We took a lot of pictures but here are my absolute favorites.  I used the Florabella Actions for PSE (that stands for Photoshop Elements).  Specifically the Luxe II set.  Click here to visit the Florabella Collection.

I have to say that finally purchasing some actions for PSE has made it less intimidating.  Once I started adjusting each layer in the presets it started to make sense to me.  I’m still a newbie at all this photography stuff, but we’re having fun and I’m capturing beautiful moments of my children.  I’m so thankful for cameras!

I’m so excited to say that my wonderful mom got me one of the Florabella PSE action sets.  Click here to visit Florabella Collection.I’ve been spending a lot of time getting to know the actions and understanding how to tweak them accordingly.  Can’t wait to show you a few more pics as I get them edited…

We had some fun out in the backyard yesterday and today.  I’ll post today’s pics soon.  I’m trying to get some good pics ready for the holidays.  I know grandparents love a good grandkid pic!

I love Fall!  I wish I could make it last longer but it goes by so quickly and I always feel like I wasn’t able to enjoy it as much as I wanted to.  But I won’t dwell on that because we are still in the beginning of Fall and I’m going to soak up as much as I can.  Visit The Inspired Room to check out lots of Fall goodness and tips.

Finn is one year old and I can’t believe it.  This year went by faster than any I’ve known yet.  Every evening while putting the kids to bed I’m baffled that it’s the end of another day…already.  Here are a few pics from the birthday get-together that we had at my parent’s house.  We had pizza in the wood fired oven and some all around coziness.

Some of you know Lacy and read her blog.  Her daughter, Anna, came to spend part of the day with us recently and here are some cute pictures!  Notice the best expressions ever.

Sometimes when I tell Nathan to smile, this comes out instead.  I don’t think he was grossed out by the girls.  Not yet anyway.

We did fun crafts like making bracelets and decorating a photo album.

The kids played well together and it always pleases me to see them having fun with other children.

Good day!

My site was recently hacked but I’m back!  And this is thanks to a friend who willingly fixed it. I’m so grateful to him for recovering all that I’ve written in the last two years.  Thanks Trey!  And also to Dad for getting it partially fixed but suggested I get more help so he didn’t delete anything we couldn’t get back.

It’s amazing how much you cherish something as “little” as a blog when it’s been taken away.  I know this isn’t a money making blog or even a heavily followed blog, but this is more for me.  I like to write and post pictures and just have this little documentary I guess.  It’s something that I worked hard on to get started so it means a lot to me.

More fun kid pics to come!

I just love me some baby/toddler hands and feet.

I love the way they look when the grab things.

And how they hold a crayon

Or stand tip toe to see the trains.

Somebody please notice the finger.

We still love tea parties with chocolate bunnies.

Stiff feet with a few spread toes while letting us know what he thinks about things.

Mmm, mmm, mmmm!

There is so much I’ve wanted to blog about lately but I keep avoiding it.  I love reading blogs.  I like the idea of maintaining a regular blog but I think I get overwhelmed with all that goes into it like resizing my pics for the web, picking out the pictures, afraid of not being able to figure out how to do something.  So I just keep my stories and thoughts to myself and read your blogs!  =)  But here I am for my check-in.  Let’s see….

Finn is ten months old now!  He isn’t walking, but can crawl like a champ and go up and down our three steps with no problem.  He’s fun to watch.  He’ll be crawling and out of nowhere just plop his head down for a rest and starts sucking his two middle fingers.  Then he’s off again!

Nathan and Lucy will be 3 in October.  I won’t lie, things are challenging right now, but there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t thank God for my lot in life and for my little ones.

My current challenges with the kids are trying to find ways to deal with and correct the constant arguing.  They argue over toys and who has what and who had it first.  And I just can’t be there to catch everything.  We do have ownership rules around here but with mutual toys, I’ve started setting a timer for about 15 minutes at a time.  When it goes off, they hand the toy over to the next one.  I just started this a few days ago so let’s hope it really helps.

I am continually trying to renew my perspective when things get hard.  Like when I feel emotionally drained and as my friend Lacy once described, “touched out”.  Don’t get me wrong, I love all my hugs and kisses and snuggles, but I’m talking about on extra whiney days when little hands are constantly grabbing for me and tugging on me.  Some days I feel so defeated.

But I have a lot to be thankful for and remembering that is what helps me.  I have a helpful husband who willingly watches the kids a few times a week so I can go have coffee by myself or on weekends shop a little.  The perfect refreshment for my soul and I get back to my mothering with more zeal than before.

Challenges and hard days set aside, they are still at such a cute age and always surprising me with what they’ve learned and how they grow.  They sing their abc’s all the time and can identify all their letters.  And thanks to leap frog, they even know what sound each letter makes.  They say the cutest things ever and always keep us laughing.  =)

Let’s look at a few pictures to catch up, shall we?

This is my dear friend Liz’s little girl, Aubrey.

Feeding the fish at Noni and Grandpa’s house

We’ve been taking more family outings lately.  We like to go to Thomas Andrew’s and sit on the patio.  After dinner we walk down to the depot to see the old trains.

In other news…

I started a book club and am thoroughly enjoying it.  It’s everything I hoped it would be.  We meet every 3 weeks and get together and have great conversations and discussions over fine food and a glass of wine.  Michael Buble radio plays softly in the background (thank you Pandora) and everyone seems relaxed.

My friend Dana was recently in town and it was a treat to see her.  =)

I’m trying to expand my knitting skills.  I visited a knitting club twice now thanks to a good friend who is an excellent knitter.  She sits by me and corrects all my mistakes.

I’ve started taking Zumba classes at the YMCA and I’m in love.  However, don’t think I’m so bold as to go to the front.  I feel just fine in the back row.  I’m still a little stiff in my movements.

Check back in six months for more!  

I love watching them together.  Nathan really likes Finn and Finn seems to like Nathan.

It’s cute but it’s also serious.  Nathan will have a lot to teach Finn because Finn will always look up to Nathan.  So we have to teach Nathan to be a good leader and example.

I feel like we are off to a good start though because Josh is such a good daddy and is being the example to Nathan.  I’m so thankful.

Nathan making sure Finn is groomed

He’s not scratching Finn here.  He was trying to get something off his face, probably dried remains from his nose.  :/

All three of my loves.   The fourth is at work while I took this picture.

At least that’s what Lucy thinks.  Josh brought this little stuffed bumble bee home from drill for Lucy.  He wrapped it and gave it to her at Christmas.

She won’t touch it except by its antennas or wings.

From the get go she thought that thing was weird.  She kept it in the wrapper all of Christmas morning.  I think Nathan was the one who finally freed him of the paper cocoon.

She is also the type to get a shiver through her whole body if she touches a fuzz ball or anything remotely resembling that.  If it’s furry/fuzzy and small she can’t stand it.

I think it’s so funny.

Nathan, on the other hand, will pick up any bug he sees and he also likes to tease Lucy with this bumble bee.  She laughs though, or else we wouldn’t let him tease.

I guess that bee is kinda gross looking.

This is where the magic happens.  I set the time for a designated amount of time, in this case 25 minutes, and somehow my house magically goes from this

to this.

And from this

to this.

And from this

to this.

See?.

No joke.  This was no more than 25 minutes of cleaning.  AND I had time to wipe off the countertops and vacuum the rug in the den.  I don’t move so fast that I tear any muscles or bruise my chins.  I just move swiftly and steadily.  The house doesn’t get cleaned from top to bottom, but it gets tidy and that’s good enough for me.

Please note, that 25 minutes was for the living area (den, living room, dining room and kitchen).  I would have to set the timer for another 15 minutes for my bedroom and the kids’ rooms.

Most days I set for a maximum of 15-20 minutes but this was an extra large mess and I knew I needed a few more minutes on the timer.

This has become my preferred method of motivation.

My mom got me this ikea timer for Christmas and it sits there on my window sill most of the time.  I do this either every day or every other day and it’s just great.

I know it’s all in my head and I could clean the house without a timer, but I just don’t move as quickly.  There is something about having a timer that puts a fire under my feet and gets me moving.  And it’s nice, because once the timer goes off, I quit.  I finish the task I’m currently doing and call it quits.  I make myself a cupa tea and plunge myself on the couch to relax for the remainder of the kids’ nap time.

You should try it!

Alright, these are the before pictures that I could find when Josh first started working on the ceiling.  He put up tongue and groove.  I was going to paint them but I think I like them natural now.

Below is the before pic of the big wall we opened up.

And this is the new opening.  It really makes the house feel so much bigger.  We don’t have a big house.  It’s apx 1500 sq ft, but it feels big because of the open floor plan and the vaulted ceilings.

We added recessed lighting above the kitchen extension and in the den.

The black wall is a chalkboard for me, I mean the kids. There will also be a bar top that will fold up when we aren’t using it.  The little desk will be gone so we can comfortably fit bar stools.

This is one of my favorite end tables. I got it at goodwill for $12 and I just painted it and finished it to my liking.

Josh got me that ikea buffet the first year we were married.  I was still pregnant with the twins and it was a mother’s day gift.  =)

Photo wall

And now on to my kitchen.

Countertops, sink and shelving all came from Ikea.  They have the best prices on good quality things.

When you go to Ikea, check the “as-is” section.  I got this farmhouse sink for $99.  It was a display model in perfect condition.  Even if you don’t find one in the as-is, they are apx $300.  Not bad compared to Lowe’s and other places.

In case you are wondering, yes I do have to oil those butcher block countertops.  We use pure, raw tung oil.  I did a lot of research and this came out the winner.  It goes on like an oil and dries like a varnish.  A coat a day for a week, a coat a week for a month, a coat a month for a year, then once a year.  Easy to remember.

Thanks Dad for the bottle of wine.  It’s all gone now.  Feel free to give me another one.

Some of these pics were taken on different days so you’ll notice my buffet and shelves in the background that used to be in the dining area.  Now they’re in the den.

Still left to do:

Put up baseboards (that will really give it a completed look)

Stain and polyurethane steps

Finish trim around big opening and paint it

Shoe molding under countertops where the plywood is visible.

Corner molding on the bead board

Bead board behind stove on the other side of kitchen (not pictured)

Extend flooring from kitchen into the new extension

Finish painting living room and dining area.  All the peachy color will be gone.  I’m doing different shades of gray throughout the house.  It’s a nice neutral that isn’t tan or beige.

We are loving it!  It’s a lot of extra room for our growing family.  And the radiant heat coming from the stove is just pure delight on these cold winter days.

]]> http://healthnutmama.com/den-and-kitchen-reveal/feed/ 0 http://healthnutmama.com/sneak-peak/ http://healthnutmama.com/sneak-peak/#respond Mon, 07 Feb 2011 15:11:48 +0000 http://healthnutmama.com/?p=901

Hey, just checking in!  It’s been a looong time since my last post so here’s a quick update.  We’ve been renovating the den.  It was a garage that was partially converted when we moved in but we finished the job.  It has been a lot of work and I have spent most of my free time doing little things to move it along.  Painting, sanding, cleaning up, tiling, grouting, more painting, priming, staining, and so on.  By the way, I hate painting.  I’ve still go some trim left to paint and steps to stain and polyurethane.  I have to wait for a warm day when I can open the doors and windows so we don’t kill our brain cells as bad.

Above is a before that wasn’t even taken as a before pic.  I don’t have any official before or during pics.  Sorry.  These current after pics are taken with my phone and you can check back for prettier pics taken with my camera.

I hope to have pretty pics up soon.  I’ve been painting an armoire, making my photo wall, painting the living room, and painting a chalkboard wall.  (I really do hate painting), and trying to make it homey (homie, home-ie).  Check back!  Who knows when that will be though.  Could be months.  Hope not.

I couldn’t think of another way to quickly get all these pictures on here without inserting each individual one.  Doing that takes forever, so you get to see my day at a glance so to speak.  My friend Lacy had the marvelous idea of doing a post showing a typical day in our lives and linking up.  So go to her blog and check out all the ladies who linked up.

And now for a condensed verbal explanation of my day….see below photos.

Between 6am and 7am I get up to feed Finn.

7am:  Nathan and Lucy get up and eat breakfast.  Josh usually is up and helping with all of this and I am getting ready to go workout.  I am back in a routine of going to the YMCA 3 to 4 times a week.

8:30am Twins go into rooms for playtime for 45 min to an hour

or 9:00am Feed Finn and have my breakfast

9:30am back from playtime and see daddy off to work

As I burp Finn and clean up from breakfast the twins will play, read books, watch “Your Baby Can Read”, color, fight, play some more.  Sometimes we go outside in the morning and if not, we go in the afternoon.  I also take this time to do laundry.  Sometimes it gets folded and put away.  But a lot of the time it sits in the basket til I finally make myself do it.

I also start planning dinner during this time.  If it’s soup or stew I start it in the morning and let it simmer all day.  That leaves our afternoons more free to get outside or spend quality time reading or playing.

I usually start bread, or do one other food project during this time such as making yogurt or kefir.

11 or 11:30 am Lunch for twins, feed Finn (he’s closer to 11:30

Clean up after lunch and try to get the house straightened up before nap time.  I do a little cleaning frenzy.

1:00-3pm nap time.  This is when I make a cup of coffee and relax.  I’ll write a letter, or read or browse my favorite blogs.  I try not to do any house cleaning or work.  Just recharge.

3:00pm (apx) kids get up and have a light snack, usually an apple or banana.  Feed Finn

3-5:00pm is the fastest time of day.  I am trying to get dinner ready (if I didn’t make a soup) and the kitchen cleaned up of all but our dinner dishes that we eat on so that after dinner we can put those in the dishwasher and do a quick counter wipe and be done.

5:30 or 6pm Dinner.  Feed Finn (6ish)

After dinner they take a bath if they need one (less baths in the winter), play a little and get ready for bed. PJ’s on, teeth brushed and so on.  Josh usually gets home from work around 7:00pm.  6pm if I’m lucky.  It just depends.  Evenings are hard by myself taking care of all the kids.  But I’ve got a good routine going.

7:00pm bedtime for all kids.  Finn may get to bed at 7:30 because he can take longer to finish his bottle.  Quick clean up of house.

7:30pm Josh and I spend a few hours together.  We read or watch a movie or play a board game or just talk.

9:15pm wake up Finn for one last quick feed to hold him over til morning.  He’s been sleeping through the night for 2 weeks now!  And he’s only 8 weeks old!  Woo hoo!  This never happened with the twins.

10pm bedtime

As you noticed, sometimes I can prop Finn up with his bottle for a small part of his feeding so I can juggle something else.  But then he needs me to burp him and finish his bottle.

Some variations occur, for example, it’s pretty typical for us to go to my mom’s once or twice a week so the kids can really play outside and see the animals, swing, or whatever else.

Something is always going on in my day.  The pictures portray a small part of it.  There are fights to break up, discipline and training, comforting from a fall, etc.  Sometimes I have all 3 kids crying at once and I just have to breathe and take things a minute at a time.  My day is gone before I know it.  I’ve never experienced time in this way; it goes by so fast.  I have yet to have a slow day since Finn was born.

I love watching them grow.  I love spending my days with them.  Hope you’ve enjoyed!

Here is the promised recipe.  I am just posting a link to Carrie’s page at Organic and Thrifty.  She adapted this from the Nourishing Traditions recipe. Read the comments and browse her website; it’s so informational and helpful.

Finn has been on this formula now for about 3 weeks.  So far so good!  He hasn’t shown any difficulties with it.  No spitting up, no indigestion, no nothing.  However, if we lay him on his back without getting a good burp out of him, he will throw up everything when he finally does burp in that position.  But that goes for any formula or breast milk!  I have to warn you though…diapers are a lot stinkier with this formula.  Makes me miss the unoffensive diapers of a breastfed baby.    Oh well, it’s a small price to pay.

Goat milk is easier to digest than cow’s milk and many babies have thrived on goat milk over the centuries.  It is the closest milk to breast milk.  There is a lot of information out there if you are considering this route.  More and more people are turning to simple, natural, and unprocessed foods these days, so I don’t think too many pediatricians will be completely surprised if you mention this (but then again, maybe) as the route you want to take.  Do consult your health care practitioner or pediatrician about how you will feed your baby.  Some babies may have more specific nutritional needs than the next, so that should be taken into account.

I make this formula every morning.  Right now, Finn is drinking just over a quart of this in a 24 hour period.  His appetite is climbing every day and I’m just so thrilled and thankful for a good alternative to breast milk.  For the most part, Josh and I prefer to stay away from many of the ingredients found in commercial formulas.  We keep a can of formula on hand for times when we are going to be away from home, or in the night when my homemade stuff has run out.

As you can see in the picture above, it looks like he is drinking chocolate milk, but I assure you it is not.  The molasses in the recipe makes it this color.

We ordered most of our ingredients from vitacost.com but I recently discovered where you can buy all the ingredients as a kit.  Check it out at Radiant Life.  I haven’t calculated to see if that’s cheaper or if Vitacost is cheaper.  My guess is Vitacost.  But Radiant Life is definitely more convenient.

William Finnigan was born September 26th, 2010.  He weighed in at 7lbs, 12oz.  He has the sweetest countenance and I’m in love.  So are Nathan and Lucy and, of course, Daddy.  Lucy was so excited at the hospital when she met Finn.  Nathan didn’t know what to think, but as soon as we came home Nathan was just as excited as Lucy.  All throughout the day they ask me if they can “tiss (kiss) Finn”.  And they are my little helpers!  They love to hold the bottle while Finn is eating and they fetch me diapers and such.

Lucy was so excited to hold Finn at the hospital.  I took these pictures as we all sat in my hospital bed.
Nathan took a little while to warm up to Finn, but we finally got a snapshot of this kiss.

It was a long labor and I wouldn’t dilate past 3 for apx 25 hours.  In a nutshell:  Painful, close together contractions at 5pm Saturday.  I got sent home from the hospital once, went back after 9 more hours thinking I must have dilated to at least a 5 or 6, but got there to find out I was just barely over a 3 still.  I was so discouraged.  Because I was not dilating they said it was not “active” labor even though my contractions were 3-5 minutes apart.  I guess they needed to be 1-3 minutes apart.  They were going to send me home again and I started bawling.  My contractions were so painful, I was exhausted and afraid to be at home in this pain.  Also I was afraid of being one of those stories where I deliver my baby on the way to the hospital.  Surprisingly it was me who requested pitocin (they don’t recommend it for VBAC patients) because I just wanted to be done with it all, and my doctor approved it.  And bam, the contractions picked up pace and intensity, I dilated to 5 (which my doctor requires before approving an epidural), I got an epidural, and about 4 hours later, Finn was born.  I’m just glad it’s over with.  We had a small scare because Finn didn’t breathe for a whole minute (the longest 60 seconds of my life), but we finally heard his little cry and rejoiced!  No damage done.  Thank God for watching over us!

She couldn’t stop kissing him.

Lucy, Finn, Daddy

One week old here.

I think I took this when he was almost 2 weeks old.

I am recovering well, but still have a short road ahead of me before I feel normal again.  Finn wakes up a lot at night so I’m trying to work toward a more steady schedule.  Once I get this little guy fattened up, I hope he’ll sleep longer at night.  He’s pretty easy besides that.  I guess I compare everything to the twins when they were this little.  This is so much easier than twins.  I’m not downplaying the difficulty that one baby can be because I know that some babies are just more difficult or have colic or some other health issue that can tire mommy out.  Finn is just easier than the twins were and it’s nice to just have one this time around.  =)

Josh already can’t wait to have baby number 4, but I’m not there yet after that labor and the long nights right now.    I’m not able to breastfeed this time, so Josh has been helpful taking either the late night feeding or the early morning feeding with the bottle.  I’ll tell you about the homemade formula that we are using in another post.  It’s nice to have an involved and helpful husband though who truly loves being around the kids.

I’m so blessed.

Two days before I had Finn Josh and I had a morning to just drive around together, just the two of us.  We were listening to a Ryan Long CD and I heard one of his songs for the first time.  I probably would have thought the style of the song was cheesy if I didn’t have kids, but the words really touched me.  The gist of the song is that his daughter was taking dance classes and was not that good at it and stumbled in comparison to the other girls in the class.  The singer says that he doesn’t mind, he’s her Dad and he doesn’t care.  He loves her just because.  And he goes on to sing about God’s love for us in that way.  I never truly understood that until I had children.  There is absolutely nothing that they could do or not do to make me love them any less.

I simply love them.

Just because.

Their talents or their developmental progress  are so irrelevant to us when it comes to the measure of our love for them.  It’s such an amazing feeling inside of me.  And it’s reassuring to understand just a little better God’s love for me.

Cousins

Our good friend Judy hosted a tea party yesterday! It was a time for the mommy’s and their kids to dress up a little and come enjoy some tea and a light lunch. The girls all looked so pretty and the boys still looked like boys…ready to be rough and get dirty.

As usual, Lucy attached herself to a doll the whole time.

Doesn’t always smile when I say, “smile”.

My sister’s baby, Kate, never stops smiling.

This is Sarah’s baby, Chloe.

This is Kristen’s baby, Lauren.

Lucy and Nathan had a lovely time and so did I. I debated whether or not to go since I am 39 weeks pregnant and usually feel worn out going from the couch to the bathroom. But yesterday I had more energy than usual and felt good pretty much the entire time. The kids pretty much missed their naps for the afternoon and did surprisingly well. They were just happy to be around other kids and go see Judy’s chickens.

We enjoyed eating bread and cheese, fresh fruit, homemade cookies, and drinking tea of course.  My sister-in-law Kim gave me a foot massage and tried to work on the pressure points that can put you into labor.  I guess I’m a little desperate.  But obviously my body is not ready for that because I haven’t responded to any of the things I’ve tried.  Maybe the full moon will do it!

I made my first tincture today!  I have wanted to do this for a long time and I finally got around to it.  I have a small mental list of more tinctures to make as soon as my herbs get here.

A tincture is just an alcohol-based derivative of some herb, berry, or plant, and is used for medicinal purposes.  The herbs have to steep for approximately 6 weeks in a cool, dark place to make a very concentrated solution of that herb.  The alcohol will extract all the goodness from the herbs.  That way you only have to take a little bit at a time to get big health or medicinal benefits.

Tinctures are good to have on hand for any number of specific or general ailments.  A liver cleanse and a Lyme disease tincture are next on my list.

Today’s tincture is my immune boosting, cold and flu fighting tincture.  It includes dried elderberries, echinacea root, and dried peppermint.  I would have put Goldenseal root in there as an extra immune booster but I don’t have any.  I’m sure there are other herbs that would make a good immune booster tincture, but I used what I had.

Here’s what I did. It’s so easy.

In a pint-sized jar I combined the following:

1/3 cup echinacea root

1/3 cup dried peppermint leaves

1/3 cup dried elderberries

And then topped it off with this

I gave it a little stir…

Put the lid on tightly and labeled it.  Be sure to include the date it was made.

The herbs filled the jar just over half-way, then I filled the rest with 100 proof vodka (which is 50% alcohol).  You can make a bigger batch, but I wanted to start off small for this particular one.

It needs to be shaken once a day or every other day and be kept out of the light.  The lid needs to stay on tightly in order to preserve all the good properties of the herbs.

After it has set for 6 weeks I will strain it and put some of it into a small bottle with a dropper lid for easy dosage.  I will refill as needed.

And hopefully I’ll be better suited to take care of these little rascals if I can keep sickness at bay.  The kids can take it too (it is a very small amount) in some warm water or mixed in some juice, but I’m not going to recommend that.  I’ll stick to giving them the plain elderberry syrup.  When Lucy was little I gave her some Valerian tincture to help her sleep.  She hated it.  But adults can tolerate the taste of a tiny dropper-full of it.

]]> http://healthnutmama.com/my-first-tincture/feed/ 0 http://healthnutmama.com/how-to-make-elderberry-syrup-or-juice/ http://healthnutmama.com/how-to-make-elderberry-syrup-or-juice/#respond Fri, 10 Sep 2010 13:59:24 +0000 http://healthnutmama.com/?p=745

I know it’s been a long time coming, but I am finally following up on how I made my elderberry syrup.  Here is my post on the benefits of elderberries.  I would write step by step instructions, but this video tutorial is what I used and my syrup and it turned out great.  You can use honey or sugar, or a mixture of both.  I prefer the mixture because the honey by itself gives it too strong a flavor that I don’t particularly enjoy.

After my first two batches of the syrup, I decided to just make a juice concentrate.  I simmered the elderberries as instructed, then added just a little sugar or honey, put it in a jar and added it to water or tea throughout the day.  The kids enjoyed it like that too.  You can mix it with another juice and water ratio if you don’t like the taste of the elderberries.  I just sweetened to taste.  Plus, I don’t have to use up so much of my honey or sugar supply.  I like this method because when you have a cold or flu it’s good to drink tons of liquids, and this is just another way to ensure getting extra water while consuming the elderberry concentrate.

You could also just boil a teaspoon of elderberries like you would for one cup of tea.  Then just sweeten to your liking.

When I have a cold I make echinacea and peppermint tea, and add the elderberry juice or syrup to my tea to really fight it off.  I don’t know how much I’m actually shortening the life of the cold, but I have to remember that sometimes a cold just has to run its course.  The best thing I can do is try to prevent myself from getting sick by drinking the tea and taking the elderberry syrup regularly, especially during cold and flu season.  We did that all last year and I don’t remember the kids or myself getting anything serious.

Enjoy!

I am three weeks away from my due date of September 30th!  I’m really really hoping to go early though.  And I’m trying all that stuff that people do to try to go early.  I had 2 good months of energy and pleasantness during this pregnancy, probably from about week 18 through week 28ish, give or take.  After that I just started feeling physically run down and hot and had pain from my sciatic nerve.  However, I went to the chiropractor for that and it really did help.

I am so thankful to be pregnant and awaiting a third child to join our family!  Pregnancy is just challenging for me.  I constantly have to check my attitude and practice self control when I get frustrated at how I feel.  It is a lesson in patience for me because the time just crawls and I have to remind myself that this is normal and almost everybody has 9 months to get through.

I have vowed to never again be pregnant in the summer!  It wouldn’t have been so bad if I didn’t have twin toddlers to take care of and entertain, but I have felt bad for them because they didn’t get to go outside nearly as much as they would have if I had not been so pregnant.  It was just unbearable this summer.  High 90’s the whole time.  But in the last week or so we’ve had some weather in the 80’s and we’ve been sure to get more fresh air.

The kids have been troopers though.  They’ve faithfully followed me around the house as I’ve nested and organized to get ready for Finn (our soon to be baby boy).  They’ve actually become quite helpful!  Nathan constantly puts scattered clothes in the laundry room into the basket where they belong.  Lucy is great at fetching me things and they both love to throw stuff away.  Each night before bed they have to pick up all their toys and put dirty clothes in the laundry.  They are doing so well!

We’ve been potty training!  It’s not been as bad as I thought it was going to be.  Lucy started and Nathan followed because he wanted to be part of all the praise and excitement.  My original plan was to work with them one at a time, but they had other plans and that is fine with me.  They go pee-pee and even take the little bucket to the toilet to empty it out.  We’ve only had a handful of spills and no big deal to clean up.  It’s just part of the process.  We are currently going through a lazy stage of the training where they don’t always let me know when they have to go, so they go in their diaper.  However, if they are bottomless, they will go all day long on the potty with no accidents.

I’ve been fighting a cold like crazy lately and it seems like the cold is winning.  I’m worried about going into labor with this because I haven’t been sleeping much and my body is taxed.  I’ve been drinking my echinacea tea and taking a little elderberry juice that I made, but I think this cold just has to work its way through.

I’m hanging in there though and just trying to enjoy my children.  I’ve been consciously savoring every day with Nathan and Lucy, being extra mindful of the little things.  I try to hold them whenever they want to be held, or dance with them, or read to them.  I know my attention will soon be even more divided once Finn gets here.  And the twins are growing so fast that I simply won’t be able to hold them in the same way that I do now.  They are still somewhat small and easy to hold and they can still nest their heads on my shoulder or chest.  I love it.  I am trying not to wish any time away, even the hardest of days.  Because in just a few months, that baby voice of theirs will sound so much older, their hands will be even more steady and controlled, they will have more teeth, and so on.  I wish I could freeze time sometimes and enjoy one stage just a little longer.  But I can’t, so the best I can do is savor the fleeting moment and thank God for it.  And capture it with pictures!

How I love these faces….

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