The Bump

So what was keeping me so busy over the last week?

I decided to take advantage of an absent husband and this "nesting" desire that's completely taken over me lately and tackle a good amount of the "things to do" on my never-ending list.

So here's what I managed to get done:

• KITCHEN: scrubbed all major appliances, cleaned all cupboards and reorganized contents, got rid of everything that is not being used regularly, scrubbed all surfaces, painted the door and cut out protective plastic coverings on door windows.
• MASTER BATHROOM: thoroughly cleaned every inch including under his & her sinks getting rid of what we don't need/use and organizing what remained. Washed all towels and mats. Put up clean curtains.
  
• HIS & HER CLOSETS (in master bedroom): I left "HIS" alone :) For mine, I took EVERYTHING out, this covered my entire bedroom floor and was a VERY intimidating project! I think I stored everything but the kitchen sink in there :-/ My closet now houses my clothes and shoes, Justus's small dresser, and other random boxes of stuff like "skinny clothes" and family photos. I have now made a section for little Dew Drop since I've begun picking up the random little baby item here and there :) I also have my "birth bin" in there, and am realizing I need another one!
  
• MASTER BEDROOM: stripped the bed and washed all bedding, took everything out of my dresser and reorganized my drawers. Cleared and organized my sewing desk.
• CHILDREN'S BEDROOMS: They helped me a bunch with their rooms because I think it's important for them to be responsible for their space and belongings. We thoroughly cleaned foors, organized closets, cleaned out dressers and put clothes back neatly.
• CHILDREN'S BATHROOM: Same as for mine, cleaned everything out. We have a really beautiful mirror/cabinet that goes over the toilet, I had hope to put it up while he was gone but it was too heavy and required tools I didn't have. I'll have him do this sometime this week.
• LINEN CLOSET: emptied it completely separated what I want from what I don't and refolded and put everything back in neatly.
  
• VACCUMED all floors upstairs and down (thank you Christine for letting me borrow your super-duper vaccum cleaner!) but WOW is it heavy for a very preggy mama to be carrying up and down stairs repeatedly! :) Worked awesome, though!
• WASHED WALLS both upstairs and down, and mopped floors.
• LAUNDRY ROOM/LAUNDRY: washed about 17-20 loads (I lost count at about 12), folded and put everything away, donated what doesn't fit anymore, mended what needed mending, threw out whatever was in bad shape.
  
• DONATIONS: 4 bags of clothing went out to the Goodwill
  
• GARBAGE: all garbage and recycles went out to the dump (thanks William!)
  

I managed to completely re-do my dining room in 2 days :) It was a lot of work taking off the wallpaper! My hands were raw, blistered and swollen from all of the scraping. Little by little I've been ridding the house of all the peach everywhere, and I mean EVERYWHERE! It must have been the previous owner's favorite color *gag*

It's hard to see the color in the picture (below), since I had to use my webcam, but you'll get the idea. I chose a deep red called "Awning Red" for the walls, and a pure white for the trim up top. The white on top and red on bottom really opened up the room and makes it look bigger. I took down the blinds (I *hate* blinds) and put up a new curtain rod and hung sheer white curtains. I also spot cleaned and washed all of the fabric on the chairs and bought that little plant in the middle of the table (the "money tree") as a gift for Ivan. It looks brand new :)


You would think everything was done right? Here's what's left to do before baby arrives:

• Put up that mirror/cupboard in the children's bathroom
• Paint master bedroom
• Put up curtains in master bedroom
  
• Paint front hallway and upstairs hallway (again)
• Paint kitchen
• Paint Eric's room & put up new window dressings
  
• Paint Julie's and Sera's room & put up new window dressings
  
• Buy new chairs for the dining room
• Replace table and chairs in kitchen
• Decorate the master bathroom (most probably my birth space)
  

That's all I can think of at the moment but I'm sure there's more LOL

All in good time. For now, I'm gonna rest and enjoy the fruits of my labor. Best of all... we pick up our new stove this week (hopefully today!) which will feel like a reward for all our hard work.

The Family Bed

We've always had the kids in bed with us from birth until somewhere between 2-5yrs old. Usually it is the birth of a younger sibling that will initiate the transition of the older child moving to a different sleep location. Good thing about a large family is that no one is EVER sleeping alone! If they can't sleep in bed with us, they will go find a sibling to share sleep with and feel very comforted and satisfied doing so. The children are split up in 3 bedrooms but it is not uncommon to find them all huddled in one room with make shift beds all over the floor when it's sleep time. I have a hard time saying no to this because, well, this is what we do and it works for us. Sleep time seems to be bonding time for the children. They can go at it all day roughing each other up and claiming to care nothing for each other but then bed time comes and all of a sudden they can't live without each other :)

Since Ivan's been gone we decided we would all sleep in mommy's room and take turns every night with who got to sleep in the bed. First night the girls were in the bed, second night the boys and we keep rotating this way. They have enjoyed it SO much! One night I played music and we all just quietly listened for about 2 hours before they started dropping off one by one into sleep land. It's been such a blessing, especially for the older children who hardly ever have the opportunity to climb in bed with mommy and daddy because they're HUGE now and really don't fit LOL

Eric (11) was at a birthday party/sleepover last night and Julie (10) and Jason (8) decided they wanted to sleep in the boys room, of course because they wanted to stay up late and talk, but that's ok, so I had Justus (1) Seraphina (4) and Lucius (5) in bed with me. This meant I basically slept on about 8 inches of space when it seems my body now needs at least 3 times that much! Even still, it was such a blessing to have them so close :) I've learned this week that Lucius talks A LOT in his sleep! He seems to be talking to Eric mostly. So cute. And the boys seem to rotate into a sideways position every night while the girls stay nice and straight :)

I do miss hubby though, and will be overjoyed when I have him stealing my blankets again.

Pregnant in America

A friend posted this on Facebook, I've seen it before and thought I would share it here:



"Pregnant in America examines the betrayal of humanity's greatest gift--birth--by the greed of U.S. corporations. Hospitals, insurance companies and other members of the healthcare industry have all pushed aside the best care of our infants and mothers to play the power game of raking in huge profits.

His wife pregnant, first-time filmmaker Steve Buonaugurio sets out to create a film that will expose the underside of the U.S. childbirth industry and help end its neglectful exploitation of pregnancy and birth.

Pregnant in America is the controversial story of life's greatest miracle in the hands of a nation's most powerful interests. "

Nothing like a peaceful homebirth...

to get your day going :) When she brings the baby up to her chest I just started crying happy baby tears! So beautiful.

Hubby's Gone

For a week that is.

Most people would be upset about that but I'm not at all :) You see, with him working at home and us being a homeschooling family I don't get those chunks of undisturbed time most people do daily to get their everyday chores done. I often use him as an excuse to stop whatever I'm doing and have a little chit chat. It's truly a blessing I never take for granted. But it can also be an excuse to not do what needs doing! So I figure I'll look at this week as an opportunity to get things in order here (still nesting like crazy!) and have them nice and together for when he gets back :) There's so much I want to focus on, like the superficial housework kinda stuff, but also some heart and soul work. I've been paying such extra special attention to my mind and my body this pregnancy and am aware of the areas in which I would love to see growth and change. To be quite honest, I often times feel like the real me is tucked away quietly somewhere waiting for the chance, or freedom, to come out. The truth is, it is me who holds back, not anything or anyone else. For whatever reasons, some obvious, some not so much, I am not allowing myself the liberty to embrace every part of what makes me *me*. Sometimes I think it can be as simple as the every day monotony of life causing me to function on automatic and I forget to be present and conscious in every moment. There is a cure for this :) It's like the old saying "take time to smell the roses". I need to take the time to be more proactive and less reactive in situations. I need to slow down and simply be, just for simplicity's sake. I need to be more intentional about what parts of myself I want elevated and enhanced and what parts need to be discarded like something no longer useful or valuable. I just need to sloooow down! :)

That is something that will take practice. I was trained very well to do everything in a New York minute. I rush to shower, clean, cook, everything! I have plenty of reasons and even encouragement to continue in that path. There are hungry mouths around me at every given moment, there is always a baby or toddler needing my attention RIGHT NOW! lol There is even the pressure I feel from within to be super efficient and fast at every thing I do. Still... there's that quiet *me* in the background... waiting to emerge and embrace the silence and simplicity of life, where even the mundane tasks are performed with a rich appreciation for the blessings that they truly are.

Everyone seems to think I need company or rescuing from being left alone here this week. It's quite the opposite really :) I'd like to rest in the peace and quiet so that I can just breathe! I don't want to have to worry about answering the door or entertaining anyone and losing this opportunity to catch up with *me*.

Here are my plans for the week:

Tackle one room a day and get it organized and cleaned up.
Play with my children as much as possible.
For relaxing *me* time, I plan to continue in my daily yoga practice, cuddle up with my new book "Painless Childbirth" and drink it all up slowly.
Then I'll have ALL of my children set up a sleeping spot in my room and we'll go to bed together, EARLY!

Sounds awesome to me :)

A Final Word on the Subject...

Circumcision

Foreskin is not a birth defect

source: http://www.birthandmotherhood.com/circhurts.html

Circumcision rates in America are dropping as people realize that babies should be left the way they were born. In America about 56% of children are still being cut at birth, that means close to half of boys do have foreskin. I do not support the amputation of boys OR girls. It is a crime to alter a baby girls genitals, boys should have the same protection.

What is the big deal? It's just a piece of skin.

It's a piece of skin that was intended to protect a boys penis. Removal of that skin is unnatural and completely against the design of the human body. Made from tissue similar to your eyelid, the adult foreskin laid out flat is about the size of a 3x5 index card. It's not little and it's not just a piece of skin. Between 10,000 and 20,000 nerve endings, Several feet of blood vessels, and Sebaceous Glands; which lubricate and moisturize the foreskin and glands, are all lost when you cut the foreskin away.

The big deal is that it protects an infant boy from getting feces on the head of his penis. The big deal is that the foreskin was designed to smoothly glide over the glands on the penis. This makes intercourse gentle, smooth, and pleasurable for both men and women. The big deal is that you are performing a life altering cosmetic surgery on an infant. Baby boys are born perfect. Look at that tiny penis on your newborn baby, it is perfect. He is perfect. When asked many parents of newborns said that they never even saw their newborns penis before part of it was cut off.

I suggest that if you do decide to have this barbaric procedure done then watch it be done to your new baby boy. I hear parents all of the time talk about how they didn't want to watch and it just shocks me. If it's too disturbing to watch then perhaps it's to disturbing to do.

My Body Was Designed To Heal By Shauna

I've had ear infections, but no one cut off my ears

I've had sinus infections, but no one cut off my nose

I've had a toenail infection, but no one cut off my toes

I've had a cyst under my eyelid, but no one cut off my eyelid

I've had vaginal infections, but no one cut off my labia or clitoris

Why are people afraid of "foreskin?"