2/26/09 THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for jammy days.

What is something that you are thankful for?

WHAT A FUN DAY!

This is our week off of school for the month. Generally our week off is spent with me catching up on stuff around the house and just playing. I decided a few weeks ago, a bit after last months trip to the zoo with friends during our off week, that I should plan an official "outing" during those weeks off. So, I called the library and reserved a cultural pass.

The pass we had was good for five people, so Becky came along with the kids and I. We drove down to Salem and spent a few hours at the A.C. Gilbert Discovery Village. Silas had gone there a couple years ago with a friend and Tim, but it was the first visit for the rest of us. Everyone had a good time. Unfortunately the batteries to the camera died and we didn't get a single picture of our time there. Next time I'll be sure to have freshly charged ones!!

Then we zipped down the road a few miles and popped in to see Tim at work. One of the big, honkin' bummers about him working so far away is that we never get to visit him at work. It stinks, but such is life. Anyway, the kids were showered with candy upon entering the building, given copies of a photo of Tim wearing a pirate's hat, then adorned with necklaces for Mardi Gras. Tim moved to a different building a few weeks ago, so this was our first visit at the new spot.

The last stop of the day was at Dairy Queen, where we scarfed a variety of frozen treats. Then we headed home, ate dinner a while later, then all the kiddos went to bed super early. It was a fun day!

MILKIN' MIRACLE

I got a phone call today from someone wanting my solution to a drop in milk supply. I've had this request several times lately, so I figured I'd post it here.

I'm a wimpy milker when it comes to nursing my kiddos. I dried up at 5 1/2 months with the boys. I mean bone dry, not a drop of milk to be found. With Naomi I made it to nine months and I'll tell you why.

When my milk supply started to tank at 5 months with Naomi I asked for suggestions on the SL forums. I'd tried fenugreek and mother's milk tea with the boys, but it didn't help a lick. Anyway, I read through the ideas people gave me and ended up taking three things. First was fenugreek capsules. I really don't think they do anything for me, but so many people swear by them when it's the only thing they're taking, so I figured it wouldn't hurt. Second was red raspberry leaf tea. I drank 1-2 cups each day. Third was alfalfa capsules. I think the logic with them is "if it works for a dairy cow, then it will work for you". At least that's the slogan I've come up with. I noticed an increase in my supply within 24 hours of taking this miracle concoction. I found all three items at New Seasons. It's a stinkin' spendy store, but it's within walking distance. So that's where I went.

I also want to add a disclaimer. While I strongly believe that nursing is the best option for an infant (after all, God is the one who designed our bodies to nurse), the worth of a mother is not determined by if or for how long she nurses her babies.

NIGHT OF BARGAINS

I received an automated message from Garlic Jim's last week. Evidently they hadn't seen us in a while and wanted to offer us a deal, a BOGO deal. Perfect. So, our final act of tax refund gluttony was enjoyed tonight. My all-time favorite pizza from there is nutty chipotle, but they were out of Italian sausage. Bummer!! I survived though and we thoroughly enjoyed two pizzas. One was half smokin' sweet bbq chicken and half chicken bacon ranch, the other was half spinach artichoke pie and half gourmet hawaiian. Yum!!

After dinner I hopped online and was reading the blogs in my blog reader. One was from my friend Maryanne. Some time ago I told her about the Grocery Game. She tried it, then took the concepts she learned there and created her own site called My Penny Pile. She's always posting a variety of bargains (though she also chats about other things some of the time) and tonight she had a post about some deals at Kmart. I've lived near a Kmart for 3 1/2 years and never shop there. However, it's super double coupon week and so I decided to get some of the deals Maryanne posted about. I scored one toothpaste, one pack of gum, two boxes of liners, two chocolate bars, and two 10-packs of disposable razors for free. Love stretching a dollar. Or not using any dollars at all.

Half price pizza and a grocery bag full of free items. I'd say that's a pretty good night. And now I'm wrapping it up with my weekly posting of pics on Picasa. Be sure to check them out!

MONEY WELL SPENT

Remember when I ate an entire box of Samoas earlier in the month? Well, those were a gift from a friend who had a stash in her freezer, but they made me realize how often I miss Girl Scout cookie sales. I knew we were within a month or two of cookie time, so I hopped online to find out when and where I could buy them in my neighborhood.

Now, Girl Scout cookies are ridiculously expensive. Truly wonderful, but definitely spendy. I just didn't have the money to justify buying overpriced cookies. So, what's a girl to do? It just so happens that our tax refund recently arrived. Almost all of it is going to responsible things like hospital bills and curriculum, but I figured we could live on the edge and spend some on Girl Scout cookies. I'm considering it an investment in our mental health.

Want to know what I got? Two boxes of Samoas for me. Two boxes of Tagalongs for Tim. And one box of Samoas for ....

Well, I'll tell you later what the other box is for.

Since I know you'll need something to occupy your time while you wait with great anticipation to see what the final box of Samoas is for, I'll send you right here to find out when and where you can buy Girl Scout cookies in your area.

2/19/09 THANKFUL THURSDAY

Oops. Forgot to post this yesterday.

I'm thankful for Becky and Brandon, great friends who just love on our kids, take them on occasional dates, watch them when I have an appointment or Tim and I need a date, send them e-mails, and chat with them on the phone.

What is one thing you are thankful for?

TOTALLY RELAXED

My friend Becca joined the kiddos and I for dinner tonight. We ate Italian sausage & bowties, which is one of my all-time favorite foods, salad and brownies (Betty Crocker's Triple Chunk, in case you were interested). A perfect meal. The kids bounced off the walls for a bit, then went to bed early. Becca and I spent about an hour and a half chatting about life, something we hadn't done in a while. She left and I'm catching up with some stuff online while watching a movie (Becoming Jane, in case you were interested) from the library.

Good friends. Good food. Sleeping kids. Free entertainment. I'm totally relaxed.

ANOTHER INSOMNIAC

It's 10:30 and Naomi hasn't slept yet. She's so tired, but she just keeps crying and crying. Unless she's being held. My guess? She misses Tim. On the rare occasion that she has trouble shutting off at night, she always wants him. But he's not here. Poor thing. So much for getting too bed at a decent hour tonight. The positive spin? I'm getting lots of snuggles.

BREAKFAST

It boggles my mind that so many people don't eat breakfast. Aren't you hungry when you wake up? Aren't you ravenous by noon if you skip breakfast? Are you tired and sluggish in the morning? I just don't get it. Breakfast is the very first thing on my agenda in the morning and I can't imagine life without it.

So, today I'm going to share some of our favorite breakfast foods with you. We have hot cereal 3-4 times a week, varying between oatmeal and 7-grain. Both of those can be purchased in the bulk department at WinCo. We serve them with brown sugar, strawberry jam and/or a homemade syrup that we love.

The other 3-4 mornings a week are varied. A relatively new favorite is a fancy version of oatmeal. It's a baked oatmeal that can be made the night before and just popped in the oven when you wake up. Other mornings we have waffles or pancakes. Another way we use oats is in granola. It's make a double batch in the crockpot (make sure yours is big enough for a double batch before you get started), then store it in a gallon-sized ziploc bag. We often do muffins and our favorites are morning glory, honey wheat, and bright day banana. Scrambled eggs with cinnamon toast are always a hit, but we also like using eggs in dutch babies.

The only thing we never eat is cold cereal (other than granola, of course). It's ridiculously expensive and isn't filling. I could eat an entire box of cereal and still be hungry!

Anyway, that's that. I just started a batch of granola, which is what prompted me to share our breakfast meals with you. Do you have any great breakfast ideas and/or recipes to share? If so, please leave them in the comment section!!

STUNTMEN

The boys love to show off their stunts, so I decided to record them for the blog. They're excited about their 15 minutes (or seconds, as the case may be) of fame. Enjoy watching them climb, stand, dance, spin and hang.

STRETCHING THE SHOPPING DOLLAR

Times are hard for a lot of people right now. I've even noticed that I'm getting less freebies at Rite Aid and Walgreens. I'm assuming companies just can't afford to give as great of rebates as they did in the past. And my regular Sunday morning checkers at Rite Aid told me this morning that their managers all took unpaid vacation time in order to keep from cutting the hours and/or jobs of the people who work for them.

So, in an attempt to help everyone pinch a few more pennies I wanted to let you know of two ways to save some money.

Value Village is having a 50% off day tomorrow. Do you have any idea how much you can get at a thrift store when everything is half-price? A lot! You never know what they'll have in stock, so one trip you may get stuff your family needs now and the next trip is one for stocking up on next season's clothes. They have the 50% off sales on several federal holidays, so be sure to sign up on their site for e-mail notification of those sales.

I've talked before about shopping in WinCo's bulk section, but I recently discovered something new. This may be old news to the general population, but I'll share it for those who were clueless like me. If you look at the bin label you'll see the price per pound. Then under that price is a "per case" price written in small letters. The case size is on the bottom left of the sign. If you buy a whole case (generally 20-25 pounds for things like oats, beans, and flour or a few pounds for things like nuts and spices), then you get a 10% discount. If there are things you always use a lot of, then buy a case!! If you can't afford to buy cases of several items, then just choose one per month so that you don't run out of all of them at once. If you shop at a different store that also sells items in bulk, then check to see if they give a discount for buying a full case of an item.

8:40

That's what time I tucked Silas into bed. I realize that may not seem worthy of blogging about since his bedtime is 8:00. Big deal, right?

Well, let me clarify one little detail. His bedtime is 8:00pm and I tucked him in at 8:40am, about twenty minutes ago. Our six year old stayed up all night!! He was up for nearly 26 hours straight!

The grade school group at church had an all-nighter at Safari Sam's last night. Most kids, including Silas, brought sleeping bags and pillows, as many kids end up crashing at some point. Evidently our son didn't want to miss out on any of the fun and managed to keep his eyes open all. night. long.

Needless to say, he was asleep the moment his head hit his pillow. We'll wake him this afternoon for our family Valentines party and dinner, then it's back to bed for the party animal.

FEBRUARY SYNDROME

Since we're homeschoolers and today is a school day, we'll do this in the form of a math equation.

3.5 months of rain, snow, and cold temps
1 husband who's officiated basketball since the start of December & had meetings in November
+ 1 five day conference for a husband
__________________________
3 kids and 1 wife with cabin fever
3 kids who need their dad's attention in play and discipline
1 wife who is fried on parenting

This time of year is just hard. I find myself irritable and discouraged. The kids are emotional and disobedient. It's tough. At least now I recognize the struggle for what it is. February Syndrome. It always hits the hardest in the middle of the month.

Now, in an attempt to look for the positive spin, let me tell you these things.
* The money that comes from officiating is a blessing and always comes in handy for something. This year it's helping to pay for a hernia repair.
* Tim loves officiating and is good at it. Every review he's ever had is great.
* We homeschool, so we don't have to be going out in the nasty weather each day for the start and end of the school day

February 24th is the last day of February Syndrome this year. That's 11 days away. Not that I'm counting.

2/12/09 THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for naps.

What is one thing that you are thankful for?

THE PRIMARY CAUSE OF MY EXHAUSTION

The following sequence of pictures was taken in about two hours. She doesn't normally go through so many changes of clothes, but it was jammies in the morning, clothes for outside, then new clothes after getting totally grubby. I intended on doing this post the day I took the pictures. However, that night ended with a little more excitement than I had anticipated. So, this post got put on the back burner.











Notice that Naomi's feet are rarely on the floor? That, my friends, is why I'm tired.

AN AFTERTHOUGHT - Coming back to say that our house and yard look horrible here!! Oh my!! I promise I'm not a total slob!!!

I WAS SPONTANEOUS

Shocking as it may be, I must tell you that I did something out of the ordinary on Wednesday. I said goodbye to routine and hello to living in the moment.

Wednesday was a beautiful day. The sun was out and it was over 60 degrees. So, in a moment of uncharacteristic spontaneity I changed our plan. Normally we eat at 5, then head out to Bible study a little later. Tim works a little late, heads to church early to set up (we go to a porta-church), and we meet him there.

Well, the new plan involved the kids and I leaving at 4:00. We headed to a park close to church and played for over an hour. Tim left work and met us there for part of that time. Then we all headed to McDonald's where we leisurely feasted on free (thanks to a gift card), unhealthy, and tasty food. Then it was off to Bible study.

What a fun afternoon and evening!

Climbing high

Hanging low





Deep in thought


Swinging together

As a sidenote, if you look closely at or click on the last picture you'll notice a big red spot on Naomi's forehead. That's because she tripped and took a header into basketball court while running to meet Tim when he arrived. That was less than 24 hours after she took a header and knocked out a tooth. That girl needs a helmet!!

NEED A CHANGE OF SCENERY?

As you know, my sister and her family live overseas. Here is an e-mail she recently sent out and gave me permission to share.


It’s time again to start looking for a teacher for Daisy and Ally. Their new teacher, Hannah, has been here a month already…and only has 6 left.

If living in a remote village in the Philippines, and teaching two little girls 4th and 2nd grade sounds like something God wants you to do….let us know, and we’ll talk! We're looking for someone willing to come from Sept. 2009 - May 2010.

We are amazed at what a help and blessing these last two teachers have been. And because we have someone taking care of the girl’s schooling needs, Josh and I both have both been able to throw ourselves into full-time Tala-Andig related work (making Bible lessons, checking Bible lessons, teaching, discipling, etc).

Not only have these two ladies been a huge help to Josh and I, but they’ve been a blessing and a friend to Daisy and Ally!


Please be praying for and with us about this huge need!

And….

Don’t forget to check out our blog!

www.moffitmissionaries.blogspot.com


So, if you're interested, then give me your contact info and I'll pass it on!!!

BOWLING BOY

Remember Silas' bowling event that God provided for? Well, here are a few pictures to prove he was there. You can find bits and pieces of him in other shots or see him in the far distance, but the following are the best of the bunch. Silas giving a fakey smile (third pic), watching his ball roll and getting ready for another turn (third & fourth pics), and another shot of his back and his ball (first pic).

15

That's how many Samoas I ate tonight while watching Thou Shalt Laugh: The Deuce. That would be an entire package, in case you were wondering. Think I have a problem with gluttony? Hmmm ...

As a sidenote, I've watched the first two Thou Shalt Laugh movies a couple times each and would love for my library to get the third one. I have already put in a request at the library, as it's rare to find comedy that isn't filled with profanity and where 90% of the jokes are sexual. So, if you live in my neck of the woods, then feel free to request it at the library too. Maybe if they get bombarded with requests they'll buy it sooner. Maybe. Hopefully. Just as long as I get to check it out first.

Of course, I'll need another box of Samoas to go with it.

2/5/09 THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for these people - families where the parents are friends, the eight boys are all buddies, the one girl gets protected and entertained, the parenting styles are very similar, and the homeschool schedules allow them to take trips to the zoo together when it's 28 degrees outside and the zoo is empty.

What is something you're thankful for?

DENTAL DRAMA

1/26/09 Silas has a loose tooth. He desperately wanted it to come out on the 25th while he was at church, as he can earn extra tickets that way. No such luck. So, we're all eating lunch on the 26th and he thinks his mouth feels weird. He reaches up and realizes there's blood where his tooth used to be. That's right, past tense, used to be.

But where's the tooth? He searches high and low, but to no avail. It's then that he realizes he's swallowed his tooth with his food. Distraught, he tells me he's afraid the Tooth Fairy won't come. I explain that I've never had such an experience, but that perhaps a note would work. We ask about it on the Sonlight Forums (after all, the answers to all life's questions can be found there) and he's reassured by several women who tell him about when their own children swallowed or lost their teeth and were visited by the TF anyway.

He abandons his lunch and immediately busts out a note to the TF. If only he'd do his copywork for school so quickly!! He then spends the whole day saying "my tooth is going to be in my p-o-o-p". I have no idea why he kept spelling the word.

Silas writing a note to the tooth fairy with a bloody hole in his gums.

"My name is Silas. What's yours? I was eating a Pringle and my third tooth came out. Bye Tooth Fairy. Love Silas"

1/27/09 Silas wakes up in tears. It seems to him that the TF didn't come. I ask if there was money under his pillow and he says there was a quarter under his sheets. My guess is all his wiggling made the quarter move, his guess is that it's money he left on his bed another day, though he can't recall taking money on his bed anytime in the recent past. He also says his note to the TF is gone. My guess is the TF took it, his guess is that it fell off the bed, though he couldn't find it anywhere. He says there was also toilet paper under his pillow. My guess is that the TF has a sense of humor and realizes where that tooth is going to end up, his opinion is that my guess about the toilet paper is funny.

He decides to write a note of clarification to the TF, also written at the speed of light.

"Hi. My name is Silas. What's yours? I lost my third tooth on Monday and on Monday night I don't know if you came. Love Silas"

1/28/09 Silas finds this note under his pillow when he wakes up. He's happy. All is well with the world.

"Silas - I came on Monday and brought you a quarter and some toilet paper. Do you think the toilet paper was funny? Did the tooth come out in your p-o-o-p? I will leave one more quarter tonight so you know I was really here. The Tooth Fairy"

So, that sounds like a happy ending to the dental drama. Right? Wrong!! Read on for the second chapter of this story.

2/3/09 Naomi is happily playing the piano, something she does frequently. Suddenly she performs an Olympic-style twisting vault off the piano bench. She screams. I scoop her up. I see blood coming out of her mouth. (WARNING: This is not super gross, but if you are a total wimp about blood or injuries, then skip the next line or two.) I look at her face and see something horizontal near her gumline. I can't make out what it is because of the blood and wonder if she took a chunk out wood out of the bench. Then I realize it's a tooth. It's completely horizontal and is torn out by the root. It won't fall out of her mouth and I can't figure out why because I can't see the whole tooth. It won't stop bleeding and she won't stop screaming.

Did I mention it was just the kids and I when this all happened? Well, it was. I'm not sure what to do. I'm afraid to pull on the tooth because I can't tell how it's staying connected while totally horizontal. I don't want to do more damage. I also can't get the bleeding to stop. I start to call the pediatrician because I don't know what else to do. It's after hours and I get a recording, so I hang up. Then I call Becky because I don't know what else to do. I hang up on her because I can't really hear her over Naomi's screaming anyway. I'm holding Naomi so that she's leaning forward to prevent her from swallowing the tooth. Not that we aren't professional tooth swallowers around here now, but that's beside the point. Suddenly she pulls the tooth out, the bleeding stops, and she takes her screaming down to a mellow cry.

Aaaahhhhhhh ... peace.

Meanwhile the boys have thrown on shoes and sweatshirts in case we had to run to the ER. After all, we had no idea if there were broken teeth or teeth shoved in her gums because we couldn't see through all the blood. The boys have also gotten a rag to soak up blood and some children's pain reliever with a dosing squirter thing. Dang it, what's that called? Anyway, they were a huge help!

So, now Naomi has gums that will be bruised for a few days. She's also missing a top front tooth and will have a gap there for the next five years or so until her adult teeth come in.

I'm thinking the number of comments about how cute she is are going to plummet. Such is life with a daughter that looks like a hillbilly.

Naomi really happy about the fact that I'm messing with her freshly injured mouth in order to post a pic on my blog. Not that we don't have years of toothless pics ahead of us, but whatever.

WINDING DOWN

Yesterday I had a wonderfully mellow and relaxing second half of the day. In the afternoon I was treated to a free massage by a friend at the Massage Envy around the corner from our house. I've had two massages in my life, both when I was 7-8 months preggo and separated by five years, so this was a real treat!

After my massage I headed home to whip up dinner. Tim took the kids to the park, so the house was quiet while I made a meal that was intentionally easy to make. I must confess it was just about the least nutritious meal I've prepared in a while - chili dogs (with canned chili, to add in some extra preservatives) and frozen fries. No produce of any kind (and no, fries don't count, even though they come from potatoes). Occasionally convenience and relaxation trumps nutritious, well-balanced meals.

After dinner I headed out to visit with Pam for a couple hours over a steaming cup of hot chocolate. We chatted and laughed, all while I was in the sweats & flip flops I'd worn to my massage. Occasionally comfort trumps wearing socially appropriate attire (otherwise known as looking like you didn't just roll out of bed).

When I came home the kitchen was cleaned, my kids were konked out, and Tim was reading in bed. So, I took a scalding hot shower, then hit the sack.

Calm. Relaxed. Happy.

BOOKS I FINISHED - JANUARY 2009

I decided to add in the books we finish for school. Obviously I'm reading them for the sake of my kids, but I'm still reading them. We read lots of books, so I'll just stick with the chapter books. Ready? Here goes.

To India With Love: The Biography of Carol Hastings, by Darlene Saunders
This is the story of Carol Hastings, a woman who spent 36 years sharing the Lord with the people of India. It starts with Carol's life in college and ends with her return from India. A fairly short book and easy read.

Hope Meadows: Real Life Stories of Healing and Caring from an Inspiring Community, by Wes Smith
This book was amazing! It's about a planned community in Illinois where foster kids who are hard to place find families, adoptive parents are supported as they take in kids, and elderly people get to love on needy kids. I would love, love, love to join a community like Hope Meadows!! Amazing program!!

Attaching In Adoption: Practical Tools For Today's Parents, by Deborah Gray
This is a gigantic book filled with tons of information, heartbreaking stories, practical ideas, and lots of resources. It was recommended read on the Sonlight Forums for people who desire to or have already adopted, ideally read before adopting.

The Year of Miss Agnes, by Kirkpatrick Hill
A neat story about a teacher who comes to a remote area of Alaska to teach. The students are expecting another in a long line of teachers who complain about them, but end up with a woman who truly cares about them.