Goodbye Wildblue, Hello Verizon DSL

Tweet

It has taken two months to get our Verizon DSL hooked up and I am so much more happier now! This DSL is lightening fast compared to the Wildblue satellite service we had. Because this is a new development I kept getting the run around from Charter Cable and Verizon about us not having service in our area, when all the neighbors around us have Verizon for DSL. Mike was finally able to flag down a Verizon worker to release the peg (the little green thing in the front of the yard) so we could get service started. Yes, we have to pay a fee to disconnect early but every penny will be worth it. No more waiting for pages to load, or pages not loading because the file is too big, etc, blah, blah, blah!

Invaded by a frog

Tweet

The Mommy frog has breached the perimeter of the house and it is in the garage, YUCK. Maybe it will eat the cricket that found it's way inside too. Hopefully Mike will be able to catch it because I know it will scare me speechless.

Ice cold lemonade & brownies for sale $.25

Tweet

brownie prep:










sign making:



open for business:



satisfied customers:







profit:



quality time = PRICELESS

Wordless Wednesday ~ getting ready for McKenzie

Tweet

Waiting game...

Tweet

Have you ever seen a pregnant woman power walking/sprinting? Not a pretty sight. That was me this morning. Montana and I arrived at the hospital at 830am, at 852am we finally found a parking spot, a country mile away from the elevators. Scroll down and look at the picture of me that I posted yesterday, now picture me holding a 2 year old, a mini backpack, and a purse and power walking as fast as my feet would propel me towards the elevators. Not a pretty sight. Did I mention that my appointment was at 9am and you are supposed to check in 15 minutes beforehand. Not the way I wanted to start off the day.

Nonetheless we made it and I checked Montana into her classroom at 858am and power walked towards the main hospital doors to my elevator. By the time I reached the elevators my watch had already beeped for the 9 o'clock hour. I checked in at 903am and maybe I had this look on my face but the receptionist did not cancel my appointment, even though there is a big sign in bold letters saying that if you are late your appointment would have to be rescheduled.

So here's the scoop. The doctor will not do amniocentesis unless I become so big that the pressure from the excess fluid inhibits my normal breathing. He stated that the risk is too great of rupturing my membranes and would rather let my body go as long as it possibly can before exercising that option. The situation is not getting any better however, today my deepest pocket of fluid is measuring at 17, last week it was at 12. He also didn't tell me how big I was measuring until I asked and then he just said your close to full term. McKenzie's heart rate was fine this morning at 125, most likely because of the power walking. He thinks she may just have a low resting heart rate. The obstruction is still there and there was mention of surgery again for her after birth to clear it.

My goal I am shooting for is to go 3 more weeks, the 15 Sept. Sounds like a good day to me, 2 days after Montana's and 2 before Mike's. God may have other plans and I accept that, I just need to do my part to make sure I give her as long as I can inside the womb. My bed rest has been relaxed, but I will still take it easy. We are still going to start school next Monday as planned, and I still am going to take the girls to Chuck E. Cheese for their surprise as well. I will have them work on their All About Me Books for the first day while I am gone. Maybe, I can even get Marie to take pictures for me while I am gone.

Thanks for all of your prayers!!!

I DO NOT heart FROGS

Tweet

I do not like FROGS, at all! We have the same Mommy and baby frog come and sit on our front door step every night. And to top it off the Cousin frog as the girls call it sits on the back porch pad. GROSS! Madison wants Mike to catch it. Not sure what she is going to do with it once they catch it because it is NOT coming in the house. It's bad enough we have a cricket in the garage that plays his not so lovely music at night. As long as they, all kinds of bugs, reptiles, and amphibians stay outside, we are all good.

Menu plan Aug. 22-29

Tweet

This past weekend we went to the Commissary located at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. The Commissary was very small compared to what we have been used to in the past, but it had all of the commodities we needed just squeezed into small compact aisles. They didn't have a deli or a bakery but we can work around that. The girls were looking forward to their cookie treat, however, Mike bought them ice cream. Here's what we are eating this week.

Sun:
b-scrambled eggs, bacon, hm pancakes, cantaloupe
l- lunch meat sandwiches, orange slices, chips
d- hm pizza braid, applesauce, garden salad

Mon:
b- free choice
l- boiled egg, Ritz crackers, yogurt, cheese slices
d- lasagna, garlic bread, tomato/cucumber salad

Tues:
b- waffles, cantaloupe,milk or juice
l- leftover lasagna, wheat bread, peaches
d- beef enchilada's, Spanish rice, green grapes

Wed:
b- oatmeal, toast, milk or juice
l- fruit smoothie, cheese slices, Saltines, watermelon, Italian dry salami
d- tator tot casserole, fruit cocktail, biscuits

Thur:
b- bagels with cream cheese or jelly, orange slices, milk or juice
l- banana muffins, strawberries, cheese sticks
d- baked ziti, garden salad, garlic bread, red grapes

Fri:
b- cereal Friday, banana,milk or juice
l- egg salad sandwich, watermelon, goldfish
d- ffy aka leftovers

*do you have a homemade banana bread/muffin recipe that you can share? It seems that I have misplaced mine in the move*

No!!! I am not having TWINS....

Tweet

I had 2 people ask me this morning at the hospital if I was having twins. Another lady commented on how big my stomach is and that I must be having a BIG baby. Um NO!!!, I just have 3 weeks extra amniotic fluid in my belly!!! This morning I had my first weekly Non-Stress Test (NST). I wasn't sure what to expext but thankfully it didn't take all day as I have heard it could have. I sat in a reclining chair and sipped ice cold water for about 1 1/2 hours, normally the test should take 20-30 minutes. Miss McKenzie was being stubborn and not wanting to stay on the monitor again. Her heart rate is still low between 109-118 beats, I will be bringing that up to the doctor in the morning. Being that low is a concern of Mike and I. One, we are wondering why it is so low, especailly since nothing on any of the ultrasounds shows any kind of defect with her heart and she is very, let me repeat, VERY active. I met two other ladies behind the curtain cubicle I was in (I will take pictures next week, wasn't thinking today), one was having twin boys and a c-section that she was very worried about having. I gave her some veteran advice to walk as soon as she can. The other lady was in a similar boat with me having the polyhydramnios (excess amniotic fluid), only hers was caused by her diabetes, mine diagnosis unknown. She had advice for me not to worry about the extra fluid since it was detected so late in my pregnancy (32 weeks) unlike hers, which was discovered at her 20 week ultrasound. Anywho, I go to see my OB doctor bright and early tomorrow monring.



Montana enjoyed her time today in the child waiting center. She packed her lunch in the Camp Rock Jonas Brother lunch pail, which consisted of garden salad with Ranch dressing (she has switched from Catalina dressing to Ranch, which I am glad because as much as she loves it, it stains her face and fingers) minus the carrots, not allowed at the center, 3 slices of cheese, 3 Ritz crackers, a caramel rice cake, and pink lemonade to drink. She carried it on her shoulder the whole way from the parking garage. Such a big girl. She is so ready to be BIG sister. She is always wanting to know if McKenzie is "ready" yet.

When I got back home everyone loaded up and went to check out the local gymnastics gym since we were not able to go last week. The girls and I were impressed. Montana is excited because they will let her start lessons before she turns 3. Madison & Mikayla will do a test run tryout maybe on Friday. I do have a doctors appointment that day so we may have to wait until next week. The girls are excited to get back into the gym. Tried to convince Marie to tumbling but she declined.

I will try to get my menu posted this evening. I made pizza bread yesterday and it was sooo delicious you have to try it.
That's it for now, chat later.

Bed rest Day 2

Tweet

You get a lot of time to think while laying in bed. Today I am actually laying on the couch downstairs so I can be closer to the girls. It is not as comfortable as the bed but I will take it to be in their presence. So, I was thinking. If my uterus is measuring 35 weeks when Kenzie is 32 weeks, that is 3 weeks difference. I usually go into labor the day I turn 37 weeks, do you think that means my uterus only has 2 more weeks until it thinks that the baby is done??? That scares me because it would mean that Kenzie would only be 34 weeks gestational age!!! That is still in the danger zone for development right? Her lungs would not be fully developed. I am praying that my uterus holds until it measures 39-40 weeks, making Kenzie 36-37 weeks gestational age. My cervix is high and tight as I don't dilate. Contractions are still strong and very noticeable even on my side. I will continue to lay in bed/couch as I want my baby to grow as long as she can inside.

Bed rest Day 1

Tweet

I have been sentenced to bed rest, which in all actuality is not all that bad until you get to 3pm and you have been in bed ALL day. Not actually my idea of fun, but it is for a worthy cause. Tuesday started out with a normal day of going to a routine OB appointment. I was only supposed to be gone 1.5-2 hours tops. I was there 8.5 hours along with my 2 year old Montana, who spent majority of that time in the Child Waiting Daycare that is offered by the hospital.

My uterus is measuring 35 weeks while my Kenzie bug is only 32 weeks gestational age (Yes, the doctors here in VA overruled the WA doctors and changed my due date according to my LMP instead of the nutchal fold measurement from her neck taken at 13 weeks, long story). So, I was ordered to go directly to Labor and Delivery and get a Non Stress Test ASAP as it was discovered that I have excess amniotic fluid (polyhydramnios) and Kenzie heart rate is lower than the doctors would like. My Kenzie bug is a mover, she would not stay still long enough for the nurse to hook her up to the monitoring machine so I had company because the nurse had to stay and manually hold the monitoring node on my belly to get her heartbeat to register. I had another ultrasound on the pushcart machine where it was discovered there was an extra bubble in her belly.
I was sent off to fetal imagining to a high definition ultrasound to try to discover what the extra bubble was. Preliminary diagnosis is that Kenzie has a gastrointestinal blockage in her intestines inhibiting her to normally digest the amniotic fluid and pee it out. I go back on Tuesday to meet with the High Risk OB doctor and Neonatal doctors to find out what the plan of action is. It was mentioned that they may have to remove some of the amniotic fluid through Amniocentesis in order to prolong my pregnancy.
If you could add us to your prayer list it would be greatly appreciated. I will keep the blog updated with what is going on. Thanks!
Jacquelin

Wordless Wednesday

Tweet

Montana hearts Sebastian

Tweet

Montana is crazy in love with her cousin dog, Sebastian. She dreams of him and talks about him ALL-THE-TIME. She even points out clouds in the sky that look like him chasing his bone :-) She was a bit afraid of him when they first met in June, but now they are the best of pals. Sebastian will take something of hers and make her chase him in circles, he even slows down so that she can catch him sometimes. Too cute!!!

Thanks Grandma!!!

Tweet

Thanks Grandma for making the beautiful quilt for Mikayla, she loves it and the stickers too! She was so excited when the package came for her and she ripped it open like it was Christmas.

3D Ultrasound

Tweet

My little Kenzie bug is growing and getting bigger each day. This is the first time we have ever had a 3/4D ultrasound and it was amazing to see her in the womb. The first thing I noticed was the hair, yep, a head full just like her sisters. And those chubby cheeks just waiting to be squeezed. Montana had a blast seeing her sister, she is excited and ready to be a big sister. She keep putting the bag of baby clothes I need to go through closer and closer to the laundry. I should probably listen to her instinct just in case and start to get ready.
We did find the missing infant carseat that was misplaced during the move. It was labeled as not packed in a box as a piece of furniture like one of our other car seats, but low and behold, and to my great relief, it was tucked away safely in a box. It's in the house now, just going to take the cover off and wash it so it is nice and fresh. And did you know they make Dreft in HE, score!!!

We can't wait to meet her, especially me, my body is starting to get restless and achy, but I will hang in as long as I can. No nesting yet, but I feel it coming on. There are things to get in order before her arrival, but we will be ready for the day she makes her arrival.

Wordless Wednesday

Tweet

So long, farewell...

Tweet

It's been a pleasure Mr. Trees. I really did enjoy the shade that you made on the backyard. But,(and there is always a but), you were pine trees, and pine trees and gutters just don't mix. I awoke this morning to my husband happily announcing at 730am that our trees would come down today. WHAT!?! I am not ready yet...I thought we were just getting quotes. Nope! Tree service guys came at 11am sharp and started the cutting process, scarring me half to death I might add since some of the trees were rather close to the house. The girls and I watched from the sun room windows as one by one they fell and were hauled away. Thanks again for the shade Mr. Trees, if only you were not pine trees we could of had a life long relationship (well at least as long as we lived in this house).

I pressed the button

Tweet

I pressed the button today,after double and triple checking our order. What an exhilarating experience! Our goodies from Sonlight should be on there way buy the end of this week and we will be having our Box Day sometime next week. I am beyond exciting, it this normal? :-)

Big Curriculum-Clean Out

Tweet

Maureen at Spell Out Loud is participating in the Big Curriculum-Clean Out(BCCO)and she is giving away Spell Quizzer this week. Check out her blog to enter and have a chance at winning, that is of course if I don't win myself. Don't worry though I like to share :-)

Homeschool Creations-Preschool Pack Giveaway

Tweet

Jolanthe from Homeschool Creations is giving away a Preschool Pack that your Preschooler might love, I know Montana is very excited to start schooling. This particular giveaway closes on the 15 Aug. @ 5pm. Check out her blog and all the other great giveaways posted.

Our 2009-2010 Curriculum

Tweet

The Not-Back-To-School Blog Hop hosted by Darcy starts this week and I finally have the girl's curriculum choices down. This will be our first year homeschooling with our girl's coming out of private schooling. We just moved from WA State to the Hampton Roads area in Virginia and upon researching schools in our particular neighborhood/city I was not at all impressed. Private school is out of the question too since we are keeping our house in WA and going down to just Mike's income with me not providing childcare anymore.
This being our first year I was a bit overwhelmed with all the curriculum choices. At first we were going to choose Abeka DVD but God kept sending me back to Sonlight's program. In the end, through much prayer, we are going with Sonlight's. The girls and I love to read so it is going to be a great fit. We are going to be starting school on the 31 August, giving us at least 2 weeks to get settled in and hopefully get the kinks out before Miss McKenzie decides to make her grand entrance. I procrastinated in placing our order last week with my husband arriving back home from deployment and all, so I will be ordering on Wednesday morning so we can have our Box Day next week when we get back in town.

Here's what we will be learning:


Montana (P3):
Sonlight Core P3/4
Letter recognition & sounds, Alphabet book
Number recognition & counting
Color recognition
Writing name- 2nd half of year
Rosetta Stone Latin American Spanish 1
Awana Cubbies book 1
Renaissance School of the Arts Co-op- Preschool Activities
Playing and having fun!!!!

Mikayla and Madison will be doing Core 1 together and then will have their individual subjects for Language Arts, Handwriting, and Math. Here's what they will be learning together:

History & Geography- Sonlight Core 1 Introduction to World History, Part 1
Bible 1- Scripture memorization from Mark, Genesis, Exodus, Philippians, Psalms and Proverbs
Science- Basic introductory studies in such fields as meteorology, biology, electricity, soil science, astronomy, physiology, and hydrology with 30 experiments throughout the year, Science FAIR (November)
Foreign Language- Rosetta Stone Latin American Spanish 1
Art- Exploring Landscapes with Children, World of Play
Music- Bernstein Favorites: Children's Classics
PE- Gymnastics (team), Co-op PE

Mikayla (1st):
Language Arts- Readers 1, Explode the code 1,2,& 3
Math- Saxon Math 1
Handwriting- A Reason for Handwriting, book A
AWANA- Sparkies book 2
Renaissance School of the Arts Co-op- Early Elementary Music

Madison (3rd):
Language Arts- Readers 2 Intermediate, MCP Plaid Phonics level C, Wordly Wise 3000 book 3
Math- Saxon Math 3
Handwriting- A Reason for Handwriting, book C (cursive)
AWANA- Truth in Training (TNT), book 1
Renaissance School of the Arts Co-op- Drawing, Building, & Creating

Marie (7th):
History & Geography- Sonlight Core 6- Intro to World History, Part 1 with Susan Wise Bauer's Story of the World
Bible- Scripture memorization from 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Jonah, the narrative portions of Job, the Gospel of Luke, the Acts of the Apostles, and St. Paul's letter to the Galatians
Science- Apologia Exploring Creation with General Science, Science FAIR (November)
English:
Lit- History Readers
Spelling- Sequential Spelling, Misspelled words from writing
Writing- Papers from History, Science, Dictations
Vocabulary- Wordly Wise 3000, book 6
Grammar- Grammar Ace
Logic- Fallacy Detective & Analogies 1
Math- Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra
Foreign Language- Rosetta Stone Latin American Spanish 1
Art- Draw Today
Music- Classical Music,Volume 1
PE- Field Hockey???, Co-op PE
Renaissance School of the Arts Co-op- Fashion/Fiber Arts & Design 1, Sewing projects
Weekly Youth Group

Not-Back-To-School Hop

Tweet

It's that time again, when all the stores are gearing up for Back-To-School sales. This is our first year homeschooling and I am so excited that Darcy over at Life with my 3 Boybarians is hosting a Not-Back-To-School Blog Hop. There will be 4 weeks of fun in this blog hop, so Mclinky up and let's see whatcha got.