tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-195577692024-03-13T13:45:39.489-04:00Melinda BethA blogumentary of my family of ten. There's me, my husband, and our eight kids. No pets, just kids. Join us on our jolly joyful journey because alliteration makes me happy.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02900180928986741702noreply@blogger.comBlogger1172125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19557769.post-72133243753468794872013-03-31T21:58:00.000-04:002013-04-01T12:59:32.637-04:00Easter 2013<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I know. I've slacked off on the blog for the past five months. Just wanted to let you know we're still alive.</div>
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Family photo after church. If you're wondering if I'm pregnant. I'm not. It's just a froofy top. It's yellow ruffles and it makes me feel like an Easter baby chick.</div>
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It's impossible to get Jason to look normal in ANY family photo:</div>
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Jazz hands!</div>
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Potty squat.</div>
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All the more reason to love him.</div>
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Heidi's first Peep. She enjoyed every sugary bite of it.</div>
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And then grabbed a handful of Easter basket grass and wondered why she couldn't get it off her hand.</div>
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The Easter Bunny usually brings Easter baskets on Sunday morning and the kids get to eat a piece of candy with their breakfast or for their breakfast. However, this year Emily, my husband, and I were singing in the choir for Easter, and we needed to be at church early. I knew if the baskets arrived in the morning, George would get a hold of some chocolate during the hustle and bustle of breakfast time and drool it on his white shirt and Easter vest. So I warned the kids that the baskets would come while we were at church.<br />
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Well, we were running late and bedrooms were A MESS and I was not happy about it because I spent all Friday morning helping them clean their rooms. So before we left for church I warned them that the Easter baskets would come after church AND after their bedrooms were picked up. In other words, I bribed them.<br />
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They were upset, especially since they didn't get their annual Sunday chocolate breakfast, so I did it. I made a huge announcement. I said, "Guess what? <i>I</i> am the Easter Bunny! Do you really think a bunny comes around and delivers candy?!"<br />
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Yeah, I totally wrecked it, but it wasn't a huge surprise to most of them. Also, I totally biffed it the night before. I was SO tired and ready for bed on Saturday night, that I left a few obvious pieces of evidence lying around the house to be seen by children in the morning. But seriously, I've seen awkward and rather creepy pictures of children sitting on the Easter Bunny's lap, so I do not have a problem with my children knowing<a href="http://www.thepaltrysapien.com/2011/04/happy-easter/scary-terrifying-easter-bunny-3/" target="_blank"> he's a fraud</a>.<br />
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The good news is that the bedrooms got cleaned up. The plastic eggs got hidden and found. The chocolate and Peeps got eaten and we ended up having a wonderful day at church and at home celebrating the day of Christ's resurrection regardless of what time the Easter baskets arrived.<br />
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Knowing I will have a resurrected body someday after I die is a very comforting concept. No more sickness, no more pain. Simply a perfect body, hopefully without having to do any sort of celestial P90X. I look forward to that. In the meantime, I will enjoy my mortality and will nourish my mortal body with some chocolate over the next few days. Chocolate does a body and mind good.<br />
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Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18056977094811566757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19557769.post-39578512924582412912012-11-01T22:23:00.000-04:002012-11-01T23:39:05.371-04:00Happy Day After Halloween!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It always seems like such a relief when November 1st rolls around. I am not a fan of Halloween, but I force myself into the spirit of it when the last week of October rolls around, and I feel the pressure to get some Halloween costumes put together, and buy a pumpkin. Because really, it's all about the free candy, and by the end of October I could really go a good 100 Grand and Baby Ruth.<br />
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By now my kids know that they are not allowed to have individuality when it comes to costumes. They have become accepting of the mandatory group theme. This year they were super cooperative and really awesome for putting up with me.<br />
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The inspiration for the group theme costume came from a Google image search for "group theme costume". <a href="http://ideas.coolest-homemade-costumes.com/2012/08/13/coolest-playdoh-groupcostume/" target="_blank">This one caught my eye</a> and I made some modifications and improvements to make it appropriate for children.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBzBf0RegfwqqIx_82BmAWhFYlgkZBJJ6VvCtXUAxHH0YWI-j3-1u2gSCYaFjTvq_ANi2QfWfFigEHIpg-KVIEqjj6uqcpuTP04Z8t1GehVQ2InFdUGT4Q_-VTLuGiXJbO9lL1/s1600/IMG_4595-002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBzBf0RegfwqqIx_82BmAWhFYlgkZBJJ6VvCtXUAxHH0YWI-j3-1u2gSCYaFjTvq_ANi2QfWfFigEHIpg-KVIEqjj6uqcpuTP04Z8t1GehVQ2InFdUGT4Q_-VTLuGiXJbO9lL1/s640/IMG_4595-002.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I think ours turned out better, but that is just my biased opinion.</div>
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The Play-Doh color was chosen according to what solid color long-sleeved shirts I had in each kid's size. I had to buy the purple and blue one at Goodwill for $2.70 each. </div>
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I found the Play-Doh Logo doing a Google Image search and printed it out on red paper, again on white paper, and a third time on white paper. For art class one day we cut out the words and glued them onto the red paper, and then we glued the red paper onto the white paper. All that work is definitely not necessary if you have a color printer, but I don't have one, and I don't think I would even be willing to sacrifice all that red ink or toner for Halloween. It went pretty fast with some teamwork.</div>
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You can see the yellow container was just a piece of yellow posterboard I bought for $0.25 each at Hobby Lobby. They happened to be on sale the week I bought them. I punched holes in the front and back and criss-crossed grosgrain ribbon that matched their shirts. I already had the ribbon because at one time I bought a whole bunch to make bows for my girls hair but never did. So sometimes it pays off to not follow through with a project. I tied knots to keep the ribbon from slipping through the holes.</div>
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For the lids, I had some old bucket lids stored in my garage. I knew I've been keeping them in there for a good reason for the past 6 years. However, I did see bucket lids at Walmart for $1.17, so it's still rather inexpensive if you don't have a supply of bucket lids. I spray painted them a color. For blue and purple I bought two cheap painter's hats at Hobby Lobby for $0.99 each, I hot glued them to the lid, and spray painted them as well. The spray paint was the most expensive part of the costume at $4.34 a can, but it didn't bother me to spend the money because there is paint left over, and I'm sure I will use it on another project someday, perhaps our homemade Christmas gifts.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4w4ooaHE96cW1r6TSFdfuTD2p_2tOuTP7steinCsQd0zwjZP6oWxIo6RHKSwuT-YxQCiHJJWP-gkgbPSlaEehPD7FZkSNMh_yF1B6CwgVgQmOIIME56Nrm8797BIdTjH7nsbM/s1600/IMG_4494-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4w4ooaHE96cW1r6TSFdfuTD2p_2tOuTP7steinCsQd0zwjZP6oWxIo6RHKSwuT-YxQCiHJJWP-gkgbPSlaEehPD7FZkSNMh_yF1B6CwgVgQmOIIME56Nrm8797BIdTjH7nsbM/s640/IMG_4494-001.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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For orange, black, white, green, and red I used old pairs of cotton girls tights. I cut off the legs and glued the crotch part to the lid. The tights worked better because they fit tighter around their heads. Wendy said hers was too tight, but she is also known for being <strike>a little</strike> dramatic. You could also probably use old kids underwear, but I know there aren't any old pairs of underwear in my house that I would be willing to wear on my head.</div>
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Trick or Treat buckets</div>
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I knew we ate ice cream by the bucket for a reason. I can never get myself to recycle these when we finish one, so I have a stack of them in my garage. I color coded them with matching ribbon because my wisdom spoke to me and predicted there would be mix-ups and arguing at some point during the night. </div>
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Heidi did't participate in the Play-Doh, but she posed nicely for me. It looks like she's doing the snake.<br />
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While we were trick or treating, Bradley turned to me and said, "Mommy, next year can we be something that is at least just <i>a little bit</i> evil?"</div>
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Haha! That made me laugh and still does. I thought Play-Doh <i>was</i> evil! </div>
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Now for a fun little Blast to the Past. Our kids always ask us at dinner to tell them a story about when we were little. This month I tried to remember Halloween stories to tell them. Today I went through my old photos and made this collage to show them. The number is my age. I don't know why I'm mising age 8. Either I didn't go trick or treating or we failed to get a picture. Perhaps the film got exposed, or the picture was so bad it didn't make it into the photo album. Huh? Yeah, remember when you couldn't take a billion pictures until you got the perfect shot? You snapped a picture, hoped you didn't blink and got the results a week or two later? I appreciate digital photography and editing a whole lot!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTMy9jikVNKMamuCIUikyI3YHKnpSj1g0tB1fU1wlgbeq8UPDD0PtwOiIcSQupsCkmLEyaqqAsQMIKX_KAeOk6VE_gAe4YShEQR1bzk-rXjDUx0hqK0l9Hp-MVafq_9pxXZVFG/s1600/Halloween-002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTMy9jikVNKMamuCIUikyI3YHKnpSj1g0tB1fU1wlgbeq8UPDD0PtwOiIcSQupsCkmLEyaqqAsQMIKX_KAeOk6VE_gAe4YShEQR1bzk-rXjDUx0hqK0l9Hp-MVafq_9pxXZVFG/s640/Halloween-002.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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4 - Raggedy Ann<br />
5 - Princess<br />
6 - Bunny<br />
7 - Cheerleader<br />
9 - Drunk Hobo<br />
10 - Grapes<br />
11 - Raggedy Ann (again)<br />
12 - Peter Pan<br />
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I'm a little embarrassed by my age 9 costume. I'm thinking it was my mom's idea? But since she is not here to defend herself, I will take the blame and admit that I told my mom I wanted to be a drunk hobo for Halloween. I'm pretty sure I didn't take that bottle with me while I trick or treated, and thank goodness it wasn't foreshadowing into my future. Or was it? ...</div>
Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18056977094811566757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19557769.post-67398360612344084882012-10-17T23:32:00.001-04:002012-10-17T23:32:26.585-04:00Somebody has a boyfriend....<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We had some friends visit us Monday and Tuesday. Whenever I set Heidi down to her counterpart boy baby, she couldn't keep her hands off of him. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7JZJKzOxxPZcy3JGglqL4SJoXXP3C9efpdBRevFOqJmvirvDhlv71vHIO3RoxmoaFoMPJj_wqgMzmDCjy5KnyWzylQ0ckJqcvSCTpvZUYue1q1EdfNvyYAi_hlM1ld67QlFSC/s1600/Heidi+and+Dax.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7JZJKzOxxPZcy3JGglqL4SJoXXP3C9efpdBRevFOqJmvirvDhlv71vHIO3RoxmoaFoMPJj_wqgMzmDCjy5KnyWzylQ0ckJqcvSCTpvZUYue1q1EdfNvyYAi_hlM1ld67QlFSC/s640/Heidi+and+Dax.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB77FfT-DlvpdAKdlHCxT_iV6VWT_NgOKSZ5wL5cjH_OnxlTHhyphenhyphenrG__wN-sbVobgTOnIq9-Uiz4REhpQy5ue-dYt8silWVcqo6LC2R_2pVolo6hirzUDw3i_mOpiiI-98ErsPx/s1600/IMG_4096-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB77FfT-DlvpdAKdlHCxT_iV6VWT_NgOKSZ5wL5cjH_OnxlTHhyphenhyphenrG__wN-sbVobgTOnIq9-Uiz4REhpQy5ue-dYt8silWVcqo6LC2R_2pVolo6hirzUDw3i_mOpiiI-98ErsPx/s640/IMG_4096-001.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Even if it was just the tip of her finger. And notice Heid's new hair do? I hear baby boys dig the Pebbles style. Heidi is also robbing the cradle. Little Dax is 3 weeks younger than her.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK-fMnFL_mznJADa-qb5PPaDZ67_HPF6auCCFDydItJVU-NddwBQ6_oZBcgXKWRtnQdZz8MkSfntUqp5yfrlWNwNngMKejo7GdjG14W2Js7L1n1LOyYc6geJm-J-OgouwJ72VT/s1600/IMG_4173-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK-fMnFL_mznJADa-qb5PPaDZ67_HPF6auCCFDydItJVU-NddwBQ6_oZBcgXKWRtnQdZz8MkSfntUqp5yfrlWNwNngMKejo7GdjG14W2Js7L1n1LOyYc6geJm-J-OgouwJ72VT/s640/IMG_4173-001.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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It was a good preview of life with 13 kids. Ok, so I don't think I will likely ever have 13 children, but hopefully I will have at least 13 grandchildren! :)</div>
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Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18056977094811566757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19557769.post-44541800359397137772012-09-17T22:53:00.000-04:002012-09-17T23:28:09.601-04:00Last Week of Summer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Ok, I think it's time for an update.</div>
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First of all, Happy Constitution Day!</div>
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We celebrated by going to the beach this evening. We were also celebrating the last week of summer. I love summer. This one was particularly a good one because of little baby Heidi being born. It was also a pleasure to have my dad visit for seven weeks. I also like summer because my birthday is in June. I love the long days. I love not feeling obligated to learn or teach EVERY day. My kids had quite the dose of PBS Kids and Netflix this summer. </div>
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It always makes me feel a little sad when fall rolls around. I'm never quite ready to bring out the browns and oranges, nor the socks. The socks mostly because it makes laundry that much less enjoyable when you have ten people in the family with a gazillion socks. </div>
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Anyway, I just wanted to share some photos from our evening tonight. I need to post more pictures from our entire summer. Perhaps later.
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George loves the beach.</div>
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Normally I would take pictures of my own family, but they were in the water drifting away from me and I couldn't get any good shots of them. This is what was going on around me, so I took pictures:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXbIRdqqW7aESeH9THfYK7XscSNQZq61evWbcz4fSZQYkxegRlbin5WGzBSfGVB6rNmnb3Kg4bSb9q3vm7dAwErTr_GsSqf_VCsxCZxTepTAuNQ5woGCSf3BrxbZd_QE0llERu/s1600/IMG_5699.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXbIRdqqW7aESeH9THfYK7XscSNQZq61evWbcz4fSZQYkxegRlbin5WGzBSfGVB6rNmnb3Kg4bSb9q3vm7dAwErTr_GsSqf_VCsxCZxTepTAuNQ5woGCSf3BrxbZd_QE0llERu/s640/IMG_5699.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Two men doing crunches in the ocean. </div>
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More exercises. It was like P90X Beach Edition. After this they did a crab walk into the waves. I didn't get to see the rest of their workout because I had to chase after George down the beach while carrying the infant car seat. That was my workout.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZRN-IzD1pLxFNNpAK3rVoYD5BxuzGjGN1U-gk6fYiQunfSEqRFek-BjblAaZTHYO_mve7hMxixYiKpvOSOZ9NGn3riryoqZTMwxID-rOGR9QBDK9-FfdwYT0Y5lav_Te3l_X/s1600/IMG_5764.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZRN-IzD1pLxFNNpAK3rVoYD5BxuzGjGN1U-gk6fYiQunfSEqRFek-BjblAaZTHYO_mve7hMxixYiKpvOSOZ9NGn3riryoqZTMwxID-rOGR9QBDK9-FfdwYT0Y5lav_Te3l_X/s640/IMG_5764.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Heidi</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Grl-fs795mtLzc4tx_lHLyTeJrjJOZ9-_uiPgnF8Po6NGqyCrM1Y_Dktp3Qf7xhY6rxpQe6czjwLnhwe0h17rSkRcUBWzh0cTwx8We7e95kdVDI-I2NTcVtyJJLIkUEKzJDp/s1600/IMG_5741.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Grl-fs795mtLzc4tx_lHLyTeJrjJOZ9-_uiPgnF8Po6NGqyCrM1Y_Dktp3Qf7xhY6rxpQe6czjwLnhwe0h17rSkRcUBWzh0cTwx8We7e95kdVDI-I2NTcVtyJJLIkUEKzJDp/s640/IMG_5741.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Fun in the sand.</div>
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Rachel singing a church song in her old lady voice.</div>
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Our weekly Family Home Evening Family Photo.</div>
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Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18056977094811566757noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19557769.post-36146996706786779012012-08-16T22:14:00.000-04:002012-08-16T22:14:18.728-04:00Lucky #7 <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It took Wendy seven years to master the bike and Heidi seven weeks to master the smile:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Ihavxh5ENXp99e4fwP29BwyqFvpIZRgu2X9mnRVLxZF1QUzyuUpAWvYpqf7o2q67yPde1KfzN3DQDMGS0LavEhYxmjfcbv2Wp6V2TAzd5gtzy1Nehp6a-kcLCky5-v3mmdJd/s1600/MVI_5426-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Ihavxh5ENXp99e4fwP29BwyqFvpIZRgu2X9mnRVLxZF1QUzyuUpAWvYpqf7o2q67yPde1KfzN3DQDMGS0LavEhYxmjfcbv2Wp6V2TAzd5gtzy1Nehp6a-kcLCky5-v3mmdJd/s640/MVI_5426-001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I'm not sure when most kids learn to ride a bike without training wheels. I think Emily was about 6, Bradley was 5, and Sarah was about 6 or 7. I was just super excited that Wendy was finally willing to try it today at age 7. I don't know if it was the boy's bike or the tutu that helped, but she got the job done. I have to give myself some credit too because I was the one running along side her in my flip flops on one of the most humid days ever!<br />
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And sorry for such a poor quality photo. I put Emily in charge of photography and she thought I meant videography, so I had to take a snapshot, using Google Picasa, from the video, which is why it's all weird and looking like I used a 1 megapixel digital camera from 1999. <br />
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This isn't one of Heidi's most photogenic shots, but.....look who's smiling! It warms a heart. </div>
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Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18056977094811566757noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19557769.post-11367851390810718842012-08-14T21:41:00.002-04:002012-08-14T21:41:34.294-04:00Weight Check<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">It's a sad day when your baby exceeds your postal scale's 11 pound weight limit.</span></div>
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Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18056977094811566757noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19557769.post-50076689270504065002012-08-13T23:15:00.002-04:002012-08-13T23:57:47.004-04:00Baby #8 Birth Story<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.10409617540426552" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It began on Monday morning, June 25th. I woke for my daily tiny-pregnant-bladder morning bathroom trip at 6:30 am. I was alarmed to see blood....in my underwear. I knew it wasn’t a good sign, and so I panicked. I woke up my husband and told him what was going on. My husband called the doctor and the doctor said, “No more monkeys jump.....” Actually the doctor said it would probably be best to head to the hospital be checked and monitored. So that is what we did.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was so relieved to hear the baby’s heartbeat once they hooked me up to the monitors. My fears were calmed, but I still wondered what they would do since I was 38 weeks and 3 days. My regular doctor came in and examined me. He wasn’t sure what was causing the bleeding, but he concluded that it was related to cervical change and nothing to be worried about. He sent me home, told me to call if I had any further problems. He also suggested that I think about being induced on Friday, when I officially hit 39 weeks. Thankfully, I had no further major bleeding that day.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The following day I had my regularly scheduled doctor’s appointment in the morning. My status was the same as the previous morning. I was about 2 cm, the baby was still high, and labor did not seem imminent. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wednesday was uneventful. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thursday I woke up at about 5:10 am to go to the bathroom and again there was blood. It was a menstrual flow amount of blood. I didn’t panic because of my Monday experience, and therefore I didn’t call the doctor right away. I sat on my bed hoping to feel baby move. It seemed like it took FOREVER to feel her move, and when I thought I did, it was so subtle that I second guessed that I actually felt it. I decided to call the doctor. The on-call doctor seemed to think it would be fine to wait until the office opened at 8:30 am. I agreed, but I wanted to be more confident that baby was moving. I went downstairs and drank some juice to help wake her. She had never been a very active fetus in the morning, and I often waited at least a half hour every morning to feel some movement, so it wasn’t unusual. After some more subtle movement, I called my regular doctor. He had given me his personal cell phone number at my appointment the previous week so he would be sure to deliver baby number eight, since he hadn’t delivered ANY of my previous seven babies. He told me to meet him at the office at 8:15 am. He was scheduled to work in a different office across town that day, so he was going to check me at the office nearest the hospital before he headed to the office across town. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My husband and I got ourselves showered and ready. While getting ready, I had a few minor contractions, so we decided to head toward the doctor’s office a little early and sit in the parking lot in case labor was beginning. My dad was home to watch the kids.On the way, I got a phone call from my doctor. He changed his mind and told me to go to the hospital instead of the office. I don’t know what changed his mind, but we obeyed. We arrived at the hospital at 7:30 am. I had my husband take a picture of my pregnant belly just in case I was admitted and had the baby that day. I really had no idea what to expect. I half expected to be sent home and half expected to have a baby. I was ok either way. I really wanted her to be born the following day, on the 29th, so our family would have three consecutive birthdays in a row (baby on the 29th, mine on the 30th, and Wendy’s on the 1st.) But since bleeding was a concern, I was willing to accept her a day early if it ensured our health and safety.</span></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Again I was relieved to hear the baby’s heartbeat when they hooked me up to the monitors. However, her heartbeat seemed to be faster than it was Monday. On Monday it remained stable in the 150 bpm range. On Thursday it was hovering in the 170’s. I inquired about it and the nurse said I was probably dehydrated, so she hooked me up to an IV. Sure enough the heart rate went down to the 150’s once I had my fluids. My doctor came and examined me at about 8:15 am. He said he didn’t know for sure what was causing the bleeding. He measured me at a “ballooning” 3 cm, which meant that the baby’s head was putting pressure on my cervix and making it bulge. He advised that I be induced that day. He said that it wasn’t worth the risk of the bleeding being an issue with the placenta and having an emergency situation later that weekend. I agreed. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So the plan was that my doctor was going to come back at 11:00 am to break my water and get the party started. I was extremely nervous about the whole situation. I had a pile of wadded tissues on my hospital tray table from all the crying. I had also never been induced before, and did not know what to expect. I always have a fear of dying in childbirth, especially since I had a bleeding episode after the <a href="http://blog.melindabeth.com/2010/05/birth-story-episode-7.html">birth of George</a> two years ago. So I was especially fearful going into a birth already bleeding. It just didn’t seem like a good situation. I decided to write in my journal and let my kids know I loved them and express my testimony that I know Jesus Christ is my Savior. I told them in my journal that I would see them again someday. It was such a morbid journal entry, but I didn’t want to depart from this Earth with any regrets. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My doctor was running a little bit late and he arrived at about 11:40 just as a I was addressing my future grandchildren in my journal. He didn’t miss a beat when he walked in, sat on the bed and opened his medical device that looked like a <a href="http://www.nurturingheartsbirthservices.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/perforator_large.jpg">giant plastic crochet hook</a> to break my water. I’ve had my water broken before while in labor, but this was the first time I had it broken </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">before </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">contractions started. I had no idea what the outcome would be, except that I was committed to having the baby within the next 24 hours. He jabbed around for a while. It was extremely uncomfortable. He was having a difficult time breaking it because her head was pressed up against my cervix so tightly, creating no good spot to pop it. But finally after a few minutes of poking and prodding, it slowly began to leak. </span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All that poking and prodding with the <a href="http://www.nurturingheartsbirthservices.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/perforator_large.jpg">giant crochet hook</a> gave little Heidi some war wounds on back of her head. She survived. And, yes, she has a lot of hair. It's kind of weird.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After the water was broken, the baby’s heart rate dropped. The nurse told me to roll on my right side and she gave me an oxygen mask. It kind of freaked me out, but nobody was in a panic so I remained calm. I couldn’t see the heart rate, but I could hear it pa-booming more slowly than before, and the doctor was watching it constantly. The nurse told me it was normal for a baby’s heart rate to change when their environment changes. I chose to believe her. Finally, when baby's heart rate was back to normal in about 5 minutes they hooked me up to pitocin to help trigger contractions. The nurse said the pitocin usually takes about 30 minutes to kick in. As she was hooking it up she informed me that the anesthesiologist was in a C-section at the moment, so if I wanted an epidural it would be at least an hour before I could get one. It made me laugh that they were telling me this </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">after</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the fact, but I took a deep breath and said, “Ok! I can do this!” I wasn’t planning to have an epidural, but it would’ve been nice to have had the option. Rumor has it that pitocin makes contractions more intense than natural contractions. I asked if it was even necessary to get the pitocin, but my doctor assured me that the dosage was so low, it should not adversely affect labor. He said that we breathe in more pitocin than the amount that was being administered through the IV. I actually believed him for a moment, but I’m pretty sure he was kidding.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The doctor left the room because he said a watched pot doesn’t boil. I had him assure me that he wasn’t leaving the hospital, and he said he would be a moment’s notice away. He ended up sitting in the physicians’ lounge watching the news, possibly lamenting the announcement of the Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of Obamacare earlier that morning. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">About five or ten minutes later my contractions started. They weren’t extremely painful, but enough where I had to stop and breathe during them. I managed to take this picture with my iTouch in between contractions and post it to Facebook. It made me laugh because I don’t believe there is such thing as comfort when it comes to labor and delivery. The picture was comical too.</span></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The contractions became regular at about 3 minutes apart. Since they came so soon, they were likely naturally occurring from my water breaking. At this point I had no idea how long they would last before delivery. I was kind of expecting a 2-3 hours because I was only about 4 cm when they began. I had a lot of pressure on my bladder, so I decided to go to the bathroom before the contractions intensified. When I got back to my bed I had a very intense contraction and they continued to intensify, still at about 3 minutes apart. I told the nurse she was not to leave the room and she kindly obliged. She told me to tell her if I was beginning to feel pressure. I couldn’t tell for sure if I was feeling pressure, and I didn’t want to be the woman in labor who cried wolf. I decided to tell her that I was feeling slight pressure so that she would feel an urgency to call the doctor. She did a cervical check and said I was about 8 cm. About 3 minutes later I had another extremely intense contraction. Usually I can just breath through them, but this one was intense enough where I couldn’t help but moan and verbalize my pain. (No bad words, just more volume to the moaning and breathing.) When that one was over I made sure the nurse was getting the doctor. I was relieved to see him walk into the room wearing his scrubs as I breathed heavily through the pain of the next contraction. The nurse immediately began to help him get on his baby catching gear. While she was tying his robe thingy and he putting on his gloves, I could painfully feel a head crowning. The nurse and doctor did not seem to be ready and I was getting nervous that the baby would pop out and fall on the floor. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now, I’m not a loud and boisterous person by nature. I have a tendency toward the quiet and meek type of personality. So if I scream at you, you better listen and take me seriously. It was at this point that the pain was so intense that I moaned and screamed, “It HUUUUURTS!!!! …. She's COOOOOMING!!! …. AHHHHGGGGHHHH! …..It HURRRRRRRTS!!!! …. She's COOOOOMING!!!”</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now, the quiet and meek translation would be: “Excuse me. Um. There is a baby’s head in my crotch trying to come out, and she is not waiting. It really hurts. So if you could please hurry up and let me push I would really appreciate it, because I would like to get her out as soon as possible. I hope you’re ready to catch a baby, because my body is about to push her out. Oh, and did I mention it really hurts? Thank you.” </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> picture a pregnant woman thrashing her legs back and forth on a hospital bed while tightly holding onto the bedrails, her head thrown back as she screams, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth almost to the point of hyperventilation. Then picture more shouting of the above phrase, “IT HUUUUURTS!!! SHE’S COOOOMING!!” That was me. I would love to have a video of the action, but I’ll have to be content with the vivid memory, and you will just have to use your imagination.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My husband knew to take me seriously. I think my doctor thought maybe he should take me seriously, so he peeked between my legs, saw a head full of hair trying to make her way out, and he said, “She </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">sure</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is!” which gave a boost of motivation for the doctor and nurse to pick up the pace. My doctor instructed me not to push.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In response to my doctor’s instruction not to push, my husband laughed and said, “Yeah, right!” My husband later related to me how he just wanted to bust up in laughter at the whole situation. I mean he felt bad that I was in so much pain and being told not to push when it was clearly time to push, but he said watching the nurse and doctor scramble to get ready to deliver a baby, knowing that time was against them, was very funny. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Finally my body decided to take over, disobey all doctor’s orders, and do the pushing for me. I no longer had control over the contents of my uterus, and a baby head popped out. The doctor must have seen it happen from his peripheral vision, so he turned 90 degrees and reached between my legs to catch a baby and guide her out safely at 12:38 pm onto the foot of the hospital bed. She was born about 55 minutes after my doctor broke my water. Apparently, my pot doesn’t take long to boil. Baby immediately began crying and I received much relief from both pain and nervousness. I was so excited to have baby here safely, and I was slightly shocked that the anticipation of her arrival was over so quickly. </span></b><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oh....and that rumor about pitocin making contractions more intense is not a rumor. It's totally true.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They set the gooey baby on my abdomen while my husband cut the umbilical cord. I thought they would leave her there for a bit longer but they whisked her off to the baby heater thingy to wipe her off and do all they do to a newborn. I was kind of thinking, “Aww. I want to hold her for a little longer.” But at the same time it didn’t bother me that they took her to wipe off the goo before I held her. </span></b><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This may sound weird, but one of my favorite parts of childbirth is sitting in the bed with my legs spread eagle while the doctor delivers the placenta and my husband stands by the crib snapping pictures of the new baby. I think I like it because there is an immense feeling of physical relief after the baby comes out, and a secondary feeling of physical relief after the placenta comes out. It’s also a rare moment in life when I have no other option than to just sit and observe the moment while a team of other people do all the work and photography.</span></b></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I love hearing the sound of a little newborn cry across the room. I love finding out how much the baby weighs after months of wondering. I love the joy and emotion that is felt as we welcome a new member to the family, even when that new family member is one of the most funky newborn babies you have ever seen....</span></b><br />
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I'll be the first to admit that Heidi is not one of my more attractive newborns. But I'm ok with that. Wendy wasn't either, and she has turned out to be quite beautiful. I'll be patient for Heidi's beauty to evolve.</div>
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Seriously look at those nostrils! I think she had her nose pressed against my pelvic bone which flattened her nose into a funky shape. At least that is what I would like to think. You can poke fun. I did. </div>
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....I am happy to report that at 6 weeks old Heidi is beginning to grow into her nostrils, and she's getting cuter.</div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So that is pretty much the story of Heidi’s birth. It was a pleasure to have my very own doctor actually deliver one of my children after me being his patient for 12 years. I have to say, I enjoyed being induced more than I thought I would. I would totally do it again....</span></b> <br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Heidi's first birthday cake. I love birthday parties!</span></b> <br />
<b style="font-weight: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></b> <b style="font-weight: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another benefit of being induced on the June 28th was that it ensured that I would have a June baby. All of my children have birthdays in a different month. Only Heidi and me have to share a month. There are still openings in March, August, September, and December.</span></b></div>
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Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18056977094811566757noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19557769.post-47521090763071231432012-07-01T23:07:00.001-04:002012-07-01T23:17:12.555-04:00Birthday! Birthday! Birthday!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I just wanted my blog world to know that Heidi Johanna was born!<br />
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She came June 28th and all went well. I really wanted her to be born on the 29th so we would have three consecutive birthdays in the family, but she didn't cooperate. Well, she may have, but my doctor advised me to be induced on the 28th for medical reasons, which will be included in the birth story that is coming soon...(hopefully tomorrow.)<br />
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Our first family photo with Heidi.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">June 28th, 2012</span></div>
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Heidi Johanna</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">6 lb 11 oz, 19 1/4 in, 12:38 pm</span></div>
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A lot of people ask if there is meaning to the name. Not really. We just really liked the name Heidi and we thought the German version of Johanna went well with it. It wasn't an easy decision because there was another contender name. We also like the name Henry and wanted to save the 'H' in case we have another boy. But at this point, I don't think we need to be worried about saving first letters for future children in case there aren't anymore. We might as well use the names we like for the children we have. If we by chance do have another boy, I'm sure we can find a name that starts with A, F, I, K, L, N, O, P, Q, T, U, V, X, Y, or Z. You think? (In case you're wondering, we have a rule that each member of the family will have a different first initial. Pretty much the opposite of what the Duggars do.)</div>
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We are very excited. However, reality hit today when my milk came in, the postpartum hormonal headaches began, and I changed several newborn poopy diapers. That stuff just seems to constantly ooze out of her!</div>
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We came home yesterday, June 30th, from the hospital. It was my 36th birthday. I would have to say it was a great birthday present to bring home! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxbdemZZSowSaOqCdTqieMXDUYhyloQY4EwWq-k7Un3nJg5jliGupScUda24wKM7d-uZo9OW8cNMpD0Bv5DUx6IwMDoJZ60Hze1_4-AgeiuAzcaF_tJBqpwhJ_Nf_wEag8dOjV/s1600/IMG_7010-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxbdemZZSowSaOqCdTqieMXDUYhyloQY4EwWq-k7Un3nJg5jliGupScUda24wKM7d-uZo9OW8cNMpD0Bv5DUx6IwMDoJZ60Hze1_4-AgeiuAzcaF_tJBqpwhJ_Nf_wEag8dOjV/s400/IMG_7010-001.JPG" width="397" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyjwk52MlvVwPh4_HPqvCLbUO9rvTkGRQwWH5WjFv8bhsKaWlgqwN_5SDOCqCrS1sQklF5EwLPxLp6Wvwhaboj2h73iXaYYFHswHGNBxfEwh0j1HfZcFVfwQaEZiLic-CgRlU3/s1600/IMG_7137-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyjwk52MlvVwPh4_HPqvCLbUO9rvTkGRQwWH5WjFv8bhsKaWlgqwN_5SDOCqCrS1sQklF5EwLPxLp6Wvwhaboj2h73iXaYYFHswHGNBxfEwh0j1HfZcFVfwQaEZiLic-CgRlU3/s400/IMG_7137-001.JPG" width="398" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">June 30, 2012</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEst7l1rYXVByT7-KipZH2UBb5cCdD0KpbmaMPQDf0W5zXrzejJKL-toHL70zaxbjbJvfleZUMFZMRvUQ9-8FJ7RvkrcWp_KP2O2vxPOspf6rp-rTFKJMuZbTSVGsODbOATvSJ/s1600/IMG_7242-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEst7l1rYXVByT7-KipZH2UBb5cCdD0KpbmaMPQDf0W5zXrzejJKL-toHL70zaxbjbJvfleZUMFZMRvUQ9-8FJ7RvkrcWp_KP2O2vxPOspf6rp-rTFKJMuZbTSVGsODbOATvSJ/s640/IMG_7242-001.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">July 1st, 2012</span></div>
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Wendy's seventh birthday. Sarah baked, frosted, and decorated her cake. It's Funfetti with cream cheese frosting. It was a great day for Wendy!</div>
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Now we get a 2 day break as we wait and prepare to celebrate America's birthday on the 4th.</div>
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</div>Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18056977094811566757noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19557769.post-87708346844318031392012-06-21T22:26:00.001-04:002012-06-21T23:37:02.913-04:00Killing Time<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">That last two weeks of pregnancy always seem to drag, especially when your last child was two weeks early. I think that was just luck because right now I feel like I will be pregnant forever.<br />
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Meanwhile I've been finding things to pass the time. Today my dad and I took the kids to a local farm to pick tomatoes so that we could can them. I've never canned tomatoes before. It's something my grandmother did every year, so I thought I'd carry on the tradition. I'm sure she would be proud.<i> </i>I don't know if we did it her way, but we tried. I Googled it and found a method on our state's university extension program's website.<br />
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Here is our day in pictures:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3BvxHRU5enaLTKDl9aNl3Ef6wDtodFj7X3XsaYWlW3HYZ_A4xF2_3sttQEIRY4svc9Ye2i_VtDUY4OZ6VDJ5vpdfr53Q6BvH76CRGUn6Y-GfM1HyxP4CreA91BHZ-a9bu5SZb/s1600/IMG_0660-003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="638" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3BvxHRU5enaLTKDl9aNl3Ef6wDtodFj7X3XsaYWlW3HYZ_A4xF2_3sttQEIRY4svc9Ye2i_VtDUY4OZ6VDJ5vpdfr53Q6BvH76CRGUn6Y-GfM1HyxP4CreA91BHZ-a9bu5SZb/s640/IMG_0660-003.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">We picked 60 tomatoes. </span></div><span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIxXo4ZzddoKcaymx6HXYF6yNgOQ2bgHUbiC3DODxxXBBSpZJEHMmf6T4s58lYPiDi_6kXP8ic9YTf3kWxl4H0LefhKFWZ-qjPFv8ump9OAX-nVUk4UmNT3YZp49LW_UYo68fN/s1600/IMG_0664-002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIxXo4ZzddoKcaymx6HXYF6yNgOQ2bgHUbiC3DODxxXBBSpZJEHMmf6T4s58lYPiDi_6kXP8ic9YTf3kWxl4H0LefhKFWZ-qjPFv8ump9OAX-nVUk4UmNT3YZp49LW_UYo68fN/s640/IMG_0664-002.JPG" width="638" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It was about 35 pounds.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsw777PwIFcDcjahAopawEjcKEBvpfjz57M-w08aLNztHxndk9gR8AkJVuTrEhy71BoXhoIjagWAoYlXUFpeykBQ09-ctbcLmsrb7FSu9CdKGr2CoJK1_oj0uiSS8G5CTNwUGy/s1600/IMG_6204-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsw777PwIFcDcjahAopawEjcKEBvpfjz57M-w08aLNztHxndk9gR8AkJVuTrEhy71BoXhoIjagWAoYlXUFpeykBQ09-ctbcLmsrb7FSu9CdKGr2CoJK1_oj0uiSS8G5CTNwUGy/s400/IMG_6204-001.JPG" width="398" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I washed them in the kitchen sink. Ideally these would have been picked from our home garden, but our tomatoes aren't doing so well this year. The fruit flies and worms seem to like them. </div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc5GmJzPtAHCSZGIY4E8E5p4mnWqROAFJscI80EGSiXF46bw7ud2S0YLf7VoougAgSnsWoKyRPCxPQ7Ugx40IhGi29rry5SKm6FWcBnoofhfnjGjWNQcIoDstDUZKGeMX2sTPx/s1600/IMG_6208-002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc5GmJzPtAHCSZGIY4E8E5p4mnWqROAFJscI80EGSiXF46bw7ud2S0YLf7VoougAgSnsWoKyRPCxPQ7Ugx40IhGi29rry5SKm6FWcBnoofhfnjGjWNQcIoDstDUZKGeMX2sTPx/s400/IMG_6208-002.JPG" width="398" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I sterilized the Mason jars in the dishwasher.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsVOrulhsUgsMmWWEH5x8TSDNEeQO3Rqog90rjcZcn_W4er2Yo36b_3EFPOP_k4rfnXUbx0nkBrbIoKN6HTvmvltnwQMxtBhyphenhyphenp-NyNLxlMoFAVuyNhJbp5B8QVPyRYXWiQzJrv/s1600/IMG_6213-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsVOrulhsUgsMmWWEH5x8TSDNEeQO3Rqog90rjcZcn_W4er2Yo36b_3EFPOP_k4rfnXUbx0nkBrbIoKN6HTvmvltnwQMxtBhyphenhyphenp-NyNLxlMoFAVuyNhJbp5B8QVPyRYXWiQzJrv/s400/IMG_6213-001.JPG" width="398" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My dad cut out the stem part.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmfOtmndWhu51icpl-e9ZzR7SU7yEPnnojaQpqCUdFFRoFCwcurJTdTLZxrsvhJbZg4DTpXrEIpCpeMPNAogIqysmaC7iC3ATDFJpA7J1iS0uxGnThyEFifqsC_H4UdR4MnezF/s1600/IMG_6216-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmfOtmndWhu51icpl-e9ZzR7SU7yEPnnojaQpqCUdFFRoFCwcurJTdTLZxrsvhJbZg4DTpXrEIpCpeMPNAogIqysmaC7iC3ATDFJpA7J1iS0uxGnThyEFifqsC_H4UdR4MnezF/s400/IMG_6216-001.JPG" width="398" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">He also sliced an "X" in the bottom of the tomatoes to help the skin peel off nicely.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMrzV1P_KwADWRiqFaYPOCFryQdigyl3Lf_MtIPBPWyqSM8mMW2xOuZ9B0m_vWasf1xldfcksOvorWHYaUSqrBz7bD_3P9VXzqz8ofxpC5olXnFOjH_i6NOH3r_l4_MExDtnFn/s1600/IMG_6210-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMrzV1P_KwADWRiqFaYPOCFryQdigyl3Lf_MtIPBPWyqSM8mMW2xOuZ9B0m_vWasf1xldfcksOvorWHYaUSqrBz7bD_3P9VXzqz8ofxpC5olXnFOjH_i6NOH3r_l4_MExDtnFn/s400/IMG_6210-001.JPG" width="398" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We blanched 4 tomatoes at a time for about 1 minute. We learned that each jar held about 3 large tomatoes or 4-5 small ones.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6wZmHmluODMYhB1I7ykMTvUlCEQJlyLcUTPgFaZ7AFZug4XlWOl4eiBnG1jht7Ss1Wg75Prqrn49_FTcojhFACjtknp-d1vJDxcTaRZ_A6tLqMOPK9OQol0K47qGa_ZVIAMU1/s1600/IMG_6224-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6wZmHmluODMYhB1I7ykMTvUlCEQJlyLcUTPgFaZ7AFZug4XlWOl4eiBnG1jht7Ss1Wg75Prqrn49_FTcojhFACjtknp-d1vJDxcTaRZ_A6tLqMOPK9OQol0K47qGa_ZVIAMU1/s400/IMG_6224-001.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We put them in cool water (there <i>was </i>ice in there), so that they would be cool enough to handle and peel.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv_2YkKXvY_YoaSBW9Bg0N-rbyOgBsacNdrNF8TbRmt2APFI4YogaQvCWHxTpTPGSVWqVpO2_CmWO0L2U8wadF_FMF5lYXMk20_ESBZQLz_Q3B3hod7UjdFQH15WObt9TIoLuL/s1600/IMG_6220-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv_2YkKXvY_YoaSBW9Bg0N-rbyOgBsacNdrNF8TbRmt2APFI4YogaQvCWHxTpTPGSVWqVpO2_CmWO0L2U8wadF_FMF5lYXMk20_ESBZQLz_Q3B3hod7UjdFQH15WObt9TIoLuL/s400/IMG_6220-001.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I peeled the tomatoes. They peeled very easily, I think in large part due to the "X" sliced on the bottom of them. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSw9XXklNKJM0fOxF1wMEgyJ2Ajz6TGaDgR_2KP4MvJnPUWasiU74Aj5b7diRwEzmCOo1wb3iTpCse0ugQ_mp6fHra9LezKK1Yy9ij5GZ92jMngsqYlvmi-QYMhgIpX4UsVwlZ/s1600/IMG_6217-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSw9XXklNKJM0fOxF1wMEgyJ2Ajz6TGaDgR_2KP4MvJnPUWasiU74Aj5b7diRwEzmCOo1wb3iTpCse0ugQ_mp6fHra9LezKK1Yy9ij5GZ92jMngsqYlvmi-QYMhgIpX4UsVwlZ/s400/IMG_6217-001.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My pretty bowl of peeled tomatoes. Bradley was curious to know what they felt like, so I let him touch one. Kind of like giant eyeballs.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFMRZQE_amguyVg5lwFMJ5yxACOaz3dSnB_FJ-5x5Jj0zdE1m9M4iM_zBOFb1Ill6dOra9gHJQVTeGzmiolniVTTNpEMILaSt0Ay-1V2fezzjQEKWW78j-LUemNGwsuZpPe7FW/s1600/IMG_6231-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFMRZQE_amguyVg5lwFMJ5yxACOaz3dSnB_FJ-5x5Jj0zdE1m9M4iM_zBOFb1Ill6dOra9gHJQVTeGzmiolniVTTNpEMILaSt0Ay-1V2fezzjQEKWW78j-LUemNGwsuZpPe7FW/s400/IMG_6231-001.JPG" width="398" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I sliced them into eighths. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTUgoo6QXO8lbQ-WJ1KkdzqXv1E1dCBMjQS4I1TcRxRvwEmD_3m9HJD-_rXcHIsQc5vqCjwXiP7ZdL_UkBDJstNOx1DGa_V5QVkHptdWMLiGSL-P-5z8kHLbGFMo2TH0U_-i3-/s1600/IMG_6227-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTUgoo6QXO8lbQ-WJ1KkdzqXv1E1dCBMjQS4I1TcRxRvwEmD_3m9HJD-_rXcHIsQc5vqCjwXiP7ZdL_UkBDJstNOx1DGa_V5QVkHptdWMLiGSL-P-5z8kHLbGFMo2TH0U_-i3-/s400/IMG_6227-001.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We did the hot pack method, so the processing time would be 45 minutes instead of 85 minutes. We boiled the tomato wedges for about 5 minutes.</div> <span style="background-color: white;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhV5UHDNwKWw2THCIcRTh5fMZ9v9f3i128OxdIaVa86vfciHVzLV7mKlPIY74oozZ5tVae3L5BzmurQhhGxuMFHyVNUATSMMhbxWQ_Stmi0X5KXBw6MCZAbBaFmBhnP8No1VNk/s1600/IMG_6225-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhV5UHDNwKWw2THCIcRTh5fMZ9v9f3i128OxdIaVa86vfciHVzLV7mKlPIY74oozZ5tVae3L5BzmurQhhGxuMFHyVNUATSMMhbxWQ_Stmi0X5KXBw6MCZAbBaFmBhnP8No1VNk/s400/IMG_6225-001.JPG" width="398" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I spooned them into the jars. Each jar had 2 tablespoons of lemon juice in them. The lemon juice lowers the pH to prevent the botulinum toxin. <span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFqFOrWrPp97s-luO6Tu1T5nqvWrgf5P1UPW7TibpMvsd8MvzxKtHFAbSXYVJGxLhIZZFsoCkH0Ec86k_1Y1csc6ZS4gseW7aNGjkxxaqkp6NpYodmS28V6kIc74RlYLPN9Eds/s1600/IMG_6230-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFqFOrWrPp97s-luO6Tu1T5nqvWrgf5P1UPW7TibpMvsd8MvzxKtHFAbSXYVJGxLhIZZFsoCkH0Ec86k_1Y1csc6ZS4gseW7aNGjkxxaqkp6NpYodmS28V6kIc74RlYLPN9Eds/s400/IMG_6230-001.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Since I don't have a pressure canner, we did the regular water bath method. I bought this new pot because I needed a taller one to process my quart jars. Unfortunately the bottom wasn't completely flat so I couldn't get it to boil water on my flat top range. Thankfully our brand new grill, that I bought my husband for Father's Day, has an extra side burner, so we used it to heat up the pot over the open flame. Only four cans fit in the pot at a time, so we had to do this three times each for 45 minutes. I wonder how much propane is left in the tank?</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5uxUf5aUhETw9SzwiHILQcSXmNb4Xnbsz9k9Z8qMjqs1m1Xbegx9iN8KOxymExRQCbEo5hKNO8SeeiKv3KlNgoFo2DN1q6yDmojrwKB34hcFuHLDvIa3Z6z8GBYsJJoVbDr7p/s1600/IMG_6238.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5uxUf5aUhETw9SzwiHILQcSXmNb4Xnbsz9k9Z8qMjqs1m1Xbegx9iN8KOxymExRQCbEo5hKNO8SeeiKv3KlNgoFo2DN1q6yDmojrwKB34hcFuHLDvIa3Z6z8GBYsJJoVbDr7p/s400/IMG_6238.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Our beautiful 12 jars of canned tomatoes. The problem with homemade canned food is that you don't want to ever open them because they are so pretty, and you know how much effort goes into making them.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWO_d544_uU1w0G8gVP9sME8INaJ5bwO-cnZ6rPf8LGbZofcpR0MkxrbXKjGgkiaYmPB2j6FbkpCxYf8RtbthmwFgJ7gk9yMBzEI-YSnNmG7wJQ_OWaASZvzgZtnpRxezouuj2/s1600/IMG_6242-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWO_d544_uU1w0G8gVP9sME8INaJ5bwO-cnZ6rPf8LGbZofcpR0MkxrbXKjGgkiaYmPB2j6FbkpCxYf8RtbthmwFgJ7gk9yMBzEI-YSnNmG7wJQ_OWaASZvzgZtnpRxezouuj2/s640/IMG_6242-001.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Papa and me. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">That was fun :)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I would like to say that it was an extremely educational experience that all the kids played a part in the canning process. But it wasn't. It was educational for my dad and myself as we<span style="background-color: white;"> slaved away over the hot stove (and grill burner) </span><span style="background-color: white;">while my kids played games on my iTouch and watched Netflix on the computer . I plan to teach them more next year, now that I know what I'm doing.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And to add to the fun this evening I have some zucchini bread in the oven. My dad and I grated four very over-sized zucchini yesterday by hand (I really need to invest in a food processor), because I'm really bad about picking them at the right time. I have about 20 cups of grated zucchini in my fridge and freezer. Tonight I used 2 cups to try making zucchini bread for the first time. I found a recipe that my grandmother mailed me, probably about 3 years ago when I told her about my abundant zucchini crop in 2009.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ6IyGSmJgpF0ln_y2Gj9eXCd16Z2zZN2Qlo0c9FRSMZU4yT8UH2eept_CoRac0bv-HqO3ZkG0bo64CwEJcv83xhZ9xczF-rI7wc3nZKw2rMKODwKN3rXGsBuexCHbyp6ziEGU/s1600/IMG_6249-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ6IyGSmJgpF0ln_y2Gj9eXCd16Z2zZN2Qlo0c9FRSMZU4yT8UH2eept_CoRac0bv-HqO3ZkG0bo64CwEJcv83xhZ9xczF-rI7wc3nZKw2rMKODwKN3rXGsBuexCHbyp6ziEGU/s640/IMG_6249-001.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Aww. I love old-fashioned handwriting.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Oven timer just went off! It smells like cinnamon!</div></div>Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18056977094811566757noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19557769.post-34894259593538548072012-06-18T23:12:00.001-04:002012-06-18T23:33:04.710-04:00Our New Homemade Table<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So my kids reminded me today that it's been awhile since I posted. Yeah, I know. I'm kind of in turbo nesting mode as I am currently 37 weeks and 4 days (but who's counting?) When I'm taking a break from turbo nesting, I'm being lazy. Unfortunately during all this nesting I still have NOT gotten out the baby girl newborn clothing from the attic, the crib from the garage, nor the infant car seat from the garage attic. I think I have a fear that if I'm completely ready, then baby will actually come. The truth is that I'm experiencing a bit of anxiety regarding childbirth. Some might think, "But you've been through this seven times, you are a pro." But I think, "I've been through this seven times, I know what to expect, and I'm SCARED!" Here is a brief summary of how the previous seven births went:<br />
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#1 - First baby. Had no idea what to expect. Did some natural laboring. Ready to ask for an epidural. Turns out the extreme pain I was feeling was transitional phase of labor, I felt Emily's head crowning, and there were no nurses or doctors in the room. My husband had to run into the hallway and call for someone, and a random doctor from another practice delivered her. After that I knew I could do it without an epidural, so I have chosen not to receive them for subsequent births.<br />
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#2 - Calm birth in middle of afternoon. All went well. My mom and Emily waited in the waiting area. Nineteen month old Emily pooped in her diaper and it leaked on her overalls, so she had to wear my maternity shirt the rest of the day at the hospital.<br />
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#3 - Started labor at about 10 PM. Had to call next door neighbor to come over and sleep on couch. Labored most of the late night/early morning by myself because my husband was half asleep in the chair next to me at the hospital. Difficult labor and delivery because Sarah was face up instead of the ideal position of face down, and it required much more pushing.<br />
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#4 - Probably my best labor and delivery. My mom was there to watch it while Emily, Bradley, and Sarah were swimming at a friend's house. It was the middle of the afternoon. Everything went well. No hard pushing. She slipped right on out.<br />
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#5 - Almost born in the car. Born about 10 seconds after being rolled into the emergency room. Never want to repeat that scenario again. Never.<br />
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#6 - Born in the middle of the night. Her head was facing sideways when she came out, so it required a bit more pushing.<br />
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#7 - Born in the middle of the night. Not a bad delivery, but an uncomfortable labor because I had to pee really bad and the nurse wouldn't let me go to the bathroom, because she was afraid I would have the baby on the toilet while the doctor was delivering another patient. She gave me a bed pan instead, but I couldn't make it work. I missed my husband's full, wide-awake attention while I was in excruciating pain. It's not fair, but I had infomercials to keep me occupied. My parents were not in town yet, so I had to call someone to come over at about two in the morning to sleep on the couch.<br />
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#8 - Who knows? And that's what scares me. The good news is that my dad is here, so I don't have to worry about finding somebody to watch the kids. The whole length and intensity of labor remains a mystery.<br />
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So today I give you pictures of our new kitchen table. I know I promised them awhile ago. The thing is, I was waiting to have a clean kitchen in the background, but I gave up on perfection and finally just took them to get it over with. So here they are. Ta da!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFW5q2PusqbaLEQm6Z_b-qH5m2QzJNunUmXAheLO9915yY9EcwetgsqDfEO100TkVJ0z6csQ3BUw3hegsGZSDfQRDGgc58UAjXehpb0Eoh5tIHM4qbRTVBjAkZ2UZmV5UaEVI-/s1600/Kitchen+Table+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFW5q2PusqbaLEQm6Z_b-qH5m2QzJNunUmXAheLO9915yY9EcwetgsqDfEO100TkVJ0z6csQ3BUw3hegsGZSDfQRDGgc58UAjXehpb0Eoh5tIHM4qbRTVBjAkZ2UZmV5UaEVI-/s640/Kitchen+Table+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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If you are just tuning in and are wondering what this kitchen table thing is all about. My husband and I made benches and a new table top to fit our expanding family. We used lumber from Lowe's and some basic tools (drill, jigsaw, sander). If we can do it, you can do it. I think the total cost was about $100.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpWYihwq6AP_GZhZjSOSGif9dSWEbJ-NZDSCV6UxRaLYX3iifjOO0gO8AlRWGDeg2Ma8hDU_-UBkFu9My5dtuMF9ied_YZ4nhgihaCmBZY82KUQqwEFH7oU_HCeWSBFEn5xHSJ/s1600/Kitchen+Table+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpWYihwq6AP_GZhZjSOSGif9dSWEbJ-NZDSCV6UxRaLYX3iifjOO0gO8AlRWGDeg2Ma8hDU_-UBkFu9My5dtuMF9ied_YZ4nhgihaCmBZY82KUQqwEFH7oU_HCeWSBFEn5xHSJ/s640/Kitchen+Table+2.jpg" width="494" /></a></div>
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Although the benches aren't quite as comfortable as a chair, I'm liking the clean lines in the kitchen. The new table can seat 10-12 people now. If you have any questions about the construction of them, just ask. This post is obviously not a tutorial. </div>
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That's all for now, folks. I can assure you that Bradley will not allow me to not promptly blog about the birth of the new baby. I'll be in touch. </div>
<br /></div>Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18056977094811566757noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19557769.post-4420654279665110032012-05-26T23:20:00.002-04:002012-05-26T23:28:24.759-04:00Bears on the Beach and Cake Parfaits<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
On <span style="font-size: large;">Friday </span>we had a beach theme. We went to the beach in the afternoon/evening and made another blue Jello dessert called Bears on the Beach.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUFX7iDgnJi7PyaqhM2LCJkyX_YnyZbmGXYEUcIHCfxrujQ-Dm0UBLesouAuRhPSxjwAUzZ_48m3TsQXLeCvEl2wioYcpBTzZRZswyJmnaDS73Z_62BkIBoc4SM75ieJe1PBHD/s1600/IMG_5898-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUFX7iDgnJi7PyaqhM2LCJkyX_YnyZbmGXYEUcIHCfxrujQ-Dm0UBLesouAuRhPSxjwAUzZ_48m3TsQXLeCvEl2wioYcpBTzZRZswyJmnaDS73Z_62BkIBoc4SM75ieJe1PBHD/s640/IMG_5898-001.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Blue Jello (ocean)</div>
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Crushed graham cracker or light colored cookie (sand)</div>
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Whipped Topping (frothy water from the waves)</div>
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Gummy Bears or Teddy Grahams (beach patrons)</div>
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Drink Umbrellas (sun protection)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEistCOapf6udDou-cn-X_M5m_LXFoNqJ7R-BuHCh7ZzSV01K10Ws9w1zQ2EE876v3Z9asM-80HE8CTRGgiYBXtzi7GtH9H2ukMSyIPg-hegtabDY0yG786vm-5ZytxhB9yUPo6o/s1600/Collage-3+Beach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEistCOapf6udDou-cn-X_M5m_LXFoNqJ7R-BuHCh7ZzSV01K10Ws9w1zQ2EE876v3Z9asM-80HE8CTRGgiYBXtzi7GtH9H2ukMSyIPg-hegtabDY0yG786vm-5ZytxhB9yUPo6o/s640/Collage-3+Beach.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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A few shots at the beach. My girls all have matching bathing suits that I bought on clearance at Target last year. It makes it easy to keep track of them when we are out.</div>
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When we came home from the beach the kids showered, put on their pajamas, and then we assembled our Bears on the Beach. I had no idea it would be as entertaining as it was. They all assembled theirs differently, and they insisted that they had to explain what was going on in their Jello scene. I think the biggest novelty for them was the drink umbrella. George refused to remove his from his cup while he was eating, despite the fact that it was annoyingly in the way the whole time.</div>
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Group Shot</div>
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(minus George, who is off to the side)</div>
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My favorite was George's which looked like his bears were bear-ied under a couple feet of snow in a winter wonderland. (bottom left). A couple of kids had a bear drowning in the water too. Or maybe they were just scuba diving.</div>
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I also had a great plan to make some homemade moon sand to go with our beach theme, but I was tired in the afternoon and instead chose to rest in my bedroom for an hour before we went to the beach. I think I made a good choice. The kids will have to take a rain check on the moon sand. Maybe we will have a space themed week sometime this summer.</div>
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....So that was Friday.</div>
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On<span style="font-size: large;"> Thursday</span> we made cake parfaits. Just a little concoction of our own. I don't even know if cake can officially be labeled as "parfait", but it was an idea that popped into my head and it sounded yummy and pretty.</div>
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We made a box cake mix, divided it into six bowls, and dyed it the colors of the rainbow. </div>
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We baked them in empty and cleaned tuna cans (well greased and floured).</div>
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We baked them.</div>
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We sliced the rounded tops off.</div>
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We took a biscuit cutter and cut off the browned edges so the pretty cake colored showed in our layers.</div>
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We sliced each color in half, so we could make two parfaits.</div>
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We layered them in rainbow order with Cool Whip in between each layer.</div>
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We ate them!</div>
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(We had leftover batter that we layered into two 1 cup mason jars and also baked. I forgot to take a picture though. Shame on me! It was really cool though because the layers did not bake evenly so it was kind of swirly and psychedelically groovy looking.)</div>
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Cakes in the tuna cans. Thankfully they did not taste like tuna.</div>
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The rainbow cake parfait.</div>
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Each kid got to eat the cake top to the color they mixed.</div>
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I am pleased to say that Jason accomplished his cleaning on Thursday (with a lot of coaching) and was rewarded his chocolate parfait. He ate it instead of the rainbow cake parfait.</div>
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As I proofread this post, I am beginning to think that my readers might be thinking that all we eat is sugar in this house. I promise we get a good share of fruits, vegetables, whole wheat bread, cheese and other nutritious stuff. But I don't think to take pictures of my kids eating carrots, turkey sandwiches, apples, bananas, oranges, or watermelon. You'll just have to believe me. Right now my kids are reaping the benefits of having a pregnant mother who feels like eating just about anything and everything.</div>
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34 weeks prego with a farmer's tan. And those extra pounds from the anything and everything that I've been eating are mostly on my thighs, which I conveniently cropped off the picture. </div>
</div>Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18056977094811566757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19557769.post-30583868084076451312012-05-23T23:48:00.004-04:002012-05-24T00:12:28.084-04:00Word of the Week: PARFAIT<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
[Ok, I stopped counting my 21 days to habitual blogging. My husband called me out on it last night, and he said that the days had to be consecutive. I was cheating.]<br />
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The Word of the Week is "Parfait". Monday we had Sky Parfaits. Today we made chocolate parfaits. Did you know that the the French word "parfait" is translated to "perfect"?<br />
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I have to say this parfait was very close to perfection.</div>
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It was a chocolate Oreo Parfait. Here's a brief recipe of it:<br />
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<b>Layer One:</b> Crushed Oreo Cookies (2-3 tablespoons)<br />
<b>Layer Two:</b> Chocolate Pudding (We used Great Value instant)<br />
<b>Layer Three:</b> Chocolate Mouse #1 (instant chocolate pudding mixed with fresh whipped cream or Cool Whip. We used fresh whipped cream and it was kind of bland. Cool Whip would probably be better.)<br />
<b>Layer Four: </b>More Crushed Oreo Cookies<br />
<b>Layer Five:</b> Chocolate Pudding<br />
<b>Layer Six</b><b>:</b> Chocolate Mousse #2 (<a href="http://www.hersheys.com/kisses/recipes/detail.aspx?id=3501&name=KISSES-Chocolate-Mousse&category=desserts" target="_blank">I tried this recipe, and it was good.</a> I omitted the extract and food coloring.)<br />
<b>Layer Seven:</b> Whipped Cream<br />
<b>Layer Eight:</b> Crushed Oreo Cookie<br />
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Basically it's just a pile of chocolate yumminess. You don't really have to do two types of Mousses, but I was experimenting. My second one was much better. I have a bunch of old Christmas Hershey Kisses that I want to use up. They still taste fine, but they are taking up space. So I found a recipe on the Hershey website that used 36 Hershey Kisses.<br />
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Poor Jason didn't get to enjoy any parfait. He's in hard core cleaning training. He didn't do his cleaning job today, so he paid the consequence. There were tears, as there should have been, because he really did miss out on a delicious dessert. However, I made him one and saved it for him. He can have it tomorrow <b><span style="font-size: large;">IF</span></b> he does his cleaning job. Part of me hopes that he doesn't clean so I can eat it.<br />
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We didn't really do a fun activity or lesson today. I stubbed my toe on my nightstand this morning and it is EXTREMELY sore. I also bumped the sore toe three more times throughout the day which made me shout in pain and cry. So Mommy was a bit grumpy today from the annoying injury. I've also been VERY tired! All I wanted to do was sleep today, but I did the responsible thing and only took a 20 minute nap for a moment this afternoon.<br />
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In perfect homeschool world, I would've had a lesson on the different layers of earth and talked about sedimentary rocks and stuff like that. Then I would've followed it up with making the parfaits. But today was a not a perfect day, and we simply indulged in chocolate. It made my toe feel better.<br />
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I finished staining our benches today. I should be able to post a picture of our new table soon. Like, hopefully tomorrow! During the process I had to use steel wool to sand down between staining and polyurethaning. Wendy asked, "What is that?"<br />
I said, "Steel wool."<br />
She said, "Does that come from a goat or sheep? Sarah said it comes from a sheep."<br />
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I love kids. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/amyboemig/381909502/" target="_blank">This is the sheep</a> where the wool comes from.</div>Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18056977094811566757noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19557769.post-45043524759910608662012-05-21T23:30:00.000-04:002012-05-22T00:12:17.654-04:00Day 7 - Clouds<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My plans for Fun 'n' Fattening Week for last week were postponed until this week because I was busy getting our kitchen table finished and it was unusable for most of the week. I still don't have a picture of the finished product to show you, because I have two more benches to stain this week. Originally my husband and I were going to sit in chairs on each end of the table, but we decided to build two more small benches to match the large benches. You'll see. Probably this weekend. It's looking pretty awesome though and we are enjoying using the table.<br />
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Anyway, we kicked off Fun 'n' Fattening week THIS week. My kids were frustrated with my flakiness, so Emily created a Google Doc and emailed it to me last Friday. It was a list of seven fun activities and seven desserts to make. I thought it was funny that four of the desserts included Oreos. Do you think she likes Oreos?<br />
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I modified the list a bit to help create themes and make it educational. Today's theme was "Clouds". This is what we did:<br />
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1. We started some Sky Parfaits with blue Jello.<br />
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2. While we waited for the Jello to set we read library books about clouds.<br />
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Sarah reading to us.</div>
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Wendy reading to us.</div>
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As you can see, the audience on the couch was very attentive to the reader.</div>
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Bradley reading to us. Emily read to us too, but I didn't get a good picture of her.</div>
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3. Then we went outside and looked at the real clouds. According to our reading we decided they were cumulus and perhaps some cumulostratus clouds, because some had gray in them, but they were not rain clouds. I think classifying clouds can be quite confusing.</div>
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4. Then we took a bar of Ivory soap and microwaved it for almost two minutes to make our own cumulus cloud. </div>
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By the end of the afternoon Emily said she had a headache because of the scent of the Ivory soap hanging in the air.
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5. The kids ate their Sky Parfaits for Family Home Evening dessert. This is also a sneak peek of our new table. I made sure to quiz Jason during dessert by asking him, "So, Jason, what are clouds made of?" I was thankful that he answered, "water droplets," and not "Cool Whip" or "soap". He actually WAS paying attention this afternoon while we read our books.</div>
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They certainly did not turn out as pretty as on the ones on the <a href="http://www.tablespoon.com/recipe-categories/" target="_blank">website where I got the idea</a>, but they were yummy. All it is is Jello and Cool Whip. Not exactly a "fattening" dessert, but we will have enough fat added back into the menu later this week to make up for it. Plus, we cooked some Fried Zucchini last night for dinner, so a light dessert tonight was good for us.</div>
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Last night's Fried Zucchini.</div>
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George felt the need to lick every droplet of Jello and Cool Whip off the table. He had a spoon, but sometimes it's just more fun eating like a dog.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">**Disclaimer** This day is not representative of a typical homeschooling day. "Cloud Day" was an unusually thought-out and planned day, and the weather miraculously produced cumulus clouds for us to match our project and dessert. Don't let us fool you into thinking that we have organized homeschooling every day.</span></div>
</div>Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18056977094811566757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19557769.post-45252389173216287962012-05-16T23:08:00.001-04:002012-05-16T23:26:26.505-04:00Day 6 - Pine Cones and Peanut Butter<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This will be a post full of pictures and captions.</div>
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This post is about something the kids and I did at the end of April. Today was rather boring. I spent three hours doing yardwork. In the afternoon, the kids and I cleaned out the bicycle quadrant of the garage (we have our garage divided into quadrants: bikes and recreation, yard and garden, storage, and 'clubhouse', which is a carpeted play area for the kids. Notice there is no car/van quadrant because we park both vehicles outside.) We also cleaned out the fridge and snack cabinet. It was a productive day, just not very exciting and I didn't take many pictures.</div>
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Back to the pictures. So in April I was cleaning out a kitchen cabinet and came across some peanut butter with a 'use by' date of 2009. I wasn't willing to try it, so I thought I would put it to good use and make pine cone bird feeders with the kids. We got the pine cones at our church, where there are lots of pine trees, so that was convenient.</div>
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The pine cones. (That almost sounds like a band name.)</div>
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Sarah</div>
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With seven kids putting peanut butter on pine cones, it was inevitable that I would step on a glob.</div>
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Even George joined in the fun.</div>
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Group shot. </div>
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As homeschoolers, I always felt bad that my older kids missed out on some of these preschool/ early childhood activities because I was lazy when they were younger. I'm making up for it now and Emily is doing them as a middle schooler. She's kind of like my teacher's assistant. If I had been super prepared, I could have made the activity more educational and discussed pine cones in more depth and gone over the anatomy of them and the difference between male and female cones and where the seeds are produced, etc. But I didn't have that much foresight because I was anxious to get rid of the peanut butter that was taking up valuable space on my kitchen countertop. </div>
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Jason. I was surprise how they really got into it and peanut buttered each scale.</div>
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Emily got serious about her peanut butter.</div>
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Then we rolled them in the seeds.</div>
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George enjoyed playing in the seeds. Some good sensory play.</div>
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The finished product.</div>
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Wendy thought it would be fun to cover her hands with peanut butter and bird seed. At this point I couldn't help think of the song "Feed the Birds" from Mary Poppins.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf8NSHI4tqm8ocgTG6FTdMAY45IHtti7SzUy6Pv-99tPVq6phHCKA99Pbpw-gaScrnBzTDEIVuTClbQLIPNjcG2uxEY_LckcpsVzwkLkAp4bmT4ILz1YoyEm7oO-87d1aHgwwS/s1600/IMG_2344-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf8NSHI4tqm8ocgTG6FTdMAY45IHtti7SzUy6Pv-99tPVq6phHCKA99Pbpw-gaScrnBzTDEIVuTClbQLIPNjcG2uxEY_LckcpsVzwkLkAp4bmT4ILz1YoyEm7oO-87d1aHgwwS/s640/IMG_2344-001.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Then we put the pine cones on the porch railing and waited for the birds. I had visioned red robins and blue jays and all sorts of interesting birds coming to visit our bird feeders. We waited for an entire week. I never did see <i>ONE</i> bird feast on our feeders. Birds must not like rancid peanut butter either. So it was kind of sad, but a fun project.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfz7Q7pKphKMuRZpvQIEQQSGeqKQftCaApwARiGPH9a2S5Sa_qa9p9-pqW6ib-KSAxRYV1TzqT0FkTdFpAcbUysrz8V4thZ-CW1mv3Q3sx8X5FW0xVIznG8fs89jJ-DNbUvOL9/s1600/IMG_2348-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfz7Q7pKphKMuRZpvQIEQQSGeqKQftCaApwARiGPH9a2S5Sa_qa9p9-pqW6ib-KSAxRYV1TzqT0FkTdFpAcbUysrz8V4thZ-CW1mv3Q3sx8X5FW0xVIznG8fs89jJ-DNbUvOL9/s640/IMG_2348-001.JPG" width="424" /></a></div>
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While we waited for the birds, we fixed our burst hose. It burst one night from a weak spot and watered our sidewalk for who knows how long. This is Wendy cutting it just below the spot where it burst and me being extra cautious that she doesn't cut off my left thumb.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0bYaZdOPc6wFZNCscHvSYgZMJZL0Ec5U7Dy8-iuj3vOGmS_k6tANhnRgBzj5L03Q8g8NFS_uiHPVyukCAt1jsXP4YwjHbCqQqMbTR0LjxHFCyEHBOkh3_jFk_XPEIIJt6-a8F/s1600/IMG_2350-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0bYaZdOPc6wFZNCscHvSYgZMJZL0Ec5U7Dy8-iuj3vOGmS_k6tANhnRgBzj5L03Q8g8NFS_uiHPVyukCAt1jsXP4YwjHbCqQqMbTR0LjxHFCyEHBOkh3_jFk_XPEIIJt6-a8F/s640/IMG_2350-001.JPG" width="424" /></a></div>
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Bradley screwed on the hose mender.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvtjlGI1rp46Qg_Myj0EbYccUD8jBmbatO-Z556sOWtBuetTMy2kCCRyvB9hK8tNezj5ks-wEjHYRSm_-1afXq7T8NJOG7DRAXl1vy598lsZDceFRZglAW3kiMxO8eqDgyzUKT/s1600/IMG_2355-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvtjlGI1rp46Qg_Myj0EbYccUD8jBmbatO-Z556sOWtBuetTMy2kCCRyvB9hK8tNezj5ks-wEjHYRSm_-1afXq7T8NJOG7DRAXl1vy598lsZDceFRZglAW3kiMxO8eqDgyzUKT/s640/IMG_2355-001.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>
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I examined it. It leaked. We tightened it some more, and now it works like a charm, It's just about 5 feet shorter than it was.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4leEPbsy0nlYkeotWJokg3-YlTjGLFkB98RJJWMhH-lN8IyshTsgPNM7-52gl09fkugy1K09FTvbfq5sOiWuTPfsnzBlM0dKtEC_jNQAiWDctT6YNT92p38SwwCkuePrcOenV/s1600/IMG_2360-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4leEPbsy0nlYkeotWJokg3-YlTjGLFkB98RJJWMhH-lN8IyshTsgPNM7-52gl09fkugy1K09FTvbfq5sOiWuTPfsnzBlM0dKtEC_jNQAiWDctT6YNT92p38SwwCkuePrcOenV/s640/IMG_2360-001.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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While we fixed the hose, George was picking blackberries growing by the fence and eating them.</div>
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That was fun.</div>
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<br /></div>Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18056977094811566757noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19557769.post-354801182650522452012-05-15T23:18:00.003-04:002012-05-15T23:33:57.101-04:00Day 5 - Thrift Store Shopping<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I took the kids out this afternoon so we didn't kill brain cells while the first of three coats of polyeurethane was drying. We went to the post office, library, park for a peanut butter and jelly picnic lunch, and Goodwill. I was proud of myself for bringing a load of junk to get rid of, but then we came home with an equal amount of stuff. (It's not junk yet.)</div>
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I got...</div>
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...a new pair of shoes ($3);</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4PhmsDVhUkuqrzCN2GdOw3NUrOecKmMsTMqEbeUZ-36q_ZbvdJHRhtOA2Gj4T5asn5KOCDTDN6ZjXjEFXQ4gj6FQg-Ghr5dLMYPVVgE7MzDRnIo5DK5k_frfIRcwEUx1Ay7rr/s1600/IMG_5368.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4PhmsDVhUkuqrzCN2GdOw3NUrOecKmMsTMqEbeUZ-36q_ZbvdJHRhtOA2Gj4T5asn5KOCDTDN6ZjXjEFXQ4gj6FQg-Ghr5dLMYPVVgE7MzDRnIo5DK5k_frfIRcwEUx1Ay7rr/s400/IMG_5368.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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My feet were killing me this morning after walking around in cheap foam flip flops all day yesterday! I thought I'd give this pair a try. They are comfortable so far and really highlight the nice puffy veins in my feet.</div>
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...a new summer purse ($3)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBZnWHDq80TM1vAksnZJs08WEE4qfQTM8VXKEc0ZFCLCbBr6b90ryoZXkvrG3zzID0E9kXT0S9tNYVGZ1sd4czmmKLnjKzKR2X6y4Q-VmPJYXrNgyw9GVQf8-9M4HeUorXrHI4/s1600/IMG_5361.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBZnWHDq80TM1vAksnZJs08WEE4qfQTM8VXKEc0ZFCLCbBr6b90ryoZXkvrG3zzID0E9kXT0S9tNYVGZ1sd4czmmKLnjKzKR2X6y4Q-VmPJYXrNgyw9GVQf8-9M4HeUorXrHI4/s400/IMG_5361.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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I like my current purse but it's more of a huge bag and things get lost in the bottom of it. I wanted something more compact with more pockets.</div>
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...a bag to take to the pool ($3)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ML_EV_nB-GeKmfugAr6KWEE0tqJof6H5uOZmcsb1_APKkzPMUP_JYhSU_dwVHaFBCESmMiacwXvYe961tEfIYkadaF8grHjjK9xYkgUYUJZ37V8CB_nYhxXTknLyWwBamAeN/s1600/IMG_5365.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ML_EV_nB-GeKmfugAr6KWEE0tqJof6H5uOZmcsb1_APKkzPMUP_JYhSU_dwVHaFBCESmMiacwXvYe961tEfIYkadaF8grHjjK9xYkgUYUJZ37V8CB_nYhxXTknLyWwBamAeN/s400/IMG_5365.JPG" width="266" /></a></div>
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I definitely did not need this, but I thought it would be handy to keep our goggles, suntan lotion, camera, phone, snacks, etc.</div>
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an awesome red bag with fur to use at Christmastime ($3)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjheK7g7UIAGj2bwUVLobrJaroNcII4AvY91G9pf0ACXAxi9Yp7EANibhzGzLRHV7eh7VVE_1_XV-mqbQYA3sx0uy3wzX9BrUZC__rUtyHqIaiTBtVtKaOv9yYq-QZpItdE9Z7V/s1600/IMG_5363.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjheK7g7UIAGj2bwUVLobrJaroNcII4AvY91G9pf0ACXAxi9Yp7EANibhzGzLRHV7eh7VVE_1_XV-mqbQYA3sx0uy3wzX9BrUZC__rUtyHqIaiTBtVtKaOv9yYq-QZpItdE9Z7V/s400/IMG_5363.JPG" width="266" /></a></div>
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I did not need this, I just loved it. </div>
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a purse for Rachel ($3)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGf5sucWlDtfA5M_chC0C2jxZK_Dm8Nh4o5xt7-EsggcC6t99yLiY-1jhgl3euDI9RrJKpXrllaNUj1l0dAYOLWFtA2YYWwaCwPwIMAHcfIV1pRU_N-GvlXdUFdHztENOkElNN/s1600/IMG_5366.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGf5sucWlDtfA5M_chC0C2jxZK_Dm8Nh4o5xt7-EsggcC6t99yLiY-1jhgl3euDI9RrJKpXrllaNUj1l0dAYOLWFtA2YYWwaCwPwIMAHcfIV1pRU_N-GvlXdUFdHztENOkElNN/s400/IMG_5366.JPG" width="266" /></a></div>
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And if you happened to notice that I bought four purses/bags, I'll let you know now that I'm a sucker for purses and bags. Some women like shoes. Not me. I could be happy living off one pair of comfortable shoes, but I love purses, especially ones with lots of pockets. My favorite places to get purses and bags are Target Clearance and Goodwill. There are often brand new or very gently used purses at Goodwill, that women clear out of their closets, all for only $2.99. I gave into Rachel's request for a cute little pink purse. How could I say "no" when she tilts her head at me and says, "Mommy, I get this?" I had already told her she couldn't get a pink dress and a lavender shirt with a stain on it. </div>
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a brand new electric citrus juicer ($4)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFXcXQ_s_UAaNyEvhhQa0kFPbSGDD5HFRjEgR4qexxFs3G0cTTOu9hHScSJK8JCYVgwZ55ffB7n0IkI03SDOyhAfmUNfZtulD4Ihj8fsmisEdjnD3nW4yX478vexmiRl-wKQc2/s1600/IMG_5362.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFXcXQ_s_UAaNyEvhhQa0kFPbSGDD5HFRjEgR4qexxFs3G0cTTOu9hHScSJK8JCYVgwZ55ffB7n0IkI03SDOyhAfmUNfZtulD4Ihj8fsmisEdjnD3nW4yX478vexmiRl-wKQc2/s400/IMG_5362.JPG" width="266" /></a></div>
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The electric citrus juicer was totally unnecessary, but I thought it would be a fun activity this summer to make some fresh squeezed lemonade. Jason also keep asking me, "When can we make fresh squeezed orange juice?" This might help satisfy that desire and get him to stop asking.</div>
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two new dresses and a bathing suit coverup for Emily ($3 ea.);</div>
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three kids books ($0.49 ea);</div>
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a set of sheer white 84 in. curtains for my bedroom or somewhere else in the house ($3);</div>
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a plain white queen flat sheet ($3);</div>
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I don't really have a plan for the flat sheet, but I couldn't pass up nearly 3 yards of plain white fabric in new condition. The craft and sewing possibilities are endless...or I could just use it as a flat sheet for the girls' bed. </div>
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So I got my thrift shop fix today. And the exciting part was I even got 25% off my total because I had been earning points on previous purchases. That was fun. I got all that stuff for $30. And to think some women pay over $100 for a single pair of shoes or a single bag.... Those women must not have discovered Goodwill yet. </div>
</div>Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18056977094811566757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19557769.post-83687127482848574072012-05-15T23:15:00.001-04:002012-05-15T23:23:40.586-04:00Day 4 - Mother's Day<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: red;">**NOTE** I wrote this post on Monday, but fell asleep mid-blogging, so it's being posted today, Tuesday.</span></div>
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So I'm wondering if during my 21 day goal of blogging, the days must be consecutive? Because I've skipped a couple days, but I still feel successful. Yesterday was Mother's Day and by the time my Blogging Hour came around, I was just kind of lazy and tired.<br />
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This is how I spent most of my Mother's Day....</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJiBOKUsZoXiD8_gewpPBdfhyZq-WgKgIzN-_2BR10vSpvHEixtWkA0H5F6FQkrHDc5PG3wa6fxtGzN-1ghyphenhyphenYRnfbvLerEWEPQ5GhWJpiBejfQw5MHI7Ki7IVLaly3rZGEP5V/s1600/IMG_3084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJiBOKUsZoXiD8_gewpPBdfhyZq-WgKgIzN-_2BR10vSpvHEixtWkA0H5F6FQkrHDc5PG3wa6fxtGzN-1ghyphenhyphenYRnfbvLerEWEPQ5GhWJpiBejfQw5MHI7Ki7IVLaly3rZGEP5V/s400/IMG_3084.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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...while my kids waited on me and brought me slices of cheddar cheese and lemon water. I did eventually go to the dinner table to eat soup for dinner, which was a bad choice because it made me sweat like crazy! I am constantly hot. I usually keep the thermostat set at 76 degrees, but husband cut it down to 72 degrees for me after dinner. Wasn't that a sweet Mother's Day gift?</div>
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I also got breakfast in bed which was unusual. Since we usually get up at 7am to get ready for church, most years my husband and kids forget, or don't get up in time to serve me anything. But this year on Saturday night they must have felt extra motivated, since they did not have time to fulfill my request for them to grocery shop for me. (We were busy building our tabletop most of Saturday, so we ran out of time to do regular grocery shopping.)</div>
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On Saturday my husband went to bed before me. When I went to bed, I double checked to make sure he set the alarm, because he is notorious for forgetting. It is usually set for 7:00am, but when I checked, it was set for 6:40am. That was my clue that I might be getting breakfast in bed. I knew it wouldn't be much, but I looked forward to it. When I heard the alarm go off, I was wondering if he would actually follow through, or forget and just hit snooze. To my surprise my husband did get out of bed and wake up the kids. I could hear little feet pitter-pattering down the hallway and it made me smile. I could hear clinking dishes downstairs, and cupboard doors slamming while I pretended to be sleeping. About 15 minutes later I heard a stifled stampede coming upstairs. Seven kids walked into my bedroom and exclaimed, "Happy Mother's Day!" I was served a bowl of Raisin Bran cereal with milk, whole wheat toast with jam, and a banana. It made me happy and I enjoyed every bite of it.</div>
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I felt slackerish this Mother's Day since I have no living mother or grandmother of my own for which to buy Mother's Day cards. It made me kind of sad. (However, looking on the bright side, I guess I saved about $10.) I went through some old scanned pictures and found this one of the three of us when I was seven years old. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhanBO_Pe3qxRZLAyVkQoxB_ndkoKYUWDjGQyhcwETeCXEdGETG7UsTCUz5mmGqEdCtDYOQZyDQm395ER020ytLd8RJ-OSvnvO5QRVnJgNucpaeNyApH6LgPRuKd1Hv4wRfO1dv/s1600/Melinda+Kid+0010-003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhanBO_Pe3qxRZLAyVkQoxB_ndkoKYUWDjGQyhcwETeCXEdGETG7UsTCUz5mmGqEdCtDYOQZyDQm395ER020ytLd8RJ-OSvnvO5QRVnJgNucpaeNyApH6LgPRuKd1Hv4wRfO1dv/s400/Melinda+Kid+0010-003.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Aww. I love my mom's 80's hair, my grandmother's bra strap, and my huge bushy bangs.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3_TXzQWsoBR_xJLrJWhKtPQEnD6rXLbzhQ0o9z818H7F-znESBv86RsMSmKkhiOP_zaTucUTdq4Deap4miyBaEzJET1wMhM_fpfY9IQxjQm-V7ffboVDIBcej5j17tcqPwifJ/s1600/IMG_5259-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3_TXzQWsoBR_xJLrJWhKtPQEnD6rXLbzhQ0o9z818H7F-znESBv86RsMSmKkhiOP_zaTucUTdq4Deap4miyBaEzJET1wMhM_fpfY9IQxjQm-V7ffboVDIBcej5j17tcqPwifJ/s400/IMG_5259-001.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The kids and me on Mother's Day. Not the highest quality picture, but I take what I can get when my husband is behind the camera. It's amazing that that you can see all seven kids' faces, six of them with smiles.</div>
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To spread the Mother's Day cheer, I cut one of my gladiolas from our garden, and the girls and I brought it to our next door neighbor to wish her a happy Mother's Day.</div>
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Isn't it pretty? I love the dual tone. Our neighbor loved it too.</div>
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Me planing our new table top on Monday. Now look whose bra strap is showing! My arms are sore today from all that planing!</div>
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</div>Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18056977094811566757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19557769.post-90639289644218550342012-05-13T00:20:00.000-04:002012-06-09T16:37:40.474-04:00Day 3 Furniture Building<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Yay! Day 3! I know I technically skipped yesterday, but it was Friday (Date Night) and I don't feel obligated to blog on Date Night. Yesterday pretty much consisted of me trying to get my kids to clean the house, and me using "it's Mother's Day weekend, and all I want is a clean house for Mother's Day" as a good excuse to encourage my kids to do a REALLY good job.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg0s5yfvXBhG6Ggbcpuu6c3HMTzQrUaGNsMbuVpSAxJZadVueWmL8ZbLVvNEB6BrSG6L6efeVqPj75u-0SppJhT2KaYdJki32-Mif-Vu6rTiN6mqt71_Z0zSu8sh_3STbtsSB-/s1600/IMG_5154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg0s5yfvXBhG6Ggbcpuu6c3HMTzQrUaGNsMbuVpSAxJZadVueWmL8ZbLVvNEB6BrSG6L6efeVqPj75u-0SppJhT2KaYdJki32-Mif-Vu6rTiN6mqt71_Z0zSu8sh_3STbtsSB-/s400/IMG_5154.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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We detailed the family room on Friday. Here are three kids organizing the game cabinet. We have a "Game Piece Lost and Found" which is an old empty mayonnaise jar where we put pieces of games when we find them in random spots in the house. It was filled, so they went through it and put all the pieces in their correct boxes.</div>
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Today my husband and I finally built our new kitchen table top. We built some benches last weekend. Just so you know, carpentry is not something in which my husband and I are very skilled. So it pretty much seemed like a miracle that we were able to produce something like that in one day.<br />
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We currently have a table that seats about eight people. It was getting to be a tight fit and we've had a couple chairs break. New tables and chairs are terribly expensive so we decided to see what we could DIY. After perusing the Internet, we designed a way to make some benches and a new table top to fit on top of our existing table legs. (Our current tabletop easily comes off its legs.) By building a new tabletop we are able to extend the table nearly two feet and widen it about ten inches. It should be able to seat between 10-12 people.<br />
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Now going back to my statement about my husband and me not being skilled carpenters and a little story from our history:<br />
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A little over 12 years ago, a week or two before we got married, my husband was determined to build a bookshelf for our new apartment we were about to move into. He went to the lumber store and bought all the lumber, had it cut to his planned dimensions at the store, and also bought all the hardware to put it together. One evening we went to our future apartment and began to assemble it. We didn't have our electric turned on yet, so we were working in the twilight. He screwed some boards together to create a frame, and when it came time to insert the shelves, they didn't fit! They were too short. Since we didn't have a square to check our angles, we assumed they must have been off. At this point, we were using a flashlight to try to see what we were doing. He tipped the bookshelf frame on it's side and had me sit on it to try to get the sides of the shelves to fit into the frame. Nothing was working. We used a tape measure to measure our pieces of wood. That was when we learned that a 2 X 8 isn't really 2 inches by 8 inches. It's really about 1.5 inches by 7.75 inches. Who would have thought? So since my husband was going by what he <i>thought</i> were the dimensions, nothing fit together.<br />
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To make a short story shorter, he had to go back to the lumber store the next day and get new pieces of wood cut, so that we could complete his bookshelf project. The second time we did it in the daytime. And I must also mention that we were very poor, so buying new lumber was a BIG deal. We used the unused scraps to build a makeshift shelf that was very poorly constructed. We still have the nice bookshelf. However it does not reside inside our home. It is in the garage with cans of paint and tools stored on it.<br />
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My husband is a computer programmer. He doesn't deal well in the physical world. It frustrates him that he can't "Control Z" (delete) when something goes wrong or "Control C" (copy) when something goes right, and he wants to do it quickly again.<br />
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Anyway, we felt triumphant today when we finished the construction of our table top. It's made out of five 2in X 10in X 8ft lumber. The thing is HEAVY!! We debated using a nice birch plywood, which probably would've been a lot lighter, but decided against it. We wanted a farm table look and our current table was also made from 2 inch thick lumber. It's definitely not perfect craftsmanship, but it's sturdy. We still have to sand and stain it, so there are no final pictures of it yet. They will probably be ready next weekend.<br />
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Here's some in the meantime:<br />
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This is us securing the 3 middle planks together. These are the ones that fit nicely on top of our existing table base. </div>
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We attached the outside planks with wood and metals strips. They actually worked nicely, but I think the use of so many metal strips takes away the "old-fashioned farm house table" effect. But the metal is all underneath. My husband said I shouldn't post a picture because it spoils the illusion of our carpentry craftsmanship.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOwR1nQ0hJsXP14qgxyHuwuQYc4XE6tH3A8LvgsN5d1r_XaZsq4CqXncuFNjhUgoGNpcrDPx7BirX2uXW8BAQTjnAbpQ35LWnUv4Y5Jcb5TpKMJDJUjwW7eR03utG3o5xc-yPr/s1600/IMG_5219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOwR1nQ0hJsXP14qgxyHuwuQYc4XE6tH3A8LvgsN5d1r_XaZsq4CqXncuFNjhUgoGNpcrDPx7BirX2uXW8BAQTjnAbpQ35LWnUv4Y5Jcb5TpKMJDJUjwW7eR03utG3o5xc-yPr/s400/IMG_5219.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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This is the underside. All 5 boards are securely fastened. It took some engineering to flip that tabletop, but we got it done with minimal effort and lifting. I think we spent more money on the metal hardware than we did the lumber. But it was was still cheaper than buying a new table.</div>
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That's all for now. Time for bed.</div>
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<br /></div>Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18056977094811566757noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19557769.post-8047126437892854262012-05-10T23:24:00.000-04:002012-05-11T00:42:27.348-04:00Day 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My husband recommended I make a goal of blogging 21 days in a row so I can make it a habit. So here's to day two! (Here's where I raise my Creamsicle, as I type one-handed, in a toast to good blogging habits.)<br />
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Last night I made a list of things I could blog about in cases when I get writer's blogck. (Get it? Writer's <i>blogck</i>? Yes, I think I'm getting a little tipsy off this creamsicle.)</div>
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First I will give you a rundown of my day today and if I feel like it, I will backtrack and document some of the past month from off my list.</div>
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Thursday is kid laundry day, which means four loads of laundry. I have worked hard the past two years in getting my house organized with schedules and such. So this is my laundry schedule if you're interested:</div>
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<b>Monday</b> - Mommy and Daddy clothes (1-2 loads)</div>
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<li>Darks</li>
<li>Lights</li>
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<b>Tuesday</b> - Towels (1-2 loads)</div>
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<li>Dish and colored bath towels</li>
<li>Pool towels if it's Spring/Summer</li>
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<b>Wednesday</b> - Whites (2 loads)</div>
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<li>Delicates</li>
<li>White Towels and George's crib sheet (but I often forget to do his sheet.)</li>
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<b>Thursday</b> - Kids (4 loads)</div>
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<li>Emily and Rachel</li>
<li>Sarah and Wendy</li>
<li>Jason and George</li>
<li>Bradley</li>
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<b>Friday </b>- Sheets </div>
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<li>Sheets from one bedroom, which is on a rotating monthly schedule. (I realize that washing sheets once per month might not be as frequent as Martha Stewart would recommend, but I really do not like stripping and making beds, so once a month per bedroom it is.)</li>
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<b>Saturday </b>- Miscellaneous, but none if all goes well.</div>
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<b>Sunday</b> - NONE! (Unless I cleaned up a large milk spill on Saturday and the towel makes me gag when I walk by it.)</div>
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So on a good Thursday, I have all four loads finished by lunchtime. Unfortunately we have very few good Thursdays. If I'm on the ball, I have the laundry started on Wednesday night to get a head start, but I somehow always fall behind.</div>
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So at the beginning of the year I was trying to figure out a method of how to make laundry even easier for myself so I wouldn't resent it. My kids are capable of washing and folding their own clothes, but it's a matter of them finding the time with their school and other responsibilities. They take<i> sooooo</i> long to fold. What takes them about 45 minutes to fold, takes me about 8 minutes. So I've agreed to fold their clothes for them, until they turn at least 12 years old, while they do their schoolwork on Thursday mornings . </div>
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I leave their neatly folded pile in their room and it's their responsibility to put their clothes in their drawers or closets. I have one stipulation though. They <b>MUST </b>have <b>ALL</b> items of clothing turned right-side-out. Nothing peeves me more than to have to turn clothing right-side-out before folding it. I have one child who had a very bad habit of leaving one pant leg inside-out when he/she put them in the hamper. So, I decided to put an end to it and promote laundry accountability in the home. In January I gave each kid 100 dimes that I keep in little cups in my laundry room. The rule is:</div>
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<b><i>If Mommy comes across an inside-out item of clothing while she is folding, she will leave it on the offender's pillow. Offender must turn item right-side-out, fold it, and put it away. If it is not put away by the time offender falls asleep on Thursday, Mommy gets paid a dime from their cup for each item not folded and put away.</i></b></div>
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The rule is for ages 5 and up. Rachel will get a cup next year.</div>
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At the end of the year the kids get to keep their dimes, or we can all go spend them on something like bowling or ice skating or something fun.</div>
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So why do I tell you all of this? No reason, really, except today was the first week that my girls had <b>NO</b> inside-out clothing <b>AND</b> put away all their clothing before they fell asleep! Woo hoo!! I feel like the past four months of training have paid off! Jason had one inside-out item, but I'm lenient on 5 year olds. I haven't folded Bradley's yet, but he's rarely an offender. In fact, many weeks he will even willingly fold his own clothes.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLA-dA424UFJXnnRzMiCoUtxHMw4_LzP1SPnU62lzCXn72FNJYLohAZDVq89kJln5ie2Po2-FtE1MJUrymq1jmilxifPocvs0JYRI5y0SqKHufo-rmvLakb7KPL336sCoQB9Li/s1600/IMG_5121-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLA-dA424UFJXnnRzMiCoUtxHMw4_LzP1SPnU62lzCXn72FNJYLohAZDVq89kJln5ie2Po2-FtE1MJUrymq1jmilxifPocvs0JYRI5y0SqKHufo-rmvLakb7KPL336sCoQB9Li/s400/IMG_5121-001.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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So far this year I've made $1.50.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRYVYaPKW_gwo7iH54Dfd-00T35LW9DQZ5GJhIBdjzIhJkL3Nc4byexyMFhEp_z8VnGIRWj6nMssOLerxF9crvFk64ulRaMaLgZk5eLsRInEPRM2z3scSY7rP-SL1oGZrpDTK2/s1600/IMG_5109-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRYVYaPKW_gwo7iH54Dfd-00T35LW9DQZ5GJhIBdjzIhJkL3Nc4byexyMFhEp_z8VnGIRWj6nMssOLerxF9crvFk64ulRaMaLgZk5eLsRInEPRM2z3scSY7rP-SL1oGZrpDTK2/s400/IMG_5109-001.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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And I have to say I think this is pretty good for a five year old who put away his own clothes. Another thing I worked hard on training him to do.</div>
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Moving on to the latter part of the day. I made a shopping list for a bunch of desserts I want to make next week and will incorporate into homeschooling. I also made a list of some materials and supplies for some fun kid crafts I want to do. We are going to have a week long theme of "Fun and Fattening". I'm looking forward to it and I wanted to be sure to be prepared.</div>
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First we went to Walmart. We spent about two hours walking around and looking at stuff. I'm in the waddling phase so we took our time. By the time we were through with shopping, we were starved. I had planned to eat at home, but we ate some McDonald's because it was quick and convenient and I still wanted to go to the Dollar Store. We were still starving after we ate. But a cheeseburger and a few fries for each of us was enough to tie us over.</div>
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McDonald's cheeseburgers are lame. They only put one pickle slice on them!</div>
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This made me laugh. </div>
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My kids in the Walmart parking lot at Walmart #2.</div>
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I had to go to another Walmart after the Dollar Store to get my perishable dessert ingredients - cream cheese, whipping cream, Cool Whip.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVbHGLlc3n3C4tw6MFEFOvb7qdE1C7xoZ20MWzpsUdDzUi2qz_5thzQQp_dSkjqhweTLN3h47Kbi-tQHZlksJK1M5J4CWQjVTsRU06u6TIvWaZSHPUgz4WaDS9Hph1V-Pwdz9T/s1600/IMG_3016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVbHGLlc3n3C4tw6MFEFOvb7qdE1C7xoZ20MWzpsUdDzUi2qz_5thzQQp_dSkjqhweTLN3h47Kbi-tQHZlksJK1M5J4CWQjVTsRU06u6TIvWaZSHPUgz4WaDS9Hph1V-Pwdz9T/s320/IMG_3016.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Nothing beats a new set of a dozen cheap combs!</div>
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We went to the dollar store. My kids rarely go there and were amazed that everything cost only a $1. Emily and Sarah couldn't pass up a deal, so they bought 4 hair salon items with their own money - a package of combs, a package of hair bands, a manicure set, and mirror. They had a ball playing with it when they got home, and they gave me a very nice foot massage and pedicure after dinner. I told them they could massage my feet as often as they wanted to.</div>
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So that was my day. I organized my desk and a portion of my kitchen counter this evening. Most of the mess I just transferred to my kitchen table so I will be forced to deal with it in the morning. I didn't even have to use my list of blogging ideas tonight! Instead I bored you with a post about laundry. </div>
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In case you like reading about laundry, I also posted about it in <a href="http://blog.melindabeth.com/2008/09/thursday-laundry-day.html" target="_blank">March 2009</a>. My methods, schedule, and detergent have changed since then, but you get to meet my lavender laundry room. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir6k7V9GaO7t3nkMRb_53iteHBXosrYDpYT7Ua_Em9wiatMcB1MJ6m7xOqW6HC57E7o5zm__wgKjHScJI9nNGUjet6iYfEeBGaf4BCStYYrF0o7zoroOw2Os5TmfGCEwtBmU_5/s1600/IMG_5125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir6k7V9GaO7t3nkMRb_53iteHBXosrYDpYT7Ua_Em9wiatMcB1MJ6m7xOqW6HC57E7o5zm__wgKjHScJI9nNGUjet6iYfEeBGaf4BCStYYrF0o7zoroOw2Os5TmfGCEwtBmU_5/s320/IMG_5125.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I have since switched from powdered Tide to liquid dye and perfume-free Sun. ($2/bottle on sale) I think the white bottles with yellow caps look much nicer than the orange boxes. A bottle lasts us about 3 weeks, so I pretty much have a year supply of detergent. </div>
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</div>Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18056977094811566757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19557769.post-53438751222196282172012-05-09T23:40:00.001-04:002012-05-09T23:44:07.060-04:00My Monthly Post<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Enough is enough! I need to blog. The other night I was pondering why it is that I am so unmotivated to sign in to Blogger and let my fingers dance on the keyboard. I was reviewing a few posts from 2009 and was entertained by the events I documented way back when. Now I'm regretting for letting so much time pass these past few months in complete silence.<br />
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So as a I was pondering I came up with a few reasons (or perhaps lame excuses) for my lack of writing, documenting, blogging:<br />
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1. I'm pregnant. It draws a lot of energy out of me.<br />
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2. I am raising seven kids. It draws a lot of energy out of me.<br />
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3. It's gardening season. It takes up a lot of time. (However, I only blog at night and I don't garden at night, so it's totally not a valid excuse.)<br />
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4. My TV is broken. Total sadness, right? You would think it would free up a bunch more time so that I COULD blog, but it's the opposite. Instead of flopping myself on the couch to watch some brainless show and blogging while I'm half watching it, I have to actually DO something at night, like organize or scroll Pinterest. I'm not a good multitasker.<br />
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5. I've been intimidated by other bloggers. Seems silly, but every now and then I go through phases when I visit other blogs and feel like I can't live up to those productive and consistent bloggers, so I give up. It's ridiculous, I know. I have awesomeness to share too!<br />
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6. I have ice cream to eat. It's hard to eat ice cream and blog at the same time. Again, I'm not a well-trained multitasker.<br />
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7. I have activities to plan at night. Spring is a time when we have a change in homeschooling schedule. We take a break from the normal routine and do the essentials - math, reading, piano, Rosetta Stone. We spend the mornings in the garden, watering our plants, picking weeds, and looking at bugs. The kids spray each other with the hoses. After we come inside, the kids do 25 minutes of each essential subject before lunch, and the rest of the afternoon we do a fun activity (in theory). We've been doing a lot of science. It's all been very impromptu, meaning no rhyme or reason to our curriculum. Basically if I see something that looks fun and exciting on Pinterest I say, "Let's do that!" and hope that we have the materials. Then we experiment and discuss it. We have both successes and failures.<br />
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8. We've been building a new kitchen table top and benches. Our eight person table is beginning to get cramped, but the urgency of modifying our table was sparked when my husband's chair broke the other evening. I will post pictures when complete.<br />
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9. I take too many pictures. Although I may be having a lull in the blogging momentum, I rarely lose momentum on the picture taking. But since I take a lot of photos, it can be a daunting task to upload them, look through them, and actually pick the ones I want to post on my blog. Also I seem to be missing a memory card :(<br />
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10. There hasn't been a birthday until this week. Since I no longer keep baby books for my children, I feel obligated to at least post about their birthdays. I feel a threat coming on from my eldest child, Emily, so I thought I would blog before she threatened to unfollow me again.<br />
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So there you have it. Now on to some pictures of the past month.....<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHhgnDWGc0-4x0rqZ4TizkYTr0KsUcQX-K24OBnP0AfRIQ4O3MDeGK2ANNq2XjlMEhyJkp9hPnB5Y9oewq1BQ8DrVTcnmRWrucI01vofd_oEwqbwR_Bnl0_ZAl4uzps9tty7yL/s1600/IMG_4439-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHhgnDWGc0-4x0rqZ4TizkYTr0KsUcQX-K24OBnP0AfRIQ4O3MDeGK2ANNq2XjlMEhyJkp9hPnB5Y9oewq1BQ8DrVTcnmRWrucI01vofd_oEwqbwR_Bnl0_ZAl4uzps9tty7yL/s640/IMG_4439-001.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>
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Our 12th Anniversary. We celebrated by taking the kids to a Colonial Days celebration. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhznVeX3elduFivyUbvEMKuFghJE4Bk-sytFSWihNqON5h_JYR2e8scVFqs8QpK1XiXhWw2AIRIBXrQsJASYONASGqixa2IzdQoBYArJaxqC-OINFEDqe1C6a96VZVcXk3Ar_Qj/s1600/IMG_4396.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhznVeX3elduFivyUbvEMKuFghJE4Bk-sytFSWihNqON5h_JYR2e8scVFqs8QpK1XiXhWw2AIRIBXrQsJASYONASGqixa2IzdQoBYArJaxqC-OINFEDqe1C6a96VZVcXk3Ar_Qj/s640/IMG_4396.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>
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It was also National Junior Ranger Day and all the kids earned a Junior Ranger patch by completing some activities. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPQs_kPjU0ndHLRUXAR_6nkJemPLNJnRWdKa0EOn6L7y-3i3kOGN4syzPKQuJ2ImpNm03M7P8TLtywezaCLnURUwO5WfmT3Yr_I_ANuCWy1AwePEzIvMXRYnWnoml37R1t7hsb/s1600/IMG_2264-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPQs_kPjU0ndHLRUXAR_6nkJemPLNJnRWdKa0EOn6L7y-3i3kOGN4syzPKQuJ2ImpNm03M7P8TLtywezaCLnURUwO5WfmT3Yr_I_ANuCWy1AwePEzIvMXRYnWnoml37R1t7hsb/s640/IMG_2264-001.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Some wild blackberries that have been growing in our yard.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCE4M6mscClUp36Mv-7V22zqmFewdSEPqestvIeNys9ioslzkJQ_rmimhH4-jgMrHIaZcc8SbZnIyo3l1shLVmELskl_fs6GxaBSj-ZS6G5z3zYsRwuIKkmyrIJ43XhuHPIN1L/s1600/IMG_4474.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCE4M6mscClUp36Mv-7V22zqmFewdSEPqestvIeNys9ioslzkJQ_rmimhH4-jgMrHIaZcc8SbZnIyo3l1shLVmELskl_fs6GxaBSj-ZS6G5z3zYsRwuIKkmyrIJ43XhuHPIN1L/s640/IMG_4474.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The day after Earth Day we made Earth Day cupcakes.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzENdeosFOOFgqDo5AHDq_p9iw9Bl5O3nsn2muO34xH_qCs8ph5wibLwCNwOr91yWkn1R0sEvkw8mkQ2vqMvwsvpsxNxDMoPVZhmob8_sGsRDIeVsGVYeoSXOwy-rnvfSgk22R/s1600/IMG_4477.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzENdeosFOOFgqDo5AHDq_p9iw9Bl5O3nsn2muO34xH_qCs8ph5wibLwCNwOr91yWkn1R0sEvkw8mkQ2vqMvwsvpsxNxDMoPVZhmob8_sGsRDIeVsGVYeoSXOwy-rnvfSgk22R/s640/IMG_4477.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I love how kids are clueless to the messes they make.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdtZf5lYK-FH5gM5WCX5-IY2TtMaIqRb2rSkZrL0F13-9qF6S_XFayOMq1kAYohvJEG3JCkEvXfGmwMwKvxK5oVsJ5pMlLI4jOZzNUZU07NNo_ldX0cc7F4f7aVe6B8hkscM93/s1600/IMG_4511.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdtZf5lYK-FH5gM5WCX5-IY2TtMaIqRb2rSkZrL0F13-9qF6S_XFayOMq1kAYohvJEG3JCkEvXfGmwMwKvxK5oVsJ5pMlLI4jOZzNUZU07NNo_ldX0cc7F4f7aVe6B8hkscM93/s640/IMG_4511.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Enjoying the fruits of their labor.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLz28t0ABGVO4IFhsr6knqhCp-BfBIf2tYPRRqHtgsTOylcfwuCuOO88IrNwDUjoa2qmoSoy542yNtSytCH5ZOoPCSnkWL8c2xzSlpcdxbB1b_Zcp2FUYfE56Qd06s05rcvajP/s1600/IMG_4530-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLz28t0ABGVO4IFhsr6knqhCp-BfBIf2tYPRRqHtgsTOylcfwuCuOO88IrNwDUjoa2qmoSoy542yNtSytCH5ZOoPCSnkWL8c2xzSlpcdxbB1b_Zcp2FUYfE56Qd06s05rcvajP/s400/IMG_4530-001.JPG" width="266" /></a></div>
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Bradley lost his rare siamese tooth. He had two bottom teeth that had separate roots, but the teeth were fused together. The tooth fairy brought him two coins and let him keep the tooth (teeth).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimWYh28rZTVVIG0HMxgxW1_6ImJMIBQaNb9DBwbh-2K9blehUd9pKZSsxs5IDwiIHrhyldP4mPFit5-f22kxn2RFEcJPLM3mjb_g0m8h2L29y69hsYPkmKKFsFVY8sUjX3FWqj/s1600/IMG_4632-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimWYh28rZTVVIG0HMxgxW1_6ImJMIBQaNb9DBwbh-2K9blehUd9pKZSsxs5IDwiIHrhyldP4mPFit5-f22kxn2RFEcJPLM3mjb_g0m8h2L29y69hsYPkmKKFsFVY8sUjX3FWqj/s640/IMG_4632-001.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Sarah staking her green pepper plants. We don't always make our kids wear helmets when working in the garden.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsjrt9NhlDoslBQduPr7FOsk65P84-MV_os5c3QoB3Eflfmgr5l46TuPYVIlbt9b0M6D4C1WNRT3gBDHrbuIaQQTKl7n1erlhv7n2Iu22TK_NzA-RZoc8YjBXrbqHm_sKTUZzf/s1600/IMG_4678.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsjrt9NhlDoslBQduPr7FOsk65P84-MV_os5c3QoB3Eflfmgr5l46TuPYVIlbt9b0M6D4C1WNRT3gBDHrbuIaQQTKl7n1erlhv7n2Iu22TK_NzA-RZoc8YjBXrbqHm_sKTUZzf/s640/IMG_4678.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>
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Jason carrying in a very large watermelon from the grocery store. He dropped it, of course, but it was fun watching him try.</div>
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There you have it. I still haven't posted any photos from May because they are still on my cameras. So hopefully that will be some motivation to blog within the week!</div>
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</div>Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18056977094811566757noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19557769.post-22260129235874445102012-04-10T22:35:00.000-04:002012-04-10T22:43:15.202-04:00I've Been Threatened<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Ok, so I've officially been threatened. I got an email today that read:<br />
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"<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">When will you blog again? If you don't blog soon I won't be your follower anymore. :) So please blog soon." </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I was so glad that my daughter, Emily, used a punctuation smiley face because I was really scared for a moment. But sadly, her threat did spark me to blog tonight. Yay!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">So what exactly has prevented me from blogging lately? I've been busy with stuff. Not major important stuff. But stuff. How about I list it here.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Let's see, the last time I blogged was March 3 and it was a post about the day after Valentine's Day, which means I'm about 5 weeks behind or so? </span><br />
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<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">First of all I had the very important task of removing the wallpaper from our bathroom. The wallpaper was 14 years old and some kids had picked at it while sitting on the toilet. I was growing sick of it, so I took it down in the matter of a few hours one Saturday afternoon</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span> </li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisuhZ5G4HhYEk_ulbw9aPbyftu1-uSp8mQFiz6J_A2YOQeNvV9mHMAkP0eoJbw5GEWr9q9vveZV5FZvPI3y4CTylZYKMjyLQrRQ0vQmkHqNJl1EcLeqFaOcmn794ql7xKYrbyj/s1600/IMG_1258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisuhZ5G4HhYEk_ulbw9aPbyftu1-uSp8mQFiz6J_A2YOQeNvV9mHMAkP0eoJbw5GEWr9q9vveZV5FZvPI3y4CTylZYKMjyLQrRQ0vQmkHqNJl1EcLeqFaOcmn794ql7xKYrbyj/s640/IMG_1258.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Before</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3oaocpCmccpaL-eNMyjIiX3FqN4MJUF2Dm7vC5nfTdm_IUDzIHjf_bildgYBbO75QRMLm2QXKjzw3RC8FEmNp5UdS6XT2_gYuECcupHWsvSbZochNLQEkkGnQipyrzLyHE6V_/s1600/IMG_1263.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3oaocpCmccpaL-eNMyjIiX3FqN4MJUF2Dm7vC5nfTdm_IUDzIHjf_bildgYBbO75QRMLm2QXKjzw3RC8FEmNp5UdS6XT2_gYuECcupHWsvSbZochNLQEkkGnQipyrzLyHE6V_/s640/IMG_1263.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After</span></div>
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It's approaching two months later and it still looks like this. I'm anxious to get it painted. I'm thinking turquoise. Or has Bradley would pronounce it, "turkeys."</div>
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<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Wednesday after I took the wallpaper down, I bought some wood so I could do a <a href="http://oursuburbancottage.blogspot.com/2009/05/batty-for-board-and-batten.html" target="_blank">board and batten</a> design in my bathroom. As I was arranging the boards on the wall, one that was sitting on the toilet fell behind the toilet and completely chopped the pipe off that runs to the toilet. So, water was gushing into the house. It was a nightmare. I started hyperventilating, I yelled to my husband to shut the water off. It was 10:30 PM and he couldn't see what he was doing outside, he couldn't find a flashlight. I don't know how long the water was gushing before he finally got it shut off, but it was between 5-10 minutes and we had a good inch or two of water in a portion of our downstairs. The portion with wood floors. Thankfully our floors have a very thick varnish on them and there was very little damage. Just enough to add some character to the home and remind me to not set things on the back of the toilet.</span></li>
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This is my husband swooshing out the water.</div>
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<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I had my official anatomy scan on March 1 and everything looked good. Baby is still a girl. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We celebrated Oreo's 100th birthday.</span></li>
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<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">My grandmother passed away. It was rather sudden. I talked to her on the phone and had a very normal conversation, including talk of The Bachelor, with her less than a week before. I think it was a day or two after I talked to her that she fell in her apartment, possibly passed out or something and she called 911. It was a Thursday, they took her to the hospital, and she was diagnosed with pneumonia and it was all downhill from there. They had her in an ICU room with no phone so we could not contact her. She ended up passing away the following Tuesday. I think I might have to devote a whole post to this. So....to be continued....</span></li>
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<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Our family traveled to New York for her funeral. We kind of made a last minute vacation out of it. Again, another bullet deserving of it's own post. To be continued....</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">My husband had a birthday (his birthday was one of the days of our New York road trip.) We stopped at some friends in Maryland and Amber made David a cake. Well, actually she made a "pie" because the previous day was March 14 aka Pi Day (3.14) so we reaped the benefits of her celebrating such a mathematical holiday. I think her husband celebrated my husband's birthday a day early with a "taster slice."</span></li>
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<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We've been working on our garden. Hopefully I'll have more posts about this. I think it might be awesome this year. I hope...</span></li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioOfcRI1xLpIasMoufGV3s5iESTPHT4358Zyf_F1ajU9sCTcqoC-gCVDxrBuRn5I7e86pZ-83M7uuVPPAlG6kFBodxCbJCtBVW9B4NwURRy9p3U2JLQW0JYh5T_LeKhx2m50pL/s1600/IMG_2866.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioOfcRI1xLpIasMoufGV3s5iESTPHT4358Zyf_F1ajU9sCTcqoC-gCVDxrBuRn5I7e86pZ-83M7uuVPPAlG6kFBodxCbJCtBVW9B4NwURRy9p3U2JLQW0JYh5T_LeKhx2m50pL/s640/IMG_2866.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We've been strawberry picking two times, picking total of 34 pounds of strawberries.</span></li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7cDqR1ut5BGcsNoIHjyhSGB7O9vHPSOwTvYmoT25wXyVZmNIHTmrc761OKcguUyYnvyC6CbHUphE2KX2ixtvtPGN6lKjsiB1U4_VlN5BUVRXm23OkRxemDiOZGc92sJWts5Pn/s1600/IMG_2817-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7cDqR1ut5BGcsNoIHjyhSGB7O9vHPSOwTvYmoT25wXyVZmNIHTmrc761OKcguUyYnvyC6CbHUphE2KX2ixtvtPGN6lKjsiB1U4_VlN5BUVRXm23OkRxemDiOZGc92sJWts5Pn/s640/IMG_2817-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We watched <a href="http://www.lds.org/general-conference?lang=eng" target="_blank">General Conference</a> on March 31 and April 1. That is always an enjoyable weekend.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Emily turned 11! Ok, so I think that is the whole reason she is urging me to blog, because she doesn't want her birthday left out. I can't believe she's 11! </span></li>
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We went bowling on her birthday. I should post more pictures.</div>
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<li style="text-align: left;">We celebrated Easter</li>
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<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I've been sorting through all sorts of clutter and cleaning out the kids closets. All things that are extremely time consuming. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I had to file our taxes. I finally finished that last night. I don't know why I procrastinate it until April every single year. They were actually rather easy this year because I did not have to file any Schedule C's this year because my husband didn't make any side job money, which is too bad, I guess, but good because I guess that means his regular job is sufficient for our needs. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">So that's all for now. I REALLY hope to keep up with the posts and fill you all in on the details.</span></li>
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</div>Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18056977094811566757noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19557769.post-90091961760657277862012-03-03T21:51:00.000-05:002012-03-03T21:52:17.617-05:00Valentine's Day - The Day After<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I used to consider myself a Stay-at-Home mom/Homemaker/Blogger. But I'm afraid that I don't deserve the "blogger" title anymore. It makes me sad. But what matters is that I'm blogging now. Sometimes life happens and I just have to take an evening or week...or two weeks...or three... to do nothing but watch TV while I watch what other people are pinning on Pinterest.<br />
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My last post was February 14. I had plans to blog the following day with our post Valentine's Day candy shopping excursion and field trip to learn fractions and percentages, with an emphasis on 1/2 and 50%. We went to Walmart and Target. Walmart was by far the bigger jackpot. Target was nearly entirely out of any good candy, but I did get a cute apron. Here are the pictures of what the kids picked out:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTFiZXFkDCXPEN4CQhfClPsFZlmKDEjWSyfIcxVsdQgYxYtzCzBZWgawwJYj3CCIlJB-HTakJpceAB_E6lFKuzvp2r7Zv7FvhFHJLmSv4htmDZAu6KgRdgB9xdYeEZXgNjQHbO/s1600/IMG_0891.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTFiZXFkDCXPEN4CQhfClPsFZlmKDEjWSyfIcxVsdQgYxYtzCzBZWgawwJYj3CCIlJB-HTakJpceAB_E6lFKuzvp2r7Zv7FvhFHJLmSv4htmDZAu6KgRdgB9xdYeEZXgNjQHbO/s640/IMG_0891.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Each kid got to pick something. These aren't necessarily what they picked for themselves. I just told them to grab something out of the cart so I could take a picture.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4S2jbzIjpj-NcZwfKJiEec1EuNhxZs5wKc7d7LpxOc5DrUpesQyCKHOqHVClk_RdEOjpGB_8jFj9-_2DpZrJhAubWpMTKpDHw7PHmVknRCisw1USj8WJ3XgzY1xXU6Z9pLH7G/s1600/IMG_0897.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4S2jbzIjpj-NcZwfKJiEec1EuNhxZs5wKc7d7LpxOc5DrUpesQyCKHOqHVClk_RdEOjpGB_8jFj9-_2DpZrJhAubWpMTKpDHw7PHmVknRCisw1USj8WJ3XgzY1xXU6Z9pLH7G/s640/IMG_0897.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="text-align: center;">After Walmart we were hungry so instead of going home to eat lunch we stopped and got pizza pizza at Little Caesar's. You really can't beat pizza for $5 each. We usually have frozen pizza for lunch on Fridays, so I substituted it on Wednesday and it only cost a few dollars more.</span><br />
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They played on the playground for a while. I love having a 10 year old to help push the little ones on the swings.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCF4h9y3QmYC_zpBZI9gf7qwByuPA5Y78KRLAJRVz84lRoV2ZObTn4QvZAsfokO18SEShYgQXQwwXoMu2bGWeF0B9xB1VrfNjiinin8f8f4hYOcpPR6SABHNzbmnmpNN0X7321/s1600/IMG_0924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCF4h9y3QmYC_zpBZI9gf7qwByuPA5Y78KRLAJRVz84lRoV2ZObTn4QvZAsfokO18SEShYgQXQwwXoMu2bGWeF0B9xB1VrfNjiinin8f8f4hYOcpPR6SABHNzbmnmpNN0X7321/s640/IMG_0924.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Playing in the sandbox. Yes, they are all mine. That's a lot of kids.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMbsWfrKzBFcC7IQieC2YwOi6zCvtZHlM8vEPv34zVD2DexhVoVHT49VGzVCIs9ypBFTQzhKGawSjPtEgHphKCyb57WdF-FJDXYPUpYs0Qu3jT_IUF_P0xwlrj7J5oEu43OUH3/s1600/IMG_0930.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMbsWfrKzBFcC7IQieC2YwOi6zCvtZHlM8vEPv34zVD2DexhVoVHT49VGzVCIs9ypBFTQzhKGawSjPtEgHphKCyb57WdF-FJDXYPUpYs0Qu3jT_IUF_P0xwlrj7J5oEu43OUH3/s640/IMG_0930.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Then we went to Target. Since they didn't have much to pick from, I let the kids play in the outdoor section where the lawn furniture and grill are. They never have a lack of imagination. However, they got in an argument. Emily wanted to pretend they were adults who were in their 30's. Bradley thought playing a game "in your 30's" was dumb. He wanted to play a game where they were in their 20's and in college. Their arguments were cracking me up. They ended up playing separate games.</div>
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Meanwhile, George took a nap on the Valentines' Day clearance pillow that we borrowed for a moment.</div>
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Jason has no idea what Twilight even is, but he HAD to have this Twilight tin! he just thought it was so cool, mostly because it came with an Edward necklace.</div>
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Rachel HAD to have this Barbie heart box. Can you imagine the disappointment and tears when she opened it and discovered there were no chocolates inside? Yes, it was devastating, and in my opinion, quite rude for the candy company to do something so deceptive like that. I even paid a $1 extra for the "Barbie" box. Thankfully Rachel has some very kind sisters that shared some of their chocolates. Jason's tin contained the same candy as Rachel's, but he didn't seem as bothered by it because he had his chain necklace as a consolation prize. He shoved all of the gummies in his mouth at the same time.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG8itsrA_BIyS64DxEplmcqIXrQ1uUAfv5gwDyiPjI3F1RkTwlA7DDyHrePAoU1DTYtTjb0A-omG9f0UJ7068FaQZh5MNdfhSTFshg_FHJDeoDdQV5WXYbxMpaIZtJuLLFuzeK/s1600/IMG_0951.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG8itsrA_BIyS64DxEplmcqIXrQ1uUAfv5gwDyiPjI3F1RkTwlA7DDyHrePAoU1DTYtTjb0A-omG9f0UJ7068FaQZh5MNdfhSTFshg_FHJDeoDdQV5WXYbxMpaIZtJuLLFuzeK/s640/IMG_0951.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Sarah and Emily picked these heart boxes. I see they are gaining wisdom as they grow older. The bigger the better.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgN0F8dy2AVtnc1W1SBWBM-yj03N6YYkXKlYT1_258RX4wNTGiGWlbLOSAI2UyhzMlneC7f3iGzEDeNmu9_3LUvnHAz7OWwnnl6Ms30yWjsrHwXvctMVWC5S9NBjWAISG5w9EZ/s1600/IMG_0960.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgN0F8dy2AVtnc1W1SBWBM-yj03N6YYkXKlYT1_258RX4wNTGiGWlbLOSAI2UyhzMlneC7f3iGzEDeNmu9_3LUvnHAz7OWwnnl6Ms30yWjsrHwXvctMVWC5S9NBjWAISG5w9EZ/s640/IMG_0960.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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This is the whole stash that we came home with. Bradley chose a bag of caramel filled Dove milk chocolate. I had to pay close attention while checking out at Walmart because not everything was ringing up at 50% and the clerk had to manually ring it.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgklgdiukLb6LQjNCx8CuuvmB8oy_QPJovyFZAGw3rrTXKxgxd0M34h_1inR5UhlM3ouWUvqMox8q674ld0LctV2ynpDmQ0BdUwS6EO93ozoWbzYMnvmKd_aLyt9jkJflNSN9Fb/s1600/IMG_0962.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgklgdiukLb6LQjNCx8CuuvmB8oy_QPJovyFZAGw3rrTXKxgxd0M34h_1inR5UhlM3ouWUvqMox8q674ld0LctV2ynpDmQ0BdUwS6EO93ozoWbzYMnvmKd_aLyt9jkJflNSN9Fb/s640/IMG_0962.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Mom and Dad's stash and my new cute apron.</div>
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OK, that is the day after Valentine's Day. I think I will end this post here. I have more to say about my past week.</div>
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To be continued....</div>
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</div>Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18056977094811566757noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19557769.post-28577709611232308632012-02-14T21:50:00.001-05:002012-02-17T09:32:36.845-05:00Love at First Sight<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><br />
<p>So a few weeks ago there was a good deal on Woot for the Shark Pocket Mop. I don't usually like gimmicky cleaning gadgets because they are more of a disappointment than the awesomeness they portray on the infomercial. But I couldn't pass it up because it was about half of the retail price. I figured if I didn't like it, I could probably Craigslist it for close to the amount of what I paid for it. Well, it arrived, and of course it didn't perform as awesomely as I hoped it to. However, I am well aware that there is no miracle solution to cleaning a kitchen floor of the dirt and grime that comes along with a nine member family. I still love Shark though. She doesn't make the job go any faster, but I like the fact that she steams the floor and sanitizes it for at least the next day for when George eats food off the floor. The best part about her arrival was that she is the perfect companion for Dyson.</p><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfKIT0Ks-G430dA6x_JmwfIqc9zCLWt1vsyzgecKqn9BONZWc9gFcyz974O9fyyAAQ_KYv2KuKrsr-gAruPIQ-6JlNUOfbk9FW1KUQv58e3uNZK_zBSOUjySpLjaHpKQ4kMH3N/s1600/IMG_1228.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfKIT0Ks-G430dA6x_JmwfIqc9zCLWt1vsyzgecKqn9BONZWc9gFcyz974O9fyyAAQ_KYv2KuKrsr-gAruPIQ-6JlNUOfbk9FW1KUQv58e3uNZK_zBSOUjySpLjaHpKQ4kMH3N/s640/IMG_1228.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It was love at first sight and they celebrated their first Valentine's Day today.</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcENQzY617EidycjUCRWHdLT3dIhyphenhyphenjOqYtenKrLPMpBbXt65-B3Kvuhhx1p9-Md6bLtPeePCPzqz16wLeGpmPgq7Y131JgD47Wo6jw1bmGip8qyh6SJqfos7iRT8TNbhbqdzkv/s1600/IMG_1177.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcENQzY617EidycjUCRWHdLT3dIhyphenhyphenjOqYtenKrLPMpBbXt65-B3Kvuhhx1p9-Md6bLtPeePCPzqz16wLeGpmPgq7Y131JgD47Wo6jw1bmGip8qyh6SJqfos7iRT8TNbhbqdzkv/s640/IMG_1177.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Jason and Sarah. I think the throat hold just looks so loving.</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEsaOoYKdTQ6naxNjJ0Xf95x5eaqwZWmMqpLBFhKqRSNy67Sw5ZC7s_LLnVYkgQNl8IiexaHQzDxMGniizb6Ge2OwYbNtWXkY3i21wKRbfc8gO4xlTmhUUrdK_DNtIU2EE71HJ/s1600/IMG_1189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEsaOoYKdTQ6naxNjJ0Xf95x5eaqwZWmMqpLBFhKqRSNy67Sw5ZC7s_LLnVYkgQNl8IiexaHQzDxMGniizb6Ge2OwYbNtWXkY3i21wKRbfc8gO4xlTmhUUrdK_DNtIU2EE71HJ/s640/IMG_1189.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We don't normally celebrate V-day on the 14th because I don't like spending full price on flowers and chocolate, but my husband broke the rules and bought flowers for the girls from the boys. I suppose it's my fault, because I asked my husband to pick up some milk, butter, and bananas on his way home from work and he got sucked into the peer pressure of all the other husbands at the store buying stuff for their wives.</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTR5wUe7hzm5Qec4pbiLWjR_uVL-0QherfkKINGg83OEK49-34jZhyphenhyphenIW5TNRrnx76tFj6_NHeCq1LamWLh4JDOTKCMCWpBxX1kIL043FNkmMu3IJSbKMKZPJ4ON-Lld8DmldvN/s1600/IMG_1193.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTR5wUe7hzm5Qec4pbiLWjR_uVL-0QherfkKINGg83OEK49-34jZhyphenhyphenIW5TNRrnx76tFj6_NHeCq1LamWLh4JDOTKCMCWpBxX1kIL043FNkmMu3IJSbKMKZPJ4ON-Lld8DmldvN/s640/IMG_1193.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Rachel admiring her carnation. She was the rebellious girl today that didn't wear pink, red, or hearts.</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Fvu_bWo9E2xa2UBaYC-Sixsta4s_SV7i59nicRSjtiGlBFeLOQ996Q0vKpriOZg0JCoLPhpvpQEfI9mwEPK1cCHXZtAYCIoxt6N2_OySailODYycu0YZLJo8jOo-Eaj_c67V/s1600/IMG_1199.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Fvu_bWo9E2xa2UBaYC-Sixsta4s_SV7i59nicRSjtiGlBFeLOQ996Q0vKpriOZg0JCoLPhpvpQEfI9mwEPK1cCHXZtAYCIoxt6N2_OySailODYycu0YZLJo8jOo-Eaj_c67V/s640/IMG_1199.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Wendy thought the girls' flowers were better than Mommy's flowers because they were bigger. She hasn't caught on that carnations are a B list flower. The white ones will make good science experiements though, when we put them in a glass of colored water. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(I can't help but be practical and educational with my flower receiving.)</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGNU_pVVn6W-IKOGPchPsSH_A9h_LdbL1BSi7lzzPq1qzvTXZhqOZ1orGYELqj_2FX0TOGZ9bF1J-3yXcLSnuZSM9DYqL12Ud6LETzf2_d2Inlvt_GdssQ0L1P-28In1cvcAny/s1600/IMG_1205.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGNU_pVVn6W-IKOGPchPsSH_A9h_LdbL1BSi7lzzPq1qzvTXZhqOZ1orGYELqj_2FX0TOGZ9bF1J-3yXcLSnuZSM9DYqL12Ud6LETzf2_d2Inlvt_GdssQ0L1P-28In1cvcAny/s640/IMG_1205.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My pink roses. Whenever my husband buys me flowers I can't help but think of what kind of dent it put in my budget. I really do appreciate them. But I appreciate even more the grocery store sushi my husband brought home along with the flowers. I love grocery store California Rolls!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Can you see my new cabinet behind me? Remember way back in January when I had a <a href="http://blog.melindabeth.com/2012/01/kitchen-counters-utter-fail.html" target="_blank">Solution Resolution</a> to fix my kitchen counter clutter? Well I did get that accomplished. I still need to post 'after' pictures, <i>after</i> I get my kitchen counters cleared....AGAIN! </div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgocxs2l32KdVgJsDFTrF9Lwpf5BvTr6iE_3ncxOtNgAizGzd-v0dTpMRxU80EDA9MX9XZephBvcS10z_ZG7jmN-IEtFABN9K5l8n9lZKQtZIVGiXbdPR_Eyxt3p34QxthldV3O/s1600/IMG_1213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgocxs2l32KdVgJsDFTrF9Lwpf5BvTr6iE_3ncxOtNgAizGzd-v0dTpMRxU80EDA9MX9XZephBvcS10z_ZG7jmN-IEtFABN9K5l8n9lZKQtZIVGiXbdPR_Eyxt3p34QxthldV3O/s640/IMG_1213.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My next door neighbor brought over a 7 oz. giant Hershey Kiss today that she got at work. She didn't want it because she doesn't eat milk chocolate (Why doesn't she eat milk chocolate? I don't know.) But we graciously accepted it. In order to serve it fairly, we had to weigh each serving to make sure each child got exactly 1 oz. I like to call it Chocolate Math Class.</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVMKs1rHiuBjhsaHOFTEWAHxspbmfBKbxXGYQwR2OLzHsK_DPhR9z4cgKRQnAdo7p1Jv6n2Y0FX3G1zjoNbL7Mb_xAfWEqjflOP-SLuG1uj9StZe8fh-iO4b5GiIWvEDs-sbxk/s1600/IMG_1220.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVMKs1rHiuBjhsaHOFTEWAHxspbmfBKbxXGYQwR2OLzHsK_DPhR9z4cgKRQnAdo7p1Jv6n2Y0FX3G1zjoNbL7Mb_xAfWEqjflOP-SLuG1uj9StZe8fh-iO4b5GiIWvEDs-sbxk/s640/IMG_1220.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">George enjoying his ounce of milk chocolate.</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQuPiUuod9r0D12NeR6egZcFTQcooy3oGFk-Me8V_MEOIdc5bGRRf0jbqLbYxUla4LydAvfeaLErUdlrf6GigiicFOlWGVwen-oh5aw-6AJTJKJzwrFCvJgWthhkGmreyEVWZa/s1600/IMG_1225.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQuPiUuod9r0D12NeR6egZcFTQcooy3oGFk-Me8V_MEOIdc5bGRRf0jbqLbYxUla4LydAvfeaLErUdlrf6GigiicFOlWGVwen-oh5aw-6AJTJKJzwrFCvJgWthhkGmreyEVWZa/s640/IMG_1225.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The kids did some artwork today. I really liked what Emily painted. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Tomorrow we will continue our annual tradition of shopping for chocolate the day after Valentine's Day at 50% off. Another Chocolate Math Class. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In other news: I went to the doctor again today for a regularly scheduled prenatal checkup. My abdominal aching returned yesterday afternoon and it radiates to my back. He agreed to scan my gallbladder, but they didn't find anything. I'm beginning to think it's simply just mid-back pain due to a shift in my center of gravity, since my belly significantly popped out about a week ago. It doesn't feel very digestive system related anymore, but rather more muscular-skeletal. Pregnancy in my 30's isn't what it was like in my 20's. It's no wonder that pregnancy at age 35+ is labeled a "<a href="http://www.ehow.com/about_5032741_geriatric-pregnancy.html" target="_blank">Geriatric Pregnancy</a>". So, I'm not going to be paranoid about it and I'm NOT going to Google any symptoms because it will only cause me to stress and not blog, and we can't have that!</div><br />
</div>Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18056977094811566757noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19557769.post-5597450344573559012012-02-12T23:17:00.001-05:002012-02-12T23:27:43.617-05:00Or or oar or ore?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">[Ok, so the title of this post has nothing to do with what it is about. It's just a question the kids came up with at lunch today while we were talking about the difference between "ore" and "oar".]<br />
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On with the post...<br />
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I am dragging my reluctant fingers to the keyboard to do something other than check Facebook or Pinterest. I am self-diagnosing myself with ADD. I just can't keep my brain focused. I'm sure it has nothing to do with raising and homeschooling seven kids, I'm just....well, here's a picture....wait.....let me tell you about Sarah's birthday......in a minute. I want to show you a picture....no wait, let me tell you how this past week the stomach bug went through our home. Ug. Yes, it was yuck and I'm just recovering.....ok here's the picture: (That's just a glimpse of how my brain has been functioning lately. Annoying, right? And if you can translate my unfocusedness into housecleaning, you might be able to imagine what my house looks like. Everything is either 1/4, 1/2 or 3/4 of the way clean, with an emphasis on 1/4.)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi39LlIBydWwXetDa_5bksRPqS6RH47v6rR4AJZy9_r0H7TacbPKcO5Oe-ai86dzsN2T-kv5AYR9sASQz5xozwjv4joYghOfm8IC6qoXrDq4IU8SlUp4hxO0CkIRVSniIEsu3oE/s1600/IMG_1156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi39LlIBydWwXetDa_5bksRPqS6RH47v6rR4AJZy9_r0H7TacbPKcO5Oe-ai86dzsN2T-kv5AYR9sASQz5xozwjv4joYghOfm8IC6qoXrDq4IU8SlUp4hxO0CkIRVSniIEsu3oE/s400/IMG_1156.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This year I was going to write a To Do List at the beginning of each month for all the things I wanted to accomplish that month. January's list was pretty successful. Over a week ago I sat down to write my To Do List for February and this is how far I got because I got distracted. Needless to say, you can't go very far on a To Do List if you can't even To Do writing the list!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">OK, back to the stomach bug. Wendy started it on Monday and she had it for two days. Usually if sickness goes around our house, more than one kid will get sick. But she was the only one, which led me to wonder if she had appendicitis or something because she was complaining about her lower abdomen hurting before the puking started. Then I got paranoid about the undercooked hot dogs we ate on Sunday, and I was afraid she had Listeriosis, and that I would have it too, and it would kill my fetus. (Listeria can do that.) But then Emily and Bradley both got sick on Wednesday evening, followed by Sarah and Rachel on Thursday evening. (I will admit I secretly rejoiced when the two kids who did not eat hot dogs (Emily and Rachel) threw up and I was able to throw my Listeria paranoia out the window. I think George had the illness in the form of a liquid diaper, and Jason seemed to miraculously get by unscathed. We think it might have to due to him eating so much fruit to keep is immune system going. Thankfully the bug seemed to be a sort of 24-48 hour thing depending upon how long the child wanted to milk it for some TV time. My husband and I both had something funky going on too, but no throwing up, thank goodness. We were just both very tired and I had a very bad crampy feeling in my upper abdomen ALL week! At first I thought it was just growing pains of my expanding belly, but by day five I thought it might be something else. I went to the doctor and he diagnosed me as having "The Bug". I totally thought I had gallbladder issues, but I started feeling great as of Saturday afternoon. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The good news is my doctor was not busy the day I went in. I told him he was torturing me by having me wait until the 28th to find out if I am having a boy or girl. So he said, "Do you want to find out today?" Without hesitation I said, "Of course!!!" So he led me down the hall for a complimentary "Social Ultrasound." But I'm going to keep you in suspense for now because I feel like I cheated by getting a sneak peek. I get my official anatomy scan on the 28th to make sure she has a heart, brain, etc. Did I say 'she'? I meant 'he'. Now I've got you confused. At least we know he/she has at least one hand:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-66EZ8jlPxJxSM3gFP0HvzcLHb_wLMI1ZpL5_t0pHglYpPzJF9zjWn5NUW_2McU_58dgqLsu4_FyaS2tlCDkrAfZy57I0zh4zgVjG82Ttrdj1ZeWWEFpff5uS3xSek2S51O5U/s1600/Fetus+Hand-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-66EZ8jlPxJxSM3gFP0HvzcLHb_wLMI1ZpL5_t0pHglYpPzJF9zjWn5NUW_2McU_58dgqLsu4_FyaS2tlCDkrAfZy57I0zh4zgVjG82Ttrdj1ZeWWEFpff5uS3xSek2S51O5U/s1600/Fetus+Hand-1.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A few fun things have happened since I last posted. Here they are in pictures:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Rachel's Birthday on January 22</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRZZg-pGk3uv2qYJ7VJuMqt9a4taevP7ocXAHDUfNcgoNnwSbKLnhB4tqwWBUxMbXd1QsV8Wi_FKebESOowbaLbRP7C6TdyXxLuNCzSgufYXPDDDjzwfI44dzh9NFVK1KqTlTX/s1600/IMG_0730.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRZZg-pGk3uv2qYJ7VJuMqt9a4taevP7ocXAHDUfNcgoNnwSbKLnhB4tqwWBUxMbXd1QsV8Wi_FKebESOowbaLbRP7C6TdyXxLuNCzSgufYXPDDDjzwfI44dzh9NFVK1KqTlTX/s640/IMG_0730.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Can you guess how old she is? She's either 4.....</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmnFfTFD6_eM6RWsuvRkDGnPnZZRwU_M4ajBJPb9lYKdk1V1aV01d0rLUtngKANs1n26A0mnBrIjNeyn472Ca49PTHz6WbyN1sarx9lxqpLIq7Ljt2NBNkkoa_Nisr9XAlJJ7w/s1600/IMG_0781.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmnFfTFD6_eM6RWsuvRkDGnPnZZRwU_M4ajBJPb9lYKdk1V1aV01d0rLUtngKANs1n26A0mnBrIjNeyn472Ca49PTHz6WbyN1sarx9lxqpLIq7Ljt2NBNkkoa_Nisr9XAlJJ7w/s640/IMG_0781.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">....or 44. (Emily decorated the cake.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrGF2mKq8vYIXRwD9Hn66N9eRZNOLnakRFfl1AFu-_NhSBso3zJ_PzBUhw_a3F3u7q37GlY1gYJi5dZphY-klB9ORqdNwihhJuU8wfLWqOG2VB_Fvb4NhlkhQru3pMvx0nNBa2/s1600/IMG_0741.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrGF2mKq8vYIXRwD9Hn66N9eRZNOLnakRFfl1AFu-_NhSBso3zJ_PzBUhw_a3F3u7q37GlY1gYJi5dZphY-klB9ORqdNwihhJuU8wfLWqOG2VB_Fvb4NhlkhQru3pMvx0nNBa2/s640/IMG_0741.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">She got a Spongebob Barbie from us.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sarah's Turned 8!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiht-9kfDC2GrfBHUo7O044dqvGK8uqbOGo1xs9KVt77Rx6T7dgx9Fcqt4l8wr7l60wG-phwzERPyHrwN8mDtiD9bW91hH83_w9HxR7TEogvdpGxlzp_TDM5YiDehHqPrVXNcgj/s1600/IMG_0876.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiht-9kfDC2GrfBHUo7O044dqvGK8uqbOGo1xs9KVt77Rx6T7dgx9Fcqt4l8wr7l60wG-phwzERPyHrwN8mDtiD9bW91hH83_w9HxR7TEogvdpGxlzp_TDM5YiDehHqPrVXNcgj/s640/IMG_0876.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I guess there is no theme to the birthday cakes this year. This year I have ADD, not OCD.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg1LjL1u2CRkKnPjPzv781u-qddarxtVPyZazYbBUu9QiRgZi5Zuy7Lp0RYctdXd53WrqR-0SLiRF2r9sJlxMlSyfOnzkgIixERZnx0fVSgKat10fVlQlyCBjoP6Pw2YV8aflr/s1600/IMG_0952-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg1LjL1u2CRkKnPjPzv781u-qddarxtVPyZazYbBUu9QiRgZi5Zuy7Lp0RYctdXd53WrqR-0SLiRF2r9sJlxMlSyfOnzkgIixERZnx0fVSgKat10fVlQlyCBjoP6Pw2YV8aflr/s640/IMG_0952-2.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Sarah got baptized on Groundhog's Day.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5R-8VyGTVUTuU_9tbInrVym4YNDu0gE8Y7QDhBSt7tAW9Yhc1tSganTEf2pKjfCbrOfea0YPpRd6LyA2ex0phrQDB53P4O0jW4OJhp-7heBch0p6tWJl3Hx8IwWCcq-iQ7Bs_/s1600/IMG_1047-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5R-8VyGTVUTuU_9tbInrVym4YNDu0gE8Y7QDhBSt7tAW9Yhc1tSganTEf2pKjfCbrOfea0YPpRd6LyA2ex0phrQDB53P4O0jW4OJhp-7heBch0p6tWJl3Hx8IwWCcq-iQ7Bs_/s640/IMG_1047-1.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Daddy baptized her.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQbwq2q3auxHyrKoDBrh2ec6dMoDzkSm6dOqdSCedFs9yZB8Rh3kxNKrbUCbGBBoj009PKFtWNI4EbV6pmqF3f2f_SxO4hoQLOKWZ1rPCHFvg8FuTiIUEbzlMXMd8vdpPjciLu/s1600/IMG_0986-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQbwq2q3auxHyrKoDBrh2ec6dMoDzkSm6dOqdSCedFs9yZB8Rh3kxNKrbUCbGBBoj009PKFtWNI4EbV6pmqF3f2f_SxO4hoQLOKWZ1rPCHFvg8FuTiIUEbzlMXMd8vdpPjciLu/s640/IMG_0986-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A group shot.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKyV2kkb9humty0SRHLxj4_EMC_TlnrjnAgNNgkHTJSZVVbkiCak-QQqEQfVmaNQ-TRVYybofHN2dfmeQslPZHcXG21zSebFLremC4Ft9CULPTHYDQVUXCveQYTZMAUJGS7A9c/s1600/IMG_1115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKyV2kkb9humty0SRHLxj4_EMC_TlnrjnAgNNgkHTJSZVVbkiCak-QQqEQfVmaNQ-TRVYybofHN2dfmeQslPZHcXG21zSebFLremC4Ft9CULPTHYDQVUXCveQYTZMAUJGS7A9c/s640/IMG_1115.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The next day I put my free labor to work and we painted a section of our fence in desperate need of paint.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The next day I painted our bedroom. I don't have a good picture yet. The color is called "Moondance". I thought it was a light blue, but it's actually a light grey. I'm not 100% happy with the color, but it's better than the pink we had for the past 3 years when we traded rooms with the girls.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">That's all for now. Dentist appointments tomorrow. The kids are looking forward to theirs. I'm not looking forward to mine.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And since you have been so patient to get this far in my post, I'll let you in on a little secret.....It's a Girl!</div></div>Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18056977094811566757noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19557769.post-13055538682120453262012-01-10T23:43:00.004-05:002012-01-10T23:49:12.445-05:00Kitchen Counters - Utter Fail<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Side note: If a cow stops producing milk, do they have an udder fail?<br />
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Ok, back on topic. Last week my goal was going to be clearing my kitchen counters. Well, hmm, I did not accomplish the task. I made progress, but they get messed up so quickly!!! So I tried to determine the problems so I could come up with solutions:<br />
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<b>Problem #1: Dirty dishes on the counter.</b><br />
<span style="color: lime;"><b>Solution: </b></span>Clean them.<br />
This can be a problem for me. Our day is pretty fast-paced, so it's hard for me to get a moment to wash the dishes in between meals and I'm not Type A enough to really even care. For now, the solution is to TRY to clean them in between meals and hopefully have a dirty dish-free counter by bedtime.<br />
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<b>Problem #2: No place for food items, such as bags of pretzels or chips, or for boxes of crackers, etc. </b><br />
Our house is not equipped with a pantry. It's a very poorly designed kitchen. I mean, it's nice and spacious and there are plenty of cupboards, but there is not a walk-in pantry or even a large, tall cupboard or closet. (We don't even have a hall closet for jackets.) I think our 1200 square foot apartment, when we first got married, had more pantry space than this house. Because there is inconvenient storage for these types of food items, they usually end up on the counters or on the playroom floor. Bad.<br />
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<b><span style="color: lime;">Solution</span>:</b> We have a back porch off our kitchen, and ideally I would enclose it and make it a sort of mudroom, butler's pantry, food storage type room. It's a dream of mine. But since that would likely cost in the 10's of thousands of dollars, I decided to buy a temporary cabinet at Lowe's to put in another area of the kitchen. The white matches our existing cabinets and it should nicely enclose the awkward packages of food that are encroaching my counter space and causing my utter fail. Right now the cabinet is sitting unassembled on my kitchen floor. I need to work up the courage to put it together. Here's a pic from Lowe's website. I'm kind of excited about it. I hope it holds up well:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Zoomed: ESTATE by RSI 70-3/8"H x 23-3/4"W x 16-5/8"D Wood Composite Multi-Purpose Cabinet" src="http://images.lowes.com/product/converted/094803/094803097534xl.jpg" /> </div><br />
It cost $138, which I still think costs a lot of money, but much less than $10,000. It's all relative.<br />
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<b>Problem #3: Unorganized baking center.</b><br />
For Christmas my dad gave us a Kitchen Aid. I was very excited because I'm not much of a baker and I thought that this might be an inspiration to be able to do some hands-free mixing. I have a nice spot for it in my kitchen, but my ingredients are not very handy. I want my ingredients to be handy by the mixer so that I'm inspired to bake.<br />
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<b><span style="color: lime;">Solution</span>:</b> I want to install a pullout drawer in one of my cabinets where I can put my flour, sugar, etc and easily scoop it into the mixer. The ones at Lowe's are about $55-65 which I think is expensive. I've been searching online and I think I can get a comparable one for about $37. Still haven't decided yet. I might just have to squat down and pull the containers out from under the cupboard. Gaw! It just feels so primitive! We MUST have convenience and exert as LITTLE effort as possible!!! Ok, so I might be getting a little spoiled here. I think I better start a budget and practice my squats for now.<br />
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Ok that's all for now. Totally boring post, but it's been what's been going on in my mind. <a href="http://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/kitchen-cabinet-organization.html" target="_blank">This week's assignment</a> is supposed to be kitchen cupboards and drawers. Thankfully, I did mine not that long ago, so I'm in pretty good shape in regards to my drawers and cupboards. Getting this cabinet assembled should help with with the kitchen organization overall. I'll keep you updated.<br />
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Ugh. I'm annoyed that I just created such a boring post! Such is life. I'll leave you with pictures:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jCH1J1Onq3W7zyBC5bTagc8J2jmYem8hEMQtCC1zsKNUEGuhov5tqRBghCKZMXJk3uzqyMEw7bgJdkXNsXm7RhDSOJReb3y78ti9eYBZawj8K7GnFJyCi5xwdNNgswcPrPjZ/s1600/IMG_0655.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jCH1J1Onq3W7zyBC5bTagc8J2jmYem8hEMQtCC1zsKNUEGuhov5tqRBghCKZMXJk3uzqyMEw7bgJdkXNsXm7RhDSOJReb3y78ti9eYBZawj8K7GnFJyCi5xwdNNgswcPrPjZ/s640/IMG_0655.JPG" width="640" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> I took these last week. My counters have improved, but they still need some work. This is the counter that accumulates the dirty dishes.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh38wGelPqYsi4u7hAvrdCKqjMvmfBJEGXwxiqTtE9bfoQfjGQQ-jnKtWc7QKkALRNMSTDM8F4J3rPPDMoRHN5VaVfx7Dw7uIu5qCqUujN1ax995Br0HEbzOb2Qp7-yuOt4tm-7/s1600/IMG_0656.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh38wGelPqYsi4u7hAvrdCKqjMvmfBJEGXwxiqTtE9bfoQfjGQQ-jnKtWc7QKkALRNMSTDM8F4J3rPPDMoRHN5VaVfx7Dw7uIu5qCqUujN1ax995Br0HEbzOb2Qp7-yuOt4tm-7/s640/IMG_0656.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is the clean dish side. It's usually stacked with drying dishes.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb4nqDmw40D4H3sVCwsxrvygPtORZ-ZPG6Tohqs55wMXkth8AUpUvOB8AVbtRyuRYbz3Vqz7UpzfEm_-aGzDW8Q9cFPlRWef1RxAQenRQcrQedL-glgp9qWOJe_TpI8eP3QKHN/s1600/IMG_0657.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb4nqDmw40D4H3sVCwsxrvygPtORZ-ZPG6Tohqs55wMXkth8AUpUvOB8AVbtRyuRYbz3Vqz7UpzfEm_-aGzDW8Q9cFPlRWef1RxAQenRQcrQedL-glgp9qWOJe_TpI8eP3QKHN/s640/IMG_0657.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">This is unusually cluttered due to the holidays, but unfortunately it's still pretty bad. Aren't you excited to see the after pictures? Me too! This is where my beloved Kitchen Aid will go.</div></div>Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18056977094811566757noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19557769.post-79989755964013399602012-01-02T23:25:00.005-05:002012-01-02T23:34:21.449-05:00Solution Resolution<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Tonight's <a href="http://lds.org/study/topics/family-home-evening?lang=eng" target="_blank">Family Home Evening</a> lesson was on New Year Resolutions. For our activity the kids wrote down at least three of their own resolutions. They came up with them on their own....well, maybe with a little help from mom and dad. At least the ones that seem to recur among children.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Emily's</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hvozHwMwx9M/TwJ8F3f-XBI/AAAAAAAADvs/xvJZ_kYcwjA/s1600/IMG_0630.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hvozHwMwx9M/TwJ8F3f-XBI/AAAAAAAADvs/xvJZ_kYcwjA/s640/IMG_0630.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cz78c9EZRSE/TwJ8GoPiE6I/AAAAAAAADv0/REjtBCZUxmA/s1600/IMG_0631.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cz78c9EZRSE/TwJ8GoPiE6I/AAAAAAAADv0/REjtBCZUxmA/s640/IMG_0631.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Sarah's<span style="text-align: left;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wr-etcpxHxA/TwJ8JY1mYXI/AAAAAAAADwM/QU5RXkB7yR8/s1600/IMG_0634.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wr-etcpxHxA/TwJ8JY1mYXI/AAAAAAAADwM/QU5RXkB7yR8/s640/IMG_0634.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">When I asked her what she meant by "riding" she said, "You know..." and then gestured with a writing motion. I think what she meant was spelling. And "cleaing" means "cleaning".</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bradley's </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mpeFhZOj8rU/TwJ8KZlj4-I/AAAAAAAADwU/8FnmbjyPMNI/s1600/IMG_0637.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mpeFhZOj8rU/TwJ8KZlj4-I/AAAAAAAADwU/8FnmbjyPMNI/s640/IMG_0637.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Focus on piano, obedience, trying new food, and cleaning*</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5p2rQ2CrfiM/TwJ8LO8GU6I/AAAAAAAADwc/4irt_hnhGzE/s1600/IMG_0638.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5p2rQ2CrfiM/TwJ8LO8GU6I/AAAAAAAADwc/4irt_hnhGzE/s640/IMG_0638.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">*Really need to do!" I'm glad he realizes that.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">George's<span style="text-align: left;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zqJsZUA6lgI/TwJ8MJV956I/AAAAAAAADwk/0M_xPU1QIkg/s1600/IMG_0647.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zqJsZUA6lgI/TwJ8MJV956I/AAAAAAAADwk/0M_xPU1QIkg/s640/IMG_0647.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Learn how to properly dip a chocolate chip cookie in milk. It's not necessary to dip the hand past the wrist.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;">Wendy's</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l4L9JASKSps/TwJ8N0cgP2I/AAAAAAAADw0/RlyGap3GzUc/s1600/IMG_0650.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l4L9JASKSps/TwJ8N0cgP2I/AAAAAAAADw0/RlyGap3GzUc/s640/IMG_0650.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Jason's</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VhxM2T9ak40/TwJ8HoZn6fI/AAAAAAAADv8/hg9h2erYyHo/s1600/IMG_0632.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VhxM2T9ak40/TwJ8HoZn6fI/AAAAAAAADv8/hg9h2erYyHo/s640/IMG_0632.JPG" width="640" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bsHiNcbNEvU/TwKCZLjkvmI/AAAAAAAADxA/Jrc49d5ouJg/s1600/IMG_0633.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bsHiNcbNEvU/TwKCZLjkvmI/AAAAAAAADxA/Jrc49d5ouJg/s640/IMG_0633.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">He chose not to write down any that mom and dad suggested, and he came up with this one all by himself, with a little help from an older sister with spelling.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Rachel slept through Family Home Evening.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In addition to our individual resolutions, my husband and I made a joint one to find <span style="font-size: large;">Solutions</span> to problem areas in the house. For example, my husband was very frustrated with our shower curtain hooks in our bathroom because they didn't slide smoothly. So he bought new ones that are very slick. He also bought a new shower curtain because ours had a lot of mildew growing on it and it was yellowing from all the times I have bleached it. Now my husband says that his day goes so much better now that he has a pleasant shower experience in the morning.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I found a cool <a href="http://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/organized-home.html" target="_blank">website</a> via Pinterest that focuses on one problem area of the home per week for 52 weeks. This week's focus is kitchen counters. Hopefully by Saturday I will have some good before and after pictures. Kitchen counters in our house are a major clutter magnet. I have to put my thinking cap on and find some solutions!</div><br />
</div>Melindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18056977094811566757noreply@blogger.com2