soap

I made two batches of soap this weekend. One batch of oatmeal, milk and honey soap and one white soap with pumpkin swirls. They both turned out very pretty!

They need to cure for about 2 weeks and then we can use them.

labwork updates

Remember the extensive labwork I had done looking for possible miscarriage causes? The 12-vial, $2330 tests were all normal. I was really bummed. It is good that there was nothing serious found, but at the same time it would help to know what the issue is, especially if it is something treatable. I cannot continue having miscarriage after miscarriage. At my followup visit to discuss those lab results, I asked the rheumatologist about one other condition that I had become aware of through a comment made by a friend--- Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR). He agreed to order the test for that condition.

I got the results from the new test on Friday. It turns out this IS an issue I am dealing with! I feel like saying "Praise the Lord, there's something wrong with me." Is that silly?

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is a rare genetic defect that can lead to complications in pregnancy. Many people do not know that they have this defective gene until after they have had several unsuccessful pregnancies. Others may carry one pregnancy to term and not discover until afterwards that they carry the defect.

What is MTHFR?
Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is the name of a gene that produces an enzyme, also called methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase. If a person carries the genetic mutation that inhibits production of this enzyme, it can result in hyperhomocytenemia, which is an elevated level of an enzyme called homocysteine found in blood plasma.

When the body is deficient in methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase, its ability to absorb folate (also known as vitamin B9), such as folic acid, is inhibited. Folic acid and B9 are both essential to the development and health of the fetus.

MTHFR and Pregnancy
Because of a mother with MTHFR’s inability to efficiently metabolize folic acid and vitamin B9, the disorder has been linked to a variety of pregnancy complications such as chromosomal abnormalities, such as Down syndrome, and congenital malformations.

Elevated levels of homocysteine have been associated with placental disease, preeclampsia and recurrent pregnancy loss. 21% of women with high levels of homocysteine experience recurrent pregnancy loss.

Without treatment I am at an increased risk for heart attack, stroke, and deep vein blood clots in addition to increased risk of pregnancy loss. Now that we know about this I am to take high doses of folic acid, vitamin b6, and b12 each day, along with aspirin therapy. If I have any pregnancies in the future the rheumatologist and my OB will together decide if I need additional blood thinners based on labwork at that time.

I am so encouraged by this. It feels good to have some answers and a plan for the future.

Foster care updates

I had to turn down a young sibling group of three about a week ago. It broke my heart to say "no" but I only have room in my current vehicle for 2 children in addition to my own. I wasn't sure how I would work out transportation issues if I accepted a placement with more than 2 children.

Today I learned through the foster care grape vine that they were returned home already. So that would have been a short lived placement.

So we are still waiting on a placement. I am ready. At the same time I can't bring myself to hope for a placement because for children to land in my home that will mean that another family is going through the trauma of separation. I can't wish that on anyone.

Random updates

We started 24 eggs in the incubator Friday. Hopefully we will have some chicks in a few weeks! The eggs are from Buff Orpingtons, Black Orpingtons, and also some Partridge Wyandotte bantams. We have one hen in with our Blue Orpington rooster but she doesn't seem to be laying right now.

The does joined the buck in his pen on the 15th. If all goes well we will have some kids in March! The children are very excited.

Still waiting on documents for our foster care license. Everything else is completed. The licensing worker says we are "a click away" from getting our license as soon as the documents are turned in to her. I am frustrated by the delay. However, it is very likely we will get kids within a few days of getting our license so I just keep telling myself that the kids God intends to place with our family are not ready yet. His timing is always perfect. It is also an odd feeling to be excited about having children placed with us....but at the same time realizing that in order for children to land in our home that will mean their own family is going through the trauma of being split up. Very very sobering thought.

Tomorrow is my follow up appointment with my rheumatologist. We will be going over the labwork (12 vials of blood, $2330!) that I had done in September. This is to see if there is a cause for my recurring miscarriages. I hope we find some answers but I realize we may not.

I have been doing really well since the miscarriage but the last few days have been rough. Since July I have filled up my days with getting the foster care stuff underway. Now that that is at a standstill I have more time to think again. Thinking isn't good when you are grieving. I also have a friend due around the same time I was. Every time she mentions a pregnancy milestone it is a painful reminder to me of where I 'should' be. I am happy for her and I love to hear her updates but they do sting sometimes.

I'll leave you with some recent kid funnies:

My 5yo calls Miracle Whip "American Whoop"
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Lyrics from my 2yo Stinker, Stinker, Little Star
How I wonder, where's your car?
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I told my 2yo that I loved her. She grinned and replied, "You sure do!" Got to love that confidence!
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Foster Care Update

Our homestudy report is ready and waiting. Now we are waiting for a replacement social security card and a birth certificate to come in the mail. As soon as we can turn in those documents we should be able to get our license! Hopefully everything will come early next week. My husband and I are ready to get started with this. :)

2 Deep Thoughts from My 10yo

He said both of these today:

1) "Quiche would be pretty good if it didn't have eggs in it." LOL!

and

2)He also said that Treasure Island (which he is reading for school) is totally boring.

I said, "Really, I thought there was quite a bit of adventure in it."

He replied, "Well, yeah, there's some shootings, and stabbings, and a couple guys get thrown overboard but other than that there isn't much going on."

Here's your sign

Are you familiar with comedian Bill Engvall's "Here's Your Sign" routine? We had a HYS incident last weekend.

We were at Lowes getting supplies for a new chicken shed. As we pull up to the register with our load of 30 2x4's the cashier asks "Are you building something?"

Without missing a beat my husband replied, "Nope, I just collect 2x4's."

:>)

Our homestudy

We had our homestudy for our foster care license last night! It went very well. The social worker said several nice things about our home. Everything here was in order so we will be ready to start accepting placements as soon as they finish processing our paperwork. We could have kids in just a week or two!

I am very excited. This is something I have wanted to do for years but it was never the right time. Now everything is falling into place.

Too cute

My 5yo taught the 2yo how to do Knock-Knock jokes. She sounds so cute!

More foster license progress

Today I sent in our water samples. Everyone I have talked to has said their first test results were not good enough. Most people have to treat their well and then resubmit. I am hopeful ours will pass on the first try but that may be unrealistic. We will see what happens.

I also went to my doctor appointment for my physical for the foster care license. It was a good appointment. Last fall this doctor referred me for weight loss surgery. I seriously considered having the surgery but my insurance would not cover any part of it so it would have been $$$$$ out of pocket. Instead my husband and I got serious about a low carb lifestyle and have each lost 70 pounds since the first of the year. I hadn't been back to this doctor since last fall. He was very impressed with my non-surgical weight loss and said lots of encouraging things. That was so nice to hear.

That's two more things I can check off my foster care license to-do list!

What a day!

When I was little I used to love to read my Grandmother's issues of Farm Wife magazine (later called Farm Woman and now Country Woman). My favorite part was a section called "Why Farm Wives Age Fast" which was stories of funny things that happened to women around the house and farm. Today qualifies as a "Why Mothers Age Fast" Day.

To begin with, I kept my friend's two children this morning. No problem--they are great kids. My two oldest had a blast playing with them. The problem was that I needed to leave for a doctor appointment after lunch. I was to drop them off at another home on the way to the doctor.

Well I forgot that it would take longer to round up 5 kids than it does to round up 3 kids. I also forgot to take into account that we would have to rearrage car seats and booster seats before leaving. So I was already running a bit behind before I started to get everyone headed to the truck to leave. Then I noticed that both of my (previously ready to go) girls needed to have clean outfits. So we did that. Then I realized my friend's son was shoeless. I inquired about his shoes and discovered that they were on my roof. No not the roof of the truck, the roof of the house. "Why??" you ask. I have no idea. Neither boy would give me a straight answer.

So we spent a few minutes trying to get the shoes off the roof but they were out of reach, even with the use of a ladder. Since by this point I had just enough time to get my friend's children dropped off and make it to my appointment I told my friend's son to put on a pair of my son's shoes. But my son's shoes were too small. At this point I wondered if I would have to take him shoeless. Finally I found a pair of my plain white tennis shoes that fit him so we loaded up and left with his shoes still on my roof. Boys---you gotta love them. :>)

Dropped them off and headed to the doctor with my own children. We made it on time! It was three minutes before my appointment time when I signed in. :) Once there I decided to leave my oldest two in the waiting room while I went back. I have found that 3 children in a tiny exam room is a bit overwhelming. So when my name was called I headed back with my 2yo in tow.

We stopped in the restroom to leave the necessary urine sample. While in there my 2yo managed to pull the "emergency call" chain next to the toilet.

Then we made it to the exam room. While waiting for the doctor my daughter tipped over a metal tray/table (those little tables they lay thier tools on). The metal tray and the metal frame both crashed LOUDLY which caused about 3 nurses and the doctor to burst through the doorway asking "Is anyone hurt?!?!?" That's one way to get the attention of the medical staff!

I gave my daughter a copy of Birds and Blooms magazine that was in the exam room. I was hoping that she would stay busy looking at the pictures while I talked with the doctor. It worked....sort of. Everytime she saw a bird (which, being Birds and Blooms, was every PAGE) she loudly exclaimed "Cock-a-doodle-doooooo!" So my conversation with the doctor was punctuated by lots of rooster sounds. :>)

Now we are home. Everyone is fed, bathed, and ready for bed. I think I'm going to pour myself a diet pepsi with lemon and try to relax. What a day. :>)

P.S. After we returned home my son was able to get our friend's shoes off the roof by snagging them with a hook on a fishing pole. It was his idea to try the fishing pole and it worked! I was proud of his creative thinking.

New School Year

We started our new school year this week. It is going really well so far. All of the curriculum I have selected seems to be exactly right.

My 10yo is continuing with Saxon math with the D.I.V.E. cd-rom. To tell the truth, I find Saxon very boring but it seems to work for him so we are sticking with it. The DIVE cd's are wonderful! They are worth the investment if you are going to use Saxon. I am so glad that I learned about them. For those of you who are unfamiliar they are cd's that are a companion to the Saxon book. They feature a short lecture for each lesson where the student can watch the instructor work the sample problems. Very nice!

We are planning to do American history this year. After 2 years of ancient history we are looking forward to the change of pace! Some of the history books have not arrived yet so we are starting the year with a 4 week state history unit. He is studying electricity in science right now which he seems to enjoy. He is also reading Treasure Island.

My 5yo surprised me today. We were counting together. I asked her to count to 20 and instead she counted to 50 without missing a beat. Then my son told her she was halfway to 100 so she might as well keep going. She did keep going and counted to 100. :>) Then she announced that she could count backwards too and proceeded to count backwards from 12.

My 2yo loves for me to count with her also. I say the number and she repeats it. We do the same with the alphabet. She thinks this is great fun.

Tonight we went to the kick-off dinner for our homeschool group. It was so nice to visit with our friends again. The kids had a great time. My 5yo cried when it was time to leave. The kids will have p.e. classes, art classes, bowling days, and other events with this group during the school year.

Our water test kit arrived tonight so we will take the samples and get them shipped. This is one of the steps we need to take for our foster care license. This week I talked to the social worker who will do our homestudy. She is still waiting for our fingerprints to come back. As soon as they are back then we can schedule a date for the homestudy! My husband and I have appointments for our physicals and tb tests next week. We are just about to get all of the hoopjumping and red tape accomplished. :>) Our last training session is 9/29. I am hopeful that we will have everything else finished by 9/29 so that we can have our homestudy done as soon as our training is completed.

My friend who fosters told me that her home was the only foster family in our county with an open bed at the moment. Actually since she told me that a few days ago they took in another placement so they may be full now too. She thinks they will push our license through as soon as all of our training is complete because they need foster families right now. It is sad that there is a need for foster families, but it is good news that they are likely to grant our license in a timely manner. I know several foster families which dealt with a long delay from the time their homestudy/training/paperwork was completed until their license was actually granted. Hopefully that won't happen to us.

Sunday

It is so nice to have my husband back home with us. We had a great day together today. First we went to Bass Pro. The kids love the huge aquarium and the taxidermy exhibits. We didn't end up buying anything. I did try on a brand of shoes I am thinking of buying. Now I know what size I need. They didn't have my size in the color I want so I passed on them for today. I think I can get a better price online anyway.

We had a quick lunch at Burger King. It was okay. That is not my favorite fast food restaurant but it worked. :>) My 5yo wants to know if the Burger King is married to the Dairy Queen. I think that's cute.

The girls and I finished our Socks read aloud. Now we are reading The Littles Go Exploring. We've read this one before buy my 5yo requested we read it again. It is a fun book.

My 2yo has not been going to bed very well for the last week or so. This is a new thing. Previously she had been doing very well. Last night she got in my 5yo's bed after the 5yo was asleep and TOOK OUT THE 5YO'S EARRINGS!!!!! Ahhhhh!!! Both of them! The 5yo does not like to have her earrings changed so I rarely take them out. We got them put back in place without incident though. It is time to retrain the 2yo what bedtime means. :>) She did much better tonight.

My husband grilled smoked sausages for supper. We even splurged and had buns (we've been low carbing for months). My 5yo also made a cake for us. Tomorrow we are back on our strict eating plan. It was nice to have a treat.

Have a good day!

A New Record

This evening we bought the girls each a new pair of shoes at Old Navy. They both wanted to wear them home so we let them. On the way out of the mall, my 2yo let her feet drag the asphalt parking lot (she was in her stroller). The toes of both new shoes are totally scuffed up. {{{sigh}}} This was less than 5 minutes after purchase. We've had children ruin a new item quickly before but I think this was a new record.

He's Home!

My husband is home! He had been working out of town for over a week. We are all so glad that he is safely home. :>)

Christmas gifts and faulty memory

My 5yo daughter is a gift giver. She is constantly thinking and planning what gifts to buy or make for people. For the last few days she's been carrying around a catalog. She says I can't look in it because the gift she wants to get her daddy and me for Christmas is in it. She is always talking about how she can't tell us because that will spoil the surprise.

Well tonight she came to me and said she had decided she could show me the gift if I promised not to tell Daddy. She said it was safe to tell me because she knew my memory wasn't very good and I would forget before Christmas anyway. Ha Ha.

Wednesday

Today we had a playdate at the home of another homeschool family. I enjoyed talking with my friend. She is also a foster mom so of course I asked her tons of questions. :) We are hoping to have our license in order so that we can take placements in the next couple of months. My children had a good time playing with their friends as well.

This evening we read aloud 2 more chapters from Socks . Then I listened to my 5yo read 3 stories out of her Dick and Jane reader. She is becoming a fluent reader. I love to listen to her.

Right now the three kids are watching Andy Griffith. My 2yo is sitting in a laundry hamper while she watches. She tells me it is a boat. :>)

My husband is still out of town. We all miss him. For a treat I let the kids pick out an easy supper at the grocery. They selected a frozen pizza and tater tots. It was funny to hear them excitedly talking about the 'feast' that we were going to have. Frozen pizza and tater tots are not what I would consider a feast but I'm glad they were happy. We rarely have things like that, expecially since we began our diet makeover, so I guess they are a novelty. I'm looking forward to my husband being home again in a few days. Our routine seems 'off' when he is gone.

Have a great evening!

Today

We had a nice day today. My son's friend was over this afternoon. They entertained themselves by looking for arrowheads and playing basketball.

We start our homeschool year next week, so we are enjoying the last few days of our summer vacation. Actually my 5yod begged to start her math workbook today so I let her. She did page after page and is now 1/3 finished with her 1st grade math. She loves to do schoolwork. It is a challenge to keep enough things on hand to keep her busy. That is a nice problem to have. :>)

Speaking of my 5yo, I have to tell you what she said at the store yesterday. We were at the checkout when she noticed I was purchasing strawberry scented shampoo. "Oh Mother!" she exclaimed "You're buying strawberry shampoo! It's fragrant aroma is so delightful!" I love to hear little kids use big words. :-)

I'm reading aloud Socks by Beverly Cleary to my two girls. It is a cute book. I think my son is listening to it also but when you're a 10yo boy it's not cool to admit you're interested in a book about a kitten.

70 pounds gone!

In January of this year, my husband and I decide to make some drastic changes to our family's eating habits. We switched to a low-carb lifestyle. Over the past 7 months, my husband and I have lost 70 pounds each. Our 10yo son has lost around 40 pounds. We all feel so much happier and healthier!

This way of eating is pretty easy. We eat lots of fresh vegetables, meat, some fruit, and some dairy. We mostly avoid sugars, breads, pastas, potatoes, and rice. These sugary and starchy foods are intended to provide fuel for the body. An overweight person does not need additional fuel since the body is already carrying fuel in the form of stored fat. By eliminating sugars and starches from the diet, the body is forced to burn the stored fat as fuel. It is amazing how well this concept works!

Funny Kid Stories

The other day my 10yo son complained of dry itchy skin on his legs. I told him to get some lotion from the medicine cabinet and apply it a few times per day. I thought no more of it.

A few days later I noticed that his legs looked awful! It looked as if the skin was peeling off in big chunks! I felt so badly that I had not followed up on checking on his legs.

After further examination and questioning, it turns out that instead of lotion he had applied an alpha hydroxy facial mask. The kind that goes on gooey and then dries to a film to be peeled off. He had several applications worth which needed to be removed. His legs look great now. :>) Maybe next time he will read the label.

Today my 2 yo daughter called to me "Help! I'm stuck in my panties!" Now that is not something you hear everyday! She had put both legs into the same leg hole and pulled them up tight. She couldn't move her legs or get them pulled back down. It was a funny sight!

Paperwork and Red Tape

My husband and I are in the process of getting licensed to do foster care. Much of my time over the last few weeks has been spent filling out forms and jumping through hoops for that. So far we've completed our first aid/cpr training and 2 out of 3 of the required parenting classes along with filling out a mountain of forms.

Today I ordered the water test kits that we need. All foster families with well water are required to do water testing. I was told that in the past foster parents didn't have to do the testing if they promised to buy bottled water for the foster children. That is no longer an allowed loophole. So we will send our water off to the state lab. I hope the results are good. I know several people in the area who had to do well treatments after the initial test and then submit a retest. Hopefully we can avoid that extra hassle.

I also need to set up medical appointments for me and my husband, order a copy of his birth certificate, and get updated rabies shots for our cats. We want to be ready to do our homestudy visits by the end of September so I need to try to tie up all these loose ends.

We are looking forward to being able to help children in the system and their birth families.

I'm blogging!

I enjoy reading the blogs of my friends so it seemed it was time to start my own. I intend for this to be a sort of journal of our days as well as a way for family and friends to keep up with our family. :)