The joys of the internet!!!!

Technology is a wonderful thing!!! I was able to spend Christmas and will be spending New Years with my mother. I have been able to teach her a bit more on how to get around on her computer. She is feeling a bit more confident as is her husband. He was finally able to use IM and speak to his mother and father whom he has not seen in a number of years via web cam.

It was a wonderful gift on Christmas morning. He also met a few neices and nephews whom he has only seen in pictures before. It was wonderful to be a part of that family reunion.

And not to be outdone (wink), my mom had her own reunion with our family in Ecuador (granted it has only been a few months since we last saw them).

psst!! That is not your screen that needs cleaning, but mine!!!

Gotta love technology!!!

A Miracle

I have been very lucky in my life.

I did not grow up rich but I did have everything my mother could offer me. I did not attend the best schools but I did go to schools that cared. I was not the smartest kid in class but school was generally easy and fun for me. In high school I entered an after school program that really helped guide the direction of my life. I was introduce to a world outside of my community. I was given chances I otherwise would not have had. These opportunities led to other adventures. Those led me to the man I am married to and the father of my peeps. The choices we had to make led to the path we are on now.

I mention all this because until last week I did not realize how lucky I was in the birth I had with my peeps in particular with Oldest Peep, as she started the trend.

I had no choice but to pick the ob/gyn across the street from the hospital who had the best midwife in the region on staff. I did not know this at the time. I basically looked at a list and picked randomly. She was the only woman on the list but I had no idea what a nurse midwife was. When I went in to see her I liked her right away. She was very reassuring and comforting. She patiently answered all my scared, new-mom-to-be questions. I stuck with her. One day she handed me the Womanly Art of Breastfeeding and challenged me to read it before my next appointment. I latched on to the idea after the first chapter! Later, she handed me a Dr. Sears book and I was fully attached.

I look back now and am just amazed at how lucky I was to find the right person.

What made me appreciate all this? Over the Thanksgiving Holiday, I was able to attend to my sister in law while she delivered her second baby naturally after having a csection with her first child. It took a lot of work on her part. She was very tense but even more she was dedicated to not enduring the horrors of her first birth. Doctor after doctor told her she could not do it. Friend after friend told her to just schedule the csection. But she would not. She did not!!! She read and she researched. She searched high and low until she found someone who would give it a try with her. She visited every OB/Gyn office in the State(or at least that is how it felt) until she found one person who understood her desire, her need for a vbac. Her determination showed me how strong a woman can be to endure. Her will taught me that the mind is a very powerful thing.

I was very lucky to have birthed my 3 peeps with no intervention, no drugs, no complications. Her experience showed me just how lucky I was and how sad that we are not all that lucky.

Attending to her during labor and the birth was the most amazing thing I have ever experienced. I have always been on the other end of the birth process and honestly I think the mind tries to forget all the pain afterwards so you can just focus on the miracle of the baby. Every woman should attend a birth so that you can see exactly the power of our body, the strength of our gender! The miracle is more than the baby. The miracle is in what the body knows to do, what the mind endures, what the soul produces, what our strength performs. The prize for being a woman is that bundle of love we have birthed, that baby that is perfect in every way and that will love us forever.

I am still in awe when I think about it.

PS! My intention is not to make a different choice seem wrong in any way. I am simply amazed at what I experienced. That's all it is folks......

So why have we been MIA

Basically no school is getting done despite my best efforts. We have done math perhaps 3 or 4 times in the last three weeks. We are living our days in the car between dr appointments, baseball games every night, swim practice and swim meets. While driving it is impossible to take pictures! I do have some baseball,s wimming, and camping.....YES....CAMPING pictures to share later this week. For now, we have a Baby Peep funny to share with you all.

Me: Guys, you have to pick a song to sing. Musical friend wants to hear your singing voices.
Oldest Peep: I am NOT singing. eyes rolling far into her head
Middle Peep: Do we really have to? What kind of song?
Baby Peep: I want to sing too!

Me: Come on guys. You all have very nice voices and if musical friend gets a group together you are going! Like it or not. So start liking it!

(We have had this conversation over and over and I am at my wits end on how to get them excited.)

Oldest Peep: I can't sing and I don't want to sing in front of people. It is scary.
Middle Peep: I am shy. What kind of song do you want us to pick?
Baby Peep: I want to sing!

Oldest Peep: I am scared.
Middle Peep: It is scary. I could sing a Blake Lewis song.
Baby Peep: Yeah, mom! I am stage frightening like oldest peep. (No, they don't call each other peeps.)

We just laughed and laughed and laughed. If you know Baby Peep you realize just how frightening it WOULD be for him to be on stage. He meant to say he has stage fright like Oldest Peep. Exactly the reason I will drag push them gently to join this group. When looking at what each peep said in the car you clearly see their personalities. Oldest peep always quick to say no and stay there until I blow my top so to speak. Middle Peep will share his fears but will aim to please. Baby peep always wants in the fun...no matter what the idea.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!

My oldest had a birthday yesterday! My baby is now 12 years old! I have no idea where the time has gone. It seems like just yesterday was the 3rd day at the hospital of the horrible contractions and no progress birth that was my daughters. I still remember the look on my midwife's face as I was pushing and she saw all the hair that baby had. She still even more hair now and all the 12 year old charm of being the old girl in a family of boys! Below is my little homage of her 12 years with us. We have laughed, cried, and screamed at time but she is my heart and soul. What I would do without my rock, I can not even begin to imagine.

Happy Birthday Sweetie!

I love Papa Peep

Look what he just got us for our anniversary!

He is not the most romantic guy out there, but he sure knows what makes me smile. I sure do love him.

Since today is our anniversary, I will write ten things I love about my sweetie!

His eyes and those lush eyelashes!

His tiny, tiny ears!

His big, sexy biceps!

His silly, nervous smirk!

His not very funny jokes!

His brain......He is a very intelligent guy!

His childishness!!!!

His kisses!

His love for his children!

And the No. 1 thing I love about Papa Peep is.......

That he loves me!!!!!!

Happy Anniversary Darling!

My word!

They had called for snow yesterday but we got a beautiful sunny day so I thought the snow would not come. As I was going to sleep it started, but I awoke to this scene this morning.

That is a lot of snow!

Here are some accumulations from the front yard.

The view from the back.

Then of course the kids bundled up and ran out there to play.

(Note: The slideshow that should go here is in the post above because photobucket is determined to make me crazy and not work like it should.)

(Note 2: I think there is something wrong with blogger as I tried a new photo service website and it gave me a hard time also. I think I have it resolved above, but I still can't put it here where it belongs. Bummer)

I wonder if we will get any school done today. We are behind schedule as it is. These snow days don't help the matter.

Peeps' Winter Wonderland

Monday night it snowed here. While the peeps did play in it that night, it was not until Tuesday morning that all the fun was really to be had. Everything froze over night and it was just slick enough for cardboard boxes (like we don't have enough of those about) and some cooped up peeps to really enjoy. We witnessed several trucks try to skid their way up our little hill while the peeps tried to skid down. I continually had to tell Baby Peep to STOP eating the snow while trying to get Middle Peep not to be so risky. Oldest Peep, as usual, first cautious quietly observing and then the last to be dragged back inside.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!

I couldn't let this day go by without wishing everyone a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Nothing but the best from me to you!!!

Benazir Bhutto

Merry Christmas

I love Snoopy!!!!

And here he is, along with us Peeps, wishing you all a very

Merry Chirstmas!!!

Toxic Toys!!!

Our weekend

First off, we begin schooling again on Monday. Things are still in boxes but I just can't make much more progress without more shelves. The schoolroom is still dominated by the book boxes so we will school in the dining room with what I can find. I have to get the empty boxes out of the house as they are taking up more space than our stuff at this point. The joy of moving! I wish to not move for a long, long, long time.

On Friday I blow off the whole mess and we headed into Seattle to meet with a homeschool group. I think we found a great group. They are very active meeting weekly with people coming from all over the area for their activities. Everyone we met was kind and friendly. Baby Peep was so happy and excited to join a group again. Oldest Peep was very shy and she and Middle Peep stuck together the whole time. It will only be a matter of time before she warms up and I won't be able to keep up with her plans. We hope to meet with them again this coming week.

So we ...........

.........saw some of the most amazing gingerbread houses we have ever seen........

.........took a picture with Santa while he looked over his list........

.........listened to a local high school choir sing Christmas songs to us........

..........rode a Merry go round.....

and finally listened to some very familiar music before catching lunch and heading home. The day was just perfect!!!!

Madness!!!

First we had the Earthquake. Then we had the snow. Since then it has rained nonstop and at times very hard since Sunday morning. Now some schools are closed today because of mudslides and flooding. We have hurricane force winds in some parts. This rain is thought to continue until Wednesday at least.

Check out the latest road blocks and power outages here. School closings here. And a video of this madness here.

Oh help me!!!!!!

Mami

My mami, after 30 plus years of living in the USA as a resident, finally decided to become a citizen. I wish I could have been there.


My sister and my mami

Sammy the Dog!!!

(my sister's spoiled doggie)

SNOW

First I want to share my kitchen up closer. I just love it. I have cooked more in the last 2 days than a week's worth in the old house. We will have to keep the gym active at this rate.



Now, just in case you had not heard (HA!) it snowed here yesterday. It started around 1 (as we were on our way to Ikea) and has not stopped. At one point this morning it was raining but then it turned to snow again and I think right now it is raining again. The shots below were at just about the peak of the storm. I would guesstimate we got about 3". Papa Peep was shocked. He was told it rarely snows and when it does it melts right away. The snow may be gone by the afternoon but it was definitely more than just a dusting.

Hotdogs

Well after reading this article I think we are off hotdogs for a very very long time. Click here.

Homeschool regulation: The revenge of the failures

Here is a good article in support of homeschooling. The author has a Ph.D. from Stanford and a law degree from Harvard. He currently practices law in Houston.

Human nature will never seize to amaze me. Instead of recognizing their own failures, they will find someone else to blame in order to distract the attention from their own inadequacies. In a nutshell, because you feel incompetent you bully the competent ones. Once a bully always a bully, I guess. Where else does that occur all too frequently!?

The PROPHET, by Kahlil Gibran

I love this and thought I would share. Enjoy.

On Children

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, "Speak to us of Children."
And he said:
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

NYTimes article on new education reforms

I am not sure what to think of this yet. I will give myself time to ponder and get back to you.
Click the title to view article