It's almost time!

Sorry I never finished my update.  Things have been crazy around here!  We will be finishing up 2nd grade with Vincent next week.  Well, if we make it that long before little Isaac arrives.  I had an appointment yesterday, and things have definitely progressed!  I am a little over 36 weeks, so I can go into labor at any time.  I really feel like it's going to be soon, but then again, that could just be wishful thinking, too.  Although, the dog's been acting really weird and following me everywhere I go.  LOL!  I have also officially gotten into my nesting stage.  Yesterday was spent reorganizing the kitchen.  Today I will move on to the hallway and probably dining room and living room, depending on how my energy holds out.  I also need to do the floors again, as the (even just slightly) dirty floors have really been bugging me lately!

I still need to pack hospital bags for myself and Isaac.  I should probably do that soon, huh?

So, if things go according to plan (HA!), we will finish 2nd grade next week.  I would ideally like to start 3rd grade in the middle of August.  Nick and I decided we would try more of a year-round school year.  That way, when unexpected things come up, we can take the time off we need without worrying about school running late into the summer.  We are actually doing better than last year, and we even have next year's curriculum already!  All I have to do is buy a few supplies we're running out of and get to the library, and we will be ready to go.  I cannot wait to start ECC...it will be so fun!  We have had so much fun this year, and next year looks even better.  Hopefully, I will be able to keep up on posting what we're doing in school more than I did this year!

Also, we will officially be moving now the first week of December.  So, after things settle down with Isaac and we get settled into our next year of school, we will be doing some "real" packing.  And along with that, more thorough de-cluttering and cleaning.  So, also look for future posts on that progress.

I plan to try to post again before little Isaac gets here, but we know how those plans go, don't we?  LOL!  Anyway if I don't get on before then, the next post you will read will be all about how Isaac came into the world.

Spring Break???

Okay, we are on spring break this week for homeschool.  But, is it really a break?  LOL!  We are cleaning and getting ready for our garage sale at the end of the week!  Yay!  I know I promised pictures, so I've got tons today.    First are the pics of the kitchen, what I had done before today...

Here is our backdoor and mudroom


Here's inside the mudroom closet (it kind of doubles as a pantry/extra storage)


Here's the view when I'm standing in the mudroom looking at the main part of the kitchen


Here's more of the main kitchen, with my sink off to the left.  The only thing I have left to do are the cupboards to the very right (top and bottom).


Here's some shots of the cabinets I have already organized








Here are before shots of the cabinets on the right I had left to do today






And here are the after shots






Later, it's off to the "pantry" area of the kitchen.  Here's some before shots of that




See, didn't I promise lots of pictures?  LOL!  Whew!  That was a ton of uploading.  I think I'll go take a real break now...maybe...

Stay tuned...good things to come

Yes, I'm back!  While it was refreshing being away from the internet so long, it's good to be back to blogging.  I'm not going to write a huge update on what's been going on right this instant, but I will say this...I do have so much going on right now that I hope to be blogging about when I get a chance.  Some previews...spring cleaning, preggo chatter , getting-ready-to-move updates, what's going on in our homeschool, and probably more!  LOL!

While I can't stick around too long for now, I thought I'd just pop on and say "Hi!" and let ya'll know I'm back.    I have a lot of catching up and visiting to do around here. 

40 Days and 40 Nights

Well, I have decided for my Lent fast this year to give up the internet.  I have done this for various periods before, although this will be the longest yet. 

Even though I'm somewhat dreading it, I'm also really looking forward to it as well.  I really need this extra time to spend with my Lord and with my family.

So, if I don't post anymore before Wednesday, I won't be back until after Resurrection Sunday.

Farmer Boy

This week we started reading Farmer Boy boy Laura Ingalls Wilder.  All I can say is wow!  Do you have any idea how much my fingers are itching to pick it up at night (when Vinny's sleeping LOL!) and read ahead...way ahead?  Am I a nerd or what???  I don't care...what a wonderful book!  And I must say, it makes me hungry!  Hee hee.  There is so much detail put into the chores that must be done, and then the food!  Wow, I can't believe how big their breakfasts were!  I literally watched Vinny's eyes grow wide as I read all the stuff Almanzo was describing that they were having.

I have the Little House Cookbook sitting on my kitchen shelf doing nothing right now.  I am definitely inspired to pull it out and get cooking!  How fun it would be to tie some of our meals in with what we're reading for school.    I just hope no one expects a breakfast as big as this:  oatmeal with cream and maple sugar, fried potatoes, buckwheat pancakes with sausages & gravy or butter & maple syrup, preserves and jams and jellies and donuts.  Oh, and big slices of apple pie.

Maybe for Vinny's birthday??? 

Ah, here we go again!

Well, I had a doctor's appointment today...14 week ob.  He wanted me to do a 1 hour glucose test while I was there...early screening since I had gestational diabetes with the last pregnancy.  He said my numbers should be at 130 or lower.  I just checked my results online...147.  Ugh.  Next comes the 3 hour fasting test, then the appointment with the endocrinologist and I'm sure a nutrition class.  Hopefully this time, I can keep things where I won't be needing insulin.  God is in control, and He will give me what's best for me.  Another wake-up call is what this is.  I just hope the changes we've been making to our diet are not too late, and I pray it will be enough so that I won't develop permanent diabetes.  Diabetes AND ms?  Lord, give me strength...I know You will give me exactly what I will need to get through anything.

Right now, it's late, and I really need to think about getting to bed.  Good night all!

Organizing: A little at a time

Over the holidays, my home has become harder to clean once again.  I know it's because I have been letting the clutter go, and things have become unorganized again.  So I am on a mission to fix this.  But, I'm not going to overwhelm myself as I had in the past.  I'm just doing a little bit at a time.  Keep the daily basics done, and organize as I feel like it.

I have kicked it off with going through the fridge.  Yes, we did have leftovers last night, but it didn't do a whole lot to make room in my fridge.  So, even though I knew what leftovers we had, I went through with a special focus on all the other "stuff" and their expiration dates.  How often do you look at the dates on your condiments and all that other stuff that goes in the door?  Apparently, I do not look often enough.  I made LOTS of room just in the door alone, as well as the rest of the fridge.  I am going to make an effort to do a date check from now on once a month.  Now, I didn't clean the fridge, as in scrub it down or anything...that will be for another time.  But now, I can open my fridge without my blood pressure going up LOL!

And, I have decided, if that's all the *extra* work that gets done today, that's fine!  My body's already working hard enough as it is.    And what with the new eating habits being introduced, I'm expecting to feel worn down for a while, so I am trying to make myself take it easy without feeling guilty about it.  I know there will come a time sometime a few months from now when I won't be able to sleep at 3 in the morning because I will just HAVE to go scrub my kitchen floor or some such nonsense.  LOL!  I have noticed that every pregnancy the nesting syndrome gets worse.  I remember with my youngest, I was folding and organizing the baby clothes *while* I was walking through the house getting other things done, and even while I exercised!  Talk about multi-tasking LOL!  This time, the baby clothes are already organized, so who knows what I'll be up to?

Anyways, the boys are still napping, so I think I will try to go lay down for awhile.  Only 2 1/2 more days in the 1st trimester!  Hee hee...do you think on Tuesday I will automatically get a huge burst of energy?  LOL!  I can hope, anyway, can't I???

The dishes are done???...and and early night :-)

• Wow, I really need to remember days like these!  You see, I have been on a plateau for quite awhile when it comes to training Vincent in anything new.  I have clearly forgotten the wonderful fruit that results from actually taking the time to slow things down a bit and do some life training.  Today I decided to dig in and train Vincent on washing the dishes.    He has helped me with them since he was 3 by drying them, and eventually putting them away.  Today, he learned the *chief* position at the sink...the dish washer!  We were BOTH excited!  Hee hee!  He has asked me to make dish-washing his responsibility.  I said we'll see.  I don't want to burn him out and have him hate dishes, and any other chores I teach him!  But, he did do the dishes after dinner tonight, and I was pretty impressed...no complaining!  In fact, he told me it was even more fun because he had more to do!  LOL!  We'll see how long this lasts. 
  I just got done putting the boys to bed, and I think I may turn in early as well.  I'm in the beginning stages of morning sickness here, and just feeling lousy and TIRED.  I'm not complaining, however...after 2 miscarriages, I like my little ones letting me know they're healthy and causing trouble. 
  
  Praise God for such a wonderful day!  ALL the glory goes to Him!

Snowy December!

Note:  I am archiving posts from two separate blogs here, so some information will be repeated.  :)

Wow, it’s been awhile since I’ve updated…life’s been super busy around here!  It is the first day of December, and it is also our first big snow of the year!  It is so beautiful!
There is so much to update on…
First of all, I’m preggers again!  Yay!  I am 7 weeks along and due 7/15/08.  Please keep this little one in your prayers.  The good news is, that because of the pregnancy, I am off all my MS meds and doing great!  Women with MS who get pregnant usually experience remission during pregnancy, so I am happy about that!  Of course, I am more likely to have a relapse within 6 months after giving birth, so I told dh we’ll just have to get pregnant again before then!  LOL!  Seriously, though, for those of you who HATE taking those prenatals…I am completely cherishing this time of only having to take ONE! pill a day. 
The bad news (okay, not really bad, you’ll see in a minute) is that we cannot afford to live in our house anymore.  Dh’s second job (PT) is in a pretty bad season for hours right now, as it is every year.  Even just basic expenses are starting to be too much, so we are looking at 3 bedroom townhome rentals right now.  We will probably be moving by June at the VERY latest.  So we are going through some massive de-cluttering right now (a good thing!).  With all the storage space in our house, we’ve always just kept stuff because "we could," but now we won’t have that option anymore, and it’s time to realize what’s really important.  I will blog more about this later, because I could spend entirely too much time on how wonderful de-cluttering has already been for our home!
Lastly, Vincent is just chugging wonderfully along in 2nd grade.  We have our moments, of course, but for being a young second grader (he will be 7 in March), he is doing amazingly well!  Right now, we are focusing on Jesus, the Giver of Living Water for bible; we just finished reading about the signing of the Declaration of Independence, so that’s where we are in American History (I love this year!), and of course, learning about water in science to correspond with our bible lessons.  This is another thing I will have to blog about later, as it is getting late, and dh will be home soon!
Oh, yes, and I would love to be able to post pictures on here of our projects and stuff (dh doesn’t allow face shots, but there’s still plenty of fun pics I can post!), but I can’t figure out how to get pictures formated to put in my blog entry.  They keep coming up too big.  So if anyone can give me some tips, I would greatly appreciate it! 

White as snow

Well, we are finally getting our first good snowfall here!  We could get up to 9 inches, and there's already at least 3 or 4 on the ground now.  It seems everything has quieted down, and everything looks so fresh!  I am reminded of Isaiah 1:18:

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.