B90X

Have you heard of P90X? The revolutionary exercise program that rapidly changes your body due to its rigorous regimen. And it all happens in just 90 days!

Well, I'm challenging myself- and you, too, if you accept- to a spiritual exercise program that I'm calling B90X. I heard about this idea through Raising Olives, and decided I would indeed read through the Bible this year- in 90 days! That's right, the entire Bible in 90 days!

Just as P90X (purportedly, because I haven't actually tried it myself...) rapidly changes your physical body, I'm excited about making concrete changes in my spiritual life- my walk with Jesus- that are dramatic, long-lasting, and disciplined.

So are you with me? Ready to get serious about your relationship with Jesus in 2010?

I'll be tracking and reflecting on my reading here. I won't be purchasing the 90 day Bible. Instead, I plan on printing off the reading plan and reading on my computer while I'm nursing, during the girls' quiet time, or after they go to bed... whenever I can read without distraction but with clarity of mind!

They keep me in stitches 'round here

Ella asks me, yet again, "Why did Daddy get a haircut?"

and since she's asked me approximately 389,074,353,984 times since he got his haircut 5 days ago, I remain silent, praying the question will just be dropped...

then Grace pipes up, "I know why! He had 4 hairs sticking out around his ears."

That's right.
---------------------------------

We told the girls we needed to pick up the house before we could go for a walk.




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Grace and Ella are playing house, when Grace declares she needs to go to L.L. Bean's.

"Oh?" I asked, my interest piqued. "What will you do there?"

"I need to get some beans. Some green beans."

Of course!

Weekly Wrap-Up

Kris at weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers hosts a weekly wrap-up for homeschoolers, and this week I'm finally ready to participate!

We're working on settling into our schooling routine this year, but still haven't quite found our "groove" yet. With my recent return to my evening job and continued dedication to breastfeeding Lydia, the routine varies from day to day. But, the girls are still learning and exploring, so I'm confident a routine will work itself out soon... even if it happens to be not so routine!

Grace renewed her interest in Phonics work since I've adjusted my plans for her. I had her skip the first half of her book, as it was a lengthy review of the phonics work we did last year, and she happily works on her assigned pages once again. I have noticed when she's reading the words to match with the pictures in the workbook that she will look for the word that starts with the right first letter and read that word first. Sometimes I must remind her to finish reading the word so that she chooses the correct one! Usually I'll ask her why she knows that word is the right one- for example, "How do you know that word is bed?" "Because it starts with a 'b', Momma. Then a 'e' and a 'd'!" She amazes me everyday!

Ella has been doing so well as we work our way through the alphabet! We worked on letter "C" this week, with the verse "Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord." Col. 3:20. She continues to be able to recite our A and B verses, as well as picking up Grace's creation verse (Gen 1:1)! Her newest thing has been to purposely say the wrong number for the verse or chapter! She'll recite the verse properly and then look at me with that little glint in her eye and a little smirk on her face while she tells me whatever number she wants... she is such a little sillyhead!

We had a lovely playdate at the park with another homeschooling family on Monday. We discovered the paved trail that runs along the stream by the park and had a wonderful walk! The girls had a great time tossing pebbles into the stream, counting ducks along the bank, and even discovering 5 turtles sunning themselves on the other side of the stream! Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera along... maybe next time!

I did have my camera handy to capture some of the nature exploration we did at home, though! The girls found several caterpillars in our backyard and spent the better part of the afternoon collecting, watching, and feeding them! Grace named them all Fred and declared they were all friends!

Trying to count all their little legs! (I need to find some little magnifying glasses!)


Ella really loved watching the caterpillars.


REALLY loved them!

Wordless Wednesday

End of Summer sunset at the lake. Aahhhhh.



Head over to 5 Minutes for Mom to check out some more pics that have us at a loss for words!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Our Full Plate!

I'm a winner!!!

I stopped playing fair about a year ago.

Before you leave in a huff, let me explain. It's not that I cheat. I just stopped playing to win.

At least when it comes to shower doorprize games.

You see, I have this unnatural knack, a talent, if you will, to win those silly baby and bridal shower games women play. Name the nursery rhyme? Nailed it. Remember all the items in the diaper bag? Recalled every one. Unscramble the wedding related words? Undone in one minute flat - or something like that.

It got to be ridiculous! I won at every single shower I attended- even ones given in my honor! I was racking up the candles and body lotions and chotskies like nobody's business. Something had to be done- bringing home another thoughtful (but clutter-contributing) doorprize gift to nestle next to the last still unused doorprize gift just had to stop.

So, I just stopped playing to win. I mean, I'd still play, and still win, but just wouldn't tell the hostess, so I didn't receive the prize. Well, most of the time at least. I did claim the handbag filled with Lindt chocolates from my friend's bridal shower last year. Because, that doorprize was one that I could use!

Recently, my winning streak has transferred to online drawings and giveaways! And, this is a winning streak I would love to continue, as I'm entering giveaways for things I would love to have, but wouldn't purchase myself, mostly because they aren't in our family of five, living on one income, budget.

First I won some new fluff for my girls from theclothdiaperwhisperer.com. I love this blog! It has great giveaways, TONS of informative articles, and certainly earned its place as a finalist in BlogLuxe's "The Blog You've Learned the Most From" contest. I started using twitter just so I could enter the twitter contests on this blog! And, I won that very Friday!

Then I won some great table toppers from the cute like me giveaways blog. They also have a store full of adorable hairthings and make believe food! I'm going to keep a few of the table toppers in our diaper bag so that whenever an impromptu picnic takes place I'll know my little darlings will be eating off a sanitary surface! (Even if we're eating fast food the most nutritious lunch I make at home at the park!)

Finally, I won an awesome Crayola pack from my new favorite Christian homeshooling site, Raising Olives. My husband said I sounded so excited about winning, "you'd think someone offered to pay off our mortgage." (If you'd like to, or there's a contest for that, let me know, okay?) I was just so excited about all the incredible projects and activities I would be able to do with our older girls! I'm a new reader at Raising Olives, but I find her posts on why they have a large family and why they homeschool ring so resonantly within me- she's put in words the thoughts and convictions that have been bouncing around in my brain lately! It's amazing how God is in the details- even in cyberspace!

My Story in Photos: The Summer Edition

Summer has been mostly cold, wet, and rainy this year, keeping us away from our favorite place on Earth... CAMP! I tease my husband that the main reason I agreed to live up here in the frozen tundra was the promise of camp every summer! We have always enjoyed our time there, although it used to be more relaxing before all our blessings arrived! We wouldn't trade the blessed time our children have gotten to spend with their great grandparents at camp for anything, though! (Especially since we do get to sneak in the ocassional nap ourselves when Gram and Grandpa are around to help out!)

Every 4th of July we enjoy a lobster feed. This year we had the delightful addition of a kids' picnic table... as well as the not so delightful sweaters and long pants. Yes, sweaters and long pants on the 4th of July. Welcome to life in Maine, folks!



Giggling on the dock... perhaps Grace is retelling her misadventure... "I saw a toy duck in the water and wanted to rescue it! So, I stepped off the dock, right in the water! Boy, did Daddy come running quick! But, I turned around, grabbed hold of the dock, and put one foot up, then the other foot up, and got back up all by myself! That duck was still in the water, though."



The sandbox has been a huge hit this year! Especially since the weather does not make us want to spend all day cooling off in the lake!


Dipping our toes in and making lots of splashes is always fun, no matter what the weather is like!


Great Grandpa takes the new sailboat out for the inaugural sail. Aaahhhh! Life on the lake is lovely!


I pray they will always be...


You can also head over to I ♥ Faces to check out everyone else's summers. You know, like where they've had more than 5 days of sun...

I ♥ Faces - At the Beach!

This week at I ♥ Faces the theme is "At the Beach". Today, the first beautifully sunny day without rain since... I can't remember, maybe May?... we went to the beach with some friends. Unfortunately they had some car trouble and ended up not getting to the beach with us, but we still had a great time getting out and enjoying the SUN! I took a bunch of pictures, but wanted to share this one for the I ♥ Faces contest. I love seeing my husband in one of his greatest callings- being a father!



If you like the beach, photography, or just want to be a little nosy, head on over to I ♥ Faces to check out everyone else's beach pictures!

I heart faces FEET!

As I continue to develop my photography, I've been researching photography sites for inspiration. One of my favorites is I Heart Faces, which typically focuses on faces in photography and offers great tips and examples. This week they're switching it up a bit, and focusing on FEET! I just couldn't resist posting this pic of Lydia's toes. She constantly touches her toes together, playing footsie by herself! I love how her little tootsies curl in... SO sweet!



Thanks for stopping by! You can head over to I Heart Faces to check out everyone else's toes too!

A little update leading to a prayer request...

Lydia at 3 Months

Height: 23 inches
Head Circumference: 15 inches
Weight: 9 lbs. 7and 3/4 oz.

Tuesday Lydia and I headed to the pediatrician's for a weight check. At her 2 month well baby visit she had crossed several percentages, and was tracking at 25% for most of her measurements. Dr. D, her pediatrician, was not overly concerned because both of Lydia's sisters had fallen into a similiar growth pattern, but at 6 months (Grace) or 4 months (Ella), not 2 months. He was most concerned about her head circumference. So, Dr. D asked us to come back this month just to keep an eye on her growth. Unfortunately, the results are less than desirable. While she did increase in her height and head circumference measurements, her weight decreased. I was shocked to see the scale, as she had been just over 10 lbs. last month!

Dr. D ruled out malabsorption and "failure to thrive" and concluded that we needed to add more calories to Lydia's diet. To do that, he decreed that I must start her on formula, at least 10-15 oz. per day. This was incredibly upsetting to me, as a solely breastfeeding momma. Our beloved pediatrician, who has been part of our lives since Day 1 of each of our girls' lives tried to make me feel better about the situation by reminding me that lots of children do "just fine" on formula, and "at least it's not 100 years ago, when we'd have to find a wet nurse for you." Seriously.

He did also acknowledge that I was upset. (DUH!) And I still think he's a great pediatrician. Just maybe not so breastfeeding friendly when he's concerned about his patient's growth.

Dr. D recommended continuing to breastfeed for about half of Lydia's feedings, and to supplement with formula by skipping an at the breast meal and giving her a bottle instead. I am concerned that my milk supply is low- and that skipping feedings will make it even worse. Since the 2 month check up I've tried adding another feeding, but Lydia just fusses and cries and ends up turning away and falling asleep. She's very determined not to eat when she doesn't want to!

So, after this not so little update, I ask for your prayers... please pray for Lydia's growth and our feedings together, as well as strength and energy for me! I am determined to return to solely breastfeeding, but to do so I'll have to increase my milk production. That means resurrecting my love/hate relationship with my pump. I love my daughter, and want to provide the best nutrition for her, but I HATE pumping!

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

In our idyllic life, we are always the epitome of perfection. HA! So, of course, NONE of the following took place here at the stream.

We were not woken up by our older children announcing that they had "painted themselves". And certainly not on the morning of our family pictures. And I definitely did not get photographic proof of such disobedience.





I most certainly did not have to recrop those pictures so that the toilet was mostly out and repost them!

Oh, and those family pictures? Definitely not what I've been waiting on to send out Lydia's birth announcements. I mean, she's almost 3 months old! I'm certainly more on top of my game than that!


So, that's all that's happened lately... because there's no way that at the wedding I photographed recently they had to hold up the cutting of the cake because their photographer was in the bathroom! Ugh! Certainly not me! I'm way more professional than that! Especially since, you know, it's their day and everything.

And, it did not dawn on me on the way to church that those pants I so conveniently found in the kitchen where they were supposed to be were there on the way to the laundry for a reason. I absolutely was not wearing jeans doused in eau de baby to church!

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

It has been so peaceful and restful here in our neck of the woods... I certainly was not too busy with appointments and errands and housework to post the past few weeks. I have not found it hard to work on blog posts or even facebook updates because I am too contented busy holding my beautiful baby. Nor am I nursing as I type this, as I always give my baby my undivided attention!

So, a few things that have not happened the past few weeks...

I did not pour my cereal into my orange juice. I am barely functioning wide awake, alert, and enthusiastic in the morning because I love the hours before 7:30 am. On a side note, Post cereals should not add Honey Bunches of Oats with Oranges to their product line. Seriously.

We did not almost get paged to the church nursery because of our oldest daughter's behavior. She is a perfect angel, and would never dream of coloring on the tables or refusing to obey the nursery attendants. She never acts like a typical 3 year old! But, if she ever did any of those things, we would have her write an apology note, even if the attendants would be different than the past week and have no idea what she was apologizing for, as she was a perfect angel for them!

It was not our family that you saw driving down the street with our car stuffed to the gills with a grill, kid's picnic table, rototiller, 3 children safely secured in their car seats, 2 adults, a propane tank (for the grill) and several bags of groceries. Anyways, all that stuff wouldn't have fit in our vehicle unless the table folded flat and slid in front of the girls, the grill stuck out the back window of the hatch, and my feet were on the dash so the groceries and propane tank could fit on the floor in front of me. And, the thought that if we had a van this would probably be so much easier never crossed my mind. Because, even if we do have 3 children under the age of 4, I'm not sure I'm ready to be that mom.

Ben and I most certainly did not attend a fabulous Southern Gospel concert at our church. Because, as the girl at the door said, we're too young to like that kind of music. I mean, that's what she would have said if we had gone. And, if we had gone inside, we would have seen that we were part of the maybe twenty people under 40 years old out of the 300+ crowd, and that would have included our 2 month old daughter, who would have spent much of the concert asleep in her grandpa's arms. We would have really gotten our money's worth, as the concert would have lasted two hours longer than we would have expected. Our older girls would have totally enjoyed their time with Gram, eating a delicious Gram-cooked meal, reading lots of books, and discovering that our church has an ice cream store- nearby in reality, or at the church according to the girls.

Speaking of ice cream, I definitely did not allow my children to have two ice cream cones at their father's most recent softball game. I would never cave to mommy peer pressure like that! And I absolutely would not let them have those two ice cream cones after a nutritious dinner of pizza and cheese sticks. Unless I subscribe to the idea of all things in moderation, and had balanced out their dinner with a breakfast of cereal and yogurt and a lunch of broccoli, green beans, and ham and cheese sandwiches. Because just two ice cream cones is moderate.

I will have to save the story of what my beloved sister-in-law and I actually did not do for another post. It is worthy and accompanied by pictures. I'll leave you with an image from a photo shoot that was completely spur of the moment...

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

As for my idyllic life, I have not been woken up too early (6:15 a.m.) several days this past week by my older children running into our bedroom and yelling, "Momma, there's dirt in the road again!" The people who own the land across the road from us would never dream of irritating their new neighbors before they even live here by dumping several loads of dirt throughout the day and then spreading it around their land with a bulldozer that sounds as if it is stuck in the mud every 2 inches it travels. My days have not been filled with "clank, clang, crash" and "vroom, errk, vroom, errk." Ugh! And, I have not seen the silver lining of the rain clouds that have prohibited the dirt dumping the past few days!

I absolutely did not enjoy the blissful extra hour of sleep as part of my Mother's Day gift! I certainly did not take over my husband's side of the bed while he fed our older daughters (French toast) and bathed them! Nor did I devour a delicious omelet, strawberry-jellied toast, fresh strawberries, and orange juice! I obviously do not have the best husband in the world! (I'm thinking more like the best in the universe!) And, although I have banned sugar in our household (how else will I ever lose this post-partum body?), I was not touched when he picked up my favorite sugar cookies as well as the hamburgers when we stopped at the grocery store after church before heading out to camp for the first time this summer year.

Speaking of mothers...

Grace certainly has not learned the art of multitasking from my example! (She's missing a glass of water and a computer...)


And, being the supermomma that I am, I would never dream of posting another Not Me! Monday before blogging about lovely Lydia's birth... and I would never spotlight a pic of my 1 month old (where did the past 4 weeks go?!?!) going on the potty! I certainly would never support my husband's decision to have her poop on the potty instead of in her diaper, especially considering we use cloth diapers and this meant one less diaper to wash! And, I would not take a picture of Lydia and Daddy sitting on the potty! (but I really won't post the pic of what she did deposit in the commode! I definitely won't hide it in her scrapbook! Ha!)

I really do not expect this to become a habit, unless she continues to poop only on Saturdays as she has the past two weeks. Taking my 1 month old to the potty truly is not going to happen when I'm home with our 2 year old and 3.5 year old by myself. (And, I cropped this pic just for you, Deb! I certainly would not put a pic of Ben's "Yankees Suck" t-shirt on my blog! *wink)

I absolutely would be remiss and feed into the middle child syndrome by excluding her from this post, so please enjoy a pic of my favorite diva as this week's good bye!

Wordless Wednesday

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

We've been on hiatus from Not Me! Mondays- MckMama's beautiful 4th child, Stellan, has been hospitalized due to his heart condition and I've been waiting for, finally having, and adjusting to life with our own beautiful third child... but now everyone is home, trying to return to or find a new "normal", and praising God for all his blessings! He is GOOD!

This supermomma would never dream of posting a Not Me! post before blogging about her third daughter's birth! NO, not Me! Well, maybe I would kind of blend the two together and then blog later in detail about Lydia's arrival...

I would never claim to be a prophet or brag about when I am right, but I called it! Right from the beginning of our pregnancy, I said Lydia would come on April 7, and that is what she did! And I certainly did not get my hopes up for her to come earlier! NO, not Me! (disregard my last post, of course!) My biggest baby thus far arrived just before 2:30, weighed in just short of 9 pounds (half an ounce short!), and measured 21 inches long.

Being a supermomma, the transition to mothering 3 children has been a true change breeze! While my mom was here to help out (Thanks again, mom!), I certainly did not sleep in until 10 am most any day! And, I definitely have not already taken advantage of the soothing effects of a pacifier and the swing! Nor have I resorted to wearing Lydia in my sling or moby wrap just so she can get some sleep away from her sisters' thousands of loving kisses in the comfort of a pseudo-womb. I absolutely have not worn Lydia in the sling or wrap while she is awake just to have her close to me or so I could hold her and have my hands free. Since I am a supermomma, I automatically respond to every cry and fuss my third baby makes, with the same reaction time as my first two children, of course. I never let her cry just a bit so I can finish eating the last three bites of my dinner. I never fall asleep at night when nursing our little one and never allow my newborn to sleep in bed with my husband and me, especially since I have a bassinet set up right beside our bed. And since Lydia sleeps in her bassinet every night, I definitely do not use it to store extra clean clothes, diapers, and other baby paraphernalia. Nope, not Me!

But, if I were to do any of that, it would only be because I know it will not harm my beautiful baby. See?

Waiting...

Yes, I am still pregnant. No, the baby has not come out yet. And, No, I have no idea when she might decide to do so. Yes, we will definitely let you know when she arrives- either by calling ourselves, asking one of our parents to call, emailing, or even facebook. We promise.

We had a biophysical scan and nonstress test on Friday to see how Lydia is doing... and she's great! Very active and cooperative during the biophysical (ultrasound test where they check for movements, breathing, etc.), she passed with flying colors again! They also check the amniotic fluid... if it had been close to 5 units (not sure what unit they use for measuring it), we would be talking induction by now. BUT, the fluid measured 19!!! So, in me she stays. After getting to see our beautiful girl, we trekked up to the maternity floor to have the nonstress test. They hooked me up to the monitor, gave me my instructions- push the button every time I feel her move, and left. FOR 2 HOURS!!! No one - not a single nurse from the wing - came back to check on us. FOR 2 HOURS!!! During which time I was having contraction every 5 minutes. FOR 2 HOURS!!! Daddy and I had good discussion, found a sudoku game on his cell phone, chatted by phone with our friend Devon (also our birth coach), and wished Lent was over so we could pass the time watching something on tv... not that anything would have been on- except Law & Order... that show seems to be on 24/7! Eventually I sent Daddy to get a nurse because I needed a restroom break and it had been 2 HOURS!!! since the last time we had seen a nurse. When the nurse finally came in, she wanted to know if I wanted to stay since I was having consistent contractions... I said NO! Unfortunately, although the contractions were very consistent, most of them were not very strong, and the timing and instensity of them had not increased in 2 HOURS!!! so I figured we could spend time laboring at home... where I would not be forgotten or neglected by a nursing staff for 2 HOURS!!! The contractions continued throughout the day, including during dinner, which my wonderful mother-in-law provided. We even sent our darling daughters home to spend the night with their grandparents so we could go back to the hospital when the time came... and then the contractions stopped. Altogether. There were no more. And, there have been no more since. (Oh, maybe an odd one here or there, but nothing like the consistent 5 minute apart ones I had for 10+ hours.)

SO, we continue to wait...

And, even though we have been here before...

it doesn't make the waiting easier.

And, even though I've said April 7 all through the pregnancy...

having consistent contractions (albeit a little weak in force) made me think it might be time.

And, even though all of our children have been at least 6 days past their due dates...

we were still hoping that maybe this girl might come out a little earlier than her sisters.

And yet, we wait...



That said, I'm trying to keep busy and distracted... but this huge basketball under my shirt often hinders my activities. We did end up getting those basement rafters vacuumed and the kitchen cabinets washed! And, we even managed to tackle scrubbing and rearranging the refrigerator. I ironed some of my dear husband's shirts (good thing, considering he's still going to school this upcoming week. It's better than sitting at home asking me if I'm having any contractions every 10 minutes.), cleaned off my dresser, organized my sock drawer, and fixed the bassinet. The preparations have been made, now we are just waiting for dear Lydia to arrive.

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

In our perfect little world, we certainly did not do any of the following:

While we were at our hairdresser's so Daddy could finally get his hair cut, I took Ella to the potty. Even though I was holding her hands, she did not fall in so far that her little bum got wet! I, of course, did not laugh hysterically to the point of tears, but pulled her up immediately and wiped her bum dry. I did not make her continue to sit on the toilet until she had relieved herself, lavishing praise on her to make up for the laughing previous reaction. This incident has not created a small fear of public toilets, particularly large commercial style commodes, in our younger daughter. She has not amazed me with the length of time she will now hold out rather than use a public restroom- we're talking an entire shopping trip, including a trip to the restroom for both her sister and mother!

During this week I did not decide to throw a "picnic lunch" in our living room, complete with PB&J sandwiches, apple slices, carrots, and fish crackers for "dessert". I did not do this so I would not have to cook another meal and could rest on the couch instead. And, I certainly would not allow my children to watch a Veggie Tales video while we ate our lunch. Nor would I have permitted singing and dancing along with food in hand! But if I had allowed such foolishness, I certainly would have prepared by using Daddy's note blanket on the floor as a crumb catcher dance floor. At least I didn't take any incriminating pictures. But, if there happens to be another picnic day, I will definitely have my camera ready to video my little divas, especially as they sing "Cebu!"

Our girls, in their sweet, silly, sisters-only language, have not taken to chanting nonsensical phrases over and over before erupting into fits of giggles! Their favorite phrase of late seems to be "Liger! Liger! Liger!" Of course, as they laugh their little heads off, I am not envisioning this:



Deb: What are you drawing?
Napoleon Dynamite: A liger.
Deb: What's a liger?
Napoleon Dynamite: It's pretty much my favorite animal. It's like a lion and a tiger mixed... bred for its skills in magic.
(Napoleon Dynamite, 2004)

This weekend we enjoyed some Spring-like weather, with temperatures reaching into the mid 40s! In celebrating the heatwave Ben and I did not walk around without hats, gloves, or even jackets! And as we were all heading out for some family togetherness at Daddy's school's Fun Fair, we did not go at least a mile before realizing we had not brought hats and gloves for the girls. And, it did not take us almost another mile to decide to turn around and retrieve them. Nor was that decision influenced by the fact that our camera was also at home... We just wanted to make sure we were being "good parents"! I won't mention that when we dropped our little loves off at their grandparents' house for a practice (for when Lydia is born) sleepover, their hats and gloves stayed in the car and came all the way home with us. At least the warm temps continued on Sunday!

Not Me! Monday

A witty and oh-so-funny blogger, MckMama started a fun blog carnival with a twist...

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

and after several weeks of blog stalking reading, I want to play, too!

In our idyllic life, nothing ever goes unplanned, uncoordinated, or awry...

This week I have not had to say:

"Take your finger out of your nose."

"Do not pat your sister's butt." (Especially not while it's bare and dirty from sitting on the potty!)

Or, my favorite,
"Do not put your face in the toilet!" (Apparently the praise and accolades we lavish on our children when they use the toilet, especially for solid waste elimination, have not fostered an interest and curiosity in the size or amount of the aforementioned waste.)

I certainly did not spend 2 hours redding up the house (because I certainly did not put off vacuuming for a week due to our busy schedule!) before my treasured SIL and her 2 little loves came over for a playdate... and absolutely would not stick our overflowing compost bowl in the oven to hide it! And, I would absolutely never put the same overflowing compost bowl back in the same oven several days later before a wonderful cousin and her daughter came over to play! Not Me! And, my beloved husband certainly would never turn on said oven while said overflowing (and plastic) compost bowl was still in said oven... only to discover it by the smell of the "cooking" plastic and compost fodder. Not Him!

After being gone ALL day at a music festival for his students, when my husband came home he was not greeted by squeals and shrieks of "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" and quickly attacked enveloped in the loving arms of his 2 daughters. And when, after a hug and kiss from his devoted wife, he gave me 2 of my favorite cookies (sugar cookies with icing and sprinkles... YUM!) I DID NOT scarf them down like a ravenous wolf! Nope, not 9 months pregnant me!

I do not think the nesting bug has spread to my husband, especially considering he spent most of Sunday cleaning out our cars- including vacuuming the trunk! And we most certainly did not find all sorts of GROSS food scrids when he took out the car seats... our children NEVER eat any food in the car. Since we are such conscientious parents, we absolutely did not find Ella's milk cup that has been missing since before Christmas for a little bit. I was not relieved to see that it appeared that the cup had actually been filled with juice, and not milk, on its last use (which is probably why we didn't find it by its smell before this). Since it did not have mold spots on the inside, I did not enthusiastically trash it!

But, I AM going to go vacuum up all the little crumbs and dirt came into our house with the carseats while I wait for MckMama to post Mr. Linky.

40 Days... perhaps longer???

Today starts the season of Lent- the 40 days before Easter. While we are not Catholic, my husband and I have been in the practice of "giving up" something for Lent. We haven't done it every year, but in the past we have sacrificed hot drinks (tea for me, coffee for him), eating out (well, at least paying for eating out- we let other people pay for us!), and ice cream... the hardest sacrifice to date. But this year, Daddy has come up with the most extreme challenge yet. For Lent this year, we are giving up TV!

Our rules are simple: NO TV. No taping of regularly scheduled shows, no news programs, no tv. Movies are an exception- we like to watch Veggie Tales movies as a family. But watching a movie is a deliberate act, with the content and the timing determined by the viewer... whereas watching tv tends to be a vacuous pasttime, controlling the viewer's schedule, sucking the viewer in to hours of mindless dribble, and generally containing little to no redemptive qualities.

Now certainly adding a cable feature like dvr would eliminate the control tv has over our schedule... but instead of upgrading, I canceled our cable. Well, downgraded at least. I assume that after the 40 days of Lent we will resume some tv watching- at least the news- and the disconnect and reconnect fees would be more than paying the $18 for the basic cable during Lent. If I'm wrong, and we decide to forgo tv forever and ever, it's only cost me $18.

What will we do with all the time redeemed from our "regularly scheduled programming"? Bond as a family, prepare for our new baby, invest time in our marriage... but probably not vacuum the basement rafters or wash the kitchen cupboards- 2 chores I have an unnatural compulsion (called nesting) to complete before Lydia arrives.

Somebody wrote on me!

Daddy is on February Vacation... we're all enjoying having Daddy home! The girls are getting to spend hours with him, playing, reading, learning -Daddy did the second half of school with Grace while I went to a baby doctor appointment today.

This morning we were enjoying a relaxed morning of snuggling and reading on the couch. As she was returning a book to the bookshelf and choosing another, Grace suddenly cried out in a very worried voice, "Momma, somebody wrote on me!"


Since I was occupied reading with Ella, I didn't know what she was talking about at first. "What? Who wrote on you?"
"I don't know! Somebody wrote on me on my hands! Somebody wrote purple on me!"
Thoroughly confused- thinking when did she get into crayons or markers, we've been together all morning!?!?- I called her over for a closer look.

See her little purple veins?

I love how God grants us opportunities to teach our children in our everyday, mundane activities! Not only did we discuss veins and blood and how they run through our body, but we were also able to chat about how God made us, and He did write on us- especially in our hearts- so that we would know Him and love Him! Thank you, Lord, for our precocious, curious, inquisitive children, who LOVE to hear about you!

Simple Pleasures

Children have a wonderful way of taking the simplest things and creating a complete treasure...

A quiet spot for a tea party...


Want some?


Escaping from the cage...


Playing Peek-a-boo with momma...


Sweet sisters share...


Take a picture of me, momma!

New Grace-isms and Ella Triumphs!

On our way to church we saw some horses. Daddy said, "Look, the horses are wearing jackets!" (It was snowing and they had blankets on.) Grace responded with "that's so they don't pee outside!"

At church, Grace told me, "Momma, I'm a doctor and Ella's a dentist. We're pretending!" Never mind that they were in separate nursery rooms...

At home: "Momma, Ella got married, and has a baby in her belly, and I'm a doctor and I will get her baby out... and she (Ella) said okay!"

Grace has a very active and creative mind! Her imagination is going 24/7! One night we tried just panties overnight... I was awoken at 3:30 AM by her crying. When I went to comfort, console, and change her, she told me there was a mouse in her bed! Apparently the sensation of wetting during her sleep felt like mice running on her??? Upon retelling the story to Daddy, it wasn't only a mouse, but also a squirrel in her bed! As an aside, we have resumed the use of overnight diapers for her- I am satisfied that at 3 yrs old she is completely toilet trained and wakes up dry from naps most days! We'll work on overnight dryness as she nears outgrowing our cloth diapers- currently she has plenty of room to grow in the medium Fuzzi Bunz!

Ella is also working her way out of diapers! We are confident she will be using diapers only for naps and night by February vacation... which should allow her plenty of time for mastery before Lydia arrives, and hopefully will help minimize (or completely eliminate) any regression when she becomes a middle child! We've made the switch to panties during the day, and average 1- or fewer!- accidents a day! Hooray for Ella!


She does still require supervision!

Ella loves her snowsuit!

We went sledding today! So much fun... Grace woke up from nap and asked to go again! It was a beautiful, sunny day, but still very cold- only about 20 degrees. So we bundled the girls up in several layers (which they thought was funny), found something warm that would fit this "blossoming" 7 months preggo momma, and headed out for some fun.



I laugh every time I see this... but it's the little bit at the end that gets me every time! We love our Ella-belle!

A Thank You for Aunt Pink and Uncle Army!

The girls' first "real" game was a Christmas gift from their Aunt Pink and Uncle Army... and they LOVE IT! They don't quite have the concept of "catching" the butterflies yet, but that doesn't seem to hinder their fun at all! We love that we can play the game and reinforce some of our learning by counting the butterflies and sorting them by color!