Spring?!

It started snowing yesterday morning, and they were issuing a "winter storm warning". Well, it turned into a blizzard, and this is what we woke up to this morning!! Schools are cancelled, highways are closed, and we aren't going ANYWHERE today! It is supposed to be Spring........isn't it?!

New name and New look :)

You have probably noticed that I have changed my blog name, and changed the look a bit ;)

I was going to write a post about the way people I know are questioning my decision to homeschool, and how one of the only "cons" I can come up with is the fact that I don't like feeling "different".

But then I realized, we ARE different.

• I had my first baby as a single mother at the age of 19 - Not exactly typical.
• Almost 5 years later, Gairod and I had triplets - Again, NOT typical!
• We then decided to have another baby, which would bring us up to 5 kids - Not typical.
• And we have decided that I am going to homeschool the kids next year - Not typical.

So, as you can see, we are NOT a typical family.

To be honest, I quite often forget that we aren't typical, and it sometimes bugs me when people stop us, and ask us a million questions, like we are a freak show or something!

But I have come to realize that we ARE different, and we are happy and proud to be who we are! :)

Hoarders.

Have you ever seen the show "Hoarders"? It's like watching a bad car accident - sickening to watch, yet you can't seem to look away!

That show disgusts me. I don't understand how people can live that way! BUT in some ways, I CAN empathise with them. Sometimes, when you don't know what to do, it seems easier to do nothing.

I feel like I have SO much to go through, organize, and de-clutter. I don't even know where to start. Part of the problem is that I don't have a few straight, solid hours, to devote to ANYTHING. I can do 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there. I am constantly being interrupted by someone who needs some water or a snack, someone else who is fighting with someone, a baby who needs to be fed, etc. Let's face it - I'm lucky if I can manage to sneak into the bathroom to go pee without being interrupted! lol!

So I am trying to figure out how/when I can get some more de-cluttering done! I would like to try to devote an hour each evening to it, but I am just SO exhausted by the end of the day, that I don't know if I can do it!

My goal is to get TONS of stuff cleared out of the house. I want everything stream-lined and simplified. Less stuff = Less mess = Less stress!

If anyone has any suggestions of how I can find more time to de-clutter, I would love to hear them! :)

Hair.

Sage has the most interesting hair out of all the kids! lol!

She was born with a thick head of DARK hair - darker than any of our other kids! Then it all started to fall out when she was a few months old! It finally stopped falling out (when she was almost bald!), and quickly started to grow back in. BUT the hair that is growing back in, is WAY lighter than the hair she was born with!!

I am excited to see what color it actually is, when it fills in a bit more. I think it will be a lighter brown, but depending on the light, it almost looks a bit strawberry-blond! ♥

Then

Now

Moving on.....

I have decided to stop driving myself crazy trying to diagnose Sage. I am just going to keep her away from milk products for now, and keep trying to introduce new foods to her. She tried sweet potatoes a couple days ago, and seems to LOVE them! Yay!

I have enough stress in my life without adding in a bunch of "what if's". So I am just going to take things as they come, and not stress or worry about what might or might not be.

RAST results.

I haven't blogged about Sage's RAST results yet, because I am frustrated, and a bit concerned.

Sage's RAST test for milk came back negative. That can mean one of many things. It could be a false negative, which I have been told is common with babies. It could mean that she doesn't have a milk protein allergy, but could be lactose intolerant.

The thing that is concerning me, is that she could have FPIES. Instead of trying to explain what FPIES is, you can read about it here. Sage's "episodes" of vomiting, seem to be classic FPIES symptoms. BUT, like I said, it could also be any number of other things.

So basically, I am driving myself crazy trying to figure this out. I hate the not knowing. If I know what exacting is wrong, I can learn how to deal with it. When I don't know, I feel like I am driving in a foreign country without a map.

I am thinking that maybe I should push my doctor for a referral to an allergist. I don't know........

Time for some weight loss!!

***WARNING*** If you are tired of hearing me talk about how much I need to lose weight, and then doing nothing about it, you might want to skip this post! ;)

Okay, I SERIOUSLY need to lose some weight! I am at my highest non-pregnant weight ever, and I hate it. Starting today, I have GOT to start eating healthy. I would like to lose 30lbs in the next 4 months. That takes me to the end of August, when I would like to start trying to conceive. If I can lose 30lbs by then, I will be at the start weight I was for my pregnancy with Sage. I still need to lose more than that, but this is my goal for now.

Progress :)

I am finally making some progress on feeding Sage solids! I decided to give up on cereal for now, and try her on some fruits and veggies. She has now had squash and pears. For the first few days it was still a struggle to get her to eat them, she would eat a couple of bites, and then clam up, not wanting anymore. Finally yesterday she started to get a bit better, and today she did really well! :)

On Monday I get to find out the results of her RAST test.

Breakthrough!!!!

So, as you all know, I want one more baby. Gairod has not agreed yet, so I literally talk about it EVERY day, SEVERAL times a day, to keep him thinking about it, and make him realize that I am serious.

A buddy of Gairod's is bear hunting this Spring. Gairod started talking about going with him several months ago. I said that is fine, but if you go bear hunting, we are having another baby!

Today, Gairod's buddy called, and said that they are going up to the property this weekend, and wanted to know if Gairod wanted to go with them. So Gairod asked me, and I said "sure - but you know our deal, if you go, we are having another baby!" He thought about it for a minute, and then said, "If we have another baby, we'll need to get a bigger boat, ours only fits 7" I said "our boat will be fine for now" He said "I'll have to leave you home and just take all the kids fishing then." I said "HAHA! No problem!! I would LOVE to stay home by myself while you take all the kids fishing!" lol! Then he thought for another minute and said "If we try for another baby, we aren't going on any fertility drugs!" I said "that is fine, we will just try naturally." I also told him that I don't want to try right now, (not that it's even possible right now!) but I want to start trying in August, so that Sage will hopefully be around 2 when the new baby is born.

We kind of left it at that. He said we will talk about it more in August, (but you know I will keep talking about it every day! lol!) and I said he can't just say that, and then get to August and say "no".

So to me, this is a MAJOR breakthrough, since up until now, he has just been saying "no", and now he is at least willing to talk about it!!! That makes me SO happy! :)

Jade's New Hair!

Jade got her hair cut tonight! Of course, I didn't think to take a "before" picture, so this one from Easter morning will have to do! lol! She has been begging for shorter hair and bangs for a while now, so I finally gave in and let her get it done. It's only hair, right?!

Before

After