Sorry I haven't been on to post lately. I am still getting use to the new routine with new baby. And I wouldn't necessarily call it a routine yet. We are starting to figure out each other. In the mornings, she likes to sleep. In the evenings, she likes to be wide awake. Gotcha. Also, the first out of three kids, but she does NOT like to be in a wet diaper! Our previous two didn't mind it one bit. But with this baby girl, she lets me know right away if I've not noticed quick enough that her diaper is wet.

Hubby went back to work this Monday. So I have not had his help during the day. It has been harder. Also, Big Man went back to school also. So he isn't even here to be mommy's helper. Just us and Baby Girl and she's 2. Not likely to be helping me by behaving. She is behaving just like a typical 2 year old is suppose to behave. Like a crazy girl!

I'm getting ready mentally for spring. Being in southern California, the weather is nothing like it is up north! We are getting warmer here with our rain moving past us. Actually, we have gotten more rain this year than we did last year. Rather surprising! I'm planning my garden. I'm going to plant some vegetables, herbs, and flowers this year. Not too many of each though. I will most likely have more flowers than anything! I do not have much of a yard that gets full sun. And most vegetables require full sun. However, last summer when I grew my tomatoes, they were getting dried out and burnt if I didn't water them each and every day! So here, full sun, means be careful just how much afternoon sun! Our sun is rather strong!

Have a wonderful Super Bowl weekend! We do not have any plans as of yet, but that always changes come up till the day of.

Birth Story

Welcome Baby Ariannah!

She graced us on Friday, January 11th at 10:14pm. Here is our birth story.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday night I was having very mild contractions while lying in bed trying to go to sleep for the night. They went away in the middle of the night and didn't return until the next night when I would lie down to sleep. Thursday night, I opened our back door to get our dogs some fresh water and our Rottweiler tried to come into the house. I kicked at her to back her up, not to actually kick her, and the action of forcing my leg out at her pulled my groin muscle fierce! I could not move! I had to get my 5 year old son to feed the dogs at that point and to help me. I called my husband, who was at work (works nights), and he could not get off of work for a couple of hours to help me get the kids to bed and myself into a hot bath to help my leg feel better. So I semi-crawled/slithered up our stairs to our bedroom so all of us could just go to bed right then. Being just one night shy of 10 months pregnant, I was already having a hard time getting in and out of the bed. Add this to my pulled groin muscle and I couldn't even move to get on the bed. I somehow made it on the bed after making sure that I went to the bathroom, even though being this pregnant we tend to go throughout the night anyway. Around 2 am, I call my husband on his cell phone, who is now home and downstairs, to come upstairs to help me go to the bathroom. Still in pain from groin.

Woke up in the morning with contractions that did not go away in the night this time. Still in pain when trying to get off the bed from groin muscle but can actually walk with a limp. The contractions are very mild and not the typical contractions. The whole time I got them they were more of cramps along the bottom of my belly. They were more like cramps. Still very mild. I did decide to time them out of curiosity and they are about 6-9 minutes apart, but still mild and not getting regular. So I decide to tell DH that he should not go to work. He was suppose to go in early this day at noon. It is Friday now and my actual due date. We stay busy. We clean some, walked around the block. Could only walk around once instead of twice though because my groin muscle still hurts. I am drinking my water and trying to stay fed. I don't have much of an appetite but I know that I need to keep myself well fed. I don't eat big meals, but I eat something. Mostly peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I start repacking my bag and the snack bag that I am taking with me. I already have baby bag packed. I start getting all of our stuff together to load into the truck. We take out the kids seats and put in the baby car seat. I have by now taken about 2 hot showers to help me get warm and comfortable. The cramps are still not getting any stronger but are just strong enough to be annoying and still not any closer together or further apart.

I decide that I should probably get some rest, seeing how I don't know exactly how long this will last and do not want to tire out early! I take a hot bath (shouldn't have done this probably...) and lie down to nap. I took a good couple of hours! About 3 or 4ish, don't exactly remember which, we decide to take the kids to the park. It is a nice warm, sunny day out! We stay out there about an hour. The kids have fun! We come back home and sit for a while. About 5ish, we decide to start supper and see how things go. I go upstairs to take another shower, but once up there decide that I am not going to shower. If I get in the shower I am not going to want to come out. It is at this point that I decide to call the midwife to see about coming in. The cramps have started to get stronger but still not closer together for about a half hour now. We decide that we are going to eat dinner and then see if I want to come in. We eat. They are getting strong enough that they are actually getting painful now. Now my groin muscle still hurts also. Walking is not fun. After we finish dinner, which I actually had enough of an appetite to eat all of, I call the on-call midwife and we decide to meet at the birth center. So we get the other 2 kiddos set up with their night night clothes and some movies and pillows and head over to our neighbor's house so they can all chill out over there. We get to the birth center about 7:30pm. My midwife checks me out of my own curiosity and I am at 5cm dialated and 90% effaced. Not bad. I was really hoping I wasn't a 2 or a 3! I would have just turned around and came home, but I am far enough along in my own opinion to stay. I need some new techniques to help me handle the cramps. They are still not the typical contractions on the belly. I don't have any contracting feelings on my belly at all still. Baby has been at a +3 station for about a month so we are really just waiting to see what happens as labor progresses. The midwife sets me up on a birthing ball for the time being and it helps so much with handling the cramps now. I didn't have this at home. I spent a little over an hour on the ball. The midwife comes back in after hearing me get more vocal with each cramp and checks me again to see if I can get into the tub. I am dialated enough now to get into the tub! Yay!

I am a water girl! I love hot baths! So this is like heaven to me! And as an added bonus, my groin muscle does not hurt that much in the hot water! I can actually manuever it to get comfortable! So after spending a little more than an hour in the tub, my water still has not broken. And cervix has moved down enough that my midwife now feels that she can actually get to it to break it even with baby's head that far down. So as soon as the cramp stops I say, "Okay, 1,2,3, go!" real fast and I get up and they help me out of the tub and onto the bed so my groin muscle doesn't pull and she breaks my water on the bed. Not much water comes out. And they help me back off the bed and back into the water before the next cramp hits. As I am on the bed getting my water broken, the birth assistant is filling the tub up with nice hot water again for me. Now I ask for my water to be broken. My cramps were getting very intense that it was hard for me to deal with. I could feel the water bag pushing out in a spherical sensation that pushed against the inside of the crook of my legs and my butt at the same time. Like I was going to explode! I was almost begging them to break my water. We all knew that as soon as my water broke, the game was going to be over! And sure enough, I had one full cramp. The very next cramp, I made it half way and then all of a sudden the baby came all the way down the birth canal so I didn't have any break in between cramps. No break! No breath! She came down so fast that I went straight as a board in the tub. I could not release my muscles to feel baby's head or to bend my knees so baby could come out! I was stuck! I think I finally released one of my legs so it could bend and baby's head came out and then the shoulder's got stuck for a minute. The midwife turned baby and then she came all the way out. Exactly 9 minutes after they broke my water. My whole labor from the time I got to the birth center was a little over 3 hours. My third baby was my first drug-free, natural birth. All three of them were vaginal births. It stung a little pushing her out, but I am tear free! I had a little skid mark and that was it. We stayed at the birth center our 4 hours and was cleared to go home.

I am still processing the whole experience and it's been a week now. Ariannah is doing great! She was 7 pounds 11 ounces born on her ultrasound due date. She was 20 inches long with a head circumference of 13 inches. She latched right away in the tub and then again in the bed. She pretty much stayed latched on the whole time we were at the birth center! She comfort nursed a lot. But then again, so did my other 2 kids. So that was nothing new.

We came home about 3 am and slept until about 9am when Hubby went and got the kids from our neighbors. They immediately loved the new baby! It was so cute how they hugged and kissed the new baby! After this, Ariannah had latch problems for a few days. She would slide off a little. Just enough to leave blisters. Ouch! Then after a couple days of fixing that, we got Thrush. Ugh! Made a home remedy and applied diligently for a couple of days and we are now doing wonderful!

So now we are enjoying our new bundle of sleeping joy!

Gotta love those pregnancy midnight snacks! I am up at what is now 1am eating a bowl of cereal. I originally woke up to go to the bathroom for the 3rd time since going to bed about an hour before. Ahhhh, the end weeks of pregnancy are always the most comfortable and resting!! In fantasy land maybe! But not in my world.
I am now 39 weeks pregnant. I have about another week to three weeks to go. This baby is feeling like maybe he or she will weigh more than Big Man did when he was born. He was my first and he was born at 40 weeks and 5 days weighing 9 pounds and 15.4 ounces at 21 inches long. I can't wait to see how big this baby will be. My belly button is starting to pop to an outie, which I have never had with my previous 2. Even with me getting so huge in pregnancy with Big Man. I have just about surpassed my weight with this pregnancy, but do not look half as big than I did with Big Man. My final weight with him was 167 pounds and I am now sitting at 166 pounds with this baby. And 2 weeks earlier than Big Man. This pregnancy was much more healthier than his though. Being my 3rd, I would think I should learn by now how to have a healthy pregnancy! Some women though, never learn. Or don't care, which is even more sad.
Well, off to bed before I freeze my patoodie off! I have the air conditioner set at a cold 63 at night because otherwise I wake up and cannot sleep because of it being too hot! My poor family sleep all bundled up under the covers. Then when we wake up I set the heater on to 74 for during the day. Gotta love those pregnancy hormones. My heater works too well at night, but not well enough during the day. The last 2 weeks, I haven't been able to shake the coldness off after I wake up. It takes me half the day to warm my insides back up even though during the night I'm borderline too hot. Doesn't make sense to me. I'll be glad to be back to my normal body temperature again. And I'm sure my family will be too!!

Good night all!

Happy New Year!!

We are starting a new year for us! We don't do resolutions. There are a few changes we will be making in our everyday lives though. I am going to get my garden started. I am going to start small though. Only about a few vegetables and a few herbs. I might throw in a few fruits also. Something like strawberries and something else. Not exactly sure yet. I have been wanting to do a garden for some time now but just haven't committed myself to getting it done. A raised garden bed is going to be the best bet for us. I would also like to start composting also. We will see about that. That may not be in the plans for this year yet.

We are also waiting on baby to be born. We thought that baby would be here by now. I don't think any of us were counting on baby making it to January. If baby needs to be baking a little longer, then that is okay with me. Maybe that will be fewer newborn problems like I had with Baby Girl. She was induced too early.

This is going to be a hard year for us emotionally. DH is going on a long trip. So we may decide to do some traveling. We will see how it goes. I still haven't figured out how we would travel with our two dogs in tow. It's easy to travel with small dogs, but we have extra large breed dogs. Well, one is a large breed and one is an extra large breed. I have a truck and the whole back seat is car seats. It will be filled with 2 car seats and 1 booster seat. So no room for doggies in back! They will have to be in the bed of the truck and I'm not really liking that idea. We use to have an extra large crate that they could go in, but our friends borrowed it and their dog got it infected with the herpes virus. So they are going to buy us a new one.

I look forward to this year! A first for me. I see a lot of healthy and wonderful changes for us! Hopefully, at the end of this year, we will be done with our bankruptcy also! That will be so huge for us!! We will be trading in our truck for a different vehicle that will get better gas mileage and hold more people. I was intent on getting a Ford Expedition. When you look at the rising gas prices, I have finally conceded my Expedition. We will most likely be getting a minivan. Not quite sure on that. I am not a minivan person, but when you want a large family and not the gas bill every month, you do what you have to. We still have the whole year to look at our options. I don't want to be buying or trading vehicles every 2 or 3 years. I want one that will last with us for a while.

I hope every one of you has a wonderful and blessed year this year!

I am so surprised at the negativity that surrounds birth. The actual labor process and trusting the woman body. Why is our society so wrapped up in fear? What is to fear about birth? It is a completely natural process IF left alone. The more that someone other than the mom interferes the more problems that will arise. I just do not understand why everyone that surrounds a new mom in labor is so fearful. I guess I will have to "chalk" this on up to not being educated about the birth process, the risks of drugs and hospitals, and the mother's ability. Go get educated before you start being negative to a mom in labor! Or don't say anything at all but positive affirmations!

AVON

I've started with Avon now! I use to be with Avon about 4 years ago. It's a good way for me to be home with my kids and take care of my house AND earn some extra money. I like the opportunity it allows me and the flexibility it allows. You truly determine your own success.


The family is doing well. We are gearing up for the holidays. Actually we are gearing down. We don't participate in the holiday rush. No thank you. The Christmas celebration in our house isn't surrounded around Santa Claus. We acknowledge the fact that there is a Santa Claus, but we teach that Christmas is about Jesus' birth and that the gifts we receive symbolize the gifts the wise men took to Jesus. I do not let our children get caught up in today's idea of a materialistic Christmas mad house. It's not rewarding or fulfilling. It started out because we didn't have enough money to spend on Christmas gifts and we refused to load up our credit cards for the gifts. Now, it has evolved into the true meaning of Christmas as close as we can get it year after year. Next year we are going to add the Advent Calendar to our Christmas.

Baby Girl had a nasty fall yesterday. We have a brick banister that surrounds our front patio. It is about 3 feet tall. She likes to walk along the banister. She has fallen off of it a couple of times and caught herself when she landed. Well, not this time. This time when she fell, she landed on her back and hit her head on the concrete. I had a real scare! I freaked out! She is okay now and there weren't any signs of any head trauma so we didn't take her in. I was constantly watching her for ANY signs. Later that night, after I gave her some Tylenol for the headache she must have had, she started jumping on the bed. Yes, the Tylenol must have kicked in! She's fine now!

Big Brother has a Christmas singing thing with his school's Kindergarten classes next week. Yes, there will be pictures! Daddy will definitely be there to see that! We all will! I'm curious to see how well Baby Girl will sit through it. She is only 2 years old.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Barbara Walters tired of celebrity interviews

December 6, 2007, 1:39 pm PST

celebs: Michael Jackson | Paris Hilton | Britney Spears | Barbara Walters

Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Barbara Walters, famed for celebrity television interviews that often draw on-screen tears, says she's tired of Britney, Paris and the tabloid trend she helped create.

Walters, a pioneering journalist who became the first female U.S. network news anchor 30 years ago, has interviewed every U.S. president since Richard Nixon and other heads of state. More recently, she has been credited and criticized for soft interviews that elevated celebrity news above all else.

Now, before her annual show, "The 10 Most Fascinating People," airing on ABC on Thursday, the 78-year-old television journalist said she wants to focus on other topics.

"I am not going after the tabloid stuff, I don't do it," she said in an interview.

She said her latest special did not consider Britney Spears or Paris Hilton, abandoning the "week in, week out, competition for getting the next name, the next person out of rehab."

Instead, expect to see former President Bill Clinton, Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, two founders of the Internet network "My Space," and controversial radio host Don Imus.

After years of chasing exclusives on her old ABC newsmagazine show "20/20," Walters says she is tired of trying to compete with the tide of celebrity news.

"It seems to permeate most of the tabloids and the magazines and now you have six or seven entertainment programs," she said. "You didn't used to have that.

"It's a different climate now and 20/20 and the other magazines are focused on the big celebrities. I didn't want to keep doing that, I have been doing it for years."

Walters, whose interviews with Michael Jackson and former White House intern Monica Lewinsky drew huge audiences, makes no apologies for the "personality journalism" she forged.

"We began to do more and more celebrities and we were criticized," she said. "And now ... every program does it."

It's the ratings, stupid.

"The world has changed and you watch every program now and there are even interviews with heads of state where there is more interest in their personality and their background," she said.

Rejecting this aspect of the American culture he otherwise admires, French President Nicolas Sarkozy stormed out of a CBS "60 Minutes" interview in October when asked about his marital problems.

Walters' political interviews have included Boris Yeltsin, Margaret Thatcher and Saddam Hussein.

Now semi-retired, the former "Today" host says she still has to fight for interviews, but her reputation helps.

"I have been doing it for so many years, and I keep my word," she said.

(Editing by Doina Chiacu)

Park Day

This past Sunday we decided to spend some time at the big park that is nearby. We loaded up into the truck and went before lunch. The kids love this park the best. It has 3 separate playground equipments for different age groups. Of course, Baby Girl is on the big kid one.
Here is Ryan playing with some other kids. He's looking at the map on this toy and pointing to one of the places the other kid is suppose to check out. I have no idea what they are playing, but they had fun! There happened to be a few other kids there about his age that day.




I hope everyone is getting all their Christmas shopping done before the Christmas rush. I think we are just about done here. I have one more gift I am planning on. Any others that I get are extras that I would like to get, but not important. Christmas is only 2 1/2 weeks away. It seems further away to me. I'm waiting for my lovely husband to come home. He is going to help me wrap all the Christmas gifts to put under the tree. I haven't decided when we are going to put them under the tree yet. I don't want to do it too early so Baby Girl doesn't try to open them too early. We may wait until Christmas Eve to put them under the tree. That would be less temptation. In fact, we aren't even decorating our tree until the weekend before Christmas. We have a fake tree that is pre-lit, so it is still beautiful full of the lights.

Baby Girl is getting interested in reading books with me. She points out the things she likes. Which right now is ducks and apples. Anything red and round, to her, is an apple. She will argue with you until you finally agree that yes, it is an apple. It doesn't matter if it is a strawberry or a raspberry. No, it is an apples!

Spanking- Illegal?

There is a story on the news tonight that is highlighting an issue apparently starting in Massachusetts. Here is the link to ABC news. Read the story and vote.

I remember a time when as a child I got plenty of spankings. I was not physically abused, I was being disciplined. I do not think that the state or government has any right infringing upon parent's rights to raise their children how they see fit. There is a fine line that the government is crossing here. If this law is made legal, what's next? One line crossed leads to another line. It is a domino effect.

Please go and check out the story and then leave a comment and tell me what you think! I'm interested to know!

Words of a Housewife

God, I want to do great things for you,

And speak to all the nations!

God replies:

That’s well and good,

But for now

Fix your children’s complications.

Lord, I want to straighten up the world,

Feed the hungry and fulfill someone’s wishes!

God says:

Fine, but for the present,

You need to wash the dishes.

Lord, I want to preach, proclaim your name

And bring salvation to the earth!

God says:

Good! Then teach your children

And preach my name to those you’ve given birth.

At the end of the day,

I think of all I’ve done.

But as I look it seems,

I’ve accomplished nothing for the Son!

God I had no time to witness one on one,

I couldn’t join my church group,

They said I missed out on lots of fun.

My household is the only thing

That managed to be cleaned,

My neighbor is the only one,

Besides my family I could feed.

The only ones I’ve read Your Word

Are those within my home.

God I’ve done so very little

And I feel so all alone!

God says:

I’ve seen the way you cleaned and cooked

And taught your kids My name.

Tomorrow morning at eight o’ clock,

I’ll watch you do the same.

The work you do at home,

Though no one really sees,

Is helping to raise little ones

To grow and worship me.

My ways are not your ways,

I don’t expect you yet to see,

But the precepts that you’ve taught your children,

Will help others bow the knee.

Your children will reach out to others,

Your example in their mind.

They’ll do great work for Me

And their children will respond in kind.

The hand that rules the world,

Also rocks the cradle.

Because of you, your children love Me,

All their hearts are stable.

Though your house is your domain,

Your tasks seem rather plain,

Your efforts will reach the multitudes,

Though from humble work they came.

Words of a Housewife
By Chelsea Peterson
Nov 21, 2007 - 11:11:03 AM
© Copyright 2002-2007 by LAF/BeautifulWomanhood.org

After a wonderful Thanksgiving, we decided to spend a couple of hours at the park behind our house. The kids needed a time to get away. They played really well together. Baby Girl is getting really good at climbing up into the playground equipment. She climbs up the slides too. Just like her big brother does! She even swings on the regular swings instead of the toddler swings! She is getting to be such a big girl now that I may have to start calling her my Big Girl instead of Baby Girl. Hmm. Such a heartbreaker to realize that your babies are not babies anymore. I still cannot believe that Big Brother is in school now.

Big Brother is having a wonderful time off from school. He misses school too. I think he just misses being with his friends. He is getting tall. We just went through a few clothes that I had in a box to get the couple of pairs of pants out that he could fit before school started. He is now too tall for those pants. I have to see if I have any size bigger pants for him. Otherwise I will be needing to get him more from the thrift store. I've never bought clothes from a thrift store before, but it's high time I started stretching our money even further besides in just groceries. There are a few things that I need to look for in the thrift store for myself also.

I am needing a couple more pants in maternity XL. I have gone from maternity small, and now up to XL. Wow. It's all belly too. I am only just now hitting my pre-pregnancy weight. I didn't realize how much I lost in the first 4 or 5 months from not being able to eat. I should really start adding weight on now though. With this being the time of the pregnancy that the baby doubles in weight and with the Thanksgiving meal being eaten, I should have no problem adding on the weight now! If anything, too much at once! I can't imagine how big I will be come time for the Christmas meal!

Speaking of Christmas... I am almost all done with my shopping for gifts! I need to get my Dear Hubby something and some stocking-stuffers and I'm good! For once in our married and kids' life, we will have enough money for the gifts and the food. Praise God! I'm for once ecstatic this year! I will not have to deal with the holiday traffic that is bad around here. I will be completely done with Christmas shopping by the last payday of the month around here. I may even be completely done with all shopping and have our post-pregnancy dinners in the freezer by then! Now won't that be something to celebrate! I may be getting a little too ambitious in my late months, but it is something to keep me occupied and busy while Dear Hubby isn't home.

Here are a few pictures of the kiddos playing at the park for you to enjoy! Happy Holidays everyone!

Not posting for a little bit. Trying to get last minute pregnancy stuff lined up and ready to go. I will keep everyone updated as things progress. Kids are fine. They are little troublemakers right now. My patience level is low this past week and school is out for Thanksgiving this week. Not a good combination, but we are making it work.

Baby #3!!

Here is the face looking at you instead of a profile picture.

Here is the foot with the toes to the left and the heel to the right

This is of the spine. My favorite so far!

These ultrasound pictures were done in September. I'm sorry that they are late in getting posted. I didn't get them scanned to the computer until a couple of weeks ago.

My treat to myself. Which lately in my late pregnancy, is more often. I make myself a Chai Latte my style. It takes close to Starbucks but so much cheaper. Here is how I start out. I have my styrofoam cups to make me feel like I am having a nice cuppa.

I take a big spoon and get a heaping full serving of chai powder into the cup without water.

Then I get out my secret ingredients. They come out of the fridge. I use the Irish Cream flavor or the Pumpkin Spice flavor for a different holiday taste. The ultimate topper is of course the Whip Cream! It tastes so much better with it.

This is the color once I add the water to the powder mix.

This is the color after I add the creamer. I do not know how much it is. I go by color alone.

Add the whip cream and you have yourself a wonderful Starbucks subsitute. Some would say better!

Put the lid on and it will stay hotter longer!

Here is my cup and my little chocolate treat ready to get on the internet for a while and relax until Hubby gets home. He has been working so long and hard the past few months in his new command.


I will add more pictures later this evening or tomorrow. I took some belly pictures for those of you who haven't seen any lately. I am getting quite big, but not as big as my last 2 pregnancies so we are doing good so far.

THURSDAYS ARE BREAD DAY!!



I love Thursdays for this very reason. This time I got a case of yogurt, Artisan bread, chocolate chip cookie mix, 3 loaves of sandwich bread and 1 thing of plain bagals. I was needing the yogurt and couldn't get any this payday. Thank the Lord! Look at the price of the bottom picture. Free for us!

Halloween...

Halloween started early for us this year. My dear, dear husband has been working long hours for so long now. He also works nights so we had to go out and about earlier than most kids. Next Halloween he will not be here to take the kids out so this was an important one for him.

Here is Baby Girl as an Egyptian lady.

Here is our son as an Ice-Wolf Ninja.

Here is a picture of the washable tattoo that wasn't easily washed off! I tried washing it off this morning with lots of pain involved. Soap was not a help either. Nor was the hot water. Go figure!

This picture is our favorite and I'll explain why. When we started, we only went to the decorated houses. Baby Girl would try to reach inside her bag and eat all the candy. What you are seeing here is her realizing that people are actually putting more candy in the bag with each house we go to!


Now for the start of our holidays! It's November now!!

Today was the start of a book fair at our son's school. These are the books that we bought. Since he is starting to read now, we bought books that will help him read more confidently.


And this is Baby Girl after a tiring week and a half of no naps! She is actually caught falling to the side as she is trying so desperately not to lie down! The red light and the flash of the camera didn't even elicit her eyes to peak at me. Poor thing!

California's Wildfires

Here are a few pictures I took tonight to show you how bad our air is at the moment. You can see it really well at dusk. During the day it is just a haze. We are staying inside as much as we can and we have our air conditioner running to help with the air circulation in the house. Our dogs are also inside with us. Those of you that actually know us, we can't harm our animals either! Many of our neighbors haven't even brought their animals out of this air for whatever reason. I am just glad that today's winds were not as bad as yesterdays.


This information on this link is using data from yesterday. It has evacuated about 750,000 as of today. Here is a link to one of the many news stories being published.
California wildfires: Firestorm 2007

My family and I are safe at the moment. We are about a quarter mile from one of the evacuation centers. Without giving too much personal information about us through the internet, I can say that we will be safe through most of this huge ordeal. The Santa Anna winds are dying down and the humidity index is finally hitting double digits for us. There has been one life lost and about 21 injured. I am so thankful that it wasn't many many more considering the number of households evacuated and the number of houses lost.

Not blogging today or yesterday. We have many fires around our area so we are staying tuned in to the news stations in our area. Southern California has many fires that are destroying many homes and evacuating many people. I will blog again later this week after the fires have subsided. Have a good week to all of you! And to those who are already evacuated, stay safe and our prayers are with you!

An afternoon of fun!

Baby Girl decided she was going to help mommy sweep off the back patio yesterday evening. She sat down her "D" and got to work. ("D" being drink or sippy cup.) It was so cute of her. She thinks that she is really helping out and is really proud of that. Who am I to say that she is really just pushing around the grass?! I let her get her help as much as she wants. She helps with the dishes. She will put the dirty silverware into the bin and put the clean ones in the drawer. Now she won't put the clean ones in their little slotted spot, but she will at least put it in the right drawer! She helps with the laundry. I give her clothes to throw in the wash and she'll drop them in the washer. When we change loads, she will take the wet clothes I hand her and put them in the dryer. She's quite the Mommy's Helper!


Now, I do not know what possessed our son to come up with this idea, but it helps me out too. He is digging out the rocks out of my "garden". This is a planter box made for us to plant in. But you can tell that none of the occupants before us used it as such. Well, I plan to use it! What big plans I have for it too with little to no money! Lol. As the case is most of the time. He even got Daddy to help after dinner and a long day at his work! It's amazing what our kids can get us to do even when we are too tired to do anything on our own!


He was super excited about getting the rocks out! He wanted to keep doing it after his bath. He woke up this morning and that was the first thing he asked to do. He wanted to stay home from school and continue on his "work". That child of mine! He loves to help out in the yard. It's a shame that we are not allowed to plant in most of the yard. If it wasn't for this planter box, we wouldn't be allowed to plant anything! I had to take a picture of my husband in the yard too. He is not an Earth worker. When it comes to putting his hands in the dirt, he doesn't know what to do. And he will tell you that too. He is not shy about it. But he loves to watch me and our kids get in the dirt! We've been in this house a little more than a month now and this is about as far as we've gotten to getting out in the yard! Last weekend, we borrowed a friend's lawnmower and actually got to mow the yard. This yard is bigger than our last, so my hubby mowed it for me. It was a good thing. I probably wouldn't be able to walk for a couple of days afterwards. He was out of breath afterwards himself! The yard is bigger than it looks once you mow it.

Well, I'm off. Today is Friday. It's going to be a lazy day in the house until Big Man gets out of school. Then I may take them to the park. It all depends on how hot it gets today. We went yesterday and it was perfect. I don't expect that again today. I was looking on my weather bug thing and it calls for 80's here today. Yuck. I like it being cool like fall weather is suppose to be. I enjoy the coolness in the air. Anyway, have a wonderful weekend!

In my quest to try and get organized in our new home, I have finally gotten our pantry the way I can use it the most efficiently. I started out using the meager cabinets in our kitchen for the food. I used the pantry in our laundry room for the pans and stoneware that we use plus all extra food that didn't fit in our small kitchen. This did not work the best for us. So rather than try to fit all of our food stuff in the kitchen, I moved it all into the pantry and took the cabinet doors off.





As you can see in the bottom picture, there is an empty space. These two bottom shelves I am going to install a wire basket with a divide in each one so I can put potatoes in one side and my onions in the other. Since onions and potatoes should not be stored in the same place, this will keep them apart from each other. If you look really close, next to the tea containers you can see a clipboard. That holds the inventory for this pantry. I have already marked it with the quantities.

God is leading me to be more resourceful with our goods and to not waste. We have wasted so much that it has wasted our money too. He is showing me where I need the work and providing the links and/or books that shows me how to do what it is I am needing to do. He is amazing that way! Everything in its own time! With my 3rd child on the way, He is really showing me organization in a whole new light. Shows about many children have shown me how to organize in the kitchen. Martha Stewart is a huge help also. She has shown us how to be homemakers and to do things around the house efficiently and appropriately to the materials that our homes are made out of.

I still have 3 more closets to organize and inventory. The two downstairs closets that lead to the garage. One is a clothing closet with hanging rods and the other is a storage closet as it does not have any hanging rods. The other closet that needs to be organized is the upstairs linen closet. It is nothing but shelves. This will be the easiest of them all to organize and inventory. As this closet is also small.

Before I leave you all, I will provide a couple of organizing inspirational links for you to go to. The first one is Laura. Her blog is I'm an Organizing Junkie!. Another one I like to go to to get ideas is Marcia of Organising Queen.