Let Me Clarify This...

2012-02-14T07:47:00.001-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

Monday, Monday

2012-02-13T05:05:00.000-08:00

Here we are again. Another week already started. Just like that, my babies are another week older.
We have had a very mild winter this year, much to my delight. I think it might have been painfully chilly a couple of days back in December but I'm not even sure if that is accurate. I get cold so easily. Very, very cold. So I have been very thankful that in just a few weeks Spring will officially be here and with it, the sun. Guess what I woke up to this morning?
Snow.
And yes, it is beautiful. Yes, my children will be ecstatic. Yes, I will enjoy looking at it for a day but it needs to know that one day is all it is welcome. Hear that, snow? Be beautiful and glisten today but then BE GONE. Mama has to get out this week and she doesn't want to be violently shaking while she runs errands.

Nah, I'm not really complaining. One snow isn't that bad. (under breath chanting one! one! one! one!)

Today I start my Advocare regime. I have a friend, Holli, that started using the products back in September and she was talking about what a difference they made in how she felt. I finally emailed her and asked for a little more specifics and then did some research myself on the products. Since then, I have found out that several people I know have been using the products for years. (Those of you that know the Settles and want to know more, just ask them.)

I would like to state that a made a little commitment, resolution to myself to exercise 4-5 times a week and buddy, I have kept it! I've lost eight pounds since the first of the year. This is the first time I've truly done the weight loss thing. Inheriting some of Grandma's metabolism had always kept me from the need until I had four babies in fine and a half years. For some reason I wasn't the same afterwards. Hmmm.

So, to sum it up, it's been a great year so far. Weight gone, one snow, and Jason became a full-time artist. That was a goal we have been working towards since the beginning of our marriage.

I don't have a hilarious or smooth way to tie all this up into a neat little ending so I'll just say goodbye.

Until next time!

Sometimes...

2012-02-09T12:50:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it's hard to hear the truth.

Sometimes it hurts our feelings.

Sometimes it makes us mad.

Sometimes is makes us sad.

Sometimes we need to realize we aren't right.

Sometimes we need to forgive.

Sometimes we need to ask for forgiveness.

Sometimes, the truth makes us love more.

2012-01-30T19:35:00.001-08:00

I would just like to say that I am surrounded by amazing people.

A list

2012-01-25T11:42:00.000-08:00

When there is nothing to write about, I make a list.

I would of had something to write about if I had downloaded the pictures like I meant to.
The girls are going to be in a play this spring. Make plans now to attend. Details forthcoming.
We are finished with the remodeling of the schoolroom and entry way.
As soon as my cousin finishes building my bookshelf, I can organize.
This is a very, very good thing. As I have stated before,
I DO NOT LIKE PILES AND DISORGANIZATION.
I need a haircut. Should I continue growing it out or get it cut in a short style?
I have teeny, tiny biceps now.
They are hilarious.
I love cream cheese.

10 days later...

2012-01-23T05:25:00.000-08:00

I love Mondays. I do! For me, they are like New Year's all over again. Except the staying up to midnight part that, if I'm being honest here, doesn't really apply to me anymore now that I'm "old." I just don't really have the gumption to voluntarily stay up that late. Anyway, I love a good Monday because it's a fresh start. A new beginning.

We had a great weekend but you can't hear about it yet because I took pictures and I want to include them in the post. Jason took the camera with him this morning so I'll try to remember to upload them tonight.

On a more wonderful and exciting note....wait for it.....Nora sleeps through the night now. Mahvelous dahling, simply mahvelous. This of course means that I can actually drag myself out of bed at a decent hour which means possibly more posts. It also means more alone time with Claire because she always wakes up about 30 minutes before the other girls. It makes for a sweet morning.

Nora is growing. At her nine month checkup, she was in the 90th percentile on her height and the 86th on her weight. She's a large girl. And so very, very happy. Last night, when I put her in her crib she started crying but it didn't last very long and Claire just told me that last night, she didn't want to just lie in her bed and listen to Nora cry so she sang her a Rudolph song until she went to sleep. It reminds me why I love that my girls share rooms.

#4

2012-01-13T18:33:00.001-08:00

I just want to sit and absorb the cuteness.

Lions, Tigers and Bears, Oh yes!

2012-01-12T15:46:00.000-08:00

Claire, in a very excited voice: "Mommy, we are doing a lot of things to make a special night for Eily. We are doing all the things she loves the most. We have her brown bear and her gray pillow. We have been scratching her and singing her songs. Aaand, we have been telling her wolf stories like she LOVES!"

Me: "Oh that's nice.....wait, what?"

2012. Already.

2012-01-05T07:34:00.000-08:00

How's the new year treating you? It's been a little hectic here but still a little lovely. We have been painting the schoolroom and hopefully next week the new flooring will be put down. I have a real problem with piles and right now our house has piles EVERYWHERE but they have to stay there until the room is finished.
So, I have a room to finish painting, a house to reorganize, a new school semester to get started and I have to get a script written for a play I'm directing. I have to get it typed before Wednesday and I'm freaking out just a little. I am using a cassette recording of a Red Riding Hood musical that we listened to as children and the only tape player we have is in the van. So I will have to sit in the van and write everything down on paper and then come inside and type it. The thing holding me up is that the heater in the van is not working right now and I am a wuss when it comes to cold weather. I don't like it.

My plan today is to get all the laundry finished and pick up the house as much as I can, working around the piles. What's your day looking like?

Christmas with Nana

2011-12-29T15:32:00.000-08:00

My mother's mother is getting up there in years and it just is a bit overwhelming to her to have a large get-together. Also, five minutes after it's over she's forgotten that it ever took place and is fretting about getting everyone gifts. This year, some of us just met at a frozen yogurt place to give her little do-dads and so she could give the younger family members some candy and stickers. While we were there, I convinced Claire to let Pappy pull her very first tooth. It was very exciting. Later on that night, I pulled the next loose tooth. We tease her that Nora stole her teeth since the two that she is missing are the same two in Nora's mouth.

And now Part 3

2011-12-29T14:01:00.000-08:00

Christmas in AR part 2 (just pictures)

2011-12-29T13:56:00.000-08:00

Tra, la, la, la, la, la, cough, snort, sniff.

2011-12-22T18:45:00.000-08:00

I am sick. Nora is sick. Elaina is sick. Eily is sick. Claire was sick but she seems to be over it.

We are in Tennessee for Christmas and I'm hopeful that we will all feel better before the rest of the out-of-towners show up. We are all going to the chiro in a few minutes to see if Dr. Jason can get help us get on the road to recovery.

I hope you all have a happy, healthy, harmonious holiday weekend.

Our AR Christmas 2011 Part 1

2011-12-18T10:58:00.000-08:00

We had a fun time opening presents, eating donuts and playing with new toys. I don't have much time to write a stimulating paragraph so I'm just going to post pictures. Warning: I get a little carried away editing with a seventies feel. Sorry.

Christmas is a coming, la, la, la, la, la...

2011-12-14T18:13:00.000-08:00

This was Christmas last year: Click here. It was so much fun. Today, Jason and I decided tomorrow morning would be our Christmas this year and we have peen prepping all day. I have cleaned and folded laundry and we have been wrapping and sneaking around stuffing stockings. I am a firm believer of a full stocking. I think it is a side effect of stockings from my childhood that were made to look full but really the present sticking out the top was the the only goodie in the bag. The rest was wadded up newspaper. I was disheartened each year even though I fully knew what to expect.

Egg nog: check
Presents: check
Hot Chocolate: check
Donuts: check
Full stockings: check
Fat, happy baby babbling in my lap: check

:)

All 99 of them

2011-12-11T11:57:00.000-08:00

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving, the super-duper talented Gabe met us in Van Buren for our first family photo shoot in 4 years. (complete picture-scheduler fail) It went very well, considering the number of children and the ages of those children. We only had one melt down which in my opinion equals a stress free event.

We love them, Gabe. Thank you ever so much.

Click here to see all 99 photos. :)

My Christmas Wishlist

2011-12-08T18:33:00.000-08:00

Item #1

Sharing is important

2011-12-07T20:44:00.000-08:00

We went to two parades Saturday and racked up quite a lot of candy. Sunday afternoon, Elaina was chowing down on a piece of gum and she came into the computer room at Mom's where Rachel and I were visiting.
Elaina: "Um, excuse me Aunt Rachel, um, can Lukey have a piece of gum?"
Rachel: " Well, no. I don't think that would be a good idea. But thanks for asking."
Elaina: "Well, um, excuse me, but, um, can Eli have a piece of gum then?"
Rachel: "Well, No. I don't need to let him have one if I don't let Lukey have one."

Elaina stood there a minute, sighed dejectedly, took the wad of gum out of her mouth and said, "Well then who can I give this to?"

Family Photos

2011-12-06T09:04:00.000-08:00

Here's a little preview of our family pictures we had taken a couple of weeks ago. I can't wait to see the rest!!! (And yes, I really mean those exclamation points. I'm waaaay excited. !!!)

Click here:
http://fireflyspark.wordpress.com/

This is the new generation.

2011-12-02T12:40:00.000-08:00

Aunt Abi mailed the girls really cool chime birdhouses that you paint and assemble. We were talking about how neat they were and I told the girls we needed to call her to thank her.

Elaina heaved a big sigh and said, "I don't like being on the phone. Can't we just text her?"

In case you were wondering, the answer was no.

This week is recouperation week.

2011-11-29T12:18:00.000-08:00

I just love my family. Love 'em to pieces.
I have the last load of laundry going in the washer right now. That's just amazing. It would be more amazing if the last two loads were already folded but I'll take what small victories I can get.
Supper is in the crock pot.
I have been getting back in the swing of exercising since Thanksgiving is over. It feels so good, yet so very bad. As in painful. As in full of pain. As in Ouch.
Eli and Luke are visiting us today. They have two of my favorite voices. I want to follow Eli around carrying around a recorder. Poor Luke has quite a horrible, never-ending nose bleed that is really getting on his nerves.
Jason has TMJ. He had a discouraging appointment this morning. There is a lot of damage that can't be reversed.
Nora is pulling up and standing. I cannot believe how fast the time flies. Every child seems to grow up faster than the last.

That's all. I always feel incomplete if I don't hit 10 but I guess there's no law. And there is a load of jeans to hang up. And a baby to bathe. And three "big" girls that need shoes on and hair fixed.

It's a good life.

Everthing's Better with Two!

2011-11-19T18:15:00.000-08:00

I have recently invested in these two items and my goodness, I should have bought them years ago. I haven't heard one bedtime request since I walked out of their rooms. And there are usually quite a few requests before they finally get the picture that we aren't happy and they'd better just go to sleep so as not to keep getting in trouble. Sometimes I believe they are the bears with very little brains. :)

2011-11-18T18:14:00.001-08:00

Sometimes I just don't want to post. So I don't. So there.

And right now, I do want to post but I can't think of anything interesting and I'll spare you my ramblings.

Why, Hello there!

2011-11-07T16:03:00.000-08:00

I have been exercising and it feel so good!
I can't get enough of Sam's Mesquite Grilled Chicken.
Nora has learned how to scream.
Jason has had two shows the last two weekends and has another this weekend.
Nora had purple carrots in her baby food yesterday.
We had a small snake crawl in our house from under the side trim on the front door.
I was just a tad freaked out.
I thought it was a slug at first. Then it wiggled its tongue at me. It was perfectly awful
Favorite line from Pooh: "It's so much nicer with two."
I agree wholeheartedly.

What a busy week we've had!

2011-11-03T20:16:00.000-07:00

It has been full-on crazy around here. We've been going non-stop and I've been cleaning so much I think I will be sweeping in my sleep tonight. I have a few more things on my to-do list for the week. They are as follows:

Finish the last load of laundry. (Current last load.)
Catch-up the checkbook and pay all the November bills.
Organize bead box and start Elaina's stocking.
Bring all the winter clothing in from the barn, switch clothes and then put all the summer clothing back in the barn.
Price and box up all future yard sale items.
Have Misty, Thomas and family over for supper Saturday night.
Figure out what to feed them. (suggestions, anyone? There is one person that can't have peanuts or cheese.)
Take Eily to her echo cardiogram.
Schedule family picture session.

I think that's all. I really wanted to think of a number ten so that my list would feel more complete but really, it would be stupid to add something extra that doesn't have to been finished this week. I doubt I will get the nine accomplished. Oh! I thought of one!

10. Close out Rachel's pampered chef show.

There. Now my brain feels balanced.

Oh my goodness,

2011-10-30T17:50:00.000-07:00

I let another week go by without posting. We were travelers this week. We went to Tennessee to visit my in-laws, pick up Claire and to attend one of Jason's shows. A show at which he sold six paintings the first night! Eeek Squeak!

So that pretty much sums up last week. We did have an awful lot of doctor visits and once I have some answers, I'll update everyone on those situations. (One situation calls for me to collect a certain someone's poop. So gross.)

Nora is getting pretty good at crawling and now she can go from the floor to a full sitting position. Time is flying by!

The one where I take it all in.

2011-10-22T20:25:00.000-07:00

Instead of hanging it down by her side, as usual, she had placed her little arm on my arm; flesh against flesh. Her fingers raised and wiggled involuntarily. Her breath shuddered as it went out because she had spent the last few minutes crying in her crib. Her little head was sweaty from the exertion and when I bowed down to kiss it, I smelled the sweet baby smell that seems to vanish as soon as they have their first birthday. Every now and then, she would lift her head to give me a short stare while sucking violently on her pacifier and then slowly lay her head back down on my chest and close her eyes. She needed her mommy. What a blessing.

Flash Back

2011-10-20T20:24:00.000-07:00

Caboodle. Say that word over and over to yourself. Caboodle. Cah-boodle. Ca-Boodle. Do you remember Caboodles? They were a must-have to any girl between the ages of 9 and 19. My older sister and I were just talking about how fun it is when you are young and you actually get the gift that you had asked and dreamed of getting and our conversation landed on The Caboodle. She said she never truly believed that she would own one and when her birthday arrived and the glorious gift appeared, it was uh-ma-zing. Andrea Gunn had nothing on her and Andrea was by far the coolest girl we knew.

That word, Caboodle, became as common and normal sounding to us as curling iron, or soap. But tonight, as were talking, I realized just how hilarious that word is. Caboodle. Who came up with that? Now I can't stop laughing.

"Hey, let me just grab my Caboodle and I'll be ready to go."

"Has anyone seen my Caboodle?"

"What color is your Caboodle? My Caboodle is pink and green and has a peach latch. Boo-Ya!"

Good stuff, people. Good stuff.

I love this.

2011-10-20T19:56:00.000-07:00

I read this tonight on my friend's blog:

WHAT A BABY COSTS BY EDGAR GUEST

"How much do babies cost?" said he
The other night upon my knee;
And then I said: "They cost a lot;
A lot of watching by a cot,
A lot of sleepless hours and care,
A lot of heartache and despair,
A lot of fear and trying dread,
And sometimes many tears are shed
In payment for our babies small,
But every one is worth it all.

"For babies people have to pay
A heavy price from day to day--
There is no way to get one cheap.
Why, sometimes when they're fast asleep
You have to get up in the night
And go and see that they're all right.
But what they cost in constant care
And worry, does not half compare
With what they bring of joy and bliss...
You'd pay much more for just a kiss.

"Who buys a baby has to pay
A portion of the bill each day;
He has to give his time and thought
Unto the little one he's bought.
He has to stand a lot of pain
Inside his heart and not complain;
And pay with lonely days and sad
For all the happy hours he's had.
All this a baby costs, and yet
His smile is worth it all, you bet."

The one where I say absolutely nothing important.

2011-10-20T19:39:00.000-07:00

Oops. A whole week went by. Sorry. I wish I could say that we have been so busy that there has been zero time to type a post, and I guess I could say that, but it would be a lie. Ha. The first time I wrote that sentence I typed lit instead of lie. A lit. It would have been a lit. I think the one and a half hour of sleep I got last night might be coming in to play now. I am having to erase every other word and retype it.
Here's a snip-it of what's been going on.

We have ants. Lots and lots of ants. They are on the kitchen counter and they are crawling out from under the trim in our bathroom. (I originally typed, out from under the basement. That makes no sense. And we don't even have a basement.) At first, I put one of the little squares that come with the ant poison kit on the floor in the bathroom but the square wasn't big enough to accommodate all the ants so eventually I just poured it straight on the tile in a big S (you know, for Sacran) and let them go to town on the stuff. It was so gross. I now have about 200 dead ants and some old poison on the bathroom floor. I think it's time to get out the Swiffer.
Jason is painting a demo at some event in The Town and he had to go dressed as an Italian painter. I haven't seen his outfit yet because I wasn't here when he got ready but I bet it's great. I'm excited to see him and shout in a whisper so as not to wake the chilluns, "Bongiorno!"
I cannot get enough of What's My Line on YouTube.
I went to Memphis and came back home in less than 24 hours over the weekend. And I took all the girls with me. Maybe that's what's wrong with me.
Nora started crawling this week and she's cutting two teeth. It's been such a big week for her, little Cutie Patootie. She also is running her first fever. :(

That's about it. Ciao!

A little baby, a little craziness and little bit of exhaustion.

2011-10-12T12:48:00.000-07:00

Guess what I learned? You can't take a baby into the theater after 5pm. Want to know how I found out? Sit back, grab a cup of coffee and I'll begin...
I have been wanting to see the movie The Help ever since Big Mama wrote about it on her blog. That was a while back. Maybe even a month ago. I tried to get a group together to go see it about three weeks ago but the plan fell through. Then I went on a double date with some friends and I thought for sure we would watch it but the guys weren't really into the idea and we ended up doing the movie run-around and finally just sat in on the last 20 minutes of a very dumb movie. (That story is another post for another day.)

So, when my cousin posted on Facebook that she was going to go see the movie last night and anyone that wanted to join her should show up, my brain started rolling out ideas of how I could find a babysitter. Jason was gone for a paint-out so he wasn't an option. Finally, I called Misty for babysitter references and she said to just bring the girls over to her house. She and Thomas had seen the movie last week (NOW he decides he wants to see it) and her kids would love to play with the girls. I met Mom in town and she hopped in our van and we ran to Target to get some essentials before dropping the girls off. One thing I had to buy was a new laundry hamper for my room. The old wicker basket I had from 8 years ago finally gave up the ghost on Monday. I was about to push the cart out the doors when I noticed the new hamper had a big hole in the side. So Mom took the girls out to the van and I ran to the service desk to make a quick exchange. Finally, we were all loaded up and we dashed over to Misty's house. I ran the girls inside, heated up a bottle for Nora and we took off.

Incidentally, I have come to the realization that I was overfeeding Nora. If she gets more than 6oz she is in spit-up city.

Anyway, I heated up 9 oz. because I wanted to feed her and then have a little left over in case I needed it in the theater. Mom feed her the bottle on the way and before I realized what was happening, she had guzzled the whole bottle. We ran inside, hoping that we had made it before the movie had started. Now, insert the first paragraph here. I was turned away. Forsaken. Cast aside. And all because of cute, fatty-licious, smiling, drooling Nora James. I sent Mom on in and I headed back out to the van very bummed and a little aggravated.

I had locked my keys and my purse in the van. I hadn't realized I had left them in there before this because we had bought our tickets earlier when I had met up with Mom so this time when we got there we just walked right on in. I didn't panic because it is for reasons like this that we pay the AAA people. But then I realized my AAA card was also locked in the car and on it the number to call for help. I went back in the theater and asked the man to please let me and chubs run into Theater 5 so I
could see if any of the other ladies had a triple A card. He did and they didn't. So, back out to the lobby we go and I start calling anyone and everyone trying to find someone at home who could get online and look up the number for me. I finally succeeded and the man said it would be 30-45 minutes before help arrived.

I called Misty and let her know what was up and she suggested I go next door to the yogurt shop and eat a treat while I waited. Wonderful idea, I thought. I could use a little pick-me-up. I saddled up Nora and we made the trek up to YoLo. Once there, I started to look around and concoct my dessert in my head. And then I remembered that my wallet was in the van and of course my money was in my wallet. So I walked around and looked at the paintings on the wall and visited with the girl behind the counter. Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention that the whole time all this was going on, Nora had been dousing me over and over again with spit-up. It was so much that it had soaked all the way through my jeans and my spanx to my underwear.

Finally. the helper man showed up and I was able to get in my van and get the girls and go home.

And now you know why I didn't finish painting my room last night.

And, to top it off, when I got home, I emptied my pockets and found the cash the movie place had given me when they refunded my ticket. You know, right before I went to the yogurt shop and didn't get yogurt because I didn't have any cash.

It's my days like this that have prompted my sister to make her phone play this song whenever I call.

Whoops!

2011-10-11T06:01:00.000-07:00

In case you were wanting to try it, here's the link to the blog post about the craft crib:
http://alittlelearningfortwo.blogspot.com/2011/08/repurposed-cot.html. I feel really bad because I saw this picture somewhere, thought it was really neat and posted about it. I never thought that people would think I did this project. I guess I assumed that the four people who read this blog would just know that I am not that clever. I learned two things. 1) There are more than four people who read this blog. 2) Never re-post a picture without including the link.
So, I'm very sorry to A Little Learning for Two for temporarily "stealing" her idea. I would have posted her link earlier but I couldn't remember where I saw the picture. Thankfully, it was re-posted on Facebook again this morning. (I'm thinking Melissa might have something to do with that. ?)

Next time I'll get it right.

Shabby Apple

2011-10-10T22:26:00.000-07:00

Shabby Apple is one of my favorite on-line shopping stores. All their dresses are cute, decent and have a vintage flair. I have two dresses from this store but my favorite is Pina Colada. (In the yellow of course.)
They also have cute maternity clothes, little girl dresses and lots of accessories. Ahh, to have spending money again..... :)

If you decide you want to order something from them, feel free to click on my link since I am now an affiliate. Woo Hoo!

Vote for Jason! Vote for Jason!

2011-10-10T19:34:00.000-07:00

It probably isn't proper blogger etiquette to ask these kind of favors, but if you have a Facebook account, please go here: http://faso.com/boldbrush/painting/25425 and "like" Jason's painting so he can stay in the lead.

Thanks in advance!

The Sacrans

Monday already?

2011-10-10T19:18:00.000-07:00

I am having so many issues with Blogger right now. I want to add a gadget on the left side and it just won't cooperate. Is anyone else having problems?

I have a confession and it's an embarrassing one. A few weeks back, I started the HCG diet along with my mom. I did it for about a week (maybe?) and then I had a guilt trip because I was feeding Nora goat milk more than nursing her and my milk supply was steadily decreasing. So I quit. Mom kept going like the disciplined solider that she is and once more I started completely nursing again. Nora's seemingly decreasing spitting-up came back with a flourish. And I should clarify that when I say spit-up I really mean gushing vomit. Obviously, the goat milk is easier for her little tummy to digest than breast milk so we decided to go ahead and put her on just a goat milk diet.

Since my milk supply didn't matter any more, I decided to get back on the HCG diet and lose the baby weight. Guess what? I was a total flop of a dieter. I did it for one day.

One. Day.

It's embarrassing to admit. But really, it wasn't good for me because I had very low energy on that diet and it was hard for me to keep up with the house and the girls. It was my very first time to try a diet and I failed. Miserably.
But my sister was doing Weight Watchers and I decided I would try that and see what happened. Guess what? I love it! It is so easy for me to do and I'm not hungry at all. Woo Hoo! I'm not a complete mess- diet wise.

I'm off to start painting my room at 9:30 at night. I never do these things sensibly.

She's growing up! Oh wait, never mind.

2011-10-08T09:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I had to run some errands and take Claire for her 5 year check-up so Jason stayed home with Elaina and Eily. He was trying to get a lot of painting done but the girls were very restless and needy so he decided to take them on a walk to burn off some energy. They walked around the block and down to the cemetery and on the way back they passed a large drainage ditch. There is usually a tricking of water that runs through the ditch and maybe a piece or two of trash. As they were walking by, Eily said in very slow and dramatically mysterious voice, "Ooohh, There's probably a shark in there." Elaina, very exasperatingly responded, "Eily, there is not a shark in there."

Jason smiled to himself as he realized that Elaina had reached the age that logic prevails over gullible-ness. (Is that a word?) She had reached a level of maturity new to the children of our family.

Then Elaina said, " But there probably is a crocodile."

Craft Crib

2011-10-06T11:15:00.001-07:00

What a cool. fun way to repurpose your crib.

Iiiiiiit's Monday!!!

2011-10-03T07:15:00.000-07:00

The new week has started! It always feels good to start fresh. I'm glad it comes around every 7 days. Elaina had a fever on Saturday so Sunday Jason stayed home with her while I took the other 3 girls to church. He had a root canal earlier in the week so he didn't mind resting and taking it easy. He said it feels like someone broke his jaw.

Elaina is over her little fever virus so today is going to be a good beginning to a good week of school. Bring on the learning!!

I'm feeling a little Martha Stewartish this morning. I'm sure it's the weather and I'm wondering if I should try to do a fall craft with the girls. I always want to do these things and everyone is so excited when we start and then about halfway through it all falls apart. Someone cries because they don't like their finished product, someone cries because they've spilled glue (or something just as messy) all over them, and then I lose my cool and the whole thing becomes something very unpleasant.

Last week we finally did our first entry in our nature journals. The girls LOVED it and I did too. The only bad part was that we weren't able to do it until about three in the afternoon so we were sweating pretty bad by the time we came in. Eily gave up pretty fast but that's ok. She's three. Elaina and Claire did their own Nature Study the next day while playing outside. I was really excited when I overheard their plans.

I've stayed on top of the housework for a whole week. I started doing the baby steps from Fly Lady again. I did them right after I had Eily and it was the calmest time of my mother-life. So my sister, Leah, asked me to do it with her again and I really felt it would be a good start to getting my household back in order. It's been a little crazy since before Nora was born.

And speaking of Nora, I hear her squealing in her bed. I'm off to get some baby smiles!

Living in a dream world

2011-09-30T08:14:00.000-07:00

Some days I struggle. I struggle with getting out of bed. I struggle with getting dressed. (Think postpartum belly.) I struggle with doing laundry. I struggle with staying positive and happy. I just want to curl up in bed with a pillow below my head and a pillow on top of my head, a fan in my face and the blinds closed. I want to nap for 4 hours. Oh, sleep. I miss you. I miss you much.

Eily had a little bout of sickness. So far no one else had any symptoms and I'm crossing everything that it stays that way.

I really, really want to spend all day in a kitchen and cook fallish food. And then I want someone else to clean up the mess.

I want to go out to eat with Jason and not stress about the money being spent on frivolous food. I want to put on a pretty dress and fix my hair all pretty like and have a relaxing date. Without any children.

I want to paint the furniture and the schoolroom and be organized already.

I want to not want so much.

I love her.

2011-09-26T18:00:00.000-07:00

p.s. This outfit? Killer cuteness.

Elaina, 6 years old

2011-09-24T17:34:00.001-07:00

2010
2009

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

30 years of Thanks

2011-09-23T08:41:00.000-07:00

Today I turn thirty. And I'm excited about it.

Thank you to the ladies who took me out to dinner. Thank you for the VERY LOUD birthday song you sang to me in the middle of Marketplace. Thank you for waiting until most of the other customers had left before singing.

Thank you, Misty and Thomas, for supper last night and for the delicious birthday cake. Thank you for always wanting to hang out with us and always feeding us.

Thank you to my girls for the adorable, off-key birthday song. Thank you for the excited smiles you gave in my honor. Thank you for your sweet, smelly morning-breath kisses. Thank you for sleeping in this morning.

Thank you, Jason, for my breakfast coffee. Thank you for marrying me. Thank you for saying yes to four babies even though my pregnancies are probably harder on you than me. Thank you for working hard 24/7 so that I can stay home with the girls.

Thank you, Lord, for blessing me with Jason, Elaina Ceridwen, Rachel Claire, Eily Edith and Nora James. Thank you for placing me with Mark and Pam Green. Thank you for my 5 siblings who I love and who still love me. (I think.) Thank you for my church. Thank you for amazing, Godly grandparents who played, and still play such important roles in my life and the lives of my family. Grandparents who love my children as much as they love me and who continue to be wonderful examples. Thank you for Nana, who may not always remember us but is still so excited to see us and wants us to stay all day. Thank you for my in-laws that love me and consider me their daughter. In-laws who put up with my traveled-out cranky self and constant "no's." Thank you for my Aunts, Uncles and cousins. I can't believe how much I love them.

Thank you for thirty years of wonderful memories.

Love,
Rebekah

Claire is 5!!

2011-09-22T08:02:00.000-07:00

2010
2009

Claire, in reference to her approaching 5th birthday...

2011-09-20T18:07:00.001-07:00

"I just can't wait!! I've been waiting so long!! Like seven years , I think!"

2011-09-17T20:09:00.000-07:00

Welp,
Nora is almost crawling. She gets on all fours and rocks back and forth and she can move her legs forward but then she rams her face into the carpet. Once she figures out how to move her arms forward she'll be driving her sisters crazy following them around where ever they go.

Jason is moving his studio out of the house. He took the first load of boxes to The New Studio this afternoon. It's very exciting for all of us. Jason is excited about have almost triple the amount of room and I am excited about turning the current studio into a schoolroom/playroom. I have a vision. Oh yes, I do. A vision of white and soft blue. Of shelves and knobs. Of space. So. Much. Space. Of a stained cement floor with a colorful area rug. Of a painted coffee table turned craft table and a painted china cabinet turned bookshelf. (Someone hand my mother the smelling salts.) I have a vision of order. And space. (Did I already say that? Sorry. I'm really excited about the space.)

I cleaned the kitchen for over 4 hours today. I meticulously cleaned the refrigerator and the pantry. I scrubbed baseboards and cabinet doors. I rearranged cabinets. I tired.

This day has had its ups and downs but I'd say, overall it's been a good day. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Church, family and friends. Never a bad combination.

A Rap

2011-09-12T20:26:00.000-07:00

She has a cute owl hat,

She looks like her Aunt Kat,

Her spit-up goes ker-splat,

Now what'd ya think of that?

2011-09-06T21:36:00.001-07:00

My cousin is in Ireland. My single, hasn't had babies yet- heart is there with her. I was meant for Ireland.

And it was meant for me.

2011-09-06T21:35:00.000-07:00

I know half the week is already past but I have decided that I will post this week's goals and see if that gives me a little more motivation.

10 Goals for my week:

1. Complete a week of school where everything gets accomplished. (I'm talking to you guys Artist/Composer Tea Time/Nature Study!)

2. Get the laundry caught up

3. Iron 5 things

4. Return something

5. Read 4 chapters in my book

6. Write a friend a note

7. Mentally catch myself before I yell a correction and speak softly

8. Drink Tea

9. Kiss Jason 5 times every day

10. Pluck my eyebrows

Going to bed with the house picked up makes all the difference.

2011-08-31T19:11:00.000-07:00

And, yes, Grandpa, I know the actual house wouldn't be literally picked up but I think you know what I mean.

Today was a full day. It started as the first day since school has started that I actually woke the girls up instead of just waiting until they woke up on their own. I hopped out of bed bright and early this morning and took a shower. This NEVER happens. It was nice to get a little head start on the day before the chaos would begin.

We got in the car -didn't melt before we had pulled out of the driveway, for a change- and started on our way. I had to stop at the McDonald's for coffee first and foremost because I already felt the need to take a nap and it wasn't even nine o'clock yet. We stopped at Mom's to drop off some food that I needed to take to my cousin's house later on in the day, and exchanged Eily for Lillie. Eily really, really, really wanted to spend the morning with Grandma and Grandpa so Mom took her to story hour and then dropped her off at their house. In the meantime, the girls and I made our way to the house that will be our home-away-from-home every Wednesday.

There are several families in our area/my life that homeschool and we are all meeting once a week to do some extra-curricular classes such as cooking, writing, music, a Montessori style class, manners, etc...
The house hasn't been lived in for a few years so it had a lot of cleaning that needed to be accomplished. We worked hard all morning (some of us more than others)(and I'm the others, not the more)(baby was a little cantankerous this morning) and then Rachel and I ordered the kids some pizza and took off. Rachel went home. I went to Mom's house. (Isn't this thrilling?)

First, I stopped by The Grandparent's home to get Eily. They were all having such a wonderful, sweet time together that I decided to say, "Yes" to the pleas to continue the visit. And Eily wanted to stay, too. So I went next door to Mom's and prepared the rest of the food, went to the grocery store to get even more food, ate some food and weighed/portioned some food. Then we headed out the door to take the food to Stephanie's house. She just had a baby a week ago and all the women from church are taking turns bringing supper to the new little family of three. Just in case you are wondering, I brought Peach-Whiskey BBQ Chicken, broccoli, mashed potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, yeast rolls and strawberry cheesecake. FYI, the chicken? uh-mazing.

Then I got back in the car, put the baby's passy in her mouth, wished I had a passy to put in Claire's screaming mouth and started for home.

And that was basically my day. What was your day like?

Oh yeah, and I went and got Eily at some point before going home.

Then End.

First Day of School Photos 2011-2012

2011-08-28T18:52:00.000-07:00

Elaina Ceridwen Sacran
5 years old
August 2011
Kindergarten

Rachel Claire Sacran
4 years old
August 2011
Pre-School

Eily Edith Sacran
3 years old
August 2011
Distracting but Adorable

My class 2011-2012

A post full of...

2011-08-28T18:43:00.000-07:00

Wow. It's so easy to not post. For a long time I had nothing I really wanted to record. It is hot was about the only thought I had running through my brain. But for the past couple of days I've really had a lot on my mind and I wanted to sit and record it all but there just wasn't time.
We are almost finished with our second week of school. It is fantastic. And hectic.

I wrote that above passage 5 days ago. I mean, it is really hard to get a post in around here. I'm feeling random so here we go:

I find it strange to say that I'm on a diet yet I'm eating delicious and filling meals.

I love my girls but.... they are terrible at interrupting. Number one thing to work on around these parts.

Week three of school starts tomorrow. Really? This year is going to fly by.

I keep trying to upload some pictures but the camera cord thingy thing isn't working right. Someday....

I love frozen chocolate chips. And I miss them.

And that's really all I can think about right now.

Oh yeah, and none of this is what I originally wanted to write about....

Nora James 4 months old. She wears size 9-12 months and that size is really tight on her. She weighs 2 pounds more than the two babies that are a good bit older than her at church. She's Jolly. :)

2011-08-16T19:20:00.001-07:00

This is serious. :)

A Request

2011-08-15T18:58:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,
I am asking you to do me a favor. If you don't mind, please join Ebates through my referral link:

http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=MI3Z%2FZzml1uqivFkC9SsbA%3D%3D

If 10 people join before August 31st I get $100 added to my account.

I signed up with Ebates a while back and have used it often. I bought all our school books for this year off Amazon through Ebates and earned $25 back. If you do any online shopping at all, I would recommend joining.

Thanks!

A List

2011-08-12T11:24:00.000-07:00

1.Oops, it's been a while since I last posted. Sometimes, the days just fly by and before I know it a whole week has gone by. We are staying busy but busy doing "nothing" sort of things. We have been playing a lot with our new friends and Jason had a little minor surgery so we have also been taking care of Daddy.

2. School starts Monday. It seems a little unreal. I spent so long planning, reading, buying and organizing that once it was all ready I stopped thinking about it and then the other day I realized that The First Day was almost upon us. Yikes!

3. I love Nora. I love all my girls, of course, but Nora is really fun right now. She doesn't know how to make her words sound ugly and she is all smiles all the time. Pure pleasure.

4. As hot as it has been, I'm not ready for cold weather. I am ready for fall weather, but not cold weather.

5. My house gets messy so quickly.

6. If you want to come play, then come on over. We love company.

7. I need to go get busy cleaning in case one of you takes me up on that offer.

8. Eily is a riot. A complete and total riot.

9. I miss sleeping.

10.

Dear Aunt Kat,

2011-08-05T11:31:00.001-07:00

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Claire and Eily/ Ballet and Gymnastics 2011

2011-07-28T08:16:00.001-07:00

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Swimming Lessons 2011

2011-07-25T19:41:00.000-07:00

Claire has come along way from last week where all she would do is scream and cry between her turns to swim.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

2011-07-23T07:56:00.000-07:00

The air conditioner is out and I am so hot that I almost feel unable to type. There really hasn't been much going on that's news worthy. Thus the lack of posts.

Ha. Elaina just pressed herself against the glass door on the front of a house and said, "Oh, this is cold. It feels so good." She looks like a bug squished against the glass.

We have been super, duper busy every day. Monday through Friday we had swimming lessons and a few other days in the week we also had gymnastics, tap and ballet and then gymnastics again. Then we always have to run errands, shop, etc... and then come home and try to get some housework done. Swimming lessons are draining because Claire cries and screams the whole time. But despite the drama, all three girls have learned how to swim free-style in one week. I love it. I'm hoping by the end of next week I'll have a couple of beginner divers. Next week is our last busy week where we have to be gone every day. Hallelujah. After that, the gym activities will all be at the same time on one day and the rest of the days we can stay home if we need to and I can get caught up on the housework and the laundry. And then, in three weeks.......we start school! I'm so ready and so excited and so eager to get started. I am ready for routine again. We have traveled so much this summer and had a great time but I am sufficiently traveled out.

Well, I am signing off since we once again have to get out the door and go somewhere.

Oh yeah. And I got a haircut that Jason deemed "the best haircut I've had in years." :)

Eeyore's in the house

2011-07-14T21:01:00.000-07:00

Elaina, my generally happy, content, easy-going child has been rather hum-drum and emotional these past few weeks.

Tonight, as we were getting in the car to come back from church, I snapped two little twigs off a tree and gave them to Eily. As we were driving, Eily said, "Tonight my dreams came true. I wished for these two sticks to take home and I have them!" Claire then piped up and said, "Well I wished that after we slept at Dan and Caitlin's house that we would go to Lillie's Gram's house and look where we are! My wish came true!!" Then ~~Eeyore~~, Elaina mumbled, "Well my wish didn't come true." I asked her, "What was your wish?" She replied, "I don't know. But it didn't come true."

Here we go again.

2011-07-12T08:34:00.000-07:00

The girls and I are on our way to Texas. Well, actually we are already in Texas but we still have a ways to go. Last night we stopped in Dallas at my cousin's house. This morning, sadly, we woke up. And we are about to head out the door and travel to Lockhart. This part of the trip *should* be an hour less than yesterday's trip.

Caitlin's house is gorgeous. And her hostessing is immaculate. We had a lovely breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast and breakfast sausage. Our beverage was served in delicate little tea cups which of course my children found to be the most delightful thing. Caitlin also had two tubs full of her dress-up clothes. If you know my children then you know how exciting that was to them.

Well, I need to round up the troops get out the door. Goodbye cute little yellow house. We loved staying here and we'll see you on the flip side.

3 very uninteresting things

2011-07-09T06:59:00.000-07:00

It's been anything but newsworthy around here. We did have some water come up from under the carpet yesterday. A lot of water actually. So by 11:30 last night we were finally saying goodbye to the carpet cleaning men and bunking down for the night. We had to sleep all over the house because the bedrooms are being dehydrated. Eily and Claire were in our bed, Nora James was in the pack-n-play in the studio, Elaina was on the mattress from the crib on the living room floor and Jason and I took the couches.

We've eaten a lot of fresh pineapple lately.

I'm in love with Basil. I think it's time for Rosemary to feel threatened.

2011-07-01T10:01:00.001-07:00

This is really neat. This girl is wearing the same dress for 100 days straight to raise money for orphans.

For me to remember

2011-07-01T07:58:00.000-07:00

1. Eily came in the kitchen crying. "I got water in my nose!" Me: "You got water in your nose while brushing your teeth? How did you do that?" Eily: " I was trying to goggle and I put the goggle in my nose."
Translation: I was gargling and some of it splashed into my nose. .

It was good for a chuckle.

2. The girls were looking out the front door. Claire, in a sweet, soft voice that one might use to talk to a baby: "Elaina, look! There's the dog that pooped on our tree the other day. Awwwww."

Really? Awwww??

3. (My favorite moment of the morning) Yesterday Claire was recovering from a little fever and was still in a very emotional, cranky mood. At one point she was sent to my bed and after a while I went in there and we talked about having a christian attitude and how that means we should strive to be like Jesus. We are human so we will make mistakes but we should always try to do what Jesus would do.
I overhead Claire talking to Elaina this morning. (This was right after the pooping dog came to visit and probably make a deposit.)
"Elaina! I was about to grab that stelecope out of your hands and I remembered, be like Jesus! So I took my hand back. Momma told me yesterday to always do what Jesus would do. And I did!"

As a side note I would like to state that Elaina, hearing what Claire said, smiled and said, "Here Claire, you can have the telescope. I'll be sweet too!"

It's been a good morning.

And a shout out to Aunt Sarah for the "stelecope." It's been a very popular toy.

Fashion Show! Fashion Show! Fashion show at lunch! (What's that from?)

2011-06-30T14:05:00.000-07:00

We love our girls and how they make us laugh.

Let's just go until someone guesses correctly.

2011-06-27T08:25:00.000-07:00

Here is the category:

Plant

1.Is it a flower? NO
2.Is it something that has blood and bone? NO
3.Is it a type or class of thing as opposed to a specific individual thing? NO
4.Is it an herb? NO
5.Is it a plant you would find in a garden? NO
6.Can you see this item and not just the effects of it? YES
7.Is it a building? NO
8.Does it bear fruit? NO
9.Is it in its natural state or form? NO
10.Is it poison ivy? NO
11.Is it harmful to humans? NO
12.White processed flour? NO
13.Is it primarily made of wood? YES
14.Can it be used as a medicine or remedy? NO
15. Is it used by a well-known person? YES
16. Is the person known through a movie? NO
17. Is the person known through a book? YES
18. Is this person from the past? YES
19. Is it the Ark? NO
20. Is it the Hundred Acre Wood? NO
21. Is it Aaron's rod? NO
22. Is it in the Bible? NO
23. Was this person a real person? YES
24. Was this a series of books? YES
25. Was the person the author? NO
26. Was this person related to the author? YES
27. Was this person the main character of the series? NO
28. Little House books? YES!
29. Is it Pa's fiddle? YES! YES! YES!

That was fun. Did you enjoy it?

Congratulations Mom! Good guessing. :)

2011-06-23T19:27:00.000-07:00

You know what would be so much fun? Playing 20 Questions through Blogger. I think how it will work is I will give you the category and then the first person to ask a question will be the question I answer. The questions have to be yes or no questions.

Here is the category:

Plant

Ready? Set? Go!!

2011-06-20T18:57:00.000-07:00

We have been gone for a week and I will post some pictures from that trip soon. In the meantime, I'll show you what happened this evening...

A piece of us.

2011-06-09T10:40:00.000-07:00

I always feel like a refrigerator is a good reflection of the family in whose house it resides. I usually spend a good 5 minutes just standing and looking at the notes and pictures covering its front and sides. I decided to give you a peek at our refrigerator and its decorations. Feel free to take 5 and analyze.

Shall we delve in?

Here we have a magnet that I bought for Jason on our second anniversary. He was finishing school and the future was somewhat of a question mark. We also see a note on a napkin. A few months ago, Marketplace was running a special where kids ate for free during a certain time of the day. Jason met us in Fort Smith and we had a yummy meal. When the waiter brought us the payment booklet, this napkin was inside instead of a receipt. If you want to read it just click on the picture. It was a pretty cool night.

This little section of the fridge is fun. There is the first picture Jason and I ever took together. Jason had it in a little frame for years but it finally broke and the picture earned a spot front and center. There is also a fortune that came out of a fortune cookie that reads, "Your financial outlook is great at this time." It always makes me laugh because at the time our financial outlook was the exact opposite. There is also a comic strip that my cousin, Kathryn, mailed to me a long, long time ago. It's pretty funny and a good example of our mentality during the time we opened that fortune cookie. There is a Lucy magnet from my friend, Kayla. It represents my college life when, more than once, I performed the Vitameatavegamin routine in their kitchen. And there is a sweet picture of Claire that my cousin took while she was babysitting so that Jason and I could go to Jason's biological father's funeral. It was originally placed there to get it off the bar and throughout the years it has become a fixed item. And last, there are a few of my George Washington magnets I bought last year when Kathryn and I visited Mt. Vernon.

There's not a lot to say about this section. A few magnets that I loved and a picture of me from college. That's to remind Jason that inside this worn-out, fatigued body is a skinny, well-rested, kept up lady that has a personality. In other words, don't despair. :)

These are just my super cool grocery/menu pads.

Now in this section of the refrigerator we have a picture of the girls from a few years back. I love how fat Eily looks in this picture. There is also the List of Attainments to remind me what to work on with Elaina.

I love this. It's a strip from a photo booth in the mall. The girls did this for Jason's father's day card last year.

This picture is pretty obvious. I have small children.

What might be a bit of a puzzlement is the white scarf placed over a majority of the magnets.

I have no explanation.

Rosemary Casseroles

2011-06-08T15:15:00.000-07:00

I just took a pan of yeast dinner rolls out of the oven and Eily came running over.

E- "Mmm, I just love casseroles!"
Me- "You do? Well these are dinner rolls, not casseroles."
E- "Oh. (little laugh) well, I just love dinner rolls."

Then she watched as I sprinkled a little rosemary on the top of the rolls.

E- "Blech. I don't like sticks. Do you like those sticks?"
Me- "These aren't sticks, these are little pieces of rosemary and I love them."
E- "Hey! You're married and you like casserole rosemary! That's hilarious!"

And then she ran away.

Oh Happy Day

2011-06-07T12:56:00.000-07:00

Jordan Ferney at Oh Happy Day is doing a giveaway for a trip to Paris, France for two. Wouldn't that be lovely to win?

This was one of those things that was really funny but now that I'm trying to type it out as a story it's sounding a little boring and not at all funny. But it really was. Really!

2011-06-07T11:04:00.000-07:00

Elaina hates to get in trouble and there are times when she says something a little rude to one of the other girls, we get on to her for it and she says, "Well, I was just joking." Yesterday, while driving home from Fort Smtih, Jason was trying to explain the difference between a joke and a lie to Elaina. First, he gave her an example of a lie and then he started to give an example of a joke.

J- "Elaina, why did the chicken cross the road?"
E- "Where? What chicken? I didn't see the chicken! Girls, did you see the chicken? Daddy just saw a chicken going across the road!!"

Woosh! Right over her head.

We have a winner!

2011-06-05T19:22:00.000-07:00

Congratulations CELEBRATED. You are the only person to get the answer exactly right.

Daddy, Elaina loves you. Elaina is proud of all paintings.

Email your address to jaybeksacran@gmail.com and I will get the card in the mail. By the way, I enjoy keeping up with your blog. Who would have thought that years down the road I would be mailing you a Starbucks gift card? :) Life is fun.

2011-06-03T18:01:00.000-07:00

First pool day of the summer

Nora's first stroller ride

2011-06-03T10:50:00.000-07:00

No one has gotten the answer to the contest exactly right. I'm keeping it open until we have a winner.

http://bekahsacran.blogspot.com/2011/05/you-know-what-this-picture-means.html

Nora Quotes

2011-06-02T07:24:00.000-07:00

Eily, holding Nora this morning,
"I love you baby. You're just so....babyish."

Elaina, watching Nora eat at 3am,
"Once I put my eyes on her I just can't get them to turn away. She's so cute and little and, well, (laughing a little) fat."

Sweet memories of May

2011-06-01T17:09:00.000-07:00

Apparently we have been busy this month although it didn't really feel like it. We had a get-together at my cousin's house. Btw, all those trees you see lining his driveway were ripped out by the tornado last weekend.

We also watched as Nora James learned to smile at us.

I like these two pictures because they are basically the same but the focus is on a different person in each one.

We also learned how to hold our baby the right way, supporting her neck.

This past weekend we went to Mississippi for my cousin's wedding. Since Jason's brothers live in the same

town where the wedding was held, his parents drove in on Sunday to spend the day with their children, in-laws and granddaughters.

You can't have too many toys.

Lily Karen

The boys played a little football and Frisbee Golf.

Elaina looked extra grown-up this particular day.

At one point in the afternoon, I silently pointed the camera at Claire. Even though no directions were given, she instinctively knew to pose. She would pause between poses so that I could snap a picture and as soon as she heard the shutter click she would strike another one. I was laughing so hard inside but just kept a straight face on the outside. I wanted to see how long she would keep posing. It turns out she'll go for a long while before getting bored or distracted.

Uncle Tommy taught Elaina how to throw a Frisbee and they seemed to have a good time playing together.

And, technically, this is a June moment but whatever...

The girls have to help me clean up after supper now and they are getting really good. Elaina sweeps the floor, Claire wipes the table and scrapes out the leftover food and Eily loads the dishwasher. I was proud of what the dining room and kitchen looked like this evening.

Don't forget to enter the contest!!!

http://bekahsacran.blogspot.com/2011/05/you-know-what-this-picture-means.html

(Or instead of clicking on the link you can just scroll down.)

You know what this picture means!!!

2011-05-31T18:20:00.000-07:00

We were gone and now we are home. And for that reason, I am having a contest.

I will select a random winner from the correct entries. The winner will receive a $10 Starbucks gift card. I am hiding the entries until the time is up because I don't want any cheating. :) The contest will end on Thursday at 12pm.

Decipher the following paragraph:

DAD
EEL
AINA
LOVS
UOO
ELA
INA
ASP
RAWD
AVALL
PATEGS

Ready, set go!

Storms and Babies

2011-05-25T07:56:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness. What a night. We were up well past midnight watching the storm unfold. It touched down in Ractliff and Etna and we have a lot of family in those towns. Thank God for protecting them, for keeping them safe. My cousin, Matt, and his wife heard it go over their house and felt the house shake. Once it passed, he went outside and couldn't see the neighbor's house. He went to look for them and bring them back to his house so they would have a place to stay. It touched down on my Uncle Evan's land and he lost a window on his house, half of the roof of their "school house" and his I think the back half of his shop is gone. A tree fell on my other cousin's house. I haven't heard yet if our church sustained any damage but the main thing is that everyone is alive and no one was hurt. That tornado came so close to our house. It's always sad to see destruction from weather like what happened in Joplin but when it's this close to home, affecting people that you know, it takes on a whole different level of scary.

On to brighter and better news...

My older sister, Rachel, had her third little boy last night right before midnight. Ryan Mark is his name. The Mark is after my dad. He was 8 lbs and something ounces. I haven't heard any other details yet but I am going to the hospital this afternoon and will find out the story. Bet that was fun, having a baby during tornado weather.

2011-05-24T18:50:00.000-07:00

I'm here, I'm just very, very busy. We have put our house back on the market and I have been trying to repaint and make pretty. I'm also super exhausted. (Have I mentioned that before?) I promise at some point I will start posting often again.

Elaina's school books have been coming in and it's so exciting and fun to look at everything. Do you want to know what they are? Tell me if you do and I'll write a post about it.

Hey! Blogger's working again!

2011-05-15T19:56:00.000-07:00

We've been adjusting rather well to having another family member. Some days are harder than others but that's to be expected. Nora James is growing like a weed despite the fact that she seems to spit up her entire meal every time she eats.

The weather has been pleasant so I've had the girls playing outside a lot.

Daddy has been a huge help with the baby. Every morning I wake him up around 7 and he and Nora James go to the couch and cuddle together and I get back in bed.

The other day, Jason needed a break from painting so we all packed up and headed to a little park in our town.

NJ was being a little too rambunctious as you can tell from the picture below.

Making wishes...

"Practicing gymnastics"

Complete happiness

Postpartum belly

This is my 600th post.

2011-05-09T13:55:00.000-07:00

I'm so tired. I sat down to check something on the computer and my body weight is so heavy that I can't get up. I want to. I just can't.

Everyone is good.

Everyone is happy.

My brain is too tired to think of anything else to write.

Goodbye. Snore.

Happy 3rd Birthday to Eily!!

2011-04-30T19:16:00.000-07:00

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Shhh. Do you hear that?

2011-04-30T15:14:00.000-07:00

It's silence.

Mom took the three older girls to her house to stay the night tonight so it's just me and Baby here. She's sacked out on a mattress on the floor in the living room and in a few minutes I'm going to do the same on the couch. There's nothing like a nap at five in the afternoon.

We are repainting bedrooms (thus the mattress on the floor) and the chaos of furniture and toys everywhere is getting to me just a little bit. That and the fact that Jason has been gone for fifteen days. I'm just weary of all the change and I'm sure the girls are too. Going to Nanny's house will be a nice little break from the topsy-turvyness of their home.

As for Nora, she's doing great and is the cutest thing you'll ever see. She looks nothing like her picture on the side of the page but my camera broke and Jason has the good camera with him. I know! What a terrible time to not be able to take pictures but I will try to get a replacement photo posted as soon as I can. Nora had her two week check up this week and she's grown two inches and gained a pound. She already can't wear newborn diapers and some of her newborn-sized clothing. I hate that Jason missed her super tiny stage. He loves that stage so much.
.
But he's finally coming home and we only have one room left to paint and everything will become normal once again just like it always does. And then I'll want to have another baby. HA! Just kidding. As happy as I am every time I have a baby, I know that I am done. And it feels nice to have closure on that part of life. I'm excited to just concentrate on the the raising and nurturing aspect of parenting.

Eily turns three tomorrow. Be looking for her birthday montage.

This is how we labor in the 21st century.

2011-04-27T20:40:00.000-07:00

I love

2011-04-25T16:11:00.000-07:00

And of course we can't forget to post this beauty

2011-04-18T19:45:00.000-07:00

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

What April has held for us so far...

2011-04-18T19:03:00.000-07:00

Nana's 88th birthday party,

Preparing for Nora's birth,

and actually meeting Nora.

This was a painting that Jason did for the hospital where I had Nora. We snapped a photo as we were leaving.

Miss Nora

2011-04-15T14:31:00.000-07:00

We did it, we two. It was excruciatingly painful and now I'm very sleepy, but we did it.

I'm too tired to type much so here are some stats:

Nora James
7lbs 11oz
19 inches long
Blondie
GREAT nurser
Loud squaller
Has her Daddy's nose
Needs to work on her burping skills

Birth:
Natural
Lasted about 6.5 hours
Would totally do it again if I had to but don't ever plan on it
Elaina was allowed to watch her sister be born. It was special. She did great.
Baby didn't breathe right away. They had to use the balloon pump to get her yelling. It was a little tense. Thank the Lord that she's fine and it wasn't more serious.

We love her. All of us. Even Pee Wee hasn't been jealous. Yet.

First glimpses

Claire described her to her Bebe as a very tight blanket with a hat.

2011-04-15T10:19:00.001-07:00

Nora James made her debut at 2:35 yesterday afternoon. Pictures will be posted before too long.

Baby's a comin'!

2011-04-13T19:27:00.001-07:00

Heading off to the hospital soon. I'll let you know what we get out of all this. :)

2011-04-09T19:41:00.001-07:00

Little Baby Jack went to Heaven this afternoon. Please keep his family in your prayers.

Prayer Request

2011-04-05T18:57:00.000-07:00

First off, let me just tell you to ignore that whiny hiney post below. I have never been more thankful to have my baby tucked safe inside my belly.

Shortly after I wrote the previous post I received another phone call. Baby Jack was fine for four hours. He was alert, attentive, a great nurser and just an all around ok baby. Then he had what they believe was a stroke. He stopped breathing and he is now at a hospital doing a cooling treatment to try and stop brain damage. He still has yet to breathe on his own. They are going to keep cooling his brain for 3 days and after that, if he still hasn't responded, they will take him off life support. They have no idea what caused this because the doctors have only seen babies have strokes after high trauma births and his birth was the exact opposite of that.
I cannot imagine what Susanna and her husband are going through. Please pray for a miracle for little Jack and for comfort for his parents and the extended family.

Just being honest

2011-04-04T12:31:00.000-07:00

My friend, Susanna, and I have had a fun time these past nine months watching the differences between our two pregnancies and enjoying the fact that we had picked out the same boy name and talking about how funny it will be if we go into labor on the same day.
It's been interesting (and maybe a tad depressing for me) to watch the difference in how our bodies were *ahem* handling the pregnancy. This is me at 9 months:

I know you are thinking to yourself, "Well, you don't look that big. You look fine. Cankles? What cankles?" Well, let me show you Susanna and maybe you can see where I am coming from.

Susanna at nine months:

And now you are saying, "Oh. I see." And yes, this is her first baby and this is my fourth. And yes, she has been running marathons her entire pregnancy and I have been running around town trying to locate the best Dr. Pepper or Mr. Pibb and ice combination. (Steffey's Pizza wins, by the way.) But still, it doesn't exactly make me feel like a cutsie little petite pregnant woman. Especially when I really am supporting some nice cankles. (On a side note, while they are very unappealing and unattractive, they are exceptionally easy to shave. No ankle bone to work around.)

Saturday night I was up for 6 hours with what I call Level 2 contractions. Level 1 are your normal braxton hick contractions. They might make you stop and wince a little but they aren't really going to slow you down. Level 2 contractions are the ones that you endure when you are really in labor and are being monitored as you sweat it out at the hospital. They are the ones that you have to close your eyes and breathe through. Level 3 contractions are the ones you have after your water breaks. I won't describe those.

So anyways, I was up all night with Level 2 contractions. I have never had contractions that painful before while still at home. They were some serious ouchie. I finally started timing them early in the morning and they were always two or three minutes apart. Around 8am I decided to call the doctor and see what she thought about everything. When she called me back, I got up to go talk in my room to diminish the background noise and the contractions just stopped. Cold turkey. So I went to church and then went to my parents for lunch and took a long walk in the afternoon. And I did everything in my mental power to get those contractions back up and running. Guess what? My mental power level is apparently zero. I mean nothing was going on. And it was depressing and I have tried since then not to let it get me to the point of crying but I can feel the tears waiting for the tiniest excuse to come on down.

And then I got a phone call this morning.

Susanna had her baby. Three weeks early. Her water broke and four and a half hours later she was holding her baby boy.

I'm so excited for Susanna, Aaron and their new little Jack. I can't wait to see pictures and listen to her tell the story of his birth.

But maybe, just maybe, I'm a little depressed today.

We have nice weather today.

2011-04-01T13:06:00.000-07:00

It's a day full of sunshine. Just what this Mommy ordered. The girls have had fun playing outside in the mud and picking Spring Beauties and Buttercups.

When playing outside one must make sure that one wears plenty of hair accessories and extensions.

If it is exceptionally sunny, one must secure a willing umbrella holder. This will prove to be an easy task if one takes the time to find a very obliging sister.

One must also take care not to soak up too much sun so that one's super duper cute face stays super duper soft and kissable.

One's mother must go into labor soon or said mother just might go crazy.

2011-03-31T14:32:00.000-07:00

It's hard to find the motivation to post so here are some random facts.

Jason and Eily went on a date this evening. She was really excited and insisted that they ride in his car.

Jason pulled his back out this afternoon. We had to have a talk with Eily about not asking Daddy to hold her on her date. She was actually very excited about walking.

I had a doctor appointment this morning. There is a little progress but nothing to get excited about. Looks like it will still be a couple of weeks.

We have had a lot of talks this week about being respectful to each other. It seems to be getting through a little bit.

We came up with yet another possible name choice. It's nice to have options.

It's 4 in the morning

2011-03-29T02:16:00.000-07:00

and I'm sitting here timing contractions. I don't know why I'm bothering because I don't believe this is the real deal. It's just too early. I guess I'm just trying to pass the time since there is no way I'm going to be able to go to sleep.

Hello again!

2011-03-24T17:20:00.000-07:00

We have been so busy doing projects around the house that I haven't had the time or inclination to write a post. I feel a bit panicked to get all the to-do items crossed off the list before baby gets here. This week we have painted the shutters, painted the front door, installed a new storm door, pruned the bushes in the front flower beds, organized the barn, installed some light plates, put the baby bed together, switched the girls' clothing from winter to summer and then priced all the items that we don't want anymore for the yard sale we are having this weekend. We also bought some shrubs but we haven't had a chance to plant them yet.

What has the spring inspired you to do?

This warms my heart so much.

2011-03-18T07:42:00.000-07:00

I have waited a long time to walk into a room and see this. My heart became so excited. A love of reading is priceless. And besides that, I HAVE A CHILD THAT CAN READ. Unbelievable.

Ok. And I have to admit that I'm a little excited that Amelia Bedelia has once again entered my life.

2011-03-17T15:24:00.001-07:00

We are home after a week of traveling. Be back Monday.

She's got it figured out at a very young age.

2011-03-08T06:36:00.000-08:00

Eily just came in with her bottom lip sticking out, her head hanging down and her belly extended and said, "Mommy, my heart hurts." Then she gave a long drawn-out sigh and said, "I need a prince."