Taking A Little Break

I probably won't be posting anything here during the next couple of days, maybe even a week. I need to write Karrigan's birth story for a homeschool mother's magazine that is requesting interesting birth stories. Then, I need to write a resource guide for homeschooling parents with dyslexic children, for our local group. I'll post that on the my homeschooling blog when I've finished it.
We have some coughs and sniffles around here but so far vitamin C, Breath Easy Tea, Throat Soothers Tea and alternating Children's Tylenol Plus Multi-symptom Cold and Mucus Relief Cough and nasal spray for runny noses is doing the job. I've spent lots of time on the cold and flue isle, reading the fine print on all the bottles trying to fine one product that dealt with all the different discomforts of a cold. I finally found these 2 products last year. The kind of Tylenol I mentioned is for fever, pain relief, cough suppresant, nasal decongestant and is a antihistamine. The Mucus Relief is a generic brand but has Guaifenesin, something that's great for children and adults when needing to dry up mucus. You'all probably all ready know this stuff, but before last year I would've appreciated some recommendations, so I'm passing them on. If this junk hangs on a few more days, we'll visit the health food store or Vitacost.com for some Sambucal and mullein tea. Sambucal is a wonderful product to look up on the internet. The studies done with it had amazing results. Its main ingredient is elderberry, which is the great for chest congestion and mullein is also great for breaking up congestion. Now that I think about it, I need to go ahead and stock up on these things, I'm sure we'll need them sometime this winter. Let me put in another plug for Vitacost. Their prices are great and they have almost everything, available in all different brands. What I really like about them is that they have a flat, $4.99 shipping rate. No matter how much you purchase, it's still just $4.99 for ship. Just be sure when your looking at an item to look in the little print under the item that says how soon it ships out. Most things go out in 24 hours, but sometimes an item will take longer and it could mess your shipping up. Ok, I'm rattling on. I'm done.

Yeah For Links

I've finally figured out how to link my blogs, yes I know I'm slow. My other blog is listed on the right and I've posted some of my thoughts about home. I also like sharing the other blogs I visit. I don't know about you, but I use those links on other folks' blogs.

Washing The Old Timey Way

Several years ago my mom gave me a great birthday gift- a front loading washer and dryer. While we were staying with Steve's sister this weekend, I did some laundry. Ellie and Karrigan were following me around, so I had them help me put the first load in. Ellie asked," Moma, is that one of those old time washers?" Yep, they had a top loader. I didn't realize that these girls have no memory of top loaders. They thought it was the neatest thing and asked lots of questions. Uncle Frankie put a magnet on the latch so they could watch the machine agitate the clothes, they thought it was the neatest thing. I think those girls stood there for about 10 minutes watching the clothes swish back and forth. I snuck up and got a photo of them.

Little Joe

Baby love, oh sweet baby love. There's nothing like patting, rocking, smelling and kissing a baby. We all enjoyed meeting Little Joe, our newest nephew. We didn't get to see him when he was tiny and brand new, but we got to enjoy his sweetness this past weekend. His dear mommy and grandma were gracious to share him with us. We got to hold him, put him to sleep and calm some belly aches and us ladies thought it was pure pleasure. Little Joe is calm, smiley and friendly. His dear, sweet mommy is doing a great job!

For The Love of Ellie

Our Ellie loves reptiles. I think it all started when she was about two and came running to tell me that Silas had let her hold a worm. She was grinning from ear to ear and said it tickled her hand. From that day on, cold blooded animals have warmed her heart. Ellie once brought me a huge toad and told me it that it loved her because it looked right into her eyes and said, "Ribbit, ribbit." Another time, I caught Ellie and Karrigan sneaking a turtle upstairs in one of their pocketbooks. They had washed and shined it's shell! They've also killed a few frogs trying to love them and keep them as pets.

Oh, the things we will do for our children! I decided I didn't want any more dried out toads on our front porch; and since Ellie's love hasn't diminished for cold, slimy critters, that we should go purchase one and care for it properly. I did online research about the easiest breeds to have as pets. Ellie decided on a turtle. I walked into the pet shop confident that we could do this. Guess what. It's illegal to buy and sell turtles in Tennesse. But, that was OK , I also had done research on frogs. But did Ellie want a frog that day? No. She set her sights on a Leapord Gecko. I have to tell you that just being in that section of the store was a challenge. The snakes were RIGHT there. Well, the gecko was in the right price range, so I never thought it would be the case, but we have a lizard living inside our house. And oh the things we've learned. I know how to bathe one to help it remove it's unshed skin, have learned how to keep crickets alive with carrots, given up my heating pad to keep him warm and helped pack him up for a road trip. No, I've never touched him. Oh yes, you know how kids ask a hundred and one questions? Well, Friday two of our children wanted to know if lizards get car sick.

Meet Tigger, Ellie's second birthday gift.

Ellie's big day

At our house we've decided to make birthdays a big deal. Ellie decided she wanted to go ice skating on her special day. First we stopped at Fort Kid to enjoy a picnic and let her open her first gift- a white and pink cap gun and holster.

Our next stop was the ice skating rink. I didn't get any good pictures, but the kids are mastering ice skates very well. I can't say the same thing for myself. It was very late by then, so we came back home and watched a movie. We went out again on Sunday, to finish up the things we had promised her- dinner out and a stop at Petco for a new pet. To be continued.

Visiting Family

No, I don't have Ellie's birthday pictures up yet. Last week was a hard week for me. My body and brain just seemed to struggle all week. We are in Winston Salem, NC and enjoying our new nephew. He is SO cute! It was really hard to get here after the week I had, but every moment with my neice and her son has been SO worth it. I'm at a place with high speed, yeah!! I'm off to watch some tutorials about eblogger, and see if I can figure out some neat extras. Yes, I'm taking lots of pictures to share.

Life in General

I'm doing fine but am in a brain fog right now. I'm hoping that blogging will help it clear a little. A week ago Saturday, I had a small "brain blip", my first in over a month. I was able to pull out of it without any medication. This little episode reminded me again of how thankful I am to be on my feet and caring for my family. God is so good! I still can get flustered easy but I'm trusting that will pass also. We went ice skating Saturday and it was like my brain was going in and out on me. Sometimes I was steady on my feet and felt like I knew what I was doing. At other times I felt like it was my first time out on the ice and had trouble balancing. Getting off our schecule last Friday and over the weekend has thrown me for a loop today, but I have set up this blog today and am pushing forward. It confirms to me how important it is for us to keep to our strict schedule for this season. While I'm typing, the children are having a tea party and listening to a classical piano cd (their own choice). So, things are good, we're smiling and I'm feeling blessed. Oh, PLEASE don't let your sons know that my boys still enjoy escorting their sisters to tea and have chosen to put on formal attire today. I'm glad there's some things they haven't outgrown yet!

New

This is Plan B. I will keep posting on the other blog, doing book reviews, sharing cirriculum finds and sharing what we're doing and learning. It will be open to anyone. On this blog, I'll share family news and pictures. This is the only solution I could come up with. It's really plain but I just don't have time right now to read up on how to spruce it up. I'll have stuff up about Ellie's birthday soon.