Okay, so I know it's been forever (AGAIN) - but I just want to jot down a few thoughts on what I need (okay, WANT!) for this new baby coming in May/June. I already cloth diaper, but it would be SO much easier if I had a bigger stash of supplies!
A dozen more size 1 Kissaluvs diapers
http://www.thanksmama.com/Kissaluvs_Fitted_Diapers_p/kis-001.htm
OR
A dozen size 1 Heiny Huggers diapers
http://www.happyheinystore.com/catalog.php?item=1055
3 small and 3 medium Bummi's Super Whisper Wrap covers
http://www.thanksmama.com/Bummis_Super_Whisper_Wrap_p/bms-001.htm
5 Stacinator Wool Covers - 1 Small, 2 Mediums, and 2 larges
http://www.happyheinystore.com/catalog.php?category=30
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
School time again...
Just an FYI to watch the blog for new things we're doing in school this year. We're pretty busy in the mornings, but I'll try to update every few days.
Love to you all...
Our Household
Love to you all...
Our Household
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Monday, March 19, 2007
YUM! Making and eating pretzels
Friday, March 16, 2007
Growing...
Well, I am pleased to know that I am not a total loser at growing plants! I never start them inside because I usually have killed them by this point. Good thing I have the kids now to help me out! Here is this week's progress:

Left: Yeva's point of view - Right: Cherokee Purple and Roma tomatoes (both started Friday, March 2)

Left: Chinese Cabbage - Right: Brussels Sprouts (both started Monday, March 5)
Left: Yeva's point of view - Right: Cherokee Purple and Roma tomatoes (both started Friday, March 2)
Left: Chinese Cabbage - Right: Brussels Sprouts (both started Monday, March 5)
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
The Quilt Project
Just wanted to write super-quick about my quilt project. Some friends and I decided to do a group quilt, of sorts - instead of just one quilt, we are all sending squares and making our own quilt from the fabric we send to each other. Not sure what I'll do yet as I am a total BEGINNER at this, but I have them grouped so far how I like them. Marlene's is so cool all by itself, I don't know what I'll do with that yet! I don't want to cut it at all.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
FINALLY... growing season!
We started some seeds for our garden on Friday, March 2 and more on Sunday, March 4. We have (so far): Roma tomatoes, Cherokee Purple tomatoes, ground cherries, brussels sprouts, chinese cabbage, basil, cilantro (coriander), and a few flowers.
So far, so good! We were pleasantly surprised this morning with a few sprouts -- and it wasn't even in the first seeds we planted, but in the second - the chinese cabbage and brussels sprouts! I hope you can see the tiny little sprouts in the photos.
She's 3!!
Here are some (late) photos from Yeva's 3rd Birthday!

HOW old are you now??

The kids and I had such a great day that day. We went to Chuck E. Cheese and Yeva had such a good time playing -- and didn't even cry when it was time to leave! Then later (in theses photos) we had family over to help celebrate with dinner and cake.
HOW old are you now??
The kids and I had such a great day that day. We went to Chuck E. Cheese and Yeva had such a good time playing -- and didn't even cry when it was time to leave! Then later (in theses photos) we had family over to help celebrate with dinner and cake.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Vaccine Video
PLEASE give yourself 90 minutes and watch this video on vaccinations:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8610554679207090010&hl=en
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8610554679207090010&hl=en
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Reasons to have a homebirth
A friend just sent this... I love it...
No chance of bringing home someone else's baby
No chance of having someone steal your baby while in the hospital
No chance of having someone else nurse your baby
No chance of having your baby being given formula when you want only breast milk
No chance of being separate from your newborn
No chance of you catching a hospital born virus or bacteria
No chance of your newborn catching a hospital born virus
No chance of receiving an episiotomy
No chance of getting an infection in the episiotomy stitches
No chance of ripping out the stitches when having your first BM
No chance of being confined to a bed during your labor
No chance of being left alone during your labor, unless you want to be
No chance of having your children excluded during this important time in your life
No chance of getting an IV in your arm
No chance of getting the wrong drug in your IV
No chance of getting an unknown/nasty care provider at the time of labor
No chance of getting an unwanted circumcision for your son
No chance of getting an unwanted vaccination for your newborn
No chance of getting an uncomfortable continuous fetal monitoring
No chance of getting unwanted drugs during your labor
No chance of laying in an uncomfortable bed
No chance of laying flat on your back during the birth
No chance of having your legs strapped down into stirrups
No chance of having unbearable cramps in your legs because you cannot move them
No chance of enduring the noise of a typical hospital after the birth
No chance of enduring unpopular or against your diet hospital food
No chance of being coerced into a Caesarian
No chance of having an anesthesia reaction, and dangers that goes with it
No chance of having your doctor cut your baby during a Caesarian
No chance of having your doctor cut your bladder during a Caesarian
No chance of having you doctor cut your intestines during a Caesarian
No chance of getting an infection in the Caesarian incision
No chance of having your doctor leaving something inside after a Caesarian
No chance of having to endure Caesarian incision pain after the birth
No chance of having your care provider or hospital refusing to do a VBAC
No chance of having to get up in the middle of the night to go to the hospital
No chance of having to endure a bumpy/uncomfortable ride in the car
No chance of not making it to the hospital
Your Doctor views birth as a potential disaster
Your Doctor will put limits on the length of your pregnancy
Your Doctor willwant to induce you, if you pass those dates
Most inductions are failures if you are not close to your baby's REAL date
Your Doctor is "hanking"that your induction will be a failure
Your Doctor has financial incentives to do MORE procedures
Your Doctor likes to maintain DAYTIME obstetrics
Your Doctor can make double the money for doing a Caesarian, and he can be done in 1 hour
Your Doctor does not like late night births, he has office visits tomorrow
Your Midwife views birth as a normal function of a women's body
Your Midwife only attends normal births, that is her specialty
Your Midwife will always do your prenatal care
Your Midwife will listen to your needs and fears
Your Midwife is available 24/7 to answer your questions
Your Midwife will honor your birth plan
Your Midwife doesn't do quicky office visits
At home, you can labor in the position of your choice
At home, you can go to the bathroom without asking someone
At home, you can lay down or stand up without asking someone
At home, you can eat or drink if you choose to
At home, your young children can be with you, if you choose
At home, your labor coach is the same familiar person that gave you prenatal care
At home, the baby catcher can be anyone you want
At home you can have the people YOU want at your birth
No chance of bringing home someone else's baby
No chance of having someone steal your baby while in the hospital
No chance of having someone else nurse your baby
No chance of having your baby being given formula when you want only breast milk
No chance of being separate from your newborn
No chance of you catching a hospital born virus or bacteria
No chance of your newborn catching a hospital born virus
No chance of receiving an episiotomy
No chance of getting an infection in the episiotomy stitches
No chance of ripping out the stitches when having your first BM
No chance of being confined to a bed during your labor
No chance of being left alone during your labor, unless you want to be
No chance of having your children excluded during this important time in your life
No chance of getting an IV in your arm
No chance of getting the wrong drug in your IV
No chance of getting an unknown/nasty care provider at the time of labor
No chance of getting an unwanted circumcision for your son
No chance of getting an unwanted vaccination for your newborn
No chance of getting an uncomfortable continuous fetal monitoring
No chance of getting unwanted drugs during your labor
No chance of laying in an uncomfortable bed
No chance of laying flat on your back during the birth
No chance of having your legs strapped down into stirrups
No chance of having unbearable cramps in your legs because you cannot move them
No chance of enduring the noise of a typical hospital after the birth
No chance of enduring unpopular or against your diet hospital food
No chance of being coerced into a Caesarian
No chance of having an anesthesia reaction, and dangers that goes with it
No chance of having your doctor cut your baby during a Caesarian
No chance of having your doctor cut your bladder during a Caesarian
No chance of having you doctor cut your intestines during a Caesarian
No chance of getting an infection in the Caesarian incision
No chance of having your doctor leaving something inside after a Caesarian
No chance of having to endure Caesarian incision pain after the birth
No chance of having your care provider or hospital refusing to do a VBAC
No chance of having to get up in the middle of the night to go to the hospital
No chance of having to endure a bumpy/uncomfortable ride in the car
No chance of not making it to the hospital
Your Doctor views birth as a potential disaster
Your Doctor will put limits on the length of your pregnancy
Your Doctor willwant to induce you, if you pass those dates
Most inductions are failures if you are not close to your baby's REAL date
Your Doctor is "hanking"that your induction will be a failure
Your Doctor has financial incentives to do MORE procedures
Your Doctor likes to maintain DAYTIME obstetrics
Your Doctor can make double the money for doing a Caesarian, and he can be done in 1 hour
Your Doctor does not like late night births, he has office visits tomorrow
Your Midwife views birth as a normal function of a women's body
Your Midwife only attends normal births, that is her specialty
Your Midwife will always do your prenatal care
Your Midwife will listen to your needs and fears
Your Midwife is available 24/7 to answer your questions
Your Midwife will honor your birth plan
Your Midwife doesn't do quicky office visits
At home, you can labor in the position of your choice
At home, you can go to the bathroom without asking someone
At home, you can lay down or stand up without asking someone
At home, you can eat or drink if you choose to
At home, your young children can be with you, if you choose
At home, your labor coach is the same familiar person that gave you prenatal care
At home, the baby catcher can be anyone you want
At home you can have the people YOU want at your birth
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Preparing for school
For those of you who know me best - you know already that I take a very relaxed approach to homeschooling. I focus much more on LIVING than on "school work" - even on those days I slip into feeling like we have to "do something".
BUT - I was so pleased to read this today:
"Children should not be long confined within doors, nor should they be required to apply themselves closely to study until a good foundation has been laid for physical development. For the first EIGHT or TEN YEARS (emphasis mine) of a child's life the field or garden is the best schoolroom, the mother the best teacher, nature the best lesson book. Even when the child is old enough to attend school, his health should be regarded as of greater importance than a knowledge of books. He should be surrounded with the conditions most favorable to both physical and mental growth.
It is customary to send very young children to school. They are required to study from books things that tax their young minds... This course is not wise. A nervous child should not be overtaxed in any direction."
WOW! There's more - but I'll let you read for yourself if you wish.
It was written by E.G. White Child Guidance, Chapter 51
(Sorry - can't figure out how to link to it or I would!)
BUT - I was so pleased to read this today:
"Children should not be long confined within doors, nor should they be required to apply themselves closely to study until a good foundation has been laid for physical development. For the first EIGHT or TEN YEARS (emphasis mine) of a child's life the field or garden is the best schoolroom, the mother the best teacher, nature the best lesson book. Even when the child is old enough to attend school, his health should be regarded as of greater importance than a knowledge of books. He should be surrounded with the conditions most favorable to both physical and mental growth.
It is customary to send very young children to school. They are required to study from books things that tax their young minds... This course is not wise. A nervous child should not be overtaxed in any direction."
WOW! There's more - but I'll let you read for yourself if you wish.
It was written by E.G. White Child Guidance, Chapter 51
(Sorry - can't figure out how to link to it or I would!)
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Monday, February 12, 2007
Long time... and Hannah's birthday
WOW. I can hardly believe that I haven't posted since January 19th! Sorry, for the faithful few who actually read this! :-)
This past Saturday was Hannah's birthday party - her first SLEEPOVER birthday party! Wow. THAT was an experience! Oh, it sure was fun, but exhausting. She had 5 girlfriends over and they had a ball. Pizza, popcorn, facials, nail polish, hair-dos, movies, and a very sleepy mumma who finally made them all lay down "PLEASE" at about 3 am. Sorry - all you mamas who had very sleepy and/or grumpy girls yesterday! It was well worth it on our end.
All the complaining I did about the weather back in January - then we got a cold snap. It had been WAY down there... single digits for a few days which is pretty unusual around here. Snow has been a teaser - and inch here, an inch there - barely enough to sled in. They're calling for quite a few inches (8 or so) tomorrow... but I'll believe it when I see it!
We did enjoy some artificial snow by going to the mountain and snow tubing two Thursdays in a row! Even Yeva joined in... but only on the kiddy slope! Hannah wasn't so sure about it. Mumma (as she's taken to calling me lately) had to ride down with her the first week - good thing our friends were there to help watch the babies! She opted out of tubing at all the second week and just sat and sipped hot cocoa with me in the lodge.
More later...
This past Saturday was Hannah's birthday party - her first SLEEPOVER birthday party! Wow. THAT was an experience! Oh, it sure was fun, but exhausting. She had 5 girlfriends over and they had a ball. Pizza, popcorn, facials, nail polish, hair-dos, movies, and a very sleepy mumma who finally made them all lay down "PLEASE" at about 3 am. Sorry - all you mamas who had very sleepy and/or grumpy girls yesterday! It was well worth it on our end.
All the complaining I did about the weather back in January - then we got a cold snap. It had been WAY down there... single digits for a few days which is pretty unusual around here. Snow has been a teaser - and inch here, an inch there - barely enough to sled in. They're calling for quite a few inches (8 or so) tomorrow... but I'll believe it when I see it!
We did enjoy some artificial snow by going to the mountain and snow tubing two Thursdays in a row! Even Yeva joined in... but only on the kiddy slope! Hannah wasn't so sure about it. Mumma (as she's taken to calling me lately) had to ride down with her the first week - good thing our friends were there to help watch the babies! She opted out of tubing at all the second week and just sat and sipped hot cocoa with me in the lodge.
More later...
Friday, January 19, 2007
Some photos...
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
So many lessons to be learned...
... from the Bible!
I am just amazed every single time I pick up the Bible - I always learn something even when I'm not trying to!
The kids and I decided back in October that we wanted to read the Bible in a year... so we got a good plan (HERE) and - well - we didn't get off to a great start, but we're getting into it now.
Just today, I opened it up to Genesis, chapters 4-7... so many "subjects" in there!
4:2... VOCABULARY
"Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil."
HANNAH - "What's that?"
ME - "Abel was a shepherd and Cain was a gardener."
4:15... MATH -- MULTIPLICATION
"But the LORD said to him, "Not so ; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over."
The entire 5th chapter... GENEALOGY
The entire 5th chapter... MATH -- ADDITION
"3 ~ When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. 4 ~ After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 5 ~ Altogether, Adam lived 930 years, and then he died."
6:14... more MATH -- MEASUREMENTS
"The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. 16 ~ Make a roof for it and finish the ark to within 18 inches of the top." (We read from the New King James - So had to figure out what a "cubit" was! These are all from the NIV.)
Bobby's side comment, "So that's like 1 and a half football fields LONG!"
7:14... SCIENCE
"14 They had with them every wild animal according to its kind, all livestock according to their kinds, every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind and every bird according to its kind, everything with wings. 15 Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark."
Okay, it seriously took me FOREVER to finish reading these 4 chapters b/c it was a spring board for SO MANY conversations! I am thoroughly satisfied that you really and can truly learn WITHOUT school. Awesome.
I am just amazed every single time I pick up the Bible - I always learn something even when I'm not trying to!
The kids and I decided back in October that we wanted to read the Bible in a year... so we got a good plan (HERE) and - well - we didn't get off to a great start, but we're getting into it now.
Just today, I opened it up to Genesis, chapters 4-7... so many "subjects" in there!
4:2... VOCABULARY
"Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil."
HANNAH - "What's that?"
ME - "Abel was a shepherd and Cain was a gardener."
4:15... MATH -- MULTIPLICATION
"But the LORD said to him, "Not so ; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over."
The entire 5th chapter... GENEALOGY
The entire 5th chapter... MATH -- ADDITION
"3 ~ When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. 4 ~ After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 5 ~ Altogether, Adam lived 930 years, and then he died."
6:14... more MATH -- MEASUREMENTS
"The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. 16 ~ Make a roof for it and finish the ark to within 18 inches of the top." (We read from the New King James - So had to figure out what a "cubit" was! These are all from the NIV.)
Bobby's side comment, "So that's like 1 and a half football fields LONG!"
7:14... SCIENCE
"14 They had with them every wild animal according to its kind, all livestock according to their kinds, every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind and every bird according to its kind, everything with wings. 15 Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark."
Okay, it seriously took me FOREVER to finish reading these 4 chapters b/c it was a spring board for SO MANY conversations! I am thoroughly satisfied that you really and can truly learn WITHOUT school. Awesome.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
YAY!! Finally...
We finally got some SNOW... okay, only a fleck or two, but at least it was SNOW! So, maybe the year's not totally hopeless - and I just hope this doesn't mean that spring will wait until June to show up!
Hannah had loads of fun "swinging from a hose" at a friend's house today. I'm not exactly sure what that looked like, as it was wayyyy down at the bottom of a hill - but she talked about it forever this afternoon... something about a hose tied to a tree. Sounded like fun!
Bobby's highlight of the day... getting his new football that came with a tee! Perfect - it goes well with the field goal post!
Oh, and hey, if any of you ladies are reading who I went to Port City Java with tonight... THANK YOU! It was nice to get out, if only for a couple of hours. Josh did just fine home alone with all 4 kiddos - even if Sage was awake the entire time! They all survived. :-)
Hannah had loads of fun "swinging from a hose" at a friend's house today. I'm not exactly sure what that looked like, as it was wayyyy down at the bottom of a hill - but she talked about it forever this afternoon... something about a hose tied to a tree. Sounded like fun!
Bobby's highlight of the day... getting his new football that came with a tee! Perfect - it goes well with the field goal post!
Oh, and hey, if any of you ladies are reading who I went to Port City Java with tonight... THANK YOU! It was nice to get out, if only for a couple of hours. Josh did just fine home alone with all 4 kiddos - even if Sage was awake the entire time! They all survived. :-)
Will Smith's View on Education
Okay, so I've always liked Will Smith as an actor. Wasn't really into his music - although I remember it from high school as being kinda' catchy - but I like his acting.
Well - I was just forwarded the link to his interview with Reader's Digest and, wow, one more reason to like him! While his version of homeschooling his kids is a bit different than mine - I like the way he thinks about formal education in general.
Read it here: http://www.rd.com/content/openContent.do?contentId=31133
His comments on education are on page 2 of the interview.
Well - I was just forwarded the link to his interview with Reader's Digest and, wow, one more reason to like him! While his version of homeschooling his kids is a bit different than mine - I like the way he thinks about formal education in general.
Read it here: http://www.rd.com/content/openContent.do?contentId=31133
His comments on education are on page 2 of the interview.
Saturday, January 6, 2007
We had my mom and my sister there, my great-nephew, one of my foster brothers from growing up, plus Bobby and Hannah's dad ended up coming, along with HIS dad and step-mother... and a friend of the family from years ago came too! Very nice.
Friday, January 5, 2007
Well, not much to do but accept it. It's NOT January. It can't be. I know I keep ranting - but it's WARM! Maryland should not be 60 degrees in January. We looked. Our average is 38-39 - the lowest of the whole year! Oh well.
It's been a bit of a hectic week. We had an appraiser come out yesterday and so much of the last 2 days was preparing for that. Yeva got her "bedroom" (aka - hallway) painted. It's the same color as our living room - a coffee and cream brown.
Bobby figured out that there's pinball on this computer! LOL! I walked by and could have sworn it sounded like an arcade in the office - well, it was!
Busy day at church tomorrow! Oh, and the kids' dedication is also tomorrow - all four at once since I had never gotten around to it before now. :-) I will post pictures hopefully by Sunday.
It's been a bit of a hectic week. We had an appraiser come out yesterday and so much of the last 2 days was preparing for that. Yeva got her "bedroom" (aka - hallway) painted. It's the same color as our living room - a coffee and cream brown.
Bobby figured out that there's pinball on this computer! LOL! I walked by and could have sworn it sounded like an arcade in the office - well, it was!
Busy day at church tomorrow! Oh, and the kids' dedication is also tomorrow - all four at once since I had never gotten around to it before now. :-) I will post pictures hopefully by Sunday.
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
HowManyOfMe
Oh, I'm hooked... this is so much fun... www.howmanyofme.com - tells you how many have your first and/or last name plus how many people have the combo of the two. (Thank you, Nicky!) Can't wait to show the kids tomorrow.
Today - another awesome day of weather... near 60 degrees. We took the dogs to the park to meet up with some of our homeschooling friends. Then a busy evening at church with Family Night dinner, choir and Adventurer's.
Babies kept me up until almost 2 am last night and got up before 7 am with the puppy - not sure what else happened today... it's been a blur.
Today - another awesome day of weather... near 60 degrees. We took the dogs to the park to meet up with some of our homeschooling friends. Then a busy evening at church with Family Night dinner, choir and Adventurer's.
Babies kept me up until almost 2 am last night and got up before 7 am with the puppy - not sure what else happened today... it's been a blur.
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
It *IS* January, right?
Crazy, crazy weather. I wouldn't complain, except that I KNOW winter has to start someday... just wish I knew when!
Today has been warm - didn't check officially, but somewhere around 50 degrees and it's only supposed to go up over the next couple of days. WOW! The kids and I sat around my seed catalogs again today, deciding what to plant. I wish I'd planted in October! I'd be enjoying a harvest now.
Bobby and Hannah haven't been inside a total of more than 2 hours all day long. Bobby has been using the new stadium equipment and Hannah has continued with her shack/fort... digging holes and what-not.
Yeva started helping to put the dishes away yesterday! Big girl. She loves to put the silverware in the drawer. She gets them in the right spots - just not exactly how *I* would do it. :-) Oh well... I just sit on my hands and leave it. I am so proud of her for being a big helper!
The new puppy, Fudge, is house training so well - I am pleasantly surprised. She only had one accident today and that was when she was being scolded for something else! She's so cute and getting big so fast - won't be carrying her around much longer.
Added lots of new links to my sidebar. Enjoy!
Today has been warm - didn't check officially, but somewhere around 50 degrees and it's only supposed to go up over the next couple of days. WOW! The kids and I sat around my seed catalogs again today, deciding what to plant. I wish I'd planted in October! I'd be enjoying a harvest now.
Bobby and Hannah haven't been inside a total of more than 2 hours all day long. Bobby has been using the new stadium equipment and Hannah has continued with her shack/fort... digging holes and what-not.
Yeva started helping to put the dishes away yesterday! Big girl. She loves to put the silverware in the drawer. She gets them in the right spots - just not exactly how *I* would do it. :-) Oh well... I just sit on my hands and leave it. I am so proud of her for being a big helper!
The new puppy, Fudge, is house training so well - I am pleasantly surprised. She only had one accident today and that was when she was being scolded for something else! She's so cute and getting big so fast - won't be carrying her around much longer.
Added lots of new links to my sidebar. Enjoy!
Monday, January 1, 2007
Happy New Year!
Today was a really good day. No, it shouldn't be warm in January, and it shouldn't be foggy and muddy - but it makes for a good day in the yard! Yeva and Hannah each had to change their shoes twice. Bobby and the neighbor, Chris, spent the whole day outside. They even convinced Josh to build them a field goal post!
It was far too nice outside to "do school" inside - although Hannah was a bit disappointed this evening when she realized that we hadn't started school today as planned. Nonetheless, as the big kids were outside, Yeva decided that she wanted to do her own bit of school inside playing with her Winnie the Pooh Uno cards she got from Auntie Dee Dee for Christmas...
For a little bit, we all got to sit down and plan our garden for the Spring. I'm going to do Square Foot Gardening for the first time. It seems so easy and simple. I can't wait to start! I think we'll even have the kids do smaller versions of their own gardens to work on.
Long day. Yeva was beat - she fell asleep at the dinner table! Hannah used to do that all the time when she was little. I think this is the first time Yeva did it!
Well, this layout isn't what I want, but I'm too tired to mess with it tonight!
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