Halloween 2008

Halloween is over. My big kid is at a friend's house, which is normal for a Friday night. My little beauty and the two beasts are in bed sound asleep for now. We had a great night at our church's fall festival. The original plan was to go trick or treating but this afternoon we decided to do something different this year and I'm so glad we did. Not only did the kids get candy, but they got to play games and have fun. On the way home we picked up a pizza for a late night dinner, so all in all it was a good night.

Almost 2 weeks ago, Maddie and Nicholas both came down with chicken pox. That was interesting. Thankfully we have some friends who would like their children to have a natural lifelong immunity and were happy to bring their kids over for a pox party. A few days later, I was going crazy wanting to get out of the house, so we went to a costume party with some similarly minded friends.

Once the kids got all better and were no longer contagious, I just had to get out of the house. We decided to take the little ones (Kayla didn't want to come with us) to a local pumpkin patch and we had an awesome time! The kids got to pick cotton, jump in a huge pile of cotton, climb hay mountains, ride on a mule drawn wagon, and play on some pretty cool tractors. Boy it felt so good to be out of the house finally!

Here are some pictures taken tonight and over the past 2 weeks...in no particular order becausse I'm exhausted and ready for bed. Enjoy!

A few favorite recipes and a picture of a cute boy

First, here is a recent picture of Ben that I took at my friend's house. She knitted this hat for her baby and it was so cute I couldn't resist putting it on Ben and snapping a picture.



Okay, now to share some recipes. These are a few of my favorites that have been requested often throughout the last few years. I like to cook from scratch and use my crock pot as often as possible.

Tortilla Pie-

1 two layer pie crust
3 TBSP olive oil
1 C chopped onion
1 gr bell pepper
15 oz can black beans
1/2 cup salsa
1tsp chili pepper (optional)
8 oz shredded cheddar
3 eight inch flour tortillas

Prepare pie crust

Heat oil in skillet. Add onion and pepper. Saute 5 min. Add beans, salsa and spices. Simmer 7-10 minutes.

Layer 1/3 mixture into crust. Top with 1/3 cheese, top with tortilla. Repeat twice and end with cheese. Top with 2nd pie crust, seal edges and bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes.

I like to serve this with salsa and sour cream.




Slow Cooker Chicken Curry

3 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 tablespoons curry powder
1/2 tsp gr cumin
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 lbs boneless chicken
2 cups peeled and chopped potatoes
1 1/2 cups bias sliced carrots
1 cup coarsley chopped cooking apple
2 cloves garlic
1 fresh jalapeno chile pepper, seeded and finely chopped (I do not use this because it's too spicy for my kids)
1 teaspoon instant chicken bouillon granules
1/2 cup water
1 13 oz can unsweetened coconut milk
Hot cooked brown rice (optional- I use basmati rice)
1/4 cup chopped peanuts

In a large plastic bag combine the flour and spices. Add chicken, and shake bag to coat.

In your slow cooker combine potatoes, carrots, apple, onion, garlic, pepper and bouillon granules. top with chicken. Pour water over all.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hrs, or high for 3-4 hrs.

If using low heat, turn to high setting. Stir in coconut milk and cover and cook for 30 minutes more. Serve over hot rice and sprinkle with peanuts.

My FAVORITE ever turkey chili recipe-

This is sooooo good and tastes different than most other chili recipes. I love it because it's good for you!!! I make it in the crock pot- high for 4-5 hours or low for 7-8 hours. Top with sour cream and/or shredded cheese.


1 1/2 pounds ground turkey- cooked
1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon chili pepper flakes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 (14.5 ounce) can beef broth
1 (7 ounce) can salsa
1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes, or coarsely chopped tomatoes packed in puree
1 (7 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, diced
3 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 bunch green onions, chopped

Smoky Black Bean and Vegetable Soup-
I make this in the slow cooker as well but I have no idea how long....I just put it in sometime during the day and we eat it for dinner...maybe 6 hours on low?

2 cups chopped onion
1 cup carrot
3/4 cup sliced celery
4 garlic cloves
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp chili powder
2 bay leaves
2 cups water
3 15 oz cans black beans
2 14 oz cans vegetable broth
2 14 oz cans plum tomatoes, undrained and chopped

The recipe says to saute the first 4 ingredients until tender, then add the spices, cook for 1 minute, then add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 2 hours. I've been known to just toss it all in a crock pot on a busy day and it turns out fine. Top with yogurt, lime wedges and fresh cilantro. I keep a small pot of cilantro growing on my back deck because I use it so often.

Scrapbooking

More pages for Bens scrapbook-

From To print

From To print

Sad, funny and true

Birmingham is so normal compared to Pittsburgh, PA where I grew up. People speak differently there, use strange words and behave in such a manner that can only be seen in Pittsburgh. It's true and very odd. I bet if I go back to Wilmerding and go to the Sports Page,
half my old classmates from EAHS will be there, still doing what they were doing the last time I was there. I grew up in a strange town.



You know you're from Pittsburgh when........

Hey Yuz Guyz" is your traditional greeting.

You know the time and location of every Wing Night in a 10 mile radius.

You know the location of the following towns, know someone from them and have spent time there: Monongahela, Altoona, Bethlehem, Ligonier, Harmony, and Wilmerding.

You've memorized lines from the movie "Flashdance".

If you're a guy, your biggest fear is seeing your best friend drive into the "fruit loop". You're second biggest fear is seeing him drive out with Kordel Stewart.

If you're a girl, you're biggest fear is getting hit on by a hairy-chested man, heavily weighted in gold chains, who refers to his friends as "junior" at Chauncey's.

Your latest cultural experience: On your way to partying at Slippery Rock University, having to stop your car to let the Amish buggy cross the street.

As your out-of-town friends brag about their latest trips to Europe, you think to yourself, "Polish Hill will suffice."

You eat out at least once a week at a mafia-owned Italian pizza parlor.

Your father has worked for the same company for over 20 years.

You don't see what all the hype is about Disney World when Kennywood is just around the corner.

You're having a hard time on where to take your date out for dinner and a night on the town: - "meat on a stick" in the south side and the guzzling IC Light at Jack's... Or splitting an order of "O fries" and guzzling IC Light at Peter's Pub.

" N at' " is eloquently added to the end of every sentence.

You've taken deliberate field trips to the Andy Warhol museum.

You water ski on the Youghiogheny River Lake.

You feel the only good bands out there are Donny Iris, Joe Grushecky, The Blue Oyster Cult, and of course.... Rusted Root.

You're more worried about Jerome Bettis's health than your own.

You own more than one original Terrible Towel.

You don't understand what all the hype is about for Rolling Rock beer. You've been drinking it for years, although Penn Pilsner is better.

You consider a great vacation a trip to Conneaut Lake or Lake Erie. For something a little more exotic, a trip to the Jersey shore.

You're 35 years old, have never been outside of Allegheny County, and don't see the need to leave.

You only own four spices: salt, pepper, Heinz ketchup, and the bottle of Trappey's Red Devil you swiped from Primanti's.

For the life of you, you can't understand why your all your out-of-town friends don't get the "fries and cole slaw" thing...

You have 101 favorite recipes for kolbasi and sauerkraut.

Words like: hoagie; chipped ham; pop; and gumband actually mean something to you.

You can use the phrase "Firehall Wedding" and not even bat an eye.

You walk carefully when it is "slippy" outside.

You often go down to the "crick".

You have to "red up", before company comes over.

You've ever gotten hurt by falling into a "jaggerbush".

You know that Ahia is a river, a boulevard, and a state.

You've ever "warshed" or "wershed" the laundry.

You know you can't drive too fast on back roads,cause-udda-deer.

You've drank an "Arn" .

You've told someone to "quit jaggin around".

You know that Clinton, Monaca, and Beaver, are actually names of towns.

You've called someone a 'jaggoff'.

You hear "you guyses", or "yins" and don't think twice.

You hate Cleveland, although you've never been there.

You drink "pop", eat "hoagies", pierogies, and gyros(jy-rows).

You know what a still mill is.

You can find Zillionopal on a map.

You go 'food shoppin' at 'Jine Iggle'.

You believe that "Ize" is the abbreviaton for "I was.

You know someone from 'Sliberty, E-sliberty, or Wesliberty.

You know the Pittsburgh Zoo is in 'Hilinpark' and have been there for school field trips.

You know what is meant by "The Point".

Chipped ham was always in your refrigerator when you were growing up.

This makes it all worthwhile

Check out his little tongue sticking out in between laughing. I love him. He's so sweet.

We love our Daddy!

Mike is coming home tonight. He has been on a business trip for the past 3 days. I need him here to help. Life is so hard when you have 4 kids, are trying to homeschool, run a teen taxi service, do chores, and find time to sleep. Bens schedule is so off right now and I have no idea how to get it normal again. He stays up til after 11 most nights and today he slept til almost 9am. Staying up late is fine when Daddy is holding him, because then I have a chance to do dishes, laundry, tidy up the house, work on ebay listings, etc after the middle kids go to bed. All of this is IMPOSSIBLE when Mike is not here because I have to hold the baby. Yes, I can wear him, but it's just easier not to. Also, I can't figure out why he's only happy playing by himself when it's not absolutely necessary. He simply cannot be content with anything but being held after 8pm. I'm just exhausted.

Today, I think I've hit rock bottom. I did Maddie's reading lesson with her, read some books to Nicholas and showed him some number flashcards, then told the kids to go upstairs to play. It was time for Ben to take a nap and I wanted to lay down with him and nurse him to sleep. I passed out too and here I am, still in a sleepy haze at 11am. I get up at 5:30 and I still haven't truly woken up yet! Yikes. I'm still in my pjs and haven't showered. I ALWAYS shower at 7am, but today I just couldn't do it!

We are calling off school for the day. Thankfully we started in July and plan on schooling year round, so taking a day off here and there isn't a big deal. As long as Maddie is ready for first grade work by July 1, I'll be satisfied.

In the future, I'll be skipping school when Daddy is out of town. It will lessen my workload for the day and make it more manageable.

Oh, and I've again decided to do something different with school starting in first grade. We are going to follow The Well Trained Mind. I just read the book and it is amazing. For those who don't know, it's a book about how to give children a classical education at home. If you don't know what that is, you can google that or I'll write more another day when I have caffeine in my system. I only have decaf today. That is probably part of the problem today.

I must stop on the way home from the playground and remedy this situation.

Dear Benjamin

Dear Benjamin,

You are adorable and I love you with all my heart but will you please stay asleep when you pass out at 8pm? It's not cool to wake up at 8:30 and stay awake until nearly midnight every night. Mama needs to get up at 5am. I know you think you are cute, rolling around on the floor saying dadadadaa and giggling at the dog as she looks at you. I'm sure it's hard during the day when you cannot be the center of attention but believe me, I can be a whole lot more entertaining when I've had a few hours of sleep and lately it's not happening. Besides no one believes me that you do all of these cute things, so do yourself a favor. Sleep at night and be adorable during the day when you have a little more of an audience.

Love always,
Mama

Shhhh......

It's 9:13 am and we've already showered, eaten, and done a reading and math lesson and calendar. All we have to do now is read the next page in our geography book, read a chapter in Alice and Wonderland, read about hyenas, write about zebras, and make a rhino, and do a science project!!!! I'll get most of that done before we leave at 10 to go to storytime and finish up while my dinner is cooking! Woo hoo!

Right now Maddie is in the school room practicing making worms, snakes, ants and grass using Ed Emberly's animal drawing book. I love that she is fine tuning her writing skills and doesn't even realize it! She thinks she's having fun and taking a break after working hard on math and reading. Today she learned "th"!

Nicholas has been happily making sculptures out of crayons and playdough the entire time. I wonder if he learned something while sitting at the table with us?

Homeschooling rocks!

78 As a 1930s wife, I am Very Superior Take the test!

It's working!!!!

We started our 3rd week of school yesterday and so far we are doing very well with math but have decided to start at the beginning with reading. I put away the Advanced K language arts curriculum for now and we are doing daily lessons from Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons. So far so good. We are on lesson 8 and progressing smoothly. Once she can read well, we'll pull out the Adv K curriculum and start over again.

Animal Worlds is going well too, but I didn't know this until yesterday. We have been studying the African Savanna, learning about what types of animals live in the grasslands. Every day we read in our DK Animal Encyclopedia and our One Small Square African Savanna book, in addition to some other books that we look at only a few times a week each.

I really thought Maddie wasn't enjoying it, but yesterday while I was cooking dinner, she pulled out some plain white paper and announced "I'm going to draw the grasslands!" She started by drawing ants climbing blades of grass. She learned how to do this earlier in the day using Ed Emberly's Drawing Book of Animals. After she drew the ants, she added a gazelle and a lion, asking me to open the Animal Encyclopedia so she could be sure to draw them correctly.

In addition to all that I've mentioned above, I am reading to them daily from Socks by Beverly Cleary, The Little Learners Bible Storybook, and we are studying Geography using a great Children's Atlas that I picked up last week at Books A Million.

I don't read enough

A few days ago, I read a post on my friend Amy's blog about the 100 most beloved books of all time. Looking over the list, I realize I've read very few. Actually I was surprised to find that I have read any of them. I love to read, but in high school I never read the books that were assigned. Let's just say I wasn't the top student at our school. It wasn't even a very good school, obviously, because I somehow made it through high school without ever reading a decent book or turning in a term paper. I never even took the SATs, but that's a gripe for another day.

So, I read this list of books and it inspired me to read more. I'm going to print the list, post it on my fridge and attempt to read them all. Realistically I'll say that I'll attempt to read them all because I'm sure there are a few that I really won't like very much. No sense in wasting my time with a book I dread reading. I'm sure there will be plenty that I will love and those will be worth my time.

Here is the list, copied from Amy's blog. I've bolded the few I've already read, including those I've read so long ago I have no recollection (I have a terrible memory)

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien (Working on it now...)
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie



I'm going to keep a record of the books I've read here on the blog. Any recommendations on where to start?

We did it!

We started school on Sunday! Mike was preparing to take Kayla to the airport to see her off to PA and Maddie was heartbroken about not being able to tag along. I offered to start school a day early as a distraction and it was just the thing she needed! Today will be our 3rd day and so far we both love it!

So far we have done a math lesson each day, reviewed phonics and practiced reading short words, practiced writing. We are also studying Animals in their World, a curriculum offered by Winterpromise. We've learned about various animal senses, movement, and skeletons and we've read the first chapter in a book called Red Dog, by Bill Wallace.

Soon we will be starting a unit on the African Savannah and I will be adding some geography and American History lessons as well.

Nicholas and I are working through Winterpromise's I'm Ready To Learn preschool curriculum as we have time but I am beginning to realize that we won't take full advantage of all this program has to offer until he's a bit older. He just turned three last month, so this will probably work better next year.

Sweetest baby ever!

Isn't he just the cutest little man you've ever seen?

Cuteness!

These pictures are a little out of focus and not technically perfect but then again, are they ever? This was my attempt at a spur of the moment professional style photo shoot. I have lots to learn!

Nicholas looks like a 5 year old. He's only 3. He JUST turned three in June, but he's so big and looks so grown up! He's all boy!




Madelyn was posing in all sorts of funny poses, distorting her face and putting her hands up while I tried to take photos of her. This was what I got after I asked her to stop posing.



Ben smiled a bit at Maddie but the lighting in the house was poor and everything was blurry. I got one good shot of him. I'll try again today.





Kayla of course wasn't here and doesn't let me take pictures of her anyway, but I plan on catching her off guard today. Maybe later I'll post a photo of her.

Homeschool ramblings...

We have made the decision to homeschool our younger children. Kayla will stay in public school where she is happy, so I'm starting fresh with Maddie. Kindergarten will start in our house sometime within the next 2 weeks. The original plan was to start on July 14, while K is visiting my parents in PA but not all of our books have arrived yet so we need to wait til everything gets here and til I can organize everything, shop for our project supplies and go over my checklist a couple of times to make sure everything is in place.

The thought is kind of daunting. We like to go go go all the time and frequently we rush through our chores (or give up when I realize I'm not going to make any progress) and hop in the car to make a trip to the park or a friend's house. Other times we invite all the friends here for an all day playdate. We have a great circle of friends and there is always someone ready and willing to have a playdate. We call them playdates, but really it's mama time. We cook, sew, eat, clean and mostly just sit around a kitchen table and gab while the kids play. It's incredibly therapeutic and through these conversations I have laughed, cried, and learned tons from these incredible women whom I'm lucky to have as friends.

However, once we start school, the days of spontaneous playdates, shopping trips, and outings will most likely end. Kindergarten, as I've been told, should only take about 1 hour a day or less. Our program is likely to take longer and with a baby and energetic 3 year old I'll probably stretch our "school" day to 2-3 hours sometimes. Then there are the chores and all the other things that go along with parenting my children and caring for my home.

I guess the easy way out would be to send my daughter to the big brick box down the road, but I just can't do that. There is no way the kindergarten teachers know how to teach my child. I know they all have great intentions and most are generally good people, but will they really take the time to know my child? Are they going to give her exactly what she needs? They won't and they can't be the kind of teacher my sweet girl needs.

Homeschooling in our state is very common, so there are many resources available to us. We can take classes at the McWane Center, or Zoo this year. When she gets older there are coops where she can learn with other children. There are organized park days for homeschoolers, drama classes, ice skating classes, sports teams, field trips, clubs to join and many friends to be made. I have heard from other Alabama homeschoolers that fitting in time to do actual "schooling" is sometimes hard with all of the outside activities and classes that are available. This thrills me. I am so happy to have a world of resources available for my children.

Even Kayla, who is in public school, will benefit from this as we go on a homeschooling field trip to WDW in December. Both girls will participate in Disney's YES program during one of our days there and prior to the trip I will educate them about the countries we will "visit" in Epcot, and the regions we will "visit" in Animal Kingdom.

We will be using Winterpromise's Adv K Language Arts, Animals in their Worlds and Horizon Math K for Madelyn. Nicholas will be doing Winterpromise's I'm Ready To Learn preschool program.

Figuring out how to schedule our day will do doubt be a struggle as we get started. Many other homeschoolers have told me that it pays to remain flexible and rework the system over and over again til I find a way that works for us.

Pray for us as we start this wonderful journey! We'll need it!

Nicholas is THREE!!!!

My boy is three years old! He is such a blessing to our family and we are so lucky to have him in our lives. Some things that I love about him.....

He greets me with a cheerful "Good Morning Mommy!" every morning and afternoon(after his nap)
He LOVES his baby brother! Lately his whole reason for being is just to make the baby smile and he will do whatever it takes.
He can recite "Miss Spiders New Car" word for word, without even looking at the book!
He gives the best eskimo kisses
He has an amazing imagination.
On his birthday, everytime someone said "Happy Birthday Nicholas" he wished them a Happy Birthday in return!

He's a sweet, smart, fun and amazing little boy. I Thank God that I was chosen to be his mama.

His cake was homemade. He wanted a race car cake and I am NOT a cake decorator, but Maddie and I had fun decorating this..don't laugh, ok? This is the best I could do! He saw it and immediately started driving the little cars all over the cake.


This is him 3 years ago, sniff sniff......

Our letterboxing adventure

It's time I start updating this blog again, don't you think? I'll start by telling you all about our letterboxing adventure a few weeks ago. I read an old article in Family Fun that reminded me about this great activity that I had been wanting to do once Maddie got old enough. Kayla is old enough but not at all interested in searching for little boxes in the woods.

I did a little research and found www.atlasquest.com, which lists letterboxes and the clues you need to find them. I was pleasantly surprised to find quite a few in our area, so I picked a few easy ones and printed out the clues. Most letterboxes are found hidden alongside hiking trails and we already enjoy light hikes. Maybe this will motivate us to do more hiking and as the kids get older, go back to doing longer more strenuous hikes, which would be great for my not so girly figure!

We packed up a special bag just for our letterboxing supplies-our stamps, ink pad, pens, books, bug spray and water bottle- and headed out to the state park which happens to be only a 10 minute drive from our house.

Here are some pictures of our first find-





After we found our first box, we made our way through the park to an easy trail where we would find our second letterbox-

We have a baby!!!

Almost two weeks ago I gave birth to our fourth child. He's so sweet and the older kids love him. Even my moody teenager can't seem to get enough of him. His name is Benjamin and he was born at home after a fairly quick but sort of intense 2.5 hr labor. We are doing well and adjusting to life as a family of 6 much easier than I had anticipated. This easy adjustment is all thanks to my wonderful friends, family and midwife.

Four weeks

We have four weeks left of this journey if this baby decides to hold out that long. I'm expecting that he will, considering none of my other births occurred earlier than the estimated due date. It's so hard to believe that February is right around the corner. It's very surreal, just like the last 3 times. No matter how many children you already have I think you are never prepared for the life changes ahead as you wait on the birth of the next baby.

Mike says this one will be our last, so I'm trying to do as much as I can to enjoy these last few weeks. I sit and gaze at my ever growing belly as it moves and I love to imagine how this little person grow. He is truly a blessing and I can't wait to meet him.

As of yesterday, my amazing midwife says I'm clear for birthing at home, so whenever he's ready he's welcome to come on out! I'm ready to meet him but only if he's ready to meet me.

We have everything washed and ready to go. Birth supplies are all collected and in a bin waiting to be used, baby clothes and diapers are stacked neatly in bins in our room next to the pack n' play where he will sleep some of the time.

Contractions have been coming every so often for weeks now, making me wonder if we really will make it another four weeks. I try not to get my hopes up that he will come easily or early(but still fully cooked), so that in the even this does turn out to be a 42 weeker, I'm not desperately begging for induction instead of peacefully birthing at home.