not that I can't. I am working to hold the other kids more when I don't have Daniel, and for Jackie, that is working out. My relationship with her has changed more though because I rely on her more. I know that she's only four, but being four, she can do so many things. She is so happy to go get me a diaper, and she's so happy to find the wipes. She's happy to go get Ben's hand and bring him back out of the bathroom while I'm feeding Daniel. She loves to help, and I find myself relying on her more and more to be helpful. I'm so grateful for her. Ben seems to be having the hardest time. He's much more clingy. Today, he needed to climb onto my lap and just watch TV, and then he really needed to be held while I was trying to pour him some milk for breakfast. He's having a hard time with Daniel, but Ben loves Daniel, and he is soft with him.

I love my little family, and I'm so grateful for the chance to have this peaceful spirit in my home. Here are a couple of pictures from when we came home from the hospital.

Getting ready to go home and waiting to be discharged.

Getting ready to come home from the hospital

On our way out of the hospital

Ben and Jackie building their relationships with baby Daniel, and how Daddy's relationships with all three of them are growing.

Introducing!!!!

2009-01-07T17:02:00.008-05:00

Drum Roll Please. . . Now, if you aren't patting your hands on your computer table or lap, please do so now. Introducing Daniel Ammon. 8 lbs 2 oz, 19.9 inches long, born Jan. 7, 2009 at 2:57 am! Here are some pictures of my new cute little guy. I got some really great ones with Jackie holding him, too, but Ben doesn't really want anything to do with him, so we'll see how that goes. Happy looking!

In the Hospital

2009-01-06T23:52:00.004-05:00

So, this is part one of my birth story for this little guy. Right now, it is 11:55 pm on January 6, and I have an epidural, cathetar, and IV inserted. I also have some internal monitors because had a C-section with Jackie.

I am, however, very comfortable, and I'm thinking of going to sleep, but I just wanted to get the story down up to this point first, and then we should have some pretty exciting news in a couple of hours. I think that I'll wait until a slow time tomorrow though before I write about anything interesting. . . Like the baby's details.

This morning, I went in for a routine OB appointment with the midwife, and I had been having a lot of lower back pain and contractions. I got in, and I was dilated to 4 cm. I was stoked because at my previous appointment, I had only been at a 1. I asked her if she would strip my membranes, and she did, and by the time I got home two hours later, I had had four pretty strong contractions. I started working to make sure that I had my bags packed and an overnight bag packed for the kids. I also got the carseat figured out and installed. Mostly, I just worked to get everything ready to take to the hospital. Around 4 this afternoon (after a trip to Wal-mart because I realized that ALL of my receiving blankets and my little head rest thing that goes into the carseat to keep the baby's head stable were in the storage unit.) I went to go get Rob from work. We came back home and loaded the bags I had packed into the car, then we drove to the town with the hospital. We decided to eat a good dinner first before going into the Dr, and I'm glad we did. I would have been starving by now. Then, we drove to the hospital and waited an hour for Triage to get a bed to be able to check me out.

The midwife came in, and said, "How are we doing?" The baby and I were fine, but the contractions that had been coming at 9 minute intervals suddenly stopped once I hit the triage bed. CRAZY! When the midwife checked me though, she said that I was dilated to a 5 1/2, and they admitted me to the hospital. They gave me some Penicilin because at the first of my pregnancy, I had a positive Group B Strep test. Then, they put me in the bed and broke my water. They broke my water around 10:30. If the pattern for Ben follows, I should have a baby by 2 am.

YIPEE!!!

How do I look?

2009-01-05T08:31:00.001-05:00

Several people have asked me how I look pregnant and how big I am. Since I'm thinking this is about as big as I'm going to get, I had Rob take a picture of me, and I am posting it for your viewing curiousity. Since this is another picture of me, again, Mom, this one's for you!

This much fun for $3.50?

2009-01-03T09:58:00.003-05:00

This is the all time best Burger King toy we've ever gotten. It provided more than an hour of outside fun yesterday. Yes, people, where we live, on January 2, it was 75 degrees outside yesterday afternoon. So, it was the perfect time to be playing outside. I was going to post a video of the fun, but I can't make it work, so you'll just have to do with the pictures.

This one is of Ben right after he shot his off. I love his expression!

Robert helping Ben wind up. Again, look at Ben's face!

Jackie standing on the back porch because then it has further to fall.

This one's for you mom. You are always wanting to see pictures of me, too, so Happy New Year!

Nesting, restless, and sleepless

2009-01-02T21:32:00.002-05:00

I should have written this post at 4:30 am just before I decided to take a bath and a shower to try to relax, but I didn't so I'm writing it now because, I am feeling just as restless tonight. Last night, around 8:00, I fell alseep only to wake up at 10:00 to help put Ben back to sleep. Once Ben went to sleep, I couldn't. I put all of the new baby's (probably going to name him Daniel) clothes in his new little plastic set of drawers and got my suitcase packed to go to the hospital. My lower back just hurt and my stomach felt tight. I was having quite a few Braxton Hicks, but they weren't horrible. I just couldn't relax. So finally, after cleaning and reading and reading and reading some more, at 4:30, I decided to take a bath to try to relax. Then, I took a shower, and Jackie came into the bathroom and said, "Keep it down, Mom, I'm trying to sleep!" Once I got out of the shower, I went to lay on the floor by Jackie, so she could go back to sleep, and I finally fell asleep about 5:15. So, I got to sleep last night from 8-10 and from 5:15-8. . . I'm feeling very restless again tonight. What should I do if I can't fall asleep again?

The crazy thing about blogging

2009-01-01T08:00:00.001-05:00

I thought of so many great posts to write just before and throughout Christmas. However, because of the beauty of the season, I wanted to be hanging out with the kiddos instead of hanging out on my computer. So, the truth about blogging seems to be that when we have lots to blog about, that's when we're not at the computer doing it. When I have tons of time to blog, I can't seem to think of the interesting things. I am hoping that sometime this week, I will sit down and write several posts and schedule them to post on different days. So in the end, I really hope to get some of the interesting stuff blogged about.

On a happier note, Happy New Year! It is now 2009!

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T10:11:00.002-05:00

Today is New Year's Eve, and it would be very convenient if we ended up having the baby tonight, but chaSo there are nces don't seem great. See, if we have the baby tonight, we don't have to pay our deductible for our insurance. Since we have private insurance, we pay $3500 before the insurance foots a penny, but then, at least, it does cover pretty much everything else. So if we do end up having the baby at the first of the year, we won't have to worry about any other medical emergencies. But the thing is that we probably won't spend $3500 before we end up going to school, where they should have some sort of group insurance. GROUP INSURANCE! YAY!! So, anyway, we went for a walk last night to see if we could encourage the baby to come, and he didn't seem to want to come last night. I even ran about 100 yards. I am 37 weeks today, so it would really be just fine if the baby comes today. The baby will be healthy. At my 31 week ultrasound, the baby was 4 1/2 pounds already, so with six more weeks of growing, he should really be fine. :) Anyway, we will do a post when he comes. Until then, we're planning on having a New Years Eve party with scones today. :) My cousin Kim said that it used to be a tradition at my Grandma Skouson's house to have scones on New Year's Eve, so I wanted to be a part of that this week. We're excited! Happy New Year to everyone!

Christmas Eve

2008-12-27T23:59:00.002-05:00

I have several posts from the Christmas season that I want to write, and I thought about writing them backwards, but to try to keep this blog as sort of a journal, too, I decided that for my own sake, I'm going to write the posts in the time order that they happened. However, some of the things won't be happy and might be a bit grotesque thanks to our furry roommates, so please, if the killing of innocent animals bugs you, please don't read these posts.

So, our friend Melissa over at http://takingwhatisleft.blogspot.com commented that if the mice were going to live there, at least they could help me clean up like the ones in Cinderella do. Apparently, on Christmas Eve, one decided to try to help. He wanted to help wash the crockpot bowl that was soaking overnight in my sink because of stuck on food that we couldn't get off. We didn't know it though, so I started to dump out the soapy water, so I could wash the bowl, and there I found it, a mouse had drowned in my crockpot. . . I must have jumped at least 6 inches, and Rob said that he wishes he had a picture of the face I made. I was totally grossed out, and I thought about chucking the crock pot and going to target and getting a new one where they are on sale for $15. I came to my senses however, and I kindly let Rob have the honors of going to dump the mouse into the outside trash can. It was a tramatic experience. However, Christmas Eve did get much better from there.

We cleaned up the kitchen and the house a lot, and then we went into the room with our lovely $20 Christmas tree and read the story of Christ's birth directly from Luke. The kids were pretty enthralled with it actually. They got to open their Christmas Even pajamas, and then we all piled in the car to go to Thomasville.

In Thomasville, we ate at Applebee's, and the kids enjoyed that. Then, we got in the car to look at Christmas lights. Thomasville has a beautiful public house that is decorated to the nines and they have a Christmas display set up specifically for cars to just drive around the old plantation and look at Christmas lights. I got a few decent pictures of this one, so I hope to put up that post later. ONce we got home, Jackie went to bed right away, but Ben wasn't so sure he wanted Santa to come. He wanted Christmas to come, but he wasn't overly fond of Santa, so when we told the kids to go to bed because Santa can't come when kids are awake, Jackie went right to sleep. Ben, however, tried to stay up, so Santa wouldn't come. At 12:30 am, we finally got him to sleep, filled up the stockings and went to bed. I hope to get the pictures from my camera downloaded, so you'll see some of the pictures of the lights. That will have to come later though.

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas (or whatever you celebrate, but this is my blog, so I wish a Merry Christmas) and I hope people go on to have a wonderfully happy New Year.

If you like Scrapbooking

2008-12-22T09:42:00.004-05:00

Life as Lou is an awesome scrapbooking blog. She is a designer for Cosmo Cricket and Quickutz, and she also teaches scrapbooking classes at a local (to her) and internet store called The Scrapbook Nook. She is amazing at what she does. She's also a first class mom. If you get a chance, hop over to her. The link I left is for a drawing for $150 in scrapbook supplies. If you're interested in this awesome blog, head on over and check out her blog. Also, she has a Christmas album class up on her blog that looks like tons of fun. If I were any good at scrapping, I might try this. If you're interested in the rest of her blog, just click the Home link at the top, and you can have hours of interesting reading. Good luck to all scrappers out there.

Unexpected

2008-12-18T15:53:00.004-05:00

Haave you ever had a day where everything that happens is either unexpected, or nothing you expected to do works out?

It sort of started out the night before when Jackie just absolutely refused at all costs to go to bed. I finally gave up trying to work on it at 11:30. She fell asleep at 2. We told her at 11:30 that she could stay up and not go to school. She threw a fit about wanting to go to school, and we told her that if she wanted to go to school the next day, that was fine, but she had to go to sleep. If she didn't go to sleep in the next 10 minutes, there would be no school, and Daddy and Mommy weren't going to bug her about it. She could choose. She chose.

I have never had a day like that so much as yesterday. It started out that while I was getting ready to teach seminary, I got a call from the mother of one of my students that the girl had an emergency. I needed to go be with the mom through this emergency, so I cancelled seminary. (This was a big emergency.) Then, I called Rob and the Branch President to come give the girl a blesssing, and Rob also ended up asking the Branch President's wife to come get the kids, so I wouldn't have to leave the mom.

When I was on my way to go pick up my kiddos, I got a call from my friend who was planning on helping me unpack some more. She was at my house, and I wasn't there. I stopped by on my way to pick up the kids and gave her the keys to my house, and then I went to get the kids. Once I got home, my friend and I decided not to really unpack but just to let the kids hang out. that was good, but Jackie was sort of a pill (I know, shocker; she got all of 5 hours of sleep the night before!) and I was absolutely exhausted. We let the kids play until lunch time, and then I put BOTH of the kids down for naps. I was adamant that Jackie had to actually go to sleep. By 3 they were asleep, which was unexpected. My friend was supposed to come back, but while she was running errands, her son had an accident and ended up having to go to the ER to get his nose X-rayed. While they were there, the poor little guy had another type of accident and didn't have any dry pants. So, I stayed home and got a little bit done, but also, Rob got off work unexpectedly early, and we left for Tallahassee early. We had to take a computer down there. Also while we were there, I thought that there would be a great sale at Kohl's on a KitchenAid mixer. The sale wasn't nearly as good as I thought, so I didn't get one. Everything just seemed to be different from what I planned yesterday, and even though I'm almost through another entire day, I'm still not sure I'm recovered.

Still not unpacked

2008-12-16T13:42:00.002-05:00

I can't seem to get the motivation today to keep unpacking and doing laundry and the other million things I have to do (like wrap Christmas presents, so I can get them in the mail and get them to family in time for Christmas). So, I'm thinking that I'll just blog instead. I have lots of fun things to blog about. Particularly a really awesome story time they did at the library a couple weeks ago, but I just can't get up the energy right now to do that either. Instead, i'm sitting on my bed, while my children watch Clifford on the TV in my room and I just sit here blogging and looking on the internet. At least last night, Rob and the kids got a ton unpacked out of my living room, and I can use it. So I'm resting a bit.

New Roommates

2008-12-13T11:38:00.002-05:00

We have some roommates in our house that we didn't realize we had until we had moved all of our stuff in.

On Tuesday, we moved in, and our house, especially the kitchen had a horrible smell. We thought it would get better when we started wiping out cupboards, and it did for a bit, but we found mouse poop there. YUCKY! We thought, maybe it's just old, so we wiped down each cupboard before we loaded them full of stuff like dishes, paper towels, paper dishes, and snacks foods. . . .

Two rolls of paper towels have mouse poop on them today, so they're fresh. The Orkin man just came yesterday and said that these mice are a huge problem. We need to get treated for them right now. Rob and I talked about it, and we are going to rent mouse poison boxes for the back yard to catch the mice and kill them before they even come in. However, I have looked up some articles, and it is dangerous for me to breathe around the mouse poop let alone clean it up. I'm hoping that Orkin can get rid of our neighbors, so we can have a mouse free home very quickly. Mice DO NOT make good roommates.

In, out and In Between

2008-12-10T22:46:00.004-05:00

My friend who just moved out of this house called Monday night and offered to come help me pack and move in on Tuesday. That is an offer that I can't turn down! There is still stuff at Mom Robinson's house, but not much, and we got all the big stuff Tuesday thanks to Danielle and her husband. We took turns watching kids and packing, and I didn't have to do any heavy lifting. So, we got to sleep here last night for the first time, and it feels good. I haven't done much unpacking today because I ended up needing to go to Thomasville, but I did get a huge tub full of cleaning supplies almost cleaned out plus a bunch of clothes put where they should be. With all of that complete, I am starting to feel like this may be home.

So, the reason that I was in Thomasville instead of being at home where I really NEEDED to be was because of my wireless air card. We have not had service with the air card for over two months, and regardless of hours spent on the phone with tech support, hours spent in the store, and hours spent on the phone with Windows, all was to no avail. So today, I went over to the cell phone store determined to have it out with them. I was planning to say, "I don't care what you say about me having to pay you for your termination fee, I haven't had service for the last two months, and you can't hold me to a contract that you're not keeping your end of the deal with. I'm not leaving this store until, 1) My service works on a consistent basis, and you can make it happen, or 2) You cut me off as of the last time I was in here with no penalty." Well, I didn't have to. The girl got right to work trying to get the card to work, and after SHE spent more than an hour and a half with tech support and couldn't get it to work, she thought, maybe you just need a different type of air card. WOO HOO!!!! She plugged in one that was already programmed that another store agent used and my computer helped it hook right up. Then, she put in the disk for this one, plugged it in, programmed it, and all of a sudden, it worked too. It seemed almost like a miracle.

However, the biggest miracle of all of this is that I took both of the kids with me, and they were both good the ENTIRE two and a half hours that I was in the store. (Every bit of this time was spent with the agent.) Jackie was asleep when she got there, and she stayed asleep the entire visit. She has had a hard time going to bed at night for awhile, and she needed the nap. Ben was asleep when we got there, too, but it was a new place for him, so he stayed awake. However, he sat in the chair and drew and looked at the different name cards they had available, and some of the time, he just sat in my lap and cuddled. I had said a prayer before I went in, and I think that Heavenly Father answered my prayer. There is no point in paying a monthly fee for a service that I wasn't receiving, and I asked Heavenly Father to help me be assertive without getting angry if it came to that. As it turns out, I got the absolute best agent ever, and she got things fixed for me with no problems. THANK YOU Miss Marchelle! Anyway, so I now have the internet, and it works, but we don't have a three prong outlet in either our living room or our bedroom here, so I am not sure how to hook up our electronics. . . Also, I have to go leave my laptop in the kitchen and let it charge and then sit somewhere comfortable to use it where I want to while it is not plugged in. Things are definately looking up here.

Movin' Out. . . Again

2008-12-04T19:06:00.002-05:00

Anthony works in a grocery store, saving his pennies for Sunday. . . Mama if that's movin' up then I'm moving out. Again, I'm a huge Billy Joel fan, and again, we're moving out.

Several things have happened all at once, and Rob and I feel like it's time for us to move out. We signed the lease today on a house in town. I'm very glad about this!!! It will be nice to get my own space. :) I don't want to share details on the blog for two reasons. First, it isn't nice to gossip and second I don't know what lurkers I have. But the long and short of it is that I am about to have my own kitchen again. Yes, I am SO looking forward to that.

Pictures from Thanksgiving

2008-12-03T20:36:00.005-05:00

We tried to take some family pictures so that my MIL could have some for her Christmas cards, but things just never seemed to work out. Here are some of our better attempts.

Last Day of NaBloPoMo

2008-11-30T21:08:00.002-05:00

Today is the last day, and I did pretty well. I didn't get them all, but I certainly did better than I expected to do. I didn't get yesterday, and I have no reason. I guess I just forgot to post what I was thinking about. I did make it to my laptop yesterday and everything. I had a whole post typed out in my head today when I sat down to my computer, but for some reason, I can't even remember what it was supposed to be about let alone the entire post, so you're just getting an update on our day. Our day went OK, but we are down to one car, so we're planning on trying to figure out our schedule with only one car. We need to figure out how to get me to seminary in the morning and still get Jackie to school in the morning and get Rob to work. We loaned our van to some of our friends whose truck broke down. They were planning on moving to Mississippi, so we knew our van would make it. I called them today to see how the drive went, and they said that they decided not to go. They will still have our van until they get a chance to get their engine replaced in their truck. Things will be interesting for awhile.

Well good luck to all of you, and I hope you have a great time as we enter the Christmas season. Although this is politically incorrect, Merry Christmas, and I hope to say that a few more times until we get to that point. I can't wait for Christmas to come.

A New Toilet Seat

2008-11-28T21:15:00.002-05:00

Have you ever sat on a toilet seat with a crack in it? It's not the sitting that hurts. It's the standing up. Whenever I sat on it, somehow, it would make the crack open up, and then as I stood up, I got a grand pinch. Now people, I'm tolerant of stuff, but I can only take a pinched bum so many times. Three days was enough. Remember, I am seven months pregnant, and I have to pee in proportion to that. After three days, I finally bit the bullet today and drove to Tallahassee AGAIN, so we could get a new toilet seat. We did it. We got a new toilet seat and we are very pleased with it. As soon as we got home, I uninstalled the old one and put the new one on. OH the bliss! I went, and then I stood up, and wonder of wonders, no pinch! What a lovely $25. . . Some of the best $25 I have spent in awhile. . .

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T22:41:00.002-05:00

A very Happy Thanksgiving to all. For those of you reading on a different day than today, (more power to you, please spend it with your family) then I hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving.

Our Thanksgiving started out really well. We all dressed up in nice clothes and went to Cracker Barrel in Tallahassee for Thanksgiving dinner. I highly suggest it. The food was wonderful, the 35 minute wait for a table wasn't horrible, and we didn't have to do any cooking or cleaning up. They had turkey, ham, dressing, and a whole bunch of things to go with it for 8.95 and that included a drink and pumpin pie. However, since I'm not that fond of turkey, pumpkin pie, cranberries, or several other menu items, I ordered a steak for 9.99. I loved it, and I'm feeling a lot better now that I have a little bit of iron in my system. So, for anyone who doesn't want to cook next year, leave early, and go to Cracker Barrel for Thanksgiving lunch.

The Twilight Series

2008-11-26T21:56:00.002-05:00

I have heard people rant and rave about Twilight by Stephanie Meyers. I'm not sure what to think. I have not read the books nor seen the movies, but after so much hubbub about them, I'm thinking that I may need to read the books. So, if anyone has any good or bad things to say about these books, I'm open to them. I am automatically leery of any book that has anything to do with a vampire, but people have said that the book is more about forbidden love. I just think that I'm not sure about them, but so many people have talked about them that I think I may have to try to read one. . . So I'm open for comments.

The Primary Program

2008-11-25T19:50:00.002-05:00

Sunday was the primary program, and although Jackie has had a little verse or something to say before, this was the first time she's actually given a real talk in church. I did help her, but she did a great job. She told the story of Jesus being baptised in the River Jordan by John the Baptist. I helped remind her a little bit, but she looked at the pictures we drew and was able to do it mostly by herself with just a little bit of reminding from me. Three cheers for Jackie. I'm so proud of her.

Pictures

2008-11-24T16:17:00.003-05:00

Here are the pictures from my cell phone from the Glenn Beck book signing.

I did get one picture of Glenn Beck, but I can't see him very well, and the other pictures are cooler anyway. :) Ben and Jackie really did do well, and if he'd gotten there on time, Ben would have made it through the whole thing happy. As it was, we did pretty well, and we're glad we went.

What a good husband

2008-11-23T23:24:00.002-05:00

My Rob is a wonderful husband. I went to my friends' new house today to return her crock pot. She had brought some chili over, and we all ate it together right before she moved. I forgot to take it over when I was helping her pack, so I had to drive 30 miles to return it. That was OK because I just couldn't stay home today.

I was so tired when I got back, so Rob cooked our frozen pizza and then he also put the kids to bed. What a great husband! Thanks Rob. Now, it's 11:30, and he wanted to make sure I got my post in for the day, so even though I've already been to bed for two-three hours, he helped me do my post. I wasn't going to post on this but considering that I'm tired, and it is 11:30, this is a great post, and I do love Rob! :)

The Book Signing

2008-11-22T21:32:00.004-05:00

Glenn Beck wrote a book called The Christmas Sweater. It is not politically based at all, neither is it extremely well written. However, I do recommend that people read it. This book is worth one good read, and the last 20 pages or so could be read over and over again.

Since he was planning on being in Tallahassee today at 5:30, Rob and I decided that we would try to go get our copy signed. We had talked to the hosting book store ahead of time and found out that they were giving out tickets in advance, starting at 9:00 am this morning. We weren't crazy enough to want to stand in line for the first tickets this morning, but we did manage to get to Tallahassee by 11, so we could get our tickets to get in. We were in the 251-300 range, and we felt pretty good about that. They were taking people into the line in 50s, so we got in line just behind the 200-250 range. It worked out alright except that he was extremely late.

After a glorious day of shopping in Tallahassee, (It was also Friends and Family week at Kohl's, and thanks to my awesome brother-in-law working at Kohl's corporate, we had a coupon for 15% off of the entire ticket at the end. Also, Kohl's was having a fabulous sale, so we bought all of our clothes at great prices to begin with. We got three outfit packages for our new little guy (maybe Daniel?) for $9.99 a piece, that type of thing.) we arrived at the book store right at 5:30. We only had to wait around for 10 minutes or so until our number was called to get in line, and at that point, we were feeling pretty good about things. While waiting in line, we heard that Glenn Beck was going to be late. He was scheduled to be there from 5:30-6:30, but he didn't even arrive until ten to seven. Luckily, we were stuck right next to the entire table of children's Christmas books, and underneath it, they had these cool sleeping bags that look like animals. In their packages, they made great pillows for my kids to sit against while they turned the pages of book after book on the table looking at the pictures. Ben made it for almost a half hour doing that, and Jackie made it for almost 45 minutes. I'm glad we got stuck there instead of the political section or something. Ben got tired toward the end, and he just wanted to "go home and get my milk. Go get my milk at home." Rob had a hard time struggling with him for a few minutes, and I really had to pee, so I had to brave going toward the totally packed front, right by the door that Mr. Beck was supposed to come through to go to the bathroom. Apparently, they were only letting one person at a time go to the bathroom, but when they saw me, they let me right in. I guess they understand that pregnant people just can't always wait. . .

About two-three minutes after I got back from the bathroom, he got there and started signing books. We were only in line 15 minutes after that to get our book signed. I didn't actually get a picture of him signing our book, but I did get some good pictures of while we were waiting. If I didn't feel so utterly exhausted, I would go back out to the car to get my purse and cell phone, but I don't want to have to face coming back up the stairs and the resulting three contractions. I need my energy. Going all the way down there, back up, and the contractions is too tiring. So, I hope that I post the pictures soon. We had a good time though, and over all, today was a great day. Now, I'm pooped, and I'm getting ready to prepare the youth Sunday school lesson for tomorrow. The usual teacher is out of town, and he subbed for me, so I'm returning the favor. Good luck to all, and best wishes to all in their Happy Thanksgiving preparations.

Cancer

2008-11-21T11:25:00.002-05:00

I called my mom today on my way home from my routine appointment with the midwife. I just wanted to reassure her that everything is great. Also, I wanted to ask how my dad is doing because we got an email last night that he's in the hospital with pneumonia. My mom said that the pneumonia is getting better because he was on five liters of oxygen yesterday morning, and by last night, he was on plain room air. That's a good sign. However, the bad news is that the cancer in his abdomen is back, and it's never going away. His 3-6 months he was given is now for sure. Because of my pregnancy, I can't hop on a plane and go see him. I'm truly grateful for my time in September. Soon, I hope to write a tribute to my dad.

Good baby

2008-11-20T14:52:00.002-05:00

So, today, I had yet another ultrasound. The baby is growing really well. He wouldn't show us his face again, so I have no pictures to post, but the Dr. said that he's measuring at roughly 4 1/2 lbs. He just has to stay in there a few more weeks, and he'll be fine. His lungs look good, and he's measuring really well. He wouldn't show us his face because he's so low that they couldn't see my cervix either. They couldn't get around each side to see him. I haven't done any damage to myself, but I am planning on taking it easy. I hope he stays in there about three or four more weeks or so, and then I would be quite happy if he came on out, so we can meet him. :) Good luck to my little guy. He's working on getting born the natural way, so I won't have to have another C-section. What a good little guy.

My LSAT Score

2008-11-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

I got my LSAT score a little while ago, but I am sort of not happy about it, so I don't think that I posted about it.

The LSAT is measured on a curve. The lowest scores are scored 120, the median score is 150, and the highest score possible is 180. I got a 156 which is somewhere around the 50-60th percentile. It's not a great score, but after talking to a lawyer that got into all 15 law schools to which he applied, I'm not as worried about getting accepted somewhere if I really do decide to apply and go to law school. It's been a dream of mine for quite some time, but at the same time, I don't want to miss out on the lives of my children either. I guess it's just a lot of time to spend on my knees. We'll see how things go once Rob gets into his program.

Not just another lazy day

2008-11-19T19:43:00.002-05:00

So, this morning, I was really looking forward to today. I woke up thinking, "All I have to do today is teach my seminary class, and then I can go home and rest while I watch the kids." Note to self: Whenever you think that, FIND SOMETHING ELSE TO DO!!! Instead, I got a call from one of my very best friends saying, "Would you mind coming over to help me pack today? We have to move out." Her husband got fired from his job earlier this month, but they weren't that worried because he expected his pay check to be 2000 more dollars than the paycheck he got. . . His boss just decided not to turn in the papers that would give him the commission he earned through the month of October. So they can't pay their rent. This means that they have to move in with his mom while he looks for a job. I did spend the day helping her take care of her kids and taking care of Ben while Grandma spent some special time helping Jackie make cookies. I also helped her pack quite a bit of her house. She is planning on moving out this weekend. I did not pick up any boxes that had been filled, and I successfully kept from lifting Ben today! Three cheers for me. I did not run today either, so there's another cheer for me. I hope that I can keep this up. So far, it's kind of like this blog. One day at a time. If I forget, oops Oh well, I just need to keep going and trying to see how well I can do.

I guess that's like life too. I'm never going to be perfect, but in everything I do, I just need to keep going even after I've messed up once. So far, I'm doing pretty well.

Really On Restriction

2008-11-18T16:18:00.002-05:00

OK, so I'm lucky that I'm not on bed rest, but I went in for a biophysical profile (also called a BPP) for Ben today. A BPP is an ultrasound where they look for certain things. One of those things is to see how well the baby is moving, and another is to see if the placenta is still attached. Everything came out good. The test came out good, but I'm still on restriction. I cannot lift Ben at all, and I cannot run at all. I'm having too many Braxton Hicks. . . I'm alright, and I'm going to be really careful. Today at story time, the other moms helped me chase Ben, so I wouldn't have to run. We'll make it.

On Restriction

2008-11-17T19:05:00.003-05:00

When the nurse told me on Saturday night in the Triage unit that I wouldn't be able to lift anything heavy, I specifically asked her "How heavy is heavy?" She said, "You can most definately not pick up your children." I knew that would be hard, but I had no idea how hard. Ben takes off his shoes all the time, and it's been cold. Also, I have to be able help my kids get down the stairs even when they don't want to go. I'm not sure how much longer I can do this, but I don't want to end up on full bed rest. So, I am going in for my BPP test tomorrow at one. I'm really hoping that I can get off restriction afterward, but things aren't looking good for that. I thought I was supposed to get the test today, but they couldn't get me in. It's a really busy office, so I'm not surprised. I guess I'll let people know how things go again tomorrow.

Cheated

2008-11-16T22:46:00.003-05:00

I guess I sort of unknowingly cheated yesterday. THanks to Rob for posting for me last night. However, the rules of NaBloPoMo weren't broken. The only rule is to have a post for every day, and it doesn't say that the same person has to post each time. So, a great big Thank You to my loving husband who watches over me so well.

I do have to call the Dr. for a certain test tomorrow as soon as the office opens. We'll just have to see how that goes, I guess. Until now, I'm under restriction from the Dr: No heavy lifting. This does pertain to Ben, and I have already messed up a couple times today. However, I would for sure have held him more if I could have, so I'm thinking that I'm still better off than if I'd hauled him around all day. I'm really sure that the baby is fine, but I had a whole bunch of Braxton Hicks all in a row yesterday, and I wanted to make sure that I was alright. I do feel better after having gone to the Dr. We'll see how everything else goes at all of my appointments this week.

Placeholder

2008-11-15T23:20:00.003-05:00

This post will serve as a placeholder until the actual post about today is written. Forgive Ellie for not writing it today, but trust me when I say it has been one of the longest we've ever had.

Quick facts:
1) Awakened in the morning by the front desk informing us our car was broken into
2) Taking hours to deal with the police and cleanup
3) Taking more hours to find an adequate cover for the broken window so we could drive home
4) Stopping at the hospital on the way home to make sure there wasn't a premature labor going
5) Finally getting home just after 11PM

Fortunately, we did both make the temple last night, so the purpose of our trip was not thwarted.

- Robert, making a note for Ellie

When ECing is not an option

2008-11-14T22:48:00.000-05:00

There was a little while this summer where Ben was very much into ECing. He would tell me pee pee or poopy when he needed to go to the bathroom. In fact, he had three days when he was completely dry. Then, he started taking off his diaper and trying to pee anywhere but his diaper or the potty. So I laid off. Now, he is not interested. AT ALL. In fact, he is to the point where he will tell me he is not poopy if he is. I'm just waiting for awhile to see if he has another sensitive period, and then we'll do some sort of conventional potty training. I think that talking about it and being open to the child's wants is one of the biggest parts of ECing. Wish me luck!

Update

2008-11-13T20:34:00.001-05:00

Just so everyone knows, I am planning on telling the Dr. at my next appointment, and if I see any blood or have any big problems before then, I won't hesitate to drive all the way to Tallahassee and go in. I also have an ultrasound scheduled for a week from today, so I'm not too extremely worried about it. Once the initial pain went away, I've mostly been fine. I'm sore but it's more like muscle sore than the hurt was at first. :) I just scared myself a bit yesterday, but I really think I'm alright. The baby has been moving, and I am not having big contractions, so that's a good sign. :) Also, I have been good about not chasing Ben today.

Fall

2008-11-12T22:33:00.003-05:00

Today, Jackie kept asking over and over, "What season is it, Mommy? Summer?" I would always reply, "No, Jackie, it's fall right now."
Apparently, my body took that to heart. We had gone over to my friend Danielle's house this afternoon, and the kids had been running around outside a lot. The weather is beautiful in the afternoons! Then, we went inside, and I guess Ben got a little bit of cabin fever for the little while we were inside because as soon as it was time to go, and I got the kiddos outside, he started to run away. I stepped forward to grab him, and my foot kept sliding. Both of my feet slid out from underneath me, and I fell hard on my hip. I haven't felt quite the same the rest of the day. I'm hoping that I'm alright. I'm not bleeding, and my water didn't break, so I'm thinking I'm alright. However, when I fell, I felt really wet for a minute. As soon as the horrible pain went away enough for me to be able to stand up, I went in to the bathroom. I lost a good chunk of mucus. I'm slightly worried. I'm just going to be really careful for the next few days, and I'm going to be on the lookout for any signs that anything is wrong. The baby is moving a bunch, but it doesn't feel frantic, so I think we're alright. Sheesh though. It really scared me!

The Preliminary Finding

2008-11-11T20:11:00.003-05:00

So, after trying both the knit wrap and the cotton homespun wrap (with borrowing my friend Danielle's baby) I have decided that both of them have good and bad to them. The homespun wrap is not as movable once it is tied either in the back or the front. The knit wrap, however, is very easy to maneuver once the baby is in, and it's on. That one feature of both of them is both a pro and a con for both of them. If you are going to carry a baby bigger than say, 20 pounds, I would recommend the non-stretchy material for a wrap. If you have a new born that would need to be moved to nurse and then put back in a different fashion, then go for the kit. The knit is so stretchy, that sometimes the baby seems to slip around a little more, and it's harder to get the fabric tight. But the woven wrap was good to keep the baby in the same space, but I had to keep untying it when she would get tired of being in the same position so long. I may change my mind after my own little guy comes along, but that's the consensus with my friend's six week old girl who is about 11 pounds. If anyone has more experience, feel free to share it in the comments section.

A great family night

2008-11-10T22:52:00.002-05:00

In our church, we set aside one night per week (for most families, it's usually Monday) to have a night with our family. We call it Family Home Evening. The purpose of this is to teach us how to get along with each other and to like each other, and ultimately, to learn how to want to hang out together. For this time, our family usually sings an opening and closing song, has an opening and closing prayer, and has a short little lesson. After that's over, the highlight is having treats. Then we play with the kids a few extra minutes before bedtime. At our house, we're lucky if we keep the kids' attention for 15 minutes, but it seems good. Tonight, we went over to a friends' house and had a combined Family Home Evening with their family. The lesson we dis turned out great! We did a flannel board story of The Good Samaritan. Here is the link where I printed the pictures from to make the pieces with. I just printed out the pictures on a piece of cardstock, and then I colored them and covered the entire back of the paper with rubber cement (Make sure you don't miss any or it might be a critical piece that falls off in the middle of the story.). Then, I stuck a paper sized piece of flannel to the back. After that, then I used some good paper scissors (But NOT my fabric scissors) and cut out the pieces.

To make the flannel board itself, I cut a good sized but not huge piece of cardboard, probably about 24" by 18". After that, I painted the card board really well with the rubber cement. Then, I very carefully, but quickly due to the drying nature of rubber cement, spread flannel over the entire board but I left about an extra inch and a half of flannel hanging over each side. I turned over the cardboard and painted two opposite sides with the glue and then pressed the fabric down over them. Then I painted the other two sides including the parts already covered by fabric and I pressed the fabric over those. The corner fabric will fold up on itself and stick. However, for good measure, I taped down the edges with packaging tape. Wherever there was a lose end of the fabric, I taped it down to the cardboard.

Although this process seemes involved, this doesn't have to take long. This worked a lot better for me because I wasn't trying to make it perfect. All of the kids loved it, and the older ones helped me read it from Luke 10 while the younger kids helped me put up the pieces. I might try a different one in a few weeks since it worked so well.

Stretchy versus non stretchy

2008-11-09T14:16:00.002-05:00

OK, all, I've read a lot about wraps the last few days, and I've seen different people say things about stretchy wraps and I've seen other places recommend you get a fabric with stretch like knit or fleece. So, the wraps I made the other day were out of a ribbing, (read knit that you put around the top of a sweatshirt for people who are not sewing inclined.) so it was pretty stretchy. The other fabric I bought is a homespun 100% cotton. I don't have a baby yet to really try these with (I've been borrowing my friend's), but if anyone has an opinion on when and why stretchy or non stretchy would be better, please let me know. Thanks!

Productive

2008-11-08T22:50:00.002-05:00

Do you ever feel like some days, you're on top of the world and you can do anything, and other days, you just want to stay in your bed, pull the covers up over your head, and never see the world again because you just know that no matter how much you try to get done that day, you won't have made a dent? Usually, lately, my days are the second type, but I get up anyway. Today however, my day was the first one.

I successfully got Jackie to do 4 sets of 15 minutes and get her room completely clean. Then, the kids and I built towers out of blocks, and they shared and had all sorts of fun. Jackie would build a tower, and Ben would say, "Jackie, I knock over you tower?" And she'd tell him whether or not she was finished. As soon as she was finished, she would gleefully say, OK, Ben, knock it over. Ben would reply. "OK Jackie, I knock it over now." He'd run full speed ahead and kick it. Then, he'd go gather up all the blocks, and beg for her to "build it" again. It was lovely.

We spent three hours at the park on a picnic today, and then we also spent time at my friend Kim's house tonight where the adults played games while the kids did a great job of sharing. They were getting along great. I feel great about today!

Tagged Again

2008-11-07T08:00:00.002-05:00

My friend Kim (who has several blogs) tagged me, and since this month I'm scraping for anything to blog about, I'll take a few memes.

A. Attached or single? Attached. Very attached. I love Rob!
B. Best friend? Rob
C. Cake or pie? Do I have to choose? How about both! OK, well not pumpkin or pecan pie or red velvet cake. Other wise, bring it on!
D. Day of choice? Saturday
E. Essential item? Laptop
F. Favorite color? Green or turquoise
G. Gummy bears or worms? Cinnamon bears
H. Hometown? Monticello. If you can guess the state, you didn't grow up with me, and you're not married to me, 10 points for you!
I. Favorite indulgence? Jamba Juice (Tropical Smoothie is NOT the same. . .)
J. January or July? In GA, January. It's gorgeous.
K. Kids? Two and 2/3. Jackie is 4, Ben is 2, and Our Little Guy maybe named Daniel is coming sometime in January.
L. Life isn’t complete without? Rob, the kids, and chocolate.
M. Marriage date? July 2003
N. Number of magazine subscriptions: One. Rob's sister Anne got me the Readers' Digest for Christmas last year.
O. Oranges or apples? Depends on when and where. If it's Christmas time in Mesa, definitely the oranges.
P. Phobias? Can't think of one right now, but it's not the usual stuff.
Q. Quotes? "Service is like peeing your pants, everyone else can see it, but only you can feel the warmth." "Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday." Authors unknown to both.
R. Reasons to smile? When I see Rob playing with my kids. Also, when Rob and Todd get together. I always laugh so hard!
S. Season of choice? Probably autumn. I love the leaves! (Also, the weather is almost always nice in the fall wherever you go.)
T. Tag 5 people. Not sure I want to tag anyone. I've tagged a bunch of people lately. If you want to do this, consider yourself tagged. Come back and tell me, and I'll come comment on your blog.
U. Unknown fact about me? I'm not sure, my life is pretty much an open book. But one thing most people don't know is that I had a skin surgery when I was 2, and the Dr. gave me enough medicine that I should have been completely out. I was so scared that it still took my dad, two of my brothers, and the Dr. to hold me down during the surgery. That's the story of my life. I am THAT stubborn.
V. Vegetable? Steamed broccoli and steamed cauliflower.
W. Worst habit? Not sharing that. You may not ever hang out with me again.
X. X-ray or ultrasound? Ultrasound.
Y. Your favorite foods? Popcorn, Cheetos, and milk. . . I pretty much lived on those while I was in college and single. Rob didn't think it was a healthy idea, so it stopped once I got married.
Z. Zodiac sign? Pisces

I can't find my FrankenKozy!

2008-11-06T16:15:00.002-05:00

I have a mei-tai style sling that I made using these directions. (Jan at sleepingbaby.net has a whole bunch of great sewing goodies for moms of young children, please go check her out. I'm sending you to the entire site, so if you want a ring sling, feel free to peruse, but if not, over on the right hand side on the top tool bar, there is an about sbp link. Under that, click on do it yourself.) My FrankenKozy is wonderful! In fact, it's so wonderful that I made two and used them both. My new problem is that I can't find it, and I must have put it in storage. A lot of my sewing stuff went to storage, but this is one thing that I'm slightly devestated about. When I find it, I'm hoping to do a post about the different styles of baby wearing instruments I have tried out and which ones I like most and which ones I don't. There. You all have something to look forward to.

At this point, you have several things: Upcoming sometime next week is hopefully a step by step instruction list of how to make Thai sticky rice. Also, a review on different types of slings. Just lots of goodies to come!

New Cell Phone

2008-11-06T05:39:00.003-05:00

I missed a day, and I know that it's against the spirit of the NaBlo but I'm going to do two posts today instead. It is now 5:40 in the morning. I went to bed last night at 9:30 exhausted, and since my iron is low and I'm six months pregnant, I am not sure that I could have had any type of coherent post last night.

Well, Tuesday morning, I plugged in my cell phone, and it didn't start charging. A while ago, I pulled the charger out, and it had broken in my phone. I have been making due with the broken charger, but all of a sudden, the broken charger didn't work. My phone died. I can't get the charger to work at all in any way anymore, and now all of my calendar, my phone list, and everything is gone! However, after three hours in the alltel store, on the bright side, I now have a beautiful new LG Scoop. It's pretty fun. :)

Also, I made a babywearing wrap yesterday. I had my friend with her new baby come over, so we could try it out, and it was great! We're both so excited. I'll write a whole post about that at some point when I can get a couple of pictures to put on it. :)

Election Day

2008-11-04T22:09:00.002-05:00

I almost named this post Sionara, but I decided that election day was better. I'm working on keeping back my tears while we watch the election results roll across the screen. I feel like I'm watching my freedom go out the window a little bit at a time as each state goes either red or blue. Anyway, congrats to Barack Obama.

Ben and I went to the Dr. today, and I am pleased to say that we only have viral upper resperatory tract infections instead of strep throat. They prescribed us some medicine to help us with our symptoms, and we're excited about that. I bought some fabric today, so I can try to make myself a wrap. (I just bought 5 yards of machine wash and dry fabric, and I'm going to cut the 60 inch wide fabric into three and use a surge stitch on the edges.) I am going to try to sew some tonight. I won't be sleeping very soon.

Help Support Mamograms

2008-11-03T08:57:00.002-05:00

The Breast Cancer Site has a goal to donate one mammogram to a person in need every day. However, they are having a hard time doing it. They have sponsors who pay them per click on a certain button. You don't have to buy something (but that does encourage the sponsors.) Just go to this link, and click on the button. Help a woman in need and maybe save a life.

http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/

Fast Sunday

2008-11-02T19:56:00.002-05:00

So, I have a really hard time on Fast Sundays while I'm pregnant. I feel like I'm missing something. But today, both of my kids had green snot coming out of their noses, and they were both running low grade fevers, so they had to stay home from church. Grandma and Papa weren't feeling very well either, so they volunteered to watch the kids. That was a huge blessing for me because the Primary president was sick, the first counselor was out of town, and the second counselor just got released a couple weeks ago and called to be the Young Women's president. With no primary presidency in the primary, someone had to fill in. The primary president asked me to do that. I didn't mind. However, I was really wondering this morning when both of my kids woke up sick how we would handle that. Rob was filling in for the youth sunday school teacher who was also out of town. In our branch, there is a large shortage of substitutes for things like that.

Filling in for primary was a blessing though. I got really lucky. Since my kids weren't there, and I had to be there, I had the opportunity to sit through an entire fast and testimony meeting. I felt like I should get up and say my testimony simply because I had the opportunity, and I was so grateful to be listening to an entire meeting! I also volunteered to play the organ today. Do you know how nice it is to hear the organ instead of the CD's? Anyway, I know that this might not make sense to everyone. In our church, the first Sunday in each month is set aside for fasting (but pregnant women are not supposed to fast) and on that same Sunday, we don't schedule sermons or talks. People from the congregation are given a chance to stand up and tell about their testimony of the gospel and our savior. The Holy Ghost is very strong at these meetings. I was very grateful to be able to listen, and maybe Heavenly Father just knew that I needed this more than anything else right now. I needed a time to be taught instead of always to teach.

First NaBloPoMo

2008-11-01T18:36:00.003-04:00

Today is the first day of my NaBloPoMo. I'm really going to work at this. Today was supposed to be a post saying how a "bathroom day" with Ben went, but he woke up with green snot pouring out of his nose, and he woke up really tired because he couldn't breathe in the middle of the night. Therefore, I did not just hang out with Ben in the bathroom today. I did get our new bassinet put together though. (My current bed is NOT safe for co-sleeping, and there is no chance to make it so, hopefully more on this later, with pictures.) Also, we watched the GA/FLA game, and it was horrible. I have never seen GA play so badly, nor have I seen so many bad ref calls. I'm not even a fan of GA, but at the end of the day, I do feel like UGA got the short end of the stick. Hopefully, I have more interesting stuff tomorrow.

The NaBloPoMo

2008-10-27T11:14:00.002-04:00

So, I've seen NaBloPoMo around in many places, and I never knew what it meant. I finally looked it up on the internet. It means that a blogger posts every day for a month. So, for the month of November, my goal is to do one blog post every day. Some of them may be dumb, and some of them may be great, but I think that this will make me a better writer, and it will help me be a better journal writer. :) So, look forward to a post a day *crossing fingers* starting November 1.