Solid foods for baby Tristen.

Yummy, Tristen has started on solids. It's hard to believe that she is already 5 months old. She eats cereal and Daddy(Stephan) requested she start veggies first so that's what we have done. So in the past week we have introduced carrots, squash, and sweet potatoes. Next week we'll try some green veggies, then on to fruits the following week. Tristen has to be the messiest eater out of all my girls, she gets her hands in her face and just gets food everywhere, it's too cute and we get a kick out of her being covered in her food. So as a result of her messy eating and to preserve the clothes that have lasted through her 2 sisters Tristen gets down to her onesie to eat.

FLYlady

Well, most know we sold our large 5 bedroom home just before having our 3rd baby, this past May in order to afford me working very part time and being home more. We now live in a 3 bedroom home, with just one living area and a small kitchen. We had already gotten rid of lots of "stuff" that we didn't need before moving, however discovered that wasn't enough. Clutter seemed to overtake us, the amount of toys was outrageous, and enough Christmas decor to decorate several houses. So in a recent yard sale we sold some excess furniture items, some toys, and a whole Christmas village that would take up half of my living room. It's nice just not having those items taking up precious space. The kids came to understand they prefer a clean room, makes it easier to play, and clean up with a new system we came up with, they have 3 large tubs under their beds, one with barbies, my little ponies and items of that nature, the second with Molly's geotrack train set, the other with dress up and pretend items. The only other toy they have in there is a doll house that folds up nice in the corner and a small tub with it's people and furniture lives under their bed as well. The other kids room drama we had was the closet, it's a small one and their clothing collection was just as out of control as their clothes, so we kept only the best condition clothing and passed on the rest that was not torn or stained to charity, and all of their clothes moved to my closet, making room in their closet to store games, books, and building items (tinker toys, Lincoln logs, and the mega blocks will move out of my family room tomorrow to join that collection. So I now no longer have unnecessary laundry, and everything they have has it's place. Tristen's room is still a work in progress, as she still sleeps in my bedroom. My true house cleaning breakthrough came when I some how through reading of a blog came across www.FLYlady.net, this ladies site focus' on routine, and starting out small, and with the Kitchen sink of all things. So for the past 3 days I've had a clean sink, gotten completely dressed w/tennis shoes, and started a quick clean of my bathroom every morning. Since I have 2 bathrooms, Chloe and Molly have received a lesson in what to do, and they are responsible for the quick clean of their bathroom, and boy are they proud. Both girls have also taken to learning how to wash and dry dishes, dusting will be their next chore once I have completed my decluttering process. Stephan and I never really had set chores growing up, so had no real management of cleaning a home ingrained in us so it's been a battle of how to keep a house clean. So far so good, I think the baby steps help, and my girls prefer a clean house.

Stephan and I have also been sacrificing our childhood "stuff" He has sold, baseball cards, magic cards, that where taking up a load of space. I am letting Chloe and Molly pick one of my Anne Geddes baby dolls I'll pick one for Tristen then will sell off the rest. Those dolls gone and I'll have a whole shelf in Tristen's closet. It's amazing how good it feels to get the house work under control and to wake up in the morning to the coffee brewed in my clean kitchen!!

So for any of you who are struggling with the same cluttery stressful mess, try this out it may just be your light at the end of the tunnel in the house cleaning world.

http://www.flylady.net

Pumpkin Patch

Visit www.moblyng.com to make your own!

Sunday after church we had invited some friends to head to the pumpkin patch for some fall fun. So Matt, Tina and the children Ethan and Amber, went with us for a bite to eat, then we headed to the pumpkin where we met up with Ryan and Warrie. We had planned originally to head home after church but found it easier to grab lunch so I did not have my camera. However I had my personal trusty family photographer, Warrie along, she always has a camera in hand. We did have a disposable camera but it will be weeks before I ever see those photos, the ones of Tina coming down the inflatable slide w/Amber. :o) The weather was nice and warm, we had a hay ride, played some, Stephan bought feed so the 4 kids could feed the goats, then we went along to pick pumpkins, then to top it all off the kids got to slide down a large inflatable slide, Tina too she had to help Amber up. I wore Tristen in the trusty pouch, she enjoyed the sights only fussing when she got warm, the once I took off her long sleeve shirt she nodded off to sleep. Such a fun day with the kids, and friends. Since then my girls are asking for chickens and goats. So Daddy is trying to figure out how to fence the back of the property and once clear we have been thinking of getting chickens, but not sure if just one acre is enough for a pair of goats.

Mommy time

Starting tomorrow I'm starting a 6week bible study, Stepping Up by Beth Moore, I'll be joining a few ladies from our church that live on my side of the county. I'm truely looking forward to jumping further into the word of God, and getting to know these ladies even better. So for the next few Tuesday evenings Daddy gets to hang at home with his girls for the evening. Today I worked for 8hours and Daddy survived his first day of homeschooling w/out the DVD to help, good thing it was a day for review. For now I'm off to work on my Crown Financial homework, and to watch 17kids and counting (the Duggars show) amazing. I have a small obsesion with watching shows about extremely large families.

WHAT????

On top of the many reasons why we do not send our girls to public schools this is just another strike to the public institutions list of reasons my girls will NEVER EVER go to public school. There is already a failed academic system, the sex education is a waste, because the kids have not a single clue what sex really is, and that getting pregnant is only the least of their worries. Excuss my little rant.. but please go to this link read it.. I don't think that it is the schools job to instill values... not impress upon our children either. What are we doing when we put our kids on a school bus? This is scary, I just graduated high school in 2000 from a public school, and the quality and trust is totally gone... this is a failing system..

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=77373

Trip to Lake Gaston.

This past weekend we took a trip to NC to Lake Gaston with our good friends Ryan and Warrie. Warrie's Grandan own's a home on the lake, it's truely a relaxing and beautiful place. We arrived friday night, and after checking the place out in the dark the girls headed to bed. The adults stayed up until 2am, the guys played the Wii, the girls watched a movie then we played some pirate dice game (was interesting). When the kids woke up they where excited when the could see water from the window. And out we went to explore. First we just walked the property, then after a pancake breakfast we explored some more, played in the water, Molly got soaked, Chloe collected some prized shells that are now cased in a tub in her bedroom. We changed into swimwear and played in the water some. Yes for you northern folks it was warm enough in October to play in the water. We just hung out the kids played. In the evening we fed a large crew of ducks w/ some aged bread that Warrie brought along. Watched a beautiful sunset over the lake. Just a wonderful weekend spent w/ a great friends and our family. Enjoy the slide show be patient there are lots of beautiful, and cute pics Warrie took while we where there.

Visit www.moblyng.com to make your own!

Teaching and Playgroup

Today was our 1st day of homeschool with out the DVD. What a difference, the joy of sitting down at the kitchen table and teaching my children. This was very rewarding and Molly is responding very well, and much better w/ this route. Chloe she would do well any way, just tell her what it is and how to do it, and leave her alone she'll ask questions if she has any. The kitchen table area has been transformed into our classroom I love it. However the rest of the living room well it's in shambles at the moment. There is a large wooden tv cabinet we are selling, and some other items that need a home in the house and others that will be donated or sold as well.

Another 1st for today, we attended a playgroup. This was good for both the kids to play w/other kids that are also being homeschooled w/similar values, and for mommy to meet other moms who are on this same rewarding journey. I'm looking forward to attending this playgroup again.

Jump, Run, and Jump some more

Today we made an afternoon trip to a local indoor play place. Complete with 3 bounce house/slide things for kids over the age of three. They also have an area for 3 and under, that Tristen will be able to enjoy once she starts crawling (I will however not be rushing that milestone) We spent a total of 3 hours there, and I'm sure the girls could have kept going until the place closed at 5pm. We opted to come home and see daddy for a few after his training class and before him taking a nap because he works tonight. Back to the place we went and what the girls did. They jumped, climbed, played, ran, played dress up, pretended to cook, be a pet shop owner... they stopped for a little snack... then off to do things all over again. Tristen and I hung out in the little "cafe" area, and also moved around to watch Chloe and Molly playing, Tristen cracked up laughing while watching her sisters jumping, it was adorable. Tristen also tested out a Bumbo seat (def have to get one of those) and one of those free standing jumpers (she thought it was amusing for me to bounce her because her feet didn't reach the floor, that was about as much amusement as she got out of the trip, she even had a cat nap while there. So this place has the stamp of approval, and we will definitely be making this a monthly outing, and Chloe is hoping to have her 6th birthday party there, since it's cold in December and I couldn't possibly fit everyone in my house. What a great and fun day. Now everyone is either resting or a sleep. Must say this homeschool gig gets better by the day.