ElCloud Homestead: Waiting on God

You might have outgrown your maternity capris if ...

09:21, 2008-Jun-18 .. Posted in Our Family .. 1 comments .. Link

(instead of a redneck joke, it's a maternity clothes joke)

You might have outgrown your maternity capris if ...

... every step you take, you feel them wiggle lower on your hips and belly.
... they pull your underwear down as they wiggle down.
... every 5 minutes (or less) you have to stop and hitch them up.

I started out this pregnancy with practically no summer maternity clothes. I had several short sleeve maternity t-shirts, 2 short sleeve maternity dresses, and one pair of maternity coverall shorts. That was it. I had some skirts I could probably wear through most of the pregnancy, but without air conditioning this summer, I wasn't sure they'd be very comfortable, because they are a heavier fabric.

I quickly acquired one pair of capris that are the under belly style ... size large denim. I got them from freecycle, along with a pair of snug shorts, snug jeans, and loose pajamas. I knew I wouldn't be able to wear the capris the whole pregnancy, based on them being a tad tight-fitting to begin with. Think ... must wear with really long maternity shirt snug. They also didn't come very far below the knee and had a slimmer fit through the thighs than I like.

But the only other pair I had was a pair I bought from an internet friend. They were XL and supposed to come mid-waist. But they are too BIG!! Even trying to pin the waistband, they wouldn't stay up. I set them aside thinking maybe I'd grow into them later in the pregnancy. I probably will.

Anyway, I put the snug ones on this morning, and every step I took I could feel them wiggle lower. The small pockets wouldn't stay tucked in ... white kept showing from the lining. And I kept having to hitch them back up ... WITH my underwear!! I hadn't worn them since COMamaBear and her family visited us on May 31 ... I didn't think I'd grown that much in those 2.5 weeks ... but apparently JUST enough to outgrow these capris.

I took them off. I'll be putting them away (along with the snug jeans and shorts they came with). I will not wear them to the Dr. office, or anywhere else, for that matter. I won't even wear them around the house ... I like my pants and under things to stay in place. I don't like feeling like a redneck with a beer belly hitching his pants up all the time.

At least God blessed me with three more pair via yard sales in the previous two weekends (May31 and June 7). The first pair is a very loose pair of long khaki capris that have a draw string waist that goes OVER the belly. Very modest ... cost me $2. The other two pair are denim ... also longer loose-fitting capris that go OVER the belly ... but their elastic is a bit too loose and I have to use a diaper pin to tighten it up a bit. $.25 each.

And apparently, the new capris came JUST in time!! Thank You, God!!

Rejoicing in Him,
April

PaperBackSwap.com for homeschool books

08:35, 2008-Jun-16 .. Posted in Homeschool .. 2 comments .. Link

I am probably dense, and y'all may have already heard about PaperBackSwap.com, but I am excited about it. A friend of mine just told me about it, and how she was using it to get some of her curriculum needs for next year. I signed up using her referral, and started listing books yesterday. First, I listed my mandatory ten books to get my first 2 free credits (each credit equals one book trade). Today I worked on creating a wish list there, and looking for books that I've wanted to buy. Most of them weren't currently available, so I put them on my wish list. Some were, so I put them on my reminder list to shop from once I have more credits.

But then today, I started listing more books, and I've already got 5 of my books requested. Once I mail them, I'll get a credit for each book. Since I paid for and printed my delivery confirmation at the Paperbackswap.com website, I'll get my credit as soon as my post office scans the delivery confirmation. If I hadn't done that, I wouldn't get credit until the recipient went to the website and marked the book as received.

So, I pay postage to mail out the books I'm swapping, but I pay nothing to receive books that I request from others. I have two books already requested that we will need to use on an ongoing basis for Tapestry of Grace this upcoming school year. Once I receive more credits, I'll be able to get more books. So, for the price of media mail postage, and delivery confirmation, I get books I need sent to me. I couldn't buy a decent copy of most of these books for that price, let alone ordering it from the internet and paying for the book, plus postage.

So, I'm thrilled to get to swap books I'm not using for books that I need! And my girls are excited, too. They have been hovering over me all day long as I list books, look for books, and package books to mail.

The sad part is that I think I've seen this discussed on several email lists I'm on. But I didn't realize it was for anything but paperbacks, and I didn't realize curriculum could be swapped. So, I just ignored it, and didn't even bother to really read the emails. Oh well! Better late than never.

If you're interested in signing up for PaperBackSwap.com and would like a referral, just use my "Email Me" link in the right column under my picture. I'll send a referral to you. Once you sign up, and list 10 books, you'll get 2 free credits, and I'll get 1 free credit. Then every time someone requests a book from you, and you mail it, you'll receive another credit. You can even buy credits for $3.95 each, if you haven't earned any and want a book ... which is still a bargain on many books.

Well, that is the end of my advertisement, but I was excited about how this is helping me, and wanted to share it with others. The more homeschoolers that participate, the more of us that will be able find curriculum to swap with others.

Rejoicing in Him,
April

Double Digits, Turkeys, Poison Ivy, Bugs, and Does

11:19, 2008-Jun-12 .. Posted in Our Family .. 1 comments .. Link

I am in the double digits for days counting down to my estimated due date. 96 days to go! (or a bit more, or less) I just realized today that I'd dropped to less than 100 days. Yay! So far, everything is going really well. I feel pretty good, although I do have some aches and pains that come and go. I'm healthy so far, and hoping not to have blood pressure problems this pregnancy. I see the Dr. next week, and I'll update again after that. I'll be 6 months pregnant next week, and am excited to be getting close to my final trimester.

Yesterday, we went into town for a checkup for two of the girls. As we pulled out of our driveway onto the gravel road, heading toward the paved road, we realized a turkey was running along in front of us. We went slowly and watched him run faster and faster down the gravel and attempt to fly over the paved road into the woods on the other side. I'm glad there weren't any cars on the paved highway, or they would have hit the turkey. Those turkeys don't fly very well.

It was funny yesterday. The Dr. walked into the exam room, where all 6 kids and I were waiting, took one look at the boys and said, "Oh, poison ivy!" 7 yo J wanted to know how she knew. I told him I was pretty sure she'd seen lots of poison ivy before. *wink* Most people don't know what has happened to the boys, though, and think it's scrapes, burns, or who knows what they think? We've had to explain it over and over, it seems.

While we were in town, we went to the library. The kids collected their prizes for the summer reading program, which has a bug theme. They love being in the summer reading programs, and are happily reading each day. We have lots of bugs here at the "farm", and thankfully, the kids are taking more of a curious interest in them than a fearful avoidance. Although we could all do without the ticks and the gnats that keep congregating in the bathroom. Gnats, not ticks. There aren't ticks congregating in the bathroom. Some of the bugs we can't identify, though. Like the odd green-toothed furry spider 12 yo A found that we think might be a jumping spider. We aren't certain, although when A released it, it did jump at her. I wish I'd seen her and 11 yo R run off screaming after that.

This morning, around 10 am, the kids and I all gathered around my bedroom window (we moved from the kitchen window so we could see better) and watched a doe eating in the trees by one of our outbuildings. She spent 15 minutes just under the edge of the trees, moving back and forth, before she walked further into the trees and out of our sight. 2 yo L and 4 yo M both called her a camel, though. *giggle* I guess the color and long face are somewhat similar.

I had just watched a doe cross Grandma's pasture and disappear into a different set of trees before the kids woke up this morning. And last week, while the girls washed the supper dishes, we saw one walk across our back yard into the same trees we were watching together this morning. Then something spooked her and she ran across our yard, into the pasture, and into the other trees I was watching alone this morning. I wonder if it has been the same doe all 3 times.

We're finishing our final week of Tapestry of Grace, year 2, at the moment. We're studying the constitution, its creation, early American government leaders, and a bit of the French Revolution. Next week, we will start Tapestry of Grace, year 3, and continue on with early American history and the French Revolution, as well.

12 yo A has dragged her feet about reading The Scarlet Pimpernel for history/literature study. She kept begging me to find her novels and was so excited to reach the French Revolution. I couldn't figure out why she just wasn't wanting to read this book. Yesterday, I picked it up to decide just how boring it was, and if I should let her give up on it. I read the chapter she'd just finished, and then sat down and finished the whole book. It was so exciting! But we rushed out the door for the Dr. appt. at the last minute, and I didn't realize that 2 yo L had covered herself and ME with orange stains from her cheese curls she ate with lunch. I told 12 yo A when I was done that the book was very exciting and she should hurry up and finish it. She did ... staying up after we prayed even (sneaky thing) to read at bedtime. I guess it just had a slow start. But hopefully this will be a lesson to her about giving a book some time and not giving up too quickly on a book.

We've had lots of stormy weather all around us lately, including tornadoes, but thankfully most of the storms (and all the tornadoes) have passed us by.

That's just a little random update on our family. We're all doing well, and life is just merrily rolling along.

Trusting in Him,
April

Crockpots and Guinea Keets

05:19, 2008-Jun-10 .. Posted in Our Family .. 0 comments .. Link

No, the guinea keets are not in the crock pot!! Those are just my two latest projects.

I'm trying to use my crock pot more often, for several reasons. Mainly, it won't heat up the kitchen like the propane oven and stove top do. We have no air conditioning, and it's an adjustment for all of us. But, when I use the crockpot, I also have to decide on what I'm cooking earlier in the day. Which means I'm not staring blankly at my refrigerator or into my cupboards at 5 pm, and finally serving hot dogs because it's the only thing not frozen. Besides, the crockpot makes my kitchen smell yummy all afternoon.

I found a neat crock pot recipe blog today, and was perusing it for ideas earlier. She also has links to other recipe blogs, or blogs that do the Slow Cooking Thursday meme. A Year of Crock Potting I actually saw a link to her blog on another blog last week, but didn't click on the link to open it. Then the original blog was lost and I couldn't figure out where I'd seen the link. I finally used google to find "crock pot, gluten free, blog" and it came right up. Yay! We don't eat gluten-free, but her recipes are yummy, either way.

We also have 5 guinea keets, as of Saturday. We didn't get chicks this year, although 2 yo L thinks these are chickens. She tells us "I go batement, see chickens." They are cute! They arrived in the store on Thursday, we bought them on Saturday, and by Monday they were already getting their wing feathers in. I think they're taller already, too. They either eat alot, or they just waste alot of food by scattering it around the floor of their little tote. We have to clean out their waterer 2 times each day, because they manage to get food and wood shavings in it. I know three of them are white guineas, but I'm not sure about the other two. Two of them are white with gray markings on their back; the other 3 are completely white.

We can't wait to set these little ones free outside to eat the bugs and ticks! They are so fun to watch. Once when I was down there, one of them stepped into the waterer, and came out dripping water off his chest. Another keet was leaning over and looking intently at those drops of water hanging off his feathers ... you could just see him wondering what they were. Today, when I was down there, one of them was picking up wood shavings in his beak, and another one was chasing him trying to get it away. Such a special treat ... those wood shavings.

I wanted to take a picture of them, but the flash on my digital camera is broken. I do have two that one of the girls took this weekend, so they will have to do.

Trusting in Him,
April

Every day with every child brings new joys and new challenges

04:53, 2008-Jun-10 .. Posted in Our Family .. 0 comments .. Link

Every child is different from the one before it. Every pregnancy, every birth, every recovery, every postpartum babymoon, and every stage of that child's life is different than the ones that came before it. Raising each child (and homeschooling them) continues to bring new joys, new challenges, new experiences, and new lessons.

Someone asked me just yesterday about homeschooling, and if we had homeschooled from the beginning. When I said we had, they commented that we must have it all figured out and under control by now. I told them that every child is different, and teaching them brings new experiences and challenges. With each child, we learn something new and deal with different issues. I don't think anyone ever really becomes an "expert" at this. Every time I think I've got it all figured out, I get thrown a curveball that takes me by surprise.

And it's more than just school. Each child matures differently. Each child reacts to illnesses differently. Each child needs something different from me at certain ages. Each child responds to difficulties and frustrations differently. Each child speaks a different love language, or combination of love languages.

With each child, I am faced with something new. 2 yo L is no different. With her, we faced breathing troubles and breathing treatments for the first time. With her, we have faced early tooth decay for the first time. And now I am wondering how to get a 2 yo to cooperate with a dentist for tooth exams and extractions. I would prefer to do this in-office, and in town ... but we may have to go to a specialist dentist out of town, and possibly even into the hospital setting ... depending on how she handles it. I've been through dental issues with a 4 yo, and a difficult 6 yo, but never a 2 yo.

But with her, we've also had new joys. She delights us when she sings "Jesus Loves Me" to her dolls, or marches around the living room singing "I'm in the Lord's Army! Yes, sir!" Her hugs and kisses and snuggles are all her own. Her smiles, her personality, and even her pouts, are uniquely hers. Her voice, her words, and her laugh are so cute and special. Watching her interact with her siblings is different than any other sibling interaction ... because she is unique, and her siblings are at ages they've never been at with a 2 yo sibling before.

I still have lessons to learn. I still have challenges to face and overcome. But I also have new joys to look forward to. It's hard to remember who I was, or what I was like when I only had 3 little girls, all under age 5. So many lessons learned since then. And someday I'll look back at this season and not be able to fully remember what I was like "back then". I try to remember, because it helps me to understand others and encourage them ... but it's just so fuzzy sometimes. Certain days and moments stand out so clearly, but the day-to-day realities are harder to recall.

This new baby will bring new experiences, lessons, joys, and challenges, too. When it joins our family, we will all have to adjust to the new reality of a 7th child, a 9th family member. Life will not revolve around the baby, but there will be adjustments for everyone to make. Although we are all looking forward to this baby's arrival, I am mentally preparing myself for the reality that the first few weeks will likely be messy. Things will not go as planned. There will be challenges I'm not expecting. But, the blessings will outweigh the challenges, and we will all adjust to the new reality for our family.

Trusting in Him,
April

Poison Ivy Update

05:54, 2008-Jun-7 .. Posted in Our Family .. 2 comments .. Link

We are slowly making progress here. We've even identified where the poison ivy is spreading out into the grassy mowed yard area. We're researching ways to kill it, and instructing children to avoid this section of the yard. This means they can not come to me when I hang clothes on the line.

The boys' rashes/reaction seem to have stopped spreading. After more research, and lots of people sharing their personal experience (online and in real life), I've learned that it is not uncommon for it to spread, even without any more of the urushiol oil present. It can (especially with heat) move to other areas of the body. Also their reaction of fever and vomiting is not too uncommon, either.

I've learned about some of the myths associated with poison ivy. Breaking the blisters does not cause it to spread. The blisters have no urushiol oil in them, only white blood cells helping the body to heal and fight against the poison ivy.

There is no way to speed up the recovery, unless you seek a corticosteroid prescription from your Dr. for a severe reaction. It's just a matter of keeping the person comfortable, stopping the itching so they don't scratch (which can cause scarring and infection), and avoiding infection if the blisters pop. In our experience, the small blisters that are close together seem to morph into one giant blister ... and no matter how careful you are with those giant blisters, they will eventually pop.

Benadryl at night seems to help them fall asleep and sleep more soundly, without being awakened by the itching. We used Aveeno anti-itch lotion and cream (which has oatmeal, calomine lotion, and something else in it), and we also tried a natural calendula cream. The boys preferred the calendula cream for soothing their rashes. Even when the rash didn't itch, it just hurt.

They don't look any better yet, and will be quite a sight at church tomorrow, but it isn't spreading anymore. And that is progress.

Trusting in Him,
April

I'm getting crash courses in botany and first aid ...

01:14, 2008-Jun-5 .. Posted in Our Family .. 3 comments .. Link

Poison Ivy! It is driving me crazy. I have never in my life had poison ivy. To be honest, I wasn't sure how to recognize it other than the saying, "Leaves of three, leave them be."

Well, thanks to my two boys getting mild rashes of it, I started trying to learn about it. Half-heartedly. Until they got a second rash, which has been much worse. This time, it has blistered up. This time it just keeps spreading to new areas.

Well, I now know what it looks like ... although that was hard to figure out since pictures on the internet varied. (By the way, it's very sad how the simplest words and most innocent search can bring up garbage on the internet.) But I figured it out, and I found where it is in our yard ... three areas, at least. I showed the children where it is and warned them to stay out of it.

But in the meantime, we're researching what constitutes an extreme reaction, and what is a normal reaction. I was ready to haul both boys into the Dr, thinking they were having an extreme systemic reaction ... with fever and vomiting and migrating rashes. But, little 2 yo L has the same fever, and I didn't think she had poison ivy. Now she does have bug bites that seem to be spreading, although she was only outside for about 5 minutes yesterday, and seemed to have gained a lot for that time period. And today she has a light rash in her diaper area that was not there last night. I joked the other day that we had chicken pox, and poison ivy. Now, I'm not finding it funny at all. Just frustrating and confusing.

So, do I assume we have poison ivy with severe reactions in 3 kids? Or poison ivy in 2 and some unknown virus in those 2 plus one more? Or do we really have 3 kids with chicken pox, and 2 of them also have poison ivy?

I DON'T KNOW!! I just want the poison ivy to stop spreading!! I've washed their sheets. I've washed their bath towels. I've showered them. Now what? Why does it keep spreading?

I'm having a hard time separating myth from truth. One person swears it's spreading because the blisters are popping ... but the websites I found on the internet all claim that's a myth. One website claims that it can travel UNDER the skin and appear in other places. Most websites say it only spreads by contact with the urushiol oil being passed from body part to body part, or inanimate object to body. But we've washed them and it's still popping up in new places daily. And if it's on something in the house, how am I supposed to figure out what piece of furniture or toy or whatever has it?

4 yo M had a large cluster of blisters on his elbow area that formed into a giant blister. It was bumped and popped, as I knew it would be eventually. But the skin peeled back, and now we've had to bandage it with antibiotic ointment and a large non-stick gauze pad.

7 yo J has it on his face! His cheek blistered up and just popped, so I need to apply antibiotic ointment to it. But he has it above and under his eyes, and I'm dreading those blistering, and especially popping.

If I was confident the Dr's office could tell me what was going on, I'd take them in. But I expect the Dr would be just as confused as I am. At least 4 yo M and 2 yo L both are over their fevers, and no one is throwing up anymore. Although 12 yo A just showed me a suspicious area on her leg.

Please pray that my kids get better, and no one else gets it.

Frustrated but Trusting in Him,
April

Leaving a Legacy of Love

02:11, 2008-May-20 .. Posted in Our Family .. 0 comments .. Link

Steve's parents and siblings were here a few weeks ago to celebrate his Grandmother's birthday. It was a wonderful celebration of her life, and her love for her family. It was fun to pour out our love on her, too.

Sadly, she died this weekend. We are both thankful she didn't suffer, and shocked that she is gone without a warning. None of us were able to be with her as she passed. She was just gone.

And now his family is returning, including his Uncle and cousins. We are grieving the loss of the family matriarch, and yet rejoicing in the legacy of love she left behind.

When we first moved into this house, I wanted to make it all mine, to remove all vestiges of it having been Grandpa and Grandma's home. I didn't want it to be "Grandma's bedroom", but "my bedroom". I didn't want Grandma's color schemes and decor left behind. Now, there were many things I appreciated about the home, but the color choices, the carpets, the drapes, and the lamps were not some of those things.

We were able to make some small changes, but have not been able to repaint as we originally planned. But over time, I've come to just accept the house as it is. I'm still looking forward to painting and replacing the kitchen flooring, but I have also learned to love our new home as it is. And we continually find new ways that our land and home charm us. We are blessed to be here, and we are thankful.

We are glad to be living in the heritage and legacy that Steve's grandparents, great-grandparents, and great-great-grandparents built for us. I pray we leave a similar legacy of love behind us: love for God, love for the land, and love for each other.

Trusting in Him,
April

How to keep your microwave clean

01:59, 2008-May-20 .. Posted in Our Family .. 1 comments .. Link

I've discovered the secret to a clean microwave. Raise it to eye-level.

In our old home, the microwave was on a microwave cart, lower than the kitchen counters. I rarely ever cleaned it. Steve would occasionally comment on its dirtiness and scrub it out for me. I just hardly ever noticed it. It wasn't filthy ... I'd have noticed that. I've seen some really disgusting microwave interiors, and it wasn't like that.

But, in our new home, the microwave lives on top of a tall chest of drawers. (What? You don't have a chest of drawers in your kitchen? I highly recommend it. They supply great storage!) The microwave is now right at my eye level. I only have to bend slightly, if I want to see the ceiling of the microwave.

You know ... the microwave is getting cleaned much more often now.

Trusting in Him,
April

The Old Schoolhouse's Summer Reading Splash!

11:49, 2008-May-20 .. Posted in Homeschool .. 0 comments .. Link

The Old Schoolhouse magazine has a new summer reading program for our kids. You can read about it at their Summer Reading Splash page. And be sure to check the Summer Reading Splash Blog for weekly questions with drawings for a free book, and ideas to encourage our children to read. Every participant will receive their choice of 1 free children's e-book (out of ten choices) at the end of the summer. The program runs May 19, 2008 through July 31, 2008.

And don't forget to keep checking in for Beverly Hernandez' 10th Annual Homeschooling Summer Reading Program. At the moment, it still has information for the 9th annual one last year, but it usually starts June 1, so should get updated soon.

And if you live near a Barnes & Noble Bookstore, your elementary aged children can participate in their Summer Reading Program, to earn a free book.

Or they can participate in Book-It's Summer Reading Program for a chance to win some bigger prizes.

Enjoy the summer, and the reading.

Trusting in Him,
April

So what have we been up to, you're wondering?

09:30, 2008-May-7 .. Posted in Our Family .. 1 comments .. Link

Or maybe you're not wondering at all ... but for those who do check in to see what we're up to, I'd better post an update.

We've had company for two weekends in a row. We celebrated Steve's Grandma's birthday with his parents and siblings two weekends ago, and then my sister was here this past weekend. It's always fun to have family visit. We'll be hosting a friend of mine at the end of this month, and Steve's cousins and Uncle in June. We're looking forward to those visits, as well.

We're doing well here. We had a couple interesting weeks with 4 yo M. He was sick the week before Steve's family came, but we thought it was a fever and rash reaction from his MMR vaccination the week before. The nurse had said he would run a fever in a week, and we were also told the rash was likely a reaction to that. Except, then the fever came back, he kept having headaches, and the rash changed in appearance. So, we took him to the Dr., only to find out he had a strep infection. I'd asked him if his throat hurt all week long, and he had always said no. Oh well.

In the middle of that, he also slipped on his jacket, fell into the coffee table, and split his skin on his brow bone. We ended up super-gluing it together, because he did not want to go to the Emergency Room, but it wouldn't stop seeping on its own. I gave him homeopathic Arnica tablets from Hyland's to help reduce the bruising. It did help. He only bruised above his eye, along the bone. We expected a total black eye at first.

It took him quite awhile to get rested and return to his normal self from that infection. A sick 4 yo with company is not the most fun to be around. Unfortunately, his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins were treated to a view of his less desirable behavior -- including some major meltdowns caused by fatigue. Poor little guy. He's fully recovered now, and his eye looks great, too. The scab is off, and the bruise is almost gone.

We're enjoying Spring here in our new home. It's fun to look out the window and see a bunny feeding just 15 feet away. It's wonderful to hear the birds singing all around us, and the mourning doves cooing right outside the living room window. It's exciting to watch and wait to see what this flower or that will turn out to be, once it blooms. (Grandpa's extensive flower beds have dwindled down to scattered plants here and there that make mowing a challenge. We need to transplant them to consolidate them.) The kids are also enjoying running, playing, and riding their bikes outside in the warmer weather. I've been enjoying hanging clothes out on the clothesline, and bringing them in. 2 yo L especially likes to "help" me with that project.

Yesterday was exciting (in a new and unusual way) because the barn swallows that have nested on the front porch (unused by Grandma when she lived here) for years returned. They kept flying up to the two previous nesting sites (we've knocked down the nests each Fall for the past couple years). We kept banging on the window frame, or yelling at them to go away. I was starting to feel like a crazy woman, hollering and banging every 2-3 minutes. Finally, the kids started watching them from the window in the door, then running out onto the porch screaming to scare them away. But just a few minutes later, the birds would return. I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever settle the children down to schoolwork, but the birds finally gave up (for now) around lunchtime. I don't mind them building their mud nests on our house; but right above the front door is not a good place, since their droppings fall onto the door, its handle, and the mat beneath it. Steve doesn't want them nesting on the porch at all, because of their droppings.

We have not planted a garden yet. We've been struggling to get and keep our lawn mowers running. My sister brought her push mower with her last weekend, so we could make some progress. That helped tremendously, but now we need to figure out our mower problems so we can keep it mowed. We need to mow, and then till the garden area. We did plant annual flowers in the long built-in porch planter two weekends ago. We planted begonias and impatiens, and they will be lovely once they bush out and fill the planter fully.

We decided against chicks for this year, since we don't have a hen house in good working order, at the moment ... and we couldn't agree on a location. The old hen house and brooder house are on the far side of the property, and I'd prefer a closer one. So, for now, it's on hold. We do intend to get guineas as soon as they are available, though. We need them to help control the tick population.

Life is just settling into a normalcy right now. The unexpected expenses of the winter have eased. The cars are all running again (although some still have their quirks). Having our cars all running has allowed us to start to be more involved at church, and have more freedom while Steve is at work. The house is all settled, although the basement and garage are still disorderly. The children are all mostly well, and we've begun getting general checkups for each of them with our new family Dr. The pregnancy is progressing well. My morning sickness has passed. At 21 weeks, I'm definitely showing now, and the baby is kicking and squirming on a daily basis. Steve has even felt one of the stronger kicks.

We're keeping an eye on 2 yo L, who is showing signs of having a return of her Reactive Airways from 2 summers ago when she was just a baby. She had no problems last Spring and Summer, so this is disappointing. I took her in last Friday because I had heard some rattling in her lungs, but they were clear while we were at the Dr's office. She seemed okay over the weekend, despite her deep cough and runny nose, but the rattle returned in her lungs Monday and Tuesday. I can hear it with the stethoscope. There isn't a wheeze, though, so I'm watching her and trying to decide when to take her in ... I want them to hear what I'm hearing next time, but I don't want to let things wait too long. Of course, I'd prefer that she recover and we not have to go down the path of breathing treatments and steroids again.

When we moved here, we knew we'd be opening our home to more pollens, since it is not air conditioned and we will be opening the windows more often, through 3 seasons. But we moved from a fully carpeted home to this house with wood floors, which we knew would be an improvement. We removed all the old furniture, drapes, and two very old dirty carpets which could have held allergens. So, now we just wait and see how all the children react. So far, I would say that the Spring allergies aren't any worse for the kids, Steve and I, than they were the past two years in our old home and environment. But we're still watching 2 yo L.

Homeschooling is moving steadily along. Some of the children have finished their handwriting workbooks, so I'm printing things from the internet for them until we decide to place an order. We're studying the American Revolution in the final unit of Tapestry of Grace, year 2, at the moment. We'll move on into Year 3 as soon as we finish. Because of our 3 month moving break last Fall, and the maternity break we'll take this Fall, we're planning to school through the summer months. We've never schooled completely through the summer before, but every year is different.

I just started using Before Five In A Row with 4 yo M last week, because I felt he was needing some time with Mommy. He's excited about it, and enjoying the snuggle time. 2 yo L usually listens in, too. I need to print some simple handwriting things for him to do when he wants to "do school", as well. And I need to be sure to read to him and 2 yo L more often. 7 yo J has been asking me to do Five In A Row again. I'm not sure if I want to do FIAR, B4 FIAR, and Tapestry of Grace, though. So I may either move 4 yo M up into FIAR and do it with 7 yo J ... or I may just make more effort to read to 7 yo J from some of the Tapestry of Grace books. He had become bored with them, and seemed resistant to listening, so I had quit trying to read to him ... assigning 8 yo C to read to herself instead. But now J seems to miss that reading time, so we'll work it back in.

7 yo J still lacks confidence in reading. He's working through the Bob books, and can read, but is slow to recall the sounds at times, is easily distracted, and just needs more practice for skill and confidence. He keeps saying he can't read, and I have to keep reminding him he can ... he just needs to keep practicing. The summer reading program begins this month, so we'll try to find simple books he can read for that.

This morning, we have been watching a yellow plane fly back and forth around our house. I had heard it fly VERY close to our house a few mornings ago, but the curtains were still closed. This morning, I saw it when it flew right over our tree line. Then 4 yo M woke up, and he and I watched it together. It is circling over a field behind a hill across the highway. We see it every now and then over the hill. Then it will cross over the highway, fly over Grandma's field, turn around and go back over the highway. I finally had M go wake up 7 yo J so he could watch it, too. I sent him just in time, because it only continued for a short time after that. But in the end, all the children had a chance to watch him.

Now the children have mostly finished eating breakfast, and it's time to turn our attention to schoolwork and chores for the day. As I said, life is just routine for us at the moment, but it's a good routine.

Trusting in Him,
April

Win a copy of Homestead Simplicity: A Primer, ebook!

07:30, 2008-May-7 .. Posted in Miscellaneous Chatter .. 0 comments .. Link

Lisa at Homestead Originals has a new contest, where you can win a copy of her new ebook, Homestead Simplicity: A Primer. Just go to Lisa's Blog to find out how to enter. She'll be giving it away every week in the month of May, so check back weekly.

Trusting in Him,
April

Enter to Win a free Ergo Baby Carrier!

02:36, 2008-Apr-29 .. Posted in Miscellaneous Chatter .. 0 comments .. Link

I promise to post a real update on our family soon -- hopefully tomorrow. But I wanted to post this chance to win an Ergo baby carrier, first. The deadline for entry is May 31, 2008 -- and the winner will be announced on June 15, 2008.