Pregnant: Week 9 Rant

8 week ultrasound picture

I keep saying that this pregnancy has been rougher than my other ones but I think the reality is that its pretty much the same.  I think I've always been exhausted, nauseous, unable to eat very well and generally feeling pretty crappy the first trimester.  I think I just forget because in reality its only a couple of months and is quickly replaced with other concerns.  Its kind of like those first newborn months, for me anyway, after awhile they're all a blur!
 
This week I reach week 9.  This is especially important to me because I feel like I'm getting past the miscarriage worry.  I've seen the baby on ultrasound twice now.  Once at 7 weeks 1 day and once at 8 weeks.  The baby looked great both times and I could clearly see and hear its little heart beating.  The tech said it was about 133 bpm.  After losing three babies I worry a lot during those first few weeks.  This pregnancy I did have a small blood clot but, thank God, it disappeared by the 8 week ultrasound. 

I'm starting to realize that some of my stomach discomfort is being caused by my pants being too tight around my stomach.  Mostly when I sit down.  I guess its time to get the belly bands out.  Some friends recommended them to me when I was pregnant with Isabella.  They sure made a difference and I was able to wear my regular pants a lot longer.  They were nice after my c-section too. 

Thankfully I haven't really gained any weight to this point.  I'm trying to watch my weight and have a "healthier" pregnancy but it hasn't been easy to exercise since I feel so crappy most of the time.  I'm not able to eat much.  My stomach hurts all the time.  It will hurt when I'm hungry then hurt when I eat.  I can't eat anything spicy or drink coffee.  I have to eat very small portions when I do eat or I get really sick to my stomach afterward.  Its not fun but I'm hoping this stage will be over in a couple of weeks.

I started taking Zofran 4 mg that dissolves because I was having so much nausea that I felt like I was unable to function most days.  I have five kids to care for Monday-Friday so I have to be able to function.  So far it is definitely helping.  It's expensive though and I don't want to take it too much so I've only been taking it in the morning and not at night.  It has its own side effects but at this point I think its good that I'm taking it.  Hopefully by week 11 or 12 the nausea will let up and I'll be able to stop. 

So I feel like crap, but it won't last forever.  I know the ups and downs of pregnancy but in the end the little bundle of joy that will be placed in my arms in June will make all of this a blur just as the last three have.  I'm going to try to blog this pregnancy as much as possible.  It's fun to look back and who knows - maybe there will be a baby number five and I can look back and say "oh, yeah.  I remember now.  It will be over soon!"

We're having baby number four!

As we left the grocery store tonight, I had Isabella in the cart and the other two tagging along.  My stomach was bothering me and I was so tired.  All of a sudden, as if for the first time, I thought to myself "I'm going to have FOUR kids."  I unlocked the car and lifted Isabella out of the cart as the boys ran to the other side to get in.  Brandon can get in and buckle himself but Xander still needs my help.  I loaded the groceries into the car and  and then started to buckle Xander in.  I heard a woman's voice behind me.  "Do you want me to take that cart for you?  Looks like you have your hands full," she said.  I hear that comment a lot!

I'm excited about adding another member to our family and so are the boys.  David is, too, just in a different way.  He loves the kids and says that he will love any more that we have.  I'm lucky to have him.  The boys talk about "the baby" often and like to see what the baby looks like and hear about how it is developing at www.babycenter.com.  Brandon says he would like a brother and Xander says he would like a sister but I think they both will be happy whichever the baby is.  I will too but a girl would be "ideal" since she will be sharing a room with Isabella that is currently bright pink, the swing, jumparoo and carseat that I have are all pink and I have way more girl clothes and shoes than I have boy stuff.  That's what Kids' Closets are for though.  If it's a boy I will sell a lot of the girl stuff to trade in for boy stuff and we'll paint the bedroom a neutral color.

Telling people you're pregnant with your fourth baby is much different than telling them you're pregnant with your first or even second.  It's entertaining in a way!  Seems like it's not common for people to want to have big families anymore.  I've always wanted to be a mom and have a big family.  I love each one of my children so much.  I love that they have each other.  I can't imagine my life without any one of them and I know I'll feel the same way about any more children that God blesses us with. 

There's a new sherriff in town!

Seen one of these yet?  Chances are you may since Chrysler's Warren Truck Plant is making 250 of these big boys.  This is one big truck!  The boys enjoyed checking it out and I have to say I was pretty impressed as well.  This one was on display during the truck plant's Family Day that we attended since my mom works there.  According to DaveAdmin at www.allpar.com, "The Ram would most likely be sold as a “special service vehicle” rather than as a pursuit truck. Neither Ford nor GM offer a pickup with a specified police package, and there is a market: commercial enforcement, game wardens, and park rangers all use pickups, along with some specialized police officers (e.g. at weigh stations)."   Other than that, there is little information to be found about where they are going or when they will get there.  The boys enjoyed seeing where Grama works although we were unable to get to where she actually works because they had half of the plant blocked off.  The weather was quite cold and windy for early October but at least the sun was shining.  We were able to sign some pieces of a white truck which the boys thought was pretty cool.  Then walked around the plant to see different phases of trucks being built.  The boys enjoyed watching the "robots."  Then it was outside for lunch and the bouncy house.  They had veggie burgers!  Gotta love the veggie burgers :)

Brandon's playing soccer!



Brandon and some of his teammates at their first practice.  There are 11 boys on the team. 



Brandon, being five this year and starting Kindergarten, is finally able to play soccer through the city's soccer league.  He is on team Cosmos and plays his games on Saturday mornings at the middle school.  They practice there on Thursday nights.  He calls the middle school his "soccer school." He was not too thrilled with the idea of playing soccer when I first announced it to him.  He slowly came around though as he got used to the idea and eventually became very excited about it once he got his new gear.  We took him to the sporting goods store and got him some soccer shoes, knee socks, black shorts and a shiny new size 3 soccer ball.  He couldn't wait to get his jersey and was dressed for soccer by 10 a.m. the next day even though his practice wasn't until 6 p.m!  "I don't want to be late," he told me!

I was a little nervous about his first practice because we had tried basketball before and he clung to us for dear life not wanting to participate like the other kids.  He was more than a year older now, but I was still unsure of his reaction since he didn't know the coach or the other kids on his team.  He was great though!  He participated the whole time.  When he got in the car all red and sweaty I asked him if he had fun and he said that he did.  What a relief! 



He looks a little nervous out their but he had fun. :)



I was unsure about signing him up but very happy that I did after that moment.  After he had gotten upset when I first mentioned it to him that I was signing him up, I doubted that he was ready.  He would cry and say he didn't want to play.  It costs money to sign them up so I didn't want to do that if he wasn't going to play.  After talking with a couple of other parents I decided that it was worth a shot.  The advice that I received made sense:  This is the first year that he can play and the other kids his age would be "new" too.  It would be harder for him to join later when the other kids had more experience and knew each other already.  He was probably more scared of the idea because he didn't know what to expect.  If he didn't like it, at least he tried.  So I decided to go for it and I'm glad I did!

Their first game was rained out.  I had signed up for snack and made blueberry muffins from scratch.  They had team and individual pictures the following week before their first game which I'm looking forward to seeing... He made the goofiest smile!   He didn't score any goals but he enjoyed playing and that's what counts!  They don't keep score anyway.  At this age their just learning to play the game.  He did score a goal at his second game but I couldn't be there to watch and therefore have no pictures.  He will miss his third game when we're out of town this weekend but he'll get to play at least two more.  Hopefully they will reschedule the rain out, too!

Brandon giving his coach a high-five after one of his teammates scores a goal.

"Go Brandon!"

Xander was a little bummed that he couldn't get out there and play too but his day is coming...

Can't forget our little cheerleader!  She enjoys the games as much as the boys do :)

Brandon likes having his daddy at his games!  Hopefully he'll be able to go to all of them.



This goofy boy is enjoying his first year of soccer!  Doesn't he look so cute in his uniform!?

Making a home for "Froggy" :)

While on one of his trips to Michigan with Grama and Papa, Brandon acquired a little green frog whom he affectionately refers to as "Froggy."  Apparently Froggy was found resting on the hummingbird feeder when they got back from their trip.  At first they were feeding him little frog/tadpole pellets which he had no interest in.  About a week later we discovered with the help of a friend that he prefers live crickets.  The first time I gave him one (almost a week after he'd been captured) he attacked it pronto.  The poor guy was starving!!!  Since then he has been fed on a regular basis a nice diet of one sometimes two little crickets.  I feel a little bad for the crickets when I go and "choose" who is to die that day... oh, well, they're just crickets, right? 

 Froggy was living in a small maybe one gallon size travel tank for a couple of weeks but tonight we decided to make the little guy a "real" home.  So we decided to research terrariums and set him up with a more natural environment.  Froggy is about one inch long and a half inch wide - very small.  From my observations of him and the reseach that I've done on the internet I'm guessing that his is some type of tree frog, possible a White's Tree Frog.  I think that as he grows it will become more apparent exactly what type of tree frog that he is.  Tree frogs prefer to climb and stay up in the trees which is why I think Froggy likes to hide in the corners of his cage.  He would probably be happier in an arboretum but I had this old ten gallon aquarium and had to go with what I had.  I'm in no way an expert on frogs or terrariums, this is just what we did in order to provide a better home for our pet.  The munchkins enjoyed watching but couldn't really do much to help. 

So this is how we put together Froggy's new home...   

This is the "terrarium" with just some tiny rocks left from when it was an aquarium. They are for drainage and air for the roots of the plants.  They must stay in the bottom because if the frog accidentally eats one he may die of indegestion.



This would be Isabella posing complete with a "cheeeese!"  She likes to check out the frog and is excited about it's new home (and apparently her new seat in the kitchen!)  I put about 4-5 inches of humus (basically dirt) in the bottom and planted this viney plant (don't know the name of it.)

I then planted an ivy plant on the other side.  Both are small plants that I think will do well in the terrarium.  I can trim them as needed to keep them small and they should provide good hiding places for the frog and a "living" environment.

This is an overhead view of the frogs new space.  I put a couple of branches in there.  I plan to find more but this is what I had for now.  He likes to climb high up and hide in the corners so I was trying to help him out with that.



I put a small dish of water in the center of the cage for Froggy to sit in and keep moist.  I plan to mist the area once in a while to help him to stay moist as well.  I gave the plants a little water but I don't want to over water them.  I'm considering adding a couple of little worms to the soil to help keep it "clean" and provide air pockets for the plants. 



Here is Froggy enjoying his new home.  He looks forward to his meal of crickets in the morning.  Luckily our yard is full of them!  The family enjoys watching Froggy attack and eat.  It seems to be a highlight of our day these days!  Hopefully he will be happy in his new home.  He is our only pet for now.  We have a tadpole coming in November!

"Sorry, son. Daddy has to go to work."

Brandon and Xander were playing pretend as usual today. I let them play with David's old poker chips which they love to count and stack and play games with. They cleaned them up and had a snack. Brandon then grabs the metal case that the chips are in and says in a rough voice, "Sorry, son. Daddy has to go to work. I can't play games with you, son." He then heads down the hallway with Xander in tow and says, "I'm going to Applebee's."

I don't know if I can even tell you all the things that were going through my mind as I witnessed this innocent little moment in their play. Sadness, first and foremost, I would say. This is obviously something that has affected him as I'm sure it does any child who just wants to play games with his dad who has to work a lot. He'll often ask me, "Mommy, when is Daddy's day off?" He's too young to understand the reasoning behind David being gone at work all the time.

I was amused by my little five year old's attempt to pretend to be grown up. I was surprised even though I shouldn't be by how much his dad's absence is affecting him. Each day when we pray before our meals both he and Xander will add "Pray that Daddy can play games with us." They love their Dad and enjoy the time that he spends playing "games" with them - usually Xbox 360 games. That's their thing. It's very rare that I will play them with them so they look forward to playing with Daddy. Brandon will sometimes ask me when he can "teach" me how to play. I just smile and tell him honestly that mommy doesn't have time to sit and play. I'm content to let that be their thing that they do with Daddy. :)

Cake Decorating 101



Started a cake decorating class today. The class is supposed to be four weeks long but I missed the first week (although I didn't miss much that day.) We are going to ice a single layer cake each class. I will post pics of my cakes each week. Today we learned to base frost a cake, make stars and handwriting as well as transfer a pattern. Did you know you can transpose just about any image onto a cake using piping gel? Interesting stuff. Basically most of this I learned in a class by the same teacher at the public library. Terri Houdeshell is the owner of Sweetstuff Bakery and teaches classes at the library and Old Firehouse.

Brandon is a goof!

I was by far the oldest person in the class today however two people were unable to make it so hopefully that will change next week. The other three students today were about twelve. One of them lost a tooth during class! Then she accidentally threw it in the garbage. Fortunately though it was found. 

Isabella's word of the day "cheese!" 
She said it for her picture.  She is learning a new
word literally everyday.  She is awesome!

I didn't have time to finish my cake but the kids were all very excited to see me (the cake) when I got home! The boys had to watch me finish icing it of course and helped me decide what to write on it. They wanted all of their names on it :) Hopefully over the next couple of weeks I will learn more things to help enhance the quality of my cakes. In the mean time though my kids will enjoy eating them! ...And I get to enjoy 2 and a half hours of Mommy time! YAY! (I'm learning! I need some time for me so I don't go crazy!)

UPDATE:  During this class, we learned stars and shells, etc.  It was a review for me but I enjoyed making this cake for my kids and they enjoyed eating it!  I did turn out to be the only adult in the group!  I was also the only person to want to move on to further classes.   In course one, we went on to learn drop flowers, roses and leaves which were all a biggie for me.  I've had a few occasions in which to practice but I'm sure it takes lots of practice to get really good.  I'm hoping to eventually be able to make and sell cakes to other people.  In the meantime, I'm continuing my cake decorating education with another class!




So proud of Brandon...

Brandon is five and a half now. I've noticed such a big difference in him this year. He's really growing up! He "officially" starts Kindergarten in a couple of weeks which I am excited about and so is he. He's still going to be homeschooled but on more of a schedule this year. Xander will be doing pre-school along with him. Brand will be playing soccer for the city for the first time this year. Hopefully he will enjoy that. Xander will be playing on a league at the YMCA.

Brandon has been much more helpful with things lately although he still gets into lots of trouble with his brother. He knows better now a lot of the time, but he'll do things anyway and then he'll say something like "well, Xander said to do this or that." He's got to stop listening to Xander!

A couple of weeks ago we were at Applebee's and Xander had to go to the bathroom. My first thought was "oh great, now I have to drag everybody into the bathroom". Brandon spoke up though and said "I'll take him." I happily agreed and they were back in a flash. (We were very close to the bathrooms so I could see them. Besides, it was David's Applebee's...) My baby is growing up to be a big boy!

He does so well coloring and doing worksheets now. He is really patient and able to sit for long periods of time while doing these things. He follows directions very well and is able to put together things with his trio-blocks or legos by following the directions. Sometimes I just sit and watch him do these kinds of things...

I've seen many babies turn into kids or teenagers, but this is the first time that I've seen a child grow from birth into a little person. I'm continually amazed by my experiences as a mom and I can't even imagine what my "babies" are going to be like in ten years or even twenty! I continue to pray that the Lord will be with them and help me to raise them to be the best that they can be. :)

Mommy loves you Brandon, Xander and Isabella!

Spending the day with Isabella...

The boys went to MI for the weekend. David has had to work most of the time so Isabella and I have been enjoying some "Mother-Daughter" time. When she's napping I get some much needed "me" time. Now that we've got the new carpet in, I have to finish putting the house back together! My little helper usually slows down the process :)

Yesterday Isabella and I went to a little girl playgroup at a friends house. The girls were all 16 months and under and didn't much care to play together but someday they will. We had lunch there and then stopped at a garage sale on the way home. Much easier to do when you only have one munchkin with you! She took a nap. I read a magazine (Above Rubies - great read!) Then I decided to take her to get her picture taken at JCPenney's. We hadn't been since her one year pictures and she changes so much at this age! I always go to Penney's for pictures. Their prices are reasonable (for most things when you have a coupon!) and they have the FREE Smiles by Wire which usually beats me home. Our photographer was Sarah, again and she did a great job with Isabella. Isabella had lots of fun. We were the only ones there so we were able to take our time and get some adorable shots.

After we left the studio we went to look at the clothes (why do I do that???) I found some adorable clearance shirts for Isabella one of which I had my eye (and hands!) on last year but decided not to get. They had ONE left and it was a 3T. Isabella wears 18 months, but I thought "she would grow in to it." She grabbed it from me - literally! She clung to it until we got to the register and didn't even want to give it up to the cashier. I had to pry it out of her hands!! After she rang it up, I gave it back to her. She was happy to hold it in the car and then when we got to Michael's she didn't want to let go again so she held onto the whole time we were in Michael's and then all the way home! This is a shirt I'm talking about! She LOVES this shirt. Such a girl!

While I was feeding her dinner, I was telling her "hot" as I cooled down her food (which I usually do.) She started saying "hot, hot" and has been saying it ever since! She even said it for Daddy when he came home.

I let her wear her oversized shirt today and she looks so cute! She's wearing it in the picture on her way to take her nap :) (Picture is a little fuzzy because I took it with my phone.)

I plan to lose 50 lbs. by my next birthday...

Calorie counting is a pain. It's not just about making sure that you're eating the right number of calories (1200/day for me right now) but it's trying to figure out how many calories are in something! Everything doesn't come pre-packaged in little bags that tell you exactly how many calories are in them and the stuff that does is usually no good for you. As much of a pain as it is though, it works. It's a simple philosophy. Burn more calories than you take in and you'll use up that "extra" you have hanging around - also known as fat. :)

I have a lot of "extra" hanging around. I've added a lot of "extra" since I stopped eating meat. I guess I was filling up on extra carbs and fats to replace the meat that was no longer filling me up and keeping me fuller longer. I've been doing some research and learning better ways to eat to satisfy my bodies needs. Recently, for example I've been studying "complete proteins." Complete proteins or whole proteins are made up of the correct proportions of all nine essential amino acids and are necessary for the dietary needs of humans. Not all foods containing protein have all of the amino acids therefore a mixture of protein containing foods will provide your body with a more complete protein source. Apparently, meat by itself is a complete protein but if you want to get the result of a complete protein (which your body uses to restore itself) you can eat things like beans with rice or peanut butter with milk. Eggs by themself are a complete protein as well.

I plan to pay close attention to my calories and proteins however much a pain it is and lose 50 lbs before my next birthday. Completely doable if I keep myself focused. I can do this. I know I can.

Doctor's Visit: Four year/15 month check-ups.

Xander had his four year check-up today. He did very well. He is not shy at all like his brother and did everything they asked of him (which is the opposite of what Brandon did at his but he's getting better!) He stood on the scale which clocked him at 39.6 lbs. His height was 41". He did a great job with the vision exam covering each eye when told and reading the symbols. They did a hearing test, pricked his finger for a blood sample and he peed in a cup. He's such a social little guy. He enjoyed every minute of it. When the doctor came in she asked him to sing his ABC's which he happily did and then counted to 11. When she needed to check his "privates" he giggled so much she had to ask him to relax and take some deep breaths. He said "I can't when she's doing that!" (Oh, boy!) He stood on one foot and walked with one foot in front of the other. He did a great job today and I was very proud of him!

We didn't get any shots for either of them today. David and I have done some research and will do some more but we've decided that for right now, for our children, we're not going to get anymore vaccinations. This is something I will continue to research but for now that is our decision. We've been on an alternate schedule of only one shot at a time for a while and then stopped altogether. Isabella has only had a couple of shots.

Isabella had her 15 month check up today. Her weight was 22 lbs. Her height was 30 inches. She did a great job, too, although she didn't have to do much except cooperate with the doctor. Isabella did tell the doctor "thank you" when she gave her a stick. I was proud! lol She's getting to be such a big girl already. She's not a baby anymore! I bought her some cute straw cups and she loves them already. I was putting her shoes on today and realized they were too small. Her little toes were hanging over the edge! How does that happen?? One day they fit fine and the next they're way to small! I took her to get a new pair in a bigger size after she went to the doctor wearing her too small shoes! It amazes me that they are growing up right before my very eyes!

Xander's 4th Birthday!

Xander had his 4th birthday on Friday, the 22nd. He was very excited about his beach party and sand castle cake. I was up until 2:30 am the night before working on his cake. It was definitely worth it though to see his little face the next morning when he saw it! He loved it! It was a hot day but it wasn't too bad in the shade or by the lake. The kids had a great time and were so wore out by the time we got home that all three of them took a nap!

Xander got to choose where we would go for dinner and of course he picked Ci Ci's (his and Brandon's favorite restaurant!) They sang happy birthday to him. He tried to act shy but he loved the attention. He and Brandon got some tokens to use in the gameroom and had fun playing air hockey. Birthdays are so special when you're a kid. I love making them special for my children. :)

More pics coming soon...

Fondant: Really I'm Curious!

With Xander's birthday coming up, I've been checking out a lot of different cake ideas online. We're going to go with this fabulous sand castle cake since he's having a party at the beach. I found a mold for chocolate shells that I am in the process of making. I plan to use processed vanilla wafers as the sand. I'm sure mine will look every bit as fabulous as the one in the picture! :)
I have to say I love the look of the more-recently popular fondant cakes but wonder when too much is too much. There's so much more you can do with fondant than regular icing but what about the taste? the texture? I don't think I've ever really eaten a cake with fondant that wasn't, well, gross! Some of it just seems like such a waste. A few decorations you can just pick off but what about those cakes that are covered in it or have great big decorations made out of it? For example, this lovely two-tiered birthday cake that I found on http://www.cakepicturegallery.com/. It looks amazing but can you imagine trying to eat it? I was looking at another site http://www.thecookduke.com/ which has a recipe for fondant and instructions on how to make it.
Here is the recipe:

1 tbsp. unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup of cold water
1 tsp. almond extract
1/2 cup of light corn syrup
1 tbsp. glycerin
2 lbs. 10x confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp. of white vegetable shortening

I do have to admit it makes a pretty cake. Maybe the "homemade" kind would be better than the commercial kind as the website http://www.thecookduke.com/ suggests. What do you think? Do you like the new trend or the old fashioned cakes better? Really, I'm curious! Do you like the fondant for its looks? Do you eat it? Leave me a comment.

Xander's turning four. I think I'll make him a wallet...

So Xander's going to be four soon. He's very excited (so is Brandon) about the upcoming birthday celebration. They have been counting down the months, weeks, days since Brandon's birthday. They pretty much share everything so they delite in each others gifts and look forward to shopping for each other. The other day David and I were amused in the car while Xander went over his "list" with Brandon of what he would like for his birthday. It was LONG! He's a goof-ball and sometimes gets carried away with his list of desires. In our quest to raise them as loving responsible servants we seem to be falling short on the "do not covet" part. Anyway, we plan to have a nice birthday for him without going too far overboard. He's going to have a little party at the beach with his friends and then another one with his cousin a week later. He's all about the Bakugans these days but he has enough of them. I ordered him a Leapster 2. He likes to play with his friends so he'll be excited. Brandon has a wallet and Xander doesn't so I think that he will be excited to have one of his own. I looked at some online but I think I'm going to attempt to make him one myself first. I'll have to let you know how it goes!

Ten Reasons Why I love Being a Mom!

It's no secret. I LOVE being a mom! It's something I've always known that I wanted to be (even though there are times when I want to pull ALL of my hair out)! I wouldn't trade motherhood for anything. I love my munchkins and could probably come up with 100 reasons I love being a mom but I'll just stick with these 10!

1. My kids say and do the cutest things (she went and climbed up on this bench all by herself.)

2. Watching my munchkins "grow up" is the best feeling ever!

3. My children are entertaining (and so darn cute!)

4. My kids make me laugh (laughter is good therapy!)

5. The awesomeness of watching them learn new things!

6. They put the ~*magic*~ back into the holidays!

7. They love the zoo as much as I do!

8. They get so excited about their birthdays!9. Dressing them up is so much fun!

10. They're so cute when they're sleeping! :)

Keeping Busy on these Lazy Summer Days

Today is Saturday. During the summer, days of the week don't seem to make much difference to me. With the exception of FLOCKS, David's weekly softball game and church on Sunday it seems like everyday has pretty much the same since the craziness of camping, traveling and VBS are pretty much behind us. I have to say I'm enjoying lazy mornings and no schedule but I don't want to waste the summer so I've been looking for cheap or even FREE activities to do with the kids. Today I went to a FREE "Mommy and Me" Creative Movement Class with Isabella at Absolute Dance Company in Avon Lake. I had to get up at 7:30 a.m. (which is very early for us!) and drag Isabella out of bed at about 8:30 a.m. She was happy enough to take a bath and get dressed but once we got to the dance studio she decided to clam up. She was clingy and insistent on finishing her bottle of milk. She didn't really start to get comfortable until the last 10 minutes and then she was more into checking out the music player than dancing. She did hold my hand and run around a little bit with a gorgeous smile on her face that I could only see because of the walls of mirrors around us. My friend picked us up with her daughter who is only a couple of months older. She was in no way shy or timid when it came to exploring the place and getting her groove on! She and Isabella will be getting into all kinds of mischief in the years to come, I'm sure.

The Early Childhood PTA here in Avon Lake is a great resource for finding things to do in the area. I highly suggest to new parents (and experienced ones) to join their local early childhood PTA. When I first had Brandon I had no idea such an organization exsisted. I thought PTA's were only for "school-age" children. One of my favorite things about the ALECPTA is the beginning of the year social where I get a FREE identification card for each of my munchkins every year. It's nice to have and it's fun to see how they've changed from year to year. Next week we will be going to an activity at the library and a street fair both in neighboring cities that I learned of through this organization. I've met many people since I joined but only one person I would actually call a "friend."

Most of the people I've become good friends with since we've moved into the area have been through our church. My children have made some good friends, too. Our church has been a great resource for activities and events as well. We very much enjoy our small group and look forward to serving in the church. Our church is about ten minutes away from where we live. People come from all around to attend our church so we meet people from all different areas. I've often thought that we are right where God wants us to be. I know that he has a plan for us and I'm excited to see what that plan will bring in the future.

We are also members of our local YMCA which is a great place for me to have some "me" time! I love to take the kids to the Childwatch and know that they are safe and having a good time while I work out. The boys have taken several swimming and sports classes there with mixed results. The older they get, the more they seem to get out of them. They will begin Pike 2 on July 25th and Isabella will be a Shrimp. She's taking her first swim class! I will have to get in the water with her but I'm sure it will be fun. I never did anything like that with the boys but I'm looking forward to having some alone time with Isabella. She doesn't get much of that since she's the third born!

There are many more resources for activities, even here in Northeast Ohio. We are members of the zoo, have a wonderful library, parks and beaches. I'm looking forward to filling up the rest of our summer with lots of trips and taking lots of pictures! These little munchkins are growing up so fast and I know the summer will be a distant memory in no time...

My First Cucumber!

I picked my first cucumber out of my garden yesterday! Looking forward to lots more. I have a ton of stuff growing in my little 8x8 plot. Most of it came up on its own. Over the winter we throw all of our scraps into the garden to make our own compost. This year I tilled up the garden, added humus from the city and then planted my seeds. Later I noticed that there were all kinds of plants growing up that I didn't plant! Many of them were unmistakably recognizable such as tomatoes, peppers and some types of squash which I have not been able to identify yet! My tomato plants have been growing like crazy. I've already gotten plenty of tomatoes, strawberries, radishes and raspberries this year. I was about to get some spinach and romaine lettuce, too, but a groundhog beat me to it! I'm working on putting the fence back up around my garden before I lose anything else. I think that there's enough of the plants left that I should still get a good harvest of lettuce and spinach this year. I very much enjoy gardening. There's nothing like eating something that you've grown yourself!

I try to use only organic products in my garden which can sometimes be difficult to find or expensive. Lately I've been using Whitney Farms Organic plant food, insecticidal soap and outdoor insect killer. I also like their organic lawn weed killer although I did notice some brown spots in my lawn after using it. It did help with the weeds but I pretty much have a weed-lawn so even after using two bottles I still had weeds! Everything seems to be doing well after the rainy start that we had. Lately I've been watering a lot because we haven't been getting much rain at all.

We've been here for four years now June 22nd. Every year I plant a little more and change a little more in the yard. I've been quite pleased with the changes. Every year I learn a little more, too. I always say I'll get everything just right just in time to move! At least I'm learning and getting lots of practice. Someone is going to get a very beautiful and fruitful yard someday. In the meantime, I'll enjoy it :)

Sunscreen. What to use? What to use?!

Feeling very frustrated with all of the information out there about sunscreen. I've studied several lists of the "best sunscreen" and still don't feel too comfortable slathering it all over my munchkins when we go out. I do so only because I'm more afraid of the alternatives. I do my best to find the one's with the least health concerns. Those are usually the natural/mineral suncreens. They are free from Vitamin A/Retinyl Palmitate which may actually increase your chances of getting skin cancer! The EWG (Environmental Working Group) which claims to "work to protect kids from toxic chemicals in our food, water, air and the products we use everyday" has a "best sunscreens" list. Even their list contains sunscreens with "low" and "moderate" health concerns. Unfortunately, the EWG also reports on their website, http://www.ewg.org/, that the FDA failed to finalize their 1978 sunscreen safety standards. As a result, there is a lot of confusion about what is safe to use and what is not. Europe seems to be way ahead of us on this one. Their website has some very interesting articles if you're interested in reading more. I have to say though that even if the FDA did finalize their safety standards I don't know that I would trust them. The FDA has approved many things I wouldn't use on my kids. I've chosen to go with Aveeno's Mineral Block and Abaca Botanicals Mineral Block and hope that I'm not doing damage to my family's skin in the process. What do you use?

Ready for Summer... or at least Spring!

Winter is hanging on this year but there are signs of spring everywhere. Here we are half way through May already! I'm super excited about planting the garden and working on my landscaping. I very much enjoy being outside! This is going to be our fifth summer at this house. Each year gets better and better. The kids purchased a 15' trampoline with their birthday money. They love it! (I love it, too!) It's good for them to get out and be active. Both boys are enjoying their video games these days but we don't want them to spend too much time sitting in front of the tv.

Isabella is getting so big! She was terrified the first time I put her in the grass. She likes to go outside now and for some insane reason she likes to eat rocks and dirt. Yuck! Hopefully she will share my love of gardening :)

We've gotten more rain than sunshine this year so the sunny days have been much appreciated. The forecast is calling for warm sunny weather this Friday and Saturday. Today is Tuesday and it's been raining since Saturday so I'm very much looking forward to the weekend! This picture was taken last Thursday. Even Isabella loves to play on the trampoline.