Begins and Ends with K

Keyhole and Knob begin with K.

K is a special letter in my family. I keep it close to my heart - literally. I have a tiny gold K that I wear on a necklace with my dainty engagement ring. The three men in my life are all named with Ks. The hubby, the twelve year old, and the teeny tiny Viking - each of them begin with K.

You get quite enough camera coverage of the kids around here, so I figured I'd go all artsy on you and share some of my more creative shots for the A B See Photomeme. This one was taken in San Antonio on the front door to the Mission Concepcion. I left a set of photos from our trip over on my flickr account (under the San Antonio link above). We had a blast finishing up our states and regions study with a Texas wrap-up... complete with Mexican food and Missions. History is much easier to learn on a full belly. Especially one full of Mexican baked goods. Mmmm!

One of my San Antonio mission shots (one I wouldn't have imagined anyone else would ever want to see) ended up in the iPhone application called "Schmap". They make city guides and added my Mission Concepcion photo to their sixth edition guide. Wow, eh? I'm a 'real' photographer. Schmap is smart, however, in seeking out amateur photographers on flickr that will work for free.



So there's my K post for the Homeschool Post's A B See Photo Meme for last week. Not only is this K a bit late for last week, but I'm sure I have skipped letters over here. I'll have to get together a collage of links for my whole alphabet for you to keep myself on sequence. As if I need another project.

Task and check-mark end with K.

The buck stops here. My youngest K is stopping me from everything... he's the 'kink' in my plans (my day begins and ends with baby-care). Speaking of kinks, my plans are all in knots because of our extra K. Wanna know what I'm working on that seems to be going as slow as a snail due to intensive nursing sessions, colic, and tweens that are taking advantage of mom's frazzled postpartum schedule?

* pay bills tomorrow or the sky will be falling

* three months behind on calendar updates about to miss all my May appointments

* switched phones, need to contact previous carrier about it before double charges occur

* unpacked suitcases from trip and now need to get the laundry done

* laundry room needs a light bulb and cat litter changed (whew, it stinks!)

* thank you cards to mail

* homeschool paperwork portfolio project to complete

* supply cabinet that we gutted needs to be surgically restored to an organized state

* menu needs to be made and we need to start a cooking routine again

* finish updating my Outlook contacts so they will sync with my phone

* finish reading a few books and begin Egypt for our schooling

* get plans for the next two weekends solidified and work out the budget

* buy Homeschool Tracker for our record keeping (been using the free version)

* continue to declutter the school and office areas, go through school papers/inbox

* paint mural in the baby room and spray-paint/assemble the crib

* Hopefully talk hubby in to hanging his clothes, cleaning out his corner of the bedroom and installing the cat door on the garage door (heavy on the cat door)


So what are you up to this week? Continuing to "scratch at" your list for 2009? I'm feeling the urge to get things done... even as I sit impatiently in my rocker with a babe in my lap. It is so hard to sit still when there are lists to check off! I feel guilty for enjoying the sweetness of being still and smelling baby lotion, listening to the rain outside and letting the hours pass by. There's a time and season for everything under heaven... and I'm so glad that God put an extra K in my life - even if the list has to wait.


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Life in the Fast Lane

Life. One big roller coaster. I think you can most likely relate.

We went out of town this past weekend and my son forgot the laptop charger. No computer equals no blogging. It was nice, but I'm sure you are probably getting tired of me leaving you hanging.

How long can you be 'away' before you become a 'tweeter' and not a 'blogger' any more? I am ruining myself with twitter, people. It's a sickness. It's like mind-candy... so much easier and faster to think in 140 characters than sit down to 'compose a post'.

No computer also gave me plenty of time to get to know my new i-Phone. Oh, yeah, baby. Come to mama. I got a refurbished i-Phone and spent sleepless hours of bliss in the application store browsing through the umpteen-million free programs you can upload and use on the phone.

For instance, did you know that you can use your i-Phone as a level? a flashlight? an excuse generator in case you aren't creative enough to figure out what to tell your teacher after skipping class? You can use it to keep track of your weight loss goals; track your baby's milestones, dirty diapers, sleep patterns and feedings; and you can keep up with your Netflix queue. I so wanted to buy the baby tracker program, but it costs $8.99 and I just couldn't justify spending the extra money. All for free, you can access your twitter account, your facebook account and even upload mobile pictures to your flickr account on an i-Phone. There's not much you CAN'T do with an i-Phone. I even hear it can survive surfing in your toilet.

Aside from getting acquainted with my i-Phone this weekend; I got a used rocking chair, visited family, attended a wedding shower, and my husband bought a gun so we can teach the kids how to shoot. Last year we did Robotics for our extra curricular class, this year we did choir, and next year we're going to do gun-safety and maybe a shooting club. It will be something we do together as a family. I'm really excited about it. I was great at archery as a kid. Shooting can't be that much different, eh? Just call me Annie Oakley. Yeeehaw.

Coming up we have all sorts of end-of-school activities, field trips, book fairs, family events, doctor's appointments and blogging assignments to get done. April almost didn't exist it has gone so fast! We're already looking on to May and trying to tread water. I'm still reeling from the amount of time off we had to take for 'maternity leave'. Somehow I don't think we'll be getting our much coveted 'summer break' this year... but that is to be expected after adding another kid to the mix.

My to-do list awaits in the morning, along with the bills, homeschooling and unpacking... and my eyes are heavy... so I better get some sleep before the milk-monster wakes up for his 3am feeding.

Hope you have a productive week. I wish my i-Phone had a 'slow down time' application that really worked. Now that would be WORTH $8.99, don't you think?!


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Guns and America's Future

I got this email (below in blockquotes) today and it concerns me that it has even been discussed in our nation that the government wants to register fire-arms. It is a known fact that registries have been used already to round up fire arms from citizens. The historical facts behind gun control and weapons bans have led to mass exterminations of peoples around the world. Our constitution explicitly made allowances for us to be armed because of the fallibility of mankind and government. Every day you watch the news and it seems like more and more nonsense - science fiction - freakishness. I don't blog about it much because when you are raising children - nurturing and educating them all day - you just CAN'T be bogged down with dreariness and fear. Kids can tell when things aren't 100% with mom. Even babies.

I suggest that it isn't so scary that 1 in every 3 kids in America is scared that the earth won't exist when they grow up (statistics I heard on the radio yesterday for earth day). I know why they are afraid of that; because the media is bombarding them with environmental extremism - global warming alarmism. I am not against being 'green', but when crazy people start calling for a ban on reproductive sex, a tax on my mileage, and the confiscation of all law-abiding citizens' guns... you have to wonder... is America about to collapse? I can't imagine any true American being OK with much of what is coming out of the liberal Congress these days. A lack of resources is certainly not our biggest problem on this continent, for sure!

But a Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever. - John Adams

Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom. - John Adams

The said constitution shall never be construed to authorize Congress to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms. - Samuel Adams

The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed. - Alexander Hamilton

Here's my credo. There are no good guns, There are no bad guns. A gun in the hands of a bad man is a bad thing. Any gun in the hands of a good man is no threat to anyone, except bad people. - Charlton Heston

...and now the email...

A Little Gun History

In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
------------------------------

In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
------------------------------

Germany established gun control in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945, a total of 13 million Jews and others who were unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated.
------------------------------

China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated
------------------------------

Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
---- ------------- -------------

Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
------------------------------

Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, one million educated people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
-----------------------------

Defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20th Century because of gun control: 56 million.
------------------------------

It has now been 12 months since gun owners in Australia were forced by new law to surrender 640,381 personal firearms to be destroyed by their own Government, a program costing Australia taxpayers more than $500 million dollars. The first year results are now in:

List of 7 items:

Australia-wide, homicides are up 3.2 percent.

Australia-wide, assaults are up 8.6 percent.

Australia-wide, armed robberies are up 44 percent (yes, 44 percent)!

In the state of Victoria alone, homicides with firearms are now up 300 percent. Note that while the law-abiding citizens turned them in, the criminals did not, and criminals still possess their guns!

While figures over the previous 25 years showed a steady decrease in armed robbery with firearms, this has changed drastically upward in the past 12 months, since criminals now are guaranteed that their prey is unarmed.

There has also been a dramatic increase in break-ins and assaults of the ELDERLY. Australian politicians are at a loss to explain how public safety has decreased, after such monumental effort, and expense was expended in successfully ridding Australian society of guns. The Australian experience and the other historical facts above prove it.

You won't see this data on the US evening news, or hear politicians disseminating this information.

Guns in the hands of honest citizens save lives and property and, yes, gun-control laws adversely affect only the law-abiding citizens.

Take note my fellow Americans, before it's too late!

The next time someone talks in favor of gun control, please remind them of this history lesson.

With guns, we are 'citizens'. Without them, we are 'subjects'.

During WWII the Japanese decided not to invade America because they knew most Americans were ARMED!
-----------------------------------------------------

The purpose of fighting is to win. There is no possible victory in defense. The sword is more important than the shield, and skill is more important than either. The final weapon is the brain. All else is supplemental.

SWITZERLAND ISSUES EVERY HOUSEHOLD A GUN! SWITZERLAND'S GOVERNMENT TRAINS EVERY ADULT THEY ISSUE A RIFLE TO. SWITZERLAND HAS THE LOWEST GUN RELATED CRIME RATE OF ANY CIVILIZED COUNTRY IN THE WORLD!!!

Sound off! What do you think about gun ownership, gun control, the banning of guns? Do you own a gun? Do you know how to shoot a gun? Are you afraid of an American society where the only people who own guns are the cops/bad guys/military?

I'm not ready to put up a sign in my yard yet that says, "Proudly Unarmed". I figure it would send the wrong message to those who might want to come in and harm us... especially living in a border state where there has been a huge surge in violence over the past decade. Just remembering the Jenny Garcia story makes me shudder.

I heard someone say once, "The reason I carry a gun... is because a police officer is too heavy." Had to laugh at that. I love hearing stories about the good guys outwitting the bad guys. Not long ago I heard about an 11 year girl that shot and killed two illegals in her home who were robbing her family (they were in possession of a stolen weapon). I bet her daddy is thankful that he taught her how to use a gun for self-defense! I would be if she was my daughter.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the issue. So share them with me in the comments below...


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How Does Your Garden Grow?

Among the things I have been unable to attend to properly as of late (list includes blogging, email, bills, homeschool, house-cleaning, etc...); there is the garden. We had our first garden experience last year and our entire family enjoyed the fun and fruits of our labor. Thankfully we live in Texas where the climate is pretty forgiving and the growing season long. Our first whirl at gardening provided us with a cup full of black eyed peas, some inedible smallish corn (planted way past the growing season), huge cucumbers that got bitter as they got bigger, and a December watermelon. We had a handful of other veggies and herbs as well, but nothing to prevent us from making trips to the grocery store. It was an expensive season of learning (we pressed our luck by not following suggested planting times).

The photo above is a picture of the only two viable plants we have in the garden right now... unless you want to count the carrot seedlings or the chocolate mint that has nearly taken over our entire flower bed (mint makes a superb ground cover). You would think by looking at the photo that we had a lush landscape of green surrounding us. Macro photography is such a trickster. Most all we have in our spring garden are empty raised garden beds and 'shoulda-coulda-wouldas': seeds that should have been planted, dirt that would have been bought to fill the beds if we had the money, and weeds that could have been pulled if we weren't busy taking care of baby.

Besides our edible plants, we have quite a few in the landscaping variety. Our yard 'pets' are the trees: Red Oak, Montezuma Cypress, Leland Cypress, Desert Willow, Texas Chaste and Ash. Kevin has taken to fertilizing them every week with his magical concoction that makes them bud and grow faster than normal. He also is killing our pocketbook watering them twice a week. I hate letting go of the money, but you can certainly see the difference in our trees as compared to the other trees on our street. Quite a few trees in our neighborhood died last year because we have been in a drought, but ours are doing great and much taller and more full. It is amazing to see how much they have grown! I can't wait to post before and after shots of them in here this summer. Already our little 3 foot potted Chaste Trees are above my head! Other than trees, we have berry bushes, cacti (I've always wanted to use that word on my blog), Mexican Sage, Orange Bulbines, and some bush with yellow flowers that is growing really fast out front.

Our wildflowers didn't come up that we planted, but there are some purple flowers in the front flower bed that I am in love with. They look like little big, fancy, geometric purple buttons. Our roses and flowers will have to remain nameless. I'm not great with horticultural names; I tend to plant and forget after the little plastic stakes have melted in to the mulch and are not visible any longer. I've always been fond of roses. We have a tea rose bush in the back of the yard that is exploding in fuchsia, and there's this little rose bush we brought home from Sam's Club one day a few months ago:



This is the first bud it has put out for the growing season. Can't wait to see the color in full bloom. Hope there are plenty more where that came from. After Kevin gets the coffee grinds and fertilizer after it, I'm sure it will be popping out colorful (and hopefully fragrant) goodness all year long.

So, while the last few weeks of Texas spring vanish in to the nineties (and I'm not talking about decades, but rather degrees), I thought I would post these two garden shots that Morgan took. Yes, my ten year old knows how to utilize the 'rule of thirds' and takes great pictures with mama's camera. I enjoyed playing with her photos and enhancing them since I had to sit inside with baby and Boppy while everyone else was out in the sunshine. Her pictures inspire me to get out in the dirt and plant again... before the summer heat takes its toll on the vegetation. There's just something about the green of spring that woos the world out of doors. Reminds me of that scene in Amazing Grace where William Wilberforce says, "I have 10,000 engagements of state today but I would prefer to spend the day out here getting a wet arse, studying dandelions and marveling at... bloody spider's webs."

Between the garden, the bills, the baby and homeschooling, I'm really finding blogging to be more scarce than I would like. I guess that's just part of life... the garden has its empty season, too. There are seasons where your beds are green and robust; teeming with busy shoots and lush produce. Then there is winter: cold, dry dirt, and bare branches reaching to heaven as they rest. There are good things about resting for a time. Growth requires rest. The blooms that come after a period of rest are ever so sweet.


Quick Links:
Building the Raised Garden Beds
Building the Garden, Part II
Peak Growing Season
Friends in my Garden
And More Garden Friends...
Harvesting the Veggies
Herbs Still Growing at Christmas


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Cuteness and the Email

Because sometimes life gets in the way of blogging, I'm giving you the cut-and-paste today. Just a random email I sent my cousin - hardly edited (only a few names and places have been omitted to protect the not-so-innocent). You know why you're getting some random email? Because GI Baby is torturing me with tactical maneuvers to prevent me from getting him on a schedule. He did the "I have to eat every hour" move last night. Then today when 'nap time' rolled around at 11:30, he stayed awake and forced me to feed him another four times before he finally went down at 2:30pm. Don't try to console me with the 'oh, it's probably just a growth spurt' stuff. The kid needs to know that we have to have a routine around here.

There went all my time for blogging. And homeschooling. Baby's unfortunate older siblings will be making up their school work this evening and tomorrow. All because our little Kewpie doll decided he wasn't happy if things were running a bit more smoothly.

But who can stay mad at a face like this:



Yeah, you know you baby product companies out there are just ITCHING to get your hands on that bad boy. He's like ultra-cute. Mega-cute. That's cuteness that kills, baby.

So here's your random emailed letter to Sara (that I wrote YESTERDAY - when the baby was behaving) because blogging time for today is nearly over if I plan on getting anything else on my list done:

Sara,

Nap time was a dream today - he slept from 12:30 to 3:30. This seems to be his new pattern (you know, since he's done it two days in a row now). Yesterday was 11:30 to 2:30. He gets really stinky tired in the late afternoon and dozes some, but he won't nap again until he goes to bed. That's around 9:30 or 10pm. Then he wakes at night around 12:30 or 1:30 to be fed... as late as 3 if I put him down between 10-11. He didn't want to go back to sleep last night. I put my foot down and told him if he didn't go to sleep I was going to let him cry it out in his bed. He must have been scared since he dozed off after the third booby and slept until 7am. Then he had his morning booby-juice and slept again until 9:30am. I'm not telling if I slept until then, too. If I tell you, I'll have to kill you.

We got off to a late start with school today (was that an admission of guilt?). But the kids at least did their math (2 pages!) and we got a book-case cleaned off that has been needing to be cleaned off all school year. They'll get the rest of school done by dinner time. I went through my curriculum and reading materials for the rest of the year and am going to sell and return things soon. Our next subject matter after we finish up the 1800s and Civil War period is Ancient History and Egypt and Weather/Meteorology. We have two Netflix Civil War documentaries to watch before bedtime tonight.

I can't wait to do Egypt. I have the stack of books ready and waiting. I'm going to see King Tut in Dallas before they close the exhibit in May. You better go with us since it will be M's last chance to see the exhibit for who knows how long. I saw it when I was 5 in another state with my grandparents. I was forever changed. Now I 'walk like an Egyptian'. We already watched a special on the pyramids on some cable channel while we were in San Antonio not long ago. Shoot - I forgot to put that down as school stuff in their computer records. Thanks for reminding me.

Anyway, about the baby shower for little H... I will be forcing Kev to tag along. Hopefully he won't mind. I may withhold some info about your hubby not being there. I'm sure he'll get over it after detoxing with a few blow-'em-up movies after all that time spent with chicks. If worse comes to worse, he can take the baby outside for a walk. Pray for sunshine!

You'll drop your baby weight pronto as much as you exercise and diet. I have no will power for either. I am around what I weighed when I got pregnant (which was 15 lbs over what I would really like to be). I have not been doing the shakes like I should since I am nursing and ALWAYS hungry. I'll worry about weight later. I lost a lot with Morgan after the six month mark when I was still nursing. By 9 months my mother was telling me she thought I had cancer. I was down to 125 - which I thought was impossible after I had Kaden and never could get past 135 again. It was probably the healthiest and thinnest I have been since I had kids - and then I started craving ice cream. So for an entire summer I had ice cream and magic shell every day for a snack... and thence came the 10 lbs again. UGH. Don't listen to your body if it craves ice cream. It's a trick.

Love in Him,
Heather


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March and April Goals

Remember the LIST? And the Monthly BREAKDOWN of goals for January? Then the progress report for January? And the progress report for February? Those were nice. Then came March. And baby. And there went all my plans.

So I won’t even bother with grades for March since I’m sure I’m flunking in a bigger-than-life way. I know I have an excuse, but it still doesn’t feel good to know that my year was hijacked and I may not recover. Physically, yes. Emotionally, eventually (hormones are not your friend). But list-wise… I am not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. School and "getting things done" are suffering a huge blow. This may cure me of my perfectionism yet. God has mysterious ways of working on your character traits.

I decided earlier that I would need to get 12 projects done per month to finish the list off by December 2009. Here’s what I got done in March (wow, I’m glad I typed that out – I look a lot less like a slug on paper):

2. pay off a credit card (2 of them so far)
13. have the baby and take pictures of his wrinkly feet
53. continue reading homeschool/teaching books
66. get Pampered Chef Timer
90. deep clean before baby comes
97. have someone over for dinner this month (we took them out to dinner – does that count?)
108. have kids/dad read to baby in belly (in and out of the belly – much more fun when he’s out of the belly)
109. baby shower for family
111. get playpen, car seat, stroller
113. declutter once a month (kitchen cabinets, pantry, kid’s closets, my closet)
117. kids to cook a meal without help for March (Morgan but not Kaden)
134. make list of photos I want to snap at the hospital when the baby is born
140. work some on indexing blog
146. buy baby book
153. get authors for the Homeschool Post up and running
Not numbered: Go through horrendous process of getting baby to nurse after nipple confusion with little or no sleep (I am the champion!)

____________________________________

Below are my plans for April (some of these may be carried over from above if they aren't done yet):

149/150. Decorate baby & M’s room/Paint mural and crib
2. pay off another credit card
5. redesign my blog
7. organize children's closets, rooms, toys
10. continue to read books with the kids (we're way behind on our 100 chapter book list!)
13. more wrinkly feet photos before he’s too big (he’s 9 lbs right now after 4 weeks – and he was born at 9 lbs, 4 oz… so I still have a bit of time for hand and feet photos just for fun)
15. get caught up with grading, recording, filing, portfolios for school
17. seed the garden and get it in shape for the growing season (buying dirt soon!)
19. get Ammie's recipes (Chicken Parm, Parm pasta, Green beans, Artichoke dip...)
23. find and get in to homeschool groove
27. work on bedtime goals
28. time each day with the Lord
30. finish GeeArt and start CE
36. more ways to make hubby happy
38. finish the school closet
47. redo school routine (get it written down on paper)
53. continue reading homeschool/teaching books
61. fix the king bed frame
65. keep up with menu plans and eat at home more
75. buy another must-have book for our home library
78. more give-aways on my blog
79. more recipes (3x per week) on Gathering Manna
82. continue to put school before housework
94. print July-December for calendar, make 2008 annual letter
97. have someone over for dinner this month
102. height and weight for kids (measure this week)
103. continue to do James copywork, proof-read when done
105. buy some more lamps and overhead lighting & install
107. read to the kids every day
108. have kids/dad read to baby
115. get loose school papers in closet and binderize them
117. kids to cook a meal without help for April (Kaden to make 3 this month)
130. sell stuff (Xbox, games, books, curriculum, furniture)
132. cat door installed
133. make list of books for the kids (ones they are interested in reading)
140. finish indexing blog (or at least make progress)
147. go see home-bound friend
Not numbered: take walks with the baby, thank you cards sent out, look for a rocking chair on Craig’s List, go through curriculum on homeschool shelves and purge, go through stack of to-do homeschool projects and get them done, plan for King Tut Dallas trip & homeschool conventions, get caught up on paperwork and calendars


That's a lot of stuff to get done – makes me dizzy just thinking about it. Since half of April is already gone, I have a handicap. I also have a little booby-tick that prevents me from getting a lot done around here, too. He’s ever so cute, though. A sweet, cuddly distraction.

How are you doing on your list for 2009?

What Famous Dorks and their Families Do on Easter

Remember the letter 'D'? Yep - D is for dork. We don't mind, though. Being goofy is a fun way to be.



Speaking of dorks, I'm spotlighted over at the Heart of the Matter today. Nikowa got me to bare my soul and give up the juicy and completely dorky details about the name of my blog. I can't believe I told her all that stuff and she actually posted it. Oh, well... those of you who know me probably already know I'm crazy.

Sorry I don't have a deep and inspiring Easter message for you. I did good just to get to church today with everyone's clothes on and all the baby gear in tow. Even if I only got to see the inside of the nursing room for the entire service... and the entire class hour. He fell asleep as class ended when everyone came out to visit in the halls before leaving. Figures.

And Chipotle was closed. Good for them. So we ate at Luby's. Along with 8,000 other people. We braved the line with a stroller. Thankfully the Viking slept for the entire meal (for a change).



The bluebonnet photos didn't go so well. But at least we tried.

So what do dorks do on Easter? Tonight we're just watching movies... changing poopy diapers... cluster-feed nursing... and probably having cereal for dinner. Enjoying a family night with Daddy before the 'normal' routine begins this week.

Until then... I hope you have a super Easter and a great week. I'm going to try and keep the blog updated daily going forward... phasing out of maternity leave. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! Praise the Lord for Jesus and the pwoer of His resurrection.



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L is for Little Look-Alike

Me thinks there's a bit of a resemblance to one certain other boy-child in the family...


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The Good and the Bad

Are you one of those people who like the good news first? I can't say that I am. I'd rather get the bad stuff out of the way so I can try and enjoy the good. That being said, I figured the photo above sums up how I'm feeling right about now. So I'm venting (something most bloggers will advise you NOT to do if you plan to keep your readers) and trying to get my attitude straight so I can focus on the positive.

Let's just get it out in the open, shall we?

THE BAD

1. I'm not growing boobs fast enough to feed the milk termite. We've been joking that one morning Kev is going to wake up and find him in bed with a lump in his stomach where I once was - like a bed-dwelling, mommy-eating anaconda. Sadly, I don't know if he's really gaining weight or how much I'm really feeding him. So this week I'm going to beg the doctor and see if he'll let me borrow his scale to just "see" if all this constant feeding is actually helping the little guy.

2. I left my laptop power cord in San Antonio. At the hotel. Like a complete moron. And now I can't get in to my homeschool assignments/records, pay my bills, check my email without getting online and spending a million times more time (of which I have little without my distraction keeping me one-handed).

3. Last night there was very. little. sleep.

4. Today there has been very. much. hormone. overload. And tears.

5. I let my daughter take pictures in San Antonio on the River Walk (because I was slightly busy)... and she took lots of blurry photos of DUCKS. I had pacifier duty. There was plenty unhappiness as I scanned the downloaded shots.

6. My husband may have to do some extended traveling - forcing me to have to do some extended traveling as well (if I want to get to see him at all). We did hotel school last week for a day or two, so I guess carschool and out-of-town school won't be so bad.

7. Kaden put his hand on the burner yesterday and got a second degree burn on his fingers. Poor kid.

8. I'm behind on everything. Bills, school, paperwork, email, blogging, laundry, housekeeping, projects, gardening, grocery shopping, and more. Seriously, folks... you know it is bad when you are fighting over the last roll of toilet paper.

9. I gained back five pounds. I thought you were supposed to eat when you were breastfeeding? That 13$ cheeseburger at Hard Rock Cafe was good (even completely cold after breastfeeding for 20 minutes in the restroom), but it sure is sticking to my hips.

10. I actually started this post Friday when we got home from our little 'business trip vacation'... so you can imagine how long it takes me to get things done around here. I feel like I'm in a time trap - and life is moving along without me. Wonder if I'll ever catch up.



So now for the good news? Now that you've popped open your Prosac bottle? Exercises in thankfulness are good for complainers like me.

THE GOOD

1. The baby is breastfeeding. A week ago I was in tears trying to win him back to the breast, fighting off the urge to throw my pump out the window at the neighbor's annoying dog, and supplementing formula just to keep babysita from dehydrating. As long as baby is gaining weight, I can stick out the nipple torment.

2. We found the cord to the laptop. Praise the Lord. Now mommy has HER pacifier back.

3. I'm getting a bit more sleep lately. Baby sleeps well in the bed with me. We just rotate sides when he's hungry and change diapers between feedings. Now I'll just have to start getting to bed earlier and getting OUT of bed earlier. Looking forward to a routine...

4. I got to spend two nights in a company-paid-for hotel with Daddy in San Antonio. It was a really nice get-away after being cooped up in the house for so long. My mom helped me pack to go and clean the house before we left. Kev helped me with the carrier and diaper duty while we were there.

5. BlogHer wants me to speak in July. I'm so honored. I really want to go, so I'm looking for sponsors. I can't afford the air fare. Looks like the trip will cost me 1500$ if I were to go and although that seems impossible, I trust that God is in control and if He wants me in Chicago, He'll get me there.

6. We're getting school done despite the chaos. I doubt Charlotte Mason would give me her seal of approval, but I'm happy that at least all the basics are getting done plus some. Not having to give up ALL of our summer on catch-up is going to be a nice reward for sticking to it.

7. I have leftover fried rice and sesame chicken fingers from last night for lunch today. And I'll let you in on a little secret... I eat baby food. Yep. I'm addicted to Gerber's blueberry-apple. It is so. way. better. than applesauce. Try it! You'll get hooked.

8. At least I had time for a shower today.

9. My husband has a job. Travel or no travel - that's more than a lot of people can say in this economy.

10. This baby is ten-thousand kinds of cute. God knew what he was doing making babies so precious. Cute and precious keeps you from the adoption agency phone call at 3 AM when your nipples are bleeding and the baby's diaper leaked bright-yellow, liquid poop all over your Egyptian cotton sheets. Of course, that's just a dramatic example... but you get the picture. Life is not easy in the first months of babydom, so cuteness is a baby's best friend.



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Mooooo

I would include a REAL photo with this post, but it would not be a pretty one. Just me in my cotton pajamas, bags under my eyes, pasty skin, looking like a sleep deprived mother of a cluster-feeding, breastfed infant that isn't on any sort of schedule yet. [Thank God for church friends bringing meals and homeschooling which allows for naps.] However, I don't think a photo of me at this juncture would win me any additional blog traffic, nor do I want anyone using it to blackmail me one day. Wouldn't want my little dude to feel guilty for torturing his mama one day, either... in case he happened in here to read my blog.

So instead, I'm sharing this calf that I photographed last October... and the story of how I'm feeling quite a lot like a cow lately.

I managed to get the baby to take the breast again after we had to supplement formula due to late milk arrival and his being a large baby that was getting jaundice and dehydrating in the first week. He was preferring the bottle (lazy little bugger), but the nipple shields that Medela makes sufficiently tricked him back to breastfeeding. Now that he's breastfeeding, though, he seems to want a Jersey Cow rather than me. I just don't have five boobs, and that is about how many he needs for one feeding.

I'm taking milk-making herbs... drinking water... eating good... but I just can't seem to keep up. Either that, or he's using me as a living pacifier?

I do know this... he isn't up to birth-weight yet (originally 9 lbs, 4 oz). His pediatrician told me yesterday that he's at 8 lbs and 9 oz. Up just a few ounces since last week. He left the hospital at 8 lbs, 7 oz. You would have thought that he would have gained a pound by the amount of milk he "seems" to be getting from his 'mama cow'.

I was curious to know how much milk I am producing now that I haven't been pumping. I was told to not pump so that he could "regulate me". So tonight, I popped the booby that he doesn't prefer in to the pump and filled a bottle with 1.5 ounces in about 12 minutes. Hmmm. So does that mean that he's getting 1.5 ounces each time he drinks from one side? If so, the boy should be ALL KINDS OF FAT. Shoot - after dinner he must have had the equivalent of six boobs before he went to bed.

Either breast milk is the leanest and meanest food on planet earth (allowing you to gorge on a whim without any caloric consequences whatsoever), or something is amiss.

Any of you milk mamas out there want to give me some lactation advice?

This mama heifer is plum wore out.


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