Apparently I give my son tobacco!

DH was talking to Asher yesterday about working on a farm. DH used to help with tobacco farming when he was younger and was telling Asher about it. Asher responded with "I don't like tobacco (yay for Asher, but hey, we've never talked about the dangers of tobacco....). When Mommy puts it on my tongue, I spit it out (what? I don't give him tobacco?). I like vinager though!" And then I had an AH HA! I'd been spraying vinager in his mouth for excessive whining, and two days ago instead of spitting it out he swallowed it and asked for more, b/c now he likes vinager, so we switched to TABASCO. So I had to explain the differance between tobacco and tabasco, lol. I can just see him telling strangers that he doesn't like it when Mommy puts tobacco in his mouth!

Beds and Moving

I'm so excited! I got great deals today on new beds for me and the kids. Well, new to use. Right now I have a King size mattress that sits on the floor and it is completely falling apart. You can literally get INSIDE the mattress, I know b/c my boys have done it. And Canaan is sleeping on a crib mattress that we slid under Asher's bed every morning and pull out every night. We don't have another bed, or the room for another bed. So lately I've been cruising local Craig's lists and today I came across a King size mattress in good condition for $50. I offered $35 and he countered with $40, so I took it. I also found wooden bunk beds with mattresses for $100 and I offered $75. I sent both offers at the same time, really not expecting to get either of them, and definatly not expecting both, but the lady with the bunk beds called me and said they'd take $75. So we all have "new" beds now. I'm have a bit of a panic attack now about spending the money, but DH says absolutly do not worry about it and to get the beds. They are desperatly needed and money is actually goign to be even tighter later on. So now is probably best. I think since we're moving in less than 3 wks we'll just put the bunk beds in storage, it seems kind of pointless to set them up just to take them down again. Plus it will add something else new and exciting to the move. Put I think I'll probably take my mattress now, thank you very much, lol.

Also, a little update on the moving. My mom's boyfriend decided a moving company was going to cost too much, but I'm hoping he'll pay for the u-haul. And now I'm hoping even more so since I just spent $115 of our moving money. Sigh. And we need somebody to drive the u-haul, or even just drive the kids while I drive the u-hual but I would really rather now drive a 24' truck. I'd probably run over somebody. But I'm sure we'll get it all worked out and we'll be there soon enough.

I've been getting some good packing done. Actually packed 4 boxes today. woohoo! It may not seem like a lot, but really, I've been packing for months, so there's only odds and ends and stuff we use left to pack basically. Is it weird that I'm actually glad we won't have a moving company? It actually was seeming to me like it would be more of a hassle. I was goign to have to pack all the clothes (instead of just moving the dressers while full), find out how to fit everything we'd need for a week or more in a car of unknown size to get us by until they deliverd the truck, I was worried about how to pack bigger stuff that doesn't really fit in boxes, but that I didn't think a moving company would want just floating around (I have no problem just throwing in the back of the truck, lol), what I was goign to do with the kids while they loaded up the truck, ok, so I still have that problem, lol. But really, I'm relieved that we're just renting a u-haul.

Now I'm just biding my time and trying to get the last few details ironed out (like how to pay for the truck and who's going to drive it! Nothing big! lol)

We have a house!! again

DH put a deposit on a house today!! If all goes well we'll be able to move in in 3wks. We're working on getting all the moving details figured out. My mom's boyfriend might even spring for a moving company! How cool would that be? I'll try to keep you all updated as we get things ironed out.

Not much going on here

I know, I haven't been blogging much, this is usually what ends up happening, lol. I blog constantly for a while, then I don't blog as much, then hardly at all, then I feel like there's too much to update...etc etc

Anyways. So not much going on around here. Still waiting for a house, as always, it seems. Money situation not getting any better, in fact, slightly worse b/c they started garnishing DH's paychecks for child support for his daughter in CO. They also served him with papers for child-support for our kids, since I"m on state-aid and he's not in the house. He can request a hearing, so he's hoping to do that and then just keep pushing things off until the kids and I can get there and then say "oh oops, nevermind" We'll be in big big trouble if they start garnishing his paychecks for our kids. It woulnd't matter if they would actually give me the money, but they won't, they'll use to cover our state aid. So yeah, it would not be good at all.

Let's see, what else is there to say? Oh! Asher is reading! He can read 3 letter words now. I'm so excited, I actually taught him how to read! It's been slow, but I knew he could do it! And in the process, Canaan has been picking up some letters and knows what some of them are. Cool! It's so truely amazing to be witnessing my children learning like this. I so look forward to the coming years of homeschooling and all the great things I'll be teaching my children.

Canaan has had a potty regression, so he was back in diapers for a while. I've got him running around naked again and he's averaging about one accident a day, so I'm debating on just continueing naked time or doing diapers again for longer. I guess I"ll see how things go in the coming days. He's also started drawing people, which is exciting. He draws a circle (which he will only classify as the person he's drawing), then gives it arms, draws another circle in the middle of it, for the belly button, then legs. Sometimes they have hair, sometimes eyes or mouths, sometimes not, lol. But they definatly people.

Genesis is getting so big. She's pulling up and cruising around furniture. Loves to play with her big brothers. Is starting to eat more real food, though she still drops more than she gets in her mouth, and spits out more than she swallows, lol. She's a great baby, though she's starting to get a bit of seperation and stranger anxiety. I need to get to KY fast b/c I don't have enough hands for two clingy children! (Canaan is still very weary of strangers)

I think that should about catch you all up :)

No House Afterall :(

My mom has decided not to let us use her car once we move to be with DH (a completely acceptable choice), but when I told DH he decided that we wouldn't take the house he had for us then. It's a bit out of the way and would not be convenient without a vehicle, and there's no way we would be able to buy even a junk car anytime soon. DH has been having second thoughts about the house anyways, starting to think it was too much work and he wouldn't be able to get it done, so this was the final thing that made him decide it just wasn't the right one. I'm actually really ok with this, as I was never really comfortable with it either. But now we're back to square one with no house to move to and no timeline of moving. :( I know it will happen in God's time though. There is somethign better for us out there. I was really worried how DS was goign to take the news, but he was actually EXCITED b/c the house wasn't in town and he really wanted to be in town with his Great Gramma, Grannie, Aunt and cousins. So, we need prayers again about finding a house and now for finding a vehicle!

He's starting to Read!

I've been tryign to figure out how to teach the 4yo how to read. He knows all his consanant and short vowel sounds and just hasn't been able to blend them together. I had heard a lot about blend ladders, where you go ba, be, bi, bo, bu, da, de, di, do, du, etc etc but he wasn't able to do that either and got very frustrated so I stopped doing anythign with reading altogether. Well, a few days ago I got the brilliant idea that *I* could go through the blend ladders and just have him watch/listen. The first day we did the Bs. He listened but that was about it. The next day we did Ds and he was starting to do them on his own by the du. And today we did the Fs and he was doing it himself! He has been helping me turn the sounds into words, like ba:bat, be:bed, bi:big, etc and then I would finish writing the word he had made next to the blend. But today when we were done with the F ladder, I wrote "Fox" and he read it to me, and then he read "Dad" and then "Bed"!! I'm actually teaching him how to read!! I am so excited. I just hope I can continue to not push him into doing things he's not ready to do.

A Trip to the Library

We went to the library today. Like we do almost every two weeks. Asher has been asking to do school from a book again, rather than my pathetic thrown together stuff so I pulled out Learning from Home for Preschoolers and Kers, which uses the library as a resource. Earlier this week I got online and found the books that were recommended (that our small library system actually has) and put them on hold, giving me about 23 holds. I also intended on looking once we got there to find some other related books, just for things to look over throughout the next two weeks. I had an inkling that the limit of books I could check out was 30, so I asked when we got there so I knew if I had to be counting books I pulled off the shelves. The librarian told me there was a limit of 30, but I could also get library cards for each of the 3 kids, so we would be alright. It turns out that when you first get the card you can only check out 3 books, so the librarian who checked us out (the first was nowhere to be seen) had to override the system so I could check out all the books I got. A minor annoyance, to be sure. I was VERY annoyed with the children's librarian however. This lady and I have gone 'round before. When I was pg I took the then 3yo and 1.5yo to storytime there. She wasn't goign to let my 1.5yo go in! I was supposed to send my 3yo into a door, with no windows, with a lady I don't even know? I don't think so! She finally "agreed" to let me and the toddler join the preschooler, but if my toddler caused too many distractions, we would have to leave. And she probably wonders why there was only one other kid there. Insert eye roll. So, back to today. I had a list of topics I wanted to get books on, and asked her to send me in the general direction. Afterall, she has been the Children's Librarian for many years, surely she can send me the right shelf. Nope. Instead she directs me the card catalog to look up the Dewey numbers b/c she couldn't even tell me where the right section was! She looked at me like I was insane for htinking she would know. Remind me in the future to just write down the numbers at home and not ask her for help anymore. I also asked her about VERY early readers, things with only 3 letter words, and she sent me to the 1st grade readers. Sigh. But on a highlight, Asher got his first library card today and he was so excited about signing his name on it. I had to convince him to let me put it in my purse so it wouldn't get lost and would be remembered our next trip!

We have a house!!

DH found us a house!! Well, ok, it's a 2bedroom, 1.5bath trailer, but it's at the right price and in a year we'll own it and only have to pay rent on the lot. The bad news is that DH can't even get into it until the 24th of this month and then it needs some repairs before the kids and I can move in. So we're looking at probably a good 6-7wks before we get to move there. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, and at the same time, sort of surprised at how NOT up they are. REally, 6wks is not long at all. I still have plenty to pack, but at the same time, it seems soooo far away. And anythign could happen between now and then. What if DH isn't able to make the repairs that he needs to make? What if he doesn't even get the house? A million things could wrong between now and then. But a million things could go right too.

What actually bothers me the most, is that I'll be here at the 1yr anniversary of DH leaving us. The thought is still so painful, and I didn't want to have to be alone still when that came around. Yes, we're technically together and just living in different places due to circumstances, but I'll still be here, by myself on that day. And it's goign to be hard. It's already hard. Pray that I get through this next month and half without too much emotional pain.

Baby Fever

My baby is almost 8 months old. That means my baby fever is kicking into high gear. It doesn't help any that on one of my boards we're having a ton of new preggies and new babies. Based on history, I have about 7 months until I get pg, 8 months til get my positive hpt. THat seems so far away but I know it will be here before I know it. Although it would probably be helpful to be at least living in the same state as DH, lol. And you never know, God might surprise us with a closer spacing this time.

Speaking of God and more babies. We were visiting an older relative today who claims to be Christian, but this will give you a good idea of her actual thoughts. My 4yo was talking about how he wants 4 more brothers and 4 more sisters so we'll have 11 kids. The relative knows we want a large family and I certainly didn't discourage DS from talking about our hopeful future big bunch (though I do usually say something about we'll take whatever size family God gives us). The relative said somethign along the lines of "I know you want a large family, but I just don't think you can afford them!" To which I responded "God will provide." She looked right at my 4yo and said "That's a myth. God doesn't provide anything." I was so shocked that someone would say that to my 4yo! I managed to just smile and say "that depends on your idea of providing." She is one of those ladies who has to have the best of the everything. With her big expensive car and country club membership. She can't possibly understand why I would stay home when I could be out earning money and thereby have a bigger house and nicer things. She actually told my DH not to move us to live with him unless I was "goign to get a job and help out!" Yes, b/c me not having a job is the source of all our problems (insert eye roll here).

But anyways, I got off on a tangent there. I am really starting ot crave having a baby in my belly again. I just love being pg so very much and all the excitment that goes with it. Don't get me wrong, I love my baby girl and am enjoying her to the fullest (well, as full as you can with a toddler and preschooler to chase around), but I'm ready to begin another new little life again.

So, who's calling the psych ward so they can come pick me up?

Packing

So for some reason I finally start feeling the need to really pack. There's really no reason to think we would move anytime soon, since we've been looking to move for months, but I still feel this need to start packing. Maybe it's God speaking to me. I'll probably only do a box or two a day, and of course not do the essentials. But the kids can live with only a small box of toys and a couple of books. I certainly don't need all the mess in my room. I just did a good two week grocery shopping, but I think for hte next menu I'll make sure to use what's in my freezer and cabinets. I need to go through the closets again too. And somehow, my sewing desk drawers are full again, even though I completely emptied them about 9 months ago. What gives? All else fails, it'll be nice to have less to clean, though it will look pretty bare around here with the book shelves and drawers all half empty!

The Weirdest Thing

I saw a freaky looking cat yesterday. One eye was a perfectly normal cat eye, but the other one was just freaky. It was bright blue, a lot like my oldest's eyes, and it's pupil was round, like a human eye. Everything else about the eye seemed alright, it was focusing fine, wasn't hazy or anything, just looked like a bright blue human eye. It was freaky.

Summer colds

I hate summer colds. We have our second in 3 weeks. Sick kids plus sick mommy is not a nice picture. I just want to go bed and stay there, the kids want somebody to love on them and make them feel better, plus they need to eat, the house needs tending to, laundry needs doing the baby needs holding and rocking and nursing. And I just want to go to bed.