Just breathe!

I have visions of my son - one day relating to his therapist how he had to help his mother through crisis after crisis as a small child....

Today, I was going through a mini-crisis (ok, there were TWO mini-crises). At this particular moment, I was mixing up the wet ingredients for pancakes. My phone rings - it's my mom - I pass the phone off to the children, still intent on mixing up the pancake batter. Two of my children start to argue about whose turn it is to talk to Mema next. One of my children runs into a wall. One of them wants to know when the pancakes are going to be ready and do I have the heart-shaped pancake maker-thingy????

At that particular second, I dropped the bowl of WET ingredients. No, not just that - I dropped the bowl of WET ingredients down in between the stove and the cabinet. Yup. In between.

I started crying.

I look over at my son, who *really* wants his heart-shaped pancakes (and was probably worried his neurotic mother would give-up and throw some dry cereal at him) calmly starts whispering:

"Shhh, shhh, Momma, it's okay. It was an accident. Remember, Momma, remember....just breathe"
(a nice calming technique we taught him when he used to freak out about EVERYTHING).


and breathe I did ~ my children eventually got heart-shaped pancakes ~ I eventually got to talk to my mother ~ and everything was fine...until the next crisis. (it's the hormones, right?!? Is this what happens to me *every* time I get pg?? - don't answer that, Dean....)



p.s. the other mini-crisis today involved apple juice, poop, and ice water......but I won't bore you with the details....~Lori

Frustrated & Domestic

But they're not related.

The frustrated part: I need to be healthier - eating-wise, that is. But man, it's so hard. Part of that is due to the Domestic part (ok, I guess they *are* related). I'm at home ~ which I love ~ and I'm making meals for people all day long. I bake bread (oh. my. goodness. so good!), I do things like make granola, reheat leftover, try to make sure my kiddos aren't eating too much processed stuff.....yet in the process, I am SURROUNDED by food. Food which I love. Food which is *good*. Really good (if I do say so myself).

*sigh*

It's hard.

I've tried liquid diets - it's like a drug addict preparing other people needles for them - or an alcoholic bartender. It's awful. It's an addition. And it's not as though you can just walk away from food. That's what I did years ago when I wanted to stop smoking (ah...a bit of history you may not have known - from the college years...) - I just threw them away and basically stopped hanging out with that crowd (which wasn't good for me in other ways either). Cold turkey.

You can't go "cold-turkey" with food.

*big sigh*


So since I can't go cold-turkey, I have to eat (for the baby if nothing else), I have to have a back-up plan.

Exercise.

Ick.

Ok, not a perfect plan, I admit. I mean, I've done this route before ~ it lasts for like 3, 4 days top. Maybe my videos aren't quite cutting it.

So anyways....that's where we're at. Any advice or thoughts or encouragement or empathy would be greatly appreciated. GREATLY!



p.s. oh ya, the Domestic Part: I baked a whole chicken today in the crock pot. I've never done that. But I got a whole chicken in the last Angel Food box we bought. Then I read about Tammy's chicken recipe ~ perfecto! I highly recommend you try it out. It works great in the crock pot, there's plenty of yummy juices for gravy, oooo yummy!

And there again, a perfect example of my domestic frustration. ~L.

IT'S NOT TRUE!!

Why am I yelling? Well, 'cause I get so frustrated.

Once again, my dh came home and told me, someone told him, they heard you can only have 3 c-sections and you're done. That's it.

No, that's not true.

Yet we've heard this from more than one nurse in our baby-makin' days. What's up with that?! All the OB's I've ever had (that would be four) have told us each woman is different. Each uterus is different. You need to find an OB you trust, ask them to please take a look "down there" during the surgery, and give you an honest, UNBIASED opinion of how things look.

Again, each uterus is different, that's why it's important to find an OB you trust. Yes, some OB's may just tell you things look bad, 'cause they don't *think* you should have another baby. But that's not their decision. You need the facts, so you can prayerfully make a decision with your dh. That's the truth.

Yes, this is our fifth c-section.

I have no idea how we're gonna do this we've been told NUMEROUS times you can't have more than 3 c-sections (amazing! Somebody better tell Elijah - my forth c/s baby - he's not supposed to be here).

Don't believe everything you hear ~ even from the so-called "professionals".



p.s. My grandmother had FOUR c-sections back-in-the-day. Back when they were the vertical kind. How can this MIS-information still be floating around out there??

something sweet

The other night, I was craving something sweet. Yet the idea of staying upstairs, while my family was relaxing downstairs, did not appeal to me. I wanted something simple, easy and quick.

Enter: Buttermilk Cake with Caramel Icing

If you've been reading here for a while, you may remember this cake from my son's 6th birthday. I made it then due to a LACK of ingredients for just about anything else. This tells us that this cake is simple. No fancy-shmancy ingredients, I usually have everything I need.

It's also easy. It's basic baking ingredients, with no fancy-shmancy processes. Just cream up the wet stuff, slowly add in the dry stuff. Pour into pan, there ya go. It's the bunt pan that makes it look a bit more fancier than normal.

And quick. Well, it takes 45-50 minutes to bake, but while it's doing that, I can be with my family, not running up and down the stairs every ten minutes (not that I don't NEED to run up and down the stairs - but I'm talking about make CAKE, for goodness sake).

Lastly, the icing is also easy and very tasty (hello? caramel!). You can drizzle the cake while it is still warm - no waiting hours on end for the cake to cool before icing. Warm cake....mmmmmmmmm.......

So I highly recommend you give this cake a try. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
2-1/3 cups sugar
3 eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
ICING:
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

Combine flour and baking soda; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition (batter will be thick).
Pour into a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan.

Bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

For icing, in a small saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar and cream.
Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.
Remove from the heat; cool for 5-10 minutes. Whisk in confectioners' sugar.
Drizzle over cake.
Yield: 12-16 servings.



p.s. the above is not my cake, but honestly, it's so easy to make - mine looks JUST LIKE THAT! Really.
And I know my siggy isn't working properly - I don't know why. I'm hoping it's the main Live Signature site. I'll give it a day or so and then try to figure out a solution.

an FYI

For my sweet friends and family who just don't understand WHY when we tell them we are pregnant with Baby #5 ~ yes, you're supposed to say congratulations....

*sigh*

trying to remain patient and loving,

Yup, it's happening...

You are *not* seeing things. That's a new baby ticker up there. I wasn't even sure they MADE tickers for neurotic women who find out they're pregnant at only 5 weeks - but hey, they DO!

I'm a bit nervous. I'm not sure why. I've never really had pregnancy issues - except for some scary bleeding with my first, yet it all ended fine with no real problems. It's almost as though I'm thinking, "I've had four healthy pregnancies. How many do I *get* before I end up with a miscarriage?".

I know, horrible thinking. It's just my neurotic brain working overtime.

This is actually the first pg test I've taken where the positive line appeared so BOLDLY and so quickly. There were no doubts about the results, let me tell you!

We are all VERY excited around here! My dh wants us to NOT find out the sex and be surprised. I'm a planner. This will be EXTREMELY hard for me to do. Yet the surprise element of the whole thing would be pretty awesome....especially with everything else being all planned-out (fifth c-section and all). Let's see if I can actually resist~~

Snapshots

I know, I know, it seems that all my posts lately are just pics of my kiddos having fun. Well, it's summer!! So if you aren't interested just skip on to the next blog. If you're family or a friend who just got some time on your hands ~ enjoy!


Here's Tali. She's so happy! This is the day she finally got to wear *that* skirt (it used to be her sister's) and I let her wear her hair in a headband (which don't stay on and her hair hangs in her face). I just couldn't resist her cuteness!


Elijah hanging out with friends (who feed him french fries ~ TWO at a time, no less!). This and the following few pics are from a recent town parade. My dh entered a float (well, it was a boat pulled by a truck...) for his Children's Ministry - hence, we got to be in the parade!!


Selah - goodness, so sweet! She wanted to eat the candy - but did end up throwing some to the crowd as well.


Isaac. My sweetie. He was so cute. Later that evening, we stopped by Wendy's for some frosties. Right before we went in he stopped and said, "Wait! We're all wearing the same shirt!" in a frantic voice. "yes...." we replied. "Well, everyone will *look* at us". Oh honey, everyone already looks at us. It's okay.....*wink*


Here's Isaac again about to get drenched. This was at our recent church picnic. They held it at a park with a Spash Pad. Very cool! It was a hot, sunny day - perfect!


Even Elijah got wet! We set him down and simply let him go where he wanted to ~ which was right into the water! He had a blast~


Tali trying to be brave. (as a side note, I want to find some new suits for my girls. They don't have to be those very modest full skirts or anything, just maybe some ruffles, something that will more fully cover their little bums. Just a bit more modest, but not necessarily a full-blown outfit.)


Selah proud of going right into the water - she wasn't scared a bit!


And there ya go.
We're headed to a local Family Night tonight, down by the river, which is fun. We've also got a local cruise night with drive-in movie next week, and of course, the big Port Huron to Mackinac boat race. It's a hoppin' time around here. Then VBS ~ what a blast!

So if I'm not around a lot, you'll know why....I'm still trying to hit some of your blogs though, some really good stuff out there!! Keep it up~

Random Details

Some random details....



My sweet boy turns 7 in August. He has requested a Little Einsteins themed birthday party. He is very excited! He planned it all out this morning. *big sigh* So very sweet~


We are working on many things with Tali. MANY things. Thumb-sucking is just one of them. Potty-training is still in process, although the good days are about even with the not-so-good days finally. Finally...


Look at my lil' momma. She loves our friends' new baby girl. She can't wait to grow up and be a Momma too~


~Hanging out with some good friends~



We got ourselves an honest-to-goodness FARM ed-ju-ma-ca-tion recently. The kids had such a good time. Here is Selah in one HUGE tractor wheel.


Elijah Rock & his daddy. He has the *best* expressions!


They look so little! Isaac was *sure* this silo was filled with MILK. He was just *sure*!


Lovin' my little man~


Mooooooo!! Hey, watch out! That one's THE BULL!


And lastly, without pics, summer is slipping away. I have lots of planning to do for homeschool stuff, for the Kid's Choir at church - yet first, I have to get things in ORDER around here. I'm gonna jump-start that with a fast. I need to get my focus back where it should be - and that includes taking care of Momma so Momma can take care of everyone else!

So it won't be anything drastic, just a basic liquid diet fast (with lots of lemon-water to cleanse) so I can refocus. I'll check in with you on Monday when I start~

Have a great day~

The Family

Our latest church directory pic. Look at those gorgeous babies!
(Post your latest family pic so we can all see your beautiful babies)

p.s. this is really recent, yet I've already got a new haircut (I was in desperate need of one then). I'll get a new pic up soon. It's all layers and I hope it grows out well...um, good? whatever. I just want it to grow out long, yet still have a style and shape, ya know? We'll see....I'm not a patient gal...

too much summer for me

Ok, nope, I don't really enjoy summer. I like going to the lake here and there. I enjoy watching my kiddos slip on the slip-n-slide. I like all the grillin' my dh does for dinner time. But other than a few things, ugh, I really don't like summer ~ too hot...

And the lack of schedule. I have let the idea of "it's summer, let's relax"...just take over our lives. My kids are all crazy and easily annoyed and disobedient.....and I honestly think a lot of it has to do with a lack of rountine. I've been slipping on the "Momma Job" and need to get back to it.

So we will be implementing a new "semi-relaxed" schedule tomorrow (not today, as I need to print off some basic charts for the kiddos). "Semi" as in not a full school load. We will continue on with our "100 Easy Lessons" for phonics and any other "homeschool" family lessons we happen to come across in life (like those interesting beatles...um...beetles in the tree out back).

The monthly chores are great! The kids have 2 months with each grouping of chores. And it seems we have finally found a length of time that works for our family. Two months gives them time to learn the chore, yet not too long that they are bored. Great.

Boring, huh?

Oh well, it's summer, what do you expect? It's too hot to do anything else...

Homeschool blessings

Ok, if you homeschool, you know that supplies, even fairly inexpensive ones, can start to add up real fast. Before you know it, you are spending hundreds of dollars on curriculum that you're not even sure will work for your child. That's why so many of us search out used curriculum, trying to save a few bucks here, a few bucks there.

So when my wonderful dh came home a few weeks ago, with a large bin and a box of FREE homeschool supplies - I was thrilled! Each book I pulled out, revealed yet another homeschool treasure - whether it be a phonics program or a history workbook or cursive writing practice tablets or a devotional book just for homeschool mommas! Whoo-hoo!!

So here are just a few of the goodies I was blessed with recently ~ Praise the Lord!!


History workbooks/tests & writing/literature work (one by Ann Ward)


some basic books for teaching your children - various authors


guide books for early education - I will most likely be passing these on to my friends with little ones


Hooked on Phonics & Hooked on Math ~ you never know what will or won't work for a particular child.


some Rod & Staff Building Christian English Series books - Level 6


various science & Bible workbooks - some A Beka books ~yeah!!


Cursive writing tablets - it says Kindergarten, although I won't use them in K - I'm not sure when I'll start cursive


Cursive Flashcards


The Prairie Primer (utilizing "The Little House" series) & some A Beka Language Series books


Proverbs for Parenting ~ The Hidden Art of Homemaking ~ Devotions for Homeschool Moms


Some of my favorites: Teaching the Trivium ~ The Christian Homeschool ~ Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons (which we immediately began using every day - they *love* it!)


Workbooks for Unit Studies ~ this will fit well with our family!



And honestly, that's just a sampling. Tons of homeschool magazines, pre-school stuff, a math backpack filled with manipulatives and a flipchart, and oh, what is that called, the Blessings Chart?? Is that right? Yup, from Doorposts. Very cool!!

Ok, just wanted to share - I'm so excited! Thank you Lord (and my wonderful hs friend @ church!) ~ now I just gotta get in there, go through everything and figure out our schedule for fall.......