I had my first scare today at the park with McKenna. She was playing with an older child, maybe 5 years old or so and I noticed that the girl took her hand and started leading her towards the parking lot. In fact, by the time I jogged myself over there, they were between a couple vehicles and I heard the lady behind the wheel say, "Jenn, her mommy is coming to get her" Well the lady said 'sorry', and I grabbed McKenna and told her she needed to stay on the playground. They were all gathered around the back of the vehicle where there was this wheelchair, and I think that was what this girl was trying to show McKenna because as we marched back to the playground McKenna was bawling her eyes out about it. I think she thought I was mad at her as well and I kept telling her I wasn't mad, just scared that the little girl took her away. So I realized today that we need to discuss stranger danger. Just never thought the first lesson would be about a child! Ugh, my heart was beating so hard! Anyway, that was the highlight of my day. That and having to yell at McKenna about deliberately pushing a younger child down.
She had been trying to give this kid a hug as the kid reached the bottom of a slide and the little girl kind of just shrugged her off, so McKenna followed her a few steps and pushed her down! I admit I ran over there and swatted her butt in front of whoever cared to look our way. I made her apologize and told her we don't push kids and if it happened again we were leaving the park. She seemed to understand me and behaved after that. It just makes me want to pull my hair out in frustration when I see behavior like that because I wonder where it comes from! We don't hit or push or shove at home so I wonder if it's some kind of impulse control thing and a phase she's going through.

Who knows? Potty training is continuing to go well though, so I'm grateful about that.

Just got back from delivering milk and McKenna got to check out the two pigs that Laura now has and her daughter Catherine showed McKenna the tadpoles in their pond. Much to my daughters delight, she was able to hug the baby and give him a kiss! Looks like she also was checking out all of the chickens, too. We spent some time there looking at the animals and I chatted with Laura for a bit. It was fun stuff.

Okay, so I need to get an updated pic of my garden up! There's green stuff in it now, not just bare dirt! LOL

I'm starting to feel really stretched and can't imagine (yes, I can!) going on another 2 months like this... and the dreams are starting to get disturbing. I always had weird dreams when I was pregnant with McKenna... stuff ranging from the abusive to the erotic to breastfeeding dreams, to dreams of me having 3 kittens instead of a baby (last night). I can't help but wonder where all this weirdness comes from!

Anyway, I had some cramping sensations in my lower uterus last night when I went to bed. It actually resolved once I stuck a pillow under my belly. Guess I thought I wouldn't need one with our bed.

I've got to pick up milk today from Lauras farm, so McKenna will get to see the baby chickens and the cows and the baby goats and lambs... should be fun. Laura got some Cornish X hens that are the kinds that are meant to be slaughtered at a certain age. Let them go too long and they get breast-heavy and start falling over and getting respiratory problems, as well as leg problems. They were never created to breed naturally. How disturbing is that? But it's a lot of meat for the money, so who knows?

Other news... Noel is sending his cam-shaft from the Geo to some people in Washington who are going to do something to it to give him an extra 5 to 10 mph on his Geo. He already gets about 43 to 45 depending on driving, so this will be really exciting! He says he can do the same this with the other Geo, as well.

McKenna seems to be coming along with potty training. She did a #2 at Patty and Joes house yesterday evening when we were there for dinner, and that makes 4 poops in about a weeks time. I know you all are as excited as I am! LOL Seriously though, if she keeps on track it'll mean I'll get about 2 months of no poopy pull-ups before this next kid is born. Then I just have to cross my fingers that she doesn't regress afterwards!

Okay, time to wrap this up. I need to get the coolers ready and the empty milk jugs loaded into the car.

Didn't feel so hot today. Sharp intermittent pain going vertically through my belly button. It might be the abdominal muscles separating. But no other symptoms except a little nausea, and that was only briefly. The baby has been quite active today, so I wasn't worried enough to call anyone. I've had a little diarrhea, but I took some Mylanta and am actually feeling a lot better. I did take a long nap today while Noel took McKenna out to Home Depot and Wal-mart. They hit a fruit stand, as well. By the way, I'm 29 weeks along, so just entering my 8th month.

Nothing much else to report except lots of rain and thunder today. Garden is doing well. Beans are coming up nicely, squash is putting up their first set of true leaves. My scarlet runner bean has sprouted and that should be quite a sight when it's fully mature! I meant to plant my sprouted pole bean plants today, but didn't get to it. I have an extra tomato plant (heirloom brandywine) that I might have to give away. I already have two in the ground doing well. Strawberries have little berries on them already and I saw a little tomato starting on the one brandywine. Very exciting!

Well, yesterday we decided to eat out and then do a movie, since we haven't been to the theater in a long time. We took McKenna, and got into the theater and it was so loud that after about 45 minutes, she'd had enough and wanted out. So we sat out near the restrooms until Noel came out of the movie. I thought about taking her into one of the other shows, but she didn't want to go into any theater, period. Ah well, we'll have to try out some other movie theaters and see if they are quieter. Other than that, not much going on. I've been getting my garden back into shape after those high winds came through. I've finally got some pole beans coming up that I started inside and I'll plant them in a couple of days. Can't wait to see them scrambling up the poles! I bought three more bell pepper plants to replace some that the winds ruined. The others seem to have come through unscathed.

We were out a couple of days ago and McKenna started pointing out all the letters that she knew, which are quite a lot now that she's been watching the Letter Factory. I was very impressed. She's also pointing out numbers that she recognizes!

Well, time to get out in the garden............ nice day today.

I was sitting here thinking about how we learn things and start forming opinions about these same things.

If someone told me that I'd be a housewife in my later years, I would've said 'okay, yeah I probably will', but if that same person told me that I'd also be homeschooling I would have said, 'no way'. My early opinions of homeschooling were much the same as lots of other peoples. Steriotypical ideas that homeschooled kids were weird, non-socialized, geeky, and came from radical families were set firm in my mind. How did I make this total 180 degree turn in my life?

I've realized that we tend not to question what information we're given at a young age, or what info we're given from supposed 'experts' even as adults. When a gifted scientist comes up to you and tells you that all of his research has led him to conclude with 100% certainty that our world will change drastically in the next 5 years if we don't do something about greenhouse emissions, most people might say 'okay, he must be right, he's a much respected scientist' and if we don't question what he says, his opinions stick with us and color our own thinking as our own opinions form on the subject. I find that many of us don't tend to go through the process of doubting everything that anyone in a position of authority says. Of course, that would be very tiring! But what about doing it only 5% of the time?

Until I talked with a homeschooling mom, my opinions on homeschooling were set. Noel and I were looking at public school and that was that. But her experience with teaching at home (actually, she doesn't do true homeschooling - it's public school at home) were very positive for her children and I could see that they were bright, happy and social. From that one encounter, my journey towards homeschooling and everything else I've gotten interested in has come. Now, I will be homeschooling in a drastically different way than this person, but nevertheless I embraced learning and researching this type of education wholeheartedly.

Ever since deciding to homeschool, I have learned so much more about what is really important. Homeschoolers tend to be rebels of a sort. They're going against the main after all, so from it stemmed my interest in raw milk, homesteading, environmental issues, fossil fuels and the peak oil theory and much more. I find myself so fulfilled even though I am at home away from the work force. I have so much more time to learn about what interests me and that will only make me a better 'teacher' for my children. Dialectics, the ability to doubt what is said and then turn around and assume the opposite, for learning or arguments sake, can be a great tool to developing our persuasiveness and awareness.

When teaching my children I need to remember that when they develop an interest in one subject, they will learn and expand so much more than if they were forced to keep to a single point of interest. The love of learning is the springboard to higher knowledge, and eventually to the search for truth.

**UPDATE!** The same day (Sunday) that we had the poopfest all over the floor, McKenna later went to the bathroom (for pee) but I heard 3 wet farts, so when I went in I saw some little brown flecks floating in the toilet. I knew she hadn't really been making an effort to poop, but I praised her like she had and told her how proud I was that she did a poo in the potty and she was SO happy with herself. So yesterday, Tuesday, she does 2 deliberate poops in the potty!! I am so proud of her and I hope that this is the beginning of the end of potty training. We shall have to wait and see!

In other news, my green beans and squash are FINALLY coming up, so I am thrilled that these seeds weren't a total bust. I need to get our and water the garden this morning and then we'll be going to the docs for my glucose test to see if I have gestational diabetes. It should be quick. Last time, they had me drink down a glass of sweet stuff and took my blood some time later. I'll bring some stuff along with me to keep the kiddo occupied.

I made a sourdough loaf lastnight, which came out beautifully! I think I'm getting the hang of this baking of bread without yeast!

Oh my God, we had a poop explosion today! McKenna is still not doing #2 in the potty and she came to the back door while I was outside doing garden stuff and yelled, 'poopoo', and I said 'go tell daddy' and so the next thing I know Noel says, 'hon, you better come inside'... well, she'd had on panties and shorts and had done it in her pants and it was pancake batter consistency and was in a large puddle by the back door. Since I had told her to get her dad she had tracked back to the computer room, dribbling little spatters along the kitchen floor and carpet. I'm sure she had already done it in her pants by the time to she told me about it, but I can't help wondering. Maybe she had been holding it and wanting a pull-up? But she didn't say so, SO... she helped me clean up the mess after I stuck her backside under the bathtub faucet. She got some nice cold water, which she didn't appreciate but maybe that will encourage her to use the toilet next time? I stressed that it was an accident and that next time she should use the potty, but she won't even listen. It's very frustrating. I'd love to have her potty trained by August, but honestly I can't see it happening. If I push, she'll just revert and start having #1 accidents, which I don't want. So, guess I'll have double diaper duty for awhile!

After she helped me clean up her mess, I had Noel take her upstairs and bathe her since I had to tackle the carpet and use the mop on the kitchen floor. She had wiped the spots for me with paper towels and then took the poopy towels to her arms trying to get off the other streaks of poo still on her. I don't know how I ended up cleaning up the whole mess since Noel is the one that found it, but technically I did know she had a poo in her pants when I was in the backyard, so I'm partly responsible. Anyway, she's now clean and the carpet is as clean as it's going to get with the carpet shampoo stuff I used. We're going to need a new carpet eventually anyway. Something darker than what we have now!

Other than that, we went shoe shopping today and both Noel and I got a pair of shoes. We also picked up one maternity top at Ross for me, since I'm low on acceptable public wear in the late stages of pregnancy, and we ate out at Primo's Pizza. Now that I'm thinking of it, we're incredibly lucky that the poop bomb didn't happen while we were out!

I think Noel's cooking dinner tonight. I'm beat!

Well, I was posting in my blog earlier today when I had a bit of a mishap with some coffee. So there's a possibility that the laptop might be doomed, but Noel is going to look at it.

Hot days here! Nothing else coming up in my garden yet, but I need to be patient. I keep expecting things to pop up overnight! We had Christi and Joey over today and they played in a kiddie pool that we picked up last night. It has a built in slide so the three kids just went round and round. Near made me dizzy just watching them! Later, after we all ate we took them out front and they rode on the tricycles that we have with Joey taking turns with McKenna. I think they had a really good time. I know that three kids wore me out, but it was just as much the heat I'm sure. It got up to 86 today, but felt hotter. I got our party canopy partway up but not fully up, but I was at least able to sit in a chair under the shade.

Nothing else going on... baked another batch of cookies. I now have chocolate chip and peanut butter to devour. McKenna's loving it, but it's too much so I might have Noel take some to work Monday!

Had a great day yesterday... picked up some more compost and when Noel got home he rototilled that area along the fence and I got my raspberries in today. Hopefully they won't go into shock. They were already putting out some nice leaves. We had Patty and Joe and kids over for dinner last night. We did grilled chicken with vegetables on skewers and some rice. I found moths in my biggest bag of rice and had to dump the whole thing. I'm so mad at myself because evidently I didn't put a clip on the bag. Luckily, I had some backup stuff that was just fine.

The kids played in the backyard for awhile and then munched on watermelon afterwards. All in all, a good day. Today I don't have much planned. I'm just happy to have gotten down the raspberries... I guess I'll have to lay down a good weed barrier. Maybe some extra thick layers of newspaper! I'm pleased with progress... just wish my pole beans would come up. And the tomato I planted has brownish discoloration on it's leaves. I'm not sure what that's all about. I'm going to dig in and make sure it's getting water down at its roots.

Baby #2 is kicking up a storm today. Lots of visible movement and some uncomfortable moments, but nothing I can't handle. Speaking of handles, I wouldn't mind getting a name here soon for her. I'd like to be able to stop calling her 'the baby'. Oh well, gotta get Noel's creative juices flowing, cause he's sure no help! ;)

Catch ya later!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you mom's out there! We had a fantastic day. I received a "Your the best mommy ever" card from McKenna... and a garden spade from Noel, which was also fantastic because I've been wanting one! McKenna helped me water my garden and then we went to Greenhurst Nursery and picked up some more tomato plants. I had enough room for more pepper plants, so Noel grabbed some of the hot and spicy variety. We hit Mr. V's in Caldwell for lunch and then Carrabaras (Italian) for dinner. Noel didn't get the fence line rototilled, but he said maybe tomorrow if he gets home early enough. I suppose my raspberries will just have to suffer! LOL He did pound in the wooden stakes for my florida weave that I needed, but one busted in half, so tomorrow while I'm out getting compost and sulfur and stuff I'll pick another one up.

Tired, so off to bed. More tomorrow!

Today was pretty busy. Noel took off early to get his snow tires changed to regular ones, and I started some garden stuff. Planted my first row of beans and will plant the 2nd row in another 2 weeks. I also planted some crookneck squash with nasturtiums to repel squash bugs and also planted my tomato. (Finally!)

McKenna played with the hose and sprayer today for the longest time. I just let her since it was irrigation and not house water and thus we weren't paying for it. She mainly watered all of the weeds along our fence instead of our crunchy grass. We took a short walk and came upon a yard sale with lots of baby stuff. I picked up a baby thingy for $8.00 - basically it's kind of like a car seat of sorts that's more open and it has a shady part with a screen over it so that I can be gardening and have the baby in it and not have to worry about bringing out a blanket or worry about lack of shade. McKenna crawled into it and I took a picture. It's pretty cute. LOL

Noel came home much later (around 7pm) and told me how he spent an hour or more at the Les Schwab in Nampa only to be told they couldn't put tires on his rims because they were too small. Guess most small cars now coming out have 14 to 16 inch rims and his are 12. He had to go into Boise to find the tires he needed. Spent several hours there, then did some grocery shopping before coming home.

After a complicated meal of hot dogs, I went out and mowed the lawn after he started it for me, and then he did the side yard and front strip. Went for a walk after that, then sat in the back yard and ate some watermelon, which McKenna loved. We talked and watched her play on the swing set and then I took her up for a bath. All in all, a pretty nice day! I'm hoping to get to the nursery tomorrow to pick up some other tomatoes and once they're in and Noel has my stakes in, I'll put down the soaker hoses. If Noel gets that strip in front of the fence rototilled, I'll put in my raspberry plants. Otherwise, I'll just dig a hole and mulch around it.

Monday we have Patty and Joe over for dinner, so I'll probably do some pick up tomorrow as well. I really need to mop my floors, but we'll see if I get to it. Garden stuff is higher up on my list of priorities right now! ;P

McKenna officially loves her Letter Factory DVD. After about 5 times of watching it, she is now making the letter sounds after most of the letters. I'm really impressed with the DVD so far. It's very engaging, and except for the letter "L", the sounds are spot on.

I tried to start the mower today and it wouldn't start. My mother told me she forbids me to start it after hearing about my tries, so I'll let Noel know it's up to him to get it started. The lawn would go un-mowed for about 2 weeks or so if I didn't do it, and I hate having it look shaggy, so maybe I'll guilt him into helping me more!

I'll get my tomatoes planted tomorrow and I THINK I see my beans coming up. But they're a lot smaller than my regular bush beans, so I'm not sure. But I'm hopeful. McKenna and I tried to fly her kite again today, but there really wasn't enough wind. So no go there. Not much else going on. Feeling a bit dis-jointed in thought today.......... more to come later!

Well, we had our milk and eggs delivered today. I have a love affair going with these eggs! They are so yummy and have the brightest orange yolks. We hit the library after breakfast and picked up some books I had on hold, and then went down to the lap-sit storytime. McKenna behaved very well during the program and sat and listened. She's really old enough for the pre-school story time, so we'll go to that one next time. I think she pushed a little girl just before we were leaving. She was over near the stairs and so was a little girl who looked like she hadn't been walking long. I heard some wailing and looked over and the toddler was on the ground, feet in the air. McKenna might have hugged her and then pushed her away, but later (after I made her apologize) she started going on about pushing the kid. So we discussed how that isn't nice and it can hurt people. Sigh. Guess she'll learn with a new sister on the way. We came home and put on the Letter Factory by Leapfrog that I picked up at the library. She seemed to like it, but was tired and fell asleep after watching it. The day has just zoomed by! No wonder it seems like my pregnancy is going by so fast!

Noel brought home a cherry picker, which looks like a mini-crane. He's borrowing it from some guy so that he can yank the engine out of his new Geo. We got the "stimulus package" check from the government, so he's going to see about getting the vehicle running. I did take $200. of it and put it into McKennas savings since some of the money from that check was due to us having a child. The other Geo is still doing okay for him, and I'm trying not to drive the Chevy as much. In two days the price of gas went from 3.49 to 3.59 and that's at our cheapest gas station, Maverick. Chevron is at 3.64! Anyway, I'm looking forward to reading a book I have on hold at the library called "The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live it". The info it contains may just come in REALLY handy one of these days! Especially with the price of everything!

So, I'm officially falling apart.

List of problems:

Shoulder (getting slightly better with PT)

Wrist - still aches a little when I use it but getting better

Right back of hip - return of the Sacro-iliac joint pain I had with McKenna, I'm pretty sure.
I limped along all day yesterday. Today is better, but as I recall the pain would come and go.
I might have to have PT for that, as well.

Allergies are coming on full force. I really want a cortisone shot to wipe out my symptoms for
3 months, like I've done the last two years, but have to talk to my OB doc about that. For now, I'm limping along on Sudafed and eye drops.

Cramp in the arch of my left foot has been bothering me today. I'm taking in calcium, but nothing much going on there.

And what's really crazy is that the pregnancy itself is going very well. The only problem I'm having thats associated with pregnancy would be my SI joint pain. All this other stuff is just bad timing! Other than that, I'm feeling good, baby-wise! According to the latest ultrasound, the baby weighs 2 pounds now. We still haven't made any headway on names... Noel doesn't come up with any and my suggestions all get shot down. I told him if he doesn't contribute to the name pool, I'm going to name the baby whatever I want! lol

The garden is going well. My lettuce is still growing, and I'm waiting for my beans to come up, which should be in the next couple-three days. I also planted some carrots under the bean teepees, and those should be up in the next week if they decide they like my soil, which they may not. I amended it with some chopped fall leaves and sand, but it still may be too lumpy for them to take off. Gotta get that pic up of my garden with teepees and everything. Maybe today!

Well, it was a beautiful day today! We got up, ate at Elmers... treating ourselves to part of our $50/month allowance for eating out. We then hit Home Depot and Lowes and picked up some stuff for the Geo as well as the stakes I need to do my 'florida weave' for my tomatoes. We also hit a great deal on bamboo poles for making teepees for veggies like pole beans. So I put up two teepees, each with 4 legs, and will plant my beans as soon as the ground warms up just a titch more. My mesculen is coming up now, I'm very happy to see. I was afraid that it wouldn't due to all the nearly-fresh horse manure we tilled in, but I see the leaves emerging. So far for my garden I have lettuce planned as well as beans, broccoli, peppers, squash, tomatoes, strawberries (already going) onions, and maybe potatoes if any ground frees up that's in the sunshine. Oh, also have the peas popping up in the front yard. Some of my onions are popping up as well, but will have to figure out where I'll put them. I might just have to thin them and put them in containers.

McKenna was very good for me today, as was my husband! We hit the farmers market after the home improvement stores and found just onions and asparagus. I would have purchased asparagus, but he was out. And didn't want to write a check for a buck for the onions. I'll go next week and see if anything else shows up. I'm determined to try to eat what's in season this year and try to avoid out of season things, unless I really have some cravings for strawberries in November! I'm also planning to ask our herdshare lady Laura if she'll (not this year) let me help her process her meat chickens when the time comes. I think it would be good to know the whole process from start to finish, especially if I plan on ever having chickens for eggs and meat. Of course, that would only happen if we move out of this subdivision, which I'd like to think would happen eventually. I think it would be good for McKenna to really know the hows and whys of how meat gets on your plate. Educational and all that jazz! That's it for now... I'll have to take pictures of the teepees I put together in the garden, and then when I have pole beans growing on them! Yay, I'm so excited!

I had my physical therapy appointment yesterday. Patty watched McKenna for me, which was nice. I went in and saw a nice woman named Jamie. She stays at home with her kids except for wednesdays and only works from 8am to 1pm... How nice is that? Anyway, after having me move my arm this way and that and manipulating it she declared I have a weak rotator cuff with a bit of tendonitis. She said when it's painful, you tend to use it less, which actually worsens it over time. So she gave me exercises to do twice a day by pulling on a length of stretchy surgical tubing in different ways and I'll report back to let her know how I'm doing in a week or so. I think it's a good idea especially for if my shoulder decides to act up again down the road. I certainly don't want to get to the point I did where I had my arm in a sling! So, that was that and McKenna and I went home.
Noel and I discussed our garden a little bit in bed and I brought up a nice staking system I read about for tomatoes called the florida weave. It's easy to install, cheap, and tear down in the fall is a breeze... according to the article! Just need some stakes and twine and that's it. Here's a link for those interested: http://www.foogod.com/~torquill/barefoot/weave.html

I want to get my brandywine tomato into the ground asap since it's showing signs of leaf curl on the ends which indicate inconsistent watering. It's in a pot and I keep it evenly moist, so I'm hoping I don't lose it. It's a little early for it to go outside, but I think I'd better get it out there by this weekend. I'll have Noel put in the staking system this weekend and I have two more brandywine tomatoes starting from seed, so I'm hopeful for a good harvest. I'm going to put in some romas as well, so I can can up some sauce this year. We go through an awful lot of diced and stewed tomatoes, as well as sauce... so here goes! My peppers are coming along nicely, too. They will be nice and sturdy as I've had them right up under lights since they've emerged.

I did the milk run again this week, but thankfully won't have to go again for 5 more weeks. I picked up for an extra person, which will become a regular thing. She won't be participating in the drives out to get milk as she lives in Meridian. We're just dropping her share off at Melissas and then she'll just drive to Melissas to pick it up. Poor Laura and family are still living out of a motel since their commode isn't fixed yet! It took me a good while to get all the milk loaded. It's heavy stuff and I think I now know where I may have strained my shoulder! lol Also picked up eggs, and found some cracked, so I swapped them out for good ones in the other cartons. I felt a little bad about that, but I don't want to pay 1.50 for less than 12 eggs! But a buck 50 is a good price as the cheapest eggs I can get in the supermarket right now are about $2/dozen. And those are from the unhealthiest hens kept in battery cages. My eggs from Laura are from her free range hens and they have great diets... access to greens and bugs and good food and her eggs have the brightest orange yolks I've ever seen. And they're tasty, to boot. I also picked up a dozen for Patty as she wanted to give them a try. Laura had been charging a dollar 25 but I noticed that she raised her price up to 1.50, maybe for the higher price of feed? Not sure, but I'll let Patty know before I get anymore for her. They're still a great deal, in my opinion.

Last night I was cruising the internet and came across this puppy:
http://puregreencars.com/news/300MPG-All-Electric-and-Plug-In-Hybrid-Aptera.htm

It's slated to be available in the US for under $30,000 and the electric version will be coming out first, followed by the hybrid/plug-in model. Can't wait! As it is, Noel's getting a bonus check for the first time in a couple of years and he'll be able to fix up the Geo's engine, and maybe get the second Geo running. Then I wouldn't have to drive the SUV so often. :)