Funny Things They Have Said Lately.... Mostly Caden

Caden: Momma, can you get me something to drink?
Me: Do you want some lemonade?
Caden: Yeah! Lemon-lade is good!

Me: Caden, what are those things flying in the sky?
Caden: A-planes and Hopper-coppers.

On vacation this Summer everytime Cody would walk away Sahara would start calling after him.
Sahara (Goo-Goo): Daddy, I hudge you! (Daddy, I love you!)

Savannah: Meeting! Meeting! We're having a little kids meeting. Mariah and Anaiah are coming over. Daddy told me the secret!
Me: (from around the corner as I hear it all) Hmmm... Daddy told you the secret, huh?!!!
[Daddy has a worse time keeping secrets than the kids do at this house. ;) ]

Caden wanted to swing on the big kid swing rather than the toddler swing and asked me to help him on. Surprisingly, they grow so fast that he really is old enough for it much to his surprise. As he was swinging his feet were little dragging in the grass below and with a very surprised look on his face he said, "Wow! How did that happen?!"
I said, "You grew!"
Caden, "How did that happen?!"
Me, "You grew! I bet you can even get on it all by yourself, if you try."
Caden hopped off the swing and attempted to get back on unassisted. Success! His face was glowing with excitement and surprise as he said, "I did it!"
Me, "You are really a big boy now!"

Caden had been told to go upstairs to get something and he started up the stairs, but came running back saying, "I'm scared!"
Sierra said, "Don't be scared. God is with you and He created you. He is this great big Creator! I'll go with you."

Morning Sicknes Is SO GROSS !

.... But I am glad it is NOT me!! I am starting to think that Caden is having morning sickness for me! Yes, my three year old! I know it seems crazy, but when we were on vacation around the time that morning sickness normally starts (approximately 4 weeks gestation) Caden started having an extremely sensitive gag reflex. It was quite funny to laugh about! Here was this little three year old boy that would smell something foul smelling along with the rest of us, yet he would begin gagging over it while we all watched in horror at the possibility of him puking. Today he ate his lunch... watermelon... a half P, B, & J... and one apple wedge. He asked me for another apple, so I cut it up for him and called him back to the table. He walked up with a scrunched up nose and said, "Ugh! What's that awful smell?!" Then, he started gagging as I laughed, but tried to calm him. Then, he puked up ALL his lunch to my horror! GROSS! So, what do you you think?????? Can a three year old take on Momma's morning sickness? I have had NONE!!!! NONE!!!

Our Curriculum Choices for our 2010-2011 School Year

Animal Study: "Patches"

Character Training: "Patches"

Life Skills: "Patches"

I just wanted to post a list of the resources we will be using this year. I seem to be seeing this sort of thing all over the blogosphere, so I thought I would share mine. For the most part we use My Father's World and I highly recommend it, but we do alter it to "fit" us and some of our preferences. For instance, they recommend Rod and Staff Spelling for 2nd grade, but after that they recommend switching to Spelling Power from 3rd-12th grade. I like Spelling Power and I almost bought it last year, but we LOVE the Rod and Staff Spelling. So, for now we are sticking with it... maybe later we will change to Spelling Power and only time will tell. No more examples... I'll get on with my list.





Some things we will do together, some things, seperate and I will try to note that clearly.





1st Grade-- for Sierra:

• MFW 1st Grade (minus Drawing With Children; minus the recommend Math book -- for now)


• A Beka K Math that we did not finish, yet. We will zoom through this really because I have it already. Once we finish it up we will get the recommended Math or something else. I kind of forgot this detail this Summer. Shhhhh!! No big deal, because I won't need it right away. ;)

4th Grade-- Savannah:

• MFW Adventures (because we did not finish last year or this Summer as intended. Once we finish this up we will go straight into MFW ECC and it is likely that we will speed up some of Adventures where we can)


• Rod and Staff 4th Grade Spelling


• Primary Language Lessons (1-3 Lessons per day: I confess I was adjusting to homeschooling and this is recommended for 2nd-3rd grade, but we are using it for 4th: once done we will order Intermediate Language Lessons and begin that)


• Rod and Staff 4th & 5th Grade Math (We used A Beka last year and I used it a slower pace, but still Savannah has done most of what is in the R/S 4th & 5th grade books, so I am going to pick and choose what she needs from the two books. She should complete the year ready to start the 6th grade books even though she will only be going into 5th grade level... ??? Confusing, huh?! David Hazell says that if your child knows what grade she is in you are probably doing something wrong... We must be doing something right!)


• Letter Writing.... not a book... we are just going to have Savannah write! We met Amish Pen Pals this Summer and possibly some others.

All Ages-- Together:

• MFW 1st Grade (All will participate in calendar time, Science, Storytime & crafts when possible, and phonics & math games)


• MFW Adventures (All will participat in History & Science when possible)


• Consider God's Creation Science (This is a 2-3 year program, but do-able in 1; I just love it so much that I want to use it even though MFW is VERY complete. We will use this to add to MFW 1st & Adventures and work through the rest of it as time allows. My kids love Science, so I hope it can be a great motivator to get Savannah to focus.)


• Cooking/Sewing/Homemaking-- I do not have a "curriculum' for this, but I want to really train my kids this year to be helpers to one another. We need teamwork and I plan to have them in the kitchen as much as possible, as well as, helping with daily chores that are in need of focus. I want them to leave home one day knowing how a home should function and well equipped to manage their homes and families. To make it fun we will be using two children's cookbooks ("Williams-Sonoma the kid's cookbook" and "Kid's fun & healthy COOKBOOK" by DK).


• Art: We will be continuing with "I Can Do All Things" that is recommended for Adventures; Draw To Learn About Jesus by Notgrass (Had I been thinking I might have bought the one for Proverbs, since you learn Proverbs weekly in MFW 1st); Dover Coloring Books (Sea Life; Exotic Butterflies & Moths; Backyard Nature) & Dover Stain Glass Coloring Book Kits (Wild Animals; Fairies; Butterfly Designs)


• Music Time: I will try to play random music all day (children's music; Bible songs; bluegrass ... my kids want to learn to play fiddle; worship songs); hopefully, violin lessons (online or in person); Violin study using "Violin Primer For Beginners" by Jim Tolles and "A New Tune A Day for Violin: Book 1" by Sarah Pope


• Audio Story Time: This will be used for listening to things such as Jonathon Park CDs, books on tape from the library, etc.


• Video Time: When we left in June on our five week vacation we cancelled or Dish Network. I believe it needed to be done for several reasons: commercials, inappropriate content on even children's programs, personal self control (my husband), & it was waste of our money for the lack of usage other than cartoon channels. Caden was addicted, also... and that is all he was wanting to do. Regarding my husband, what I mean is that he watched very little, but what was drawing him in was not appropriate. He might want to watch the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), but the Spike channel is full of trashy commercials and "bleeped" out words. I think your mind still "imagines" the words and that is as bad as them being on the TV. Back on topic....... I want to still allow my kids some movie time. We still have our own movie collection and I think one every other day or so would not be so bad, especially the ones from Lifeway, etc..


• Exercise & Free Play: Thank God Fall is coming!!! I want to get outdoors. I NEED TO to prepare my body for labor, but have been taking it easy until the end of the first trimester. The kids need exercise to, of course! Gymnastics is still up for consideration, but I just do not know if we can swing it in this "season" of our life.


• Computer time: Games, Learning games, Typing, Spanish, etc.
• 4-H (not sure what we are doing, but "Patches" could get involved
• Co-op classes (For us it is all about friendships and anything they learn is just a "bonus"; Savannah will be taking World History and Gardening 101; Sierra will be taking Missions which includes some geography and cultures and Math Using Learning Through Literature); I am sure we will attend several theatre productions again this year as that is a love of ours and enjoy park day time after co-op.

FOR ANYONE OUT THERE READING THAT MIGHT BE INTIMIDATED BY THIS AND THINK IT IS AMAZING WE WILL BE DOING ALL THIS.... this is a ""plan" and we alter our plans alot! :) Mainly, it is a guideline, but we are not bound by it. Some of these activities are for "busywork"... You know, if "idle" hands are left with nothing to do, they start to get into trouble. If the kids are grumpy are arguing it might be a good time to pull out an "Art Activity", game, puzzle, or do a craft. I want alot on the "plan", so I have a lot to choose from.

As far as our schedule.... I don't have one, but we are jumping in full force Monday with or without one anyway!!! Sink or swim we are diving in!!! A schedule will have to "develop". Ha!!! It'll work out. Last year I fought with the perfect schedule, but by year end we had one that was very variable and it worked for us. This year we will do a similar thing and let life form the schedule.

ENJOY YOUR YEAR!!!

My Favorite School Supply Find

Every year I have a hard time finding brown construction paper. It seems like this would be a standard color in the multi-color packs, but it is not and for some reason it seems to be the color we need the most. This Summer while on vacation I made a quick run into Hobby Lobby for an unrelated item and I stumbled upon their construction paper aisle! They have all the colors of the rainbow and beyond. Prices are $1.77 for a package of 50 sheets! The brand is Sunworks. And they are not bond like a tablet, so you are not always having to be careful not to tear your edge. I picked up a package of brown while on vacation on the off chance this was fluke Hobby Lobby and the other locations do not have this. I did NOT want to miss this chance to get my hard to find brown construction paper. Eventually, I plan to go buy a package of every color they have. This makes me and my kids soooooo very happy! ;)

Apparently, they also sell it at Amazon for $1.40, but the shipping is $3.95
http://www.amazon.com/SunWorks-Construction-Paper-Heavyweight-Sheets/dp/B001E6681O

Staples also has it for $1.49, but not certain or shipping or if they have it in store.
http://www.staples.com/Construction-Paper-9-x-12-Brown/product_402629?cm_mmc=GoogleBase-_-Shopping-_-Office_Supplies%3ETeaching_Supplies-_-402629-PAC-103605&cid=CSE:GoogleBase:Office_Supplies:Teaching_Supplies:402629:PAC-103605

Office Depot has DARK Brown has for $1.79, but again I am uncertain of shipping or if they have it in store.
http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/368009/Pacon-SunWorks-Groundwood-Construction-Paper-9/?cm_mmc=Mercent-_-Google-_-Paper_Forms_Envelopes-_-368009&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=plusbox-beta&mr:trackingCode=1B9B6C72-E85E-DF11-BAA3-0019B9C043EB&mr:referralID=NA

First Day of School 2010 & Our Focus

Today is our first day of school. Sort of.... we are getting back in to our routine gradually. I realized mid-week that My Father's World recommends starting 1st Grade on a Thursday and after looking closer at the lesson plans I agree that is the best way to use this curriculum. Also, this is going to allow us to make a smoother more gradual transition into our year. Today and tomorrow we will only do 1st Grade with Savannah (4th) sitting in. There is nothing for Savannah to really do with us these first few days so we are focusing on character training with her. Our focus this week for her will be to not be a distraction. Savannah will do calendar time and those basic math activities and then, she can sit and read, etc. for this hour that I work with Sierra. Savannah tends to try to talk to us about what she is reading or show us everything which is a major distraction. I love that she wants to talk to us, but it makes what we are doing take twice as long. I think these two days will be a great chance for her to practice not being a distraction. As well, I want Sierra to learn to focus on her work and not allow the distraction to suck her in. During these days our focus with the two little ones is strictly character training. It seems some little boy thinks that every thing is to be throw wildly through the air like a grenade. So, Caden will be learning NOT to throw things and Sahara will be learning not to follow his lead in doing so. Caden will also be learning to clean up his messes, which is a big deal for him. He is still a baby in many ways and does not think clean up is "really" his job. Time to change that line of thinking. ;)


And because we do things just a bit different than everyone else this is all of the kids on our first "practice" day of school one day last week. Daddy was home still and let's just say that that week did not go as planned. The plan was to "practice" our school routine all week. It worked on the one day that Daddy was gone, but even on that day it was obvious I had to figure out really what I want this year to be like. I still don't fully know, but we will do this gradually instead of jump in trying to do school all day and burn them our before we get going good. I am thinking that next week we will step it up a notch with 1st grade and ease into some of Savannah's 4th grade. As the weeks progress we will add a little more to our day. I tend to try to take on the world from the beginning and end up in total frustration. This year I want them to love it... and it become their way of life... an enjoyable way of life. I will try to post more on that later and our curriculum choices, as well as, our extras (ya know.... what they call "electives" in public school"). We are going to have a lot of extras.

Our focus this year: Character and being helpers to one another while getting in some real learning.

1st grade today:
Calendar time and 100 day chart with calendar coloring time
Place Value cups
Days of the week song (I almost forgot the words ;) )
Letter Practice for A, B, C -- writing and sounds
Discussion of SCROLLS and the way they were used in Bible times
More Letter Practice for our scroll pages -- A, B, C
There was not a specific suggestion for books for today only that we do about fifteen minutes of reading, so we read:

• Zink The Zebra by Kelly Weil (about a zebra that is different.... the moral of the story is that is okay to be different)
• Smudge by Clare Newberry (about mischievious kittens... great charcoal drawings)
• Not THIS Bear! (about a little boy that is mistaken for a bear in his fur coat & hat on his way to visit his aunt)

And I guess I have resigned to the fact that we will be adopting a similar school year schedule as my husband's public school. I want to school year round, but it is not working well when he is home. I have wanted the flexibility of year round schooling, but it is just not working for us. Maybe someday. This does not mean we will be on their exact schedule. Public schools actually schedule in more days than required and so we will still take off most or all of December. Also, I am due to have a new baby the week AFTER his Spring Break, so we may have an extended Spring Break... who knows, but I am learning not to plan it all out too much and just roll with what life hands us.

Are My Kids Missing Out?!

Sometimes as homeschool mothers we want to know if we are making the right choice. Skip on over to one bloggers post where she questions this, then come back her and read my comment:

My take is a bit different for this topic.

First of all we are starting our third year homeschooling. My kids grade levels this year are 4th, 1st, along with two toddlers. My oldest went to public school for Pre-K, K, 1st, two months of 2nd. My other one went to Pre-K for just two months. After a hurricane evacuation and a temporary school closing we decided to TRY homeschooling on a trial basis because my oldest was begging to homeschool.

My younger that only went a couple months of Pre-K has been VERY easy to teach. She does not have the pre-set idea of school that my oldest has. My oldest fights me all the way and it causes us to miss out on a lot of fun. Much of it is due to public school. She did have fun and had lots of parties, but it is just not have you fantasize it to be. For instance, a party at school is not like a party at your house. At home kids are walking around playing during a party. At school they all had to sit at their desk, then snacks and drinks were passed out. Occassionally, the kids would have a few songs they would gather in a circle to sing for the parents or something of that nature. They gather their stuff and party over! It is really not much fun, but they do usually get a little (or HUGE) bag of excessive party favor junk to take home to clutter up your house. By the way, you usually have to pay for this junk. ;) ... or make cookies... or buy an assigned snack.... or purchase and bring these favors.

Another thing is waiting in line... I would spend 30 minutes waiting in line to drop off my kids and another 45 minutes waiting to pick them up. And that doesn't count the Pre-Ker. I had to actually carry in two babies for walk-up pick-up (for safety). Not to mention the time your child spends waiting in line... ALL.... DAY.... LONG.

Next issue... SOCIALIZATION.... now this is a big one because we all want our kids to have friends, but we don't really think about some of the details. At lunch as they sit across the table from their friends they are not allowed to talk to them. And what friends they make this year are just "disposable", because the next year they get a whole new class with mostly different kids and their old friends move on to a different class and they rarely see them. I think this is training our kids that their "friends" are disposable. The same is true of their beloved teachers. Kids get very attached to their teachers, but next year they have to "move on". When the kids are free to play outside freely for recess it is poorly supervised. My daughter was put in a headlock by a schoolmate when she was in K. The teacher was so far away she did not even see it or know about it. My daughter had to fend for herself. I went to visit the school another time during recess and witnessed a boy putting a girl in a headlock. I went to the girl's aid and told the little boy to keep his hands off of her. There were NO teachers around.
School supplies.... ahhh, the joy. The joy of searching and purchasing things they often will never use. ;) A great example is this cool little tap-n-go glue cap for bottled glue. You have to go to an office supply store to get it and it is almost $2.... for a CAP! They NEVER used it nor did we get it back at the end of the year. Some stuff you do get back that they never use, so at least you can sometimes find a use for that stuff.

Snacks for younger kids... older kids are not allowed snacks even if they are hungry. For younger ones you have to supply snacks for the whole class. For me I would normally choose non-prepacakaged snacks for my kids, but when you have to supply for a group of kids you are usually required to bring individually packaged snacks for the kids. It gets pricey. Also, when my oldest was in the 1st grade they could bring their own snack; however, if some child did not have a snack they would all sit there eating in front of the ones that did without. Now that is teaching them something!

Lastly, the wasted time.... waiting in line already got mentioned. Waiting for one on one time when they do not understand something.... or when they do understand, but others in class do not... your child will have to wait. Simply put 1/2 day Pre-K is 4 hours. I can teach Pre-K at home for 30 minutes - an hour and learn as much. Oh and we can take the day off when we want and they still can learn better because they have one on one time with us. And our life....it's on OUR SCHEDULE. That's all for now. ;) Hope this helps some.

{This the brief version of my answer. I also have a conviction about homeschooling now. This post is just to discuss a bit regarding "What Are My Kids Missing Out On?".... There are many more reasons to homeschool than what I listed above and there are some great things about public schools, also.}

What Do You Need For The Fifth Child?

.... Just the fifth child!

Really, I had a dear friend who has five of her own an one on the way ask me this recently. Of course, there are always things that you want to change or do differently or just get new. For the most part this baby could be born and male or female we would have everything we have to have. That is a great feeling! Nothing to do but prepare a closet space and wash all the things, clean the carseat, bring out the tiny baby things that are stored away.... there is some work to do, but nothing we HAVE to buy. Well, maybe diapers.... ;)

As I sit here unable to sleep since 2:35 this morning I thought I would tell everyone my thoughts on what I MIGHT do different this time and some of the things I have already done:

• First and foremost, I want to simplify. The month before I got pregnant I actually made the decision to get rid of some things that I would not want whether we had more children or not. We got rid of a lot of toys just for the sake of decluttering. I want to continue to do this once a season, I think. I also got rid of the Jumparoo, exersaucer, walker, and baby swing. I do plan to buy a newer baby swing, but plan to find one secondhand. I don't think I really need the clutter of all those big toys, though. They really make me crazy. I could possibly get a simple exersaucer, but I am going to give serious thought to doing without it for the sake of less clutter.
• With my second child I had a vintage changing table and loved it. For some reason I got rid of it. I am thinking about buying a white changing table... secondhand, also. I have a plastic organization center I have had since my first child and I think a changing table would be more useful and much nicer.
• As far as clothing goes I have kept the nicest of the girl things and all of my boy stuff was loaned to my cousin who has them boxed up at her house. Either way, we have most all we will need. I will probably buy new onesies, etc.. And we always like to make some new baby things.
• I might consider using some cloth diapers this time. I am a big SKEPTIC of the simplicity of these, but I am trying to be openminded. One of my friends had some given to her and decided it was to good a blessing not to attempt to use and was surprised to find she likes them. I am thinking I might, too.
• Sometime today I am supposed to be contacted about a hospital grade doppler heart monitor that I am buying secondhand. I have wanted one for a few years after the loss of my third pregnancy at 20 weeks. Heck, with all these kids it would have been a great investment a few kids back. I think it is a $600 doppler and I am paying $250. And I can use it on my friends, also. ;)
• I am taking chewable vitamins for me this round after reading the Duggar's book.
• I MIGHT considering using a My Brestfriend for holding while nursing and walking around.
• I will making or purchasing a Moby Wrap.
• Blankets.... have a TON. Blankets are the number one gift people give and after four kids even getting rid of some of the blankets I still have and overabundance. I will probably make or buy one or two new ones just because. As for all other linens... overabundance, as well.
• Mostly, it will be about closet preparation and washing everything that I have. I am going to wait until probably the sixth month to do the washing, so it will be fresh.
• I will not be using baby shampoo or baby soap. I have long since found mild soaps that I prefer to the toxic baby stuff. I no longer use baby powder due to the health dangers. In exteme need I now use corn starch straight from the condiments aisle of the grocery store. I use the mildest lotions (or Arbonne) or pure coconut oil now for my babies. And yes, it is the same coconut oil I cook with. Diaper rash ointments used to be something I slathered on. Desitin was my first choice, but mostly I use vaseline now. I have read recently of the dangers of petroleum based products, so I am looking for an alternative and I am thinking that pure lanolin like the stuff I use for breastfeeding will be my new "ointment".

Mostly, we just need the baby~~~!!!

Breastfeeding Cover FREEBIE

Before today I had never heard of this company, but it is the same kind of thing as Hooter Hiders...

www.uddercovers.com

They sell the breastfeeding coverups that are so popular now.

Anyway, I saw this local informational post saying that you could get one free, so I went to the website to chek it out. I was skeptical, but to my surprise it is absolutely free. You do have to pay $9.95 for shipping and handling, which is a bit high. Still you can't beat it if this is the kind of thing you would use or give as a gift to an expecting friend.

The original cost of the Udder Covers are $29.95, so if you had to pay that plus shipping you would normally pay $39.90 ! With this savings code you can get it for just $9.95 !

CODE: cranberry2

I have no idea how long this code is good for, so you might want to hurry. Also, all of the color choices say they are on backorder until September 15th, but that is not big deal to get a bargain, right?! Anything good is worth waiting for!

The Business of Being Born -- GET EDUCATED !!! THINK !!!

I want to share a link with you that some of you may need to see. It is a movie on YouTube called "The Business of Being Born". You can watch it on YouTube for free or you can buy the movie. This is the link to the first part. It is uploaded in 10 parts by YouTube user "jelenastamb1". And yes, there are other uploads of it, but this is the one I watched.

Also, there are other videos like this on the topic of birth, midwifery, etc. and as I find out about some of those I will share that information. It is time to educate ourselves and stop blindly letting doctors make choices for us. Hospital birth with a doctor present is not the only way. We have been programmed to think that because the era we have grown up has been this way. Amazingly, people are so easy to convince that we should do things the way "someone" says to. We have got to start thinking for ourselves.

Seriously, I just found out some interesting information in the past months:

• Did you know that birth control had it's 50th anniversary this year?! It is really a very new thing. And it was discovered by a man that was trying to develop something for infertility.
• Did you know that public schools are "babies", also?! Two hundred years ago everyone was taught at home.
• Did you know that up until The Depression students only attended school through the 8th grade?! The government changed this. I discovered this only a few weeks ago while reading a book about the Amish.... And did you know that the Amish still only attend school until the 8th grade and then, they train for life skills and how to use their education?!
• Did you know that the food in America has all sorts of strange chemical additives that are illegal in other countries due to the dangers?! In America it does not seem to matter if it will cause you cancer or make you sterile.... or cause birth defects, if it makes your food last longer or taste better.
• In America we choose doctors rights over patient rights.... And I do get that this is partially caused because of a sue happy culture.
• Did you know that the U.S. has the second highest death rate for maternity and birth, yet we trust the doctors to make choices regarding birth for us?! Doctors are for curing diseases and illnesses. Normal pregnancy is not a disease or an illness. We really only need doctors when there is a problem.
• Did you know that birth control, tubal ligation, and vasectomies really will KILL you?! Both are leading causes of cancer. Think! If you cut the vas deferens and the "stuff" that is supposed to flow out can no longer flow out what do you think is happening to it? Is it magically "absorbed" back into the body? Do you really believe that? It stays in the body rotting. The same is true for a woman's fallopian tubes. Where do those eggs go that should be going down and out? Hmmmmm... THINK! You do not want stuff rotting away in you! And birth control pills, IUDs, etc. .... well, when we take meds that disturb the normal cycle of our body and prevent it from doing what it should naturally do should we really be surprised that they are doing our body harm?! I am not saying to use birth control, but if you are going to try to prevent pregnancy use a more natural way... the ovulation method, withdrawal method, condoms, etc.. or ABSTINENCE. ;)

We have to start THINKING!!! Thinking for ourselves! I realize that some of the items in the list above have nothing to do with birth, but they are great points in general about what happens in a society that does not think for themselves.

I have some huge decisions to make about my upcoming birth and I am going to take the next seven months to get educated about MY choices. They are MY CHOICES and am intelligent enough to make them. I am not going to keep letting dangerous decisions be made about my life by people who are not really in my life. I am more than a statistic. I am more than a number in a file system. My body is not a chopping block for doctors to keep hacking away at. I will say this again... there is a point when repeat c-sections become more dangerous than the risk of placental abruption and I passed that risk marker about two c-sections ago. And I have to say that I watched some c-section procedure videos on YouTube, also. They make it look so cute. They don't tell you that they take your uterus out and massage it so it will contract and then stuff it back inside you. They don't tell you about the risk of damage to your bladder and other organs, either. They tell you the part THEY WANT YOU TO KNOW. They tell you it is "the best thing for your baby" and that you "weren't able" to birth your baby or that "the risk of natural birth is too great". They make c-sections look like your safest option to save you and your baby's life! This is how my husband described my first c-section to me, "They gutted you like a deer!" He was so shocked at the way they handled my body and once I was cut open the doctors put their full weight on my upper belly to push the baby out. My body was being jerked around on the operating table as they tugged the baby out. And even I rarely mention the bruises all over the right side of my baby's body from the trauma of removing her "in the safest way". You see, they were afraid she would get stuck in my pelvis and in reality she ended up getting stuck in her unnatural c-section birth. Ironic isn't it? And there was great deal of trauma to my bladder, as well. After removing my catheter I was unable to urinate (Sorry... TMI) until I double over in excruciating pain and a nurse had to come in and replace the catheter and drain like a quart of urine off my unfunctioning bladder. It did eventually regain function.

Maybe I will upload the video of my second child's birth in the future. Wow! That was one for the memories. Pretty scary! If anything would have gone wrong... really wrong... it would have been bad. There was hospital error at every turn of her birth. She and I both are a testament of the body's resilence and God's grace. It started simply enoough with me being wheeled into the operating room and overhearing them say the peditrician's name. I told them that was not my pediatrician. They sent the pediatrician out! Without a pediatrician present! They called in our pediatrician who arrive over five minutes after the birth! My baby lay there unattended by anyone after nurses quickly placed her to the side to get back to attend to me... and I have no idea why there was not a nurse specifically there for my baby. There wasn't and we have the video to prove it. Anyway, before the birth they administered my anathesia in my back. I could feel that the anesthesiologist had gone to the left a bit and I knew something was not right. I did not go numb right away like I had with my first c-section. It took like 20 minutes to start going numb as opposed to my previous that was only seconds. I told them, but they would not listen to me..... until they were operating and I was feeling a lot of the surgery. They still made the comment to my husband that "your wife must have a low tolerance to pain." When they saw the look on his face as he said I had a very high tolerance to pain they began shooting syringes of meds into my IV and literally throwing the syringes as they went. I remember probably six as threw them past my head. They realized in that moment that I was right when I told them that the anesthesia was not working fully. That was my smallest baby, because they took her two weeks early... ya know, the standard for scheduled c-sections. She was not ready for this world and I am really surprised she did not have health issues due to it. For the first few weeks of her life we could not even awaken her for more than 30 minutes a day. All she would do was sleep. I would have to tickle her and unwrap her for nursing sessions to get her started nursing. She still would not awaken and would just sleep through her feeding. Thank God she had the natural instinct to suck and nurse as she slept. She was precious, but she simply was not done and it was obvious. After her birth I was so drugged up from all the extra meds they gave me. I spent a great deal of time throwing up. And have you ever thrown up repeatedly after your abdomen has been cut open? It is quite painful. You be the judge.... does any of this sound like the safest way to birth a baby?

Still, though... I had been convinced I was "defective" and it wasn't until I went into labor with my third child that I start to THINK.... I realized they were wrong and my body DID know how to labor. After three days of attempted induction with my first child the doctors and nurses had convinced me that my body was incapable of the onset of labor, as well as, convincing me that my pelvis was too small anyway. So now at birth number three I knew they were wrong about my body being incapable of the labor, at least. Still I was convinced that they must be right about my defective pelvis. I had started to THINK, but I had no options of my own. I was not allowed to try to labor and birth this baby naturally, either. I was told to get to the hospital immediately for an emergency c-section. I immediately did as I was told and they immediately hooked me up to IVs and monitors and made me lie in bed even though I wanted to be up. My "emergency" c-section was TWO hours later "at their convenience" while I was forced to lay in a bed to labor uncomfortably. I would have handled it much better, if I could have stood up.... but then, they could not "monitor" me. ;) At some point in the middle of a very hard contraction they offered me some drug that would "take the edge off" and before I realized it they had shot it into my IV and I have absolutely NO memory of the next 45 minutes of my life. NO memory of it... they could have done anything to me and I am certain I would have consented because I did not even know who I was. It made me so groggy that I barely even remember the c-section when they got around to doing it. Once again, I ask you do you think this is the best way to birth a baby? There is just too much doctor and nurse intervention. I should have been allowed a trial of labor my way as long as it went well. Knowing what I know now, I would not have gone straight to the hospital. Even if I had to stand out in the parking lot to labor I would have done it.

With my last birth I just did it all once again. By this time it was all an old routine and I took what I had learned and used it to the best I could. I would get through this c-section and go home to my family. But on the operating table all the stress and unexplained anxiety of the last eight months flooded my very being. I was consumed with fear for that moment. That moment that should have been all joy! I was so afraid. For every c-section.... for every major surgery I had one more little person back home needing me... needing me to live .... needing me not to be some statistic of doctor error. I realized that all my misunderstood stress of that pregancy all came down to that moment... surgery. That is the moment I told my husband, "I don't want to do this again." I did get through it and I was a trooper. I had a great anesthiologist that listened to my concerns about my past spinal block not working properly and she gave me stronger meds ... and administered it correctly. ;) I did throw up due to the stronger meds, but I didn't feel it as much. LOL! I was up and moving around that hospital the same day. The nurses were in awe, but I had good meds and I was taking all I could to speed my recovery. And here's a little tip, IF you do have c-sections I have learned that your body can relax and recover quicker if you take the meds. Take the meds! Set an alarm and ask for the meds as soon as you can have them! With my first birth I tried to avoid the meds and had a very difficult recovery. Forget your previous concerns about drug usage and TAKE THE MEDS! With this last delivery I stayed at the hospital alone at night and got a lot of rest and cuddle time with the baby. It was by far my best c-section delivery, but I knew I still did not want to do this again.

Exciting News To Share

Well, I have some very exciting news to share. It seems that there will be a new baby in our home in the Spring. I have been wanting to share for a while, but I have been waiting on the right time. I have been trying to just soak it in and be quiet and still.... waiting to hear from God about every aspect of the situation. When to tell. How much to tell. What birth plan to follow. Who to contact for healthcare. By LMP I am at 10 weeks, which amazingly makes me almost done with the first trimester! Seriously, most moments I still don't fully feel I am expecting. I have had very little nauseau.... so little that it could easily be car sickness or fatigue. My belly has started to bulge, but other than that I have felt pretty normal. Okay.... well, I have been somewhat sleepy, but not like the major sleepies that overtake your very being. And occassionally I get sudden desperate hunger. Overall, though.... I just have not thrown up even once and without that I just do not fully register that I am actually pregnant.



Also, we have not wanted to share the news just yet with anyone, but even waiting on God couldn't keep this news at bay. I guess I'll have to wait on God on all the other issues I listed, because the secret is out. You see.... my momma bumped into me... into my belly... and with a shocked face she said, "Your belly is hard! Are you pregnant?" I tried to laugh it off, but as mothers are she was peristent and asked a few more times! I could not lie. Immediately, she told my daddy. I told them the kids did not know.... and my daddy immediately walked in the house and told the kids that Momma was going to have another baby! Yikes! That was not quite what I had in mind for breaking the news to the kids. Within thirty minutes or so my daddy was on the phone calling anyone he could think of... my brother... he left a message on their voice mail... my cousin, who told my aunt, who told my other cousin, who posted a congratualions on Facebook.... to which the phone rang and another aunt was calling my momma to find out why I was being congratulated! Yikes! I got on the phone and text my husband to tell him to tell his family immediately. You see my mother-in-law was asking a few days prior for some reason and we had managed to avoid a real answer with her. She left with us trying to convince her that it was a silly notion... she wasn't believing us. Seriously, I will never get how people figure these things out so quickly. My friend Michelle dreams that I am pregnant..... my daughter in past pregancies has told me I am pregnant... my aunt and/or cousin always "sense" it and say they already new when they get the news... and my MIL usually has some idea before we break the news. It is just weird... I don't get it... oh and my mother had said, "I had a dream you were pregnant! It was a nightmare!" about a week before I took a test.... Hmmm..... see why we were trying to keep it a secret for a while.



I wish more people got excited for you. All they seem to focus on is the negative... or they fake it! I prefer the latter, but really I know these people and I know they are faking it. ;) And, of course, they assume that it is an unplanned surprise and then, they end up being the ones surprised when I tell them we were not at all surprised. ;) And while we are on that topic.... Where we "plannning or trying" to conceive? Well, we made the decision for me not to have my tubes tied, cut, burned, etc. when Sahara was born. She was my fourth c-section baby. I can tell you that on the operating table I told my husband, "I don't want to do this again." I was talking about surgery. My husband contacted a doctor about a vasectomy and set up a surgery date. I did not want him to have it, but it was not my decision alone to make.... but when the paperwork was mailed to our house I found out that I had to sign on it. I could not do it. I told my husband that I could not do it, but he could forge my signature if he wanted to. He would not do that and realizing how strongly I felt about it he cancelled the surgery. Around the time Sahara turned a year old he began to get that twinkle in his eye. He seems to always fall in love with our babies even more when they are that age and start to think about what another one would be like. I on the other hand was saying no... as I laughed at him. I just did not want to face surgery and adjusting to homeschooling did not seem to be the right time to add to the family either. My ovulation cycle is VERY clear, so I would just avoid him during those times for the most part.



During this time my friend, Michelle, was going through pregnancy and was using a midwife. She had also had four past c-sections, as well as, two vaginal births. I was so happy for her that she was getting to make her own choice and have a VBAC. Her history was c-section, vaginal, vaginal, then hospital/doctor policy changed and she was forced to have c-section, c-section, c-section due to her first baby being a c-section birth. She knew she could birth her own babies, but her choices were not her own to make as long as she used an Obstetrician! She found a midwife that agreed to take her on. Today she has a beautiful six month old baby that she had vaginally as a result! And she paved the way for me! I am truly amazed at the way God works!



As time went on it has become harder to just avoid my husband when I know I am ovulating... and I honestly did not want to. I just did not want another c-section. I began to talk to him about trying a midwife, if one would take me on. He finally said that we could try that if I wanted to.... if we ever had to make that decision. I started slowly educating myself about VBAC, but still was uncertain I could find any midwife that would take me on. You see... my first doctor said that in his opinion I could never have over a five pound baby due to my pelvic size. My babies are all eight pounders!.... and fat even at birth! This is called CPD (Cephalo-pelvic Disproportion) and this made me "defective", which convinced me that I was "defective" and the best choice I could make would be to consent to a c-section so that the baby would not get stuck and die. It is just lovely how they convince you of these things! And in this moment I began to believe that I was one of "those women" that would have died in labor with her baby if it were not for c-sections. And within the next year and a half most hospitals nationwide changed their policies to no VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Casaerean) and this meant that I would HAVE to have c-sections if I wanted more children. All my choices were made for me, but at some point it actually becomes more dangerous to have repeat c-sections and that is where I am now. Four is enough. In saying that I do realize that I could very well have to have another c-section and if it is NECESSARY I would, but this time I am searching out other options.

So, yesterday I went to see a midwife and she did pelvimetry to access my "defective" pelvis. And guess what?! To both our surprise I apparently have a normal pelvis. Not only is it not defective, but it appears to be quite favorable for birthing a child. Plenty of room for a baby to pass through from what the midwife can tell! Click over and read about pelvimetry... it is short, but very interesting about the likelihood of "false diagnosis" and why it is not good to "labor on your back". I linked to the Wikipedia definition as not to give a "biased" definition. You know that if I used a definition off of a midwifery page, then we would all be wondering if it was a "biased" definition and vice versus if I were to use a definition off of an Obstetrician page.


So, now I have some decisions to make. The midwife wanted to pray about it and for me to pray about it. Clearly she is ready to take me on, but she would like to take this first step and I surely wouldn't argue with that. God should be at the head of this decision. And so I wait... to hear from God... for my husband to be on board, because he said he will support my decision.... but, he has to be totally on board... and I need to be in a constant state of prayer over every aspect of this decision. And it is not about "getting my way"... I want to do what is best. I know that God's design is what is best! And He will guide me if I listen. Anyone that feels lead to please pray that we will make the best decisions and in the end God will get the glory and honor.

Frugal Series: Hotels

I haven't done a post in a while on being frugal, so I am thinking that after vacation would be a great time to post about hotels. Now let me explain the difference in being cheap and being frugal in regards to hotels.

Cheap is what we look for when we are just needing a place to pull into around midnight, pass out, and get back on the road the next morning in a hurry. The price can go as low as your imagination allows as long as it is a clean place. In this circumstance I highly recommend that you ask to see the room BEFORE reserving it for the night, if you should find a room for say... $39 or such. Believe it or not there are some decent ones, BUT we typically go the frugal route. Mostly, because it is too hard to find a room that is cheap and clean.

Frugal is when the price may be higher than we want to really spend, but the extras offset the higher cost. For use this means usually paying $60 - $100 a night (usually on the $70 - $80 range). What we look for are hotels that have breakfast included. For our family we would easily spend $20+ if we had to eat out for breakfast the next morning. We also like to have a room with a microwave. We always travel with a cooler, but a mini-fridge is a nice bonus, too. A microwave is great for travel meals. What I mean by "travel meals" are things that our family does not eat a lot of on a normal basis, but can be made quickly, heated up easily, or eaten cold. A few examples are: canned soup, ramen noodles, popcorn, pre-cooked items from home (bbq sausage, etc.), canned veggies, sandwich items, oatmeal, etc.. Another option that is a money saver, but I confess I have not done is to go to a nearby store and buy frozen dinners to heat in the microwave. I am not a fan of these, but sometimes the kids think it is ultra-cool.... for now anyway. Probably twice in my kids existence we have purchased Kid Cuisine meals and they are cheap and highly appealing to children. They get to pick out their own meal complete with dessert, so it is a great way to make eating frugal fun.

The point is it needs to be a great place to stay that caters to families. Last winter the kids and I went with my husband on a short business trip. We stayed in a Hilton in downtown Houston. The staff was so "uppity"... you know... "snobby". Obviously, they are accustomed to serving clients that are there on business, but acted like the kids were a foreign species. We walked up to a pastry counter and, as kids will do, mine put there hands on the glass and peered in. They were in sheer delight and awe until the lady behind the counter asked them to not touch. Seriously, I know they probably left a handprint or two, but what kid would not touch the glass. Rude... rude is the word and disrespectful of children. I felt like my kids could not speak while we were there. That is just not the type of place I want my children in. Also, there were no microwaves and no breakfast included. There was a mini-fridge and it was stocked with drinks and snacks, but the prices were outlandish.

This past weekend I had to choose between the convenience of being on-sight at the THSC Conference hotel or staying at a more family friendly hotel down the road. I am so glad that we chose to stay off-sight at The Best Western Woodlands. They had a nice warm pool outside. I say this because many of the more expensive hotels we have stayed in have indoor pools, but are often chilly. We appreciated the warmth. We had a microwave in our room and a mini-fridge. Our room had free Wi-Fi internet, iron and ironing board, blow dryer, tissues, coffee and coffeemaker, soap dispenser, as well, as soap and shampoo dispensers in the shower. There was nothing missing that we could have needed. The breakfast included homemade Texas shaped waffles, scrambled eggs, sausage, biscuits, gravy, various jellies, plain and blueberry bagels, toast, danishes, mixed tropical fruit, four cereal choices, 2% and whole milk, orange and apple juice. On one of the days the sausage and gravy were replaced with hashbrowns and grits to give some variety. If you did not have your own computer the hotel also provided one in the lobby for their guests. The staff was friendly and always nice to our children. And this is our experience at all such similar hotels. Two other hotels we stayed in this Summer were equally as great, so I want to mention them, also. The Holiday Inn Express and The Hamilton Inn.... these two were a little more upscale having all white super soft bedding and choices of soft and firm pillows, but the hospitality and family friendly atmosphere was there.

There are so many great hotels that are like this. Comfort Suites, Days Inn, and many others should get a mention. Make sure on your next trip you consider all these factors. The ONLY drawback for our family was having to commute daily to our conference. We were two overpasses away... a mere 15 minutes including parking the car in the free parking garage at the conference site. Not only do I feel we were good stewards of our money with this choice, but our kids experienced a good family friendly staff at our hotel.

Stuffing Six Into A Hotel Room With Two Beds

We are back from the THSC Homeschool and Family Conference and mostly unpacked. Oh yeah... I remembered what I was missing in the packing... and before we left. Yeah! It was a sleeping bag. When you have four kids and two adults to stuff in a room you have to have some extra bedding or two rooms. Since my children are so young there is no way we are opting for the extra room option. Even if we had two adjoining rooms I would not be able to rest with the possibility that one of them could just wonder out of the room. What we do for now is usually create some bedding or use a sleeping bag on the floor for my three year old. But you have to make it feel special! So this time I moved a chair out of the corner and put a sleeping bag folded into fourths in the corner. I then moved the chair back up to it to enclose it in like his own little room and told him he had his own little "man cave". He loved it and thought he had the most special bed in room! I soon realized that his corner bed was beside a nightstand that made it even more cave-like. He truly thought this was the coolest bed ever and would beg to stay in there. After awakening one night and getting in bed with us he soon realized he was not in his "man cave" and cried to go back there where he promptly fell right back to sleep.

Normally, we put Sahara in the bed with us. This time the room had a little bench seat in the foyer of the room. So, we moved our bed over a few inches and slid the bench in like a co-sleeper. We pushed the bed up firmly and used an extra blanket from the hotel room closet for more padding. It made the perfect little bed for her. The first night she crawled off the end and went walking and I awoke in horror to her screaming and looking for us. I retrieved her quickly and cuddled her into our bed and she fell right back to sleep. On the second night I just pulled her into bed with us from the beginning, but to my amazement on the third night she slept in her little bed ALL NIGHT LONG. Seriously, you have to know that this is a girl that is quite use to her place cuddled alongside her Momma in bed. She must have been exhausted! Hmmmm.... I guess a day a waterpark, followed by three days at conference, ending with a evening concert will do that to a girl. ;)

Anyway, I just accidentally "published" this unfinished post, so I will quickly rap this up. The older girls (six and nine) shared a bed and me and my husband shared a bed. Of course, part of the time we shared our bed with the kids, but hey... we had some moments with only three or two of us in the bed.