Journey to Homemaker

Cheap Cricut Vinyl

2009-04-10T15:57:00.003-05:00

For those of you who own a Cricut machine and buy vinyl for it, I found a great place to buy it cheap. It's SignsPlusBanners.com. The link for the vinyl you want is here.

It is the exact same vinyl that Cricut sells. If you look on the back of your vinyl, it says Oracal 631. This vinyl is also Oracal 631. The only difference is that this is sold in larger rolls: either 24" wide, or 15" wide (with perforated edges). I think you have to buy it either in 15 foot or 50 foot lengths. But if you use it a lot, or go in on it with friends, it is a great deal.

I thought their service was great, and the shipping cost was good (at least to where I live) if you buy your rolls all at once. They can also give you a folder with color charts in it for future ordering. They gave me mine free with my order. You might have to pay for it if you aren't ordering yet, I don't know.

They also sell permanent vinyl, which is weather proof and should last 3-5 years, depending on which you buy. For that type, you need a special removing fluid to get the vinyl off (use only on places like glass or on a banner, never on your walls). When I bought a banner to put it on, I also bought a special fluid that gave me extra time to reposition the vinyl, in case I made a mistake when I laid it down.

The cost of the vinyl, if I remember correctly, averaged 66 cents per square foot. A great deal when compared to the $2.50 per square foot that you pay when you buy it in the sheets sold in clear boxes at craft stores. I haven't seen anywhere online cheaper.

Happy Cricutting!

Natural Dishwasher "Detergent" (soap, actually)

2009-01-01T13:08:00.003-06:00

I have been researching lately to find recipes for homemade cleaning and toiletry recipes, in order to make healthier, and hopefully less expensive products for my family and home. It can be difficult to find good recipes. Often the cleaning power of such recipes is weak, or requires too many costly ingredients, or is too complex. But I've hit on a few that sound good that I plan to try, and I thought I would share them, starting with natural, homemade dishwasher detergent.

Dishwasher detergent, natural? I know, I was surprised too. We're probably all familiar with the common recipe (and variations thereof) for homemade laundry soap. But I hadn't found anything prior to this for dishwashers. I've tried a couple of store-bought natural dishwasher detergents, which brought instant complaints from my husband about their inefficiency, particular from the Seventh Generation powdered dishwasher detergent. Since my husband is wonderful enough to do the dishes for me, I graciously returned to the toxic Cascade we have traditionally used, even though I hated to do it.

So now I've found a few recipes online that sound promising. Since we have hard well water, I'll be eager to find out how well they work.

Here is the first one:

Recipe 1: Healthy Vegan Blog's Best Homemade Dishwasher Detergent:

1 1/2 cups borax
1 1/4 cup baking soda
4 tablespoons of ground castile soap
1/4 cup citric acid

Pour ingredients in a container with an airtight lid. Shake. Use about 2 TB per load.

She uses a food processor shredder attachment to shred Dr. Bronner's bar soap and then uses the regular food processor blade to mince it into a powder. She also says she found out from someone else that citric acid was the answer to the dull film that her previous dish detergent recipe left behind. She also mentioned that some recipes call for 1/4 salt, which she thought might help those with hard water. This recipe sounds the most promising to me, but I'll include a few other, similar recipes in case you want to try those too.

Recipe 2: Mix equal parts of borax and washing soda, but increase the washing soda if your water is hard. (I've heard washing soda can be more caustic than baking soda, so some people prefer to use baking soda instead, just in case.)

Recipe 3: Mix one part borax, one part baking soda and 1/4 part salt. Add white vinegar to the rinse aid compartment to get them squeaky clean.

Recipe 4: Herbal Dishwasher Detergent

1 cup Washing Soda

1 cup Borax

2 drops essential Tea Tree Oil

2 drops essential Lavender Oil

Mix all ingredients in a tightly lidded container, stirring well to combine the oils into the powder. Use 1 Tbl. in each dispenser (a total of 2 Tbls).

Feel free to post a comment if you try these recipes, and let me know your results. I plan to try this soon, so I'll edit this post and add my own experiences here at the bottom.

Why Are Multiple C-Sections "Harder"?

2008-11-26T00:12:00.005-06:00

I had a question asked of me by Shati in a comment response to my post Question About Repeat C-Sections. Since my answer got a little wordy (isn't everything I write? LOL) I decided to put my answer in a separate post. Here's her question:

Hi There! I have had three c-sections and i really desperately want one more baby via c secion(i dont want to vbac!) I asked my GP doctor and she asked the OB doctors, and they advised me not to get pregnant again. They also said that it's still up to me..if i do get pregnant then they'll monitor me very closely. I'm really stuck here now! My third c-section was elective. Can anyone who had 4 c-sections explain to me if it was any harder than three c-sections? Pleaseeee help me!

Well, Shati, I'm not sure if you're asking why multiple c-sections are harder, or why they're riskier. So I'll answer both. But first, just in case you change your mind someday about having a VBAC, there is the possibility of having a VBAC, but chances are the only way you'd get one is to use a midwife.

Depending on the state you live in, and the laws, some more experienced midwives are willing to do a VBAC even after four cesareans, although that is not the norm, and it depends on your situation. Here in the state I live in, there are a ton of very experienced midwives, and two or three of them are willing to consider a VBAC after multiple cesareans. Another state I lived in, they would only do it after two, no more, and you had to have at least a year between pregnancies. Just in case you changed your mind. You just need to research and talk to your local midwives. You can usually find lists of them online.

EDIT: I also should mention what a midwife told me: "It's your body, they can't make you have a surgery that you don't want." That being said, you won't be treated very well in a hospital where you refuse a c-section after more than one previous cesarean. They don't like to be inconvenienced. And watch out...they could try to pull stuff on you if you don't cooperate with their "routine" once your baby is born. Threatening "uncooperative" mothers with a call to social services is one way some hospitals try to keep you in line. This is more common with first-time mothers, but you should be aware of it.

As far as why repeat c-sections are harder: I didn't really feel that mine were all that much harder, but I do tend to recover from them somewhat easier than some women. It's kind of up to your body. There was a slight increase in the level of difficulty in my recovery over the first four cesareans, but not much. You can have a bad recovery one time, and a good one the next. My fourth c-section was the hardest, but I think that was because my doc was evil and gave me the minimum amount of drugs. ;-) Hope for his sake he never gets in a car accident and has a doc like him controlling his meds! My fifth was the easiest recovery by far, and I believe it was because I was on a raw food diet. I recovered soooo easy from that one. Oh yeah, and my doc was awesome and gave me lots of drugs, too. LOL.

Now, if what you meant to ask is why doctors consider repeat VBAC's more DANGEROUS, that's a different story. My personal opinion is that they don't want the liability in case something goes wrong, so they freak you out with statistics that I KNOW are being misrepresented, because I've read the same studies they are referring to, and they leave out important information that allows you to understand and weigh the REAL risks. There definitely are more risks with more c-sections, but it's not as bad as they make it out to be. (Don't these people know anything about repeat business? LOL)

There are a few main things to consider. One is placenta problems. With more c-sections, you have a slightly higher risk of the placenta choosing to grow in the wrong spot, like over the cervix or previous scar tissue. Over the cervix is particularly bad, but it can be managed. It's just not the best situation to be in. More serious can be when the placenta grows through the side of the uterus. Obviously a bad thing. These can be detected during ultrasounds, and you can be delivered early if necessary. The risk goes up a little more with each pregnancy, but the risks aren't that big. Of course, if you're the one out of fifty or a hundred (or whatever it is--don't quote me, because it's been a long time since I researched it) that it happens to, that's of little comfort to you or your loved ones.

The other big issue is uterine rupture. That's when you get a tear in your uterus, and that can cause hemorrhaging, and in worse-case scenarios, death for you and/or your baby. That's rare, but it happens. But what they DON'T tell you is that the studies don't differentiate between a catastrophic rupture and a "window" rupture--and there is a BIG difference.

A catastrophic rupture is when the uterus tears all the way through. That's what can kill you. You bleed out quick, and if you're not right by a O.R., you're in trouble. But that kind is rare. Another thing they don't tell you is that a woman who has no previous c-sections, and is given drugs to induce labor for a vaginal birth, is actually more likely to have a uterine rupture than a mother who has one or two c-sections. Yet they don't have a problem pushing those drugs on you, or tell you about that risk, do they?

The other kind of rupture, which is much more common, is the "window" rupture. That's when you get little holes in the inner lining of the uterus that do NOT go all the way through. They are not a big deal, and you can have those and they won't hurt you...though the docs always repair them when they find them during your c-section. That kind isn't dangerous, and yet they are lumped in with the kind of ruptures that can kill you, which makes the statistics sound much, much worse.

Fortunately, I've educated myself, and since I don't believe in birth control anyway, and I trust God 100% with everything, including my body and my reproductive health, the doctors can't scare me. And many of them WILL try to scare you. I've had doctors go so far as to basically tell me that if I have a baby, there's a good chance I will die, and leave my other children motherless. Implying that I'm a bad mother, essentially. There is a woman doctor in my doctor's rotation who is the one who said that to me, and I told my current doc I will NOT see that woman again, and she will never deliver me--I'll go to a different hospital if she's on duty. I do not trust her in any way, shape or form. If you get a doc like that, RUN, because they do not care about you. Education is one thing--scare tactics and guilt-trips are another, and it's just unprofessional and wrong.

My doctor now is great. I don't have a problem with him educating me on the risks and my options, and he's always nice about it, and realistic. I get the real information from him, without scare tactics. He respects me, and that's important in a doctor. Plus, he really seems to know his stuff. He's cautious, but not an alarmist. He's really great.

Now I can't (and won't) tell you what you should do, but hopefully this gives you some more insight into the real risks of multiple c-sections. I'm not a doctor obviously, and this is all just my personal opinion based on my own research--you shouldn't trust me, you should find out for yourself. I'm pregnant with my sixth right now. I'm not worried. When it's my time to die, it will happen whether or not I'm pregnant. I can't stop that by not having a baby. So if I'm going to die, I'd rather it be while carrying or delivering a baby, than by getting hit by a bus! That's my personal take on the situation. I know people who have had at least nine c-sections, without complications, and one of those people had the old, less-safe, vertical incision. No problems for her so far.

Personally, I think three c-sections isn't that big of a deal. Four is on the border of having higher risks, but then you're talking going from 1-2% on some of these risks, to maybe 3-4%. So it's not like it's a 50% risk or anything (like they would like for you to believe). However, the risk is still there. There's always at least a 1% risk of death with ANY surgery, because stuff just goes wrong sometimes. And if you're overweight, your risk can be a little higher. But the risks are, in my opinion, not terribly high, and even placental problems can be managed if you keep an eye on them with repeat ultrasounds.

In my own case, I'm also dealing with a damaged aortic heart valve, and just after I got pregnant this time, I found out I have an aneurysm. Having an ascending aortic aneurysm while you're pregnant is NOT a good combination. Sure, I freaked out for a day or two. Then I remembered "Oh yeah, I'm supposed to trust in God." ;-) After that, I realized that my life is in His hands, and my time will come when it was meant to come. I don't feel like that time has come yet. Maybe in a few months more, I'll feel differently. But right now, I think God is telling me I'm okay. So, no more stressing. I'm getting great care, and they're monitoring the aneurysm, and they will repair my aorta with open heart surgery sometime after the baby is born--we're still trying to figure out when. Now, recovering from a c-section AND open-heart surgery.....THAT will be hard. But I'm up for the challenge. (Please God, let them give me lots of drugs...)

As I said before, even with small risks, it really stinks if you are one of the few that experience them. I'm willing to take that risk, because of my religious beliefs and trust in God. But for others who don't have that confidence, the decision isn't as easy. I would strongly recommend researching more on your own and making an educated decision. Contact the ICAN network: the International Cesarean Awareness Network at www.ican-online.org. They can give you realistic statistics, and there are also local monthly meetings, hopefully in your area. Let me know if you decide to get pregnant again, so we can follow how you're doing!

Welcome to Russia, My Commrades...

2008-11-05T02:03:00.003-06:00

Yes, it's official. He's president. Someone please wake me up and tell me this has been a dream. Or a nightmare, I should say....

I was afraid he had a chance of winning. But by such a landslide? Something is fishy. Did you hear about the Black Panthers standing outside Philadelphia voting locations, intimidating white voters? And nothing was done about that? Hmmm, I wonder what would have happened if it had been the Klu Klux Klan doing that. So, it's okay to intimidate white voters to prevent them from voting, or to guilt trip them into voting for someone just because that person is a minority, but not vice versa? NO ONE should be intimidated into voting or not voting for a particular person. And no one should vote for someone (or against someone) for the color of their skin--whatever color that may be.

Having a black president would be a great thing...if it were a good man with morals being elected. One who did not want to take away our rights to bear arms, to homeschool our children, or the rights of the unborn to live. Give me Alan Keys any day! Or Condoleeza Rice...or about a million other black Americans who would do a better job. Heck, I'd take Hillary at this point! (I know she's not black, but she is a huge liberal. She's just not nearly as crazy.)

I'm very much afraid that God has withheld His wrath for as long as he could, and now He has given this country just enough rope for us to hang ourselves. And unfortunately, those of us who knew what would happen and tried to avoid it are going to be punished right along with those who were naiive or had bad intentions for this country from the beginning.

Get ready my friends, and mark my words, I'm getting ready to prophesy:

Four years from now our economy will be a thousand times worse.
Four years from now, anyone who has a job will be tax at a rate of twice what they are taxed at now.
Four years from now, we will have had the freedom to homeschool greatly hampered, if it's still allowed at all.
Four years from now, we will be under martial law. There will be a domestic army populated primarily with thugs, who will abuse their power and the people of this country.
Four years from now, there will be presidential orders that essentially turn the president of the United States into a dictator.
Four years from now, parents will not have the right to refuse immunizations or any type of medical treatment that a doctor "recommends", or even the right to a second opinion.
Four years from now, public schools (and probably private schools) will be required to teach sex education and pro-homosexual ideals to our kindergarteners.
Four years from now, a child of twelve will be able to be taken across state lines by a school nurse for a late-term abortion without your consent.
Four years from now, that nurse won't actually have to cross state lines because all kinds of abortion will be available in all states, and even Catholic hospitals will be compelled to provide them.
Four years from now, crime rates will be at an all-time high.
Four years from now, you won't be able to protect yourself from criminals because your right to keep and bear arms will be severely limited, if it exists at all.
Four years from now, most small businesses will have failed, and large businesses will have taken their production out of this country because of the oppressive "spread the wealth" laws.
Four years from now, a large portion of the (working) population will be forced to work for the government because there aren't many other jobs out there.
Four years from now, our country will be divided: one race against another, one economic group against another, non-believers against believers.
Four years from now, many homeowners will have lost their property due to an inability to pay the burdensome taxes on it with the little wages they have left after income tax. The government will continue bailing out the mortgage firms, and will own a large percentage of formerly private property.
Four years from now, the government will provide public preschool...and then lower the required age for starting school down to age four.
Four years from now, there will be few stay at home moms, because few families will be able to support their families with one over-taxed income in an unstable economy.
Four years from now, that man will be re-elected.

And then things will really get bad...

Am I a prophet? Of course not. I have common sense. We have just elected a pro-violence, communist control-freak who is a text book case for narcissistic personality disorder. It has already been said by some psychiatrists that he displays some of the same personality traits as Hitler and other dictators. Everyone thought Hitler was a breath of fresh air. Everyone thought he would bring change. And he did. It just wasn't exactly the change that the Germans were expecting.

God have mercy on our poor, poor country.

Aspartame/Nutrasweet: Sweet Poison

2008-11-05T00:50:00.003-06:00

I've known for a long time that Nutrasweet, the brand name for aspartame, was poison. I read a lot of things years ago that convinced me that it was bad. That's why for years I drank regular soda. (For health reasons...haha.) After gaining a ton of weight, and a bunch more with all my babies, I've caved in and had diet soda on and off over the years. I know it's bad, but I fall back into the habit sometimes. When I can, I choose something sweetened with Splenda/sucralose. As if that's any better! We just don't know how toxic it is YET.

Well, in case you still think fake sweeteners are a good thing, check out this movie: Sweet Misery. In it, you will see aspartame victims and doctors talk about just how bad it really is, and how it is linked with a lot of conditions, including a significant rise in brain cancer.

Also, check out the Dorway.com and Sweet Poison website, which lists 92 symptoms that aspartame users often have. Some people will have a higher tolerance than others, as can be seen in the testimonials in the video. Some may have serious symptoms after a few days of use, or others may have symptoms come on much slower, after a longer time with higher usage.

One concern is birth defects. I've been trying to avoid diet soda up until now, knowing I'm pregnant. But from now on, if my husband comes home with soda for us, I will be dumping it right in the sink. I don't care about the lost money. I care about my husband, myself, and my unborn baby.

You may be thinking "what do I do if I can't use artificial sweeteners?" Try these:

Stevia: Personally, I don't care for stevia, but some do like it. It comes in a powder or liquid. I find there's an aftertaste. But then, there is with fake sweeteners too.

Agave: Agave is supposed to be a low glycemic sweetener. It tastes wonderfully mild. It's not cheap, but it isn't bad. I buy raw agave.

Honey: Okay, honey is not low in calories or low glycemic. But it is natural, and good for you. Did you know that honey is just as effective as cold medicine? I tried it on my son, and it worked. Try a little in your tea or baking recipes. If you need to use a lot, try something else.

Sucanat: (Also known as evaporated cane juice, or Rapadura) Sucanat is basically unrefined sugar. It still has molasses in it. It kind of tastes like brown sugar. I've used it, and it's a little different, but good. You need to mix it with the liquid ingredients in a recipe first, because it takes longer to "melt" and blend in. If you don't, you'll get grainy sucanat mixed in. This is also not low glycemic or low calorie, but it's good for cakes, etc.

Yacon Syrup: Another natural food. I haven't tried this, but it's supposed to be even lower glycemic than agave. Also more expensive.

For a drink, try mixing some fresh lemon juice with ice water and agave. It's really good.

WFMW: The Toys Worth Buying Edition

2008-11-05T00:45:00.001-06:00

I have five children. We have a lot of toys.

A LOT.

A large percentage of them are yard sale toys. Yes, we are that kind of people: we find nothing at all wrong with giving our children like-new yard sale toys. They don't know the difference. In fact, we are deliberately raising them to not care about the difference. Plus, it's easier--no wresting the toys from sobbing toddlers to unpackage, and God forbid, try to untwist or cut those evil indestructible twisty-ties!

However, we do purchase new toys. I've found myself doing this more and more (despite the increasing size of our family) just because sometimes it's fun to buy something new. Of course, it never fails that a brand new toy we spent a good chunk of money on (not crazy money, but enough) ends up tossed aside and forgotten. I can't tell you how many dolls my oldest daughter got and never used, and how many scratched-up little plastic animal figures she begged for at yard sales and has loved literally to death--until the tails and heads fell off! I even bought some price (to me) Schleich animals. She does play with some, but some go unused, while the yard-sale doggies are her treasures.

So here is my list of toys that my kids DO love. I can't guarantee that yours will love them, but mine do...

Mattel Matchbox Mega Rig Shark Ship Set

Purchased new at Walmart on clearance, and then marked down extra by the clerk because I told her it was on a clearance display where everything was supposed to be $11 (which it was), this was a steal of a deal. I guess it's supposed to be some kind of shark research vessel. It comes with a shark cage, a crane for hoisting it, little side boats, two little guys (I think there should have been more) that can be eaten by the shark and then fished out of its stomach (how cool is that to a little boy?), a harpoon, detachable wheels, and tons of other stuff.

The best thing about this set is not only that it floats, but that the three dark blue sections you see detach from the main ship, to form other types of vehicles and mini-ships. EVERYTHING on this set interconnects with each other, so that if you take the ship apart, you can create new things with the pieces. It's great, because when my 6 year old son got bored with the whole big ship, he broke off parts to share with his siblings, and they all got to play together. The bad part? There are pieces of this ship all over the house. Did I mention retail price of this is $50? Now, I would never ever pay $50 for something like this, but if I had the money to spend, it would definitely be worth it. But it's way more worth it when you pay $11 for it! Heh heh heh!!

Amazon lists it at $33, and I think that it's worth that much, for sure. I don't see any boy not loving this. It's also pretty rugged. I don't think anything is broken on it yet.

Playmobil Chariot

The one we have is somewhat similar to the one pictured, but with gold and red colors, and darker horses (only two, not four). It's probably an older set. I got it at a garage sale, in a brand new sealed box, never opened or used, for $2. I got another set of a horse and some viking-looking guys for the same price. A great deal, considering they go for $17 new, and you don't tend to find them used on craigslist often.

The two sets have neat accessories, like helmets, swords, an axe, and a mace. I've always wanted to get Playmobil stuff, but it is soooo expensive. I was surprised at the detail in these sets, and that they are not as flimsy as one might expect. We've had them over a week, and the only casualty was one poor viking whose leg snapped off when my son stepped on him (lesson learned, take better care of your toys). He is still enjoying playing with these every morning. While I don't think it's as big a hit as the shark ship, it's a winner? Will I get more Playmobil stuff? Sure, if it's used. The new prices are still too high for me.

The N-Strike Recon CS-6 Nerf Gun

This blaster gun comes apart in a few pieces, too, and are somewhat interchangeable. You can convert it from a longer rifle to a shorter gun. My six year old son loves this gun so much. He plays with it as much as the shark ship. He loves to take it outside. He'd take it in the bathtub if we'd let him! Of course, the nerf darts are all gone, either lost or chewed by toddlers. We may buy him a pack of new ones for Christmas, but if those disappear, we're done. He doesn't care though, he uses it all the time without them. He's all about soldier-type stuff!

My one complaint, aside from the darts, would be the sight. It's never worked properly, doesn't go on or stay on well. We probably should have returned the gun for a new one with a better sight, but we forgot. It's lost now, and if I ever find it, I'll probably throw it away. (Don't tell my son, lol.) Other than the sight and the darts, it has held up well for over seven months, and functions just fine. We got it new at Walmart. Don't know the price, my husband bought it.

You'll notice the toys I've mentioned are all boys' toys. That's because my oldest daughter, as I mentioned, has a passion for used doggies on their last legs, and my youngest daughter loves nothing but dolls...the oldest and most decrepit hand-me-down dolls you can find. If we didn't love her so much, we'd sneak them away and toss them. But we do, so we don't. *sigh* They really are ugly. But on the bright side, my daughters love yard sales, just like their mom! My middle son never seems excited about any toy we give him. I'm not sure if it's his personality, or if we just never hit on the right toy. And of course, my one year old boy likes anything the big kids like...although he does seem enthralled with the nerf gun. It's as tall as him, and he loves to walk around banging it on the floor, like some kind of pogo stick or jack hammer! **Please note, in researching this toy, I found a recall notice on it...parents who bought this up to August 2008 should contact Hasbro for an extra piece that will prevent the toy from possible pinching skin--although in trying it myself, I could not get the toy to pinch my skin no matter what I did. But get the safety piece anyway.**

So, those three boys' toys are the ones that work for me!

Margaret Sanger: Racist and Eugenics Advocate

2008-11-04T03:41:00.006-06:00

I found an interview with Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, posted online. It was done by Mike Wallace back in 1957. It is somewhat long, but the most interesting parts start halfway through the video.

My first impression of her was that she appeared to be an unpleasant woman. She didn't strike me as the type of person to laugh or joke around, unless it was with sarcasm or at the expense of another person or group (that's just my opinion based on her expressions and demeanor). She was much older in this interview, I'd guess late sixties, and much less pleasant looking than any pictures of her posted on feminist websites. I've met many older women who had a bitter, dour expression all the time, and saw very little good in the world. This woman looked worse than all of them.

She clearly became uncomfortable and/or irritated whenever the subject of her upbringing or the Catholic Church was brought up. She said that it was never her goal to use the subject of birth control to fight against the Catholic Church, and yet it was quite obvious that she harbored a lot of bitterness toward the Church.

Mrs. Sanger also gave the impression of someone who lies and/or skirts around the truth whenever she thinks it is to her benefit. The reporter tried to get her to respond to several questions about what she thought of certain Catholic beliefs, and she refused to answer several times. She also claimed that certain quotes that the reporter read to her, of her own statements (either in previous press reports, or to his fellow reporters in pre-interviews) were exaggerations or fabrications. For example, when asked if she believed Catholics should have the right to protest the government using their tax dollars to fund something they believed was evil, Mrs. Sanger said that she did think they should have the right to speak their opinion, but so should people like her. When Mr. Wallace quoted her as having told his associate that she thought it should be made illegal for anyone to oppose such things (birth control and abortion), and even make it illegal for churches to prohibit their own church members from such acts, she denied ever saying that.

Basically, anytime he quoted a statement of hers that showed her outright disdain for Catholics, she denied it. She clearly wanted to come off as some kind of humanitarian, rather than what she really was--a racist, anti-religious, angry woman who believed that the solution to society's problems were to use birth control, sterilization, and abortion to prevent black women, poor women, and Catholics from reproducing. (Black women were not mentioned during the interview, but you will read sources below that mention the subject).

The most telling statement she made was in response to Mike Wallace's question of whether she believed in sin or not. She wouldn't answer his question directly, even when he repeated it. But she did say that she believed the worst sin was to have children...then after a pause, she quickly covered that statement by saying it was having children who are sick or poor, etc. etc. to have a decent life. When asked if she thought murder was a sin, she mumbled something about "whether murder is a sin or not, it's a terrible act". She sounded reluctant to actually say murder is a sin...or to admit that she didn't think it was a sin. Oh, but having children? DEFINITELY the WORST sin.

Wait...WHAT?! I'm sorry, she thought having children is the greatest sin, but murder...maybe not so much? No wonder she advocated abortion for "undesirables"...since she didn't think murder was a sin, but giving birth when you are poor is!

Most people don't know that Margaret Sanger was an early advocate for eugenics. In Margaret Sanger: Father of modern society by Elasah Drogin, is one source for such information. Also, in Margaret Sanger's own Birth Control Review, founded by her in 1917, she published many articles on eugenics, such as "Some Moral Aspects of Eugenics" (June 1920), "The Eugenic Conscience" (February 1921), "The purpose of Eugenics" (December 1924), "Birth Control and Positive Eugenics" (July 1925), "Birth Control: The True Eugenics" (August 1928), and many others.

What is eugenics? Wikipedia lists eugenics as a "social philosophy which advocates the improvement of human hereditary traits through various forms of intervention". Sounds almost pleasant, even sensible, doesn't it? What is the reality of eugenics? Read up on Hitler, and you'll have a good idea. Generally, eugenics supporters decide which group or groups of people are worthy to live, and which are not...and work towards the elimination of the "unfit". For Hitler, those who were not fit to live included Jews, Gypsies, Catholics, etc. For Margaret Sanger, it was Catholics, Blacks, and the poor. Hitler used concentration camps and gas chambers. Margaret Sanger advocated birth control and abortion. And her methods and propaganda have been very successful.

On blackgenocide.com, they call abortion the "greatest deception that has plagued the black church since Lucifer himself." The website has many links regarding this massive genocide that has been perpetrated on the black community. I particularly recommend Margaret Sanger's EUGENIC Plan for Black Americans , The Truth About Margaret Sanger, Abortion and the Black Community (which includes statistics and a very interesting chart on causes of death for African Americans) and their link to ObamaNation (check it out before you vote today!) for their opinion on what a Barack Obama presidency would mean for African-Americans.Here are some statistics listed on their main page:

-Between 1882 and 1968, 3446 Blacks were lynched in the U.S. That number is surpassed in 3 days by abortion.

-1,452 African-American children are killed each day by the heinous act of abortion.

-3 out of 5 African-American women will abort their child.

-Since 1973 their have been over 13 million Black children killed and their precious mothers victimized by the U.S. abortion industry.

-With 1/3 of all abortions performed on Black women, the abortion industry has received over 4,000,000,000 (yes, billion) from the Black community.

Margaret Sanger's prejudice and racism was evident in this quote from page 47 of "What Every Girl Should Know", which Sanger published in 1920:

"It is said that the aboriginal Australian, the lowest known species of the human family, just a step higher than the chimpanzee in brain development, has so little sexual control that police authority alone prevents him from obtaining sexual satisfaction on the streets."

Wow. Can't really refute the racism in that quote, can you? That doesn't just reflect the ideas of the time...that is so twisted, it's absurd.

So when you think of Planned Parenthood, think of Margaret Sanger and what she stood for. Modern Planned Parenthood supporters may try to discredit any claims of Sanger's racism, or disavow themselves of any of her advocacy of eugenics, but the fact remains: they've carried out her plans to the letter, and succeeded very well in eliminating many of the children that Sanger would have deemed "unfit".

And remember, if you donate any money to them, use their clinics, or donate to United Way (a big supporter of Planned Parenthood and other bad "charities"), you are paying for the murders of not only millions of innocent children, but also a disproportionate number of African American children. Although no life is more (or less) valuable than another, the fact that one segment of society seems to be targeted more than another makes the tragedy of abortion all the more tragic.

Where Does Your Food Come From?

2008-10-21T00:14:00.011-05:00

Have you ever stopped to think about where your food comes from? If you are trying to eat healthier, but have not considered the origins of those "healthier" foods, you have missed an important element of nutrition.

A post by Kelly the Kitchen Kop entitled "How We Treat the Animals We Eat" inspired me to share my own opinions on what the typical American consumers are putting in their bodies. In her post, Kelly shares information provided in a recent episode of Oprah about how livestock is treated in the meat industry. I never saw the episode because 1) I don't watch tv anymore, and 2) I rarely watched Oprah anyway, she had become way too preachy and liberal, and she (in my opinion) is the one principally responsible for foisting the lame-duck Obama upon us. He never would have gotten this far without her. Clinton would have mopped the floor with him if it weren't for Oprah and other celebrities "advertising" for him (not that I like Hillary Clinton, but--I hate to say it--she's better than that guy). But I digress...

It sounds like the show wasn't anti-meat, but rather anti-mistreatment of meat animals. However, the real push for the show seems to have been to get California voters to support some legislation that requires more room and better treatment of these animals. Now, I am all for humane treatment of animals. For one, God did give us animals to eat, but ALSO to care for. They are NOT equal to humans, but should still be treated with kindness. They should be allowed to live happy, healthy lives until their time is up, and then killed in the most painless and humane way possible. Second, a happy, well-cared for animal is a healthy animal...which means it is also healthier for US, to eat. I wonder if the owners of these commercial "factories" eat the meat or eggs they produce. I can't imagine it. If they do, they must be dirty, disgusting people with very low standards.

Left: Multiple laying hens crammed into tiny cages. You don't want eggs from these hens. Support local farmers who sell free-range, happy-hen eggs!

Granted, not all are as bad as the worst. But I've talked to too many people who worked or visited commercial dairies, poultry houses, and pig farms to not know there are SERIOUS problems with the way most animals are raised. One woman I know (NOT a vegetarian or PETA member) said she visited a dairy, and saw a worker drop one of the suction hose things that they hook to the cows' teats, that delivers the milk straight into the pipes that lead to the bulk tanks. The hose sucked up some cow feces. Upon seeing her horrified face, the worker said "don't worry, the pasteurization will take care of it." EEEWWW!!! That is what we are drinking, folks, when we buy milk at the store! I think if I worked in one of these places, I would become a vegetarian!!

So, is becoming a vegetarian the answer? No. I mean, if you want to, go ahead...although I recommend you become a raw vegan instead of eating that tofu crud. (See my raw blog for more info on eating raw. I think eating all or at least part raw is the best thing you can do for your body.) Since most people aren't going to become vegetarians no matter what you tell them, the real answer is for people to start finding out about where our food is coming from, and more importantly, where we can find better sources for our food.

8 Ways to Promote Healthy and Humane Food Production

1) Educate yourself. Find out what the typical (not worst-case scenario) life is for a meat or dairy animal, how meat animals are killed or dairy products are collected, and how all these meat and dairy products are handled, processed, packaged, etc. before they get to your table. You don't need to watch videos of animals being horrendously treated, but you should be more aware of the realities these animals face, and how unhealthy the final product is for you. If you're going to continue to support the industrial meat and dairy markets, the least you can do is know what you're supporting.

2) Look for sources of healthier food. Organic is best, but it's not necessarily enough. Organic milk is still homogenized and pasteurized--or worse, ultra-pasteurized. I strongly recommend finding a source for raw (unhomogenized, unpasteurized) milk. Educate yourself on its benefits. It should come from cows/goats that are pastured, not given hormones or antibiotics (unless gravely needed) and are preferably grass fed, and not fed anything treated with chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Check out realmilk.org, ask around at farmers markets and chiropractors offices for sources of raw milk, organically raised produce and meat, and free range eggs.

3) Prioritize your needs. If you can't afford to go all-organic, familiarize yourself with which food products are most notoriously unhealthy, and buy just those foods in the organic variety. Bananas and apples, for example, are some of the most highly-sprayed produce out there. Commercial beef is known for treating cows horribly, loading the cows hormones and antibiotics, and for cows being so sick at slaughter time that they have to be fork-lifted into the slaughterhouse. If you can't find a source for raw milk, settle for unhomogenized organic milk at the health food store, but add in more organic probiotic foods, like yogurt and kefir.

4) Support local small-scale farmers whenever possible. If they have natural meat/dairy/produce, then they may charge more than conventional, but often it isn't as expensive as buying certified organic. Visit the farm, if possible, especially when buying meat and dairy. Check out craigslist in the farm & garden section, to find local sources. Visit farmers markets. Don't be afraid to ask farmers there how their food is grown. You deserve the healthiest food possible, so support the people who grow/raise the healthiest!

5) Call or write to your local government officials, and let them know you want easier access to natural food. Urge them to support the little guys, instead of farming conglomerates. Make them aware of any unfair treatment of local farmers, or unfair laws that need to be changed. For example, in many states, it is completely illegal to buy or sell raw milk. Some states allow it, but with heavy restrictions.

6) Vote with your wallet. Don't just buy from local farmers...tell the managers of local stores what you're doing! Write to the mega-stores' headquarters and tell them to carry more local produce, especially organic or chemical-free. Organize online petitions and send them to these large corporate companies, so they know which way the wind is blowing. All these tactics have worked in getting organic food into more and more stores...now ask for more local food, naturally and/or humanely raised.

7) Educate others! You don't want to become a food nazi, but find ways to let others know (when they are interested--no one listens to someone who is pushy) that there are a lot of myths out there created and sustained by people who have a stake in the perpetuation of food propaganda.

8) Do it yourself! If you have some land, get a cow, even just a miniature cow. Only one acre? Get a goat, or plant a large garden. In the suburbs? Plant a small garden, and raise a couple of chickens in a chicken tractor (a small, moveable pen). Someone on a small city lot can plant a few veggies and have a couple of chickens or some meat rabbits. People in apartments with balconies can grow some veggies in containers if they pick the right varieties. Even someone in a cramped New York City studio can grow little pots of herbs or sprouts in a jar. Every bit of food you raise yourself is a virtual snubbing of your nose at companies who pass off processed chemical garbage as food, mega-farms who mistreat animals to make a quick buck, local governments who enforce and sometimes invent rules that make it impossible to buy or sell locally grown healthy food, and politicians who cave in to lobbyists and create or protect laws that make it impossible for small-time farmers to sell products at a living wage...or even at all. Not to mention, growing your own food is good for you!

Making Bread - Mixer & Oven vs. Bread Machine

2008-10-14T00:55:00.002-05:00

Two years ago I posted about my experiences baking bread in a bread machine. I liked the convenience, but I've found over the years that when I make bread in the bread machine, it is too dense and dry. Maybe there is a way to mess with the settings more, but I don't care much for it. I don't think it kneads well enough, or lets it rise well. Plus, if you're not setting it up the night before, for the morning, it takes 5.5 hours for it to make the whole cycle.

Now, I make bread using a Kitchen Aid mixer. I tried it by hand, I'm terrible at it. I can't get the dough to stop sticking to everything without adding a bunch of flour, which makes the dough stiff. I mix the yeast and warm water with the first two cups of whole wheat flour in the mixer until mixed just enough (using the paddle). Then I let rise in a slightly warmed oven for fifteen minutes in the mixer bowl, then put it back on the mixer and mix it on low as I slowly add in the rest of the flour, stopping when it just starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.

Then I take out the dough and place it on an oiled suface. I scrape out the sides of the bowl and the paddle, then exchange the paddle for the dough hook. I oil the mixer's bowl and the dough hook, put the dough back in, and mix it for 7 minutes. After that, I put it in a pan to rise in a slightly warmed oven, then take it out and preheat the oven, and proceed to bake as directed. This produces a much more satisfactory loaf, to me, than the bread machine variety. Of course, I'm still new to this, having only made bread a handful of times.

The recipe I've been using is Marilyn's Famous Whole Wheat Bread Recipe. It's okay, but I'm on the lookout for a better one. I don't use the "dough enhancer" it calls for, which is sold on her site, and which I suspect is probably just vital wheat gluten. Some people like a lighter loaf, more sandwich-like. When making whole wheat bread, I like it to be truly 100% whole wheat, no added white flour or gluten. I like it dense and filling, making it a nutritious way to stretch your grocery dollar. My children eat 50% less for dinner when given a slice of this bread. It's good for them, and for our budget.

That recipe also calls for oil. I don't know what most whole foods bread makers use for oil. I tried olive oil...eeew. Mine was good, raw olive oil too, not the rancid processed stuff. Yuck. I don't use most oils that others would use, as most of them are processed and rancid, too. I'd use melted coconut oil, but that would give a slight coconut flavor. I did try melted butter. That batch didn't come out right, as I used the wrong grain accidentally, so I don't know if the problem was just the grain, or the butter too. I'm open to suggestions from more experienced bakers! I'm also open to new recipes, if they are using NT-friendly, whole food ingredients.

Next time I may replace the honey with raw agave nectar. Can't say enough good stuff about agave!!

Are You Ready for a New Depression?

2008-10-13T14:43:00.008-05:00

Am I the only one that is seriously concerned about recent events in our economy? It was already going steadily downhill, largely due to gas prices. If you've been tracking food prices, they are rising rapidly. Processed foods have not gone up as much (less trucking involved, when you're just creating chemical ingredients, virtually out of thin air) but staples have risen dramatically.

A year or two ago, I could get a pound of organic whole wheat flour or wheatberries from the bulk section of any health food store for around 69 cents per pound. I bought the same things last week, and paid $1.09. Even worse, I saw the same product in other health food stores going for as high as $2.39 per pound!! Milk had gone up quite a bit, although for some reason the prices have dropped a bit. But I saw large increases in price for bulk oats, spelt, nuts, eggs, and vegetables.

Oh, and did I mention the foreclosure rates and swan-diving property values?

Now comes this whole bailout situation. Wait a minute--you mean I can start a business, grow it really big, make a lot of bonehead, risky decisions in order to line my own pocket, then go crying to the government to bail me out? Where do I sign up?!

And where is this trillion dollars supposed to come from to bail out these corporations? They keep saying that it's necessary to save the stock market and people's retirement accounts, etc. Guess what? Our stock market is still heading into the toilet, with other country's economies not far behind. As to people's retirement accounts and other savings...do we really think this will save them? And even if it does, won't it be counterbalanced by the amount of taxes, fees and any other penalties the government can come up with to cover the trillion dollars they promised to use in the bailout?

Make no mistake, regardless of the outcome of this November's election, we are going to be in deep dog doo-doo, my friends. McCain is certain to kowtow to liberals in an attempt to appease them and become "non-partisan". Hmmm. Reminds me of the "New Ecumenism" that has been rapidly eroding the faith of Catholics everywhere in a politically-correct attempt to "find common ground" with other religions. But I digress...Our only hope of McCain is elected is that Sarah Palin can find a way to temper his liberal-loving enthusiasm.

And if Obama is elected?...oh, please, don't get me started. Remember a little thing called Nazism? Hitler took over Germany at a time when it was weak. He was divisive and controlling. First went their rights...then their guns...then went the Jews...and the Catholic religious...and the gypsies. Obama cries for change...but his manipulative speeches and repetitive mantras aren't so new. You know the phrase..."everything old is new again."

Left: A 1930 Nazi propaganda poster promoting the slogan "Freedom and Bread"

Am I exaggerating? Well, I guess we'll see, if he ends up winning. But I can tell you, that man is dangerous. Any man that wants to take away all our guns, or who advocates the killing of babies who have been born alive after a botched abortion, or the myriad of other disturbing ideas this man has planned for our poor country...that is a dangerous man. And for anyone who thinks I'm racist...get a life. I would vote for Alan Keyes TODAY if he were running. And there was a lady, I'm forgetting her name now, but I met her a few years back at a lecture. She had been a teacher in Watts, and was extremely bright and was right on the money as far as what she thought this country needed. I'd vote for that woman in a heartbeat, too. No, my dread of an Obama-run United States is solely based on his completely divisive, amoral, dangerous views on how this country should be run. A vote for Obama is a vote for oppression.

A vote for McCain is...well, it's the best we can do, for now. Is there any way to elect just Sarah Palin?

My point (after my long political diatribe, lol) is, again, that we are in deep doo-doo, my friends. Where will this country be in a year? In four years? What will food prices be? Gas prices? Unemployment rate?

If your husband lost his job right now, or he hurt himself off the job (no worker's comp) and you had no income for three months, how would you fare? Would you lose your house? Your car? Could you feed your kids? What if this were to happen a year from now, when the economy is worse, and jobs were more scarce, and prices higher? How many months would it be until you were homeless?

I'm not making this argument to scare anyone. But I do want to get your attention. Because it has come to my attention quite often lately. If my husband lost his job and didn't find one instantly, we'd be up a creek. Virtually no pantry, no emergency supplies. Not a good thing. If it should happen in the future, in a worse economy? I dread even thinking about it.

How would you survive a depression? Our generation has grown up so pampered, that the idea of a depression happening to us, in this day and age, seems preposterous. But it's not. It could happen to anyone, anytime. We are no better than those who have gone before us.

It might be wise for us to behave as our ancestors did for generations upon generations, and prepare for hard times. Prepare for hard times, while you enjoy the good times. It's not about paranoia, extremism, or an end-of-the-world religious belief. It's about good old common sense. The kind our grandparents had...and passed on to our parents...who didn't think, in their era of comfort and plenty, that it was important enough to pass on to us.

Even if you never need a pantry full of food all at once...you will need food. Buy a bunch of what you normally use whenever you see it on sale. Rotate it (use oldest first) and use it as needed. If you never have an emergency, you'll still be using it up, and you'll have saved a ton of money by buying it in bulk, when prices are low.

Maybe there won't be a depression, or even a recession. Maybe everything will be fine for our country. But what about you? Will your family experience unemployment, serious illness, a blizzard, a two-week power outage? People experience such things in this country every day. Why couldn't you? How would you feed your family, keep them warm, provide lighting, take care of toilet needs, feed or diaper an infant, get to work, buy what you need, get needed medication? All I'm talking about here is common sense--basic preparedness, so you'll be ready for whatever comes your way.

Think about it.

Truly Trusting God--Being "Quiverfull"

2008-10-13T09:23:00.008-05:00

I just re-read the post before last, where I first mentioned the aneurysm and the fact that it was caught in time to get it fixed--if I wasn't pregnant. Then in my last post, I mentioned the baby was a girl. LOL! Guess there should have been an "announcement" post in between!

So...what was my reaction to this news, and what does this mean for my health? Well, I already knew from my research at that point that getting pregnant with an aneurysm at all was a risky proposition, since pregnancy hormones make your connective tissue (including arteries) stretchier. When you have an aneurysm (which is a weakened, bulged or stretched-out section of a blood vessel), making your blood vessels even stretchier with pregnancy hormones isn't the greatest idea. Not to mention, I don't just have an aneurysm and a bicuspid valve--both those conditions are symptoms of a greater problem...Bicuspid Aortic Valve Disease. This is a type of connective tissue disorder, which means that my connective tissue (including arteries) has a tendency to weaken, which is why aneurysms can happen. So adding pregnancy to the mix wouldn't have been my first choice.

I have found out since my diagnosis that my aneurysm was NOTED in the results of at least THREE prior tests, but for some reason my old cardiologists and/or radiologists didn't seem to think that it was important to tell me I had an aneurysm in a bad place that was already big enough to dissect or rupture. Rupture--as in, KILL me! No big deal, right? Sheesh! Had I known, I could have had the aneurysm repaired before baby number 4 OR baby number 5!!! Which is what I would have chosen to do. Now I can't get it repaired without seriously endangering the life of my baby. So now I wait. I know some of you would say that if I really cared about my other children, I would take the risk and have the surgery, rather than leave them motherless. There are worse things than being motherless...like having a mother that passes on a legacy of treating a new life with disdain, and shows you that she values her life over that of your unborn sibling...which implies that she values her life over yours. That's not a message I want to send to my children. Just my view point on the subject.

That's not to say that I think having the surgery is necessarily a mortal sin or anything. It is not equivalent to an abortion if I had the aneurysm repair surgery and the baby died as a result. That would not be doing anything directly to the baby. In fact, should my aorta was to start to dissect, I would have the surgery. In such a case, I would be in immediate and extremely high risk of death, and I would feel justified in getting the surgery, even though I'd feel awful if the baby died. In such a case, having the surgery may be the baby's only chance to live. I know I could get the surgery now, and it wouldn't necessarily be a sin if the baby should die. But for me that would be a morally "gray" area. The doctors say I could die any time. But I might not. There's no real statistics on this kind of thing, because it depends on the person and the circumstances.

So how did I feel when I found out I was pregnant? Not thrilled. It seemed like bad timing to me. I was really worried about dying. I was worried about my other kids. I spent a few days kind of freaking out, and worrying. I saw a surgeon to ask his opinion on getting surgery right away. My reasoning was if I was going to need surgery during the pregnancy, I'd rather do it soon, as it would be easier on me if I lost the baby early on, rather than later. He said if I chose to get surgery, I should go into it assuming the baby will die. That really struck home. I went home and prayed about it, and knew what I had to do.

God gave me this baby at this time for some reason. Even if this baby doesn't survive, she still has a purpose. Every life has a purpose. The only reason I was afraid was because my faith was weak. Many people have asked me online how I would feel if having another baby would jeopardize my life. It was easy then to say that I would feel the same. It was harder, once actually faced with that decision...especially because it was a dark time, faith-wise, for me. Now that I have passed through that valley, I can honestly say I still feel the same way.

At left: a beautiful life at 21 weeks gestation (stock photo, not my baby)

My time to die has been pre-ordained by God. On that day, I will die, whether I am carrying a child and die from a ruptured aneurysm, or if I am hit by a bus crossing the street. Personally, I'd rather go the first way. It seems, to me, to be a more "worthy" way to die. I'm not sure if "worthy" is the word I'm looking for...but you get the idea. Not that getting hit by a bus is "unworthy"...but if I get hit by a bus only because I didn't cooperate with the will of God and accept the gift of a child, thereby accepting the death He originally chose for me, then perhaps it is a less worthy death.

Once I made the decision to accept the will of God, I felt a tremendous peace. I have had a renewal of my faith, although I still feel I have a ways to go to get back to where I had been. I truly see this baby, and the aneurysm, as a gift from God. Even the aneurysm? Yes. Had I not been diagnosed with it, perhaps my waning faith would have been extinguished completely, and that would have left me and my family in dire spiritual straights. I truly feel that I will be okay, at least until the baby is born. I get a sense that God will reward me for accepting His plan. If I am wrong in having that feeling...if I did die from having this baby or the aneurysm, I would not regret my decision one bit. I'd rather die following the will of God than live while fleeing from it. There are worse things than physical death.

At right: Polyptych, "Life and Death of the Virgin"...who better than the mother of Our Lord to exemplify obedience and a good death?

All this does not mean I don't have compassion for those struggling with similar circumstances, or those who have made a different decision. While I may not agree with what others have chosen, I still sympathize with their plight. But if I were to make this post more politically or socially correct in order to avoid offending others, than I wouldn't be me. And it wouldn't be honest, either. If others find my opinions offensive, there are millions of politically and socially "correct" blogs out there to read. There are pitifully few blogs that tell things like they are, and say the things that need to be said. But if this post upsets many, yet helps a few, I'm more concerned about the few I may have helped. The others can always hit the "back" button. ;-) I do it all the time when I read something I think is idiotic! I don't even waste my time commenting.

Fortunately as time goes on, my options are increasing. My cardiologist is watching the aneurysm, doing monthly echocardiograms to make sure it's not growing. So far so good. If it does start to show growth, he will want to do surgery. Since I am getting close to the time that the baby is viable (24 weeks), that will give us the option of delivering the baby premature, if necessary. I hope to avoid that, but it is good to know it's an option soon. It would be far better for the baby to be delivered than remain in utero for a deep hypothermic open heart surgery.

So keep us in your prayers, please!

New Posts Soon!...And an Update.

2008-10-13T08:44:00.007-05:00

Hello! I've been AWOL for quite some time. It seems having five children isn't conducive to blogging. Well, for me, anyway! I plan to start blogging a lot more. I have some interesting stuff I'm planning to do, and I thought I should share.

What's in the works? This spring I plan to start my very first garden. I will be picking out heirloom organic seeds and learning a lot. In preparation for that, and to off-set the high price of organic winter vegetable cost, I may be trying my hand at indoor veggie growing. Just a few plants to get some practice in.

Also, I am ramping up our preparedness supplies. This economy is very troubling, and I'm not the only one out there freaking out about the "what ifs", should a serious recession or depression come about. So I will be re-stocking our pantry. I'll also be re-organizing our new home, and redecorating on a budget. Nothing fancy, but repainting, and repurposing "junk" furniture into something beautiful. Our goal is to become more self-sufficient.

In order to achieve that goal, we will be adding animals to our mini-homestead. We plan to add chickens soon. I'm trying to talk my husband into a goat or mini-cow, but he wants nothing to do with it right now. (He knows he'll be doing the milking, lol.) Right now we're buying raw milk (soooo good, and good for you), but I'd like a better source...preferably me! I plan on starting to make homemade raw yogurt, buttermilk, piima, creme fraiche, cheese, etc. I need a milk with higher cream content to do that. We'll see what happens.

I'd like to add some meat animals to our homestead, but I think we'll have to make do with chickens. We're just going to buy a few fully grown laying hens for now, and probably get a mix of meat and layer chicks in the spring.

Now for the updates: so far, my aorta is still in one piece! My symptoms are getting a little worse, but the cardiologist isn't sure exactly what is causing them, as neither the aneurysm nor my bicuspid valve should be bad enough to cause these symptoms. But he's modest enough to admit that we are still learning new stuff every year about these conditions, so there's no way to be sure. His plan is for me to have the surgery right after my c-section. The surgeon he sent me to disagrees, and wants to wait three months. I'm going to another hospital to see a doctor who specializes in pregnant patients with heart problems, so we are waiting until after that consultation to make any plans.

My pregnancy is going fine. Except that I am HORRENDOUSLY congested, especially at night. Since I use a CPAP machine for my sleep apnea, I have to breathe through my nose, which doesn't help....since I can't breathe! I'm almost wondering if I've developed allergies. We got cats two months ago, and it seems that shortly after that is when I developed some symptoms. I've never had allergies before, but developing allergies as an adult can happen.

At right: "Prayer of the Expectant Mother"

Oh, and I'm hovering near the dreaded 300-pound mark. I can't seem to stay raw this time around. So I'm focusing on trying to do a Nourishing Traditions style diet, and at least do raw green smoothies every day. But it seems inevitable that I will hit the 300 mark, which I swore I'd never do. It's really depressing.

Well, folks (if I have any readers left, lol...I never stick around when someone stops posting) tune in soon, I should have something interesting to read

One more update....it's a girl! She is due mid-February.

Weirdness about me--the Nomad

2008-02-21T04:12:00.005-06:00

I've decided to reveal more weird things about me. I am finding that I am trying to fit into the "mold" of the typical Christian homemaker/blogger, and I just don't fit. I really don't fit into any one group, and maybe that's why I have a hard time making friends. So I'm just going to "let it all hang out" there, come what may. So little by little, I plan to reveal all the strange and weird things about me that make many people, I suspect, shake their heads in confusion. ;-)

First thing is...I sometimes suspect I am some kind of "closet hippie." No, I am not against war (well, I don't like it, but sometimes we have no choice) or shaving my armpits and my name isn't Rainbow Star or anything like that. But I have some strange interests. I envy people who live on the go. When I was single, I dreamed of traveling around visiting the many wonderful places throughout America. Not in your typical fancy motorhome, but in a unique way. Of course, if I won the lottery, I'd probably go for one of those custom made tour bus type of motorhomes...they actually make them with a second floor you can raise or lower once you reach your destination! But since that will probably never happen, I would have loved to travel in a homemade RV. Kind of like a converted schoolbus or housetruck. I know, check out the pictures. Total hippy-mobiles. But so cool.

I would read books about it and dream of travel. I even lived in a semi- converted bus I bought for a while. It was very rustic living circumstances, but I loved it, because it was the one time I completely "owned" my home. I could do what I wanted with it, live anywhere I wanted. If I didn't like my neighbors, I could just drive it away. Of course, since I was broke, I rarely took it anywhere. It stayed on the property of someone I knew, and paid them a little money for the privilege. It was pretty cool.

Now that I have five children, though, that dream has fallen pretty much by the wayside. We could never live with our kids in that small of a vehicle comfortably. Not with young kids. If they were teens, that would be different, but small kids need more space, and just try to get five small children to sleep when they are all in one room...not possible! Or at least it's not worth the hassle, to me. My husband also doesn't have a "portable" type of job. But again, if we ever win the lottery when my kids are older, you just might see me in one of these.

Overdue Post, and Various Thoughts...

2008-02-21T02:47:00.003-06:00

Guess I've been pretty busy since I had the baby. You can check out my other blogs for updates on the birth and after. I'm to tired to write all that out. LOL.

I went on and off raw. I'm definitely healthier and happier on raw. Right now I've decided to to 100% raw, and I'm loving it. It's not always easy, but I know for me, it is necessary. I have lost 20 pounds so far. I want to break the "26 pound barrier"...that is, I want to lose more than the 26 pounds I lost only one time, on Atkins. Most dieters can say they've lost and gained the same 50-100 pounds. I can't even say that! But I want to stick with raw, and release it all. That's right, release it...because I don't want to "lose" those pounds, only to "find" them again!

Things are great. We bought a house on five acres. I'm thrilled with the house we got. It's exactly what we needed. To rent a house like this, in this area, we would have had to pay probably $1800 a month, maybe more. Our paments are only a little higher than what we would pay for a house farther out, on no acreage. It has five bedrooms, with room to make more in the basement. We got it for a steal, because it was a foreclosure. God was really smiling on us, even the realtors were shocked we got such a good deal. When the market rebounds, we expect to see a huge gain in equity, too.

I am still struggling with trying to be a better homemaker. I'm seriously thinking of going to someone to be hypnotized, to try to make myself less lazy, and more industrious! I know, it sounds crazy. But if you can go to a hypnotist to lose weight or stop smoking, why not to stop being lazy? I wish I'd been born the type of person who is most happy when puttering around the house. Doing anything around the house is sheer effort on my part. I think partly I was just born this way (in my family, half of us kids are naturally lazy, the other half are type-A people) and partly I never was taught how to work. I was never expected to do any chores or help around the house, or taught how to clean, cook or sew.

Now this isn't to say I have no responsibility for my own actions. Of course I do. I often make a conscious choice to do something (like write this post, lol) instead of doing what I should be doing (like getting some sleep or mopping the kitchen floor). I'm just saying that the combination of natural laziness + lack of training = a constant struggle to get stuff done. What I'm saying is, I wishing it was much less of a struggle for me. So who knows, maybe a hypnotist would help. Hey, I've got to do something about all the years of society's brainwashing that I should get a job and let someone else clean my house and raise my kids. Anything is worth a try. I'd do anything to be a better wife and mother for my family.

If it doesn't work, I'll just have to keep plugging away, and trying to form better habits on my own. But that way would be so much more boring! ;-)

New Blog!

2007-06-21T16:04:00.000-05:00

I know I haven't posted in a while. I'll try to soon. In the meanwhile, I have been posting about my new raw food way of eating. If you're curious, most raw food posts will be made there. I'm doing great, come on, check it out!

The Raw Revealing of the New Me

Raw Revelations

2007-06-03T20:42:00.001-05:00

If any of you knew me personally, you'd be shocked at this: I've gone raw.

"What the heck is raw?" some of you may be asking. Others, who "kind of" know what raw is, are thinking "Are you some kind of hippie tree hugger now?" No my friends, I'm just as ultra-conservative as ever. But I've made a wonderful discovery: raw food can change your life.

Let's back up a step, to how I made this discovery. I rented the movie "Supersize Me", a documentary film where the filmmaker goes on a 30 day, McDonald's-only diet. He gained 30 pounds (and looked it), and felt terrible. He also became addicted to the stuff. During the film, his girlfriend, a vegan chef, was appalled at his experiment, and planned a detox diet for him of vegan food after his McDonald's debacle. However, the end of the film made mention that he decided not to be vegan afterwards. It wasn't clear if he was vegan, or semi-vegan, before.

His experience got me thinking, and I searched online for a "natural diet" and weightloss. One site I came upon was I Beat Obesity , where a woman says she lost weight as fast as with weight loss surgery, but without the surgery. She did it on raw foods. Now the only diet that has claimed that, as far as I've seen, is Kimkins. I did Kimkins for a while, but it's not a diet you can do while pregnant or nursing...which I always am, one or the other! Seeing her amazing results really intrigued me, enough to get past the words "raw" and "vegan", at least momentarily.

After a lot of research, I realized two things:

1) There are a LOT of people who have had great success beating their food addictions and losing a lot of weight on raw food.

2) There are even MORE people who have eliminated all kinds of diseases and ailments, including diabetes and cancer (without chemo or radiation), just by eating 100% raw foods.

That got my attention. I've read and researched online and in books, and I'm pretty convinced by the arguments that raw food is the natural food for your body. I don't think it's necessary to go 100% raw to get the benefits (though you'll get MUCH more if you do), but I think anyone who doesn't eat at LEAST 50-60% raw after reading about it must be crazy, or determined to stay fat and/or sick the rest of their lives. 50% raw isn't hard at all.

I'm not good at explaining the science, but the biggest factor is enzymes. Cooking over 118 degrees (or 105, opinions vary) kills most of the enzymes in food. Therefore your body must use its enzymes (taking them away from their job of healing the body and eliminating toxins) to digest the food. It is believed that these enzymes leave the body with the digested food, depleting your body of enzymes, which do not replace themselves. Raw food is live food, full of living enzymes. But for me, I don't need a panel of arguing scientists or nutritionists to convince me...I've seen the evidence in myself. If you check out my weight loss blog, Weigh Out of Control, I'll post more there about my experiences. In the meantime, do some research for yourself, starting with Raw Food Talk , and the other related websites by Alissa Cohen mentioned on the site.

I've done other diets before (and failed) but this is truly a way of life. I'm not 100% raw yet, but I'm working on it. I may not go 100% til after I have the baby, for various reasons. But my whole life has changed. I feel awesome! So check out my other site if you're curious. I'll post most of my raw stuff over there.

Smart Habit Saturday-hosted by Lara the Lazy Organizer

2007-04-27T14:41:00.001-05:00

Okay, I'm posting this today, Friday, because I know I'll forget tomorrow. ;-) My new habit for this week is planning a menu AND actually USING it! I tend to plan one (once in a while), and maybe even buy what I need, but then forget all about it and freak out trying to figure out what to make that will only take ten minutes.

Yes, I truly am that bad! LOL I'm hoping to get my butt in gear and use the crock pot and bread machine this week, but just sticking to a menu is the main goal. The kids meals haven't been unhealthy, but they have been very, very repetitive.

Go over to Lara's blog and check out her SMART Habit Saturday posts, as well as her tips.

The First Step: The Pantry

2007-04-09T16:11:00.000-05:00

Once I decided I needed to prepare my family for potential emergencies, I knew what my first step would be. The pantry. We needed a lot more food. I have been going to the store every few days lately, which is not only poor planning, but a recipe for financial disaster. The more often you go, the more likely you are to spend extra money on unnecessary items. Not to mention the waste of gas and time.

I knew we had a good amount of meat in the freezer from recent sales I've seen. But canned food was scarce. My first goal is to amass a month's worth of food. So I sat down and made a one-week menu, a list of needed ingredients, and doubled it. That gave me two weeks worth of food. My plan was to go to the store, and attempt to double it again, if we had the money, or just get the amount on the list. Now, you wouldn't want to buy a huge amount of food based on a one-week menu plan...boredom would set in very quickly. But this is my plan for the short term. I was able to get almost a whole month's worth of the basics. I still need more sucanat and whole wheat from the health food store, but we're short on money this week, so I'll wait til next time.

When our next paycheck comes, I'll make a new one-week menu, and repeat the process. We get paid every two weeks. So every two weeks, I'll buy one month worth of food. Within three months, I should have an extra three months worth of food on hand at all times.

You may wonder how I can afford this. We're not rich, or well-off, or even "comfortable", although our financial situation is improving. Once all our debts are current, I would consider us doing "okay". Right now, we are "struggling less". LOL.

Basically, we spent about the same as we normally would on food for two weeks, including fast food. So we've given up fast food, and have made a commitment to eat at home from now on, unless it is necessary because one of us is on the road. (The day I shopped, I was gone for over seven hours, which I didn't expect to be, so I ate out.) Although I'm trying to get healthier food for my family, and try to buy some organic food when I can, I decided this week would be almost all regular food, because having SOME food in the pantry was more important. After the pantry is a little fuller, I will try to incorporate more organic food. All food bought in bulk, like flour, etc. will still be organic, as it is reasonably cheap to buy it that way. Whole wheat organic flour is usually .69 a pound.

I shopped at Aldi's, because some of their food is very inexpensive. You have to know your prices, though. Some foods I can get cheaper at Sam's Club or Walmart. I bought a case each of corn, green beans, diced tomatoes with chiles, large cans of pears. I bought ten pounds of boneless chicken tenderloins. Chicken breasts are usually cheaper, but I found tenderloins much more tender, quicker and easier to cook without overcooking the edges, and easier to calculate portions, especially when you have a lot of little ones. I also bought enough soap, and shampoo to last a month. It will be nice to have that stuff on hand, as it never fails that once the shampoo runs out, so does our soap, dish liquid, razor blades, toothpaste, etc. , and usually all during a week when we're broke, lol.

At Sam's Club I bought a gallon jug of salad dressing, some produce, and eight small jugs of organic juice (probably should have gone with regular, but it was a good price). I bought three cases of bottled water (soon I want my own high-end water filter to save money), a large container of deli meat (the only inexpensive way to buy it), and a ton of toilet paper and paper towels. (My husband still likes using them, and my mini hand towels are still packed up somewhere.)

At Walmart we bought a gallon of mayo (cheaper than Sam's club, surprisingly), razor blades, some canned soups, and some miscellaneous things, including Easter candy. I haven't added it up yet, but I think I spent around $300 not including the Easter candy. I did spend some extra money on a few unnecessary items such as new Easter baskets, etc. that isn't included in that amount.

As an aside, the "Easter bunny" does NOT visit our house. Easter here is about the Glorious Resurrection of Our Lord, not a fictitious bunny who gives them candy. We do have baskets and an Easter egg hunt, but our children know that these are given by us, as a celebration of a religious occasion.

Back to the pantry issue...I couldn't believe it, but I actually fit almost all this food into our little pantry cabinet. It's not quite full. I'm glad it all fit, because cabinet space is at a premium in this newer house. The amount we spent would have been more if we hadn't already had some items, especially meat. But most of the menu calls for chicken breasts for dinner, which will come out of the ten pounds I bought. I know that once my pantry is stocked well, my costs will be even lower, because I can shop by what's on sale, and buy in bulk. I know I probably didn't get every thing I needed for this month, and of course things like milk will need to be bought again before my next shopping trip, but it's a start.

Preparedness

2007-04-09T15:20:00.001-05:00

When I was single, I did tons of research and reading about preparedness. This was over a decade ago, when Y2K was barely a blip on most people's radars. It started with reading Countryside magazine, which is a wonderful magazine about homesteading and country living, with articles written by people who are actually doing it. I also started reading Back Home Magazine, Backwoods Home Magazine, and American Survival Guide a (now defunct) magazine that focused more on preparation and survival of many types of situations.

Many people laugh at the idea of "preparing" the equate it with Y2K "survivalist nuts" who spent thousands of dollars on giant cans of "survival food", only to find that the year 2000 brought no catastrophe, and gave away their stash of goods. What has happened to our country? Only a few generations ago, preparing for bad times was the norm! Only a fool would keep enough food on hand for just a few days or a week, in those days. Even city dwellers kept pantries, though probably not as big as the ones country folks had.

If your family's breadwinner lost his or her job and had an extremely difficult time finding another, how would your family do? How long could you pay your mortgage, all your insurance, the utility bills, the vehicle payments, not to mention put food on the table? What if you had to fight in court for unemployment benefits, and you still didn't have another job after six months? What if the breadwinner had a major injury that took place outside the workplace, and was still an invalid six or even twelve months later?

What would happen if a disaster hit your area? Can't happen? Ask the Katrina victims what they think of that foolish notion. You could very easily become the victim of a record-breaking blizzard, tornado, earthquake, flood, hurricane, or other major disaster that knocks out power, destroys homes, disrupts the transportation of food, gas and other necessities, and traps you in your home. Could your family survive two weeks without electricity, plumbing, or a way to buy food or other necessities?

Do you live near a nuclear facility? A plant that produces chemicals? A military installation? Anywhere near a major highway or train line where loads of chemicals or nuclear waste could be transported? If so, you could be vulnerable to a disaster, and may have to evacuate your home.

What about terrorism? After 9-11, and several plots since then that have been foiled by homeland security, can we ever be sure of our safety here at home? We have had the luxury, as a country, of having no wars fought on this land since the civil war. Because of this we have become complacent, assuming this will always be the case. It will not. Human nature unfortunately dictates that sooner or later, we will endure war on American soil.

This may sound like gloom and doom to you, but it is not. It is a fact of life that bad things happen. You don't need to dwell on it all the time, but you should make yourself aware of it, and prepare for the worst. Even on a small income, you can make some preparations. If you even had supplies to keep your family safe, clean, fed, warm, and healthy for two weeks, you would be ahead of most Americans. Personally, I think a month should be the absolute minimum, and three months would be a smarter choice. There are some Americans who actually keep a year or more in supplies. Believe it or not, it can be done. It may take time to figure out how to do it and amass your supplies if you are short on space or money, but it can be done.

This came to my mind recently, after seeing the show "Jericho" on CBS (go to their website to view the show online) and reading "Lights Out", a free book online, which I found to be very realistic and had helpful ideas for those who want to be prepared. I realized that my day to day duties as a wife and mother have drawn me further into worldly desires and concerns. I find myself wanting to have everything fast and easy. Convenient, pre-packaged and unhealthy foods, the best of everything, it is very seductive. We had no more than a week's worth of food on hand, and many needed items not on hand at all. We have no water stored.

Ironically, before I met my husband, he, like I, was living off-grid. He didn't have a pantry, but he had non-electric alternatives. We both know what it is like to heat a home with wood or a kerosene heater, and to cook with it. We have hauled water in large containers, by hand. When Y2K happened, I didn't have a whole lot stored, but I had enough to survive about a month. We still have some of these supplies...kerosene lamps, water containers, etc. But no fuel, water, or food stored. I have become, like most Americans, complacent. Sure that tomorrow will never bring sickness, tragedy, or disaster.

Many Americans think "oh, the goverment will take care of us." How foolish...anyone remember how long it was before Katrina victims got any decent amount of food or water from FEMA? And that was one small area of the country! As for shelter, would you want to live in the Superdome with all the crime, assault, rape, etc. that was going on there? Not to mention the unsanitary living conditions that quickly arose.

If you want to live like an ostrich with your head in the sand, that's fine, as long as you don't go crawling to your prepared neighbors in an emergency, demanding that they help you and accusing them of "hoarding" and "stealing" from everyone else, simply because they were smart enough to prepare. Even animals in nature are intelligent enough to prepare for hard times. But if you have helpless dependents...children, babies, the sick, the elderly, and even animals to care for, you don't have the right to leave them unprotected and vulnerable to the slightest emergency. It is your responsibility, not the government's, to care for and prepare for the needs of your dependents.

I'm ashamed to say I'm no better than anyone else. I've been lulled into the false sense of security that relatively easy times can bring. But life has its ups and downs. Don't be caught unawares during a "down" time. Your well-being and that of your loved ones may depend on you.

I plan to keep reading and researching, and sharing my finds with you. I will post links to sites and list any good books or other helpful resources. I highly suggest reading "Lights Out". It is free to read online or download. It is long, but an easy read. After a few days, I did have some nightmares about it (but then I'm pregnant and highly prone to nightmares lately, lol). I just stopped reading for a few days, then picked it up again. Even if you just read the first half, it will give you some idea of what to really expect in a major nationwide disaster, and what you might need to survive something like it. If you even just stored a few weeks of food, water, and necessities, you would be helping your family a lot. I did it when I was single and poor, and working only part time earning a little over minimum wage. If you do it the smart way, it's not as hard as you might think.

Upcoming Ultrasound

2007-04-09T15:03:00.000-05:00

I know my posts are few and far between. It is nearly impossible to sign into Blogger now that Google took it over. Ever since then, when I try to sign into Blogger, it shuts down my browser almost every time. I just haven't found any other free blogging sites I like to switch over to, so until then, I'll do the best I can to post (when Google Blogger lets me).

I have a level II ultrasound this week. This is to check on the baby's development and make sure all is normal. Since I have gestational diabetes, E antibodies, and I'm sooooo old (lol), they want to check. I told the doc that's fine, as long as he knows that I'm not aborting my baby if there's anything wrong. Quite frankly, I don't really want to know if anything is wrong, unless there's something that can be done about it (intra-uterine surgery, etc.). The last thing I need is to spend the next five months worrying about something I can't change!

I'm sure it will be normal. My anti E titers were low, and I haven't heard differently about the titer I took last week, so I assume that was low also. I REALLY need to change my eating. It's been pretty terrible the last few months. My husband is not being nearly as supportive as he normally is. I tried to go cold turkey on any refined carbs last week, and the very day I start that, he decided to "help" me by making a cake with chocolate frosting, just to "get rid of it." Yeah, smelling cake baking and seeing the chocolate frosting was a big help. I held out all day, and then got so frustrated I decided to have some. But he and the kids had eaten it all, and that just made me mad, so I went to the store and bought a bunch of junk. I know, it's my own fault. But you don't help an alcoholic by drinking a bottle of vodka in front of them...so it follows that you don't help a fat person by eating cake in front of them. Grrr!

Normally he's been great in the past, taking up any diet I wanted to try. But I've noticed the last few times he's been less and less supportive. I wish I knew why. I'm very weak-willed, and the only times I've been successful at weight-loss was when he supported me. I guess we just need to sit down and talk about it. If I don't get my blood sugar under control, I'm going to have to take insulin. And I DON'T want to do that, if I don't have to.

The Big "E"

2007-03-17T10:39:00.000-05:00

When my doctor told me I had developed E antibodies, he gave me VERY little information. The more questions I asked, the more he repeated the same answers, in the same vague, difficult to understand way. When I left, I wasn't sure if what I had was a disease, or what, so I was a little panicked. All he told me was that I'd probably have to go to a Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist, and the baby would probably have to be delivered premature.

Naturally, I went home and did my own research. There wasn't much out there. I'll give you a synopsis of what I learned, but I'm not a doctor, so cut me some slack. ;-) If you know of anything I got wrong and have a reputable website online to refer me to, please let me know, and I'll be happy to make needed corrections. Here is what I found out:

Our blood type (A, B, AB, and O) are based on the antigens in our blood. Type A has A antigens in it, type B has B antigens in it, etc. If someone who has A blood is given a transfusion containing type B blood, that person's type A blood will see the B antigens in the new blood as foreign, and therefore will probably rally to fight off these new antigens by producing antibodies to attack them. This is why you need to have a matching blood type given to you in a transfusion.

There are other antigens out there. Basically, these antigens are proteins that are attached to your blood cells. As far as E antigens go (and there are big E and little e antigens, each are different), 98 % of the population have ee, while the rest have either EE or Ee. If a mother is ee, and her husband is ee, there is no problem. But if the father is Ee, there is a 50% chance he will pass on the E antigen to his children. If he is EE, there is a 100% chance he will pass it on to his children.

If an ee mother is pregnant with a baby who has E antigens, and their blood somehow mixes during pregnancy or birth, the mother's blood will detect the E antigens, and create E antibodies to fight off the foreign antigens. This isn't a problem when it happens during a first pregnancy. The problem occurs to subsequent pregnancies. If the mother has another baby with E antigens, the mother's blood will recognize the E antigens, and will make even more antibodies to fight off the antigens. Basically, the mother's blood will try to attack and "kill" the baby's blood. If the level of antibodies gets too high, it can be very dangerous to the baby. The baby could die.

There are two ways to be exposed to these antigens. One, as just described, is to be exposed to it by the father, via the baby. The other is if you get a blood transfusion. They're supposed to check blood for antigens, and the blood can be "cleaned" of the antigens before it is given. But I guess mistakes happen, and you can still be exposed to these antigens through transfused blood. The good thing is, if you get it from a transfusion, you can have your husband's blood tested for a simple antibody screening. If your husband is ee, you are in the clear. Your child will not have the E antigen, and therefore your blood will not fight your baby's. As I mentioned before, if your husband is EE, your child will definitely have the E antigen, and if he is Ee, your child might have the E antigen.

If your baby is suspected to have the E antigen, your blood will be tested at least once a month in the beginning of your pregnancy, and more often if the titer levels go up or as the pregnancy gets further along. If the levels rise past a certain point, they might have to do things such as a cordocentesis or amniocentesis. I believe I also read that a intrauterine blood transfusion for the baby may be necessary. If the situation worsens, the baby will need to be delivered early. My doctor told me that they usually like to deliver the babies at 32-36 weeks. 36 weeks isn't too bad, but 32 weeks is pretty early. He can't give me statistics on how often premature deliveries are done, because usually patients with this condition go to a perinatologist, and he doesn't always get feedback on the outcome.

There are other antigens out there that will cause similar problems. The most common one is antigen D. This is the one that is a problem for moms who are Rh-. It is much more dangerous and can cause more problems. However, there is a solution that usually works for D antibodies. Doctors inject the mother with RhoGam, which are D antibodies but they are too big to cross the placental barrier. It fools the mother's blood into thinking that there is no reason to produce more antibodies, because there are already plenty of antibodies to "do the job". Since the injected antibodies are too big to cross the placental barrier, they don't harm the baby. This usually takes care of the problem. There is no injection for mothers with E antibodies, and I don't think there are for the other problematic antibodies out there, like C, etc. Probably because the others are much more rare, and therefore are not profitable enough to bother researching or manufacturing a treatment.

I will be having my husband's blood tested, although it is likely I got exposed to the antigens from him, via my last baby. The antibodies have never been detected in my blood during previous pregnancies, so either I got them from the last baby, or I got a blood transfusion during the last c-section or my hernia operation. I don't remember getting blood, and my doctor says usually they have you sign something informing you of the risks of transfusion and giving you things to look out for. I always read EVERYTHING I sign, so it's unlikely I had a transfusion. But I'd like my husband to be tested just the same. Since antibody screening is pretty routine during pregnancy blood workups, it is unlikely that I had E antibodies before now. Which probably means my husband is Ee, and didn't pass the antigens on to the first three children.

As annoying and worrisome as this complication is, I know that if my husband has E antigens, then I'm blessed that this hasn't happened sooner. Although you know this is just one more thing that the doctors will try to use against me in the future to coerce me to sterilize myself. Sorry docs, I'm not a cat, and that ain't gonna happen! Of course, the first thing my mother says is "see, I knew something like this would happen...your body just can't take all these pregnancies!" My response was "um, mom, didn't you listen to anything I said? This is something that occurred naturally, and could have happened with the first baby. And it might not even cause any problems. There was no way to prevent it." She acts like I broke myself, lol.

I suppose I could have made my husband submit to several health exams and blood screenings to make sure he was "compatible". I can just see it now... "Sorry dear, I love you and I believe God sent you to me because you are the man that will be a wonderful husband and father and lead me and my future children to Heaven...but God made a mistake and gave you the wrong proteins in your blood, so I'm afraid we'll have to call the whole thing off." ROFL!! I mean, I was picky, but I wasn't THAT picky!

I hope you have enjoyed today's lesson on antigens and antibodies. Hey, you could turn this into a homeschooling lesson! Of course you'll have to come up with your own illustrations. ;-) You could make some E antigen and antibody puppets, and make them have a little puppet fight!

Pregnancy Complications

2007-03-16T23:14:00.001-05:00

Well, this pregnancy is turning out to be a lot like Murphy's law!

I found out that I have a condition that is very similar to being Rh-....just a different antibody that's causing the trouble (E instead of D). It's much more rare, but not as serious. However, it doesn't have a simple solution like taking RhoGam. Basically I'm being referred to a Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist, because I also have other high risk factors: being "old" (35 or older), being overweight, having had 4 previous c-sections, and to top it all off, I have gestational diabetes again. *sigh*

The bad thing is, they usually recommend early delivery of the baby--usually between 32-36 weeks. Now, you all know me, I am NOT big on interventions or other unnatural stuff. Of course, if it's necessary I'll do it. But doctors are so quick to try to force you into doing things that are not actually in the best interests of you or the baby, to minimize the risks of lawsuits and higher malpractice insurance fees....like, oh, say, guilting you into a c-section you don't really need, and telling you "don't worry, you can have a VBAC next time" as he laughs up his sleeve because he darn well knows you're highly unlikely to be "allowed" to have a VBAC in this day and age. Oh, I'd better not get started on that, lol!

Anyway, I'm not really big on delivering a baby early just because I have a condition that MIGHT cause a problem in the future. I've done my research (boy, doctors just hate that) and I know that they usually keep an eye on your titers (tracking the levels of antibodies in your blood to make sure your blood isn't attacking the baby's blood). If the levels go up, you know there is a problem. If they go over a certain level, the baby could be in danger. I won't be letting the doctors deliver the baby early "just in case". There will have to be some evidence that early delivery is truly necessary. I'm not going to risk my baby's life with a premature delivery just so the doctors can later say that they "took every precaution".

I'm also not going to let them bully me into taking insulin unless that is necessary also. I've been doing some research, and I found out that a study has shown that taking as little as 1/2 teaspoon a day of cinnamon can lower your blood sugar, and has helped diabetics keep their blood sugar under control. I plan to try this and diet modifications first (I've been a very bad girl lately, due to stress) before taking more drastic measures. If I need to, I'll take the insulin or Metformin, but not unless it proves necessary.

I'm not really worried too much about the baby. All my babies have been healthy. Granted, this could change at any time, life is like that. And I am a little concerned. But as long as I don't see much rise in the titer levels, I'm not going to freak out. Hopefully, the pregnancy will proceed normally. So please keep me and my baby in your prayers!

I'm Back!

2007-03-15T11:27:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posting. I've turned into one of THOSE bloggers...the kind who rarely every posts, so I get bored checking in with them and take them off my boomarks list. LOL. At least Blogger finally let me sign in. Sheesh!

We've decided to wait until summer to buy a house. In the meantime, we found a five bedroom home to rent. It was really cheap, and now we know why. We knew the original builder had gone bankrupt, and this house and a couple of others were sold to an investor. Now the investor is ready to be foreclosed on, because he can't sell it either. We were told the price was too high. Oh, my friends, that's not the REAL reason. The real reason is that the contractor who built this was either a moron or a crook who used sub-standard crews. The drywall looks like it was done by ten year olds. I am NOT kidding! Places where they messed up are covered over with a splotch of joint compound, not leveled or sanded, then painted over. And they messed up a LOT. Some things, like the appliances, aren't bad. Others, like the doors, look fine, but are actually made very cheaply. The bannister for the stairs shakes. The phone outlets were connected to each other, but not the outgoing phone line (requiring the phone company to spend 6 1/2 hours here to fix it), and the carpet is so cheap that my daughter's hair looks like a dirty lint mop from all the carpet fibers she has picked up! No wonder the house hasn't sold!

The good news is, it isn't likely to sell anytime soon, and we have a six month lease anyway. And we got a good rate on the rent. And there is a SuperWalmart only three minutes away. YAY!

We should be ready to buy this summer (God willing) and finally have a home of our own. I can't wait to paint a wall!!!

There has been a complication in my pregnancy. Everything is okay so far. But that's a whole other post.

My "baby" is now one year old. She's so big! And finally she's at a good weight...for some reason my girls are so petite, it's hard to get them to gain. Which makes it hard when there are so many fat babies out there. Funny how doctors want fat babies, but once they're two or three years old, if they're too big, they want them to be skinny.

I just ordered "Created to be His Helpmeet" last night. Can't wait to get it. I've heard good things, but was never interested, based on exerpts I had read. My husband was definitely not a "Mr. Visionary" as the book describes, and that's what I've heard the most about. But last night I read an exerpt that talked about "Mr. Steady"...wow, that is my husband! Not 100%...I would never call him wishy-washy or too slow to make a decision, or one who wouldn't take a stand on a church issue, etc. But he is very stable, and definitely goes above and beyond helping me. Debi Pearl says many wives of a Mr. Steady end up with hormonal imbalances or health problems. There wasn't enough detail to know exactly why, but she seemed to be saying that strong women married to a Mr. Steady had a tendency to lose respect for him and take over as spiritual head of the family, etc. Perhaps she meant that because of this, many women end up stressed out or emotionally wrecked, I don't know....we'll see when I get the book.

I definitely don't lose respect for my husband when he works hard to take over many of my duties and give me time to myself...actually, I lose respect for myself. I feel like a failure, and end up hating myself for it. It's not his fault, it's mine. I've known for a while that I'm letting him help me too much. But I'm so overwhelmed with...life...that I'm afraid to tell him that, for fear he won't help enough, and I'll feel worse. I really hope the book helps me, because I think she's really on to something.

I know I need to let go more, and not try to control so much. After reading "Fascinating Womanhood", I gave up control of the money (well, mostly) which helped a lot. I need to give up more control, and try not to manipulate him so much. He's a good husband, and I worry that he is losing respect for me.

In the meantime, while I wait for the book (I got it on MP3 so I can listen to it, otherwise I'll never finish it) I will be reviewing Fascinating Womanhood and trying again to implement her suggested changes. Last night I fixed myself up for my husband before he got home and I cleaned up the house, even though my day had been awful. He really liked it. And I felt better about myself, too.

Hoping for a New House!

2007-02-08T19:22:00.000-06:00

We've been having landlord problems lately. I HATE renting! I've never had a home that was all my own, and I'm really ready for it. I can't stand worrying about every scratch on the wall, what the neighbors think of our "long" grass (barely an inch longer than theirs), or the fact that I can't even paint a wall. Not to mention dealing with landlords who never want to fix anything. This landlord hasn't been too bad in that department, but we're having thermostat problems and it's WINTER, so I'm pretty frustrated with their lackadaisical attitude in finding a repairman for it.

I didn't think our credit was anywhere near where it needed to be to get a house, but as it turns out, the guidelines for lending have loosened quite a bit over the years. I didn't realize it's much easier to get a home loan than a car loan! Unfortunately because of the upswing in foreclosures, the rules are tightening up again, so we want to try now. It's definitely a buyer's market right now, especially at this time of year.

Our credit took a big dip a year ago, which is frustrating. Apparently before that, we had good enough credit to get a pretty good rate. Grrrrr! Why didn't I know about that? Now we're two points below where we need to be to get into a loan. It will be a little iffy even if we raise two points soon. But it's definitely possible. We went up a couple of points in just a few days this week. (I am SO glad we got the new car, it's helping our credit a lot.)

We're looking for 5-10 acres about a half hour from my husband's job. That is our ideal. We could really use some prayers for this. We need to get financed, find a house, and move very quickly. Either that or find a temporary rental and take our time looking to buy a house. So if everyone could remember us in their prayers this week, we would really appreciate it. Also, pray that I can pack up this house full of junk, and keep my patience and sanity!!

Thanks!

No, the Ticker Isn't Going Backwards....

2007-01-31T13:09:00.000-06:00

...it just looks that way. If any of you have visited my (non-updated) blog recently, you may have noticed that it had been showing a gestational date of 16 weeks, but is now showing 12 weeks. Why the change? Well, my due date had been a loose estimate, based on my second-to-last period (I forgot to write down the date of the last one.) So I came up with a due date based on that.

However, after an ultrasound two weeks ago to determine if I was carrying twins (why am I always more sure with each pregnancy that I'm having twins when I'm not?!) I found out that based on the ultrasound, I was only nine weeks along. Grrrr!

So not only did I apparently skip a period somewhere along the line BEFORE I got pregnant, but I am also feeling even more farther along than I thought I was. Hence, the twin scare. Don't get me wrong, I am happy for any blessings God gives me. But I might be momentarily chagrined at God's sense of humor if He gave me twins now, when I already have four children under the age of five, rather than giving them to me with the first pregnancy, when I wanted twins. I was relieved it was just one baby, although I admit there was some slight disappointment too. ;-)

It's strange to me that not only is each pregnancy different, but I seem to be experiencing more severe symptoms each time. I can only be thankful that God was so merciful in letting my first pregnancy be so easy. I can't imagine being one of those poor women who have very rough pregnancies, especially if each one was worse than the last. Yikes! I'm pretty wimpy.

With other pregnancies, I've had occasional, very slight nausea a couple of times. This usually was when I hadn't had enough to eat, particularly when I was pregnant and still breastfeeding a previous baby, such as in my second and third pregnancies. Usually a bit of food made it vanish. This time, I was having frequent nausea, though still mild. It came at weird times though, like sometimes very soon after eating. I would be sure that I didn't need food, and food sounded so unappealing anyway. So I would let it go for a half hour to an hour, as it grew worse and worse, until finally I'd just go ahead and make myself eat, and usually it went away. Why I would get morning sickness and need to eat after JUST EATING is beyond me. Pregnancy is so weird.

Anyway, I seem to be past that, and feeling better. I know that my pregnancies are still a lot easier than a lot of people's, so I'm very grateful for that. But I do worry what my tenth pregnancy will be like, at this rate! lol

The Risks (?) of Multiple Pregnancies and Cesareans

2007-01-11T13:42:00.000-06:00

Any woman who decides to have more than the "normal" amount of children is definitely going to hear unsolicited opinions about the wiseness of their choice. This is especially true of your family members and your doctors. Your family members are probably indoctrinated from the television, and believe anything the "idiot box" says. (I am embarrassed to admit that I still haven't been able to completely break my tv habit, but I most certainly do NOT believe what talk show hosts and tv news shows tell me to believe.)

Your mother (sibling/cousin/aunt/etc.) is sure to tell you how dangerous it is, how unhealthy it is, how hard it is, how expensive it is, etc. The ironic thing is that some of these people may have had many children themselves, and got through it just fine. My mom did. We were well-fed, well-clothed, and had more than a lot of smaller families we knew, even on my dad's very small income. They have been taught by the tv and by society that anyone who has more than two or three children (at MOST) is being reckless and taking their lives in their hands. Nothing could be further from the truth. While having more children does take more of a toll on your body, if you are eating right and exercising, you can greatly minimize the impact.

When you visit your obstetrician, be prepared. With each additional child, you will feel more pressure from your doctor to tie your tubes, use contraception, etc. He or she will bombard you with frightening statistics and, if you let your guard down, make you feel foolish for even considering it. This will be even worse if you have had any c-sections...and if you've had multiple sections, they will make it sound as if your uterus will explode if you try to have even one more child.

I urge anyone wanting to have more children to research it for yourself. And not just the typical medical journal studies, either. Visit the International Cesarean Awareness Network for more information. Also read books about cesarean sections. Even women who haven't had one should research this if they plan to have more. Cesarean sections do carry risks with them, and when you have a doctor trying to talk you into your first one, or to talk you into a repeat c-section instead of a VBAC, they will minimize the risks to you in order to get you to do what they want. Once you have your third or fourth child, the doctors will suddenly tell you that the risks are too high.

With even one c-section, you raise your risk for future tubal pregnancies, placenta previa, placenta accreta, uterine rupture, and other complications during future pregnancies. These risks are not high, but they are there. The risks will raise with each c-section, though not as high as doctors often claim. If you do your research, you will find that the studies they quote often lump cases together that should be in separate categories in order to make it an honest, accurate assessment of risks in the study. When you look up studies that appropriately separate cases into more detailed categories, it gives you a more accurate picture of the risks, and you find the risks are lower than doctors often state.

One example is in the case of "uterine ruptures". This is the scare tactic used most by doctors, making it sound as if your uterus will explode and you and your child will instantly die if you get one. This is highly exaggerated. The uterine rupture that is most worrisome is the "catastrophic rupture" where your uterus tears all the way through. This can be very dangerous, and if you are not able to get into a surgery suite very quickly, there can be fatal consequences for both mother and child. However, these are rare. Most uterine ruptures are partial ruptures, where the uterine muscle tears through only part of the uterine wall. In the case of "window" ruptures, the rupture is a very small one that only goes through a layer of the uterus...it does not go all the way through. Many women get these, and they are not at all dangerous, and usually when having a c-section the doctor looks for these and repairs them. The studies often quoted by doctors usually do not differentiate between the serious and non-serious ruptures. Doctors often imply that these studies are referring to catastrophic ruptures when in reality they are lumping all types of ruptures together.

My last doctor used the "exploding uterus" ploy the last time. I expect this new doctor will use the "paper thin uterus" ploy after my next c-section. Your uterus can become thinner after many pregnancies, and this does up the risk of ruptures, but this is often exaggerated.

I cannot tell you how many women I have met who have been told that they should NEVER have another baby again, or they will surely die...and these women ignored their doctors and went on to have six, eight, or ten healthy children. Some of these women had c-sections, some didn't. All were given various reasons, all their doctors were certain that they were doomed, or that their children would be abnormal, etc. and none of their predictions turned out to be true. I met a woman once who had had NINE c-sections...so far. I know someone personally who has had seven...so far. They, like me, are quiverfull-minded.

Now, I don't want anyone to misunderstand me--c-sections can be dangerous. ANY surgery can be fatal. The thing that scares me most is blood clots. Not long ago, I heard of a woman who died three weeks after giving birth, from a blood clot that broke loose. Another mother I heard about online recently died of a blood clot when amniotic fluid leaked into her bloodstream as the baby was lifted out of her stomach. You can get a blood clot after dental surgery. So to me, blood clots scare me more than possible ruptures. My biggest piece of advice is do everything you can to avoid getting a c-section in the first place. Someone I know had one for what I personally believed wasn't a good reason. I warned her she was more likely to have tubal pregnancies, fertility problems, and more c-sections in the future. She chose to have one. Maybe it was the right decision. The next time she got pregnant it was tubal, and then couldn't get pregnant for a long time. The next pregnancy, her doctor was pushing at the end for a c-section, as I predicted. I strongly urged her not to get one. She was going to, but at the last minute was able to have it naturally. She was lucky, but she will face the same pressure from her doctor with each pregnancy.

Here is how I made my decision to keep having children. My faith. I do not believe in controlling my births. How can I say I trust God with everything...except my family size? I feel like I would be saying "God, I trust you with my marriage, my faith, my money, my life...but I know you cannot be trusted to keep my family size down to what I can handle. I just know you're going to give me twenty kids, and I know that I can't handle it. So I'm just going to cut you out of this area of my life. Sorry, but in this area, I know best." Notice all the "I" and the "I know"? I don't think most women think consciously like this, but when you break it down, that's the truth of it. Believe me, I sympathize! There are times I think "hey, just how many kids are you going to give me?!" It's a little scarier when they come close together. I really would like a large family, but in my weaker moments I just don't know how I can handle it.

And that, my friends, is the problem. "How will I handle it?" I, again. I, I, I. What we forget is that God will never give us more than we can handle....with HIS help! He will certainly give us more than we can handle alone, because we aren't meant to do it alone! Just because you don't use birth control, doesn't mean you will have twenty children. In fact, unless you are eighteen and very fertile, and don't breastfeed well, that is very unlikely. The only reason I have mine so close is that I don't produce milk well. Once I got a handle on it, I had twelve months between pregnancies, and around 22 months between births. I'm only pregnant now because I was an idiot and didn't try hard enough to do what I needed to to keep my milk production up, and ended up stopping altogether. And even then, God gave me a couple of extra months. Most people I've known personally only had around 6-8. Several I knew had only two or three. That's just all God gave them. Several I knew couldn't have any, and had to adopt. Only a handful of families had eleven or more, and they had married pretty young and had been quiverfull all along, and had babies longer than other women had.

Chances are I won't have more than six or eight. My mom went through the change early, and I may also. We'll see. I truly believe God knows best. And although my mom and my doctors think I'm crazy, I trust God as far as the c-sections go. Doesn't God carry us all in the palm of His hand? Not one hair on our heads will be harmed unless God permits it. If I die during a c-section, it will be because my time has come, not because I was "reckless" or "crazy". If it is my time to go, what better way to give up my life than in total submission to God, while giving life to another? I think that is a far better way to go than getting hit by a bus, suffering a heart attack, dying from cancer, getting mugged, or any myriad of other ways I could die. When God calls me home, I will go, and it doesn't matter if I am driving a car or giving birth. He will choose the time, and if it happens to be while I am giving birth so be it. I can't outrun it by avoiding His will. He will find me wherever I am. And hopefully when He does, I will be doing His will.

I hope everyone reads this and understands this to be an expression of my thinking and my beliefs, and not a criticism. I know others believe differently. My intention is only to express my own beliefs, and to maybe give others a new perspective to ponder.

May God bless you all, and please pray for me and my unborn child.

Question About Repeat C-Sections

2007-01-11T13:06:00.000-06:00

I had a question a little while back in the comments section, and just recently realized that I'd overlooked it. I think it's a good question, and it's something every woman should know about. So Faraja, I apologize, and here is your question and my response:

"How did you find it having 4 c-sections (and will you need one again for the 5th?) I've had 3, and we'd love another baby but so many people (including my doctor) are saying I shouldn't do another c-section."

Well, as far as my experience with four c-sections, I hated having them. I desperately wanted to have a child normally, but let them talk me into the first one, even though I believe it was NOT necessary. This is very common. Doctors would rather do a c-section because it is quicker and easier for them, so they can get back to their office and back home, plus they consider it safer (for them) than being bothered to continue with a vaginal birth that isn't going as easily as they had hoped. It is definitely not safer for you and the baby, unless there are real signs of distress or some true need for it. "Failure to progress" and "cephalo-pelvic disproportion" (baby's head won't fit through your pelvis) are the two catch-phrases often used (and abused) as reasons for c-sections. There's no reason to be worried about "failure to progress" unless there are problems with you or the baby, such as fetal heartbeat dropping significantly. Doctors are in a big hurry nowadays. They do NOT want to let you labor. They want to get it over with, and the hospital wants that room available for the next mom.

CPD was the supposed reason for my c-section. The doctor said the baby's head wouldn't fit. Now I am more educated. After birth my son's head was perfect...there was no molding of the head at all as there should have been if my son's head had actually tried to go through my pelvis. I knew at the time the whole thing was bogus, but I was exhausted, in excruciating pain, and the nurses told me I couldn't have any more drugs unless I agreed to a c-section. Basically they blackmailed me. (All I'd had was a small dose of demerol--NEVER get that--and a half dose of an epidural.) Later after talking it over with my husband, we both believe that I wasn't fully dilated at the time they told me to push. There wasn't even a nurse in the room for about 99% of the time I pushed. It was a nightmare.

My second birth was an emergency c-section, because I had pre-eclampsia. That one I think was necessary, because as it turned out, there were also two knots in the cord. The third one I wanted to have a homebirth with a midwife, but where I lived at that time, state law prohibited midwives from attending VBAC births where there had been a c-section within less than 18 months, and I had had only thirteen months between those births. For the last birth, I had given up on finding a midwife to accept me, then heard that in this area, there are some women who have had safe home births after three or four c-sections. I found a couple of midwives who would have done it, but because of my other health risks (weight, gestational diabetes, etc.) and the fact that I was so far along (in my third trimester) they decided against taking me. I was pretty devastated. But this time I actually found a holistically-based hospital, and (as c-sections go) it was very enjoyable. The staff was great, the room was great, they even doulas and masseuses on staff. I had to travel an hour to get to the hospital, but it was worth it.

I was fortunate that my recovery from all of my c-sections has been relatively easy compared to some women, and my pregnancies haven't been bad either. However, I will say that each successive pregnancy and each surgery has been a little harder each time. Not only am I having more children than the average mom today, but I'm having them closer than most women (who breastfeed) do. So with the stress on my body, plus my age (almost 35), I guess it's to be expected that each pregnancy and surgery might be a little tougher.

I'll comment more on the risks (and the exaggerations about them) of c-sections in the next post.

Christmas Day Programming

2006-12-25T01:10:00.001-06:00

Just to let everyone know, if you are interested in some quality Christmas Day programming, tune in online at wftsradio.com and see what they have listed for the day. They don't post their programming schedule ahead of time, unfortunately, but if you check periodically throughout the day, they will usually update.

My guess as to their programming for Christmas Day is that it will probably have a few talks about Christmas, probably by Father Jenkins and Mother Mary Bosco, and perhaps some sermons from yesterday (Sunday 12/24/06), the day of Christmas Eve. Perhaps even some Midnight Mass sermons or music.

There will surely be some Christmas Carols sung by the Daughters of Mary played in the extra space in between shows. The sisters sell their music online, and you can listen to pieces of the songs.

I wish you all a very Blessed Christmas!

The True Meaning of Christmas

2006-12-25T00:25:00.000-06:00

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was made nothing that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men: and the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness to give testimony of the light, that all men might believe through him. He was not the light, but was to give testimony of the light. That was the true light which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world. He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His won received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them He gave power to become the sons of God: to them that believe in His name: who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God...

And the Word was made flesh,

and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:1-14

Sleep, Holy Babe
A Christmas Carol

Sleep, holy Babe, upon Thy mother's breast,
Great Lord of earth and sea and sky
How sweet it is to see Thee lie
In such a state of rest.

Sleep, holy Babe, Thine angels watch around,
All bending low with folded wings,
Before the Incarnate King of Kings
With reverent awe, profound.

Sleep, holy Babe, while I with Mary gaze
In joy upon that face awhile,
Upon that loving Infant smile
Which there divinely plays.

Sleep, holy Babe, now snatch Thy brief repose,
Too quickly will Thy slumber break,
And Thou to lengthened pains awake,
Which death alone shall close.

Let us not forget the greatest Christmas gift of all...

"For God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son, that whosoever should believeth in Him, may not perish, but may have everlasting life."
John 3:16

What a reminder of the perfect example of giving, of love, of sacrifice...an innocent Child, Who we think of, helpless and innocent in the manger, knowing what His destiny will be. The epitome of purity and innocence...a baby. But not any baby--the divine Infant, Christ Jesus, Who was begotten without sin, lived without sin, and yet died the death due a sinner...Who took on the punishment for us all, so that we may be saved. And think of Mary and Joseph, looking down upon their Son, knowing all the prophesies spoken of the Messiah, and knowing at least in part, the sorrows He was someday to endure.

What a great gift of love and sacrifice it was for Mary to say "yes" to God when she was asked to carry the Son of God, knowing the ridicule she would endure, knowing the sorrows that would pierce her heart. How many among us would want to have a child, knowing in advance, and for certain, that horrors and sorrow would befall our child, and that we would have to watch and suffer in silence? And yet, in perfect obedience, she did not question, but simply said "yes". St. Joseph, too, must have had such great faith. Knowing not only that his Son would suffer greatly, but that he, his foster-father and the leader of the family, would be able to do nothing to protect Him. He took on a great burden for the love of God. He was told in dreams to take Mary as his wife, to flee with his family to Egypt, and eventually to return to Nazareth. Each time, he simply obeyed.

Love, sacrifice, and redemption. These are the true gifts we should cherish this Christmas season. This is what Christmas is all about.

Christ, the Light of the World, Is Born!!!

2006-12-24T23:56:00.000-06:00

Gloria in Excelsis Deo!

"And it came to pass, that when they were there, her days were accomplished, that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him up in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds watching, and keeping the night watches over their flock. And behold an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the brightness of God shone round about them, and they feared with a great fear. And the angel said to them: Fear not; for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, that shall be to all the people; for this day is born to you a Saviour, Who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David. And this shall be a sign unto you: You shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God, and saying: Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will. " Luke 2:6-14

"O come, all ye faithful,
Joyful and triumphant,
Come ye, O come ye
To Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him,
Born the King of Angels.
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord."

Problems with the Kimkins Link

2006-12-24T12:12:00.001-06:00

I posted this as an answer to a comment, but I thought I'd repeat it here in case anyone else was interested.

One of my readers said the link to the Kimkins website wasn't working. I don't know what happened, Blogger seemed to eat it...it turned into some kind of Blogger link. I have fixed it now. If it happens again, please let me know. I'll list it here, too: Kimkins Website

I would love it if anyone interested in Kimkins use my link to get to it...if you sign up, I do get credit for it, and get a little "kickback." After a while, I figured if I'm going to extoll the virtues of the site and give them free advertising, I might as well get something out of it!

But I'd recommend the diet even if someone chose not to use my link. I really believe in the diet, it's the only one that worked really well for me. Atkins was good too, but Kimkins is faster, and has great hunger control if you're faithful to it. The best thing about the website is that if you join, you not only get all the info and support you need (very personal, too, you can ask Kimmer herself any questions), but also it is a one-time fee. So even though I'm pregnant now, I can still visit the site if I want, but if I don't, I can just jump back in a year from now when I'm ready to go on the diet again, and there's no additional costs.

I'm really struggling not being on the diet now. I miss the hunger control, but most of all I miss feeling good. My mood swings and some of the depression are back. I need to find more carb balance. There's got to be a way to eat healthy for my baby and not suffer from carb-induced depression!

I'm happy to answer any questions about the diet. I know the website doesn't give a lot of info about it up front. You can also look at my November and December posts from this blog and from my other blog, Weigh Out Of Control for more details.

And to anyone on the diet, good luck!

Meditation on theJourney to Bethlehem

2006-12-24T08:14:00.000-06:00

"At that time, there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that the whole world should be enrolled. This enrolling was first made by Cyrinus, the governor of Syria. And all went to be enrolled, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary his espoused wife, who was with child. " Luke 2:1-5

The journey to Bethlehem would have been difficult for anyone during the time of Jesus' birth. Walking long, dusty, rocky roads along with many other travelers and their animals who were also seeking out the cities of their ancestors' birth for the census. But one can only imagine the experience of Mary, who was nine months pregnant at the time.

Those of us who have been pregnant know only too well how difficult it is to bend over, get up out of bed or out of an easy chair, to do even the simplest household tasks. If you've been unfortunate enough to have to travel by car or air or to move during your last weeks of pregnancy, you know the fatigue and discomfort this brings. But imagine how weary and uncomfortable Mary must have been...likely she tried to often shift positions on her donkey, or get down occasionally and try to walk, only to have to somehow get back up on its back because walking was too difficult. Sleeping on the hard ground at night would have been a nightmare. Needing to stop often to rest, or drink, or answer nature's call would have made the trip even longer.

It is no wonder that by the time they reached Bethlehem, for all Joseph's planning and effort to get his wife there in time to get her a proper and comfortable room, they arrived too late. Once there, they were so late that there was not even room on the floor of an inn for his patient wife. Poor St. Joseph must have felt so awful! Imagine his worry and desperation, and how guilty he must have felt that he couldn't even provide his wife a bed, knowing she was ready to give birth. Though it was through no fault of his own, he must have been beside himself...exhausted, worried, sick with guilt, and desperate to find her somewhere, anywhere she could be comfortable. It was enough that his poor wife would have nowhere to give birth, but the idea that the Son of God should be born in a public alleyway if he did not find somewhere soon...it must have been more than he could bear. But he continued on, likely both of them praying and having faith that God would provide them a place.

In the end, they were told of a stable. The idea must have been disappointing to Joseph, but no doubt by this time he was grateful because now at least Mary could be made somewhat comfortable, and they would have privacy. The relief they felt upon reaching the stable must have been palpable. Mary, weary and in great discomfort, must have been very glad indeed to rest upon the straw, and was no doubt joyful that the birth of her Son was near. Mary, who was present for the birth of her cousin, St. John (the Baptist) and possibly other relatives, knew what to expect, but St. Joseph, being a man alone with no midwife to help, and not having any intimate knowledge of his wife, must have been concerned and very unsure of himself. He prayed often for strength and wisdom, to be able to aid Mary in any way he could, and that the birth might go well and easily for her.

"O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel."

It's Official!

2006-12-22T08:51:00.000-06:00

Blessing # 5 is on the way! I tested positive last night. I'm kind of surprised. I usually don't test positive until I'm two weeks late. Although I'm not sure when the date of my last period was (poor recordkeeping, lol) I didn't think I would test positive til next Tuesday or Wednesday. I don't feel pregnant, really. I guess I feel tired, but not overly so. Going to bed at an insane hour lately is probably responsible for that. I also had been feeling lately that I just could not do the diet anymore. Which is probably my body's way of saying "stop dieting, you're pregnant, you dummy!"

Anyway, I shouldn't be surprised, since unfortunately I stopped breastfeeding at five months postpartum. (I plan to do everything in my power to avoid that happening this time around.) I should be more surprised that it took so long to get pregnant! But God knows what is best, which is why we trust Him with the size of our family. I had a year between the last two pregnancies, and felt ready when I got pregnant. I feel that I'll be ready for another baby when this one comes, but I wasn't quite feeling ready to be pregnant yet, lol! I don't at all mind the first trimester...it's the third that I hate. It's been getting harder each time. But I shouldn't complain. My pregnancies have been relatively easy. God has blessed me that way. It's probably to make up for the fact that, due to circumstances beyond my control, I've been forced to have all four of my children by cesarean.

Being pregnant does explain why, since I've gone of the diet in the last week, I have gained back HALF of what I lost!!! If I eat properly in the first trimester, I tend to lose a little weight. Then I stabilize in the second, and gain in the third (partly due to getting tired of "watching" what I eat). This time I plan to follow either the Weston A. Price diet or the Blue Ribbon Baby diet. I've heard good things about both. The first I believe is a good, all-around healthy way of eating for anyone. Some people with wheat or milk allergies tend to find they can tolerate wheat and milk on this diet, when they eat it as the diet prescribes. The second diet claims to virtually eliminate the risk of pre-eclampsia and toxemia. I have had pre-eclampsia with my second pregnancy, and I had gestational diabetes with the fourth. I hope proper diet will help me avoid such complications.

I still plan to reduce my carbs (Americans eat WAY too many) but in a way that is healthy for pregnancy. Most of my carbs will come from fruit and vegetables, and homemade, organic whole wheat bread. I want to get a grinder for grinding wheat berries for fresh flour. Whole wheat begins to lose nutrients within hours of grinding.

I hope everyone is having a good Advent!

God bless.

Temporarily off diet

2006-12-21T10:35:00.000-06:00

I've decided to go off the diet temporarily. My cycle is late, and I suspect I am pregnant. I don't feel pregnant, though. My husband says I don't "look" pregnant (he can always tell from the changes in my body). But just in case, I'm going off the diet temporarily. This diet is very very low carb, and not suitable for pregnant or nursing women. I'll let you know what happens. I never test positive until I'm two weeks late, so I have another week to go.

"Confirm Clearly" Pregnancy Tests Are Giving False Positives

2006-12-13T15:14:00.000-06:00

This is a shame to hear. I am soooo glad I didn't buy these. I was thinking about it, since I could get pregnant at any time now. Bad enough to waste the money, but what about the emotional scars that such a test could give? Pregnancy tests can often give false negatives, but not usually false positives. Imagine how terrible it would be for a woman who has been trying to get pregnant for a while? Sheesh!

Check this out. Apparently Tammy's husband is pregnant!

Learning About Sin

2006-12-13T14:25:00.001-06:00

Okay, I admit it...I'm feeling a bit of maternal pride, lately! My four year old son has gotten to that stage where he is really growing as a person. Sometimes I think he is being a better example to me than I am to him.

We often read him religious picture books that we have acquired. These are often kept put up, and taken down on occasion or when we go to Mass. (They are easily torn.) We have them on subjects such as angels, St. Joseph, the Crucifixion, Easter, praying, Bible stories, Mary, and one about a little girl who led a remarkably holy and short life. His favorite by far is the one about "Jesus dying on the Cross", as he says. He sometimes takes it to naptime with him, and will study it for the longest time. He remarks often that "someday I want to be a priest, so I can teach the Roman soldiers a lesson about God, so they won't go to Hell". He says this also about pirates, mean people, and various other "bad guys." Oh, and he also wants to be a firefighter. I suppose it would be a good combination, because then he could save sinner from real fires and the fires of Hell!

He asks me sometimes whether something is a sin or not, and if it is a big sin or a little sin. Naturally I tell him all sin is bad because it offends God very much, Who is perfect and should never be offended. But I also tell him about the differences in sin, and that although all sin is bad, all sin is not equal. I'm glad to see that it is something he wants to learn about, yet is not inordinately preoccupied with it.

Not long ago, he was chastised and sent to his room for some offense. I wasn't there at the time. After a few minutes, he was allowed to come downstairs. Without being asked, he went to my husband and apologized, and said "Daddy, while I was up in my room I kneeled down and told God I sinned and asked Him to forgive me." Awwwww! What a sweetie. I have to give my husband credit for that one--he often has before-bed talks with my son on such subjects as forgiveness and mercy. And of course, it's always good to have Veggie Tales movies for reinforcement of those lessons!

Mommy, I Made a Sacrifice!

2006-12-13T13:34:00.000-06:00

Recently, this is what I hear quite often around the house. A while back, while watching the cartoon "The Day the Sun Danced", which is about the story of the children of Fatima, I explained to my four year old son what sacrifice means. In the video, the children were making little "sacrifices" to God for the sake of poor sinners. They would give their meager lunches to poor children, say prayers, and offer up their own sufferings as a sacrifice for the purpose of earning extra grace for sinners, that the sinners might accept God's grace and save their souls. The children did not want sinners go to Hell.

My son asked many questions, and has a pretty good grasp on the concept. When he doesn't feel like sharing his toys, sometimes he will pause thoughtfully, then walk over and give the toy to a sibling. Then he'll run smiling to me and say "Mommy, I made a sacrifice! I gave my toy to my brother, even though I didn't want to." The first time he did this, it brought tears to my eyes. I'm so proud of him!

The funny thing is, he doesn't quite understand that you can only offer up your OWN sacrifices to God. When his sister hurts her foot, he will say "mommy, I'm offering up her pain as a sacrifice for poor sinners." I tell him that is very nice, but since it is her suffering, then she has to be the one to do it. LOL, he still doesn't quite get that part!

The children are very giving towards each other. Although they don't always share, and there are plenty of squabbles over toys, they are learning to be kind to one another. The teaching about sacrifice just makes it easier to do. My son has really taken this to heart, and has made him think more often about the needs and feelings of others.

I am glad that we have that movie to remind the children about sacrifice. Many of the problems of this world could be solved today if people had the proper attitude about love and sacrifice. Love IS sacrifice. If you are not willing to make some sacrifices for the ones you love, then you do not truly love them. This is why so many marriages fail today. People think it is all about the emotion, the passion, and most of all, the fun. Once it isn't fun anymore, once hard times hit, once a sacrifice is required of them, they want to get out of the marriage. Suddenly they are bored, or have "fallen out of love", or it is just "too hard". They act like fourteen year olds with their first summer job: "Gee, it's not fun anymore, I think I want a new job." If we train our young people to understand that true love is sacrifice, then they will know that when marital hard times hit, it's time to roll up their sleeves and do some hard "work" to make the marriage better.

The Bible is filled with examples of love being sacrifice: "For God so loved the world, as to give His only-begotten Son" 1 John 3:16. God sacrificed His Son for love of us. Jesus was willing to suffer severe torture and death for love of us. Mary stood by and watched in agony as her Son was slaughtered, never raising a hand to stop it...because although she loved her Son, she also loved God and wanted to obey Him, and she loved all of us too, and knew that her Son must die so that we might live. All these are examples of true love, with the love of God and Jesus being the only perfect love. Although we are not capable of such depths of love, we should aspire to emulate it.

If we are not willing to make sacrifices for others, then we love ourselves more than anyone else, even more than God. That's not to say that we should make all sacrifices every time. But we should have a general attitude of being willing to sacrifice. This comes more easily in regards to our children...but when it comes to our marriages, to our fellow man? Not always easy.

I'm glad my son has learned this lesson early. He truly loves his younger siblings and (most of the time) has their best interests at heart. If only I could more often follow his sweet example!

Patience is a Virtue...passed on to your children!

2006-12-12T13:47:00.000-06:00

As some of you know, patience is something I have struggled with, especially in the area of child raising. I didn't see having four children as all that much harder than three, but I'm entering a stage now where my infant daughter is becoming more demanding. I often find myself with four children demanding my attention at once, with so much going on that I end up snapping at one or more of the children, before I even hear what they are saying. This can produce many problems, including one child feeling like I don't want to hear what he has to say, or another child feeling like he has no way to express himself. That is why I have really been working on this lately.

I've found that being on my new diet has helped. I am rarely depressed anymore, and have a lot more energy and patience. I also have recently realized that the discipline problems I've been having with my two year old have most likely stemmed from a frustration of not being understood. He sees his older siblings talking and being listened to, whereas he is still learning new words, and didn't know how to properly assert himself and be heard. Instead of stating what he wanted, or telling someone how he felt, he would just scream. Or should I say, shriek! He was throwing himself on the floor often throughout the day, and having fits. Believe me, I know the fault is mine. Somehow along the way, he got a little bit spoiled, and adding that to his excitable temperament...well, let's just say it's a bad combination.

My solution? First, I spent a day or two being extremely patient with him, and instead of punishing him on the first offense, I would explain to him that he needed to use his words like a big boy, and tell me what he wanted, or tell his siblings when he wanted them to stop doing something. I might give him one more chance after that, then he would be disciplined. When I saw him use his words instead of screaming, I lavished him with praise and affection. After a few days, he was really getting the hang of it. I also noticed that he went through a maturing process around the same time (I say halleluia when this time comes in every child's life!) and he has not only started talking more and behaving more "grown up", but is also obeying better, wanting to help out more, and learning to be nicer to his siblings. He is even learning to share and make sacrifices for them now, like his older brother does.

Ah, the blessings of a (slightly) quieter house!

Line Training: A Variation of Blanket Training

2006-12-12T13:17:00.000-06:00

After hearing the virtues of blanket training a baby on many websites, including the Duggars, I decided to Google it. I found a post on Prarie Frog Blog about a variation of this, called Line Training. I'm having trouble accessing any Homeschoolblogger blogs lately...I'm assuming it is down. So here is a cached version of the post, which is below another post about spoon feeding a baby.

Basically she used strips of webbing (woven strap material) instead of a blanket. She started training with a square made of the webbing and used it in place of a blanket, then after that she just used a line of it across a doorway. I like this idea. Much cheaper and more portable than baby gates, and it gives the baby a lot more room than just a blanket area.

I'll be trying this myself on my nine month old daughter, who is getting more interested in exploration. For some reason, she was OBSESSED with my end table full of remotes, books, etc. But when we put up the Christmas tree...nothing. She didn't even notice the giant, wide, sparkly tree in the corner. After lighting it, she BARELY noticed it. Then suddenly a week later, there she is with an ornament in her mouth. Yikes! Time for some training. Right now I'm just not leaving her unattended with the tree, and saying "No!" if she goes to touch it. She's actually listening about 90% of the time...the other 10% she waits til I'm not looking and makes a second grab for it, lol. I love the idea of line training, because instead of having a big gated off area in front of the tree, I can just tape down a line around it. Hmmm, maybe I need to do this with the two year old who is NOT obeying 90% of the time when I tell him to stop stripping ornaments off of the tree!

Pine Cone Christmas Decor

2006-11-25T00:27:00.000-06:00

The time has arrived for Christmas decorating. Boy, it feels like I just took my decorations down a few months ago. Wait a minute, I DID just take my decorations down a few months ago!

No, I'm not quite that bad, but I did keep them up until probably late spring. Hey, we leave ours up until February 2, the Feast of the Purification, and by then I was eight months pregnant. Give a girl a break! We got the tree down before the baby came, just not the rest. ;-)

Anyway, I want to do a better job this year, so I'm making plans. Problem is, my empty wallet isn't agreeable to my plans! So as usual, I am coming up with some low cost/no cost decorating ideas, and I'll share them as I find them. And first on my list: pine cones.

Pine cones are an ideal Christmas decoration, as most people can scrounge them for free. I filled baskets with them last year, and arranged them artistically on shelves and around our Nativity scene. I also tied ribbon to them and used them as ornaments on our sparsely decorated tree. You could also hang them along the top of window treatments, dangle a bouquet of them topped with a bow from an archway, use a styrofoam cone and hot glue pine cones to it to make a pine cone tree, or find a way to string them together to make pine cone garland or swags. You can also paint them in gold paint, or roll them in glue and dip in glitter, if you want the mess (yikes). Just google "pine cone Christmas decoration" and you'll come up with many ideas.

Now, if you don't have pine trees, where do you get them? Ask a neighbor, friend, or family member who has pine trees. Or collect them from a local park or a state park. Don't trespass on private property, and find out first if it's okay to take pine cones off of public trees (I can't help you with that one). If it isn't, pick clean ones off the ground...I wouldn't think that would be a problem. Take the nice ones and leave the ugly ones to go to seed. You can also buy them at craft stores, but they won't be cheap. I got a dozen from Walmart for about $3. They were cinnamon scented, which I loved...for two days. Then the scent was gone. Don't waste your money on scented pine cones.

The craft ideas for pine cones is limited only by your imagination...pine cone Santas, snowmen, wreaths, firestarters, you name it. You don't need a lot of money to make a home pretty for Christmas.

Happy decorating!

Post-Thanksgiving

2006-11-25T00:04:00.000-06:00

Sorry to be away so long. I've been so wrapped up in my diet that I've neglected this blog. Too much going on: updating my Fitday several times a day, posting my weight in two or more places online, and keeping up with two weight loss blogs (and only one of them very well).

I'm that kind of person--I get obsessed with something for a while, then move on to something else. But I'm not doing that this time. I need to lose this weight too badly. The diet is going very well. I've lost almost twelve pounds in the last two weeks. The first week is always a lot of water weight. I expect to lose at least three pounds a week, although I'm hoping for more. I'd like five, that would be great. Some women have lost 6 1/2 or 7, but I don't want to get my hopes too high. I love this diet. My hunger is non-existent, and I cannot believe how little I am eating. It was impossible to eat so little on the plain low-calorie diets.

On this diet, I'm eating small amounts, but I am full. And not the Ugh-I'm-So-Full fullness, but the kind of fullness you feel when you are satisfied but not at all stuffed. I don't think I ever felt that before. I was never sure if I was satisfied or not, until I was really full. And I was always afraid that if I didn't eat enough before bedtime, I would wake up starving, and ruin my sleep by having to get up for a snack (this usually only happened during pregnancy, but I started to feel this fear all the time). I normally kept snack bars by my bedside during pregnancy or nursing in case that happened, but I had gotten to the point that I kept a box there even when I didn't really need it.

Before this diet, I was feeling completely out of control in my eating habits. I felt like I was losing it. I felt like an addict. The last few months I actually found myself going to find food as soon as I didn't feel full anymore. It was insane! Now I don't think about food that much at all, and when I do, it's only "gee, that sounds good". I can handle that. I need to make sure I eat, so I don't get those thoughts. Yes, sometimes I forget to eat! Although usually I know I need to eat, but I'm too lazy to make something, lol.

I am so much happier. I don't feel depressed anymore. I'm much more patient with my kids, and most days are good days. More importantly, on the bad ones, I DON'T go running to food. I admit there was one horrendous day where I was tempted, but I overcame it. Before, a day like that would send me running to the store for a bunch of junk food.

Not only that, but for Thanksgiving, I made a Kimkins-friendly meal for my family. My husband is on the diet too, and has been SOOO supportive. My kids eat what's put in front of them, and they liked it (they normally have high carb breakfast and lunch, so I don't always add carbs to their dinner). The only off-plan item on the menu was a low carb pumpkin custard with whipped cream. Basically a crustless low carb pumpkin pie in custard cups. They were about 6 carbs each. Now, I do admit to eating TWO :-0 but I kept my total carb count to 22 (no net carbs here), so I only went over my limit by 2 carbs. I'm really proud of myself!!

Anyway, I'll try to post a homemaking-related article soon!

Weight Loss Updates

2006-11-14T09:21:00.000-06:00

For those who are interested, I will be posting updates on my weight loss on my other blog, Weigh Out of Control. I try to keep this one mostly about homemaking. I will definitely be updating the other blog as often as I can.

Thanks Michelle! ;-)

Happy News!

2006-11-11T15:02:00.002-06:00

(EDIT: WildAngel6, STOP SPAMMING MY BLOG!!! Please get your own blog and trash Kimkins there. I'm not 100% for Kimkins anymore, but if I was, that would be my business. MY BLOG, MY OPINIONS...not yours! You have spammed me at least a half dozen times, and apparently you don't get the hint when I delete your anti-Kimkins SPAM/advertising comments. One more time and I'm reporting you to Blogger.)

I have started a new diet, and I think I'm really going to like this one. It's called Kimkins. It's a lower fat version of the old Atkins, with no Frankenfoods. It starts out with Kimmer's Experiment, very similar to the Stillman's diet: all meat, seafood and eggs, nothing else. Except just enough NEEDED fats to cook, if you feel you need them. I use a tiny bit of mayo for deviled eggs, a bit of butter for cooking, and a tablespoon of cream for a couple of scrambled eggs. They say it will kill your hunger and put you into ketosis. You do KE for 3-5 days, then do regular Kimkins.

On this diet, you use no artificial sweeteners, except for diet sodas if you need them. Everything should be natural foods, and you should choose lean meat like chicken or leaner cuts of steak. Minimize fats...just what you need to make your menu work. The diet should keep you from being hungry, but if you're hungry, eat. Your diet should end up being very low calorie once the hunger is killed. Last night I had 6 ounces of fish and two scrambled eggs, and I actually was satisfied. I wasn't hungry til noon today. And........

I lost almost five pounds in three days! Whoo hoo!

I started at 260, and I'm down to 255.2. The scale is my friend now. And I am feeling SOOO happy.

The best part is that this is a quick weight loss diet. You can expect to lose 4-7 pounds a week, if you're faithful. That sounds like a lot, and I know somepeople will criticize (but not here on my blog, please)but if you think about it, it's much better than weight loss surgery. Gastric bypass patients are told it is safe for them to lose up to 1 pound per day. But they take on the risks of surgery, permanent reconstruction of their anatomy, and the inability to absorb much of the vitamins and nutrients from their food. There is non of that on this diet. Kimmer, its creator, lost 200 pounds and kept it off for a couple of years now. She lost 160 in SEVEN MONTHS, then 20 more in three months, then the last twenty over a couple of years. She went from 318 to 118. Her website is www.kimkins.com.

She does charge $40 for a lifetime membership to the site now. But if you google "kimkins" you'll come up with a lot of low carb forums where she previously posted advice, and where her followers still post today. I haven't joined her site. I'm doing the diet for a couple of weeks first, then if I like it, I'll join. Everyone says it's very helpful to have access to her and her forum, and if the diet works it would be worth it.

I am feeling SO happy right now. For the first time, I can actually picture myself thinner in six months! My goal is to lose as much as I can before I get pregnant, then if I do, I'll switch to Atkins maintenance. I'm really hoping I can get down to 200 before I get pregnant again. That would be AWESOME! Then I can easily wait til after the pregnancy to lose the rest.

WOW! I just realized if I get down to 200 I might be able to fit into store-bought maternity clothes. Cool!!

Mr. Clean "Menace" Eraser

2006-11-03T13:35:00.000-06:00

If you or someone you know use Mr. Clean Magic Erasers, please check out this post about a child who received chemical burns after rubbing them on his skin.

I use these on rare occasions. I plan to lock these up with other household chemicals. I'm trying to transition to natural cleaners based on vinegar or baking soda recipes, but I will keep my Magic Erasers for emergency permanent marker clean up. Just one more example about how dangerous products are marketed to unsuspecting consumers with no warning of deadly side effects.

Labelmaker!!!

2006-10-30T12:01:00.000-06:00

Yes, my friends, I have finally joined the ranks of the organized! Okay, you've got me, I'm still not organized...but I'm working on it! This week I have been in an organizing frenzy (okay, okay, a "frenzy" for ME). I bought new toy tubs, reorganized the small toys in little boxes, and actually labeled them this time with...(da da da DA)...my new labelmaker!

After coveting labelmakers I've seen for my entire life, I finally decided it was a justifiable expense, and purchased the Dymo Letratag handheld labelmaker. I got it for $20 at Walmart. It looks similar to the labelmaker pictured above, but is a darker color and a appears to be slightly different from that model. Looking back, I wish I'd spent the extra money on the P-touch I saw at Sam's club for $30 that came with extra tape and could do a variety of sizes of labels. *sigh* But I like my label maker anyway.

I had so much fun labeling every thing in site. I labeled most of the lightswitches in my house (this house is a wiring nightmare, and there are switches everywhere...and not where they make sense), some of the new Lock & Lock containers I bought to organize my baking cabinet, all the plastic shoeboxes I'm using for toy storage, and a few drawers and shelves. Last night I was sitting in my chair, labeling to my my heart's content, when suddenly, the unthinkable happened....

I RAN OUT OF LABEL TAPE !!!!!!!

It was horrible. It was unexpected. My heart sank. No more labeling? I was desperately trying to come up with a way to afford to buy more label tape, but alas, it will have to wait til Friday. Apparently, 13 feet of label tape doesn't go that far. I think my husband is worried that this will become an expensive hobby. But I assured him that once I had the entire house labeled (yes, I will label my whole house, lol) then my label tape "habit" should slow down.

So despite the current hold on my labeling activities, I'm still really excited to have a labeler. It just looks so neat and tidy and organized when things are properly labeled. :-)

Halloween: To Observe or Not Observe?

2006-10-26T02:57:00.000-05:00

Next week is Halloween, a day most of us remember from our childhood as a time to dress up as our favorite character and roam the neighborhood in search of sweets. As I have always been a chocoholic, you can imagine how much I loved it. However, there has been a Halloween "backlash" lately among some Christian families, who consider Halloween to be un-Christian.

I have to say, I agree. There are a lot of reasons why, but a basic reason is that there is just something wrong with decorating your house and yard with skeletons, witches and gravestones, donning a demonic-looking mask, and going door to door demanding candy from neighbors who are forced to participate whether they want to or not. It's true that many children dress up as a princess or cartoon character, and that many families decorate with smiley pumpkins and friendly-looking ghosts, but I feel that it sets a precedent that can cause problems down the line. When the children grow up, will they want to dress as a princess or Buzz Lightyear? Or are they more likely to dress up as a French Maid, Freddy Kruger, or a demonic-looking madman with a fake axe buried in their skull? There is just an uncomfortably dark aura that surrounds the activities of Halloween. And though there are ways that some would say are "family-friendly" options for celebration, it's still something I'm not comfortable participating in with my family.

So what do we do on Halloween? Nothing. It is not a day of celebration for us. Now, I'll admit that because my family celebrated Halloween when I grew up, I often have to fight the impulse to buy a cute costume that I might see, or hang onto a flyer announcing candy giveaways at the local mall...but I realize that it is just nostalgia driving me, and I don't give in to such impulses. When Halloween night rolls around, I will be giving out candy (because I don't have much choice--if I don't either my house is egged or I am dubbed the neighborhood Grinch) but my children will be in the basement playing with their Dad. They will not be witnessing the ten year olds with demonic, blood-dripped rubber masks, or teenage girls with multi-color hair and an outfit that is more of a stripper get-up than a Halloween costume.

I won't be giving my children any candy on Halloween night. November 1st is All Saints Day, and as a major feast day (a day of religious celebration), this means the day before it is a vigil day--a day for prayer, fast, and abstinence (from meat) in preparation for the next day's celebration. Young children are not required to fast or abstain from meat. But to keep with the spirit of a vigil day, they won't receive candy, although that is my personal choice, not a mandate of the Church. They will, however, get candy leftovers the next day--but not a whole bagful!!

I don't know if Catholics of the New Mass observe All Saints Day as a holy day of obligation anymore or not. It's been a decade since I stopped attending the New Mass. But this is how my family practices, as my grandmother did and all her ancestors before her.

Ironically enough, there are many traditional Catholics who would disagree with me, and routinely celebrate Halloween. This is in spite of the urgings of the priests from the pulpit each year. Some people just can't (or won't) give up all the nostalgia of passing on the Halloween pasttime. They can't imagine letting even one opportunity for amusement pass their children by. But just as children can live without an Xbox (really, they can), they can live without trick-or-treating.

Many people are shocked when I say we don't celebrate Halloween, and some are rude enough to tell me to my face that I am "depriving" my children. Depriving? I think they'll live if they don't wander around the streets in the dark begging candy from strangers that at best will give them cavities, and at worst could be poisoned. My kids don't miss it, because they've never had it. They'll be having just as much fun playing with their dad and getting (minimal) leftover candy the next day...and we know where the candy has been. I haven't heard them complain yet. And since they will be homeschooled, they won't be aquiring the bad habit of whining, begging, complaining, and comparing what they "get" compared to their school friends.

I don't think people who celebrate Halloween (in a non-occultish way) are bad, I just don't agree with the choice. And I'm VERY against it if one incorporates anything of the occult or demonic, even in a "joking" manner. Occult "magic", death and mayhem are no laughing matter.

So if you come to our door on Halloween, you'll get candy and a (required) smile, but you won't be hearing "Happy Halloween" and you won't be seeing any witches, ghosts or gravestones. You will, however, get a lot of candy...I can't be trusted with a bowl of candy the next day! ;-)

Recording Online Radio Programs

2006-10-22T23:37:00.000-05:00

There is a website online that some of you may be interested in. It is WFTS Radio. The programming consists of radio talk shows with priests on various traditional Roman Catholic topics, Gregorian chants, hymns, Sunday sermons, and a talk show with Dr. Donsbach on natural health. They also play an audio recording on Sundays of the Latin Mass, and talks given by a Mother Superior to ladies (but are often enjoyable to men as well).

There is a programming schedule every day. I think it plays 24/7, I'm not sure...but I think the programming repeats itself at night. You can download the programs for about $5. I think it's a little steep for 30 minutes of programming that most of the shows are, but I understand it is necessary to help with the tremendous costs.

However, you can also download Replay Radio for $30-40, which can record audio and/or video streams online. Then you can listen to the programs through your computer, or download them to your iPod or MP3 player. We just got Replay Radio, and so far we like it. It's pretty easy to use, it's kind of like TiVo (sort of) for your computer

If you do regularly record WFTS, I would suggest sending what donations you can to help them out. I really enjoy it, and their listening audience is growing by leaps and bounds. According to the radio host, people all over the world are now listening. It's very clean, extremely traditional, and enjoyable

Shopping Success!

2006-10-22T01:42:00.000-05:00

Until now, I had used some of my own shopping suggestions at one time, but never managed to do all of them at once. But today I did, and what a difference! My itinerary included getting gas, stopping at the thrift store, picking up a few things at the health food store, a lot of shopping at Sam's Club, and gettting several things at Walmart. It was supposed to include a grocery store trip too, but it was late and I was tired.

Now, this trip still took a long time--almost five hours. But considering the number of stops, the amount of shopping being done, and the forty minute drive (each way) to and from the city where Walmart and Sam's Club is, I did pretty well. I actually remembered both Sam's freezer bags, paper and plastic bags, and my clipboard and list. I would have had a calculator, but all of ours are missing in action.

I used my grocery store shopping list, filled it out, and on the back I listed each store I was going to, in order, and the items needed at each store, in order according to the store's layout. I checked off each item as I went. I was organized! It was fabulous! And my buying went so much faster. I avoided the many sections in Walmart which are filled with tempting items to buy, and stuck (mostly) to my list. I didn't have to back track for missing items at all.

The only thing that did go wrong was I forgot the bag with the containers in it that I had planned to use at the health food store. I was bringing them with me to fill from the store's bulk section, where you can buy flour, sugar, grains, etc. by the pound. Next time I'll make a "bring with me" checklist, and check it twice--once in the house, and once in the car, right before I leave. I had my bag of containers ready next to my purse, but forgot it somehow.

I've solved the calculator problem by buying the coolest organization tool: a clipboard with a built-in calculator. I'd seen them before, but this one is better, because it's not just a flat clipboard...it's actually a clipcase. You can put papers inside it (like extra blank shopping lists--how organized!) and there is a carry handle. So cool! It was ten dollars.

Forgive the dim lighting in the picture...I need to add more lightbulbs to that list!

This solves another problem as well--my other clipboard was UG-LY! I was thinking of painting it, then I saw an organizing blog with an altered clipboard. Here are two examples: Decorative Clipboard and
Altered Clipboard

It can fit a paperback book inside, for reading in long Walmart lines. Couldn't figure out how to rotate the picture, but here's the inside:

All in all, it was a very successful trip. And my feet didn't hurt TOO bad...meaning I didn't have to crawl up the stairs once I got home!

Organize Your Grocery Shopping, Part 2: Shopping Lists

2006-10-18T15:26:00.000-05:00

If you've ever gone shopping without a list, you know what a bad idea that is. Unless you've got a photographic memory or are buying only two things, you know something will be forgotten.

The most important thing you can do--and I think most of us do this--is to keep a pad of paper attached to the fridge for quick jotting down of needed items. I use a shopping list pad, which is attached by magnets to the fridge. I also like to use a magnetic clip with a pen clipped in it stuck on the fridge next to the pad. Write down anything you need as you use it up, or as you notice your supply is low.

Before you go shopping, make a menu for the coming week. Many people check the grocery store flyers first, and plan their menu around items that are on sale. Go through the fridge and cabinets, and figure out if you are in need of anything on the list. Also check for normal pantry items that you might be running low on. Don't forget things like pet food, infant needs, and household items. Then sit down and transfer the items from your list onto another piece of paper, organized into sections based on the arrangement of your store's aisles. For example, use headings like Pharmacy, Household Items, Baby, Dry Goods, Canned Goods, Ethnic Foods, Condiments, Dairy, Meat, Produce, etc. The headings should be listed in the order that they come in the store, according to your normal shopping path.

When you use your list in the store, be sure to check off or cross off items as you put them in your cart. This is why I always try to have a pencil on hand. When I try to just check the items off "mentally", I inevitably overlook something. Double check your list before you get in the checkout line. Even with a list sometimes I somehow forget something, and you don't want that to happen when half your cart is unloaded on the belt.

I always use a calculator while I am shopping. I am amazed how even going down the last two aisles in the store without adding up the items can put you way over budget. The thing I hate most is when I'm halfway through shopping, only to look down and realize my calculator shut itself off. AAAAARRGH!! I try to remember to push a button on the calculator at least once each aisle, preferably two times or more. If I'm comparing prices on an item for a while and not adding items in the cart, I will add "0" just to keep the calculator running. But a better way is to do a subtotal at the end of each section of the list, and write it down. That way, if your calculator turns off halfway through shopping, all you have to do is add up the subtotals from each section of the list, then add on the items you've picked up since your last subtotal was written down. Most of the time when I enter the prices on the calculator, I round the number up, for ease of calculating and because that way I know for sure I'll stay under budget. So a $4.66 item becomes $4.75. It leaves room for error...and with me, there's always errors!

In the next installment, I'll talk about the Master Grocery List.

Organize Your Grocery Shopping, Part 1: Be Prepared!

2006-10-18T15:25:00.000-05:00

Grocery shopping used to be fun for me. No, really, it was! Back when I was single, of course. I would stroll leisurely through Walmart, stopping to check out the new stuff or page through magazines, comparing one item to another, with nary a though to the time. I could spend two to three hours there, and that's a lot for someone who only has one person to shop for. Even when I had only one child, it was fun, because my husband would watch the baby and it was my time away. Sometimes I would stop at a bookstore afterwards and sit for an hour and read.

Fast forward to today's reality. I hate shopping. I have so much to shop for, and inevitably I end up forgetting things, and criss-cross my big behind and aching feet back and forth across the humongous store, pushing the dead weight of a loaded grocery cart before me...and sometimes (a lot of the time) pregnant. And then standing in line...don't even get me started. Is it just me, or does every store in the world decide to hire new, inept cashiers right around the time I hit my eighth month of pregnancy?! Suffice it to say that my once beloved Walmart trips are now nightmares. And since Walmart isn't that close anymore, and there is a grocery store here in town that is pretty cheap on prices (and great on specials), I often choose the closer store. Here is how I have learned to prepare for my grocery trips (if I remember...hey, I'm a work in progress):

I always try to remember to have an insulated freezer bag in my car, preferably two. I bought these at Sam's Club, and they're more convenient than a cooler. This is a must for Sam's Club trips, as it is a half hour away, and otherwise the frozen food would defrost before I got through the mile-long checkout lines! I also have (finally, duh) started remembering that PRICE CLUBS DON'T HAVE GROCERY BAGS, so I carry paper and plastic bags saved from local store trips. I keep these inside the freezer bags. The trick is to put the freezer bags on top of my purse when I head out to Sam's or else I'll leave them in the car. Yes, I will, I'm that bad! I also have to remind myself that after bringing the groceries into the house, I need to bring the freezer bags back out to the car or I'll forget them for the next trip.

Next, I always have my list with me. After about a dozen times of losing my precious list in Walmart (either it fluttered out of the cart or I placed it on a shelf as I inspected some item), I realized that small scraps of paper are too "risky" for me. Now I have a full page printout that I like to take on a clipboard. Hard to lose a whole clipboard, even for me! I bring a pencil for crossing things off. You can clip it to the clipboard, but I suggest tying it with a string so you don't lose it or drop it constantly. It's also important to have a calculator, unless you're rich, or you're just that good with numbers. More on the grocery list and calculator in subsequent posts.

You should bring the weekly circular with you, or pick one up at the store if you don't have one. I didn't check mine often, til I started going to this local store that has incredible deals--both specials and store coupons. I've gotten over $25 worth of groceries free. It never fails that the week I forget to check the ads is when they have a fabulous sale. Although they are good about posting signs for sale items and re-stocking items through the week.

Finally--and you should know this one already--dress comfortably and EAT BEFORE YOU GO! And I don't just mean a snack, eat a meal. Once I ate before going to Walmart--just a small lunch--but I was in Walmart for so long that by the time I drove there, shopped my way through the main part of the store, and then got halfway through the food section, it had been hours, I was starving. Not a good idea! You will buy way more food (and more junk) if you're hungry.

The next installment I will discuss how I make up and use my shopping list, plus other shopping list suggestions.

Kitchen Tip: Dishtowel Trap

2006-10-17T15:18:00.000-05:00

How many times has your toddler delighted in pulling the dishtowels off of your oven door? How often does your preschooler race through the kitchen, only to knock them from their spot five seconds after you re-hung them? If you're like me, the answer is "about twenty times an hour." I was soooo frustrated, tired of picking them up and re-folding and hanging them, and tired of going through extra towels because the clean one was knocked on the dirty floor. THEN I came up with a brilliant solution! (Okay, brilliant to me.)

I've seen those dishtowels with the crocheted tops that loop around a handle and button securely. I have a couple. But I don't care for the looks of them, and they are too small and get soggy too quickly. I prefer the microfiber towels I get at Walmart. So here is my solution: place the towel in the proper place (for me, the oven door handle), then take a LARGE safety pin, and pin it from behind. It must be from behind or toddlers will be determined to get it off. If you pin it carefully, so that just the smallest bit of pin catches the front layer, then it will not be easily seen. I was amazed that my younger son only tugged once or twice at it, and never tried again. Guess the game got old real quick!

It's not terribly convenient to have to change the towels if you do so more than once a day. I don't usually need to. I keep one towel for hand-drying and one for dish-drying. Why? My mom did it. The dish towel stays cleaner and drier, so I replace the hand towel more frequently. I tend to leave the front part of the towel hanging longer than the back, so I can lift the dish towel up to dry a dish (most of my dishes are done in the dishwasher). The way I tell them apart, in case you are wondering (you're on the edge of your seat now, I just know it) is that the hand towel is always a solid color, and the darker of the two. The dish towel is the lighter one, or has a print on it, and is always on the right-hand side.

One downside to this idea is that if your husband is tall and dislikes bending over to dry his hands, you'll need to put another towel in another location for him. I have dedicated the ugly crochet-top towel for this task, hanging it on a nail from the cupboard side, over the sink. Who does he think he's kidding...I've seen him use a half-dozen paper towels to dry his hands during the course of making a meal! 8-0 But it's his money, and who am I to complain if he's cooking? ;-)

Anyway, I hope this little tip helps. It works for me!

The Grocery Game?

2006-10-17T02:03:00.000-05:00

Many blogging homemakers have mentioned The Grocery Game. It is a website that you pay to join, and somehow helps you with couponing for your local stores. It's supposed to save time and money. Many people have raved about it. Now, I'm not much of a couponer. Coupons have died slow, crumpled, lint-covered, long-past-expiration-date deaths in the depths of my purse. I just am not in the habit of using them, so they are often forgotten. So I question whether the Grocery Game would be worth my while.

Another thought is that in my experience, most coupons are for name-brand convenience items that I don't normally buy for my family. The point of these coupons is to get you to switch brands or try a new product. I am trying to stay away from convenience foods, and when I do buy them, I buy store brands most of the time. Is this the case with the Grocery Game? Is this only for coupon-proficient, brand-buying moms?

Anyone with experience joining the Grocery Game is welcome to comment, and tell us about their experience, good and bad.

T.M.I.

2006-10-12T11:55:00.000-05:00

WARNING: This post may fall under the category of "Too Much Information"...discussion of female problems to follow...consider yourself warned! ;-)

I've seen on many websites that many ladies are starting to sew their own reusable sanitary napkins. My first thought upon hearing about this years ago was "yuck". After all, I haven't been a pad kind of woman since I first discovered the convenience of tampons. However, things change. You know I've shown interest in trying to get rid of disposable products from my family's lives in order to not only save money, but be more healthy (I hate the chemicals in disposable diapers). But this is one area I just hadn't investigated yet. I'm thinking about it now because my needs have changed. Here's where a little TMI comes in...

Am I the only one who has an increased "flow" problem after four kids? I'm not sure if it's the number of pregnancies I've had, or the fact that they're so close together, or my age (mid-thirties), or the fact that they were c-sections, or the fact that I am obese. But after this last pregnancy, there's been a lot more flow, and your typical store-bought products aren't doing the job. Part of this I suspect is due to my larger size...most feminine hygiene products just aren't made for larger women. I don't want to have to buy every product on the market each month trying to find something that works.

I was really mad when I bought a box of panty liners this month that turned out to be so small I thought they were for twelve year olds at most! Although I miss the comfort of the products I used to use, I am now thinking of trying to find out where I can buy the giant sanitary pads they give you at the hospitals right after giving birth. It's better than shopping at Walmart, petrified there will be leakage, just like I did when I was in high school!

Okay, end of the TMI. ;-) So now I'm thinking of making my own sanitary napkins. I've seen a variety of styles. The type pictured above was the first style I've seen that is along the lines of what I had in mind. I found them at Homemade Mama's. They are outrageously expensive, although due to the materials and workmanship, and the "reusability factor", I can understand why. But I like the design, and I'm thinking of making some of my own.

So if anyone out there has experience in making their own products, post a comment and let me know how well you thought it worked. I'm particularly interested in the various ways the homesewn pads can be made to stay in place, and what materials can be used to prevent leakage.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled (normal) posts!

Enchilada Casserole

2006-10-04T12:47:00.000-05:00

This is one of my husband's favorite meals that I make. I got the recipe from a lady I babysat for when I was in college.

1 lb. chicken, cooked (chicken breast okay, but leftovers of whole chicken is better)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I use more)
1 package of flour tortillas (I tend to use 6-8 tortillas)
1 can of Rotel (10 oz. can of diced tomatoes and chiles)
1 can of cream of chicken soup (regular small size can)
1 soup can of milk
a little flour to thicken, as needed

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large frying pan, put in Rotel, soup, and milk.
3. Heat mixture through, stirring.
4. Add cooked chicken, stir.
5. Line bottom of a 13x9" pan with tortillas.
6. Pour some of mixture in, spread evenly.
7. Sprinkle some cheese across it.
8. Repeat steps 5-7.
9. When all of mixture and cheese is used up, layer tortillas across the top.
10. Bake til heated through and a little browned on top, usually 20 minutes.

I usually get two full layers of the tortillas/mixture/cheese, then top with final tortilla layer. You could make three layers if the ingredients were spread thinner, but I like thicker layers. I like it even better reheated the next day (if there's ever any left over!) because it tastes even better. This serves my family (two adults, three kids ages 4, 3, and 2). For larger families you'll want to add sides or make two casseroles. The Rotel will make it a little spicy, but not usually too bad, if using the Original variety. If your kids hate spicy foods, you could use plain diced tomatoes.

Anti-Catholic Blogging

2006-10-03T13:11:00.000-05:00

There is something I've had on my mind for a while now, that I would like to share. I have noticed more and more on some Christian homemaking blogs the tendency to bash Catholics or Catholicism. I've held my tongue, and refrained from commenting the myths and sometimes intentional slams that I've seen on these blogs, because I felt that it wasn't my place to confront someone about their opinions on their own blog. I have seen others do that, and I think it is rude. It is one thing to disagree slightly and express a different view or to ask questions, but to engage in an argument with someone on their own blog is very impolite, in my opinion. I think if someone strongly disagrees with you and just wants to rant, they should just leave your blog...otherwise, what does it say about you that you have nothing better to do than argue and name-call a stranger because they exercised their free speech on their own blog?

However, one blog I used to visit (but rarely anymore, due to this person's anti-Catholic sentiments) recently made comments about Catholics again that I just couldn't stomach. It wasn't an opinion, it was a slam against a particular person and against the Catholic faith, which was in my opinion completely misleading as to what Catholics believe. The comment was made about someone who was engaging in exactly the behavior I described above, harassing the blog owner for her opinions, and (according to the blog owner) resorting to name-calling and put-downs. Instead of dealing with the person privately, this person chose to give her readers a play-by-play of what was happening between her and the anonymous poster (nothing wrong with that, just not a choice I would have made). In the course of talking about the anonymous poster, the blog owner, in an apparent attempt to put down the poster, said:

"As the Lord Jesus Christ said 'By their fruits ye shall know them' I believe that the troll is a Roman Catholic, so she probably thinks she is getting into heaven by being a 'good enough' person, i.e. through good works."

Assuming the blog owner is giving an honest evaluation of what the poster has been writing to her over time (there are two sides to every story, and she screens her comments to that we can't see the original comments posted by anonymous), I have a problem...several problems...with her statement. She has described this poster as someone who is bitter, angry, and attempting to justify her own poor life choices by spewing venom at the blog owner for her beliefs.

1) She says "by their fruits you shall know them", then goes on to say the poster must be Catholic...because of her fruits? Because of the hateful remarks she made? Perhaps this is not the analogy the blog owner was trying to draw, but that is how it sounds. At the very least, she implies that Catholics think they can act any way they want and still get to Heaven by doing something nice once in a while. Not only is that false, but it is also a complete misrepresentation of Catholic doctrine.

Now, I'll be the first to admit there are Catholics out there who think they can do what they want and still get to Heaven by being "good enough"...but I've met plenty of Protestants, Born-Agains, Evangelicals, Jews, Hindus, agnostics, etc. who believe the same thing. Just because some people have a malformed conscience does not mean that all people of a particular faith do...nor does it mean that that person's beliefs are a true representation of what they are SUPPOSED to believe, according to the faith they profess.

2) She jumps to the conclusion the poster is a Roman Catholic. I am not privvy to the posts, but if the blog owner's evaluation of the poster's comments is accurate, I don't need to see them...the woman is NOT a faithful practicing Roman Catholic. I wouldn't even call her practicing. If she isn't attending Mass every Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation, receiving Communion and going to Confession at least once a year during the Easter season, and following the laws of the Church, she is not a practicing Catholic. Many, many people claim to be practicing Catholics when in reality, they are "sometimes" Catholics...which makes them Catholics by birth only, but not in practice.

There is, unfortunately, a trend today for Catholics to "pick and choose" what they believe. Why they don't just become Protestant is just beyond me. Then they could go "church shopping" for somewhere they felt comfortable. Why stay in a church when you don't believe what it teaches? If I did not believe every single thing the Church has ever taught, I would NOT be a Catholic. The Catholic Faith is not a buffet, it is a complete meal. There are a lot of things that have been allowed to happen in the last forty years within the Church, due to a weak (at best) heirarchy. The abuses in practice and preaching are unacceptable, yet they have continued unabated. This is why I became a traditional Roman Catholic: one who attends only the traditional Mass in Latin, who practices the Faith as it always was...the Faith my grandmother grew up in. I couldn't stand going to Mass anymore and watching a priest change not only the practices but also the beliefs...a man who gave clear evidence that he didn't believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. I had to find a Mass where things never changed and the Faith was retained in it's entirety.

But most Protestants (even most Catholics) aren't aware of the lack of proper teaching within the Church today. So when they hear that Catholics believe this or that, they accept it. It doesn't matter what anyone says--people lie or are mislead. It doesn't matter how any particular Catholic acts--we all meet people in life who do not act as they know they should. What matters is what is defined in Catholic doctrine...THAT is what Catholics--true Catholics--believe.

3) "...she probably thinks she is getting into heaven by being a 'good enough' person, i.e. through good works..."

The blog owner couldn't be more wrong, although she was probably mislead either by a pastor or by the current myths propogated by people who themselves are mislead or who actually know better, but continue to spread lies. The truth is, the Catholic Church has always taught you MUST believe in order to save your soul. Good works are merely an outward sign of this Faith. Good works without faith are meaningless, and you cannot save your soul through good works alone. However, if you should go your whole life long proclaiming to believe, yet never taking the God-given opportunities to do good works, then can you truly say to your Lord on Judgement Day that you were a true believer?

Catholic history is full of examples of saints who died before or shortly after baptism, yet are believed to be in Heaven. Reading the Acts of the Martyrs shows many such stories. St. Emmerentiana is just one example. She was a young girl who was stoned to death at the grave of St. Agnes because she was a Christian. The Church believes that she is in Heaven--not because of her good works, though I'm sure she performed many. Not because she was baptised--her Acts make it clear she was not. She is believed to be in Heaven because of her Faith...because she believed in and loved Jesus Christ so much that she was willing to die for Him.

It isn't my intention to debate with anyone whether "faith alone" is actually scriptural or not. I welcome anyone here to my blog. I don't want anyone to feel unwelcome or put down. I may not believe the same as some Protestants do, but I welcome them here, and want them to feel comfortable. However, neither will I pretend I am something that I am not, and by not ever talking about my faith (which I haven't up until recently), I think I was being unfaithful to myself.

It is also not my intention to put down the blog owner (who I will not name or link to, to protect her identity). It is her blog she is writing on, and she is free to believe and to write about what she wants. I did write a comment to her (only because I knew she screens them first and it would be a private communication unless she chose to post it). In it, I pointed out this recent comment on Catholics, that it wasn't the first, and that although I was assuming she didn't mean it to be, her comments were insulting to Catholics, and came across as put-downs. I was trying to let her know that if she wanted to change Catholics' opinions and get them to believe what she believed, then making comments that sounded offensive wasn't the best way to accomplish that. If she didn't care what Catholics believe, then I guess it doesn't matter how she phrases things.

I never received a reply from her. As of this writing, she hasn't posted my comment, or referred to it on her blog, which is okay by me. Probably just as well. It's likely she didn't believe what I had to say about the true Catholic teaching on faith and good works. To be honest, I'm glad she didn't respond. I was a little worried it would turn into a big debate, which is not what I wanted. I just wanted her to know, if she wasn't aware, that her comments were not being taken well by Catholics (I am not the first to remark about this particular blog). It is too bad. I like her blog in many other aspects.

I think some people don't realize how they come across to others. I'm one of them, I should know! ;-) I say the wrong thing all the time. That's why blogging is good. I can edit and re-read my posts before publishing. Less blunders that way. :-D

Read a Book Today!

2006-10-01T23:56:00.000-05:00

Lately I've felt like I've been under a lot of pressure. My lack of homemaking talents and inability to keep up with the house has really started to get to me. I think a large part of the problem is that I feel that I have no social outlet. I have no family or friends nearby, and haven't been able to make any new friends. I also don't have any hobbies like I used to. When I was single, I really enjoyed dancing, singing, reading, and going to social activities with other Catholic singles. Now that I'm married, I don't do any of those things.

It's not that my husband doesn't want me to or won't let me. They've just all fallen by the wayside, especially since I became a traditional Catholic. I used to go to country bars and dance. I loved to dance. Now I just don't feel that it is appropriate...not to mention I would feel like a total cow trying to dance, at my weight. I used to sing in the church choir, but with four little ones under the age of five, that is NOT possible! I would love to find other couples to be social with, but my husband isn't very outgoing with people he doesn't know, and even if we knew of a babysitter we could trust (which we don't), we couldn't afford it. Kind of hard to make friends when people realize that inviting you over means inviting ALL your kids, lol.

So I've decided I need to somehow "find myself" again. No, not in a feminist way (ugh!), I just need to rediscover some of the things I used to like doing. So this past week I started by buying a novel to read. I used to love reading novels about true crime, especially if they had to do with forensics (this was way before the CSI craze). When I became traditional Catholic, I stopped reading these because it just didn't seem right...a lot of these novels had things in them that weren't that appropriate, or were graphic (in regards to violence) beyond what was necessary to tell the story. Before I got married, I just substituted many books on the lives of the saints, older Catholic novels, and sometimes other spiritual works, like "Humility of the Heart". But books like those, for me, take a lot of concentration...something a mom of four little ones doesn't have! Some saint books I've read are good enough to really capture my attention, but the rest take a lot of peace and quiet to read. (Insert laughter from all real moms here.)

So reading has completely fallen by the wayside. Instead, when I need a break, I use the computer. The problem is, I tend to lose track of time, and spend too long on it. Not a good thing when you already don't keep up with your household duties! So I bought a book that is fiction, but doesn't have bad language or get overly gruesome. It's an easy read. In fact, I can actually read it while spending time with my kids, which is a lot better than leaving them to play while I get on the computer in another room. It has really helped me cut down on computer time. My husband and I used to read in bed together, so I'm hoping we'll start that again (if the poor man can keep his eyes open--he's been so tired lately).

Granted, I'd feel a lot better about it if I were reading something more spiritually beneficial, but I'm hoping this gets me into a reading habit again so that I can concentrate better on something religious. I've been wanting to read the Acts of the Apostles, and a bunch of books on the saints that I have by my bedside. The only bad thing is trying to read while I feed the baby--she loves to try to tear up and eat paper!

Wardrobe Refashioning

2006-09-29T09:10:00.000-05:00

There's a new craze out there. Well, new to ME anyway...I've never claimed to be "up" on the latest trends! I'm talking, my friends, about wardrobe refashioning. This is taking clothes you already have, or used clothes you have come across, and repurposing or "redesigning" them. It could be as simple as adding some trim or fabric paint to cover stains on a shirt, or as complex as taking apart a dress, making adjustments to it, and putting it back together to create a whole new look.

I love this idea, because as a large person, not only do I have a lot of clothes hanging around that are too small, but it is also very difficult to find clothing new (even if I had the money for it) that meet my standards. Anything I buy has to be feminine, modest, and not "loud". Modest means dresses or skirts only, nothing tight, no slits, everything covered from the base of the neck to mid-calf, and at least mid-upper-arm, if not longer. Oh yeah, and a 3X. Oh, and no straight styles, as I am very bottom-heavy after four c-sections. Needless to say, a trip to the dressing rooms in a store is not just an exercise in frustration, but enough to send me into a depression!

Wardrobe refashioning is an excellent choice for anyone who likes to recycle, who doesn't have a lot of money for new clothes, or has a lot of "useless" clothing items in their closet. One example I saw was a woman who had a dress she loved, but couldn't fit into. She took the side-seams apart on the lower part of the dress, and sewed in panels of complimentary fabric, and added some trim to the bottom. It looked really good! Another reason I like the idea, is because when I do find something that fits, it often looks very tent-like, especially on top. I don't want something tight, but neither do I want something that makes me look BIGGER than I already am!! Many projects I've seen are merely narrowing the waistline of a shirt so it's not so baggy and frumpy.

If you are interested in learning more about it, check out Wardrobe Refashion '06. You don't have to be an experienced sewer. Some ideas, like the t-shirt dress, are really easy. I don't know how to sew (I've only done one jumper so far, it was kind of funny, lol) but I'm trying to teach myself. I think refashioning what you have is a great way to to it. If it's something you never wear anyway, who cares if you mess it up?

I also think it's a great idea to re-use clothing for its material, buttons, etc. If you donate a stained item to a thrift store, they often throw it out anyway. This is a great way to re-use it, and save money too. Have you ever priced buttons? Yikes! Sewing your own clothes should be cheaper than buying them, but if you pay retail for supplies, it's more expensive. Refashioning is the way to go!

Carrots, Anyone?

2006-09-29T08:57:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I purchased a juicer. The Juiceman Jr. was on sale at Target for $39.99. I also picked up a 25# bag of organic carrots for $17.99 at the local health food store. They called them "juicing" carrots (aka broken or stubby carrots, lol). But they were a great deal.

Now, carrots are supposed to be refrigerated. Okay...what do I do with 25 POUNDS of carrots? I took some gallon ziploc bags and squeezed as many carrots as I could into them. It took 6 and 1/3 gallon size bags. My husband said "you need to juice every day to use these up!" LOL

The upside is: I finally found a way to get my younger son to "eat" carrots...he doesn't like to chew them, he's a lazy chewer! At least I can get in the nutrition of the carrots--I'm not worried about the fiber, they get plenty of fiber. The downside to carrot juice is that it stains, you have to be careful...oh, and the juicer makes a somewhat pulpy juice, so it can't be used in a sippy cup. Staining juice + sippy cup without the seal + one destructive kid = a disaster! Well, we haven't had one yet, because I sit with him while he drinks it. But I DO have four children, so the chances of me getting distracted and him pouring it everywhere is probably pretty high!

Meanwhile, I need to use up these carrots. Hmmm....carrot soup? Carrot cake? Carrots, anyone?

Vision Forum Contest at Life in a Shoe!

2006-09-27T16:24:00.000-05:00

Vision Forum is sponsoring a contest in connection with Life in a Shoe blog, for two prize packages of Vision Forum materials worth $700, plus a drawing for a couple of smaller prizes. Check it out. What homeschoolers couldn't use some free stuff from Vision Forum! I haven't gotten any Vision Forum stuff yet myself, as I just started homeschooling YESTERDAY, but I've seen some cool stuff there. They have a lot of things great for the whole family, not just for homeschooling. Check it out!

The Master Cleanse

2006-09-23T07:48:00.000-05:00

In my online browsing, I came upon something very interesting last week. It is called The Master Cleanse, also known as the lemonade diet. It's not really a diet, it is a cleanse, which is something you do that is meant to cleanse your system of toxins and impurities. There are different cleanses, done in different ways. Kevin Trudeau's book recommends several cleanses, especially if you need to lose weight. He mentions a colon cleanse, a liver/gallbladder cleanse, a Candida cleanse (I KNOW I need to do one of those), and a general cleanse. The Master Cleanse is the ultimate cleanse, it cleanses your whole body.

In a nutshell, you drink a lemonade mix that you make at home for at least ten days. Some people go 30-40 days, but it seems like they usually do that the second time around. During this time, you eat nothing. The lemonade mix is supposed to keep you from being hungry and give you the energy you need. You also do "salt water flushes" to help...um..."flush" you out, if you know what I mean. They also recommend senna tea, like the "Smoothe Move" brand, to help you along.

I've heard of juice fasting before, but not cleansing. I NEVER would have considered this before (heck, I can't even stay on a diet) until after I read the online journals of people who have done it. If done properly, they say you aren't hungry at all, and after a few days, you feel great, full of energy. The first few days, you are getting adjusted, and the worst of the toxins are working themselves out of your body. After day 3, your energy is supposed to kick in, and you feel alert and better than ever.

There are some "side-effects". Your tongue turns white, your breath isn't as fresh, and you might be cranky at first. You won't be hungry (as long as you keep drinking the lemonade), although you may have dreams about food, or dream you broke the fast, and you wake up upset. Usually you lose some weight, but not everyone. Some people lose a lot. It seems that the average I've been hearing on a ten day cleanse is 10-14 pounds. The most I've heard of so far is 61 pounds on a 34 day (so far) cleanse, and I think this guy was pretty overweight. Some people, in an effort to keep losing weight, continue to drink the lemonade after the fast, during the day, then eat a healthy meal at night. Kind of like a Slim-Fast diet without all the chemicals. Probably works better too, since the lemonade mix is supposed to help keep you from being hungry.

The ingredients for the drink are:

freshly-squeezed organic lemon juice
pure water
organic, formaldehyde-free, grade B maple syrup
cayenne pepper

The maple syrup add necessary nutrients and sweetness, the cayenne helps things "move along" inside you, and the lemon juice has many amazing properties. Helps keep hunger down, has excellent enzymes, helps break things up inside, etc. I was amazed when I found out all the benefits of lemon juice.

Here are more links for information:

The recipe
An online journal of one person's experience
A site with great info (same as link at beginning of post), cheapest source I've found for maple syrup
Another site to buy ingredients, get info
The Master Cleanse by Stanley Burroughs, if you're too cheap to buy the book
A juicer comparison chart, compares some brands, very informational, read it before you go running out and buying a juicer

I've heard wonderful things about how you feel after doing this cleanse. People who do them often repeat it a few times a year. A lot of people have reported having some medical conditions go away during the cleanse, and some smokers have been able to break their habit during it. It seems to "reset" the body. One young woman whose journal I read had a bad case of gout, and it was gone by the time she ended the cleanse.

Like I said, I normally wouldn't consider even thinking about this, normally. But I've done a great deal of research on it, and I am excited to try it. The bad thing is I'm home all day with my refrigerator, and I have a family to feed. I'd like my husband to do it, but there's one problem...this lemonade diet is EXPENSIVE!! I figured out that with all the supplies, it will probably cost $100-110 for only ten days on the Master Cleanse, and that's not including a juicer. You need a juicer, you get only half the juice if you do it by hand, and the most expensive part is the organic lemons. I figured almost $70 for the lemons, $28 plus shipping for the maple syrup, I have organic cayenne already, another $4-5 for jugs of purified water, and another $4-5 for the tea. The juicer, if I can't find one used, will be around $50...I plan on buying the Juiceman Jr. There are a few cheaper ones around at Target or Kmart, but I don't trust the brand names for those.

I'd love a Champion, because it's a masticating juicer, and it makes higher quality juice with less oxidation. BUT it's $230!

So I'll just be settling for a Juiceman Jr. It's only $50 at Target, and as a centrifugal juicer, it makes more juice.

I'm still trying to figure out if we can afford for me to do the cleanse. Unfortunately, being impulsive, I went out and bought two days' worth of lemons already. I'm such an idiot. Buy the lemons...THEN calculate the cost! Duh. But at some point I will do it, because I think it would be a great, healthy experience.

If you think about doing The Master Cleanse, first research it online, then buy and read the books. Everyone says you NEED to read the books. There is a yahoo group dedicated to the cleanse, but they ask you to read the book before asking questions.

If you're not interested in cleansing, look into juicing. I've been hearing great things about it, how energetic fresh juice makes you feel. The grocery store juices are "dead"...little vitamins, no enzymes, etc. I thought it would be too expensive, but there are options. My health food store carries organic "juicing" carrots, $18 for 25#. Pretty good price for organic. And many health food stores offer discounts when you buy in bulk.

Good luck, happy juicing!

Natural Cures book

2006-09-23T06:50:00.000-05:00

Lately I've been reading a really good book. It's called "More Natural 'Cures' Revealed" by Kevin Trudeau. It is meant as a sequel to his earlier book, "Natural Cures 'They' Don't Want You To Know About." I had his first book for a while. I read it and it was interesting, but didn't seem to have that many cures. Mostly it said to go to his website for more information. Of course, the website was members-only, and charged a monthly fee. I kind of blew it off after that. Then I checked out his second book after seeing the new infomercial (I admit it, I love infomercials, even the silly ones, I don't know why, but I do). The new one was really interesting. He names more specific products in his book. I think the problem with the first one was I just skimmed it, and missed a lot. They're meant to be read front to back.

When I went through the first book again, I realized there is a lot of good information in it, especially on weight loss. Some of it is stuff I've heard about before, some is new (to me). "More Natural 'Cures'Revealed" is good, but there are a few chapters of goofiness you have to wade through. For some reason he goes on and on about how he was in a "secret society" that controls the world, and even got to see the "aliens" at area 51. Seriously.

Now, I actually am a bit of a "conspiracy-theory" believer myself. But while I believe there are some conspiracies out there, I'm just not buying Kevin Trudeau as part of it. Mostly because his story isn't believable.

In fact, he loses a lot of credibility because of that, in my opinion. His point is to show you how bad Big Pharmaceuticals is, and how the FTC is out to get him. I think he realized that his last book talking about "them" really drew a crowd of buyers that were big into conspiracy theories, and so he thought it would sell more books if he put more of that stuff in there. And even if it were true, the first few chapters of the silly stuff is just going to turn off anyone not heavily into conspiracies, and make him lose credibility.

Aside from the secret society stuff, it's a good book with a lot of really good information now. And if you go to his website, he now gives a one week trial for free, so you can check out the website first. I haven't done it yet, it's not something we can afford right now (they count n people like me who forget to quit before the free trial is up), but I'd like to someday. I think the free trial was definitely a smart business move. I never buy memberships to websites, because you hear so often about sites that charge, only to find out there is other stuff on the web just like it for free. This way you can try before you buy.

A lot of the cures in his book are things that you can easily find on the web. But there is a lot of stuff that I don't think is commonly heard of. And it's nice to have all the information in just one place. If you buy the book, don't buy it from him or from Amazon. Get it at Sam's Club, it's ten dollars cheaper there. Or from Walmart, where it's slightly more. I think both books are worth the money.

I'll probably post some stuff from his books in the near future. I think everyone should be aware of how our food and environment are being poisoned by the food industry, agribusiness, and the government. (I'm definitely NOT an environmentalist, but I think God put us in charge down here, and we should keep a poison-free food and water supply.) Nothing is pure, as God intended it, anymore. The only way to make ourselves healthier is to avoid the fake stuff and the poisoned stuff, and eat organic food. "Natural Cures 'They' Don't Want You to Know About" and "More Natural Cures Revealed" will give you a lot of information on how to chose the right food and products.

Update on "Getting Back to Basics"

2006-09-16T03:30:00.000-05:00

Thanks to much pleading on the part of Stephanie's blog friends, she has graciously put her archives back up so we can print them out, if desired. Apparently she and her husband have been harassed by some crazy loons who don't like hearing the truth. These people seem to have pretty sad lives, because they have nothing better to do than harass good, honest people just because they don't like what they read on a blog.

**Just a note to the crazies out there...if you don't like someone's blog, there's a little thing called a "back" button. Use it. And if you just CAN'T, then go see a psychologist and figure out WHY you need to victimize someone just because they make use of free speech. You expect us to put up with your disgusting sites about s*x and all kinds of filth, but you can't take reading a post about wifely submission? It's America people. You want censorship, take a plane to China!

Better yet...get right with God, and learn how to love. Because you don't know how to love anyone, including yourself, if you have to spew hate to make yourself feel better. There's a lot of people whose blogs make my blood boil. When I stumble upon them, I leave, never to return. I just have too much to do, too much self-respect, and too much love for others to be wasting my time attacking people over different viewpoints. Being hurt in your life doesn't give you the right to hurt others.**

It's not easy to love liberals, but I sure do try! ;-)

Anyway, back to the program...I suggest all of you RUN (figuratively) over to Getting Back to Basics and copy or print out any posts you like, before they're gone. I love almost all of them, but my personal favorites are her posts on cooking/diet, marraige and family, and the ones where she really tells it like it is in the world today (probably what got her into trouble, but who cares--you go girl!).

I really appreciate blogs like hers, because they are so few and far between. Every time I think I've found one, I read further into it, and find some wacky pseudo-liberal ideas buried in there. I love blogs that talk about wifely submission, modesty, homemaking, cooking from scratch, natural living/mothering (without the wacky liberal slant, lol), homeschooling, etc. If anyone knows of other blogs out there like Getting Back to Basics, please leave a link for it!

Stephanie, If You're Reading This...

2006-09-13T00:22:00.000-05:00

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

I'm just kidding!

For those of you who have visited Stephanie at her blog Getting Back to Basics, I have bad news: it looks like she will not be blogging anymore. I know, I know, I was terribly disappointed too. But I respect and admire her devotion to her family. Keeping up a good blog can take a bit of time (depending on how fast you think and type, lol). Stephanie, maybe you could still post an article or an update once a week...? A couple of times a month...? I'll take what I can get! ;-) Assuming your wonderful husband is agreeable, of course!

Truly, I understand the situation, I'm just selfish. Of all the blogs I visited, hers was my favorite, because her information was so useful and enjoyable to read. She never got full of herself as I've seen many other bloggers do. I learned a lot.

Well, Stephanie, if we don't hear from you anymore, I understand. But please, please, PLEASE leave your blog intact as it is, and don't erase it, because there are so many good things on there for other homemakers to learn from and enjoy! It is a great source of information, even if you don't post anymore. I am trying to take my journey in the same direction you did, in growing as a wife and mother, and your example was such a good one. It was nice to know there was someone out there who started off much like I did, and through prayer and effort of will, made great progress towards becoming a godly wife and mother.

Thanks for the inspiration! Drop by here and leave a comment anytime you like, and let me know how you're doing.

God bless!

Daily Family Schedule

2006-09-02T01:07:00.000-05:00

I've been trying to create a working schedule for myself and the family so I can stick to a routine (for once). I am basing it on a MOTH-type schedule (check out Managers of Their Homes--haven't read it, but gleaned some examples online from other blogs). I've re-done it a few times, and I think I've come up with one that is more realistic than the schedules I've done in the past. I'm always trying to come up with what I SHOULD be doing every day, instead of just what absolutely NEEDS to be done. Since all previous schedules were ridiculously unattainable, they went unused. This time I think it is more useable, so hopefully I can actually start USING it! LOL

I used Microsoft Spreadsheet (didn't like it, but it's all I've got) to create a color coded spreadsheet schedule. Most of the schedule is white, and the important events (meals, naptimes, baby feedings, etc.) are in color, so they stand out. I'll try to post a picture when (if) I get my camera charged up.

There is a column for each family member. Rather than list the schedule for each (especially since the kids' schedules are virtually the same and most of my husband's says WORK) I'll just give you an overview of mine.

7:00 Wake, pray, make bed, weigh myself, take vitamins
7:15 Spiritual reading, check Home Management Binder
7:30 Shower, dress, fix hair and makeup
8:00 Set table, load washing machine, start breakfast
8:15 Wake kids, supervise room tidying and bed making, change diapers
8:30 Breakfast
8:45 Wake/change/feed baby
9:00 Zone cleaning, unload dishwasher from previous night, declutter (5 minutes each)
9:15 Clean up after breakfast, load dishwasher, give kids an activity to work on
10:00 Prepare kids to go outside (with three children all under five, it takes a while)
10:15 Outside time, hang up any laundry if necessary, let dogs out
11:15 Inside, kids help unload dishwasher and "reboot" laundry
11:30 Feed baby, put her down for a nap, make lunch
NOON Lunch, read to the kids after I'm done eating, as they finish, do dinner prep work, if necessary, prepare naptime water cups
12:45 Brush kids' teeth
1:00 Put kids in bed, clean up after lunch, load dishwasher, fold/put away laundry
1:30 Project or take a nap
2:30 Computer time or take a nap
3:00 Wake/change/feed/play with baby
3:45 Make a snack for the kids
4:00 Wake kids, change diapers
4:15 Snack, do dinner preparations, if needed, clean "hot spots", do five minute "room rescue"
4:30 Clean up after snack
4:45 Fix hair and makeup, get exercise clothes/shoes ready
5:00 Watch to greet daddy when he comes home, then go exercise
5:45 Family rosary/feed baby
6:00 Dinner (put baby to sleep when she's ready)
6:45 Brush kids' teeth, put on kids' pajamas (daddy puts them to bed)
7:00 Make daddy's lunch to take to work tomorrow, clean kitchen/dining room, load/run dishwasher
7:30 Empty trash can, lay out family clothes, make morning cups for kids, set table, prepare for tomorrow's breakfast
8:00 Get ready for bed, check all door locks
8:15 Spend time together, talk, read
9:00 Sleep

Now, you'll notice that according to the schedule, I will have ten hours of sleep at night, plus possibly a two hour nap during the day. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! I don't think so. In reality, I'll go to bed with my husband, but probably get back up once he's asleep to work on something, or because I can't sleep. Then I'll go to bed at midnight or later, and get woken up before 7am, tell the boys to stop banging and play quietly in bed because they're up too early (we recently moved them in together, and it's NOT working, they're up much earlier now), and try to go back to sleep...but not actually fall asleep til shortly before the alarm or the boys wake me up at 8 am.

Basically, this is the schedule I am AIMING for. Right now it is nowhere near reality. But if I can do even half what I plan to do in this schedule, my family and my house will be in much better shape than they are now! Wish me luck!

Clean Your House Fast

2006-08-28T02:13:00.000-05:00

This is a short little article I found on Homemaking Organized. I like finding different "emergency quick-clean" posts and articles, because they each have useful tips, and I plan to compile them and choose the best, to make my own quick-clean list. What can I say? I'm lazy! ;-)

Company is on the way and your house is mess. If you have about 15 minutes follow the steps below to get your house in tip top shape just in time.

1. Trash: Dump all the trash in the trash bag

2. Clutter: If you find something in the wrong room dump it in the basket. You’ll find it’s corrct home later.

3. Bedrooms: Make all beds. I say this because I can’t believe how nosey people are and they always find a way to look into your private bedrooms. I don’t like this but it happens.

4. Bathroom: Go to the guest bathroom and (hopefully you have some emergency wipes on hand) use your wipes. Wipe down the mirror and the chrome with the window cleaner wipes. Wipe the counter tops with the general purpose wipe. Swish and use a wipe to clean the seats of the toilet. Use a wipe to spot check any spots on the floor. Take all used towels and dump in laundry area. Hang a nice clean hand towel and spray some nice scented something. Put out a new piece of soap. Take the old one to your bathroom.

5. Kitchen: Get all the dishes out of the sink.and off counters. Wash them if you have time or put the all in the dish washer. Wipe down counters. Put any food sitting out away.

6. Diningroom / Livingroom: Remove all clutter. Fluff pillows. Stack magazines. Push in chairs and clean off dining table. Wipe it if it needs it.

If you have a few odors open all windows and maybe a back door with a screen. Spray something fresh. Or better yet throw some frozen cookie dough in the oven.

If you have time vacuum the livingroom and diningroom if they have carpet.

Whew! Now go comb your hair and spritz on some perfume! Look relaxed.

Feeling Down

2006-08-21T11:48:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a long while. I've had a hard month, and just couldn't put into words how I felt.

I don't think I'm going to be able to get the surgery. It's a long story, and I just don't feel like writing about it right now. I have been so depressed over it. I've been trying to just really restrict my calories, but I can't do any diet for more than a day or two, as usual. I try so hard, but then I either get really hungry at the end of the day, or the stress of the day just builds up to where I can't stand it anymore, and I don't care about dieting. I just feel really miserable right now. I hate what I see when I look in the mirror. I don't even care about being skinny, I just want to look normal. You know, not have my stomach sticking way out past my chest, and not having a huge apron of fat hanging off my stomach.

If I were rich, I would forget about dieting. I would get a personal trainer and work my way into a good workout routine, eat healthier, and try to slowly reduce the amount of food I ate. I would have a major tummy tuck and some lipo done on my stomach, hips, and double chin. Then I think I could be satisfied enough with the way I look. It think it would even help me stay motivated so I could lose a few more pounds.

One thing I have decided to do for sure, is NOT GAIN any more weight. I got up to 253, my new all-time, non-pregnant high. Great. I'm down below 250 now, wavering up and down. I have resolved that I will NOT go over 250 again. If I had done that back when I weighed 200, I wouldn't be so miserable now. I didn't like being 200, but at least I could find clothes that fit. So from now on, when I see my weight getting to 249, I will be very careful what I eat until I lose a few pounds. I'll just have to weigh myself religiously.

I'm double-posting this on my other blog, Weigh Out of Control, and I will try to put any posts about my weight on there, rather than here, so the skinny people don't have to listen to me whining! I'll try to post some other topics as soon as I feel up to it. Unfortunately, the way I feel right now, homemaking and my other interests are just not something I can keep my concentration on right now. Hopefully I can get out of this funk soon.

Thank you to those who have posted comments in support of me. I really appreciate it, especially from those who are going through the same thing, and understand how I feel.

Support, Please

2006-07-30T23:38:00.000-05:00

I've been getting some feedback, emails, etc. from readers (and a couple of relatives who know), who are concerned about my chosing to have the lap-band surgery. I know some people are concerned that I am taking the "easy" way out (anyone who knows anything about WLS--weight loss surgery--knows it is anything BUT the easy way out) or that I haven't tried hard enough or long enough to lose the weight. That gets kind of annoying, because most of these people either aren't heavy or aren't as heavy as I am. Sometimes you find someone who WAS as heavy as me, and finally managed to lose it. Time will tell if they'll keep it off. Maybe they will. But the facts are that only 3-4% of people who diet will keep it off. The rest will regain the weight eventually, and usually a little more. Studies have shown yo-yo dieting is actually more dangerous than staying fat.

The difficult thing about being so overweight is that once your body gets this heavy, it is very hard to lose more than a small percentage of it, because your body thinks its supposed to be this way, and will hold onto the weight any way it can. Sure it's possible to lose it, but it is SOOOOOOOOOO hard. If you've never been more than 100 pounds overweight, you would not understand. Losing 20 pounds is nothing like losing 100. And of course, there is the emotional issue. Unless someone has a physical problem (thyroid problem, medication side-effect, etc.) then they didn't get fat without some emotional eating going on. So not only is your body addicted to the sugar and other junk you may eat, but worse still, you are emotionally addicted to overeating. You use food as comfort, to stuff down your emotions. We all have something we use to deal with stress--alcohol, drugs, food, sex, exercise. My habit just happens to make me fat.

My major problem in trying to lose weight is discouragement. I try so hard, and see little result. Then a stressful situation arises, and I am miserable, and thinking "why bother, why suffer just to stay fat anyway?" And so I eat. Now, I don't sit in the closet and eat a bag of oreos in the middle of the night. Really, I don't. Everyone assumes you must, to be so fat. Well I didn't get fat overnight! You don't necessarily have to eat massive amounts of food to get fat. I ate normally, maybe sometimes overeating a little...but I drank regular soda constantly for two or more years. Whoops! How did that sixty pounds jump onto my butt?! Soda, my friends. Soda. Of course, drinking all that soda (in my opinion) stretched out my stomach, and I started eating more and more. I've given up the soda, and I try not to keep junk in the house. I try to make it so that if I want junk, at least I have to go drive somewhere to get it, and I don't stock up on it. Unless I get depressed, then I might get enough junk to ration it out over three days.

Now I can honestly say I do overeat. I eat too much at meals--not huge amounts, but too much. My problem now is grazing all day. Being home all day is a killer when you're heavy. I have all the time in the world to stare into the fridge and decide what to eat next, and often I don't realize I'm doing it. I'm also too lazy to cook for myself. I don't like cooking, so I'll cook for my family, but I don't like to go to too much trouble to make my own lunch.

I know everyone has my best interests at heart, but it is very discouraging to hear all about how someone else lost their weight, and I should do it too. Believe me, there isn't anything you can tell me about the risks of weight loss surgery that I haven't already found out about. I have been researching this for two years. I read through dozens of memorials for WLS patients who died, to find out which surgery they had, what they died from, etc. Most of the time people quote me the risks, they are usually referring to the risks of Gastric Bypass or some other WLS, not adjustable gastric banding (Lap-Band). And often it is second, third or fourth-hand information. I would never make any serious decision without thoroughly researching it first.

Also, I have weight-related health problems that make it necessary to lose weight as soon as I can. I'm not going into my personal health history, but one thing I will tell you is that I have two defective heart valves that will need replacing in the next 5-10 years. That means open-heart surgery. My chances of dying during this serious operation will triple if I do not lose the weight and KEEP it off. The risks of dying from the lap-band are extremely small...basically the same as any routine operation (if any operation is routine), such as a c-section or hernia operation, both of which I have had. Most of the serious complications found in studies of U.S. lap-band trials were due to inexperienced surgeons who have done less than 100 bands. I will not be using an inexperienced surgeon. Adjustable gastric banding is the gold standard of WLS in Europe and Australia, where long-term studies of the band have been done, showing much more successful statistics. American surgeons are no longer in the "clinical trial" stage with the band, and are much more experienced, on the whole.

Believe me people, I've tried plenty of diets: South Beach, Sommersize, Weight Watchers, all natural, several diets of my own making, starving, "miracle" herbal supplements, Atkins (twice), you name it. The only one that worked was Atkins, and it was not worth it. The lack of carbohydrates made me so cranky and nasty that it wasn't worth it, and it threw me into a year-long depression. (Some people don't experience this, but many do). And of course, I gained back the weight, as well as a few extra pounds.

I am definitely not doing this to look like a model, or fit into a size 2, or anything like that. I am doing this to be the healthy, happy, productive, best wife and mother that I can, and should, be.

I would prefer if people would not tell me that I'm making the wrong choice, or that I haven't tried hard enough, or that I haven't tried the right diet yet. No one but me knows what I have tried, or how hard I worked at it, or what choice is right for me. I know these people are just trying to help, but in the end, it only makes me feel worse. I understand if someone doesn't agree or can't support my choice to get banded, but in that case I would rather they not say anything, if they can't be supportive. To me, being supportive isn't telling me I'm making a rash or uninformed decision, when I'm not...even if they mean well. Right now, support is the one thing I need, and except for my wonderful husband, I have no other support system.

The most important thing you can do, is keep me in your prayers. Thank you for thinking of me!

WLS Update

2006-07-28T00:09:00.000-05:00

Wow, long time no post! I've been spending all my online time researching Weight Loss Surgery, doctors, hospitals, etc. For one insane day I actually was considering gastric bypass, because a doctor at WLS informational seminar was really pushing it, and putting down the band (pretty typical--bypass is what they're comfortable with). But luckily I didn't allow myself to be swayed (well, not for long) by the great before and after pictures and rapid weight loss of the RNY gastric bypass patients.

I researched the possible complications, not only the "death rate" (which is woefully under-reported, as many bypass patients die months, even years later) but also the problems talked about on the yahoo group OSSG-gone_wrong. I searched the archives and found a HUGE "laundry list" of repeated complaints--health problems that were strongly suspected to come from vitamin deficiencies, even when patients took their vitamins. Just a FEW are: vision loss, memory loss, tooth loss, cancer, osteoporosis, depression, suicide...the list goes on and on. And these are YOUNG women we're talking about. So NO, no RNY for me!

I am still wanting to do the band. My only major concern with that surgery is the number of fills I may end up having to get, because each pregnancy I'll have to have the band unfilled, then refilled later, and probably adjusted a few times. Lotsa buckaroonies, people, and not covered by my insurance. Multiply that by all the pregnancies I'll probably have...and we all know how often I get pregnant, don't we? ;-)

The research I've done the last week has just confirmed for me the relative safety of the lap band surgery. I say "relative", because ANY surgery can kill you, just from blood clots and infections alone. General anesthesia and the fact that I'm overweight just add to the risks. But it's no riskier than a c-section. In fact, in my case, it would be less risky. And I believe that if it is my time to die, I will die no matter where I am--at home, on a bus, or in an operating room--assuming I'm not being reckless, that is. I would consider the RNY reckless for me, in my opinion and in my particular circumstance. I just don't feel that I am fat enough or sick enough to take on the risks of that surgery. But lap band is another story. Much fewer risks, and the risks themselves are less severe. And it's adjustable and much easier to have removed in an emergency. I'm not selling the band to anyone, just stating my reasoning.

Weight Loss Surgery

2006-07-12T12:52:00.000-05:00

I've fought with my weight for a long time. Very little seems to make a difference. The only diet that worked at all for me was Atkins, and I had to go off it because the lack of carbohydrates made me really cranky and depressed.

My weight has gone back up. I am bouncing between 247 and 250, mostly staying around 249. I can't take it any more. I try so hard, and nothing works. If I saw some real progress, maybe I could stick with it. But I'm just not the kind of person who deprive myself on a constant basis without seeing some real benefit.

I've looked into weight loss surgery for quite a while. I concluded almost immediately that gastric bypass was not something I would consider. Perhaps if I weighed another 100 pounds, or had more serious co-morbidities (weight-related health problems) I would consider it. But the risks are just too high in my opinion. Plus I don't believe in cutting out body parts that God gave you. Yes, technically they're still in you, but you've surgically separated them. Plus there are so many miserable and serious complications you can suffer afterwards.

Then I found the Lap-Band...adjustable gastric banding. It is similar to gastric bypass in that it restricts your food intake, but your stomach is not separated, nor are your intestines bypassed. All they do is put a silicone band around the top of your stomach. It has a tube leading away from it that ends in a "port" that is sewn near the front of your abdomen. The silicone band restricts the amount of food you can eat by forming a pouch at the top of your stomach, which is very small and fills up quickly. But unlike the gastric bypass, the food still goes through the rest of your stomach and intestines. Six weeks or so after surgery, you go to the doctor for a "fill". The doctor locates the port in your abdomen, numbs the area, puts a syringe into the port and puts a little saline solution in, which inflates the band, making it a little tighter around your stomach. That gives you more restriction, and this is what makes it adjustable.

If you find that you're able to eat too much, you get another fill. If you need the band looser, say for pregnancy, you can get unfilled. If you have problems with the band, it is reversible. You can have it surgically removed. There is a much lower risk of death, fewer and less serious complications possible, and you will ultimately lose just as much weight with the Lap-Band as with gastric bypass. The weight usually does come off slower, but that is better anyway, to give your skin a chance to get its elasticity back, so you can have less hanging skin.

Lap-Band is the "gold standard" in most other countries. And if your insurance doesn't cover it and you're paying for it yourself, you can travel to another country and get it done much cheaper, by doctors who are much more experienced. The doctors here are fairly new at it, because it is a newer surgery in this country. So often when you go in for a seminar or doctor's appointment, they try to steer you towards the bypass.

There are risks, but if you choose a surgeon who has done at least 100 bands, the risk is very small. Also, since it is done laparascopically instead of an open incision, the healing time is less.

My insurance does cover it, and I am definitely eligible. I am applying this week for approval. Please pray that I get it, and quickly, and that I can keep up my breastfeeding so that I will not get pregnant. I will have to stop breastfeeding before the surgery (American doctors' rules), so after the surgery I will have my priest's permission to use natural family planning to avoid pregnancy for at least a year to allow time to lose the weight (docs say 18-24 months, but they're so anti-pregnancy anyway).

I have researched this for a year and a half and done a lot of thinking and weighing the risks and the benefits, and I think this is the best choice for me and my family. My family deserves a wife and mother who is healthy and capable of fulfilling her duties, and can't be that person the way that I am right now.

For more information, check out Lap-Band.com and the information about lap-band on Obesity Help. Obesity Help has forums and reviews from many patients for their surgery, the hospital they used, and their surgeon. However, this site is for all weight loss surgeries, so keep this in mind when reading testimonials, reviews, etc. Also search for bandsters and Lap-Band support groups on Yahoo. People who have the band often refer to themselves as "bandsters".

If you are interested in getting the lap-band but would have to pay for it yourself, I would recommend going to Mexico. I know, your first thought is "eeeeeww" but there are surgeons there who specialize in this surgery. The important thing is to pick a good one, and a good hospital. The best I've heard of is Dr. Kuri in Tijuana. I've talked to many people who've gone to him, they all swear by him (though most bandsters LOVE their surgeons, anyway). He's done more than 1200 surgeries, teaches other doctors in Mexico and the U.S. how to do the surgery, and it only costs around $10,000. In Mexico you get excellent attention from the staff, and many people who get their band there go back to Mexico for follow-up plastic surgery to remove excess skin. But again, research is VERY important.

Please keep my intentions in your prayers. Pray that I am approved quickly, that I don't get pregnant til way after the surgery, and that the surgery is safe and successful. Thank you!

Supplements Galore!

2006-07-12T12:31:00.000-05:00

I'm trying to be healthier, and as part of that plan I am taking supplements. Or trying to remember to, lol. First, I am taking Fenugreek, to maintain my breastmilk supply. I've had supply issues with all my children, and to combat this, I take the Fenugreek. It works excellent! I use the Nature's Way brand. Usually it works within hours. I tried another brand, Nature's Herbs, and it didn't work at all.

I had a big reduction in my milk this week and had run out a while back, so I called all around within a fifty mile radius, and after calling Nature's Way directly, found a place over 25 miles away that carried it. It was worth the drive. My milk is back and my poor baby is happy again! (Not that it hurt her weight--she was in the 95th percentile for both height and weight at her doctor's appointment yesterday!) Please make note that this supplement can lower your blood sugar, for those who have blood sugar issues, and this should NEVER be taken while pregnant.

I also take a prenatal vitamin, because I'm breastfeeding, and calcium. (Okay, I admit I haven't been taking these for a while, but I've started back up again.) This week I started taking Emergen-C and Noni juice. I've read Noni has many healing and curative properties. However, I warn you: it is NASTY NASTY NASTY tasting. Did I mention it's nasty? It's really really gross. If it weren't supposed to be so good for you (and if I didn't spend $10 at Walmart on it) I wouldn't take it again. Today, I poured 1 ounce of it into four ounces of OJ, held my nose (most of your taste actually comes from your sense of smell) and chugged it. Then, still holding my nose, I rinsed out the glass a few times, and my mouth, then I refilled the glass with a few ounces of straight OJ, drank that, then ate a snack bar to make sure to replace any lingering bad taste. LOL--silly, but it worked!

So here I was popping four fenugreek capsules, a prenatal vitamin, two calcium, four ounces of water mixed with Emergen-C powder, and the OJ and Noni Juice with an OJ and snack bar chaser! All I can say is, I'd better feel healthy and energized today!!!

I've heard a lot of really good things about cod liver oil, but it's at least twenty dollars for a bottle that I'm sure wouldn't last a month. So, for the time being, I'll stick with the "laundry list" of supplements I'm already taking. :-)

Depression, Negative Thinking, and a Merry Heart...

2006-07-11T12:52:00.000-05:00

Today I stumbled across some articles on Titus2.com's Dad's and Mom's Corners. I've seen that website before, and have heard many recommendations of it, including for their book, "Managers of Their Homes", or MOTH, its nickname. But I never looked at the site much, mostly because of its somewhat slick, commercial feel. I've often found that the more "commercial" type of websites that are selling stuff usually are a waste of time, so I bypassed Titus2.

However, taking a second look at it, I found the Corners articles, and they are extremely helpful and informative for any Christian familly, but particularly growing, quiverfull families.

Their articles on depression (September 2000)were very interesting. I have struggled with this myself, and it is very difficult. I wish I had read these articles when was dealing with depression last year, it would have helped a lot (the depression has lifted quite a bit since the birth of my baby). They also have articles on negative thinking, a merry heart, a mother's hard work, and much more. I think these subjects are very important for those of us with growing families, because there are many moms who become overwhelmed and slip into depression.

I believe depression is partly physical/hormonal, but I think it is often exacerbated by allowing yourself to think negatively, feel sorry for yourself, not sticking to a household routine or schedule, and letting the house get cluttered and dirty. I know coming down each morning to a chaotic mess definitely affects my moood. The days when I have breakfast planned, the morning dishes set out and ready, the children's clothes and diapers set out, my own clothes picked out, and dinner planned, it makes a huge difference in my mood and ability to cope with stress.

I found the June 2002 Dad's Corner very good also, on not having a critical spirit. They recommend that women not read the dad's corners first, and some shouldn't be read by women at all (usually denoted by "For Men Only" after the title. But I found that particular dad's corner to be useful to women also. The September 2000 Dad's corner about helping your wife during her depression was excellent, also. I think if you have this problem, it would be good to find an inoffensive way to get your husband to read it. It will help him understand and deal with it, which will help you also.

I think many of these articles are useful for homemaking moms. And whether you've dealt with depression or not, we could all use help with some of the topics that Steve and Teri Maxwell write about in these articles, so I would highly recommend them!

We Have Chickens!

2006-07-10T14:10:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we picked up our chickens. The owner had several to choose from, and we chose one Buff Orpington and one Black Astralorp. Both are supposed to be good cold weather birds. I've wanted a Buff for a long time. Eventually when we move, I'm hoping she'll be a broody hen, and set eggs and raise chicks for us

They've settled in well. I put them in the chicken tractor and they immediately set to nabbing bugs and tearing off little pieces of weeds to eat (our lawn has almost as much dandelions as grass). It's been dry here, and we've begun to water the grass. Chickens are great for grass, so I'm hoping they really help.

While I made some adjustments to the tractor, the chickens were making very loud "bok, bok, bok" sounds. I was worried if they kept that up, they would be "stealth chickens" no more! But once I put them in the tractor, they quieted right down. The cat next door discovered them very quickly, and began stalking the chickens. I have no fear of the cat though. She's small, and these chickens are pretty big. I think she just likes to think she can "take" them. I'm pretty certain if I let them out, the cat would head for the hills!

The dogs were in awe of the chickens. They just stared at them as if to say "hey...what the heck are those, and what are they doing here?" The kids were thrilled. The lady who owned the chickens let us check out her chickens and goats, and they got to pet the cat.

My oldest son wanted to name the chickens Jason and Jackson. I have no idea where he got those names from! I told him the chickens are girls and needed girl names, so he came up with Jill, and I helped him come up with Ginger. The Buff is Jill. I was thinking of calling them Buffy and Blackie, just to get the naming over with, lol! It took a while!

The "girls" seemed to settle in well. I gave them a pan of water and some leftovers for dinner...lettuce, green peppers, onions, cucumbers, tomatoes. It was late in the day so I didn't feed them much, they were already looking to go to roost. Which reminds me...tomorrow I need to add another roost in there. The one in the chicken tractor wasn't big enough for these two big birds, so I suspect the Buff will be spending the night in the nesting box...she appears NOT to be the dominant bird, since the Astralorp, Ginger, was perched on the roost, and didn't look like she planned to give up her "throne" any time soon!

This morning I found quite a mess in the tractor. They'd spread the newspaper strips I had put in the nesting box all over the place, and dumped out their water. I know this is typical chicken behavior, but I do believe it is more of a problem because there isn't much room. The footprint of the cage is about 3 x 3, but the actually useable space is 2 x 2. I made the mistake of dumping this morning's scraps in the middle of the cage. Ginger promptly placed herself over the pile and feasted on it, while Jill made raspy bok-bok noises and circled around her. Finally I took some of the scraps and placed them in the now-empty nesting box, so Jill could sneak up there and eat some too. I definitely want to get a cage with more room, because otherwise it's going to be too easy for Ginger to hog all the food.

Otherwise, so far so good!

Chickens in My Backyard...soon!

2006-07-05T23:23:00.000-05:00

My husband said I could get a few chickens! Yay! We've had a few chickens before, and had to get rid of them when we had moved. We're in the city now, so we'll only have two or three. I'd like as many as five, but that's probably asking for trouble. Technically, we're not supposed to have them. At least that's what the city planner said, but I can't find anywhere in the codes that specifically prohibits them. I know there are a few "stealth" chicken owners around here, and my neighbors are nice (only two houses have any view of our yard), so I don't expect a problem.

I was able to ask around and found someone giving away some chickens, and another person giving away a chicken tractor. For those who don't know, a chicken tractor is a moveable cage/pen used to house a few chickens, that is rotated all over the yard to give the birds access to fresh grass and bugs, and eliminate the need to clean out a pen. Plus it's great for the grass. Some chicken owners make huge chicken tractors that you need a lawn tractor to move, and house a dozen or more chickens. Then some people, like me, have a tiny one that houses only two, and is easily moved by one person.

The chicken tractor I got wasn't that well-made, and is all of older recycled materials. Which is what you expect for a free chicken tractor! I'll need to refasten some nails, and remove a couple of screws that actually protrude into the nesting box (yikes). It's just a temporary solution til we can build a bigger, nicer one.

Chickens only need two square feet of space. I like to give them more, but that's what the experts say. And a chicken tractor isn't quite the same as a cage or even a coop. They're constantly exposed to new grass and bugs. They don't get to run much, but they'll be happy. The chickens I had in a coop never ran, either. And the time I had them free ranging, they pretty much only ran when being chased by the rooster. The tractor I have only has enough room for two chickens, unless I get bantams (mini chickens).

We're trying to come up with a lightweight design for the next tractor that will allow us three to five chickens, with a little room to run back and forth if desired. The trouble is making enough room for a nesting box with perches that is insulated well for the cold weather we get (I'm wanting to get Buff Orpingtons,like the birds pictured above, as they're great cold weather birds). I'd let them roam the yard, but we don't have fencing yet, and the small children's park behind our house is dogwalking central...and a lot of irresponsible, selfish owners don't put their dogs on leashes. (Don't get me started on that one...they think their precious pooch would NEVER bite another animal or a child...til it happens then they whine and say it wasn't THEIR fault. Cry me a river, I'm still suing their butt if their dog comes in MY yard and bites my kid!) Anyway, back to the chickens

I spent a long time uploading pictures that didn't turn out, so for pictures of coops and tractors grand and small, visit the Chicken Tractor Gallery and BackyardChickens.com

Declaration of Independence

2006-07-04T15:05:00.000-05:00

Click on the Declaration of Independence to go to a site and read it up close.

I think today's liberals would love to turn it into the Declaration of New Dependence. Rather than be independent, liberals want us to turn our dependence inward, towards our own government. The laws and taxes and governmental controls, which our forefathers fought so hard to free us from, pale in comparison to the complex web of rigorous laws and back-breaking burden of taxes that we labor and suffer under today. You can't sneeze without permission from "Uncle Sam", and if you get permission, you will be heavily taxed for the "privilege." Colonial Americans never knew they had it so good! *sigh*

Pledge of Allegience

2006-07-04T14:55:00.000-05:00

I Pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

According to popular legend, the first American Flag was made by Betsy Ross, a Philadelphia seamstress who was acquainted with George Washington, leader of the Continental Army, and other influential Philadelphians. In May 1776, so the story goes, General Washington and two representatives from the Continental Congress visited Ross at her upholstery shop and showed her a rough design of the American Flag. Although Washington initially favored using a star with six points, Ross advocated for a five-pointed star, which could be cut with just one quick snip of the scissors, and the gentlemen were won over. Unfortunately, historians have never been able to verify this charming version of events, although it is known that Ross made flags for the navy of Pennsylvania. The story of Washington's visit to the flag maker became popular about the time of the country's first centennial, after William Canby, a grandson of Ross, told about her role in shaping U.S. history in a speech given at the Philadelphia Historical Society in March 1870.

What is known is that the first unofficial national flag, called the Grand Union Flag or the Continental Colours, was raised at the behest of General Washington near his headquarters outside Boston, Mass., on Jan. 1, 1776. The American Flag had 13 alternating red and white horizontal stripes and the British Union Flag (a predecessor of the Union Jack) in the canton. Another early flag had a rattlesnake and the motto “Don't Tread on Me.”

The first official American Flag, also known as the Stars and Stripes, was approved by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. The blue canton contained 13 stars, representing the original 13 colonies, but the layout varied. Although nobody knows for sure who designed the flag, it may have been Continental Congress member Francis Hopkinson.

After Vermont and Kentucky were admitted to the Union in 1791 and 1792, respectively, two more stars and two more stripes were added in 1795. This 15-star, 15-stripe American Flag was the “star-spangled banner” that inspired lawyer Francis Scott Key to write the poem that later became the U.S. national anthem.

In 1818, after five more states had gained admittance, Congress passed legislation fixing the number of stripes at 13 and requiring that the number of stars equal the number of states. The last new star, bringing the total to 50, was added on July 4, 1960, after Hawaii became a state.

[Taken from www.americanflag.com]

Star Spangled Banner

2006-07-04T14:48:00.000-05:00

(composed by Francis Scott Key, "In Defense of Fort McHenry", September 20, 1814. Congress proclaimed it the U.S. National Anthem in 1931 -- history follows.)

Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen thro' the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream:
'T is the star-spangled banner: O, long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash'd out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand,
Between their lov'd homes and the war's desolation;
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserv'd us as a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

History: In 1814, about a week after the city of Washington had been badly burned, British troops moved up to the primary port at Baltimore Harbor in Maryland. Frances Scott Key visited the British fleet in the Harbor on September 13th to secure the release of Dr. William Beanes who had been captured during the Washington raid. The two were detained on the ship so as not to warn the Americans while the Royal Navy attempted to bombard Fort McHenry. At dawn on the 14th, Key noted that the huge American flag, which now hangs in the Smithsonian's American History Museum, was still waving and had not been removed in defeat. The sight inspired him to write a poem entitled Defense of Fort McHenry; later the poem was set to music that had been previously composed by a Mr. Smith. The song was immediately noted as an inspiring song that should be the national anthem of the United States of America. It was accepted as such by public demand for the next century or so, but became even more accepted as the national anthem during the World Series of Baseball in 1917 when it was sung in honor of the brave armed forces fighting in the Great War. The World Series performance moved everyone in attendance, and after that it was repeated for every game. Finally, on March 3, 1931, the American Congress proclaimed it as the national anthem, 116 years after it was first written.

[Excerpt taken from www.niehs.nih.gov website.]

Frugal Tip: Ban the Bottles...of cola

2006-07-02T03:05:00.001-05:00

...and the cans! If you drink soda (pop, soda pop, whatever you call it in your neck of the woods) you not only might be wasting money, but also wasting your health. I should know!

About ten years ago I started drinking a lot of soda. I gained weight steadily, a little at a time. Then about eight years ago, I started drinking a TON of soda, and gained a TON of weight...well, not literally a ton, but about sixty pounds or so. Yikes! And it was only over the space of about two years! I was drinking regular soda, because I didn't know about Splenda (although that is probably almost as bad as the aspartame) and I was dead set against aspartame, knowing how bad it was. Of course, I was apparently too stupid to do the math...a two liter of Coke a day equals about a pound a week in weight gain!

In recent years, I almost never drink regular soda. I do drink diet, but I usually only drink Diet Rite (no caffeine, no sodium, no aspartame, no calories). I know it's not good for you, but it's better than the regular soda. I've tried to keep a rule in the house, that there is no soda allowed in the house, because if it's there, I will drink it. My husband agrees to this rule of course, though he's not thrilled with it. But if I didn't keep him in check, he could drink a case of soda a day all by himself! That would be $84 a month, at least! Not to mention, I can drink plenty myself. Lately I've given in on this, and we've gotten back in the soda habit, which we now both want to break.

But the other bad thing about soda is that I believe it expands your stomach and makes you eat more. I know there are two camps on opposite sides of this issue. Some nutritionists and doctors say that isn't possible, but some say it is. I believe from my own experience it is. I know when I am in the "soda habit", I eat more every day--whether I drink a soda with the meal or not. I believe the air bubbles in the soda expand your stomach, making you want to eat more, and taking more food to fill you up. I know that when I am out of the habit of drinking soda on a regular basis, I don't eat as much. My husband says the same thing.

So, if my unprofessional opinion is correct, then by giving up soda, you will not only save the money you spend on them, but also save money on extra food, and save your health from being destroyed!

What to drink instead? Milk and juice in moderation, and water, water, water! Now you may think water is boring, and it is if you're used to bubbly overly sweet "beverages". Give it time, and get creative. Drink your water ice-cold. Add a little lemon. Add a little bit of various kinds of flavoring to it. Each night I take a bottle of semi-frozen water to bed in one of those "coolies"...a gel-filled can cooler that you put in the freezer, which keeps drinks cold. If it's cold enough, and not too warm in the room, it will stay cold all night. This is really good if you're pregnant or nursing. You need the water!

Happy non-cola drinking!

Clean Heart, Clean Home Challenge

2006-07-01T23:37:00.000-05:00

The Clean Heart, Clean Home Challenge is a cleaning challenge sponsored by Amy over at the Dandelion Seeds blog. This challenge is different, however, because it focuses not only on cleaning your home, but preparing spiritually so that the change is not only in your home, but in your heart as well. I think this is a great idea, because I know that my house is in chaos because I lack order in my spiritual life, and have not put my heart into my homemaking in the way that I should. I think if we remembered to look to God for help in our homemaking struggles, we wouldn't struggle nearly so much. I'm really looking forward to it.

I missed the last one, but I'm jumping in right on time with this one. And not a moment to lose, either, because I'm drowning in neglected housework. Between being very pregnant, then recovering from a c-section, then recovering from a hernia operation, my house is in a shambles. It seems like I take one step forward, then fall two steps back.

Join the CHCH Challenge and get your home in order in 52 days!

(By the way, did you notice I finally figured out how to put links in my posts...ROFL, how dumb, there's actually a little BUTTON for it...with a picture of a "link"!!)

Are Newer Cars Frugal?

2006-06-26T00:56:00.000-05:00

Some of you may be wondering why we chose to buy a newer vehicle when we are supposed to be trying to be more frugal with our money. Well, it was a decision we thought about for quite a while.

The major problem was the old van. It was ten years old when we bought it last year for about $2600, and seemed fine for a while. But then things suddenly started going on it, one by one. We were spending so much on it, we might as well have had a car payment! Now, we could have tried scraping enough together for another old vehicle, but it just didn't make sense. My husband doesn't know how to make major repairs, and we only have one family vehicle, so having another car that would potentially need repeated repairs wasn't feasible. Plus, my husband drives 90 miles round trip to work each day. He really needed the security and peace of mind that his only vehicle wouldn't break down on him. We have no family or friends in the area, so who would pick him up?

Also, the cars he has owned that he purchased fairly new were all reliable and ran well for a long time. Our truck had almost 300,000 miles on it when we got rid of it, and was still going strong. The cars we bought that already had high miles tended to have problems. It just seems that we get more usage out of cars when we've had control over the car for most of its life. We're not super-careful with our maintenance or anything, I guess a lot of people just abuse their cars.

We just figured it was worth the investment. Plus a newer car gets better gas mileage than old worn out cars. And the previous owner took the hit on the depreciation, leaving us with an almost-new car for a very good price. I'm guessing about ten thousand less than new.

We did a lot of research and carefully chose a model that would fit our needs and wants. It wasn't completely loaded (for the Town & Country--compares to other vans it was) but it had what we really wanted. We also checked the CarFax report to make sure it hadn't been flooded, totalled, etc. It had been owned by a rental company, but leased by an individual customer the entire time. Probably an executive car.

We felt the car would fit in our budget because we could count on no repairs for a good while (still under manufacturer's warranty) and we had recently given up other expenses that added up to about the amount of the car payment. We did have to pay more for insurance, but I never liked having only liability coverage anyway.

Now, buying a newer car might not make sense for other families, particularly if the husband is really good at fixing cars, but for us it was a good choice.

Got a New Van! wooo hooo!

2006-06-24T22:00:00.000-05:00

We got a new car! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!! (See shoutbox in side bar for super-happy smilies.)

Okay, it's new to us, anyway. I'd never pay for a new car, especially a mini-van. They depreciate at least $10,000 the first year, worse if it's a Windstar. We got a 2005 Chrysler Town & Country. It is sooooo nice! We got a good price on it. It comes with CD and cassette (I wanted both, and that's not always easy to find), Sirius radio, a DVD player with wireless headphones, TWO sliding doors (yes!) and a lot of other great features. It has 29,000 miles on it, a lot for a one year old car, but over 6,000 miles left on the warranty. It runs so smooth and quiet.

I don't think I ever posted about my old van. Ugh! It seemed nice at first, it was a 1995 Oldsmobile Silhouette. After we got it, I realized it wasn't as roomy as we thought. I couldn't even comfortably cross my legs in the passenger seat. And the seatbelt would tighten up on me, and I'd have to undo and redo it to get comfortable--not very safe. There was NO legroom. And the floor was littered with diaper bags, purse, etc. so you couldn't walk to the back. Plus, worst of all, after we got it, it seemed like every month there was a bigger and bigger problem cropping up. Rotors, ignition coil, burned out tail lights, fuse problem, etc. etc. It felt like it was going to fall apart any second. The new car was an answer to our prayers...literally. My four year old son prayed with me every night that we could get a new car.

There was another T&C we wanted in a beautiful blue color, with EVERYthing I wanted, including power sliding doors, power rear lift gate, back up alarm, and a remote starter, which would be nice in the winter times, to warm up the car without it getting stolen. But they wouldn't come down on the price, and it was two thousand more, plus 4000 more miles. *sigh* But the car we got is really good. All I really wanted was a roomy comfortable van with two sliding doors, CD and cassette, and a DVD player. The DVD was crucial to me. Try going on a cross-country trip with a four year old, a three year old, a two year old, and a newborn. We've gone cross-country waaaay too many times! Anyway, the DVD player was for my sanity. I'm not very patient when the kids get loud all at once in the car. But the best thing is, the wireless headphones. They can listen to their movie (and not yank on any wires) and we can listen to the radio up front.

Oh, and another great feature is the dual zone climate control. The driver and the passenger can each choose the temperature level on their own side. Great if one person tends to like it cooler than the other. Plus there's a rear climate control for the kids, for when they get older. This car is also really roomy. Being overweight, when I cross my legs, I'm really putting one ankle on top of my other knee, so you need a lot of room width-wise. This one has it! And the seat belt doesn't lock up and strangle me, praise God! I can't tell you how much that bothered me. I was seriously praying after we bought it that it wouldn't lock up, because I forgot to check. It didn't, and the seat belt is a nice soft kind, not stiff.

But the best feature is the Stow-n-Go seating. All the rear seats fold down into the floor, which is great because I'm always hauling something home from a yard sale or something. I can just pull out the safety seats, stow the van seats, and stack the safety seats in a corner. But better than that, when the van seats are all up in place, you can use the compartments under the floor as storage. Major storage! Now we keep a large diaper bag full of diapers, extra clothing, etc. under the floor, and a small bandolier style diaper bag under a seat for trips into church or the store. Plus I keep phone books, road atlases, extra toys, etc. under there. Sooooo nice. And the van is big enough to easily crawl to the back to buckle the kids in, which is great when you're a larger size. Or pregnant. Or both! (No, I'm not pregnant yet, lol.)

Can you tell I'm happy? Wheeeeeeeeeee! I'll update this post with a pic of the van. Too dark now to take one. If you're looking for a new van, I'd recommend it. We're so happy with it. :-D The only downside is that I am seriously doubting we'll be able to add a third car seat in the back row. It doesn't look like there's much space between the two that are there. We'll probably have to invest in the slimmest booster seats on the market. I guess we'll see.

Belated Father's Day

2006-06-24T18:07:00.000-05:00

This should have been posted last weekend, but I thought it was important not to forget all together. How was your Father's Day...more specific, how was your husband's?

Sometimes we forget to take the time to show our husbands how much we appreciate them. I know I do. My husband is a wonderful father who loves to spend time with his children. He would like to develop friendships with men outside the family, but he hates the idea of spending his precious free time with anyone else but his family. He loves teaching things to them, and reading to them, and playing on the floor with them. I knew before we married he'd be a good father, but I had no idea he would be this good. It means so much to me that he loves and takes care of his children so well. He's so willing to help out, change diapers, look after them so I can take a nap. He's completely "tuned in" to their lives.

The children all looooooove Daddy. He's the man. It's so funny that even though my children are kept close to me all day, and were all breastfed, they are still so attached to him. But I guess it's not so surprising, since he's so much fun for them, and he's so patient with him.

This Father's Day I had a lot planned, but unfortunately relatives came to town, so the plans were pared down a lot. But I made him a card on the computer (I didn't like any store ones, and this one was much more personal) which included pictures of the children and little scribbles by each of them. I also bought a carrot cake, his favorite. I was disappointed that I wasn't able to do more. Next year I plan to do a lot more. I can't tell you what, though. He doesn't read my blog, but you never know if he might decide to someday. ;-)

If things got crazy last weekend and you didn't get a chance to tell him, let your husband know every single thing that you love and appreciate about him as a father.

Frugal Tip: Dispose of the Disposables part 2

2006-06-21T15:57:00.000-05:00

Have you priced diaper wipes lately? Wow. Now I admit I pay for the good ones. If you're going to buy something to wipe up poop, pay for something you think works, lol! I tried the cheaper ones, they didn't seem to wipe easily, weren't wet enough, etc. I use Huggies Naturals Pop-Up. I think it's $6.84 or something like that, at Walmart.

That was fine before, but now with a fourth child in diapers (well, number one is mostly trained, but he's been using up pull-ups lately) it's crazy. Plus I was using them to wipe the table and dirty hands, too. I stopped that by buying microfiber towels that I cut into quarters (see previous post). But what about their intended purpose? I make homemade wipes.

Gasp! No! Eeeeeww! I can hear it now. But really, it's not that bad, especially if you're using cloth diapers. I thought it would be nasty, but it's no worse than the cloth diapers. They work really well. I use cut-up flannel baby blankets--you know, the ones everybody gives you, but are too small to use with any baby but a preemie? You have to hem the flannel, though. You could use the microfiber cloths, poop would probably rinse even easier off those, but I'd cut them into smaller squares and be sure they're not too wet when you use them--they hold a lot of water.

The easiest way to use them is to get one of those sprayers you can attach to the water line at the back of the toilet. It hangs on the side of the toilet. You just turn it on and spray over the toilet. It's pretty handy for toilet cleaning too. They sell them on a lot of cloth diaper sites. Don't pay more than $35 for it (it's worth it, trust me, and easy to install).

You can use your wipes three ways: wet each one as needed at the sink (sounds like a hassle to me), you can make up some diaper wipe solution and pour it over a stack of wipes in an empty wipes box, or you can keep a stack of dry ones on the diaper changing table, along with a sprayer of wipes solution, and spray each wipe as needed. I prefer method two, although you have to keep in mind that the water in the wipes tub will get mildewy if you don't take steps to prevent it. There are tons of wipes solution recipes on the web. I like the ones with a few drops of tea tree oil and lavender oil. Use distilled water, or it will mildew quicker. Only make up enough wipes that you can use in two days. Smell the wipes every day. If they smell mildewy, throw them in the wash, clean the container, and start over.

The amount of laundry the wipes add is negligible. If you use one pack of brand name wipes a month, this should save you about $7. But it all adds up.
I'll post more about diapers in the future.

The Duggars are Back!

2006-06-17T15:28:00.000-05:00

For those of you who love to watch the documentary programs aired on Discovery Health (and other Discovery-owned stations)about the Duggar family, I have great news...they're back!

The most recent installment of Duggar shows just aired on June 11th, called On the Road With 16 Children. It is airing again today at 4 p.m. Go to www.discovery.com to the Discovery Health section of the site for times. And if you miss it, don't worry, just keep an eye out and they'll replay it, like with the other shows.

For those of you who are thinking "Who the heck are the Duggars?", click on the Duggar Family link in my side bar, or read on. There have been three previous shows about the Duggars:

14 Children and Pregnant Again!
Raising 16 Children
16 Children and Moving In

They are a family with sixteen children. The dad, Jim-Bob (yes, they're southern) was in politics for a while and makes a living in real estate. The mom, Michelle, homeschools all of her children. They seem to be a wonderful family, and an example to all of us who are quiverfull-minded...meaning we accept all the blessings (children) God chooses to give us. She is very organized, and I have picked up many tips from these shows, such as the pantry, the family closet, dressing in all one bright color when on road trips so as to easily spot a "lost lamb" (though our kids are too little to be able to wander off on their own much yet), how to live debt-free and more. I wish they'd spend more time on talking about how she runs her house.

But the miracle is that while they do refer often to how unusual Michelle and Jim-Bob's family is, they don't make fun of them or treat them like freaks, and that is amazing considering that this is mainstream media we're talking about. These shows are very enlightening, showing that it IS possible to provide for a family of 18 without being on welfare or winning the lottery. They are not a wealthy family, and though they appear to have a comfortable living now, it comes from hard work and sacrifice, and putting what is important first.

I would recommend this show to anyone, but especially to Christian families. It is nice to finally see a show that portrays a close-knit, loving, hard-working, modestly-dressed family that we can hold up as an example for us all.

So remember this: Discovery Health Channel, On the Road With 16 Children, watch it!

Also, if this picture I got from the website is recent, Jim-Bob is running for senate. If you are in his district in Arkansa...VOTE people, VOTE!!

Frugal Tip: Dispose of the Disposables part 1

2006-06-16T04:31:00.000-05:00

One way I am chipping away at the waste in our budget is trying to ban paper towels. No, not altogether...I think it's worth the money to clean up something particularly greasy or nasty. But for normal spills and messes, paper towels are a waste. I have tried to scrounge up some rags from our towels, but unfortunately we have so few that our "holey" towels are actually still in use, lol!

We're going through way too many of those paper towels. Now I admit to sometimes using them as plate substitutes for PB & J sandwiches, but when my husband uses three of them in one night to dry his hands after doing the dishes, when there is a perfectly clean, dry hand towel...something's got to give!

Then I heard rumors on other blogs about these microfiber towels available at Sam's Club. Found in the automotive section, they are sky blue in color, and come in packs of 25 for about $11.25. They are almost as big as normal kitchen towels, but square. Kind of an odd shape, and a little unwieldy for anything other than drying dishes. So I cut them into quarters. Brilliant!! They don't even need to be hemmed, just cut and use. They are just the right size for wiping faces (I admit to using baby wipes for this normally, yikes), wiping tables, counters, floors, chairs, etc. They catch crumbs great, and hold a TON of water. I originally heard about these on blogs and websites about cloth diapers, because uncut and folded into thirds, they're supposed to make great diaper doublers or inserts for cloth pocket diapers--and they do.

If you cut all the towels up, that makes 100 cloths, plenty for my family. A really large family may want two packs. If you think of the savings, it could really add up. It's almost $17 for a large pack of paper towels at Sam's. If you use Bounty. I don't know how long that lasts us. I think a month, maybe more. So the microfiber cloths more than pay for themselves in a month. And the cloths are so small that if you're using just a few a day, it won't add to your laundry at all. If your family would normally use one large pack of paper towels a month, this will save you around $193 a year, and a lot more if you use more paper towels than that,or if you buy them a roll or two at a time.

There are many other uses too, such as "cloth diapers" for dolls. ;-)

So I've asked my husband nicely if he might think of using the hand towels to dry his hands, and the cloths to wipe up spills, etc., so we can try to conserve money. Hopefully he'll remember. :-) If not, at least I'll save money using them myself!

Yard Sale Fever

2006-06-12T02:16:00.000-05:00

I think I am coming down with something. The symptoms are: racing pulse, breathing fast, breaking out into a cold sweat. What is the cause? Well, the symptoms occur only when I am driving down the street and see it...the YARD SALE sign!!

Oh, how I love to turn the car around and follow those beloved neon paper signs to that "pot of gold" at the end of the rainbow...a driveway full of someone else's junk! There is no thrill quite like discovering a treasure--either something you can't get anymore, or something you've been wanting, for a great price.

My chest swells with pride as I climb back into my car with a pretty picture, a cute toy, or a really neat book, for less than a dollar. I can't wait to show my husband my new dress, or the kids their new toys, or put that new knick-knack on a shelf. Even better yet, when I look into the FREE box, and find something that I can't believe they are giving away! Yeee haaaww!

Garage sales (yard sales, moving sales, tag sales, whatever) can be a great way to get things you need for a great price. Some stuff is like new, and some (with a little creativity) can be good as new...and even more interesting. Once I paid twenty dollars for two van loads of furniture plus a bunch of smaller miscellaneous items. It saved my family a lot of money, because we really needed some dressers and dining chairs (I later found a table and three more chairs for free).

However, these sales can also become addictive, to the point where instead of saving money, you are wasting it. It is easy to buy things you don't need. Sometimes you can even develop a habit of buying without thinking, and end up with a bunch of things you never use cluttering up your house.

It can also cause strain between you and your husband. He may resent seeing you drag other people's junk in the house week after week, knowing that most of it wasn't needed, and your budget is very tight. This isn't fair to him.

I realized this myself recently. Although my husband has been wonderful about it, I can tell it has been bothering him when I go yard saling. I have cut way back, and resisted most temptations, but I can't hide it anymore. Yes, my friends...

My name is Mommaroo2, and I am a sale-aholic.

I can't pass up a yard sale. If I have only two dollars to my name, I will still stop. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I have even been known to make arrangements with kind souls to have them hold an item for me until later in the week, when we get paid. Thec worst thing is, I will tell my husband I'm only going to look for a particular item we need, and that is my intention...then I'll come home with a big bag of other stuff.

I told myself that I had it under control. I can stop anytime I want. Yesterday, I went out to find those clothes for my son, because he really needed it. I was strong at first. I passed up the box of flexi blocks for three dollars, the marble run game for two dollars, and even the Brita water filtering pitcher for a dollar that we really (kind of) needed. I was so proud!

But then I saw it...the cutest framed picture you ever saw. It was very similar to a Thomas Kincade. I loved it. I wanted it. I HAD to have it! It was five dollars. I'll offer them three, I thought. No, $2.50. They'll never take it. But...they did. Well, it's a great deal, and it's sooooo pretty. Okay, that's the only extra thing I'll buy. At the next sale, there were three heavy hardcover fairy tale books for children. 25 cents each!!!!! How could I pass them up...after all, that's just 75 cents. After that, it was all a blur. Fifteen yard sales and twenty dollars later, I made my way home, mortified. I couldn't resist the temptations!

I had told myself we could afford for me to spend a few dollars, but at home I realized I had spent money my family truly needed this week. Here I am trying to find was to save my family money, and I was throwing it out the window!

Yes friends, the time has come to admit my addiction. Unfortunately, there are no "sale-aholics anonymous" groups, therefore I will have to overcome this addiction on my own. It will be difficult, yet it must be done for the good of my family. So from this day on, I'm going cold-turkey. No more yard sales. None, nada, zip, zilch. Until I can control my impulses, the Queen of Yard Sales must abdicate her throne. It won't be easy. I know that the Fever will strike, and I will have to force myself to drive past the lovely neon signs, quell the shakes, and fight the uncontrollable urge to screech to a halt and race up the seller's driveway, purse in hand...but...*sigh*...it's the only way.