War Paint

I promised this post a while ago, but just uploaded the pictures today.

I often wrestle with wanting to let my littles do something really fun and making the time to do it. So one day, a few weeks ago, we set out for finger painting. The kids needed a bath, it was warm out and we had all of our school work done with plenty of time before lunch. I put the boys in their swim suits. O wore a white onesie with paint on it from who knows when

and CJ had just nursed.

The three big littles started painting on paper on the sidewalk.

Then C got a little paint on his hand and asked if he could paint himself, I obliged. That's why they were wearing their swim suits anyway!

Then C asked if he could paint B. We both agreed.

Then the boys proceeded to chase each other around the yard with paint brushes and request specific colors for their war paint. They fought a good battle until I came after them with the hose. :)

I really should seek to put more fun in our days!

Chocolate for breakfast

Yep, we had chocolate for breakfast this morning and I am completely guilt free! Ok, so it wasn't just straight chocolate, we had banana spice muffins with mini chocolate chips in them. Want to know the whole scoop on why I don't have any guilt? There was a lot of hidden nutrition in our breakfast this morning!

Secrets revealed:

Banana spice muffins:

• Made with fresh milled flour. This adds about 23 more nutrients than regular all-purpose flour.
• I used sucanat rather than white or brown sugar. The recipe called for 3/4 cup of each, so I just put in 1 1/2 cups of sucanat.
• I accidently left out the eggs. That makes them lower in cholesterol, right?

Smoothies:

• 3 handfuls of spinach
• 1 c raw milk
• about 1 cup yogurt
• handful frozen strawberries
• handful frozen pineapple
• banana
• 1-2 T raw honey

The littles had no idea they were getting so many nutrients in their tasty breakfast. They have been very adverse to just about everything besides bread and fruit. Dinner is a constant battle to just eat the tiny bit of food that I put on their plates. And veggies, let's not go there! I have been semi-desperate to get something besides sugar into their little bodies. A while ago a friend posted about green smoothies, so I started putting spinach in ours. You can't even taste it! My littles don't know what a "regular" smoothie should look like, so they don't have any trouble with green and they slurp it down. To make our smoothies a little more fun I saved the huge straws from P.anera Bread, cut two of them in half and they are the perfect size for our I.KEA smoothie cups!

Another friend recently loaned and taught me how to use her juicer. I may seem as though I am from the dark ages, but I had never heard of juicing before. So I was a little nervous. L juices only veggies for her family. Everyone drinks 1/4 cup or more each morning and then she doesn't have to stress over them not finishing their veggies later in the day. Yesterday I snuck this one in on my littles. I have to admit that I was very nervous about juicing. I didn't have a recipe to start with and I just couldn't imagine the flavors and what they would taste like together. I had the juicer sitting on my counter for over a week before I tried it, the result wasn't too bad though. The tip L gave me was "If you don't like the flavor, add another apple." OK, so here's what I did:

- 7 carrots

- 1 apple

- 3 radishes

All L gave me to go on was that she uses carrots and whatever other veggies she wants. I never eat radishes, so for some reason I thought this would be a great way to get their nutrients into my body. I couldn't taste them at all. I think I'll use more next time though since three radishes equaled about .6 radish per person. I don't think that's a serving! :) Later yesterday I found some recipes and I am really excited to try one of them tomorrow.

My plan (written in pencil) is to juice on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and to make smoothies Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. This may change to all juicing as cooler weather comes. We won't always have the smoothies with breakfast, but they are a great way to fill our bellies and have an energy boost.

Another food adventure I plan to take soon is these Lactation cookies. Have you ever heard of them? I was checking out at E.vermans on Sunday, wearing CJ in my sling, and the lady in front of me asked if I was nursing and if I'd ever heard of these cookies. I looked them up that evening and I will be picking up the ingredients the next time I am shopping. I have had to work to keep my milk supply up with the last three from about 5 months on, I'll keep you posted on if they work or not!

Homeschooling

We are just wrapping up our 9th week of homeschool pre-school so I thought I'd give you an idea of what it is looking like for us.

This year we are using S.onlight. I used their P3/4 program last year and we LOVED the books. I started last year just to start giving some structure to our day and to start initiating myself into how I would homeschool and accomplish everything else during the day. This program is very laid back. The stories are broken down into trimesters and every story has an optional activity to go along with it. As an excited first time homeschool mom, I immediately went through the books and marked each story with an orange, pink or blue piece of post-it so that I could quickly tell which trimester the story was meant for. The stories became longer and had fewer pictures as the trimesters came. C loved the stories and the handful of activities that we did.

So we have moved up to the P4/5 program for this year. C just turned 4, so we could use either program. I was looking for a little more structure and just wanted to move forward. Also, I have been debating (in my mind) since C was born when I would start him in school. Will I start him when he first turns 5 or wait until he turns 6? Will it be better for him to be 17 when he graduates or almost 19? I am still not sure about this. I can see the benefit of both. Thus, we are homeschooling and I have the flexibility to start Kindergarten work and drag it out as long as we need to or cover the material twice or whatever he needs. I am excited about being able to teach him as he is ready and move at the right pace for him. Timing for Kindergarten is the number one reason I ordered the P3/4 and P4/5 programs. I want to get a good feel for C's willingness to sit and listen to stories and answer questions about them. So far things are going great!

We started right after the 4th of July and our only "vacation" was the first full week after I came home from the hospital with CJ. My goal was to get a good schedule going and have a bit of school done before baby came so that I could take off as much time as I needed and not have to mirror up school years. So far we have completed a complete weeks worth of school each week (minus 1). We have gone into Saturday a time or two and this week we did 2adays for 2 days because of Albert being home on Monday and MOPS on Tuesday. So I guess that's an admittance of my need to work on our schedule, but here is roughly what our week looks like:

Monday and Wednesday: Bible, story books, science, activity work page and math.

Tuesday and Thursday: Bible, story books, science and activity work page. I have been going grocery shopping on Tuesdays as well. Now that CJ is here we have been enlisting the help of friends to make the shopping a bit less crazy. This can't go on forever, so I am trying to figure out how I can get it all done.

Friday: one story book, social studies, activity page and math. This is our light day. If we are going to play with friends, this is the day. If I am going to clean the house, this is the day.

Here is a V.E.R.Y. rough idea of what a typical Monday looks like:

7:00-8:00 Breakfast

8:00-9:00 dress, brush teeth, pick up rooms, unload dishwasher, start laundry or switch the loads over. If there is still time I'll squeeze in another chore, getting dressed shouldn't take us a full hour, but it's amazing how slow we move!

9:00-10:00 O plays in her room and we tackle school. She's been crawling up on her bed and taking a nap, so I make sure to wake her up at 10! My big goal here is to get math done while she is occupied, we just can't seem to focus when she's walking around.

11:00-12:00 Free play or craft time. Yesterday we finger painted but that is a whole post on it's own!

12:00-1:00 Lunch (again, this shouldn't take a full hour, but we are slow on the transition and very slow to eat)

1:00-3:00 Mandatory nap time

I am not claiming to have things down to a science, but I am really happy with how everything is going. It would probably be nice for me to work dusting, cleaning the bathrooms and scrubbing the kitchen floor in there somewhere, but I will squeeze those in on Friday mornings for now.

Labor Day

In anticipation of Labor Day, I have been calculating my hours and weight for the last few days. I wish I could say this was an original idea, but it's not. I read it somewhere last year on or around Labor Day. I love it though! So, here are my stats:

I have labored for 19.5 hours.

Delivered 30 lbs 14 oz worth of baby.

So, how about you? What are your stats for this Labor Day 2010?

C: 9 lbs Labored for 6 hours before he was born via c-section.

B: 7 lbs 2 oz Labor: 4.5 hrs

O: 7 lbs 9 oz Labor: 4.5 hrs

CJ: 7 lbs 3 oz Labor: 4.5 hrs

3 little Ducks went swimming one day....

3 little Ducks went swimming one day,

Over the river and far away,

Mother Duck said "quack, quack, quack, quack"

4 little Ducks came swimming back!

Life always happens between posts, but this has been an exceptionally exciting 3 weeksish! In the time since my last post Paddle has arrived! We have a new bouncing baby boy and we are all loving him so much. Here's the story of his arrival:

Wednesday, August 18

2:15 a.m. I wake up to a contraction. I went to the bathroom, then started timing. They were about 7 minutes apart. I stayed in bed, watching the clock for an hour. They continued, so I got up to get some water. I was hoping to let Albert sleep as long as possible, I know how intense these things become. When I left to get water, he thought one of the boys were sneaking into our room, so he came to check on me. (We are both very jumpy over contractions since our last two came so quickly.) I told him that I was having contractions every 7 minutes for the last hour. He told me to call my mom and we started getting ready for the hospital. I'm not sure what time we got to the hospital, but everything was starting to settle down. By the time the nurse checked me, I knew I wasn't in "real" labor. We were both a little disappointed. Our last three arrivals have come after little to no sleep, we were so excited to have had almost a full nights rest before labor began! The nurses told us to walk the halls until my mid-wife came to do her rounds. Upon her arrival it was official that I was not in labor and I could cancel my appointment for later that morning. Albert and I squeezed in a quick trip to P@nera for breakfast, then headed home. We enjoyed the hours to just be together, walk and talk, but we were both a little disappointed.

9:00 Albert heads in to work and my mom goes to work, nothing has changed.

Nap time: I have a couple of noticeable contractions.

4:00-5:00 While talking to L on the phone, I have a couple of sharp contractions that I have to stop talking for. Albert called at 5:00 to say he was on his way home. I was wanting him to come home, it was perfect timing. I loaded the littles up and we walked down the street once, then back to the house. I had a few strong contractions while we were walking. Albert got home at 5:30 and instantly knew I was in labor. My mom came over again and by 6:30 we were on our way to the hospital. My contractions were about 5 minutes apart. On the way into the Emergency Room, I stopped to get through a contractions and a lady walking by shouted, "Congratulations" then I heard laughing. I'm still not totally sure what that was about, but it was distracting and I would recommend any readers to do that if they see a woman in labor!

7:00ish I was checked into another labor room. All of the nurses were still there from when we left in the morning. I had a terrible time getting comfortable and this time when I was checked I was 6-7 cm dilated. Much better than the 1 I received earlier that morning. I moved to the labor tub and was able to feel some relief. My nurse was great. She suggested a variety of things to try to relieve pain and just helped me labor. This was a first for me and such a blessing! I stayed in the tub for 30 minutes or so, then started feeling the urge to push. I was complete when I got out. I would guess it was about 8:30 by now.

Once I was out of the tub and checked, I asked J to break my water. My back was killing me. The contractions were manageable, but my back pain was so great. Paddle's head was turned sideways, so with every contraction he was pushing on my tailbone. It felt like I could feel my tailbone going out and in with each push. This is not an incentive to push! At one point I asked "How are we going to get this baby out?" I really just wanted someone to pull him out. I was ready to be done. Praise the Lord, I pushed with two to three contractions and Paddle was born. Albert said, "It's a boy." J said, "Well, he surprised all of us!" J, the baby nurse and I all thought it was a girl. What a blessing to have another little boy!

Paddle weighed in at 7 lbs 3 oz and was 18 3/4 in. long. He swallowed a bit of fluid during birth, but cleared it all out within about 30 minutes.

Widdle, Waddle and Piddle love Paddle very much. They have all adjusted beautifully and I really could not ask for a better adjustment on their part to a new little Duck. Widdle can't stop talking about how cute Paddle is. He and Waddle argue over who gets to hold him. Piddle is often begging for a turn with her baby brother.

**************

Widdle has also has some excitement in his life as he turned 4 on the 19th. In some ways I cannot believe he is 4 years old and in other ways he seems to be so grown up. He just looks like a little boy these days. His birth story is quite different from his baby brother's, but a miracle guided by the Lord nonetheless. It is just amazing to me how the birth of each child has revealed so much to me about the character and provision of the Lord. It is so easy to get caught up in the daily craziness of having many littles and forget what a gift and miracle each of their lives are.

I feel so much love for my littles these days. I hope to remember each snuggle, each hug, each kiss, each beg for holding their brother, every little thing. I know this time will go by quickly and my arms will long to hold them, so for now we are treasuring the moments and trying to slow them down.

Baby Thoughts

With my due date being roughly a month away, I can't help but almost constantly calculate when this little one might arrive. This is a very fun guessing game for me. I seriously think about it almost daily now. Though, I don't have to do the figuring, I know the dates by heart almost. So, here are the facts and my estimation.......

If Paddle comes on Big Big brother Widdle's timeline, he or she will be born on September 11. To be honest, this is one of the days I've blacklisted. I just feel a tinge weird about the baby being born on September 11 and would rather almost any other day.

If Paddle comes on Big Brother Waddle's timeline, he or she will be born on August 16th. This is fine with me. If the baby did come then, we would have plenty of time (idealy) to make it home for Widdle's 4th birthday. Also, it would kind of be fun to have four under four for a few days.

If Paddle comes on Big Sister Piddle's timeline, he or she will be born on August 13th. That is next Friday. One week from today. I'm not that ready to go and I don't particularly want the baby to come on Friday the 13th. It's not a blacklisted day, but not a favorite. Piddle's timeline was crazy though, and I am still not convinced that she was as early as the doctors thought she was. I keep mentioning that the baby could come as early as next Friday, but I am not expecting anything until the 16th(ish) or later.

The wrench in the figures is Widdle's birthday. His birthday is the 19th of August. I don't think it would be terrible, but I just don't really want the baby to share a birthday with Widdle. I love birthdays and I want each of them to have their own special day. A day that I can think about the days leading up to their very first birthday and well, I just don't want to have to split that time. Even now I am daily thinking about how I thought Widdle would never come out. I can picture myself walking around T@rget looking for castor oil and the pharmacist begging me not to use it. And here he is almost four years old. Those last weeks seemed so long, and the last 4 years seem to have gone so quickly. I could cry..... but I won't. At least not right now. I still have two weeks.

Here's the other thing. I've been reading "The Birth Book" by Dr. and Mrs. Sears. It is an excellent resource just over flowing with information about birth and tips to help with labor. I so wish I had studied it exactly four years ago! Any who, with knowing how big our babies can be, I am really hoping this baby comes a little early. The dates I really like, with no real significance other than that I think they sound like nice birth dates, are Aug. 22nd or Sept 2nd. August 22nd would put three of our four children's birthdays on the same date. Also, it's a Sunday, so people would be easily available to help out with our littles. I'm not sure why I like September 2nd, I just like the sound of it. So, with reading this book and previous experience and all of that, I know that having your membranes swept is one way to move labor into action. I asked my midwife about this and she said that she would do it only if I asked and no earlier than 37 weeks. *Let me just add here that while I would like this baby to come early, my number one objective is for the baby to be healthy. If that means I carry him/her until the middle of September, I may be stinky and sweaty, but I will do it. I do not and will not (within my control) risk the health of this baby over wanting him/her to be smaller. And by smaller I mean smaller than 9 lbs. Preferably in the 7s somewhere.* With Waddle I had my membranes swept just a few days before 37 weeks, since Widdle was late and the sweeping never did anything for him, and he was born that night. Blah blah blah, with all of that, I will be 37 weeks and have an appointment on that day, the day before Widdle's birthday. Looking back over my own experience, that would have Paddle being born on Widdle's birthday, the very thing I am hoping to avoid! Though, if I moved my appointment to Widdle's birthday, the baby may come the next day, but I don't want to be at the doctor's office on his birthday either. I am not really worried about any of this timing, it's just a fun, silly thing for me to think about. It passes the time and helps me drown out all of the noise around me.

All of that to say, I am excited for this little one's arrival. Sometimes I am torn over the convenience of scheduling a c-section or induction, which are both options for me, but I know the ease of going into labor on my own and the benefits for the baby. While it is more chaotic for the rest of us, it is best and I can and can't wait for it to happen!

Another list

I am still here and still pregnant. I guess that takes away one excuse for such a delay. To be honest, I just don't know what to talk about on this thing! Here are a couple of funny things and other that have been heard and happening around our little pond:

• I recently switched all of the clothing around for the boys. I had to take every single long sleeved item out of Widdle's closet and dresser because he kept wearing them. He wore a long sleeve button down shirt with a vest to church no less that 6 times, even in this crazy heat. So, with the shirts gone, he is forced to pick something else. He was excited to see a new blue and white striped shirt and wore it the first Sunday available. After getting dressed he asked me, "Mommy, can I wear this when I marry Chadleigh?" I replied, "Well, I think you look very handsome and that would make a nice wedding outfit, but it would probably be best to ask her what she thinks."
• Widdle said "Will Chadleigh have babies in her belly when we get married?" Me, "I hope not when you get married, but maybe after you are married if the Lord wills it. How many babies would you like to have?" Widdle, "A brother, a sister, a brother and a sister. LOTS of babies!!" I hope the Lord does bless him with lots of babies, even if he doesn't end up marrying Chadleigh!
• Waddle told me (at the dinner table) "Mommy, don't take your shirt off!" I replied, "Don't worry buddy, mama will not be taking her shirt off in front of you, especially at the table."

Not so funny, but good things that have happened:

• My pre-registration for the hospital arrived in the mail yesterday or the day before, I haven't looked at it yet, but at least I have it!
• Our sibling shirts arrived and have been washed and dried, ready for wearing! I think I mentioned these before, but I just have to shamelessly plug them again. These are THE cutest sibling shirts I have found and I have done a lot of looking! I ordered the baby one with a big blue bird, medium blue bird, medium-small pink bird and a tiny green bird, underneath it just says "baby". Once Paddle arrives I will re-order his/her shirt, but the others will continue to have a tiny green bird on theirs. Receiving this package in the mail escalated my excitement over our little one's arrival!
• The boys are moved into their new room. We are doing a room shuffle to prep for the baby. This house is truly a blessing from the Lord. And I am thankful for it. When we first looked at it I had everyone placed and purposed each room, now that we have lived here for several months, I am repurposing rooms and trying to figure out ways to make everything work more efficiently. Maybe there's a bit of nesting happening too. Who knows! With that, the office/school room has been combined and is in the room that most families would use as a formal living room, right inside the front door. Except that it's always a mess, I love this room. The office originally was in our 3rd bedroom. When the office moved, that room became our guest room. The thing is, Piddle was sweating to death in the 2nd bedroom, which is on the corner of the house, and the guest room was always nice and cool. We could have just moved Piddle from the 2nd bedroom to the 3rd, but that would be too easy and I am a chronic furniture re-arranger and I'm nesting. So, the turquoise 3rd bedroom was painted red, the new bunk beds were partially disassembled and the boys happily relocated. They love their "news room" as Waddle calls it. With their move the other red bedroom, bedroom 1, had to be repainted. Albert took care of that last weekend. There is a bit of touch up left and the outlets need to be replaced, but it is functioning well enough for my nesting to relax. Piddle has switched to the new crib, the toddler bed is in place and I moved her dresser in yesterday. I was hoping to transition her to the toddler bed this weekend, but I don't want her to be able to play with outlets that aren't covered, so she has a little more time in her comfort zone. At least with the toddler bed she can use the same mattress and I am hoping that helps her. A couple of newborn outfits are hanging in her closet and half of the dresser has been cleared out. The second bedroom needs to be painted still. But, thanks to our dear friends, we have a queen size guest bed set up and ready for sleeping on in there. I also have the original crib, a changing table and glider in that room. It will be the newborn nursery/guest room for a little while. I am thinking I'll pull out the changing table and glider when we have guest and put the baby in our room then. After the baby is sleeping moderately well, he or she will move into Piddles room. Hopefully her need for sleep will rub off on the baby!
• I will be shifting the car seats around tomorrow and vacuuming out the buffet in prep for a ride home with the whole gang.

Everything is pretty well ready to go, I just have to cook this baby a little longer and wait for the Lord's timing!