IT'S. A. BOY!!!!!!!

Can y'all about believe it...I didn't even think it was possible! It's not like it makes any difference to us if we have all girls but it just is surprising that after we had six girls that we could have a boy! :)

My husband and I went furniture shopping Tuesday night. I was in the frame of mind that I need a rocker recliner before our baby is born. I've never had a good rocking chair for any of my babies and oftentimes, at least in the beginning, I've had babies that love to be held all night or they won't sleep.

We found a perfect chair after about 3 furniture stores. We also needed a couch so we found a couch there too. We took the chair home that night (the couch will be delivered in a few weeks). After we were home for only a couple hours and all the kids were sleeping, I started to doze off on my new chair. After about 15 minutes, I woke up suddenly with contractions. They were entirely bearable but I could tell these were for real (versus the false labor I had been experiencing off and on all weekend). They started out from the first contraction at 4-6 minute intervals. I called my sister a couple times to first see if she could come and stay the rest of the night with the kids if I ended up going in, and second, if she thought I should go in. My contractions were regular but not so painful that I could just yak easily the entire time. I finally decided after about 3 hours that it was time to go in and see what progression I had made. I went in and was at a 4+ (versus 3+ the afternoon before, at my doctor's appointment). I was effaced to about 80% versus the 70% the day before.

After about an hour I was at a 5 and about 80% still. They decided that I was going to be staying so I was admitted to a labor room. The rest of the labor and delivery was absolutely picture perfect. I had adequate time to get an epidural, waited for our doctor of choice to get on duty at 7 before they broke my water (at about 7:30), then delivered at a little after 9:30.

Our baby is very, very easy...even though he is one of those that has to be held or he won't rest well. We definitely are not complaining! He wouldn't be in a crib ever anyway because there is always someone waiting to hold him.

I will have to tell a few hilarious stories from when the girls found out we had a boy. They will have to wait though because our little prince is waiting to eat!

I would post some pictures but can't find the camera I do have a cord for that I could use to transfer some pics onto here. I can only find our new camera, for which I have lost the cord and probably wouldn't know how to operate anyway as far as transferring pics, even if I did find the cord!

More later! :)

An Update of Sorts

As I sit here, trying to decide where to start, I realize that really aLOT has happened that I haven't posted on. I'm trying to decide how much of it is appropriate to put on here and how much of it would be TMI (too much info). I think about 70% of it is TMI....for one reason or another. That poses the problem then of, if I don't write that, the rest of it won't make sense! So, here I sit, pondering and pondering.....

Well, this much I can say. I started homeschooling a few of my kids recently. I started with my fifth-grader. She has always wanted to be homeschooled and I've always wanted to homeschool. My problem was, I've always really liked our schools and most of the teachers the kids have had, so I had no reason to pull them. I felt that by going to school, more of their needs are met....from academic needs to social needs. Finally, my daughter had had enough waiting and really pushed for it and I decided, "Why not?"

After I pulled her, the other two elementary girls started pushing for themselves to be able to also stay home and be homeschooled. I waited a week, then pulled my third-grader. Then after a few more weeks and some time to get things in order, see how it all was going to fall into place, I've finally pulled the first-grader. Her first day home is Monday.

I have been enjoying this so, so much! I have some really good resources to draw curriculum ideas and other ideas from. The school has been really supportive as well as all my family and friends.

One added bonus that I wasn't really anticipating is that I'm noticing this really neat transformation in my girls. The older one has been pretty easy-going and an eager learner anyway but our next one down has been a little more high-strung. The first week or a bit more, she would just bounce off the walls, get on everyone's nerves and was a master evader of sitting down to learn. Now, the two girls are just always thinking up new ideas, from Science Photography to Nature/Wildlife Clubs to Imaginary Worlds. They play math games together and love them. They've always avid readers so they are both just thrilled to have now gotten their own library cards that are the keychain version that they've both put on those neck things (like people put their employee cards). We are trying to have a day a week for each subject. We feature Language Arts on Mondays...this includes a trip to the library. Tuesdays feature subject is Social Studies, Wednesday-Health, Thursday-Math and Friday-Science and Art. We have Dad bring them to the gym a few times a week for swimming/P.E. I've just ordered some more material to cover Music and then a complete Elementary software program off ebay to give us lots and lots of lessons for each subject. I also have some books coming that covers each grade to make sure we have them on the right level by the end of the year.

It's been a bit scary on one hand....I worry that I won't keep them at their levels. I've been calming down about that though, I think I have adequate resources and information now to ensure that we keep up.

There, now that covers one topic! I will post some homeschooling pictures maybe this week sometime. We even had our first field trip about a 1 1/2 weeks ago to the Science Museum and Omni Theater. Coincidentally, the film was about the Grand Canyon and we are studying landforms in Science (in the film, there were several landforms mentioned....slot canyons, deltas, caves, and sand dunes). Also, the featured display/lab for the museum was water/the water cycle, etc. That's also something we are covering. We spent 4 1/2 hours there total and all of the kids did very well (except the baby got pretty ornery)! In the van on the way home was another story. THey all had had so much fun but got so tired out, they were all having micro- to macro-meltdowns. :)

Alright...time to wrap up here at work. I would love to update more but running out of time!

The Process....

Whew! To try get a picture of all six without someone looking away, playing Nintendo DS, fighting, blinking, pinching another's nose, suddenly sitting up, scowling.....Phew! We did have fun in the process though!:)

Hey...Happy January To All (Quickly Before It Leaves)....And Happy February!

Whew! Where did January go? I guess I abandoned my Tortoise for a bit and look what happened!!! I lost a whole month!

Oh, if only I could update you on the month but....whew! Let's just call it life-changing in many aspects! I may or may not get into it next time. :)

As for baby....(in utero)...ultrasound about 1 1/2 weeks ago revealed a beautiful baby of unknown gender. Little stinker was sitting breech with legs crossed tight! We got a level 2 ultrasound so it was really cool to see all the details so much clearer. Soooo fun! I am now about 26.5 weeks along.....and it looks like I may be pulling the same stunt as last time. Baby is already very low and I've had a lot of pressure. I went in early for my OB appt and although nothing has started, I will now begin my every 2 weeks appts a little early.

Well, Happy Weekend to you all....let's see when I get back on for an update again! I hope it's sooner rather than later! :)

A Very Merry Christmas to All...AND...

...we've had our very first runaway(s)....right in the midst of this fine holiday season!

I was shopping the other night, finding some screaming deals, when I got a phone call from my 10 y.o. She said that our middle two girls were nowhere to be found. She said she searched the entire house, the yard, the neighbors' yards where their "sledding hill" is...no girls. It was getting dark...or rather, it was quite dark already. I was only a few miles away so I told her to keep looking and I would come right home to help.

I got a phone call a few minutes later reporting that the lost had been found. The girls insisted that they had been in the yard all along playing tag and such. At this time, my 10 y.o. reported that earlier she had seen the two girls off walking down the street, around the corner and then later overheard their discussion that they had gone down another street and had walked until they saw a dog, at which point they decided to beat cheeks home. I told her I would talk to them because they know they aren't allowed to walk off our cul-de-sac without permission.

I got home and asked the girls what they were doing walking around the neighborhood. They said they were just out walking. I told them that they aren't allowed to do that and beside the fact it was getting dark, it also was much too cold to go wandering off. If they would have gotten lost, they could have easily and quickly gotten dangerously cold...and they could have gotten kidnapped!

I got quick apologies from both.

Later that evening, as I was getting ready to go out the door to work, our 9 y.o. (one of the wanderers) started whining (and I mean whining) that she never gets time to do her homework!!! I told her that it is her responsibility to get it done before playing outside. She wailed that she forgot that she has homework!!!! I told her that that just doesn't cut it. That is what they have a planner for. Her job in this position as a student is making sure she checks her planner every night, even if she thinks she doesn't have homework, and that she gets her homework done every night.

She was getting quite loud with her outburst, so my husband, who was trying to get the baby to sleep, reminded her to keep it down. She raised her voice even louder so he raised his, telling her that she had 20 minutes to complete whatever she had for homework (which is always plenty of time for her). She continued her high-pitched whining and wailing and was getting quite obnoxious until he yelled at her that regardless of what she had to say, time was ticking...get her homework done in 20 minutes or she would go to school without it done! To which she began crying and saying, "Mom! I have to talk to you!"

She came down to the door and said, "Plus, Mom, I really did run away!" I asked her, "When, tonight? You mean when Olivia was looking for you....you were on the run?" She said, "YES! Everyone is always mad at me and yelling at me, even when I try to talk so nicely. I finally got tired of just talking about running away and decided to just do it! I decided to try it to see how it feels." I told her, "Oh. I'm sorry to hear that you felt that bad about being here that you decided to actually leave. You really picked a bad night to try it though. Besides the fact it was already getting dark and you could have easily gotten lost, it is really, really cold out there. You could have quickly frozen and then what good would that have been? And just think, what if someone would have kidnapped you?"

The "kidnapper" word is the one that always gets her thinking. She has great discussions of the "what-ifs" involving kidnappers..so this kind of slowed her down a little bit. Of course this great confession came right as I had to get out the door so she promised to talk about it with me when we were both home the next evening after school. I also pulled my oldest aside and asked her to, at some point, mention to her dad what happened and ask him to talk to her about it. That way she feels that we at least acknowledged her distress (as dramatic as she can be). I know they both talked to her then after I left.

When we talked the next afternoon, her emotions were pretty evened out and she just told me where all they walked, what all they saw, and wasn't even in the least bit disturbed anymore. The highlight of the whole discussion was the fact they saw a bulldog on the run (I have recently seen the same dog in the neighborhood) and decided they better make fast tracks home.

I have a feeling that these two just might turn my head a snowy white before too many years!

Wordful Wednesday: Christmas Card '08

This year I decided against trying to gather the young'uns around for a formal or specifically Christmas picture. I felt more like picking out snapshots I've gotten of them here and there over the past few months. I think this shows their personalities better (between that and I was just too lazy to attempt the more formal route)...except the dogs. I am still floored that I got them to just go sit by each other (somewhat motivated by a piece of roast beef my 10y.o. let them first sniff). I will forever be amazed that I got the shot I did. They actually sat right down and posed for several pictures. I finally told my daughter, "Okay, give 'em that piece of meat to share! I think they've earned it today!" :)

(Take note of the parakeet on the hood of my 10 y.o. in the top right photo, or below)

This bird has been so fun to have around! The girls have been working on socializing/taming it.

*Okay, now that I've posted this, I realized that I have this same photo (our Christmas card photo, including this one of my daughter and her bird) in color on top as my blog photo! Pardon my dementia-ridden brain!!! :)

A Blog Giveaway...

I'm posting this blog giveaway because the owner of this blog has some really neat handmade items she is just giving away if you go comment on her giveaway blog. Just click on her giveaway button, like the one above, that you see on the upper left-hand side of her blog..then follow the instructions. Her blog is really cute!