I've really missed blogging lately! Can you believe this post took me almost 3 weeks to write? True story! That's just the way life has been lately! Here's a brief summary of what's new in our world...
At the end of January, Nathan turned 5! He's already lost two teeth (our earliest tooth loser yet!). He has started "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" and is doing really well, so far. He was already reading a few Bob Books before then, so I am hoping the momentum gathers and reading is something that comes easily for him. I find Nathan rather fascinating, because, in our houseful of playmates and noise... he's the introvert. He is perfectly content playing by himself somewhere quietly while the rest of the gang are doing something else! I had always heard one of the "pitfalls" of big families was that the children don't learn how to enjoy quiet or entertain themselves due to the constant presence of others, but Nathan proves that idea wrong! He definitely has a knack for building complex things with legos - sometimes more complex than his older counterparts build. I love watching him grow and can't wait to see what God has in store for him!
The little girl had her FIRST birthday and I hadn't even blogged about it yet! How does that even happen? (Um, I'll tell you how it happened - it's called having 6 kids and being pregnant with the 7th!) We didn't do anything big - I'm a lazy mama and don't do birthday parties until the child is actually old enough to remember them! But it was an absolutely beautiful day, so we did celebrate by spending some time enjoying the outdoors. She's getting so big - she's got 6 teeth, loves to climb on anything and everything, and is definitely teaching us a bit about what people mean when they say "girls are different". There's a little more drama in the house than there used to be! But going along with that is a lot more sunshine and sweetness, and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't marvel at the fact that we have a girl! Yes, still!
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| On her first birthday! |
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I am now 16.5 weeks pregnant, and outgrowing regular clothes. But, I'm also at the awkward inbetween stage where maternity clothes are sort of too big and look kind of frumpy! So, please excuse my lack of fashion for the next few weeks, if you happen to know me. Not that I'm the queen of fashion to begin with! I can now feel the little one move for sure, which is such a nice blessing. No matter how many times I've felt it, I'm always excited and thankful when it happens. I haven't gained any weight yet, for which I am super thankful for, since I started this pregnancy out with an extra 15-20 pounds of weight still leftover from Rachel! I don't tend to fret over my weight too much, but that small detail made me a little nervous.
We are planning another homebirth, for which I am super excited. I was thrilled for
the first one, because I had wanted to try it for so long and was finally able to, and I'm just as thrilled for this one, because now I know how wonderful of an experience it can be!
Our 20 week ultrasound is next month, and I am so looking forward to it. We're not finding out the gender, of course, but we've decided to leave all the children with a friend and actually make it a "date night", of which we only do about 2-3 times a year! Usually we bring the whole crew to the ultrasounds, but at this point we will no longer all fit into the ultrasound room! And I think it will be fun not having to deal with squirmy toddlers and restless preschoolers. And, of course, I am always excited to see the little one. The miracle of pregnancy and growing a baby becomes more and more amazing to me with each pregnancy.
Here's my growing belly!
According to general statistics, I have approximately 23 weeks left of this pregnancy... and according to my schedule, I have approximately 21 weeks left of school. Um, yikes! Looks like after our maternity leave, we won't be starting out fresh with a new year as I had hoped... we'll be wrapping up the loose ends of this one! Which is... OK... but the OCD organizer in me really, really wanted to get everything tied up in a nice neat complete package BEFORE baby came! But there really is no way that I can see that happening. So, we'll just keep plugging along and just see how things go. That is so hard for me! I think it's good for me, too, though.
Last year, I am sad to admit, we did not manage our finances as well as we should have. After spending many years with no debt at all, we got ourselves into a bit of debt. This year, after watching our tax refund go to paying that debt (instead of more useful things, like savings, or home repair, or any number of other things money is good for), we agreed that things had to change. So we've gone back to a "cash only" lifestyle. And, WOW! What a difference that has made in just the two months we've been doing it. It has definitely taken some adjustment - mostly a mindset adjustment - remembering that just because we think we "need it now" doesn't actually mean that we "
need it now" - things can actually...
wait! But the savings has been tremendous!! Several hundred dollars a month!!! That's a big deal. So even though it's been a little difficult, we're sticking with it, because it WORKS!
I love this boy! This was how I found him the other day, during his nap. Needless to say, that was not how I had put him to bed! He is always a source of laughter in the house!
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| And no, those aren't the ones he was actually wearing at the time! |
I think this has been the best winter I can remember. I think we had, maybe 10 days or less, total, of temperatures that were cold enough to make me uncomfortable (below 45 degrees or so). It has been wonderfully mild. We have taken full advantage of this, and spent as much time as possible OUTside! Yesterday was our first official nature walk of the season - and it was a wonderful 73 degrees by the time we finished at noon. I love this kind of weather, and I'm especially excited about Daylight Savings Time starting! Sunlight and I are friends :) Here's some pictures of our nature walk!
Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the world!
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