Preparing for Labor Naturally

by Meghan // September 26, 2014 // Comments off

For this pregnancy and labor, I did some things I have done before to prepare, but I also added in a few new natural ways to stay healthy.

We all know it is so important to stay (or get) healthy during pregnancy. Here are a few things I did for this pregnayc, labor and delivery.

Third Trimester Tea– Beginning in my third trimester I started drinking *a lot* of Earth Mama Angel Baby Organic Third Trimester Tea. I like the taste, and drank anywhere from 1-4 cups a day.
Get plenty of rest– I got plenty of sleep. My husband joked about how I was in bed 18 hours out of the day … it is quote possible I was. I slept from 8:30 until 7 in the morning (most days), took naps when my children did (for 1-3 hours, and laid down in bed at 7 when the kids went down. This was mostly because I couldn’t sit comfortably with a baby in my ribs, but I probably would have slept that much anyway!
Exercise– honestly, I didn’t exercise this pregnancy like I did with my others. When I had the time I didn’t have the energy. I know exercise gives you more energy, but not when you have first trimester nausea and extreme exhaustion, or can barely move in the third trimester. I did walk to the park a lot with the kids, and in my second trimester I did quite a bit of at home work outs. But nothing as intense or regular as my first two pregnancies.
Eat well– Eating lots of healthy fats won’t make you fat (unless you coat them in sugar…). Healthy fats help every part of your body and baby’s development. From brain function to hormone production, healthy fats like organic farm raised eggs, avocado, coconut oil, grass fed butter, and natural peanut butter, make for a healthy pregnancy and baby! I ate a *lot* of eggs, and still do.
Fermented Drinks and Foods– Fermented drinks like water kefir and Kombucha are so good for your gut and immune system; they are especially beneficial to baby’s gut and developing immune system. I drank lots of kombucha with mint this summer, and we enjoyed our homemade fermented kraut, kimchi, and veggies all summer as well.
Cod Liver Oil, Iron, and Folate– I personally chose not to take a pre natal vitamin. I made this decision because typical prenatals are full of synthetic vitamins that the body does not absorb or process well. And also, because I couldn’t find one I liked with folate instead of folic acid. Typically though, my friend recently showed me a supplement similar to this l-methylfolate 15 mg, which includes folate. Anyway, I’m not getting pregnant again to try it, haha! So, folic acid is the synthetic, man made version of folate. Folate is the actual supplement you need for baby’s development- not synthetic folic acid. So I chose to take a pure folate supplement, and raw liver pills I made at home. I am always anemic, and most iron supplements cause constipation and are not readily absorbed in the body. I chose to buy grass fed, organic beef livers (from a local source I know and *trust*) and cut them into pills. I froze them on a cookie sheet and stored in the freezer for a few weeks. Then I took a few of them at a time, frozen, when I felt I needed an iron boost. The last supplement I took was cod liver oil, because of all the healthy benefits it provides through vitamins A and D.
Gentle Birth Formula– I will say, I believe this had the BIGGEST impact on labor and delivery for me. My water broke at 2:30pm, active labor/my contractions started at regular intervals 4 minutes apart, at 4:00pm. When I got to the hospital at 6:00pm I was 5-6cm! This has NEVER happened to be before; I have longer (12+hours) labors. This baby was born at 9:49, and was here in 4 pushes. It was seriously a 5 hour labor start to finish, from the beginning of contractions. And though I did cave and get an epidural at 7 cm, until that point labor was very manageable; not fun, but manageable. I truly believe this tincture helped my body prepare for labor. *it does have blue cohosh in it, but you can purchase the tincture without it*
Water, Water, Water!-I think it speaks for itself, but lots of water! I keep two bottles in the fridge and down one at a time; when one is empty I refill it and start on the other.

And that’s it! Those are the things I did this pregnancy to prepare my body for labor and delivery, and have a healthy baby. What do you do to prepare your body for pregnancy, labor, and delivery?

{picture credit}

Disclaimer: I am NOT a health professional and this is not health advice. Please talk with your doctor/midwife before making medical and health decisions.

Preschooler {3 yrs old} and Toddler {23 mo old} Summaries

by Meghan // August 29, 2014 // Comments off

(Written Thursday, August 28, 2014)

17 days until baby wright #3 should be here (September 14th) … of course it could be more or less than that, only the baby and God know the plan. I talked with my very sweet friend that is going to have Bug and Mister while I labor, and it feels good to know my babies will not only be safe and taken care of, but that someone else is praying about this for me. God knows our circumstances, and theirs and we know He will send baby on when the time is right.

I woke up this morning, about 2:30am, to more storms. We have had a TON of rain here the last 10 days, so much the trail and parks we enjoy most are flooded terribly. (Good thing we decided not to have the birthday party at those parks, just in case in rained). I couldn’t go back to sleep so I hopped in the shower and am drinking my first cup of coffee since July 2nd. I quit coffee, mainly because I like it with cream and I am doing no dairy for baby, so this is really nice even if it is with rice milk.

I can’t believe that next week my babies will be four and two years old! I will begin with Lexie’s summary.

Proud of her birthday dress

To say Lexie is vibrant, happy, and full of silliness is an understatement. She loves to play in her dressy dresses, go “camping” with Max, and read books (all. day. long). She is currently reading the Bob Books: Advanced Beginners books. You can read a bit more about that Here.

She enjoys our learning time together, helping me bake, and playing downstairs. Of course outside is usually her very first choice of play time, especially if it involves water. Developmentally, her language is amazing. Her fine motor (writing) skills are improving, and her confidence has grown by leaps and bounds.

If there is anything I can say about being a parent for the first time, it is that you can definitely go with your gut. Lexie has always been very social, but despite being in daycare and Mother’s Day Out when we lived in Arkansas, she was/is still very introverted in a group. Whether it is at daycare, library story time, or gymnastics, if it wasn’t her close friends and family, she wanted to sit by the grown up in charge and watch (she is my people watcher!) or play mostly by herself. Today, she starts out that way in a new setting, but quickly warms up! And just a few weeks ago at the neighborhood block party she jumped right into the festivities without needing us to encourage her at all! My point is- we have never rushed her. We did not push her to stay the night with family before we felt she was ready, participate in things she didn’t feel comfortable with, and here she is learning within her OWN boundaries how to feel confident. There are definitely rules to raising an introverted child, and being an introvert myself I understand her insecurities and what makes them “flare.”

I love watching her grow and change, but am very sad my baby is almost four and not such a baby anymore.

Lexie and Max are sleeping in the same room now; it is going surprisingly well! Hopefully it continues to go well after baby arrives … Lexie wakes some nights needing to go potty, and sometimes that wakes Max up, but in the last few weeks he has gotten used to her being in the same room and he sleeps through it.

He naps in his crib from 12:15-2:30/3:00. J.Tom comes home for lunch and Lexie spends that time with him; at about 12:45 she goes downstairs and has “rest time” on the bed down there. She is allowed her books on the bed with her but must be quiet. She does pretty good with it.

As for Max Payne, well he is a little “stinky pot,” as he calls himself. He is TT potty trained; we are still working on poopy, which he usually does after he wakes up at nap time, but some days that isn’t the case. I am not sure he has distinguished between having gas and needing to potty, or if he is just a bit afraid of using the potty? Either way, he will get there and we have aaaall winter inside to get it down! haha In the mean time, we are down to using 2 diapers a day (nap and night time) and that makes this mama a happy camper!

He does and says everything big sister does. Everything. They are a mess together and I am thankful they are such good friends (for now..) and pray we can continue to foster that relationship as they grow. He can identify many of his letters, but not all. He just hasn’t been interested in learning them like Lexie was, and if there isn’t interest it just isn’t going to happen. So I haven’t been pushing it. He loves to count and read nursery rhymes.

Oddly, he isn’t a big fan of messy play or crafts. He gets most interested in painting, but even that doesn’t hold his attention long. He would rather be driving trucks and engines around on the floor and furniture. =) Or playing in water. The boy still loves water, and being outside. He and Lexie will spend what seems like hours downstairs playing pretend together.

At this point (well, for a while now), he is jumping with two feet, climbing everything he can get a foot on, and LOVES to bounce on the trampoline. “Dog dog” is his buddy- poor Charlie girl puts up with a lot from Max! He refuses to say Charlie, although we know he can. She is just “dog dog” for now. She doesn’t seem to mind. =)

loving on his “dog dog”

His personality has just blossomed in the last 6-8 months- he is funny, rowdy, and so sweet. He and Lexie are both obsessed with their Daddy, and we are so thankful we have had this summer home with him. It has been wonderful watching him do nap time with Lexie during his lunch hour every day, and eating dinner with him every night.

The Bears (that’s the boys, per Lexie) spend time together every night when Daddy gets home, just rough-housing and being “bears.” Lexie gets a bit jealous; she is very much her daddy’s girl and wants to join them, but she loves to laugh at them and their silliness. We try to encourage her to let daddy and Mister have bear time. Both of them are super snuggly and I think they will do great with Baby #3!

petting the “baby cow” at the fair

enjoying the cool mornings and teaching Max to swing

Silly babies!

I really can’t believe we will be a family of 5 soon- Lexie and Max will both be such good big siblings. *feeling blessed*

Beginning Sonlight P4/5 Part I: new schedule/routine

by Meghan // June 2, 2014 // Comments off

Monday, May 26th, we began our Sonlight P4/5 curriculum. You can read more about my first impression when we received everything here and why we chose what we did, here.

I wasn’t sure if we would begin in the summer, or closer to the fall when baby #3 arrives. I have been so excited to get started, and in desperate need of a new routine for Lexie’s learning time, that I decided to start now. I am glad we did!

Had we waited until fall, we would probably be all the way through our current math (which is Singapore early bird) and would begin Saxon. But, since we are starting early, we are just continuing on with Singapore. I am not super impressed with their program, and don’t find it challenging for Lexie at all cognitively; but it does keep us in the routine of doing some math thinking skills so we will continue with it for a bit.

We also began our All About Reading Level 1– to say I LOOOOOVE this program is an understatement. Love love love. Honestly, everything she is doing now she has been able to do for months; almost a year, actually. But it is giving her a great foundation and building her confidence in literacy SO much. Lexie has been sounding out CVC words (like “cat” “cup” “pig” etc) at least since her third birthday, but when I would introduce a reader like Bob Books, she would always say, “I can’t read the words. You do it.” So, while we played around with decoding (and reading by sight words), I didn’t push her. (besides, she has many years before she needs to be a fluent reader!) I just follow her lead on what she is comfortable with at this point.

All About Reading has built her confidence so much, and in just the first week. She has been reading any cvc word I put in front of her, loves the short activities that go along with the program, and looks forward to getting everything out of her workboxes each day! (well, we don’t do learning time every day, but when we do do learning time …)

(In addition to AAR, we are still using our little curriculum from ThisReadingMama. I will talk more about how we incorporate it in my following posts in this series.)

Like many children her age (under 4) her writing and fine motor skills are still developing. Her cognitive development is way beyond her writing abilities, so we are practicing fine motor skills and handwriting (just how to form the letters and numbers, not making them perfect). She does not like to color very much (bummer) and prefers to “write,” in her special books daddy brings home to her. She is still enjoying Logic of English, but we are only using the handwriting portion (because we love AAR).

So here is what our schedule looks like now for days we have learning time (it’s a little detailed ..):

7am- wake/brush teeth/milk and snuggles/breakfast/clean kitchen
(we do our memory work and Bible verse during breakfast)
8am- kids clean up any toys they got out. I get our Sonlight read alouds for the day and potty chair for Max, we all go to Lexie’s room and read while Max plays and practices pottying
9am- Max to independent play, Lexie’s learning time, then independent play for a few minutes while I clean up, get laundry changed over, and do other chores
10am- walk to park, play outside, pool time in backyard, play games, chores, run errands
11:15- lunch, clean up, free play, baths if necessary
12:00- nap for max. depending on our morning Lexie will either have a little more independent play here, or she will go down for nap
1:00- Lexie goes down for nap if she had a low key morning
1-2:30/3:00- everyone is napping, including myself if I am super tired (and at this point I usually am)
2:30/3:00- up and go to the pool, park, play outside, or run errands
That’s it until dinner, baths and bed!

So, you can see learning time doesn’t take up our whole day, or even a whole hour usually. We are also doing some lapbooking (which is SO fun) , on days we lapbook or do puzzles or something during learning time it takes a little longer to complete. But we have FUN and play a lot. On days we don’t do learning time, the kids play out back, either with me or together while I do chores.

I live by routine and schedule; my kids need the structure and so do I. I don’t do chaos well, however we alway have fun! We are always dancing, playing music, singing songs, etc. But we just do it in a controlled-chaos kinda way! 😉

I like this routine, because Max can be involved with our read alouds; but during the time Lexie needs to focus and have my undivided attention Mr. Rambunctious is having his down time in his room. I would LOVE for him to sit in on learning time, but at this point he is way too hands on wanting to be in the middle of everything she is doing; it just makes it harder for her (and me). So we play and learn with Max later during the day through songs, puzzles, outside, and just good ole conversation!

When the baby comes along, his/her naps and feeding schedule will go right along with everything we already do. I am not worried about that at all. I am actually looking forward to it! =)

(I did the red as an example for her, she did the rest) activity from Reading The Alphabet

My second Beginning Sonlight post will be about how I organize all our materials for everything.
My third Beginning Sonlight post will be more details about our Sonlight curriculum and how exactly we use it as well as along with our other programs. Every Sonlight family uses it differently, but we are really enjoying it this way so far; of course if that changes, I will let you know.
And, look for my post on our workboxes!

Sonlight Box Day: P4/5 {our first ever}

by Meghan // May 30, 2014 // Comments off

As you may know we have chosen Sonlight P4/5 for our homeschool learning fun this year. I did not buy the entire package they offer for a few different reasons. As easy as it would be, we already had a few of the resources, some I didn’t really want to include, and others I found less expensive elsewhere.

While I did purchase many things directly from SL (my IG, binder, tabs, several books, etc), I didn’t get everything from them. So .. because of that we would not be having a regular “box day” like many homeschooling families get to enjoy. But, the school supply and book nerd in me desperately wanted a box day (yes, I did it partially for me) and I also knew Lexie Raye would LOVE it! And if it involved books, so would Max. So I took an old sturdy box I have been collecting all our resources in, and used it for our “box day!” I am so glad I did!

Lexie was asking me questions about every single book she pulled out. I knew several were going to be favorites right away- anything that looked like a chapter book (she LOVES them), the Berenstein Bears Big Book of Science and Nature, and Peter Rabbit. Oooh how we love Peter Rabbit in this house. =)

We can’t wait to dive into our Sonlight P4/5 curriculum! Lady bug is so excited, and Mister is too.

Baby and Preschooler Summaries: 18 months and 3.5yrs

by Meghan // April 9, 2014 // Comments off

{I began this post in march, but just now finished proof reading and editing errors. So, It is a month late! =) }

On March 2, Mister will be 18 months- we FINALLY have molars! He has cut the top right, and just finished the bottom right. He is now getting the right eye tooth, and has started cutting the left molars. I have to be honest- I was starting to wonder if we should see a dentist such as Dentist Framingham to see what was going on. The boy hasn’t had a tooth in months! By 18 months, Lexie had ALL but her two year molars. She had a mouth FULL of teeth, poor Max doesn’t. Hopefully by summer he will be about done (of course then it will be time for his two year molars …).

His sleep is mostly good. He takes one nap; I put him down at 12:00 on the dot, and he stays in bed until 2:30-3:00 depending on how long he sleeps. During all the teething his naps have been hit or miss- some days they are only an 1.5 hours, other days they are over 2. I have been rubbing diluted thieves oil on his gums before naps and bed time, and he loves it. The thieves helps numbs his gums.

building a city with unit bocks

Language

I have looked back at Lexie’s 17-18 month summaries, and wow! That girl was talking like crazy (and has never slowed down …). Mister had lots of words, but isn’t using complete sentences. The most he says in the way of sentences at this point is “bye bye, dada!” Everything else consist of one or two words for things he wants.

He signs more and please, and uses words for most everything else. He is bad about wanting to grunt for things- but I really try to make him use his words instead of responding to his grunts.

Physical Development

His physical development is crazy good- especially his fine motor skills. For a boy, he has always had advanced fine motor skills. His gross motor skills are good too-climbing stairs, moving stools, climbing on furniture, kicking a ball. He and Lexie love to “play soccer” in the back yard or in the house. He recently learned to climb the ladder on the playground out back, and is very proud of himself. Lexie is in gymnastics, so naturally she is all the time doing rolls and cartwheels around the house. Mister tries SO hard to do forward rolls like big sister. It is pretty cute.

shape sorter during morning “learning time”

He especially loves to tinker with things; you will often find him putting small toys inside cups, pretending to eat with a spoon, or stashing odd and ends inside a jar. Water is still his favorite activity, and calms him instantly. He will just let the water run through his fingers and is instantly soothed.

Personality

Personality wise- Max Payne is all boy. he never stops. Ever.

He is determined, and gets frustrated very easily. He is very vocal about what he does and does not like, over all is very sensitive, and snuggly. The only time he stops to relax is if he is getting tired. He loves to read books, but a few pages in has to get up and do something, then come back to finish. During playdates he does great- he snuggles me at first, and then is off to play and explore, even in new settings.

mommy and max time

Lexie is most definitely his favorite person; he follows her around and does what she tells him to … most of the time. He is her little minion- she asks him to pick up her toys or hand her something and he just doesn’t so happily. Haha, that probably won’t last much longer.

Overall Max is a joy and my biggest challenge ~~(other than losing the weight I put on while pregnant with him)~~. He gets bored easily and wants to do everything big sister does, even when he isn’t quite capable. That frustrates him. But it won’t be long and he will be doing everything she does and more!

When we decided to get Lexie a violin for her third birthday, and start her in lessons there were some people that told us “good luck with that; a 3 year old in violin. ha.” I am proud my girl has proven them wrong! =) She graduated from her practice violin (which helps young children get used to handling the violin, the weight of it on their shoulder, etc) her teacher made to her real violin. She is learning to play little rhymes on each string/note and where to put her fingers. She knows all her positions and how to hold her violin properly, though she is getting used to the new shoulder rest.

Overall, Lexie is a snuggly, sweet, happy, girl who is very eager to learn. The more she can take in the better- there is no such thing as too much information or reading at this point. I struggle to keep up with her thirst for knowledge and that is where she challenges me- I am always on my toes trying to fill her need and love of learning. I can’t believe she will be 4 this year. Where has the time gone?

Graduating from practice violin to real violin

Sonlight P4/5: What I think so far

by Meghan // April 7, 2014 // Comments off

After I wrote this post , I did a lot of praying, thinking, re-googling and reading, and a lot more praying.

The next morning I woke up, and began purchasing what we need for Sonlight P4/5 for next year. Between Sonlight, Amazon, and eBay I got everything we need, plus supplemental materials, for less than the package from SL. This is important to our family; we try to live on a budget and I needed homeschool for this year to fit into that budget.

I don’t know if we will go with SL in the future? I don’t know if it will (mostly) fit what I want for my kids as they get older, but I do know after looking in the instructor’s guide for P4/5, it will fit us perfectly this year!

In the Instructor’s Guide, I am excited to see (and wasn’t expecting):

extra activities, cognitive and hands on, that we can add into our lessons and Max can be included
room to write in other activities- like our extra memory work, math lessons, etc
character traits to focus on that go with the week’s memory verse (LOVE character lessons in this house)

I went back and ordered the binder and tabs. The tabs (which are weekly) can’t be found elsewhere up to week 36, and the binders have their own reputation for holding up well. I also bought extra color-coding stickers for our book spines, because I plan to add more books into our reading. (I may get their P3/4 sticker labels for our BFIAR books, so I can organize them as well for Max later.) We read a lot. But what I like about adding in our own selections is that we can read them as quickly or as slowly as we want, and it just adds more great literature.

There are a few titles that I am super excited about; the The Berenstain Bears’ Big Book of Science and Nature is one of them! I think that will fit nicely with our Big Book of Play and Find Out Science Projects we will add in on our own, and nature studies.

Another title I think will be fun is the audio CD of American Tall Tales. We love books on CD, and this looks like a great one. We have the stories that go along with these in our book of Children’s fairytales and fables, A Treasury of Children’s Literature, though Sonlight doesn’t actually call for the physical books for them.

Now, I just have to structure out our extra memory work (poems), All About Reading, and Saxon math lessons into our schedule, and we will be ready to go! Well, I also have to decide when we will begin, because with baby #3 coming in September, we will need to start early (probably August); but I also like the idea of just taking the month before baby to do nothing but spend time with the kids outside and hold the structure off until after baby comes. Who know what we will do! =)

Have you used Sonlight P4/5 in your homeschool? Are you using something else? Please share in the comments!

Pregnancy #3: To Do List

by Meghan // March 31, 2014 // Comments off

With each baby there seems to always be a “to do” list, even when you have no reason to need to do anuything. Thankfully I don’t think our list this time will cost too much. We are pretty frugal, and do

n’t spend big money on anything ~~(except that new dog … but she was worth it!).~~ So everything is going to be pretty low key.

to do list

So far this is what I have come up with; I think the list is mostly in order of importance. big stuff first, smaller stuff later. If you have any ideas or things I probably forgot, feel free to share in the comments:

Pick out new neutral nursery bedding (I like bumble bee bedding– but it has a lot of brown, and since our walls are brown … I am not sure. But I also like this: polk a dot bumper and then I can keep the pretty red black out curtains that are in there and just paint the walls…)
Pick out/make bedding for sibling room
Choose wall colors for nursery and sibling room
Make curtains for sibling room to match bedding
Make bunk beds for sibling room
Finish painting kitchen chairs (J.Tom’s project)
Make drapes for sliding door in kitchen
Make pillow for couch and new chair
~~Get a few summer maternity clothes~~
~~New summer maternity swim top~~
Re-wash Lexie’s & Max’s old baby clothes (Not all of them will be used for the new baby, though – I recently saw a guide for how to turn them into a baby clothes quilt, which I thought was such a cute idea! So I’ll be saving my favourites for that.)
Make a box for each set of clothes to be ready when we get home
Re-wash bottles, pump, and find a place for baby items in kitchen cabinets
Sew up a few gender neutral burp cloths, bibs, & nice baby blanket to monogram after baby comes
Stock up on homemade formula ingredients in case my milk supply is low and won’t increase again
~~Clean out Lexie’s closet~~
~~Clean out Lexie’s drawers~~
Clean out Max’s closet
~~Clean out Max’s drawers~~
Clean out toys downstairs ~~1/2 done~~
~~Re organize linen closet~~
~~Re organize pantry~~
Clean out sewing room *gasp*
Clean out basement storage
Plan a birthday party for Max and Lexie (always Labor Day weekend)

And that is all I can think of; a lot of that is just to do lists for the summer anyway. We don’t need furniture this time, or any clothes for baby. We don’t need much of anything (what a blessing).

Most everything is just starting and finishing projects like painting. I cannot WAIT to repaint the bedrooms. The builder painted the walls with flat paint- if I had seem the house more than once before we moved I probably would have noticed that and had them repaint. But now we are stuck with FLAT pain that A) doesn’t come clean when you try to wipe it off, and B) Mr. Clean erasers take the paint off. So … semi gloss/satin paint in the kids’ rooms is a must! There are finger prints and smears everywhere and if you know me you know that drives me nuts. ~~Not to mention the time Lexie found a black crayon in her room and colored a beautiful picture above her bed.~~

Yay for spring and summer!

Pregnancy #3 Update: Beginning of Second Trimester

by Meghan // March 29, 2014 // Comments off

Well, with my first two pregnancies I updated pretty regularly. This time, we didn’t announce the pregnancy until almost 12 weeks, so I haven’t really been writing updates thus far.

We are almost 16 weeks along now; I had a doctor appointment last week and everything was great. The heartbeat was 157 (I think…) and the doctor okayed me to stop the progesterone supplements. My next appointment is in April and we will have the anatomy scan. Here, they only do one ultrasound (what’s up with that?!) at 20 weeks. We had an ultrasound at 6 weeks, to date and confirm the pregnancy.

We will not, however, be finding out the gender. We have a girl and a boy, all babies are September babies and the nursery can be gender neutral. I am good with that. (ok, so if you know me well, you are probably as surprised as I am that I am okay with not “planning” for a girl or boy…) The urge I have to perform a home baby gender test is a little too strong at the moment!

The surprise of finding out in the delivery room with only my husband far surpasses my innate need to plan, design, and decorate. I can’t wait to spend that moment with him. We are also not talking names. To anyone. Or to each other, for that matter. =)

J.Tom and I haven’t even discussed names, because we can’t seem to agree on anything. So, I figure if we wait until we have him or her in our arms, we can whip out the handy dandy name list and we can go from there. I just don’t feel like arguing over names, or listening to other people’s opinions of names when we don’t even have a name semi narrowed down yet. *and I’m not saying that all snotty* If we happen to come up with names before the baby arrives, I will be happy to discuss. But we said this time we want to wait until we have our baby in our arms, and that’s what I am sticking with.

It will be fun.

Lexie is very excited about “baby #3.” We don’t call the baby “the new baby” because that just seems mean to the siblings. So it is baby #3. Max is pretty clueless, of course. He is too obsessed with eating, throwing things, and chasing the dog.

Oh yes, we got a new dog. She’s furry, and sweet, and smart, and precious.

We will room Lexie and Max together. For now we are planning on J.Tom building bunk beds- the top bunk will be above the crib, and then when Max is ready to move to a big bed we will build a bed frame for a bottom bunk. I really like snuggling in the bed with Lexie, so maybe I will just put the crib in her room and take out a dresser…. It is up in the air for now.

It is hard watching my babies all grow up on me! It is exciting, of course. This pregnancy wasn’t originally planned. After experiencing a loss in early December, we decided at the very last minute (literally) to try for baby #3. The timing worked out to being another September baby, which I had hoped would happen, but hadn’t actually thought would happen. Just before our loss and all we decided to wait another year. Funny how God works.

No nausea since about week 12-13. I have 3-4 days of TONS of energy, and then a day or two where I am exhausted and can’t keep my eyes open. I workout a few times a week with T25, or we go for walks on warmer days. No weight gain so far ~~(well, technically I gained back the weight I lost in the fall, but that happened before this pregnancy, so I don’t count it)~~ but I am pretty sure my hips are bigger! How does that happen? … And I haven’t lost the weight from Max, so it doesn’t seem likely that I need to gain much. The doctor is good with that.

Still praying for a healthy 5 more months. I hope to go full term, as usual. Big healthy babies seem more durable when you have a Max Payne running around the house. Poor Mister, he has no idea what is coming! Then again, neither do I.

Pray for me, friends! =)

Preparing for Next Year’s Homeschool: PreK 4/5 Curriculum Choices {2014/2015}

by Meghan // March 17, 2014 // Comments off

Well, for ~~years~~ months and months I have gone back and forth over what we will use for our curriculum next fall. What curriculum, what style suites us best, what will keep Lexie’s fire going, her passion for learning; what will also work for Max so we can reuse some materials, etc.

I have also had to consider what will be easiest to fit into our life, with baby #3 due in September of this year. =)

As you know I have mostly decided on a classical/Charlotte Mason education style for our family because it just fits us (and our love of the outdoors, learning, and books); but I have also been contemplating joining Classical Conversations. There is a community not too far from us that a dear friend is also a part of. I really enjoyed the open house I attended and Lexie did AMAZING sitting in the room with me for the 2 hours we were there. However, I just don’t know if we are ready for it yet.

I love the Charlotte Mason approach to learning. It encompasses everything I believe about education and family uniting. It is Biblically based, and literature rich (so is classical education). It is truly where my passion for learning and educating my children comes full circle.

Charlotte Mason is also what I see in my children. I see Lexie loving books- asking questions about everything we read; wanting to know more and making connections from her books to her world. Max is beginning the same process- he didn’t love reading books at first, but at about 13 months old, he became obsessed with them, just like big sister. When I sit on the floor, he will bring me a book and say, “boo-k,” turn around and plop into my lap. He then proceeds to open the book and I will read. He really likes for me to take his finger and point to everything in the picture and say its name. He loves reading. And that tells me he will also love learning.

I want to keep their fires burning, but I need to do that in a way that will fit our young family’s lifestyle. As a busy mom of soon-to-be 3, there won’t be much time for the intense planning that a combined classical/Charlotte Mason style education can require. So in the fall, (well, really in January probably) I think we will begin with Sonlight’s P4/5 curriculum.

Sonlight P 4/5 includes: read alouds and language arts, science, Bible, rediness skills, beautiful art books and studies, and introduces world cultures. One thing I love about classical education is it begins history at the beginning. So children not only learn there is much, much more to their world than just their immediate surroundings, but they also learn where it all began. Sonlight does an amazing job of choosing wonderful children’s literature and living books to teach every subject, which is where the Charlotte Mason style comes in. Another point I love is that Sonlight is fairly adaptable. You can supplement with as many books as you’d like, whatever math you prefer (although they sell a few great curricula), and you can make it work with just about any style of education, if you really want to. Their book list is what has driven their popularity for years, but as more and more families have used it, the more it has become known for being a wonderful core curriculum. (no, this is not a review and I am not being paid to say any of this!).

We already have a phonics/reading program we will use, which we haven’t started yet. I chose All About Reading because it is so child friendly and hands on, which I think will be fine for Lexie (as I am mostly sure she has a photographic memory) but I know will be great for Mister, because he is my 100% tactile learner. We will use this with our Sonlight, along with Saxon or Horizon’s math, and a few supplemental activities in science.

I have many friends ask me about two things :1) homeschool curricula and options and 2) converting to a healthier, real food lifestyle. #1 is mostly why I am writing this post.

I tell you, I cannot wait to get started next year. We might begin in August, to get a head start, then take off in September-Christmas with the baby coming, holidays, etc., then start back in January. Or we may just begin in january and go through part of the summer… I know me, and I know Lexie, and chances are we will not want to take that much time off. We both crave structure and our learning time together, so I imagine we will get back to it pretty quickly.

One thing I am really looking forward to is not having to plan and print every thing we do in this season of life. Right now, I am using a printable curriculum (that we both love) and we are doing Five in A Row which is Charlotte Mason style, but requires all the planning be done by the parent. So it requires a lot of time on my part. Sonlight has done most of the work for me, meaning I can enjoy my time teaching, learning, and snuggling, all three of my babies this fall.

So, I have to get busy filling orders in my etsy shop, since that is how I plan to pay for this curriculum! haha If you haven’t noticed I haven’t been writing much lately. There is a two fold reason for this. 1) The first trimester of this pregnancy has kicked my butt! Between the extreme nausea and exhaustion, I am just now catching up on household duties! and 2) I have been very busy making baby blankets in my etsy shop. I keep saying I am going to slow down, finish my drapes for the kitchen, and make a few dresses for Lexie, but so far that hasn’t happened. Hopefully soon!

Essential Oils: Thieves Oil {52 weeks of favorites}

by Meghan // January 26, 2014 // Comments off

I finally figured out what my “52 weeks of favorites” will be! ESSENTIAL OILS! Woo hoo! If you’re looking for essential oils to buy try Jojoba by rouh.

Before we hit up the doctor or try prescriptions, I always try something from home first.

Our #1 go to is pure, therapeutic grade essential oils.

Real quick, I want to let you know that any brand can put the words “pure, therapeutic grade” on their products. These terms are not mandated by the FDA. However, I can tell you, Young Living brand is the only one that sets itself to the highest of standards in all areas of essential oils with its Seed to Seal guarantee. Here is a great explanation from a seasoned EO user:

“Call the customer service dept of any other company, and ask where their Peppermint was grown, distilled, what the chemical properties are, how long it is distilled, how many lbs of material they use to get 8 oz of oil, etc. You can actually find all these things out from Young Living but NO other company offers the same ability because no other company actually has their hands in the entire process. Because essential oils are not regulated by the FDA, absolutely every company can say, 100% pure therapeutic grade, that term doesn’t mean anything. It’s self defined. Because the other companies do not grow their own plants, they purchase from a third party broker and so they have no way of knowing for SURE if the oil was virgin soil, if the plant was sprayed with pesticides, and the list goes on. YL defines what they mean and they give a Seed to Seal guarantee.”

That gives me the peace of mind and satisfaction that what I am putting on and in my family’s bodies are safe.

I can’t even begin to tell you what a blessing Young Living essential oils have been to our family.

I guess I can start with Thieves oil, that is where my EO experience began. My uncle gave me a bottle when I was working in child care, and was constantly sick almost 10 year ago. I placed a few cotton balls in a small bottle, and put a few drops of thieves in. I would take the lid off and breathe in the oil throughout the day.

In 2012 during flu season, Max was a brand new baby and Lexie was in Mother’s Day Out twice a week. She had about 10 other kids in her class. One day I picked her up from school with the dreaded news- 3 kids in her class and their siblings had been confirmed to have the flu. Before the week was over several other children had the flu as well. Lexie, praise the Lord, escaped the flu. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that the essential oils for colds I was using helped my family. Thieves was one of those oils.

This oil blend is beyond amazing. I use it on my children’s feet during cold and flu season to support their immune systems. I have also applied a tiny bit (diluted) to my son’s teething gums. Thieves is considered a “hot” oil, and should typically be diluted with a carrier oil (like coconut or olive oil) before placing on skin, especially on children. I make up a small bottle of diluted thieves and olive oil, 4:1 and keep it in both the kids’ rooms to have on hand.

When we flew during the holidays to see family, I applied thieves to the kids’ feet before our flights, and also on the base of their spines.

I also diffuse it in our home- diffusing allows the tiny particles to spread through the air.

If I could put a bottle of thieves oil in all my friends and family members homes, I would!

I can’t wait to share some of my other favorite oils with you all!

If you are interested in how you can purchase Young Living oils at wholesale price, with NO strings attached, let me know. I am a wholesale buyer for my family, and you can get your oils at 24% off the retail cost. Email me at: QuietInTheChaos at gmail dot com (no spaces) if you would like more info! You can also sign up on their website, using my member number: 1555405

See this article: essential oils kill super bug (MRSA) from BBC.

I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice. It is for informational purposes only.