Tuesday, May 11, 2010

notes on our day

Big sister is so proud to be cutting strawberries for little sister!  Slowly, Momma is raising helpers.

Here is my sweetie on pasta night.  The floor looks worse than her face.....three times a day.  We always pair strawberries and vanilla ice cream (Bryers with the vanillla bean specks) on pasta night.  Yummy combo.


My nature-loving son is in heaven now that spring is here.  Every ADHD child (and adult) I've known has needed nature therapy.  Very calming to them.

They've been digging for earthworms in Ohio for five years, but this size has never appeared before.  My first thought when he brought it to me, was, what kind of snake is that!!??

My Mary picks up as much earth life as her big brother.


Here we're praising the Lord and dancing to some You Tubes.  We really got the grove here!  Who needs jazzercise?  I'll eventually learn how to make my own You Tube.  You need to see first hand the energy I'm dealing with!


They painted flowers while I put Beth down for a nap.  Their painting time has been so peaceful lately.  Paul did spill some paint on the floor--they told me--but they cleaned it up without coming to get me.  How 'bout that?  My babies are growing up!

I'm not able to nurse Beth out in the living areas.  She will only concentrate on nursing when she's in a room alone with me.  It was that way with all my babies, starting around 8 months old.  If you don't expect that and try to accommodate it, your baby might wean before you both really desire it.

Beth has stopped nursing (for the most part) between the hours of 12 midnight and 5 a.m.  Consequently, I noticed signs of ovulation, including very painful nursing.  Why is it that nursing around ovulation hurts so much?

Medically speaking, midnight to five is called sleeping through the night.  Nursing within those hours does seem to delay a woman's cycle longer, so there is something to that medical definition.

I've had a long, 26-month reprieve from cycles.  All good things must come to an end, I suppose.  Maybe my migraines the past couple of days are hormone related after all.

I read this post today from A Path Made Straight.  What a snippet from my day!   Every day.  And God is working with me in much the same way regarding messes and constant interruptions.  Elise has such a way with words.  Someday I'll hopefully be able to craft equally beautiful posts about seemingly mundane motherhood tasks.  In truth, they're not mundane at all!  They slowly chisel away at our me-first natures, remaking us in his image.

healthy grilling of meats

Healthy grilling techniques for Memorial Day.

Trading My Sorrow



We've had a migrainy couple days.  The change in routine didn't set well with the ADHD dwellers here.  Praise You Tubes always turn our day around.   Gather the kids and dance it up a bit!

We each take a turn to say what ailment or difficulty we're trading for the joy of the Lord.  They get this.

Your Grace Is Enough



Here is one to remind me that the migraines and the ADHD are covered in grace.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Planning a garden with your kids?

Planting a garden this year with your kids?  Go here for a great lesson on planting potatoes.  Very impressive presentation.  Easy to understand for K level and above.

We learned, among other things, that you don't want to use store-bought potatoes (they harbor plant diseases, even if they look healthy).  Buy seed potatoes at a nursery instead.

We are expecting a frost this week.  Hopefully we can get started next week.  The kids can hardly wait and they check the weather every day.