Great Article

Is anyone out there? Albert and I read an excellent article on the blindspots for homeschooling families. I think it is applicable to Christian families who do not homeschool as well. Thought I'd share it here.

42 Days to Fit

It is almost 7 weeks since Reed was born and Brandy is starting a challenge over on The Marathon Mom and I am trying to join in. I did the fitness test and the first circuit today. Sadly, my heart rate was up just from the fitness test. I nearly cried during the core strength part of the test and the workout. Let's just say that there is A LOT of room for improvement!!!

Before 42 Days to Fit

What I ate: 

• granola w/almond milk, rip's big bowl, muffins or pancakes, eggs
• small snack and some sort of chocolate
• peanut butter and jelly or honey for lunch with fruit 
• a couple of pieces of chocolate or a small handful of m&ms
• meat and some sort of veggies but a lot more carbs
• chocolate

How I exercised:

• carrying baby and toddler around
• going up and down the stairs in our house doing chores
• chores
• minimal walking since Reed was born
• basic household movement (cooking, cleaning, caring for children)

How I felt:

• sad 
• shaky from major blood sugar drops
• I'd rather just sit
• weak abs
• out of breath easily
• low energy towards the end of the day
• floppy, not in control of my muscles

How I looked:

• poor posture from poor muscle tone in back and stomach
• big hips, legs, and tummy
• flabby

What I weighed:

• 15 to 20 pounds over my ideal weight

How I measured:

• shockingly
• waist and thighs were a big wake-up call
• most of my shirts are more snug than I am comfortable with
• can only wear a couple of pairs of maternity shorts and my "big girl" pants fit in the morning and are terribly uncomfortable by the afternoon

How do I know I will succeed?

To be honest, I don't. I am tired of looking this way and wishing I were strong again. It is time to work on making my body strong for the tasks at hand.

The Bottom Line

My boys need me to be strong and energized to keep up with them. My little lady needs an example of a woman who fears the Lord that she will want to be like. My husband works hard to look good for me and I want to look good for him!

You can join in too! So far I have not had chocolate since Sunday night. This is the longest stretch ever!! I have gone back and forth over doing the workouts now or waiting until nursing is a bit more established. The truth is, if I don't start now, I may never start. So, now is the perfect time. I did the fitness test and week 1 workout today. I plan to do the week 1 workout again on Sunday and go for a good walk, possibly a jog, this afternoon. I did go for a good walk one other day this week. I have never been more out of shape than now, and I am concerned about how long it could take me to be strong again. Do my muscles remember what it is like to be strong or is it just an image in my brain? We will see!

Baby.....

I don't think there is anyone who reads this blog who is not a friend on facebook, but just in case....... We have a new baby boy!!!! Praise the Lord for our sweet little Albert Reed. We are calling him Reed. Actually, our bigger little people call him "our newborn baby". They know his name, but Albert and I were calling him different names at first, so they couldn't figure out what to call him. They are each coming up with their own special names now. So, here are the stats:

Boy
7 lbs 9 oz
18 1/2 inches (though he was 20 1/4 in at his appointment 3 days later)
Born July 8th at 11:13 p.m.

Birth Story
Albert had a fever Saturday and Sunday. He slept most of the day on Sunday and went to bed early. I was working on getting the children ready for bed. We had just a few chapters left of Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, so we decided to finish it up. While reading, I started to have contractions. Now, I had been contracting for weeks, but they were always irregular and across the top of my belly. This time they were close enough for me to remember the last one (my first indicator to start timing them) and they were across the lower part of my belly. We finished reading and I tucked everyone in, then started marking the time. The first few were about 3 minutes apart. This was a bit alarming as my contractions usually are not closer than five minutes apart until it is time to push. Right when I started timing things, my friend texted me, encouraging Baby Duck to come soon. I called her and told her that I might actually be in labor, I was trying to evaluate the situation. I also called my midwife and our other friend who would be staying with the children. I told both ladies that I was not sure if it was the real thing (we had a "false alarm" with the last two pregnancy and were sent home from the hospital) but I wanted to give them a heads up before it was the middle of the night. This was all at about 9:15 p.m. I continued contracting every three minutes and washed the dishes and tidied up our house. I went to the bathroom to start getting ready and told Albert that I might actually be in labor. You see, we thought this little one would come during the previous week. So, Albert often asked me how I was feeling and if I thought labor was coming soon. I was starting to feel like labor may never come!

He got up and took some Ibuprofen for all of our well being. I called Amy and asked her to meet us at the hospital, told my midwife I thought I really was in labor and we were headed to the hospital, and asked Nancy if she would come over so we could leave. I finished packing my bag and we were off. I think it was about 9:45ish when we left the house. Along the drive, Jenny (my midwife) called to see if we were stranded on the side of the road and if she needed to come rescue me. I assured her that we were on our way and we be there in a couple of minutes. Jenny and Amy met us in the parking lot. It must have been about 10:25 p.m. Jenny walked us up and straight to a labor room.

After a few minutes of settling in, she checked me and I was 9.5 cm dilated and 100% effaced. I really was in labor! I quickly got out of the bed and sat on the ball for a little bit. I have to have a hep-lock since I am a VBAC. While sitting on the ball, during a contraction, the nurse put it in.

Labor progressed and after less than 10 minutes of pushing, Reed was born at 11:13 p.m. I was so relieved that our sweet baby boy was here! And that labor was over! My labor was about 2 hours and 45 minutes from first contraction to birth. It was crazy. I have had to ask Albert not to call it an easy labor, but a fast one! :)

Albert went home shortly after Reed's birth so that he could rest and try to get over his cold. The next day three of our littles had fevers. Reed and I snuggled at the hospital and visited with my family. Albert came up Monday evening for an hour or so. He and I were both falling asleep, so he went home to take care of our children and I promptly fell asleep. We were discharged on Tuesday and Reed finally got to meet the whole family.

Reed has been a sweet, sweet baby and seems to be very laid back. We are now enjoying having Albert's mom here. She has been a huge help with taking care of everyone and getting ready for a big road trip and move. I wish she could stay with us for about two weeks once we arrive in VA.

The packers came today and packed up about 2/3 of our house in about 3 hours. Monday will be the final pack day, Tuesday the truck will be loaded and Wednesday we will roll out. Our life is a bit crazy these days, but it is good. Very good!

baby Duck 5

I was going to post this at the begining of 34 weeks, but our internet has been out due to 15 or so inches of rain. Now is the time to submit your guess! When do you think baby Duck will arrive? You have until June 24 to post your thoughts and their actually will be a small prize this time! Here are the details from the last four Ducks:

Canon: Due date: August 17

Arrived: August 19 (2 days late)

Weight: 9 lbs

Boy

Boaz: Due date: January 14 

Arrived: December 22 (23 days early)

Weight: 7 lbs 2 oz

Boy

Olivia: Due date: April 17 

Arrived: March 22 (25 days early)

Weight: 7 lb 9 oz

Girl

Carson: Due date: September 9 

Arrived: August 18 (22 days early)

Weight: 7 lb 3 oz

Boy

Baby Duck 5: Due date: July 23

Arrival:

Weight:

Gender:

Please post a comment with what you think the last three details will be for this little one. I can't wait to see your guesses and find out who the winner is! 

Joyfully,

Robin

Anyone can enter, just hurry!

a room for her

Here is O's room!

When you first walk in, along the wall with the open door, is this yo-yo quilt. I had a terrible time getting the yo-yos to stay tied together, so I covered a big piece of cardboard with fabric, then spray glued the yo-yo quilt onto the fabric. Done!

Her ballet clothes are stored in the drawer and a few favorite girly books are in the cubby underneath.

The height chart is on the other wall making the corner with the closet. I made this a while ago. There is a stripe for each child, plus some. They are made out of scrapbook page border stickers. The board is 4 feet tall, so four packages worked perfectly! The wreath is a simple rag wreath made with a variety of extra pink fabrics. The rocking chair was my mom's and mine. The bed holds any number of babies, currently Phoebe mouse knit by my aunt and two unfinished sock dollies.

This is my favorite view! this corner is opposite the door. The pompoms are 99 cent packs of gift wrap paper from H.L. The cross is from a little shop in Colorado. The dresser was my mom's, mine, my sister's and for a short time my brother's. The end table matches and we have a headboard to go with them. We will use the headboard if the baby is a boy, if it's a girl, they will share the same bunks as the big boys have.

Here is a close up of the quilt. I am planning to change out the little yellow ties for hot pink ones, but I don't have any hot pink yarn. Soon. On the bed are the three babies that are carried everywhere and often tucked into the neck of O's shirts for easy baby wearing!

This is the third corner, straight right of the door. (The door is on this wall further to the right) This corner will be for the baby. Eventually we will buy a new crib and put it here. If the baby is a girl I will put a letter plaque over the head of the bed and these fabric circles on the wall where the ballet girls are.

If it is a boy, I will make the name board like I have in the boy's room, that you may seem someday..... and put it over the headboard. I may still do the fabric circles, but with boyish fabrics. We will see!

this table

A little of my sewing has gone to the dining room. We are in this room soooo much during the day that I would really like to enjoy it. I made this runner after seeing this one.

I would like to tell you that I made this sign. I did spray paint it black. A friend of ours offered to project the words onto the board for me, then he offered to paint it. I didn't see any plans for completing it myself, so I said yes and thank you! Albert drilled a couple of holes and I twisted up some fabric and tied it through. This is my favorite addition to the room!

The sign is to the right of the hutch. That is the only solid wall in this room. The curtains were a table cloth that I bought at T@rget for less than $10. I cut it in half, ironed it, hemmed the edges and made a little cuff for the top. I would like to put it on those cute rings with the clips, but I don't have any for now, so the cuff works. It is a tad short, but I like it. Now to keep the littles from twisting themselves up in them!

Quilts

Other quilts that are in the works in my mind, though not in reality yet........

Fireplace room: http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/2011/05/a-quilt-from-the-shore.html

B (he really needs a mama made quilt. He is the only one with a store bought quilt on his bed. I made him a quilt when he was a baby, but he isn't using it any more. He is first in line!) : http://soulemama.typepad.com/soulemama/2007/07/ezras-quilt.html

His will be 6 inch squares of a variety of fabrics that I am in the process of collecting. The main one will be boys chasing paper airplanes. Do you think he will enjoy that fabric when he is older?? The rest will be pretty timeless.

C: http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/2010/01/the-handmades-calvins-quilt.html

His will have a bit more variety in the colors. He has asked for green and red. That makes me think of Christmas, so I am sure I will add in some orange and blue too. I have it all drawn out, just have to find the fabrics and make B's first!

CJ: http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/2011/04/a-quilt-for-harper.html

CJ will get a crib sized version of this as soon as B's quilt is done. Then, when he is ready for a twin I will either figure out how to make the crib one a twin, or just make him a new one.

As you can see, I have found all sorts of inspiration from Soulemama. I ordered two of her books and ideas have been swimming in my mind ever since. I have made, or changed a couple of things in our home after finding her blog. The best link is all of her sewing items. Now it is time to snap a few pics of O's room and let you see a bit of what we have been doing.

O's space

O's room is in the process of a redo. I love the look of decorated rooms, but I just cannot dream up ideas on my own. I need something to spark me. I seem to be able to take one image or item and recreate it, possibly change it a little, or simply ask enough questions to find exactly what the other person has and just buy it. For our girly girl, I have been pulling together a few different ideas.

The spark was started first by this room: http://hanalynch.blogspot.com/2011/03/switcheroo-kids-rooms-before-after-part.html

I even have this link bookmarked as "O's room." I really like the hot pink, light blue color scheme. I have the board for an "O", it only needs to be painted. I found an awesome pillow sham at Goodwill that is light blue on top and light green on the bottom, the fabrics are quilted and it ties a couple of times on one end. I made the pillowcase for the pillow inside out of one of the fabrics that are framed in the room in the link. The fabric is from H.L. I found a pink pillowcase at Goodwill too. I will probably buy O some new sheets once she moves to a twin bed, but that won't be for a while. We already have a sheer curtain on her window. The boys and I rehung the rod this week. It was pulled off the wall at some pointe by someone short twisting up in it. Hopefully it will stay up this time. Instead of the "reading" section, which I really like! I have an end table with a lamp on it, books in the table and a yo-yo quilt that I made on the wall. It works, though the lamp needs a new shade or some sprucing. I'll keep an eye out. O has a baby bed and rocking chair in her room, all other toys are in our toy closet. These two items are under her window. I had a couple of girls over a couple of weeks ago and made the pom-poms. They are so easy and cheap! I love the sock dollies. I am trying to figure out how to make them. They are fairly simple, but just going by looking at a picture on the internet is proving to be a little tricky for me. It may be a while before they are done. I think that is all I am using from this room.

The next item that inspired me was this quilt: http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/2011/05/purple-bliss.html

This mama is a much more time efficient seamstress than I am. It took me two half days to make O's quilt. It isn't perfect, and I will make measurements different when I make a similar one for CJ and possibly the baby, but it was easy enough. It would probably be really quick with a pattern! I'll have to make one up for myself! Once O moves to a twin bed, I have a whole other quilt in mind. I am going to go ahead and make the throw pillow for her and work on the big quilt after I make all of the boy's quilts. Yes, I have many dreams on the brain.

Here is O's future quilt, though the colors will be more hot pink and light blue: http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/2009/09/her-quilt.html

I will clean up O's room and take some pictures of our handiwork soon. Check back for those!

Here

I am here. Well, I haven't been here on the blog, but I do look at it each time I open the Internet. We had little people with fevers for the last week. It was a very long week. Thank they Lord all of our littles are better. Albert and I are not feeling great today..... I suppose that is how it goes.

We went out in public today. It was the first time all of the littles have been out of the house since Tuesday almost two weeks ago. Big C asked if we could go to Chick-fil-A to eat sometime and we thought this morning for breakfast would be the perfect time to go.

It was the most encouraging time I have had in public in maybe forever. We sat at a table right inside the front door. It is sort of a "that's the first table that will hold everyone, sit down quick!" choice. A couple of people walked in a commented on what a good looking bunch we have.

It was one elderly lady that made me think. She stopped and said hello, asked if the children had something good to eat. O responded a bit and they all smiled and said hello. Then she stood there for a minute. After a few seconds she rubbed CJ's head and I noticed her hands. The hands of an older woman have so much woven into them. I couldn't help wondering what work her hands have done all of these years. What brought on all of the lines? Was it years of caring for littles? Years of caring for elderly parents? What is the story behind those hands?

Albert's Granny is very ill. His parents have gone to be with her and we all seem to be waiting.

The lady at Chick-fil-A's hands remind me of Granny's hands. Her's have done the work of two or more women! They have raised six children, 16 grandchildren and so far 12 or more great grand children. They have been farm hands belonging to a farm wife. She has worked hard, fought the good fight and run the race to the end. I wish I knew more of her story.

These hands make me think that my lines are a reward. A lasting sign of the things I spend my days on. A memory for my children. I feel like days spent wiping noses, changing diapers, cleaning dishes, sewing various things, teaching, hugging, cuddling are the things that we remember and value and show love in a tangible way to those we love most.

Happy New Year!

Praising the Lord that with the new year will come a new life. Little Duck #5 should be arriving some time in July! Happy New Year!

Fall 2011

By my absence, you can only assume that life has been full around here.

We've thanked the Lord for the abundance He has given to us.

We've celebrated 7 years of married bliss.

We've refreshed our wedding vows with a simple, lovely ceremony on the beach and celebrated with a night away at the beach.

We've grown a lot in 7 years, in more ways than one!

We've hunted the perfect tree, prepared for the coming of the Savior

and today snapped some pictures of a little guy who is becoming a big guy.

On top of all of that excitement we have had our daily fullness of school and cleaning, time with friends, celebrating friend's new little blessings and a fresh cut for O.

It has been a wonderful and full fall.

I've been crafting....

I've been crafting. Our front door has had a makeover. Albert did the painting and I made the wreath. Take a peek:

Here is a close up of the wreath. It is made out of a styrafoam wreath form and fabric scraps. What could be more simple?

Doesn't it look cool from behind? This is what I get to see from inside.

I saw this: and tried to recreate it.

Here is a close up.

I actually finished this one today, but have not taken another picture. It is hanging over the drapes in O's room and is really pretty. I am very happy with how it turned out.

Who could resist that sweet face?

Road trip

Well, as I am sure you can guess, we have been busy.

This summer was a big one for us! We had twin cousins born in May, Albert turned 30 in June, Carson turned 1 in August and Canon turned 5 in August. To celebrate all of this, we headed out on a big road trip. We knew it would be a lot of hours in the car, but you just don't know what those hours feel like until you've sat through them. I was able to move around the most and my legs were aching by the end! So, anyway, our adventure brought us to Dallas. There we visited Albert's uncle, aunt and cousins,

my cousin, and her husband and kiddos

and Albert's sister. Our time there was SO encouraging. We loved every minute and were off to a great start on our journey.

Next we headed a tinge north to OKC. It was so exciting to be back! We drove through the base and saw our old home. The one that we brought three little ducks home to. The home where we grew so much in our faith in the Lord. The home that I couldn't wait to leave, but cried as we pulled out of the driveway. I almost cried driving by that day. I was happy to see that little house on the prairie. From the base we hurried to visit our dear friends. The Ks are more like family than friends. Mrs. K is the one who has taught me everything I know about homemaking. I love her so dearly and have truly missed our face time. Our kiddos hit it off and played beautifully together. The time was entirely too short. The next morning was our fellowship with our previous body of believers. It was so neat to be back and I cried a few times. It just felt like we were home, and I didn't realize how much I missed those people. Albert did the children's message while our littles roamed the platform. :{ We had dinner with my Sunday school teacher and soaked up their mentorship and love. I really did not realize how much I missed the prairie.

From there we spent a night in Salina, KS and surprised Albert's parents with an early arrival the next morning in CO. Our time there was short, but full. We spent a couple of days playing at the grandparent's and Albert and I squeezed in a date. We camped in Estes Park, went hiking and horseback riding. Grandpa saw a bear, but we missed it.We had a photo shoot with all 8 cousins, 5 and under. We had such a fun filled time. I know I am missing a lot of details, but we spent a lot of time enjoying the beautiful weather and playing.

On our way home we headed back to Dallas for the Great Wolf Lodge to celebrate C and CJ's birthdays. We had a blast. We just spent one night, but were able to play in the water park the day we got there and the day we left. I think that was just long enough for the age of our littles.

We decided after playing in the water park on the last day that we were ready to be home. So, my awesome husband drank a little coffee and brought us on home. I was so happy to sleep in our bed that night, not have to be in the car the next day, and be at home for the boy's birthdays.

So, now that a month has passed since our over 50 hours in the car, even more has happened. We were home for two weeks before heading to Georgia for a Navs conference. It was great, as is expected, and we left very encouraged and refocused on the vision. They didn't have childcare this time, so I was able to get a lot of time with the other moms and the littles were able to play, play, play.

Since then we have picked up a cold and are trying to figure out how to do school with a relaxed mentality.

Whew, it's been a busy month and a half!

June and July

Well, we've been busy again! Between blueberry picking, friends visiting, weddings, a pending road trip, a night away, a couple of dates and a couple of big birthdays coming up, it has been a packed summer!

The picture above was before a wedding. The big boys were ring bearers. The groom and groomsmen were in military dress uniforms, so it was fitting for the boys to wear the groom's work uniform. Everyone got a big hit out of their flightsuits and they did a great job of not behaving in a way that drew attention to themselves. It was a beautiful wedding and so fun to celebrate. I have never left a wedding feeling as excited for the couple as I did at this one. It was truly amazing!

Some of our friends from flight school stopped in on their loop out west. We haven't seen them in over a year and a half, so it was really great to touch base again!

The Red team came down to house hunt and spent the day with us. We are so excited to have them living close by before the end of summer. We were neighbors in OKC and our boys get along great. Hopefully the friendship will endure more than one playdate!

War painting has happened some, though not nearly as much as the boys would like.

Sword fighting on nature walks.

A fun find one morning. Did you know a dog can pick up a turtle? That was a little scary! He is not a new pet, but was fun to watch for a morning.

This beauty took place within a couple of ours from being home from our night away. Toothpaste doesn't wash off very easily! But she did smell great.

This little guy isn't walking yet, but enjoys pulling up on something and standing for several seconds. His biggest brother picked out this awesome outfit the other day and I had to capture it. CJ will really appreciate his brother's fashion sense when he's older!

Kindergarten plan

One friend asked what curriculum I am using for Kindergarten, so I thought I'd share my plan with all of you. I actually spent way longer than I meant to mulling this over. I am really excited about starting Tap.estry of Grace, but I want to wait another year. We've used Son.light for P3/4 and P4/5. It has been really great, but I just wasn't for sure about their Kindergarten. I'm not sure why, I just didn't love it. So, after figuring out a few different approaches and what I think will be enjoyable for my boys, while also being relaxed and purposeful, I came up with this. I'm not going to pull everything together again. It is taking a lot more work and well, I just don't have endless hours to set up my own teacher's manual. It is fun for one year, but I don't want to do the whole thing again.

Math: Saxon 1

We used Saxon K last year and it was great. C learned a ton and I want to keep this ball rolling. Albert and I are both pretty strong in math, so this is a great option for us right now.

Bible: The Child's Story Bible

This was given to us when B was born and is listed in several different curriculum that I am interested in. It is excellent!

The Big Book of Questions and Answers

I am planning to use this like a catechism, doing two lessons/week.

Navigator's Topical Memory system

This is our plan for scripture memory. C and I have already memorized the first 12 verses. We will both start on B pack and B will start on A pack. Is that confusing?

Science:

Christian Liberty Nature Reader Book K

The Burgess Bird Book For Children

Fun with Nature

More Fun with Nature

We are reading one small section of these. We'll work through one book at a time and take walks (hopefully daily) to search for the things we read about and just enjoy God's creation.

Music:

Mozart

Beethoven

Bach

I have one book on each of these and I am going to order one CD of each. We will listen as we do chores and prep lunch. I will switch to the next one after 12 weeks.

Art:

Da Vinci

Van Gogh

Monet

I have a coffee table book of Monet, along with a book about each. I am planning to buy a print or two of each of these greats and display them around our house. I also have a couple of books about teaching children art. I'm not totally sure about the details of this, but yeah, at least I have some good tools!

Read aloud:

I am reading the Little House on the Prairie collection during lunch.

My Father's Dragon 3 book series

Aesop's Fables for Children

A Child's Garden of Verses

The Biggest Bear

Dolphin Treasure

Miss Rumphius

Dolphin Adventure

Mary on Horseback

Thy Friend, Obadiah

Boxcar Children

Winnie the Pooh

Beatrix Potter The Complete Tales

James Herriot's Treasury for Children

Fables

Imogene's Antlers

I am planning to find some more books for reading aloud. We love new books and I think we will get through these pretty quickly.

Handwriting:

Cursive First

Reading:

Spell to Write and Read

We will work on phonograms this year. I am planning to really work on reading next year, after I become more familiar with the program.

Poetry:

A Light in the Attic

Winnie the Pooh

The Llama Who Had No Pajama

B will be doing Son.light P3/4, work on counting in rote and recognizing letters by sound.

We will also work on Habits and Handicrafts as recommended by Charlotte Mason approach. The big thing that I want to be intentional about is spending time observing and enjoying being outdoors. This is bigger to me than crafts. I think we are going to do all of our table work first thing in the morning, then read outside going straight into a nature walk, bike riding and play. We'll see when I get my house clean, but my children should be learning a lot and stretching their little minds.

First day is tomorrow. Pray for us!

May

So, I meant to post a few times in May, but obviously that didn't happen. We went to a Navigator's conference over Mother's Day weekend. Everyone grew a little taller and a little faster.

B asked to go for a walk every single day. On the days that we did not go for a walk he said, "I'm sorry that we didn't go for a walk today mommy, will you porgib (forgive) me?" Such a sweetie!

When I told O to put her hand down, she did this. It makes me smile!

I have a picture of my dad running behind me and we have a picture of Albert's sister running behind him, so excited that C is part of the club! He also asks for walks often, but none of us can keep up with him now!

CJ has cut two teeth, though there aren't any pictures of them..... He loves the beach and has taken two naps while being held in the water. He is such a quiet baby when he's outside, he just loves it!

It has certainly been hot enough for sprinklers and simply living in the water! I guess our cold front is long gone. So much for a cooler summer.

Here is our Mother's Day photo, taken the week after mother's day. No one was really in a photogenic mood when we got home from the conference. We did have a nice time celebrating the next weekend though. I just love these little crazies!