I can see the floor!

Ok, so it wasn't THAT bad, but it was bad. We actually managed to accomplish everything on our list yesterday, can you believe that?! I don't think I realized how messy our house had gotten, so truth be told, all of our Monday chores took twice as long to complete, because it was such a mess. I followed the Flylady rules, and didn't do it perfect, I only spent 10 minutes doing each of my home blessing tasks, even though each needed at least an hour of my time...especially the dusting and sweeping.

I tried my best not to keep working when the time was up, but sometimes it was difficult, but now I can see that even though I didn't give each area 100%, overall the house looks 10 times better than it did before we started yesterday. Today is a bit more relaxed, we've already done our morning chores, the kitchen is staying clean, as we keep up with it continually instead of waiting until the end of the day to clean it, and our schooling is done for the day. So here's our list for today...

~Morning Routine
~Homeschool
~Daily Chores-
*Sewing/Handwork
*Zone Work-15 minutes in the kitchen
*Laundry-Darks
*Holiday Cruising Mission-just like yesterday, I'm trying to catch up in this area, so I'm doing 4 missions today, and they are....
>>Print out the Flylady Holiday Control Journal
>>Plan where we are going for the holidays and any guests that we are having over
>>Plan holiday meals
>>Plan table decorations (There's still a little work to do here on the holiday missions, but it's mostly done)
~Afternoon Routine
~Before Bed Routine

Red=completed

Tonight is Ladies Night Out at our church, just a fun time of eating, Bible study, and fellowship with no kids. So I will give baths a bit early today and will have dinner ready for everybody in time for me to leave by 6:30pm. I'm hoping to get the chance to do quite a bit of crocheting. My mom's birthday is in just a few days. So that will be my main focus today, since the main chores are mostly done. So I'm out of here for now, the Lord is really blessing me and I'm so thankful for so many thing right now. Praying you all have a blessed day!

In His Grace,
sara

This and That

Well, now you know, this is what we do with our children when they misbehave. Just kidding, I have no idea what he was doing in there. He's such a goober.

Well, our weekend was good, although as of yesterday, I fell off the flylady bandwagon for the day. Quite honestly, I still have dishes in the sink from yesterday, but hey, today's another day.

Sunday's are such a blessing to us, but it is a busy day with church taking up nearly our whole day. I try very hard to get as much done on Saturday as I can to prepare for Sunday, but I'm still learning. I've been doing lots of crockpot meals, which helps, and I always give baths and lay out clothes the night before, now I need to figure out how to smooth out the wrinkles on the rest of the day. It'd be nice if I could just use disposable dishes just for that day, but that's not us. I'm sure we'll figure it out soon enough.

So today, I'm going to babystep my way back where I need to be, which really won't be too difficult, as we really didn't use that many dishes yesterday. I'm going to be jumping ahead a bit after I get caught up. There are some things that need to be taken care of that have been a bit neglected while I was babystepping thus far. So for today, here's our list of to-do's:

~Morning Routine
~Daily Chores-
-Weekly Home Blessing Hour
-Zone Work-15 minutes in the Kitchen
-Laundry-Towels and Sheets
-Holiday Cruising Missions-I probably shouldn't do it this way, but I really need to get caught up on this, so I'm going to do 4 Monday cruising missions today. I really, really want a peaceful holiday this year, so here's the missions-
-27 Fling Boogie-That's 27 items of trash, and then 27 items to donate
-15 minutes clearing hotspots
-Weekly Home Blessing Hour-this one won't be extra, it's just one of the missions that I'm doing anyways.
-Flinging toys in the kids rooms
~Afternoon Routine
~Before Bed Routine

Red=completed

That's going to be it for today, (yeah, like it's not enough. lol.) The kids have a lot to do also, including their regular chores and there own zone work in their bedrooms. I also have got to work on my mom's blanket. So any spare time will be devoted to that. As you can see, I don't have school on this list, we're taking the day off to get caught up on housework, we'll probably make up for it on Saturday. Well, I'm outa here.....

In His Grace,
sara

Blessed Thursday

Life certainly looks exciting here, doesn't it? That's Miss Emily sitting in our old brown pick-up that we just sold this week. We debated on keeping it, but it was costing us more than it was worth. I lovingly referred to it as the old brown piece of poo, namely because it just sat there and did nothing. It ran, but it had to be jumped each time, and it had a transmission leak, and it was a big ole' rust bucket, so we sold it for a small sum, enough to pay for Christmas and then some, so it's was worth it to us to sell it.

Today we are at home, although, I will need to make a quick stop at the grocery store for milk and a few other needed items, but it's only 6 blocks down the road. Yesterday was semi-productive. I did manage to get started "flying" yesterday. My sink is shiny, we layed our clothes out last night, and I managed to dress to my shoes, both today and yesterday. Today will be working towards keeping up with that.

I'm reading Flylady's book, Sink Reflections, a chapter a day. Yesterday's chapter was about where to begin, which is why I was focusing on those few things that I listed, today's chapter is about clutter. Tomorrow will be the next babystep, how to conquer the clutter. I think this is a good way for me to get started, instead of jumping in head first like I always do. The flylady website is nice, but it's very overwhelming, and it's hard to know where to start. The book is layed out in a step by step format, which is great for me. I will try to post daily on my journey with Flylady, and all the baby steps I'm taking. I thought about doing individual posts about it, but I tend to not follow through when I do things like that, so I'll just add it to my daily posts as I can.

We also managed to get school done before lunch, a feat that we haven't accomplished in a very long time. It was so nice, let me tell you, to be done with that by the time hubby is home for lunch. We are spending the afternoon doing a few chores, crafts, and enjoying the lovely weather we are having this week. This is definately a habit I want to continue with.

If you have the chance I'd encourage you to head over and read Candy's post over at Keeping the Home today. She has been sharing her thoughts on being quiverfull, and her thoughts reflect my feelings exactly. I always felt kind of lost for words when people asked me if we were done having children or if we were going to try and be the next Duggar family. Definately check it out if you get the chance!

Well, I'm off to spend some time crocheting and maybe reading a bit (I'm re-reading the Left Behind Series, great read if you ever get the chance), before my little guy wakes up from his nap. I also need to finish preparing for our Keepers of the Faith meeting tomorrow. Have a blessed day!

In His Grace,

sara

Blessed Wednesday

As you can see, I am finally able to upload photos to my blog again, yay! This was taken last Saturday. No, we don't celebrate Halloween, but we did carve a pumpkin. I know the history behind carving pumpkins on Halloween, but we used our pumpkin to teach about how Jesus changes us.

He takes us, full of sin, and he cleans all that yucky sin out, and puts his light in us, to shine for everyone to see. On the other side of our pumpkin is a smiley face not a scary pumpkin face. The kids loved it, and it really had meaning for them. It was really neat because when we lit our pumpkin, the face shined, and because we carved a cross on the back of it, the cross shone up on our front door.

Some people may frown on how we take non Christian holidays and traditions and make them our own, but I believe God sees what is on our heart,and as long as we are giving a good testimony for others to see, then I think it's okay.

Other than the pumpkin, we stayed in, played some games, watched some movies, made some goodies, and just enjoyed time together as a family. We made our favorite fall time cookie. It's super easy. Here's the recipe...

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

1 box spice cake mix

1 small can of pumkin pie puree

1 can of cream cheese frosting

Preheat oven to 350*. Mix your spice cake mix and your pumpkin pie puree together until well blended. Spoon out onto a greased cookie sheet. With a little water on your fingers, pat down the top of the cookies as they won't settle like regular cookies. Bake for 14 minutes. Let cool and ice cookies. Yum!

This week we are still trying to heal. This sickness really took a toll on us. We are all feeling much better, but the energy, especially my energy is severely lacking. The coughs are still lingering, and Miss Emily seems to have an ear infection and pinkeye now. I'm working hard this week trying to get back into a routine, which is never easy for me, but Lord willing we will get there.

Jacob's visit to the doctor this week brought a bit of good news. He gained 10 ounces, and the doctor told me I should completely wean him, which I am okay with. She wanted me to put him on soy formula, but after much thought and prayer on the subject, I decided to keep him on the goat's milk. The doctor worried about him not getting enough iron from the goat's milk, but with all the iron he's getting from his baby cereal and other food, I have no concerns. Doctors for some reason think that babies should get so much iron that they suffer from severe constipation, that's just not normal if you ask me. Since starting him on the goat's milk, his eczema has improved daily. I have a guilty feeling that his eczema was due to my poor diet. I drank entirely too much caffiene. I felt like I needed it to survive most days, but I know I could have kicked the habit had I just taken it to the Lord.

As to Jacob's developmental delays and weight loss, the doctor thinks that it is because of him not getting enough nourishment from me, which is possible. I haven't pumped since he was just a few months old, so I have no idea how much he was getting, I stupidly assumed that it was enough. I know now, to keep a better eye on that for future reference. Part of me thinks I should just cut out the bad stuff, and take some herbs to increase my milk supply, but I usually wean at 12-13 months, and he seems ready to wean as it is. I really think, though that his delays are at least in part due to the extended use of the steroid creams. I guess we'll never know for sure. The doctor was not overly concerned with his delays, because he is catching up, slowly. We go back in 3 weeks for a weight check and see where he's at in his development, and if he's still significantly behind, we will start seeing a physical therapist.

Now to find a good supply for goat's milk. We are using the powdered stuff that you can buy at the grocery store. He seems to like it, but I would prefer to be able to give him fresh. I still can't seem to talk my dear husband into buying a couple of small goats for our little urban homestead. We really need them now, not only for milk, but for the brush that grows wild in our backyard. Maybe some day.

In other news, not much has been going on. As I said, I am working hard at restoring order here, which is easier said than done. I wrote up a really good schedule that I was ready to put in place right as the sickness took over our home, and now with the lack of energy, I'm still finding it hard to put it to use. I am really wanting my home in order for the holidays. We will have my husband's family home this year for Christmas, and I really want my home to be a welcoming place for them to want to be, especially since I'm not too keen on visiting for very long at other's homes, but hey that's another blog post in itself. I guess if I'm really a Flylady follower as I claim to be, I need to do what she says and just take babysteps and quit trying to do it all in one day. So for today I will start at step one...I will shine my sink, I will get dressed to my shoes, fix my hair and face(ofcourse I don't how much I can do with this mess, lol), I will lay out my clothes for tomorrow, and I will go to bed at a decent time,(which for me is 10pm). Then tomorrow, if I can, I will move to step two. If not, I'll be happy with just getting step one done for now. Of course there are a couple of other things I have to do...laundry, school, and meals, but I will be happy with that for today.

I'm also working on my mom's birthday present, if you can remember...here's the link to that little project. I am down to my last 4 squares. I'm about halfway done with one of them. I need to have it completed by the 15th of this month. I think I can do it. Another big project I'm working on is a Christmas colored mile-a-minute afghan for my mother-in-law. I don't have to have it done until the first of December, which shouldn't be too hard as I'm about 1/3 of the way done with it, and it works up rather quickly. Those intermixed with some smaller projects is definately keeping me busy. I'll do my best to post pictures of completed projects as I get them done.

Well, I better go, if I'm going to accomplish anything today. Believe me, there's plenty here to keep me busy. Have a blessed Wednesday!

In His Grace,

Sara

A Few Updates

Well, it looks like I may finally get back to some regular blogging. Our computer seems to be good as new. I can even start uploading pictures again soon. Yay!

Anyways, just thought I'd update on a few things....

Took Jacob and my girls to the doctor on Wednesday. I wanted the girls checked over to make sure that they were going to be okay, and to find out what exactly they were suffering from...turns out it was just a cold with some major congestion and an ear infection. So they'll live. In fact that may be what we all have had. Although I have to say, I really think it was the flu. My body never ached so bad from just a cold.

The good news here is that everybody who was suffering seems to be on the mend. Coughs are lingering and the children find my froggy voice quite hilarious, but we are more or less better.

Of course the main goal of the appointment was to see if we could figure out what was going on with my littlest guy, Jacob. At his appointment we found out that he is continuing to lose weight, a big warning sign for the dr's, and he's not grown any...at all. He weighed in at 18 pounds at 6 months, 16 pounds at 9 months, and now 15 pounds at nearly 11 months.

The first thing I wanted to know was if these problems were caused from the extended use of steroid cream, she couldn't deny that it could be a cause, but she said it is highly unlikely, and with the continued weight loss, I tend to think she's right. He's been off the steroids for 2 months, and should be fully out of his system by now.

So the next question is what is causing these problems? We don't know...and by we, I mean the doctor and I couldn't come to any immediate conclusions, but we've both agreed that he should come in once a week until we do figure it out. She ran some preliminary blood tests. She also suggested that he may have a milk protein allergy. But after doing my own research once at home, I don't think that's it. Children with milk protein allergies have severe vomiting and diarhea, neither of which Jacob has ever had. The only symptom of that he does have is the eczema. Same for the gluten allergy. We go back in on Monday. She suggested that I start weaning him, and at first didn't know what to wean him too, and suggested rice milk, but I decided that goat's milk would be better for him, and he is loving it. I've only replaced one nursing with goat's milk, but he is doing wonderfully on it, with no adverse reactions so far. That's about all we'll be doing for at least a couple of weeks. Just one nursing session replaced, because I didn't intend to wean him until he was a year, and I want to make sure the goat's milk doesn't affect his eczema.

Other than getting over the yuckies and working on figuring out what's going on with Jacob, there's not a lot going on. I'm really looking forward to November, it seems like a great chance to start over. The last few weeks have been a train wreck for me. From the housework to our homeschool. Nothing has been getting done.

We are jumping in on Monday with a new schedule, one that I'm really praying will work for us. The kids and I sat down and prayed about it and went through the schedule together and tweaked what we thought might not work, and what would, and we will give it a go first thing Monday. I had to be very realistic with it, but also set a few of our daily goals high, or else what's the point of trying to change things around.

We are planning on going to church tomorrow, but I'm prepared for another Sunday at home. Somebody will likely wake up not feeling well enough. So we will see how tomorrow goes. Talk to you all soon.

In His Grace,
Sara

Sickness and Computer Woes

Lest you think I've fallen off the planet, I thought I'd let anybody who stops by here know that we have the flu, not all of us, but about half of us, which includes me, hubby, and so far one of my children, my oldest daughter. I'm fairly certain it's not the kind that comes with a snout and curly tail (sorry, small pun intended), but nonetheless we have the flu. We are treating it with lots of vitamin c, some chicken noodle soup, and some pricey natural flu relief medicine that starts with O, and is just too hard for my brain to spell at the moment, but if you need to know it, let me know, I'll do my best to try to spell it out for you. And no, for those wondering we don't get the flu vaccine, I'd rather have the flu, thank you.



One of my children, my oldest boy, has pinkeye, no idea where that came from...my youngest daughter seems healthy, although I noticed a slight cough, and my youngest son, has symptoms of a teething baby, for more than a week now, with no sign of little teeth. No matter, no one is being spared a healthy daily dose of vitamin C until this yuckiness is out of here.



I'm scheduled to take our little guy to a new pediatrician on Wednesday, hopefully to get some answers about a few things...why he's going through the motions of teething, but his little gums aren't even swollen, also why he's still so small, weighing in at about 16lbs, at nearly 11 months old, and why he's so far behind( well actually I know why, it's those steroids that I stupidly let that doctor keep him on for 6 months of his little life, but hey, that's another rant), I want to know what we can do about it. At nearly 11 months old now, he's at the development stage of a 6 month old, starting to sit up pretty good, still falling over a lot though, and starting to belly crawl. His speech is great, he told us each who we were today, it was awesome, but this mama is worried. So if you can, please pray we can find some answers for our little guy.

To add to our "drama", our computers, both our computers crashed, within weeks of each other. We put our desktop in the shop, thought it was fixed, but will be taking it back to the shop this week sometime. It's working well enough right now, but it randomly shuts down on us. Although I have to say, that I think it's running faster than it did when we first got it. That's a plus.

So, if you're wondering where I am, and I am sure everyone is, lol, I am here, sick...with the flu...taking care of my family, praying that this will all be over with soon. Lord willing, I will be back to at least weekly postings soon.

In His Grace,
sara

Keeping my priorities straight

I realized that my posts here have gone from a few a week to once a week....I have been working hard at keeping my priorities straight in my life, and the computer has come up last in this endeavor...a good thing, if you ask me... I am still usually on here every day, but my time is short and spent wisely, doing research for recipes or something for the kids schoolwork. God has really been doing a work in me, and I'm so greatful...my time with Him has become so much more than it used to be, my time with my kids also has become much more than it once was, and I think it's because we are giving God the attention he deserves. I can only pray that He will work on my husband's heart, as I continue to pray for him. He's going through a personal battle right now, and not where he needs to be...so if you feel led, please pray for my dear husband.

My home is slowly finding peace...we have gotten rid of boxes and boxes of stuff, and there is more to be taken away. We are also finding a routine that works to keep our home in order, and it is great. I really love the flylady system...I've ran away from her so many times, but it really does work, you just have to do it.

I've also been plugging away at projects...I've got 2 of my 3 pay it forward projects completed and will have the last one done probably today or tomorrow...I'm hoping to have them posted by the end of the week to those of you who participated..I've also got some clothing needs that need to be taken care of...modest cool weather clothing has been difficult to find for all of my children, especially my little guy..I'm sorry, but I refuse to pay $12 for an outfit for a 10 month old, that's ridiculous. So I've got a few patterns that I'm trying out and I'm also working on making him a sweater to wear over his clothes for the really cold nights. I'm hoping to find some fleece on sale this week so that I can make him some extra warm pj's.

Here's my top five projects that need to be completed....

1. PIF project-2/3 complete
2. 2-3 pajama sets for the youngest, as well as a crocheted sweater to keep him warm
3. Crocheted sampler afghan for my mom's birthday-about 1/2 way completed, need to be done by the 15th of next month.
4. Rag dolls for all the little girls under 10 in my family that I'm giving gifts for Christmas-will need to make about 5 of them and one set of clothes for each.
5. Pocket diapers- I've been wanting to completely transition out of using disposables, but couldn't really expect the nursery workers at church to change prefolds and covers, so I'd like to make 3-5 pocket diapers to use during church and when the kids stay with other people, although I don't think that's likely to happen anytime soon.

So you see, I definately have my hands full, and that's the short list, ther's so much more that needs to be done, along with the everyday cleaning, schooling, etc. So if you're wondering where I'm at look for me at the sewing table, or cleaning my house, or reading God's word in my comfy chair. Hopefully I'll have more to share soon....

In His Grace,
sara