I’m Official! November 4, 2008

Well, it took 76 hours of class time, countless hours of studying, a heart attack scare (which turned out to be just stress)  and multiple panic attacks but I finally did it.  I took my state exams today and passed them with flying colors!  I am a Certified Nurse Aide.  WOO HOO!!!  It feels so good to know that I did something like that.  Words just can’t describe how I’m feeling.  I think euphoric comes the closest. 

 

My husband totally rocks.  He stayed home with the kids 2 nights a week, cooked meals, cleaned house and did an terrific job picking up my slack.  I could never have done it without his love and support!  There were a ton of people praying for me tonight while I tested, so THANKS EVERYONE!!!!!

Are you infected? September 26, 2008

I have come down with a case of “Twilight-is”.  This is caused by reading Stephenie Meyer’s book “Twilight” and worsened when you read “New Moon”, “Eclipse” and “Breaking Dawn”.  I don’t know if I have ever been so entranced by a book series before.  I actually feel what Edward and Bella must be feeling.  I read all four books in one week, neglecting all of my wifely and motherly duties.  I find myself reading fansites, something I never would have done before these books.  I dream about these characters, think of them throughout my day and find myself wondering “what if Bella/Edward did…..?”  At first I thought I was really losing my grip on reality and that I must be in worse shape than I thought.  But then I talked to one of my friends and found that she is just as obsessed as I am.  I am not alone, there are others that are just as captivated by these imaginary people, more than I could have imagined. 

 

The movie comes out November 21st.  We have already made plans to leave the children with daddies, request the night off of work and stand in line if necessary to see this movie. 

 

I highly recommend reading these books.  You have been warned though.  Reading can lead to a severe case of “Twilight-is”. 

Hiking at War Eagle September 12, 2008

We’ve been trying to get out together as a family more often.  Here’s some pics of our latest adventures hiking.

Kiddos all together at the beginning of our hike.

 

One of the thousands of grasshoppers on the hill that day!

Food for Eyore!

My boys. Overlooking the Missouri River

Very cool katydid!

We’ve been enjoying the cooler weather.  It is still nice during the day but getting cold at night.  I love it!

Going back to school! September 1, 2008

 The time is here, the time is now….  a new year of homeschooling is upon me!  I’m kinda ready but not like I was last year.  Last year I had the entire year planned out day-by-day.  This year, I know what curriculum I’m using and I know the general pace we will be working at but beyond that…. not so organized this year. 

 

In my defense, I have alot on my plate this year.  I, myself, started classes 2 weeks ago to get my Nursing Assistant Certificate.  I love my classes, I love the studying and learning.  I love doing well and the confidence it is breeding in me.  I have class Tuesday and Thursday for 4 hours each time.  I also got a job at Holy Spirit Retirement working as a Nurse Tech.  I work the overnight shift Friday and Saturday nights.  I have been pleasantly surprised by absolutely loving it.  I love the residents that I serve.  If I can bring a smile to one of their faces while I’m there, then the whole shift has been worth it.  Between school and work, I’m finding that I have a self confidence and a sense of fulfillment that has been missing for far too long.   I don’t want anyone to take that the wrong way, because the ministry I have in my family is very fulfilling as well.  It is just in a different realm.  The other item on my rather full plate is that I agreed to watch my neighbors children for 3 hours 4 afternoons a week.  And then, of course, homeschooling.

 

I don’t know, maybe I’m crazy but for some reason I am getting more done than I have in quite awhile.  Maybe it is knowing that if I don’t get certain things done in a reasonable amount of time, I’ll never catch up.  I’m not sure what the reason is but the pressure has actually been good for me.

 

I’m taking a bit of a different approach to school this year.  I have curriculum for Math, Science and Phonics.  Language Arts and Reading I’m  going to use Five In A Row Vol.1 (FIAR)  I am most excited about the FIAR.  I found a nifty website called  HomeschoolShare.com  On this website they offer all sorts of homeschool resources for FREE!  Most homeschoolers will agree that FREE is a very good thing.    Anyhoo, my favorite thing on this site is that they offer free lapbook printouts that go along with FIAR books.  So we will be doing several lapbooks during the year.  We will do our math, science and phonics work in the mornings, before noon.  Then in the afternoon when I have my neighbors’ children, we will do FIAR.  I still need to pick up the Pathway Readers that I want to use for my oldest boy, and the piano books for all three since we decided that I would teach them to play piano this year.  But I’ll just have to pick those up as I have extra cash and work them in as I can.  I think we are definitely moving toward the schedule of schooling all year long.  I’m thinking primarily of a six weeks on with a week off rotation.

 

All in all, life is good.  I love the going back to school feeling.  I love shopping for school supplies.  I love knowing that another year of learning adventures is just around the corner.

Another Project August 11, 2008

Growing up, I remember my mom always doing something crafty. Whether it was knitting, other crafts, or even working on the house – painting, refinishing furniture, etc. She didn’t take the attitude of “Poor me, my husband never gets around to this so I might as well do it or it will never get done.” Her attitude was one of knowing that her husband worked very hard to support the family and that she wanted to lighten his load if possible rather than add on to his honey-do list. I’ve realized that this is an area that I struggle with. I tend to want my husband to do all the house maintenance and I’ll take care of the kids.

Decided today to change my perspective. If I can get it done while he’s gone, that means that there are fewer things he has to mess with and more time he can spend with us his family.  So when it was my turn for a “Blessing Day”, I told the ladies that I wanted help cutting down a monster bush in  our backyard that has been a real thorn in hubby’s side.  They came and helped and Neil was so thrilled when he came home and it was gone.

With that being a success I’ve begun a list of things that I can do while he is gone.  I love being able to bless him like this!  I can’t believe I didn’t do it sooner.

Dancing Matt June 28, 2008

Okay, it is entirely possible that I’m just a big dork but check out this video.  Who am I kidding?  I AM a big dork. 

 

http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-us&playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:f45291b1-141d-4781-900f7e8e75181ca4&shoePlaylist=&from=IV2_en-us_hp&fg=gtlv2

 

Look at the joy on everyone’s faces.  It made me cry.  I know, I know I’m pathetic.  But I think its cool.

 

This is what summer is about! June 27, 2008

I am having the best summer in a long time.  I’m living it through my children’s eyes.  We went swimming yesterday, what a blast!  Didn’t even get burned too bad, which is unusual for me.

 

Aren’t they cute?!

 

Then, today, we “rescued” a baby bunny in our back yard that had been caught out in a really bad thunderstorm this morning.  Now, I know better.  I know that wild animals should almost ALWAYS be left alone, that they can fend for themselves better than we think.  But my human maternal side came out in a gush of “Aww, I don’t want the neighbors cat to eat him.  Poor bunny!”

 

Then, as I’m researching how to care for a baby bunny, I find that “Thumper” will almost certainly die if kept inside with my feeble attempts at mothering him.  So, faced with the decision of traumatizing my children by trying to care for Thumper inside and him dying a painful, messy and undignified death or putting him back outside to let nature decide whether he lived or died, he went back outside.  And very happily hopped away to nibble on clover. 

 

We then went to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive center for the kids to take part in the Junior Explorers program.  Its free (always a plus) and hands on, and they learn so much!  Today they made journals to draw pictures of wildflowers that they liked on our nature walk.  Then we walked through the wildflower garden.  Most of the plants in the garden are ones that Lewis and Clark discovered on their expedition.  I didn’t bring my camera, so sorry, no pictures!  But we found baby grasshoppers, bumblebees and a really big cool beetle that met an untimely end by my 4 year old and 21 month old.  We learned how to use compasses and will continue learning about them the next time we go, probably the week after next.  On our way to the car, I see this odd little animal flopping around in a puddle and suddenly realize it’s a mole!  So cool!  We watched him make his way over to the grass where he suddenly became very quick and dug himself a tunnel and disappeared.

 

On to Mamaw’s house, where the boys found a garter snake.  Oldest boy touched it and was so proud of himself as he’s usually incapacitated by fear of wild things.

 

All in all, this has been the best couple of days I’ve had in a long time.  I hope we have alot more chances to have experiences like this.

Back on track! June 25, 2008

We are officially back on track.  We are doing school consistently again and I’m working on getting our schedule up and running.  We use ChorePacks and MOTH from www.titus2.com  Very helpful if you’d like to check it out.  I “fell of the wagon”, if you will, when littlest caterpillar was still nursing.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with us, he’s 21 months now, and hasn’t nursed since he was 5 months old.  So it’s taken me a considerable amount of time to get it together.  But back together I am getting and I’m excited.  What changed my outlook?  Well a couple of things.

 

1)  I received a well placed, well deserved (but loving) kick in the pants from my husband. 

 

2) The midwife I’ve been talking to suggested I do an iodine test.  I did and discovered that my thyroid was seriously deficient in its functions.  So I’ve been taking a couple of different supplements and the difference in how I feel is seriously amazing. 

I am rarely needing a nap anymore.  I can sleep 7-8 hours at night and make it through the whole day.  I’m off of coffee (that is a huge step for me).  And I am more motivated than I have been in a very long time.  So on the subject of being motivated, one of the things I have been looking at is Ambleside Online.  It’s based on Charlotte Mason.  Have any of you used this before?  I welcome any comments on it.  I think the concept sounds great but actually putting it into practice is something else.  I have 3 kids that I’ll be schooling next fall so, anyone with experience doing this with multiple grade levels, I would appreciate that input as well.

 

As I’m sure other veteran homeschoolers can understand, some curriculums look great in theory but in practice are a logistical nightmare.  We tried Weaver our first year and it was way too much for me.  It was a nice program but circumstances made it impossible to keep up with all the prep work and activities.  We ended up not even using the curriculum and just winging it the rest of the year. 

 

Well, that’s what’s new on the schooling front.  I’m not sure what’s next, birth stories or devotions that have really hit home.  I guess we’ll see what strikes my fancy the next time I’m at the computer. 

 

 

I don’t want to go to school! June 14, 2008

I feel so bad for my caterpillars.  We are doing school all summer long.  Okay, maybe, I feel more sorry for myself than I do for them.  They actually enjoy school and learning so they aren’t all that upset about schooling all summer.  And while I’m happy for their attitude, love of learning is one of our goals in homeschooling, I really wanted to spend the summer sewing and hanging out with friends drinking iced coffee and chatting while our kids ran amuck in the yard. 

 

And I am procrastinating right now…I’m sitting here writing a post instead of gathering the troops for school.  Its sunny out and it isn’t raining and the ground is semi-dry.  That hasn’t happened a whole lot yet this summer.  The kids are outside running around playing and having a blast.  I don’t want to interrupt their fun.  They aren’t fighting at all just having a good time with each other.  Those of you who have more than one child know that those moments are rare and fleeting.

Too many interests, not enough time June 13, 2008

We all have to prioritize, right?  But it’s so hard… I want to do it all.  I’m incredibly fascinated (obsessed?) with homebirth/midwifery.  I’d love to apprentice to be a midwife but with 4 caterpillars at home 7 and under and probably (hopefully) more to come, I couldn’t devote the time in order to really be what I would need to be or what the women I served would need of me.  My kids and hubby would suffer from neglect, my home would not be the haven it is right now.  So that cannot be pursued in a manner that will lead to a career right now.  Thanks to a wonderful, passionate-about-homebirth friend, though, I am still learning all I can about it all.  She has so graciously allowed me to attend her prenatal appointments and her birth.  I am in awe.  I only pray that I will someday be able to let my body do what it was meant to do without “help”. 

 

All four of our caterpillars were hospital births.  It is only by the grace of God that there were no major complications.  I was induced with all but one and still ended up on pitocin with that one.  I had epidurals with all of them.  My first, I was induced 2 weeks “late”, made it 9 out of 11 hours of labor without drugs and then begged for an epidural b/c I had lost control and couldn’t breathe.  I had nightmares for months afterwards.  My second, I was induced 2 weeks early because he was so big.  I had an epidural right away because I thought “Why suffer?”.  I thought it was great but realize that we (hubby and I) lost something in that process.  I didn’t have to lean on him, I didn’t “need” him, which I’m only realizing now, really affected our relationship with each other.  He felt like a third wheel.  Sad, huh?  My third sweetie, I went into labor on my own, went to the hospital where they broke my water.  He promptly went back up north and I was told I had 8 hours to have him or I would have to have a c-section.  They put me on pit, and sat me in a rocking chair where I proceeded to rock/pray this child out.  Contractions had been very tolerable before the pit but  after the pit, I again couldn’t deal, so got yet another epidural.  Now we come to baby #4.  I’ve learned alot, learning how to work with contractions and not against them.  How to relax instead of tensing up.  How to disappear into myself so it wasn’t overwhelming.  Practiced alot because of lots of premature labor.    But then, my water broke and no signs of labor anywhere.  My doctor said “Well, we can wait awhile but your chances of infection go up every hour that labor doesn’t start.  If you get an infection, you will have to have a c-section.”  Sign me up, doc.  Induce me please.  I was resigned to never have a natural labor and birth.   I have a MAJOR fear of any type of surgery, particularly one that they would want to keep me conscious for.  Just the mention of a cesarean breaks me out in a cold sweat. 

 

All of my babies have been very healthy and in the 8 lb range.  And now, I’ve learned so much that I can see God’s hand on them and I as we labored and delivered.  By all accounts, I picked one of the most dangerous places to give birth.  I used to trust my doctor and the medical community implicitly.  Not so much anymore.  I’m continually amazed as I discover the distance between what the “establishment” tells us as mothers and the reality that God created our bodies with the incredible ability to birth babies and not just be “delivered”.  I am looking forward to my next pregancy and the opportunity to tie strings with my husband as we learn to work together to birth our next little caterpillar.

 

Other interests are homeschooling (kind of a priority), homesteading (self sufficient living), knitting, cooking, baking, sewing and gardening.  Maybe I can learn to better manage my time so I can do it all.  We’ll see.