My Monster. Part Two.

Do you remember my Monster?

I still love it. Things actually feel cleaner with a Monster in the house, and although we bought it refurbished, it is still going strong.

Beau's uncle asked me if I thought he should buy a little vacuum/steamer combination unit for $80.00 plus shipping and tax.  At first, it looked like a good idea.  Then I thought he probably has a vacuum and every single cordless vacuum I have ever had lost suction.  These things made me think of my Monster. Don't waste your money on a handheld unit, Uncle Scott. Get the big gun!

As I got out my Monster and looked lovingly upon it this morning, I realized it held the answer to another problem that has been plaguing me.  Ever since I spied this:

at a friend's house, I have wanted one. Of course.

I have thought about it many times as I lugged out my squeaky old Pic N Save ironing board.  And my drippy iron. I had decided to ask for it for my birthday.  Yup, that's what I'll do.

But wait! I forgot there was a Monster lurking in my closet, waiting patiently for his chance to be useful.  So I plugged him in and hung some clothes on hangers.  As I steamed the wrinkles right out of our clothes, I laughed gleefully.  Inside my head. 

My Monster gets rid of wrinkles, too. Imagine that.

Cousins

Here is the end-of-summer picture with all of the Woodward cousins.

Last summer, there were 9.

This summer, there are 11. No one is pregnant right now, but there are no promises that 11 is the final count.  (Staci....)

The list:

Roman (2)
Dax (2)
William (4)
Rebecca (5)
Chase (6 mos)
Hudson (5)
Mattie (5)
Jackson (6)
Thomas (7)
Reese (7)

That is a 7-year Woodward explosion.  

Hmm...

Well, we lasted two weeks.

Here's what happened:

My kids were sitting outside, chatting with some friends. The friends asked if my kids would like a breakfast burrito.  My kids said, nope. We're allergic.

The four older children then proceeded to launch into a mini-discussion about everything they couldn't eat...cow's milk..cheese...eggs...tomatoes...hamburgers....

I was shrinking into the grass under the withering stare of my husband.  I could almost hear the disdain in his glare.

Later that afternoon, we had a very informational, helpful discussion about what is right and balanced and what is weird and obsessive-compulsive.

Here is the rundown: Roman gets hives from milk.  Roman will not be eating milk products.  The other kids will be eating like normal kids.  For the most part.  (Normal healthy kids?) Mommy stands corrected, a little humbled, and thankful for her husband who can see a little more clearly.

Beans 6x a day is not really normal.  Right?

Just thought you should know.

First Day of School!

 I feel like I just posted that Jackson was going to kindergarten.

 He is in first grade.

 She is in kindergarten.

 He is with me now. We get some good quality time.  And discipline time, says Daddy.

Another year. Here we go!

Allergy-Free Rotation Diet

Good morning! After finding out that Roman is severely allergic to eggs and milk, I couldn't help it.  My curiosity was piqued.  I wanted to find out why Jackson gets a red rash around his mouth after certain meals, and why Rebecca gets dark circles under her eyes. I wanted to test them too!  Beau let me test the older children and we got their results right before we left for vacation, so I was able to do some research while we were away.

In a nutshell, I have implemented a rotation diet.  The theory behind rotation diets is this: if a child is allergic to multiple foods, he probably has a leaky gut.  Therefore, if I simply remove offending foods from his diet and replace say, wheat, with rice- he will eventually develop an intolerance to rice.  The body simply cannot be bombarded with the same substance time and again.  However, if you give time to let the body clear out each food, the immune response will decrease and the body will begin to heal- even to tolerate very offensive foods. 

Do I believe it? I think so.  I am starting to feel a little wary about all of the nutrition research I do... it is like the Bible.  The more I study and read, the more I realize I don't know!  And while Scripture is true and unchanging, nutritional research can be subjective and transient.  So we go into this journey with a grain of salt.  I still live by the 80/20 rule.  We will not tell a gracious host that we will not eat their food because we are allergic.  There is no perfect control in this life. 

That said, I have put together a plan for our family.  We are not supposed to have eggs, milk, beef, pork, and turkey. And black pepper. Really.  Really?!

(However, after a week without red meat, I asked Beau to bring home a steak to BBQ with our salmon. I needed some iron!)

There are not a lot of rotation diet menus available online.  The thought occurred to me that this is because every kid is allergic to different things.  So, the menu and shopping list is Woodward-specific.  However, I hope it can be of help to someone.  This is a dairy-, egg-, and beef-free menu.
 

Allergy- Free

Trader Joe’s Shopping List

Apples

Grapes

Bananas

Cucumber

Strawberries

Carrots

Lettuce

Bell pepper

Pears

Spinach

Cauliflower

Blueberries

Avocado

Sweet potato

Potato

Romaine

Lentils

Hummus

 Chicken slices

Roast chicken

Salmon

Corn tortilla

Brown rice tortilla

Frozen corn

Berries

Chocolate

Fish

 Tuna

Split peas

Brown rice pasta

Rice

Corn pasta

Maple syrup

Applesauce

Pear sauce

Goats milk

Coconut milk

Rice milk

Almond milk

Raisins

Walnuts

Sunflower seeds

Prunes

Almonds

Macadamia nuts

Cashews

Corn chips

Potato chips, no pepper

Day 1 Rotation Diet

Chicken slices

Raisins

Walnuts

Apple

Snack-

Grapes

Walnuts

Lunch-

Chicken slices

Cucumber

Apple

Grapes

Snack-

Raisins

Walnuts

Dinner-

Roast chicken

Split peas

Swiss chard with sesame oil

Strawberries

Broccoli

Day 2 Rotation Diet

Breakfast-

Rice

Almond milk

Olive oil

Stevia

Prunes

Snack-

Sunflower seeds

Carrots

Potato chips

Lunch-

Tuna

Rice

Lettuce

Carrots

Snack-

Prunes

Almonds

Dinner

Salmon

Brown Rice Pasta

with olive oil

Salad with-

Lettuce

Bell pepper

Carrots

Almonds

Day 3 Rotation Diet

Breakfast-

Socca:

2 cups garbanzo bean flour

2 scant cups water

4 tablespoons olive oil

Salt

Maple syrup

Peanut butter

Goats milk

Snack-

Peanut butter

Pear Sauce

Lunch-

Lentils

Black beans

Olive oil

Pear

Hummus with socca

Snack-

Pear

Peanut butter

Goats milk

Dinner-

Cod

Black beans

Hummus with socca

Cauliflower

Spinach

Day 4 Rotation Diet

Breakfast-

Banana

Blueberries

Cashews

Coconut milk

Oatmeal

Snack-

Pistachios

Coconut milk

Lunch-

Corn

Avocado

Banana

Cashews

Corn chips

Snack-

Banana

Pistachios

Corn chips

Dinner-

Sole

Pistachios

Romaine

Avocado

Corn

Sweet potato

Vacation 2012

 We are back from vacation. It was lovely to be away with my family. They say vacationing with children is not really vacation. It is doing the same thing you normally do in a different place. 

Like the double stomach flu?

 Yup.  Just Roman, though. And we were at my in-law's beach house for those three days, so my mother in law was very helpful.  A little throw-up, a little diarrhea doesn't faze the mother of three boys and grandmother of eleven. 

After two days of a painfully empty tummy, Roman started following me around the house, saying "I'm HARGY, mama!".  Beau and I decided that this phrase is our new favorite in the children's made-up vocabulary.  

 Besides that, though? We had the nicest time. I loved getting to wake up every morning knowing that Beau would be there for the day. He did work two of the days on vacation, but it was different, more relaxed.

 While we trekked to San Francisco, Pismo, and Monterey, it didn't feel that cumbersome because the weather was so darn nice.  So nice!  We wore pants and sweatshirts the whole time.

 We went to an aquarium, the coolest park we had ever seen, and to the beach. Twice a day to the beach. 

 

The view was amazing, and we could hear and see the ocean from the living room of the place in Monterey.  We left early so Beau could work today...we were ready, though. It is nice to be back!

The Cure is in the Cupboard

We were over at some friends' home this weekend and I spied this book laying under a coffee table.

Oooooh.  Yes, please.

Not wanting to seem overly weird, I casually asked where she got it and if I could borrow it.  She graciously let me take it home- even though it was her mother-in-law's- and so I read through it.

Oregano, hmm? I have some of that growing in my backyard.

But, I learned, it is not that oregano.

"Oil of wild oregano is an herbal oil derived from certain species of oregano plants.  The medicinal oregano is different from the type usually found in the garden.  It is also different than the commercial spice, which is often only a small percentage true oregano.

It is important to realize that wild oregano is not the same as the one found in the spice section of the grocery store or the type found in pizza...be forewarned that it would be difficult to accrue its curative powers by eating pizza and spaghetti.

Medicinal grade oregano arises from a unique species of plants which grow wild throughout the world.  The highest grades are found in the Mediterranean.  This "wild" oregano is rich in essential oils, which may be extracted by distillation...the result is an amber looking oil possessing a powerful and hot tasting flavor.  Its odor is similar to that of camphor.  The oil blends readily with fat in which its strong taste and odor is modified.  With time oil of wild oregano turns brown and may eventually develop a darn brown hue. "

Here is the most useful part for mommies:

"Researchers havec tested a variety of spices for purported antibiotic activity.  This research was performed in the hope of finding spices that could halt or impede the spoilage of food. Of all spices tested, oregano was the only one to exhibit significant antifungal and antibacterial activity.  The ability to destroy both bacteria and fungi makes oregano unique in the spice kingdom.  Finding it difficult to believe that a natural substance could be this powerful, the federal government also tested oil of wild oregano.  In an attempt to prove it didn't work, they found the opposite- oil of wild oregano killed every germ against which it was tested.  Nice pathogens succumbed, including salmonella, E. coli, listeria, staph, pseudomonas, and molds."

The oil can be taken, up to one drop an hour, until the cold or flu is gone.  Interesting.  I have been researching a bit and found that while I can buy it online, I will probably purchase mine through our local health food store, Cone's.  The book says to get a high-carvacrol (the medicinal compound) oil, which Cone's says they have. 

Apparently you can use it on athlete's foot, psoriasis, and ringworm, too. I will be keeping it in my ever-changing medicine cabinet and will report if I find it useful!

Happy Birthday, Rebecca Sky!

Notice anything?

Rebecca lost her first tooth two days before her fifth birthday. I wasn't quite ready for that! Jackson didn't lose a tooth until halfway through kindergarten, for heaven's sake! It is not time yet. 

Slow down...please?

 She will be at school in a few short months. I will miss her so much! But, as happened with Jackson, we are beginning to naturally ready ourselves for this first separation.  When the time comes, it will be time.  Right?

 This has already been such an eventful summer. We drove up to Tehachapi and found an ostrich farm.  That was quite the experience. 

 We have attempted to participate in the Rio Bravo Swim Team program.  Alas, we are not very good members of a team.  We have been away from the pool more often than we have been in it.  But it has been so much fun to spend time with our cousins each day that we can!


Happy birthday, my dear Rebecca Sky! You truly are a summer birth-day.  Sunny, warm, breezy... every good thing about the respite the Lord gives us from "normal" life.  We pray you grow into a wise and lovely woman of God.  We love you so very much.

Out with the old, in with the new!

A month!

It's been too long. How are you, blog world? It's nice to see you.

Roman has just been diagnosed with a severe casein allergy.  He is also allergic to eggs.  He is also allergic to chlorine.

How does this affect our family?

Well, for starters, our pool was just finished last week. That's a bummer.

Roman has had these horrible, scaly patches on his feet and legs for 6 months. I was sure he had a soap additive allergy.  Soap is easy to change, right? I thought my trusty Dr. Bronner's soap was working.  But after a week or so, the patches were back, mad as ever.  It seemed that the moment he even entered the bathtub or shower, the patches flared up.  We thought maybe it was residual cleaning products.  But we used only tea tree oil and vinegar.  It couldn't be the water he was allergic to, right? That would be crazy.

It is crazy.  And true! Who is allergic to WATER? Roman Bradley Woodward, that is who.  And how, pray tell, does one avoid water? In Bakersfield? In the summer? With a brand new pool?

Thankfully, the pool will be saltwater.  However, a small bit of chlorine is still necessary in a saltwater pool.  The house will need a filtration system.  I thought we could get away with spigot filters on all the kitchen sink and the bathtubs.  But I realized I wash the kid's clothes in...water.

 "I suppose I could wash his clothes in the bathtub", I told a friend.

"Jennie", she said.  "That's dumb".

Yup.

I wouldn't stick with it anyways.  Come the next round of stomach flu, I would be tossing clothes into my nonfiltered-water happy washing machine with abandon.

I have also been on my nutritional high horse for quite some time.  Eat eggs for breakfast.  They are so sugar free and healthy. 

They are also destroying my kid's intestines from the inside out.  Nice, mama.

Well, there is no place to go but forward! His diet will get a complete overhaul (thank you, family, for your willingness to undergo yet. another. diet. overhaul).  He has eggs and milk for breakfast, yogurt kefir for a snack, meat and cheese for lunch, and something with cheese or eggs in it for dinner. Whoopsie.

Thankfully, as our food gets more GM and processed (oh, he is also allergic to BHT, found in every packaged food out there), more and more children are being diagnosed with allergies such as these.  Which means more and more cookbooks are being written.  So this mama will eventually be armed with plenty of resources to aid her son.  I also have two dear friends who have paved this path before me and are fantastic wellsprings of inspiration and help. 

So, here begins our dairy-free, egg-free journey!

Crunchy Tutorial #2- Fabric Softener

               I do two loads of laundry a day.  Beau insists that I use Tide with Bleach detergent.

It is, after all, what his Mama used. I don't mess with that. 

But I did have to cut out additional fragrances and additives elsewhere.  Roman breaks out in angry hives every time a fragrance even comes near his skin.  Chase started to develop red and bumpy rashes on his face.  

My first plan of attack was to switch our bath products.  I tried five or six different kinds of soap and special washes. I even spent $20 on a special organic baby shampoo.  Of course, it still made Roman break out.  Dummy. :)

Then I bought some Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap.  It comes in a huge bottle for $10 and has only a few natural ingredients- saponified coconut, jojoba, hemp and olive oils, and peppermint oil.  Success! It does not make the babies break out.  I am using it on my hair and body as well.  I love it! It stings the eyes like a mother, though. Use caution.  I figure I will save about $15-$20 a month by using only one product on all of us.  It will take probably three or four months to break even after my special-soap-hunting spree.  Oh, well.  

As I read further about dyes and fragrances, I realized a likely culprit in the boys' breakouts was this:

oops.  No, this:

 

I had been using the cheapest dryer sheets I could find. I didn't even like the smell.  They were just inexpensive.  I was trying to save money.  But we were not living better...

So I chucked the sheets, searched the internet, and found another use for white vinegar.  

When added to the rinse cycle of your laundry, white vinegar does a fantastic job of softening your clothes. Amazing. 

I added this as well:

I really love this peppermint oil! It has so many uses.  The bottle is less than $5.00 on Amazon and it lasts forever, through many homemade experiments. 

I pour a half of a cup of vinegar to my rinse cycle, and add a generous shaking of peppermint oil to the vinegar.  While I thought I loved the smell of dryer sheets, there is nothing like opening the washer to the fresh, minty smell of clean laundry.  

I have experimented with adding this mixture to a washcloth and putting it in the dryer, but the clothes come out no softer, and a faint smell of vinegar lingers.  There is no vinegar smell when I use the concoction in the rinse cycle.  

I won't claim it is as cost-effective as cheap dryer sheets, but it is really close.  The gallon of vinegar lasts three weeks, and the peppermint oil lasts probably six months.  Like I said, that is with two loads every single day.  It costs about three dollars a month.  Not too bad.  

Have you ever used this method? Would you like to try? Let me know :) 

Crunchy Tutorial #1- Natural Mouthwash/ Teeth Whitener

'Round here, we like our teeth-whitening mouthwash.  We both use it every single day.  It costs about $6.00 per container of this:

We were going through about one container every four weeks.  They don't sell it at Trader Joe's, and I rarely have time to go to any store but Trader Joe's each week, so I decided to buy more on Amazon.  As I read through the reviews, I started to get a little worried.  Some excerpts:

1. If I use the full dose, my tongue goes numb and stays that way for over an hour. And yes, my sense of taste is also diminished.

2. The product removes the inner membrane of my lips and cheek. It sloughs off right after the swishing. This is unpleasant and, needless to say, disconcerting. The amount of skin that comes off is in direct relation to the amount of product I use.

3. The longer I use it (I'm up to about 5 days and am only using it at night now), the more temperature sensitive my teeth become. At 5 days, they are mildly sensitive.

and:

I've used this product 4 times in the last 3 days. My gums first started to die and peel away ONE HOUR after I first used the product. I didn't know what it was, so I used it a few more times, each time thinking, "Surely this product woudln't be on the market if it was that bad..." This morning, sheets...SHEETS of my gums peeled off! Gross, white, slimy, dead mucous membranes all over my mouth. To make things worse, my taste is nearly gone and my allergies have been killing me!

Eeew.

To be fair, neither Beau nor I ever experienced anything like this, and we used the product almost every day.  However, I decided to discontinue use of this particular product.  Naturally, there had to be a way to make it at home.  Naturally.

So I did a little research and rediscovered this:

 I have used it as a gargle and a rinse before.  But it tastes...gross.  Like a fizzy, tasteless wetness- lighter than water and not refreshing in the least.  (By the way, never drink hydrogen peroxide.)

So I decided to add this:

and this:

and all of the sudden, I had a product that tasted similar to the expensive, tongue-hair-growing Listerine.  It is more concentrated, so I use less. Just a small capful each day. 

Here is the recipe.  Use it if you feel like it. :)

1 8 oz. container of hydrogen peroxide
20 drops peppermint Stevita
1/4 teaspoon organic peppermint oil

shake and store.  Enjoy.

Ranch Outing

 We made a trek over to Santa Maria this week- myself, Rebecca, Roman, and Chase. We visited a friend at their vineyard ranch. It was beautiful and surprisingly, somewhat relaxing.

I am not sure if I will travel in the near future without Beau, but the trip went as well as it could have gone.  We picked blueberries the first afternoon. I have never tasted anything quite like them- huge, warm, sweet as can be.  We picked all we wanted.  We filled a shoebox full! The plan was to make pie or muffins, but our stash did not last that long.

Chase will officially be two months old this week. Guess what? He slept from 10:30-6:15 on Thursday night. We were elated. At 6:16, Beau turned to me and said, "Well, he will be sleeping through the night from now on". Ok! What this means: I feed him at 9:30, put him to bed right after, close the door to his room, and go get him at 6:30 in the morning.

Doesn't he cry?

The first two nights, he did. I had to pray and put my pillow over my head as I dealt with Mommy Guilt. But last night, he didn't make a peep. He slept 8 full hours, no problem. What a sweet baby!

As I recently read in a book, by allowing babies to eat in the middle of the night, we basically train them to eat in the middle of the night. It makes sense. He is gaining weight, is plenty chubby in the cheeks, and takes good feedings throughout the day. I need to sleep a full night to take care of my family. He needs to sleep a full night to grow and thrive. It is a good time to implement these changes. I have always been a proponent of the "cry-it-out" method of sleep training, but I have also always been hesitant to go full steam ahead with the process. I couldn't take my baby crying. Now I know that the process works, and that it is beneficial for all involved. Any hesitancy or guilt is gone, and we have a happy baby and a rested mama.

While nursing, I get a chance to read on my iPad. There is a free online library called Chest of Books. There is a huge, free section on health and nutrition. I have been so excited to explore! I read a book from 1921 by a holistic physician who claimed that his contemporary Americans ate an average of 125 pounds of sugar each year. At that time, diabetes and heart disease were beginning to be problematic. He warned his readers to cut down on their consumption of carbohydrate-rich foods and take in a diet rich in protein, vegetables, and fruits. How telling! 90 years later, we are reaping the poor health our great-great-grandparents sowed generations ago. And here we thought "paleo" was a hot new buzzword....

He is Risen!

When you explain things to children, do they become that much more apparent to you? On Good Friday, we read the story of Judas' betrayal. And then the story of Peter's betrayal. And then I tried to explain to the children how we betray the Lord's love and trust every day. But Christ never did. What huge concepts for little minds to grasp! As I tried to explain these things simply, I was just overwhelmed by the true nature of God's sacrifice for us. I held my tiny new baby and realized that God turned His face from His Son and allowed Him to die, not for His own punishment, but for mine. And this tiny new baby's. I can't fathom that kind of love.

But then, miracle of all miracles- Christ did not stay dead. He rose and is risen. And He lives, seated at the right hand of the Father. He died for me and continues to intercede on my behalf. These are the things we think of when we realize we are not worthy.

Holidays' stressfulness seems to trump the quiet moments where we can reflect on how amazing our Lord is. Yesterday was no exception. Two family get-togethers, helping with the toddlers at Sunday School, cooking, baking, cleaning, parenting...

Thankfully, (!) I am still getting very quiet moments in the wee hours of the morning for reading my Bible and praying and thinking. It is fragmented and a little sleepy, but I am so glad God provides this quiet time for me. I don't get it during the rest of the day. When Chase starts sleeping through the night, I am going to have to dig deep to find some self-discipline to continue to find comparable quiet time.
Even though Easter was hectic, it was still lovely to spend the day with my sweet family.
And my handsome husband, still the person I would rather be around more than anyone else.

This one has been home from school for a whole week. It has been really nice to have him around. This picture is from the day of his Festival of Spring. I tried to dress him doctorly.

Worst Date Ever

Well, maybe not ever.

Beau and I started dating when I was 17 and he was 22. In that long span, there have been date nights that have ended with one of us on the side of the road, not able to be in the same car for one moment longer. Dates that have ended with arguing and crying. One memorable date that ended with one of us threatening to bash the windshield of the other's car in with a large baseball bat...

Whew. That was a long time ago. To God be the glory, great things He hath done!

Tonight was a strong contender, though.

I had put on real clothes and makeup, awaiting the return of my Prince Charming . Charming had been out in the sun all afternoon, participating in a charity golfing event. He is quite the athlete, but not a golfer. He did not come home happy. He did not come home on time.

I had bathed Chase and put him in his cutest pajamas, ready to hit the town. We were going out to dinner! After arriving at the restaurant, Beau looked at his phone. I looked at mine. Our sitter had called both phones 8 minutes ago, right after we had left the house. Uh-oh.

I stepped outside to make the call and she answered, breathless.

"The-bathtub-faucet-broke-and-there-is-water-flooding-the-bathroom-everywhere-and-the-neighbor-is-helping-and-I-wasn't-sure-what-to-do-"

"Okay", said I. "We are on our way". I had heard three kids crying in the background. I figured she probably needed reinforcements. Had my mama's heart not heard the wails of my children, I would have called a plumber, told the sitter I would pay her extra, and gone back into the restaurant to order my long-awaited sushi.

Our first date night since the baby, dang it!

I pulled an even grumpier Charming out of the restaurant and we sped home in relative silence. He did say at one point, "I know you are thinking 'He got to have fun golfing all day'. But I suck at golf. And I don't want to be out there. So I spent five hours outside doing something I hate."

Oh, cry me a river, Charming.

We got home, did not console the children until we checked the damage, praised the sitter for her quick thinking, and got to work.

My idea was to call a plumber. This was met with a scornful glance. "Do you know what a plumber will charge you in the off hours?!".

Clearly, not the best suggestion at the time. I got towels and buckets and tried to work alongside him without getting in the way. As usual, his idea was better. We were able to get up all the water, three inches deep, from the bathroom floor. And there should be no long-term damage to the floor.

Now he is working on fixing the faucet. He has been to Home Depot once and YouTube twice. There are worse things than going without reliable water for a weekend, I guess. Like getting your windshield cracked with a baseball bat (it never actually came to that, by the way).

What was your worst date ever?

RePost from Resolved2Worship

I wanted to share a link to a website from which I draw encouragement. The woman who writes Resolved2Worship has 8 children and a very soft heart. I love to read what the Lord is teaching her, and she always has gentle, prodding insight on how to be a mommy who loves and serves the Lord, first and foremost.

Here is a link to her website- a post that was particularly dear to my heart. Enjoy!

Who Is My Life?

Monday

Chase will be a month old on Thursday. My goodness. He eats well, he sleeps well, he does everything else well. What a blessing of a baby. He is fond of peeing on me, but that is my fault. You would think I would know what I am doing after three boys. My reflexes, along with the rest of me, are sleep deprived.
I got to spend a wonderful week with my baby sister and her daughter. Jackie just finished 7 months of training to become an official soldier of the USA. She joined the Army Reserves last June and spent the last 7 months in South Carolina and Georgia, firing rocket launchers and learning hand to hand combat. I got to see her every day she was here, and Rebecca and Madison got to play together for hours and hours. We even snuck in a trip to Rosemary's.
My 5-year-old is now a 6-year-old. His birthday was on Monday. We took brownies into his classroom and had a short celebration with his class. Mrs. Sandoval prayed for him heartily- how I love our school!

Beau, Jackie, and Madison met us in the classroom on Monday. Later that night, my family all came over for a birthday dinner. Jackson is getting more mature- calmer, more thoughtful. He adores his little brothers and is as good as he can possibly be with his little sister. He loves Star Wars and Transformers. He and his friends at school play some variation of Ninja-Pirate-Star Wars every day.
Signing off, looking forward to a calmer week. Roman is running around in a shirt and legwarmers as we are attempting to potty-train. Changing a newborn's diapers makes me realize how disgusting it is a change a two-year-old's poops, multiple times a day. We have juice and M&Ms I found in the back of the pantry, left over from Halloween. I guess my nesting phase was not as far-reaching as it could have been :)

Newborn Session with Daniel Boone Photography

All Images Courtesy of Daniel Boone Photography

A few family gems from the past weeks:

Jackson:
"I don't know why Mrs. Sandoval calls it Fun Fun Friday.
We don't do anything Fun Fun.
It's more like Lame Lame Friday."

Beau:
"You are such a firecracker".
Rebecca:
"What is a firecrapper?"

Jackson:
"I am going to be a doctor for the Spring Festival (at school)."
Me:
"Oh! Do I need to get you a costume?"
Jackson:
"Nope. You just need to dress me doctorly."

I am not sure if the video loaded properly. If you can't see it, the pictures are here.

A Baby Story

Chase Bronson Woodward
February 23, 2012
8 pounds, 4 ounces
21.5 inches long

The last few weeks of pregnancy were miserable. I felt like I might get to have the baby at any moment just because it was my fourth pregnancy, but there were no real signs of impending labor.

My due date came and went with no activity at all, and I actually had to go into the bathroom before church started and cry because people kept saying, "still no baby?". They were just being friendly conversationalists, but I was maxed out physically and emotionally. I am sure all mommies can relate!

The Tuesday after I was due, I went in for a "non-stress test" to see if the baby was ok- which he was!- and to get a check-up by the Physician's Assitant, as my doctor was in surgery all day. That visit left me frustrated and irritated. The PA had no personality or bedside manner, and she informed me that I was still dilated to a ONE! I had to make an appointment to come back the next day to see my doctor and have an ultrasound to check my fluid levels.

So after getting a doughnut to console myself, I had to go home and pray about my terrible attitude and my reluctance to trust God's timing. God reminded me through Scripture that He requires that I walk humbly with Him, not in front of Him.

Then I went into labor at midnight.

I felt like my water might have broken around midnight, and I had a contraction that woke me up. I was able to go back to sleep until 1 am, when I was awakened again by a big contraction. Rebecca had gotten into bed with us, so I was able to slip out into the living room unnoticed. I labored in the living room for about an hour, resting in between. At three, I realized I may actually have to go to the hospital soon, so I got in the shower. It felt amazing! It helped the intensity of the contractions. I laid down in Rebecca's empty bed after the shower until Beau came in to return her to bed at 4. My contractions were regular and intense at that point, so I told him I was in labor and would come get him when I needed him. It was so nice to get to go through the contractions in the quiet dark of my own house instead of the bright hospital.

At 4:18, I had two contractions in a row and realized I should call my dad to come stay with the big kids. He got there at 4:45, and I was hanging onto the washing machine for dear life at that point. I'm pretty sure I snapped at Beau for brewing a pot of coffee during that time. Whoops.

Beau laid me in the backseat of the Hummer and we began our painful, bumpy journey to the hospital, 5 minutes away from the house. Beau prayed for us on the way there, and as he parked, I felt like I might need to start pushing! On the way in, I had a contraction at the light post, and then one on the floor of the lobby, which is locked at 5 in the morning!

Two nurses met us at the elevator with a wheelchair and rushed us up to the Triage room, where they changed my clothes and checked to confirm that I was certainly at a 10. That was 5:02 a.m. The nurses shouted at each other to call Dr. Kaneen, and I was yelling that I needed to push. They told me to wait, that he was coming too fast- wait for the doctor. Beau held my hand and told me to pant, which I tried to do. All of the sudden, Dr. Kaneen was there and I was told I could push. Oh, thank the Lord! So I gave one big push, and the whole head came out....then the rest of his body in the same push! I couldn't believe it! He was put on my chest and I got to see my big, purple baby. That was 5:19 a.m. Later, Beau said he could tell that this boy was considerably bigger than Roman was, bigger than any of our babies. That is what we had prayed for- a nice, big, strong, healthy boy.

As is always the case, I can see how God's timing is perfect, so much better than mine. Four days late meant that Chase had time to put on more fat. He came naturally and in God's timing, so he has been eating well, sleeping well, resting well. He seems to be easing into the schedule I would have tried to set for him anyway. He has waken up each night around 3:45, and only once a night. That is almost 6 hours of sleep from my newborn! The Lord must know I can't handle much more than this. The big kids seem to be acclimating well, even Roman. Today is our first day at home without Daddy's precious help, and I know all things will come in time. But I just thank and praise God for His goodness and provision and perfect timing. I want to enjoy every single moment of the fleeting, sweet newborn days. If you desire to pray for us, please pray for good sleep for baby and mommy, and ease of transition for our family.

Thanks for reading :)