****Bragging Wife Alert****

I was thinking this morning that I brag about my children way more than I do about my husband. It's so easy to let the kids take the focus of my life simply because they have the bulk of my time and attention right now. Justin was around before they came along and will hopefully be with me much longer than they will., so I spent the morning thinking about all the reasons I am proud of him. I think when you live with someone day in and day out you tend to get focused on everything that drives you batty about them. Taking time to list what you admire about them really changes your perspective. So, in no particular order:

• He is an amazing financial planner and we rarely have any debt; which in this society says a lot.
• He cares about providing a stable present and future for me and the kiddos, and therefore, works hard at what he does.
• The line of work he is in generally requires a college degree, but he's so intelligent that he can do it without one.
• Just because he has a good job without having a degree, doesn't mean he isn't diligently working towards one.
• Somehow he balances work, family, church, school and all his other responsibilities without going crazy.
• He is supportive of my desire to stay home with the kiddos, even though me going to work would relieve some of the stress he feels about providing for us.
• He is an awesome servant...if someone has a need and he can fill it, he's there. That's why he served as a preschool Sunday School coordinator for about two and a half years despite the fact that he really doesn't like small children (unless they belong to him, even then it's questionable).
  
• I am not the easiest person to live with, but he is patient with me and doesn't let on that I annoy him too much.

There's more, but my mind is having a hard time putting them into words.

This semester I am taking an introductory Women's Studies course, and while I am learning many facts I did not know previously, there are some facts I would rather not be aware of. For instance, while researching information on abortion for a reading response I came across this number....857,475. That's the total number of abortions reported for 2000. What I find even more disturbing is this number 1.4%, the percentage of abortions performed after 21 weeks gestation. Now 1.4% sounds like a small number, but 1.4% of 857.475 is 12, 004. Now does that number seem small? Most abortion supporters make themselves feel better because of this number: 87%--the percentage of abortion performed before 13 weeks. They rationalize, saying that the fetus isn't really a human being. Well, when I was pregnant with William, I had sonograms about every 3 weeks starting at 6 weeks gestation. I saw his heart beat when his little body was only 4 weeks old...now tell me, how is that not proof of his humanity.

Please do not misunderstand me...I am a realistic person who understands not everyone shares my believe on when life begins, so I do not believe abortion should be made illegal. I do believe, however, the procedure needs to be more controlled. Too many women see abortion as a means of birth control. I know one women in particular who had 9 before she was 27 years old. And it is obvious to me that if at least 857,475 unintended pregnancies occurred, women are seriously in the dark in regards to how their bodies and reproductive systems work. And don't get me started on the "safe sex" education debate...apparently women aren't listening.

Enough of my soap box...I'll get down now.

***Another Bragging Parent Alert***

So William doesn't feel left out.....I was beginning to wonder when this child would ever begin to speak, but in the last week he has started using about 10 words regularly. I think he knew how to say them all along and was just waiting until he had good reason to use them.

Here's his vocabulary:

"Mama"--finally!
"Ball"
"Door"
"Book"
"Drink"
"Bath"
"Down"
"Baby"
"Baba"--his pacifier
"Night-night"

While looking through some pictures, I found this one. I miss her little baby curls!

**Bragging Parent Alert**

Kayleigh was coloring yesterday and yelled out, "Mommy I wrote my name!". I, of course, blew it off thinking she had done her usually scribbling that she calls writing. Well, when I walked over to look at her paper this is what I saw:



Starting with the pink "K" is a pretty recognizable "Kaylei" followed by a scribble and an "h". Of course the "a" is backwards, but that's totally normal for a three-year old. I have not begun instructing her on handwriting, but I am beginning to think I might need to before she develops incorrect writing techniques. Right now we are concentrating on phonics and basic math with a little art and science thrown in. I was worried that I was beginning to school her too early, but she actually requests to "do school" on a regular basis, so I don't think I am rushing her into it.

So nuch to do, so Few Resources

Economics was defined to me as how to allocate scarce resources to the consumption or creation of goods and services.

I have plenty of goods I would like to consume, but not enough resources (defined for me as time and money).

An economics lesson sounds kind of odd for a post, but the topic is: home improvement

I have a massive list of things I would like to do to the house to update it and, in some instances, upgrade it. Mostly, though, it's updating which is unfortunately a necessity in order to maintain market value. I always have one foot out the door and want to make sure I can maximize my return of equity if I had to sell my house due to some catastrophic or unexpected event.

My list:

1. Replace 6 windows and a sliding door.
2. Add some more insulation to the attic.
3. Outside A/C compressor (I'm the kind of guy who would spend $4,000 to save $50 a month)
4. Replace carpet with wood or laminate flooring.
5. Replace the Living Room ceiling fan.
6. Purchase and install fans in the dining (soon to be study/den), master bathroom, and kitchen.
   
7. Closet organization for master closet
8. Paint: kitchen, living, breakfast, hallway, master bath, and Wm's room
9. Add skylights to the living room. It doesn't get any direct light.
10. Replace smooth front doors with 6 panel
11. Paint all the door trim white instead of definitely-dated-woody-brown.
12. Crown moulding
13. Captain's beds with built in drawers for the kids (not so much a home improvement as a furniture improvement)
14. Re-stain cabinets in kids bath, master bath, and kitchen
15. Texture walls in kitchen and master bath

I think that covers most of it. I'm probably missing some, but my wallet hurts already after typing that list. My number 1 is probably doing the door trim and painting rooms. That, more than any other, will make the most difference in the feel of the house.

So, what are some of everyone else's highest desire/priority projects around the house?
Of my list, what would anybody recommend I do first? (Tara, if you read this you can't answer since you're already telling me these things :) )

Another shameless advertisement....

I am selling some of my pre-fold cloth diapers and covers in the hopes I can raise enough capital to switch to Fuzzi Bunz for Mr. William. If you know anyone in the market please send them my way! Right now I have everything listed on Baby Cotton Bottoms Bargain Basement.

Ad Titles are:

"Huge lot of DSQ White Pre-folds"
"Bumkins Diaper Covers"
"Alexis Feather-lite Pull-Ons"
"6 Small Snugglebottoms"

Sadly, I have been using disposable full-time since September because prefolds were just too hard to use with 6 kiddos running around. Plus, they just don't make clothes that fit over bulky diapers anymore. I am feeling guilty about all the diapers I am putting in the trash!

I'm so excited! Justin took me to Barnes and Noble for my birthday, where I promptly searched out the knitting and crochet sections and picked out the above. I am in love with this book! And since I don't have any babies to make gifts for, my first project from this book will be an awesome cardigan for ME!!!

I think Kayleigh has watched The Little Mermaid a little too much...she's in the other room coloring and singing "Part of that World". It's cute.

Shameless Advertising

If anybody knows someone looking to buy a nice used dining set and hutch, or a coffee table and end table send me a note and I'll give you details.

Michelle came up with a new arrangement for our couch and loveseat that makes it a little better for conversating when all seats are taken up and for also watching tv from all seats. But, the caveat is that our rectangular-ish coffee table doesn't work so well. She wants a round ottoman for putting tired feet up for maximum comfort. She also doesn't like the current table because her legs are too short to reach. I, on the other hand, have no problems :)

The dining set we just don't use. I have persuaded Michelle of the merits of having an office/billpaying/study/schoolwork/me work from home space in the house. I personally hate formal dining rooms. With several exceptions, I believe it is a waste of space. Very few people really utilize the space enough to justify it's existence. So Michelle agreed that we can convert it. So we're trying to sell the furniture pieces to raise capital for the conversion.

I already have a reasonable computer hutch from Ikea that I plan to reuse, but it'll be nice to get some shelves, maybe a nice chair and lamp, and a ceiling fan. She likes the idea of shelves to have a library. If I could afford it, she would have me build her wall to wall shelves and fill it with books in a heartbeat. Her long-term goal, when the bulk of child-rearing is done, is to get a master's in Library Sciences and become a librarian. I'm ok with that, because then I'll have my own hot little librarian to brag about!

Well, time to finish cleaning house so I don't have it hanging over my head on my day off for MLK. My aim this whole day has been to do the domestic stuff so Michelle was able to have a lazy birthday. I think I did ok, but I know it could have been better.

Today is a movie day....the kids just seem to be in a bad mood, so I'm giving them some rest time while they watch Jonah. Maybe I'm the one in a bad mood and that just makes the kids seem worse; either way, I'm giving myself a break right now.

Today I feel tired. Just plain tired. Tired of being a mom, of being a wife, of watching other people's children, of going to school, of housework ( not that I do a whole lot, Justin helps me bunches in this department). I'm not depressed, it's probably just hormonal. What I really want is a vacation by myself....is that a bad thing? Just a couple days to just be by myself...to read a good book, work on some crochet projects, focus on Christ without time constraints or interruptions. I still haven't figured out how to juggle the whole being a wife, mother and pursuer of Christ dynamic. It seems earthly things fill up my time leaving no room for the spiritual. Of course this is probably why I feel tired...no spiritual food, or at least very little of it.

Last night I took a step to put more spiritual food into my soul. I went to a Bible study for the first time in three years. Justin and I do attend a minichurch, but they are all in the same boat we are...too much to do, with too little time to do it in...so we do not usually do indepth Bible studies, which is totally fine. This Bible Study is a women's group and we are going through James! I'm the youngest by about 10-15 years; in fact, I'm the age of most of the other women's children. I think my job this Spring will be just to sit back and take in all the wisdom I can from these women. I am so excited!

Well, I need to pay attention to my very busy, into everything, opening doors already son!

What Justin did with his time off...along with painting the playroom and staining cabinets to install in there for storage (my Christmas present)! I can't wait to store all the toys and craft stuff in one place.

I bought him this for his birthday, I'm such an awesome wife!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Playing in the Leaves!

Blogging has been on the back burner for a little while. I had a paper to write...I loathe writing papers unless I am actually interested in the topic. I also started a blog dedicated to my crochet habit/addiction...Yarn is My Addiction. That is where you can find pics of the my finished projects. Warning....if you are a friend of mine having a baby, you might see pics of your shower gift...just act surprised when you get it! I am not quite to the point of developing my own patterns, but maybe in the future you'll find some original creations there.

Thought this was too cute not to share!

It's official, my name is Michelle and I am a Ravelry addict!

Ravelry is like mySpace for knitters and crocheters, and it's AWESOME! I will probably now spend way too much time looking for new patterns to try out. My goal this next year it to learn to knit so I can have tons more patterns to choose from! Right now the site is still in beta form, so if you are interested in joining you have to get on their waiting list. I put my name on about a month ago and received my invite over the weekend, so it doesn't take long to become a member and it is so worth the wait!

I just finished a blanket for a new baby and am starting another for yet another new baby coming! Women I know need to stop having babies so I can work on the afghan I started for Kayleigh two years ago. I love having an excuse to try out a new pattern, so I really don't mind all the little ones on the way.

Kiddos are great! William is climbing on anything you can think of, including using the chairs to get on top of the breakfast room table. Kayleigh is amazing us with her ability to memorize just about anything Stars Wars related.

Little Elmo