... Knifty News & Rants ...

New Blog

2012-01-05T14:02:00.000-08:00

As we've posted the limit of photos, we needed to start a new blog to continue posting pictures. Check it out at http://kniftynews.blogspot.com/.

Gingerbread Men

2011-12-30T15:04:00.000-08:00

For Christmas with Red's family this year we got all the cousins a giant gingerbread man kit from Trader Joe's. Grammy and Auntie helped them decorate their men. Looks like they had a blast!

Grammy let them each eat a foot of their men. The two older girls ate all the way up past the crotch, with one of them putting all her frosting on that one foot, Karrots ate just the bottom part of the foot, and Rusty decided to take a bite of each foot, hand and the head of his.

With all the crazy licking of the sprinkles I was kinda impressed that none had any MAJOR sugar rush...but I guess I was asleep during most of it.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-29T13:05:00.000-08:00

This year for Christmas we headed to Red's parents...after the traditional office party that Friday. THANKFULLY, there wasn't TOO much traffic. When we stopped for gas we found TONS of birds in the trees at the station. It was crazy...and stinky!

Auntie was waiting up for us so she could meet the new member. With all the cousins spending the night it ended up being pretty late for all of them. Melody was wide awake and talkative for quite a while until...

We celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve since we were all planning on attending church together and thought it would be best considering the kids being eager to open gifts...we were NOT going to wake up and open gifts, have breakfast, AND perform the Christmas story before church.

Tradition let the kids open their stockings after getting up...before WE did...

I got this and didn't realize it was candy on the other end

After the candy cane pastry breakfast we had the kids act out the nativity story with the dolls Grammy made.

Post story was present time. I'm so grateful that the family is set on handing out gifts one by one and making sure each gift is appreciated.

Some highlights (though ALL were appreciated!) were a baby doll for Karrots (with handmade clothes and a maya wrap), Woody PJ's and toy gun for Rusty, silicone cup cake molds for me, Bright Start Chime for Melody, and a tripod for Red.

Playing with his cousin's gift

Showing auntie what she made her

From Our Family to Yours...

2011-12-25T08:40:00.000-08:00

Three Months Old...

2011-12-17T22:13:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I'm a couple days late...She's cooing up a storm, has a super strong neck and grip, wearing a size 6 months, and too many rolls to count.

Mother/Sister Instinct

2011-12-13T12:02:00.000-08:00

Who's Who?

2011-12-11T21:17:00.000-08:00

Just a slight family resemblance...

So Strong!

2011-12-04T20:38:00.000-08:00

She's got that head up already!

Gobble, Gobble!

2011-11-25T10:44:00.000-08:00

Family Portraits via Karrots

2011-11-15T13:31:00.000-08:00

I love to see how Karrots sees our family...

Mommy holding Melody and Daddy

Mommy, Melody (the circle between), Daddy, Rusty and Karrots

Ya...she doesn't quite understand that arms and legs don't come out of our heads...but that's a 4 year old's stick person! :)

Melody's Dedication

2011-11-14T21:25:00.000-08:00

This Sunday we dedicated Melody to the Lord. Our pastor joked that Red could probably do the service all by himself at this point.

There were a couple words given. One was Deut. 6:4-9:

⁴ “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!^[b] ⁵ You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
⁶ “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. ⁸ You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ⁹ You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Also, Jude:

¹⁴ Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, ¹⁵ to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”

One of the men in our church who's known for the prophetic said he felt there would be a link between Melody and her grandpa, Red's dad. He wasn't sure what it meant, but somehow they'd be linked closer than he is with the other grandkids.

Happy 5th Anniversary!

2011-11-11T20:57:00.000-08:00

It was 5 years ago that Big Red and I committed ourselves to be partners for life. Five years of making babies, five years of ups and downs, five years...though at times it seems like twenty! I can't remember life without him and look forward to another 50 years!

Pigtails!

2011-10-25T13:41:00.000-07:00

It's been so long since her hair's been long enough, but here she is...Karrots in pigtails!:

Now, since that won't work for a wedding...to figure out a style that will work for our little flower girl...

Baby Rag Quilt

2011-10-24T13:10:00.000-07:00

I found a tutorial over at DIY Divas for this adorable quilt...

Front

Back

All it took was a trip to Walmart for some flannel and a few hours. It looks great all folded over the co-sleeper, right? Well, a little inside secret: I cannot do right angles well! Seriously. I had sewn the strips together without pinning them thinking it would all line up...well, i guess i can't cut straight either. Not even with a cutting mat, a rotary cutter and clear plastic ruler board. Yikes! I ended up cutting a lot off to get it near rectangle. Not a huge issue for a baby quilt since it's still huge for her and will keep her warm, but fora perfectionist it could be an issue to think through before attempting the project.

As I'd never done quilts before, I'd also never done binding. Thanks to YouTube and this tutorial I figured it out! And the hand stitching is practically invisible with the ladder stitch! Definitely better than the whip stitch recommended.

Open Up Your Heart...and Let Me In

2011-10-22T12:34:00.000-07:00

I've been feeling very distracted and easily frustrated lately. It's taking some time to adjust to our newest little one, even more so for the older kids. We've had more than our share of defiance and breakdowns.

With all this craziness I haven't felt very close to the Lord, so this morning I finally made it a point to put some worship music while making and eating breakfast, mostly United Pursuit. It felt so good to belt out, "Fill Me Up!" repeatedly because I've been feeling quite empty.

Then this song came on...

What a great reminder of my daughter's desire for me to open my heart for her and the Lord! I feel like she's been screaming, "Look my way!" as is my Daddy.

Lord, grab my attention! Show me Your love and help me BE Your love! "Love of God, overflow, permeate all my soul!"

Pumpkin Steamers

2011-10-16T20:44:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe while browsing Pinterest and, the pumpkin fan that I am, I HAD to try it. The blog had labeled it a "Spiced Pumpkin Sipper", but since I don't know what a sipper is, I'm labeling it a steamer in my book. (Thank you Starbucks influence.)

It's super easy and delish! I've been making half the recipe for one serving for myself. You add 1/2 cup pumpkin to 2 cups milk, less than half 1/4 cup brown sugar (I don't even add half the amount it calls for and it's still really good), some cinnamon and nutmeg (and maybe some cloves and allspice...), and an egg (my version...since it kinda reminds me of eggnog anyway) and vwala! A scrumptious Fall warm version of a smoothie, veggie, dairy, and protein included!

Now back to sipping my steamer...

Laundry Growth Photos

2011-10-14T20:26:00.000-07:00

Time sure flies!! It's hard to believe our newest little one is already a month old...sigh...

One Week

One Month

Before & After...and cuteness!

2011-09-29T12:29:00.000-07:00

When we took our maternity pictures (the new page pix) I had a few in mind that I wanted to do with Melody once she was born. My SIL took the after shots (not in a studio) and I took the ones of Melody by herself.

Inspired by Birth Without Fear's profile

This one our photographer made up. With the baby's musical name I knew I wanted the silouette of the guitar to mimic my belly. My SIL thought this one would make a great after shot...

Inspired by a photography blog

Announcement material

Grammy's Visit

2011-09-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

I am so blessed with amazing in-laws! Seriously...Red's mom came down again to help out after the baby was born...and even got to see her born! Talk about a servant's heart! She helped with the meals, cleaned all the dishes, did laundry, vacuumed, took care of the older two - changing Rusty's diapers, feeding them, disciplining, teaching them to recognize letters, getting them ready for bed, bathing them, and more.

As a tribute to grammies, here's a bunch of stuff Grammy was here for:

Melody wearing the leggings Grammy got her

More leggings!!

Photo shoot #1

Photo shoot #2

Grammy holding Melody while Karrots serenades her

Grammy giving Melody her first bath

First picture of daddy with Melody and he blocks the shot...

Rusty holding his little sister

Siblings!

All dressed up for her welcome party

Only way Karrots will take a pic with Melody

Grammy, thank you for all your help the past week and a half!! You've helped preserve my sanity and given me time to heal and adjust. I pray God will cultivate such a servants heart in me as you've shown us. You have no idea how grateful we are!

Birth Power Video

2011-09-17T11:52:00.000-07:00

A while ago I got an email asking for empowered birth photos. I sent some in and totally forgot about it until today when I got an email with the link to it. Enjoy!

Birth Story #3

2011-09-15T16:25:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my last post, at 2:16 yesterday morning I sneezed and pondered, "wouldn't it be great if this started labor?" and within seconds felt the first contraction. I made some pancakes, cut Red's hair, and my mom and friend showed up. I was fully expecting a quicker labor.

After his hair cut

I continued to have regular contractions that were 3-5 mins. apart so I went for a walk with Karrots, who kinda lagged because she wasn't feeling well. Once I finally made it a point to relax through the contractions I think they got a little more intense. They felt stronger when I was relaxed.

From 9:30-10:15am I laid down for a nap, with the contracts stopping. I should’ve stayed down as I had recently gotten a cold and was dealing with a sore throat, which later in labor became congestion that made my eyes water, but kinda felt the pressure to progress with my mom and friend here and other friends texting every 5 mins.

To stay busy I decided to make pumpkin bread pudding, which required making challah bread in the bread machine. Red and I went to Trader Joe’s for some groceries while it baked and then went on a few walks around the neighborhood. Once the challah bread was done I finished making the bread pudding.

Around 2:30pm my mucous plug was showing. Most of the rest of labor I got a tinge of mucous blood with every contraction, which concerned me a bit, but my friend assured me it was normal when she caught me looking up blood in labor on the internet.

Belly during labor

I could tell the baby had dropped a good amount as my belly had changed shape. At one point I felt I wasn't progressing much and decided to lay down for a while.

A few times Red had rubbed my feet, legs, and back with labor massage oil so I got to relax and doze off on the bed while being pampered. By this point my cold had given me sensitive eyes, which made me sleepier. I spent most of the rest of the night in our room.

Red's mom showed up a little after 7pm.

By evening the contractions had gradually intensified. I took my third shower (second with the metal chair inside), praising God for our handheld shower head and using the massage setting on my lower belly while the other shower head kept the rest of me warm. I had to turn the water off between contractions so the hot water would last longer.

Some time in the evening I went from simply blowing out slowly through the contractions to slowly saying ah, eh, ee, oh, oo. It felt easier to go through some by standing. My friend tried something to help with the new back pain, but it didn’t do much. Everyone had gone to bed by/around 11, with my mom going home. After the contractions got more uncomfortable I decided to get out of bed and move to the glider chair in the living room thinking it would be easier to doze off between contractions while sitting up. I turned my labor playlist on to keep me prayerful. The contractions got pretty serious while out there. It hurt to breathe, especially in the abdomen, and the vowel sounds weren’t working. I changed to ta-ta-ta-ta in and out and that seemed to help. When I was super concentrated and relaxed I could feel the great surges with less pain, but it was hard to do as taking any breaths in really hurt. I finally got up and in the shower, which helped a little. I had chills a few times, which pointed to transition. Quickly I could feel the baby pressing in my butt and called for Red to get everyone ready because I was about to have this baby.

My friend came in and I had a few groaning contractions while they put chux pads down. I tried laying back, somewhat on my side and was NOT comfortable. She suggested hand and knees over pillows. I ended up pushing our baby girl out in that position. With the first contractions in that position I felt the need to push and my water popped. I think it was about then that Red's mom brought Karrots in (who wasn’t fully awake). Next baby's head came out and I heard that her spitting out the mucous, which was awesome because I'd always heard how an intact perineum would cause the baby to spit up instead of needing an aspirator and finally got the experience it. I was very grateful for the breaks between contractions because I didn’t like the feeling of being out of control. It took some time for her shoulders to come out. This is when I heard that she had her little hand up under her chin and the cord up and around the back of her neck (not all the way around her neck). The rest of her shortly came out, a total of 5 mins. for pushing. Red caught her with encouragement from our friend. It felt like forever for them telling me to wait as they moved chux pads and the baby around, but they eventually guided me to move my leg over and lay on my back. Karrots saw her and then put her head on grammy’s shoulder and wanted to go back to bed. We got cleaned up a little more with the towels, tied off her cord and got some of its blood to test later (Rh – or +) to see if I needed the Rhogam shot. At one point Red held her with his shirt off. It was then that she looked ready to nurse, like an hour after birth. She latched right on and stayed on for some time.

Love at first site!

So much like her sister!

First latch!

My mom was very upset that she missed the birth. With the parking codes for our city I was thinking we'd call her in time for her to park without any issues of the hours, but our little girl came just as the parking limit ended.

We got some sleep and then invited my mom over for the weighing and measuring. Our new little girl was 8 lb., 7 oz., 22 1/2" long. Beautiful and we're pretty sure some shade of red hair!

Getting set up to be weighed

Foot prints for her home birth certificate

The kids watching

The boys enjoying the break

Red said he probably wouldn't brag about catching his daughter because it felt like no big deal.

Today we went of our first outting. I got to go to the OB for my rhogam shot since we found out she's O+. At least she won't have to deal with the Rh factor when it's her turn to make us some grand babies!

She looks so small in the car seat - finally! a newborn the size of a NEWBORN!

I put the bow on because we had changed her in to a neutral outfit and thought it would help avoid the gender question

Labor Tips for Those Attending

2011-09-13T12:11:00.000-07:00

(I saw the above video the other day somewhere...probably facebook.)

This morning I started labor around 2:16am. I remember because I sneezed and thought, "wouldn't that be great it that little sneeze started labor?!" then almost immediately felt a contraction. Drifting in and out of sleep I pondered if today might be the day. I thought, "So, if she's born today, what would her birthday be? 9-13..." and looked at the clock to see it was 3:19. I am taking it as a sign from the Lord that TODAY is the day...i.e. not a 48 hour labor like my other two. That sign and I friends have prayed for a speedy labor.

Anyway, at 4:00am I had a contraction that simply wasn't comfortable to lay down through. I eventually got up, texted my midwife, mom, and some friends, and started to make pancakes...because what else is a laboring mama to do at 4:30am? My mom wanted to come over immediately (and pretty much did) and when I called my would-be-midwife (long story) I let her know the contractions were about 3-5 mins. apart and she let me know she was on her way (since she lives like 2 hours away...not including LA traffic).

After making the pancakes, I cut Red's hair and took a shower...Now I'm feeling like the woman in the above video. At one point this morning my mom asked how I was doing and I let her know nothing's changed and she made a remark about how disappointing that was. (I know she has good intentions, but empathizing by stating the obvious was not the best remark...this is why I should have waited to let her know.) With that and posting on facebook that I'm in labor I now feel I have the joys of expectations and people waiting on me. I TOTALLY should have learned from the last two births...Stupid temptation of technology and social networking with their immediate communication fixes!

For those who ever attend a birth or know someone's in labor, here's a tip: Be encouraging and don't have time expectations! Seriously...we laboring mamas can feel those expectations. This is a natural process and may take some time. Asking, "so how are things going?" every 5 mins. is very discouraging. How about you simply watch the cues of the laboring mama? Is she acting normal, talking through contractions and doing chores? If so, you can assume that it may be a while and that "progress" is slow and simply not that visible. Is she stopping to groan and concentrate, screaming for drugs, or needing privacy? The baby may be here soon...and even if he/she isn't, please don't pace the floor or constantly check up as if you're in any more of a hurry than mommy and daddy are.

For those in labor: Just let people know when the baby's arrived. Ya, tell a select few who you know will be praying for you, with the expectation that you will let them know how things are going without needing them to contact you frequently, but think before you post it on facebook. It may be a longer haul than you hope.

Due Date Schmoo Date

2011-09-08T18:49:00.000-07:00

Once again our children are letting the world know that our entire family is full of procrastinators...it's in our genes...seriously. Today is our new little girl's 40 week mark and I'm not feeling much of an unction in regards to labor. But I don't mind. There MUST be more I can do to get ready for her.

To add to my earlier list of seemingly endless things I've done to prepare for the baby, we've picked up and set up a second hand Cal King bed, lovingly donated by a dear friend and dressed by Target's clearance/sale sheets, made more frozen meals, made some labor massage oil (recipe from a friend and midwife), seen the chiro half a dozen times, restocked our pantry/freezer for an extra month, taken and made a book of maternity pictures, changed the blog's look, set up the co-sleeper, gotten everything on my midwife's birth list out and ready, and within the past few days I've bought her a couple new outfits. (Thanks Target for your clearance section and Children's Place for an amazing sale!! You've helped me expand her wardrobe while she's been expanding my belly.)

So, until next week...or the week after that...whenever I have an "official" announcement to make... :)

Join the Boob-olution!

2011-08-03T11:00:00.000-07:00

That's right! It's World Breastfeeding Week! I thought I'd post links to a few of my previous posts:

Thoughts on Intimacy in Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding in the Bible

Breastfeeding...

Got Milk?

Love and Breastfeeding

Chiropractor Appointment

2011-07-19T16:11:00.000-07:00

First off, I am SOOOO glad I went! I've been thinking about seeing a chiropractor for a while now, like for years now, but never made it a point because I wasn't sure they'd really be able to do much for me. That and Red didn't have much faith in them. I DID try to see this doctor previously, though, because my shoulder was really messed up, but as he was out of town I ended up with a massage therapist...which was EXACTLY what I needed. At the time the woman working in the front office was pregnant and mentioned how the doctor was to adjust her to make labor and recovery easier. With that encouragement (along with recommendations from friends) and the pain I've been having in my symphysis pubis joint I figured it was time to make a real effort to see the doctor.

When I got there I noticed there was another pregnant woman waiting for him and another one working for him. After waiting around a while in the room for him I finally saw the doctor. He introduced himself and explained he'd been working in this field for 20+ years, etc. We switched rooms to one that had a chiro table for pregnant women and got to work. While evaluating me he mentioned how tight a number of spots were, asking if I lifted my kids. On the subject of birth he mentioned he and his siblings were all born at home and a bit about his family's experience with insurance and birth...one child costing $13,000 without insurance. He also has a midwife on staff there as a massage therapist.

During the visit I explained to him about the dairy allergy and my previous experience with joint pain, the hernia and other medical history.

One major thing he talked about were my knees, which I've had issues with since high school, when I had orthoscopic surgery on both knees due to tendinitis in my knee caps. He noted that I was missing an important muscle to hold my knee cap in place, which explains all the issue I have with it sliding around, especially when my legs are extended and relaxed, causing pain when laying on my belly. He said they were extremely swollen and they HURT while he worked on them a bit. He wants me to come back so he can work on them more. Supposedly there are exercises, like squatting, to build those muscles, though he wouldn't recommend them during pregnancy. This explains a LOT in why I've had knee issues and pain.

Other areas were extremely knotted butt muscles, shoulders and a muscle around my uterus.

For the pubic joint he gave me an exercise I can do with Red when it hurts. Basically lay on my back with my knees up, have Red pull my legs apart at the knees while I pull them together. Sounds a lot like an exercise from Bradley childbirth classes. Yeah for homework!

He asked how my digestion's been. I explained I'd been taking some supplement for it, which has been helping a lot, and that I'd been having an issue with internal hemorrhoids. He recommended getting surgical gloves, putting water in the fingers and freezing them, breaking them off and putting them in another glove and using it to ice the hemorrhoids for 3-4 mins. Doesn't sound like fun, but it's worked for other patients!

Another recommendation was to wear good supportive shoes. He noted that I have prorated ankles and need to be conscious about their position, saying the shoes would help.

Once insurance is figured out he's supposed to call and we'll set up a schedule for appointments to work on my knees and keep my back feeling well. Once again - SOOOO glad I went!

Birth Sling

2011-07-17T20:27:00.000-07:00

I'm hoping for this birth that we can figure some way out of making/finding a birth sling. I found a picture of one that a woman had rented. It looks a lot like the Byer of Main hanging chair stand with some sort of sling made for it. It's either a freestanding one like this or Red'll have to bolt into the support beams in the house to hang one for me. :)

Preparing for Birth

2011-07-14T12:46:00.000-07:00

I know I've given birth twice, but I'm getting a little anxious with anticipation for this birth. Partly because I felt the Lord ask me to look into hospitals, so I'm trying not to put all my eggs/hopes in one basket - homebirth. At the same time I've been doing more research to reeducate/remind myself what I've gotten myself into and that's getting me encouraged to keep planning for home. AND, I've been nesting like crazy! I have like 2 more months and for some reason feel the need to rearrange parts of the house daily.

Things I've accomplished: The guest room's been cleared out of most junk (or WAS) while its bed is now lifted to store Red's wine bottles underneath. I've already gone through the girlie/neutral clothes for our little girl and put them in the drawers in my closet. I've gotten all the burp cloths cleaned and in one bin. I've set up a registry on Amazon, which I'm constantly looking at wondering if I'm missing anything or if I'm asking for too much junk. I reorganized the kids' closet to fit all their tubs of outgrown clothes. I've attempted to clear out the craft room, though all the "stuff" I've decided to get rid of while nesting ends up in there. I've gotten the order for Karrot's birthday party already from Oriental Trade, along with her birthday gift, which is already wrapped. The co-sleeper's in our room and ready to be set up, though I've been holding out on doing so since the kids keeps wanting to sleep on our floor. I bought and received my birth kit MONTHS ago. I already have a couple packs of disposable diapers for the baby. I put together a little basket of labor comfort items like massage oils/lotions, essential oils, a rice sock, and papers with reminders of what to try. I have my list of who I'd like at the birth to help out and have invited them. I've also been doing exercising from a pregnancy DVD my friend is letting me borrow.

Things I'd LIKE to get done are freezing meals, getting a birth sling made (which reminds me...anyone have a free-standing hammock stand I could borrow??), and exercising more...and I'm sure I'll add more to the list as time goes by.

A few days ago a friend asked if we were planning on having the kids here at the birth. She asked if they'd freak out and if I was a loud birther. I'm definitely planning on having them with us during the labor/birth with my mom here to help with them. With that thought I've since gotten on youtube and found a few birth videos for the kids to watch with me to give them an idea of what to expect. I've been hoping my enthusiasm would sink into their little heads and hearts about how awesome birth is. Saying things like, "Look!! There's the baby's head!" and pointing out how happy the parents are. Karrots loves the videos, Rusty doesn't. She giggles through the births. Rusty constantly says, "I don't like that!!" as if he's afraid, which I understand when it comes to the mom being in pain and seeing blood, but he's chosen not to watch most of those parts and says it AFTER the birth when the mommy's cuddling the baby. He even said it when we went through pictures of HIM after he was born. Sibling rivalry already? Sorry kid - you don't have much of a say...especially at this point!

I guess the whole subject of birth has sparked the homeschooler in me with Karrots. She asks questions and I get all excited because I have visuals (thank you CAPPA training!!) and can find pictures to help her understand. For example, she understands now more about the umbilical cord and it being attached to the placenta and she has a better idea WHY there would be blood during a normal birth, along with how the cervix works. I'm not sure how everything will pan out with them, but it's been great watching Karrots' enthusiasm for her little sister and the birth. She constantly comes up to give my belly a hug and tell me that she loves her sister. She even thanks God for her. I'm so grateful for her heart being open to a new little one!

Well, I should be off to reorganize, exercise, or do SOMETHING to keep myself busy...

Homemade Maternity Dress #2

2011-07-07T18:23:00.000-07:00

After making the last maternity dress I searched through craft blogs to find my next project and found this post, which was linked to this tutorial and had been altered for maternity (a longer front of the dress). Basically I went to Forever 21 and found a plain white shirt, which is cut off at the bust and added fabric to - a band and gathered skirt. I wanna say the cost of the dress was like $6 or so when all was said and done because I had the fabric from my MIL so all I bought was the shirt and some heavier thread.

(I'm posting this one to show the length...thanks mom for helping me set the hem!)

I messed up and didn't cut the shirt high enough so there was a spot on the white top from the mark I made for cutting. What to do to cover it up?? Garnish it with FLOWERS!! After all, that IS what the writer of original post I found the dress on did!

It was a bit odd to work with the stretch knit top being added to a non-stretch fabric. Next time I'll plan to add a couple straps to tie in the back...And a tip for anyone wanting to attempt the tutorial: Step 6 or 7 has incorrect measurements. You probably want the second stitch in step 6 to be at 1/2" so that when you stitch the band to the gathered skirt it is stitched on the gather, not above it. I followed her instructions, gathering at 1/4" and 1" and then stitching together at 1/2 " and you could see the 1" gather stitch when it was together...obviously, right? Even the pictures in the tutorial don't have a second gathering stitch so I'm not sure what she was thinking...

OB Test Results

2011-06-30T15:15:00.000-07:00

For those of you interested, I'm normal! Yeah! (Whatever that means...) My urine and blood tests all came back negative (including my blood type O-): no infection, no Rh anitbodies, etc. I also found out I can go to their office for a Rhogam shot if I deem necessary after baby #3's born (and am encouraged to go get my Rhogam shot now...).

Nice to know God's in control and whatever was coming up in my previous urine test with my midwife is cleared up. Praise God! Now to continue eating well and trusting...

It's a Girl!!

2011-06-21T18:46:00.000-07:00

I had my OB appt. Tues. after dealing with having the wrong insurance card and making calls to get our new information (a half hour + later...) it all went through...and I found my card. *Now rolling my eyes since that's SOOO typical prego woman...*

I got weighed, blood pressure measured, and peed in a cup before seeing the doctor. I was extremely comfortable with her, thank God! She simply asked my plans after going over my history, mentioned a blood test to test for antibodies (possible Rhogam shot), blood type, etc. She did an ultrasound and the kids and my mom were able to come in and watch, though Karrots seemed quite nervous about the whole thing and wasn't going to go in without everyone else. There is only one. ;) The baby's measuring at 31 weeks. The doctor mentioned that would be normal for me having big babies and also admitted that late ultrasounds weren't always accurate. Also, because of size, she mentioned to watch my diet, esp. late in pregnancy, and made sure I hadn't had diabetes in either pregnancy. After measuring and being able to see the arms waving and the legs I asked about the gender. The baby seemed to be in the perfect position to let us check her out! Here are the pix I got:

Her girlie parts:

Her face...she's on her side...

Red didn't get to be there because we weren't expecting the ultrasound to be done that day. Calling them they said the ultrasound in office was older and they use it for "fun", not diagnostics. So, after letting everyone on Facebook know I found out the gender, I waited until daddy came home to find out the gender before spilling the beans that it's a girl.

I scheduled an appointment for 37 weeks so I can get tested for GBS (the one thing I feel may be an issue) then gave some blood (praise God I didn't have any issues of feeling faint!!).

Thank You, Lord, for a good appointment!

OB Search & Birth Prep

2011-06-10T15:02:00.000-07:00

Within this past month or so I've had a sense that I should find a near by hospital and get an ultrasound. Not being sure where this urge came from, I asked the Lord if it was Him, fear, or what. Being that I've had a total peace about it and haven't had any pro-natural birth craziness in me screaming at me to avoid such antics, I'm 90% sure it's the Lord.

With that I've searched for local hospitals, feeling that a specific one I found that has a birth center would be best. In looking through their list of OBs I made a bunch of phone calls to see what the doctor's c-section and episiotomy rates were. (To make it clear, I had to repeat that I wanted to know how frequently they were performed, not the cost, so you won't be needing my insurance info...) No one had any clue. The hospital at least told me that episiotomies were not standard routine, which was nice to know.

I was hoping for a female OB with an ultrasound machine in her office (so I'd only have to make one trip if possible) and, of course, affiliated with the medical center I chose. Boy did I surprise them with my questions! They asked me how far along I was (27 weeks) and then to double check, asked me my last menstrual period (yes, I was right about when I was due and how far along I was), then asked if I'd been seeing anyone regarding the pregnancy (a traditional midwife...oh, and I'm planning a homebirth, but would like to find an OB in case it wasn't possible and I'd like to get an ultrasound). They also wanted to know if I'd had blood tests (I haven't had anything major, but I know I'm Rh-). One office told me the OB wouldn't see me because she won't be a backup for a homebirth...even after I explained I wasn't expecting her to come to my house. Another office told me that because I hadn't had my glucose screening test that she wouldn't see me (not sure how I would have had one without seeing an OB). Even though I kinda wanted to be offended, I knew that meant their birth philosophies obviously didn't match mine and the Lord was simply helping me weed through my little list.

After all that, I have an appointment with a female OB, who doesn't have an ultrasound machine in her office, on the 21st. Her office happens to be pretty much IN the medical center, so I'm not complaining since I can hopefully tour the birth center the same day.

I also called my naturopath and found he'll be giving me a supplement called Simply Uterus to take for the last month of the pregnancy. It's basically bovine uterus and will strengthen my uterus for birth and recovery. With that and finally getting to exercise a bit with a pregnancy pilates/yoga DVD a friend let me borrow (minus the kids wanting to sit on my lap and crawl under me during certain exercises)...I'm feeling a bit more prepared for this baby to come!

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-06-01T13:39:00.000-07:00

We spent the weekend at Red's parents, mostly because his sister was going to be there. I think it's safe to say the kids enjoyed their time with their cousins and being spoiled by the rest.

Sunday, Grammy got the kids together to make scones for a tea party. EVERYONE fought over who got to stir the bowls, even though Grammy made two batches.

Red's oldest sister made a special non-dairy dessert for Sunday night. It was a coconut cashew custard with strawberries and lemon curd. With desserts like this, I don't feel like I'm missing much!

Monday we all headed out to Morro Bay for lunch and walking around...

The majority of the time went really well this weekend...except nights. Saturday, Karrots wimpered and kicked the entire time during her sleep and Sunday Rusty decided to stay up for over an hour, starting around one in the morning, to scream and throw a fit. Daddy's firm hand and my attempt to figure out if he was in pain were all to no avail. He ended up in the car with papa after an hour of our failed attempts.

I think Karrots and I caught some form of a cold. Karrots has a runny nose and my throat is not right...Now to recover from our relaxing weekend...

Disneyland with Cousins

2011-05-31T14:05:00.000-07:00

This last Thurs. the kids, grammy, and I went to Disneyland with my mom's cousins. Praise God for good friends to sign some of us in and boo to the sketchy ticket operation my mom saved a few bucks with.

With time limitations (because we're slackers in the morning) we ended up dropping the kids, grammy and a cousin off to get signed in while I went with our other cousin to pick up tickets my mom got from ebay. I had no idea what she got herself into. They wanted to photo copy my driver's license, stating they'd destroy the paper once they got their tickets back...yep...4 day passes they were selling for individual dates.

After that fun, my cousin and I had to find the rest of the group once we got to the park. (For future reference, I found it was a great idea to drop everyone off with the stroller at Downtown Disney. It saved us a ton of hassle by avoiding waiting in a super long line to get the strollers down the elevator to the tram and we didn't need to worry about storing the stroller on the tram.) First stop, Toon Town, where we got to wait in a line to meet Mickey.

After the kids exploring that area, we went on Small World and then the train to get around the park. I hadn't remembered much about the train and was kinda shocked at the propaganda they pushed during the ride. At one point you go through a huge tunnel and see the Grand Canyon, where they prep you stating millions of years ago...then dinosaurs roaming on the earth, all the while we get to huff down the fumes from the train. Not so sure I'll EVER be taking that section of the train again...

We got off around Pirates of the Caribbean and looked around for places to eat. We picked up some pirate hats at Blue Bayou and then ate at a sandwich/salad joint. Here I got a little more frustration in dealing with my food allergy...it's become apparent that almost no restaurants are aware of the ingredients in their food. "Is there milk in the bread?...(wait, wait, wait)...yes?...then I'll have a salad...oh, there's cheese on the salad...can I get another one without cheese?...yes, it's because of a dairy allergy...(wait, wait, wait)...oh, the dressing on this new salad appears to have dairy in it...it does...then I'll be needing ANOTHER salad..." I know that not many people have to live with the effects of food allergies/intolerance, but it would be nice if those working in the food industry used a little common sense and concern when they find customers who have them...just saying...

After lunch we got on the steam boat and toured around Tom Sawyer Island. Since we had dinner reservations made for 6:30pm we had to take off after that, though we slowed and watched a little of a parade going through main street...

After getting to our house, we all split up, picking up a couple of our men to meet for dinner.

My mom got Red this shirt...it's now named after my dad since it's his style, and apparently he has almost the exact same one.

Enjoyed out time with our cousins! Next time, we may need to plan better in regards to our kids' temperament...Little sleep the night before doesn't make for a fun Disney trip and wearing them out even more there doesn't make for an enjoyable meal for eating out.

He/She is ALIVE!!!

2011-05-27T21:14:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is my belly... :)

The Many Faces of...

2011-05-19T21:39:00.000-07:00

At our friends' on Mother's Day they had another sheep sheering brunch this year. Karrots, being the nut she is, decided it was the perfect place for a funny face photo shoot...

Lake Cachuma Camping

2011-05-18T13:55:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we camped out with most of Red's side of the family out by Solvang, at Lake Cachuma. It was perfect timing being that the house we're living in got fumigated the same weekend. (Though, didn't help with the stress - pack all food and living things in nyofume bags, waiting for the gas man, along with finding a sitter for the dog and packing for camping and Red working late for the time off - I was one mama full of anxiety!)

After spending a good amount of time picking out the camp sites we wanted once we got there, we ended up with three sites right next to the playground and near flushing bathrooms. Red's parents brought their tent trailer, his sister and nephew had a tent, the three girl cousins had their own tent, and then Rusty slept in a tent with us.

Thursday we got there with just enough time to set up camp and cook food before going to bed. Being that there weren't any bears to worry about and everyone else left their coolers out, we did too...and got a little hungry visitor. Anyone wanna guess who it was by the footprints?

Ya, a racoon...

(taken at the camp's nature center)

Goodbye carne asada!

The weather wasn't nearly as bad as Yosemite, but it did get pretty chilly...probably didn't help we were camping on a peninsula on the lake. It was cold enough for Red to make some hot cocoa from scratch that first morning.

Rusty enjoying some hot cocoa

Our niece's chihuahua spoiled with blankets

Grammy getting Karrots up and dressed

The first day we headed to Solvang, hoping to avoid the weekend crowds. We toured the shops, I got to eat at a great sandwich place (salami, goat cheese, basil, sundried tomatoes, honey mustard, mayo, all on sourdough - YUM!), and we checked out the Hans Christian Andersen museum.

The kids forced/bribed to pose in front of the Solvang sign

The littles all tuckered out on the way home

That night Red's sister made chicken schwarma (marinated in oil and vinegar) over the fire and macaroni salad and we had s'mores for dessert. While she was cooking, the men took the girls fishing and I got a nap...

S'mores and light sticks! Heaven!

Our entire trip we found the scrub jays a bit annoying and a bit entertaining. They would constantly try to take our food, like getting into bags of bread and stealing off with nuts, etc. They seriously hadn't much fear of us. One went into a van and once spooked kept running into the windows trying to get out. They DID help in giving the kids something to do, i.e. watching to scare them away from the food.

Of course, at this point, we'd encouraged the little buggers...

The girls got brave and started holding out the nuts to see if the birds would take the nuts...here's Red showing Karrots how to do it...

Karrots bird watching

The men had a nature hike planned for Saturday, which happened to be just down the highway like 12 miles, so us women and the kids took off for the nature center. (Gotta get in that homeschooling mindset!) After checking out the place the kids got questions to answer to win prizes and then the older girls did a junior ranger class to win a badge.

Playing with puppets at the nature center

While the girls finished up their class with help from grammy, the rest of us headed back to camp to prep lunch - sandwiches and snack food!

Rusty poking at the ashes and finding hot coals

Grammy brought all kinds of fun toys for the kids. There were trucks for playing in the dirt the ground squirrels left us and an entire kit for catching and exploring bugs, which included nets, magnifine glasses, tweezers, and a little cage.

At one point during lunch Rusty had asked for a pickle. I encouraged him to pick a small one, knowing he doesn't like them, and of course he chose the biggest one. He stomped on it, stored it in a camp chair's cup holder, and captured it in the bug cage...

After lunch papa and Red took all the kids out fishing. This time our niece caught a fish while Red caught our nephew's sandals. Mind you, this is the ONLY fish anyone caught during both days. When they got back to camp they measured it at 17 inches.

While they fished us women did what we do best - went shopping. We got an extra sleeping bag, a kid's camp chair, and food (we had to replace the stolen carne asada and get a marinade, which was more like BBQ sauce, but was the best we could do from a white market).

When we all got together, Red cooked dinner, which was the meat, bell peppers, and onions with tortillas, tortilla chips and homemade salsa (thank you, Amy!!). For dessert we did s'mores again and some fire cooked popcorn.

After packing up, we headed toward Santa Barbara with Red's sister and a couple of her kids. Red wanted to stop at the museum to get a book their nature hike guide wrote.

Gorgeous view off the highway I never see when I'm driving

When we got there we found out it was free admission that day...what a blessing!

Posing in the whale bones

Fluorescent rock exhibit

Bug hall

The entire trip I was completely spoiled! (Yes, spoiled during a camping trip!) The older girls and grammy took care of the kids most of the time, I didn't have to cook, I got the cot for sleeping, Red's dad let me use his down jacket to stay warm, Red's mom brought me raw goat milk...the list goes on.

So, honey...when are we moving closer to your family? ;)

Lead Me

2011-04-30T22:55:00.000-07:00

This video moved me to tears today...I feel most days I'm failing as a parent. Yes, my kids are still alive and well, they give us hugs and kisses, tell us they love us...but I still find myself getting easily angered. I read what the Bible says about love...

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a

...and know I'm falling so short. Patient, that's almost laughable...kind, I don't feel like I am when I'm disciplining them...is not self-seeking, oh Lord how selfish I am!...

I'm so glad their outcome isn't entirely up to me and that God didn't wait until we reached perfection to give us kids. They can be such a hand full most times that it's hard to step out of the silly circumstances and see them as God sees them.

I guess more and more I'm seeing them as the mirrors they are. Before kids we can see how others are parenting "wrong", how they're "screwing up their kids", and can swear our kids will never act a certain way because we'll be raising them differently. Then we have kids and instead of them reflecting our perfect parenting skills, they reflect our selfishness, our quirks, our bad habits, our thoughtless words...

Lord, thank you for our kids and the gift of motherhood. Thank you that I'm not doing this alone. Help me use the moments I feel like a failure to learn and grow in You. Give me supernatural peace and joy throughout my day that I can reflect into their lives...and most of all, give me Your love for them. Thank you that we could never live up to the love You have for them and us...let that sink into our hearts. Help me give them back to you daily and help me take every opportunity to show them You.

Easter 2011 & Midwife Appointment

2011-04-27T13:57:00.000-07:00

We arrived at Red's parents' house some time around 6pm. The stop prior to arriving Karrots told us she'd wet her seat so we had to clean up a bit. Once there, we got the cooler emptied, laundry started, showers, baths, sleeping bags laid out over chairs to dry, and luggage brought in. It was nice to be in a warm, dry house.

Sunday we headed to their church and had a brunch prior to the service.

Rusty on the way to church...before candy and food

The kids had an egg hunt during service and then we headed to Red's sister's after picking up some bread for the meal.

Karrots all dressed up

Whipped jello eggs Red's sister made, served on a bed of green coconut

Karrots after the girls got her dressed up

After a yummy dinner of ham and other yummy delights, the kids all had another egg hunt.

The adults had to ensure the toys were evenly dispersed. Once the kids had all counted and explored their goodies, the women set up a tea party for them. They got pear bunnies, PB&J sandwiches, fruit-sweetened cookies, and chocolate almond biscotti with their red chair tea.

Pear bunnies

Marci drinking tea

Dessert was served after, with all KINDS of goodies: monster cookies, rhubarb dump cake, rhubarb berry pie, apple pie...YUM!

Monday we left after repacking the car and headed for our first midwife appointment. It took her a while to time the heart beat because the baby was super active the entire time. When she finally got it, she measured it to be 140. She's sure there's only ONE baby in there. My blood read 0.8 (I'm not really sure what it measures), which means I need to eat more iron and would be considered slightly anemic. The urine dipstick said my protein, sugar, etc. levels are all good except one, leukocytes, which could be cause by an infection, but wasn't a huge cause for alarm right now.

After the appointment we ate and headed home. A long weekend. It was nice to get out, away from the TV and computer, and see friends and family. We're planning another camping trip in May. Hopefully we'll have learned enough to make it more fun!

Yosemite

2011-04-26T13:55:00.000-07:00

We took our first camping trip as a family this past weekend and went to Yosemite with a group of friends. Prior to going we had the car detailed to avoid smelling like a giant french fry rolling into bear country. I was kinda anxious for the trip because we had originally hear they had flushing toilets and then that they weren't working. Also, I wasn't sure how the kids would sleep.

Thursday we left after 1pm and got there well after 9pm. As we were driving in we'd see a big black mass to the side of the road and know we were missing a great view. When we got there it was less than 40 degrees. Our friends had a fire going so I sat around it with the kids while Red and the other men got our tent set up then Red started unpacking other stuff. I ended up in the tent alone with the kids getting things set up while the kids cried about the cold, that they were hungry...just about anything they could think of so late. After Rusty had screamed about his owie hands (I think they were frozen) I eventually got them in their sleeping bags...and by bags I mean I laid one under each of them, they each slept in one, and they had shared an open bag over themselves. (Next camp trip we will definitely plan on getting there earlier.)

I was glad to find they had some form of toilets. It was simply a seat over a hole with a building around it, but as long as the seats were down after people used them, the rooms didn't stink so bad, though Karrots swore it stank and was putting pieces of toilet paper in her nose. We had brought our lug-a-loo just in case, but thankfully didn't need to use it.

Each night we were there Rusty woke up crying. He joined me in my bag for some time each night and eventually went back to his bag. I think that's how most of us survived...sharing bags and body heat. I don't think my feet got warm the entire first night. Of course, bringing my So Cal sweatshirt, the warmest thing I own, as my main source of warmth, wasn't the best thing.

Friday we woke up and had chorizo and eggs that Red made in our three burner camp stove. (That's right...three burners...he's very proud of it!) He also made some hot cocoa from scratch - goat milk, cocoa, agave, and vanilla, all warmed to a specific temperature.

Rusty enjoying some hot cocoa in the morning

The only bear we saw this trip

After packing up all our food/toiletries into the bear lockers again and putting the car seats back in the car (as we were told to take them out since bears will break into cars to get the crumbs they know are in the seats), we headed out to Bridalveil Falls with most of our group. Karrots and I didn't make it all the way to the bottom of the falls because we saw people coming back drenched and decided that wasn't the best idea when the weather's in the 40s.

Part of the view we missed coming in...gorgeous waterfalls!

Karrots at Bridalveil Falls

Bridalveil Falls view from a near trail

After the mini hike we had sandwiches and chips for lunch at the beginning of the trail and then headed toward the Village with some new friends. It had started drizzling just before we left and would rain off and on the rest of the day. Thankfully the village had a lot of indoor stops. Our friends got extra sleeping bags to stay warm and then we kinda split up. We visited the Nature Center and the Museum most of the time and had stopped for snacks at some point. By the time we were done with the museum I was done for the day...feet hurt, tired of the rain and cold...I just wanted warmth!

Yosemite Falls...from the car

View of the meadow from the car

View of the valley - Red actually got out of the car for these

On the way back it had snowed on us a bit, between the rain, and was reading 38 degrees on the thermostat. Red started a fire while I hung out with the kids in the car trying to stay warm. After some of the other families got back they got a tarp out and made a covering for all of us over the fire. Brilliant! It totally saved this part of the trip. Previously people were teasing our friend for bringing his ladder, but once we found the need for it we praised him for it!

Red on the ladder tying up the tarp

Most of us roasted hot dogs on the fire and our family had s'mores. Karrots had spent some time in the tent staying dry by herself and came out for the s'mores. Most of the kids got to bed shortly after while Rusty stayed up a little longer with the adults, who were serving a buttered rum.

The next morning I found Rusty out of his sleeping bag, huddled close to his sister. It was too precious! We also found we had a minor leak in the tent. Red thinks that the water had come up from under the tent since he'd put a tarp down and may not have spent enough time checking the base. The sleeping bags got wet, but none of us felt it.

Most of the group had originally planned to stay until the next day, but a couple extra families had left Saturday, which was our original plans. One family had slept in their car because their tent had leaked. The weather simply wasn't kind.

While the adults were packing up the kids were out freezing their tooshies by playing in the snow. A few times our kids came to us with dark pink hands and cold feet, having to dethaw them and dry them.

At one point Karrots came up to Red and I and introduced her new friend. She was so glad to have met him. I found it somewhat hilarious. Karrots: "Mommy, this is my new friend, Lucas." Lucas: "Hi."

Karrots' new friend

We also noticed what had gone on while we were gone yesterday. A few squirrels came out and started searching around the camp fire for food, stopping only to hid under the bear lockers when people came around.

Enjoying some leftover burgers

Post-packing we headed out. Red had a few stops he wanted to make, but because the kids were sleeping, it was cold, and there was no parking, we didn't stop. We missed the tunnel view (though I could look since I wasn't driving) and Mariposa Grove.

Next stop...Red's parents...

Pattern Sewing

2011-04-18T16:15:00.000-07:00

So, most of the stuff I've sewn thus far has been from random tutorials and/or improvised. BUT, the past couple weeks I finally took the plunge and got out a couple patterns I'd had lying around. The first one I worked on was a dress for Karrots. I worked on this last weekend while Red's parents were here and got it done in one day. She was SOOO excited mommy made it for her.

I made the body too big and ended up hemming it a bit higher because I didn't read the direction before choosing the length. With that, I added a string between the bodice and the skirt to make a tie...it fits better! The next project was a dress for myself. It took a while of putting it down and going back to it because I didn't understand how to do a lot of it and didn't have all I needed when I started. I'd never worked with button holes or bias tape so I had made a few calls to Red's mom, including an online video call. In the end it turned out!!

Oh! and if you didn't notice, I got my hair cut...

Another project I'd been working on is burp cloths. I'd found a tutorial online and, even though I'm not sure we actually NEED them, thought they looked easy enough and got started! They were SUPER easy. It's one pattern for all three pieces where one burp cloth is two pieces of flannel and one of quilt batting for inside. Sew around it, down the middle, clip the edges, and wash. As we're not sure the gender of baby #3 I thought I'd made girlie and boy patterns. (BTW - three family members think it's a girl and none have mentioned boy so...we'll see!) Since we have a good number of friends pregnant, there's BOUND to be someone having a baby of a different sex than ours! That in mind, Red's mom gave me some flannel and batting to make more, all girl colors...we'll see!

"Doctor Appointment"

2011-04-17T15:50:00.000-07:00

This past Tues. we took a day trip out to visit the naturopath I've been seeing. It was just about 3 hours up and down. As we were gonna be super early we stopped off at a random vista, which happened to be a dam for the Cachuma Lake. There was a nice breeze the hawks soared on...gorgeous!

We had planned on meeting Red's mom up there so she could help with the kids. As we were STILL early we all went to a local park our GPS found.

When I got in to see the doctor I let him know what's been going on with my health. He added some extra calcium/magnesium to help with any dairy cravings I've been having (actually, it was a pizza craving...a ROUND TABLE PIZZA craving!). He also added another supplement to help aid in digestion and get rid of a possible gut infection.

As Karrots has been complaining about her tummy I asked him to see if he could help. She hugged me and he did poked at her, pushing down on my arm, to see what could help her tummy out. She got some gold water, which he said would taste like flat water, so I know it works since she's constantly asking for it and it doesn't taste sweet.

Red's mom had dinner with us (and PAID - THANKS!!) and then we headed home. Thankfully I've been getting his last appointment to avoid major traffic so I didn't hit much either way. Praise God for an uneventful trip!

Bahooka!!

2011-04-16T15:48:00.000-07:00

There's this fun island restaurant about an hour or so from us. I hung out there a few times in high school and college. This past weekend we went with some friends.

The place hasn't changed much! Still have their fun flaming bowls with the huge straws, everything's served with pineapple, Rufus the old fish is still there and eating carrots...The big difference was I'm older and had some money to actually try the food! They're known for their ribs so that's what we got...not impressed, but we may go back just for the atmosphere. I think the kids enjoyed it.

Baby Names

2011-04-09T21:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, so we kinda already have some picked out, but Daja just posted a link to a quiz find out our style of names and some suggestions so I went to check it out. Results:

Your style is classic: think the girl-next-door meets Audrey Hepburn. So you to gravitate toward all-American names that give your little one a sense of stability and history. Opt for a family name (might have a gem a few generations back) or one of these classics:

Boy names: Benjamin, Ethan, Josiah, Jefferson, Samuel, Henry, Nathan, Caleb
Girl names: Hannah, Adelaide, Nora, Alice, June, Ruth, Eliza, Regina, Pearl, Claire

I'm liking most of the names, but Henry...Caleb is a little boy I used to babysit so can't use that one...Ruth was my grandma's name so that would be in the family...Not so hot on Regina for a possible little red-head...nor Nora - she'd be named after the singer?

I think we'll stick with the ones we have picked out thus far...and ya'all will just have to wait to see which is chosen. :)

Life Update

2011-03-30T11:35:00.000-07:00

First off, God continues to be good...of course! Red's still working for my dad and bringing home a paycheck, despite the economy. In fact, my dad hopes he'll be able to get buddy-buddy with some engineers who work for their customers to bring more work their way. We're still in the 4 bedroom house my dad's been renting us. For a while we didn't have a washing machine, but eventually fixed it and bolted it to the concrete to hopefully avoid future issues. A big THANK YOU to our friends and family who let us use their washing machines during that month. Our dish washer is still not working. At first it simply wasn't doing a good job and now the electric is off...so everything's washed by hand and therefore usually sits in and around the sink for some time before I'm motivated to conquer the load.

We've been in earthquake/emergency preparedness mode, getting more serious about it as time goes by. Not sure ya'all have heard, but there have been prophecies about a big earthquake coming. Rick Joyner's been giving special bulletins post Japan's earthquake about a prophecy (heard by Bob Jones and others) that was given 22 years ago that the US west coast would be hit with an earthquake and huge economic crisis after a huge one in Japan. Even the natural seems to be preparing for one. In fact, a former USGS guy who had predicted the World Series earthquake had predicted one for a week ago, which obviously didn't happen. On top of all that, we feel the Lord's been readying our spirits for something big. If nothing happens, we have some extra stuff to use later, if something happens, Lord willing we'll be better prepared than we would've been. I'm actually kinda looking forward to the excuse to start a house church in our house. On that note, I actually "lead" worship the other night during a prayer session. THANK GOD I had some practice the week before when we missed church. I know God's preparing me for more...

Now on to happier things...Rusty's been talking up a storm for the past couple months. It was like all of a sudden his vocabulary shot through the roof. We still have issues trying to understand what he's saying at times, but he's pretty persistent in getting his message across. He's also in a season of hitting and refusing to obey. Gotta love our two year old! With all that, I still get snuggle time with him most mornings. If he's sleeping on our floor he'll crawl in bed with me after daddy goes to work, either to nurse or to go back to sleep. If he's in his room I'll usually bring him in while we wait for the heater to kick in. Karrots joins us once she's up, too. I know she enjoys being the first in the bed with me because she wants to cuddle, too. I LOVE starting the day out with them! What a blessing!

Last month some time, while the kids' friend was over with her daddy to pick her up, she and Rusty had managed to slam his finger in the closet. It turned black and had swelled up a bit, but didn't hurt him. Then finally, Monday, his nail came off. He didn't even realize it until I mention it and then he started screaming and saying "scary!!" until I put a band-aid on it. I think he's over it now, though.

This third pregnancy's had its ups and downs thus far. The first trimester I felt extremely hypoglycemic, which still lingers. I've desperately needed protein or I'd feel like passing out, throwing up, and all that fun stuff at once. THANKFULLY, that's just about over! With that, the hernia's kinda been pushed to the back of my mind. I'm also having to deal with internal hemorrhoids again...I know - gross. My digestion just isn't feeling healthy at times. Any gas and I feel like passing out and have to breathe through things. I can totally feel it moving and give my hopes up that it's the baby moving, but haven't been confident in the baby's movements until just recently.

With that in mind, Red and I went to some "local" healing rooms in February. There were three people who were assigned to pray for me and had prayed for a word from the Lord prior to seeing me. One mentioned she saw a tree with gold leaves. The other said he saw doves hovering over me. God definitely showed up, stating His love for me. After praying he also mentioned he felt like God has something deeper that He wants to deal with before my healing will come or that will usher in my healing.

We have our first prenatal the end of April. I'll be excited to finally hear the heart beat and see our midwife. This will be after a few days spent camping in Yosemite, which is another thing to look forward to and that I'm somewhat nervous about. I'm hoping the kids'll sleep well and I'll be comfortable to get enough sleep. I'm stoked they'll have flushing toilets near by and probably wouldn't be going otherwise...

One opportunity I may have in the near future is to help lead a class on nutrition and cooking. Some ladies from our church have voiced an interest in learning more about how to make kombucha, kefir, etc., and their nutritional value along with what IS good to eat. I'll be excited to pass on what I've been learning! It'll be something creative to spend my time on since my sewing machine isn't working right...

Spiritually I know I can be doing better, which, I guess, puts me in a good, teachable position. I'm praying the Lord's truth will fully sink into my soul. I grew up in the church, went to a Lutheran school and then Christian college so my head is full of truth, but I've noticed the issue of getting past my head into my heart and soul. I know things, but don't think I know. For example, I know the Lord loves me, but I'm having an issue basking in His love, fully experiencing it by getting past old emotional and mental habits. I'm sure that's part of the bigger issue God's gonna help me deal with. That and a spirit of anger. I had listened to a sermon by Dr. S.M. Davis’ sermon entitled Freedom from a Spirit of Anger. (You can listen to it HERE by clicking on the link and then scrolling down until you come to Dr. Davis’ name with the sermon beside it.) I realized that simply not beating my children doesn't mean I don't have the spirit of anger. It's not enough to internalize the anger, it's something the Lord has to help me conquer. Red says he doesn't see it, but I asked him to help point it out and hold me accountable.

With all that, God is good, my kids and husband are a blessing, and we're in the midst of change and preparation. I'm praying we'll be totally malleable for the Lord and will be prepared for what He has in store.

MAIL TIME!!

2011-03-25T15:11:00.000-07:00

YEAH FOR PACKAGES! I just love getting mail...REAL mail, not bills. Thank you cousins for the fun stuff! The kids love their gifts (and mine) and I'm loving the hat!

The reason for the package!

Thrilled for extra gifts - the bracelet matched her outfit for dinner that night!

Perfect for the man who loves the movie Cars

A belly bump picture...just cuz...I'm only like 16 weeks!

Dress-up Tea Party

2011-03-07T21:32:00.000-08:00

After attending the ethereal fairy princess bridal shower the other day, I thought, "hey! I should do something like this for Karrots!" Dress-up, tea party, pictures...what little girl would NOT want to attend?! So instead of waiting for her birthday, I texted around to find out best times for mommies and daughters and scheduled it for today, finding out yesterday that only two mothers and daughters would be coming.

I got all Karrots' dress-up things out of her room and set them up in the entry room, made some sunflower butter and jelly and sunflower butter and cinnamon (OUR kids' favorite) sandwiches, brownies, raspberry lemonade slushies, set out some pretzels along with the tea set I got as a teenager and VWALA! Tea time and a dress-up station was set!

Karrots in her 2nd outfit, putting glitter on

Our first mommy and daughter, all dressed up!

After our first girlie set left for nap time, our second set of guests showed up, the mommy having to take off (which I knew ahead of time) and a new round of dress up and playing tea party began.

"Cheers!"

Outfit #3 - Fancy Nancy!

Even Rusty joined in the tea fun!

Outfit #4 - posing...

At the end of the day I think the kids were a little tuckered out...

Rusty literally FELL asleep

"I Got It!!"

2011-03-07T21:01:00.000-08:00

I love that he's talking so much and the things that come out of his mouth!

Out of the Mouth of Our Red-headed Babe

2011-02-26T21:31:00.000-08:00

"From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength Because of Your adversaries, To make the enemy and the revengeful cease." Psalm 8:2

After being somewhat discouraged from an argument with my mom, feeling she was trying to plant seeds of doubt in the midst of my journey in faith for my healing, my little girl speaks:

Me: "My stomach isn't feeling so well"

Karrots: looking me right in the eye and gripping my arm, "God will heal you." Closing her eyes and praying, "Dear God, thank you for healing mommy, amen."

Then off she goes singing, "I'm in the Lord's army!"

YES, SIR!

Ethereal Fairy Bridal Shower

2011-02-19T18:10:00.000-08:00

This past week I've been anticipating today. We got an invite to my friend's bridal shower stating we were requested to wear a former or borrowed bridesmaid dress and to accessorize it to our Ethereal Fairy hearts' content. As I've been feeling extra crafty and don't usually have much to play dress up for, I was super excited! I asked around for dresses and found one that belonged to a friend, from a high school dance. (I know, not a bridesmaid dress, but it was stretchy enough to be generous to my growing belly.)

Since I was taking Karrots, I went all out. I had made her the green tutu a while ago and recently had picked up a bunch of butterflies and roses at a craft store (for her felt cake), so I accessorized her to my heart's content. A white rose clip, some butterflies sewn into her dress, a butterfly head band, a butterfly bracelet, her play fairy wings, my crystal wedding necklace, her purple leotard and some tights for the cold:

And I couldn't forget the makeup! Glitter cream eyeshadow, mascara & some blush...she was ecstatic!!

Our bracelets

For me I added a chain of leaves (hot glued and stolen from a bunch of fake flowers) with a rose and some butterflies that I pinned to the dress. I also attempted some fairy makeup, made a flower bracelet, and a butterfly hairclip:

Eyes were inspired by a youtube how-to

Goofing off pre-party

Here are some pics from the bridal shower. This was Karrots' first one so that made it more exciting:

Enjoying her special non-alcoholic champagne and grenadine

Playing one of the games

Pin the flower on the bridal dress

She won!! Lipstick!!

The ol' make-a-dress-from-toilet-paper game. Though this time we had a picture we all had to go off of.

Enjoying her new found cleavage

Runway for the dress vote - we won!

Post dress game we had a photographer come and we did some runway modeling. Hilarious! The bride shouted out what style of walk she wanted, i.e. pin-up model, Laura Croft, hungry model, etc., and we tried the best we could to perform. I can't wait to see the pix! Karrots got up after watching everyone and ran down the runway with her arms swinging.

After all my work to seal the bag in ribbons, the bride-to-be didn't break any...but she spent a LONG time opening the gift - long enough for us to play a game.

Pix with the bride-to-be, the real model

Dress Up Playdate

2011-02-11T16:41:00.000-08:00

While my mom spent most of the time actually watching them, I made them a couple felt crowns from another crafty blog tutorial...

Hat Box Cake Project

2011-02-10T20:12:00.000-08:00

Some time last week, I believe, I found a crafty blog with all kinds of tutorials. I printed a bunch out and ended up attempting the hat box cake tutorial with felt frosting and all sorts of decorations. Karrots was all excited that mommy was making her a toy!

It turned out so pretty I thought I'd share...

Chocolate cake with strawberry filling! (I painted the box instead of covering it with felt and, since I lack ribbon, used fabric.)

Chocolate felt frosting

Icing detail...

You can see the cake in the frosting...

Strawberry felt frosting with decorations - ribbon icing, homemade strawberries, candles (velcro instead of magnets), and store-bought flowers and butterflies

Karrots decorating

and the cake's a nice container to hold all the decor!

I've been kinda hesitant at handing it over, feeling it'll never be as nice again...her tearing off the velcro decorations wasn't easy to watch, but did help me realize I really needed to work on securing those velcro dots. Yeah for hot glue!

Disneyland Fun

2011-02-07T10:44:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Red went with a friend to a Star Trek convention (yes, he can be a major geek!) and I took the kids to Disney with a friend.

Waiting in line for Dumbo

We rode ONE ride as the kids were NOT into the lines, i.e. Rusty was being quite difficult to keep with us. We also went to a princess story time, where the kids were chosen to participate in the dance scene of Beauty and the Beast.

Our last stop was Toon Town, where we spent most of the time. Rusty loved Goofy's house and Karrots loved Minnie's house...

My buff little man

Enjoying tea at Minnie's house

Long day, but I think they enjoyed themselves. Thank you, friends, for signing us in and helping with the kids! I would NOT have attempted it otherwise!

Our New Blessing

2011-02-04T16:22:00.000-08:00

On December 31st, just before leaving for Red's parents', I tested...

The results were exciting, especially since we've had a shirt for Rusty that says" I'm a Big Brother" that we've had since his last birthday in a 2T...now he gets to wear it! It's actually what we used to tell Red's family while celebrating Christmas New Years.

Though I'm only like 9 weeks I feel so much bigger than I had with either of the kiddos. This picture was taken at 6 or 7 weeks along...With the belly and nausea I've been out of my regular jeans in an attempt to keep my nourishment in.

Praying for a healthy and happy one!...or two! Karrots keeps saying there's a sister for her and a brother for Rusty...only time will tell!

Happy Birthday Little Man!

2011-01-24T16:14:00.000-08:00

Instead of throwing a party this year we took their cousins and a friend to Pretend City. I think they enjoyed themselves. :)

Favor

2010-12-29T14:05:00.000-08:00

I've always been amazed at the favor our family has had in the past. Seemingly random people giving us things we can use or things we've been wanting, like an umbrella in the rain or free french fries right when I'm debating on spending the money on a craving. Some may argue that it's their red hair or adorable looks, but I feel the Lord has passed His favor on to our kids...just because He loves us.

This past Sunday Rusty was the recipient of favor. We stopped at Costco after church for some groceries and on the way out there was an older gentleman walking along side of us. He waved to the kids and then came right up to us and said the little man caught his eye and that he had an official major league baseball in the car he wanted to give Rusty.

We weren't too far from his car and felt it was a godsend so we followed him. After he got the ball out he told us how he used to be on the Globetrotters and his name was Pop Pete. He also played in the negro baseball league back in the day and mentioned the guys he played with. Now he helps kids bat and pitch at a local kids baseball club. He told us that if we mentioned his to any baseball player they'd know who he is.

He also let us know he was born in 1925 and had been married 60 years.

Now, we looked him up online and can't find him so we can't verify who he is, but it's a nice story to tell Rusty when he gets older...

Morro Bay

2010-12-19T20:55:00.000-08:00

Red's brother wanted to show his fiance around his old stomping grounds so we all took a trip to Morro Bay. I got to tease Red about going because he hasn't really shown me around anywhere but the city he went to college.

The view on the way

Coming up on Morro rock

Proof we're friends on more than just facebook now

A posed candid shot of our walk

Sea otters!

Knifty Family Portraits

2010-12-18T08:25:00.000-08:00

New pictures...mostly for this little lady killer!

Girls in their matching shirts

To match the family pictures last year :)

Our two newest members!

The boys and Papa in matching shirts

What we look like trying to get the pictures

Christmas Round Two

2010-12-17T17:31:00.000-08:00

This round was Red's side of the family...minus Red and a sister. They had to work. :(

We got to their parents around 3:30 or 4pm, just before Red's sister dropped off her kids. While Red's brother went Christmas shopping (yes, for gifts for that night) and Red's sister went home to cook, the grandparents and I watched the kids play.

Playing the cactus snowman's Christmas music to dance to

He fell asleep on me!! :)

Smiling for Papa

We had a traditional dinner of ham with homemade apricot nectar, grammy's jello salad, sweet potatoes with granola and cranberries, veggies, and homemade rolls with homemade pomegranate jelly. After stuffing our faces we breaked for the reenactment of the Christmas story. Papa read the story out of the Bible while the kids used dolls grammy made to act out the story.

Rusty trying to catch a bug during the reenactment

Karrots playing the shepherds

After the reenactment we opened gifts. Even though Red, the kid and I are supposed to have Christmas up there again, grammy got the kids a few gifts. All the girls got matching pink shirts and the boys got matching flannel shirts that matched a shirt for Papa. Grammy also got all the kids socks and a little stuffed animal in their stocking.

Rusty opening his gift, which he promptly handed to mommy

Karrots opening her gifts

Our niece's dog

The girls and Rusty

One of my favorite gifts

Post gifts we had some yummy Kentucky Derby pie (pecan pie with chocolate chips), non-dairy brownies and pumpkin spice bread.

Later we stayed at Red's sister's while his brother stayed at their parents'. The girls all got to play until 11 pm while their mommy and I talked. They also slept together while I attempted to sleep with Rusty in the playpen and my bed. Long night...

Christmas Round One

2010-12-16T13:59:00.000-08:00

Monday afternoon Red's brother came with his fiance and baby to spend the night before we headed up to their parents' house (minus Red). It was the first time we'd met his new little family so I was, of course, rather nervous. I had cleaned as much as possible and made some corned beef and cabbage in the slow cooker so we could hang out without being distracted with cooking. Although, last minute I decided to make a pumpkin spice bread and ended up baking while they were here, thwarting those plans of not being distracted.

After dinner we opened presents and hung out.

Mommy and baby opening gifts

Lunch boxes and Now-N-Laters for the kids

Red's brother and his cuddle bug

The kids ended up in the guest room playing, keeping them awake rather late.

Thankfully they were up for a late start in the morning. After some banana oatmeal pancakes with bacon we headed out for round 2 of this year's Christmas...

A Favorite Mommy Moment

2010-12-13T18:32:00.000-08:00

Not JUST because they're quiet...but because they're so peaceful. Not a care in the world...

My Pumpkins

2010-12-12T18:31:00.000-08:00

Well, we didn't finish cooking all our pumpkins this season. The kids helped me get all the seeds out so I could cook most of them, but one of them got a bit moldy and was placed outside for daddy to put in the compost. Before daddy could get home Rusty thought he'd help mommy out one more time. He asked for a fork and headed out...

I'm so glad to have such a little helper!

How to Get Free Ice Cream

2010-12-07T18:20:00.000-08:00

Step one: Bring your adorable little girl to a soda fountain shop.

Step two: Make sure she make lots of silly faces and noises to get attention, so everyone knows she's adorable.

Step three: Join in with her by making faces as well.

Step four: Throw away your adorable child's ice cream when she tells you she doesn't want any while walking around the store.

Step five: Let her throw a tantrum within ear shot of the manager on duty.

Step six: Enjoy your new cup of free ice cream, generously donated by the manager, which happens to be larger than the scoop purchased and previously mentioned.

Christmas Goodies Recipes 2010

2010-12-06T18:29:00.000-08:00

This year our goodie bags were done SUPER early thanks to some great friends coming over to help out. They consisted of peanut brittle, peppermint fudge, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, spices for holiday wassail, and a tea bag...or some combination of the above. :) Pretty much mostly the same as last year's bags.

The wassail was my mom's recipe. I got the recipes for the peanut brittle and peppermint chocolate fudge from allrecipes.com. Some of the brittle consisted of me substituting half of the corn syrup for maple syrup...'cause that eased my conscience, making me feel like it was healthier. All the sugar in the recipes was Rapadura.

The Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies were a friend's recipe. They're kinda more like a scone, with the bread texture, light and fluffy.

As some of those who got them asked for the recipes, here's the pumpkin cookie one:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep Time: 15 mins.

Cook Time: 10 mins.

Total Time: 25 mins.

Serves: 3 dozen

Ingredients:

2 ¼ cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon cloves

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup softened butter

¾ cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ¼ cup pumpkin

1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Whisk together dry ingredients in one bowl, leaving out chocolate chips, and wet ingredients in another. Mix both mixtures and add chocolate chips.

2. Dollop onto baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 13-15 mins.

Our Musical Babies

2010-11-30T11:24:00.000-08:00

Arroyo Grande Getaway

2010-11-14T20:12:00.000-08:00

Red and I had a last minute getaway for our honeymoon after I had pushed back my naturopath/dietitian appointment and adding on the fact my hubby had our anniversary off of work (thank you vets!) it all worked out perfect!

The first stop was Grammy's & Papa's to drop off the kiddos for the overnighter - Thank you Grammy!! Next we headed to the monarch grove in Pismo beach where there's been an average of 25,000 migrating monarchs each year the past 5 years.

Can you say, "tourists"?!

Next stop was to check in our bed and breakfast, House of Another Tyme. It was a quaint old house in Arroyo Grande, built in the 1910's. We stayed in their French themed room.

The bathroom: check out the bottles on the ledge - collected from around the world, including the Galapagos Islands

From the B&B we checked out the Village of Arroyo Grande, down the street. After purchasing some yummy chocolate and a bottle of wine for later we had dinner at an Italian restaurant. They had an amazing bruchetta with stewed tomatoes, garlic, basil, balsamic vinegar and olive oil...AMAZING!

Red posing with Elvis

After dinner we headed to the Great American Melodrama and Vaudeville. I'd been hearing about this place for years from Red and his friends and family. They were putting on a parody called Trudy and the Beast. It was about a girl who found love on the 13th hole of a golf course with a professional golfer who'd been turned into a swamp monster after cheating during a game. Their vaudeville act was themed for Halloween with zombies, including the song "Zombie Jamboree", which Red knew.

During intermission I was pleasantly surprised to see the actors running to the back to work the snack bar and doing whatever other work to run the theater. They had to act, sing, dance AND serve...no prima donnas.

Red with the zombie cast trying to eat his brain

Part of dessert ;)

Friday morning we had breakfast with homemade sweet mini muffins, chicken mango sausage, and omelets full of everything. Delicious! We also got to know the other guests there who happen to be Christians and live a couple cities over from us and the wife it on her own journey to health.

My naturopath appointment was after breakfast, where I got the same regime of supplements, minus a daily helping of one of the pills and with an added supplement to kill a parasite he found. Finding out I had the parasite wasn't a huge surprise, but somewhat of a relief, knowing the pain I've been having can be fixed.

We hung out a little more in the Village, having lunch, then ran off to see the kiddos, had dinner and took off for home. On the way home we had worship music on and I felt the need to call an old college professor and ask what was on his heart. Turns out he's on a sabbatical to write a book on wisdom that's based on Proverbs. He mentioned the need to understand the fear of the Lord to gain wisdom and with that a couple passages that hit home, one that happens to be a favorite of mine and the other I had heard and learned from the day before in a podcast. I shared my recent experience of healing and he mentioned some local healing rooms. The conversation (and the entire trip) was just another reminder that God is good and I know He's speaking and helping me in this crazy adventure of life.

Farm Fresh to ME!!

2010-11-13T21:49:00.000-08:00

For quite some time now I've been looking for a good source of organic produce. Trader Joe's has great prices, but are very limited in what they have and really don't have great stuff, i.e. not big and ripe. Our coop, Azure, is trucking stuff down from Oregon and their garlic, carrots and ginger are perfectly fine, but most of the stuff that can wilt or get squished does.

Well, last week a guy showed up at my door from a company called Farm Fresh to You. Basically you sign up for whatever type of box you want, mixed veggies and fruit, just fruit, fast fruit and veggies, and whatever size you want and they'll deliver it to your door step in whatever increments of weeks you want.

Looking at their list I was thinking, "kale...what the heck would I do with kale?!" Just so happens that on their website they have links next to all the produce listed that give you recipes and storage and use tips. Awesome!!

This Thursday we got our first shipment. They dropped it off some time between 2 am and when we woke up. Just open the door and there's a box full of fragrant greens and fresh produce. YUM!! None of it was wilted or bruised, like other delivery services and just the smell of the cilantro was heavenly!

I'm so stoked this service found me! They are seriously a God-send! Can't wait to eat all this delicious food!

If anyone's interested, the promo code 6164 will get you $5 off your first box. I think this would be an amazing gift to give a health conscious family.

Champurrado

2010-11-10T12:41:00.000-08:00

I love, love, LOVE this weather we're having! It's finally fall and below 70 degrees outside! Perfect weather for some yummy warm drinks!

The first time I ever had champurrado was at Placita Olvera. It quickly became an addiction. Every trip to Mexico I'd look for it at the border. I was making runs to Los Angeles JUST for this drink (which, by the way, is amazing with their handmade tortillas dipped in it). Every Mexican restaurant we look for it...but none compares to the original flavor experience in that Mexican heartland of LA.

I got a recipe from a friend years ago where you boiled water with cinnamon sticks in it until it turned red then added Abuelita's chocolate, evaporated milk and Maseca. Now that I can't do the evaporated milk I've had to figure out an easier, non cow dairy recipe.

I've found that by simply heating up the goat milk with the Abuelitas and adding some Maseca I've come pretty close to the original. If I'm feeling ambitious I'll heat the milk with cinnamon stick, but it doesn't seem too different in taste for the extra effort.

Yum!

Early Hygeine Milestones

2010-11-09T17:20:00.000-08:00

Well, earlier than Karrots. As of recently, Rusty has been asking for floss every time he's in the bathroom while we're flossing. In the above picture he is hard at work, actually putting it between his teeth. Now if he could only get the concept of brushing his teeth...

Karrots doing Rusty's hair while on the pot

He also recently started sitting on the potty...out of nowhere. I think my mom's been training him at her place. You know, the once a week she has them. The other day Karrots came running in to tell me he was on her potty. I came in the bathroom to find him sitting there, holding his weenie down, all without ceremony and as if he's been doing it this whole time. He had even taken his diaper off on his own and put it in the trash. It was a cloth diaper, but impressive none the less. Of course he ended up peeing on the floor despite pushing himself down (daddy will have to teach him aiming) and later that night took his diaper off again and this time played with his poop...in our bedroom.

I found him on the pot again yesterday and today. This time he wanted undies instead of a diaper so I got him training pants on, which he later peed in while sitting on my lap. Guess he's not quite ready for that...

Healing Prayer

2010-11-09T11:49:00.000-08:00

A while back I had a dream that I was in a church service of some kind and during the service a woman stood up and prayed healing over someone who immediately got healed. The service turned into a healing service. At one point someone was handing out something that meant the woman was going to be praying for you. They handed me whatever it was and I burst out crying thinking, "finally, my healing!" Then someone prayed for me and spoke that the following week I'd be healed. I remember thinking, "What a joke! That's not how it's done!"

Our church has been involved in starting a house of prayer in its city. We've set up time slots at our building, scheduling around the dance classes held there, and it's mostly been our people showing up...until this past week. There's a group of intercessors from IHOP that are temporarily staying at a local university where, by God's design, there is a group of students and faculty housing them who have been praying for revival in the city. Along with these two groups, there's a group of YWAM intercessors, by God's design, joining us at our little house of prayer for powerful prayer.

Last night Red and I finally made time to go. I mostly wanted to go that night because the slot was listed as a healing service. Through heartfelt worship we had POWERFUL prayer and testimonies. Two testimonies of healing and one of finally feeling God's love as the Father. There was uncontrolled weeping, strong embraces, prophetic words, and healings. One girl there, while praying and through the power of God, saw another girl's leg grow longer so they were finally level.

When the call of healing was given I was the first one standing with the desire to receive prayer. A group of mostly college age students gathered around and prayed for me. With my arms stretched out, calling out for God, I felt my husband come behind me and help hold my arms up. One guy praying mentioned he felt I may be dealing with unforgiveness. The second testimony of healing was given and the girl said she was healed of back pain and knee pain. I knew she was supposed to pray for me. When she touched my back there was heat...I kept thinking, "my back isn't the issue, pray for my knees." The heat continued when she prayed for my knees. When asked what was going through my mind all I could say was "I want to finally be able to kneel and worship! I haven't been able to." Shortly after, I was able! I was finally able to fall on my knees and praise the Lord of my healing!

While on the floor my left arm was causing some pain due to the calcium deposit. I could feel the lump digging into the floor. And wouldn't you know...when I got up, it was gone!

Last night, in bed, I experienced the healing in my back. For quite some time I've had pain when laying on my sides, needing a pillow to prop up my leg, thinking it was because my hips weren't even. Even with the help of the pillow I'd have to switch positions frequently. Well, last night that issue was gone! Praise God! I didn't need my body pillow.

Praise God for being good, for being my healer! My hands, wrists, and feet still hurt, especially in the morning, but these healings give me hope to press into Him and that my wholeness is waiting around the corner!

Karrots' Recent Art Work

2010-11-04T20:45:00.000-07:00

Disneyland with Family

2010-11-04T14:50:00.000-07:00

The middle of October Red's sister and family came down along with her BIL's family. They had done some community service to earn free tickets into Disneyland so, with the help of an amazing friend, we got to join them for the day at the park. Being that it was free for us we lounged and got there around noon. Since we couldn't find anyone we started out on the ride Small World.

After we finally met up we promptly split up again so we could tour toon town.

They eventually decided to hang out and found us at the toon town kiddy park. The kids had a blast running around their rubber/bark and jumping all over the vegetables.

Cousins!

My oh-so-loveable hubby

We checked out Casey Jr. (with Rusty screaming in the line the whole time) and Dumbo (with Rusty screaming in the line the whole time) before I decided to sit out the rest and not put Rusty through the torment of another line.

We left a little before 6 (stopping at the baby station on the way out) and attempted dinner. Red's sister went to put our name in at Rainforest Cafe while the rest of us checked out Legos and she was told we'd be seated at 3 different tables. So we left...

Long day, but not too long. I think Karrots had the most fun. Thanks, Chris, for getting us in!

Freckles

2010-11-04T11:45:00.000-07:00

A man once told me, "a little red headed girl without freckles is like the sky without stars." Well, their stars are appearing! Karrots got her first ones months ago and I'm finally getting around to filling ya'all in...if you haven't noticed them yet.

I just love their blue eyes, too... :)

Yelling Game

2010-11-03T14:19:00.000-07:00

For whatever reason, yelling has become the most hilarious thing for Rusty...

Gum Game with Daddy

2010-11-02T20:21:00.000-07:00

In case you ever see our little boy sticking out his tongue...here's why.

Oktoberfest!

2010-11-01T08:55:00.000-07:00

The past couple weeks I've seen signs on the freeway for Oktoberfest. I checked it out online and, despite not being huge beer fans we thought we'd try it out.

After paying $35 to get in (Rusty was free) we hopped on some kiddy carnival rides, including a carousel, some flying elephant ride (similar to dumbo at Disney, but not), a Berry-go-round (tea-cups), and fun house (which looked like an old western hoochie saloon).

Daddy and Karrots on "dumbo"

Helping daddy turn the Berry-go-round

Fun house mirror fun!

Bratwurst with grilled onions and saurkraut - YUM!! (Must be the German in me...)

Polka band

In case you ever wondered...

Where they wanted to spend most of their time - the playground that already existed there

Mouse balloon after a magician show

We got to spend some time talking to one of the guys who helps put the Oktoberfest on. He mentioned they also do the Lobsterfest and a Crawdadfest. He also asked us to mention it to the city if we were enjoying it because there are some crazies that protest them being there. Knowing now that the place IS rather kid-friendly...I don't think there's ground for protesters. Besides, there were at least a half dozen cops around.

Family pix - like the beer goggles? Red picked them for the pic (and no, we didn't have any)

Silly shot

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancakes

2010-10-31T18:26:00.000-07:00

In honor of the fall season and the best fall veggie ever, I've recently been making some scrumptious pumpkin pancakes. I made them this morning for our church brunch and heard at least a couple raving about them and telling everyone to try them...so I'm convinced they're amazing.

Being that I can't have cow milk and it's in pancake mixes I get to make all my pancakes from scratch, including this one. I'll give credit to allrecipes.com for the typical pancake part and Ralphs for the idea of adding pumpkin (even though their recipe is for sweet potato waffles). I think I've tweeked their recipes enough to claim a new one:

This is as close as we got to carving pumpkins - not as pretty after flipped and cooked

Pumpkin Pancakes

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup flour
3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp.-1/4 cup sugar (I use Rapadura and the amount depends on my sweet tooth, keep in mind maple syrup may be added later)

1 1/4 cup milk (I use goat, obviously)
1 egg
3 Tbsp. melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup cooked pumpkin (I used canned organic pumpkin)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon (I also add some ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves)
chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:
Mix and cook 1/4 cup at a time on the griddle/stove.

Another way I love to serve them is with homemade whipped cream and nutmeg for garnishwith a side of carmelled pecans. My MIL taught me to make the whipped cream by whipping heavy cream, a little honey and a bit of vanilla. For the pecans, cook 'em in butter and brown sugar on low, making sure they don't burn. For me, all the fixins is heaven on a plate!!

Enjoy!

Beware: this is what happens when the kids get chocolate chips in their pancakes

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-30T21:57:00.000-07:00

This year our friends invited us to their favorite pumpkin patch...at a real farm! So, we (them, our kiddos and I) piled in the van and drove over an hour. Aside from the wet straw and mud we trampled through, this place was great!

Karrots in the bean pit

One of Karrots' favorite stops was the bean pit. It was a huge box they built and filled with 2000 lbs. of assorted beans. Throw in some cups and kitchen containers and most kids have a blast! Some of the kids were enjoying pouring the beans down their shirts and over their heads. Rusty, on the other hand, lasted maybe a couple minutes and then, after watching them play and snacking, decided it wasn't so bad when he was standing outside and not sinking. Thankfully we gave us our tickets back for him.

Rusty in the bean pit

Spiral spuds...de-LISH-us!

Post bean pit we enjoyed some kettle corn, spiral yams, lion burgers (*smile!), tacos, and snacks we brought. What we did NOT enjoy was the swarm of bees that was living in the recycle bags near the picnic tables.

Rusty enjoying the pig races from the wood truck

After a pleasurable lunch we halfheartedly watched the pig races (not too exciting), then the kids played on the wooden train set - another favorite of the day.

All aboard!!

Pony ride - apparently she's a natural!

Because of the non-stroller friendly terrain, we were stoked the farm offered its visitors wagons. We had the only-3-sided, no-padded-handle pinto version. Our friends were so kind as to cart our kids around all day, along with our diaper bag and eventually a few pumpkins. They were also a tremendous help with watching the kids. As there were two adults and one kid in their party, their invite to the farm included assurance the kid to parent ratio would work out well, i.e. they'd help out. (You can probably tell who I was in charge of at times from the pictures.)

Snack time!

The pumpkin patch (and some of its pumpkins) was pretty big. The girls enjoyed helping Sarah's daddy pick out pumpkins and Rusty enjoyed conquering the pumpkins.

"Why, hello!"

Another pumpkin for the box

When we got back to the car our shoes were horridly disfigured by the straw and mud and we all threw them in a big bag to be sorted out later. All the kids crashed on the way home. A good day...

God's Rest

2010-10-27T13:30:00.000-07:00

"Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it...his work has been finished since the creation of the world...some will enter that rest...There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience." Hebrews 4:1, 3, 9-11

I can get so overwhelmed with the idea of doing nothing. I think I picked up a lot of that growing up with my mom. Even now she'll come over and only stay around as long as there's something she can be doing. Dishes, changing diapers, putting cloth diapers together, taking out trash...anything but just sitting still. At her house there are usually at least a couple televisions on with multiple projects started and waiting to be finished. I am so similar. For example, if I'm doing something on the computer, like uploading pictures, I usually have a game of spider solitaire up just so the mouse and my thoughts are always moving.

The way I feel...when doing nothing...

I'm sure most women feel this way. Most men don't multitask very well, but women...we can talk on the phone while having dinner going, a conversation on the computer, and running to change a diaper. Housewives are, after all, supposed to be able to have an elaborate dinner on the table by the time hubby gets home, the kids all cleaned and happy, house spotless, and not one hair on our heads out of place, right? (Gag me!!) Most of us feel like doing nothing is wasting time.

In reading these scriptures I'm convicted of that mindset. If God took the time to rest and made sure to emphasize the importance of a Sabbath by making it a commandment, why do we feel that we can go without resting? He made us and knows how we work, what we need, what it takes for our bodies and souls to work at their most efficient capacity...and He chose rest.

I find it awesome that being commanded to rest implies we have the ability to, the freedom to rest...wow! Why? Because "his work has been finished since the creation of the world." We have nothing more to do for God other than rest...He's done it all.

Lord, thank you for the freedom you've given us to rest. Thank you that we don't need to feel guilty when we take time to do nothing. Help me settle my thought and ambitions on rest...When there's too much to do, force me, that by doing so I can be an example to my kids. Thank you!

Chili for the Alcoholic

2010-10-26T12:42:00.000-07:00

Ok, not really...but the recipe we have I use either beer or wine. With the weather getting a nice chilly temperature, it's finally the perfect soup/chili weather! Feel free to use as much organic ingredients as possible! ;)

Ingredients:
3 lbs. ground beef (or ground turkey)
1-2 onions, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, mashed
1-2 cans diced tomato(we use the Trader Joe's diced and fire roasted tomatoes that have green chilis in it)
1 can kidney beans

1/2 - 1 Tbsp. ground cumin
2 Tbsp. dried oregano
2 Tbsp. dried basil
1 Tbsp. chili powder
Red chili flakes (to taste)
1 can beef stock (or a couple tsp. of Superior Touch beef base)
2 cups beer or 1/4 to 1/2 cup wine
(optional) 1 small can chopped green chilis
Goat milk yogurt (or sour cream) for garnish
Tortilla chips for garnish
Avocado for garnish
Cheese for garnish

Instructions:
Brown the meat and then add the remaining ingredients. Cook at least an hour. The longer you cook it the more flavorful it is! Garnish individually!

Big Bear Couples Retreat

2010-10-25T14:49:00.000-07:00

This weekend the hubby and I went on a couples retreat with ten other couples from our friends' church. This was NOT a typical church retreat with sermons and a strict schedule, it was a time of relaxation, POWERFUL prayer, worship, a little alcohol, organic/ethicallyraised food, fondue, long walks, romance, and friendships.

The group rented out a huge 5 bedroom ritzy house, complete with a ginormous kitchen with three full sinks, four mini dish washer, 6 stove burners, walk in pantry, complete with all the fixings, along with a loft with a pool table, jacuzzi, a few remote controlled fire places, and more!. We laughed as the sign on the building said the maximum occupancy was to be 16.

The dining area, complete with Tiffany style acorn chandeliers.

Our first night alone we finished a puzzle...I know, how romantic! The only couple with a cabin all to themselves and this is what we chose to do. We had gotten to the cabin around 5pm and, with time to spare, I worked on the puzzle while Red napped. Around 8 we met up with the others at the house, hung out, listening to others play karaoke, and left around midnight. At the cabin we stayed up past 3am to finish the puzzle.

Red in the jacuzzi with friends

Saturday we slept in a bit and headed out around 11:30am. We found our friends in the jacuzzi and Red joined in. The day consisted of a powerful prayer time for marriage, walking around a street of shops, Red playing pool with the guys, me playing Guesstures with the girls, food, fellowship, and just so no one thinks we're total dorks, some romantic time with wine by the fireplace back at the cabin.

Shopping at the Village - had to get something to buy the kids back!

Fondue

The food was AMAZING! (Being the bums we are we ate breakfast at our cabin so english muffins, turkey bacon and oatmeal don't count.) Friday night's dessert included champagne and truffles. Saturday lunch had all sorts of goodies out for sandwiches, including horseradish cheese. Dinner was fondue. First course was cheese and bread, main course was steak, shrimp and veggies to cook in a red wine sauce, and dessert was chocolate with strawberries and cookies. We eventually got a little impatient with the cooking time during the main course and ended up throwing all the steak in the pot. Grub!

Gana cleaning the dishes

Since Saturday night was another late night, Sunday was another late start. We got to the house around noon in time for some more intercession, praying for couples we knew who needed help, and then packing up the house.

On the way home we had an AMAZING display of God's beautiful art work! Just watching the clouds lofting into such soft shapes was breathtaking. It was as if they were rushing waves.

Now, back to the real world...revitalized, loved, and with hope...

Rust's First PROFESSIONAL Haircut

2010-10-13T16:18:00.000-07:00

I can get away with cutting Karrots' hair because her curls are so forgiving, but Rusty...that's another story. His hair is super fine and straight and shows EVERY error. So, we went to this adorable place called Kiddie Kastle to make him look descent and so I could watch and catch a few pointers. This place was a child's dream. Toys and fairy tale stuff drawn all over the place, you get a boat or a car seat with a bucket of toys, and candy after.

Before, front - I had cut his bangs

Before, back

After, front

After, back

Goodbye Uncle Greg

2010-10-12T17:19:00.000-07:00

My uncle passed away the Saturday before last, Oct. 2nd. He'd battled with his health for some time. He was loved and will be missed...

Mexico cruise 2005

My cousin with her daughter mourning her grandpa

A Benihana's Birthday

2010-10-08T21:54:00.000-07:00

Our family tradition has been to take the birthday person out to a restaurant of their choice. As I got a coupon for Benihana's (and they have great food/entertainment), that's where we went! My dad took me to their sushi bar (my first REAL sushi) and we got spider rolls (soft-shell crab) and then had some yummy steak and shrimp with tons of veggies and fried rice. De-LISH!

Choo-choo onion tower

The kids had a blast and were greatly entertained by the chef. I was greatly entertained watching Rusty try to use utensils to eat...

Our "professional" shot, minus my dad

Along with all this, Red and I had gone to Lucille's to celebrate (just us!), we celebrated my cousin's (and my) birthday with dinner and a night at Rock the Keys, and my brother invited us over to BBQ for us and friends. I am overwhelmed by those who love me!

Aquarium of the Pacific

2010-09-16T16:48:00.000-07:00

We're loving our new play date family! They're way too generous...they have a season pass for the Aquarium of the Pacific so we got to go with them for the price of parking. The kids loved it!

Jacket weather out and he actively decided to get himself drenched

Touch tank

Karrots wouldn't actually touch anything

Lovin' the Farmer's Market Produce

2010-09-14T19:15:00.000-07:00