Needlepoint Family Planning

Hope Continued

2011-02-13T14:45:00.002-05:00

I’ve stayed away; have you noticed?

I had hoped that my next post on here would be an exciting announcement that I was pregnant again. I had also hoped this would take place before February 13, 2011 (today) - the due date of the pregnancy I miscarried.

The story of how I feel about everything that is happening really started six years ago. But, this post is only going to be about the last year.
I’m sure you can imagine how, after five years of infertility and numerous failed infertility treatments, I was losing all hope that I would ever get pregnant. This was last spring.

My hope was failing.

We weren’t sure what direction we wanted to head as a couple. We didn’t know if we wanted to do any more treatments. Our best plan of action was to do all the testing one could think of, and have a consultation with a doctor to get an educated opinion. And maybe after this point we might have a clue as to what we wanted to do.

Despite this action plan, my hope was failing.

I sat in the bathroom one morning last spring praying to God. I had reached a point where I didn’t want to struggle with trying to have children any more. I wanted to give up. It was too hard. I didn’t have any hope. And besides I was perfectly happy adopting and I would be more than willing to adopt all my children. So I told God I was letting go of all my hope for it to happen. And I did.

We kept our action plan. I figured I could at least weigh the options the doctor presented us. But I didn’t want to pursue any serious treatments.

So, I went to my first of many doctor appointments that day—they wanted to monitor my cycle over an entire month to be sure everything was working properly.
I walked up to the front desk to let them know I had arrived, handed them every ID known to man, and glanced up at the wall – behind the front desk and over about 5 feet. There staring back at me was this huge sign that said “HOPE.”

The first thought through my head was back to the prayer with God that morning and how I had given up all hope.

But I dropped it from my mind; after all I had an entire month of monitoring before we would even speak to the doctor. And then I could decide what I wanted to do next. In the meantime, I was tired. There was no reason for me to have hope at that point –I already had 66 months of failed attempts to bash any hope and any dream.
I went to every appointment dutifully. Everything was perfect. Our appointment with the doctor was scheduled.

And many of you know what happened at this point. The day before our doctor consultation, we found out we were pregnant. 100% naturally; no meds; no treatments.

My favorite reaction came from a blog friend, Kelly, an individual I have never met in person, but have been priviledged to meet her and befriend her online. She posted that day that the God of the impossible had totally showed off in our lives.

And He did. And He also introduced hope back into my life. I don’t believe this happened by accident or by mistake. Today, I cling to the hope that God allowed such a miracle in my life to happen, so that I would continue to have hope that it would happen again. So I continue to pray and I continue to hope...and that is where I am today.

“Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”” Romans 4:18

I'm fine

2010-07-26T15:55:00.003-05:00

I've been getting numerous phone calls and emails asking how I am doing. So this post is to let you all know that...I am fine and you can stop worrying. I am perfectly at peace with everything that is happening and I have absolutely no doubt that God knows best. The past 5.5 years of infertility have certainly taught me that I do not have control over life.

I did have a miscarriage. And the details are below. If you don't want the details, please stop reading. They are gross.

The miscarriage started on Thursday night and lasted until Friday morning. The doctor had warned me to expect a period twice as bad as normal. It was no such thing. It was more closely related to labor and delivery. I had contractions starting Thursday night while I was cleaning the house. We had company arriving around midnight, so I kept cleaning and just ignored it. The contractions were very strong and actually were around 1-2 minutes apart and lasted for about 30 seconds or more. I didn't time any of this so I am guesstimating. But I passed several very large clumps of blood and other things. I was bleeding a lot. I tried sitting on the toilet but it was just too uncomfortable so I kept cleaning. I'm pretty sure I passed the gestational sac around midnight.

After our company arrived and I went to bed is when the real pain set in. I think it may have been because I was laying down and not doing anything else, except trying to sleep. Which was impossible because the contractions were unbearable. I got up and went to the bathroom and writhed around in there for awhile. Determined I needed some stronger medication. I just wanted to sleep. But my body wasn't finished.

At around 4am I think I passed the placenta. It was much larger than I expected considering how early the pregnancy was. As soon as this was over I felt instant relief. And I don't know how long it would have lasted, but I decided it was enough. I took a muscle relaxer and headed to bed.

And that was my miscarriage in a nutshell. I did learn a few things from this. Mainly I learned that whenever I do go into labor, I need a lot of work to do to keep me busy. I think cleaning was just what I needed to keep my mind off of it.

10 week update

2010-07-21T20:06:00.004-05:00

It's still light outside, and I'm typing this quickly so I can head off to bed. I've been waking up no later than 5:15 for weeks now, and sometimes as early as 3:30 -- which is why its now bedtime for me.

Monday marked 10 weeks pregnant. I was planning on posting that nothing has changed. But today the bad news came. So if you don't want bad news then you should immediately stop reading this. Go ahead, close down the screen, go look at something fun and interesting. Maybe head towards the kitchen and grab some chocolate. That makes us all feel better.

So the story goes like this. I went to the bathroom this morning and found bright red blood. So I called the doctor and was scheduled for an ultrasound. The baby has not developed past 6 weeks and 1 day, and there was no heartbeat today. If you remember, when I went in at 7 weeks pregnant for my first ultrasound, the baby was measured at 6 weeks 1 day then as well. I'm waiting for a natural miscarriage...or a miracle would be even better.

And yes, I'm fine. I am very much at peace with everything that is happening. It is an absolute miracle I was pregnant. Whether I could get pregnant was a huge question looming over us and now we know the answer. So this was a wonderful gift.

The funny things children say and do

2010-07-18T15:58:00.002-05:00

Laughter is common in a household with children. You just can't help yourself.

Today, it wasn't so funny when Petra came to wake us from our nap to say that Jasper had climbed into the tub and turned the water on. We were dead asleep. I climbed out of bed and found him walking around with wet clothes. And went and turned off the water he had left running. Thankful she's smart enough to wake us up when necessary. He had crawled out of his crib, out of his room, down the steps and was in the bathtub downstairs. I guess I'm going to have to stop sleeping.

A few hours later I was laughing when Petra came down with the thermometer in her ear. We have an ear thermometer so this made sense. She told us she was "measuring her ear" and it was 16 lbs and eight dollars. Too funny.

I thought about sharing another story too, about a month old.
We asked her last month what her favorite food was? Noodles, she replied.
And what is your favorite drink? Water with noodles, she simply commented.

Common Pregnancy Symptoms (and Uncommon ones too!)

2010-07-16T12:32:00.001-05:00

I’m officially in my third month of pregnancy. And I thought I would post some on common pregnancy symptom and how I was measuring up; as well as comment on my uncommon pregnancy symptoms. I spoke with my mom and two older sisters about their pregnancy symptoms and they didn’t have many symptoms to speak of … so it seems easy pregnancies may run in the family.

Morning Sickness – None to speak of. I am occasionally nauseas for 5-10 minutes ever so slightly and have some food aversions and cravings during that time, and then it goes away.

Fatigue – It was horrible weeks 4-6. Not so bad now. About every other day I want to nap, but can usually work through it. This is going away and according to the experts it should fade in month 3. I’d love a 2-3 hour nap right now. Which is saying something considering I went to bed at 9pm last night.

Frequent Urination – Yes, up until about week 8 I had to get up sometimes 3 times a night. This symptom usually fades away beginning in month 3 and mine started to dissipate about 2 weeks ago. Now I just get up usually once at night.

Breast Fullness/Tenderness – Some, but not much. Week 8 I had more breast heaviness than any other week. But generally I can’t really tell any difference now. It’s hard to tell too much because I did 210 pushups today and 100 pushups yesterday.

Bluish Veins – Yes, I have a whole new network of veins to transport all this extra blood around.

Moodiness – Double Yes. I am extra moody almost every minute of the day. This is the one symptom I hate so far about being pregnant.

Headaches – Yes. This one I really struggle with while exercising. Before I knew I was pregnant I was suddenly hit with severe headaches during workouts. And still have problems during strenuous exercise. Maybe it’s my body’s way of saying SLOW DOWN.

Bloating and/or Waistline expansion – Yes. I can’t quite figure out why my stomach is so round on some days. It appears to be growing.

Constipation – Yes, some. But I love prunes and they help.

Cramps/Pains/Twinges – Yes, I have all of the above. But they are usually brief and not painful.

Now for my more uncommon symptoms:

Limp Hair – My hair is falling out still. I’m not real happy about this. It’s limp and comes out excessively if I run my hands through it. I think the hair on my legs may have slowed down in growth…I’m going to have to watch it more closely to see if this is indeed happening.

Arms falling asleep – My arms are constantly falling asleep when I’m asleep. It doesn’t matter what position, back or side. It happens about every other night at the moment and during naps. I mentioned it to the doctor and he said he’s heard that it happens to some people.

Children Stories

2010-07-15T09:07:00.003-05:00

I thought this seemed the appropriate time to post a few things about the children.

Petra is beyond silly these days. But she does strive hard to make us "proud." I started using this word with her and she loves it. She often tells me that she is proud of me...its a good reminder about how great it is to hear.

This week we have made a big step forward in potty training. She has been potty trained during awake hours since Sept. 2009. I decided at the end of June it was time to move foward. I didn't know how easy this would be for her because she woke up with a soaked diaper every morning. So, at the end of June I asked her to stop going #1 in her diaper at night and nap time. She said OK and stopped that night. I moved her out of diapers at night and nap time last week when we got back home from vacation. And she is doing fantastic. I would say she is 100% potty trained! I probably could have done this sooner but I kept waiting for her diaper to be dry in the morning. I guess I should have asked her sooner.

And she is learning to have a sense of humor. This week she told Thomas that she went to the museum and held a cheetah in her hand. And then she saw a bear hopping down a trail like a rabbit. Who knows where this came from, I guess her imagination is kicking in full gear.

Jasper is busy moving---

He is crawling out of his crib and we are making plans to move him out and into a bigger bed. Thankfully his crib is low to the ground and he can safely crawl out of it so it hasn't been a large rush. One morning last week I left for the gym at 6:45 am. I usually lock the door when I leave at 5:45 but since it was later, and I knew Thomas would be up any minute I didn't worry about it. I came home and asked Thomas how his morning went. He told me he woke up to Petra crawling in bed with him at 6:55 am to tell him that Jasper was outside playing. Sure enough, he was in the driveway on his tricycle. Scary; so now I lock the door all the time.

Play is his number one activity these days. And he is playing so well by himself...occupying himself with cars, trucks, tractors and building blocks. It has actually been very exciting to see the children become more independent.

And he decided last night at gymnastics that walking on the balance beam forward was not difficult enough for him. So he turned himself around and started walking backwards on the beam. We turned him back foward, and he turned himself back around backwards. So I guess this is his new personal goal.

9 week update

2010-07-12T12:23:00.003-05:00

I know there are many of you praying for us, and we really appreciate it. It is a wonderful thing to be able to pray for friend and I feel very loved.

I am 9 weeks pregnant today. On Saturday I didn't feel pregnant at all. On Sunday I felt nauseous most of the day. Today, I was nauseus again ... so I'm hoping its a great sign. Or it could just be the prenatal viatamin. But they haven't bothered me before. Or it could be all the junk I ate this weekend. Thomas and I splurged at Five Guys this weekend and then again at church on Sunday night.

I forgot to weigh myself this morning, last time I checked I was up 1.5 lbs. I'm sure after the hamburger and the pizza I had this weekend I'm up some more. And today my belly is full and round - probably again because of the food.

My mind this weekend was only on one thing - my pregnancy. I moped around the house quite a bit and Thomas kept asking if there was anything he could do. So, in effort to keep my mind off the pregnancy and to prevent myself from worrying I thought about not posting about the pregnancy for a while.

Then today I decided I'd rather just stay positive, and that means moving forward. Although I think I'll be limiting how much pregnancy reading I'll be doing.

I'm in constant prayer that all goes well and the baby is healthy and strong.

8 week numbers

2010-07-10T06:32:00.002-05:00

I noticed several of you commented that I may want a different doctor. I am definitely considering it, but not really much at the moment because I don't want to visit another doctor in the next month. I called the doctor's office yesterday to get the measurement of the baby and yolk sac. This is what I learned.

Crown to Rump Length - 6w1d - they didn't have the actual measurement in my record, but I'm pretty sure I saw .52 on the screen when the tech did it. (this aggravates me of course, another reason I may want another doctor)

Yolk Sac - 7.3mm. Anything over 6.0 mm is considered a poor prognosis by doctors. I didn't understand why this was the case until just now. I finally read that abnormally large yolk sacs results from accumulation of nutrients not used by the embryo.

Heartbeat - 77 beats per minute ... which is below normal.

8 week update

2010-07-08T14:42:00.004-05:00

Let me start by saying a BIG thank you to the ladies that commented regarding our first ultrasound. You both made me smile and really uplifted me this last week. Your comments were very reassuring.

I went to the doctor's office today with full confidence that everything was fine. Everything has been fine for the last week. I still have pregnancy symptoms - and this week I added a few more. A couple days ago my chest started getting heavy so I think it has decided to start growing. And the other hormonal symptom was that I had a ton of hair fall out - which isn't necessarily a good thing. I talked to the doctor about it today and he thought it was probably due to the stress of finding out I was pregnant. I wouldn't say it was very stressful, but it was a shock.

So everything was going fine. Traffic was normal. I actually got the very first parking space which NEVER happens; so I was in high spirits.

I was called back for the ultrasound. First I was a little aggravated because the doctor didn't do the ultrasound. My understanding was the doctor did it at the office I'm going to. He did the last one, and I fully expected him to do it again. Instead, I got a tech on a much larger ultrasound machine.

The tech really disappointed me. I didn't think she did a very good job getting a measurement or checking the baby. She didn't really try very hard to get the best angel. And after reading many, many stories online I have learned that women with a retroverted uterus (which is tilted back and is exactly what I have) have a hard time getting reliable measurements early in pregnancy. After the ultrasound I could sense the tech's apprehension about the future of the pregnancy. I could tell she was worried about me.

The results from today's visit are pretty dismal. The baby measured at 6weeks and 1 day again - I knew this because I saw it on the screen. So no growth according to the ultrasound. After this disappointing ultrasound I had to sit around for the doc, and sit, and sit.

My conversation with the doctor was confusing and not at all helpful. He specifically had me come in today to see if the baby was growing properly. But once he read the results, he only said that it was really too early to tell anything and ultrasounds aren't always reliable this early on, blah blah blah. I was frustrated. I knew very well the baby didn't show growth and that is not what he was telling me. And if the ultrasounds aren't reliable, then I didn't understand why he bothered scheduling me for another one so soon. He also said he was "encouraged" because the baby was still there and there was still a heartbeat. And then he quickly added that if I started to have any signs of a miscarriage then to call him. In between all this he added that the yolk sac was measuring slightly big which isn't a good sign. But he didn't give me any indication of what it meant, and honestly I didn't bother to ask.

Since I was frustrated, and the appointments only seemed to be causing more stress than I needed, I asked to wait another 4 weeks before my next appointment. And he thought 2-3 weeks would be better. So, I have another appt in 3 weeks on July 28th. And until then I get to wait and pray that everything will go fine.

When I came home and looked up what it means when you have a large yolk sac, I learned it usually means the baby is chromosomally abnormal and the pregnancy will end in miscarriage. But it is not always the case - some women do go on to have normal pregnancies with healthy babies.

The good news is that I'm not very upset...but would like a large stack of pancakes, some chocolate ice cream, and a slice of lasagna. I do wish I hadn't gone in today at all; it was a very discouraging visit and I was doing quite well before it. But, all in all I know this is in God's hands and I have no control over whether this baby grows. My pregnancy is a miracle in itself and I'm very thankful for the life inside me.

** UPDATE - The more I think about it, the more I am thinking there was some growth. I need to call the doctor and check on the crown to rump length. Last week it measured .28 to .42 CM, today I think it was at .52 CM. No one told me for certain, but this is what I think I saw on the screen.

Our First Ultrasound

2010-06-29T15:02:00.003-05:00

It was an interesting day. I met with the OB doctor today for my first appointment and first ultrasound. First, I'm glad to say that I like my OB doctor and don't have any immediate desire to change doctors. This is quite a miracle in itself.

Below is the first photo of the baby. I'm sure you are wondering if there is anything actually in this picture - you can't really see much. But that little kidney bean is the baby. I'm not really sure how to label this ... good or bad. I think its fairly good. The doctor confirmed I was pregnant and there appeared to be a heartbeat. There was a pulsing on the screen in the exact spot it should have been that was apparent to everyone in the room. However, I have no idea what a heartbeat should look like at this stage or at any stage. The only downside to the visit was that the baby measured at 6w1day rather than 7 weeks- which is on the small side. But I've read in numerous places that an error rate of +or-6 days is fairly common.

The doctor simply said that he can't really determine anything from this one ultrasound and said for me to come back next Thursday - they are going to hook me up to the big ultrasound then and see how the baby's growing. So I will keep everyone posted.

7 weeks

2010-06-28T12:38:00.003-05:00

Do I look tired? This is how I feel most afternoons - like you couldn't pay me to lift my bottom out of a chair.

Today I’m 7 weeks pregnant and according to the world wide web baby croom is measuring at ½ inch long. So far symptoms have been very minimal. More than anything I am fatigued. I feel great in the morning and by 1pm I’m exhausted and stay that way for the rest of the day. There are some days where I am less tired, but I can never tell what type of day I’m going to have.

If I had to add anything else to the list of symptoms it would be increased belching – that is it went from zero times a day to about 4 times a day. And it seems that just in the last 2 days my stomach has decided that bloating is an effective way to begin looking pregnant. I’m starting to feel round and full in the abdomen. The size 8 pants I’m wearing today – which just started to fit again last month – are now feeling too tight.

Weight gain so far – 0 lbs and hopefully staying that way for a few more weeks. Based on my Body Mass Index (BMI) the experts recommend gaining no more than 15-25 lbs during the entire pregnancy since I am already considered overweight. I don’t think the experts considered the 6’3” frame of my husband or his large head when they made they estimates. But I’m still shooting for no more than 25 lbs – and we will just all have to see what happens.

Yesterday I had two people tell me I was glowing. All I could think was "yeah, right." I am completely convinced my glowing had more to do with the fact I wore mascara for the first time in 3 months than it did with being pregnant.

Choosing an OB Doctor

2010-06-23T12:32:00.003-05:00

Aggravation would be the best word to describe how I feel about the process of finding a doctor for this pregnancy. I had no idea I would find it so frustrating.

First, let me say I do know exactly where I want to go – the Birth Cottage here in Tallahassee. It is a wonderful, pleasant home with a couple midwives. They have two birthing rooms that are more like the rooms in your house, and birthing tub as well. In the end, you get a lot more options when it comes to delivery than you would at a hospital. Plus there is no IV stuck in your arm and you can eat if you want. They will also come to your home to deliver as well. However, this was quickly put to a halt when I realized my insurance will not cover it. Yes, that’s right; my new insurance coverage that picked up all that great infertility testing does not cover midwives or birthing centers – even though they are less expensive in the long run. However, the coverage I had before, the one that wouldn’t cover any infertility testing would cover it. It seems I can never get what I need at the right time.

On the flip side, if I go the doctor’s office/hospital route my insurance covers 100% of my entire prenatal visits – with no deductibles and no copayments. Each visit is completely free of charge to me; it just costs my patience and time.

So for the time being I called my OB/Gyn office. It just seemed simpler than pressuring myself to figure out which doctor office to choose and I really wanted to get in for a first appointment.
Today I had “orientation” – which should have been labeled something like mounds of paperwork and a waste of your time. The doctor’s office was not convenient. And parking was worse. It took 15 minutes after I arrived to park and walk in to the building. Then I had to listen to gossip from the nurses for about 5 minutes. I was pressured to fill out an application for a federally subsidized program I was not interested in (of course I didn’t). I had to wait around in the lobby for one of the nurses to see me – one who was busy talking to about 5 other nurses. Then my appointment started.

They checked my urine for proteins, sugar and something else – all clear. Checked by BP – 110/70. Checked my weight – not sharing.

During this appointment I asked what my progesterone was when they did the blood panel and pregnancy test. I did this because I also had the infertility center do bloodwork and they had called back to put me on progesterone suppositories because it was on the low side of normal. The doctor’s office never called about my progesterone. It turns out, they couldn’t find it – I was told they either forgot or failed to take a progesterone test. The nurse wasn’t sure what happened. So I am super thankful I also had the fertility office do this – since it was low and I was prescribed progesterone suppositories.

I also learned during the appointment that my insurance covers 100% of “allowable expenses”. When I asked what allowable expenses were – they could not tell me. I asked if the ultrasound I was having next week would be covered and was told that they didn’t know, but if it wasn’t covered the cost would be $200.

I was incorrectly misinformed by the nurse that they like to rotate the patients between doctors so that if “my doctor couldn’t come to the delivery and I had to use a back-up doctor I would be familiar with him/her.” When in all actuality, I know that the doctors rotate at the hospital and I get whatever doctor is on duty at that time at the hospital. After I questioned her on this, she confirmed I was correct.

I answered a few more questions about relative history and my medical history. Then I left, and spent another 10 minutes getting out of the parking lot and then was back on the road to head to work.

So all in all, it takes 30 minutes to get to the doctor’s office. It costs me aggravation. I have to deal with people I’d rather not deal with. I’d have to delivery in the hospital that I don’t like. But I would pay $0.

OR

I can get to the Birth Cottage in 10 minutes; wait zero time in the lobby; have access to quality midwives; enjoy the atmosphere; have more flexibility during delivery; but have to pay out of pocket.

I’m looking at a cost differential to us of about $3,000. (Of course, the hospital route is much more expensive in total – just not to us because insurance covers it) So, with all this in mind, I’m thinking my best option is to try and find a new doctor’s office ... or just have the baby at home and then go to the hospital. Anyone willing to help deliver?

More on the beginning

2010-06-18T08:32:00.002-05:00

I wanted to post just briefly on more details regarding the new pregnancy.

I have had an absolutely great week. I feel wonderful, jut a little tired here and there. But honestly not much to speak of.

My HCG numbers from Monday came back at 699. The fertility nurse decided it didn't need to be repeated because it was high enough and exactly where it should be.

My progesterone numbers came back a little on the low side but still normal - at 10.6. So I've been given progesterone suppositories.

I'm really not having any symptoms of pregnancy at all. A couple times I felt kindof yucky but it was so mild I couldn't decide for sure if I felt bad at all. So I probably shouldn't count it as anything.

And everything is going really well. I'm still going to CrossFit. The advice I saw online was to be sure you can carry on a converstation while you are working out, otherwise slow down. So I'm following that advice and taking lots of breaks as needed.

For any couple out there dealing with infertility who might run across this blog on the world wide web. I want to mention that we really did see some great results from a lot of prayer and switching to a high-raw diet. I wish I could measure how much my body changed - I know it changed to be well enough to get pregnant - which is really the best result. I tested abnormal for the protein that helps the baby stick around just 6 months ago with the Etegrity test. And we have had 1 failed IVF, 1 failed FET, and 1 failed IUI in the last couple years.

My dear husband has been eating high-raw as well, with lean meats and eggs. And everything on his SA changed from abnormal to normal to even above normal -- including morphology, motility, viscosity. And his motile sperm count increased more than 600%. I am in absolute shock about this. I have seen so many studies and never seen results this high. That in itself is a miracle.

I'm so thankful that I felt led to change our diets drastically this spring! And we received a ton of support for the changes we made which made it so much easier. So thank you everyone!

Drum Roll Please ....

2010-06-14T20:58:00.002-05:00

I was thinking my next post on here would be tomorrow. After all, we have just concluded several months of testing and had an appointment with a fertility specialist tomorrow at 9am. I thought by tomorrow evening we might could post on some type of plan for the coming months.

That was until today happened. Today, we found out we are PREGNANT!
Yes, 100% completely naturally we were given a miracle. We are ecstatic, and majorly shocked - this is after 5 1/2 years of trying to get pregnant.

This morning was pretty crazy. I took two tests at home and as soon as possible called the doctor's office. I'll have to admit I didn't quite comprehend or believe the first test, and immediately said "um, read this" and handed it to Thomas. (It was very hard to read, it simple said "pregnant.") =)
The doctor's office was great about getting me in today for blood work, and by this afternoon we had verification that we are pregnant!

It is still early, I'm just 5 weeks. So we have a long way to go...until Valentines Day to be exact.

This could have never happened outside of God's will. And we are also pretty sure our lifestyle changes helped make the difference.

We don't have a way to check on my health and if it improved. I was still having some slight pain from the endometriosis the last couple months, but not as bad. But today while we were at the fertility clinic doing the blood tests we asked for the results from the most recent semen analysis - and they drastically improved, more than even imaginable. Based on that alone, I would encourage every couple out there dealing with infertility to try shifting their diets to no processed foods, no dairy, no grains, and lots of raw fruits and vegetables.

Redirect to Another Site

2010-06-08T20:49:00.001-05:00

I had a dream. It was vivid and exciting, and it involves a new blog.

As a result, the purpose of this post is to redirect you to a new blog address. I think you will be very happy with the changes.

There will be more information. There will be more topics covered, including: the ever important children, food, recipes, nutrition, exercise, projects, sewing, 30 day challenges, adoption, foster care, and so much more. And to make it even better - it will be organized by category so you can find what you are looking for!

There is much more to be done on it, but it is officially started.

So please, go take a peek and be sure to save it on your favorites.
GO HERE!!!

And just so you know, this website will be updated occasionally with information related to infertility and other things of the sort.

I HOPE YOU ENJOY!

4 Weeks, busy

2010-05-30T20:23:00.010-05:00

No posts lately because we have a lot going on here. This is a quick run down of what the last few weekends have looked like - in the last four weeks we have made two trips to Orlando (once to see friends, and the second to see family and watch the space shuttle Atlantis launch), had grandparents visit for a few days, and provided respite care (aka babysitting) for another foster family. This weekend we are providing the babysitting for another foster family so they could make a trip over this holiday weekend.

One of our favorite things to do as a family is swim. Both children are great in the water. Jasper has absolutely no fear of nearly anything. And has completely fallen in love with the pool. Here is a quick video of his favorite activity - jumping in the water - he can do it for an hour straight with no breaks. Notice how great of a job he does swimming back up to the top.

On top of this, I'm dreaming up a new blog. So keep a lookout for a new and improved site.

In the meantime, here are some more photos of the children.

Petra loves to hold babies. The only problem is that the baby in our house is as big as she is. It didn't seem to matter much to either of them though.

A few moments of "playa" at Coco Beach, FL.

Gymnastics class - Petra on the beam and both of them working on their handstands.

Shuttle Atlantis launch.

In Kissimmee, Florida with family.

An increasingly not so rare moment, both the children quiet and "reading" to themselves.

Petra graduated to a toddler bed. Oh the thrills of being able to get up on your own.

This is not our toy. Just wanted to be sure everyone knew that. But its the neighbor's contraption and our children do love it. Petra thinks she is hot stuff in this jeep.

And....

Stopping

2010-05-18T13:33:00.002-05:00

I am consistently awed by the joy and life our children bring to our home. Even through the tears and whining, which there is more than enough, in no time the sweet soft voice of my daughter quickly pierces my heart. Or the smiles and kisses from my son melt me.

Last night I struggled, tired and achy. The children whined and begged for my undivided attention. Sweet voices declared “hold me mommy” and echoed through our walls. I continuously struggle to find the best way to balance my work in the home, with the constant requests for love and attention. I can’t pour boiling water in the sink and hold a toddler. And I haven’t mastered one handed egg cracking skills. The kitchen needs to be cleaned, the dinner needs to be made, and my children need to be held, loved and instructed.

Do I stop? Do I set everything aside when he sweetly brings me a book to read to him? I find myself throughout the day telling myself to just stop. And I remind myself a few minutes delay in dinner is a small price to pay for the gifts of parenting. What I’ve realized is I’m still learning and will be a life-long leaner. I feel completely unprepared for balancing efficiency in my home with parenting our toddlers. I never seem to know when to stop and when not.

The evening we spent together - resting in chairs outside in the fresh air, reading books, tending plants, and watching a movie with popcorn. I headed to bed tired and exhausted. Rest was all I wanted. A break from the crying, tears and persistent requests a mommy gets. I quietly lay in bed and think about everything I failed to get done. And then in a hushed tone, my husband says “what a wonderful evening,” and I pause and push everything on my to-do list aside to appreciate the evening and gifts from God that I had missed.

Speaking words of encouragement

2010-04-17T21:19:00.003-05:00

"When you talk, do not say harmful things, but say what people need—words that will help others become stronger." Ephesians 4:29 (NCV)

I couldn't let the night go without posting about this ... one of the areas I feel like I really struggle is speaking words of love and encouragement to my children. Mothers have the incredible responsibility of speaking words that will build our children. And this is a very insightful reminder from one of my favorite bloggers.

"Just for today:
Couldn’t all the words out of my mouth only be the strengthening words? Words that nourish their bones and muscle their hearts.
What if I tried to change nothing in children but I focused on only this: Let the tongue speak only the words that make souls stronger. "

Please go to her post to read.

Welcome to St. George Island

2010-04-17T20:32:00.010-05:00

Definitely one of my favorite things about Florida is the beautiful beaches. Last weekend we headed to St. George Island with some friends and had such a wonderful time. It was very overcast and a little chilly, but it was still really great. I think I would prefer it a little cool, rather than too hot. I only wish it was closer. It takes about 2 hours to get to this beach from our house.

It was the very first time the children enjoyed the beach. At first, Jasper didn't like the sand at all. He kept trying to lift his feet up, then realizing it wouldn't work because he would then fall it, he gave up. But it was mere minutes before they were both off playing and happy. Most likely due to the fact that they had their favorite playmate of all time - Kacy. They looove her and ask for her all the time.

So it was a little cool, and it is April. But that didn't stop us from have a great time. Petra and Jasper both loved the water. Petra wanted to stay in it continously, and we had to make her get out because she was shivering and turning blue. We laughed so hard when she would scream at the water in excitement. It was also very funny to hear her screaming in glee "I'm swimming, I'm swimming" as she sat on her hands and knees and the waves crashed around her. Jasper was his normal self, completely unfrightened by anything and would head out head deep in the water if we let him. After a swim, I had to wrap them up tight in a towel until they warmed up.

Kacy helped the children dig for sand fleas; thomas showed them a crab; and we even saw a few dolphins. All of us are looking forward to our next beach trip. I think Petra asked to go back every day this week, many, many times each day. And before it was all over, Thomas hit the water deep with a fishing pole in hand. And was a little disappointed as he watched spanish feed about 30 yards away from the end of his line. He just couldn't get out far enough. Every time I turned to look at him, he had inched out further and further. By the end he was chest high in the water.

Today, its a week later. Work has been busy. Life has been busy. But all in all I'm very blessed. Our family continously has a wonderful time together. My children love each other and we all cherish our time together. Today, was another great and busy day. We spent about the day in Marianna, FL, a little over an hour's drive away, promoting foster care and adoption at festival. When I do these things, I often don't have my children with me. But today, I realized how great it is when they are there. Many people can't imagine what its like to have a foster child or to adopt a child. There always seems to be a general thought that your own biological children are somehow better. I've seen it over and over again in people I meet. But seeing our family gives many a better understanding that it is love that makes a family, and not blood.

In fact, I had a perfect example of this today. I've been around one woman weekly who told me just 4 months ago that her and her husband would never adopt ... this was in shocked response to my acknowledgement to her that Petra was adopted. Between then and now, I've met her husband, and they've met and spent time with our children. Today, she told me they were considering fostering and adopting. And I know that seeing the smiles on my children faces, and even the crying, helped provide a clearer understanding that adopted children are themselves amazing.

Easter 2010

2010-04-15T22:52:00.004-05:00

We had a fabulous Easter day with friends. We dyed Easter eggs this year for the first time. And they even had their first easter egg hunt ... although there was not much enthusiasm for the hunt. Thomas said it was because I didn't put good candy in the eggs. Instead, I stuffed sugar cereal in them that I bummed off a friend. I had meant to do organic cookies and had left them at home. But regardless, Petra would shake each one to see if there was anything in it and stop to eat it.

And my absolute favorite part of Easter was watching Petra in her first church performance. She "sang" with the other children. We have a video, we hope to share it with each of you at some point.

30 Day Raw Food Challenge Complete!

2010-03-31T18:33:00.002-05:00

On Sunday, I completed my 30 day raw challenge, and I am so very glad I did it. The last two weeks have absolutely flown by. I had no real issues with cravings, sickness, tiredness, etc. In fact, I feel like I started to benefit from the diet change. The benefits I saw over the last month included: 13 total pounds in weight loss, flatter abdomen, less bloating and less of that yucky heavy full feeling, better facial complexion (in fact I think the dark circles under my eyes are disappearing), more energy, and no cravings! My blood sugar feels completely level at all times, I don’t feel like I go through highs and lows through the day, and I generally feel younger all over.

There are a lot of people who consider shifting gradually to raw – for instance, many people start out by going 50% raw every day. I didn’t do this. I went 100%, or close to it, and I think this had greater benefits. One of the challenges was learning what to eat and how to prepare meals. I have learned so much about raw recipes and eating in the last month. If I had limited my raw intake to only 50% of the time, I would not have been forced to learn so much about all the many options that a raw diet actually includes. Instead, I would have stuck with smoothies and salads. And in retrospect, I would have really shortchanged the experience and not really obtained a true perspective about it. And I think if I was still eating certain foods, I would be experiencing cravings. And the lack of cravings is what makes choice of going raw so easy.

It’s funny that I’m saying this now, because the first week I posted about this challenge I stated clearly that I needed food ideas. No one gave me any. I couldn’t figure out what else was out there besides fresh fruit and salads. Now it seems like there are so many choices that I could never possibly get tired of a raw diet. You absolutely must check out this blog – Choosing Raw - and look at the photos of meals that you can eat on a raw diet (including the one above in this blog post). Trust me, natural and raw foods are not lacking in taste, flavor or satisfaction. One of my absolutely favorite recipes I found on this website was for Banana Ice Cream. It was heavenly, and all four of us gobbled it down with gusto.

I also really loved the homemade almond and sesame milk I made … so much more than the store bought. Which brings me to another point—about 20 days into my raw challenge I attended a raw class that really helped give me a better understanding of how eating raw really works in a household. What areas you can give and take on when you have a budget? And I learned how to make beloved homemade nut milks—which by the way are incredibly easy, so easy an 8-year-old could do it. At the class I went to we tasted homemade almond milk compared to store bought, and boy was there a difference. We also did some other tasting tests, and between that, and everyday occurrences, I can say that my taste buds have drastically changed this month.

The most common question I’ve heard all month is: But where do you get your protein? Well, this is a very good question. But let me assure you, there are options out there. There are things like avocado, broccoli, and other high-protein veggies. But there are also hemp seeds and nutritional yeast, and other alternative protein sources that I am still discovering and learning about.

Then there is the issue of calcium. Did you know that milk from unhulled sesame seed milk actually has 4 times more calcium than cow’s milk? A little surprising I thought.

There is a lot I still need to learn about getting all the nutrients I need. But I will admit, I did see a doctor before choosing this. And my doctor actually told me that she is vegetarian and that there are numerous of studies out there that show that eating meat leads to a shorter life span. I didn’t ask for details because I had my own reasons for the change.

And while I mentioned it in the opening paragraph, I was a little surprised that my cravings are completely gone. I can actually cook a separate meal for my family, including meat, and not want a bite of it. In fact, I sometimes feel like I’m serving them blind because I don’t taste test anything. One night I accidentally spilt some honey mustard dressing on my finger and before I knew it my finger was in my mouth. Habit I guess. But get this; I could not believe how disgusting it was! Anyway, as a whole, the family is still eating many, many cooked meals. But Thomas and I have introduced more raw foods with each meal. The children really enjoy a green smoothie on a regular basis, chocked full of spinach or kale. And snacks are usually completely raw for them as well. There is always fruit, but I’ve also made a variety of fruit and nut bars for them over the last month. And I’ve learned you can make raw cakes!

I committed to a 30 day challenge and I finished it. So I’m just thinking you may be wondering where this leaves me now. Well, after 33 days raw, I can honestly say I do not want to go back. I am so happy with the way I feel and the food I’m eating, that I plan on staying this way. I never remember feeling this way with any diet. I’m simple amazed at how much I am enjoying choosing raw and I’m really looking forward to making the “nutloaf” pictured above.

Jasper's Hair Cut

2010-03-23T16:46:00.005-05:00

Last week, Jasper got his first complete hair cut. I say this, because Thomas had already shaved the sides of his head so that he had a curly mohawk, that really appeard to be a mop. See photo above.

Now we have an adorable little boy ... and it seems his smile and eyes shine now. He had a goofy grin on his face during much of the hair cut.

And then, Petra wanted her hair cut too. So Thomas pretended to cut hers.

Infertility Insurace

2010-03-20T22:09:00.005-05:00

One of the worst things about infertility, is the costs associated with diagnostic testing and treatment. Not only do you have the heartache of being infertile, but most insurance companies won't pick up a penny of the costs. Not even to find out what is wrong with you or to talk to a doctor about it. Infertiltity is so traumatic, and to add the costs associated with it makes it ten times worse to deal with.

After 5 years struggling with this, you can imagine my excitement when I found out our new insurance covers diagnostic testing. I switched coverage at the advice of no one, everyone said I had the best around and offered to state workers, well, now I beg to differ. I switched our coverage in January, not because I expected inferitility to be covered, but because I was so fed up with the company we had been using. In fact, I read and read insurance coverage benefits for multiple companies and didn't think any of them would cover a penny.

Thomas and I both felt ready to move forward with tests this spring. When we found out the insurance was going to cover testing, it was incredible. I felt like I had won the lottery. What a BLESSING! So, in short, I have had over $3,000 in tests done in the last month, and have only paid $40 in copayments!

Our insurance will not cover treatments ... alas that is still on us. Regardless, I'll take the gift I was given and smile. Our tests are pending...

A quick update - March 23, 2010 - all tests came back normal! We are so excited. We still have another round of tests that will take place through the month, tesing things like hormone levels, uterine lining, and ovulation. I expect all these to come back normal based on our past tests, but we won't actually test until May due to my work schedule.

Growing Update

2010-03-14T14:48:00.005-05:00

A quick update on the children, because that’s all I have time for these days.

They are doing absolutely fantastic. I’m actually amazed at how well behaved they have been for the last few weeks – maybe b/c I’m not there to see the problems. But it seems like we have really turned a corner and they are growing into happy, well-adjusted children who listen and obey. And no, they don’t obey all the time. Nor probably even most the time. But with a little extra instruction, a few time outs here and there, and everything seems to flow smoothly.
Jasper has had a couple big things happen in the last month or so. He got a haircut one night when I was working late – a Mohawk! It’s really kind of crazy looking. We plan on cutting it shorter again very soon—as soon, as I can be there to get some pictures.

He also started gymnastics and of course loves it. He loves to climb so there is no surprise that he would love hanging and flipping on bars, climbing up 6 foot ladders, and running around. All the other parents, and even the coaches, are quite amazed at how well he does. He can crawl on his hands and feet across two bars, walk on the balance beam mostly by himself, climb up and down the gigantic ladders, and is not scared of anything. At 17 months old, I don’t think they usually see children his age that can do all those things.

And with Jasper in gymnastics, Petra feels a little extra urge to show off. Since week 2 she’s been able to hang on a bar and bring her toes up to the bar. Now, she can nearly flip by herself. To do this she has to bring her legs up between her two arms, and flip over backwards. She usually needs just a little push on her bottom and over she goes. I think she could probably do it on her own, but enjoys hanging completely upside down. She has seen the most improvement in jumping and can hop across a room now.

She is doing absolutely fantastic at her “tot school” when I have time for it. She is learning all the time. This week I watched as her and Thomas laid on the sofa and read a book on the life cycle of the ladybug. She loves anything that you would categorize as science and simple would be happy if you could tell her everything about the world. She also loves to help cook and prepare food. As soon as I start, she drags a chair into the kitchen to stand on and helps as much as she can with everything. Usually this means, she stirring, or adding something to a bowl, or helping us cut up food using a butter knife. She is also very good at cleaning up messes and spills – grabbing a towel without us even saying a thing to take care of it.

She also loves to write letters, especially the letter “P.” And I would say she is doing a fantastic job. She gets a little carried away and sometimes writes on “other things.” Luckily she usually has a washable marker so it’s easy to clean.

And that is all I have time for. I will try to write another post about the children soon.

Here they are playing on a sheet and bed. Thomas is bouncing them up in the air.

Tot school - transfering rice between bowls. And cleaning up the rice off the floor. (Jasper had the broom but wasn't in the photo)

They love to hug on each other in the mornings. Jasper usually asks to get her crib and then they just spend a few minutes hugging or comparing to see who has the best pacifier.

While Petra throws a fit about heights at gymnastics, they are obviously not a problem for her.

On Valentimes day, laughing at the gifts Grandma and Grandpa Joyner sent.

Sometimes we get to go out for a hike in the woods still.

Days 5-13, Raw challenge

2010-03-11T21:56:00.002-05:00

Days 5-9
Not much happening here. This new eating plan is actually going much better than I expected. I’m definitely having some cravings, but I seem to be doing a decent job ignoring them.
One of the ways I’ve been encouraging myself is with expected weight loss. Raw diets definitely have the tendency to take the pounds off. Every time I start craving something, for instance pizza, I distract myself with some thoughts about weight loss. And to help matters, I’m so busy at work, I don’t really have time to think of food anyways.

I have already seen a noticeable increase in my energy levels. I feel a ton better. Each day I can tell my stomach is getting flatter. I never feel heavy. However, I am tired every day around 2pm.

After one week – weight loss is 6 lbs!

Day 10 – Getting sick. The day was pretty hard. All day I felt miserable. And to top it off, I had horrible cravings. Half the day I kept thinking I should quit this challenge and start eating meat again. The glands in my throat were swelling, my sinus’ were killing me, and my body was aching. I wanted chocolate bad. And I wanted dairy, and chicken, and steak, and just about anything else you can think of. I finally gave in and had ¼ cup of chocolate ice cream and savored every bite. Yum. But I was very good the rest of the day. By evening, I started to think maybe I was in detox and had wished I hadn’t eaten that little bit of ice cream.

The idea is that with raw food – your body gets all these great disease fighting nutrients. I found this online that explains it:
“…once the body begins to assimilate a higher proportion of natural raw foods, it initiates detoxification and health-building actions since it is always striving to establish a higher state of wellness.
The new, enzymatically-active live raw foods with their nutritious, energizing sugars cause the body to spring into action, utilizing much of its energy in cleaning house: purging debris, shedding old inferior cells, and using the new raw nutrients to build a completely new, healthier body.
When a toxic load becomes too dangerous for the body, it intelligently enacts a detoxification/elimination/purging/housecleaning event or phase, manifested by any of these "symptoms": sore throat, inflammation, fever, skin outbreaks, coated tongue, mucus expectoration, body aches, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. …When we experience any of these signs of elimination, we typically feel fatigued and sleepy, as the body is directing much of its energy toward accomplishing the housecleaning. At such times, it is always wise to assist the body by heeding the calls for extra rest and sleep. All of these "symptoms" will diminish and then vanish when the body is sufficiently cleaned out, providing we adhere to a healthful lifestyle regimen.”

The fact that I am going through what obviously appears to be a detox stage has me slightly concerned about the foods I ate before that obviously caused some problems??

Day 11 – Definitely not detox, my coworker is also sick with the exact same symptoms. The good news is that hopefully my body want ache for more than a day or two. Detox can be quite lengthy for some.

Day 12 – Feeling so much better!!! I was able to get 10 hours of sleep last night and it made a world of difference. My body had a chance to start recovery. The past few days I haven’t eaten past 4pm; I haven’t been hungry. My cravings are gone. Maybe it's the stuffy nose that's causing it.

It was honestly so much work just to figure out what to eat, that I didn’t want the hassle of counting calories or fat. So I have no idea how much I’m eating, instead I’m only eating when I’m hungry. But when I look at sample meal plans, I know there are many days where I am probably not eating enough calories. I just have no desire. I’m not hungry. This was also the first day I haven’t been tired after lunch – maybe it was the 10 hours of sleep.

Weight Loss to date: 11 lbs

Day 13 – I think whatever bug I had, must have taken away a lot of my appetite. I did eat a lot more today, but I’m generally not very hungry. This morning I also woke up at 3:15 am and felt very well rested. At 4am I finally figured I was not going to be dozing back off so I got up to get some things done. It’s 9:50 now at night, I’ve not been the least bit tired today. Loving the energy.

For an idea of my meals, here’s what I had today. This is more than I’ve had most days. I feel like a little piggy now. I added some calories on purpose – I felt like if I didn’t my metabolism may drop b/c I just didn’t eat much the last few days.

Breakfast : Fruit smoothie – 3 cups fruit, coconut kefir, and water – this is twice as much as I normally have been drinking. It took me all morning to drink it all. And a banana with peanut butter.

Lunch: 2 Vegetable sushi rolls – this was just 1 avocado, 1 carrot, wrapped in seaweed

Snacks: ½ peach, homemade fruit and nut bar (made with dates, raw cashews, coconut, cocoa, and coconut oil – YUM)

And….some popcorn. Don’t tell anyone. I’ve actually had this a few times now. I see it as my one cheat, it doesn’t have anything on it. I figured 98% raw is close enough to 100% raw, right? However, I think I’m going to cut it out for the rest of the month.

Dinner: 1 grapefruit, 2 baby carrots, 2 grape tomatoes, and some nuts

Our Frugal Girl

2010-03-04T18:43:00.003-05:00

This story came secondhand because I was at work - but it was the highlight of my afternoon. So when Thomas called me and relayed this story I lauged and laughed and knew I had to post it.

Petra heads out the door.
Petra: Bye, Bye
Thomas: Where are you going?
Petra: To the store.
Thomas: What store?
Petra: um, to the grocery store
Thomas: Why? What are you going to buy?
Petra: Ummm
Thomas: Do we need food?
Petra: Yes, I need coupons!

Raw Food 30 Day Challenge

2010-03-03T07:11:00.002-05:00

Day 4
Absolutely great day. Full of energy. No headaches. (surprising seeing as that I only had a few hours of sleep again - Jasper woke up crying 4 times - he didn't like his pacifier.)

Eating was simple and easy. Fruit/kale smoothie for breakfast. Salad for lunch. Fruit and nuts for snacks. I had some carrot sticks at 4pm and forgot to eat the rest of the day. I missed dinner at home with the family due to work. And wasn’t hungry anyway.

Day 3
Uggh, first day at work as raw foodie and suffered horrible headache and sluggishness – which I am sure had something to do with not having coffee and not sleeping more than 4 hours at night. Everywhere I turned there was cake and doughnuts. I spent 15 hours at work trying my best to avoid the chocolate cake 10 steps away.

And I did it.

The worse problem today was that I didn’t eat enough for breakfast. And then the rest of the day, I kept grazing and never really eating. Every hour I was putting a piece of fruit in my mouth because I was hungry.

Day 2
After a very frustrating day 1, day 2 fell into place quite well. The trick was learning to fix my thinking about how I eat. I’ve had a template in my head my entire life-well as long as I can remember- that says for dinner fix 1 meat, 1 green vegetable and 1 starch. Which is what caused my frustration on day 1. But I got the message loud and clear on day 1 that I needed meal ideas – so a quick surf through the internet and I found a load of resources. It turns out that a lot of raw foodies eat loads of plain fruit. Here was a sample I found for someone: (THIS WAS NOT WHAT I ATE)

Breakfast – 3 lbs of watermelon
Lunch – 2 mangos, 1 avocado, 3 sticks of celery
Snack – 2 mangos
Dinner – Large salad (cucumber, tomatoes, green onion), with sunflower seeds, two avocados, and fresh-squeezed lemon

It was very refreshing to see that many of the meal plans I saw online focused around very simple eating. And to top off the day, I have not been hungry at all.

Our little heartthrob

2010-03-01T07:06:00.007-05:00

Our little boy is such an amazing and uniquely different person than anyone I know.
He is so lovable and so serious … all the time. As his parents, we see both sides, but not everyone does.
He is so tenderhearted that every time we read a book he has to stop and hug almost every page so that he can give the characters love. He is helpful to us, following directions very well. And he also genuinely loves his sister and is willing to help and give her with nearly anything. Earlier this week I watched as he carried her cup up the stairs to her because she was wailing for it. A few mornings ago, I watched as he handed her his pacifier (out of his own mouth) to stop her tears. These are not things we asked of him, but things he did on his own recognizing what it was that would satisfy Petra.
He loves to laugh and play. He can also now pose for the camera- with a big cheesy grin, scrunched up nose and eyes closed.

But there is the other side of him, the side we see a lot and the only side strangers usually see. This side of him shows the seriousness of him. His “scowl” and “mad” look. His face as he looks around and absorbs the world around him is always serious and evaluative. You can tell he processes life around him … and trust me you can tell when he has decided he is upset about something. While some children cry and whine, he lets out an unbelievable deafening holler of offense. From others we never hear the words “Oh, what a happy baby.” But instead hear “Oh, what a serious baby.” People stop and talk to him and he just stares and scowls. I honestly think he is wondering why they would be speaking to him--Don’t they know that he doesn’t know them? Maybe the good news of all this is I will never have to worry about him talking to strangers.

He is growing by leaps and bounds. Sometimes running and loving every minute he can escape us. And other times running to us for hugs and kisses.
And even though he isn’t talking, he is learning his alphabet letters and sounds. We were amazed two weeks ago when he started pointing out letters we were asking and also making some of the sounds. It turns out he knows most of his alphabet sounds. He can point at a letter and tell us its sound.

And as a parent I am learning more and more each day to appreciate and value his ever serious, contemplative, yet sweet nature. Oh, how he makes me laugh!

30 Day Raw Food Challenge

2010-02-27T22:56:00.005-05:00

I'm not sure where I picked up that 30 days was a normal time to try raw food eating - but it has led to my current plan.

My first thought was that this would be easy. Fresh fruits and veggies - no real cooking involved. May even be a time saver.

Nope. What was I thinking? I must have been crazy.

Raw food basically means nothing you eat is cooked. Nothing boiled, nothing sauteed, nothing heated over about 110 degrees from what I have read. (I'm certainly no expert so don't take my word on everything here) To limit temptation in my home, my plan was to switch everyone in the home mainly to raw foods for the next month - with myself following a 98% raw food plan, and husband and children following it about 85% of the time.

Have you ever tried to make a meal out of all raw foods? Just think. What would you make? Post your comments I would love to hear them.

DAY 1
Today was day 1. I'm not sure what I was thinking. This has got to be one of the hardest things I have ever done. I had no idea what to make for breakfast, lunch or dinner. I bought a lot of fruit and veggies - but I wasn't too sure how to combine them raw to make a meal. Yes, I know how to make a salad, but I couldn't possibly feed myself or everyone else salad 3 times a day for the next month.

To top it off my food processor broke a couple weeks ago, and I don't have a blender. Thank goodness for my new hand blender which is helping me get through this time until I get a new bowl for the food processor. But today, every recipe I found that I wanted to try needed either one of these appliances or included ingredients I didn't have or had never heard of.

As supportive as Tom's been - I'm also thinking he is going to decide I'm not feeding him if I hand him a green smoothie for lunch or dinner.

I struggled today...With caffeine withdraw and a headache. With general tiredness. With recipes. With how in the world to make a meals for my family and work until 7pm or later each night over the next 2 months. With how to feed the family raw on a monthly budet of $350 for food. Is any of it possible??

The only thing that gives me much hope is that I am now finally sitting here with a small glass of wonderful delicious coconut milk and a small date/nut bar. Finally...delicious and creamy. It makes me think maybe I won't be giving up all the foods I love after all.

Celiacs? Wheat Intolerance?

2010-02-27T22:39:00.003-05:00

My last post gave some clues that we are seeing doctors, and moving forward on some infertility tests. Part of us moving forward extends into my diet.

I've learned over the years that the endometriosis in my body affects me in many, many ways. The backaches and cramps that I experiences nearly every day are horrible. After two laparascopies I know it is still there, I feel it.
There seems to be only one thing I can do to control it - and that is to control my diet. A couple years ago I found some information online that said many women who went on a special diet - mainly excluding gluten or wheat - had almost all their pain disappear.

About two years ago, I tried this. And it worked. Nearly no pain. But it is super hard to avoid wheat and I have done a poor job controlling my diet.

I mentioned this to our IVF doctor - he laughed. I mentioned it to my gynecologist - he nearly laughed.

Then, about 3 weeks ago, in my search for ridding my house of all white flours and sugars, I made a batch of muffins with whole wheat pastry flour. Within two hours I was very sick. I had a rash on my arm, I was nauseous, I developed a migraine, and had many other pains. I had to leave my desk at work and go lay down in the clinic - not a normal occurrence.

I suddenly came to the realization there was a good possibility I was dealing with - a possible case of celiac disease or gluten intolerence - that was leading to the endometriosis - that was leading to infertility. There is a lot that I keep thinking about here, but mainly I keep thinking that if I have an autoimmune disorder, I should probably see a fertility specialist that deals with reproductive immunology.

So I called my new primary doctor and finally had an appointment yesterday. She agreed; no laughing. What a relief. She said it was very likely that I might have celiac's or a gluten intolerance and I definitely needed to be tested. I went for the bloodwork. If it comes back negative, then I have to go see an allergist for a skin test.

And regardless of the test results, the bottom line is I know wheat has an affect on me. And this is one area that I have control over. And one area that might affect my fertility. So I am moving foward on new eating plan.

The recommended endo diet goes something like this - no meat, no wheat, no dairy, no coffee, no tea, no hydrogenated oils. I figured if I was going to follow this, I might as well try a raw food diet...more to come.

E-TEGRITY and Infertility plans

2010-02-27T22:28:00.003-05:00

I haven't taken the time to update anyone in the blog world on the E-tegrity test that I was considering.

I considered, I postponed, and I finally did it.

It was not a very easy decision. There is a lot of controversy behind its usefulness. Very few doctors put much weight in it. But I decided to go ahead based on two peices of information.
1) I think part of our problem in our getting pregnant has something to do with implantation problems, and 2) the top fertility center in the nation uses it. At some point I decided those two reasons were enough for me to go ahead.

The results tell you if you luteal phase is correct and if you have protein that is common in the uterus during implantation time. I'm not going to go in to detail about any of it here. If you are interested in details because it's late and I'm tired - so if you want more information on the test look it up.

The uterine biopsy that had to be done for the test hurt like crazy. Literally. I clenched my mouth shut to keep from hollering. The best part was the pain last for about 2 minutes total, this total time included about 20 seconds of HORRIBLE pain, and then it was over. I had absolutely no pain following the biopsy.

The results are useful, maybe. It really depends on whether we find a doctor that uses it.

But they told us that my luteal phase was correct, AND that I am MISSING the protein (beta 3 integrin) that is common during implantation - this is "a glue-like protein necessary for implantation to take place" according to the website.

So, I guess you could say its good news. We found a problem.

The website says that treatment is 3 months on Lupron. I have no idea if this is indeed what we will do.

Our only decision to date is to have more tests done with the belief that the more we know, the better decision we can make. So, we contacted a local fertility specialist who opened an office here in town recently - and they are helping us with getting all the remaining tests we want to have done.
And then maybe we will decide something.

Point Of Light Reception

2010-02-12T21:01:00.001-05:00

We had the chance to go to the Governor's Mansion for the Point of Light Reception. Just thought I would share the photo we received in the mail this week. This is us (with my husband looking like Wyatt Earp with a big 'ol mustache), Governor Crist, the president of Heart Gallery of America, and some folks from the Governor's adoption office that I work with frequently.

Science Experiment

2010-02-09T09:54:00.002-05:00

This week at our house, Petra had her first impromptu science experiment.

It was a relaxing Sunday; I was trying to get lunch fixed before laying the children down for a nap. Now first of all, you must understand that usually this time is not relaxing. The bad thing about Sunday is by the time we get home from church, it is already past nap time. Then add on to this the complications of having to cook and eat, and usually the children end up laying down about 2 hours past their usually nap time. This whole equation looks something like this: hungry + tired = CRANKY and screaming.

But this Sunday was different. Jasper had fallen asleep on the car ride home. And Petra appears to be getting old enough that an hour here or there in change doesn’t really affect her moodiness.
So while I was making a quick lunch of spaghetti, Petra wandered off and found a box of tea in my overflow stash. Quietly she lay on the floor and began the process of trying to take the plastic off the box. This took a good 5 minutes. I was absolutely relishing the quiet time. By the time she did open the box, I figured I better take it away from her so that I didn’t have a zillion tea bags thrown on the floor. So, I swooped in and grabbed the box, leaving her with one tea bag to investigate.

She looked a little confused as she studied it. She took off the paper. She tried to open it. I am sure she wondered the purpose behind it all. So I grabbed two clear glasses, filled them both with warm water, and sat her down to investigate further. She dipped and dipped the tea down in one glass and we talked about the changes in the water. Then we compared the two glasses —the one with the clear water, and the one with the stained water. And then we tasted the difference between the two. It was all in all a very simple, but fun experiment for a two-year-old and her mom.

Lving Frugally - UPDATED

2010-02-06T06:35:00.003-05:00

This post seems well timed considering that Thomas and I are making decisions everyday to live more frugally. There are several reasons why we are doing this. But most importantly I think its to assure that our family stays focused on the things in life that are most important. In addition, we are working hard to pay off debts so that one day, we will be debt free.

We have made small adjustments over the last year.

For instance, we are making all of our cleaning supplies. (That of course was spurred by Jasper's allergy to detergents) And since we bought our home we are gardening more and trying to grow more of our own food. We have looked for ways to cut our budget so that we are living on less. And it is really tricky.

To date, we have probably saved the most on groceries. Through couponing and just being very conscious about what I buy and why, we have cut our grocery bill down to about $350 a month. And I will striving to get that down even lower.

Our small adjustments are gradually turning into larger adjustments. This year the garden will be bigger than ever before. And, we have decided....to turn off our cable....completely. This will be my last post from the comfort of my own home. We don't watch much TV at all so that won't be the issue, but Thomas and I can be addicted to the computer at times. We check our email very often. We surf the news. We surf blogs. And honestly, not only does it take away time from our family, but it is expensive. It has a lot of perks to let it go - it will save us about $850 this year, and we will have more time with each other. And truthfully, we both have access to the internet during the week at work so we should be able to handle this change. But in some ways, I still feel like I'm cutting off my right hand.

In the future, anytime I update my blog or any website, it will probably be from some store that offers free access. So, there will definitely be fewer posts in the future.

A good friend this week asked for a list of suggestions to save money when grocery shopping. I thought I would share what I sent her.

I have harvested my idea from a million of sources: books, website, etc. But my favorite book for cost savings ideas and inexpensive recipes is Family Feast for $75 a week. A link to Mary's blog called Owl Haven is on this site.

... so maybe you all do these things, but below are some of the ways I have saved money.

Our dinners usually cost us about $4-5. Plus there is almost always leftovers for lunch the next day - so aim for this.

Make a price list – so that you can see the costs of goods and compare prices across stores. This will help you keep in check so that you don’t spend more than you should on an item – esp at bulk stores where things can be deceiving. To make a price list:

· Gather several of your last grocery receipts and circle your most expensive items to see where you are spending the bulk of your money - start with these

· Keep your receipts and add them to a spreadsheet/book when you get home – start with a few items and gradually add more

You usually save more by making things from scratch, rather than buying prepackaged foods.

Couponing - Remember some stores double, and others let you stack coupons so you can stack a store coupon with a manufacturers coupon, buy when items are buy 1 get 1 and use a coupon for both items

Don’t buy lunchmeat – it costs at least $5/lb – instead buy chicken breasts – I can get chicken breast with bone in for 99¢/lb or less on sale and then cut up for sandwich meat. Or make chicken salad out of it. So I end up paying about $5 for 4lbs of meat, rather than $5 for 1lb of meat. Even if you buy boneless chicken breast at Sams for $1.99 lb you are still saving a ton of money. Or buy tuna when it is B1G1 at Publix.

Buy beans, rice, oatmeal, popcorn, flours, and spices in bulk – you can cook beans ahead of time and freeze so that if you need on a moment’s notice they are already cooked and ready to go.

Make your own hummus with the beans you buy in bulk

Make 1 batch of muffins each week from scratch – the cost is very minimal – and it will be an easy breakfast item or snack through the week. I recommend Morning Glory muffins - they are fabulous and have vegetables in them.

Make 1 batch of cookies/brownies each week from scratch for treats

Only buy fruits and veggies that are on sale that week - we only eat grapes when they are 99¢ per lb (my only exception to this is that I buy bananas every week for the children)

Stock up on onions and peppers when they are on sale – cut them, sliced or diced and store in freezer until you need them for a recipe. I love it when I can find peppers for 50¢ each!

Stock up on meat when it is on sale – try to get enough to last until the next sale time – our meat sales repeat every 4 weeks for some items, every 8-12 weeks for others. I just can’t afford to buy organic meat – but I really have considered at buying half a cow – it is cheaper than buying organic at the store but still more expensive than buying sale priced regular meat. I really need some friends who would be willing to go into this with us. (Our best prices in town are $1.49 per lb for ground beef (20% fat, so I must drain and you can even rinse the meat to get off the fat), 69¢ lb for chicken leg quarters, 99¢ lb for split chicken breasts, $1.69 lb for boneless chick breast, $1 roll of sausage, $3.99 lb for ribeye or NY strip steaks)

Today I bought the following for $52: 2 lbs sausage, 3.5 lb beef roast, 5.5 lbs ribeyes (6 thick steaks), and 13 lbs of ground beef. It’s a lot to spend on just meat in one week – however – it will be enough red meat for this month plus probably some for next month. My most expensive meal with this will be the steaks – but once a week if we pay $9 for a steak dinner for the family it’s not that big of deal – esp. when you compare to what it would be if we ate out. The total before savings was $100.

I rarely buy anything special for a recipe – sometimes I just exclude an item – but most of the time I just avoid recipes with lots of little ingredients. I’m currently putting together a list of recipes that has items that I usually keep in stock – my plan is to sort them with an index by ingredient that is quick and easy for reference. Or buy the cookbook I recommended above, the recipes are really made from mostly those handy items you always keep around.

Make all breads and muffins and pie shells from scratch. I made 4 loaves of bread for $6 this past month – the bread had no hydrogenated oils, no white sugar, no white flour, and had additional benefits from things I added. It did take about 1 hour of my time.

I buy canned veggies when they are on a great price since they aren’t really that good for you – but the ease of them is wonderful. So I buy when they are about 35¢ a can. And then I stock up on our favorites, i.e. green beans and creamed corn for cornbread.

I almost always buy Publix brand organic milk in a gallon – it’s cheaper than any other varieties of organic milk here in town

Use cloth napkins and kitchen towels whenever you can – the only time I regularly use paper towels is for grease

Reuse Ziploc bags…unless you stored raw meat in them – I even reuse bread bags.

There is no reason to buy sour cream or buttermilk - unless you can get it super cheap - both are fairly easy to make from either milk or yogurt

Buy a freezer so you can stock pile effectively – the savings you create over 2 months will most likely pay for the freezer

Check ethnic stores and meat markets for better prices on items – for instance sesame oil & soy sauce you might could find cheaper at oriental market (I'm planning to check a meat market soon ... should be interesting!)

Grow fresh herbs – just a couple should be fairly easy if you have a good window – or you can put them in a flower bed outside – I would recommend parsley, basil and rosemary for starters(and any others you really like.)

Grow some of your veggies – you can do some in pots in a sunny spot. For container gardens consider tomatoes, eggplant, lettuce, bush beans, and onions.

I spend a ton of money on organic milk, and eggs – I don’t have a solution for this – we’ve talked about getting chickens and a dairy goat. Obviously I can’t have a goat where we live– but we are allowed chickens (not roosters). I still have to do a price comparison on this - but we usually eat at least 6 eggs a day.
The Church for the Latter Day Saints encourages their members to save food for emergency purpose and even has stores across the county where you can buy in bulk - some are open to the public. Prices are outstanding. For instance, you can get $25lbs of oats for $7.

Christmas 2009

2010-02-05T07:46:00.004-05:00

Our busy time at work has officially started. So I will not be home as much over the next few months which really limits my time with the children and the time I can spend taking pictures of everything we do. Daddy and the nanny are both doing a great job keeping them happy and nourished.

So, here are some more photos from Christmas 2009 that I thought I would share.

Little Stars

2010-01-28T21:11:00.006-05:00

Our little stars wanted to put on a performance tonight. It was so sweet to come back and watch these videos. I hope you enjoy them too.

Petra (26 months) absolutely astounds us everyday with everything she does. By the time I sit down to write about one thing, something else amazing and wonderful has happened. I feel like I couldn't possibly keep anyone up with everything. This morning she came down stairs and declared: "I want juice. (pause) I do not want milk." While we are still working on the pleasantness of her "requests," I was shocked that she so clearly put two sentences together.

Jasper is also surprising us in ways. He is still 15 months old - and he moves like an older child. He can walk on a balance beam now, he can climb up and down ladders ... and he can walk down the steps by himself! Are you kidding me? What 15 month old toddler can walk down steps? He can also crawl into his chair/booster seat and turn around and sit down by himself. If you want to see how this stacks up to what is developmentally appropriate - check this site - its what a child at 2 should be doing.

So, I thought it was time we try to capture a few things on video. Here are our little stars.

And Thomas made butter!

2010-01-28T21:05:00.004-05:00

We were out of butter. Thomas' suggestion - I'll make some. As much as I try to make things from scratch - I never think about making butter.

Tonight he made a special treat - honey/cinnamon butter - it is mouthwatering. I found myself wanting to eat it by the spoonful...I had to restrain myself. Petra also had the same desire. She screamed when we wouldn't give her more.

I honestly sometimes think making butter may be his first real hobby. This isn't the first time he has made it - and its so good every time he does.

I baked bread!

2010-01-28T20:55:00.005-05:00

I've been trying to rid our house of the following harmful foods:

1) white flour
2) white sugar
3) high fructose corn syrup
4) hydrogenated oil

And its not an easy job. One of the hardest things to find at the store is quality bread. So, I checked out the bread at the local co-op, and honestly I still wasn't sure what was in the bread. There were so many ingredients that I didn't recognize, that I was unsure about, and it was $5 a loaf.

So I decided there was no getting around it. It was time to make bread. And it turned out great. My family ate the first loaf in just 3 days ... the good news is I made 4 loaves at once.

The recipe I made was from a blog online called Passionate Homemaking. The lady who writes this blog had complete directions - including how to soak your grains in Kefir overnight for added benefit. Which I did. The recipe is here. The only thing I did different is that I did not use any white flour - only wheat flour - so ours is a lot heavier and denser than the bread you see in her picture. And I also added flax seed and sesame seeds.

So instead of buying bread at the co-op, I bought bulk organic wheat flour, wheat gluten, and honey. It is good, basic wheat bread. The children, especially Jasper, love it. And in total it cost me about $6 to make these 4 loaves.

Tot School

2010-01-23T21:29:00.003-05:00

I feel like my life is made up of small changes. Maybe everyone's is the same way. But I think it is more. I think Thomas and I are are slowing changing some everyday more than the average family ... it will be interesting to see where God takes us.

And the first month of a new year has been no exception.

You may have noticed a small addition to this blog in the last 2 weeks. There is a new logo on the side with an elephant ...

One of my goals for the next year is to have focused learning "school" time for the children. After running across the website - Tot School - I'm a huge fan and I'm incorporating much of that style of teaching children into our daily lives. Tot School is largely about teaching children through play and fun activities. But what is great about this website is that is has a ton of ideas, resources, and links to help you plan out weeks of learning for your child.

I'm also going to pull some from another website - ABC Jesus Love Me - a more defined curriculum that has weekly lesson plans online for free.

In had some pretty reasonable goals set out for Petra. I largely wanted to focus on letter recognition, sound recognition, and number skills. And I've already failed in the sense that I set my expectations for her way too low. I was gradually working on letter sounds with her - just a few letters a week was the plan. However, with the help of Leap Frog's Letter Factory video, and about 8 times sitting in front of it to watch it, she knows every letter sound .... nearly. She was confused about the letter U - but I think I may have been able to teach her this one also. So here she is at 26 months and knows every letter sound...

But not every letter. When I ask her to tell me the name of a letter - she either doesn't know, she knows and tells, or she makes the sound.

Asthma as an Adult?

2010-01-08T16:14:00.002-05:00

The new year came … and brought me a cough, rough lungs, and a tight chest. Two days ago, my cough turned into longer coughing fits (or episodes) which were difficult to stop and had me gasping for breath.

And a mild headache came and lasted two days. At this point, I pretty much decided it was time to see the doctor. Did I mention I am tired also. (but no other problems)

The diagnosis this morning was: temporary asthma. Which is exactly what I starting to think it might be … but goodness who gets asthma for the first time at 33 years old?

I was told there was no reason to believe I would have asthma the rest of my life and this may go away for good … or it might be triggered by something … or well, the bottom line is there is no knowing what the future brings.

So, for the time being I have 2 inhalers and was told to call back if I don’t feel 75% better in two weeks time.

Food, Glorious Food

2010-01-07T12:48:00.002-05:00

One of my priorities this year (and really over the last few months) has been to stay on top of meals for my family. This means not only providing breakfast, lunch and dinner for everyone. But also providing nutritious meals with a variety of foods; providing lunches for us to take to work so we aren’t buying food out, and also managing our household food budget. (Some of my other goals are to get rid of high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oils, white sugar and white flour, and have myself follow a more gluten-free diet).This list has me spinning – so I just keep reminding myself “baby steps.”

This means every morning I have to get up early to: prepare breakfast and lunch, and start on that day’s dinner if needed before I head off to work. Or at least that is the goal. And some days, like today, it doesn’t all get done. It takes a substantial amount of time and I hope to become more efficient at it in the future.

But I’ve been running out of ideas for meals, lunches, etc. So, this week I took out a cookbook by Jacques Pepin. At one point last year, Thomas brought me some of his recipes and said he would be willing to try anything he makes. Stunned, I scanned through the recipes --- onions, mushrooms, eggplant were all common and these are foods he prefers not to eat. Of course, I relished the idea of eating more of these foods that I like and never use anymore. So, I looked closer at them, but really didn’t do too much with them. We made a recipe here or there.
Until this week. I took down from our shelf a book we picked up by him at the used bookstore and LOVE it. Thomas has managed to stock our kitchen with about 5 cookbooks by Pepin and honestly I haven’t gotten around to reading them all. So, I was surprised to find one this week titled The Short-Cut Cook: Make Simple Meals with Surprisingly Little Effort. Everything is simple, easy, quick, and made with things on hand. Almost every page has a recipe I would love to try. And many of these recipes I already had ingredients for.

Yesterday, I dove in full force. I made sure I had the key herbs he uses in stock – swinging by the organic co-op and picking up bulk herbs which are so much less expensive than buying a bottle at the grocery store. And also picking up the 1 ingredient I seemed to need for each of the recipes I wanted to tackle over the next week.

And as a side note, I also picked up an 8lb ham, 4lbs ground beef, 6.5 lbs of ribeyes, 5.5 lbs pork loin chops, and 10 lbs of sausage for just $61. I was very happy to find meat on sale yesterday (not at our organic co-op). In case you are curious, that is just $1.79 per pound on average.

I made a few of the recipes earlier this week. But to my surprise, I made 4 recipes from the book in the last day or so. And it was not difficult because everything is really so simple, and the prep time for many of the recipes is minor. So over about a 25 hour period I made: Ham and Bean Soup, Banana Bread, a Blueberry Tart, and an Egg and Cheese Soufflé.

I absolutely loved the soup – I used left over kidney beans I had cooked a few days ago, with a small chunk of ham I just purchased and loved the overall flavor. Plus, I got to try a new hand blender that I got for Christmas – it was so smooth and mashed the beans up more quickly than imagined possible. And cleaned up fast. The soup was a breeze – I spent maybe 5 minutes or less on prep time, 10 minutes cooking it – and it was done. Easy enough for any rushed dinner after a day of work! Which is what I need.

I would also like to note here the soup was not that appealing in looks – nothing like mashed kidney beans to peak your interest. And the children were very wary about trying it. We snuck a bite to Jasper and that was all he needed to eat his small bowl. And at the end of the meal I bribed Petra into tasting it by letting her sit in my lap (a small price to pay)–she loved it and ate about 2.5 small bowlfuls.

Another great addition to this week was the chicken stock I made on Sunday and have had at my disposal all week. This has made a huge difference in all the flavor of our food, plus we had a meal from the chicken…it takes such a little amount of time and money and the benefit has been so great that I hope to make it every week just for this purpose.

So really, I guess I want to say just how happy I was with all the recipes this week and how exciting it is to have a cookbook with such great and easy recipes. I’m not the only one excited. Thomas helped fill up some of our spice jars this morning and was also pronouncing his excitement over the new flavors.

We love good food, but seriously who doesn’t?

(You can find Jacques Pepin recipes and videos online here)

More Photos from Christmas

2010-01-04T22:10:00.007-05:00

We are very thankful to be home after a 3 week trip to NC. However, coming back home also meant going back to work. It was hard today to leave the children and head back to the office.

So tonight I am reminiscing with a few more photos from our Christmas break.

We rigged up a homemade sled (made from a box) and I pulled Petra around on it for some sledding fun. Also, notice the plastic bags around their feet! Ha! I did not go prepared for snow. And Thomas made snow cream for us all to enjoy. It has been probably 20 years since I last had snow cream.

We spent time with our family.

and Petra tried to take a photo of Aunt Lynn - but had the camera turned backwards. ooops!

And we even got a few moments to spend with close friends.

Let it Snow

2009-12-18T17:54:00.007-05:00

We feel extremely blessed to enjoy some snow this year. Since moving to Florida, I miss it the most. (Well, that and Bojangles.)

Today we are visiting Tom's mom and stepdad in Mocksville, NC. I never thought we would get snow while here. In fact, I checked the weather before I left and the chance of snow was not even mentioned. And yet here we are...expecting 10 inches tonight and more tomorrow.

This is the children's first snow. Petra's face was priceless when she woke up from her nap and saw the ground covered in white. Jasper also looked pleased.

Thomas helped Petra with her first snowball.

They enjoyed their first 3 minutes outside...and then got cold. And started whining, crying and were generally unhappy and cold. It wasn't long before we headed back inside with two cold babies for some hot chocolate.

(they've also been enjoying the pastures of cows)

Jingle Bells

2009-12-13T22:07:00.002-05:00

No, she's not a Mozart, or a Beyonce.
But Petra decided this past week to try and play piano and sing her favorite Christmas Song - Jingle Bells.

She was louder, but then you know, I got out the camera. So she had to act shy about it. And as soon as I put the camera away she got louder again.

I hope it at least makes you smile.

Jesse Tree

2009-12-13T15:08:00.006-05:00

Yes, I disappeared a couple of weeks. So sorry about that.

We have been so busy. And now, I need to head to bed and decided to instead spend just 2 minutes typing a post to let everyone know I am still here.

A few things kept me away from my computer and posting: 1) we had family visit and stay with us for several days over Thanksgiving; 2) I work in the Legislature and we just finished a special session; and 3) I'm spending all my spare time watching movies with my husband. While I've only watched 2 movies in the last month (one of them was 4 hours long) this has basically used up all my spare time that I might ordinarily spend posting.

The Advent Season is here and we are enjoying it tremendously. I was very excited to make a Jesse tree this year for the children. I hope we can continue it each year as a tradition they will really enjoy. It gives us a time to talk about Jesus and his lineage. The children love the Bible stories. And Petra thinks that putting the ornaments on the tree is a real blast. The first day we learned about creation and I made an earth ornament ...a week later she saw a picture of the earth in nursery at church and knew exactly what it was.

And one of the funnier things that she has learned is that Adam and Eve disobeyed God and had to go in time-out permanently. She loves to tell us they were bad and went in time-out. Its so funny to see her bring it up out of the blue.

You can get the pattern online - Go here for the pattern. This came from a blog online and I was so happy to find one made from flannel. I basically made a wall quilt and all the ornaments are made with flannel on the back as well so they stick to it. So ours is quilted and binded like an actually quilt. I absolutely love it and look forward to the day the children are old enough to make some of the ornaments.

Birthday Party

2009-11-24T20:47:00.005-05:00

It's hard to get my mind wrapped around the idea that Petra is two years old. I have a whole new exciting year for her that is starting to be planned. And I was very excited to have found a great website with wonderful resources for teaching toddlers. You will be seeing more of this to come, but for now if you have a toddler in your life be sure to check out 1+1+1=1. This mother of three has posted some fantastic FREE resources for other moms to use in their own home. I have spent hours today reading her website and I have only begun to scrape the surface of what she has available.

Petra's party on Saturday gave us an opportunity to get out with some friends at the park. Leigh Ann and Kacy came (and took photos and helped with the children). Petra got half dozen fresh eggs in a nice pale green color from . And she even had a playmate show up for a little while.

Here are some photos.

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AArgHHH! I'm 2 today!

2009-11-18T20:35:00.005-05:00

(A post from Petra's perspective)

Things just can't get better around here. Mom, daddy and our nanny Jenny keep Jasper and I busier than bees learning and doing new things. Today, I couldn't believe how excited mom and dad were to tell me Happy Birthday. The kept correcting me and telling me that I am two years old now. But all I wanted was cake. Birthdays = cake. And I couldn't find one.

I couldn't sleep in this morning because I knew it was going to be a great morning. Leigh Ann and Kacy came and had breakfast with ME! I got some really nice presents and cards. Granddady (and a nameless person)sent me a card that had a picture of FIRE on the inside. How cool is that?

Dad and mom got me a little red riding hood doll. Can you tell I was surprised? (you might have to click on the photo to get a closer look at my face)

And thank goodness I got some new pajamas. Did you see how small the ones I have on are? Look at that top photo again and you can tell I needed some pjs. Now I will look civilized again.

And this new book is a good read and provides lots of opportunity for counting. I can't stand worms, but caterpillars aren't really worms and these are pretty and colorful.

I got some really neat presents. Grandma Joyner sent me some clothes, shoes, and book that mommy loved when she was a little girl about a squirrel names Ms. Suzy. And my new playdough craft set was great! I played with it all day, and even shared with Jasper - although he can't play with the playdough because he will eat it! YUCK! I also receive a BIG puzzle that has my abc's on it! it is really big, and there are pictures under each letter. Mommy was very happy with it and said now I could learn all my letters.

Jasper also got a new shirt. That was cool. He liked it.

Mom and dad said it should be an exciting year because I am already doing so much. They seemed to be very happy that sometimes I can string together words and have a normal conversation. I mean really, its not that hard. I really enjoy singing to myself and making up little songs. For instance, the other day after my bath I made up this song:

"Mama, Mama wash your hair; I don't want to wash your hair" and I gave it a nice beat. I hate having my hair washed. You would think mom purposely tries to pull all my hair out.

Or sometimes I just add a touch of creativity to an everyday song. Mom and dad love my rhythmic version of twinkle twinkle little star.

Jasper isn't singing with me yet. Sometimes he screams really loud though. It hurts my ears. But I love him anyway. He gave me a huge birthday hug this morning. And I really don't mind sharing my new toys. That is just how things go around here.

Tonight daddy took us all to chik-fil-a so that I could play on the playground. Jasper and I played a few minutes, but all the big boys and girls kept running around screaming like mad men and I couldn't figure why they would do that. It didn't make any sense at all. I mean, seriously, what were they thinking?

And then after an evening of books and bath, mom put us to bed. Except I had to sneak down to the study to type this post. I better go before she finds me. =)

Kisses and hugs to everyone,
Love, Petra

Point of Light

2009-11-12T22:01:00.004-05:00

(photo at 2009 Heart Gallery exhibit and reception receiving Point of Light award from Jim Kallinger, Florida's chief child advocate.)

Today, I was honored and very, very, very surprised to be recognized as a Point of Light by Governor Crist.

Here is the text from the press release

GOVERNOR CRIST NAMES SHERRI CROOM OF TALLAHASSEE AS GOVERNOR’S POINT OF LIGHT FOR ADOPTION AWARENESS MONTH

November 12, 2009

Contact:

GOVERNOR'S PRESS OFFICE
(850) 488-5394

TALLAHASSEE- Governor Charlie Crist today recognized Sherri Croom of Tallahassee as this week’s Governor’s Point of Light for Adoption Awareness Month.

“Sherri recognizes the importance of Heart Galleries in the adoption process and her activism benefits so many foster children in North Florida who have dreamed of being a part of loving, stable families,” said Governor Crist. “The opening of a North Florida Heart Gallery has ensured that potential adoptive families are aware of the wonderful children available for adoption, while continuing to promote adoption as a way for families to grow.”

In late 2008, Sherri created and founded the Heart Gallery North Florida, the largest gallery in the state that includes 12 counties. She established a board, implemented organizational rules and regulations, and also inspired and mobilized her community to get involved in this cause. Sherri has recruited fellow adoptive parents, adoption case workers and other influential members of the community to come together to help place foster children with their forever families. Among her many important recruits are local talented volunteer photographers who take photos of the children, print and mount them for display at the gallery. Sherri is also a licensed foster parent and is the adoptive mother of two special-needs children.

AAA Auto Club South is the supporting sponsor of the Governor’s Points of Light Award. This program recognizes Florida residents who demonstrate exemplary service to the community. Award recipients are announced weekly. A panel of judges comprised of leaders in the areas of volunteerism and service evaluate all nominations and make recommendations to the Governor. Occasionally, the award is presented to outstanding organizations. The Volunteer Florida Foundation manages the program. For more information, or to submit a nomination, go to www.VolunteerFloridaFoundation.org.

The Swing

2009-11-10T20:38:00.006-05:00

I'm very happy to be able to say that the swing is finally up, and Petra couldn't be more thrilled. The photos are from their first swing on it - Thomas finished hanging the swings after dark on Sunday. She spent over an hour and half on it yesterday... and this poem usually accompanies her swinging. She loves it and can recite some of it by herself.

The Swing

by Robert Louis Stevenson

How do you like to go up in a swing,
Up in the air so blue?
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing
Ever a child can do!

Up in the air and over the wall,
Till I can see so wide,
Rivers and trees and cattle and all
Over the countryside--

Till I look down on the garden green,
Down on the roof so brown--
Up in the air I go flying again,
Up in the air and down!

Work in the yard

2009-11-06T20:29:00.007-05:00

Thomas has been busy too. He picked up an extra 2 classes this week for a professor that is out with back issues. We are so thankful for the opportunity for him to make some extra money - especially this close to the holiday season. But now he is super busy once again.

Before he received a phone call requesting him to start teaching 2 more classes, he started on a few projects in the yard. And it is all coming along nicely. We now have a fire pit and a rack of firewood. And we also have a nearly completed swing set for the children!

He finished the pit on Monday and we sat outside that night and enjoyed the weather and conversation with each other. We haven't had the chance to go back out this week because Jasper and I have been sick.

Thomas also dug some enormous holes in the ground for the swing set. They were about 2 feet deep and 3 feet across when I took the children outside to play. Both of them wanted to stand and sit down in the holes - they got absolutely filthy.

And to add to all this, I managed to get a fall garden planted about 2 weeks ago - in total about 80 plants including lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, Swiss chard, kale, etc. I'm hoping to add some onions and carrots soon. Its all such a new experience for me because I've never grown any of these things - so I'm not sure what to expect.

And I'm probably going to dig up some more of the sweet potatoes soon. I dug up some about a couple weeks ago - but they were mostly too small, with just a few large ones here and there.

This is me peeling the small sweet potatoes at 5am in the morning. I wasn't expecting Thomas to take a photo of me.

I will have some more photos soon of everything in the yard.

And one more photo - about 3 weeks old of the children playing outside. This tricycle along with some puzzles and 2 more pottys were given to us by a very generous friend of a friend. (for anyone wondering, this tricycle does not work well at all - it is very hard to turn the handlebars - my neighbors complain of the same thing with theirs.)

Frugal Grocery Shopping

2009-11-04T21:24:00.008-05:00

With my new book in hand, Family Feasts (yes, this is the one I won), I'm beginning to take a better look at how I can save more on food each month.

I've done a decent job at cutting our grocery bill down dramatically each month. But I think I can probably do a little more.

There are 2 big areas I feel like I can work on and have marked improvement: meal planning, and price comparison.

So, I will be working on both over the next few weeks. And I will be developing a price comparison chart.

But I had two decent grocery shopping trips this week I wanted to share. I could have saved more if I had been willing to give up the organic milk - but I'm just not. And I'm also a diaper snob and can't seem to give up the name brand diapers. The cheaper ones feels so hard and look so uncomfortable.

So here is trip #1 - to Publix this past Sunday - total cost $51. (total saved about $55)

Above you will see in the photo:
4 boxes couscous
2 bags salad
2.5 lbs bananas
3lbs apples
1 large sweet onion
2 loaves Arnold whole wheat bread
1 large box Arm and Hammer baking soda
1 dozen eggs
2 packages of whole wheat pasta
2 cartons Bryers ice cream
Lemi shine - dishwasher cleaner
1 bag of dry beans
4 boxes of wild rice - uncle bens
1 pint half and half
1 block of cheese - 2lbs
tylenol infant medicine
4 eight oz cartons of sour cream
1 gallon organic milk
2 boxes family size Luzinanne tea - decaf
4 deodarants

And here is trip #2 this week - I went to both Harveys and Publix - totaled $37

In this photo you can see:
1 jumbo pack of diapers
12 double rolls of toilet tissue
3 bars of Castille soap
1 sweet onion
2.5 lbs of banans
1 zuchinni
1 bag of black beans
1 head of cabbage
6 lbs of tangerines
3 lbs of apples
2.5 lbs seedless grapes
1 large container of ricotta cheese
2 bottles of apple juice
4 dozen eggs
1 gallon organic milk
5lbs of flour
2 boxes of ziploc bags

So what messed me up from saving more? milk, dishwasher cleaning stuff, tylenol infant med, diapers, Castille soap - these are either all expensive or coupons are not available.

But I was pretty happy with the deals I got this week, including:

17 cents for a box of pasta
I made 12 cents on the sour cream - so free plus money
$1.49 for a 3lb bag of apples
$3 for 4 dozen eggs
6lbs of tangerines and 2.5lbs of grapes for $3.50
40 cents for deodorant

(One deal that I found last month was Bryers ice cream - I bought 4 cartons for $5.99 - for that price I decided I needed more and went and bought another 4.)

Tonight paid 50 cents for a box of couscous - and this is where I am wondering could I have paid less if I bought it in bulk? Not sure, but something to figure out.

You will notice here that I did not buy any meat. There were not any sales on meat and we have some in the freezer. I try my best to only buy meat when its on a great sale. Around here I can get:

99 cents lb for chicken breast with bone
$1.99 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
$3.99 lb ribeyes with bone
79 cents lb whole chicken
49 cent lb chicken quarters
$1 sausage rolls
And $2.50 for pack of Oscar Meyer Bacon
I have no idea on prices of pork b/c we don't really ever eat it

Trick or Treat - 2009

2009-10-31T20:26:00.011-05:00

Wow, I'm really surprised how much fun today was and how much our children both enjoyed it.

Earlier this week, I was feeling bad about not having anything at all planned for the children for Halloween. I had no costumes purchased. No events planned. Nothing.
I can sort of reason this the same as I reasoned doing nothing for Easter - they are too little to really do much.

But, oh, I was wrong.

And thankfully, Grandma and Papa G sent some cash earlier this week. So the children had costumes after all. And also new, reusable, adorable, fabric monster pumpkin baskets. We went out and bought Jasper a duck costume. It works perfectly because he loves to "quack." (he can actually do three animal sounds now - a duck was the first, but he also knows monkey and elephant)

And I also picked up the supplies to make Petra's bluebird mask - which by the way was super easy. So easy that Petra actually helped make a large part of it. And I added the mask to her costume from last year - it has a whole new look to it.

We tried Jasper's costume on him yesterday and he strutted around like hot stuff. He was quite pleased with his new look. And I was surprised he liked it so much.

Petra absolutely refused to wear her new mask. So I thought, maybe she would wear it on her head more like a hat. She broke down crying every time I tried to put it on her. And I kept trying to make it seem cool. Surprisingly (yes, I was surprised once again) Jasper really liked it and wore it around for about 15 minutes this afternoon, and that was all it took. Petra was more than willing to wear it the rest of the evening! yeah.

Then, while it was still daylight we carved up the pumpkin. Thomas did his best on it while the two children kept climbing on his back and making a mess of it. But they helped as well. Thomas had them pulling the seeds out and dumping them in a bowl.

I love the tail on this duck costume.

Time just flew. The next thing I knew it was dark and time to trick or treat. So I headed out with the children while Thomas stood guard at the house to pass out candy.

Not at all sure about what we were about to do, Petra was still eager and ran to the first house in a gallop. She happily said "trick or treat," please and thank you at each house. And by the time we got to our 5th house (and last) she said everything on her own without my prodding and was not ready to quit. Jasper was not so sure about all of it and really just wanted to be carried around.

The night was fun, and Petra loved her candy...a little too much. She kept digging more out to eat, and I kept having to tell her no more. And she didn't want to stop long enough to go potty, so I had to make her when I saw her "dancing" in the driveway.

You can tell she got a little disappointed when I told her she couldn't have any more candy tonight. how sad.

And I felt like I would be amiss if I didn't mention how absolutely wonderful the children have been this week. With the exception of a 2 hour meltdown on Petra's part one night (which is mostly my fault for being away all day) the children were very obedient, and loving this week. Jasper is beginning to follow basic instructions. And every day I am just amazed at how much Petra knows and can do. She's learning to put the silverware at each place at the table, she can pick up more and knows where many things belong, she can feed the dogs, and she can follow some pretty detailed instructions.

Yes, I've been sewing lately

2009-10-31T20:20:00.004-05:00

We have three new baby girls between our friends and family lately. Which means I've been sewing baby blankets and burp cloths.

Also, the really cool part is now that I have an embroidary machine I can also add names and monograms. The only problem is my machine only came with trail software for monogramming - which means I have just one font in one size. Not many choices there. But see the top photo. I added "Eve" to the blanket for my new great niece Evelyn Rose. This quilt also has a ribbon attached so it can be hooked to a stroller if need be. (obviously the date on the photo is wrong and bothersome. Thomas somehow added the date to all our photos and neither one of us can figure out how to get it back off. and its ruining all my photos ...arggh)

Fall Festival 2009

2009-10-28T19:06:00.005-05:00

One of my absolutely favorite annual events is our church's fall festival. Hosted by a family in our church in Thomasville, GA, we get to spend the afternoon on their family farm talking with friends, petting the donkeys, and the children get the opportunity to bounce on the inflatable play gyms.

This was the first year the children were interested in these activities. And while they didn't jump all day, they did have a lot of fun just wandering around.

After keeping them both close to us during the camping trip, we didn't feel too bad about letting them wander some around our church family. The biggest problem was keeping Jasper away from the grill and away from the basketball goal. They generally didn't get in any trouble, or cause any disturbances, they just simply wanted to look around.

Children Available for Adoption

2009-10-27T13:16:00.004-05:00

What is rapidly expanding into more and more hours each week, is my involvement with Heart Gallery North Florida. We are focusing right now on a event scheduled for Nov. 13th. The date is fast approaching and there is still a lot of work.

The event will honor adoptive families in our community, but also provide a venue to set out the Heart Gallery exhibit. All of the children featured in the Heart Gallery are children from our community looking for a home and family. We are raffling a small LCD TV to help raise funds to add more children to the gallery.

Our partnerships with our local photographers, printers, and children's agencies all make this work with very limited resources.

In fact, just last week 4 more children were photographed by Long's Photography here in Tallahassee. Check it out here.

I won!

2009-10-27T13:15:00.002-05:00

I won the cookbook giveaway I posted a few days about for Family Feasts! I'm absolutely thrilled and can't wait to crack it open.

Jellystone Park

2009-10-25T20:06:00.011-05:00

Taking what I would consider a risk, we ventured out on a camping trip as a family. The last camping trip Thomas and I took was to hike part of the Appalachian Trail in 2007. This was before children and was hard and hot. I learned my lesson and this wasn't anything similar. I certainly didn't think that would work with two young children. Instead, we spent a weekend at Jellystone Campgrounds in Madison, Florida (about 45 minutes away) and spent the nights in a cabin (with beds!).

All weekend we couldn't decide if this was something we would want to do again soon. It had its perks and the not so perks. It was a ton of work - I had to pack everything in the house. It is going to be a lot of unpacking and cleaning which I have to look forward to tomorrow. It was nearly impossible to keep up with two children at all times - there was definitely no rest for us including at night when they slept with us. It was impossible to keep Jasper out of the lake. We had no running water or bathrooms in the cabin. It was impossible to keep Jasper clean. It was expensive - $65 a night for a tiny cabin with no bathroom.

But we roasted marshmallows for the first time with the children. And we fished for the first time with the children - and Thomas even caught two small fish. And we were able to sit around a campfire and spend time with each other. And we got to snuggle up with our children every night. And there was a playground for the children that had swings. Or as Petra said "swing! fun! swing! fun! ..." And there was trick-and-treating (which I didn't do - the children are still too young, but they helped pass out candy). And there was a cornbox (instead of a sandbox) which Petra thought was great. And we went on a train ride with Yogi Bear. And there were fireworks.

It was a great, crazy, busy, expensive and fun camping trip. Look for a Jellystone Park near you.

I promise this is a different fish - the second he caught before breakfast.

t

And this afternoon, we also went to our church's fall festival ... so more photos to come. We are all exhausted.

Pumpkin Festival 2009

2009-10-25T20:03:00.004-05:00

Real quick. Here's a photo from the Pumpkin Festival in Havana, Fl. Every single photo has a haze on top of it - there must have been something on the lens.
So this is the best pic from the trip.

The ride seemed way to expensive - $1 a ticket, with even the 8x8 petting area being several tickets per child. So all we did was walk and eat a ton of ribs.

Favorite Blogs

2009-10-22T19:00:00.004-05:00

If you look closely, you will notice I added some favorite blog sites - look to the right of this post.

One of my new favorite blogs is Owl Haven - she's a mother extraordinaire of 10 children, including several who are adopted, a Christian, and an author.

She has a new book titled Family Feasts for $75 a week. Who wouldn't want to spend $75 a week for groceries? For a family of 4 that is great! But what really impressed me was that she did it the month of September for a family of 12!

Her blog is a perfect match for my interests covering: family, adoption, cooking, frugality, and faith. And to only improve things, I skipped over to her husband's blog and found interesting details on gardening and chickens. I can't wait to get some chickens of our own.

To top it off she is having a giveaway of her new book - Family Feasts for $75 a week - and I'm hoping to win. Would love to have it.

(for anyone who is interested she is also having a Cheer detergent giveaway, but since this is a detergent free house I'll let everyone else try for that one)

Gap Casting Call 2009

2009-10-17T19:55:00.008-05:00

We've been told for over a year now that we need to enter Petra into the next Gap contest. And again, at the prodding of someone else we went ahead and put her in the contest. This is why we have drug our friend Leigh outside twice in the last week for photos...her camera is SO much better than mine.

To view Petra's photos, and the other zillion adorable children entered - click here.
And then search entries for "sajoyner1"

The pictures are judged on the following criteria: 34% appearance of child, 33% personality of child shown in photo, and 33% quality of photo.

After the search you should see 3 pictures of her, and one of Jasper as well. It didn't quite seem fair to enter her and not him. (all the pictures entered in the contest are posted here)

Another Wonderful Saturday

2009-10-17T19:19:00.009-05:00

I'm not even too sure where to start. I'm trying out opening sentences in my head, and they all sound way to sappy to type.

I love spending the day with my family. And even better is when we have a day planned with others.

It was a cold 46 degrees this morning when we headed out to our regular $2.55 Saturday morning breakfast. This was already a great start because 1) it has finally cooled down, and 2) because we have missed several Sat. morning breakfasts in the last month due to Thomas' tests.

After breakfast, we had gymnastics, a pumpkin festival in Havana, and Kacy's football game to attend (to see her cheer and to pick up some photos of the children). And it stayed cold - in the high 50s most of the day with the wind blowing 10-15 mph.

And I want to mention that Petra is performing beyond my expectations with the potty training. We just started this week. On Tuesday night I bought a large pack of panties, and she started wearing only big girl panties on Wednesday (except when she is sleeping). Wednesday morning she had 2 accidents. But that was really the last of it. Over the last three days she has only had 1 accident and she told me, just not soon enough. And that includes wearing panties everywhere we have been (which took a big leap of faith on my part-I was especially worried about causing a big puddle on the mats in gymnastics). So she has been out to eat, the park, the football game, SAMS, the pumpkin festival, gymnastics, etc. all wearing panties with no problems.

Last night, we went back out to take some photos of the children. Well, our dear friend Leigh Ann took the photos. So there are lots here for your enjoyment. More information on the photos to come.

Have a mentioned that Petra loves to be a wheelbarrow . Here she is having a blast (with big girl panties =). And Jasper loves to demonstrate "arms up." And also below is a picture of "Leigh Leigh" with Petra - they are watching Kacy cheer which is always loads of fun.

Blessings from above

2009-10-15T13:11:00.003-05:00

The past few weeks have been so busy, stressful in some ways, and very rewarding in other ways.

Yesterday, was a perfect example.

The day started off nerve wrecking. Thomas had his oral defense for his prelim exams. His final test was scheduled for 10:30. So he spent most of the night reviewing everything. And Jasper woke up with what appeared to be a severe injury--he wouldn't open his eyes. His right eye was swollen and red. It scared us pretty bad to see him try to play with a toy with his eyes closed ... using his sense of touch to discern rather than his sight.

Within about 30 minutes from the time we woke up. I was heading to the hospital with a little boy who still wouldn't open his eyes. And Thomas was heading to his test.

Things got better quickly.

Within a few minutes of leaving, Jasper started to look around. And by the time we saw the doctor, he was walking the hallways of the hospital trying to escape from me.

Before Thomas went in for his test I was able to relay that it was only a scratched cornea and everything would be better in a day or two.

And Thomas once again excelled in his school work - yesterday he officially passed all his preliminary tests. He is now ABD and ready to move forward.

We celebrated last night. Good news all around and blessings from above.
We are so thankful everything work out so well.

A day in Jacksonville, FL

2009-10-10T22:12:00.006-05:00

We had a great time today ... at the zoo and with friends. It was crazy hot outside for October, but we all still had a great time at the zoo. The children both enjoyed seeing all the animals. Petra particularly liked the Bonobo monkeys and the giraffes.

After the zoo we headed to spend some time with friends. It was a very relaxing afternoon hanging out with old friends.

Thomas and I started talking on the way home, and once we started to talk about it, we were really shocked at how well the children did all day. They missed their naps and they were absolutely fantastic. It was really enjoyable and pleasant day. There was absolutely no fussing or crying for the 6 hours we were in the car. They never fought, pulled or pushed anyone. There was barely any screaming or crying. And to top it off Petra asked to go potty 3 times. It was a fantastic family day trip.

Jasper's dream came true...a mound of dirt larger than him.

Jasper's Birthday - Take Two

2009-10-06T21:44:00.006-05:00

Since last night was such a failure, and Jasper never had cake or the chance to open his presents, tonight became our second attempt at a suitable birthday party.

And as you can tell from the photos, we were much more successful.

He enjoyed the presents more than I expected. And Petra was more than willing to help open them. (This year Christmas is going to be so much fun!!!)

And the cupcake was a hit! He was terribly disappointed when it was all gone. (Do you think he's going to be upset when he is older and realizes I had a pink bib on him?)

Jasper is 1 Year Old! - Take One

2009-10-06T21:30:00.001-05:00

After a full 9 hours at work, I decided the easiest way to throw a small party for Jasper's birthday was to head to Chuck E Cheese for a evening of fun and games.

Petra had a great time. Jasper not so much.

The evening would be suitably titled Operation Failure.

Have I ever mentioned Jasper often acts stubborn, or as Thomas so eloquently put it tonight "bullheaded."

He decided while we were there that he really wanted a bottle and we didn't have one with us. I tried to distract him with games, the slide, food, his drink, and even with a cupcake to no avail. After about 20 minutes of his screaming we left. He screamed the entire ride home and kicked his legs.

Gymnastics

2009-10-03T19:48:00.004-05:00

Petra started gymnastics one month ago. We now go every Saturday morning at 11 am and we really look forward to it.

It's a mommy and me class so I get to go as well. I would have added photos earlier, but because Thomas was testing, he wasn't able to come take photos of us in class. (In fact, for the last two weeks I had Jasper strapped to my back during the class.)

I was slightly worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up, but alas, my only job is really to encourage Petra and keep her behavior in check. And I was right, I don't seem to be keeping up. In fact, keeping her behavior in check is quite a challenge. She likes to be the teacher's pet. What this means is she wants the teachers attention, rather than mine. So, what happens is all the other little children are happily following their mothers while my child insists on getting as close to the coach as possible and not following my directions at all.

In general, she has her good moments in class, and her not so good. But so do all the children. We will be working on her behavior over the next few weeks.

Her skills are great. She is doing fantastic. Each week Petra is quite happy when I tell her it is time for gymnastics and she loves her new leotard.

It has been outstanding for her, and each week we see improvements in what she is able to do in class. And also, at the park she has become more adventuresome (see the post below), climbing up ladders and other things.

The class has a range of children, usually from about 18 months to 2.5 years. I really like the class. It starts in a toddler area where everything is a perfect size for toddlers. Then, we go into the larger area and run and stretch on the floor mats. Then its off to the big balance beams, trampolines, ropes, bars and rings. I love that part of every class is in the big gym. Petra loves watching the older children practice.

This week she improved quite dramatically on the bar; I wasn't expecting it. Four weeks ago she was the only child in her class that could hold onto the bar and bring their feet up a substantial amount. (now, granted, her class has only about 8 children) But this week, she brought her toes all the way up to the bar and kept them their by herself--so that both her hands and toes were on the bar at the same time. I was so proud.

Today, while walking across the balance beams Petra had watched a girl flip and jump on the trampoline. The result was a very jumpy little girl in the balance beam.

And Jasper really likes to watch and I think he wants to participate. They allow children at 12 months to participate. But he is not ready. There is no way he is balanced enough to start yet.

at the park

2009-10-03T19:45:00.001-05:00

...and leaving the park...

Backyard Football

2009-09-30T22:07:00.001-05:00

Testing ...

2009-09-29T10:20:00.002-05:00

Ok, just a real short brag on my husband.

We found out this morning Thomas passed the first section of his prelims unanimously!!!

For those of you who have spoken with me over the last week you know that we had quite a surprise about 10 days ago when Thomas got a call from school telling him to come pick up his prelim test. He was expecting it in January.

Last weekend he was tested on American Government. He was asked to respond to 4 questions over a weekend and basically provide as much information as he could on the theories and research associated with those questions. I spent the entire weekend watching the children solo, while he typed away. By Monday morning, he had about 45 pages to turn in.

This weekend was a repeat, except the topic was Public Policy and he was given 3 questions rather than 4. And he was also limited to no more than 10 pages on each question.

If he passes both sections of his prelims he will be able to move on to his dissertation stage. If he fails, he must take the test again. If someone fails twice they are booted from the program.
To pass the test, he must receive 4 passes from a total of 6 reviewers.

So the news we received this morning was that all 6 reviewers passed him unanimously on the American Government test, and we are just thrilled …and hoping for similar results on the second test next week.

Jasper's Growing Up

2009-09-25T19:57:00.003-05:00

Soon to be a toddler, Jasper is surprising us all the time.

Yesterday, I casually noticed Petra trotting around me in the kitchen with her toothbrush. I don't like for her to carry her toothbrush around because it always ends up on the floor. But I was preparing dinner and since she was happily entertaining herself I decided not to worry about it.

Jasper must have thought this was a grand idea as well because a few minutes later I saw him coming down the steps carrying his toothbrush. I went over and asked him, what have you got, and he took it excitingly out of his mouth and held it up for me to see. Now, you may be thinking that was quite smart of him to respond to me in that way. But what was even more amazing is that he knew where to find his toothbrush, that he went upstairs to the bathroom to get it, that he stood up on the stool and that he picked up his toothbrush off the sink, and managed to get back down to the living room with it. Now that was what surprised me ... and you could just tell he was happy with himself.

Another quite funny quirk about Jasper is the way he holds a bottle. This is his official bottle pose. The right hand holds the end of the bottle, the left hand goes to the head. I laughed so hard yesterday morning watching our wonderful nanny strike the pose ... right before he did. It was so cute. I tried to get her in the picture as well, but she wouldn't allow it.

Jasper has finally started talking some more. For the past three days he has called me ma-ma-ma. At dinner, he was leaning over saying mamamama, and I asked him what he wanted and he said bababa. So, I would say this is a definite improvement from where he was even last week.

And he's off! No longer toddling around like Frankenstein or a zombie. Our little boy is on the move and he's quick. We went to the lake this afternoon and he is so difficult to keep up with. It reminded me of my friend Jenn's little boy. Jasper was all over the place, he wanted to crawl over the rocks and barriers - even if there was a 3 ft drop on the other side - and he was determined that he was going to wade out in the water. And he completely ignores the words "stop, come back or turn around." It was exhausting to keep up with him. Petra on the other hand wouldn't go within 10 feet of the water, she stayed close by the entire time - I tried to get her to get closer to the water for a photo -- she SCREAMED like a mad woman.

And I added this picture below to show you a photo of Petra impersonating an airplane.

And here are some pics of Petra from today.

Panic and adoption

2009-09-25T19:43:00.002-05:00

Last year I asked for a book about adopting older children so that: 1) I could read and decide if this was really something I wanted to do later in my life, and 2) so that I could speak with more understanding when I am out promoting the Heart Gallery. (see Heart Gallery North Florida)

Recently, when talking with a new foster mom I heard the excitement and panic in her voice as she explained that she just got a phone call to take two siblings! Yes, I completely understood. That was the same rush of worry, excitement, anxiety I got when I received the phone call for Petra. The unknown in these situations is many times overwhelming; luckily they don't last long. With both our children the moment we got them home it was wonderful. But we fostered babies. Would it be just as wonderful with an older child?

So, when I came across this paragraph in this book I just had to laugh.

"Whether you adopt domestically or internationally, one feeling that is almost universal--and completely normal---is panic. Even parents who are generally unflappable or who have adopted before report a sudden rush of panic when they meet their child. I remember calling our social worker right before we traveled in a state of blind panic, wondering what on earth was wrong with me. She chuckled and said, 'You're going halfway around the world to see a nine-year-old child you've never met, to bring him home to be your son. Why on earth would you be scared?' To which I replied, 'Oh well, since you put it that way.'" --- Our Own: Adopting and Parenting the Older Child

And to think, I only had to go 5 miles down the street!

My little helpers

2009-09-22T21:05:00.008-05:00

It's been a crazy week. Busy beyond belief. Tons to do. Thomas is taking his prelims. I'm typing on a brand new, wonderful computer because our old one decided to stop working (everything is literally a click away now, instead of a click plus 20 minutes). I'm speaking on Thursday at a community meeting on adoption. Our children need constant attention ... but all is good.

As a parent, my job is to train and instruct our children. To teach them. So of course, whenever they do anything new, I'm ecstatic. I've done more than hint on this blog before that I am looking forward to the day my children are older and can do more ... I'm looking forward to having little helpers ... but even the little things they do now are fascinating and wonderful.

This week we seem extra blessed with new things.

Jasper started bringing his hands together to pray before a meal. He also started clapping, and stomping to "if your happy and you know it." And he has started to attempt to use silverware...sometimes.

Petra started gymnastics two weeks ago. It was amazing to watch her change after just one class; and now that she has had two she seems to love it even more. Suddenly everything is viewed a little differently. She pretends the bottom of the hobby horse rocker is a balance beam, anything she can swing on is now a high bar, etc. It is so adorable to watch her squeal with enthusiasm when she swings on the rings or bars in class. And she is super strong and doing great.

We also started teaching her a little french about a month ago. And she has started to say a few of the words now independently.

Humorously, she also keeps trying to put her brother in time out. If he starts crying for no good reason, she will point at him and say "No, sir. Time out!" It's so funny and we joke that she says "yes, mam" and "no sir," but can't seem to interchange the terms.

The past week or two has also been busy with lots of activities.

Petra made some nice bracelets by stringing beads on a pipe cleaner. I was really surprised at how well she was able to do this.

We all enjoyed some watermelon.

And the children also love eating okra from our garden. Jasper loves it raw and screams if I take it away. I finally took a bite myself and decided it tastes the same raw as it does cooked. (once again I got to the garden too late and these are too large and tough)

And we also had a few play dates at the house that were a ton of fun. Its very seldom we see Petra as happy as she is below playing with our friend's son. (Notice Petra's new shirt I made)

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day!

2009-09-18T20:05:00.003-05:00

Saturday is talk like a pirate day - and it wouldn't be quite be right if I let Talk Like a Pirate Day pass without posting Petra impersonating a pirate.

E-tegrity and Infertility

2009-09-14T21:48:00.005-05:00

It's so seldom now that I write a post related to infertility. And though I have two wonderful children and I am happier beyond measure ... it doesn't change the fact that my body has a horrible disease. A disease that continues to grow in my body, and a disease that appears to be preventing me from having children.

For four months I have had a box with a testing kit in it. I was suppose to take this box to the doctor's office specifically to test if I am missing a uterine protein, a glue-like substance that helps an embryo stick around. After four months it has made its way from the bathroom closet to my car. And there it still sits. Am I stalling?

You may wonder how I have had one fresh IVF cycle, one frozen transfer and not been tested for this. To say it is a controversial test in an understatement. From what I can tell most doctor's don't think it is worth the time or effort. Of course, from what I can tell, most doctors think that fertility treatments should be treated as a statistical game - if you try enough, its bound to work at some point. Call me crazy, but I really would rather find out the reason and treat it, than blindly take chances and continue to roll the dice.

Anyway, the point being is that this test is 1) controversial, 2) expensive, and 3) may lead to zero useful information. In general terms, this test is a uterine biopsy - for detailed description of the test visit this website.

I have been stalling, no doubt. If I decide to do this, it will easily cost $700 out of pocket. But I continually go back to the same two pieces of information: 1) the number one fertility clinic uses this test, and 2) if the test detects a problem the treatment is easy and only 3 months long!

So once again I am telling myself, get the darn test to the doctor and get on with it. How bad could it be?

Jasper is 11 months

2009-09-11T07:43:00.004-05:00

Jasper turned 11 months last weekend and I wanted to post on his developmental progress.

Checklists on developmental skills are important to those who regularly check on foster children. When each of our foster children have been placed in our homes, it never fails that I receive a phone call and visit to evaluate the child and his development. To the extent that we had a visit for a newborn ... as if the child could do anything. As such, we started keeping tabs early on with each child. I like that these lists give me some indication as to what the child should be able to do; and if there is an area where the child is not developing, I try to work on or encourage that development at home with some focused attention.

I found a developmental checklist online. And here are some of the things that babies can usually do at a specified age.

9 months: Says Mama and Dada; Responds to name; Can stand for a short time; Able to hit two objects together on their own; Copies sounds

10 months: Able to pull self up at the side of crib or playpen; Can drink from a cup when it is held

11 months: Can walk holding onto furniture; Can find an object placed under another object

12 months: Waves bye-bye; Can walk with one hand held; Says two words besides Ma-ma and Da-da; Enjoys some solid foods; Finger feeds self; Likes to have an audience

15 months: Walks by self, stops creeping; Shows desires by pointing and gesturing; Scribbles on paper after shown; Begins using a spoon; Cooperates with dressing

18 months: Can build a tower with 3 blocks; Likes to climb and take things apart; Can say 6 words; Tries to put on shoes; Drinks from cup held in both hands; Likes to help a parent

I included these months - because they span all of Jasper's most recent behaviors or lack thereof. So, he can do some of the things listed for a 18 month old child - but can't do some of the things listed for a 9 month old child.

He is very active and physical. His motor skills are well developed. By 11 months old he could walk on his own - well enough that he can walk outside in grass or wood chips at the park without falling too much. He can also squat and pick up a toy, stand back up, and not touch the ground. However, he can't stand up on his own yet - he instead needs something to pull up on.

Other motor skills - he can wave, hit two objects together, can drink by himself from a cup, likes to take the potty apart, can climb up steps and low furniture, can climb safely down steps on his own (for more than a month - very suprisingly), and he has been eating finger foods for months.

So while he excelling at motor skills, he is on par on verbal skills - and behind in the fact that he doesn't really say mama or dada. He can babble, he can say baba, and bye bye, but he doesn't really say mama or dada - very, very seldom. He does sign "all done" on a regular basis and loves that he can communicate in this way.

And he isn't pointing yet or scribbling - but according to this checklist it isn't time yet for these things.

I tried and tried over and over again to get him to scribble - he completely refuses and screams. He gets so mad at me because he wants to eat the crayons - its nice to see he really has 4 more months before he should be expected to do this.

At the moment, I know I need to work more with his verbal skills than anything else. So what does this mean exactly? This means that Thomas and I will be pointing and labeling everything for him, narrating everything we do, and generally explaining the environment around us.

Labor Day 2009

2009-09-08T21:17:00.004-05:00

A quick update on our long weekend ... with lots of photos!

Last week, Jasper decided it was time to really start walking. He is doing fantastic and has really improved over the last week. He walks all over the place ... fast. He is one busy boy - weighing a whopping 22lbs.

Our friend's little boy celebrated his 4th birthday this weekend. And we went to the park to help celebrate. Our children love the park and honestly I wish I could take them everyday. I enjoyed this more though since so many of our friends were there as well.

And this photo below brings up another point I would like to mention. I have some serious problems with Petra interfering with other moms and getting too close. She has no idea what personal space is. At the book store she is not the least bit interested in what I'm trying to read to her, but will go sit in any other mother's lap. In the bathroom for months I have had issues with her peaking or crawling under the stalls to see the other ladies. And here is one more example. She has never met this lady in her life, but she wants her to pick her up. Luckily this time it was a friend of a friend.

Jasper on the other hand does not like strangers. Here he is being helped up to a standing position by a friend.

The only other thing we did much of this weekend was reading and shopping. A local store had a consignment sale this weekend - where we picked up these balls!

And today we went for a quick hike - just 1.5 miles. Jasper was not happy for the second half of the trek. He hollered and hollered.

I attempted to teach Petra today how to use the camera. Here is a photo she took of Jasper and myself.

And in case you are wondering, this is why you shouldn't leave two young children alone... hee hee. The good news is he also thought it was fun.

Love the Pattern

2009-09-08T21:03:00.003-05:00

The past few days I've been dying to do some sewing. And I finally pulled out a pattern for an infant dress I've been meaning to sew all summer.

Last Christmas, when we were allowed to take some things from my grandmother's house, I found this pattern in her basement. This was actually a pattern that was purchased the year I was born ... and one that she used for me!

It was such a pleasant experience to think of her while I made this simple shirt for Petra.

The pattern was super simple. I changed just a couple things. It called for eyelet or ric-rac across the bottom and I had neither - so instead I put a pretty ribbon across the bottom. Also, the directions didn't call for topstitching which I thought was strange. And finally, I had to add pearl snaps since I don't have buttons in the house.

I'm overall super happy with how it turned out. It fits her perfectly. And I love that its black. Its so hard to find children's clothing in black.

Meat Sales

2009-09-05T13:35:00.003-05:00

This seems to be a pretty good week to stock up on meat ... at least chicken quarters (which Petra and I love).
I was pretty happy with my visit to the store yesterday.

For $49 I bought:
60lbs chicken quarters
4.5 lbs of NY strip steak
4 lbs. of sausage
2 bags of Lays Wavy chips

When I got home, Petra helped me wash, divide up and freeze all the chicken. She was actually a big help.

Open House

2009-09-03T19:58:00.006-05:00

We had the wonderful privilege of opening our home for a week to a Muslim. Our pastor called and asked us to host a visiting professor from Algeria. It was an honor to have him here and we enjoyed his company and learning about his customs and country. His smile and appreciation for things was contagious. There is much more we hope to learn over the next year. And I am very much looking forward to meeting his wife and family when they come. We had the chance to share our faith with him and build the beginning of a friendship. And unbeknownst to us at the time he arrived, he is actually in Thomas' department.

Please pray for him that God will provide what he needs as he sets up a temporary home here for the next year.

Little Things

2009-09-02T13:32:00.002-05:00

It’s the little things that make us smile. After a lot of whining in the afternoon, I felt simply blessed to see how the little things make me smile.

Last night, Petra surprised us with a few things. She has been combing 2-3 words on a regular basis for a few months now. But it seems that over the last week or two, this is changing and she is saying more and more. It makes me so glad to see her learn and grow. Last night when we asked her to throw away her chewed up and completely eaten corn cob – she started to walk to the trash can, then paused and said “No; wait a minute.” This was easily one of the more clearly spoken sentences she has said so far. And we are always telling her to wait a minute – it was nice to see she understood the concept and could repeat it to us.

Then, another cute little thing happened later. Thomas was asking her to share the toys with Jasper, and she didn’t. And he told her that she was being a bad girl and she needed to share. “Bad girl?” she said. And then immediately went and pulled out the book “Bad Dog, Marley” from about 20 other books and sat on my lap for me to read it to her. (I have read this book to her maybe 4 times – I don’t care for it because the book doesn’t address the need to train a dog – but oh well that is another matter)

And later in the night, she demonstrated that she seems completely ready for potty training. I guess we will start trying again more regularly. Over the last month or so she has used the potty about 3 times a week by her own choice ... but I think it’s time to approach this milestone again with more vigor.

Jasper also is talking more and more. And I am so glad to hear him start babbling more. We spent a few minutes before bedtime last night practicing saying "da-da." He happily repeated me numerous times, then surprisingly when I laid him down he happily rolled over and went to sleep. I thought with all the talking his mind would be too active to lay down so quickly.

He is getting absolutely great at waving bye, signing “all done,” and is happy to demonstrate “arms up” with a big smile and arms in the air. He is also walking more. Just in the last two days he decided he would start walking around the house more than crawling. It’s so funny to watch him walk around with his arms raised high in the air.

Petra is a little jealous that he gets all this praise for walking and will ask us “walk, walk” because she wants to walk to us in the same way. And I have to remind her she already knows how to walk, and I ask her to run instead. And she just loves this!

Here is what happend this past week

2009-08-22T20:10:00.007-05:00

Grandma and Grandpa visited from NC last weekend.

Thomas and dad wouldn't pose or smile for the camera...

Then on Thursday I made berry tarts from scratch --- they were great. And I served them with fresh whipped cream. Here is a link to the recipe.

Today, I went grocery shopping. Bought 41 items - and spent $45. That is just $1.10 per item. There were some items I had to have that weren't on sale - dishwasher soap, bananas, sweet potatoes, frozen veggies, and eggs. If I hadn't of bought these things, my average would have been 95 cents an item. In total I saved $85.

This afternoon I had a blast with Petra and Jasper. We spent about an hour at the park playing and talking with another mom. Then we headed to the mall. At the park Jasper finally decided he really likes the swing. He laughed and laughed.

The only thing frustrating about being outside with Jasper is that he loves to eat dirt! If you are thinking that he looks a little mischievous in the photo below - its because he is.

And Petra decided that today she would go down the slide again. It's been a few weeks.

15 of the Best Books for Babies (and young toddlers)

2009-08-19T20:25:00.013-05:00

I hinted a few weeks ago that I would write a post soon on Petra's favorite story books. Let me please emphasize I'm talking about story books here, not number, shape or animal books. Here are the top 15 favorite books - starting with those that are great for a baby and ending with books suitable for a young toddler. I strongly feel like these should be in every child's book collection. Petra is just 21 months now and is quickly enjoying books that are more advanced, so I expect this list will be changing rapidly. But Jasper, 10 months, is just beginning to really enjoy some of these baby books.

Good Night Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown - I love this quiet little poem. Its simplicity is endearing and you quickly find that you can recite it from heart. A bedtime favorite, and a book that Petra loved as an infant. Jasper now sits captivated with this book as well.

I Love You Through and Through, by Bernadette Rossetti Shustak - This book expresses all the many ways we love our children. Great for young babies. By 18 months Petra enjoyed acting out all the different pages. This is another book Jasper loves.

Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do You Hear?, by Bill Martin, Jr - Add some animal sounds to this book and I promise your child will be delighted. This is probably the main reason Petra could do 4 animal sounds at 10 months old, and can now do a sound for almost any animal you can think of ... plus other strange things we teach her. An absolute great book for every baby! I prefer this book over the popular book Brown Bear by the same author.

Dinasoar Roar!, by Henrietta Strickland - I actually added this book just to round out to 15 all time favorite books. This is one that Petra read a LOT at day care. Sometimes I thought it was the only book they must have had in the 1 year old classroom. But at a very young age, Petra came home "roaring" and I know she enjoyed this one.

Feed Mattisse's Fish, by Julie Appel - Bought as an adoption present by a doting aunt, we started this book with Petra when she was 14 months old. With a catchy opening on each page ... "tick-tock 8'oclock" ... our daughter was tick-tocking by the end of her first reading. And both the children enjoy this book now, not to mention that it features famous artwork and is a touch-and-feel book.

Eight Silly Monkeys, by Steven Haskamp - A favorite for Petra between 12-18 months. She loves "no more monkeys jumping on the bed" and often asked for this book by saying " monkey." It took me a while to realize which monkey book she wanted to read - but it was always this one. Now, she can say "no more monkeys jumping on the bed" which makes it a lot easier for me to understand what she wants.

Where's Spot, by Eric Hill - The original spot book, and so far our favorite. Looking for Spot can be so much fun.

Who Took My Shoe, by Karen Emigh - Probably better for an older toddler, Petra liked this book starting around 14 months old. In the book a little boy with his dog looks for his shoe by asking "who, what, where, why and how" questions.

Busy Barnyard, by John Schindel - I really liked this book because it was real pictures of animals. But I was a little surprised that Petra didn't take to it earlier. It's considered a baby book, but she was not very interested in it until about 15 months old. At 19 months old she would beg for this book - "barn, barn, barn" she would say until I searched up and down and found it. Her sudden interest stemmed from her sudden interest in verbs. Every page has a different animal with a verb explaining what they are doing. It was around 18 months that she started using words like "barking, swimming, eating," etc, on her own.

Goodnight Gorilla, by Peggy Rathman - I was worried Petra wouldn't enjoy this book due to the lack of words. But the story is told mostly by picture and she found it captivating the very first read.

The Big Red Barn, by Margaret Wise Brown - Another book by Brown that I love. The story again is a mellow poem that captivates the reader.

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear - Petra will ask for us to read this book to her over and over. I love the illustrations and the fun story.

I took the Moon for a Walk, by Carolyn Curtis - Having a difficult time finding this book for myself, so instead we keep checking it out from the library. I love the rhymes and illustrations. Again, another book Petra will ask to read several times in a row. A great book for a toddler's bedtime ritual.

Golden Picture Book of Poems - Ok, not a story book per se, but each poem is a story unto itself. We have an ancient book of children's poems (1955) we picked up at a yard sale. At 21 months old, and with a little reptition, Petra now has a one or two favorite poems. She loves to swing, so she has enjoyed the poem "The Swing" the most. While searching online I found this other poem book that is absolutely huge. It's never to early to introduce poetry to your child.

A Visitor for Bear, by Bonnie Becker - My absolute favorite story book at this time. The story is funny, and has a great lesson about hospitality and friendship. I especially love that this book is introducing my child to new words and phrases that I might not use myself - like "insufferable" and "for good measure." It's an absolutely perfect book for toddlers.

I'm not a child expert, or a teacher, but here are some quick tips we use for reading with our children:

Try to require that your child finishes one book before starting the next (not necessarily all at once, if the child wants to stop and play that is fine, but try to finish the book when you come back to reading)
Remember, your child may decide he loves a book after the 3rd read, not necessarily after the first
So if your child doesn't take to a book right away, try it later that day or the next ... it may just be it was the wrong time
Captivate your child for books that you think might be more difficult to finish - for instance I often introduce bigger and longer books to Petra while we are riding around in the car, she has nothing else better to do and nowhere to go - and it usually works.
Encourage imagination and interest by adding noises, sound effects, and different voices whenever possible.
Be sure to ask and talk about things on each page - especially on pages that the child might not find very interesting - its a great time to point and teach your child to point to an object
If there is a page that your child finds too long and tedious - paraphrase for her until she is a little more mature and can sit through all of it
After reading a new book, I always try to go back through the book a second time with our children and just talk about things on each page and not read the story
Read to your child throughout the day - if your child is active try reading first thing in the morning, before and after naps, and before bedtime. But anytime is a good time.
Go to your local library and try a book before you buy it. We have a long list we have tried, and I feel like I am closer to knowing what she likes now. ( I currently have 8 books on my list to try). I have found several popular books with good reviews that I don't like - usually due to the message or incorrect sentence structure.
Check out used bookstores in your area for books - better prices means more books for your child.
Read every day with your children! and be sure to read with each child individually as well.
Gradually read with your child more and more each day - until you reach a goal - my goal with Petra everday is at least 2o books. For Jasper, 3 a day is a good goal for his age and stage of development. Change the goal as necessary as the child grows and develops.

A GREAT place to compare prices for books is www.booksprice.com

A day at Destin

2009-08-17T20:35:00.006-05:00

This past Wednesday we drove to Destin, just for the day. Its a 2.5 hour drive each way, this is about the most we would probably try to drive in one day. The trick for us is to drive as much as possible while the children are asleep. So we headed after lunch during their nap, and came home at bedtime.

Our main focus for the trip was to shop at the outlet stores, have some seafood, and take the children to the beach to see if they like it. (I had a suspicious feeling they wouldn't hit it off with the beach right away b/c last time we put them in a sandbox they both screamed at the top of their lungs)

I enjoyed Destin. There was a lot to like about the place. There was plenty to do, plenty to see, and lots of things I wish we had time for. And the beach there is absolutely gorgeous. I automatically saw the appeal for a family vacation. And to make things better, our friends daughter KC was able to come with us. She was a huge help with Petra and Jasper and made the trip easier for both of us.

I would have loved for Thomas to have spent a day fishing, and we both thought the water park looked like fun. But we didn't have time for all of that.

Instead, we spent the day mainly at the outlets and it rained and rained. I was disappointed with prices and had hoped for better deals. The shopping was not worth the trip.

We headed to a place called Dewey Destin for dinner. I had read some good reviews online. And was quite surprised by its humble buildings. It was literally down a side road, right past abandoned buildings, and was entirely outdoor ... much like eating on a dock. Despite this, I found the atmosphere quaint and you could just tell that this was a local joint. The seafood was good, I really liked the breading. But the fries were bad and the meal was way overpriced. What I really enjoyed about it was that it was a perfect place for the children to actually run around some before dinner, and the fact that it was not crowded (due to the storm). Here are some pictures from dinner.

After dinner we headed to the beach for a quick view and made it just in time for the sunset. The storm had cleared and it was beautiful. I don't think there is anything more beautiful in Florida than the Emerald Coast. The sand is a delicate fine grain white sand and the water is perfect blue/turquoise. As expected, the children both screamed when we set them down. We need to spend some time getting them aquainted with it - next time we will plan to spend more time actually on the beach. Here are some photos from our short beach stop.

All in all we had a great time and want to head back soon, hopefully for more than just a day trip.

Jasper Walking

2009-08-10T19:23:00.005-05:00

A few days before Jasper was 10 months old he started walking. Here it is a week later and I finally have a video up for you. As you can tell, he doing a great job. I'm slightly nervous about it because he loves to climb and I know that as soon as he starts walking, he will also be climbing on everything! (oh, and notice the semi-straight hair in the photo above -it seems to be a lot like mine, it depends on how you style it and the weather)

On the Move

2009-08-03T19:55:00.007-05:00

I got a few pics and videos of the children playing outside that I wanted to share. I love that they are both mobile and can play.

Jasper is moving quickly. He can crawl at super speed and is really close to walking on his own. He took two tiny little baby steps today by himself. I expect in a week we will have a video up of him walking on his own.

Petra is becoming interested in baby dolls. She has named her babydoll "Jasper" and carries her around, rocks her, pretends to feed her, straps her down in the high chair, sings to her, dances with her, sits her on the potty, etc. Its been really great to watch. I would say the doll is her favorite toy these days and it actually will keep her entertained and happy at least for a few minutes. This is her playing "Ring around the Roses" with her.

Our Children's Library

2009-07-29T19:07:00.004-05:00

I spent an hour reading to Petra tonight. We read 11 books, a couple of them several times each. This doesn't count the books she read this morning or afternoon.

Its amazing how many books we go through each day. She loves to read. It is easily the one activity we do most with her each day.

and because of this we need lots of books. I've spent the last month or two working diligently to make sure we have some of the most popular and favorite children's books in our home. I have read hundreds of reviews, searched blogs, and priced them each on Amazon and added them to my Amazon wish list (which you can access online if you want to see)

Tonight Thomas surprised me with one of my favorite activities - we went shopping at the Goodwill Bookstore after dinner. This is actually one of my favorite things to do ... if only Petra would behave while we were there. But I digress.

I'm sure none of you can imagine, unless you have been there, the extensive collection of children's books that this store has. There is an entire room of just used children's books. We went 3 weeks ago, with a list in hand of the ones I was looking for, and came home with a stack. Most weren't on the list, but I still got some classics - like Goldilocks and the three bears, the three little pigs, and the poky little puppy - most of these are still a too advanced for her.

When we went in tonight we were told they just restocked the children's room with 1200 more books! yeah! So I started searching again. This time I found two that I wanted: Goodnight Gorilla and a Spot flap book!

There are still several more I am looking for. I really want to get "I took the Moon for a walk" by Carolyn Curtis. Petra loves this one, and I enjoy reading it. We checked it out from the library to try it out. Our local Barnes and Nobles doesn't have it in stock - so I think I will probably have to end up ordering it.

I've seen a couple blogs that posted regarding their child's favorite books at different ages. I found it very useful and plan to write a similar post soon.

Parenting: the joys of discipline and instruction

2009-07-29T11:36:00.004-05:00

The past couple days, and some days in the last month, I have found myself daydreaming of the day when my children are 2 and 3 and can be entertained through coloring, educational activities, nature walks, etc. Not all the time, but definitely once a day. I’m not real pleased with myself because I want to be enjoying the present. I know that I should be enjoying what God has given me now, and not thinking of the future. But I keep thinking how much easier it will be to do things with them when they are both walking, a little more mature, and can understand better what I am saying.

And just to throw a kink in my daydream, I’ve had two people say to me this last week – oh these are the best days, enjoy them! I wonder, is this really true? Could this really be the best days, and here I am thinking about the future? This can’t be a good sign.

I’ve had some people comment that having young children 10.5 months apart is worse than having twins, because they are still both babies, but yet at different levels of development. I’m not sure I agree with this, I have nothing to compare it to.
But I do know that I have no friends with children this close in age that can give me ready available advice.

So; I’m putting it out to the world. Here are some examples; maybe all of you experienced mothers or child experts can send me some advice.

Issue 1: Potty Training
After some indication from Petra that she is ready to go potty (mainly her asking to go potty and doing so successfully), we have proceeded forward with some potty training. After 2 days of potty training I decided this was not a good time for it. Reasons being:
1. Petra is tired of me asking her if she needs to go potty and now says “no” every time I ask
2. Every time Petra pees on the floor, Jasper is right there ready to crawl through it – it’s all I can do to keep Petra and Jasper from walking/crawling right through it and get it cleaned up as well
3. When I help Petra use the potty, Jasper wants to cling to me as well, and he’s is not yet stable enough for me to move quickly to help her if needed – inevitably he ends up falling over at some point and bumping his head
4. Jasper wants to climb on the potty while Petra is using it – if I leave Petra alone she will not stay seated, and if I stay with her I can’t get Jasper away

So I decided we will just proceed with taking her when she asks to go for the time being.

Issue 2: The whining, pestering, and repitition
Petra consistently asks for things over and over. My best way of dealing with this is to answer her, then distract her with a different activity. However, I also want her to learn to accept an answer without me having to redirect. So here is a very basic example of her asking repeatedly for the same thing. Imagine, we are in the car, driving home from the grocery store. It is a 4 minute drive.

Petra: juice, juice, juice (Be sure to add the whine to Petra's voice when you read it.)
Mommy: I'm sorry, I don't have any juice, we will be home soon and you can have something to drink then
Petra: juice, juice, juice,
Mommy: Sorry, no juice. You will have to wait a minute. We will be home soon.
Petra: juice, juice, juice.
Mommy: No juice
Petra: juice, juice (pause) milk, milk?
Mommy: No milk. You will need to wait another minute until we get home.
Petra: milk, milk, milk, milk, milk, milk, milk, milk, milk .... water?
Mommy: (just wondering how long she will keep asking) Would you like to sing a song?
Petra: milk? juice?
Song starts...

Issue 3: Attachment issues
When you read Issue 1 above, you probably noticed that Jasper is slightly attached to my side at the moment. I know this is completely normal. Petra was the same way. And in fact, Jasper plays better than she ever did on her own, and still does. Jasper is quite content for a couple minutes playing with toys… but most of the time you must be within 5 feet of him to meet his approval. If I walk to another side of a room, he will cry hysterically, drop his toy, and follow me.

Issue 4: Jealousy Issues
Again, to be expected, there is some jealousy. Now please don’t get me wrong, our children love each other. Petra insists on giving Jasper a hug and kiss every morning when they wake up. And throughout the day they each enjoy each other’s company, hug on each other, and play together. When Petra is in time-out, Jasper will crawl over to be with her. When Jasper falls and cries, Petra often goes to him and pats his back and tells him it’s OK. But when it comes to me; things are a little different.
For instance, they both always want to be in my lap at the same time. I can’t hold Jasper without Petra also wanting to be held. The reverse is often true as well. Although, it’s not as bad with Jasper. Often times he will get off my lap after a few minutes when I am holding both of them.

Or then there is Petra kicking/pushing Jasper with her foot when he tries to get on my lap and I’m holding her.

Or there are the times when Jasper falls and cries. And I go to help him. And then Petra proceeds to copy him by lying herself down on the floor and crying to see if she will also get some attention.

And then there is the general taking toys from each other issue; except Petra is stronger still so it’s always her taking toys/cups/pacifiers from him.

And then there is the biting. which luckily is a fairly rare occurance.

So, generally speaking, I think these are all very common behaviors. And I do think we are working through them. And honestly I think parenting them at the moment is easier and less tiring than it was several months ago when I had an infant that had to be fed every few hours. But just imagine hours upon hours of the same thing, repeating itself in various ways. And then be sure to add the screaming that takes place when one of them falls, when I walk into another room without them, or when a toy gets snatched.

Jasper's Adoption Day

2009-07-23T20:32:00.003-05:00

After the computer crashing about three times, I am finally getting a chance to load these photos. Unfortunately I was hoping to be done and off to bed by now.

Today was great. We officially expanded our family by one more member. Once again, nothing really feels different. We were completely devoted to Jasper before today, so it really didn't change anything in our minds and hearts. But legally, the paperwork and everything else associated with it is done.

Relief.

Jasper Hadley Croom was officially named today with us as is parents.

The court proceedings went smoothly. Our dear friend Leigh, who was nice enough to recommend us for both our children when the state called her first, came with us and took the photos you will see below. We are so blessed to have such a great friend that is willing to take off work and do this for us. It is just plain awesome to have photographs from the days that both of our children were adopted.

Petra is 20 months

2009-07-20T20:41:00.006-05:00

Once again I have no idea what to title this blog post. I get so tired of having to come up with them. So you get a simple age update.

Life is zooming by and is wonderful. The children are spending time playing together each day, Thomas is teaching 2 classes everyday and I come and go from work as needed.

Petra turned 20 months this past week! I can not believe it! I took this photo early last week and was amazed at how much older she looks. Its obvious she has grown. Her feet have grown. She can reach the counter tops in the kitchen now ... so I'm having to be careful about leaving knives and other things on top of the counter. She just seems so much bigger. Its been a little over a month since we last measured her height on her growth chart in her room; despite this, I pushed her up against the wall to see if there has been a change. She has grown an inch in one month!! Good gracious.

The other big news with her (although Thomas thinks I should not talk about it) ... is that she went #2 at a public restroom this weekend! I was thrilled that she told us she needed to go, was more thrilled that she said "yes mam" when I asked her if she needed to potty; and even more thrilled when it happened. All in all I bet I had several women rolling at the songs I was making up in order to distract her and get her to sit longer than 10 seconds on the toilet. I'm honestly surprised I didn't hear any chuckles from outside the stall.

Speaking of "yes mam" - I think it is nearly a conditioned response for her now. She knows to say it when we say "Do you understand," which she usually hears after a minute in time out. But other times she says it as well, and it makes me happy that she has learned it already.

Jasper's big news is that he got his two top teeth last week! So he has a total of 4 teeth and is pretty good at using them. He eats mostly table food now, he prefers to pick up his food rather than us feed him. And he said "da-da" this morning. In total he can say 4 words - baba, bye bye, dada and mama.

So these are our big changes this week.

I love this photo!

2009-07-15T20:56:00.005-05:00

Recently, Petra was posing for a photo that was needed for my latest quilt project ... more to come on this.
Thomas of course volunteered his services to help me get the exact pose I wanted ... which I never really did. However, this photo was worth it all.

In case you are wondering, they were talking about the airplane flying overhead.

Say Cheese ... and adoption

2009-07-15T19:29:00.004-05:00

I taught Petra to say cheese and smile as big as possible. We love doing it together, its really a challenge between the two of us to see who can smile the biggest. I thought you may want a peek.

Say "Cheese" - I'm starting to think I may regret this when I want a serious photo...

And I need to mention that Jasper's adoption is nearly done. We signed the paperwork with the department last week. So, as far as the department is concerned he is adopted. The judge will finalize everything on the 23rd at 9am.

Teaching for Thomas

2009-07-15T10:58:00.005-05:00

I've never really thought long and hard about my husband's teaching. He is an excellent teacher. I say this because repetition comes naturally to him ... =). And the fact that he teaches at a major university has got to say something about his skills. But seriously, I had the great opportunity to sub for him today. It was a wonderful experience talking to a class full of college students about public policy and some of legislation I have worked on in the past few years.

On the bad side, he is out of town for 3 long days. This is my first time alone with the children for that long. We are all going to miss him.

So it was a busy morning. I had to get to his class (I took the day off work), he had to show me how to get to class; plus he had to leave for his flight that is leaving from Jacksonville right after lunch. And it all started by finding Jasper in a pile of poop in his crib. I would easily say this was the worst so far of our poop experiences. It was all over him, his arms, his feet and toes, all over his bed, bumper, etc. I'm hoping he didn't ingest any and we don't have a sick child.

I'll try to post some photos later today. I got a few yesterday of the children that need to be downloaded.

More of Learning and Growing

2009-07-09T18:44:00.003-05:00

Each day we are completely amazed at everything new that happens.
And while, I don't have much time to post because I working on a quilt challenge for our next quilt show (opens the end of August in Tallahassee if you would like to visit) ... I wanted to express very quickly what is happening around here so that you could better understand what it is like to have two children so young and so close together.

First, Jasper has learned to climb the steps in the house. Except he didn't just start with one, he started with all of them. He happily climbs all the way to the top if you aren't watching him. Petra somehow realizes this is not the best thing for him to be doing. So if she sees him, she will yank him down and exclaim No. Of course, he doesn't exactly land on his feet. So we have taken to blocking off the second step so he can only climb up the bottom step, and then we have put a mat at the bottom to help protect him from the fall.
I am seriously hoping that allowing him this one step to climb up will also help him learn how to climb back down.

Petra is fantastic ... and fantastically learning new things. Today, she learned how to lock herself in her room. This is when Thomas learned he didn't have a key for her bedroom. I would say considering the amount of time she ended up being in her room alone, and locked in, that she managed through without any issues.

So we are continuing to learn and grow, and I expect things to continue in the same manner.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2009-06-27T12:12:00.007-05:00

None of us would be the same without Thomas. He is jumping, cooking, cleaning, wiping butts, teaching, and providing entertainment nearly every moment of the day for our family. He sacrifices his time and energy ... and is quite literally 100% dedicated to this family and a super dad!

Happy Birthday. We love you.

And here was the best part of the day.

Learning and Growing

2009-06-26T11:29:00.007-05:00

I’m guessing most of you that are reading this blog are asking yourself, what happened to the posts? Where is Sherri? Well, the answer is really quite simple. Facebook happened. I opened a Facebook account, and I have spent what little time I have each day checking on old friends. It’s really fascinating. I have become “friends” with people I haven’t seen more 12 years or more.

And it has been really great to see how everyone is doing, seeing everyone happily married, and most with a couple children.

Another great thing about Facebook is that is much more interactive. No one ever really comments on the blog, I assume because it isn’t very interesting.

But just in case you do enjoy reading up on my family life, don’t worry, the blog isn’t disappearing. One of my favorite things about it is that I am able to literally keep a diary of our family, its activities, and how the children are learning and growing. For instance, I’m finally putting together Petra’s scrapbook for her first year, and I’m using the blog to go back and see what she was doing at each age.

And speaking of learning and growing, the children are doing just that. It amazes me how much they have grown in just the last month. I’m starting to realize I’m not going to have babies much longer. and they are both 22lbs. Here is a quick run down:

At 8 months old, Jasper is:

Signing for milk/bottle (just after 1 week of us showing him the sign)
Crawling all around the house
Pulling up on everything and walking around the furniture
Walking all around the house with a push toy!! He came walking in the kitchen yesterday morning, all by himself, pushing our little pink stroller, with a huge grin on his face (and let me add that I left him sitting in the living room just a few moments before)
Can imitate us when we say “ma-ma” or "bye-bye"
Waved bye-bye today for the first time
Eating more food - about 2/3 time he eats pureed food, and the other 1/3 he eats table food
Sleeping more often through the whole night! (I think he slept 4 nights this week without waking up)

Petra also seems to be learning and growing at lightning speed.

She can climb to the top of an 8ft slide and push herself down, and start over – no assistance needed – at our local park
Started saying 3-4 syllable words a couple weeks ago
Swam under water by herself … about 1 foot … by kicking (no arms yet)
Can hear an airplane a mile away and lets us know it
Will not stop asking us “book, read” - loves, loves to read
Still hates the tv or videos – which I have to think is a good thing
Is talking more and more, this morning she was in a precarious position and said "careful"
And I picked up a potty book from the library, and I think it may be helping - after just 1 read she has asked 3 times to go potty

Here are some videos to enjoy...

Summer Fun

2009-06-10T19:43:00.003-05:00

We've been happily content lately and feel very blessed for so many reasons. Summer has been very enjoyable and I don't want it to end. Having the children at home during the day has been wonderful. They seem to enjoy the days much more now also.

One of the funny things is Thomas and I have always said we don't really want any of our children to swim on a swim team. Not that we dislike swimming, but we do not want to have to take them to early morning, before school practice. I think the thought is slowly creeping in now that it seems likely Petra may want to swim at some point. She absolutely loves the pool. She is so much fun and is so willing to try new things. She likes seeing us jump or dive in the deep end, and often wants to join us for the jump. Thomas will hold her while he jumps in, she probably ends up going under water about 3 feet, and when they get out, she's ready to go again. We can also stand 4-5 feet apart and push her back in forth under the water, she loves this as well. She is constantly trying to leave my arms and swim after Thomas while he swims around --- not realizing that she has to kick or use her arms.

She hit another big first today! We've been gradually getting her used to the idea of the potty. Some days she sits on it one time a day, other days not at all. And honestly, she doesn't sit on it very long before she wants to get up --- usually just a few seconds. So I was THRILLED today when she actually used the potty (number 1). YEAH!! I'm thinking the watermelon we fed her this afternoon helped encourage the behavior. =)

And Jasper is all over the place. But we don't think he's very fond of the pool. He seems to tolerate it for a few minutes, but doesn't really care for it. I can't really tell if we just taking him in when he's tired, or if he just doesn't like it. He seems to continually look at us throughout the day in a very disapproving way. And I keep thinking that when he starts talking he's going to have a few words with us about how he disapproves of our parenting techniques.

Oh, and Jasper got a haircut. I just cut off his crazy, curly mohawk that was left behind from his newborn hair.
It looks so much nicer now.

I crawl the line

2009-06-04T19:15:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, Jasper started to crawl in succession. For the last week, he would crawl about one little step, drop to the floor, and then do a military crawl across the floor ... which honestly looked very difficult.

And then yesterday night, he started to crawl. I took the video today for all of you out there that I know want to see for yourself. He will be 8 months old tomorrow.