Secondhand Living and Loving It

We buy so many things secondhand.  It is a necessity for us since we live on a meager income for our family size. Ultimately, God has always provided for us because the numbers would never make sense otherwise.  God has given me wisdom in the area of finances and I have seen through the years how he blesses my family.  I have learned that waiting is a blessing.  Sometimes it is not always a joy to wait when the item seems needed but many times I have seen The Lord bless me more for the sacrifice.  Sometimes we want to run out and buy an item when we feel we "need" it.  We grow impatient with our wanting.  When we stop and ponder if it something we really need or not most of the time it can wait.  

My most recent example of this is our "new to us" refrigerator. Being that our other home was a turn of the century home we had to have a certain refrigerator to fit.  The good news was it was the cheapest type refrigerator you can buy!  The bad news is that there were really no frills.  But seriously, do we need frills?  No, we needed a working fridge that did it's job.  And, that is exactly what we had.  Years ago my first fridge was one I purchased from a co-worker for $50 and it served me well for several years. When it went out we purchased a truly new one.  It lasted many years but when it was time to replace it I bought secondhand.  I think I paid $150 for one exactly like I had!  This was a huge blessing because ad I said before I had to have a certain size for my space.  Meanwhile, I dreamed about one of those with the freezer in the bottom... not at all something I "needed" but I wondered if it might make life easier if my little ones could reach the ice.  Well, now we have moved and even though it is a much smaller house we have a little more flexibility on the type of refrigerator we can have since there are not built in cabinets above the fridge area.  I began once again to dream if one if those freezer-in-the-bottom style fridges, again.  For a little while I was diligently searching for one secondhand but it truly was not a "need" so I decided that waiting was a better option... I certainly would not be buying a used one and paying $1,300 for it. I knew if I waited that God would work it out... and part if that is accepting that the way He works it out sometimes means not getting it at all.  Fast forward to now.  We have lived in our "new to us" home for three months now and I really had settled into not changing the refrigerator... even though every time you open the door of the fridge it bangs into the kitchen island and creates huge traffic flow issues in the kitchen.  Meanwhile, my husband keeps browsing these local for sale by owner Facebook groups and a few nights ago he came across a side by side fridge for $350.  I was leery.  First of all, I did not want to spend the money I had poked back.  Secondly, I needed to take measurements to make sure it would even fit (which I suspected it would not).  And lastly, I did not know if it would even solve or help with our traffic flow problem or if the doors would still hit the island.  The lady immediately dropped her price to $300 without us even asking her to.  We started measuring and thinking it through and decided to buy it.  

And, it has all worked out!!!! I should not be so surprised... God always works this stuff out. I did spend that money that was poked back.  The fridge did fit (even though it was a challenge to get it in and through doorways).  And, it did solve our traffic flow problem and does not hit the island when you open doors.  Not only did all that work out I realized that the freezer-in-the-bottom style I had been dreaming of would have had the same problems with the doors hitting the island.  God worked us out a much better one.  I have found when I sacrifice that he has always blessed me exceedingly above what my desires are.  This one allows more fridge space and more freezer space.  It has the ice and water in the door and is even filtered water.  The water reservoir is in the fridge portion so the water is even chilled when you dispense it! My littles will be able to serve themselves when they are thirsty... and, there is a child lock feature to keep them from serving themselves too often (aka playing with the "magic" water/ice dispensers).  This thing is the cadillac of refrigerators. It has a button to "power freeze" when you bring in not so chilled groceries.  And, it beeps when the door is open too long.  Interestingly, like that fridge I was "dreaming" about it retails for about $1,300.  So, waiting got us a better item and saved us $1,000.

Many people will never understand it (and that is okay), but we are secondhand living and loving it.  

Making It Ours: Kid Bathroom

The house we moved to has only two bathrooms.  Our other house had two and half baths.  This is not a big deal for us because the half bath rarely got used anyway.  I think two bathrooms is plenty for a family of seven.  We stagger baths/showers anyway and it is rare that everyone has to go potty at once.  For those times they just have to learn to wait in line just like anywhere else you might be.  

When we bought this house the smaller bathroom had nothing but a tub in it.  The toilet and vanity had been removed and the linoleum floor was in good shape but was older and yellowed.  The walls are bead board and were white but in need of touch up, so I painted over it all to freshen it up. 

This is a before pic... The hole in the floor is where a toilet should be.  

This is where a vanity should have been with the toilet beside it .  You can see the yellowed linoleum floor that was still functional but not appealing.  

We have lived here three months now and I still have more to do, but I thought I would share the progress since I did some more work on this bathroom today.  

Of course, we started by adding new linoleum, a vanity, and a toilet.  I chose to use contrasting dark colors rather than have complete whiteness all around.  I had the mirror but it had a light oak frame so I gave it a quick brush over with a thick coat of dark stain.  I also decided on the bronze faucet even though the shower has silver.  I would love it to match, but I am not changing it out.  I can live with it.  Just today I added the toilet paper shelf.  I have been trying to figure out what to do with this shelf since we moved here.  I had no plan to use it in the bathroom but after pouring through pics on Pinterest today I decided to see if it would work.  I had thought the shelves would not be deep enough but it seems they will work after all.  

This is close-up and you can see the top to the little hot pink garbage can below.  

We had this picture from our other house.  I love this!  Look close and you can see the frogs on the lily pads are a prince and princess.  I love the castle far off in the distance and the weeping willow tree.  The frame is distressed making it a bit shabby chic.  This is a rare item I did not bargain shop for.  Years ago I actually spent about $50 on this little art piece.  If you know me, you know that is a big deal.  All the other accent pieces were bargains... and, things I keep repurposing for new uses.  

I hung these cute little scalloped square shelves today, but I still need to figure out what will set there.  The old school folding hat hanger makes a great towel hook for multiple towels.  I spray painted it white years ago and we used it as a necklace holder in our kid bathroom at the house.  

Years ago I made this patchwork froggy shower curtain making sure it could work for a unisex bathroom.  The little baskets in the window were probably a dollar and I bought the little wooden duck and frog cutouts already painted for cheap at the craft store and just glued them on.  The shower hooks and froggy accent pieces are items I had already.  If you could see it all there are ducks, frogs, and turtles that are so very cute.  

The next project on the agenda will go on this blank wall.  I am designing a large family toothbrush organizer to go here for all my children.  You can not see in these pics but we still have to solve a light fixture issue and I want to add shelves of sime sort (probably something unique and shabby chic) above the toilet for towel storage and such.  

So, this is just a glimpse at how we are making this smaller house work for our larger than average family.  My biggest tips for making small spaces work is to think practical in bathrooms.  Everything needs to function and not just be pretty.  The little buckets in the window hold washcloths... and I never even fold thosewashclothes.  We just stuff them in there and this saves time on laundry.  There is a small ceramic frog trash can in this room that is not pictured and it holds panties for my youngest that has accidents frequently.  Towel bars are a waste when only one or two towels can be hung on them.  Use pegs or hooks for multiple towels and robes.  Use the back of the door in a useful way... maybe for robe hooks or a hanging organizer.  In our other house I had a now and hair clip holder on the back of the door.  Skip the single toilet paper roll holder and go for a basket, shelf, etc. that can hold more.  I don't use a holder because my littles will unroll it all once they realize the magic of that.  Add shelves inside your vanity cabinet that will hold toothbrushes, hairbrushes, etc.. Having a well organized space can make even a small space work for larger families.  

Crossing Off My To Do List: Countdown to Summer

We are still chugging along with our "school year" at the Swafford house and we are counting down to the lazier days of Summer.... which don't seem like they are going to be very lazy.  Sigh.  So, I thought I would share my To Do List here.  This just has the big stuff on it.  If I listed everything this would never be ready to post.  In fact, I actually wrote this post a few weeks back and have gotten some things done already.  As time goes I will post updates and I will add those things in colors to make the new things more obvious.  This might be fun to see. 

Homeschool:

Finishing off the current curriculum...

- Savannah 
        - Math

- Sierra

- Caden

- Sahara 

- Sienna

Assessing ordering for next year:

- Savannah 

- Sierra

- Caden

- Sahara 

- Sienna

Organizing Books & Supplies:

- Individual Crates (Mobile School)

- Storage of Past Materials

Planning Getaways:

- Schlitterbahn Trip (trying to determine a date)

- THSC Convention
       - Register for convention
       - Hotel Reservations

- Camping (if we move, we might be doing some extreme camping... lol)

Registering for Summer Activities:

- VBS

- Bible Bee (decided to hold off on this activity due to cost... maybe next year)

Vehicle Maintenance:

- Van Oil Change

- Van missing piece

- Bus Tires

- Tahoe Oil Change, tune-up

Moving:
- Buying the other house
- Selling the current house

'Tis the Season to.... Reevaluate Your Plans

'Tis the season to run craZy... fa la la la la...la la la la!  

'Tis also the season to reevaluate whatever plan one thought might be doable this season.

I had planned on having my kids all do their schooling this week, but I made a decision last night to stop that part of the madness so we can get a little "Christmas spirit" going on around here.  I have to admit all the Christmas festivities that used to get me in the spirit now seem to zap the spirit right out of me.  There is just so much to juggle ...and so much to forget.  I seriously forgot a baby shower Sunday afternoon that was very important to me.  I fully intended to attend it.  I even picked up a portion of the gift on Thursday while we were out attending a Christmas musical production and I picked up the second portion of the gift during a late night run to pick up photos on Friday night.  By Saturday it was all still on my mind.  By Sunday it had totally left my brain.  I was tired and still had a full day ahead and after church I came in, layed down on my couch, and totally forgot I had somewhere to be.  Totally.  

This really bothers me because I know I am going way too much and there is too much going on if I can not remember something like this.  This baby will be my lifelong friend's newest nephew.  His father is the baby we took care of played with in our pre-teen years and was our own personal real life doll.  I had every intention of celebrating this long awaited little one.  The parents have been married for several years before deciding they were ready to start this chapter of their lives.  This for me was something I wanted to be a part of.

Alas, exhaustion took my brain away.  ;)   We have actually been "stepping on toes" with many of the activities we have been declining.  I have declined a lot lately to try to save sanity, but there is only so much you can cut back on.  I am not even going to go through my past week... or the week before, but I will say that by Wednesday I was tired enough to stay home from church while everyone else went.  

Thursday morning I had organized a group to attend a Christmas production at noon about an hour away.  Originally, we were told the date was the previous week, so this now conflicted with and appointment I had scheduled which I had to reschedule later in the day.  So, I got up that morning and drug my kids out the door by 9:30 a.m., made the one hour drive to that town, did a little shopping for an hour in an attempt to find my daughter a warm coat (which is proving to be more difficult that one would expect), arrived at the theater, parked, had a little quick lunch picnic on the lawn, organize my attendees, viewed our showing, took a quick pic (coming soon on another blog post), shuttled my four oldest children off with a friend to take back to another friend's house in our town, and loaded me and my little one in the car for another 2 hour drive to some appointments.  Taking the two year old with me was necessary because my friend could not fit all my kids and her two in her car.  I have got to tell you what I delight it is to stop on the side of a freeway for potty breaks for a potty training little one.  And when I thought I would make a quick stop for gas at a drive thru gas station that little one announced she needed to poop which she was unwillingly to do on her potty in my van (probably a good thing... but I was wanting to hurry), so we had to go in the convenience store, have a potty adventure (because kids love restrooms) and piddle around a bit before getting back on that road.  We proceeded on to our two appointments and headed back home sometime after dark, stopped at a yummy little Mexican restaurant for a dinner for TWO (amazingly weird for me) and got back on the road, Sienna fell asleep around 8:00 p.m., I made phone calls (because it is so weird to be in a quiet car alone), and I arrived home at 9:00 p.m. just in time to say goodnight to my other kiddos.  

I was too tired on Friday and could seriously have cared less what my kids were doing as far as school, so we took the day off... from everything... including a family birthday party out of town that night.  It would have had us getting home at 11:00 p.m..  

Saturday came and it was a back-to-back busy day from the start which is why we did not do the party the night before.  We were out the door by 8:30 a.m. for the kids to sing with our homeschool choir in a nearby town at the county Angel Tree event for less fortunate families.  We were there until almost noon and then, headed back to our town for our annual Christmas festival.  We wandered around there for a couple of hours and Cody took the little ones back to the house.  The two older girls and I walked home and stopped in at my neighbor's Open House Christmas party for an hour.  We came home to find everyone feeling quite happy to be home and we all sat around enjoying that... for about 30 minutes before we had to pile back in the car to head to another Open House type Christmas party for our church youth workers.  We hung out there for about an hour and a half and headed home.  Again, we came in the house, got settled in, glued our rear ends to the couches and almost skipped the rest of the evenings events..... BUT we pulled ourselves up off the couches and headed out, AGAIN to attend the lighted Christmas parade.  I confess we did skip driving across town to participate in our own church ministry activity (serving hot choc and cider and handing out Bibles), but we were tired and we stuck to our normal tradition that we have done for as long as I can remember.  We walked the two blocks from our house to the parade and went to the church by our house that ministers in a similar way.  We were partakers and we were blessed.  We were blessed to have lunch and dinner provided for us on this day.  

Sunday came with the same promise of fullness.  This is the day our Children's Ministry has spent the season preparing for.  This is the day that requires all those Christmas songs they were singing back in September.  ;)  Not only did we have our regular church morning activities and had to be out the door by 9:30 a.m. we were picking up a homeless family to take to church.  Of course, this was a blessing to do.  I confess I do not always think ahead when I am tired.  In church I found myself realizing that I should have planned to provide this family a good lunch after church.  Fortunately, there is an amazing couple at our church that has been wanting to take us out to eat for over a year and they ask us ALL to lunch at a local restaurant.  What a blessing that was to me knowing I should have thought to plan.  My nine year old had to stay at the church the entire day for rehearsals, so she missed out on this and I felt sad for her that she was working away and we were eating out.  Anyway, we all went to eat and then we took the family back to the motel room that is being provided for them temporarily.  Getting a table for 14 in a busy restaurant took quite a while, so we left there about 2:00 p.m..  We headed home, chilled for about an hour, and then, my seven year old son had to be taken to the church for his portion of rehearsals for the play (fortunately my husband ran this errand alone).  We stayed home until about 5:15 p.m. before kicking ourselves back into action.  We loaded up, Cody dropped me at the church to do hair-do duty, he ran to pick up the homeless family so they could attend, and met us back at the church in time for the play at 6:00 p.m..  After the play was over we all went for some fast food and took the little family back to their room for the night and we headed home.  Time to fall into bed!!!  Yipppeeee!!! 

And that brings us to today... no real plan here, but I can say this we need some REST.  Everyone is loafing about aimlessly... yes, aimlessly with little direction.  We had breakfast very late (like brunch time) and at 1:30 p.m. we have yet to have lunch.  That is next on the agenda... really... I promise...  I am lacking in motivation.  So, now it is time to get moving a bit, again.  The new plan is to spread some Christmas cheer around here... do some crafty things, make junky Christmas crafts, make some homemade gifts,do some little kid schooling, and skip the bigger kids schooling stuff and let them help me do the little kids' stuff with them.  

School is out and Plan B is in session because we have another busy week coming up.  Tonight is basketball practice for two of my kids (2 hours), Tuesday is singing with our homeschool choir at two nursing homes and having a Christmas party.  Wednesday my seven year old son has a serious dental appointment where they will be drugging him out pretty hard.  That night we have a Happy Birthday Jesus party at the church for the littler ones and a Youth group party for the older ones.  I think the rest of the week is open, but I am probably just being hopeful. 

Getting the Laundry Done and Methods to the Madness!

First of all, is it ever really done?  Not for more than a few minutes it seems.  And this has always been hard for me since I grew in a home of four people...  Yes, the perfect little American dream family with one girl, one boy, and a set of parents.  Laundry was done on one day of the week usually and consisted of probably four or five loads total.  Well, how's that for a reality killer when you have a family of seven?!!  I can remember there was always a load of jeans, a load of whites, a load of colors, sometimes a small load of reds, and a load of towels, etc..  Mine is quite different!  Ha!

I have tried many methods to tackle the madness of laundry.  And yes, I have even tried seeing it as a joyful opportunity to serve my family.  That's beautiful in theory, but in the interest of true realness it is a task that must be done.  Some aspects of it are fine.  Some or not.  I don't like putting it away and some of that is because I can not reach well to do so.  I seriously can not reach my own top rack to hang my shirts.  It aggravates me.  And it is what it is and it must be done so I disperse some of those jobs to help me survive the madness.  So, here are some methods I have tried:

• Doing laundry everyday...  EVERYday doing a task you do not enjoy is well... depressing.  Kudos to those of you that do it that way and it works well for you.  It makes me sad.  Seriously... and I know that is comical, but why on earth would I want to do the thing I dislike the most everyday of my life?!!  It is simply not necessary and it creates constant chaos for me.  I can not stand to have laundry all over my house in piles and that seems to be what happens with the everyday method.  And I think everyone seems to create more laundry this way.  
•  Doing laundry once a week... I love this method.  The problem is that it works really good for small families and not so much for larger families unless you want to do laundry the WHOLE day long.  Being that there are other things in life that happen in one day this method does not work because at the end of 14 or so loads of laundry you are pretty tired.... or it does not get completed.
• Doing laundry for two days in row... This is better, yet then you have two almost full days of laundry going on.  It's better and I have been using this method for a while and it ends up being Thursday and Friday that I do this or I do it on Friday and Saturday.  Basically, more often than not laundry runs into the weekend when hubby is off and wanting to enjoy life.  Guess what?  Laundry hinders that.  
• Doing laundry during the weekdays with a sort of "system" or "plan"...  This is the method that is working for me right now.  As with all things this is working for my current season, but may not in a future season.  We must always assess our current season of life and be ready to change... and change... and change... Hahahhhhhaaa!  I decided I really do not want to do laundry on the weekends if not necessary since it takes away from enjoying Saturday.  And I don't want to do laundry on Sundays as I feel it is not necessary work and takes away from our day of rest... not that we rest.  Rest is work or a project in my eyes.  ;)   So, on Monday morning I start the laundry and the goal is to conquer what is there with exception to my husbands laundry and that is because I want full loads and I do his laundry completely separately.  By Thursday or Friday he usually has two full loads... one of pants and one of shirts.  That works out well.  Okay... I was not going to say this, but I know there are some they may wonder why I do all his laundry separate... man smells and oils.  I am not wanting this to seem ugly, so don't twist it to be as such, please.  Simply... the oils in his clothes get in our clothes and we smell like a man.  Not what I want... so I do his separately.  Also, his clothes are huge!  He is 6'2"and a muscular guy.  Six pairs of pants and you have a Extra Large Capacity washer load full.  We have several hampers placed strategically throughout the house:
•   There is one hamper in the kids small bathroom.  This has a mix of most everyone's clothing in it.  
• All towels hang on wall hooks to dry and then, are moved to a large cabinet in the master bathroom where there are two mesh hampers (one for whites, one for colors) and they only contain washclothes, towels, and sometimes sheets).  Sheets are washed as needed when needed and usually because someones wets a bed or it is simply time for washing.  I should have a system for this, but they get washed and for now it works.  
• In the family closet are two large laundry baskets on wheels (one for hubby, one for everyone else).
•  So, this sort of how I am doing laundry these days:
•  Monday:  I get the hamper out of the small bathroom and the "everyone" hamper out of the family closet.  This is usually 2-3 loads.  I start with this.  I save the "hubby" hamper for Thursday.  I assess what is in the two mesh hampers and usually it would be a full load together, but separately they would be really small loads.  I save that up for larger loads.  We re-use towels some so they do not accumulate as fast.  So, Monday usually entails about 2-3 loads which I separate out all pants to one load and do 1-2 loads of other clothing.  I do separate out hand washables for later and they get done whenever and whatever day I feel like it.  
• Tuesday-Wednesay:  I just assess it as needed.  These days are more random, but usually include, at least, one full load of random clothes each day and getting the two loads of towels (towels & whites) done.  It is just whatever needs done.  
• Thursday:  This is the day to sort of "try to get it all done" (bwahhhhahhaa) or really to a certain level of completion going into the weekend.  The goal is to leave little to do on Friday, none on Saturday and Sunday.  This is the day to start my husbands clothes going.  It is usually only two loads, but again there is usually another load of everyone clothing, possibly some soiled sheets, and possibly more towels.  
• Extras:  Anytime we have a rainy day my kids make wet laundry for me.  Yes, as long as it is not thundering and lightening and they can tolerate the temperature they are allowed to play in the rain.  It is one of their favorite things to do.  It is a special event at our house which creates a special laundry event of wet clothes and towels for me to do.  Anytime someone wets a bed... special laundry moment.  Anytime there is swimming... towels... special laundry moment.  Anytime a potty trainer is in the house (I have one now!)... special laundry moment.  You get the point.  It truly is madness, but we get it done.  And everyone works on it.  Yes, even the little ones.  And this is how they help:
•  Sienna ,2, can find her panties in the pile and put those in her panty basket in the little bathroom.  She can attempt to fold washclothes.  
• Sahara, 5, can pick her underwear out and put those in her panty basket in the little bathroom.  She can fold washclothes and attempt to fold towels.  She can put her folding clothes away which include pants/jeans and night clothes.  Sometimes we put her clothes on hangers, but have her hang them.  This is hard for her, though
• Caden, 7, can pick his underwear out and put those away.  He can fold washclothes and attempt to fold towels.  He can put his folding clothes away which include pants/jeans and night clothes.  We put his clothes on hangers, but have him hang them.  This is hard for her because he does not want to do it.  He is capable and is learning.  
• Sierra, 9, helps fold and sort everything else.  She can put things on hangers, but is not a good judge of hanger sizes just yet.  She helps put mostly her own things away, but can do others, also.
• Savannah, 12, helps fold and sort everything else, also.  She is the best at helping with laundry since she is the oldest.  I try not to overwhelm her with doing too much of it, though.  She can do it all.  Does that mean she should?  I don't think so.  Cody and I are the parents and the children are not our slaves, but they are required to do a fair share.  The key here is a "fair" share.  Sometimes that is hard to judge in a larger family.  Some days require more of their help and some days I try to do the most of it, so they can do other things. 
• Getting behind & playing catch-up:  I want to add this last issue because we all get behind sometimes.  When you have seven people and you get behind on laundry you are looking at one huge laundry day or possibly a week of several smaller loads.  
• One great way to "fix it quick" is to play a three hour trip to the laundromat.  We have done this and it works great because you get it all done and you can take it home and put it all away.  It is constant unstopping work for those three hours with little break time if any.  I start by sorting.  Pick out all the jeans and quickly start those loads.  Use the largest washers for the quickest solution.  While those jean loads are going start sorting the rest however you prefer and start those loads.  As a washer finishes put those in dryer.  Because everything goes in a little at a time you are going to be in constant work mode more than likely.  As a dryer finishes up fold and sort.  Make sure you are sorting for the easiest put away effort once you get it all home.
• If you want to stay home, I recommend sorting into easy to fold categories:  jeans/denim (if you have a ton you may want to sort by person even like me doing my husbands all as one load; pajamas (I do this often.  Yes, sometimes we have a full load of all jammies!  I include underwear in this load); all a specific color towel (We have green, teal, and white.  I separate out white.); etc..  Seriously, if you can do a whole load of underwear, then do that.  When you have it simple it makes it mindless and you can get it done quicker.  You do have to invest a little more time in the sorting task at the beginning, but it pays off in the end.  

So, this is how we get it done in our little larger-than-average-size-family!  I know it is not an exciting topic, but a I hope it helps someone get their laundry days done better or allows those of you with smaller families a peek into how a bigger family gets it done.  

And this is kind of my theory on laundry... and therefore, what drives me actually get it done:

Egg-strodinary!!

Over the last month we have gottne some unusual eggs around here and I thought I would talk about them and what I have learned (or think I have learned... LOL). 

Before I get started I want to talk about the latest change I have made because I know you are likely to notice in the picture and wonder.  I have started dating my eggs with a "grease pencil" with the month/date to make sure I do not get the eggs mixed up and use up the fresher eggs first.  You could use a common crayon and if you do I would use a brand like Crayola that is American made and states that it is "non-toxic".  If you notice on the egg below I also made a question mark because I was not sure what we had here.  It was too early to be getting duck eggs, but this egg was quite a bit larger than the others.  My guess was:

A DOUBLE YOKER !!!

 ~~Sierra modeling the eggs~~

 ~~And this is a stovetop comparison because I think you can tell more about the size this way.~~

~~And YES, my guess was right.  We had a DOUBLE YOKER!~~

What I learned:  That there is really no certainty about why some hens will lay a double yoker.  For some reason as the egg is develop in the hen two eggs come down at the same time and get encased within one egg.  I am not worried about this except that if it continues I would be concerned that it might be exhaustive to the hen and harder for her to lay.  But hey!... twins are born everyday, right!?

 ~~This one is an EGG WITHOUT A SHELL.~~

What I have learned:  Well, there is a lot of information about this and some people think this is a deficiency in the hen, such as, lack of calcium or other issue.  I read beyond that and found information that said that it is not likely to be a health issue, but rather that the hen could have been traumatized during the process of the egg development.  Look at those sweet children at the very top of my blog.  I bet you wouldn't guess they would EVER traumatize a chicken.  LOL!  Oh yes, I am certain that any such defect in an egg is more likely to be a traumatized hen than any other possibility.  They are not supposed to chase the chickens, but they do and catch them and love on the and throw them in the air to see them fly (all when they don't think anyone is watching, of course).  Fortunately, they mostly listen and don't do these things, except when they get caught up in a moment of excitement and forget the rules. 

No Pic because you could not tell by looking and the only other thing is to include a pic of a cracked egg on the ground.  :)

~~The last thing I will talk about is THIN SHELLED EGGS....~~

What I have learned:  These eggs are so thin that they crazk in your hands when you try to pick them up.  I have a few of these, but still nothing excessive.  Thin shelled eggs are a calcium deficiency.  The cure is to provide more calcium for the chickens.  This can be done several ways, but the one that seems easiest is to provide the chickens with a dish of Oyster Shell.  I think you could save money by allowing your empty egg shells to dry out and crush them to tiny bits for the hens.  Also, it is wise to make sure you are providing your hens with enough protein (use Laying Pellets, etc.).

 Before I close I also want to state that I track my egg counts on my calendar.  From this I can tell if our production changes... or if I need to go an egg hunt.  In general we get one egg per chicken a day.  Sometimes on or two of them do not lay an egg.  When we are short more than two for more than one day I know that I need to search for a hidden nest.  Recently, we have moved our chickens and ducks around a lot and I am getting very inconsistent egg counts.  At first the hens were hiding their eggs.  Now they are in their coop/run more and this trains them to lay in their nest.  Still our egg counts are down and I think it is due to the trauma of the moving. 

That's all for now!

Meal Planning Thoughts and My Crazy Whims -- UPDATE #2

I think I should make this a series.  it could be quite comical!!  While many of you are very successful at meal planning, I am just not.  I am a complete failure in this area.  Even when I have a great plan I manage to completely get off track.  This week has been the PERFECT example.  And I don't use that word lightly.... PERFECT.... I could not have gotten further off the meal plan (or life plan for that matter) if I WAS TRYING TO.  LOL!  So, I am going to copy and paste in the meal PLAN that I made for this past week.  I am going to type in another color the REALITY of the situation.  You will see... it is quite insane... and comical really.  Here goes:

• Monday -- Chicken Fried Steak, Scrambled Eggs, Mashed Potatoes, Brocolli, and White gravy (*we have lots of eggs to use up and scrambled eggs are yumm-O alongside Chicken Fried Steak... and if you have never tried that then, YOU SHOULD)
• Mondays REALITY --  I took out my Cube Steak to thaw, but apparently not early enough because when dinner time came it was frozen still.  {sigh}  So, here I go trying to pull another QUICK dinner off.  Cody had bought some Zummo Sausage that he loves, so that now made it to the menu.  I started my veggies on the stove... steamed brocolli, green beans, and corn and then fired up the grill.  I put regular sausage with BBQ sauce on the grill and the unsauced Zummos on.  See... nothing at all like the plan.  And guess what folks?  Now, I have partially thawed Cube Steak that is going to have to be cooked this week.  So, the plan will be to change the Tuesday menu... ahhhh... but watch what happens.
• Tuesday -- Homemade Pizza Party & Salad (Sierra has been requesting this and I keep forgetting. She got a little set from her MiMi for her birthday last month that has little aprons, hats, etc. for four kids to decorate and use. She will be happy, happy, happy!)
• Tuesdays REALITY -- Well, now we NEED to use that Cube Steak don't we?  Sierra little pizza night is out the window for now and it is a good thing she has not seen this menu plan.  Oh, but guess what?  I checked my email and see that I had forgotten about an event.  We could go tour a small dairy farm operation tonight.  TONIGHT!  So, I realize that if we are going to do the dairy farm we better do it or risk losing the chance.  We need to leave the house at 2:30 and plan to be gone until bedtime.  Ohhh... that soooo kills the meal plan.  Ha!  And not only that we need a quickly planned picnic of peanut butter sandwiches and snacks.  Not to awesome, but it had to be that way.  We did come home and have some quick burgers via fast food before heading off to bed.   
• Wednesday -- QUICK MEAL -- Pork Chops, Green Beans, Carrots, Mac-n-Cheese (and rolls if I remember)
• Wednesdays REALITY -- Well, that Cube Steak has GOT to be cooked.  And it is totally not a Wednesday night "quick meal", but we are going to change some things and do it anyway.  So, I decide not to spend time peeling potatoes and this is what we had: Chicken fried steak, white gravy, scrambled eggs, and green beans.  But this was a big pack off meat and there is more off it to cook, so that is going to change tomorrows plan as well.  ;)
• Thursday -- Fried Fish, Rice dish, Some veggie, corn hush puppies (We have access to a lot of fish... free... so I need to really cook it once a week. I forget... which stems from so many pregnancies and the concern for mercury in fish.)
• Thursdays REALITY -- I HAD TO use that meat... Otherwise, I would have thrown it away after today.  It was still fresh.... no funky smell whatsoever (I have a serious phobia of meat over 3 days).  So, I sliced it up into strips and cut those small to make Beef Tips.  So, we had beef tips with rice, brocolli, and crescent rolls.  I think Cody had a burger because he forgot to tell me he would be gone.  This happens, at least, once a week.  I tell him to write it on the calendar, but he just forgets.  So, he missed out on a great dinner that the kids devoured.  Poor daddy!
• And the rest of this week... below (Friday-Sunday).  I can just tell you... it is not going to happen like this.  I will either fix these meals OR one of the meals that was originally scheduled for a previous day.  {sigh} ... and life goes on. 
• Friday -- Co-op Day -- Taco Salad and Chile con Queso with chips (As I look at this I notice that this is wrong anyway.  Co-op is next week.  But we also now have someone stopping by for help with a sewing project and some other company coming for the evening.  Yep, this meal will change.  laughing..... )
• Saturday -- Last Days of Christ - Might want to go out to eat nearby (Now this one might actually happen, especially since I plan to spend the day gardening.  laughing some more!!!)
• Sunday -- Baked Chicken with potatoes/carrots/onions and seasoned juices with brown rice, homemade bread/rolls (maybe...... we'll see!  crazy me laughing some more...)

Is that not the cRaZiEsT thing ever?!!!!  I don't think it is possible to deviate further from a plan, but such is my life.  We are "whimish" type people.  I want to be able to be flexible, but sometimes it leaves me crying.  This week I was fine... no tears over it, but other times this would have had me at my breaking point.  I still PLAN to keep making a meal PLAN, but I can tell you that I would not have changed this week.  Well, if that meat would have thawed out on day one that would have been great.  It is likely that I would have MOSTLY followed the plan, but I had to use that meat after thawing it.  And that Tuesday night dairy farm event was awesome.... great friends, great fellowship, great time meeting the most hospitable people I have EVER met, great learning opportunity, and great day venture.  I would trade a million yummy meal plans for peanut butter sandwiches for opportunities and evenings like that one!!!

Scheduled Posting

I really struggle with time and blogging.  Lately, I am wanting to get back to blogging.  I want it to be a diverse variety of topics that I blog about (as that is the way life is), but I find that I jump in and post something kind of in the moment.  I tend to have a lot of posts about my revelation (or lack of) about homeschooling.  My blogging becomes super sparadic or I have several things I want to post all on one day.  I have decided to start typing up my blog posts and "scheduling" them to post on various dates.  This will mean that I may post about something I did that day, but in reality that may post to my blog three days later when it us scheduled.  This way I won't appear to have fallen off the face of the earth during times that I can not spare a moment to blogging.  Maybe this way I won't get frustrated with blogging.  Also, my daughter has been asking to see my blog and I want to share it with her, but not if it is pathetic and there is little to share. 

Meal Planning Thoughts and My Crazy Whims -- UPDATE

 ~Savannah & Sierra "cooking"~

~Sahara (our Goo-Goo) "cooking~

~Caden sweeping~

Photos taken at Fort Jesup historical site in Fort Jesup, Louisiana while we were on Spring Break 2012. 

Well, I failed at the meal planning that I tried this week.  BUT my focus was on it more and meals went a little better this week.  By that I really mean Dinners went a little better.  I don't have a problem with breakfast and lunches.  I don't even mind if several people are eating different things.  I can manage the earlier meals of the day with no problem.  Dinners just exhaust me... just thinking about it.  By that time of the day I am ready to be done with the kitchen.  And it is really not that I want to be done just with the kitchen, it is that  I want to be DONE.  Really done.  Like the housekeeper fairy drops and BOMB on our house that makes all things magically done.  I want to go for walks outside and piddle with my yard and plants and play with my kids and jump on the trampoline and watch ducklings splash in the water and let my kids play with rabbits in the yard and walk their dogs and ride their bicycles around the block as a family and take a long soak in the tub and cuddle my kids on the couch and run to the store for grocery/etc. shopping and about a zillion other things.  But I also want to sit down at a meal together like we always do.  I just don't necessariyly want to cook it and clean it.  LOL! 

And part of this stems from our dishwasher going out a while back and us being determined that it was not really out.  Like it just needed a break.  Well, it got a break all right.  As in a "break"... broken.... doesn't work... doesn't clean the dishes... actually, makes them dirtier... yeah, "break" is what it got.  And that was about a year ago.  I think it was right before Sienna was born.  Oh... and I thought it would be a good "experience" for us all.  We would not take for granted what we had.  The kids would learn the value of really washing dishes and how to wash and drain and such things.  What I learned is that my kids can do that fine.  Daddy... not so much.... so this causes some strife when I am telling him you have to wash the outside of a dish as well as the inside.  He is not one for positive criticism or being taught (by me).  So, I think it is time to get that new dishwasher.  Ugghhh!  And I don't want to go shopping, either... whine and moan....

So, dinner... maybe I can try another approach.  "The night before" approach.  I see problems with this, though.  If I don't have the ingredients, I am gonna get frustrated.  LOL!  Well, we'll see.... I am going to start working on the weekly menu thing.  Even if I can have SOME meals on the plan, then it should be helpful.  I am thinking that I can start with this:

• Monday -- Chicken Fried Steak, Scrambled Eggs, Mashed Potatoes, Brocolli, and White gravy (*we have lots of eggs to use up and scrambled eggs are yumm-O alongside Chicken Fried Steak... and if you have never tried that then, YOU SHOULD)
• Tuesday -- Homemade Pizza Party & Salad (Sierra has been requesting this and I keep forgetting.  She got a little set from her MiMi for her birthday last month that has little aprons, hats, etc. for four kids to decorate and use.  She will be happy, happy, happy!)
• Wednesday -- QUICK MEAL -- Pork Chops, Green Beans, Carrots, Mac-n-Cheese (and rolls if I remember)
• Thursday -- Fried Fish, Rice dish, Some veggie, corn hush puppies (We have access to a lot of fish... free... so I need to really cook it once a week.  I forget... which stems from so many pregnancies and the concern for mercury in fish.)
• Friday -- Co-op Day -- Taco Salad and Chile con Queso with chips
• Saturday -- Last Days of Christ - Might want to go out to eat nearby
• Sunday --  Baked Chicken with potatoes/carrots/onions and seasoned juices with brown rice, homemade bread/rolls

OKAY... so maybe my solution should be to just type it in RIGHT HERE as I am blogging.  Maybe my mind just needs to be in it's "free zone".  I really thought I was going to plan about three meals and leave the other weeks open.  Guess I got it done.  Now let's see if I can follow it!  Ha!! 

Meal Planning Thoughts and My Crazy Whims

I know I need to get organized and my life will be easier, but Cody and I are both such "on the whim" kind of people.  Well, I am pretty organized for the most part, but we tend to be the kind of people that LIKE to be open to changing our plans on a whim.  Or we used to be.....  Really, we aren't really so much that way anymore, but we do change our "plan" a lot if we have one in place.  We just don't really LIKE doing that like we used.  We have so many here that we know we need the structure more.  I might make out a dinner plan for the week and seriously by the end of the week we might have actually stuck to the plan about half the time.  I have to say that our weeks still go easier if there is that guideline, but it is frustrating to have a plan in place and look back on it and know that you do not necessarily stick to it.  Sometimes I might have Spaghetti on the menu with homemade rolls and salad, but when that day comes around I feel like making homemade pizza, salad, and fruit instead.  Silly me... I should stick to my plan, but I am too driven by my whims. 

Honestly, I am not much of a housewife.  Don't get me wrong... I am committed to my family and all that jazz, but I am talking about all these "womanly duties".  I was much better suited in many ways to the bookkeeping/accounting/secretarial work jobs that I had in my pre-mother days.  I was very efficient, punctual, neat, and all those things I needed to be for that job.  Of course, thinking about it I am sure that is because there are so many dynamics to be a mother and housewife.  Sad to say, but I really don't want to dust the furniture.... like ever.  Ughhh.... does that make me lazy?!  I don't think so really.  I just don't really have a great interest in that being done.  I mean, I want it done... I just don't want to spend my life dusting.  I would much rather go outside with my kids.  Pathetic to admit all this, right?  And I want you to know that I am that momma that gets up and gets the kids and me dressed (some days... Hahaha!) and then, puts away the dishes from the prior day, makes sure the kids eat cereal or I cook breakfast.  We clean up and get on with our day taking care of animals and doing school while chasing toddlers around the house.  We have lunch almost everyday at noon.  Straight up noon!  I like a schedule and for things to be mostly the same each day.  I change diapers frequently, wipe nasty hands and faces, keep my little ones mostly clean... well, maybe not so much those two cRaZy ones (Caden and Sahara) that are always getting into something muddy, wet, or sticky... but I try..... confession: some days they just wear their underwear because it saves me laundry.  Yep, see... maybe I am lazy... but seriously, I don't think it is really possible to be fully lazy when you have five kids (and a husband).  I am constantly sweeping it seems.  I remember when I rarely had to sweep.  Now, it has to be done.  Has to!!  And that blasted drought we had this past year killed a lot of our grass and we have gone from having a lush green lawn to dirty, patchy grass that makes a mess of my floors.  I am forever sweeping these floors. 

And I really enjoy the "man duties" like mowing and gardening or building and repairing things.  I am not your average girl.  My mother was forever dusting and cleaning... doing perfect laundry... vacuuming, sweeping, mopping... preparing her dinner idea long before lunch was accomplished.... painting her fingernails and spending two hours putting her face on.  I am not that kind of girl.  Just let me get out of the house and we are good, but I do want the inside cleaned and organized and running smoothly.  I will do it... I just don't feel natural in doing it sometimes. 

But I was talking about menu planning wasn't I?  Well, I have my cute little file here waiting on me to work on it.  Ughhhh... it is staring at me even... taunting me.... I never quite stick to this, but I NEED to.  As you see I am procrastinating and writing this blog post instead, though.  I want to be one of those gals that using their great binder system like my friends Tara and Quinn.  Oh, how they inspire me.  And I start kicking it all around and then... that's as far as it goes.  ;)  And one of the reasons is that I seem to complicate things.  I organize the organization.  You know.... like I have to rearrange a whole shelf to sit my sweet little binders on and then, I end up with a pile of stuff from the shelf stacked somewhere else and then, I need to organize that, and so on and so on and so on.  Only I never seem to complete the things I intend to before someone or something distracts me. 

So, here's what I have in my little folder.  It is a hanging file and is labelled, "Meal Planning". 

• I have weekly menu planning sheets (blank) with the seven days of the week calendar style and a large square each for B (breakfast), L (lunch), and D (dinner).  At the bottom of the sheet is a shopping list section for listing any items needed for that particular week.  I only write in the items that I need to buy (I mean, WHEN I use this... ha!).
• My shopping list check off sheet.  This list all the items I usually buy.  I simply go through the list and check off the things I need to purchase.  I need to update this sheet, though.  Our Wal-Mart rearranged a while back (a long while back... ha!) and I never got this updated.  It is still usuable as is, but just not as efficient. 
• I have a stack of index cards with sample "dinner meals" on them for inspiration.  The idea is to flip through and pull out a card and that is what you have for dinner.
• Lists of Main Entrees categorized by meat type or other main ingredient.  These are all meals I cook.  There are over 50 main entrees on this list. 
• Another list of about 15 complete meals with entrees and sides.
• Another list (chart style) of sample meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (complete with alternative meal options for picky eaters).  (Oh my!)  (Examples are: Boiled egg & apples; Grilled Cheese & Apples; Ramen Noodle & Orange; Pizza/Pizza Pocket -- these were for times when Cody and I might want a meal that little ones did not like... old list... one spoiled rotten child... ha!)
• Past weekly meal plans that I had actually used.
• Calendar pages that I would sometimes write down our meals after the fact to see what actually works for meals in our life.
• Old School Menu plans from when Savannah was in public school with notes for things that we actually did for lunch sometimes
• Brochures for meal planning ideas and recipes tips.

Wow!  With all that in place you would think this would be an easy thing for me to do.  Maybe I will get on board this time.  Really, I have it pretty organized I just need to set aside some time to plan.  I think I will go to bed for now, but leave this folder on the dining table and discuss meal planning with my kids during breakfast.  If I had some people on board I think I would have success.  My biggest problem really is that I feel like I plan and then nobody wants to eat what is on the plan.  If they had a hand in the planning, then it would got better and relieve some of the burden off of me.  That has actually been one of my requests over the last year to my husband.  I told him I just need someone to give me dinner ideas rather than me plan it all alone.  His ideas are so not like mine, though.  And they are not at all healthy.  I want to provide healthy alternatives when possible.  Tonight I asked him what he would like for dinner tomorrow night.  He said, "Hamburgers and french fries."  I can tell you what else he would list.  ;)  Corndogs and french fries; Hotdogs and chips; Spaghetti and French Bread (maybe salad); Fried Fish and French Fries: etc..  The problem with this is that I kind of want us to all live a little longer, if possible.  Even if we were going to have Hotdogs I would want to have fresh fruit with it.  Spaghetti would include a salad or green beans.  Fried Fish would be served with brocolli and a pasta or rice dish.  I try to eliminate some of the fried things and replace with fruits or veggies.  Also, my meal ideas go more along the lines of Chicken Parmesan with pasta, salad, bread; Homemade Chicken Tenders with White gravy, brocolli, mashed potatoes; Pork Roast with Rice, Gravy, Corn, Mashed Potatoes, Biscuits; Taco Salad with dips and chips; Pork Chops, Mac-n-Cheese, Veggie Side, Sweet Peas; and such. 

Fast Forward 24 hours later....
Well, I DID actually work on that folder a bit.  And I explained it to my girls a bit.  They looked a little less than thrilled, but want to help plan.  I think my folder was a bit of an information overload for them.  ;)  As we had a breakfast of waffles (storebought frozen type... a rare thing) and scrambled eggs they helped me decide on lunch for the day and dinner also.  Sierra was suggesting hamburgers or porkchops for dinner, but Savannah pointed out that her mouth was hurting from losing a tooth the night before.  We decided on Chicken Gumbo... and Sierra requested rolls to go with it.  Interestingly, I still almost botched the plan even with having a plan in place.  ;)  I lost track of time to start the pot of chicken cooking, but I did still get it on in a reasonable time frame... but I did forget the bread altogether.  My poor brain has left me!  In the end we had two choices... Chicken Gumbo or Chicken and Shrimp Gumbo... with Crackers and it was yummo! 

Lunch ended up being canned peaches and Bean and Cheese Quesadillas.  I started making the kids Cream Cheese and Monterey Jack Quesadillas a while back when I was trying to eliminate orange food coloring from our diet some.  They got hooked.  I have sense made a million different versions of those Cream Cheese Quesadillas and they are almost always a winner.  To make them you simple spread some cream cheese on a tortilla.  Spread some refried beans over that and sprinkle on some grated Colby Jack Cheese.  Butter an iron skillet and cook on medium heat for a couple minutes, then remove and fold in half to serve. 

Anyway, the idea was to plan for the rest of the week, but it did not really happen because we had to prepare and have dinner and go to the store for groceries.  The good news is we now have some options for cooking and tomorrow over breakfast maybe we can get a couple of day planned out.  If we start slow things will improve I think. 

Sunday Ponderings While Enjoying The Breeze

We have had some odd weather, so I am sitting outside enjoying a very sunny, breezy day.  No, I am not sweating even though I am in Sooutheast Texas.  Sienna is laying on me taking a nap cuddled close to my chest.  Cody just rocked Sahara to sleep after she pleaded (and won) her binky.  The older three kids are playing in the backyard in the new above ground pool (half filled) we bought and playing on their playground with their new (and only) neighbor child.  And I want to freeze time.....   So, I sit here with my thoughts.....

Life really is a matter of perspective and perspective is constantly changing.  Right now everything is great.  In an hour I could be fully stressed.  We have to focus on focusing on the "great".  Yes, "focus on focusing".  I love that it is Sunday and I am doing what I should be doing.... not working... resting.... somewhat resting.  Of course, there is always work to be done and some will get done, but my focus right now is resting.... rocking my precious baby... watching my precious children... enjoying the breeze. 

My mind goes quickly to the goals I want to reach... the list I ponder making, yet stop myself from.  It is a time to enjoy and not quickly lose by getting wrapped up in thoughts of "doing". 

I ponder this adorable bundle in my arms and wonder how God could possibly see me as fit to rear her.  As she lies in my arms dreaming and grinning I am truly overwhelmed with her perfect love.... or rather God's perfect love through her to share with me.  This week I am fully aware that she is not truly mine, but merely on loan to me from her Creator.  I am honored to be the only one that was chosen for this duty.  I pray that God will allow me to share her for many, many years to come.  I want to grow old rocking HER babies one day. 

And my thoughts wander back to a couple of weeks ago... We really have very little "control".  Danger is all around us and we can't save our children from it all.  Specifically, Caden shattered a glass top end table, but only suffered a couple of minor cuts.  From where I was sitting I could only see him fall, see glass flying, and hear the crash followed by Caden screaming.  I truly lost it.  I thought my baby boy was severely hurt.  I screamed something like, "My baby, my baby...." as I scrambled with Sienna asleep in my arms to get to him.  After an hour or so we had all calmed down and gotten the cuts doctored and the glass cleaned away.  But that moment confirmed what I have always known.  We can't truly protect them.  And they are merely on loan to us.  So, I want to freeze time.  I want to watch them fly down the slide... splash in the water... chase their siblings and their only neighbor child around the yard.... grin mischieviously.... and all the things they do.  Oh yeah, and cuddle this sleeping baby... listen to her squeak, sigh, coo.... watch her wiggle and grin.... feel her breathe... and breathe her in. 

It amazes me how love increases.  I find that holding and loving Sienna reminds me of loving all my others.  Amazingly, my love for her increases my love for each of them.  She reminds me to love them more. 

What I Did This Morning!

I have been getting a lot done.  Most people would not want to post about the disaster around their house, but it is part of my "real" life.  Since we started our homeschooling journey a couple of years ago maintaining the clutter and cleaning has taken a backseat on the journey.  We still try not to be too terribly awful, but with six people in the house it does not take much for the disaster to take over.  And so it is a gradual process to find the house underneath it all.  ;) 

It is those little things... you know the mail is delivered and you stick it in a pile.  As the month goes you realize you have a three inch pile and at our house payday is once a month, so I handle that area of life only once a month.  That means that all the junk mail is there in that stack, if I have not removed it as the mail comes in.  Don't get me wrong... I skim through the mail to see if there is anything important in there that I need to see immediately and deal with.  If time permits I weed out the junk mail and trash it, but everything else stays in the pile.  And so it is with many things that come into the home.  There are the Sunday School papers and Wednesday church class papers.  Of course, the kids come home with many works of art and you just can't chunk them in the garbage as your child is handing them over to you.  You have to hang on to it awhile, then slip it into "file 13" (a.k.a. garbage can).  There are the special projects we start that simple take up room like the Pioneer wagon we are building.... verrryyyyy sloooooowwwlly.... over the course of the last three months.  There's the stack of coupons that get accumulated by the bread basket.  And some how there is all the stuff that ends up in the bread basket that is not in anyway related to bread.  Clutter!  It just accumulates.  Awww.... and I have to mention the refrigerator.  It is the place the kids want to display their artwork even though we have other designated places in the house.  And it is the place that a new snapshot of photo from a friend lands.  Every so often I ambush it and wipe it out and discover there is in fact a refrigerator underneath it all.  Today was that day.  Now I have to clean the outer surface because you really just do not realize how grimey it gets even under the pretty little photos. 

So, this is how our "relaxing" Spring Break has gone so far....

• Saturday I spent the day cleaning CONSTANTLY, but I will say this.  That is the only day I am going to spend like that.  It was ultraproductive; however, with less than two weeks until my due date I just think it is not the way I should spend my days.  It was an extreme day of THIRTEEN HOURS of straight cleaning.  I only stopped to eat meals and it is the first time in weeks that I have not gone outside to even check on the bunnies (the kids and hubby did, though).  And being that I have had some sinus issues you would think it would have been way too hard on me, but fortunately this pregnancy has been kind to my energy level.  Still I do not want to spend all my time cleaning and not enjoying.  Note:  This was our one hour focus day for the three bathrooms... we went over that time because let's just say an adult male member of the family is very slow at cleaning and became quite obsessive.
• Sunday... ahhhhh, a day of rest.  Not completely, but I did only do a small amount of projects and our one hour focus day room was the living room.  I purposely assigned this one to Sunday because we had little to do in there and I thought we could do it in half the time allotted.  But did I mention that adult member of the family that is very slow at cleaning?  Well, let's just say in my preggo state I can work circles around "someone" and I had most of it done in 30 minutes while he was dusting approximately eight shelves.... I think he finished in about an hour and a half.  And so, later that evening I decided to go ahead and do the dining room by myself even though it was the one hour focus room assigned for Monday.
• With Mondays focus room done that means that today I can busy myself with various little projects adn trust me there are plenty of those around here to keep a girl busy. 

But what I really want to tell that I did today was...... drumroll, please..... SLEEP !!!  I do not sleep well in all my roundness and this baby is all in my pelvis, so I have a lot of hip pain when I sleep.  About every hour I awake hurting on one side and roll very awkwardly to the other side heaving my body/belly with all my might.  ;)  And then there is my squished bladder.  It seems this little miss is only requiring it to fill to one ounce or so at a time, so that keeps me up even if the hip pain does not.  As of last Wednesday I had a sinus/head cold set in that makes it impossible to breath... as if my lungs were not already restricted.  :)  Truly I awaken about every hour, but generally I am fortunate that I fall back to sleep quickly.  So, I am missing out on sleep, but still getting enough overall.  This sinus thing had my throat sore last night, so around 3:AM I got up and had some hot chocolate and did some reading for about and hour.  I went back to bed and sleep until daylight o'clock (whatever time that was) and got up.  I went to lay on the couch and read another birth book ("Silent Knife").  After awhile everyone in the house was awake and migrated to that very room to watch some cartoons.  As I lay there I started to doze off, so I looked around and all were entertained and Daddy was there... soooooo... I WENT BACK TO BED !!!  I still awoke periodically and did my whole flipping thing, but would doze back off and I did this until..... drumroll, please..... about 10:AM !!!!  This is huge because I am one of those "get up with the sunshine" kind of people and our whole household is that way.  My husband was not, but he has had to adjust due to little faces coming in the room and putting their little faces in his and saying, "It's morning time Daddy!" or "Wake up Daddy!" (in ultra cheerful little morning people voices).  Sleep... it really is great! 

It's All About Me!

Well, not really, but I have been a bit "me focused" lately.  I am absorbed in this pregnancy and the details that must be worked out.  It has been very interesting and everytime I think there is nothing more to plan for I discover that there really is more.  I have been planning for ordering my birth kit and some homeopathic remedy stuff.  Also, I am trying to plan for all the things I need to take with me for the birth, as well as, the unresolved detail of where the birth will actually take place.  So, yesterday I am thinking of all the things to have on hand... some garbage bags for various things, plenty of towels, and the little things like bendy straws.  I realize that I have a pretty good list going and am feeling as if I may have everything on the list when a thought occurs to me, "If I have the bendy straws for drinking during labor, I probably need a cup!"  Oh my gosh!  It seems never ending!  LOL!  Okay, so I decided it might be wise to get a package of disposable cups.  It is the small details like that that drive you nuts when planning for a birth outside of the hospital... and outside of your own home.  I won't have my things or a nurse that I can push a button for.  I will have a labor assistant, but she surely will not have a travelling closet of everything I get a whim for.  So, I must prepare and think it all out... eshaustively.   LOL!  It is pretty funny.  And the most surprising thing I think is that the midwife asked to have a crockpot... really?  Apparently, they like to keep diluted olive oil warmed up in a crockpot of perineal soaks.  Who knew?!  So, now I have to pack up a crock pot of all things.  I was thinking the microwave would do for anything that needed to be warm... and maybe it would... I better add that to my list of things to ask.  See what I mean?!   One thought leads to another thought and before you know it I am stressing over wondering if I have it all.  Of course, I am sure I will never have it all, so I guess I better just chill out. 

Anyway, it is not all about me.... but I seem to have slipped into my own world.  I have to remember to come back to reality sometimes... Call a friend, send and email, post a facebook message, post a blog post, or go outside and try to find some sunshine.  I am still out here everyone!  And I have not forgotten everyone in my life or tried to alienate myself as it may seem.  I just have a lot of little details to work out. 

Hmmmm.... What Am I Forgetting?

Well, the packing is done and we will head out tomorrow morning to the THSC Conference. We are packing SUPER light for this trip and it has me thinking, "What am I forgetting?" Seriously, I have:

• one small suitcase with all the kids nightclothes & underwear/diapers (I like having all the bedtime routine stuff together
• one small plastic tote with all the personal hygeine items for us all
• one small suitcase with Sahara & Caden's clothing.... five outfits each
• one small suitcase with Sierra & Savannah's clothing ... five outfits each
• a duffle bag style suitcase for me... I like the big pockets in each end & side for seperating personal items... like make-up (argghhhh)
• another duffle bage style suitcase for my husband
• one computer case with my laptop & the mini laptop inside... yes, both will be stuffed in the single size laptop bage ;)
• one battery/electricity operated cooler..... because we got tired of buying ice & throwing away food on our five week vacation.
• a couple of very small beach totes for our waterpark venture
• A mesh tote bag with all our swimsuits
• Two small individual baby backpacks for the two little ones.... includes daily supply of diapers/undies, emergency clothes for Caden, tiny toys, Fun Pad & crayons. I will also be adding Dum-Dum suckers & Smarties, as well, as raisins, etc. for moments of desperation to quiet them if necessary. ;)
• The stroller.... is still up for debate whether to bring it. I am leaning toward doing it. I think it will be a bad move if we do not. Hmmmm...
• Okay, I think I need to add my purse.... and a box of "stuff" for my older two kiddos (books, coloring, small toys, etc.).... and some food is on board.

Okay.... okay. I am off to bed. That helps to clear my mind. And there is always a Wal-Mart/etc. right around the corner, right?!

MY Grocery List

I have been so inspired by several of you out there to develop a Home Binder. I have a looooonnnng way to go, but I am going to get there. Ironically, I already have a lot of the work done.... I just have it in different spots all over the house and I don't really use it because it is a mess. Okay... so you live and learn...

When I was pregnant with Caden (yes, over three years ago) I hand-wrote detailed cleaning lists for each room of the house. It goes as far as to say to things like wipe the window "ledges" and such. It was great plan, but rarely got looked at as it was hidden out of sight in my laundry area. I also have various meal plans written on calendars and meal planning pages. There are some typed in my computer and some scribbled madly on notebook paper... again, hidden in little spots around the house. I even have a typed list of meal ideas broken down by the main ingredient of everything I knew how to cook at that time (I think it may be older than Savannah!!) and there are even more of those hand jotted on scraps of paper. All were hidden in my laundry area (or on my computer)... WHERE NO ONE COULD SEE THEM... including ME!!! I was trying so hard to keep it all out of sight that I did not even make them easily available to myself!! Well, that is about to change. The most fabulous of these finds is my Grocery Shopping List. I used this one!! It was fabulous, but for some reason I forgot to print out several copies and I think my printer at the time was broke and I stopped using it. It has been over a year, I think, since I used it last. I have some revisions to make because things have changed some (like now I make waffles, not buy them) and I want to set it up by the aisles where I shop, so it will be even more efficient. I want to share this with all of you that are interested, because this little list makes life so much easier. It is hard to forget to buy peanut butter if peanut butter is written there on the page and you have to read it. I just quickly read through my list and check off or write the quantity of that item in the box. I also make note of more specific details like for the "Gogurt/Yogurt" item I might put a 2 in the box and circle "Yogurt" and write "Peach & Vanilla" out beside it. There are blank spaces for things that are not on the list like batteries, etc. or I make notes on the side or back. In theory, if the list matches up with the store then when I go to the store I will have all my little boxes marked and I will whiz up and down the aisles without forgetting a thing!! With this list that COULD HAPPEN!!

You should be able to open the file and modify it. It might have to be saved to your computer and then, opened in Microsoft Excel to make changes. If you are interested and can not get it to work for you let me know and I can email you the document. If all fails, maybe I can help you make changes to fit your home. Hope you find it useful!

School Memories Christmas Ornaments

I am just brainstorming here! As I was taking the ornaments off my tree I was looking at a little handpainted ceramic ice skate ornament I made the year Savannah first ice skated. Then, there's the ornament of a pregnant lady and spouse for the year Sierra was in my belly and there are little blue handblown glass booties for the year Caden arrived.... many moments are captured on our tree. It just got me thinking that throughout the year while we make all these school projects how interesting it would be to if we created some of these projects in the form of ornaments... and I am taking about the traditional Christmas ones. Imagine a tiny baby doll decorated as an indian when you study about indians in your schooling. As the years go by of decorating the family Christmas tree each year you will see that little indian doll and remember when you studied the indians with your children. Of course, it would be difficult to do this with every project and I am not sure you want that many ornaments, but maybe it would be a nice thing for some of them. Bringing something back from a field trip that could be added to your ornaments is another great idea. A photo in a frame or a special glass ball that is decorated (painted, collaged, etc.). I am trying so hard this year to think of ways to pre-plan for the next Christmas... like gift buying throughout the year... making gifts that the kids can give to each other or us or the grandparents, etc. I used to do that sort of thing, but as each child has added to the family it is harder to pre-plan anything. LOL!!! Anyway, just wanted to share a crafty idea for a Merry Christmas in 2010 and the years to come!