Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Top 10 List of things I've done since John took 8 of the kids on a 14-hr road trip..

....to return in five days, leaving me in Heaven at my mother's house with only the newborn...

1. Cleaned my mom's living room, knowing it would stay that way...

2. Left two remote controls on the arm of the couch, knowing that they would stay that way...

3. Realized that I could take a nap whenever I wanted, not just from 1:30 to 3:00...

4. Didn't make dinner, but had toast with blueberry jam instead...

5. Watched "The Pursuit of Happyness" with my mother...

6. Ate caldo, a Mexican soup, on the couch...

7. Wondered why I ever thought it was difficult to take care of a newborn...

8. Ate rum raisin ice cream without sharing...

9. Had a lengthy, uninterrupted conversation with my mother and brother about the merits of a vegetarian lifestyle...

10. Made black bean brownies, which are still baking, and which recipe I'll share if they turn out well...

But even with all of this freedom and fun, I still almost shed a tear as I watched the 15-passenger van drive off, especially after both twins waved goodbye to me at the same time and said, "Bye, Mommie."

Almost....



On 365 Days of TV-Free Toddler Time today:
It's Stop and Go Sign Time! Click the pic to see.



On life in mexico {and other places} a picture a day today:
{a scarf}

Monday, March 29, 2010

Homemaker Monday

Today, unfortunately, I have no Homemaker Monday post for you. I'm getting ready to go out of town, and besides, yesterday I was sick with nausea and a fever. :( I'm much better now, though, but still, no post for you.

However, since I know many of you have ever-so-faithfully written up a post especially for Homemaker Monday, here's MckLinky! Thank you so much!





On 365 Days of TV-Free Toddler Time today:
It's Cereal and Pipe Cleaner Time! Click the pic to see.




On life in mexico {and other places} a picture a day today:
{a bonfire}

Friday, March 26, 2010

Dressing Your After-Baby Body

Warning: This post contains graphic (although fully clothed) photos of a woman's body 9 days after giving birth. It's not always a pretty picture.

Have I told you I feel like a million bucks? It's been 12 days since I gave birth to our perfect baby boy...

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...and I have absolutely no symptoms that I just had a baby. I'm full of energy, nothing is sore, and at last, I can bend over again! Well, I take it back. I have experienced baby blues of sorts, such as crying over the fact that I didn't have the forethought to tune the 9-year-old's sax to the piano before we performed for his solo festival and crying when I heard THIS SONG, because it reminded me of the 13-year-old boy's grade school graduation, when I cried and cried because I had had mastitis while nursing the twins and it reminded me of the 18-year-old's upcoming graduation from high school and the fact that soon his childhood will be over and have I taught him everything he needs to know to be an adult? ...and so forth....

Oh, and when I stand for too long, it feels like a few essential organs, which shall remain unnamed, may fall out at any moment, but yes, other than those things, it feels as though I was never pregnant!

Because I feel so fantastic, I decided to go to church 7 days after I delivered. This is not at all unusual for me. I figure if I feel good enough to sweep my kitchen floor, there is no reason why I shouldn't go to church. My only concern was that too many people would want to touch the newborn's face. To stave off this problem, when someone would come over with a meal, and ask how long I would be taking off from church, I would tell them that I didn't intent on taking off any time from church, but that I would hope that people would have the consideration to not touch the baby's face or breathe too near him.

When you live in a small town, you only have to say this to two or three people before the whole town gets the memo, and it worked. Of the around 300 people, in both wards combined, that could have touched the newborn's face, only one person did, and she was from the Spanish-speaking ward, so the memo could have gotten lost in the translation, and that's okay. The 8-year-old girl held him as I played the organ, I nursed him during the talks, then went straight to the children's primary room and sat in the back, where I continued to nurse and hold him for the next two hours, as the Primary president had made sure I didn't have any responsibilities with the children for the next two months. Thanks, Jeni!

Now, the question is, and the reason for this post..... How does one dress a body that delivered a baby only a week before? It's not easy, but let me show you how I do it...

The key is LAYERS. Now, I'm not going to claim that I actually looked good at church, but I looked as good as was possible. The following photos, however, were taken at 9 days after delivery, on the day I accompanied the 9-year-old boy on his sax for his solo festival and cried over it, but the only thing different between this outfit and my church outfit was that I wore a skirt instead of pants. Here we go....

My first step was to put on stretchy black maternity pants and a stretchy pink shirt, for color...

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As you can see, wearing this alone out in public would have been unacceptable, as I look like a stuffed sausage. Now let's see what happens if we add another black stretchy top, as black does a great job of hiding fatness...

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Although this top is black, the fatness is still visible, the sausage look still being sported, so let's add a black blazer...

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This is much better, but pot is still showing, so let's add a long colorful scarf, one the matches the pink shirt...

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Ah, there we have it. I still look like a large, matronly woman, but the sausage/pot is well-concealed and I am now ready to go out into public.

P.S. I also made sure to wear large, bulky earrings to detract even more from the sausage/pot area...

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The added bonus of this outfit is that it is very modest to nurse in, as the scarf does a great job of hiding anything you might not want any member of the bishopric to see while on the stand.

Want even more coverage? Put your baby in a front-carrying sling, like this one from my favorite sling store, hotslings.com...

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(Yes, if you click on the hotslings link and buy something, I get paid, so thanks!)

I promise, no one will notice any sausage/pot when you're wearing a cute baby in one of these. And isn't he the cutest?...

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Now, to be honest, I think this look....


....is cuter than this look....

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...but if you don't have a 9-month-old fetus in your uterus anymore, you've gotta do what you've gotta do! So far I've lost 20 pounds (19 more to go), so hopefully in a few months I'll be sporting cuteness without the belly! Thanks for listening.



On 365 Days of TV-Free Toddler Time today:
It's Cereal and Pipe Cleaner Time! Click the pic to see.




On life in mexico {and other places} a picture a day today:
{a bonfire}

Thursday, March 25, 2010

My First Day Alone With the 4 Under 4, in Pictures

Note: Please imagine all of these events intermittently sprinkled with innumerable breast feedings, diaper changings, and umbilical cord alcohol swabbings throughout the day...

Yesterday was my first day alone as a mother of ten. Here's how it went...

The first thing I did was miss scripture study at 6:45 AM. John was out of town, so I did the night-time thing alone. The 3-year-old boy got up twice to go to the bathroom, and of course, he needed my help, although during waking hours he doesn't, Twin B woke up to have his covers put back on, and the newborn woke up too many times to count to nurse. That, in and of itself, would have been manageable, as I nurse him in bed with me and quickly go back to sleep, but having to get up with all of the other kids made for a busy night.

Although I did miss scripture study, I was pleased that the 5 oldest kids did it without me. I hope they learned something.

While the kids got ready for school, I worked in the kitchen and the newborn slept in the bassinet play yard we set up in the kitchen living area...

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He slept until it was time to take the little kids to school. I had always wondered how I would do the trip to the school. I had thought I would have to make two trips from the car back into the house after dropping the kids off, and that is just what I did. I went inside and again placed the newborn in his bassinet, then went back outside to the car to get the 3 three and under. Twin A didn't put up too much resistance...

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...but Twin B had a different idea. He would not come forward from the 3rd row of seats...

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...nor would he come forward from the fifth row of seats...

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I finally had to enter into the depths of the van and retrieve him manually.

Next, I changed the twins into clean diapers and clean sleepers. If you are wondering why I didn't get regular clothes on them, you can click HERE for an explanation.

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Twin A then spent some time making a track out of the wet wipe bags that were left out...

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...which was fine, because as you'll see later, these, along with the diapers, kept the twins occupied from some time.

Next we had snack time. I let the twins peel their own clementines, as this is one of their all-time favorite activities, thinking that if I placed napkins on the table, they would contain their peels to those...

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Didn't work...

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Next, I finished cleaning the breakfast mess while the newborn slept...

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...and the twins continued their wet wipe engineering feats...

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...and the 3-year-old continued with his diaper box engineering feats...

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The diaper boxes, however, did not keep the 3-year-old entertained for long, so he made the decision to get out hand-fulls of grated cheddar cheese from the fridge, which spilled all over the floor, which the twins found easier to lick up off the floor then pick up with their hands...

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(I promise I only let them do this for about 5 seconds longer than I would have to get this shot...)

I was quite upset with the 3-year-old boy for making this mess, so I told him he had to clean it up. You can see how effective he was...

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Twin B also thought he would help, showing equal effectiveness...

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After cleaning up the mess myself, I made time to put on my makeup...

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(Dang I have a lot of neck wrinkles and am starting to look like I'm 40.)


...and did a little bit of laundry, after which lunch time finally rolled around. I was blessed that someone from church brought over a pot of beans, and I sprinkled the grated cheese over it and served it along with tortilla wedges...

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After all of the kids went back to school, the 3-year-old boy talked to the newborn...

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...while I, again, cleaned the kitchen...

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Next came my favorite time of day. Nap time! After placing the 3-year-old boy and the twins in their cribs, reading them stories, getting them water and saying a prayer, it was time to place the newborn in his co-sleeper...

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...and eat lunch myself. For some reason, I fancied a bowl of oatmeal with lots of butter...


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After my oatmeal was finished, I took a nap for an hour and a half, as the newborn slept for two hours. Someone must have said a prayer for me because of the cosmic event of all 4 under 4 sleeping at the same for two hours.

When I awoke, I sent the 15-year-old girl to be the mother of the 9-year-old boy for his pack meeting/homemade kite-flying contest...

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...and while they were gone, the 18-year-old boy initiated a grilled chicken dinner....

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...during which time I helped the 13-year-old boy with math...

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When the kids returned home from the pack meeting, I had all of them eat dinner, reminded everyone to clean their assigned dinner chores, reminded them to do their pre-bedtime chores, watched part of Pirates of the Caribbean with them, said our prayers, again placed the 3 three and under in their cribs, read them stories, gave them water, said prayers, and turned off their lights.

Over all, disregarding experiencing the baby blues at the end of the day because my husband wasn't a good enough conversationalist on the phone at 11:00 at night just because he got up at 3:30 in the morning, it was a good day, and easier than I would have imagined it would be. Thanks for listening. :)



On 365 Days of TV-Free Toddler Time today:
It's Cereal and Pipe Cleaner Time! Click the pic to see.




On life in mexico {and other places} a picture a day today:
{a bonfire}

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

I'm Giving Away Nearly $100 Worth of Hot Tamale Dinner Ware!

I'm teaming up with CSNStores.com, an internet super store, that sells kids bedding, housewares, purses, home decor, and tons of other stuff, to give away nearly $100 worth of Hot Tamale Dinner Ware...

This, to be exact...

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...and this...

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To enter, go to my giveaway page HERE! Thank you!

Please join us right now for the "Questions About Mormonism" Live Chat...

Welcome to the "Questions About Mormonism" weekly chat.



If you would like to participate, or just "lurk", please just click on the "COMMENTS (SHARE YOURS!)" link at the bottom of this post and leave your comment in the comment window or just read what others have to say. I will be sitting here by my computer from 10:00 AM until 11:45 MST to share my beliefs as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or, as we are otherwise known, a Mormon.

Today's video I would like to share with you has such important reference to happenings in this day and age. I have read the original talk from which this video was composed (HERE) numerous times and it is such an important message. I hope you'll take the time to watch it...


Now let's chat!

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Homemaker Monday: Glazed Mint Brownies

Welcome to the 84th weekly edition of...


Thank you for joining us! If you're new to this carnival and would like to enter your post, please check HERE for the rules and regs.

YOURS: This week's "YOURS" again goes to Tara at Feels Like Home! She wrote an awesome post on using Google calendar to help with meal planning. Just look how organized she is...


I just love stuff like this.Thank you, Tara, for linking up every week. We love your tips and look forward to more! For Kristen's entire post, click HERE.

MINE: Just a great recipe the 15-year-old girl tried this week...

Glazed Mint Brownies


If you really really really like mint, and you really really really like chocolate, these brownies are for you....and they are amazing. Click HERE for the recipe. Enjoy!...



OURS: All righty then, let's see what all of you wonderful homemakers have for us today. Can't wait!




On 365 Days of TV-Free Toddler Time today:
It's Blocks on a Windowsill Time! Click the pic to see.



On life in mexico {and other places} a picture a day today:
{an herb garden}