Still Kickin'

Hey all.  Just thought I'd drop in to say, "Hey I'm still here."  I'm just out of a computer for the moment.  Yes, she bit the dust.

Here are some random thoughts/updates while I'm poking my head into the blogosphere for a few minutes:

1.  I have officially declared it Fall around these parts.  A sudden ten degree drop and the beginnings of changing leaves are all the signs I need.  The girls are making up for lost time, playing outside at least once a day.  It is so gorgeous all of a sudden, that I even bought two new patio chairs and finally threw out of old, gross ones.

2.  I can't believe Smooch has been walking for less than a month.  She is so adept these days, and sort of ambles along, swinging her arms in a way that really fits her funny, laid-back personality. 

3.  Princess has started preschool!  At home, that is.  We are using http://www.abcjesuslovesme.com/ for free (excellent) preschool curriculum.  I love that it is Bible-based and has lots of creative ideas, including activities for fine and gross motor skills, etc.  We have seriously talked about homeschooling our kids (at minimum for the foundational learning-to-read year(s)), so this is a great way for me to dabble in homeschooling with the forgiveness and flexibility of preschool. :-)  So far, Princess loves it.  She loves it to the point that she asks several times each day when we can do school.  Begs, is more accurate actually.  She loves the learning aspect of it (she loves to be smart), but I realize that a large part of her enthusiasm has everything to do with the special one-on-one time that she gets to spend with Mommy during the first part of nap time each day.  My "quality time" girl is in her idea of hog heaven.   I plan to share more about our preschool adventures in the future, so look for that.

4.  I have nearly mastered the art of making my own yogurt from the raw milk I buy from a farmin' friend.  I have even been making frozen yogurt by just popping it in my ice cream maker (the frozen canister kind), sweetened with honey and flavored with vanilla.  YUM.

5.  The concept of GAPS and its correlating diet has inspired me to the point that I am reading the book "Gut and Psychology Syndrome" by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride and have been experimenting with GAPS recipes (which basically means dinner comprised of mostly savory meat dishes with veggies).  I made up a recipe for pumpkin pancakes using nut flours, and have been weaning our family off of all grains in hopes to try this "for reals" in the near future.   The general idea behind the GAPS diet is removing hard-to-process foods from the diet (grains, starchy veggies, sugar, any and all process food), and eating only easy-to-process foods (full-fat meats, cooked veggies, eggs, fermented dairy such as homemade yogurt, nuts, etc.)  in order to allow the gut wall to heal properly, unhindered.  I'm oversimplifying of course.  And, yes, GAPS diet is typically used for autism, depression, ADHD, etc.  The reason I want to try this with my family is because our children seem be inheriting some digestive weaknesses that put them at high risk for more serious problems in the future, as exhibited by our family tree.  At the moment, our girls struggle with pretty mild digestive problems, but I noticed pretty early on that Smooch seems to have a compromised immune system as she catches any and every little bug.  She even got strep throat in the Spring when she was "too young" to get strep.  I am learning how a properly functioning digestive system has a great effect on the immune system and the body as a whole.   Anyway, this is very fascinating stuff, and the nutrition information that I am learning along with "how the body works", is solving some very frustrating mysteries in our family because it is putting all the puzzle pieces together (from various medical issues).  I'm only about halfway through this book, but I HIGHLY recommend it. 

6.  I'm becoming increasingly excited about our new little girl growing inside.  She is kicking hard enough now that (at 23 weeks) that I can see my stomach move on occasion.  And My Stud and I are having fun kicking pretty girl names around.  I love this part!  I want to buy three of every cute girl thing ever made, but of course I don't. :-)  I keep picturing our girls' futures, specifically the special bond that they will share, and it makes me smile.  Really big.  And while we're talking pregnancy, I should note a strange pregnancy thing: my eyebrows have been fading.  As in, turning blonde.  So I finally gave into my vanity and bought a brow pencil.  Much better! Actually, I have no idea if this has anything to do with pregnancy or not, but it so bizarre that it was the only thing that made sense to me.

7.  We are moving in about a month, but we're still not totally sure where we are moving.  I tire of people asking questions I don't have answers for, but that is just part of it.  As long as folks are patient enough to listen to the whole scenario, I don't mind telling it, but it's one-word answers most people are after.  Here's the scoop:  it just depends on the timing of new construction jobs at the time that my husband's current job wraps up next month.  The company is always bidding work, so things could always change in a moment.  For now - if they don't win any other jobs in the next month - it sounds like we will stay in the same state, which is sort of nice and sort of annoying.  We really want to move to Oregon where I grew up, but we have yet to win a job up there.  The jury is still out on one job, so we can hope and pray!  I struggle with finding the desire and energy to "start all over" in a city full of strangers yet again.  I badly miss family.  Sometimes I want to stomp my foot and demand that my husband find work with a different company where we can just stay put in a location of our choice.  But we've both agreed that now is a time for being patient.

8.  With no computer during the day to distract me during the daily nap time, I have been whipping out some Christmas projects.  Part of it is because a friend and I are working on some crafty things together (before we move) and another part of it is that I've done the whole "move and have a baby" thing before near the holidays, and I think some serious planning ahead is the key to success. :-)  So, yes, I've been about knee deep into Christmas gifts for several weeks now.  It is so fun!  I'm hoping to finally get around to making our family stockings this year as well.  Any genius ideas in the stocking department.

9.  My husband has been pulling some crazy hours this past week putting to test all of the things they spent the past year and a half building.  The kids start acting like crazy hooligans each day about an hour before he comes home, so these late nights are about to get to me.  We've been eating dinner without him, and it's starting to wear on our little "quality time" Princess not seeing much of daddy.  We've been keeping the kids up a little later than usual to cram in some daddy time before bed each night, but it's still a pittance.  In times like these, I just thank the Lord that he has good job that takes care of our physical needs.  I thank the Lord that we have him at all, even if we are having to spend a lot of time apart.  A long-time friend of mine lost her husband last week, and my heart just breaks for her.  I am sooo thankful I get to hug My Stud's neck at the end of the day, knowing we are never promised tomorrow.  Just one weekend, and then one more week of this crazy nonsense, and we can get back to normal.  I think some Daddy-Mommy dates and some Daddy-daughter dates are in store.

10.  Princess has a birthday coming up!  She wants a big party, so I hope her idea of big is a little smaller than mine, because I'm not sure how big our social circle here really is!  We'll give it a shot.  I guess I had better give Christmas a break and refocus for a couple of weeks. :-)  She'll be FOUR.  Yikes. 

Happy Fall.