Happy Two Weeks!

Tank is two weeks old today!  Already!  It’s funny how in one way it seems like he joined us only a couple of days ago, but in another way it’s already beginning to feel like he’s always been a part of us.

Overall, we’re both doing well.  We had jaundice issues once again (it’s a blood-type thing), but that’s under control.  Thankfully, we were able to treat him at home with a portable bililight blanket rather than have to go into the hospital like we did with Twinkle.  He’s slow to gain weight like he should, and I’m doing everything I can to build up my milk supply so that we can successfully breastfeed…we’ll see…

The other kids love him!  Hero, McAwesome, and Sweetheart Girl kind of know the ‘new baby drill’ by now, and they are very patient with not having me be able to do everything the same way as before.  They always want to hold him, and McAwesome has been known to say, “He’s eating again?!”

Minion 1 and Minion 2 don’t care to hold him so much.  They prefer to give him a kiss (as I remind them again not to push on Tank’s head!), and see if he’s awake or asleep.  I’m not sure what the fascination is with that, but apparently it’s their job to tell me if his eyes are open or not- even when I’m holding him, and I can see very well on my own!

Twinkle tells me when he’s eating (thanks, Twinkle), and brings Tank his blankets.  I guess since she is somewhat attached to her blanket, she wants to make sure Tank has his!  It’s very cute!

Everyday I feel better, and if we can get Tank’s feedings under control, I feel like we’ll soon be on our way to our new routine.

To tell the truth, the first couple of months are not my favorite part of child-rearing, but these newborn days fly by so quickly that I’m trying to savor every bit of it.  There’s just something about having a newborn in the house that brings out the best in all of us.  Not that we’re all smiles all the time, but the reminder that God has blessed us once again is hard to ignore!  And babies just smell sooo good!

Introducing!!

Tank!!

Tank made his entrance at 10:49 p.m. on Saturday, October 8, 2011!!  He weighed in at a whopping 8 lbs. 6 oz. and is 19 1/2 inches long!

My labor was (blessedly) very short.  I woke up Saturday morning with my usual, occasional contractions that had no rhyme nor reason to them.  The only thing different was that I had them first thing in the morning, whereas they usually came on midday or early evening.  Because I did notice that difference, I did pay attention to them, but sure enough, as the day progressed, they disappeared!

With church the next morning, I decided to head upstairs early, so a little after 8:30 I went into the kitchen to make myself a sandwich before going up.  As I opened the fridge door, my water broke!!  Contractions started within 20 minutes, we had a 45 minute drive to the hospital, and about 40 minutes later Tank came into this world!

Welcome Little One!

What’s Going On Here…

Well, we’re just in the waiting period for this baby now!  A couple weeks ago, I was having tons of contractions, and several times I thought they were the real thing (obviously, they weren’t!).  We were excited and felt like the birth was imminent!  But here we are, two weeks later, with no baby in our arms yet!

My due date is still not until next Monday, so it’s not like I feel like I’m overdue or that we should have had the baby by now.  It’s just that all signs were pointing towards a soon delivery!  Last week, all those signs pretty much went away!  I had only occasional contractions, and they were never worth paying attention to!

I am working with the midwives at Tucson’s Birth Center, and since I am a VBAC, I am on a bit of a time crunch.  I would be even if I were at an OB.  I only have so much time before I risk out and become a repeat c-section.  I suppose I could refuse and just wait for this baby to be born at home, but I’m not too keen on that idea!  I did find out that although the midwives can/will not induce with Pitocin, they can break my water and see if that works.  So if the time comes, I will definitely choose that over a c-section!  Of course, if we (mom and/or baby) get to a point where a c-section seems to be the best option, that’s what we’ll do.  I have done it before, and while I hated it, it wasn’t the end of the world!

Okay, enough about that.  Other news:

School is going well!  I think we’re on track in all subjects and ahead in a few.  So any time we take off shouldn’t throw us off too much!

Hero turned 9 years old a few weeks ago.  He has informed me that he feels different now that he’s 9, and he’s already excited to hit double digits next year!

Awesome McAwesome has turned into my little go-getter!  Nearly every day, he asks if he can start his schoolwork before I’m ready, and he often turns down his break time so that he can be finished early and have the rest of his day!  As an admitted procrastinator, I find this trait very admirable! 

Sweetheart Girl can never have enough to do.  Her schoolwork just isn’t enough for her, her chores get done, she asks to help me with stuff all the time, and still she often tells me she doesn’t know what to do!  Sweetheart Girl likes to keep busy!  She’s going to be soooooo much help when the baby is born!

The Minions are going through an independent/co-dependent stage with each other right now.  It’s heart-breaking to one if the other doesn’t want to play with him.  As mom, I find it slightly difficult to find a balance of encouraging the loner to play with his brother and telling the upset one that it’s okay to play by himself for a while!  Of course, they switch off in these rolls daily!

Twinkle’s vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds!  She often speaks in full sentences (baby ones), and we are surprised at times at how clear she is.  Even when we’re not sure exactly what she’s saying, she finds a way to make herself heard- which sometimes is not so pleasant!

My laptop charger died the other week, and my battery is dead.  So until I get a replacement charger, I’m stuck using the desktop.  It’s slightly inconvenient since most of my files and pictures are on my laptop!  But at least I haven’t lost them- they’re just inaccessible for the time being!

I may decide to give up Facebook soon, as the most recent round of changes are exactly the opposite features of what drew me to give FB a try in the first place!  I’m not saying they’re bad or that everyone should close their accounts, but I liked FB because it was so simple and unobtrusive!  The verdict is still out, though, but if I do give it up, I will try to be a better blogger so my family and friends can still keep up with us!

I guess that’s it!  Hopefully I will be presenting our newest addition very soon!

Some Homemade Cleaners Recipes

Lately I’ve been scouring the web for homemade cleaners, and I thought I’d share my findings.  My reasons have been more for financial benefits than ‘going green,’ but most of these will definitely help keep some of the toxins out of the home!  You’ll notice there are only a handful of ingredients…I purposefully chose first the ones that would be the cheapest for me to make, and I figured if I didn’t like the results, I would then try some of the more involved recipes.  I can happily report that I’m very pleased so far!

All-Purpose Cleaner

equal parts white vinegar and water

a few drops of your fave essential oil for a pretty smell (completely optional)

This works really well for just about everything, even the bathtub.  Of course, if your tub is really grimy (ahem…), you can sprinkle on some baking soda to help scrub it all off.  If you skip the oil, you can also use this as a window cleaner.  I found out the hard way about the oil…

Laundry Detergent

1 bar of laundry soap (Fels-Naptha, Zote, Ivory), finely grated

1 cup washing soda (NOT baking soda)

1 cup borax

Mix ‘em all together, and use 1-2 tablespoons per load.  I use Fels-Naptha because it’s what my grocery store carries, and I’ve never had any residue left behind.

Fabric Softener

white vinegar

Just fill your washing machine’s fabric softener dispenser or a downy ball, and walk away.  Otherwise add about a cup during the rinse cycle (who has time for that?).  *Note* Sometimes you can smell the vinegar when your load is done, but as soon as it goes through the dryer, you’re good to go!

Drain Refresher

mix 1/2 cup baking soda and 1/4 cup salt and pour it down the drain

then pour 1 cup of heated vinegar down the drain (it will fizz and bubble)

let it go for about 15 minutes, then run hot water for a minute

I did this one today after noticing an unpleasant odor coming from the sink (I didn’t have any lemons or oranges around to use in the disposal).  Smell be gone!

Homemade Febreze

2 cups warm water

1/4 cup liquid fabric softener

1 tsp baking soda

Just mix them up in a spray bottle and voila!  Obviously, if you’re looking for a green product, the fabric softener is not going to fit the bill.  I suppose there are green fabric softeners out there, though.  Also, there are a lot of recipes that use vinegar again, but since that smell is around until it dries, I knew it wasn’t what I was looking for.  I often only remember to use Febreze when someone is coming over to hide the stale diaper smell that likes to hang around here!

These recipes are all over and there are tons of variations, but these are some that are working for me.  If you have any of your own to share, please do!

Our First Day of School

Well, it’s over!  All the kids are asleep, I’m prepared for tomorrow, and I can breathe!

Our first day was okay.  Hero, McAwesome, and Sweetheart Girl were all excited, and thankfully they maintained their enthusiasm throughout the day.  About 20 minutes into the morning, all three little ones suddenly demanded my attention, and I could not seem to get them occupied with anything!  I admit, I spent a few minutes berating myself in my head for even attempting this this year with practically all new materials.  I did send a text to my husband telling him that I was going to need a Coke by the end of the day!  (He took my oh-so-subtle hint, by the way!)

Eventually, the littles calmed down and I was able to focus some attention on the big kids.  It felt a little disjointed, as I didn’t figure very well how much time some subjects would take, but I suppose that will work itself out as we get into a rhythm.

My biggest disappointment of the day is that I didn’t take any pictures!!  They all dressed themselves so nicely, but then the morning took a bad turn for a while there, and by the time I thought about it…well, they all had lunch leftovers on their faces :)  Guess I’ll have to get some later in the week and pass them off as the “first day of school” pictures years down the road!

10 Things I Love About My Husband!

Ten years ago, I married a wonderful man!  I was young (18), but I knew the Lord had brought us together and had planned something great for us!  Maybe sometime I’ll write about how we met (we don’t actually remember!) and fell in love (I knew I loved him when I was 16!), but today I just want to share 10 things that I love about him.

In no particular order (except for number 1):

1.  He’s saved AND following the Lord.  Needless to say, in the ministry we see often the struggles when this is not the case!  Marriage takes work for even the most faithful Christians, and I can’t imagine going through it with a man who did not have a heart for God.

2.  He WANTS to be a good husband.  I mean, he is, but he is because he makes an effort to love and care for me like Christ loves the church.

3.  I never fear talking to him.  I know women who do not feel welcome to open up to their husbands, so they instead share everything with everyone else!  Even if I’m not always sure how to approach a matter, even if I’m fairly sure he won’t agree, I know I can talk to him.  I rarely feel a need to talk about my husband to anyone else because I know I can just talk to him!

4.  He’s an incredibly involved dad.  He changes diapers, he gets up during the night, he’s willing to take on the majority of the discipline…that doesn’t mean he likes to, but he does them anyway!  He plays Parcheesi, Red Light Green Light, wrestles, gives hugs and kisses, and…he’s not afraid to take all six kids out by himself!  Which leads me to number 5-

5.  He’s understanding to my need to get out every now and then.  Even aside from being a stay-at-home mom, my personality is such that I like to go out and do things!  He is willing to let me go out by myself for a few hours and often will tell me we have 20 extra dollars this week so why don’t I go look for something to buy.  That’s the best :)

6.  He’s funny.  We share a sarcastic and mostly nerdy sense of humor.  Those of you who know us, know that we’re nerds and we’re okay with that!

7.  He works hard.  And I mean hard.  I’ve never been under another pastor who has shown so much effort, time, and study when he preaches.  He’s always making a visit, calling a church member, and praying for someone.  He puts his heart and soul into the flock that God has given him, and it shows. 

8.  He’s hot- and he keeps getting better looking every year!

9.  He’s very discerning.  I appreciate that he knows the Bible and has the ability to interpret a passage accurately.  He can see things about people, about why they may be acting a certain way, about what the real issues are behind it, and he’s bold and caring enough to address it.  And if I see something differently than he does, he is often discerning enough to listen to me :)

10.  He is proud of his family.  I love it (and somehow am embarrassed at the same time) when we go out somewhere, especially to a pastor’s fellowship meeting, and he introduces the whole family by name.  That’s quite the list to get through…

Of course there’s more, but I’ll pace myself.  There’s always next year!

Spelling Practice Ideas

As I continue preparing for the school year, I’m continually on the lookout for other’s great ideas.

One area I knew I wanted to put some effort into was spelling practice.  We’ve always just copied and say-spell-say (said?) the words every day, and quite frankly, it’s boooring!

I read an article a while back with some great ideas, and I just found it again this morning!  Here’s the link:

http://www.hsclassroom.net/2010/08/making-spelling-a-lot-more-fun/

The Homeschool Classroom is a site that I visit often, and even when I have no intention of putting something into practice, I still enjoy reading about what others are doing.  It’s often full of encouraging words and sometimes points out the not-so-glamorous struggles homeschooling often entails!

I hope the boys enjoy their spelling drills with some of these new ideas!!