My brother and sister in law came to stay with us for a few days during Ike. They were under mandatory evac and although the circumstances weren't the best, I was super happy to have them visiting. We just don't see each other enough. They arrived Thursday evening, and the kids were very excited to see them. Isabella took to both Jeremy and Amanda very quickly and renamed them "mommy" and "daddy". I should probably be bothered by that, LOL, but I think it's really sweet. We did a lot of ...
In past generations having many children was an asset, rather than the liability that it seems to be today. Reliable, inexpensive, readily accessible birth control, high levels of education, the many opportunities available for women in the workforce, a shift in societal values, the increased cost of living, and many other factors have contributed to today's trend toward smaller families. What many couples may not realize is that the same benefits that were created by a large family are stil...
Some pictures from Orian's birthday party on Saturday. He is 8! He wanted an Iron Man party, and I got the supplies from Oriental Express because it was like $20-$30 cheaper than everywhere else. There wasn't a lot in the way of decorations, but the kit *did* come with two LARGE bags of "confetti"...orange and red paper dots (like what you get from a hole puncher). In retrospect, dumping both bags onto the table was not my best party move. It was a small, low-key party.&n...
1. The boys headed out the door on their first day of school. I had a better pic where Xavier actually looked happy, haha, but my camera ate it. 2. Isabella insisted on putting on several pieces of My Little Pony clothing (dirty, btw!), pink gym shorts, one of her daddy's slippers, and a pair of my shoes. Classy. 3. Big smile. 4. She's really picky about clothes. She usually tells them to "let goooo!". 5.&nb...
A baby GIRL? We had our ultrasound today, and Isabella and I will no longer be outnumbered. We'll be welcoming another baby girl into our family in January. I would have been excited about either gender, but I have to say, I am feeling so fortunate to have a healthy baby girl on the way. A nice little playmate for Isabella since the boys will be out of the house long before she is. Yay!
Extended breastfeeding is a topic that has recently come up repeatedly with online mommy groups I participate in. It is almost always initiated by someone who is appaulled and disgusted by the idea or sight of a child breastfeeding. What I have found interesting is how different the definition of "child" is for so many women. Some women think an older infant (under age 1) is a child and they are horrified by the sight of an older baby nursing. The cut-off for other women ...
I stumbled across this website a couple months ago, and have been referring back to it frequently. Because of www.hillbillyhousewife.com, I bake bread from scratch once or twice a week. The HH website is what prompted me to introduce powdered milk into our home (I do powdered milk with evaporated milk mixed in for flavor and it's used for baking and for eating with cereal...regular milk is only for drinking at our house). I've made casseroles and from-scratch cinnamon rolls bas...
I spent Sunday cleaning the garage. It is my secret shame. Adrian opened the garage door up so I wouldn't overheat, and I was so embarrassed as neighbors drove by, haha. Several slowed down like maybe they thought it was a yard sale or maybe they just wanted reassurance that THEIR garage isn't really that bad? It got to the point I was ready to tell the next person to slow down and gawk to either move along and pull over, get out, and help me. I worked my ass off for a...
It has been crazy hot/humid here. Or maybe I'm a wuss and just not used to it yet. It just seems so uncomfortable. Our electricty bill jumped from 120 or so to nearly 300. I signed up for average billing which will help. The electric co rep I talked to said I picked a good time, since August is usually the biggest bill of the year. I really don't think we waste electricity but me and the kids are home all day most days, so I guess that doesn't help. Adrian ...
I took a "vacation" back to Hawaii in my dreams last night. There was no plane ride. I was just there. Adrian was there, too. Unfortunately, he had meetings or other work-related tasks all day, everyday. We were there on a Monday through a Friday, but the time passed like it was a single day. It would suddenly be dark and night-time without there having been any time to explore or reminisce. The entire time I was sad and frustrated at having such beauty ...
Schezuan Shrimp. a) It's RED. The picture does not do justice to the redness of this dish. It tastes like RED. c) It's full of water chestnuts. (I usually like them, but there's tooooo many, and they're RED) d) The shrimp are really, really RED. I am so disappointed in my food choice. I can't even eat it because looking at it makes me sick. It is one of the grossest dishes I have ever encountered. It could be some residua...
I'm now 18 weeks pregnant...2 weeks away from the halfway point. Time seems to be passing very quickly. It's exciting to think that we will soon have a new baby in the house. I have been taking a picture of my side profile every 2 weeks to see the changes. I did the same thing with my pregnancy with Isabella, and afterwards it was really neat to look back at the pictures. The baby is in a stage of rapid growth, so I expect to "pop" soon and look very obviously pregnan...
I know home-schooling is more common in big families. I don't know if it's like a big family philosophy type thing or if it's because of the cost of sending kids to school (even free public school costs $$), but it does seem more common with "big" families. I think 4 kids counts as a big family? Dunno. All I know is, I will NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER homeschool. School starts in less than 2 weeks here and it cannot come soon enough. It's too hot mos...