worrying

I suppose I've always been a worrier. I'm a pretty fearful person in general. Learning to trust a good God has been the hardest lesson I've been forced to learn (over and over). So tonight, after a busy day, I'm turning to "what-ifs" and sinking into guilt over things I've left undone and relationships I've let slip by uncultivated. My heart's heavy.

What has always helped me when I feel this way is to think through what it is I'm stressed about and speak a truth for every lie I'm telling about myself. It's corny, but it reminds me of the big picture and takes me out of the funk I'm in.

Tonight I'm stressed worrying about the kids. Dana and Janie stumbled into a ticks' nest in August when they were picking figs at a friend's house. I ended up picking about 5-10 deer ticks off of Dana and about 20 or more ticks off of Janie. I was really freaked out, but held off on rushing them to the doctor's office. Our pediatrician was on maternity leave and I am a little self conscious about being seen as an overprotective mom, so I decided to wait until I saw a rash (if one appeared at all). I checked their scalps regularly and behind their ears, but didn't notice anything unusual. A month later, I noticed a spot behind Dana's left ear, where I had picked a few of the ticks off. It was about the size of a brown mole, but lighter colored and ever so slightly lighter in the middle. It looked like a new mole, if you know what I mean. Now, two months after the tick bites, it looks like a very small target shaped rash and I feel terrible. He totally needed to be on antibiotics two months ago, when it first happened, but I chose to wait it out and now I really don't know what will happen. I need to get him in tomorrow.

Janie has been complaining of a sore throat all summer long. She's been checked out and they said she looked fine. I thought she was making it up, until she broke down to Matt crying and said that I didn't believe her and she was really sick. Ugh. So, what's bothering her? After finally sitting down to hear her out, it sounds like she's got some kind of acid reflux or something. She says her throat has fire in it when she lays down. Makes sense. I feel bad though, because I thought she was making it up to get out of going to bed. Again, ugh.

I have to say, I'm not feeling like supermom right now. The truth is that it's probably good not to feel like supermom. We see God's huge satisfying grace so much better when we know how weak and imperfect we are. I pray for God to pull me closer to Him and he's doing it. These are good things. It just hurts to fail my kids. I want to be an excellent mom, not just a decent one. I want to protect them, at least as much as I can. The hard thing comes when I realize that I'm just going to keep disappointing them. That's when I have to learn to trust that God's at work in me all the time, shaping me, changing me and that regardless of whether I'm supermom or not, he loves me, because of Jesus. AND, my kids aren't doomed to some horrible life. God's at work in their lives just like mine and he loves them too. Whatever comes, that's the big picture.

it's official

I'm nesting. I usually pay for my hard work with some evening nausea, but it's so worth it. As of last night, Jonathan's bed is set up, his changing table is ready, his dresser is in place and full of clothes, the kids' summer clothes have been packed up, their warmer clothes are in their dressers, and the kids' rooms are a little better organized. Now for the rest of my list (below)...

a wee little list

So laugh if you will, but this is the list of things I have to do before baby arrives. It's a little much and I'm not feeling the nesting energy yet. Maybe posting this will give me some motivation?

1-Pack a hospital bag... nursing bra CHECK!, comfy jammies CHECK, extra pillow, a few baby outfits, pictures of the kids (this really helps me in labor), snacks for Matt, slippers, toiletries, post baby outfit, a good book or two, list of phone numbers, camera, bowl of treats for visitors. Any other ideas???

2-Move dressers around, so baby gets the one that works for a changing table. CHECK!

3-Sort out kids clothes--summer clothes and too small ones in the attic, winter hand-me-downs down from the attic and put away, stained or ruined ones in a goodwill bag. CHECK!

4-Get baby gear and baby clothes down from the attic and set up/put away. CHECK!

5-Wash co-sleeper and dry in the sun. Set it up in our room. CHECK!

6-Put big rubbermaid tubs in my room in the attic. CHECK!

7-Finish Christmas shopping for the kids.

8-Deep clean the floors, bathroom CHECK!, and the kitchen. It's not pretty right now.

9-Make a childcare plan for labor/hospital stay.

10-Make a few double-batch meals so I can freeze half for later. This way whoever gets the kids can at least feed them.

11-Work with kids to make Halloween costumes... check American Thrift Store for deals??

12-Write thank yous for baby shower gifts.

13-Stock up on basic grocery items.

14-Vote early.

15-Buy a baby book.

16-Buy an inexpensive umbrella stroller with decent wheels. CHECK!

17-Stock up on nursing pads, pick up a few passies and nursing bras. CHECK!

I think I want this one...

Bravado Body Silk Seamless Nursing Maternity Bra

(Click on the link to see a picture. It seems wrong to post a pic of a lady in a bra. know what I mean?)

microfiber
no underwire
optional cups
no seams across the front
really nice plastic clips
they're full figure version is supposed to be the best
AND I've never met someone who wore it and didn't rave about it, unlike the rest of the bras I've heard mixed opinions on


the problem? a whopping $47 price tag! yeesh. Maybe I'll buy just one and wear it to til it shreds??

thinking through details before baby comes... ladies only please

To those of you who have an opinion on such things...

What kind of nursing bra do you prefer? Do you even use one? I've never found one I liked.

I know I had a few more questions, but my mind is blank...

more good news :)

Geneticist appointment yesterday--all clear! No Marfan here!

And holy cow, 42 days left! I need to get to work...

very good news

I had my cardiologist appointment today to review the echocardiogram and the heart monitor results. Dr. Mutter said that although he did notice a heart rate of 155 and several other things (PVCs, and some other acronyms I didn't recognize), my tachycardia was "sinus tachycardia", which in my condition was normal. He also described what they were screening for in the echo and said that they didn't find anything abnormal. After explaining all of this, he literally said, "Honey, you need to chill out and I wouldn't worry about your kids." In a nut shell, he doesn't think I have Marfan's Syndrome, which means he doesn't think the kids do either. I still have a geneticist appointment next week, and I suppose it's possible for her to be concerned still, but I'm not. I'm really encouraged and so very relieved. Thanks to those of you who were praying for us!

So I'm not just crazy...

Check out this story from the Times Free Press. Evidently, there IS an unusually large number of yellow jackets this year.

for Darla

the rest of the story... ;)

Yesterday, after only 3 hours of sleep, Clara was doing really well and she held down everything that I gave her. Pregnant mommy wasn't doing so well, but I don't know if I caught a touch of what the kids had or if I was just suffering from the lack of sleep. Today we're all feeling great. Janie could still get it, so we're still quarantined, at least until I'm pretty confident that we won't get anyone else sick. In the meantime, chicken soup is on the menu over here, as well as anything else that won't look nasty coming up again. Peace and sleep to the rest of you mommies out there who are sick with sick kiddos. There seem to be quite a few of us.

the bucket and washrag are out

It appears to be that time of year again. We've got a stomach virus. First Dana got it, who handled it well, only throwing up twice and obediently resting for the rest of the day. Then, last night, two days later, Clara Joy got it pretty bad. She threw up every five minutes from 10:15pm to about 2:30am, then about every ten minutes for half an hour, and finally she fell asleep around 3am, only throwing up twice after that. It was horrible to watch. Nothing feels more helpless than pleading with God to heal your child, when you know full well that he could say "no", or "not yet". Last night she really suffered, but God's grace was pretty evident in the fact that she handled it so well, and (strangely) so did Matt and I. Usually, when something like this happens, there's a lot of crying and our tempers run short, especially in the wee hours. What was very evident last night was that Matt and I worked well together and Clara was very calm. There wasn't even much mess, which is mostly due to her expert handling of the bucket. God was very tangibly with us and we're thankful for that.

no news is good news so far

I had my big appointment yesterday. I don't really know anything, but they did the echocardiogram and an EKG, and I got to talk with the cardiologist for a few minutes. He decided to put me on a heart monitor for 24 hours to check out the racing heart issue and I'm supposed to see him in two weeks to discuss all of this. The good thing is that if they thought I was in danger, I don't think they would have allowed me to wait two weeks to find out results. So, unless I hear from them in the next few days, I'm going to assume everything looks fine. No news is good news. In the meantime, I get to wear this snazzy getup...

you're probably sick of looking at my brother's head shot

I keep starting posts and leaving them unfinished. It's so sad, but rather than wait for the time that won't come, I'm just going to post a quick catch up entry. Sorry for the lack of detail.



Dana turned 6 on August 22nd, leaving Matt and I feeling sentimental and so proud. Those of you who know him know why. From the first minute we held him and gazed into his face, we knew we'd been given an amazing gift. He's certainly not perfect, but there's no one like him, no one at all. Praise God for another year with our little man.





Dana and Janie just started to play soccer and they're both doing well. The league is very low pressure, with only practices once a week and no games. So far, the smiles outweigh the complaints and they both are learning a lot.



My mom, Clara Joy, and I took a trip up to Kentucky to visit my Aunt Sally this Labor Day. It was a pretty special trip in more ways than one. Clara really got a kick out of traveling with just Mommy and Grami, but I realized pretty quickly that Clara is more work without the older two around. A bored Clara Joy is a very naughty Clara Joy...

No news on the Marfan front. I have the long awaited echocardiogram on Monday, which I'm a bit apprehensive about. I've been dealing with some pretty high resting heart rates, which I have been told is normal. They feel pretty extreme though (133 bpm sitting in a chair, shortness of breath), so we'll see what the cardiologist says. If he's not worried, then I won't worry. I shouldn't waste time worrying anyway, at least that's what I keep telling myself. Dana had his six year check up on Friday and I got a chance to discuss the Marfan thing with our favorite doctor, Dr. Spraggins. Thankfully, she knew a good amount about Marfan. She was obviously concerned, but it's so comforting to know that she's well-informed and contributing to the discussion. I trust her opinion more than most doctors, because she's so balanced and she knows my kids so very well. If any of you are hunting for a pediatrician, I highly recommend her. She's an incredibly talented, godly doctor... such a blessing.

bait and switch

So, our little family sat poised on the edge of my bed, watching the CBS Evening News, munching on popcorn... but no interview with Carl. Evidently, Carl's boss talked with Byron Pitts, the news anchor who interviewed Carl, today and Pitts is the one who said the segment would air tonight. However, his editor opted last minute to show more coverage of the Democratic National Convention instead. The kids are pretty disappointed, but Carl said the show was taped awhile ago and will air at a later date. I'll let you know when they schedule a date.

Just FYI, Byron Pitts is a stutterer too, which amazes me, because he's a news anchor for a major broadcasting company.

My brother is being interviewed on CBS Evening News tonight!

How cool. My little brother is a speech pathologist and he works for the American Institute for Stuttering in New York City. My dad posted this on his facebook today.



"I just received a call from our son, Carl, letting me know the CBS Evening News will be running a feature tonight (8-27-08) about his employer: the American Institute for Stuttering (http://www.stutteringtreatment.org/). Carl works as a speech pathologist at AIS and is interviewed in the segment. They are running it tonight in order to coordinate with Joe Biden's speech this evening at the Democratic National Convention. As an adolescent Biden suffered from a debilitating stutter, and he was the featured speaker at AIS's annual fundraising banquet in Manhattan this year. I was Carl's guest at the event, and Biden's speech was unforgettable. He claims that dealing with stuttering was the single most galvanizing and important experience of his life. The reporter who interviews Carl, Byron Pitts, is also a former stutterer and served as the emcee at the same AIS fundraiser where Biden spoke.
If you are unable to watch the show this evening, I'm told the clip will be available for later viewing on the CBSNews.com website. I apologize for the late notice; they actually did the interview a few weeks ago, but moved it up in the schedule after Obama chose Biden as his running mate.
You can see a small part of Biden's speech in a clip on YouTube (Carl and I appear briefly) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hwk-pi5SNe4
And in case you missed it, the MTV show True Life did an episode on stuttering. Carl is interviewed briefly in the segment focusing on one of his AIS clients. If you have not seen it, here is the link: http://www.mtv.com/ontv/dyn/truelife/episode/episode.jhtml?episodeId=127106"

If you have time, check it out! We're all so proud of him and what he does at AIS.

come on, take a guess

Seeing as this is the last Monahan baby, at least as far as our plans go, we're a little preoccupied with guessing his hair color. Will we get ALL redheads? Or, will he be the only one who has hair more like his mama. We're curious to know what you think and, to be honest, the third trimester isn't feeling too great and this is a fun way to pass the time until he gets here. (Not like I don't have plenty to do... but you know what I mean.) Come on lurkers, speak up. ;) There's a poll to the right of this page.

it's who they are

Matt and I had to laugh when we heard this mini conversation with the kids in the van on the way to church this morning. If you know my kids and their personalities, you'll know how perfectly this describes their differences.

Pulling out of the driveway, with Grami and Papi driving ahead of us...

Dana- (a little put out) "O Man, we're gonna lose the race!"

Janie- (adult-like and irritated with her brother) "I don't want to be in a race anyway."

Clara Joy- (excitedly kicking her legs) "Oooo! I wanna race! I wanna race!... I wanna run!"

More Marfan

I met with a genetic counselor yesterday at Regional Obstetrics, the local perinatology office. I wasn't sure what to expect, but thankfully I was able to talk with the counselor for a long time and have an ultrasound and check up with Dr. Kipikasa (sp?). All in all, I feel very reassured that Marfan or not, I can expect a relatively safe delivery with Jonathan. Dr. K told me not to lose sleep over it (too late) and very calmly explained what they would do if my aortal root were dilated. He said I would have to deliver Jonathan passively, with an epidural, heart medicine, and forceps, but honestly, he was so calm about the whole thing that I didn't freak out. That says a lot for bedside manner.

Do I have Marfan? I don't know and they didn't know either. It's a complicated diagnosis to make. They did refer me to meet with a geneticist in September, after I've already had my echocardiogram. After meeting with the geneticist and the cardiologist, I'll see Dr. K again and they'll decide what to do from there. If the aortal root is enlarged, which would confirm the Marfan diagnosis, then I would have a passive delivery. If the aorta looks great, but they still think I have Marfan, then I'll have a normal delivery, but still technically be higher risk than the average woman in labor. If they say I'm perfectly healthy and are certain I don't have Marfan, then I'm in the clear and no worries about the delivery or my kids.

More waiting, but we have a game plan. They know what I know about my family and I'm in good hands. I'm counting my blessings and trusting that God has us securely in his hands.

sheer vanity

Making pies, eating pies

After a fun morning of blueberry picking with a few good friends and all of our hot sweaty children, I decided to try to make my first blueberry pie. In an effort to economize, I decided to use up some overly ripe peaches in another pie. Why heat up the house for one pie if you've got room for two and the oven's already on?

Why is baking a pie so satisfying? Maybe this is how neatnicks feel when they've cleaned their whole house. I don't know for sure, because I'm hardly neat and tidy. I do love the simple pleasure of making something tasty with my own two hands, especially when I get to see the whole family loving every messy bite.

still waiting

So apparently I don't know the difference between an EKG and an echocardiogram, and there is one. When I asked my midwife to order an EKG for me to be screened for Marfan-related heart issues, she happily did so. However, I didn't know that I really needed an echocardiogram and I didn't know that they were two different things. I'm sure she knew that, but she didn't know enough about Marfan to know what would be the appropriate test either. So, I went in for my EKG today and realized that I was having the wrong test done. The technician who handled my test did reassure me that an EKG would be useful, but that I would for sure need both tests. Ugh. This basically means more waiting and appointments and struggling to make appointments because of childcare issues. Man, I wish my parents or at least some family lived close by.

In the meantime, I've learned a lot more about how Marfan could affect pregnancy and childbirth. IF my aortal root is abnormally large, which is a big IF (I don't know if I have the Marfan Symdrome anyway), then I would have to get an epidural and I would not be allowed to push Jonathan out. They would have to extract him when I was fully dilated, either with forceps (yipes!) or with the vacuum thingy. Mainly, the concern is that the pressure from pushing and straining through contractions could cause the aorta to dissect or rupture, which could kill me. Again a huge IF, because my aorta would have to be larger than normal, and I've already had three children with no trouble. There's also some risk of clotting, but I don't understand that completely. Supposedly, pregnant women with Marfan take a combination of Heparin and Beta Blockers for most of their pregnancies. If you know what these are and how they work, than you understand more than I do. Anyway, like I said, I'm waiting to know more, and trying to rest in the knowledge that God is in control of this, one way or the other. So far Jonathan is healthy and as far as I know, I am too. Both are blessings.

Dana speaks up

On the way back from night church last Sunday...

Dana:"Mommy, I want to be in charge of something."

midwife appt yesterday

So it appears that my placenta is no longer down low, which is very good news. Barring some last minute emergency or something else, I can deliver him without a c-section! It really is a relief. I've never had one and I don't care to have one. Obviously, if I needed one in an emergency, then I would happily do whatever was necessary to keep him healthy. In the end, that's the most important thing anyway.

I'm measuring huge for 27 weeks. The midwife in training who handled my appointment measured me twice, because she didn't believe it. I'm five weeks ahead in uterine size, which is pretty large. Jonathan is measuring about a week ahead in length and everything else, and I have a little bit of extra fluid, but the main culprit seems to be being pregnant four times. I suppose I shouldn't expect to look like the tiniest pregnant lady in the world ;).

He was awfully cute in the ultrasound. Janie came with me this time and she loved it. Maybe he knew his sister was watching, because he yawned on the screen for her. With as many ultrasounds as I've had in the last 6 years, I've never seen that. Even the ultrasound tech gasped and said he looked like a cutie. I have to agree.

On a more serious note... my dad has been diagnosed with a genetic disorder (disease?) called Marfan Syndrome. I have a 50% chance that I inherited it from him and if I did my kids have the same chance of inheriting it from me. It's kind of serious, but also pretty manageable. If I don't have it, the good thing is that I can't pass it to the kids. I could tell you more, but it would be way too long of an entry. The only issue that's really concerning to me is that if I have it, it could be of some risk to me when I deliver Jonathan. Many people with Marfan have an enlarged aortal root (where the aortal artery leaves the heart, on top??) which makes them much more likely to have an aortal aneurism (sp?). Evidently, during childbirth, the weakening of the arterial walls can cause them to rupture, due to the strain of pushing. I don't understand all of the details, but I'm supposed to have an ecchocardiogram (sp?) next Thursday, which would catch any abnormalities. I'm probably fine, but it will be comforting to know that for sure. If I do have an abnormality, then I'm not sure what will happen after that. I suppose we'll find out.

Anyway, thanks for reading this far and I'll update soon on the outcome. If you want to know more about Marfan, you're welcome to read the description below. It comes from the Marfan Foundation's website, which is located at www.marfan.org.

"The Marfan syndrome affects people in different ways. Some people have only mild symptoms, while others are more severely affected. In most cases, the disorder progresses as the person ages. The body systems most often affected by the Marfan syndrome are:

* Skeleton
- People with the Marfan syndrome are typically, but not always, very tall or taller than unaffected people in their family, slender and loose jointed. The Marfan syndrome affects the long bones of the skeleton. Therefore the arms, legs, fingers, and toes may be disproportionately long in relation to the rest of the body. A person with the Marfan syndrome often has a long, narrow face, and the roof of the mouth may be arched, causing the teeth to be crowded. Other skeletal abnormalities include a sternum (breastbone) that is either protruding or indented, curvature of the spine (scoliosis), and flat feet. For more information: Orthopedic Concerns Brochure; excerpt from The Marfan Syndrome

* Eyes
- More than half of all people with the Marfan syndrome experience dislocation of one or both lenses of the eye. The lens may be slightly higher or lower than normal and may be shifted off to one side. The dislocation may be minimal, or it may be pronounced and obvious. Retinal detachment is a possible serious complication of this disorder. Many people with the Marfan syndrome are also nearsighted (myopic), and some can develop early glaucoma (high pressure within the eye) or cataracts (the eye's lens loses its clearness). For more information: Ocular Concerns; excerpt from The Marfan Syndrome; Pediatric Eye Issues; Management of Dislocated Lenses
.

* Heart and blood vessels (cardiovascular system)
- Most people with the Marfan syndrome have problems associated with the heart and blood vessels. The valve between the left chambers of the heart is defective and may be large and floppy, resulting in an abnormal valve motion when the heart beats. In some cases, the valve may leak, creating a "heart murmur," which a doctor can hear with a stethoscope. Small leaks may not cause any symptoms, but larger ones may result in shortness of breath, fatigue and palpitations (a very fast or irregular heart rate). Because of faulty connective tissue, the wall of the aorta (the large artery that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body) may be weakened and stretch, a process called aortic dilation. Aortic dilation increases the risk that the aorta will tear (dissect) or rupture, causing serious heart problems or sometimes sudden death. For more information: Cardiac Concerns; excerpt from The Marfan Syndrome; Emergency Diagnosis and Aortic Dissection

* Nervous system
- The brain and spinal cord are surrounded by fluid contained by a membrane called the dura, which is comprised of connective tissue. As people with The Marfan syndrome get older, the dura often weakens and stretches, then begins to weigh on the vertebrae in the lower spine and wear away the bone surrounding the spinal cord. This is called dural ectasia. These changes may cause only mild discomfort or may lead to radiated pain in the abdomen or to pain, numbness or weakness of the legs. For more information: Dural Ectasia; excerpt from The Marfan Syndrome

* Skin
- Many people with The Marfan syndrome develop stretch marks on their skin, even without any significant weight change or pregnancy. These stretch marks can occur at any age and pose no health risk. The stretch marks tend to appear at sites subject to stress such as shoulders, hips and lower back. The stretch marks require no treatment. In addition, people with the Marfan syndrome are also at increased risk for developing an abdominal or inguinal (groin) hernia where a bulge develops that contains part of the intestines. This requires medical treatment.

* Lungs
- Restrictive lung disease, primarily due to pectus abnormalities and/or scoliosis, occurs in 70 percent of persons with MFS. In addition, because fibrillin is expressed in the lung and is associated with elastin there, Marfan fibrillin –1 deficiency is thought to affect both lung development and homeostasis. Spontaneous pneumothorax (collapse of the lung in the absence of trauma) and early emphasema, without a history of smoking, may be consequences of the fibrillin-1 deficiency. Sleep-related breathing disorders, such as snoring and sleep apnea, are also associated with Marfan syndrome, even when the person is not overweight. For more information: excerpt from The Marfan Syndrome; Marfan Syndrome and the Lungs"

Mmm. Juicy peaches ;)

There's nothing like a perfectly ripe, juicy peach on a hot day and it's even better when you get to watch your chubby fisted toddler cram them down as fast as she can grab the slippery pieces.

funny youtube video

I only have three, so I'm sure this family knows a lot more about big families than I do, but it appears that we get the same comments. So funny.

much needed encouragement

I feel so encouraged by the women I have met in the last two days. Out of a need for support and a homeschooling community, I posted an email to our neighborhood listserve to see if any homeschooling moms in the neighborhood were interested in getting together once in awhile. I now have a list of ten women who are interested in some kind of get together, structured or purely social. Three of these women have boys Dana's age. Some of you who know me know what a big deal this is. Dana doesn't really know many boys his age, and the few he does know are going to school this year. His sensitive little heart so needs a buddy and I've been praying for a long time that we would find one for him. God is so good.

I'm a little nervous about the get togethers, mainly because I start so many things full steam ahead and then peter out too soon. My hope is that this group will somehow take on a life of its own and won't require much work, but we'll see. I don't have a clue what I'm doing. I hope someone a little wiser than me will have an opinion and maybe the energy and time to act on it. For now, I'm happy to say I have 10 homeschooling friends who live close by and who want to support each other. I certainly need the encouragement and I'm already basking in the joy of it. Thanks ladies.

homeschooling moms in Chatt?

Are you homeschooling your children? Please come to the St. Elmo playground on Friday morning to hang out and chat with us. A few homeschooling moms are going to meet at the playground at 9:30am for playtime and fellowship. If you're new to homeschooling, or you're a seasoned veteran, please join us. We would love to meet you. Hope to see you there.

low lying placenta and other news

I got to look at little Monahan on Thursday at my ultrasound. Dana went with me and had so much fun watching his brother on the screen. We were both excited to see how much he looks like Dana, at least as much as you can tell from a grainy picture. Same upturned lip and button nose. Those appointments are so bitter sweet, because it leaves me so sad that I have to wait four more months to hold him.

The ultrasound tech noticed that I have a low lying placenta, which doesn't mean much now, but could be a big deal later if it doesn't resolve itself. I didn't ask if the placenta was covering my cervix, but I wish that I had thought to ask. They're going to see me again in a month and check on it then. The placenta usually moves, or appears to move, due to the bottom of the uterus growing so much at the end of a pregnancy. We're praying that this would happen.

We've finally done it. We came up with a name! His name is Jonathan Reeve Monahan, in honor of Jonathan from the Bible, King David's loyal friend, and in honor of my great grandparents Charles and Mary Reeve, who I admire so much. My great grandparents owned a farm in the depression and although they didn't have many luxuries, they were faithful stewards of what they had, often taking care of neighbors and working long hard days. They loved Jesus and passed that love on to four generations after them. I never new my great grandmother, because she died when my mom was a girl, but I've heard stories of her industriousness and godliness. I think of her a lot as I try to make it through a tough day. My great grandpa Reeve's birthday was on the fourth of July and every year, generations of family members would come to his house to celebrate his birthday. He was very short, but he had a deep, strong voice, dark hair, and a joyful smile. He knew all of his great grandkids by name and we loved to sit with him and talk to him, because we knew he loved us. It's interesting to me that a "reeve" was the steward of a Lord's estate in England. Anyway, I'm making this a book. But here it is. His name. Now you know why.

homeschool paperwork

On a whim I checked the State of Tennessee's website to find out when I need to declare my intent to homeschool Dana. Turns out I'm supposed to do it by Aug 1st. A friend of mine suggested that I should not register with the state, but that I should sign up with an umbrella school instead. I don't know anything about this. Any wisdom?

Also, they require 180 days a year of school and 4 hours a day of instruction! This is ridiculous when you consider how little time it takes to homeschool a kid through kindergarten. It only takes us 90 minutes a day, sometimes less, to complete his sit down work and the whole curriculum is only 26 weeks long (130 days). I suppose that doesn't account for field trips, playing outside, reading with Mommy, helping in the kitchen, or catching Catawba worms with Daddy (more on that later). Still, I'm a little worried about how to document all of this. Homeschooling people, speak up and let me know what has helped you.

checking in

You probably won't hear much from me this summer, as we're immersed in the usual summer schedule... VBS at our church, visits from family, a few short trips away from home, and plenty of time in the kiddie pool, with popsicle in hand.

Matt and I just returned from taking our youth group to RYM, a great Christian camp in Laguna Beach, FL. We left our kids with my brave parents, which made it possible to give all of our attention to the youth group, a rare opportunity. We were both overwhelmed with the relationships that were strengthened and the spiritual growth that we saw in the youth. It was very encouraging and very much worth all of the deadlines and prep work it took to get us there.

Baby Monahan is looking good so far. My awful nausea ended a few weeks ago and aside from swollen ankles and some anemia, I feel fine. Even the heartburn that I always deal with is giving me a break this time. Praise God for that. My heartburn is usually pretty terrible, so even if I get it later, I'm enjoying it's absence now. ;)

The kids are all healthy and enjoying a visit from our nephew Sam. He's about a year older than Dana and has red hair too. They're quite the posse when we're out and about. I need to get a few things at the store this afternoon, so we'll see how it goes.

now for a lighter post...

I refuse to turn my oven on in this heat, so I'm looking for more recipes that don't take much time to make and don't heat up the whole house... What do you make for dinner when it's hot outside??? Will you share a recipe with me?

Clara Joy

I've struggled with how to blog about this for days. I typed up a brutally truthful version of this a few days ago, but thought better of it.

Clara almost killed herself on Saturday and it was entirely my fault. There. I said it. I could blame it on any number of things, but I left my chewable prenatals out where she could reach them and her little Houdini-fingers had no trouble opening the bottle. By the time I got to her, there were 43 tablets missing. She had a mouthful and she fed a good amount to the dog. After some breathless waiting for the poison control person to calculate what would have been a lethal dose, I was told she would be fine. She might suffer from some scary GI symptoms, but most likely she wouldn't get the internal bleeding. Gasp. 56 tablets would have been the lethal dose. Did I mention that this is my second call to poison control in two months? She also tried to down an entire bottle of tylenol w/ codeine recently, which resulted in a very scary trip to the ER.

At church, she escapes me frequently and I find her in any number of ridiculous predicaments... covered in tempera paint, hiding in the Sunday school supply closet, for example. No matter where we are, the temper tantrums are constant and time-outs are frequent.

I feel very inadequate, both publicly and inwardly. Oftentimes, when I share this with friends, I hear, "and you want another one?!" and if it isn't spoken it's written all over their face. My prayer is that God would use my need for grace in parenting Clara, for his glory, and that I wouldn't lose sight of the privilege it is to raise my sweet girl. She is still so very much my baby and it tears at my heart to have to be in a constant battle of the wills with her. I also worry that the combination of her excellent ability to find trouble, and my weaknesses as a parent will get her really hurt. It's hard to swallow.

For now, I'm being hyper vigilant about medicines and vitamins being in their proper place, and reevaluating my priorities... ie. computer time. Do I need to sit at the computer more than once a day? Do I make enough time with just her? If I do everything right, assuming that's even possible, will I be less in need of God's grace to parent her? Somewhere there's a balance to be struck. I hope we find it, for her sake and ours.

be my resource

from my to do list in the last post...
"...research/buy/make(?) sling
...learn about pros and cons of baby wearing, a very controversial subject, depending on who you talk to"

Do you have a favorite sling? Do you have an opinion on baby wearing? I'm in a dilemma, because I'm normally a fan of structured babywise parenting, but am worried about the baby being vulnerable to our dog and three other kids, namely Clara Joy ;). So far the cons of baby wearing appear to be increased separation anxiety, more frequent nursing (also a pro when you have milk production issues like I do), and less personal space... all biggies.

The pros are less fussiness, more bonding, hopefully better milk supply, and safety from siblings and the family dog.

Opinions???
disclaimer: the cons listed are entirely from the paranoid perspective of a mom who's never tried babywearing.

Goals, reachable and unreachable, before the baby comes

...finish painting details on exterior of the house
...sidewalk finished
...bookshelf in living room
...picnic table on deck, built and treated
...kids' rooms settled and reorganized
...Clara into big girl bed... done
...Clara potty trained... mostly done
...research/buy newborn size cloth diapers, to get us through until the motherease ones will fit under his clothes
...research/buy/make(?) sling
...learn about pros and cons of baby wearing, a very controversial subject, depending on who you talk to
...sort through what little baby boy clothes I have and take inventory of what I need
...get ahead on homeschool and preorder Dana's first grade curriculum
...set up ballet lessons for Janie for the Fall
...sign Dana up for soccer in the Fall
...make baby quilt for little Monahan, since I'm out of my old blankies
...get away with Matt for a few days... on our anniversary, July 3rd
...more

Things I'm happy about...

1- I normally have absolutely horrible heartburn when I'm pregnant, and it has gotten worse with each pregnancy... but so far I DON'T HAVE ANY HEARTBURN!

2- We're back to homeschooling and we (me too) are having so much fun. Today we made a bird's nest out of mud and straw. Big fun. It's all part of N-week, which is also a study of nests, or animal homes... which also is a study of how well God takes care of us (ie. His eye is on the sparrow).

3- We are having a yard sale on Saturday and getting rid of a bunch of stuff! I think I love yard sales as much as Matt hates them, so I hope we sell lots of stuff. That way, he'll be more likely to be supportive of another one ;).

4- Matt installed an invisible fence for Bailey, which means no more chasing her around the neighborhood and no more digging under the fence.

5- There's a big juicy watermelon in the fridge waiting to be eaten.

6- Matt is almost done with school for the year.

7- Matt bought me some beautiful tiger lilies yesterday.

Adorable... no doubt about it

Strep and baby names

It appears that we've got strep, which in some ways is a relief. At least now we're on antibiotics which I hope will end this endless monster cold that keeps lingering. After two doses, I am already starting to feel a difference, thankfully. The bummer is that now I really need to do something about the stinky dishes in the sink and the ever growing mountain of laundry that accumulates each week. Speaking of, I should probably get started...

Before I go though, please keep the baby names coming. It really is helpful. We have one that Matt is sort of interested in, but that could fizzle out pretty quickly. My top picks, which Matt vetoes?... Levi Ransom (after the Levites and the amazing main character from the Space Trilogy), Jonathan David (after the biblical Jonathan and David who stood as righteous men in difficult circumstances), and Noah, because in an entire world of twisted people, God spared him from his sinful self and saved him and his family. In Matt's defense, he doesn't like them due to associations with students that terrorize him and other such understandable things. He does like David, but the man knows too many people! ;)

O! I almost forgot...

It's a boy!! I went to see the midwife on Thursday and she decided to do an ultrasound on the spot, because I was measuring a bit big for 14 weeks. Everything's fine. The midwife said it's normal to measure a bit larger with a fourth baby. I didn't know you could see if the baby was a boy or girl this early, but evidently you can, because it was obvious right away. So, now we're back to the name game again, and there doesn't appear to be a single boy name that we can agree on. Feel free to offer suggestions. We sure could use them!

PICTURES! (or the longest entry I've ever made)

Instead of trying to post five different posts in one day, which is impossible for me, I am going to lump them all together. Hope you enjoy the photos, although the picture quality is probably poor. Our camera is on its last leg. But hey, this post isn't just text. Hurray, for something visually stimulating.


First, I promised pictures of Jane in the ballet recital. We only have a few photos, because Matt took more video than pictures, but here are two.





On Tuesday this week, we found a really nice used sofa set on craigslist for almost nothing. Matt shocked me by being willing to drop everything, arrange a babysitter (thanks Darla) last minute, and drive out to the middle of nowhere to get it. When we saw it, Matt was a little concerned that it wouldn't fit in the living room, but it does and it looks soooo lovely compared to the nasty old hand-me-down ones that I have had for so long. Granted, it's been a good lesson over the years in hospitality to have so many people come through our house for dinner or out of town visits when I feel so insecure about all my borrowed, stained, sloppy stuff. I know God had his hand in it, because it taught me so much, but I do have to say that I'm glad to have a nicer-looking living room. It's already been a little bit of a fire under our butts to get the rest of the living room and dining room finished. We'll see how far we get before the baby comes...







On Wednesday, I gave the girls a haircut, which they've been begging for for a long time. Both of them turned out a little shorter than I intended. I'm certainly no expert, but they're so cute and the girls love the new do.











On Thursday, we packed and ran a million errands so we could go to our friends' Jack and Sarah's wedding in Washington DC. We left at 3:30am on Friday and enjoyed all the benefits of leaving early and taking our time: very little whining, less traffic, no rushing. We even shocked ourselves and got 28 mpg just by driving at or below 65mph the whole way. We saved a ton of money on gas, which is always a good thing.

The best part of the weekend though, was spending time with our friends Joel and Vanessa Sell and their five kids, who live in Philly. We met them in DC and shared a cabin with them while we were there. We haven't seen them in almost two years and I still hadn't met the baby, Jonas. As usual, I forgot to pull out the camera until halfway through the second day, so I don't have as many pictures as I should have. We did have a wonderful time though. The Sells' middle three children are almost the same ages as our three, so all of the kids played well together. Dana really bonded with Elias and Micah and it was so good to see him playing with boys his age. Jane and Eva hit it off in the first few minutes and played the entire time, as did Clara Joy and Mara Joy, who were very much alike. Jonas even let me hold him and coo at him, which was a treat for me. All in all, it left me keenly feeling the weight of their absence in our daily life. They're such dear friends to us and way too far away to see very often. Vanessa is such an encouragement to me as a friend and another homeschooling mom. I wish we lived closer to each other, but I'm thankful for the time we had this weekend too. Despite the drive and lack of sleep, I feel refreshed and encouraged thanks to a great weekend.

It's been awhile since I...

whined about the state of things in Monahan-land. I've been hesitant to go on and on about feeling sick, not because I'm that much of a trooper. I've just been convicted that whining about my nausea woes is pretty pathetic when I have more than one friend who has suffered a miscarriage this year. We also do get quite a few rude comments about the new baby from people who obviously don't understand the gift and miracle each new life is. In an effort to live out our beliefs about the life of each child, I have tried as much as I can to keep the whining to a minimum. I've been trying (not perfectly) to show that this tiny helpless person is worth all of the sickness and much more.

That being said, life has been a little crazy around here and I thought I would give you a peek into what we're up to. I have still not had a prenatal visit to my midwife. I've been too sick to manage the chore of finding childcare for the kids, dropping them off at someone's house, and driving all the way out to the appointment, only to have an INTERNAL EXAM (yuck), and then rush home to pick up my kids and make dinner. It's much easier for all of us to stare bleary-eyed at Sesame Street while I snuggle in my bed with the kids. Before my dear friends worry about me too much I'll say that I do have an exam scheduled for Thursday, which will still be tricky, because Clara, Jane and I all have the remnants of some mutant nasty monster cold. That's actually why I finally scheduled the appointment... I think I may have a sinus infection and rather than suffer for weeks on end, I would like to kick it's nasty butt with some antibiotics this time.

I think I'll try to get Clara in tomorrow. She's had the same cough for weeks and it's getting worse. I don't understand chronic coughs. Could it be asthma, bronchitis, tonsillitis? It's a mystery. I'm trusting our wonderful Dr. Spraggins to sort it all out for me.

Two months of no homeschooling has taken it's toll on Dana. The poor guy is shedding tears over the most ridiculous things. When I kick this cold's butt, Dana and I are going to start setting aside time in the afternoons again. He loves it and it's so good for him. I think this time I'm going to try to get Janie more involved though. She's such a bright little thing and I know she'd be able to handle more of a challenge.

Okay, I'm out of steam. It's that time of night again. Wish I had something to say that was thought-provoking and profound. Blessings to you and yours.

Addicted to Gospel Bluegrass

This has to be the most beautiful song ever written... and you should hear Alison Krauss and Gillian Welch sing it...

I'll Fly Away

Some glad morning when this life is o'er,
I'll fly away;
To a home on God's celestial shore,
I'll fly away (I'll fly away).

[Chorus]
I'll fly away, Oh Glory
I'll fly away; (in the morning)
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by,
I'll fly away (I'll fly away).

When the shadows of this life have gone,
I'll fly away;
Like a bird from prison bars has flown,
I'll fly away (I'll fly away)

[Chorus]
I'll fly away, Oh Glory
I'll fly away; (in the morning)
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by,
I'll fly away (I'll fly away).

Just a few more weary days and then,
I'll fly away;
To a land where joy shall never end,
I'll fly away (I'll fly away)

[Chorus]
I'll fly away, Oh Glory
I'll fly away; (in the morning)
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by,
I'll fly away (I'll fly away).

bits and pieces of the last week

...I think I felt the baby move today. Clara was squishing my belly while we snuggled in bed and some little person inside squirmed to get away from her probing elbow.

...My dad was in the hospital this weekend with mild heart attack symptoms, and after a scary few days, he seems to be fine. We are so thankful.

...Janie had her first ballet recital this past Thursday (pictures to come) and she did a great job. She took our breath away with her red hair tied up in a bun and her sweet self in her leotard, tights and slippers. I think I'll always remember how she looked that night.

...I'm starting to see glimpses of what life will be like with no nausea. I think my good days are starting to out-number the bad ones, which is a huge relief. I still have not seen the midwife, so that's next on my to-do list, closely followed by tackling the filth that's accumulated over here. My junk piles have piles and the dirt is staring me in the face.

...Dana's in full swing with baseball ;). I wish the games weren't always around mealtimes, but so far I think he's really enjoying it.

...Sorry for the lack of pictures lately. I'll post some pics soon. Promise.

I've always heard that women should follow their pregnancy cravings, especially when they are really sick. I think it's really interesting that I'm craving things that are amazingly high in folic acid... the latest is pickled beets. I ate a whole jar in less than 24 hours. And I've had an unbelievable desire to eat green peas. Add to the list asparagus, spinach salads, black beans, hummus, and a few others, and you have the list of foods high in folic acid from a web search I did. Funny.

my favorites, lately...

Think Thin bars... 20g of protein, and very little sugar
bean and cheese burritos... no more than once a day or else
B Complex... thanks ladies
Nature Made prenatal vitamins... much smaller than the horse pills I've always taken
roast beef sandwiches w/ cheese, tomatoes, pickles, mayo and mustard ;)
ginger ale
eggs and chicken apple sausage for breakfast
hummus and tomato sandwiches
long uninterrupted naps

LONG overdue update

I'm staying home from church today, cuz I just feel cruddy. I won't go into details. You all know what I'm feeling. No need to whine any longer. I will fill you in on what's going on in the Monahan clan though...

Matt is about to start a new RTS class, with the goal of taking three classes this year. He's also working on various unfinished projects around the house: toe-kicks under the kitchen cabinets, rebuilding a sketchy-looking support wall in the basement, trimming out windows and doorways and, hopefully, installing our bedroom and closet doors. On our awesome Spring Break with the Oligs (pictures to come), he caught a bunch of trout with Nick, which he was quite proud of. They took the better part of a day and floated the Toccoa River, fly-fishing the whole way. I think it amounted to a whole lot of stress relief for both Nick and Matt.

Dana is doing well. We are taking a break from the structure of our homeschool curriculum, until Mommy feels better. In the meantime, he's enjoying playing baseball for the first time. His friend Aiden Kennedy is on his team too, which is a plus for Dana. It's so good for him to make friends with other boys. There really are so few boys his age that we know. He's also enjoying the new freedom of being allowed to play in the backyard more often. With the new fence, he can go outside to play in the sand and I don't have to worry about sitting with him all the time. Now I'm left wondering if I should lather the poor pasty kid's body in sunscreen, EVERY time he goes outside, seeing as he's been getting weekly sunburns ;). His thoughtful and sensitive heart continue to amaze me as he watches out for his sick Mama. I've had countless beautiful pictures and encouraging kisses and hugs.

Jane is growing like a weed. She was such a tiny peanut as a baby and now she's all bare ankles and wrists in most of her clothes. She and Clara have started to bond and enjoy their girlness a bit more, instead of being dependent upon Dana for direction and fun. They love to play princess and dance ballet shows for us. I know most sisters struggle to like each other, but I hope they stay close. I realized way to late what a treasure my own sister was. Back to Janie... She's been a huge help to me lately. I know I can always count on her to happily help me set the table or talk to me while I cook. She's such a nurturer and giver and I'm reminded daily of what a gift she is to me. She's also started to take ballet, at her request, and she's proven to be a graceful little dancer. Her instructor was surprised that she hadn't had lessons before this. She has a recital coming up this month, and she's keeping the dance she's practicing a huge secret from us.

Clara Joy is still delightfully funny and ridiculously strong-willed. "Clara" means "bright" and every time I think about that I laugh. She's more like a blaze, but I can't wait to see what God will accomplish with her determination and cheerfulness. Right now she's taken on potty-training herself and she's succeeding. The little sprite hops onto the big potty unassisted, wipes herself, dresses and undresses, and all without any prompting from me. This is a very new experience for us. I've heard that it happens, but I wouldn't have believed it unless I saw it for myself. She's amazing me and her Daddy with her courage and will. She's also quite the book worm. If Matt or I sit for more than a minute, she's in our lap with a book within seconds. She has most of her favorites memorized, like Ask Mr. Bear and We're Going on a Bear Hunt. Also, she had tube surgery a little bit ago and that went well. The wake-up from anesthesia was pretty brutal, but we've been clear of ear infections for awhile, so it appears to be working so far.

I'm doing better, with the exception of a few bad days. Even now, I feel impatient to meet this new little Monahan and snuggle the little babe in my arms. It's so hard to wait.

I've been too sick to post anything for awhile, but this week, my sister's father-in-law died of congestive heart failure. Will you please join me in praying for their family. Katie and John are currently living in the Netherlands, while he works on his doctorate. They were able to fly home to be with John's dad before he died, and thankfully, they were still here when he died. Please pray that they will be comforted in their grief and goodbyes, especially as they have to prepare to head back to the Netherlands again.

Also, Matt's mom, Pam, is currently in the hospital. The doctors think she may have had a heart attack and are running a bunch of tests. We're hoping that she'll be well enough to go home today, but we're waiting to hear more results today. If you think of her, will you pray for her?

Fighting the monster

I know that most of you moms have had morning sickness, some worse than others. So I need all of you nausea warriors to give me your best advice. This is the first time I've been horribly nauseous and I really need some relief. There's a nutritional hole in my being and everything looks disgusting. Help.

for Matt

Last week I sunk into a horrible GI bug. I was disgustingly nauseous, weak, and mentally absent. Poor Matt. What was even harder was that we weren't sure if this was even a bug, due to the fact that I just hit my sixth week of the pregnancy. We just knew that I was miserable and we weren't sure why.

Thursday, my friend Joli came over for a bit to clean and fold laundry for me. It was much needed and things were a wreck. Then Matt came home later, put my green flowered apron on and stormed the house. Every so often, I would glance up from my nauseated stupor and gasp at his progress. He can do so much in a short time! And you know what, he could have been so grumpy about it. I would have been, at least on the inside. The whole time though, he took care of me with all the tenderness of newlywed. Did I mention this went on for days? I was sick from Tuesday 'til Saturday and somehow, I'm caught up on laundry (which never happens), better organized, and things are generally cleaner than before I was sick. I'm in awe and thankful for God's goodness to me when I was so miserable and down. Thanks Joli, and most of all, thank you Honey.

I Cor. 13:4-7
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

John 15:13
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

Tree fell last week

Last week we had some high winds and a tornado watch, after being drenched with rain. The result: trees down all over the place, including one in our front yard. In the middle of uploading the pictures I took, I overloaded our hard drive and the computer crashed. There's been a bit of a delay since then, but here are the pictures.

Tree Down in High Winds on 3/4/08

Announcing the littlest Monahan...

due to make his or her appearance on November 5th. This is the first time we've announced a baby via our blog and I think I like this better than telling people in person. With every pregnancy, we get more and more negative responses, so I'm all for people hearing the news and reacting however they please... in private. We told the kids last week at dinner time and they are all very excited and doing their best to be big helpers. Dana has started bringing me a glass of water when I start to feel nauseous and he loves to put his face up to my belly and tell the baby all kinds of things. Baby can't hear yet, but it still touches my heart that Dana's so welcoming of this new little life. I don't think any mean comment could steal my joy when my children remind me everyday that this baby is a miracle. They ask a million questions... "Mommy, how big is our baby today?"... "Can baby hear me?" "What will baby look like next week?"... As I answer their questions, I'm reminded to thank God for his goodness and stand in awe of his craftsmanship.

advice needed

Anyone know how to get large quantities of Vaseline out of a two-year-old-with-tubes' hair? And yes, Clara had tubes put in and adenoids(sp?) out this past Thursday. More on that later...

Seriously, we've tried baby shampoo, my shampoo, and dish soap--lots of it--to no avail. I can't dunk her head because of the tubes and pouring water over is pretty ineffective. All advice is welcome.

Easy, Cheap, Good Granola

This is taken from the More With Less Cookbook (p. 89), for those who have it or want it. It's my version of their recipe, because they're recipe allows for lots of variation.

Granola

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup sliced almonds
2 cups coconut
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 t. salt
2 t. cinnamon
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 cups dried cranberries

Mix the first seven ingredients in a large bowl and set aside. Heat and stir the next three ingredients, using the microwave, until smooth. Then pour over the dry mixture and mix well. Pour mixture into large baking pans and bake at 300 degrees for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. When done, let it cool and then stir in the cranberries. Store in a tightly sealed container.

We had this for breakfast this morning and the kids loved it. It makes quite a bit of granola.

Easy Kid-Friendly Meal

Either Family Fun or Cookie suggested a variation of this idea in last month's issue... I can't remember which one, but my kids were very excited about dinner tonight. They begged to put the different plates on the table and asked for thirds, which usually only happens with meatloaf. I think we'll make this a regular meal.

Do-It-Yourself Salad Dinner

Large Bowl of cut, washed lettuce (red lettuce, romaine, or spinach, or all of them)
Any Salad Dressings you have in the fridge
A variety of Salad toppings (the ones listed below are what we put out tonight, but apples, left over meat, croutons, and anything else you like on salad would work well)
edamame
carrots, cut into bits
green onion, diced
tomatoes, diced
shredded cheddar cheese
almonds, sliced
raisins
two hard boiled eggs, diced

Place the bowl of lettuce on the table and set plates with the different toppings around the bowl. Place some lettuce on everyone's plate and then let everyone at the table put a bit of everything they like on their salad. Then, allow them to pick their favorite dressing and there you have it. My kids were very proud of their creations. It also just so happened that the bread came out of the oven right as we finished dinner, so we also had a slice or two of bread with butter on it. Also, a lot of the toppings I put out were leftovers from something else I made this week, or things I have sitting around in bits. I didn't really buy anything extra for this other than the lettuce and edamame. This was a cheap meal for us. ;)

Presidents' Day Fun

Presidents' Day Hike to Glen Falls w/ fam

We hiked to Glen Falls yesterday, which turned out to be a great family hike. Both Jane and Dana made it the whole way and really enjoyed it.

We're playing to #2 today...

This is part of our homeschool curriculum for kindergarten. We've really enjoyed listening to new sounds and learning the names of the composers. The curriculum we bought has a suggested activity for each piece and they encourage listening to one song each week, instead of listening to the whole cd at once. The first piece is Clair de Lune and the activity was watercolor painting. You should have seen them move their brushes to the music. It was pretty inspiring.

My dad is encouraging me to expose them to jazz and other genres of music too, which we will do. Does anyone know of similar cds for kids in other genres?

Our favorite meal... for now

In an effort to save money, I have started to make black beans and rice once a week. In order to make it more fun and less bland, I make fresh salsa and guacamole to go with it. Add some sour cream, chips, and cheese and it's a feast. The salsa is more my sister's creation, or at least her version of a true Mexican salsa (approved by our friend Damien, who is from Mexico). I'm sorry Katie if this is missing something. If it's horribly off, we'll call it something else. ;) Also, for people who like spicy food, you can add as many peppers as you want to make it spicy. We don't, because we want the kids to eat it, but knock yourself out.

Here are the recipes...

Nopalitos

Fresh Salsa

1 ½-2 lbs. tomatoes, diced
½ lb. *tomatillos, diced
**nopalitos (1/2 a jar), rinsed and diced
1c. diced red onion (or more)
2-3 cloves of fresh garlic, peeled and minced
1 bunch cilantro, rinsed and minced
jalapeno peppers (1-3, or more OR leave them out), seeds removed and minced
juice of two limes
salt and pepper to taste

*tomatillos look like tiny green tomatoes covered in green paper-like leaves, usually found by the tomatoes and avacados at the grocery store
**nopalitos are found in the Mexican food section in a large jar—they’re green strips of cactus, which sounds weird, but they’re delicious

Wash all of the produce and cut them as small as you can. Place all of the ingredients into a large bowl and mix well. You may want to cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit in the refrigerator for a bit in order to let the flavors mix, but you can also serve it immediately. It’s usually better the second day.

Also, if you want to save time, you can use your food processor to cut them instead. This will make the salsa more pulpy and less chunky, but it will taste the same. Just be sure to process them one ingredient at a time.

My sister Katie portions it out into mason jars and gives some away, but I think she makes a bigger batch too. You could double this and make it for gifts though.



tomatillos


Fresh Guacamole

2 soft avacados
1 clove of garlic, smooshed with your knife
juice of one lime
1/4c. of salsa (fresh salsa above works great)
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of crushed red pepper

Place all ingredients into the food processor and process until uniform. You may also smoosh it up with a fork if the avacados are soft enough, but then you will need to mince the garlic too.


Black Beans and Rice

½ bag of dry black beans
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves fresh garlic, smooshed and minced
bay leaf
2 T. olive oil
4 t. chicken soup base*
3-4 c. water
1t. cumin (lots more if you like it)
1t. chile powder
salt and pepper to taste

Place beans in crockpot and cover them with about 3 inches of water. Cook on high until soft (about 3-4 hours). Then, add the next five ingredients to a dutch oven and sautee just until the onions are translucent. Drain and rinse the beans. Add beans, water, soup base and seasonings to the pot. Simmer until thick and heated through. Serve over hot white rice along with sour cream, tortilla chips, cheese, salsa and guacamole. Yum.

*most black bean recipes call for a ham bone, esp. the authentic Cuban ones, but we don't eat pork (that's the royal we). This is an attempt to break the pork-only black bean mold. So, pork lovers can throw a hambone with the beans in the crock pot and then you can get your toxin fix. ;) All in fun of course.

quote borrowed from Beth

You know how people sometimes have a favorite quote at the end of their emails? My friend Beth sent out an email recently, with this powerful tidbit attached. It's beautifully, painfully true and it forces me to take a closer look at my whining heart.


To be grateful for an unanswered prayer, to give thanks in a state of interior desolation, to trust in the love of God in the face of the marvels, the cruel circumstances, obscenities, and the common place of life is to whisper a doxology in the dark.

Brennan Manning

Republican Ticket Predictions by Matt

If Romney wins FL, then Romney/Giuliani will fill the Republican ticket. 

If McCain wins, he and Huck will run together. 

The GOP claims that any of their guys can beat Hillary or Obama. Is this just the standard optimistic political rhetoric? 

However it pans out, in a decade we'll look back to Ron Paul as the voice in the wilderness calling out with only a minority listening.....

My stab (hack?) at the gift of political prophecy. 

Matt.

Homeschooling!

After a lot of wavering and indecisiveness, I finally purchased a homeschool kindergarten curriculum for Dana. It's called My Father's World, for those of you homeschooling geeks. It's pretty awesome too as it incorporates some great teaching techniques like "bundling", phonics, lots of reading, and plenty of hands-on fun. Thankfully, it starts out with a transition phase to get Dana and me used to the whole homeschooling thing. The best part--it's not expensive.

We've only homeschooled for two days, but Dana is loving it and he's really excited about homeschooling in general. It's also had some other cool ripple effects. 1) Dana has asked me a lot of questions in the last two days. 2) He's happier and his eyes are lit up. 3) My relationship with Dana is much better, I think because he's getting more encouragement from me and less criticism. He's been so bored that he's been in a lot of trouble over the past few months, so the change for the better is pretty nice.

Granted, we're on day 3, so obviously we haven't gotten very far. I'm sure there will be conflicts, but for now, I'm happy to have the excitement of a new and pleasant thing.

FrauDoggie

Did you watch the Republican Primary Debate on Fox last night?

If you didn't catch it, check it out on Fox via the internet. It was a very good debate, and pretty entertaining too. I don't know that I've ever written much political comments, but here goes. I'll probably regret it tomorrow.



A few thoughts:

-Prediction: If Romney wins, Thompson will be his running mate.
-Prediction: If Huckabee wins, McCain will be his running mate.
-I really like Huckbee and Paul. Romney's such a slimy politician, and H and P are much more honorable, worthy-of-your respect leaders. Unlike Bush in the pre-election debates, Huckabee calls the press on their hypocrisy (in reference to the faith-litmus test) and he answers the questions he's asked with wit and in detail. It's obvious that he heard and understands the question as well as the touchy issue he's been asked to address. Compared to all the hot air blowing around, he's a breath of fresh air.
-The Republican party must really hate Paul. They were downright rude and condescending in the debate--well Huckabee wasn't condescending. Paul would never run as vp, but if he did, he and Huckabee would be an awesome team.
-So nice to hear candidates discussing overspending and encouraging the entire nation, down to each family, to cut debt. I love the dual approach of lower taxes AND reduced spending. Huckabee's plan is particularly nice.
-This is a sad comment on our culture, but I don't think Thompson, Paul, or McCain are electable for President, and it's mainly because of their age. Thompson is the most extreme example. He looked terrible last night, but I think most people would have a hard time voting for someone who looked old. Romney and Huckabee are the opposite... in their prime, charismatic faces, healthy color to their faces...



Unrelated comments:
-If I had to choose between Romney and Obama for president, I would easily vote for Obama. I want to hear more from him.
-I do not like Hillary's politics one bit. She and Romney seem to be in the same slimy politician camp, where everyone's filthy rich and power-hungry (emphasis on filthy, not rich). They're very sketchy.

drippingly sweet

Sorry for the overly-saccharine post... today it seems a little dramatic and sappy

Kitty has a home

"Cutie Pie" now has a home. After much snuggling with the kids last night, we handed her off to Scott Gast and he took her home to his family. They have a bit more room for her to roam and their kids have been begging for a cat. Dana's pretty sad, because they had a special bond. He named her "Cutie Pie", because he said she was the cutest cat in the whole world. He really did adore her and it seems that Cutie Pie reciprocated the adoration. She slept curled against him last night until Scott came. Had we kept her, I'm sure they would have been good buddies. Matt and I really considered keeping her, but between my allergies and Bailey's nutso-ness, it just didn't make sense. The fact that we even considered keeping her though is proof that she was the sweetest cat I've ever known. Last night Scott even asked Matt, "Are you sure you don't want to keep her?" She's so obviously a beautiful little creature.
The silver lining was that it was a great lesson for Dana. We talked about how God cares for even the littlest and most helpless animals, like poor Cutie Pie with the hurt eye. God brought her to us to help her and find a home for her and God cares for Dana the same way, only so much more. I think it was the first tangible example for Dana of the way our strong and mighty God orchestrates every little detail to care for his own broken and helpless creatures. Hopefully, he'll think of this sweet stray kitty when he feels lonely or sad and remember that God cares for him. At the very least, I've learned a lot from this.

Anyone want a sweet kitty?

Those of you who have heard me rant about the cat situation with our neighbors, laugh if you will. I have always been a cat lover, I just love the cats who love me back and don't poop all over my basement, but I'm off topic.

A very sweet kitty, whom the kids have named Cutie Pie, has adopted us. She wants to come inside and cosy up. The kids adore her, but I'm allergic to cats. She's got an injured eye (nothing gross, but it's clouded over like she's blind in it). She seems to be afraid of other cats and doesn't want to be outside. She's also very friendly and very tolerant of the kids manhandling her. We think she must be an indoor cat that escaped. We'd take her to the pound, but she's such a sweet little thing. She would make a great pet for someone. Any takers?