My Brother's Wedding...3 Years Ago!!!

Are these the pictures of my brother's wedding reception that I promised to post over THREE YEARS AGO?!

Yep, they are.  (Oops.)  Please enjoy them even though they are a tad late.  I just found these pictures in a blank post still listed as a draft in my Blogger dashboard.

3 Year Old Caitlin Joy.

My brother Craig and his lovely bride Kayla.
They have two kids now!

Wow, time flies.

Too Good to be Called Grain Free (But They Are!)

First, I just have to say that out of desperation, I am using my tablet's camera right now.  Ask me how I feel about that (maybe don't.)  Any-who, my phone is on the fritz due to some unfortunate "phone-flashing-by-the-mobile-phone-obsessed-hubs-gone-horribly-wrong" (don't ask about that either while we're at it.)  So.....bad quality pictures.  REALLY bad quality pictures.  But better than none.  And, to add insult to injury, my Blogger app is randomly cutting some of my pictures in half.  Like the ones with cute babies in them.  Whatever, Blogger.  Whatever.  Okay, my disclaimer is over, now on to the good stuff!

Today, the kids and I made some orange play dough, and for fun I added some ground cinnamon and ground cloves.  It smelled super good and we nicknamed it "Pumpkin Pie Playdough."  That lovely aroma reminded me of some molasses cookies I made once.  Except, I am trying to limit my carbs now, so the dilemma.  Insert a little Googling and I happened upon this dream of a recipe:

http://deliciouslyorganic.net/molasses-cookies-grain-free-paleo/

I only tweaked the recipe a tad, because I don't keep unsalted butter on hand, and I was low on ghee, and I also didn't have any Celtic sea salt.  So, I just used salted butter and omitted the added salt in the recipe.  Now you know, for full disclosure and all that.

Now, I know that everyone says their particular fake-it-make-it-healthier recipe is so good, but this is not even my own recipe and I am honestly saying THEY ARE SO GOOD!  I sort of ate three of them in pretty quick succession before I got ahold of myself.  (Whoa, lower carb, not no carb!)  Better watch yourself with these little goodies.  They are tasty.  Make 'em, eat 'em, share 'em.  Don't tell a soul that they are paleo/grain free/gluten free until after they beg you for the recipe.

Happy sweet snacking :-)

54 Cents a Pound

At that price, I bought a big box full.  Then I scrubbed, rinsed, peeled, cored, sliced, chopped, blanched, and froze several dozen apples. Braeburns, if you are curious. It took most of the morning, but now I have two gallon sized ziploc bags full to the brim in our big freezer. Next time we feel like a pie, all I have to make is the crust.  Sweet :-)

Funny Conversations with My Kids

Caitlin: (playing with Evelyn) "This is my oldest baby."

Aiden:  "Where is your other baby?"

Caitlin:  "Oh, she's sleeping."

Me:  "Yeah, which is a miracle considering all of the noise you guys were making earlier."

Aiden:  "Yeah, it's amazing. Brianna is actually an amazing baby, because she was born on New Year's Eve.

(Then in a whisper)  "That's the day Jesus was born."

Choo Choo!

We are chugging along here with homeschooling at our house. I will try to remember to do a catch-up post soon, to fill in the biggest blanks of my absence from this blog. For now, I will just blog about where we are at.

Aiden turned seven in September and started his first grade school year at home on July first. Caitlin is five, and started her kindergarten year on July first as well. Declan turned four in August,  and he is along for the homeschool fun when he shows interest,  and when he does not, he gets to be a little kid,  imagining and playing for at least another year (maybe two) until I feel he is ready to begin his formal education.

I am not using a formal curriculum this year (we purchased and tried out an all-encompassing package from Sonlight the year before last, and felt overwhelmed by it.) No, this year, I am piecing things together from here and there, with my handy printouts of the California State Standards for Kindergarten,  First, and Second grades as my guides.

I love it this way.

I sketch out a rough lesson plan everyday for the following day, based on what we've accomplished today, and what I think needs repeating/skipping, etc. I do not feel overwhelmed or overscheduled by doing things this way.  If someone "gets it," then we move on. If someone needs to take a break from a difficult new concept,  then we move on to the next subject, and revisit the former one afresh in the morning.

I have changed things up today by setting up our folding table in the kids' room for school (we usually do school at our kitchen table.)  I put a baby gate up in the hallway, and got the Lincoln Logs down for the three littles to play with while the big kids work on their lessons.  This way, I can supervise everyone, the toys stay in the kids' bedroom (a house rule), toddlers and babies can't crawl/wander off into parts unknown to rummage through things that they shouldn't,  and the big kids can't slack off and book it from the table when I am helping/chasing the littles, because we are all in the same room.

So, Ha.

I am also praying that this helps the house stay tidier.  Can you pray for that, too? We need lots of prayer for that.

The littles that I didn't mention in detail yet are Evelyn, who just turned two in September, is sharp as a tack, loves to play "mommy" with her dollies, and is very entertaining besides........and........

Wait for it.........Brianna!

Yes, I've actually been absent from blogland for so long that I've had another baby since my last post.

Wow. (I'm not the only one who's ever done that, right? I mean, has anyone?)

Well, we did have another baby after Evelyn; fifteen months after Evelyn, to be exact.  Yep, a plump little cutie pie who ended up being my first "anti-jka" pregnancy (look it up, it's legit...and complicated) which meant lots of extra blood tests, ultrasounds, appointments with various specialists, and sobfests on my part. Such a stressful time full of unknowns.  So, we named her Brianna Faith. Brianna is an Irish name meaning "strong", and Faith was something of ours that was stretched and which grew tremendously during that time.

Brianna was also my first c-section baby.  When the OB nurse checked my cervical dilation,  she decided I was seven centimeters; she also decided that what she felt did not feel like a baby's head, but something of which she was not quite sure! After another nurse checking, and finally my personal OB checking, the latter performed an ultrasound in the delivery room and confirmed that baby's presenting part was, in fact, her bum.  Oops! It wasn't that way a few days before at my last check up! Oh well, off to the OR for an emergency c-section. The whole thing was a total miracle, and we're amazed at how blessed we are that she was born perfectly healthy.

Now that we're mostly caught up, here are a few pictures to wrap up this long overdue post:

Caitlin giving a wave.

"See my drawing, it's the Tower of Babel!"

Declan is building his out of Lincoln Logs.

Matching haircuts for the boys.

Brianna banana.

Caitlin Joy.

Beautiful.

Tips on Motherhood; From a Book...and From a Kindergartner

(Caitlin & Declan watching Aiden's school Jog-a-Thon.) 

Anyone who is well acquainted with my family knows that my two sons (ages 2 and 5) are quite similar in personality:  generally compliant and obedient, sensitive to criticism, and eager to please.  They would also know that my oldest daughter (3 1/2) is a clever and crafty little thing, and while she demonstrates the above mentioned characteristics on occasion (when it suits her and with no discernible predictability about the matter), most often, she doesn't.  Yes, she enjoys accolades and special privileges, but she isn't necessarily motivated by the thought of them, to the point of consistent obedience.  Nor is she deterred in her acts of naughtiness by the thought of missing out on these things, or even by the thought of disciplinary measures.  She is just a different sort of child!

I hope you've noted that I haven't written her off as a " difficult" child, or a "bad egg,", or even tried to diagnose her with some sort of behavioral disorder (I'm rolling my eyes as I type that last part.)  She simply operates differently than my other children and I am having a tough time trying to figure out the best way to parent her.  Not into absolute obedience, mind you.  I am not a perfectionist looking to transform her into a robot-child with no spunk at all.  She is quirky and creative and independent...and we love her!  But, there has to be order in our home, and the children all need to abide by our household rules.  I will not change my expectations for behavior and completion of responsibilities because one child's personality is different than the others, but I do aim to find creative ways to reach her.  I want to train her up into a wonderful woman who respects authority and isn't afraid of hard work.  But, I also know that her strength and persistence, ingenuity and cunning can serve her well someday (if harnessed by Godly morals and some self control.)

So...didn't you mention something about a parenting book?  And a kindergartner?

Yes!  Good!  Let's get to that : )

I discuss Caitlin's antics with my Grandma Peggy often, and she babysits on occasion, so we try to brainstorm ideas on the matter together.  She volunteers at her local library branch, and she picked up a few parenting books that she thought might help, which were destined for the next library book sale.  One of the books is by the very credible and respected Dr. James Dobson, founder and recently retired president of "Focus on the Family."  It is titled "The Strong-Willed Child" and I anticipate some real nuggets of parenting wisdom to be found inside.  The other book, which I have skipped around through, and have nearly completed, is "Woman First, family always" by Kathryn Sansone, offering "real-life wisdom from a mother of ten."

I can't say that all of Kathryn's ideals and family-practices gel completely with mine, but for the most part, I am finding it to be very encouraging to me as a woman, wife, and mother, and I agree that it contains some excellent "real-life wisdom."  I love that the book is broken down into 3 main sections: 1) Your Self, 2) Your Marriage, and 3) Your Family & Kids.  This addresses the 3 main roles of 1) Woman, 2) Wife, and 3) Mother.  Sometimes, they feel all junked together into one mess, don't they moms?  But really, we all attained these 3 titles separately, and they really deserve to be addressed and nurtured as such.  Each of these 3 categories of the book is broken up into many subcategories, consisting of 1-3 pages each.  This is tremendously helpful to a busy mother, trying to read just a snippet at a time, (even if she doesn't have 10 children!)  So, 2 thumbs up for this book;  I hope you all find a free copy like I did, and benefit from it just as well, too.

Now, about the kindergartner...?

Uh-huh.  I'm getting to that : )

So, I am sitting at the kitchen table today with the children, eating cereal, and reading the aforementioned book on Mothering.  I serve the children cereal in pretty small bowls, so that they don't waste a lot of cereal or milk, so they tend to request several refills before the meal's over.  Aiden (5) had done so a few times, I'd obliged, and then promptly become consumed again by Kathryn Sansone's advice on child-rearing.  I soon become aware that  Aiden has said something to me, but I've missed it.  Putting my book aside, I look at him and say, "Huh?"  To which he replies (with the sage wisdom of a kindergartner,) "Mommy, pay attention to your children."

From the mouths of babes!

So, maybe I should chuck the books and consult Aiden for all of my parenting advice; he seems to know what he's talking about...

Until next time, here is a photo update of Miss Evelyn Rose, at 10 days old, and growing more lovely and lively by the day.  We are truly blessed to have her added to our family : )

Evelyn Rose

She's finally here! Born as the sun rose on Saturday, September 15th. Weighing 8lbs 13oz and measuring 21in long with dark blue eyes and a touch of brown hair. She is a tiny delight to our whole family and the children are enamored with their new baby sister. A more detailed birth story will come later.