Book Review: North! Or Be Eaten!

If you love to read adventure stories, you and your kids will love this one. North! Or Be Eaten! is the second book in the Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson.

The series is about three children names Tink, Janner, Leeli Igiby who live in a time where evil reigns, and hope seems all but lost. After many adventures in the first book, On The Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, their story continues as they discover more about their past and their true purpose for their lost country, Anneira. And if you were looking for edge of your seat excitement again, this book delivers! With the Fangs of Dang hot on their heals, the Igibys must make it north to safety. But will it be the haven they were looking for?

These books are wonderful family books, written by a christian man who is a father of three. While the world tells kids they can make it on their own, Andrew Peterson creates flawed heroes who must depend on their parents and grandparents to learn wisdom through trials. You cheer with them through their victories and wince through their mistakes. It is truly refreshing to read books for kids that demonstrate just how important it is to listen to parents, even when their way doesn't seem to make much sense. I highly recommend these book!

Author Bio:
Andrew Peterson is the author of On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, Book one in the Wingfeather Saga, and The Ballad of Matthew's Begats. He's also the critically-acclaimed singer-songwriter and recording artist of ten albums, including Resurrection Letters II. He and his wife, Jamie, live with their two sons and one daughter in a little house they call The Warren near Nashville, TN. Visit his websites: andrew-peterson.com and rabbitroom.com.

As promised..

Only a few, but c'mon people. My manny..uh, I mean Husband went back to work. I can't be snapping pictures all day!

Expect pictures soon...

This is a total tease, but I figured out that I could upload pictures directly to Picasa. I have a new (to me) computer and I didn't want to install the Kodak software for my camera. Once I realized I could just forgo the software altogether, I started taking pictures again since I now have somewhere to put them. Here is a taste of what's to come:

Cool Beans!

Most of you know that I have been highly interested in the whole Elimination Communication thing this time around. I have read a lot about it, and had planned on trying it at some point when things calmed down around here. So it was just lurking the back of my mind. This morning, Bethany sent me an email with a link to someone's blog who was talking about that very subject. It wasn't anything I didn't already know, but it got me thinking about the whole process again.

Then, while I was nursing Daphne earlier, she started fussing and fidgeting. I was pretty sure I knew what was about to happen and after pondering it for a moment, I decided to put her on the potty just to see what she would do. After about 30 seconds, she pooped!! And then she gave me the biggest grin as if to say "Good job, Mommy! You figured it out!" I was ecstatic! I had to get Emma lunch, so I put Daphne down for a moment before we continued nursing. She started fidgeting again, so I figured why not? I put her on the potty again, and lo and behold she peed!! And again, I got the biggest grin!

I have read stories like this time and time again from a hundred different people, but honestly a little part of me was still thinking "yeah, right." It is just so opposite of what we are taught to think! But she really was pleased that she didn't do it on herself, and I could tell she understood that's what the potty was for. So nifty!! Anyway, I will continue to update on how it goes. I know it won't always be this rosy, but I don't really care. Just catching it once or twice a day is pretty cool to me!

A Litte Update

Daphne is doing great and looking cuter (though nothing like her sister) every day!

Her newsworthy accomplishments so far:

Her umbilical cord stump fell off three days ago, and she officially did not enjoy her first bath.

She smiled at me for real yesterday! She was wide awake, there was no gas involved, and she gave me the biggest grin ever. I was so excited!!

She also went on a shopping excursion with her momma and Aunt Sarah on Saturday, and man did she hate it! She was so traumatized that by the time we got her home, she was pale and just staring. She didn't even really want to eat, she just wanted me to hold her. We felt so bad! And it's funny, because going out has NEVER phased Emma. They just could not be more different! I already had the feeling she was dead opposite from her sister just from how different the pregnancies were, and my suspicions have been confirmed with every passing day. They will be good for each other, though. If they don't kill each other...

Sorry no pics to post. My camera is retarded. I will seek to rectify the situation soon!

Daphne's Birth Story (Guys, you really probably want to skip this!)

Many of you know I was having prodromal labor much of the week before I finally went into labor with Daphne. This was agonizing, because it kept me up all night in tons of pain, but then they would just stop in the morning. I was not sleeping, and I felt like a ticking time bomb! So after being up all night on Sunday, I was so frustrated. I spent all day Monday in a complete fog, and I was cramping all day long so I just felt gross. We decided to go out for ice cream with our neighbors to take my mind off things that evening, and while we were there I kept noticing what I thought was Daphne stretching out as hard as she could every so often. We went home, and as the evening went on I realized that the stretching feeling was happening a lot. I realized at that point I was most likely in early real labor, but again, I was super wary. I had thought that before! We sat down to watch a Marley and Me, and went to bed around midnight, but I just couldn't settle.

Finally around 3am, I heard a snap and felt a pop. I LEAPT from the sofa, but there was no gush, so I thought maybe I had imagined it. Then the next contraction hit and that was unbelievably painful! I sat on the PT ball and started to time them, and they were consistently coming less than 2 minutes apart and were lasting around a minute. Then, while I was moving through a contraction on the ball, the gush happened! I bolted across the house to our room where I greeted my sleeping hubby with "Contractions are less than two minutes apart and my water has broken. We need to leave NOW!" That got him moving rather quickly, and he called my mom to come take care of Emma. We knew that we didn't have time to wait for her to get there, so we also called my neighbors to come over until my mom got here. Then we left and drove as fast as we dared to Northside (which is super easy to get to at 4 in the morning!)

As soon as we got out of the car my contractions started coming on top of each other and I could barely walk a few feet without having another one. We got into a room almost immediately, and my first words to the nurse were "Epidural, now!!" I was in agony, and I was terrified we were going to be too late to get one. After a week of no rest whatsoever, I was just not equipped to handle the labor. They were fairly quick to get me the epidural, and when they checked me I was 4 cm. It was not quite 5 at this point. So I settled in so excited to be able to get some sleep! But unfortunately, I spent the next two hours up and extremely nauseous. I knew my blood sugar had dropped precipitously, but you can't eat with an epidural. I had barely eaten on Monday because I felt so gross, so it was just a bad situation. To top it off, I could really really feel pressure with each passing contraction. After 2 or 3 hours, I mentioned to a nurse that I thought they ought to check me. She smiled and said sure and then left and didn't come back. So I tried again with the next nurse, who humored me by checking. And lo and behold, I was 9.5 cm. By this time, they had given me something for the nausea, but heartburn had kicked in so badly that I was on the verge of throwing up stomach acid. I stayed like that for the next hour or so until the midwife realized how miserable I was and said we should try to push. After 20-25 minutes, out came this dark skinned, nearly black haired little baby, and the heartburn ended immediately!!

So there is it in a nutshell. From 32 hours with Emma to less than 7 with Daphne, I would say I would do it again! I did tear, and it was exactly where the episiotomy had been with Emma. A funny side note: I asked the midwife to please not do an episiotomy unless it was absolutely necessary, and she looked at me and said "This is your second baby, and you have no business getting an episitomy with a second baby. What do I look like, a doctor?" I could not stop laughing, and I was so pleased to have her because I felt like she did a fantastic job. She tried super super hard to keep me from tearing, but Daphne was turned exactly like Emma had been, and her right ear was what presented first! My midwife tried to turn her as much as she could, but it was a losing battle. Her position is also what took her so long to get out!

Recovery this time has been a breeze, and I feel fantastic. I feel so good that I have to remind myself to take it easy, which is hard when you see all the things that were neglected when you were pregnant! But we have been getting lots of excellent help, and things are going great. So there it is! If I left anything out, feel free to ask me.

Earth Mama Angel Baby

I have absolutely fallen in love with the company Earth Mama Angel Baby! I did not discover them until Emma was over a year old, but I kept them in mind for this pregnancy, and have loved every product I have tried. So far, I have been using their Natural Labor Companion cd to prepare for my (hopefully normal) delivery. I have also used their Heartburn Tea, which tastes great and really helps the heartburn. And though I have not had a chance to try this yet, I am really looking forward to using their Natural Nipple Butter. They have a lot of great products that are all natural and the prices are honestly not that bad for what the products are. I will report back on some of the postpartum things they have in a few weeks!

Because Curtis is harrassing me...

I suppose it's time for some semblance of an update on this thing before I lose everyone again! I am 35 weeks pregnant now (as my handy little ticker says...) and ready to see this precious girl. This pregnancy has been a lot easier to handle in many ways than Emma's, but I really think it's helped tremendously that I have continued to work out. The worst part about my pregnancy with Emma was all the awful aches and pains that made me feel like I was falling apart! Oh, and I got HUGE. With this one, it's not been anywhere near as bad. When I am asked how far along I am, everyone is always shocked that I am due so soon. This is a nice change of pace from "Wow, you look like you're ready to pop!" or "Are you SURE it isn't twins?" and you're only 30 weeks along. I know part of it is how I am carrying her, but I think I have also just not gained the same weight. So I highly recommend working out. And honestly, I am not THAT consistent with it. I usually work out fairly lightly 3-4 times a week (when I remember) and I still feel I have reaped huge benefits. I did receive one potentially big blow this week at my doctor's appointment. At my 20 week ultrasound, my placenta was less than 1cm from the Os, which is technically called low-lying. It's no big deal at all at 20 weeks because it almost always moves away throughout the next 10 weeks. We decided to do a follow up ultrasound at 32 weeks as a total no big deal but let's just check anyway kind of thing, but the technician could not get a shot that proved it has moved far enough away. She ended up labeling it low-lying again, which miffed my midwife a bit because at 32 weeks we need to be talking in centimeters, not vague "low lying" terms. Basically, if it's 2-3cm away, then it shouldn't be any sort of problem, but if it hasn't moved then we are almost certainly headed for a C-section. I have been desperately trying to schedule another ultrasound and have so far been unsuccessful. With Kaiser, if it's labeled expedited, they make you wait 72 hours and then they are supposed to call you and tell you when you can come in. I waited 72 hours with no call so far and it's the weekend now, which means there won't be a call until Monday at the earliest. And it's funny, because scheduling my ultrasound at 32 weeks took no time, and they saw me within 5 days. Apparently the closer you get to your due date, the more they think they should drag these things out!! So there we are. That's basically the status of things!

Brian is closing in on the CRAZY part of his semester with papers due and exams to study for and crazy mock trial stuff to prepare for. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel though! This is his last Spring semester, and since he took a full time load, he has very little to do this summer and fall. We are almost done!!!!!! Now to find a job...

Emma is great and getting huge as always. We moved her to a twin bed a few weeks ago so we could have the crib mattress back for her little sister and she has done beautifully. It's fun to watch her grow and see where her interests are. She LOVES puzzles, and we're talking the big ones with lots of pieces and complicated pictures. She also does them from the inside out, which I have never seen anyone do. She is practicing very hard to be the best bossy big sister she can be. She already tells me that I am driving the wrong way to get to where we're going (which I am not, thankyouverymuch) and yells at Leo if he so much as looks at her toys. Should be interesting when her little sister doesn't just yield to her will! (You will know when this happens because most likely it will cause an explosion that can be seen from space.) But she is precious when she isn't being bossy, and most every night now she gives me one of her bear friends to sleep with. She loves to snuggle with me on the couch or her bed, and begs me to sleep with her every night. She is so empathetic, and if I so much as pretend to whimper she immediately asks "What's wrong mama? What's wrong? It's okay mama..it's okay!" I am kind of nervous to see how she handles seeing me in a hospital after Daphne is born. Recovery will be harder for sure this time simply because I will have to be very careful about letting Emma see me in pain! I am not too worried about it all, but it's enough to make me wonder. We shall see in a few weeks!

Life

Things are already moving right along this year! Brian has two weeks done in this Spring semester, and I don't have to tell you that every single day I say "this is the last January 10th(or whatever the day) you will ever be in law school!" Can you tell that I am pleased we are almost done?

Emma is growing like a weed and is a full blown toddler. We are almost entirely potty trained now, save a few accidents here and there. She has an incredible grasp on language and continually amazes me with the things she understands. Several weeks ago she was getting into trouble for calling me Amy. One day I turned to her and asked her "Emma, are you a munchkin?" Her response was a very quick "No. I mommy to you!" I almost fell out of my chair laughing. She is incredibly sassy, and definitely gives me a run for my money most days, but she is an incredible joy to have around. She is always trying to find ways to help me do whatever I am doing, and I love seeing her take interest in mommy things. She has 3 baby dolls, and when they are all together they are the mommy baby, daddy baby, and baby. She treats them like they are real all the time, and it very offended if you don't do the same! She is such a little mom, and I very excited to see her take on her new role as big sister. So is she! Every morning when I get her up she insists I let her give the baby a hug and a kiss. She then tells her good morning and asks how she slept! And every night it's the same, though she is saying goodnight instead of asking how her sleep was. She is precious and all energy. I am extremely thankful that she still takes a 2 hour nap in the afternoons, because man do I need it too!

Brian is almost done with law school, as I mentioned, and it set to be done this December. He is going full time this semester so that his course load in the summer and fall should be almost nonexistent. His hope is to find a full time job in the legal field, so that taking fewer classes will free up his time to do that. He is heading in the direction of Estate Planning. He will be working with wills and trusts and bankruptcy. Generally the finance side of law. All but one of his classes right now has to do with his chosen path, so he is loving to do all the reading. It's so nice when you're not being forced to do work that has no bearing whatsoever on where you will end up!

I am 24 weeks pregnant today, and already feel like I am in my 3rd trimester! This pregnancy has been so different from Emma's, and it's been funny to get a feel for the differences in this child. I am very excited to see how their little personalities will mesh once she's here and old enough to interact. Other than being pregnant, not much is up with me. I am slowly preparing myself mentally for labor again, and the thought of having two kids to juggle (those of you with 3 or more may laugh here!) I am also trying to work out on a regular basis, but the cold weather is getting me down right now!

So that's life for us right now. I will get pictures uploaded one of these days. I know I am a total slacker but I am working on it!

Yummy Chocolate Sauce

I got this recipe from Real Simple, and it is stupid good on ice cream!

1/4 cup Sugar
3 Tbsp cocoa powder (I used dark chocolate cocoa and it was YUM!)
1/4 cup water

Combine sugar and cocoa in saucepan. Gradually whisk in the water and turn the heat to medium. Boil, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes. Allow to cool a little, then drizzle over ice cream.

Pregnancy Workout Video

I have been using Erin O'Brien's Prenatal Fitness Fix dvd to work out off and on throughout the pregnancy, and I have been very impressed with it. It's a good mix of cardio and stretching and I feel like it's very well-rounded. I used it a lot when I first got pregnant, and now that I am getting back into exercising I have been walking for 20 minutes, doing the 10 minute warm-up, and then skipping straight to the cool down. It's been really nice to have the option of doing it that way, or simply doing the whole dvd at one time. I like yoga and pilates, but I have found most pregnancy yoga dvds to be a little too hokey for my taste, and most pilates to be much harder than I can handle! So this is a nice marriage of the two. A tough workout, but not one that leaves me wondering how I will ever walk again! You can find it on Amazon. She also has postnatal dvd which I intend to check out when I am done. I will let you know what I think, but it's got great reviews on Amazon.

Fun Podcasts

I was given an iPod Nano for Christmas (yay!!) and I have been listening to podcasts like crazy. They are really fun, super easy to download, and even better...free! You also don't have to have an mp3 player to listen to them, so just download iTunes for free and you can listen to the podcasts on your computer (and soon any mp3 player, not just Apple ones.) I am also noticing that you can download them straight from the website in most cases. Here are some of my favorites.

- Pregtastic - Each podcast is about an hour long. They talk about EVERYTHING pregnancy and postpartum related. It's been like having a bunch more pregnant friends to listen to and get ideas from. It's also been a great reminder to do things I forget about! The link I put up is to their blog which tells you what was talked about in every episode. Give it a look. I have really liked it!

- Pea in the Podcast - These are a good deal shorter, and are done mostly by week. There are a few specialized topics like pregnancy nutrition or labor preparation, but for the most part it's centered on week to week updates. It's fun to listen to, and though I like Pregtastic the best, this one is fun for a quick snippet.

- Mommy's milk and more - About what it seems like it'd be about. Mostly breastfeeding. I haven't listened to this one too much, so I will get back to you in a few months to let you know if it was super helpful for me!

- Potty Mouths - This podcast is devoted exclusively to elimination communication, or infant potty training. I have also not started this one yet, so I will get back with you on how helpful it is!

There are so many fun things out there to listen to. If you don't already, you should check them out!

Caramalized Garlic Chicken

I have made this recipe twice now and it's super yummy (just don't overcook the chicken!) It's even a big hit with Emma. I serve it with mashed potatoes and a veggie of some sort.

3 tsp olive oil
6 pressed cloves garlic
6 tsp brown sugar
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

- Heat oven 500 degrees. Line shallow roasting pan with foil and lightly grease with some olive oil.
- Heat 3 tsp oil in skillet until hot. Add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes (don't let it burn..err on the side of caution.) Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar.
- Place chicken on prepared roasting pan and spread garlic mix evenly over the pieces.
- Bake 10-15 minutes or until fork tender.

Sorry bout that...

I was thumbing through my old blog posts and I realized this used to be a lot more interesting to read (although it wouldn't take much to be more interesting than what it is now!) I am sorry! So Now I will try to rectify that by posting interesting stuff! Stay tuned...

A Little Different This Time

This pregnancy is chugging right along, and I am now 5 months (and officially over halfway!) I really struggled before Emma was born about the concept of elimination communication (infant potty training,) and ultimately decided I wasn't ready to do it with her. But having gone through 2.5 years of diapers and some really really really FUN potty training, I am ready to bite the bullet and try it. I am doing lots of research on how to do it, and Brian is super supportive. I think it would have worked with Emma, and when I think at how much money we've spent on diapers I physically wince. That was $2000 we really really could have used these past few years! But now that I am more confident as a parent, I think I am ready to take it on. In addition to the infant potty training, I will also be using cloth diapers this time. I think we will use the cloth diapers for the first few months and then switch to the potty training. I am so thankful to have so many friends who have gone the cloth diaper route that I can ask for help! I am genuinely excited about trying these things out. Probably a little more excited than I should be! So any advice anyone wants to throw at me on either subject would be more than welcome. I am very new to both ideas!

Yay!

I am sure you have all given up on me, but this is worth noting! Emma seems to be potty trained for the day time!

She has several times off and on throughout the past month used the potty, but never consistently. We'd give her a sticker or something like that and make a really big deal out of it, but she really wasn't getting into it. Then yesterday afternoon out of nowhere she tells us she has to go potty. So we tell her to go ahead, thinking she was just pretending, and lo and behold she'd actually used it. We gave her stickers AND marshmallows and it was the marshmallows that have henceforth changed our lives. She wore big girl underwear the rest of the day and used the potty consistently with no accidents all in the name of marshmallows. And now that we know that she is fully capable, guess where the diapers are going? BYE BYE. She will still wear one at night, though I am open to suggestions on that one. But hey, that is a negligible amount compared to what we are paying now!! YAY!!!!!!

Yep. We are indeed.

Pregnant, that is. I am 7 weeks, as you can see by my ticker, and am headed to the first doctor visit on Friday to make sure it's a child and not an alien! We are very excited and once Emma figures out what it means, I am certain she'll be thrilled! The Lord has been gracious to us, and this was an answer to prayer. I have indeed been very sick this time, which came as a surprise since I was not sick at all with Emma. The upshot is that I haven't gained 10 pounds already like I did with Emma! =) Keep us in your prayers. We look forward to meeting this little one!

my sister is the coolest person in the whole wide world

seriously, she's great. there is no one as totally cool as she is. if i was half as good of a sister as she is, i would post more pictures of my child, her niece, so that she could see them all the time.

For what it's worth

I suppose one reason I have absented myself so much from the habit of blogging is because I am trying to keep my head down and run through all the craziness that's going on. I realize that that isn't helpful or really all that healthy, nonetheless I think it's what I have been doing. So I am here and now going to try to start doing this more faithfully again. I will be sad about all the lost memories from the last year, so I am going to start over and try again. Maybe, just maybe I will be consistent with it!

Brian is well into the swing of his second to last fall semester in law school, which we are thrilled about! His schedule is tough, but it's better because the courses he's taking he now gets to choose, so he's basically done with his core stuff. He is still working at Geneva teaching two classes, and he works the rest of the time at a real estate closing firm called Vine Law Group. He loves his job, and we are praying he will be able to transition into working there as a lawyer as soon as he passes the bar. He is set to be done with law school in December of next year, and he will hopefully take the Bar Exam in March. Then we will have to wait three or four agonizing months to know if he passed or not!

Emma is unbelievably grown up. She is wearing 3t pants, and talks in complete sentences. Her constant question is "What's that?" and she is constantly moving. She is quite the social butterfly, and everywhere we go she strikes up a conversation with everyone. She loves the playground, and she LOVES babies! If she sees one, she will stop what she's doing immediately and go look at it. She is always talking about baby Kyle and baby Elliot, and loves every opportunity to hold and see real babies. She got a puzzle a few days ago, and is getting very good at figuring it out. She also no longer uses a high chair but sits with us at the dinner table. While this is messy for the walls, she adores it! She is a great little helper, and is super sweet and loving. Her hair is really long now, and I guess at some point I should get it trimmed again, but I cannot bear to cut the curls. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

I am doing well. I am finally finding ways to manage the stress of all the craziness, and am finally more content with how things are going. Since we are heading into fall I am getting very excited about cooler weather. I am having to fight the urge to bake all sorts of yummy and fattening things just because it's fall. I will be baking a few things soon, but I am trying to wait until I have somewhere to take them! I am going to a playgroup with Emma that I absolutely love, and it's been wonderful to make some new friends. It gives me lots to look forward to!

So now I will leave you with some pictures that span from about three or four months back to today. I am overdue!

Emma Funnies

Yes. It's been a while. And now for your enjoyment, a list of super cute things Emma has been saying or doing:

- If you ask Emma if she wants to do something, she will jump up and down and respond "Dokey Okey!!"

- My mom was at the pool with Emma, and she sat down in the water to cool off. Emma came over with a concerned look and said "You okay, Nonny? You okay?"

- If Emma wants something, she will come right up to you and very seriously say "Mommy, crackers please, okay?"

- Mom, Emma, and I were eating lunch the other day and I had some fries. Emma leans over to look at my plate and says "Mommy fries. Mommy bad!" I could not stop laughing. Apparently she has heard me berate myself for eating fries before, and now she has become my conscience!

She loves to "draw markers" and listen to Adventures in Odyssey. She calls pillows Pie-ohs, and she loves it when we sing to her. She is unbelievably precious, and all toddler. She wears us out! I am sure I will think of more, but be happy with this for now. I will really try to post more!