Friends

Besties!!!
My gorgeous friend, Valerie

Yesterday, my best friend, Valerie, came up and had lunch with me (and the kids). We enjoyed visiting with each other. I hadn't seen her in 11 months!!! (We talk every day, though.) She has been a sister to me (one I don't have) for the past 8 years. I love ya, Val! Valerie has 5 children ages 11, 9, 9, 7, and 23 months. Our little girls are 5 weeks apart--Eden and Samantha. She was present for the birth of Max and Tommy. That's a very close friend, don't you know?!?

Oh, and Joshua slept through the night last night. He woke up at 7 this morning. I got 7 hours! Woot!

Tuesday

Up early this morning...try 2:15 to feed Joshua. Well, I had a full night's sleep the night before, so I'll try not to be bitter! Dan, Max, and Tommy are attending VBS at Family Church this week so they are having fun right now. I'm learning to work around a toddler and baby in the mornings. It sure is quiet!! That was a surprise. This afternoon we're going to have a picnic lunch with my friends Charity, LaDawn, and their kids. Then we're off to the Natural History Museum to see the butterflies, the cave, and the discovery room. It's going to be a fun day!

Doings

Little Joshua is smilie at 12 weeks old!

I posted my favorite cornbread recipe. We had it tonight and my hubby said is was better than ever. I used 1 cup of home ground white wheat berries instead of regular white flour. It was delicious!

Milestones, of late

**Tommy is finally potty trained, WOOT!
(Today, a special trip to super wally world to get new underwear)
**Joshua turned 3 months old on the 17th (still not sleeping thru night...grr)
**Eden has enough hair to put up and she doesn't pull it out anymore.
**Max's front teeth are loose.
**Max is reading little chapter books--I thought this would never happen!!!
**Dan is much more helpful since he is the oldest at home right now.

**All 3 boys got hair cuts today.

Back here again...

Oh Lord, I'm here again. I SO don't know what to do... I just have to try to get through
each minute, each hour.

Teaching Textbooks Math 5

I am soooo excited!! This Math program is the one we are going to be using this year (for Dan, my 4th grader) and it SO rocks! You can try the demo at the Teaching Textbooks website. If you have a child that's self-motivated and enjoys using the computer, then this curriculum is for you. It is my opinion that TT blows Saxon away. I have used the upper level math--Pre-Algebra, Algebra I, Algebra II, and Geometry. My daughter passed into college level math as a junior in high school after taking TT Algebra II.

**Update: This recently arrived in the mail. Dan loves it so much he has done 3 lessons in the past day. It makes math fun and does the grading for you! It's looking good so far!**

Homeschool copywork

We were going over some things recently and I realized that one of my children needs some more practice with cursive writing. Copy work can be a great way to accomplish this and learn bible verses at the same time. I found a website that has some free copy work, so I though I'd post it here. Visit here to use this resource.

We are getting geared up for next school year and I'm in the middle of selling some curriculum in order to buy more. We're doing school about 2 days a week right now because it's too hot to play outside (we have no trees--none that offer shade anyway). Hope everyone is having a great summer! I miss my teenagers! They are visiting their father until early August.

Happy 4th of July!!

Celeste gets ready for her party.
Eden sleeping--my camera was finally charged at about midnight.

I haven't posted in a looong time. Sorry! It's busy here. Celeste left a couple days ago and Jamie has been gone for 3 weeks. They return in early August. So here I am with 5 children--3 of them 3 and under. The trip to the grocery yesterday with all of the kids was, shall I say, "fun."

We're having some friends over to BBQ today. (There will be 12 kids from 3 families!) Also, I got my new Nikon camera finally. So exciting. I've been taking tons of pics! I'll try to post more often. We have no plans for the summer. My goal is just to survive. Joshua is not quite sleeping through the night yet, so I'm praying for that soon.

Joshua 2 months old

Joshua Ezekiel is 2 months old now. He weighs 12 pounds, 8 ounces (75%) and is 24.5 inches long (85%). He is quite a big boy! Our Ped said that he acts like an older baby. He is a very sweet, good-natured little boy. He smiles a lot, coos, and is even laughing a little now. We are so happy he is part of our family.

My 40th Birthday Beach Trip

Mima shades Joshua

Josh poolside
Max shows off his shell
My Dad (Pipa) and Eden at Siesta Key Beach

Jamie and Mom
Buffet says "hi" to the kids
The fam at the beach
Eden hangs out with Celeste in the pool
Jamie 14, Jamie 37, Nancy 40!!

I had a wonderful 40th birthday. I will post a link to more pictures soon! My kids gave me an iPod Shuffle. It is SO much fun! I'm listening now! (I should be sleeping...) I went shopping with my Mom and had a GREAT birthday dinner with my family and birthday buddy, my brother, Jamie. It's hard work, but I am enjoying my 7 week old birthday present, too. God is good!

Jamie turns 14

Clifford James "Jamie"

June 2nd, 1994

9 pounds, 2 ounces

Interests: guitar, skateboarding, paintball...14 yo boy stuff!

They had fun out to dinner at Macaroni Grill. We got a sitter for Tommy & Eden. Jamie has really grown since the new year and is now taller than Celeste and I. It will be interesting to see how much he changes while he's gone for summer. He leaves in a week. I will miss you SO much~I love you, Jamie!

Cindy Lou Who says "CHEESE" for the camera!

Momma wears Joshua in her new sling...shhh...

A little something new

This is my new hair cut. I always do something different after having a baby. I'm excited about my new doo. Hope ya like it!

Today...

~The power went off for an hour this morning. It was very quiet... Tommy kept saying things were broken. It was cute!

~We all had cereal for breakfast.

~I am thankful for a surprise dinner last night with Stu. My friend, LaDawn, kept ALL the kids.

~I'm still in my pajamas. (Which happen to include the skirt I wore yesterday...)

~I am hoping to start Joshua's scrapbook soon...and work more on Eden's.

~I hope to get a nap today. I had 4 hours sleep last night in 2 installments.

~June is...Jamie's 14th birthday on the 2nd and my 40th on the 10th!!!

~I am getting a hair cut tomorrow and can't wait.

~Currently I'm home with 5 children ages 9, 7, 3.75, 20 months, and 5 weeks...eek!

Joshua's 1 month

Joshua in his swing--1 month old

Eden has little piggies. Notice the booboo on her head.

She fell off the couch and crashed into the baseboard.

Eden, Karyn, Celeste, & Allie at AGCC Homeschool Grad Ceremony

Joshua had his 1 month check up (a week ago!). He weighed 10 pounds (50%) and was 22 inches long (60%) and his head was 37cm (50%). We are very busy at home with kids in school and lots of other activities. We are going to the beach in Sarasota in early June--all the kids are very excited about that. If I could be rested, I would be, too!

BPA Free bottles

With all of the concern about chemicals in bottles and other infant feeding things I thought I would post a link to a site that has a nice set of lists and information on BPA free feeding products. We're switching because every small step for our child's health is important. Go here to see this list.

Also, I found The Soft Landing to have a large selection of healthy products, feeding included, for baby.

Joshua slept 5 hours last night (from 2-7 a.m.)...in his swing. I haven't had that much sleep in 4 weeks. He's 4 weeks today! Unfortunately, I awoke with a terrible migraine. It hung on all day, but has now subsided. Joshua is now napping and if there's one thing I've learned, it's go catch one myself. Sorry I haven't been on much, but I'm certainly overwhelmed right now (just being honest). Hopefully, I will see you in dreamland...zzzzzzz. (Also, still nursing, but he gets about half from me and half from formula.)

More pictures

Joshie is sleeping...zzzzz...

Eden loves to touch and kiss his toes.

Joshua is gaining, although it's probably from his bottles, not nursing. We went to see the lactation consultant today and he weighed 8 pounds, 6.8 ounces. Really close to his birth weight, yay! After nursing for 35 minutes he had gained 1 ounce. Not the best, but better than last time. I'm going to keep trying for another week or so and see what happens.

Celeste starts summer A next week and is taking 2 classes. Celeste rec'd an A in ENC1101, YAY!We're trying to finish up the school year with the other kids. The baby is crying...time to feed him again!

Baby Update

Here is Joshua 2 weeks old with the sweet blanket made by Mom's friend, Teri.

A little update on things here: I got an infection of some sort around my incision site, so I'm on antibiotics. This started last Sunday evening. We started out taking meds and had to double them on Wednesday because things weren't getting better. So recovery is slow going here. 2000 mg of Keflex is kicking my butt right now. Joshua is still very slow to gain weight and nursing isn't going the best. I am taking fenugreek--3 capsules, 3 times per day and that boosted my supply a little. Joshua is still sleepy and doesn't remove milk very well. He looks good and weighs 8 pounds today. All the other children are doing quite well with the new baby. Eden likes to poke him... Dan and Max are at their last baseball game right now (most likely). They have had a winning season this year 6-4. In playoffs they lost the 1st game, won the 2nd, and if they lose tonight then they're out of the tournament. We'll see! God is good! I'm still praying I don't get too discouraged about nursing. I'm seeing my lactation consultant on Monday again. Just keep praying for success and healing for the momma. Thanks!

Joshua

Baby Joshua 5 days old

Hi all! I know I have been absent this week! It's been a busy week and I'm doing rather well, but still having pain and I am tired. I have a prayer request for Joshua. He is a very lazy nurser and, subsequently, he isn't gaining weight. Yesterday (Friday) I went to see the lactation specialist and he was at his discharge weight of 7 lbs., 10 oz. A pound down (still) from birth weight. Please pray that he would wake up and nurse better. Also, that I don't lose my supply. I am pumping some and we are supplementing him after nursing, but all we can do is our best! I am trying not to be discouraged.