Having twelve people living in our home it is important for everyone to pitch in and help with everyday tasks.  This allows us to serve others, do fun activities, projects and trips.  I wrote about the importance of chores, how we train our children to work and what types of chores we give at what ages in my post Daily Chores.

We rarely switch chores around.  We generally do it only as little ones and middle ones get old enough to take on more responsibility and during those times of “restructuring” we try to rotate the children so that they get experience with different tasks.

Our idea is that we would rather have them doing the same chore each day, week, month, so that they are good at doing it and we know that they know how to do it, so our standards can be pretty high. Whenever we switch chores it takes a while for everyone to learn their new duties and takes training to teach them, so for us it is just easier to keep things the same

We have 3 separate chore assignments during the day: Before Breakfast Chores, Regular Chores and Table Chores. Before breakfast chores happen before breakfast, duh. Regular chores are done  immediately after breakfast and table chores after dinner each evening.  (For table chores see our chore assignments from last year.)

You can see how these chore times fit into our daily schedule and also get a glimpse of what our schedule was like with 4 kids 3 years and younger.

Before Breakfast

Scheduled for 30 minutes each morning. During that time each child  makes their bed, cleans their room, gets dressed, brushes teeth and hair and then:

Amber (13) – Makes breakfast
Kaitlin (12) -Cleans downstairs bathroom
Matthew (11) – Empties top and bottom rack of dishwasher
Alyssa (9) – Feeds dog and fish and tidies front porch and back deck
Carter (8) – Vacuums two upstairs area rugs (in family and living rooms)
Sadie (6) – Sets table and helps with breakfast
Savannah (5) – Makes mom and dad’s bed
Colby (3) – Empties silverware rack of dishwasher
Nicholas (2) – Empties trash cans from bathrooms
Isabella (3 weeks) – Prevents mommy from getting a shower

Regular Chores

(30 minutes immediately after breakfast)  Most children have an area for which they are responsible.  They tidy and do basic cleaning tasks everyday, in addition they have a specific deeper cleaning task each day.  The goal is that everyone is able to complete all of their tasks within thirty minutes.

Amber (13) – Clean kitchen
Kaitlin (12) – Clean master bathroom AND Monday – wash windows, Tuesday – sweep and clear cobwebs off front porch and back deck, Wednesday – clear and dust rain gutter bookshelves, Thursday – clean out fridge, Friday – wash sliding glass doors.
Matthew (11) – Downstairs – tidy, dust and sweep
Alyssa (9) – Family room – tidy, dust and sweep
Carter (8) – Monday, Wednesday and Friday – vacuum downstairs.  Tuesday and Thursday – vacuum and sweep in kid’s bedrooms and vacuum stairs.
Sadie (6) – Dining room – clear and wipe table, tidy, dust, vacuum and sweep
Savannah (5) - Kid’s bathroom – wipe down mirror, sinks, tub, and toilet, shake rugs outside and sweep floor
Colby (3) – Living room, entryway and hall – tidy, dust and sweep (using the dust pan and brush)
Nicholas (2) – help mommy
Isabella (3 weeks) – Wreak havoc with our plans and keep mommy from getting bored.

Interested in what our chore assignments were a year ago or what table chore assignments are?  Questions?

Froggy hunt details:

Raising Olives is participating in a fun scavenger hunt giveaway along with 7 other blogs.  You are competing for 8 prizes ($40 gift card to Amazon.com, $25 Alice gift card, a lovely handmade tote and one of Smockity Frocks famous oilcloth aprons plus more)  and you have 8 opportunities to enter.

You’ll want to start your hunt here to read the complete entry rules and see all the prizes, then you’ll want to come back here and find the froggy.

There are 7 other blogs who are hiding a froggy:

~Hoosier Homemade
~iGoBoGo
~It’s A Blog Party
~Our Homeschool Home
~She Saved
~Smockity Frocks
~Tatertots and Jello

In one of my recent posts here on Raising Olives is a picture of a frog, you need to find that post, leave a comment there and then hop over to my BlogFrog community and leave a comment there telling me which post you found froggy on.  Repeat for each of the above blogs.  (Remember comment on the post with the froggy AND in the BlogFrog community of each blog.)

If you find froggy on each blog you’ll gain a total of 8 entries.

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Related posts:

1. You Asked For It: Our Chore List
2. Daily Chores
3. Reasons We Have a Large Family – Post
4. Large, Homeschooling Family: Want to Know More?
5. You Know You Are a Large Family When…

No, it's not a big plate of spaghetti, they're cupcakes!

We got this idea from the adorable book Hello, Cupcake! After the kids and I had so much fun making the hamburger and ant cupcakes that we made for Memorial Day, I saw the book ‘Hello Cupcake’ in the store and purchased it for Sadie, our 6 year old gourmet wannabe.

This book is perfect for children because it doesn’t require special, hard-to-find tools or ingredients and the techniques are simple and explained clearly.

We did things the easy way and purchased vanilla cake mix and pre-made frosting (I know, I know after all my talk about making things from scratch, I’m using the 2-week old baby excuse. )

Ingredients we used to make 20 cupcakes/2 platters of spaghetti:

• Vanilla cake mix
• White frosting
• White cupcake papers
• Cocoa powder (for tinting frosting)
• yellow food coloring (for tinting frosting)
• sandwich bag (for creating the pasta)
• hazelnut chocolates (Ferrero Rocher)
• low-sugar strawberry preserves
• 2 TBL white chocolate

We tinted the frosting with a bit of cocoa powder and yellow food coloring until it looked the right color for pasta

and then laid 10 cupcakes out on each of two platters.  Before we started making the ‘noodles’ the children lightly frosted each cupcake.

For the ‘noodles’ we spooned frosting into a sandwich bag, cut a very small hole in the corner and squeezed ‘noodles’ all over the frosted cupcakes ( I was nursing the baby and didn’t get a picture before the kids started adding meatballs).For the meatballs we opened the hazelnut chocolates, tossed them with strawberry preserves

and spooned one onto each cupcake.

For the finishing touch we finely grated some white chocolate and sprinkled over the top of the ‘spaghetti and meatballs’.  Next we topped each plate of  ‘spaghetti’ with birthday candles and served to the best husband/daddy in the world.

These cupcakes are SUPER easy and the children (9 and younger) were able to do everything with only minimal supervision.

This post is linked to Cupcake Tuesday at Hoosier Homemade.

Happy Birthday, Mark.  I’m very grateful to be able to grow OLD with you. ♥

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Colby (3) with one of his catches

and water fights and games of tag in the backyard, but one of our favorite outdoor activities is exploring some of the hiking trails in our area.

Colby (3)

We’ve explored hollow logs,

Matthew (11) is brave enough to back into this huge hollow log

gotten caught in a thunderstorm, waded in creeks,

Sadie (6) after 'accidentally' falling into the creek

walked across dams, discovered a butterfly wonderland, hiked in the rain, played in waterfalls,

Kaitlin admires a waterfall

found new kinds of caterpillars, flowers and fruit, seen snakes, dragonflies and deer, but no bears (much to the children’s disappointment), gotten very muddy and Colby (3) is certain he found an owl tree.

Colby's owl tree

Hiking provides lots of opportunities for the kids to explore and learn in a real life setting.  Isn’t that what homeschooling is all about?

Here are some tips to make the most of a hike with your kids.

Things to bring:

• Portable snacks
• Water bottles
• Nature journals and pencils
• Towels (for wading)
• Containers to catch interesting critters
• Camera (to take pictures of wildlife and plants that you want to learn more about)
• Field guides (birds, plants, flowers, insects, etc.)
• Sunscreen and bug spray
• Binoculars
• Whistles – Each of our children has a whistle hung around their neck when we hike. If they ever can’t see anyone in our family that they are to stop and blow their whistle until we come get them.

Things to do:

• Hike slowly – let your kids explore their surroundings and wonder at the things that they see.
• Be prepared for detours – kids love to climb rocks, follow side trails and explore water.
• Have a picnic – We love to carry in granola bars, jerky, nuts and trail mix and then stop at some lovely spot and have a picnic lunch.
• Wade or swim – You get bonus points if you find the perfect wading place and have your picnic there.
• Talk to your kids – Hiking provides a wonderful opportunity to engage your children in discussion, to tell stories or talk about the wonders of God’s creation.
• Let your kids be kids – Water and mud are easy to clean and your kids will joyfully tell their children about the adventures that you shared with them.
• Hike in the rain – One of our kid’s favorite hikes was when we got caught in a massive thunderstorm about 2 miles from the car.  We ended up running much of the way back to the car, arrived sopping wet and were thankful to blast the heat on the way home.  While I wouldn’t suggest hiking in a thunderstorm, a little rain makes a hike an adventure.
• Follow up when you get home – Look up unknown plants and animals, show the children the trail you followed on a map and answer any questions that you were unable to answer while you were ‘in the field’.

Do you enjoy hiking with your kids?  What are some ways that you have fun and spend time with your kids during the summer?

Returning  August 5th

Connie, KimC, the  Deputy Headmistress and I are back together and we’re inviting you into our homes each Thursday during the month of August.  What makes a home work for a large family and what doesn’t?

Get your cameras and posts ready because we’ll include a linky and you’ll have the opportunity to share your homes as well.  August 5 we’ll talk about our yard/porch and entryway.

Click to go to the BF community to leave your comment

Popsicle is giving away three wonderful family trips in their Anything’s Possible with Popsicle Sweepstakes.  To enter kids just need to visit popsicle.com/possibilities and enter the riddle answer from their Popsicle stick.

I’m a Popsicle Brand Ambassador through a compensated Mom Bloggers Club program.

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2. Anything’s Possible With Popsicle
3. Hamburger and Ant Cupcakes
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I didn’t even know that ERGO offered doll carriers, did you?  Nicholas loves his! He even calls his doll what we always call him and his big brother when we wear them.

That’s “ERGO baby” for those of you less familiar with 2 year old speech.

I wrote a full review of ERGObaby carriers or you may want to visit ERGObaby and just get your own.

I posted this because I wanted to and because our family loves ERGO.  I was not compensated for this post.

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Isabella was NOT over a week old before she ever slept outside of someone’s arms.

Whenever Mark or I wish to put Isabella down there is NOT a loud clamor from the children with everyone offering to hold her and reminding us who had the last turn.

The children do NOT remind each other, “She doesn’t like to be laid down” or “She likes to be snuggled up against you” or “She likes to look out the window”.  We do NOT think that there is any possibility that Bella is spoiled, after all she’s the youngest of 10 children, we can’t possibly give her enough attention, there is no worry about her getting too much.

Since I had a c-section and am supposed to be taking it easy, I have NOT lifted and moved the couch in order to vacuum under it, nor done a workout video involving lots of squats.  That would be silly.

While at the dinner table last week, Mark did NOT use a burp cloth instead of a napkin to wipe his face.

I’d love to do a post(s) about parenting, any questions/topics you’d like me to cover?  (Although now that you know how ‘spoiled’ Bella is maybe you’d like to ask someone else. )

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We are always challenged as parents.  We are humbled.  Even on our best days, we come up short.  My two-year-old offers me her little drawing of scribbles. “Wook, Daddy, wook!” she says.  My reaction s not to throw it back at her in a rage saying, “What is this? Just a bunch of scribbles on a piece of paper?  Take it away!”  No.  I take her up in my arms and say, “Thank you sweetheart!  You drew this for me?”  I post it over my desk.  She gave me a little piece of her heart.  She wanted to please me with the drawing, and she is pleased when she sees that I am pleased.

Similarly, when we parents, as the adopted children of our heavenly Father, present our parenting work to God as scribbles on a piece of paper, we must believe that He will accept it and that His grace will cover us.  We must believe that when God posts our grubby, blotchy artwork, He really can turn it into something great.  It is only then that we realize what we really mean when we cry out to our children, “My son, give me your heart.” ~ Kevin Swanson “Upgrade“

The truth is that we are not sufficient, that we can’t do a ‘good enough’ job.  If we fail to recognize this then we are liable to miss the most important ingredient in the raising of a godly seed, God’s mercy and grace.

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3. Our Birth History: Because I Know You’ll Pray…
4. Your Child’s Heart: How Do you Find the Time? Part 3
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You wonder if it gets easier?  As friends bring food over, they give heating directions to Amber (13) or Kaitlin (12) rather than to me.  I just show up with the baby when it’s time to eat.  The kids have handled all the house and kitchen work (with some supervision from Daddy) and Mark is the laundry master.

So what have I been doing?

It's rough, but someone has to do it.

Mark is back at work today and my plan is to get back to our regular schedule with school, cut the little girl’s hair and when Bella gets fussy we’ll go for a walk around the neighborhood with baby in the Moby Wrap (stay tuned for a full review and an opportunity to win your own Moby).

Still on maternity leave.  Hopefully in the next couple of weeks Raising Olives will get back to being a source of useful information, rather than just a journal of our lives, but we’re all just having too much fun playing games and loving on babies.

Want some real info?  Check out my page tabs at the top; parenting, homeschooling, saving money , recipes and more.

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2. Heading to the Hospital
3. Her Name…
4. Pregnancy Update: Goodbye First Trimester
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Amy's kids

At the age of 29 with four small children, I remember feeling worn out.  Because I had all “littles” and no “bigs,” the bulk majority of the household responsibilities rested with me.  Sure, the children helped, but rather than “many hands make light work,” it was more like, “little hands make more work.”  I wondered if things would ever get easier.

At 33, with a 12 year old by my side, I can truthfully tell you things do get easier.  However, I know just how hard it can be to see the forest for the trees when you are standing in the middle of it all.  You don’t want to just muddle through, but that seems to be all you ever manage.  There has to be a better way, right?

Even the moms-of-many who have older children have days of just muddling through, but there is a lot to be said for thriving, rather than just surviving.  So, what can you do when you are a mommy of littles to make the most of this season?

Lower your expectations.

You look at other families or websites with all these children working and playing alongside each other and you wonder, “Will that ever be my family?”  I remember the days of wishing the conversation around the dinner table was something more edifying and interesting than the baby crying and the toddler spilling her water for the third time.  I longed for something that wasn’t even possible for my family, and it made me sad.

However, when you lower your expectation of what things *should* look like, and focus more on where you are now and what you can do as a family now, you stop longing after the future.

Let your littles work alongside you.  Let them do less-than-perfect work.  Play their silly games.  Laugh with them and love on them.  You are in a season of sowing seeds.  Accept that the fruit comes later.

Implement what you can now.

I wrote a post a while back about adopting a large family mentality even when you aren’t a large family.  This is probably the number one thing I did as a mom of only littles that saved my sanity!

I learned to implement a bath routine, a morning routine, shopping rules, table rules, and a myriad of other ideas I gleaned from moms much further down the parenting road than I.  Large families, by default, are efficient, and no matter what size or age your family is, gathering from their wisdom and putting it into practice before you need it, makes for a much smoother day.

The future is bright.

“All littles and no bigs” will not always define your family. When I was in that stage, I had an older mother tell me that by the time my oldest was nine, I would see a difference.  Nine seemed a long way away, but she gave me hope.

Guess what?!  She was right!  My oldest child was a huge help by that time, and I could see the other children beginning to follow his example.  It was exciting to see years of training pay off!  So, never fear!  Littles DO grow into bigs!

When it comes down to it, it is all about perspective.  Enjoy where you are now, train for the future, love what you do.  No matter how little or how big they are, you are blessed to be their mommy!

Amy is a follower of Christ, a wife to one man, a mother to many, a thinker, a writer, a homeschooler.  Amy chronicles what her  life is like  at Raising Arrows.

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2. Reasons We Have a Large Family – Post
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5. Going Out with Lots of Littles: 4 Moms, 35 Kids

My feet and ankles are not still swollen nearly beyond recognition (thanks to all of the IV fluids).  IF they were swollen my kids would not add insult to injury by writing “MOM” on my ankles and feet by pressing them and laughing at the indentations.

It has not become quite obvious that tick season is in full swing in our back yard.  We’ve certainly not seen this more than one time necessitating daily tick checks.

Nick’s (2) current favorite question is not, “Mommy, what is BabyBella crying about?”

The sweet lady who came in to give Isabella her first bath asked Mark if Isabella was the littlest of our 10 children.  When  Mark began to answer that no some of our children have been 6 or 7 pounds(Isabella was over the sweet lady did not say that she was asking if  3 hour old Isabella was the YOUNGEST of our 10 children.

The first night in the hospital Mark was NOT so tired that he couldn’t figure out how to pull out the hospital bed/couch to the full length.  So he and Alyssa did NOT spend an uncomfortable night on a bed that was waaaay too short

We do NOT allow topless sunbathing on our deck, no matter what the excuse (jaundice).

I’m not going to bore you with pictures that have nothing to do with this post, just because I think our baby/kids are really cute.

Bella ready for church

All 10 of our children going to church together for the first time

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Did you know that Sam’s carries Pillsbury Chocolate Chunk Fudge Brownies? I’m not talking about a mix in a box, I mean fresh, already baked, ready to eat chocolate with chocolate fudge and chocolate chunks brownies. Yes, they’re a bit dangerous for a diet, but they’re perfect for those time when you’re supposed to bring dessert and put it off until the last minute or when you’re taking a meal to someone in need and want a quick easy dessert to add.

Y0u can stop by Sam’s on the way to your functions and have a delicious dessert that is ready to eat.  Another huge benefit?  These brownies serve a lot (and this coming from someone who feeds 12 people on a daily basis).

Thanks to Pillsbury and My BlogSpark our family had the opportunity to try the Pillsbury Chocolate Chunk Brownies.  We thought these would be perfect for the kids to decorate for Isabella’s  ‘birthday’ and  bring to the hospital.

Colby (3) and Matthew (11) decorate some brownie for Isabella

We gave each of the oldest children their own section of brownie to decorate with the help of one of their younger siblings.

The children with their masterpieces

They had a lot of fun and enjoyed making something special for Isabella.

We all enjoyed celebrating Isabella’s birth with these brownies and I enjoyed not having to make them!

Alyssa (9) offers Isabella (3 hours) a piece of brownie. (My mom is holding Isabella)

Alyssa even made sure that Isabella had an opportunity to try them out.

Pillsbury, My BlogSpark and Sam’s have teamed up to provide one of these Pillsbury Prize Packs to one Raising Olives reader.

The Prize Pack inlcudes:

• A $25 Sam’s gift card so that you can purchase your own Pillsbury Chocolate Chunk Brownies  (WARNING: these are addictive!!)
• 2 tubs of Betty Crocker frosting
• Deluxe Decorating Set – so you can personalize your dessert if you like
• A large lidded container to make transporting your brownies a snap

To enter:

• Leave a comment on this post telling me how you would use the Pillsbury Chocolate Chunk Brownies from Sam’s or feel free to tell us how cute Isabella baby is.

Extra entries:  (please leave an additional comment for each entry)

• Share a link to this giveaway on your Facebook page.
• Tweet about this giveaway (please leave the URL or your Twitter ID)
• ‘Like’ Raising Olives on Facebook
• Post about this giveaway (3 entries, please leave 3 separate comments)

Giveaway will end at 11:59 pm on Thursday, July 15.

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Her name carries a lot of meaning to us and we thought it deserved it’s own post.

Isabella  means God is my vow.   Bella, which is probably what she will be called means beautiful.  (Nick (2) already calls her ‘BabyBella”)

Bella is one of our family’s favorite movies.  If you haven’t seen it, you should.

The message of the movie is the beauty and the preciousness of life.  We pray that our little Isabella, being a 10th child, will convey the beauty of life simply by the fact of her existence.  That she will demonstrate love of life in the midst of a world that values it lightly.  That we will realize and remember that life is a gift from God and one of His greatest blessings to us.  We pray that we, as a nation, will learn to value and protect it.

Bella, the movie, holds more significance to our family.  It portrays a lovely glimpse into the Hispanic culture and heritage that our children inherit from their father.  Each time we see it Mark comments on the wonderful memories of family gathering around a laden table, laughing and loving together.

Promise – This reminds us of all the promises that God gives to us, His people, promises of amazing blessings and faithfulness that we don’t deserve.

The promise that we most remember as we name our child is the promise that God will be a God to us and to our children after us.  We pray this EVERY day for each of our children and as we name little Isabella Promise, we pray it for her.  We pray that she will never remember a day when she did not love her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

So as we name our sweet baby we think of the privilege with which God has blessed us, ten of His precious children to raise for His glory.  We think of the beauty and blessing of each life that He has given.  We rejoice in our rich heritage and we thank God for His promises to His people.

♥

I intend to write and tell the story of Isabella’s birth.  It was blessedly uneventful and God answered your prayers and demonstrated His kindness to us in many, many unexpected  details.   (i.e. Our next door neighbor here in the hospital is a friend of ours who had her baby just hours before Bella was born and across the hall another friend had her baby just hours after Bella.)  From laughter to tears and back we are grateful for God’s faithfulness to us even in the details and rejoice in a healthy baby and safe birth.

However, right now I can hardly take my eyes off of our beautiful daughter and am trying to soak up every single moment.

I’ve scheduled some posts for the upcoming days and have several fun stories that I hope to share, so things won’t be too quiet around here, but primarily I am on maternity leave.

You can make Amber’s (13) day by thanking her  for posting the stats and picture of Isabella otherwise I would have left you in suspense until now.

Thank you again for your prayers (keep them coming) and for taking the time to leave comments (love them) and let us know that you are rejoicing with us.  You have truly blessed our family.

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2. Not Me: Spoiling the Baby
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Our adorable baby girl was born this morning at 7:45 a.m! Both mommy and baby are doing well.

here are her stats:

Weight: 8 pounds 9 ounces.

Length: 21 inches.

Thank you everyone for your prayers.

Her name and it’s meaning

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39+ 1 weeks, transverse baby

I am very excited and a little nervous.  I am astounded and thankful for all of the people who are praying for us, thank you!

We get to be at the hospital between 5 and 5:30 this morning and surgery is scheduled for 7:30, so probably by the time most of you read this we will be loving on our new little girl.

The baby continues to be transverse so Dr. V will do an ultrasound just before we head into the c-section.

Being able to plan this birth has been a blessing.  Each of our oldest 3 daughters (13, 12 and 9) will have an opportunity to stay in the hospital for a time to help out and spend some one-on-one time with me and the baby.  They are each looking forward to their turn and hope that I stay in the hospital a long time so they each get plenty of time.

This is a good opportunity for me to thank them because when we get home from the hospital a lot will be falling on their shoulders.  They are always a huge help and blessing to us, but over the next few weeks we will rely on them even more as I recover and we all adjust to having a new little person in the house.

Stay tuned…

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Being 9 months pregnant and leaning over to pick up toys isn’t high on my list of fun, but I certainly do NOT crawl around on the floor picking up toys and I do NOT crawl from one room to the next just to avoid having to stand up.

Mark and I did NOT look at each other at 12:10 am this morning and say, “Tomorrow we’re having a baby.”    Nope, not us.  We’ve already done this 9 times, so we are NOT excited that we get to meet our new daughter face to face TOMORROW!!!!

Since we are having a baby tomorrow, Nicholas (2) did NOT wake up with a fever of 102 and he does not currently look like this:

No way any of the children will be sick just in time for the birth of our baby.

You may want to read about why we’re having our first c-section after nine children or our birth stories.  I also post about homeschooling and parenting.

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These inexpensive, easy to make flower hair clips fit the bill.

They are also great for the big girls to wear directly in their hair or use to spice up a head band.

Each flower clip cost me less than a dollar to make.  They would be less expensive if you chose smaller flowers.Supplies needed:

• a hot glue gun
• alligator hair clips
• scissors
• silk flowers (I purchased mine at JoAnne’s when they had their spring flowers on clearance.)

1. Pull the flower off of the stem and then trim the little knobby part that sticks out of the back so that it is easy to remove the remaining flower parts.

2.  Pull off the small plastic backing that is keeping the silk petals in place.  (see it there above the flower?)

3. Remove all petals that are not firmly attached to the center and very front of the flower.The type of flower will determine how many of the petals you will remove.

4. Glue each layer of petals to the previous layer with the glue gun using the remainder of the ‘stem’ to line up each layer of petals.5. Trim any remaining stem so that it is flush with petals.

6. Glue clip to back of flower.I found this cheat to be helpful when I hot glued the clip onto the back so that the clip didn’t glue itself closed.

7. Enjoy!

For more tutorials including beaded bobby pins , a fancy ponytail,  hand-dyed playsilks and more visit my tutorial page.

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It seems that the end of pregnancy is always a struggle for me.  I’ve been blessed in that I don’t have any of the common complications that many women experience at the end of pregnancy.  I’m just generally uncomfortable,  lacking in energy and impatient.

Here are some strategies that help me during the last few weeks of pregnancy:

• Focus on others – Have a younger mom who needs encouragement over or make extra dessert and take it to your neighbors.
• Take a hike.  One of  my favorite things to do at the end of pregnancy is to head out and hike with the family.  Take a short hike at the park or around the neighborhood after dinner.  Go for a longer more challenging hike on a Saturday.  Being outside, away from the house, getting some exercise and watching the kids enjoy nature does wonders to relax and invigorate.
• Focus on your kids – Do something fun with your kid.  Take them to the park, swimming, let them play in the mud or make cookies.  If you’re really tired, just lie on the couch and read aloud to them all. day. long.
• Rest – You’ll need to be at your top for labor and birth and you’ll also appreciate that extra sleep once you have a small one in the house who may or may not realize that you enjoy sleeping during the dark hours.
• Tackle a project – something that is fun and motivating for you, not just something that needs to be done.  I enjoy rearranging furniture, planting flowers or decluttering.
• Make a plan – Make special plans for the baby’s due date (or a day or two after it).  It began when another mom of many and I were due about the same time.  We made plans to go out to dinner on our due dates.   These plans gave me something to look forward to and even made a small part of me hope that I would be able to make it.  We spent her due date dinner in the hospital visiting over her newborn, but mine proceeded as planned.
• Put some meals in the freezer.
• Clean something.
• Memorize and meditate on scripture that will be comforting during labor and birth.
• Remember that no matter how young/old you are or your history this may be the last time that you have the blessing of a little life growing and moving inside you, enjoy it!

Having a plan and remembering to enjoy the end of pregnancy works for me.  For more Works For Me Wednesday ideas visit We Are THAT Family.

Now just for fun and because it’s traditional for our family to guess about the baby’s stats.  Leave a comment guessing the baby’s weight and length.

It’s  odd this time knowing the gender and having a c-section scheduled.  If anyone wants to guess that this baby is coming before our scheduled c-section on July 6th you’ll gain my undying affection.   (I am having my typical 5 minute apart contractions.  After having read some of my birth stories are you impressed?  I’m not either.)

I’m hoping for tomorrow, it would be so convenient to have Mark off for the whole holiday weekend to help.  Mark is hoping for July 4th just because that would be fun and 1/3 of our children have been born on a Sunday.  My dad accuses me of being secretly rebellious.

Six days thou shalt labor and do all thy work, but the seventh is a Sabbath to the Lord your God, in it thou shalt not do any work.

Here is the history of baby weights to help you out (or not).   Our smallest baby was 6 lbs. 15oz. biggest was 9 lbs. 15 oz. (one 6 pounder, three in the 7 pound range, three in the 8 pound range and two 9 pounders).

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1. Pregnancy Dreams
2. Pregnancy Update: Goodbye First Trimester
3. You Asked: Pregnancy, Homebirth and Blogging
4. Pregnancy is Hard
5. Not Me: The Day Before BABY

Can you believe that I’m actually getting another birth story written?

For men and children readers:

I went into labor early on the morning of our fourth wedding anniversary and much  later that day our baby was born, our first boy whom we named Matthew.  Both baby and mother were fine.

If you are a child, please get your mom’s permission to read the rest of this post.

For other moms:

Our 3rd baby was due in May.  After Kaitlin’s Pitocin induced birth, I assured Mark that I did not want to attempt another birth with Pitocin without an epidural.  Since neither of us was comfortable with an epidural, I was prepared for a late baby!

The baby was due a couple of weeks before our anniversary and we laughed that if this baby was as late as Kaitlin it would be possible for it to be born on our anniversary.  It was all a big joke, certainly we wouldn’t have another baby who was 2 weeks late, after all I’d been in labor with Kaitlin when the trauma of my mom’s heart attack stopped the process.  Two weeks late had been just a fluke, right?

May came and went and two weeks after my due date there was still no baby.  My OB was fine with me going another week as long as I came in for daily non-stress tests.  We were fine with that.

The day before labor starts a 2 liter of soda is spilled on the floor.  You would have thought it was the end of the world by my reaction.  I cried for 30 minutes over that spilled soda.  Mark knew that things were close and I KNEW that I’d be pregnant forever.

However contractions start at around 6 am the next morning.  These are my usual, regular, 5 minute apart contractions. I get up and get breakfast for the children and Mark heads off to work.  I’m still unconvinced that this baby is actually going to make an appearance and wander around tidying and cleaning until I’m experiencing a discernible 30-40 second peak with each contraction.

I don’t want to bother Mark at work, still convinced that this can’t be it, but I call Ivy (our doula), around 10am to let her know that ‘something’ was happening.

Ivy isn’t comfortable with me being so far from the hospital (we lived about 50 minutes away) having contractions as strong  and close together as I was having them.  I’m still not ready to head to the hospital, so I call Mark  and we decide to go to Ivy’s house (about 5 minutes from the hospital) and hang out there for a while.

The car ride is horrible, making the contractions more intense and closer together.  I decide that in the future we will time this l-o-n-g drive at an earlier stage of labor.
As soon as we get out of the car the contractions go back to normal.  I’m only 3 cm dilated so we decide to walk.  Ivy has a neighbor with an amazingly, steep driveway and for some reason she thinks that this is a good place for us to walk, in the heat, in the humidity,  with my 9 1/2 month pregnant belly.  Up and down, up and down, up and down. Very hot and I  keep thinking of how tough the ride in the car was and that I have another 5 minutes of that torture before we  are at the hospital.

We go into the house for a drink and I begin to shake and feel nauseous.  I’ve not experienced these symptoms before transition during my last two labors and even though I know we’re not quite at that point, I am finally convinced that we will be having a baby in the near future.

We get in the car and head to the hospital about noon.  Ivy wants us to walk some more before we check in.  The baby is OP “sunny side up” and with each contraction she has me lean forward and rest my hands on my knees trying to get the baby to turn around so that labor and birth will be easier.

We walk in the park next to the hospital, and walk and walk.  We are walking AWAY from the hospital.  Far away, considering I am no longer able to walk through a contraction and I am  having 60-90 second contractions (beginning to peak) about 3 minutes apart. I am hot and tired and wondering who was going to carry me back to the hospital if things got to that point.

I’m ready to check into the hospital and take a shower.

I’m thankful for the hospital’s air conditioning.  We check in about 2.  I am now 6 cm.  The baby remains high and  I am finally able to empathize with those who experience back labor (my first and only time).

As soon as I get the OK, I get into the shower.  Our deal with Dr. G. is that I’m only monitored 15 minutes each hour.  Other than that mandatory monitoring time I stay in the shower.

By 3pm I’m 8 cm and 100% effaced.  “How much longer?” Contractions are one on top of another and extremely intense.

Back labor continues although the baby has partially turned and Ivy encourages me to spend time in the torturous position from hell, otherwise known as being on my hands and knees.  I long for the shower, but try to spend as much time in that position as possible.  The baby has turned a little by this time, but is now just facing one of my legs and still not facing my back in the best position for birth.

Here is where my memory gets a bit blurry.  I’m thankful that during the most difficult parts of labor God allows your mind to find rest.

I stand in the shower putting the shower head on my stomach then back, stomach then back.  I wish that there were two shower heads.  I need two.

“How much longer?”

“Transition doesn’t last long, right?”

“I can’t do this.”

At 6pm I’m still 8cm.  The nurse has mercy and allows me to try pushing to see what happens.  With the next contraction I push and the water breaks, but pushing is all wrong.  We wait some more.

There is a picture on the wall across from the hospital bed.  A picture of a baby asleep under a quilt. I hate the picture.  It’s mocking me.  I will never have this baby.   I wish that someone would move the picture.

By 7 pm, after being in hard transition for 4 hours and STILL being only 8 cm, The nurse has me try to push again while she tries to push the cervix back out of the way.   It
doesn’t work.

I get back into the shower.  Mark reminds me to relax.  He tells me I’m doing a great job.

I cry.

We try squatting, standing, kneeling.  I remain in hard, unrelenting labor and have not made any measurable progress in 4 hours.

Eventually we try pushing again with the nurse pushing the cervix back and this time it works,  the baby’s head is past the cervix.  The baby’s head crowns and is born with the next push.  I did it.   It’s over.  I know from experience that as soon as that head is born the baby’s body just slides out, but everything still hurts.  Did I misunderstand?

The room fills and Dr. G. starts giving orders.  I don’t know what is happening.  Mark is standing beside me, holding my hand.

He can see what I can not.  Our child’s head has been born.  The face is purple and still.

The bed is laid flat and a nurse climbs up next to me and begins pushing down on my fundus (the top of the uterus).  Another nurse pushes one of my legs back, Ivy gets the other leg.  Everyone is pushing HARD.  Dr. G. tells me to push.  I am pushing.  I don’t think that I’ve stopped.

Dr. G.:

“Push, harder, push.  Don’t stop.”

I can’t breathe.

“I’m going to break the collar bone.”  He grunts with the effort, but the bone will not break.

“I need the OR prepped.”

Ivy, “No, she can do this.  Please give her some more time.”  To me, “You have to push as hard as you can and just keep pushing.”

“Push, push.”

Dr. G:

“Pull her legs back farther.”

“More fundal pressure.”

“I need that OR, NOW.”

Everyone is pushing or pulling.

“I’m going to have to break both collar bones.”

“How are we coming with the OR?”

Dr. G. apologizes before he cuts the episotomy.

“Ouch, ouch, ouch.”

“I know, I’m sorry.”

Pain, everywhere and then it’s over, 15 minutes after the head was born the rest of our baby was delivered.

Our baby is whisked to the warmer.

“It’s a boy.”

Our first son, born at 8:05pm.

“Is he OK?”  They always say, ‘yes’ and they give us that hollow reassurance now.

Dr. G. is still attending to me and there is a crowd around the warmer.

We wait.

I’m exhausted and rest.  Mark is still holding my hand.

Then we hear what we’ve been waiting for, a baby begins to cry.  Mark collapses on the bed beside me and joins his son, crying, as the relief that our child lives floods over him.

They eventually bring our baby over for us to see and he looks as if he’s been in a fight.  His face is one huge bruise.

They place him on my belly, “umph”, he is much heavier than I anticipated.  “‘I bet that baby is at least 8 pounds.”

He was 9 pounds 15 ounces, although Dr. G. says that I can tell everyone 10 pounds because he is certain that Matthew lost  at least an ounce while he was stuck.

Once again God was merciful to us.  After testing it was determined that Matthew had not suffered any brain damage from lack of oxygen.  Dr. G. said that both his arms looked good, a statement that Mark and I would not fully understand until 8 years later when our 9th child suffered a brachial plexus palsy injury (Erb’s Palsy).  And despite Dr. G’s efforts he is our first baby who does not have a broken collar bone.

Matthew had a bit of jaundice, but other than that he was just fine.

I was in rough shape after the birth and going home was hard as Mark  had only one day off and I had all little kids (2 1/2 years, 16 months and a newborn) and no helpers, but that too passed and life settled down to ‘normal’ as we adjusted to our wonderfully blessed life with three small children.

Birth Story #1
Birth Story #2

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Related posts:

1. Birth Story #2: Part 2
2. Birth Story: Our First
3. Birth Story #2
4. Carter’s Story: God’s Amazing Grace
5. So Life Doesn’t Get Too Boring

I did not forget about a doctor’s appointment last week and end up skipping it completely.  (I’m not completely blaming that on baby brain, Oi!)

It did not take us 45 minutes to figure out the new van seating arrangements for when the baby is born.  The conversation did not go something like this.

So in the front seat we’ll have Matthew, the baby and Alyssa.  Then in the middle seat we’ll have Kaitlin, Nicholas and Colby and in the back seat will be Amber, Sadie, Savannah and Carter.

No, no, no that won’t work because Matthew and Colby are buddies and need to sit beside each other.

So then we’ll put Sadie, the baby and Alyssa in the front, Matthew, Colby, and Kaitlin in the middle and Nicholas, Amber, Savannah and Carter in the back.

No, that won’t work because, I want a big kid sitting next to  Nicholas to help him eat and hold his hand  in the parking lot AND  I need a child who is big enough to legally sit in the front seat to be sitting next to the baby in case I need to switch places to check on the baby during a trip.

Since we habitually bulk cook and I’m accustomed to having my freezer stocked with meals, I did not neglect to make any special arrangements for food for my family for after the c-section until I realized last week that we haven’t bulk cooked since March, our freezer is no longer stocked! Guess what our plans are for this week?

(A special thank you to our church family from ‘back home’ {where we lived until nearly 5 years ago} and my lovely sisters in Christ up there for asking how you could help and preparing food to stock our freezer.  Thank you, my friends!!!!)

We did not alter our plans for Wednesday to ensure that we will be home because we are expecting a special delivery of the new Popsicle Jolly Rancher ice pops.  (Did you know that someone will actually deliver Popsicles right to your home?)  Now if I can just prevent the children from tackling the poor Fed Ex guy we’ll be all right.

Only 8 days until the arrival of baby #10, but I’m NOT counting.

I’m not just forgetful and scatter brained, I share some fun family ideas like jammie drills and cool projects like homemade chalkboard paint along with lots of homeschool information!

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2. You Asked For It: Our Chore List
3. Not Me Monday: Bathroom Etiquette and Rice
4. Our “Small” Family Weekend
5. Fishing with Thirteen

Only 12 more days until we meet face to face.  We can’t wait!!

(psst, there is only one baby. )

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1. Coming July 2010: Wordless Wednesday
2. The Baby Bump
3. Heading to the Hospital
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5. Birth Story #3

Yesterday afternoon one of the kids had a doctor’s appointment and while we were out contractions began.  Since I’m 37 weeks +2 this wasn’t surprising.   By the time we got home the contractions were regular at 5 minutes apart.

They continued all afternoon and evening, so rather than blogging, the oldest girls and I ran out to get some last minute necessities for baby, birth and a hospital stay.  By around 9pm contractions were getting longer and were 3 minutes apart but still not ‘real’.  I began to realize that I’m really NOT ready for baby to arrive.  Thankfully, they spaced out around 11:30 and I was able to go to sleep, kinda.

The great thing about this reminder that the baby really could come anytime is that I’m very motivated to finish up preparations.  I now have a packing list for the hospital and have started gathering our things.  Baby arrives in two weeks from today so it’s time to prepare. 

Thank you for all of your wonderful comments, ideas, prayers and support in response to my last post.  I hope to respond to those in the next day or two, but want you to know that you have been an encouragement to me.

On a completely separate note, the Constructive Moms area of the Constructive Playthings website is up. (Just click on the Constructive Moms tab at the top of the page.)   There you can read more about the Constructive Moms program, including the 15% discount that you get if you order after clicking through from any of our sites.  There is also a brief bio of each mom, including me.

You may access the 15% discount at anytime by clicking on the  Constructive Moms button in my right sidebar.

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Related posts:

1. Heading to the Hospital
2. Birth Story #3
3. Birth Story: Our First
4. Birth Story #2: Part 2
5. Birth Story #2

Last week when I posted my updated ‘To-do’ list of things to accomplish before the baby arrives.  I was surprised and blessed by so many of you who took the time to comment or email and let me know that you are praying for me, for this baby, this birth and our family.  Thank you!  That outpouring of prayer support prompted me to write this post, because I know you’ll pray…

Our birth history is unusual.  As a matter of fact, I’ve never heard of anyone who has experienced anything similar to us and I’ve asked.  A lot.

Until after the birth of our last baby, we were told by every health care professional we spoke with that the complications that we experienced with our births were unrelated to each other.     Each time we explained our history we were told we were not at risk for more trouble, that our history was simply a string of unexpected, unforeseeable complications.

It wasn’t until after our last child was fairly severely injured at birth and needed to be seen by specialists at Shriner’s Orthopedic  in Philadelphia that Dr. K sat down with us and explained that while he didn’t know WHY these things were happening, he did strongly believe that all of these complications were related and that we had a very high risk of another Brachial Plexus Palsy or worse happening again.

I was hoping to get through more birth stories before I posted this, but since I’m a little extremely slow allow me to summarize for you the way that Dr. K did for us.

Out of 9 births:

• We’ve experienced 6 shoulder dystocias.  (Until Dr. K pointed it out, we did not realize that we should count those babies who suffered from broken collar bones as a dystocia.  Dr. K said, “If there wasn’t a problem with their shoulders being stuck, their bones wouldn’t break.”  Um, yes, that makes sense.  Why did no one tell us sooner??)
• 4 babies have suffered a broken collar bone or humerous during birth due to SD (shoulder Dystocia).
• 3  babies, because of SD, have suffered from a lack of oxygen to the point that the doctor/midwife was concerned about possible brain damage..
• 1 of our children suffered Brachial Plexus Palsy (Erb’s Palsy – paralysis of his arm) because of SD.

There are risks factors for shoulder dystocia, but we don’t fit into those risks.  We’ve experienced problems with small and large babies, difficulties when I was carring no extra weight,  tried chiropractic care, stayed active during birth and avoided necessary interventions.

As a matter of fact, our most severe dystocias have come with completely natural child birth and the three births that there was no dystocia and no injury were the three births that I had an epidural.  (Go figure)

The most severe injury (broken humerous and Brachial Plexus Palsy) was a homebirth where the midwife did everything “right” in dealing with a shoulder dystocia.

God has been very merciful to us.  Nicholas (our Erb’s Palsy/Brachial Plexus Palsy baby) has had an amazing recovery and none of our children have been left with any brain damage.

However, when we found out that God had blessed us with the child that I’m now carrying, we knew we had a difficult decision to make.

It has been a decision that I’ve struggled with for the past 8 1/2 months.  Mark and I are firm believers in natural childbirth and chose to have our last two children at home because of the unusually high c-section rate of the hospitals in our new city.

If someone could tell me that our child would be born uninjured, I would choose homebirth again.  My heart is homebirth and I’m grateful that the Lord allowed me to experience the joy, peace and rightness of delivering two of our children at home.

However, this baby will be born via planned c-section on July 6 (unless I go into labor sooner).

Even though I KNOW that this is the best decision, even though God has shown me through my husband (who has no doubt whatsoever) that this is His plan for me, I struggle.  I really am Gideon, I want my fleece dry and then wet and even with all of that I wonder and just as God was gracious to Gideon,

(T)he LORD said to Gideon, “Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands. If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp.” ~Judges 7:9-11

God is gracious to me.

For the last several weeks I have been praying that God would please confirm our decision by allowing the baby to be breech or transverse (something that we’ve never experienced before).  Our babies have all been head down by 36 weeks and this was the ‘fleece’ that I set before God.

Last week at my OB appointment we found out that this baby is indeed breech.  I know that we could try to flip her and I know that she may flip on her own, but for me this was God reaching down and reassuring me that we’re doing all right.

Each time I feel her tiny,  little , gigantic head up under my ribs (ouch!)  I’m reminded of God’s mercy and goodness to me in that even though He gave me clear direction through my husband, He was still willing to deal directly with my insecurity and fear.

I’ve never had a c-section before, so if you have any tips, suggestions or encouragement, I’m all ears.

You may be interested in reading:

Birth Story #1
Birth Story #2
Birth Story #3

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I am happy and proud to describe myself as a baby-wearing mom.   A lot has been written about the benefits of wearing your baby  (Benefits of Baby Wearing from LLL and 10 Reasons to Wear Your Baby)  and my desire was to be a ‘baby-wearer’ from the time my first was born, so I dutifully asked for and received a baby carrier and tried to wear my sweet baby from the beginning.

While I did use the baby carrier a lot, but I would not have classified myself as a baby wearer because that first carrier and others that followed, (you know the ones that you find at the local baby stores) just weren’t comfortable enough to allow me to wear my baby for long periods of time day-in and day-out.

8 1/2 months pregnant wearing 2 year old Nick

That continued until I was expecting our 8th baby and my mom purchased me an ERGObaby carrier.  I was 7 1/2 months pregnant when I first wore one of my children in the ERGO and Savannah (then 16 months old) spent 2 1/2 happy hours while we shopped.  No tired shoulders or sore neck, just a completely content little girl who enjoyed being so close to her mommy and a mommy who had discovered that baby wearing could be comfortable.

What is an ERGObaby Carrier?

An ERGObaby carrier is a soft frame baby carrier designed for use with babies with good head control (4-5 months) up to children around 40 pounds. (ERGO does provide an infant insert that enables you to wear your baby from birth through 4-5 months.  I will be trying that accessory and telling you about it after our little one is born in July.)

The carrier has been tested safe up to 90 pounds, so really it’s for as long as both you and your baby are happy using it.  We still wear our 3 1/2 year old and our 2 year old and yes, I am still wearing them even though I’m 8 1/2 months pregnant.  However, I might encourage them to ask one of their siblings or their daddy to “ERGO” them.

The ERGO is designed to enable you to carry your baby in three different positions  front, back  or hip carry.

The ERGO is also equipped with a sleeping hood that supports the baby’s head when they are sleeping.  Trust me, this is a wonderful and important feature, because the ERGO is one of our boys favorite places to nap when we are on the go.

What makes an ERGO different?

The ERGO was different from the other carriers that I had used in that the weight of the baby is carried on your waist, not your shoulders, back or neck.  This is amazingly comfortable and Mark and I have carried our babies on 6 mile hikes over rocky terrain quite comfortably.

In whatever position you are wearing your baby, the baby faces you and conforms to the shape of your body.   This not only makes the ERGO more comfortable, it also allows you to interact with your baby.  Even when I’m wearing one of our boys in the back carry position (and can’t see their face) the interaction is sweet, they will rub my back, ask me to rub their legs and point out different items of interest as we walk along.  And of course, when they are tired they will lean their head up against my back and go to sleep.

“The ergonomic design supports a correct sitting position for the baby’s hip, pelvis and spine growth. It disperses most of the baby’s weight between the hips and thighs and helps prevent compression of the spine.”  This is much better for the babies growth and development than other carriers that dangle babies by their crotch.

Why we love our ERGO.

Need I say anything more? Our two youngest children, whom we call our ‘ERGO babies’, have had this reaction nearly every time we pull out our ERGO.  Until just before his third birthday Colby would bring me the ERGO or ask me to “ERGO” him during that” tough-for-little-kids-time-of-day” while mom is getting dinner ready.

After 7 children I was  finally a baby-wearing mom and our family has been reaping the benefits ever since. We no longer use our stroller, or have to leave a store because the baby is screaming.  Our babies have been much more portable and adaptable to going and doing  in different places at different times.  Because they are able to comfortably nap in the ERGO it’s much easier to have a more flexible schedule without having a miserable little one.

We even used the ERGO to train one of our boys to sit still during church.  From the time he was just a few months old we would simply put him in the ERGO at the beginning of the service and our hyper active, overly stimulated little one would calm down and eventually take his morning nap in the ERGO.

Isn't it beautiful?

As a mom of soon-to-be 10, there are very few things that I consider “necessary”, a good, quality baby carrier is one of those things, don’t settle for less, baby wearing doesn’t have to be painful or uncomfortable. It really is worth it to find a baby wearing product that you love, for our family the ERGO is one of those products.

Buy an ERGObaby Carrier.

You may purchase an ERGObaby carrier from between $105 and $148 at ERGObaby carrier.com.

Don’t forget to check out their infant inserts if you want to use it with a baby younger than 4 or 5 months, their practical front pouch, perfect for camera, keys and cell phone and other accessories!

Win an ERGObaby Carrier.

I’m thrilled that ERGObaby has offered to give one of my readers their very own ERGObaby carrier.  Our family LOVES this carrier, we recommend it all the time and we firmly believe that it’s completely worth the investment.

To enter:

• Leave a comment on this post telling me about your baby wearing experience (or lack thereof).

Additional entries:  (Please leave a comment for each additional entry.)

• Share a link to this giveaway on your Facebook page.
• Tweet about this giveaway and leave your Twitter ID.
• Post about this giveaway.  (3 entries, leave a separate comment for each entry)
• “Like” or become a fan of Raising Olives on Facebook (or let me know that you already do).

Giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents and will end at midnight on Thursday, June 24th.

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2. Pregnancy Update: Goodbye First Trimester
3. Babywearing Solution
4. The Box

Yet for the past 6 years, the children and I catch a few movies at the theater each summer for FREE, thanks to Regal Cinema’s Free Family Film Festival.

Image Courtesy of Bresslau

Every summer Regal Cinemas offers free showings of select G and PG rated movies on Tuesday and Wednesday morning.  Check their website for their schedule and a location near you.  Then mark your calendars to catch the movies that you want to enjoy with your kids.

Free movies for kids, in an air-conditioned theater, during the last few weeks of  a 10th pregnancy, that works for me!

Please share other fun, COOL activities to help this hot mama pass the last 3 weeks of pregnancy with her passel of kids?

You can read more of my “Works for Me Wednesdays” or visit  We Are THAT Family for more good ideas.

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It all began at the end of last week when I decided that I should get out our baby clothes.   After having two little boys and the longest break between children that we’ve ever experienced, I went through our baby clothes (especially girl clothes) and gave nearly all if it to friends.   So realizing that we might actually NEED a few things for this baby, I pulled out our newborn box to access the status.

Do you remember the mouse incident a couple of months ago?  Evidently, Mrs. Mouse did not move into our residence all by herself because when I opened the box of baby things…..

Thankfully, we’ve not seen any evidence at all in the house, but our out-of-season clothing (and bulk food storage) is in the garage.

Yesterday I spent the entire day with ‘not me’s’ running through my head as the children and I went through every box, bag, bucket and container in our garage, doing laundry, sorting,  giving away, etc.  We moved all the shelves, the refrigerator, the freezer, everything located in the garage and cleaned, mopped and scrubbed.  Did I mention  that it was extremely humid with the the temperature in the 90′s and a heat index through the roof?

Several things coincided to make yesterday a HUGE success:

1. That lovely nesting urge finally showed up.
2. The Council of the Blind is sending a truck to pick up our donations on Wednesday.  I may have to tell them to send an extra truck.  Seriously.
3. On Sunday a sweet friend came by to visit and brought us DINNER, so we were able to work right through the day and simply come in to showers and a wonderful meal that included fresh strawberries, mmm!!!
4. I have big kids!  Kaitlin (12) stayed inside and manned the washing machine and dryer, watched any younger children who preferred to be in the air conditioning, put lunch and dinner on the table and kept the house in order.  Everyone else put in a lot of muscle in the garage.

Someone asked about family projects for which we ‘cancel’ school.  Cleaning out the garage yesterday fell into that category.

**To our friends and neighbors: We are not moving and all the stuff on our porch will be gone by Wednesday, unless the Council forgets to send that extra truck.

♦

Chantelle recently asked if I’d give an update on my before-the-baby-comes-to-do list.

The original list:

• Finish school goals/curriculum for this ’school year’.
• Order, organize and plan goals/curriculum for next year. (in process)
• Start new ’school year’. I’m loving how beautifully Core 1 and 6 of Sonlight are integrating for us and enjoying the special time with our younger kids. We’ve completed 3 weeks.
• Take out wall between two rooms downstairs and make into one large bedroom. Our friend who is going to help with this project has been unavailable, so we’ve not started.  I’m not thinking that this will be done pre-baby.
• Decorate new bedroom for use by some of our children.  See above.
• Play musical children, furniture and things with the bedrooms. We moved all the furniture around to where it will belong after the construction is done.
• Make curtains for family room.
• Plan and take a vacation (camping preferably).We decided to put this off until after the baby arrives.
  
• Finish knitting the baby’s blanket.
• Pick out a NAME. (We’re open for suggestions)
• Get out baby things. A little earlier than planned.

Things I’ve added:

• Clean out and de-cletter garage.
• De-clutter master bedroom.
• De-clutter both kids bedrooms.
• Scrub grout in kitchen and all three bathrooms.
• De-clutter all three bathrooms.
  
• A collection of knitting projects for the baby, some are done and some in progress.
• Freezer cook.?
• Write more birth stories.  Hmm, this is a hard one.
• Do a lot more fun things with the kids.   (Free movies, Museum of Appalachia,  splash pad, hike, etc.)
• Prepare for and take a break from blogging.

With only 3 more weeks until the end of this pregnancy, I’m beginning to run regular contractions and am finally feeling like we really are almost there.  It also helps to have some baby things around.    I’m getting really excited,  God is so good!

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1. Reasons We Have a Large Family – Post
2. The Baby Bump
3. The Baby Bump: 30 Weeks 5 Days
4. Does It Get Easier? – Guest Post From Amy
5. Laundry Help: The Family Closet

A car or train

A drum

A hat

A jumping platform and also pulpit, judging by the preaching and singing going on.

I nixed the idea of using it to sled down the stairs and put the camera away before the older children confiscated it to create a castle using scissors and markers.

Who says that kids are expensive or hard to entertain?  What are some of the best non-toy entertainers in your home?

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