Their Eyes Were Watching Mom

Accountable Kids Review

2011-11-04T09:25:00.000-07:00

Accountable Kids was introduced to me by a good friend after a heavy-hearted discussion about how I felt like I wasn't building up my children enough. I felt as if there was too much spanking going on. I felt like I was fussing all the time, yelling all the time, and all too fed up with repeating the same things over and over and over!

"You know what your chores are! Why do I have to keep telling you what to do!"

"Can I watch T.V.? Can I play the iPod? Can I play on the computer?"

"Is the table cleaned? Is the floor swept? Is your room clean? Come on! If you know you haven't done your chores WHY are you even asking!?!

By adding Accountable Kids to our daily lives, those are conversations that no longer occur...most of the time.

The Accountable Kids program is a wonderful system that allows children to take responsibility for their chores, for their attitudes, for their actions, and for how they spend their free time. We've been using the program for almost a month now and I'm excited to share the experiences we've had with the program.

Let me first begin by explaining the break down of the program.

When you order the system you will receive the board, the core chore cards, best behavior cards, privilege passes, bonus bucks, the special date cards and stickers and the tickets and the book. The DVD is the same video listed on the website but can be purchases at a very minimal price(.99).

The program is broken down into four basic steps. In the first step, you introduce the core chore reminder cards. These cards can be broken down into morning, afternoon and evening chores. As your child completes the chores, they move the card to the second peg. For each section of the day the children earn a ticket for completing their chores. In our home, they only earn the ticket if they completed their chores with little or no prodding from us. This allows them to take responsibility for their actions. If they don't do their part, they don't earn their ticket. No ticket, no privileges. I love that the program gives us an alternative method of discipline. It also lets the children be ....well.... ACCOUNTABLE! No more "mean mommy, mean daddy"--THEY make the choice and know how to avoid punishment or losing privileges.

The Best Behavior cards are also introduced at this time. These are my FAVORITE!!! (They also yield the BIGGEST grins from my children!). This give me the chance to catch the being good! My son loaded the dishwasher--not even one of his responsibilities--and set the table for breakfast the next morning. I was blown away! I love catching them doing good and they LOVE when I acknowledge it!!! Who wouldn't, right?

In step two, the Privilege Pass and the Special Date cards are added. The Privilege Pass is to eliminate specific negative behavior. I am proud to announce that our three year old (soon to be four) is no longer a thumb sucker! WOW!!! A dentistry blessing! She was already starting to become conscious of it, the cards were just an extra push in the right direction. Praise the Most High! For my son, the behavior I wanted to eliminate was him neglecting the table and floor after they were done eating. If he wipes it down and sweeps up without being told, he gets a PP.

The Special Date card is another favorite of mine. It's like the Most High answered my prayer personally, lol. I worry that with a large and possibly expanding family, that my children will feel as if they didn't get enough attention from us. After the child earns a specific amount of stars (which is done by earning their tickets everyday), they get to go on a one on one date with a parent or grandparents. We added having a friend/relative over to spend the night to that category at the discretion of my son. As the eldest child by a good 5 years added to the fact that we home school, he gets sick of "the babies". Having a child (or children) his age come over is more work for me, so I let him earn it! Whatever works, right?

In step three and four the Extra Chores, Bonus Bucks, Savings, Helping Hands and in step five Family Forum and Quiet Time are introduced. These portions of the program allow the children to be paid for doing things outside of their normal chores. It paves the way for learning to manage money (and who doesn't need THAT lesson these days?). The Helping Hands card comes in handy with our two year old. She is really good at messing up while the other two are cleaning up so we designated those cards for her (for now). It gets her involved with an otherwise over her head concept and the kids encourage her as they clean rather than yell constantly because she's taking things out. I hear "Don't you want a ticket? Come on, put this over there." rather than "STOOOOOP, MOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!" (Because fighting and not attempting to work things out in a civil manner will lose them a ticket). The Family Forum is wonderful because it keeps the enthusiasm up and keeps everyone on the same page. DEFINITELY a must. We haven't gotten to that point and I didn't purchase that board, but I see WHY they make it part of the program!!!

My honest opinions of the program as it has worked for OUR family:

On a scale of 1 to 5 I'd give it a stellar 3.8 with the STRONG possibility of it becoming a 4.8.

This program is definitely moving things to a state of order in my home. It is very well laid out. VERY easy to understand and definitely has great potential to work with virtually any family. You will get out of this system what you put into it. If you're passionate and excited about it, your children will be as well. If you are consistent, then they will see you mean business.

The quality of the materials are good. I have noticed that a few of the cards have gotten bent up, an action that will begin to cost them a ticket if it continues, but they are pretty durable. The boards are great. Decorating them was fun. I let my children pick their colors, but I did the bulk of the decorating. You can see our boards and our wall set up here and here.

We've run into a few road blocks with the program.

#1. Being homeschoolers our days just sort of run together. So to separate the tickets into times of day was some what counter productive. I found that my son would just stop because a certain task was an "afternoon" task. Introducing a time to begin may or may not help with this. I'm still trying to find what works best.

#2. There weren't enough duplicate cards for tasks that are to be done several times a day. For example. Clearing the table and sweeping. We are home ALL day, so this is done anywhere between 3 and 5 times per day! My son always has to be reminded to do this and it irks me. So, we're attempting to remedy that with the privilege pass. We made his target behavior clearing the table and sweeping after meals/snacks without being told. This, so far, hasn't yielded any results, but we'll see. I'm going to have to make a HUGE deal of it when he does so that he is more apt to want to do it again.

#3. Making sure that I set attainable goals. I did a lot as an eight year old. And I did it right. My mother didn't accept half done work and there were definite consequences for it. I don't know if I've set the bar too high, or if he just needs to get on the ball, but I'm hoping that using this program more consistently will work out the kinks. Which brings me to number four.

#4. Being CONSISTENT! It's a MUST with this program. We are still finding space for this program in our lives hence my saying I expect a good 4.8 rating long term. Also, my husband wasn't as keen on the program as I so we had to get on the same page and make sure we're both staying on top of it. Once we're more consistent, I think it'll reach it's full potential.

Stay tuned for further posts about our journey with Accountable Kids! Visit their website www.accountablekids.com to read more reviews of this amazing product!

Accountable Kids: Days 2-4

2011-10-20T13:50:00.000-07:00

The kids are loving it!

My son seems so much more light hearted. I feel like I'm fussing less. My television has only been on ONCE this week!!! My eldest daughter (three) is THRILLED to earn her tickets! My two year old doesn't really care much. I don't even press it with her, we move her card as things are completed and I let her put her cards on the peg. She enjoys doing that since she sees everyone else doing it. She'll catch on though.

One thing I LOVE is the prayer card. Life gets busy and prayers lives can suffer because of it. Now I have THREE little people saying "MOMMY!!! We didn't PRAY!!!". If you know ANY thing about the persistence of children you know we HAVE to pray or I'll never hear the end of it! That's a good thing!

We still have some quirks to work out. One thing I'm noticing is that while I run a fairly structured day, the morning, afternoon, evening thing just kinda runs together! If I had it to do again, I don't know if I would cut the cards. I understand that the distinction is important because they earn a ticket three times a day...but really and truly they only have time to use about two of them so the morning ticket and the afternoon/evening ticket.

Alright...moment of truth: There hasn't been a day yet when EVERY card has been turned over on either of their boards. This will eventually happen, but they have to get used to checking their boards and I have to make sure my stuff is done so they can do theirs. So far I'm not making a big fuss over it. I've just been encouraging them to check their boards. I also mention their cards and the incentives a lot to keep the excitement up. As I'm typing my 8 year old is proudly explaining the AK wall to his buddies. *big grin*! At least I know he's enjoying it!

I'm THOROUGHLY enjoying the dynamic between he and I this week. I've been doing lots more encouraging, "atta boying", even when he missed the mark--I found something positive in what he did. Thank you AK BOOK! The bottom line was that he was trying to be responsible and I didn't want to discourage him from taking initiative the way he did.

As I stated earlier in my post "My BMW", this program is as much for me as it is for them. Many of the chores are dependent upon me doing something first (like laundry) so I have to make sure I'm doing my part as well. If I don't, they're fussing because they can't turn their card! AND I want to make sure I'm building up their self esteem.

So all in all, so far so good. Yes, we have a few kinks to work out. I certainly have to get on my game and stay a step ahead of them. I've been have been a cheerleader this week! I'm thrilled! We'll see how it goes next week!

Accountability Kids: Day 1

2011-10-17T18:41:00.000-07:00

The book said not to take any tickets on the first day. Maaaan...! I will not say that this was a superb day by far, but I certainly see where the downfalls were. I was less attentive to my son because I was completing a word wall for my preschoolers and painting the mini board for the AK wall. I have a blessing and a curse in that I have an eye for detail and I get knit-picky when I'm completing things. That meaning it took me a while to complete those projects therefore I didn't catch things as I normally would. For example:

My son started off wonderfully. He brushed his teeth, made his bed, got dressed, brushed his hair (!!a feat!!)....and then he stopped, sat down and was just chilling. I asked, "Son, what are you doing?".

"My breakfast card is next and breakfast isn't ready." he answered.

"Uhm...then move on to the next thing!" I said slightly irritated.

We discussed the rule should something like that happen again. It's a pet peeve of mine. He's really good at finding reasons to do nothing when there is lots to be done. It irks me. So when I saw him just sitting there, I had to shove my horns back in and calmly redirect him. Hopefully he gets it now and we won't have to review that.

I must have said "You would have lost a ticket for that." about 30 times today. Home school ran long. Long as in...we're still trying to complete things at 9:30 p.m. Normally I would just say "go to bed". But we can't fall behind. We missed a few days within the last few weeks and we can't afford to. I think there are smoother days ahead. Thing were thrown off kilter because I was working on the projects.

They each only earned the morning ticket. I will say there is a delayed gratification for them since they don't earn the morning card until after morning classes. This may be in error on my part, but I'm going to give it a go for a while. My son was more driven to get those two morning classes out of the way, so maybe it'll work out fine. If not, I may end up ordering more cards so that I can change the time of day they complete certain things. I did keep the cut off portions (just in case I changed my mind and wanted to switch the schedule around).

It certainly keeps ME more busy since the girls' cards getting turned depends a great deal on me since the chores I've given them, while they are capable of doing them alone, they aren't accustomed to doing them and will take some time to develop the routine.

All in all I don't feel discouraged by Day 1 of Accountable Kids. If anything I am more driven to make tomorrow even better! My projects are done so I can focus on schooling and what not. I am EXHAUSTED so I'm calling it a night!

Until tomorrow!

Accountability Kids: We're READY!

2011-10-16T18:32:00.000-07:00

Alright!!!

The book has been read! The Facebook page has been hot with ideas! We are ready to begin and get THIS! My son is so excited that he was doing chores this evening without being told. The sheer excitement of beginning fresh in the morning was incentive enough for him to want to start off on a good foot. My three year old was reminding ME of the things she needed to do before bed (instead of the other way around!). It was awesome! Scooby gave me the tightest hug goodnight! I pray that this system is a good fit for him and our entire family!

Here is our wall:

On the wall are friendly reminders of what our rules are, what our target behavior for our son's Privilege Pass is, the things that will get their tickets taken, and what best behaviors we can praise.

Here's to a great week!

Accountable Kids: Just a few notes...

2011-10-10T00:08:00.001-07:00

We received our order last Thursday. Yay! I'm so excited to begin this program with the kids. I wanted to jot a few things down to note for those of you researching the product.

My first impression upon receiving the products: Okay first and second. First was: "FINALLY!". My order took longer than expected. I'm a walk in and walk out with it kinda shopper so waiting on something to come via UPS drove me batty. I ordered on the 28th of Sept., (pretty late at night) and I received it all on Oct.6th. Moving on, second thought was: "These are smaller than I imagined". Don't get me wrong, they aren't all that small, I think I was just picturing them bigger. They are just the right size though, so if you're looking to buy don't let that stop you, just note that they're an inch short of a standard ruler (11inches) in length. They'll fit practically anywhere you decide to put them!

The Book: A little heavier than I imagined! I wavered a bit on whether or not to buy the book. I went ahead and purchased it with the first kit hoping there were tips and suggestions for what to use tickets for, how to troubleshoot problems before hand, that sort of stuff. I was pleasantly surprised to find that as well as giving the who, what, and why of the program, it actually goes into developmental stages and learning styles of children as well. This is valuable information for any parent--whether you're using the program or not! The book goes through each step of the program and really lays it all out in the open. It even gives a detailed description of each type of card, what/when it's to be used and the sort. If you're going back and forth on whether or not to buy the kit with the book, I say GET THE BOOK!!! I'm glad I did!

So step 1: Reading the book is almost complete. I have a few chapters to go still. Step 2: I've decorated the boards. What? *YOU* decorated the boards? Yes folks. I couldn't bring myself to let the kids do the boards alone. I'm a tad "particular" about how things look. I like symmetry, I like even patterns, matching colors, and the sort. I wanted the boards to grow with the children. I didn't want them to get 11 and hate the board or feel it's too babyish because they scribbled on it several years before they "knew better". So yeah. I applaud any one with patience enough to allow their children to do it alone. I let mine pick their colors and certain details, but the work was done by yours truly!

If you want yet another idea of how to decorate, here they are. I made a last minute addition to one of the boards, and I've included a picture of that minor detail as well.

I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. I think the designs will stick with them for a while before they start to think they're babyish. That was one concern I had about decorating them. I started to just stain them and keep it moving, but I wanted them to be excited about their little personalized board, so...decorate, I did.

Yom Kippur 2011

2011-09-30T06:44:00.000-07:00

Too often we go through life without seriously contemplating the long term consequences of our decisions, words, and actions. More often we carry around frustration, hurt, and anger against friends and loved ones that they may or may not have any idea they have caused. It takes away from our quality of life and it disintegrates relationships.

How much more peace would we have if each year we dedicated and entire season to correcting ourselves. An entire season to reach out to our loved one and say "I love you. If I have wronged you or caused you grief, please tell me and forgive me so that we can continue in the love of the Father."? I think it would be a tremendous step toward wholeness for so many people and families across the globe. This is why I am honored and humbled to be observing Yom Kippur once again this year.

This is a very important Holy Day for us. This is the season in which we self reflect, repent, and teshuvah (return) ourselves to the ways of Torah. It is also the season of repaying debts, righting wrongs, and forgiveness. Every one should be so lucky to have such an awesome time to "get it together". I am SO thankful that the Most High saw fit to show us the beauty of this season and share with us this Holy Day.

As our family enters Yom Kippur, the most solemn of all the Holy Days, I thank the Most High for an opportunity to get it right. I thank him for his grace and mercy and I am thankful that he hasn't saw fit to deliver unto us our just recompense. I am grateful for the opportunity to solemnly go before the Most High and humbly ask for him to forgive me of the sins that may I have committed intentionally and for his mercy in dealing with me and also for things I may have done unintentionally and for his grace, so that I might live long enough to get it right.

My BMW

2011-09-24T21:07:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, I'm not the recipient of a trendy ride. I do, however, have Bad Mommy Woes. Ever feel like you've earned the "Bad Mommy" award?

Winner, right here. It saddens my heart greatly to know that I have dropped the ball and have not been the stellar mom that all my family and friends believe me to be. Confession is good for the soul they say. I need to do better.

All too often, I point out the negative behaviors in my children while forgetting to celebrate the positive. I give the occasional "attaboy" but not nearly enough. I've known this for some time-- and though I think to myself "Self, you've got to do better before you scar these beautiful beings for life." I have done little to rectify my behavior.

Why I've waited so long to really buckle down and fix this I don't know. I'm beginning to see a "numbness" in my son now and it breaks my heart to know that I am responsible for it. He's is such a sweet and kindhearted child. So compassionate. So helpful. But I've punished and reprimanded and pushed him to the point of...I don't know....something that I have no other word for than "numbness". He needs more from me. I do know that. He needs my approval of him, more affection, less yelling and resentment from me for simply behaving as an 8 year old boy should. He's not an adult and I shouldn't expect him to behave as such.

It's taken taken some tears. It's taken some prayer. It's taken some after hours conversations with one of my best friends (whom I love and cherish dearly --thank you--) for me to get a handle on it. But now I have a plan...

Accountable Kids.com

This program was suggested to me by my dear friend and though it's taken a bit of consideration (because everything is expensive when you multiply it by four!) I am shelling out the dough for this positive parenting program. I can't wait! I will be ordering this on September 28, 2011.

I will be doing a full review of the program as we go. I will include the ups, downs, and in betweens of the program. I hope that it will be a great tool for helping me to achieve my own personal goal as a mother. I want to build my children up. I want to be their main cheerleader, not their crappy criticizer. I want them to know that I see the good in them. This program is for me as much as it is for them.

Accountable kids? Yeah, that sounds wonderful. But an accountable Mommy...THAT is my motivation.

Momma should've told me...

2010-12-01T16:35:00.000-08:00

There are times in life where we all wonder "Why on Earth didn't my momma tell me about (fill in the blank). Here are a few that have crossed my mind...

About Motherhood/Babies/Children:
You won't care (much) when they excrete on you. Whatever it is.

You'll love them the moment you find out you're pregnant. You'll die for them the moment you lay eyes on them.

You will examine poop and even occasionally be excited about a bowel movement.

Newborns are the loudest mammals on Earth at 2:00 in the morning.

They cry at pitches that often go unheard by the untrained Husband ear.

Though it'd be ideal, they don't always turn out to be the brightest, the cutest, or the nicest.

You'll think they are the cutest baby on the planet, even if they look like ET.

There are times you'll find it hard to separate their shortcomings/failures from your own.

There are days you'll feel like a bad mommy, a failure, for (fill in the blank)....but we've all done it.

About Husbands/Marriage:
Husbands can make you feel like the most important person on the planet. They can also piss you off like no other person on the planet.

Being married is a full time job and you're paid on commission. You'll get out of it what you put into it. If you want more you'll have to give more and often just like your regular job, you'll have to work a week in the hole before you get "paid".

Though it may sound archaic, you will occasionally need to speak his native language "caveman". For example: "Need money, diapers." and "Change!" (and point to the nearest smelly little person).

It won't be so cute later. Don't worry about what "it" is. When "it" rears it's new ugly head, you'll know precisely what "it" is.

An Amazing Birthing Experience

2010-11-23T17:11:00.000-08:00

(Seth Arion Amey)

I went to bed early (9 or so) because I had my midwife appointment @ 11:30am, however, I woke up at 11:37pm because I was dreaming I was having contractions. It was weird because I went from dreaming to WIDE AWAKE in two seconds. I did feel a tad crampy and suspected he might be on his way since his sister was born on the same day (gestationally) at 38w4d and I'd been having some bloody show. I didn't immediately think "it's time" w/ the bloody show because it can still be a week or more away for me.

I was beyond sick of playing the waiting game and decided to busy myself with the cleaning I'd neglected while I sulked all day about still being pregnant, lol. I finished the kitchen. Straightened the living room and started a load of laundry. I called my doula around 12am to tell her that I was having some irregular crampy contractions and that I'd seen some pink just so she could be on alert. I told her I was going to fold some laundry and see if there was any pattern to my contractions and that I'd call her back if anything perked up.

I grabbed my laundry basket, sat down my PC, logged onto facebook and saw my sister was online. I chatted with her for a bit. Told her I was timing contractions but not to wake mom since I wasn't in labor really. I had three contractions that were six minutes apart lasting about a minute, then one that was spaced longer than 6 and shorter than a minute. Then my PC froze and I lost use of my online timer so I got all frustrated. Then I had another one and I shot up out of my computer chair....at that point I called my husband. I didn't know if my contractions were regular or if it was real labor or not, but I knew that one--hurt! and that he MIGHT need to get on the road just in case since he was a good 4 hours away. That was at 1:18am.

Soon as I hung up with him I picked the phone back up to call my MIL to tell her to come take me to the hospital. The hospital I was 45 minutes away and I didn't want to take the chance of not making it. I figured if I wasn't in labor then no big deal, better safe than sorry. BUT.....the phone went dead. The ONLY phone in the whole house went D-E-A-D dead!!!! Luckily I was still chatting with my sister so I gave her the number and told her to call my MIL and tell her we needed to go. By the grace of the Most High the phone had enough juice for me to call the doula and the midwife to let them know we were going to the hospital--which I almost forgot to do.

My MIL got to my house around 1:45am. By then I was SURE I was in labor. I had to sway or rock and moan through my contractions. They were NO JOKE! I was glad it was late and that the kids were sleep. I would not have been able to deal with them through those contractions. It was a long and BUMPY ride in the backseat to the hospital. It wasn't until then I realized just how many hospitals we passed on the way. Three to be exact. Neither of them were water birthing hospitals though.

At this point I had let go of my water birth. My little booger flipped back over (head up) somewhere between 35 and 37wks. I had been going to a chiropractor for her to do the Webster technique to flip him along with all the funky upside down exercises I was supposed to do. But since I didn't make it to my next midwife appt I had no way of knowing whether he had turned or not.....until we hit a bump and I felt him float from top to bottom and SMACK my cervix mid contraction.... OOOOWWWWWW!!! He was still breech, but he was on his way. I just hoped his feet were tucked up so that I wouldn't have to have a c-section. With my husband working out of town and only being home on weekends, I just wouldn't have time to recoup from major surgery and care for the children and our home.

We got to the hospital at 2:15. When I stepped out of the car I felt like something was emerging from my cervix. I was so scared it was his cord. I tried to walk into the hospital but had to lower myself to the ground in a weird position through a contraction. I needed things to slow down and that's what the Most High had me do. They sent an escort who wheeled me up to L&D. They asked if I could fill out paper work....UHM NO! "What's you name?".......silence, silence, silence.....Crystal Xxxxx. She took me to the first room available and gave me a gown and left to go page the doctor who was to order my ultrasound since baby was breech.

All the modesty I'd worried about having before...GONE...I pulled the clothes off, put the gown on the front of me, didn't even attempt to close it in back and prayed as I tried to climb on the bed. My hands and intertwined fingers trembled as I prayed "Please help me, please help me..." I got onto the bed backwards and moaned, rocked, and prayed. I was rethinking this "natural birthing" thing when my doula walked in and rubbed my back and told me I was doing great. I was still hurting A LOT...but her gentle touch took the tiniest bit of edge off. A nurse came in and told me to lay on my back....mid contraction. "I CAN'T....I CAN'T!!!" man was I hurting. Somehow I finally managed to get onto my back. She told me she needed to check me, to open, breath through the contraction, then looked down and yelled "CLOSE YOUR LEGS CLOSE YOUR LEGS!!!!"

My water bag was bulging and she didn't want it to break since the baby was breech and the presenting part was unknown. My midwife wasn't there yet and she was just a nurse. I'm pretty sure the thought of having to deliver a breech baby freaked her out, lol. A minute later my midwife got there and said we had to break my water to be able to tell what was coming. The thought of stronger contractions could've darn near killed me. She went to the side to prep and the bag burst and a nurse yelled "It burst. There's FEET!". My midwife, bless her, was cool as a cucumber. I was screaming like a maniac and she told me to give a little push to which I thought Seriously? Pushing time? I JUST GOT HERE!

Well she said push so I did. Out popped his legs and they were kicking away. She guided out his torso and arms....then there was his head. Everything was out but his head was still in. You talkin' bout in pain!!!! "You have to push! You gotta push...HARD!!!" my midwife told me. Pulling him could have been extremely dangerous so pushing was a MUST! The thought of my baby dangling like that with the possibility of being hurt or suffocating (cuz his cord came out with his feet) helped me to push harder than I've ever pushed before. I'm sure the entire floor heard me scream and then out he popped and I burst into tears. 2:33am. Happy Birthday Baby Boy.
He was perfect. 7lbs 7oz. Wide awake. No coughing or wheezing, no oxygen needed, no injuries or bruising, no meds and he didn't even tear me. My mother in law was present, as was my doula. Hubby made it to the hospital safely about an hour after the birth.

From beginning to end the Most High really took care of us. From the doula I chose, to the midwives my doula referred me to, to the timing of getting to the hospital. Another few minutes and I'd have had him in the car or the parking lot with heaven knows who. I was GBS+ and didn't have time to get the antibiotics but he came so fast after my water broke his labs came back perfectly normal. I'm am so glad he's here and so are his brother and sisters.

Future slapped me: A blast from the past

2010-08-10T11:33:00.000-07:00

I looked back at some old journal entries and found one that I found quite funny. As I now look forward to life with four children, I had to laugh as I read my thoughts of having three. Enjoy.

Expecting this "SURPRISE" baby has obviously taken some getting used to. Three??? THREE kids??? And TWO of them UNDER TWO??? What's that gonna be like is all I can wonder.You ever had a situation or seen someone else's situation and it was like looking into the future? Well I did just last week.The future reached in and slapped me right in the face!

I had an OB appointment the other day and had to take along this little boy I was baby sitting. He and my daughter are 13 months apart. (Noodle and my daughter will be 14 months apart). Well I don't have a car right now, so my mother in law had to take us. So together MIL and I lugged three carseats into the car, scrambling to find everyone's buckles and books and whatnots to keep them busy.

Then once we got there, we fought with a tiny stroller that would've ordinarily been an easy item, but it had never been used and still had the factory ties around it. Scissors...found some scissors---phew! Okay, lil'est baby in the stroller, toddler walking slow as molasses in the winter time, and five year old whining because HE wanted to push the baby....we got IN to the office--a feat in itself.I sign in, 3 minutes late, while MIL looks for four seats that are all together. Alright...now we wait. The word itself makes me shudder.

Thing 1 finally tires of the neat colorful stroller and wants to be held, bounced, and boogied, Thing 2 cries for the sippy cup that I'd really planned to give him much later since the waiting in these offices is ridiculous, and Thing 3 whines, bounces, twists, turns, and makes little boy sound effects with the puppets he found God comically gave him at birth (his hands) because he left his busy books IN THE CAR.Grandma happily took Thing 1-bounced and boogied, I reluctantly gave Thing 2 the sippy cup, and Thing 3 settled for a magazine about 5 ways to raise polite children. (big sigh)....I get called back.....hmm, ten minutes, not so bad, maybe this will go okay after all...

I get to the back where the "bed" always seems much too high (considering the women who have to climb up them can barely lift one knee higher than the other, are generally suffering from sciatica, along with this horrible pubic pain of baby on the pelvic bone, and overall just tired of being pregnant syndrome) and I sit.....and sit.....and sit.....I was frustrated to say the least. I waddle to the door with the intent of opening it, fniding the nearest nurse and telling her to call me back when the doctor has an appointment he can keep...well, I'm not that mean--it wasn't her fault, and I definitely didn't want to have to try to lug Things 1, 2, and 3 down here again in a day or two. So I politely went out and asked if she had any idea about how much longer.....because 30 minutes of staring at puke green and ivory floors, doors and furniture was 30 too many for me.

Doc finally comes in about 7 minutes later, tells me my iron is way too low, that I'm six pounds heavier which would usually be fine but I need to cut out bread since I was overweight to begin with, and that I'll get a sonogram when I come in next. Sends me to get MORE blood drawn....all of which took about 7 minutes total---appointment over.I waited for 45 minutes for THAT!!! I could've stayed at home. Seriously.

So....we did everything we did before, except backwards. Loaded up children, fought again with the stroller that didn't want to be folded back into it's "convenient" space saving form, listened to whining about books from the back seat, got home lugged out carseats, and that was that. Future kindly removed her heavy hand from my face, and I did laundry for the remainder of the day. Home school, lol, yeah right.

My oh my, I think I'll just stay in until they're ALL atleast ten. lol.

Book Light

2010-08-01T15:02:00.001-07:00

Caption reads: By reading I've become more confident in my ability to birth naturally. Self confidence will be a major key to my success. The information I've gained thus far has really shed light on how birthing has become a medical emergency and how hospitals stand to profit from intervening. Birthing naturally is empowering women all over the country (I should've put world). It is my plan to join this group of strong women. I hope to carry the experience with me throughout the rest of my life's challenges.

Differing Opinions

2010-08-01T14:56:00.001-07:00

Top caption: In my eyes.

Bottom caption: In his eyes.

Best Gift Yet!

2010-08-01T14:49:00.000-07:00

Caption reads: I saw the opportunity as a gift. I am very thankful . --Crystal

Grab A Limb

2010-08-01T14:23:00.001-07:00

Caption reads: I'm already pulled in four different directions. Where do you plan to grab hold little baby?...Oh. Of course! Don't worry little baby. Mommies always find a way.

Big Needles In the Dark

2010-08-01T14:12:00.001-07:00

I've been reading Birthing From Within and it's given me the wonderful inspiration to create a birth art journal. I've never been very good at journaling so keeping a pregnancy journal would bomb big time. I do, however, find drawing to be just as therapeutic for me. So I figure, why not!?

I'll post my "art" as I create them. Feel free to comment.

My first entry: Caption reads: I am in the dark. This has been the way my birth experiences have gone in the past. I want it to be different this time. I want something more. More love, more support, more empowerment, more trust. I am in the dark. I don't know my options, therefore, I have none. But that's about to change. --Crystal

Water Birthing is Deep...but should it be?

2010-07-30T06:23:00.001-07:00

Am I doing this for the right reasons? I read last night in Birthing from Within that every woman has questions about birth, but if someone can answer it, then you haven't dug deep enough into really preparing for the birth experience. My question would have to be, am I doing this for the right reasons. I found that after a spat with Hubby that I felt disrespected. Along with this feeling came the thought "He'll respect me after I deliver this baby naturally." which was immediately followed by shock.

Am I doing this because I think he'll respect me more for it? I feel like sometimes what I do isn't appreciated or respected. Cleaning, cooking, and caring for children isn't exactly at the top of his list of "respectable jobs" and I think I carry that thought around so much that it's become rather heavy. There's nothing in the world I'd rather do than be a stay at home mother. Not right now anyway. I think what I do is very important. No, I don't work a 9am to 5pm job...it's actually a 7am to 8pm. job. It's not as "easy" or "luxurious" as he would make it sound, and I'm not asking it to be, I'm just asking for a little respect.

Anyhow, I haven't answered my question really. I guess I have a few reasons as to why I think I'm doing this. Perhaps the answer won't really come until I'm in the midst of doing it, when all the labor and pain hit. Will I still want to go through with it for the reasons that sit on the surface, or will I be laboring naturally for a deeper reason....or worse, giving in? Hubby's support during labor I feel may make or break this experience. Well, I hope it doesn't make or break it, but I guess I fear the lack of support from him may break me.

Now having taken the fear out of the bag so that I can see it clearly I will be able to put it away. In the event that for whatever reason he's unable to give me what I need in labor, I will have other support. Be it the midwife, my doula, or simply my mother. I will have back up support to keep me focused.

Glad I got that out.

Preparing for a Water Birth

2010-07-18T07:37:00.001-07:00

The decision to birth naturally has come to me with it's share of doubts, fears, responsibilities, and expenses.

Well, the "expenses" part has pretty much come to Hubby, and I'm very greatful to him for going along with it all. So far we've hired a doula, which cost a pretty penny, but I haven't heard a woman yet say she experienced buyers remorse afterward. There's the literature, since educating myself on it is essential to my having any confidence in my ability to do it. There's also the fee for the water birth class the hospital requires in order to have a water birth. But the rest, I'm pretty much dealing with alone.

The doubts and fears: Will I really be able to deal through the pain? I'm sort of a chicken when it comes to pain, hence the three epidurals thus far. I remeber the contractions with both Scooby and Yaya hurt prior to the epi, but they were bearable. Being attached to a bed probably didn't help. So I'm hoping with the help of the doula and the midwife, we'll find something to ease the pain. I've been trying to mentally prepare myself. I have to remind myself that pain and suffering don't go hand in hand. It may hurt, but it's pain with purpose and that I CAN do it. For one reason or another, thinking about my great grandma makes me feel more confident. She passed last year at 99.5 years old. I know she did it without an epidural and....by golly I just figured out what I want to take as my focal point!

Will Hubby be supportive enough to help me through it? He's really cynical. He's already said "You're gonna cave."...which actually kinda hurt my feelings but kinda ticked me off. Like dang! Thanks for the vote of confidence! Natural birthing is sort of a mind over matter kind of thing. You have to make up your mind to do it, and then have all the support you can around you for when you feel like a lunatic for doing it. Any negative energy can sabotage your mission and should be avoided at all costs. I really hope he steps up to the plate when the time comes.

Will we make it to the Hospital on time? The closest water birthing hospital near us is 45 minutes away. Atlanta traffic is like a tortuous monster that keeps us country folk held hostage in our homes between the hours of 7 and 10 in the morning and 3 and 7 in the evening. I don't wanna get caught in that mess on ANY day, let alone in labor. I've heard time and time again that laboring in the car is horrible. So far all of my babies have come in that rush hour window so I'm sending 1:00 am vibes to baby as I type.

This will certainly be a journey. Writing my birth story and being able to look back at this will be interesting.

Back to the Bloggin' Bandwagon

2010-07-16T10:30:00.000-07:00

Hello again. This.....is the catch up blog, lol.

After a long hiatus, I've finally decided to get back on the bloggin' bandwagon. Last I wrote we were preparing for the CRCT. The test went pretty well considering it was his first BIG test ever. He didn't do as well as I would have liked him too, but all in all, he's learning, that's evident, and I'm good with that. We're taking a break over the summer. Not really doing a whole lot, other than reading and a few math skills. We both needed the break!

Moving right along. Hubby was off work for nine months straight. Can you imagine? He was on unemployment for nine months straight. We didn't lose our home, nothing got turned off, we ate well, anything that broke got fixed, and no one got sick. Our patience, our faith, and our marriage were all tested and I can truly say, that we've been blessed; that is a testimony. Hubby has recently begun working again, and though the job brings it's own set of circumstances, it's a job. He's enjoying the job, I'm enjoying having the house back to myself and keeping it neat and in order, and we're both enjoying him getting a paycheck, lol.

In other breaking news: I had been going to the gym faithfully for a while then got sick. I was sick for several weeks and basically fell off the gym bandwagon...and hard. I STILL haven't been back. I have been doing some things at home.....okay well, I plan to start doing my walking DVD and my prenatal yoga DVD to keep things in check. Which leads me to our next update.

We're expecting another baby! This would be the reason I was sick. I guess you could say we're getting them out of the way, lol. We had a baby Nov. 2007, Feb. 2009 (those two are 14.5 months apart), and now we're expecting the next addition Nov. 2010. This will mean the last two are about two years apart, a decent space we feel. It's taken a while for it to actually kick in that another baby will be joining us, but since the little one has begun kicking and punching in there, it has defnitely set in. We're happy since we knew we wanted another one, and even happier as we recently recieved
THIS: THIS:

AND THE KICKER, THIS!:

Thine eyes do not decieve thee! Ladies and Gentlemen THAT is a wee wee. YES! After two little princesses back to back we are finally expecting our second son. We have a seven year old son, but this will be Hubby's first biological son, so yeah....it's a big deal. Especially since we (okay maybe I) was SURE he only made girls, lol. Big brother is THRILLED since the idea of ANOTHER sister wasn't exactly bringing a smile to his face.

This time we're scheduling a water birth. This will mean NO epidural for me. I don't want to get an epidural this time around. One, because they don't work for me. And two I would really like to be able to experience what the Most High has created my body to do. We have hired a doula and I'm now seeing a midwife instead of an OB.

I'm very excited. I've been reading everything I can get my hands on, talking to other women who have birthed naturally for support, and just looking forward to the experience all together! It will be tough, but I'm confident that I was made for this and that we will welcome our son in to the world without the use of drugs or other unecessary medical interventions.

I can't wait!

Long time-No Post...?

2010-03-29T06:38:00.000-07:00

If you haven't noticed, I haven't had much to say lately. We've been dealing over here on this end. I have been going to the gym, okay I HAD been going to the gym but I've been sick so I haven't been in a week and a half. Probably won't see it this week either. Either way, I apparently only worked hard enough to lose one pound in like two weeks. I don't eat horribly, I might've been eating late, I don't know, but it was disheartening.

I want to get done with homeschool this year. We both need a break. Spring break is near but we'll probably be working through it in one class maybe two. We'll be finishing things up between April 14th and the end of May, all before the last day of school (June 4), thank the Most High for that.

We're preparing for the CRCT right now, so we're pretty busy over here trying to cover all the basics. Between that and the general family dynamic, my hands are full. I'll be posting more when I feel better and the hustle and bustle boils down!

Weekly Weigh-In: Where'd it go?

2010-03-04T03:50:00.000-08:00

If you haven't already noticed I haven't posted a recent weight. That's because I found out my scale has been playing a cruel cruel trick and I refuse to step on it and give it the satisfaction ANYmore. Apparently my scale is off by SEVERAL pounds.

When I took the girls for their yearly check ups I decided to give a whirl on the digital doctors office scale. Wanna know what it said?

197.4 or point something, I was too disgusted to remember!!!!

Yes. So all of those updates on the side, they're probably a load of crap and it's pushed me into a constant state of emotional eating here lately. It really sucks. I feel like all of my effort has been in vain. I'm back at square one because what I THOUGHT was working apparently was not so I'm back to figuring out what works for me. I guess knowing what DOESN'T work is a great starting place, but still. That's like two months or more of...lies. I feel so betrayed and like a big fat failure. (sigh).

Counting my calories got old after about a month. It's the longest I've ever been able to go. Used to be that two weeks of counting every little smidget and crumb and I was through. Now that I've hit the counting calorie conundrum it's going to be harder to stick with it. Good grief.

I have been to the gym twice this week. Day 1 was relatively easy with a tad of soreness. I did some weight training for my arm and legs and walked between 3.5 and 4.0 (mostly 4.0) on the treadmill with a three minute 4.5 boost. I thought the tendon at the back of my knee was going to snap, but I finished. Day two I only did legs. I hate doing legs. By the time I was supposed to get on the treadmill, I had to stay mostly between 3.0 and 3.7 with a two minute boost at 4.5. I thought I was going to pass out during the boost, but I finished.

Supposed to workout today but Hubby has class. I may just drop the kids off with grandma and go get intimate with the treadmill. I hate him (Mr. Mill) right now and we need some time to work things out. That and an ab workout. I haven't done abs this week either.

Homeschool has been suffering do to all of this. I'm bummed and I'm drained. My patience is thin and....OMG... I'm like a calorie junky going through withdrawls! I'm moody, cranky. I have the munchies like nobody's business. I ate cookies guys. I won't say how many of these blasted 80 calorie cookies I ate, but it was bad. All I ate yesterday was veggie pot pie, which is probably cool if I had had it for dinner only, but for breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, and a bagel with strawberry jelly and lowfat cream cheese..... well that makes for a super caloric day because of all the bread.

I need an intervention.

Mamavation Monday

2010-03-01T10:20:00.000-08:00

I've already hit the gym with my trainer (hubby...he gets mean, lemme tell ya!) once this week already. I was dreading it, but I felt GREAT afterward. I'm pretty sore now Going again Tuesday. Eating well so far this week. I hit up Kroger's sale and got veggie steamers for 78 cents a piece! OH YEAH! So I will be loading up on my veggies this week for sure. Going to see if I can snag me some more coupons before the sale is over

This Week:

Avoiding my pitfalls:

1. Eating late

2. Butter on my jelly bagels

3. Publix's Bakery

Eating Better:

1. More Veggies

2. More Fruits

3. Lower calorie more healthy meals/snacks

I've fallen in love with this journey once again. I was hating it for a while there, it happens, but I'm "being gentle with myself"....thanks Bohdi Bear! (a mamavation mommy to be, check her out!)

Everyone have a great week!

Mamavation Monday

2010-02-22T16:23:00.000-08:00

Alright, so I'm changing my weigh-in day from Thursdays to Mondays to try to get in sync with Mamavation. I quit twitter/mamavation for a while after some ignored tweets. I guess the good outweighs the bad though. Will it be as supportive of a group as I thought, probably not. These are real women, with real lives, and they have other things to do, just like I do. It will, however, give me a sense of sistahood on my weight loss journey just knowing I can tweet from time to time. Lower expectations = less disappointment. In this case, I'm cool with that.

For the last two weeks I haven't been strictly sticking to my new food habits. I have been sticking to the vegetarian lifestyle though. That won't be changing. Luckily because of it I haven't gained any, so atleast I'm not working backwards. I've still been eating late. I also polished of the last of B-Belly's birthday cake with ice cream without the slightest hint of self control...shame on me.

Hubby and I are joining a gym tomorrow and get this--membership fee is only 25 dollars a month for both of us and NO CONTRACT! We can do that! DH spends more than that on PizzaHut per month, I think it's a fair trade, or atleast a healthy one. I'm excited. I've never really had a gym membership. I think it'll be nice to get out of the house if nothing else. It's 24 hours so I can work around practically ANYthing with hours like that.

So, new week. New chance. Getting back to my water, my cut off eating time, and my portion control, even though with the vegetables as main courses, this isn't really ever a problem, and AWAY from the sweets....starting tomorrow? I know there's no time like the present but...

I have one last piece of Publix Chocolate Ganash Cake waiting on me for dessert this evening.

LOL....in my most sinister behaving badly laugh.

Life Lesson Learned

2010-02-16T10:44:00.000-08:00

Everyone has lessons to learn that only life can teach. Some of us learn them early, and some much too late. Point is, we all have to learn them at some point or another. One of these lessons is: Friendship.

I've been trying to explain to my son that everyone is not his friend and certainly not his best friend. He calls people he's known for minutes his "best friend" and it bothers me. I feel like it's going to set him up for his feelings to be hurt when the new "friend" chooses to move on to the next child on the playground, forgetting about him or worse, purposely leaving him out.

I recorded an episode of Adventures from the Book of Virtues yesterday that was about friendship and I hoped to turn it into a lesson to help him understand but Life did it first and I'll never forget it.

Scooby's cousin came to spend two days with him this week. They've had a blast together playing super heroes, swapping their action figures, playing play station games, and staying up til midnight watching cartoons. This morning I overheard this conversation:

J: Scooby, do you know why I like you, why I'm your friend? Be-

S: Because I have cool toys? Because I give you some of them?

J: No, wait, I wasn't asking a question I was going to tell you.

S: Oh.

J: I like you because you are always happy. When you get in trouble you never try to blame anyone else. You just tell the truth. You do have nice toys, and you always share them. You're always nice, and you're funny.

This was obviously a great moment for Scooby's self esteem because he decided to join J in his praises.

S: Yeah I am. And I'm a great cousin, and I'm great big brother.

J: Yeah! And a great nephew, and a great....

The conversation continued and I stopped listening after J expressed that he just couldn't put it all into words. I sat and my heart smiled the biggest smile it could possibly smile. I had just witnessed one of my son's life lessons learned. It was one that didn't hurt his feeling, or injure him phyically. It wasn't one of the one's that comes hard with negative consequences or future mindsets. Life did it gently this time. Life did it elegantly and memorably.

I'll never forget that moment. More importantly, my son won't either.

J and Scooby = True Friends

Snowy Day

2010-02-14T07:37:00.000-08:00

Ahh the joys of childhood! SNOW DAY!!!!

B-Belly's first time playing in snow...er trying to anyway :)

Scooby trying to catch snow flakes on his tongue.

Practically my whole heart in one photo!

Taking the bike was a mistake, it came down fast and hard!

Smile Yaya!

Happy Birthday B-Belly

2010-02-07T12:44:00.001-08:00

We celebrated our youngest child's birthday yesterday My chidren are officially 1, 2, and 6. Imagine the looks I get when I say that to people! Yes, much like the one on this young lady's face. As if to say "What were you thinking?" or "Didn't you have ANY thing better to do?" It's okay, I'm used to it now and I just laugh. Thechildren all get along great. B-Belly just fell right in to our family dynamic and I'm looking forward to seeing them continue to grow up close friends.

She says mama, dada, and bye bye. Soon she'll be saying full sentences just like her sister. You'll have to excuse my lack of posts at that point because I'm sure I'll be rolling on the floor, laughing, unable to get up because it will undoubtedly be hilarious to hear the conversations of my children. She's still not sleeping through the night, but she's getting better. We're down to one feeding a night. Slowly but surely she'll be joining the all nighter club!

She's been walking for a month now, my latest walker so far. I'm not the least bit upset either. I knew I wouldn't be having another baby for a while so we made a pact. She could wake me up at night past the age of 8 months if and only if she stayed a baby just a little while longer than the other two. So far, she has kept her promise and I'm very greatful.

Happy birthday B-Belly. Mommy loves you most!!!

Weekly Weigh-In: Week 7

2010-02-07T10:28:00.001-08:00

Not a good week for me. I didn't gain, but I didn't lose either. I've been eating junk. I've been eating late. When I did eat a healthy meal I ate too much and I only worked out on Monday. I mentioned before what my weight loss downfalls are. Emotional eating got the best of me this week. Now would be the time to sit down and figure out what the heck my issues are that are causing me to eat irrationally. I need to do it now so that I can get things back under control before I gain because of it. So what's is the deal!?

Okay, I got it. It's this new doggone schedule I've been trying to stick to. It begins at 5 in the morning and doesn't give me any down time until 8:30 that night. It's a tad overwhelming, okay more than a tad. I'd like to say I'm getting used to it, and to some extent I am getting used to it, but I'm certainly not there yet. The failures with my schedule this week are what caused my eating bouts, I think. I'm not giving up on it though, I've just got to keep with it. I'm setting some goals for this week to try to help me be more successful on my home making journey.

#1 Stick to my menu plan: I made my menu for the entire week and stuck to maybe two days of it. It became stressful because of it and I'm not going to do that this week. Also, I bit off more than I could chew. This week, I'm going to try to stay only a day or two ahead. I'll work my way up to a week ahead.

#2 Better pre-planning for school. I spend too much time looking for and tearing sheets out of his workbooks. I could use that time to actually be moving on with the lesson and help us get done by the allotted time. Also, I assume I know what the next days lesson will hold and most times I have the general idea, but get blindsided by something that should have been cut out the day before or flash cards that I could have made before. So, pre-planning for home school will yeild us more instructional time and less failures next week.

#3 Completing minor things at night, like picking out everyone's clothes. You wouldn't think this would take long, but by the time I stand in front of the closet or drawer for 5 minutes picking out four different peoples clothing, I have wasted 20 minutes! That's almost a whole work out. So, no more of that.

#4 Last, I have got to get up on time. It is so hard to get out of bed when it's cold and when I didn't get in bed until 11 the night before! I hate cold!!! But I'm going to go to bed earlier and get going on time this week.
Hopefully these goals will keep me moving forward and end with a better more fulfilling week!
Photo Source

Mamavation Monday

2010-02-01T03:39:00.001-08:00

I reluctantly signed up for twitter about two weeks ago, and man am I glad I did! I was introduced by a twiend (twitter friend) to a group of women called the Mamavation Sistahood. They are all on the same journey to better health. Some are losing, some have lost, some are gaining and trying to get back on the band wagon but need an extra kick in the tush (like me).They are all supportive and in need of support. The camaraderie is awesome and many of the women are uber inspiring. Today I get to pledge and actually be a part of the Mamavation Sistahood, starting with this post.

Why am I on this journey? A few reasons.

#1 I want to model good behavior and habits for my children. I was gonna say for my girls, but it's just as important for my son. I don't want them to wait until they're twenty five and then decide to get on the right track. Which brings me to my next reason.

#2 I'm twenty five and I want to get my body back in order while I'm young and have the energy. We plan to have one more baby, but I refuse to add baby fat on top of bad habits and a sedentary lifestyle. I want to be able to run with them and play with them while I can.

#3 Both of my great grandmothers passed last year at the age of 99 and a half and the other 93. It hit me then that I was cutting my life short with my habits. They didn't live as long as they did by being sedentary and eating junk. They ate way more vegetables than I did and they were on the go, even as home makers.

#4 I want to look good. I want to feel good. I want to be healthy.

The Plan:

Eating small meals throughout the day, not letting myself get too hungry

Drinking more water, eventually 64oz. per day

Exercising AT LEAST 30 minutes per day: Walking-Taebo-Working up to Jogging

Keeping a food journal

Paying attention to caloric intake

No soda

No fast food (except for salads, baked potatoes and such)

Sweets moderately (less than moderately)

Ultimate Goal Weight: 140 lbs.

Clothing size: No smaller than 8--No bigger than 12

I got up and did my 30 minutes of Taebo at 5:15 this morning. Starting the week off on a good note!

Home Making for Dummies

2010-01-28T16:58:00.000-08:00

In this case, I am said dummy. In step with the other journeys I've embarked upon, I decided to refine my home making skills. I was blessed to find a wonderful online mentor who is helping me to be one with my inner home maker.

These are my goals:

To come up with a schedule and stick to it. I get sick of feeling run down by the end of the day. It's stressful for me and it's puts stress on my husband when I don't leave time for us. Who wants the sloppy scraps of energy and attention left from their spouse at the end of the day? I know I don't. I want to be able to be give him my best at the end of the day just like I gave my children my best at the beginning of the day.

Also I want to start meal planning at least one day ahead at a time, I want to be able do an entire month so that I can keep my shopping trips to once a week. I want to learn to shop more cost efficiently, this is going to start with meal planning.

My third home making endeavor is the cleaning. Dun, dun, dun! I'm home all day but all to often I go to bed and I don't feel like my home is clean. That's got to stop. My mentor puts it this way: "You are your own boss. If you're still cleaning at 8 pm, fire yourself!" Since I can't fire myself, I have to get it together. I've made a chart and I'm going to see how well it does. I'll modify it as needed. One day, I'll add sewing to this list, but I have to get a sewing machine first. And master all this other stuff in a timely manner.

So, I've officially put "home making" on my list of journeys. It's probably going to be rough sometimes like any other journey. But the end of the road will result in a happier, healthier home and a happier me too!

Weekly Weigh-In: Week 6

2010-01-28T12:16:00.001-08:00

*YELLING* What the heck! ONE pound! ONE measley pound!? SERIOUSLY!!!!

*taking deep breath* ....Alright. I'm good.

Seriously, I ate well all week. I don't know how my two pound per week was sabotaged. I eat about 1700 calories on a bad day! I guess this is the kick in the tush I needed to decide to add working out to my daily agenda. One pound *huff*. Stupid scale.

(Photo Source)

I finally gave in yesterday and asked my DH when he wanted to start jogging. Have I mentioned I hate running? He says I'll learn to love it. I think I'll always hate it, but whatever.

I'm SO disappointed with my less than two pounds of weight loss I am going outside with my walking partner. His name is Static. He's a 55lbs protective all black pit puppy. I've been traumatized by movies and news reports where joggers are found dead in the woods, so yes. I take my huge dog. However much a false sense of security he is, he's all I've got for now. And I HAVE to do something.

One pound. ONE pound!? *angry glare toward scale*

Locked Up!

2010-01-23T16:26:00.000-08:00

(photo source)

K.I.N.K.Y - Keep It Nappy Know Yourself

I haven't said much about my dreadlock journey. Mostly because I feel like I'm cheating my readers if I do it without the photos. Unfortunately my camera is out of commision. I need a new memory card (and camera for that matter) but my wallet won't cough up the cash. That's okay, the words tax return are beginning to echo louder and louder.

I started out (October 5, 2009) going to the shop to see a loctician. That quickly came to a halt after my husband was laid off. I went six weeks without touching it because I didn't know what the heck to do. I didn't want to wash it and then not be able to twist it back. I didn't want to twist it without washing it. It was ridiculus. I finally decided to just do it. I bought the hair pins that hold it in place when you twist it...and they sat on my desk for another week, okay two.

I made it my personal mission to find someone to help me. Mission destinaton: Walmart. I stopped every woman I saw with dreads and asked her what her routine was and what products she used. Then came D-Day. I went to the beauty supply store and bought Loc-A-Fella dreadlock shampoo and condtioner. I stopped at Wal-Mart to get some odds and ends a ran into yet another dread head. With my most desperate face on I explained to her my situation and asked for tips. Guess what. She offered to help me do it until I got the hang of it...for FREE! Thank you so much Sister Pam! That was so generous of you to offer.

After some scheduling conflicts I went ahead and washed it and twisted it alone. I made it over to her house a few days later and we retouched what I'd missed. She said I'd done a good job though. Whoo hoo for me! $50 every 3 weeks can stay in my pocket.

This is definitely a decision I'm glad I really thought about before plunging. If I hadn't I'd have taken this mess out WEEKS ago, lol! It's just so....frizzy....right now. It's just a phase, but man is it an annoying (and not so aesthtic) one! I love rockin' my badu wraps though so it's all good in my hood! A few days short of 4 months and counting... I'm happy with it.

I will prayerfully be getting a camera soon so I'll get to unveil the madness and let everyone see the progression. Looking forward to it!

Lock it up - Hold it down!

Weekly Weigh-In: Week 5

2010-01-21T14:32:00.000-08:00

It looks like I'm losing a steady 2 pounds per week. That's not bad considering the only thing I've changed is my eating habits. I know I need to work out, my work out is just so boring to me. The DVD I spoke of earlier Leslie Sansone's Walk Away the Pounds...it's just no fun alone. I started out doing it with a friend. Then she backed out. Then I started doing it with my MIL. She decided to just buy her own and do it at home considering gas prices and what not. So I lost her as a partner too.

I guess this is the part where my own will and desire to lose weight should kick in. That also means getting up at five in the morning. I already get up at six and I have to peel myself from under my warm covers to do that! Home school has been starting at a steady 7:30 and we've been ending between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. It's LOVELY. I don't want to change that at all. By nightfall I'm in no way up for working out, I just want to get my littles in the bed and be soon behind them.

"Ah, stop your whining and get on with it!!" says my voice of reason. Yeah, yeah. I know. I can't say that I'll be starting tomorrow, but I certainly will be starting. I'll start slow. Thirty minutes a day. That's two miles on the DVD.

"I'll do it eventually...." (said the procrastinator.) (Photo Source)

One Thing After Another: UPDATE

2010-01-17T05:27:00.000-08:00

The third plumber came by and found the issue with no problem. I don't know what was up with the other two. He rigged the hall bathroom with hot water until he would be back to fix the entire problem on Friday. The temporary fix would cost us 85 dollars. To fix it all would cost 475 dollars and he wasn't going to have to go through the concrete at all. Photo Source

While I'm a little skeptical of side plumbers, it seems to be fixed. I haven't walked on a wet floor from the seeping hall closet or in Yaya's room since then. I was almost hoping it was a big job so that we would be able to get outta here for a few days. Just for a change of scenery, a change of pace. But I suppose this is better.

I'm so thankful to the Most High for sending someone who knew what they were doing, did it quickly, effiiciently and cost effectively.

Maw Maw's Pearls

2010-01-17T05:05:00.000-08:00

I have this necklace that belonged to my Great-Grandmother. She passed away last year at the age of 99 1/2. It's an old set of three string pearls. One of the strings was broken when I got it and looked as if it had been tucked away in her jewelry box for sometime just waiting to be fixed. Some of the pearls were still on the strand and some had apparently been lost. I took them out the other day to try to fix and one of the loose pearls rolled under my refrigerator. Once it diappeared I thought to myself, "Oh well won't be seeing that one for a while, but I'll know it's there." And it inspired this short poem. Photo source

Maw Maw's Pearls

My Grandma had pearls of the grandest kind.

If they’d been appraised, they’d cost a pretty dime.

She cherished them with the finest flair.

My Grandma and these pearls were rare.

These pearls, you see, weren’t the wearin’ kind.

These pearls were stored in the safe of her mind.

Each pearl was a life lesson learned.

And to us she taught each one she earned.

Some earned with sweat, some earned with tears.

Some earned by overcoming fears.

Many earned through doing good.

Many earned through motherhood.

My Grandma had pearls of the grandest kind.

If you search your own life I’m sure you’ll soon find.

A pearl or two around your neck.

A lesson she taught you’ll never forget.

I miss Maw Maw with all my heart.

And with her pearls I’ll never part.

I’ll cherish them with the finest flair.

Because my Grandma and her pearls are rare.

By: Crystal Wiley-Amey

Weight Loss Downfalls

2010-01-14T09:16:00.001-08:00

While I'm trying to work on my weight, I'm trying to address the reasons I've gotten to this point in the first place. One reason is I eat too much. My portion sizes were way off. It wasn't until I started counting calories that I realize how many servings of sugary breakfast cereal I was really eating.

Another reason is because I was making bad choices. I'm correcting this by using whole wheat products rather than enriched and bleached. I'm eating more fruits and vegetable, more vegetables definitely. I've stopped eating meat (for various reasons) and I use other foods to get my protein.

Last I eat emotionally. BIG TIME. When I'm mad, I eat. When I'm sad, I eat. When I'm really happy, I want to celebrate by going out to eat! When I feel like my relationship with my husband is lacking, I eat. When I feel like I haven't been a good mommy or teacher that day, I eat. Where there's an emotion, I have a food for it. And I'm working on that too. I haven't mastered it yet, because I'm frustrated and all I can think about is some darn chocolate cake.

Eating emotionally is the biggest problem of them all. Stress happens and I haven't found a healthy way of dealing with it yet. Working out doesn't do it for me yet because I have yet to fall in love with my workout. It is boring but boring is what we can afford. I am falling in love with reading again. I'll try that and see how it goes. But for now...it's snack time. And I'm having...you guessed it. CAKE.

Weight watcher teensy tiny 80 calorie chocolate cake.

Weekly Weigh-In: Week 3

2010-01-14T05:28:00.000-08:00

I've lost two pounds since last week. Or atleast I think that's what I've lost. It could be more I have one of the oldest model, cheapest scales a girl could have.

I desperately want a digital scale that shows me down to the decimal what I've lost or gained. For now I have to use the kind that you that have to level at zero every single time I step on it. It's not enough just to level it either. I have to level it then press on it, level it, tap it, and repeat until I'm absolutely sure the little monster is not going to add pounds that I didn't add myself or trick me into thinking I've lost more than I really have. It's a pain. That AND I can't read the scale myself because the individual pounds are so small I have to have my husband get on the floor to read it. THAT is a pain too.

Aside from all of that...

I'm doing pretty well. A total of 5 pounds in two weeks. Slow and steady wins the race, right? I've been keeping my food journal and counting my calories. Counting calories is a pain at first but I made myself a quick calorie guide of the foods that I eat all the time so that can have the info on hand. Most of the stuff I know by heart anyway since I eat the variations of the same stuff all the time, and I'm cool with that. When I add something new, I add it to my guide as well. My aunt gave me the great tip of adding lemon juice or lime juice (I do both) to water to make it easier to drink. Definitely helps me. I even liked it so well that I went to sip from my cup it was gone--and I was actually disappointed!

So, far so good. I plan to add exercising for thirty minutes per day starting Monday. I should start tomorrow, but it's just not gonna happen because we have early appointments tommorrow and home school work to start before we leave. Not doing it on Sabbath or First day so...Monday.

One Thing After Another

2010-01-10T19:37:00.001-08:00

It all started with a weirdly warm bathroom floor. The bathroom in the hall was way warmer than the one in our master bedroom. So much so that both I and my husband will pass up the privacy of our own in-room bathroom to use the one in the hall. I would either loathe taking my bath in there or place the space heater in there for an hour on high before running my bath, being sure to put it back in my bedroom so I didn't freeze while trying to get my clothes on. This doesn't always happen since my bath time isn't planned, it just happens when I get the time.

Anyhow I digress. The bathroom in the hall was always warm and there was a specific spot on the floor that was really warm. I noticed one day out of the blue and brought it to DH's attention. He knew, but just shrugged the floor phenomenon off as if it was no problem. Everytime I took Yaya to the potty I would stand on that one spot because I knew it was warm and it was easy to find too because it was ever so slightly humped.

Sabbath morning I ran my bath and it would only get luke warm. Thought perhaps it was cold and the water heater was still in need of it's morning coffee or something. DH tried it later, same thing, maybe even a tad cooler.

Days and weeks had passed since we'd first noticed the oddly warm room. Next thing we knew it all broke loose. The water that is. I walked shoeless into my daughter's room to lay her down for a nap only to be unpleasantly surprised by a wet sensation on my foot. "Who spilled something and left it!?" was my first thought and "UGH PEE!" was a very close second. As I turned to investigate I noticed my footprint. I pulled back the area rug and found a trail of prints to the bed and back to the door.

The bathroom was constantly warm because of the hot water pipe located under the floor, the completely concrete floor, and it had finally found a way out. Right into my daughters room. As if we need ANY additional expenses in a household with unemployment benefits as the only income.

I disassembled and reassembled Yaya's bed into her brother's tiny room and shut her door entering only to get her clothes for the day. The smell of the wet carpet wreaked of that awful mildew smell and it was only getting worse by the day.

We have insurance. Yep, sure do, with a ONE THOUSAND dollar deductible. HOLY SHMOKES FOLKS! Are we in a predicament or what?

We turned off the hot water and boiled water for dishes and baths. While washing dishes at six in the morning I thought to myself "It's a hassle, but it could totally be worse." Or atleast I thought I said it to myself because I must've said it out loud. Not only could it get worse, but it did.

While sitting around chilling waiting for dinner to finish Grandma went out to the car to get something and came back to ask where the water running down the driveway was coming from. ANOTHER broken pipe and this time the ENTIRE thing has to be cut off. Now we have NO running water. Not hot, not cold, zilch!

We ran the tubs full of water before we turned it off so that we can pour water in the backs of the toilets to flush and what not, but it's dwindling quickly. A sister I know volunteered to bring us some drinking water and even after I graciously declined her offer she showed up at my door with one large and one construction sized thermos of water. May YHVH bless her.

I didn't think too badly of our new circumstance until I boiled water to wash the dishes and realized I had no way to rinse the little boogers.

It's been a week today since the first incident and one day since we've been totally without water. Two side plumbers have come by only to not be able to accurately diagnose the actual problem. One more scheduled for tomorrow. The insurance company hasn't even been out to assess the damage yet (cough-allstate-cough) and has informed us that they will pay for the damage done to the house as a result of the pipes, but we have to pay for the pipes out of pocket.

.....WHAT??

Yeah. How dumb does THAT sound. Our house is on a slab so they are going to have to break up the concrete floor to fix this. I'm hoping our insurance will pay for us to stay else where while they complete this job, but there's no telling how they'll wiggle out of that too.

{sigh}....May YHVH be with us.

Weekly Weigh-In: Week 2

2010-01-05T15:13:00.000-08:00

Success!

I know it's only three days into the week but I'm so proud of myself I had to blog. I have been eating very well so far. I didn't count my calories yesterday but I ate really well--even Hubby said so (gasp!). I counted today and I ate a whopping 1513 calories. And get this, I am NOT hungry. I ate breakfast, lunch, dinner, and TWO snacks. I feel ubber healthy today. I'm making good food choices and...NO meat!

I've been eating my whole grains, vegetables, beans and drinking water. I don't feel deprived of flavor or any of that stuff you dread when you go on a diet. I feel awesome! I've gone to bed earlier to avoid midnight munchies and I have not been eating after 6 p.m. AND I've shed some pounds! I'll wait until my official weigh-in to post it.

Yay Me!

(photo credit: http://www.redbubble.com/people/wpmorro/art/509623-3-jump-for-joy)

Weekly Weigh-In Week 1

2010-01-03T19:30:00.000-08:00

It has taken me four days to come to grips with the fact that I gained two pounds last week. It's my fault obviously. Mine and the stupid, wonderful, cheesy foods and scrumptiously sweet desserts that come with the month of "family fest".

Where were my downfalls? Lets see, Number 1: I overate. I know was full of pizza when I came home from the Chuck E. Cheese party, but there was all that food and all that family in my house. Food and family equals weight gain for me. Or has in the past anyway. This will NOT be happening again. (Slapping nose with news paper--No! Bad Mommy!)

Downfall Number 2: I've been eating afer 6--and after 7, 8, and 9 too. Things like nachos with cheese. Not just the nasty tostito cheese in the glass jar, but the best darn brand nacho cheese there is. Tastes just like the movies! Oh yes! Definitely downfall number 2.

Downfall Number 3: I'm not sure about this one, but I think I'm consuming too much cheese. I haven't completely read my book about the vegetarian diet, but because I haven't been eating meat I've been concerned about us meeting our protein requirements. I've been using cheese and other dairy to take up the slack. Again, I think this is in error and will have to continue reading to come up with a better eating plan.

So, as this new week begins I plan to have that 197 on it's way back down the hill. I did NOT eat after 6:00 pm today. As a matter of fact, I realized I was hungry around 7-7:30ish because I hadn't eaten since lunch so I just had a glass of orange juice and called it a night. Yeah me!

3 Plans of Action for next week:

1: I've got to start going to bed earlier. The later I stay up, the more prone I am to snacking. Sleep or snack. I'm going to sleep.

2: I keep forgetting to drink water. I drink the first sugary drink I see in the fridge, excluding soda, and I know it's boosting my caloric intake. Drinking water, check.

3: Finish reading my book or atleast skip ahead a tad so that I can make better food choices.

I may not win every battle, but I am still in this war and I plan to fight! The battle of the bulge continues.

Converting to Vegetarianism

2009-12-29T18:00:00.001-08:00

It's always been in the back of my head to further explore vegetarianism, but I've never actually done it. In the past I have cut out red meat and had no problems with it. I wouldn't say I missed it, but it would appear that way since I eventually began eating it again.

A few weeks ago I decided I would once again cut out red meat for health reasons. I've done fine with this since there are easy alternatives: chicken, turkey, and fish. Somehow though, this has not been enough for my conscience so I've begun reading up on vegetarianism with the intent of becoming one. (photo credit: http://frontburner.dmagazine.com/2007/10/15/dallas-diner-wants-good-vegetarian-food/ )

Why? A few reasons. Picture this. This is Lambchop the puppy. Lambchop is being shipped in a tiny crate with hundreds of other cute little puppies. The journey is about two thousand miles and he'll do it without food or water, in the blistering heat or the icy cold. He can't turn around, he can barely scratch at the flea that's eating at his cute little nose because he's so crowded. Once he's reached his destination he's taken from his crate and restrained upside down and dipped in an electrified bath to stun him. This is supposed to render him unconcious, but he regains consciousness before his throat is slit and ends up being immersed alive in a tank of scalding water that de-furs his body.

Sound mean? That's because it is! No living creature should be treated this way, yet it's happening every single day to hundreds of thousands of animals, that can think, feel, and suffer just like Lambchop.

With some new developments at home I was forced to take a look at animal cruelty. Long story, but I was forced to ask myself if it was okay to subject any animal, even those raised for food, to poor living conditions, insufficient quantity or quality of food, or inhumane treatment in general. I don't think it's okay to house a dog (or multiple dogs) in a cage in it's own feces for the extent of it's life, why should it be any different for poultry or cows? It's not. They are living, breathing, creatures and I feel that by eating them I am contributing to their treatment. I don't think eating animals is wrong, but the fact of the matter is if we as people didn't demand it in the quantities that we do, they would not be mass housed in these slaughterhouses and treated the way they are.

As a nursing mother, I can not imagine being impregnated constantly, the way they do cows, so that I could pump milk to the point of developing mastitis. Being pregnant itself is draining, and nursing eventually becomes invasive (IMHO), to be forced to do it forever is torcher. Naturally raised cows can have a life span of about 25 years. The life span of a commercial dairy cow? 5 years, after which the cow is considered "spent" and slaughtered.

Cruelty to animals is one reason I'm switching to a vegetarian diet. The other is my health and the health of my family. My husband is not even thinking about switching, but I'm hoping that for his health as well, he'll come around to atleast a partial vegitarian.

...but I highly doubt it.

Battle of the Bulge

2009-12-29T17:15:00.000-08:00

If there were a priest over weight loss, I'd definitely have to go to confession right about now. It'd go a little something like this:

Forgive me Father for I have sinned. I haven't worked out in over a month. I haven't been steady with my water drinking. There are days I may drink three bottles, but most days I might drink one. I've eaten fast food, infrequently, but eaten it none the less. I've been eating after 6 p.m. I've succomb to sweet tea every weekend for the past three weeks. Even now I am munching on Pepper Jack Cheese-Its...-clearing throat-...putting them away now.

On a better note, I have been eating my wheat bread. I eat wheat sliced bread, wheat bagels, and I just bought wheat hotdog buns. I'm completely off white except when it comes to rice because I love my jasmine rice. When my remaining ten pounds of white jasmine is gone I'm going to the Farmer's Market to pick up brown jasmine though, so that will eventually change too. It's too expensive to throw away and I refuse to give it to my dogs.

I'm getting back on track though. I've begun including weekly weigh-in's on the side of the blog home page and I'm changing how and what I eat. #1: I eat too much and I'm going to eat proper portions and pay more attention to actual hunger as opposed to those mangy munchies. #2: I'm currently studying to...drumroll please...become a vegetarian! It's going to be a challenge but I feel like this is going to be better for my health. I'll post more on the what's and why's of this later.

If you've fallen off your regiment, it's not the end of the world. Just pick up where you can.

TIP: I read somewhere that when you're trying to lose weight and eat better it's best to tackle one at a time. It's hard to eat less when working out makes you more hungry, then you end up making bad food choices to satiate your hunger.

It may be a load of crap, it may be sound advice. I guess if you're a really disciplined person you can tackle both at the same time. But for a person like me whose will power is...growing, but not quite there yet...this is the route I'm taking.

The Joys of Childhood

2009-12-26T14:25:00.000-08:00

My fondest childhood memories are filled with that of family dinners on Sundays and Holidays, summer road trips to Illinois for my Mother's family reunion, licking the spoon when my Mom made brownies and rice krispie treats, and school friends and activities. I was young, I was unscathed by the world's worries, problems, and ugliness. My fondest memories are that of childhood at it's best.

This past weekend my children got to spend time with their cousins from Philidelphia. VinC is Scooby's age and Vida, Yaya, and B-Belly are each 14 months apart. It was awesome, it was LOUD, but it was awesome. The boys stayed up talking and playing well after bed time last night. The girls enjoyed one another, following each other up and down the halls with baby dolls in tow.

We made rice krispie treats and they licked the (strategically) UNempty jars of marshmallow creme while the squares cooled...(gotta remember to have them brush their teeth before bed). They played video games, they played football, they played basketball, they rode bikes. The only thing missing was the warmth of the summer sun!

It was great to have them here and see them all together. I used to worry that my children will be deprived of childhood memories because we no longer celebrate pagan holidays and we don't go to "church". I realize how silly that was now and I don't worry anymore. I have made it my personal mission to make each Feast special and memorable for them. Yaya isn't really old enough to care yet, but Scooby does. He can't wait til Sabbath night (Friday night) because he knows it's family time. He jumps up and down Sabbath morning because he looks forward to playing the tambourine and blowing the shofar during praise and worship and eating our special chocolate Sabbath bread. He enjoys sleeping outside during Sukkot and searching for the drinking gourd through the sunroof of the tent. From Sabbath to Sukkot, I'm making sure each and every one will hold a special place in their hearts.

All of this--^up there^--all the more reason I'm cutting the tv out of our everyday lives. I don't want to miss these special years with them. They'll go by so quickly, I don't ever want to wish I'd read just one more story, made just a couple more mud pies, or blew a few more bubbles.

Bubbles. The joys of childhood, to me, are just like bubbles to my two year old. You look at them in awe; marvel as they float through the air without a care in the world, knowing soon, before you've even had time to get a really good look at it, it's floating farther and farther away until it's eventually gone.

Here's to bubbles:

Floating in the sky.

So fleeting and carefree,

Bubbles gone too soon.

The Boob Tube: Update 2

2009-12-24T20:19:00.000-08:00

I'm very pleased with week two's tv ban so far. It's the 5th day of the week and we've been back to the library and picked out 15 new books to read for the children, and three for myself. I haven't had a book from the library in years. Sad, I know. But all that changes now!

We have read 5 of our fifteen books and we've had them for three days, one of which was Junie B. Jones Has a Monster Under Her Bed. It's a first grade level chapter book that we read over two days. Very cute I must add. We'll definitely be reading the series. I can already tell the difference in Scooby. He listens to the stories more attentively than he used to. Last night, after reading about two sentences, I noticed him starting into space. I asked if he was even listening to me and he repeated what I'd just read almost word for word! This is a feat for us-seriously.

As for me, I have been reading my book every night before bed instead of my regular television veg out routine. I think it has actually been helping me to sleep better, can't say for sure though. The fact that B-Belly is moving a tad closer to becoming tolerable at night might also be part of that, (smile).

P.S. We didn't completely ban television by the way. On the 6th day of the week we have a special snack and watch a family movie together. This gives them something to look forward to and I'm hoping will be a nice memory for them when they get older.

The Boob Tube: Update 1

2009-12-17T09:32:00.000-08:00

So, it's Day 5 of the Boob Tube Ban. I will say I've been very tempted to unwind after a long day with my favorite non-people: Cristina, George, Izzy, and Kerev. Something about watching other people's drama makes you forget your own. That's the thing about television. You really aren't required to do any real thinking.

We haven't gotten to do any of the fun filled activities that I listed in my post. Really, it became an issue of transference-as my dear husband who is NOT on the TV Ban Bandwagon duly noted. Instead of watching television, I spent my time on pogo.com playing Yahtzee. Time I should have been spending with my littles.

I'm thankful that this was pointed out to me. So I haven't exactly got the hang of this, but my heart is really in this and I plan to do better next week. Just like my profile says: I'm not a super-mom yet, but by the grace of the Almighty I'm here, and I'm doing all I can today to do better than yesterday.

Beating Boredom Before it Begins

2009-12-13T07:55:00.000-08:00

Most of the time we watch television or movies for entertainment. With our new TV ban in effect, we've got to find other ways to entertain ourselves. I've compiled a list of things to do other than watch television.

1. Read. A given naturally, but we could seriously catch up on some books.

2. Listen to music. Sing and Dance. Scooby loves Michael Jackson, I love Neo-Soul, and Yaya loves it all.

3. Play board games or card games. Video gaming systems DON'T count.

4. Walk the dogs. We currently have four dogs--none of which we ever walk. It's horrible. Three of them are outside and one is inside. All of them are high energy dogs and deserve time out of their crates and off their tie-downs.

5. Play in the yard. Kicking the ball around in the backyard. Shoot a few baskets in the driveway. Good exercise too!

6. Exercise. We have a Taebo DVD that really gets tests your stamina and a Walk Away the Pounds DVD that are getting rather dusty sitting on the tv stand shelf.

7. Scripture Study. Pursuing righteousness keeps things from going wrong.

8. Write a letter. With all the technology around no one writes letters anymore. It also be great practice for Scooby!

9. Color or Draw some pictures. Make a game of it. Try to see who can guess the picture first.

10. Make a fort. Turn the furniture, pillows and extra linens into a secret hideaway and use flashlights to read a story.

11. Legos, Blocks, and Pattern blocks aid in imaginative play.

12. Play hide and seek.

13. Just talk. Talk about anything.

14. Make up a story. Leave open sentences open ended and let the children fill them in.

15. Home school/School review. Take some time to review last week lessons or do mini intros to peak interest for next weeks lessons.

16. Aerobic Spelling tests. Take turns calling out words to spell. A movement of some kind must accompany each letter.

17. Scavenger Hunt. Put it all around the neighborhood if possible.

18. Library time. Reading at home is great. Read at the library for a change of pace.

19. Go to the park. Kind of dreary in the winter, but bundle up and make the best of it!

20. Call a friend or family member you haven't talk to in a while.

21. Clean up something. There's ALWAYS something.

22. Laundry. There's ALWAYS laundry.

24. Volunteer. Perhaps at a library or humane society. Giving back builds character!

25. Blog or start a journal.

26. Cook or meal plan.

27. Play with all those toys in the bin!

28. Yardwork. No work in your yard? Pick up around the neighborhood! The Earth will love you for it.

29. Pogo! Online games can be fun and educational. Boggle and Scrabble are great word games to make you think. Pogo even has old classics like Battleship that can be played together (assuming you have more than one computer with internet access).

30. Visit a friend and pick any of the above activities!

The Boob Tube

2009-12-13T07:52:00.000-08:00

DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR?
(click for larger view)

[comic credit goes to turnoffyourtv.com]
We watch way too much television. I try to limit the children's television time to an hour a day. That doesn't always happen since when I want to watch the three episode marathon of my favorite show (that comes on DAILY) something or someone has to entertain them--and half the time it is the dreaded boob tube.

I've been doing some reading on how television can affect my children and how it can affect my family as a whole. It's been on my mind for a several weeks now. I been thinking about how much I could be doing with my children, how much scripture studying I could do, how much house work I could get done-- if I didn't zombie out in front of the television. Th epoint was really driven home last week when Scooby checked out nine books from the library and we only read one. That's beyond ridiculous and I feel like I failed on some level as a mother and as a teacher because of it.

When we said our evening prayer Sabbath evening I thanked the Most High for bring us to another week and I asked that he allow us to accomplish all that we needed to this week. At around 3 something this morning B-Belly woke up for her feeding as usual. I typically go back to sleep within 15 minutes of her finishing, but not today. I couldn't sleep for thinking. And the only thing I could think about was how things could be if I didn't watch so much tv. Then from that I debated with myself about to go about fixing it. TV ban one day a week? Well that wouldn't really show me any difference. No TV for a few days? That's just too long! Perhaps limiting television time to after their bedtime? Then my time with my husband would suffer. UGH!

Back and forth, back and forth, I racked my brain for a solution that I could tolerate. The question that ended my debate was "Which is more important?", that I know Yang learned more about her dream job in cardiothoracic surgery or that Matthew learned something, anything, that might peak his interest and send him on a journey that leads him to a dream of his own. I was listening to ESPN while I got ready yesterday and heard how Amobi Okoye, an NFL nigeria native, began school at 2 1/2 and high school at twelve. Remarkable. Every parent wants to believe their child is capable of that. Many children are. I think sometimes as parents we don't devote enough quality time and offer quality experiences for our children and that holds our children back. I don't want to be that parent.

SO...no television this week. That's the plan. I'm not, they're not, we're not watching television for an entire week Excluding my hubby, he's not on the band wagon-yet.

My Invention for Toddlers

2009-12-02T17:37:00.001-08:00

Yaya loves to be read to. Her favorite books are The Mine-o-Saur and One, Two, Buckle my Shoe. Most of the time we have to read them at least twice, but five or six times when she has her way. Twice tends to leave her on the floor throwing a tantrum because I wouldn't "weed it" again. Sometimes she's content to look at the pictures alone, but most of the time I don't like that idea because she tears the pages when she turns them. Typical for a toddler but definitely not something I can just overlook. So, instead of being bookless and tantrumful, I came up with a solution.

You only need two things strapping tape and time. Strapping tape appears to be lined with string which makes it very easy to strip but very strong for this project. Cut the tape as you normally would to the length of the pages of the book. Then strip it into centimeter width strips. Line the bottom of the pages horizontally with the tape with half of the strip hanging off so that it can be folded over. If you have a toddler who still reads books upside down you'll need to line the top of the pages as well.

With the pages taped, you can feel secure allowing your toddler to turn through the pages without you for a while. I don't recommend leaving them completely alone of course. Reading time should be special cuddle time so that your child can learn to love to read. Plus, you'd be surprised how quickly a book can turn into to kindling paper in the hands of an idle toddler.

Seems like this should be on the market somewhere doesn't it? It's so simple and effective so far!

What's got Your Goat?

2009-11-18T09:05:00.000-08:00

We all have our bad days. We wake up on the wrong sides of our beds. Things crawl up obscene places and die. Some of us are more prone to these phenomenon than others. but say or do the wrong thing at the wrong time and it'll turn a person having a bad day into a raving lunatic. Then the person who gets screamed at walks away mumbling "Gee. What's got her goat?"

It's just "life" that has taken it's toll today. PMS, my Husband, my children, and life all have my goat today.

Scooby failed a phonics test yesterday, partly my fault, so we're having to re-do the work and add the extra that we skipped over the last two days. Again, partly my fault, but he was making easy stuff way too hard. This is getting my goat.

Yaya only has one volume-LOUD. And her sister? Oh yes, whine, whine, whine. Cry, cry cry. Scream, scream, scream. Nurse, nurse, nurse. That's been her day thus far and it leaves me without an inch of bubble space. Oh, my coveted bubble space. Everyone wants it, and everyone has it...but me. I love nursing. I love my children. The cuddling, the bonding, it's all very special. It tends to, however, lose it's "specialness" when your bubble to cuddle ratio is off. Then it becomes...less special. This is getting my goat.

And my Dear Husband. Poor Guy. He's mostly doing his best, I think, but he still seems to be in the line of fire at times. Today...his mom, (love her), called me and asked me to look up show times for the movie Precious so that she and her husband could catch a matinee. First, though, she had me look to see if it was on any of the typical online sites for streaming movies. I gave her the show times and continued looking online for about an hour and a half. In that hour and a half I must've taken 30 minutes worth of "five minute surveys" that are supposed to unlock the movie, that NEVER unlocked the movie. I was disheartened as I could REALLY use some quiet movie time, just to chill, take a deep breath and not think about anything. Oh well. This also got my goat.

An hour later Dear Husband calls...oh yes...he's laid off. The recession has hit the construction workers--hard. So anyway, he calls to say he'll be home later than expected, he's going to the movies with his mom.....

I think I hung up on him. Needless to say, THAT got my goat, hung it upside down, shook it senseless, and choked it. Was there anything really wrong with that? No, not so much. I mean yeah, I just spent the last hour and a half looking for that movie because I really want to see it, and I could really use a break, and his mom does things for the both of us separately from time to time...but this was somehow different in my mind at that very second. It was just the wrong thing, at the wrong time...

Oh well

My Pouting Heart

2009-11-11T12:25:00.000-08:00

There has been a silent feud between mothers and fathers for hundreds of thousands of generations. The feud? Whose name baby will say first: Mama or Dada.

Believe it or not Yaya said Mama first, but it was only once while she was crying and she didn't say it again for MONTHS. She was about 5 months the first time and a whopping 12 months the next. For months my heart pouted as she'd squeal "DADDY!" every time he came through the front door-even if there were only minutes in between. Why wouldn't this kid say "Mommy"? I was home with her all day every day. She saw me the most and I tended to her every need 98.5% of the time. Why all this "Daddy" business?!

I finally concluded that since I was home with her all day, she had no need to "call" me anything. I was just there. Makes sense right? Sure it does. I'm such an attentive parent! I was already there when she would have called, so she didn't call at all. YEAH ME! But my heart wasn't hearing it. My heart still pouted day in and day out.

As I said before, she waited until she was 12 months, on her birthday as a matter of fact, to say "Mommy". She said Mommy all day. In the store; I was Mommy. In the doctors office; I was Mommy. Everywhere, all day, I was finally Mommy.

Then came 12 months and day 1. I was Mommy no longer. She just stopped. Everything was "Daddy" again. I guess it was her "thank you for those 8 hours of labor a year ago today" gift to me. My happy heart went back to pouting again.

Then came month 17. She was a big sister by then. I don't know if it was a subconcious case of "my mommy" syndrome on her part, but she made me wait a whole 17 months before making mommy a regular part of her vocabulary. It took forever, but my pouting heart became happy again.

Now Yaya is 9 days from being 2 years old. Recently she's been calling me "Mom". What!!! I'm not "Mom" to you. To Scooby, yes. To my twenty four month old baby girl, no. My heart is pouting again. I cringe everytime she says it. Sometimes I ignore her to see if she'll change it. Sometimes she does, most times she just keeps repeating herself.

Today, I got fed up. "Say Mommy!" I said. "Mom." she replied. "Noo, not Mom! You have 17 months of NOT saying mommy to make up for! Say Mommy" I pleaded. "Mom." she answered again. "Yaya, say MomMeee!" I emphasized. "Mom.........me." she giggled and hopped out of my lap.

B-Belly better say Mommy soon, or my pouting heart may be blue forever.

Way to go Scooby!!!

2009-11-09T07:10:00.000-08:00

When I began home schooling I approached it with the utmost excitement. I organized the home school room. The desks were arranged just so, the walls were decorative and interesting for little minds, and I thought everything was going to AWESOME...

When the year started, it wasn't exactly awesome. I actually had to remind myself to be a "Teach-er" and not assume everything was "common sense" to him. That, at first, took some time to do. Things I thought should automatically make sense didn't. For example. One of our first math lessons was about position. The children above are waiting in line for the slide. Who is before Sam? Naturally you know the answer is Beth, but for some reason he didn't know. "Well what does before mean?", this question was met by a blank look and a hunch of his shoulders. In my head I'm thinking Dude, I KNOW you know what before means!

Little things like this would put snags in our day. A year and a half later, we're still at it. There have been many days where I swore I'd be putting him on the Public School Bus in the morning, but we've made it this far and he's doing very well.

Our most recent success: his DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) Assessment. Scooby's scores showed outstanding progress. He's tested three times a year in three areas each time. This was his first assessment this year. In the first area he was supposed to score of atleast 37. He scored a 68! In he second section he was supposed to score a 35 by the end of his first grade year. He scored a 35, which means he will be ahead of the curve by the end of the year. In the last section he was supposed to score a 55 by the end of his first grade year. He scored a 55!

All of this means he is progressing wonderfully and is actually somewhat ahead of where he is supposed to be. This is GREAT! Of course, I feel victorious myself considering I am the one teaching him (patting self on back).

I'm SO proud of him. Way to go Scooby!!!

A Look Back at Potty Training Day 1

2009-11-05T13:30:00.001-08:00

Before I started my blog here, I jotted down email updates here and there for my family to let them know how the children were doing. Upon beginning potty training, I sent this memo.

"Official Potty Training Day 1"

We officially began our potty training journey today. DD is 16 months and four days. I've been sitting her on the potty since she was 9 months and her poop diapers have been decreasing ever since. I think she is ready now because of a few things.

1. She understands us very well when we tell her something. She may not repeat it, but she follows through (shut the door, put it in the trash, give that to daddy)

2. She can say poop, pee pee, potty and says eeeew to diapers, lol.

3. She's fascinated by what Mommy does on the pot.

4. She crouches in corners or goes to be alone to wet or poop.

5. Has decreased the frequency of pooping in her diaper and prefers to poop on the pot. She shows a clear sign for "I'm about to try to poop" so I usually get her on in time.

6. She brings me the diaper and sometimes the wipes after she goes in the diaper.

7. She walks confidently and runs pretty well too. And if I say let's go potty, runs to the bathroom.

We bought 6 pair of cotton training pants and the plastic pants yesterday. Thus far we have gone through every single one (7:45 p.m.) , lol. I actually should be washing right this second. We have gone peepee on the pot twice and poop once(the only poop she'll have today). I change her as soon as she wets so I can get her in the habit of feeling dry underpants. Hopefully she'll realize "These aren't supposed to feel like this" and then maybe later try to avoid making them that way. So recognizing wet from dry is my goal right now. I just put her to bed--in a diaper that comes of f IMMEDIATELY in the morning--and I'm about to transfer the underwear to the dryer...

~big sigh~ Potty training is MOMMY DRAINING! Going potty every twenty minutes or so (a 30-35 minute ordeal), nursing every hour and a half (a fifteen minute ordeal), trying to pick up little messes with little success, infant NOT napping for long periods--which is actually a blessing and a curse--who also wants to be held, MIL stopped by so had to semi-"entertain"---okay so simply talking like an adult to a person content to just chill on the couch and watch the stories isn't that hard YOU may think...but after 35 "need to pot pot's" and 40 "no pee pee in our panties'"---saying a full sentence with subject verb agreement, a predicate, and antecedents is a task. Oh yeah AND 4+ hours of home schooling somewhere in between all of that!---I am SO tired.

I am about to log off this computer, cover my eyes so I can ignore the mess all over my living room and proceed to ready my infant for bed. Bathe and nurse the little bundle of screaming...I mean sweetness...and place her sweetly sleeping little butt in her bassinet. I will then determine my own level of hygiene...

On a scale of 1 to 10 how much do I need a bath? 10-my husband will opt for the couch instead. 1-just change the undies.....I think I'm a 3. Change the undies, a bit of lotion and deodorant--no one will know the better. Oh shut up, you've been there!!! It is now 9:21 pm.

Goodnight, goodnight, good.......grief.

Yeah...That was a long day. And to think--I have to go through that 1 more--maybe 2 more times before I can put my potty training days behind me.

A Heck of a Month

2009-10-10T18:29:00.000-07:00

September was a mess. The first week Yaya was sick. As a result of that I was sick. I RARELY get sick and it's a good thing I don't. I sent Yaya to Grandma's for a day and a half so that I could rest and recoup. I really could have used a good two to three day rest but I go through withdrawals when any member of my family isn't at home. I'm weird. I should welcome the break...and I did, I just haven't gotten the hang of extending the break without a minor anxiety attack.

So, Yaya's cold was a week and a half ordeal. Mine lasted about the same. Mind you, I'm still attempting to home school Scooby and care for B-Belly. As if that wasn't enough on my immune system, my husband lands himself in the hospital for three days while I'm trying to recoup. ~~How dare he!~~ Poor guy, has a case of hemorrhoids. Any woman who has experienced childbirth would GLADLY accept a three day ~~hotel~~ hospital stay for that. As a matter of fact, when explaining to Scooby what was going on he said "I'm going on a vacation!" And to think, I have to endure vomit, sore boobs, gas, heartburn, swollen everything, weird cravings, Braxton Hicks, and don't forget the pushing a kiwi through my nostril part before I can get a "vacation", lol. But I digress.

So. the first two and a half weeks of Sept. was filled with the yucks. All of that took the remainder of September to bounce back from. My house was a wreck because I didn't clean for like three weeks. Straightened, but didn't clean. The laundry took a turn for ~~hell~~ the worst and I'm just now getting it in back in order...well almost.

It's October now. The middle of October actually, and I've cleaned up, only to turn around and have to do it again shortly thereafter. I think that's just how it works, so I'm trying not to be stressed out about it.

This comic sums it up all too well!
Comic Credit Goes to: http://www.laughingwithme.com

Battle of the Bulge

2009-10-06T10:10:00.000-07:00

I surrender. Don't shoot. I'll lay down the cookies, the white bread, and even my super sweet tea. I've GOT to get this weight off.

Alright, I'm a whopping 198 pounds (at 5'2"). You wouldn't know because I carry it well, but I don't want to be this big anymore. I also don't want my children to grow up with negative body images or bad eating habits because of me. I really gotta get this weight off. I don't wanna be like those women who are depressed and angry with themselves cuz they're 300 lbs and didn't start doing something about it at 200. Well I'm practically 200 so I HAVE to do something about it.

I love me, don't get me wrong, but I'm gonna love me more by getting myself healthy. I would like to start walking every evening. I'm always saying I don't have time, but I'm gonna have to make time because this is getting ridiculous. Outside of walking, this is the plan:

I'm going to STOP: Having sodas, Excessive sweets (like the cheese cake I ate the other day), really sugary juices, beef, fried foods, and fast foods (excluding salads and baked chicken), my sedentary lifestyle.

I'm going to START: Exercising ATLEAST 30 minutes a day, working up to an hour. Drinking water (working up two 64oz. per day). Eating more fruits, vegetables and fish. Taking vitamins. I may or may not keep a food journal. It does help, so I'll see about it.Letting my exercise be my grown up/me time. I went and bought Leslie Sansone's Walk Away the Pounds and I'm going to do it with my MIL on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I walk with my girlfriend on Sundays. I'm going to do Ultimate Taebo on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
~~I'd like to~~ I need to do the video in the morning and the evening. But that gets boring so soon and the children will no doubt get in my way. But...if that's my only option, I guess it'll have to do for now. I'd walk the neighborhood like I used to but I'm too embarrassed to jog around my neighborhood-my belly flapping every whicha way, lol. So for now, just the video. I'm way too sedentary and moving more alone will help me get started on my weight loss journey.

If I get brave enough I'll post pictures.

Dryer Disaster Update

2009-09-15T20:27:00.000-07:00

Okay, so sorry it took so long. :/ It's been a heckuva month! I'll be sure to tell you about it later.

I just wanted to show the "during" and "after" pictures from the dryer disaster. I was quite pleased with the results. Shocked even.

DURING:

Check out the water turning yellow as the
Borax chokes the yellow out of my clothes. Awesome!

AFTER:

And VIOLA!!! White again! OMG!!!

So yeah...that is DEFINITELY going in the "Avert Crisis" handbook. I recommend it to everyone I know with jumbo crayons silently forming troops in the pockets of little people's clothes. I had to go pat the Borax box lovingly and tell it well done good and faithful servant. Well done.

This is my life...Enjoy!

Their Eyes Were Watching Mom

2009-09-15T20:19:00.001-07:00

Our family has been trying to be more diligent keeping the hours of prayer. Our new trick is to set the alarm and press snooze (which is currently set at 5 min increments) instead of off. When I do finally press off, I set it for the next prayer time.

We all get down on our knees facing eastward. I pray first then my son, and then we pray the morning Hebrew prayer together. He never willingly prays first. I think it's because he's still learning how and what to pray and wants to hear someone else pray first.

Yesterday prayer time went a little something like this:

My son went turn to off the alarm for the third time and we finally stopped to pray. As I knelt down, midway I had an excruciating muscle spasm in my back. I couldn't move. Not left, right, up, down, forward, backward....I could just barely take a breath without it piercing me in the back. I slowly lowered my knee the rest of the way down and rolled my eyes because my 1 yr old had nicely plopped down backwards. Twisting her around was going to require more effort than I could muster at that moment."Perhaps she can pray the wrong way just this time." I thought to myself but not more than a second later I also thought "Train up a child in the way he should go..." Sigh. I held my breath a little and turned her around. It didn't hurt at first, but when I turned back forward I was met with more sharp pains to the back, to which I grimaced.

When my son heard me and looked at my face he immediately dropped to his knees and said "Mommy, I'll pray." His prayer is generally the same everyday "Thank you YHVH. Thank you for A thorugh Z" And I do mean A through Z...he once prayed for everything in the room, chairs, blankets, carpet...yeah, lol. Occasionally he'll insert some personal effects. Thanks for helping the garden grow, thanks for helping sister learn to go potty (amein to that!), thanks for helping me to read...that sort. But on this day, he made sure he prayed for my back. "Thank you YHVH for A, B, and C... Please help Mommy's back to not hurt."

As he prayed, I silently thanked the Most High for my son and his prayer. I thanked Him for the mere fact that he knew to pray about it and did it so urgently. These are the things we Mothers led by the Most High teach our children without really sitting down and "teaching" them, hence the novel inspired name for this blog . Their eyes are always watching mom. Whether I realize it or not, I'm teaching my children almost twenty four seven. I thank the Most High for helping me to be a good example for him. It is continually my prayer that this be the case.

This is my life...Enjoy!

Tired for a Week

2009-08-27T17:02:00.000-07:00

I've been SO busy I haven't even been on here in I don't know how long. With homeschool and cooking and homeschool and cleaning and and and and...the list goes on....I feel so run down. This was the second week of homeschool. It went more smoothly than the first week, but it took A LOT more advanced preparation which I did on First Day for the most part, but everyday stuff has to be done still.

I feel like I'm doing the work of three adults. And generally I enjoy all of it. I love giving my family home cooked meals. I love having a clean home. I love teaching my children and caring for them...but I am SO tired and grumpy and frustrated lately.

It's home life. Married life. I feel like a one man operation. Dear Husband feels like I have a "job" of luxury because I can sit and take a break or a nap anytime I need to....???....What!? Ugh. The comment REALLY ticked me off, but I've just continued pressing on. Doing my best to keep things done and in order. Sometimes succeeding...sometimes falling short, and I can practically feel my immune system weakening with the lack of healthy eating and sleep (what with Nod still waking a few times during the night).

I've already given myself a mouth ulcer which my doctor told me can come from stress. Definitely a lot of that on my plate right now.

I'll get a rhythm I suppose. I'll get used to it eventually I guess. But as of right now...Fifth Day and 8 pm...I've been tired for a week.

This is my life....zzzzzzz

Yeah for Yaya!!!

2009-08-18T13:26:00.000-07:00

After pulling off her dipaer and wetting on my love seat three months ago, Yaya has been wearing big girl undies for a week straight with NO accidents. In this week she has gone solely on the big potty and the little potty has become a stool. Once, she even went to the potty completely alone...in the dark! She had to go and at the time I was standing on the dryer rearranging the shelf and her dear Father was playing Madden (an EA sports football video game) during which he becomes oblivious to anything but football jargon. I heard her chanting potty, but assumed he had taken her when her chants ceased. (Well you know what they say about assuming). But she did it! She went alone. She has moved from pullups to training pants and from trainers to big girl panties. We can actually leave the house without a diaper bag...assuming B-Belly isn't coming along.

Big ups to Yaya for giving Mommy one less thing to do and one less pack of diapers to buy!!!

My little Sponge

2009-08-18T12:50:00.000-07:00

My MIL took us to the store the other day to grab a few items. As we passed the frozen pizzas I noticed a new Digiorno pizza. Well it wasn't pizza. It was actually a garlic cheese bread.
"Oh, it's garlic bread. I guess that makes sense. Why only market pizza when you could make extra money leaving off the toppings and calling it garlic bread." I said to my MIL to which she chuckled and we kept it moving. 15 second conversation. We didn't even stop the buggy, just kept walking right on past.

Well just so happens we were having left over spaghetti with this garlic bread I'd purchased earlier that week. I took it out to warm it and Blynken shouted "I want peesa!"

"This is not pizza it's bread." I answered.

Then I smiled and thought to myself, "Pizza, lol. That's a new word for her. Where'd she even hear...ooooh...at the store this morning." Are you serious? That 15 second conversation we had in the frozen aisle about pizza and bread and boom...she's at home asking for "peesa". She catches on SO quickly. My little sponge. We're definitely going to start preschooling this year!

Shapes and colors here we come!

The secret to how June Cleaver did it...

2009-08-18T10:55:00.000-07:00

The TV crew of course!!!!

OMG! I'm so pooped. Home school has begun again. Boy wasn't I ready. We are a little ahead since we did a few lessons over the summer, but still. I didn't realize just how much time I don't have in a day. I've been tired since first day. Why? I'll give you the run down...

First day:

I finally got the unction to sit down and plan our meals for the week. From that list, I made my grocery list. We then set out for the store (the whole family). Five minutes into the drive I thought to check to make sure the debit card was present and accounted for...uh...no. "Turn around hun gotta get the card." of course to which he huffed. No problem, I can understand that. Note to self: check BEFORE we leave next time. So we get the card and Hubby decides he really doesn't want to go. (Mind you, he just got his new Madden Football video game....ugh).

I needed Hubby to go because my Moby Wrap for the baby was in the wash and I needed the extra set of hands. Oh well. So Both Yaya and B-Belly end up in the "seat" of the buggy and Scooby is walking. Works out great for the first hour. That last thirty minutes though? UGH!!!!!! B-Belly got sleepy and wanted to be held and was crying. Well it's already too early for her to even be sitting in the buggy. She can just now begin to sit up for an extended period of time (okay so half a minute--whatever) in a chair, so add crying and that stiff board thing babies are so great at and no, leaving her in the buggy was out of the question. So I'm trying to push this overflowing, heavy buggy, with one hand, monitor Scooby and Yaya as he annoys her and she yells and swats at him, and did I mention a 13 lb baby feels more like 50 after thirty minutes? Yeah...

I get home and have to unload all X-hundred dollars worth of groceries. Hubby always unloads while I put up so atleast it's sort of a break from the previous chaos....except not that day. He was in the middle of an online game so "he couldn't stop". WHAT! I thought my horns, red face (which is a big deal on a black person), and steaming nostrils would give him a clue...nope. He sat, played, and chatted on the phone with his buddies while Scooby and I unloaded all the groceries. Not his best day, lol.

There was more, but I'll save you the details. You'd get tired just reading it, lol.

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

2009-08-04T08:41:00.001-07:00

My Dear Hubby bought me a slow cooker. I've been trying out recipes from a few internet sources. The last one we tried was Beef Stroganoff. If you can find the roast on sale, it's actually pretty inexpensive and definitely easy. Here it is, enjoy!

Ingredients:

1-2.5lb (approx) beef roast
1lb bag of Egg Noodles

2 regular sized cans of Cream of Mushroom

1 pack of dry Onion Soup
2/3 cup of Sour Cream (you can use more or less to taste, i did)

1 average sized onion chopped (optional)

8oz sliced mushrooms (optional)

*I didn't add the last two ingredients for time's sake.

Directions:

Combine Mushroom Soup, onion soup, onions, and mushrooms together in bowl. DO NOT ADD SOUR CREAM YET.

Put roast in slow cooker and pour soup mixture over roast.

Cook on low for 6-8 hrs or on high for 3-4 hrs.

Meat will pull apart easily when done.

Boil noodles once meat is done and add them to the crockpot.

If you want to freeze some for later, leave noodles out of mixture and just serve over the noodles.

Add sour cream to beef and mix well.

Tips:

For saucier stroganoff use three cans of Mushroom Soup.

Spray inside of cooker with non-stick spray because the soup will stick to the sides.

Review:
I loved it. It was a bit of a pain to cook considering I didn't spray my pot first so I kept having to stir it, but it turned out great. My six year old approved. I think he's the second pickiest eater in the house, second only to dear hubby. Hubby approved and Blynken loves anything with pasta in it. It lasted about three days and travels well for lunches if there's a way to keep it cool and heat it when needed. This recipe gets four and a half out of five.

Dryer Disaster

2009-08-03T12:47:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning, semi-rested for a change. Since B-Belly is teething, she's been quite the little booger the last few nights. Yaya didn't get up as early as she typically does either, so surely this was a sign of a peaceful laid back day, and it was....until I opened the dryer.

Can you hear the wild west gun showdown music in your head or is that just me?

Oh, well no worries, I've gotten used to that.

I've strategically placed a white garment on top of the clothes so you can see just how yellow the clothes are...just in case you couldn't tell.

I apparently didn't inspect the clothes thoroughly and a yellow crayon snuck into the washing machine and worse, the dryer. It was not only a yellow crayon, but it had to be a JUMBO yellow crayon. The kind you buy for toddlers until they learn to hold a regular sized crayon. Or was it until they learn not to snap the regular sized ones in half? Or was it to torment mothers by magically sending crayola troops into my dryer one by one? I can't remember. Either way, I now have a large load of white clothes that are now crayola yellow. Oh yes! It HAD to be JUMBO and it HAD to be the WHITE clothes! Anything less would have insulted my Mother's Challenge of the Day quota.

I immediately went and logged onto the computer so that I could find a miracle remedy to my disaster. I can't possibly be the only mother who had a crayon attack the laundry. Here's what I found courtesy of mommaofmany's blog:

Hot Water
regular amount of detergent
1/2 cup borax
1/2 cup baking soda
1/2 cup spray and wash or shout or something similar
generous squirt of Dawn

Prayerfully, that will work. Can't hurt to try I guess. No more than say....dying them yellow???When I told my husband he laughed and asked if all of that was "in the budget". That phrase gets thrown around more than baseballs around here lately. Ha! If only we actually stuck to one. I let you know how it goes.

This is my life. Enjoy.

This is my life...

2009-08-03T07:59:00.000-07:00

I've been telling myself I'm going to keep a journal for as long as I can remember. At some point I evolved from journal to blog. So, here I am. I'm twenty....? Twenty something. Twenty four, yes, twenty four, and I'm a stay at home wife and mother of three. I love staying at home with my children.

Many wouldn't say I lead an exciting life, but I love it. I get to see all my children's firsts. I single handedly taught my son to read, write, add, and subtract. I see all of his "Ah-ha" moments. (That's the moment something he doesn't understand clicks). I get to kiss every boo-boo as soon as it happens and praise every trip to the potty. Sick days are just cuddle days and I know for a fact that no one hurts them or belittles them.

My life isn't glamorous, but my son tells me I'm pretty all the time. The job doesn't pay, but I care for priceless gems everyday.

This is my life...and I love it.

AND....SCENE

lol, That's on a good day anyway. But then there are also those days where my son decides to play sammy sausage head and act like he doesn't remember ANYthing from the story we just read. He doesn't remember how to sound out a word, he doesn't know how to add, and paying attention? HA! Surely you jest.

Praising potty trips turns into praying for her to simply pee on the kitchen floor instead of the carpet. And the 1st's: there's the 1st time you tell a child to hush, then the second, fifth, and fiftieth. The thought alone of wiping one more runny nose or kissing one more boo-boo on a little dirty hand or foot can be enough to send me to the looney bin. Okay not the looney bin, but atleast on a thirty minute trip to the bathroom during which I sit on the counter with my eyes closed and attempt to tune out the toddler throwing a tantrum on the other side of the door. Yes a tantrum, all because I didn't read the fine print. What fine print? You know, the fine print on those papers you sign after you deliver a baby. Yeah, that long white one. It clearly stated:

"Immediately upon gazing dreamily into those little newborn eyes, you are from thence forth no longer allowed to enter a restroom or bathroom without at least one and possibly more, little people right behind you. Regardless of gender you are now required to allow this little person into the bathroom with you. This little person may do things you do not like including but not limited to: flushing while you are sitting, unrolling toilet tissue, pulling down linen, throwing several objects generally found under the sink into the bathtub, poke you, demand to be held, and offer to help pull up your underpants."

There was more, but if they had listed it all you would have demanded that they put the little bundle of legal print BACK where they got it from.

So...here's to the fine print, to all the stuff my mother DIDN'T tell me, to funny smiles and funny smells...

This is my life. Enjoy.