It is sunny and 64 right now. Life is lovely. Tonight we have a chance of snow after a front comes thru this afternoon....and life is still lovely. My baby is napping, kids are getting to play outside....I have a moment of peace on my computer. I live a wonderful life!

Tonight we have small group. I'm making Tammy's tortilla soup. Yum! I hope it comes out nice, it always has, but it would be my luck that it woudln't when I'm making it for other people.

I'm rereading Reforming Marriage. GCC is doing it as a study in their men and women's meetings and so I am reading along. I forgot how much I really like that book and highly recommend it to all of my married christian friends.

I need to get back to working out, but I'm scared. I don't want more headaches. I really need to find a good chiropractor again and get thru this phase of post partum so I can get fit and looking good before the next Seago wedding in July.

High of 65 and sunny today.....we are off to the zoo.

My knight in shining armor arrived in his tan minivan and strode in, strong and proud. He quickly grabbed his Allen wrenches and went to work. Not a cuss word was spoken and before you could say "Joshua and Leah, bed time" all was right with the world again. My beloved Kirby is charging ahead! YIPPEE!!!! He said that a piece on the transmission toggle had slipped off some how and that the Porsche transmission in the Kirby is a good design. That is the highest compliment you can receive from my husband!!! He's my hero!!!! He saved the day and probably a couple hundred bucks to fix it!

I remember a few years ago, a friend wrote about her beloved Bernina dieing on her and her anguish involved. I now know that feeling.

I'm about to cry. Kirby just broke. Those of you that have known me for a while, know that this is very traumatic to me. I love my Kirby. Really. Things like this don't normally bother me, but I seriously am going to cry. I don't think it is a completely dead kind of injury but still. She and I have done some beautiful cleaning together. I just want her to be better....so I can finish cleaning my house. I love my vacuum cleaner. It's been a good 7+ years.

We had a lovely weekend. Saturday was nice, for here. Temps were in the 40's and it wasn't too windy. We got lots of honey do's done around the house and then went to pick up our milk and eggs and hit Chik Fil A for dinner. Unfortunately, Saturday at CFA right now is buy one get one free milk shakes, TROUBLE! Thankfully we don't live very close to a CFA, so we rarely rarely eat there. We even got a quick grocery trip in before we headed home, which was nice because it meant I didn't have to do the shopping while everyone else napped on Sunday. Yea!!!

Sunday we got up and headed to church. We really really like our new church. We don't know alot of the families yet, but we are getting to know the pastor's family better and we really love them. They have 5 children. Twin boys that are 18 or 19 and then three teen daughters. Joshua has a little crush on one of their girls and all I hear about all week is Martha this and Martha that. It is very cute! And Martha's favorite color is red, in case you were wondering. Pastor Will is preaching thru Romans and it is so great to be back under solid teaching. He is using a white board during his sermons and it is nice to have visual support for the message. And, this morning, Joshua even asked me about some of the diagrams from the service yesterday. This is why our children worship with us. I knew what he was talking about when he asked and we had a lovely discussion about the trees of knowledge and death.

At the end of the service, Pastor Will said his family had won free Chipotle and so that was where they were heading for lunch, and so we went as well. It was fun getting to eat with new friends. We are really liking what we've seen of the Medina area and will be buying around there once our house sales in Texas. If you remember, please say a prayer for our house to sell. We'd really like to be able to buy a house to move into when our lease is up here in June.

The rest of the day was a lazy one for me. I got a nap with everyone else, a very rare occurence for me. Then got to chat with one of the Guthrie girls on Facebook for a bit. I made a yummy spinach quiche for dinner and then to bed.

Today we have to get this house whipped into shape. Tomorrow it is supposed to be 65 degrees and sunny. We will NOT be in this house tomorrow! YIPPEE!!! Our first real glimpse of spring....I'm pretending that we don't have snow forecasted for Thursday....la la la la lal ala lalal .... I love the Nile, la la la la la. Wed night is small group, I'm making chicken tortilla soup for the group. THursday our pastor's family is coming over for dinner. It is almost feeling like a GCC week. YEA!!!!

Tomorrow, a real post, but until then, a funny youtube video stolen from my friend, Kelly's blog. I thought I'd lay off of the liberals for the weekend since I do happen to have some close friends and a Grandpa that are quite the crazy liberals!

I don't believe in divorce, but...

DIVORCE AGREEMENT
Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists and Obama supporters, et al:

We have stuck together since the late 1950's, but the whole of this latest election process has made me realize that I want a divorce. I know we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly, thi s relationship has run its course. Our two ideological sides of America cannot and will not ever agree on what is right so let's just end it on friendly terms. We can smile and chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and go our own way.

Here is a model separation agreement:

Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by landmass each taking a portion. That will be the difficult part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement. After that, it should be relatively easy! Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate tastes.

We don't like redistributive taxes so you can keep them. You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU. Since you hate guns and war, we'll take our firearms, the cops, the NRA and the military. You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore and Rosie O'Donnell (You are, however, responsible for finding a bio-diesel vehicle big enough to move all three of them).

We'll keep the capitalism, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart and Wall Street . You can have your beloved homeboys, hippies and illegal aliens. We'll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, greedy CEO's and rednecks. We'll keep the Bibles and give you NBC and Hollywood .

You can make nice with Iran and we'll retain our right to invade and hammer places that threaten us. You can have the peaceniks and war protesters. When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we'll help provide them security.

We'll keep our Judeo-Christian values... You are welcome to Islam, Scientology , Humanism and Shirley McClain. You can also have the U.N... but we will no longer be paying the bill.

We'll keep the SUVs, pickup trucks and oversized luxury cars. You can take every Subaru station wagon you can find.

You can give everyone healthcare if you can find any practicing doctors. We'll keep The Battle Hymn of the Republic and the National Anthem. I'm sure you'll be happy to substitute Imagine, I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing , Kum Ba Ya or We Are the World .

We'll practice trickle down economics and you can give trickle up poverty your best shot. Since it often so offends you, we'll keep our history, our name and our flag.

Would you agree to this? If so, please pass it along to other like minded liberal and conservative patriots and if you do not agree, just hit delete. In the spirit of friendly parting, I'll bet you ANWAR which one of us will need whose help in 15 years.

 

I have a headache. I am so tired of having headaches. I just want a friend that I can call and cry to and they will come over and play with my children so I can sleep. I miss the Guthrie girls and Ruth and Sarah and Peggy. They alwasy took care of me when this used to happen. I miss my friends.

We had a lovely weekend, although we didn't do anything spectacular. The weather wasn't amazing that it apparently was every where else in the country, but it wasn't freezing either and that in itself was nice.

Saturday, Robert and Hannah and I started the 419 step process to get our truck registered here. We spent 4 hours and stood in 12 lines and got the first three steps done. Really. It is rediculous how messed up the governmental systems are in this state. Robert and I are college educated and it is difficult for us to navigate the system. It has to be really impossible for some people. They throw money and more money at systems that make no sense, and that is stupid! Anyway, hopefully we can get some more of it done this week. Until then, we just don't drive the truck because it is illegal.

We did get all take a walk together Saturday afternoon. People are always oohing and ahhing over JOshua on his bike and Leah just being cute, then they realize Hannah is on my back and you should hear the comments then. You'd think I had a family of 16 or something. Hello people, I only have three children so far...deal with it. I'm not asking you to take care of them in any way. Heck, we don't even use our health insurance that we pay for ourselves. Oh well, I take comfort that the liberals are breeding themselves out of existence.

Sunday we got to go to our church again, YEA!!!!! This was only our second week and we already love it. The message was great and it is so nice to be under real teaching again. The music is pretty good too. Not Dan Woody good, of course, but much better than we've seen alot of.

Ok, Hannah is sleeping and that means I need to get a workout in.

Am I potty training?

I was just thinking this morning that if I were God, I would look at me as a potty training toddler. You know I posted the other day about Leah doing so great....ummmm, jumped the gun on that one. We've had accident after accident since then. She just gets to busy to make it in time and her accidents are usually right next to the potty. But this morning was different. I got her ready to go play outside and asked her. Do you need to go potty? No. Don't poopy or teetee in your panties. Ok. 30 seconds after I got her outside she came in and said she needed to poopy, I asked her if she did in her pants and she says yes. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I JUST TOLD YOU NOT TO POOPY IN YOUR PANTS!

Anyway, if I were God, I would feel that way about me. I pray for peace, joy, love and patience with my children every morning, as soon as I wake up. But then 5 seconds later they come in the room and start fighting and ignoring any instructions I give and I"m anything but patient, loving and kind. If I were God, I'd be saying "I JUST GAVE YOU PEACE, JOY, KINDNESS and LOVE FOR YOU CHILDREN AND NOW YOU...."

Thankfully, I am not God. For you see, I am a sinful, fallen, imperfect creation. God is not. He is perfect. And HE loves me and He IS all of the fruits of spirit. Thank you Lord.

No Capes Here

In case anyone was confused, there are no capes in my closet. I know, shocking, but I am NOT super MOm!!!! Someone else must have that title, not I. And because I am not super Mom, we have ants. Sure, if I had vacuumed after every single meal and snack like Super MOm would, then my little blessings mountains of food crumbs wouldn't have been there for the taking, but I'm not super Mom. Who knew that ants would still invade our little world when we had snow on the ground and temps in the single digits. It is bewildering to my little southern mind, but our Creator made those little critters HARDY!

So, for the last week, I and Joshua have been tag teaming to vacuum the kitchen and dining room about 20 times a day, literally. Every time I see an ant, we break out the good ole Kirby (that I still love, don't konw if I've written about my love for my vaccuum here or not but, 7 years later, I still love her) and get em. I've been using our favorite non toxic bug spray, Orange Guard. Works well to kill them in Texas and California, but just like the government here in Ohio, the ants are more annoying and persistent. I also started feeling just yucky and run down and very overly tired (yes, more so than my usual I have't slept in 5 years tired). I just thought I was still run down because I didn't get any recouperation when I got sick a few weeks back....yup, no cape here but babies expect to be cared for, sick Mommy or not, cheeky little things...

But I finally realized on Tuesday that I've never used the Orange Guard when I couldn't open up the windows and ventilate and air everything out before. Texas and California are kind enough to let you do that. And hey it is safe around pets, kids and good...package says so, but not for non Super Moms, apparently. So, I stopped the orange guard and am now feeling better. But those pesky ants..... so, since I didn't feel like googling the natural ant killers that I should know off the top of my head, I just dumped a bunch of my Young Living Peppermint oil where they were coming in....haven't seen one since. I love my oils!

I also got back on the wagon and worked out this morning, which leads me to my latest dvd review. I got the Biggest Loser Workout DVD #2. I LOVED #1 but am just ok happy with #2. The instructor guy has some funky, nasty gay looking hair do with an 80's tail and all, YUCK! And there is a new little peppy instructor girl that is pretty annoying and her movements aren't that great. So, I will only do this one a few times and quickly send it back to Netflix for my next installment. I think I have the 30 Day Shred up next in my queue. Lord help me!

I was right about Leah. We bought her some big girl panties this weekend and she's had no accidents until this morning, but that was my fault really. We ran an errand and I forgot to make her go before we left. As soon as we got home she was half way to the potty, with her pants pulled down and didn't make it. Poor girl. But, today is laundry day anyway, so no big deal. She's a potty training super star!!!!!!

A few other things I forgot to mention about church #14. They did family worship time and then the kids left for Jr church (not our kids of course, the others) and THEN they pull out donuts for the adults. Cracked me up!!! After service, they did announcements and I just wanted to jump up and down to volunteer. They have one family that is moving this week, she lost her father last week with the funeral yesterday and she is early prenant and having problems. They were talking about who was going to clean their house for them and then who was going to grocery shop to make sure their pantry and fridge were full when they moved in. I LOVED IT! We are going to the pastor's small group tomorrow night!!! I'm a little nervous because I hate meeting new people and the fake get to know you junk, especially in a group, but excited too!

What an amazing weekend!!!!!
First, Joshua started officially reading. And then Robert took us to Olive Garden for dinner where we met the nicest couple. Very conservative. It was like visiting with a family from GCC. A nice break from our normal surroundings. I thought that was a nice little gift from God and was thankful for some fellowship...even short in the waiting area of a restaurant. THEN....

Today, we visited church #14! And, WE'VE FOUND A CHURCH!!!!!!!!!!! Just like with Grace in Texas, we knew the first time we visited that it was our new church home. We are so excited. When we got in the car, I asked Robert my usual blah "so, what'd you think" We both busted out laughing and he said "that was encouraging". They are a nondenominational church that has been there for about three years. The pastor reminds us of a mix of PT and Mark Brenan. It is a small small church. Meets in an old fashioned theater kind of place on the square in downtown Medina. We are pretty excited because we've been eyeing some homes with land in Medina....hmmm, conincidence...I THINK NOT (said in my best Dana Carvey SNL voice)! There are homeschoolers in the church, but not all of them. The pastor and his wife talked to us quite a bit. When we started talking about doctrine, the pastor just lit up when he heard we are reformed....as are they!!!! Isn't that awesome! They aren't family integrated but what a blessing to find a reformed church here!!! And finally, and the funniest thing of the day for Robert and I was when the pastor started the sermon and said.....Turn in your bibles and stand as we read in ROMANS 2!!! ROFL!!!! We talked with him afterwards about the fact that GCC just finished going thru Romans. We love this place already!!! God is so good!!!!!!!!!!

Joshua just read six Bob books to me. I can't believe my oldest is reading. So cool! I'm so stinking proud I could cry!

Looking up here. We are above freezing today and last night and the newest snows have melted...although they are to return again this weekend, but for today the kids and I enjoyed a jaunt to the zoo. It was still too chilly to do outside zoo stuff but we wandered around the Rainforest again. We got to hang out with Reggie, a new friend, and her children and it was nice to be out. Hannah was so awesome. She loves the Ergo because it keeps her really close to her Mama, just the way she likes it.

Leah is getting big girl! Her potty training is going. She is really good, as long as she's naked. Joshua was the same way. Although, sometimes L waits too long to head to the potty when she needs to poop and well...you konw. Still a process. She totally doesn't get it when I put a pull up on her though. I think pull ups are just too much like diapers. The only reason I use them is becasue they are easier for me to pull up and down....which I guess is the point. I'm kind of considering buying her some big girl panties and just going straight to them. I think she might get it better when she wets them. We'll see.

I'm tired. We've had late nights all week. I don't remember why on Sunday and Monday right now, but I"m sure it was probably tv related. Tuesday was the presidential liefest....I mean, address. Last night, we sat up reviewing resumes for the positions Robert is trying to hire for. There were acutally some possible candidates in the latest batch, so that is good news. Our family NEEDS those positions filled because Daddy is wearing too many hats and is starting to drop balls. Thankfully, only at home so far...where God has given him a helpmeet to pick them up for him.

Joshua is a bit challenging right now. I think he is too bored to obey, honestly. He needs stimulus and I don't mean from the government. Thankfully, the weather is slowly changing. Although we are still getting snows, we are also getting breaks here and there. HOpefully soon we will be able to start getting out more. I'm hoping to start hitting library story hours and maybe find a MOPS group or something for some social interaction.

Church #14 this week. Sounds promising. I'll keep you updated.

We had a quiet weekend. Didn't get to visit a church because Robert was sick. It was his turn after all. I think I got him pushed thru it. He went to work today, no surprise there. He always goes to work.
Yesterday, I got to go pick up milk, go to Target and get groceries all by myself. It was in a blowing snow storm, but I didn't mind. Roads were fine and I enjoyed myself. I had a Starbucks at Target and wandered around, took my time. I even found a clearance section tucked back in the men's underwear section. Score, since Robert needs some more under shirts and some driving gloves. It is on my radar now.

When I was grocery shopping, I found lower rib roast that was $73. I didn't buy it. But it made me appreciate our organic farmers that don't price gouge. We have almost a quarter of a side coming in April. Organic and loved by its farmer. $2.96/pound for all cuts. Awesome! I will be getting some lower rib steaks and roasts! Can't wait. We are trying to get completely stocked up with all necessities because the next year could be really interesting for our country. I think the media is calling us the "Bubba Effect", nice. You know, us weirdos that are getting ready to take care of ourselves in case our government screws things up even worse than they already are....yup, bunch of quacks us. We really should just go stand at the white house with our hands out like everyone else I guess. But no, we plan on having gardens and putting up our own food and providing for ourselves and our family on our own. We are a bunch of messed up crazies!

Mainstream VBAC Coverage

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1880665,00.html?imw=Y?iid=perma_share

As you all know, this is a story that is very impactful in my life. Hannah was a VBA2C (vaginal birth after two cesareans). I had to fight and I mean FIGHT to have it be that way. I am a member of ICAN, that is quoted for stats in this article for Time. Please read the article and get the word out. This is a huge problem and it is only going to get worse. We have to change the birth environment in America.

I wonder how a depression will affect this, hmmm? Maybe no one will be able to afford hospital births and we can get back to safer home births!

I have a headache. I'm sick of having headaches. I've had them my entire life and I am soooo sick of them. I think these are the same ones I had after I had Leah. We figured out that they are blood sugar related and that I am probably pre diabetic...no surprise there with my family history. I found a supplement that worked well then, but I ran out and am waiting for it to come in. This makes me mad. I just want my body to work right.

Robert is really stressed out. He's pushing 80++ hours of work a week into about 60 and of ocurse still not getting everything done. He's trying to hire the person to take over the interim position he is doing but there aren't any good applicants. All you hear about in the liberal media is hwo awful the economy is, unemployment every where. Well, Robert and several of our other friends that are trying to hire for good, management level positions say otherwise. He can hardly ever find an American applicant, much less one that is remotely qualified for the job. It is rediculous!!! Seriously! And it isn't just management. He needs some engineers too and those applications are worse. Almost all of them are from India. Where are all of these Americans out of work?

Well, I think they are happily sitting at home waiting for the hero Obama to feed them money for sitting on their butts. It makes me want to puke. They say we are headed into a depression and I say GOOD! Maybe it will wake up the lazy, me me me, give me everything for nothing losers that are the majority in our country now. Maybe it will make people start taking care of themselves and possibly they will actually teach their children to take care of themselves as well. Do I look forward to be short on somethings we like to have...not really, but if it will get some attention to the rediculous issues we have in our country then bring it on! We are preparing. We are out of debt and are tightening tightening our belts up to save save save cash right now. We are stocking our freezers and pantries and when the big crash comes, we are ready. I'm not scared.

Most importantly I'm not scared or worried because this is all in God sovereign plan for our country and our lives. Obama is here now and doing what he is doing because God has allowed him to be so. I'm thankful to serve a loving God that cares for His people and I believe He loves and cares for us enough to allow us this pain. Maybe He's saving us from something worse. Or maybe it will be worse than we can imagine, and that is justified too. Our country is in a nasty, awful place and it isn't just because of politics. The church is defiled and families are defiled. What we hold up as good is filthy. I pray for mercy from God, but I also pray for relief.

Well, I am feeling better. Still a nagging little cough in the mornings, but no biggie. OH and when I am trying to nurse Hannah to sleep, of course. But.........brace yourselves...........Hannah slept from 10:30 until 6:45!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEA HANNAH!!! We will see if this will be repeated or not. I won't konw what to do with myself if I have a baby sleep thru the night before a year old. Her naps are stinking it up this week, but we'll work with that if she'll sleep thru the night!

I had a whole bunch I wanted to write about but...it has taken me three hours to write this much and Hannah is fussy again...so

ok, I'm back...for the moment
Hannah is getting so big. She is really playful now and always want to be a part of the action. It is really fun.

Leah is potty training. She tells me in the morning not to put a diaper on her because she wants to ride the potty train. I think that she thinks that she is going somewhere soon...and I've chosen not to correct this little in accuracy at this point. She is doing well, although she pooped on the floor this morning when she was squating down to put on shoes. Other than that, accident free for several days now.

Joshua is really turning a corner. He is growing up and I like it. He's a good kid but man he can be moody some days.

Robert is still working two full time managment positions at his new job. He and I will both be soooo glad when they hire someone for his interim job....gotta go

Not alot of new pics since we've spent most of the year with someone on the mend, but here are a few. Kids are growing growing growing.

I'm tired and "have a throat" to use a Leleism. The weather is so warm and we aren't even out in it. So sad.

Yesterday we went and got memberships at the zoo. We spent the morning in the rainforest exhibit. It was soooo nice to be out. Joshua made a friend and that was a super huge exciting thing. He's still so lonely. Hannah rocked in the Ergo. Just happy as a clam, especially since I let her suck her thumb. I've been trying to keep her from doing that too much, hoping she'll out grow it before it becomes habit. At dinner last night, the kids went on and on about the zoo to Daddy. It was very exciting.

Today is almost 60 degrees. We only have one little 6 inch patch of snow left to melt. Gotta get out and pick up all of the toys in the back yard because it is supposed to start snowing again tomorrow. I finally learned what Lake Effect snow is. Before, I just knew that meant we were gonna get a bunch of it. It is when a part of the lake melts and opens up a bunch of moisture to reach the air. So, any breeze blowing over it becomes lots of snow until it freezes back over. Meaning, since we've had such a long stretch above freezing, 4 days now, we can expect a whole bunch of snow if the winds blow this way when it drops below freezing again tomorrow.

Robert and I saw a news story over the weekend of 130 or so IDIOTS that were out on the ice trying to fish over the weekend....even though it was above freezing. Well, of course some broke off and they had to call in the national guard to rescue them. One man died when he fell into the water. They said this happens over and over when these same men won't follow the signs warning to stay off of the ice when it warms up. UMMMMM, CRAZY!

Good weekend, we got out and did some errands that needed to be done. It is above freezing and the snow is melting. I should be able to drive the truck some this week, that is exciting. The kids and I are going to the Rainforest part of the zoo tomorrow, indoors and all. I can't wait to get out. I am a little nervous about getting out on my own with all three since I haven't really done that yet. Should be fun.

Hannah is in her room full time now. Hopefully she'll just magically start sleeping thru the night, lol. Didn't work that way with the other kids but one can hope.

We finally visited church #13 yesterday. It was just outside our neighborhood, so that was a nice short drive. It was good. Not overwhelmingly great but good. We sang songs we knew. No band, just a poorly played piano that you could tell was a labor of love and so was a blessing. Good scriptural teaching, but not super deep. I think the plan is to visit #12 and #13 again and see what we think. #12 is a bible church and #13 is a straight up baptist church. Both are pretty small, which we like. Neither are family integrated. #12 has some homeschool families, not sure about #13. We didn't get to talk to any people yesterday. Except the 58 that came and told me there was a nursery if I needed it. None of them were rude and all said that it was no problem whatsoever to have our kids in the service, but they wanted me to know if I needed it that it was there. I walked Hannah in the hall during the sermon since she is a chatter box these days. The deacon outside and several Moms all told me that I was welcome to be in the service with her adn that she wouldn't disturb anyone. That was nice. I didn't go back in but it was nice to hear.

Did another day of Biggest Loser Workout today. The sculpting section. OUCH!! I loved it. And, again recommend this for anyone. Just simple, get to the point exercise. Just the basics man. I know I am going to be so sore tomorrow. Maybe I'll just do the low intensity cardio tomorrow instead of the high....oh wait, we are going to the zoo. Too bad. lol!

It is sunny and BEAUTIFUL here today! Praise God!!!! I know it isn't all about me, but I like to think he specifically sent a sunny day just for me. We've already reached 31 degrees and the melt has begun. They are saying that the next 7 days should all reach above freezing and I am so looking forward to it. That means the snow will melt down enough that the kids can head outside to play!!!! I won't even complain about the muddy mess when they come back in. Thank you Lord!

Another prop for Biggest Loser Workout video. I woke up today and my glutes and quads were both sore. None of the fancy videos did that. Yippee!

We had the BEST waffles tonight for dinner. You MUST make these. They are so yummy. Light and sweet with a good texture. The only changes I made was to add some finely chopped pecans and some fresh ground nutmeg (I add that to all of my baked goods)to them. I try to throw extra nuts in where ever I can. And with all of the flax in them they have TONS of fiber. (so Vic, you MUST make these for Tony!) We had ours with scrambled eggs, apple sauce and home made blueberry syrup. The syrup is really easy too. I just took a bag of frozen blueberries and put them on to boil with a tiny bit of water while I was cooking dinner. I added a little agave to just sweeten it a tiny bit more before we ate. YUM!!!!!! And pretty healthy too.

Today I tried out the Biggest Loser Workout DVD. I really really like it, and HIGHLY recommend it for everyone. I was concerned that since I'm not that over weight, that it might not really be a workout for me, but that wasn't the case. I did skip the first two weeks, of course then I was worried that it would be too hard for my out of shape body, lol. It wasn't. It is very basic movement exercise. It isn't a cool, hip, juke and jive exercise junky kind of thing. I enjoyed the straight forwardness of it. At one point, the instructor asked one of the girls, "how ya feeling"...which they always do, and instead of the annoyingly fake cheerleader/pep squad jump and answer GREAT...she said "I feel like my legs are gonna fall off!" I loved it, since my legs too were about to fall off. This is the first video I've done since launching on this Netflix gig that I didn't wonder how much longer the workout was. It was simple, straight forward and not terribly long. Seriously, I very very much recommend it for everyone! Oh, and another bonus...the girls have clothes on! One girl did the cool down in a sports bra but it was more than on all the other videos I"ve seen so far.

In another health related note....I totally feel like I should have known this before, but whole wheat pasta has TONS fiber. Really, it has more than a good fiber bar. I was glad to find another fiber rich option to add in our diet.

The last couple of days have been warmer, almost 30 and no snow. Things were starting to melt down a little. I was hoping that it soon would be melted enough that the kids could go out and play again. We were expecting snow over night, but was supposed to be less than one inch accumulation, good. Yeah. Woke up this morning with over 4 inches and it has been snowing hard all morning. So, extending our house arrest. The forecast was predicting that it was going to be warm next week, in the 30's, almost 40 all week. I was looking forward to some outside time for the kids, but I'm scared to look and see what it says now. Hopefully today's lake effect snow will end soon.

PanPan just rolled over twice. From her tummy to her back. I was wondering if she was ever going to. She just looked at us and bloop...over she went...like she'd been doing it all her life. Maybe she secretly has. She also slept in her room for the first time last night. She's been waking up to chit chat all night long this week and so Robert and I decided she needed to be in her room and talk to herself. When she woke up to nurse at midnight, I thought we were in for a rough night since that is not usual. Usually she'll nurse at 11 then make it at least until 1 or 2. But, she slept from 12-5. I didn't of course. I had to keep waking up to check on her. Tonight, I hope we both sleep long and hard!

I'm feeling better. I slept until almost noon on Saturday and Sunday, even though I really wanted us to go to church today. Robert decided this morning that I needed to stay in bed. He was right. I feel much more human. Hopefully I can stay up now.

We had a Dippin Dinner in honor of the Super Bowl Parties we didn't get to go to. Started off with a big tray of broccoli, carrots and pickled okra with ranch dressing. Yummy! We finished that off and I brought out the Buffalo Chicken Dip and Amy's Pizza Snacks. We all ate and ate and ate. It was Joshua and Leah's first free reign meal and ummmm, Joshua learned a good lesson. Leah stopped when she got full, Joshua did not. He came in later and his belly was HUGE! He said, "Mommy, my tummy hurts." Yup. LOL!

I'm really blah. Need to remember my Iodoral more, I think. Or I could just be tired.

Robert and I just watched No Country For Old Men. We should have known better. We've never liked any of the big oscar winning films...at least the ones in the last 5 years or so. There was just no closure on anything and that is annoying. We both looked at each other and said, that was a waste of time. And like other movies ie. Gladiator, there wasn't enough story and character development to make all of the violence tolerable.

Ok, here is my entry into the homeschoolers contest for the Cinncinatti Homeschool Conference. I'm actually really excited to see this, for a few reasons. First, we were going to go to the one in Columbus, but it is the last week of June and that is when we will probably be moving. Second, if I win this contest, it could be really cheap! Third, Amy, of Amy's Humble Musings...see my side bar, she totally rocks, will be there and I could meet her and tell her she has bad hair, lol! (joke from her blog, I have no idea what her hair looks like for real). Fourth, they are supposed to have a HUGE exhibit hall and some really great speakers! So, anyone want to take a vacation to a homeschool conference with us???

I was sooo sore when I woke up this morning. I was worried about trying to pick Hannah up, lol! Of course, I was only sore on my right side...the side I was throwing the snow with. I knew I had to make myself workout to work out the stiffness. I just got Crunch Cardio Salsa in the mail. I highly recommend it, if you are not in great shape. It wasn't the hardest workout that I"ve ever done, but it was really fun, especially since I love to dance. Really, try this one out for a family activity. Fun stuff. And yes, my soreness is gone now, thank goodness!

Tomorrow, my Mom retires after 43 years as a Med Tech. I'm sooo sooo soooo excited for her. She has spent the last 23 years at the same hospital where they were quick to use and abuse her vast experience and knowledge but never rewarded or recognized all that she gave them. I am grateful for her time at that hospital because it clothed and fed and housed us all, but I have always been annoyed that they didn't recognize what they had in my Mom. She would go to work no matter what. Ice didn't stop her even though she had a big hill or two to make the 20 mile drive to work. Anyway, I am excited for her as she gets to start the fun stuff. I expect to have to put up with her way more than before and more quilts and "cute" little hand made stuff than I could ever want. Bring it on! Congrats Mom! I'm proud of you!

I shoveled snow for the first time. Robert shoveled at 4:30 this morning. From then until now, there was another 6 inches to shovel. Good times. It was fun and all of the neighbors were out too, but they all had snow throwers. Think that might make a great Father's Dad gift this year.

Well potty training was short lived. After the third accident in one hour, I put the diaper back on. I just have too much to juggle to keep that up to. Oh well, she'll figure it out eventually. It isn't like she is going off to a school that requires, like alot of my friends. I'll just keep the grocery bill down so we can afford diapers.

In other news, this weather is fun. We got 6 inches of snow overnight and are expecting about that much today. I'm going to try and shovel some so Robert can get in the driveway when he gets home. Hope that works out. Right now it is colder in Coleman and Dallas than here. That is crazy!

Anyone want to buy a house. Really great church close by. Well loved and cared for. Its owners would really like to buy a house a little closer to where work is.

We are potty training. I'm embarrassed that we are just now starting, but whatever.Yesterday after naptime until bedtime she went with a bare bottom, no accidents. Cool! This morning so far, one accident, on the carpet of course. I guess this is one time to be thankful we are in a rental, lol. I feel bad for her because it is really too cold to run around with no pants, but I don't konw how else to potty train. So she has on a turtle neck and dress and socks. I really think she could do this really fast....if she wants to.

Joshua really wants to be a sugar lover, but he just isnt'. We let our children have very little sugar or sweets in general. And so they get all excited when we have something, even if they don't get any. Well, last weekend, I made up my annual batch of hot cocoa (which wasn't near as fun when I knew I wasn't sharing it with my GCC friends) and let the kids help me. Joshua was beside himself when I said we would all try some out to make sure it was just right. I made up little half cups for the kids and monster cups for Robert and I. Joshua took two sips and left it alone. I also made a Mother's Pie this weekend that Joshua stood on teh stool and watched for the entire process. Everyone got a little piece when it had cooled. He ate the crust and one bite of chocolate and was done. He just doesn't like sweets and I love it. My evil plan is working! or not.....Leah loves them.

I love looking at tracks in the snow. I've learned all about the paths and habits of our "pet" squirrel and rabbits. I know which trees they go from and in what order. I love it when I find tracks that I can't identify, very mysterious. Some of the rabbits have feet that are just smaller than Leah's and they make little baby footprint looking prints. It makes me laugh to think of a baby trapsing barefoot thru our snow. I also love the way that "our" squirrel, he is ours...his house is in our tree, has devised a route so that when the snow gets too deep for him to hop thru, he never has to touch the ground.....he uses the rooftops, fences and tree branches like an above ground railroad. It's fun.

Motherhood is hard. I constantly feel inadequate. If I stay on top of the house and my email and serious online game obligations, I fail to mentor and educate and mother my children. Sure, everyone eats healthier in those times, but my kids feel neglected. If I play and wrestle and read and teach my kids, the house is a disaster and we have nothing to eat. On a rare occasion, teh Lord is merciful and I have the energy and drive to all of the above, but usually at the expense of any love and mercy for my sweet husband who is working his tail off right now. And at the end of those days I am sooooo sooo happy but oh so exhausted. Hannah is the only one that doesn't get neglected regularly around here. She has found the trump card, MILKIE!! LOL!

It made it up to 40 degrees today which is 53 degrees warmer than last week, so the kids and I all got on our snow clothes and headed out. Hannah has the softest, cutest little snow suit ever and this is the first time it has been warm enough to take her out in it, lol. I pulled her around on the sled a little and that was fun. I finally got to walk around in the deep snow, it was funny. You expect your foot to stop but it just keeps going and going. We all had fun.

I think we might finally be done with this cough/cold thing the kids have been passing around. Joshua and Hannah have remenant coughs now and then but for the most part we are on the mend, I am SO glad! I told Robert that I don't konw if I want to go and just let them run somewhere or not leave the house again until spring, lol. I'm sure the germs are just waiting out there to get us, lol. Tomorrow it is supposed to be really cold again but we have to run some errands. We are in desperate need of a Sam's run and need to hit the resale shop for some clothes for Hannah before the new law banning resale stuff goes into effect.

Speaking of Hannah, she is a growing girl. She's up to 17 pounds now and still looks just like her brother. I checked and Joshua and Leah both rolled over right at or just after three months, Hannah did once but hasn't since. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I can't lay her down much, avoiding the trampling by sibs and the really cold floors. She is chewing on her hands constantly, so I'm wondering if we will have teeth soon. This is about when JOshua got his first 6, all at once. Leah didn't get hers for another 4 months. She's changing so much and I feel like we are just around the corner from leaving infanthood behind, insert sigh of relief smiley here.

It is a balmy 33 degrees today, ahhh, relief. So, even though Leah still has a little runny nose and fever blister and Joshua is still coughing now and then, I bundled them up and sent them outside. It is the first time this year they've been out of the house, sadly. Leah got about two feet from the back patio and couldn't go any further until she had some good tracks laid down by Bubba. Hannah and I went out into the sun room and got some vitamin D. It felt sooo warm and I"m sure it wasn't over 40 in the sunroom. A few minutes later, Joshua comes banging on the door and I hear Leah screaming. She had veered off of Joshua's path and was stuck in waste deep snow. Joshua couldn't get her out. I put Hannah down and threw on my snow boots and headed to rescue her. The snow was too deep to just walk out and get her, since I didn't have snow pants on. It would have come up to just above my knee right off of our driveway. So, I ran down to the sidewalk and back up our neighbors drive to make my way over to her. It was all rather comical, especially since I had just gotten out of the shower and my hair was still very wet. Surprisingly, it didn't feel cold really except when the wind blew.

I spent 45 minutes with Billy Blanks, doing his TaeBo Calorie Blast dvd this morning. I liked it alot better than the aerobics dvd I had last week, but not near as much as I loved my cardio combat class I did at the gym last year before I got pregnant. I'm going to search on Netflix and see if there is a cardio combat class dvd or something like it. Our first Netflix movie should be inthe mail today and we'll finally see The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything Movie! YEA! I'm really liking Netflix. One of Robert's christmas presents was a Clearplay Dvd player. Check them out here if you haven't heard of them, but they rock. We can now watch a movie without doing a weeks research on what is in it first!

I just sat the kids down and we watched the inauguration of our first black president. I know it means nothing to them, but someday Joshua might have a small memory of it. It is a historic day for our country and one that I'm proud of. I do wish that he had something to offer me as a president, but that is yet to be seen...based on his record, I have little hope for it. However, he is the God ordained leader of our country and for that, I am thankful. I have and will diligently pray for him and his leadership of our country. May God do mighty things thru Barack Obama.

All of the kids are in some phase of sick or recovery. That has been my life for two weeks. It has me thinking. I think it is sad that we are a microwave society that wants results NOW, in all aspects of our life. And I feel it is even sadder that we have carried that over to our health. If anything is remotely uncomfortable for more than a few hours, we run to pop a pill to make it "better". Or run to the doctor so they will give even stronger pills (with stronger side effects) to make it "better". In the process, we have injured our bodies to the point that we have no health left in this country. Everyone, even small small children, have chronic health issues that require constant medication. I don't remember any kids my age being in the hospital when I was growing up. My cousin had bad asthma and allergies but she was an exception, not the rule. I only remember her being in the hospital once for it. Later, in high school I had asthmas issues also, but mine were due to my Dad smoking me out my whole life.

We've chosen not to take that route with our family. That doesn't mean we aren't ever sick, as evidenced by this recent little round of fun. It also doesn't mean things go by quickly, although they usually do. My children's immune systems seem to handle things better than most of the other kids I hear about. Of course, my kids probably would be considered to "suffer" more too. I don't do anything to lower their fevers ( I would if they were dangerous, over 105) and I don't do anything to stop aches and pains either. I love them thru it and their systems are stronger because of it.

God made our bodies to fight disease and heal themselves. Why can't America live like it? Just been on my mind these last two weeks.

I have been wanting to post a cute, well organised slide show of our last month in pictures, full of witty commentary and insights....but since that probably wouldn't get done until Joshua graduates high school, here it is all thrown together. Enjoy.

This morning it is -13 degrees, feels like -31. Brrrrr!

This week has been a juggling act. Leah has gone up and down. Her cough sickness got better and then moved to an ear ache. Thankfully, ear aches are easy and I quickly pushed it thru with some Chamomilla. She is on the up and up...so far today at least. Hannah is doing much better, a little snotty still and a cough if she gets worked up but other wise, good. In case anyone is wondering, I used thieves on their feet, melrose and RC on their chests until I ran out of RC, frankincense on their spines and then of course, my staple, purification on their lymphnodes. Now, this morning, Joshua says his throat hurts and he's achy. I can't tell yet if he is really going down or if he is just wanting some Mommy attention too.

In other news, I have no idea how we have any clothes in our closets. I've washed so many dirty clothes this week, it is crazy. The clean ones that I've been trying to get to to fold for three days cover our entire King size bed, REDICULOUS.

Yesterday was Robert's 38th birthday. He had a hard day at work. He's in the office by 6 every morning, yesterday he didn't get home until 7:30 PM. Working two full time jobs is really running him down. I made him a nice dinner at home with chicken and rice, two of his favorites (I know, real hard to please), since there is over 2 feet of snow outside and the kids are sick, we are delaying his birthday dinner out. Then we all had some of this cake (yuck, thankfully that isn't a temptation of mine since I am trying to lose the rest of this baby weight) and gave him his present. Then we got the kids down and he watched Aggie basketball and had a Shiner. Not the most exciting birthday ever, but I tried to get him everything I could to make him happy.

This morning it is really cold, like sunny and still -2 degrees outside. Tonight the forecast says, bitterly cold, low of -6 but they are always off, so I expect colder. Really, it doesn't affect the kids and I since we keep it about 66-68 inside all the time.

We decided that Netflix is cheaper than a gym membership in more than just monetary ways, so I am off to try my first exercise video from them!!

I wish I had time to write about how amazingly beautiful the blowing snow is and all that it leaves behind. Yesterday I sat holding Hannah sleeping and watch a HUGE group of black birds flit from tree to tree cascading snow from every branch they brushed. The contrasting colors were amazing to see melded together. I would love to share all of the other beautiful things around in the winter too, but Leah is sick again and Hannah is still coughing and now is fussing for my attention.

New week in the new year. Man, I really need to get motivated. My house is a wreck, like needs to be really cleaned and not just picked up. And my son needs to finish learning to read, the only thing holding him back is his delinquent mother, and my daughter seriously needs to be potty trained, again held back by a lazy mother....and my baby, well she is about the cutest thing you've ever seen! Seriously. I didn't enjoy this part with Leah much. I was too exhausted. Hannah isn't sleeping to well lately, since she's sick and so I am pretty stinkin tired hence the reason my other two are quite left to their own devices now a days. Today I did get out of my pj's though, and that is a start. Last week with two sick ones right after a very long and exhausting trip, well clothes just didn't happen. But this week is a new one.......

Happy 2009

How weird does 2009 sound? I guess I feel that way every year. I wonder if my Granny, in her late 80's, still feels that way every year? Of course, she has alzheimers, so I don't know if she knows its a new year or not. Anyway, time to try and catch up. Hannah is sleeping in the swing so she doesn't cough as much and Robert and the kids are out playing in over a foot of snow....after they've finished shoveling, of course. The Tomek's even had little kid shovels for the kids to help, we love them.

New Year's eve, we got up at 3 a.m. to drive to Gainesville, Georgia for a friends wedding. It snowed on us the first two hours but then the weather was no problem. We were flying all the way to Knoxville, TN...the kids were traveling like champs, Hannah included. We stopped and had lunch and were amazed we would make it in just over 12 hours. You see Mr Google Maps had told us it takes 11 1/2 with no stops and hey, who thinks you'll have to stop with three small children, really. Then, we got bitten by Mr Maps. Apparently, when Robert pulled up the route, he did shortest and so that is what we drove. However, we should have done FASTEST. We ended up driving thru Dollywood and Gatlinburg TN.....over the busiest vacation week of the year. You see where this is going right? It took us over an hour and a half to drive about 5 miles of their downtown areas. I didn't count how many pedestrians we almost hit, but it was numerous since the would just step right out in front of you to cross the street. THEN, we drove thru Smoky Mountain National Park. Sounds lovely huh. We were already so stinking stressed out from crawling for so long. Then we got to go 30 mph thru the mountains. It was torture. We ended up having a 14 hour drive up. We arrived in time to get in our room, have some dinner and then meet up with all of the Seagos to celebrate the New Year. Ok, the kids and I only made it to abou 10 but still. I have no idea how Robert made it to midnight but some how he did...had to be his love for the Seagos keeping him going.
The next day started a whirlwind of wedding prep and parties. The bride, Brandy, was living in N Carolina and the groom, John, was living in Dallas. SOO, there was alot of stuff to get done when we all got into town. Grandmommy whipped us all into shape and got us all moving. It was a blast getting to spend time working along with everyone, but man I was sooo tired. We were up for breakfast with our kids at abour 7 and then Hannah and I were off for the day with the girls doing wedding stuff. We fell into bed each night about 11. Hannah usually woke up 3-4 times a night to nurse and then we started all over again. I was sooo worn out. But, it was one of the most beautiful weddings I had ever been to, and it had nothing to do with any decorations. John and Brandy have kept themselves pure and holy until their matrimony and their love for each other and for our Lord was so apparent in every aspect of the wedding. Their first dance almost brought most of us to tears it was so moving. I'll post lots of pics, of course. We drove back in about 13 hours because we hit several storms in Tenn and Ken.
This week we've been nursing sick babies. The poor Davis kids were sick while we were in Georgia and so we figured at least one of ours would get it. I was hoping it would be the older ones since they were playing with the kids. Leah and Emma Truth are the same age, and so are Joshua and Trace. Makes for lots of fun playing, but also an almost guarantee of germ sharing. Sadly, Leah started coughing on Monday and completely tanked on Tuesday and Wednesday. Hannah started snotting up on Tues and has been struggling since. Thankfully we have our oils and remedies. Leah is going back full strength with a little snotty nose now. Joshua has escaped so far.

Been having problems with Blogger not letting me post....hopefully this one will go through. We are home from Georgia and a beautiful wedding there. Very tired. Girls are sick. I'll catch up later.