Things Seen and Heard While Mama's in the Bathroom

It seems that about every time that I go to the bathroom, something happens. So, for a bit of large family humor, I thought we would have a bit of fun today.

Things seen and heard while mama's in the bathroom.


Things you don't want to hear:

• "Mommy, Heidi has red stuff on her face"--it was dry jello mix (age 18 mos)
• "Mommy, I needed to pee, but you were there"
• "Mommy there is a man at the door, now he is in the house"--Our bathroom is right by the entry and my dear child opened bathroom door to tell me this.
• "Kids what is that noise?" ""Nothing, OH NO!!, Umm, MOMMY, this didn't go well"
• "Mommy, should there be water running out from under the dishwasher?"
• "Mommy, Isaiah jumped off the picnic table, and won't walk"--said as I was running through the house, to find out why the horrible scream, as I heard it over the hair dryer. This ended with a broken leg on Isaiah at the age of 19 mos.
• "Mommy, Heidi hurt her arm" --She was jumping off the dining room table and broke her arm a week before her 4th birthday--6 wks before Isaiah broke his leg.
• "Mommy, did you know that vinegar and baking soda will explode?"
• "Mommy, can we catch the snake in the basement?"
• "Mommy, were you cooking something, it smells funny and the kitchen has smoke in it"--I decided to clean the bathroom real quick and forgot I was cooking.
• "Betty, did you wash diapers yesterday? Umm, no."

Things you don't want to see:

• The toilet covered in poo, when you are 9 mos preggy and need to go BAD.
• The sink full of some sort of liquid--a science experiment.
• The cloth diaper bag full of used cloth diapers with a hole in the bottom of it--no way this is not going to make a MESS.
• The child in potty training sitting on the floor with brown smears surrounding him, while he is getting dressed again--Ended in a lot of laundry.
• A black thing running out of the closet at you while you are "taking care of business".

More on that one below:

This is such a word picture that when I woke Brad last night to tell him, he laughed at me for about 20 min at 3 am. So, I get up to go to the bathroom. Sitting the on the throne, when a black thing runs across the room. I am thinking , boy, I am so tired, I am seeing things running around the bathroom floor. At which point it runs OVER my foot. I scream, and then jump up and grab the toilet plunger to catch it. It, is a MOUSE, and any MOUSE in my house is a DEAD mouse. So, I am swinging the toilet plunger around trying to hit the thing so I can leave it for Brad to dispose of. I can't hit it though. So, I set up 20 glue traps and woke Brad to tell him not to get stuck in one in the morning. He asked why so many. I said because, that mouse will be DEAD by morning. Well, I didn't catch a mouse, but I have caught 3 children, one husband, a pair of socks and a roll of toilet paper. So, how do I catch this mouse, who DOES NOT belong in this house???

Getting through the Days--Meeting the Needs of a High Needs Baby

Over the last year, there have been some very emotionally draining days in our home. Hannah’s stay in the nicu earned her a few days on phenobarbital, a drug used to sedate babies for different reasons and needs. Her need was because every time she moved, her O2 saturation dropped. However, that early drug use, has caused a long-term issue in her ability to self soothe, or to self calm and “deal” with typical matters. It used to be that a diaper change would send her into a fit that would last the better part of 45 min, only to need another diaper. That started to end around 3 to 4 months. However, with that end, we saw some other issues. She craves textures, and dislikes some, and then what she disliked yesterday, she craves today. I find her quite often chewing on a piece of hook Velcro that is attached to a toy in her bed. She also LOVE minkee-who doesn’t, but she HAS to have it to rest. Add to that, she dislikes quiet--remember she was in the NICU, and there were constant alarms, beeps, ticks, voices, and etc twenty-four hours a day. Since she was full term, she seems to have had “those first days” really STICK with her. There have been times that we mimic what went on in there, and she is very calm. On days, there is a storm front, cold front, warm front or some other front moving in, Hannah is very unsettled. She cries and cries and cries. Having mothered, and cared for Hannah’s every need since she was dismissed from her NICU stay, I have learned a few tricks that have made our last year a bit easier.

• The word of God will be a balm to your frazzled soul.--Sit and hold baby and read the bible, or listen to it on the radio or tape player. If nothing else, attempts to submerse your thoughts into scriptures you have memorized.
• Pray over your baby when he/she is fussy.
• If pressure changes (weather fronts) appear to be, an issue try some earplanes. They were developed to equalize pressure changes.
• When you are at the end of your rope, lay baby in a safe place, and take a 5 to 10 minute break. Drink some herbal tea, or something else that will not upset baby further if you are breastfeeding--I drink Mother’s Milk Tea--good for both of us.
• Take a warm bath with baby. It really does calm them.
• Carry baby in a sling, Mei Tai, or other carrier. The snug and close to mom’s heartbeat feeling is calming for them and it allows you to get a bit done.
• Hannah enjoys being swung in a blanket--lay baby in the middle and then grab all four corners, making sure baby is secure and gently swing baby. Calms her almost every time--my arms get tired quicker as she gets bigger.
• Hannah also loves vibration--we have a crib vibrator that attaches to her baby bed, and her playpen. Every night it goes on as soon as I lay her down.
• Co-sleep--yes, Hannah is still in our bed the majority of nights--she has never slept a full night in her bed, which is in our room.
• Watch your diet for foods that may upset their tummies--caffeine, citrus, dairy, pork, lunch meats, spicy foods, vegetables, chocolate, yeasty foods--breads. Yes, at times I have felt like all I was allowed to eat was water, and ice.
• Watch for clothing irritations--tags, seams, rough fabrics, too soft fabrics, etc.
• Wear no perfume or deodorants. They always set Hannah off.
• Hannah loves to hold my hair--to keep it from hurting I wear it in a braid.
• Car rides are soothing. She loves to ride in her car seat. I have been desperate enough to load six children in the van to go drive around for twenty minutes.
• I have warmed our rice bag in the microwave and then rolled it into a towel, and let her lay or play with it. It seems to soothe her.
• She really for the most part dislikes the stroller or anything that “straps her down”.
• She does however, still like to be swaddled--screams while I am doing it, but after about a minute calms down.
• She likes to bounce on my exercise ball. In addition, be rolled slowly on it.
• She likes to be carried up and down the stairs. Good work out to boot.
• Set a play list for baby on your MP3 player. We have two for Hannah. Remember to use ear buds during seminars though--do not ask! You can place the ear buds in the turn up part of an infant cap and they will be able to hear it.
• Medicate the baby if they suffer from Reflux--there can be long-term damage if it is bad enough.
• Try a pediatric chiropractor. Our’s gives us a special price for Hannah’s needs. We travel an hour and a half one-way to go to our chiropractor.

If you are not able to calm your baby and meet their needs, please do not hesitate to take them to the doctor. Our doctor has seen or been called several times when I was at a loss of what to do to meet Hannah’s needs. Babies don’t cry for nothing. If you get to a point where you have to get away. Don’t be hard on yourself, call someone for help. Email me, and I will try to talk with you. There is only so much any of us can take, and a high needs baby can take a lot from a person. In a year, the baby will have probably out grown many of the needs. However, this first year can really try your patience. If you are in need of prayer in this area, please leave a comment. I would love to add you to my prayer list.

I am Going to Slow My Blog Down until After Christmas...

I know, I am just now really getting this blog going good. However, I also want to spend a lot of precious time with my family and focus on them more making memories for future blog post during this season. So, from now until after Christmas, I am going to focus all my time and energy on my family. We still have quite a few crafts, baking, and some fun gatherings to attend to before Christmas. I also have some planning for homeschooling I need to work on.

I know some will say that I will lose followers and readers by not posting every couple of days. I guess if that is the case, then they are following and reading for the wrong reasons. My focus on my blog is helping mothers be able to juggle it all and keep Christ at the center. So, by my example of slowing down for a few weeks, I pray that it will encourage others to do the same thing.

I will be working on a big post about our youngest baby, Hannah, and how God has worked through her life over the last year. She is a miracle that God has big plans for. Everyone needs to know about her story. It will be emotionally taxing, so it will take some time.

There are several other posts planned also for me to work on. So, there may be some impromptu posts over the next weeks, but there are not scheduled at this time. I wanted to let all know my plan.

Merry Christmas to all. Have a safe and Healthy Christmas,

Betty

Making Homemade Bar Soap in Your Crockpot

Soap making is a fun experience. It is extremely rewarding to be able to take a bath and get clean with something you made yourself.

As our family as delved into soap making, we have found we like to use three basic oils, coconut, olive oil, and sunflower oil. You will also need lye, and water. If you want to add colorant and essential oils, you will need those too. There are more supplies listed in the video below that you will need.

The process is quite long, but it is a neat science experiment for your older children as there is a chemical reaction that takes place throughout the soap making process . It can also be used as a history lesson.

You will need a reliable lye calculator also. I use the one here.

Here is the link to the video. I have found that her times are a bit off. It takes us longer to reach each "step".

Here is a link to the written instructions.


When I make a batch of soap, I will make 2 bars without any essential oils or colorant to use in our laundry detergent recipe.

Please note that lye can be VERY dangerous to work with. You MUST use EXTREME caution when working with lye.

I also recommend that you research some more before starting on your adventure in soap making. There are many links if you just search homemade bar soap.

Happy Soap making!!!

Crockpot Easy Chicken Alfredo

This was adapted from another recipe that I was recently given. I don't have chicken breasts on hand as we get whole farm raised chickens at a GREAT price, and we know exactly where they come from.

1 whole chicken--4-5 ish lbs--onion flakes, paprika, poultry seasoning
3 cans cream of chicken soup--or 1 large
12 oz cream cheese
3/4 cup butter
2 tsp garlic powder
2-3 tsp Italian seasoning
Pepper to taste
1 pkg dry Ranch dressing
milk as needed to "thin" sauce (2-3 cups) depends on your chicken
16-24 oz whole wheat fettuccine noodles

Place everything, but noodles, and chicken in crockpot. Cook on high until chicken is cooked (2-3 hours, I like chicken falling of the bone).

Cook chicken with onion flakes, paprika, poultry seasoning in boiling water. Debone. Save broth. Cut into small bite sized pieces. Add to the crockpot. Keeping crockpot on high if you will be eating soon, or turn to low if it will be awhile. If the mixture is too thick, add milk until desired consistency. When you are close to being ready to eat, cook noodles in the broth left from cooking chicken. Drain and add to crockpot. Cook for about 15 more min.

Serve with Italian herb bread or garlic bread. Lettuce salad and fruit.

This is YUMMY, even my non-chicken eating child ate it and had seconds.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

As you have probably figured out, I am doing a short series on some of my homemade cleaning products.

In our home, we do A LOT of laundry and some of that laundry is VERY dirty, and I am not talking about cloth diaper dirty--working cattle dirty, and over hauling engines dirty. The recipe below will do as good if not better on those types of stains as the expensive stuff in the store. However, in our HARD WATER, I do have to use oxyclean with it. But, I did with the expensive stuff I bought from the store. Please note, that it will not get rid of the stain completely if it is a bad stain--some stains are just that bad. This recipe, like my dishwasher detergent is CHEAP to make and get this, it uses two of the same products.

Supplies:

5 gallon bucket
old detergent bottle
water
borax
Super Washing Soda
Fels Naptha or My homemade bar soap--without essential oils and colorant--(a blog post to come)


First have a child grate the bar of soap. Place the grated soap into a pan of water, and cook until completely dissolved. Get your 5 gallon bucket, place into bathtub, and carefully, dump the HOT mixture into it. Next add a cup of borax and a cup of Super Washing Soda to the bucket. Now fill bucket with water, and put a lid on it. Let it set for 48 hours. When you are ready to use the detergent, fill the old detergent bottle half full of your homemade detergent, and half with water. I use 1/4 cup in our HE front load washer. For a top load washer use 1/2 cup. I also do an extra rinse just to make sure that all detergent is rinsed out well. We have super sensitive skin here, and we have had no problems since we started using this.

You can add essential oils if you want to. I normally add Tea Tree Oil and Lavender oil. I use my homemade laundry detergent on everything I wash in my washer--from delicates, to Brad's overhauled an engine greasy oily covered clothes, to cloth diapers.

We have figured that we save an estimated $300 a year. That is with doing about 4 loads of laundry a day.

A Public Thank You to Those Who Helped me Get My New Blog Design Up and Running--and How God worked in this...

As many of you know, I spent many hours trying to figure out how to do a lot of this on my own. I stumbled around trying to get a three column layout on my own by adjusting the HTML. I am not HTML knowledgeable, and it was OBVIOUS. So, the hunt was on to find a free template to get that layout, nothing seemed to be working well or really "fit" me. I had come to the conclusion that if I was going to continue this blog, that I wanted it to look like me. It needed to fit. I am a country gal on the prairie. I like flowers, and that picture in the header has a TON of sentimental value. IT HAD TO BE IN THE HEADER!!!

Those are my children, and that tractor is a 1952 John Deere G--my husband bought it back into our family summer of 2008. It was originally bought in 1952 by my grandpa, and then in 1983 my dad purchased it from him. When my dad quit farming in 1992, it was sold to a friend of our family, Delmar. In 2003 or 2004, that Delmar contacted me, wanting to know if I was interested in buying it back. I didn't even ask my husband, Brad, just told Delmar yes, and that it would be a while before I had the money to buy it. I asked if he would mind holding onto it. He told me sure. I hung up, and prayed that Brad would not be too mad.

I called Brad, and told him that I just bought a tractor. He was a bit shocked and told me that he was kind of the one that should be buying the tractors. HEHE. So, I explained that it was this G, and the history behind it. We started saving and now it is our "family mascot" so to say. I honestly have no idea how to run it. lol I can say that it will be the backdrop of many family pictures to come. The history behind it is just to meaningful not to use it. It is a good thing Brad would rather have old farm equipment with family history then a brand new tractor with GPS. We still in 2009 don't own one tractor with a cab. (we own 7 tractors, his dad has 4, and his uncle have 2). Out of those one has a cab and air conditioning (uncle), and one has a cab (dad), if you want to call it that. lol Brad would rather have something that he can work on and play with, and that he does. He just put a new clutch in the G and new brakes. He drives a 1965 GMC pickup--the flat bed on it is worth more then the pickup, but it is a fun thing to drive as long as you are prepared for take off, as YOU will SLAM your head against the back window. I like knowing that he is headed home from his shop, 1.5 miles from our home. I can hear him coming from a mile away. lol Gives us a chance to hurry and pick up the house. Here in our neck of the woods, it is said that Brad and I drive the two most unique vehicles in the county. His 65 GMC and my 2003 Chevy Express 15 passenger van.

So, as you can see, a fancy girlly blog is not fitting for me. I needed something that showed who I am, and where I come from. For now, this fits.

There was one morning that I was up with Hannah from 2:30 until sometime after 6 am. I decided to start searching on my phone (it has internet on it), as it was irritating me that I couldn't find the perfect stuff for my blog, and I didn't have the know how of how to build it myself. So, in the wee hours, I am searching and looking over things, that never came up on my computer. I had prayed that if I was to continue blogging, that I needed something that fit me, and I had to find it that day as I had spent too much time already. So, at about 5:45, I found it. I then just laid back with Hannah and we dosed for awhile. Later that day, I got it up, but not the header.

As I was setting it all up, and so forth, I had to add my picture to the header. It was not going well. So, I called my sister, Elaine, and asked if she had any ideas. Guess what, she has this really cool son, Vincent who is all over the techie stuff. So, after school she sat down with him and my email full of requests (sorry about that), and they got it all put together. Then the bonus--They installed it for me. Doesn't get much better, now does it?

I also had some advice from another mom from a large homeschooling family, Amy at Raising Arrows, who was able to see some stuff that didn't show up on my screen, and let me know that it was not a pretty thing and clashed with everything else. She also, gave me the advice to follow what my heart said I wanted for my blog and to follow God's lead.

Thank You to Vincent, Elaine, and Amy for your help and advice.