Chance 7 1/2

So my baby is not a baby anymore. He has his first loose tooth! This is just crazy! He's a smart kid who loves to invent things. He even draws up blueprints for his inventions. He builds things out of random things he finds in the garage, out of knex, legos, marble maze and anything else he can get his hands on. He is SO HONEST! He tells on himself. It's so funny.

Homeschooling is going so great. I love being able to write that! Chance really likes Sonlight. He begs for the read alouds. I can see progress in his math skills. And we are now doing Sing, Spell, Read, and Write. He LOVES it!!! I was worried about how he would take it because it's a lot of work. But no he begs to do it. In fact today after doing his math, history, and literature he asked if he could go outside. I told him sure if he would make a deal with me. If I let him go out than we would have to do his reading when he came back in and it would probably be dark outside when he came back in. Told him if we did this than he couldn't complain about coming in. He looked at me SO serious and told me he would never complain, that he LIKES doing the program. I was floating on air! He gets sad sometimes on the weekends that has no school. After looking through the program that is a combo Kindergarten/ 1st grade I decided to jump in with the first grade work. He's flying, so exciting. At the begining of this school year I was concerned that we were so far behind. I thought we didn't do enough last year(his kindergarten yr) and I was kicking myself for it. Turns out when you child is ready things really do just start clicking just like all the books said.

For Halloween Chance was Optimums Prime. Keith surprised him with a costume. He bought it too small to fit over a snowsuit so this year we had to do our trick-or-treating at the mall. That was fine. Last year he wasn't home for Halloween, he went with my In-laws to visit his cousins. So having him home was even more special. He did a great job cleaning out his pumpkin, really didn't need any mom help at the end, I was impressed.

Chance has been talking about Jesus a lot lately is the sweetest ways. He was at the library the other day and there was a boy who wanted to play with the legos in his area. He wanted the space to himself. The boys mother asked if Chance could let him play with him. Chance then said. Well Jesus would want me to share. So yes he can play. Another time we finished playing his reading games. Chance won both games so he was in line to get 2 prizes from the treasure box(things like stickers in there). Braxton was sad he wasn't getting a prize. I told Chance how happy it would make Braxton if he would let him have the 2nd prize. That Braxton was sad. Chance asked if Jesus would like it if he shared. I told him yes but that this was his choice. His face got bright and he told Braxton he could have the prize. It was so sweet! Chance is becoming a fine young boy.

Another thing of recent happenings has been something sad. My brother Chance and his fiance broke up. Lauren the fiance has a little boy Landon that my boys thought of as a cousin already. The boys were very upset when I explained to them that Landon wouldn't be around anymore. I explained the best I could what breaking up was. They wanted to know if they would ever see Landon again, I told them no. Chance struggled with this. Chance had also seen me watching a show on the computer where there is a divorced couple. So over the weekend he came to me and asked if our family would ever break up. Poor kid! I promised him that would never happen. That mom and dad love each other very much and that we were sealed in the temple and we were a forever family. We are LDS, temple sealings are a part of our faith. I gave him a big hug and he felt better, just needed some reassurance.

To end I will tell you about my little geraphobe. The kid is nuts about germs. 2 weeks ago Braxton had a cough. Chance was so concerned that Braxton had sick germs that he baricaded himself in a fort. He is washing his hands a lot. He is so parinoid. So Keith decided to pick on him. The other day he gave Chance a bowl of chips and he licked some of the outside edge of the bowl!!! Chance about died but hey he still took the chips. I guess somethings are more important than germs. I am trying to work with Chance to help him relax about germs a little. My reason is my future daughter-in-law. I can't imagine what it would be like to live with a germaphobe, it would drive a person nuts! So yeah we are working on it. That said today we took Onaleigh in for her 9mo check-up. I totally took advantage of Chance's phobia. So many sick people at the clinic! We brought our own books and things and I had my bottle of hand sanitizer out anytime we touched anything. I pretty much acted like everyone had the plague. No we didn't wear masks, but the thought did cross my mind. To be honest I didn't want to touch the face masks knowing people with the flu had touched those boxes.

Braxton (soon to be 4yrs)

Braxton is such a fun kid! For Halloween he decided he wanted to be a bat. I have no idea why, maybe he got the idea from Magic School Bus. Had to make his costume. So I bought him a black coat, pants, and shirt. Some black polar fleece and black cat ears. Halloween was a busy day to say the least. Keith was working from home so he was here but busy. I carved pumpkins with the boys and then I tried to work on his costume. But of course I couldn't find my sewing kit when I needed it. Eventually after getting frustrated I came up with a plan. I would cut out the wings and then on the way to the mall we would pick up a sewing kit at Walgreen's. So I ran and gave Onaleigh her bath and then got to work. I had no pins to cold it together so I grabed clothes pins off the line and measured and cut them. I also took chalk to color on the boning you see on bat wings. Got us all dressed, Keith finished work and off we went. I found it funny to be sewing his costume in the parking lot at the mall but hey it worked! Braxton was thrilled about his costume and the great part of it is besides the ears the rest of the costume is all clothes he can wear. I just did a slip stitch on the wings so they will come off really easy and then we have a spring coat. Rock on.

When I had the Nutritional Response testing done on Onaleigh I had Braxton done at the same time. His results really surprised me. His big stressors are not food but instead preservatives, pesticides, and formaldehyde. Those are probably because of vaccinations(he is fully vaxed except the FLU shot). I ordered 2 inexpensive vitamins that are supposed to help his body ride himself of them. The hope is that one he gets this taken care off that he will stop wetting the bed. I sure hope so. Braxton potty trained at 21months. Chance didn't like going to the bathroom by himself so he would bring Braxton with him. And before I knew it he was potty trained way before I was ready! LOL.

Braxton tags along while I homeschool Chance. I ask Chance questions and Braxton loves to answer before his big brother can. It's funny. He really wants to do school too so I give him some spare workbooks we have. That makes him feel a part of things. He also plays our games from Chance's reading program with us. I'm not officially doing school with him but he is catching on just from being near us. We'll keep going like this with him for this year, real relaxed. He amazes me everyday with what he knows just from being there.

Braxton reminds me of pig pen from Charlie Brown. He is full of energy and loves to wrestle. When he gives you a hug he presses his cheek to yours. He is easily distracted, I swear his brain falls out every so often. It's part of his charm. I love the way he talks, laughs and gets so serious. He's my little boy!

Onaleigh 9 1/2 months old

Onaleigh is 9 1/2mo, with no teeth. She gets around a lot. Crawling like a pro. She loves to pull herself up on things but can't get down. That doesn't bother her, because she never wants to get down! That is unless she accidently starts doing the splits, then it's time for a rescue. She loves to explore so we have to be very careful to make sure all the doors are closed. The best is when you can see she's on a mission so you run to the door and shut it. She instantly puts her head down on the floor in her sad crumble, poor kid. She loves her brothers and in particular has a thing for Braxton. If he is on the floor than she is on top of him. He can get her giggling like no other.

For Halloween Onaleigh's first Halloween she was a fairy. We found wings and a tutu like thing at the dollar store. We went trick or treating at our local mall. She got lots of compliments. But no candy(I wouldn't allow it). She wasn't so sure of all the masks so she was pretty serious for most of it. Chance accidently scared the day lights out of her with his Optimus Prime mask.

Onaleigh has atopic dermatitis, in other words severe eczema. From the top of her head to her feet. I took her to a woman and had Nutrional Response Testing done. It came back that her stressors are sugar, brown sugar, cane sugar, eggs, whole wheat, sprouted whole grains, rye. She also needs to take daily probiotics. Much of those things I had already eliminated from my diet. She is a breastfeed baby. Sugar was new though and wow eliminating it from my diet has been an emotional process. Proud to say I made it through Halloween without a single bite of candy! I have been sugar free since her testing. Topically after trying a few different oils I am slathering her with avocado oil a few times a day and then putting California Baby Super Sensitive no fragrance lotion on her. For the laundy we use All Free &Clear and I double rinse all her clothes. No laundry softener. Her torso is red dry and flaky. But the welt like rash has toned way down. Today I took her in for her 9mo well baby check up. Her pediatrician wrote her a prescription for a steroid cream and told me to go buy Vanicream or CeraVa. Not Eucerin because it contains lanolin which some people are sensitive too(me for example!). I need to research these creams, they do not contain parabens but I want to know about petroleum and mineral oil. He also wants us to see a dermatologist, so he put Onaleigh on their cancellation list. It can take a log time to get into the derm so this way makes it go faster. I'm not sure how I feel about all this. I really do not want to do the steroid cream. What I want to do is handle this holistically. I am going to fill the prescription but I haven't decided if I am going to use it. Other than her skin she is in perfect health. She weighs 15lbs 2oz and is 26in long. Her head measures 43cm. She is a little thing :)

As for solids we aren't giving a whole lot. Mostly if I am eating something she can eat I give her a little. Like carrots, potatoes, apple sauce, etc. With the eczema I am leery to do many new foods. I want to clear up her skin more first.

She used to be a great sleeper but not so much anymore. I think part of that is because of the eczema. We'll see!

Last month was her baby blessing. It was very special. She smiled so big after, my heart just melted. I found her a pretty little white cotton dress at a local consignment shop for $8! She looked so sweet. Still can't believe I have a girl, it's a whole new world after 2 boys.

A really nice day! Staying in the Moment.

Today turned out to be a special day. It's funny how a errand can end up creating memories. My poor husband hurt his foot. Poor guy couldn't walk on it and by morning the pain got to be too much. I talked him into going to the doctor for an x-ray. We decided to drive out to Arcadia(a 1hr drive). That is where he he works and the company he works for has a Wellness Center where you pay a base 10 co-pay that covers EVERYTHING, even any prescription given. Much better than going to our local doctors office. We had a nice drive with beautiful views of green rolling hills country side. Made us dream about our goal of moving out to the country. Once there we got into the waiting room and my husband was called in for his appointment. So there we were with a couple of TV's, magazines, and children's books. We left the TV on our side of the waiting area off and jumped right into the books. Quite a feat for a woman with a cold that involves a sore throat but how could we resist? We read all the books that looked interesting. And played. Then we discovered the drinking fountain. That was fun. Bonus they had small paper cups.... I showed the kids the fun of balancing them on their heads, LOL. They loved it. Eventually Braxton(age 3) lost interest so we read another book and paged through a sports magazine. That lasted a little while when I was inspired to show my action loving Braxton some clapping games. Those 2 boys can really get you! I tried to show them some clapping songs like "This Old Man" and a few others. It was fun. I showed them how to sit in a circle and clap each others hands in a wave like motion. We looked pretty funny ;) They kinda got it. We needed something we could do with a little less thinking so we jumped up and played "Ring Around The Rosie", and "London Bridges". The smiles on their faces were priceless the whole time. Eventually we dug into the bottom of the diaper bag looking for forgotten toys. Onaleigh particularly liked the light up match box cars. It was great to release my stresses and just play with my kids. They were SO good. It was all about taking the time to connect with them. I remembered a great a lesson today one I once knew but let myself forget. Be in the moment. I got down to their eye level really enjoyed our 1 1/2hrs in that waiting room. Not till right now did I realise I could have turned on that TV and plugged them in, while falling into a magazine. If I had done that I probably would have spent more time fighting with the kids instead of making a memory. It was a very quiet day in the waiting room today. But there was a woman who took the time to come and tell me I had really great, well behaved kids. I felt on top of the world at that moment. A smile is spread across my face as I write this. Chance(soon to be 7) was a great helper. He enjoyed all Mom's silly games and worked hard at them. Braxton was full of smiles, and Onaleigh(5mo) let out a more than a few giggles. When my husband came out on his crutches with a booty on his foot, we were happy to see him. He has has been referred to a podiatrist(I told him that is what would happen-I had foot issues when I was younger). They think he has some sort of bulging nerve in his foot. Poor guy but hey we are moving forward. We piled in the van and started our drive home. Stopped at a gas station for a loooong potty trip for Chance. Braxton entertained both his Daddy and his little sister. Happy faces all around. The drive was quiet all 3 children slept. When we got back in town back in town we decided to stop at the pet store to look at puppies, then picked up bubbles at the Family Dollar. Once home we discovered something wonderful, a large check in our mail box from our midwife, it was the insurance reinvestment from our homebirth, $3,185. Went and deposited it in the bank and I got to take 185 of it to go towards our 2009/10 school year. Rest went in the bank to pay back the credit cards we took out to afford the birth. Keith is so excited for the check to clear and to pay off some our debt. I am now they only one up, the house is quiet. Flying high off a really great day!

Little Boys Are Odd!

Last night I listened to me 3yr old going potty. Really you don't have a choice we live in a small house and you can hear everything in the living rm that is going on in the bathroom. He was doing his usual pee, pinch to stop and pee pinch, pee and so on. Sounds like a squirt gun getting fired over and over. So I said to DH why oh why does he do that, I wish he would just go normally. Braxton(my 3yr old) yells out, "I have to shot the bad guys!". So that's what he's doing in there, LOL!

Toys

Today I ordered Onaleigh's first doll for her. It was really important to me to be the one to get her, her first doll. I loved dolls growing up. I wanted her first doll to be a Waldorf doll. No plastic, no bottles, no pacifier. This is the one I ordered if you want to go have a look http://www.amazon.com/K%C3%A4the-Kruse-74198-Nicki-Baby/dp/B000FGISVW/ref=pd_sim_t_1 I even have the doll picked out that I want to buy her for her first birthday or next Easter. When it comes to dolls I plan to throw away bottles or pacifiers that come with them. I like toys that feel good to the touch. I really want too get her some wood toys as well, but I'll wait a little longer for that. I am just so tired of all the plastic and with all the things in recent years about plastics(BPA etc.) I think it's better to be safe than sorry. I want to do a lot of decluttering. And to reward my children and myself I want to get more Waldorf inspired toys. I also want to buy more of the wonderful books from all my book lists. Right now I am collecting them from thrift stores, garage sales, and used book sales. Here is a link to a wish list of books we would love http://www.amazon.com/wishlist/2APV4YO70WUJS. I know very little about Waldorf as an educational philosophy. But it's view on toys hits home with me. Here is a few of websites full of beautiful toys
http://www.magiccabin.com
http://www.novanatural.com/
http://www.threesisterstoys.com/
Of course my sweet husband loves transformers and has shared that love with our boys. It's a fun father and sons thing. He even has transformer books. I have told the boys that those books are special to read with Daddy. Ha ha, but hey he likes them and I'll stick to the classics. They even like to play pretend together. It's so sweet to see my husband down on the floor playing transformers with the boys. Makes my heart melt. I love my family.

Diet change for my family

Braxton has had this rash for 2weeks now. His arms and legs have these little red dots. Then this morning I noticed he now has 2 red pimple looking things on his face. He has been scratching himself to the point that he now has scabs. This rash I think started the same time that he started eating bread all day(we went through 3 loaves last week and ran out before the week was finished), he eats it plain. So I've come the conclusion that I think he is developing eczema. I have wanted to try taking my family gluten free but I was holding back because it well sounds like a lot of work. We are already dairy free and now going off wheat that makes food hard. This is a major diet change to accommodate while having a new baby in the house. Means making food from scratch when we are having a hard time right now getting the convenience food on the table. I have to say this sucks. I am trying to figure out what to put on the grocery list for next week. I started looking for recipes online when I remembered one of my favorite websites godairyfree.org. I went on there to look up recipes and wow there are so many that are dairy, nut and gluten free. Wish I would have remembered that website when people were asking me what foods they could bring us after Onaleigh was born. Oh well.

My messy house is driving me crazy. It makes me feel so scattered. I'm overwhelmed by it. I can't live this way anymore. We have started back up with homeschooling. It has made my moods improve getting back into it. We now need routine desperately in our day. It's the only way we can make all this work. I'm thankful I know about flylady, that will help immensely but it's still a big transition. How do I get over this overwhelmed feeling so I can dig in instead of throwing up my arms in defeat and not doing anything? I need to pray to Heavenly Father to help me with all this.

Fun With Onaleigh

Here is a video clip of my baby girl. She was 7wks 3days old. I took it on 3/10/2009. She is such a happy baby!

Pictures of Onaleigh birth to 4wks

Pictures of my baby girl Onaleigh. She was 6wks old this past Wednesday.

It's a girl!

Baby girl born at 7:21am at home. Waterbirth. 6lbs13oz, 20in long. 4 1/2 hr labor. No stitches! name still to come. Baby is a breastfeeding pro!

Pregnancy and birthing preparations

Today's my due date, can't believe it. With my other two children they were born at 38weeks. So I have to say I thought this one would do the same. Nope! This one is too comfy in there. When we missed 38weeks I then predicted that baby would be born on the 11th, it was a full moon. Had a friend to acupressure on me to encourage baby to come Sunday(the 11th) and no, baby decided it needed more time. I give up, no more predictions from me! Baby will come when it's good and ready.

Had my midwife appt today. I did have growth. I have been measuring small, today I measured 36weeks. Now I know from my first 2 that I tend to stay small in pregnancy. But I can't remember if I actually measured small as well. She said at the last visit that she would like me to get an ultrasound if I didn't have enough growth. My poor head worries, because that's what I do. So to help me feel better about things she set up an ultrasound appointment for me for Wed. She wasn't pushing for one but she wants to put my mind at ease. Would you all believe this is my first ultrasound this time around. I didn't see a need for any earlier unless it was going to tell me info I needed to know. And my midwife was on the same page as me on that one. I didn't want to know the sex of the baby and there is no way I would ever abort because of a defect so I decided I didn't need that ultrasound. I also would never consent to an amnio so that is further reason why I decided against it. Why am I doing one now? I just need to be reassured everything is okay. The measurements bug me. Wish I wasn't such a worry wort! I don't mind being pregnant still. Really, I still feel great. Thanks in BIG part to my wonderful chiropractor. In fact I teased my chiropractor that the reason baby has stayed in longer is because my body feels way too good to be this pregnant! She got a chuckle out of that. I didn't have chiropractic care with my first 2 children and oh I so didn't know what I was missing. I now find it essential to a comfy pregnancy. My feet, ankles, and yes my lower legs are swollen. But not as bad as they used to be. Not since I figured out drinking a ton more water makes all the difference in the world! I never swelled with my first 2, this baby is going against the grain.

I have had the birthing pool set up since Christmas Eve in the classroom. I thought for sure I was going to go early, what can I say. Glad I didn't though. I have had more time now to make the classroom feel more serene. Cleared off the long table and put candles on it. Put blankets over the windows and over the metal shelving. Took down the maps and educational posters. Feels much better in there now. Less like my midwife should be using a laser pointer teaching anatomy, LOL! Now it feels like a room a baby could be born in.

Had a Birth Blessing back on December 28th. Oh that was so wonderful. Because it was so close to Christmas many could come. Still it turned out so nice. The 2 friends that came also have had homebirths. One gave me an amazing foot, lower leg and hand massage. Wow, that felt so good. I felt so pampered. They made my a birth necklace that is very special. The weight of it on my chest reminds me of snuggling my mom for some reason. I love it. We talked about positive birth experiences. Read some birthing type songs, and just felt good together.

So that's my update on baby.

Side note: I had a craving for Chocolate Cupcakes. I made them today and forgot to add the salt. Pooh! Hope the frosting will make up for it!

OH and Braxton(my 3yr old) came up to me this morning, hugged me and told me baby is coming. It was just so sweet. I hope he's right!!! I'm just so excited to meet this new little baby.

I won a new baby sling!

Raspberry Hemp Sling from TaylorMade. Look what I won today!!!! I just can't believe it, I feel so very blessed. Baby #3 is due any day now and I had no carrier. Well I do have my old faded black baby bjiorn but from my research I found out that it's not very good for baby. We really didn't have the money to go buying a new carrier. Thank-you cafemom for putting a link to this contest in your daily buzz a couple months back. http://www.babywearing.com This website gives away a different type of carrier each month. Can you all believe it? People really do win these kinds of things! Here is a pick from the website of what I won..