Another Day Has Passed

It's four o'clock. The weather is pleasant. Thomas, Melvin & Christopher came home from work and Austin & Matthew left for their rafting adventure. 

One boy's gear

It'll be quiet around here for a few days. Austin & Matthew plan to be gone until Saturday sometime. They're rafting up the Potomac River with some friends from MD. I hope and pray all goes well for them. It looks like they'll have pleasant daytime weather with cool nights.

Here's a list of some of the things they're taking.
Takes a lot to feed 5 guys for 3 days in the wild.

Austin worked half a day on the lawn care crew. Matthew was here all day. Thomas & the others worked on the log house but had to come home early to unload a truck load of doors.

I haven't done a whole lot today. Washed a load of laundry. Typed up laundry instructions for my niece who's coming next week, Lord willing, to help me. Looked online for an easy way to make a clothespin bag. And I got the "sewing food group" schedule done for the coming year.

When we church ladies get together once a month to sew for the needy, we make food for ourselves and the school children. We divide into two groups. One group brings food one month and is free the next. I'm responsible for the one group. I figured I'd better get a plan in place before my brain is crowded with other things. So glad it's done!

Matthew moved the piece of furniture into our bedroom. Now I can get the baby clothes washed and stored in it instead of in the Pack-n-Play. I need to sort through what I have and see what I still need.

Interestingly Thomas made that piece of furniture for the first house we lived in. He made it to fit in our bathroom for the exact purpose it will now have- a changing table. Although it held towels and washcloths there instead of baby clothes.

Our front flower bed has been a pill for me. It is large and full of a variety of flowers. The weeds also like that place too well so it is often hard to find the flowers and there's really not a good way to get to the front porch. 

Every year we talk about how to work with it and every year we don't really do much. Joanna and Christopher have been working on it slowly but surely and getting rid of the weeds. I would like to eliminate most of the flower bed and just keep a narrow row of flowers along the house. Who knows if we can make that happen..

Our cow has been having a swelling on her udder that concerned us. The vet was out to look at it and gave antibiotics to treat it. It hasn't been doing any good. We're trying some natural things and we'll see what happens.

With the antibiotic treatment we've had to dump the milk for about a week. That isn't easy for a family that's used to drinking all the milk they want! I usually use milk to get this handful down...

There's prayer meeting this evening so I should get supper ready and wind things up (or down) around here. 

It's Been a Good Day

We went to bed to the sound of rain last night. Sometime this forenoon I awoke to the sound of rain. The rain changed the men's plans for the day. Austin went to his lawn care job later than usual. Instead of all the rest heading off to a job, Thomas went by himself to do some service calls.

It was Providential that the others were here. I had thought I would be okay going to my midwife alone but when it came down to it I was very weary! I asked Matthew to take me and also help me shop for the things he and Austin will want for their rafting trip which begins tomorrow.

We stopped first at a roadside market to look for some peaches. Got a half bushel of seconds for $8. Also a bag of apples to make applesauce. I'm about out of applesauce and thought my family from the south would enjoy some.

Then we went to Walmart for a few items. I hate walking that giant store for just a few things but I survived.

After that it was on to the midwife. Baby was breech at the last checkup so I was pleased that she had turned herself by this time. She has turned in more ways than any of my others did. Makes me a little nervous. Just hope she knows how to position herself for a good birth!

My blood pressure was a little low which may be why I'm tired.?? Nothing that the midwife was concerned about. 

After the checkup we went to Aldi and then home. Then it was time for the guys to prepare to go to Kid's Club. They were soon out of here and I put some twice baked potatoes in the oven that I had frozen ahead of time. Cooked some fresh green beans from my sister and cut up some cucumbers from a friend's garden. That was a good supper.

Now I'm ready to go clean up and call it a day! Oh, I did get my piece of furniture (for a changing table) emptied out this morning! Accomplishment! The boys did laundry from their room today.

And I discovered that my sister Joanna and her friend will be staying at a cabin so I won't have company just yet after all. That's a welcome break. (Although I enjoy company. Don't misunderstand me!)

Day in the Life

A yellow butterfly flits past my window. Clouds cover the sun. A gentle breeze is blowing. I should be sitting outside but here I am in my air conditioned house typing away. Why should I SIT outside? Well, because I don't know what else to do in my present condition but I do need the fresh air and vitamin D that the great outdoors provides. 

I'm all alone today. Austin is out with the lawn care crew. Thomas and the three youngest went to wash a log house. It's one of a kind and Thomas hasn't found someone else to do it. He turned the log home care he had been doing over to someone else when he took on the overhead door business. But he says this one is special. Please don't ask me to explain.

My morning consisted of getting one more dress ready for nursing. I purchased a number of nursing dresses from the Facebook group "Dress Swappers". I'm cutting the necklines lower and the sleeves shorter and doing the sewing that this maneuver entails. Don't get me wrong. I'm not a low neckline, short, short sleeve kind of person. But these necklines choked me and the sleeves were long with elastic which I find very uncomfortable. They just needed some help. 

This is how the dresses came

How one looks that I've redone

I am also working on keeping the laundry going and I got another dress ironed. Most times if a dress needs ironing I pass it on to clothing recycling or to someone who doesn't mind ironing. If the dryer isn't going to iron it, I don't want it! But this one is one of my few maternity dresses so I'll put up with it for a period of time.

Only seven weeks left until my due date! Or six weeks if I go by the ultrasound. Who do you believe? Babies make their own due dates anyway. So we'll just take it as it comes. But I am definitely longing for the day I get to meet this little storm within me. She has enough energy, that's for sure!

I had listed some items on the local yard sale group on Facebook so I took some time to edit or delete some of those. Plus browsed a bit to see if anyone was offering something I need.

The kitchen is yelling to be cleaned up and it's time to feed my face some lunch. I'll see if I have anything more to add to my accomplishments by this evening. (Besides a nap. Ha)

Evening is here. I finished our laundry and Austin's. Cleaned up the kitchen and made supper. We had Cobb salad (basic recipe from Mandy in the Making) and cranberry jello salad (recipe found in this post). This was planned for lunch yesterday but then we were invited away. 

Christopher was home from work early enough to grill the chicken and everyone enjoyed the good food. 

I thought I would sit outside to eat my lunch but then it started raining. We've had rain showers off and on all afternoon. We haven't had an overabundance of rain lately so it's really good to see it coming down! I did think I would sit outside a bit this evening but now it's raining again.

My lunch- southwest pizza & lettuce salad

I started cleaning out a piece of furniture I want to use as a changing table in our bedroom but I didn't finish that task. Yes, most of my afternoon was spent sleeping. I told you it's not easy to be pregnant at my age. And I did say my brain is more lively than my body these days. Definitely happened to me again today!

Just an Update

Melvin does well with flower arrangements

July 19
Today is one of the hottest days we've had yet this summer. It has been quite warm and humid a lot of the time but for the next few days they're predicting it will be very warm. Thank God for AC! With pregnancy the heat is even harder to bear.

My strength has returned to a greater degree and I've been able to do more than I had earlier. I still tire easily and my brain hatches up more things than I can accomplish. 

Sister Joanna has been around since the middle of June and has occasionally come to my rescue when I've "bitten off more than I can chew". She is in the states for a few months, looking for ways to pay off debt before returning to Poland. She stays with my parents and relieves the rest of us by taking them places they need to go.

My parents both have very poor eyesight and are hoping to be able to get cataract surgery done sometime this year yet. I hope it will help their sight! 

June 21-24 was the biannual Miller camping in Ohio. That is Thomas' mom's siblings and descendants. We missed the gathering four years ago so it was good to catch up with everyone who came. Traveling was uncomfortable for this pregnant mother but we made it.

Following us home were Thomas' brother & wife from Haiti as well as his sister & family from Oregon. We had some time together for about a day and a half. Short but sweet.

Our garden gets planted little by little when the guys have time to work on it. I'll be happy for whatever they can turn out. Things seem to be growing well. This is our second year with the "Back to Eden" gardening method and we're pleased with the results so far. The earthworms are really making fertile soil.

One reason we're late with the garden is because the chickens were in there and needed another place to go. One hen hatched six chicks and we moved them into a chicken tractor. About the time we were ready to move the other hens in with them, three more started setting. Only one of them was successful and she hatched two chicks. Yesterday one of those chicks was discovered dead in a bucket of water. Sad day.

The blueberries, blackberries and raspberries are producing some fruit. Blueberries are pretty much over with at this point. 

We got a few strawberries this year too. Any little bit helps! 

A small harvest of sugar snap peas was so delicious. 

A few banana peppers have found their way to the house too.

A friend gave us some pie cherries. I didn't know how to quickly pit them so I did a bit of research and can now tell you. The easiest way to pit cherries with regular household tools is to use a stout drinking straw. Punch it in the stem end and the pit will come out the bottom end! Presto!

My sister has also shared a few garden goodies with us. Nothing compares to fresh home-grown produce! 

July 21
The heat continues today but tomorrow is forecast to be cooler. Praise the Lord! We are not accustomed to heat like this. I think in earlier years we had longer periods of this kind of heat but I'm thankful that this is only for a few days.

This week I'll need to go visit my midwife who usually comes to my house. She is pregnant as well and is developing pre-eclampsia so she needs more rest. She is due a few weeks before I am but she says she always goes early. She seems confident that she'll be up and running when I need her.

Joanna has a friend coming to visit her this week. She will be here Thurs through Mon and we'll provide lodging. So beginning Thurs there will be company in my house until August 19. A lot of coming and going to say the least. I counted seven trips we'll need to make to BWI airport to pick up or return family members. My sister's family will help with that.

Austin and Matthew have been planning a rafting trip on the Potomac river with some friends from MD. They leave Wed evening and come back Saturday, Lord willing. 

Melvin has been struggling with a stuffy head this week. I think it's his allergies kicking in. Lots of hay being made the last while. Last evening he had earache. We washed his ear out with peroxide, put a few drops of silver in and he took a pain pill. Thankfully that took care of the pain. He's still plugged up and hard of hearing.

Hay field behind our house

I'll share a few snapshots of what we've been eating this month. We've had a few grilled meat meals and Christopher is perfecting his grilling skills. He does an excellent job!

Pork chops

I tried a one month meal plan and shopping trip again this month. I did get more fruit, veggies & eggs halfway through. It definitely takes planning!

I made some progress on getting our room ready for baby this month. We have no extra bedrooms so we'll have to play it by ear to know where to include a girl. I don't like to have baby in my bedroom too long as neither of us sleep well then.

Just since I'm writing this the wind has kicked up and the temperature has dropped way down until it's very pleasant outdoors. 

Until next time....

Tuesday May 14

Today was a full and busy day. The two younger boys worked on some laundry this morning. Thomas and Matthew completed a construction job today that's been long and drawn out, fitted in between door jobs. Austin was out with the lawn crew.

I was up earlier than usual. After breakfast, I read with the boys until the midwife came. All seems to be going as a normal pregnancy should.

After my checkup, the boys had scattered. Melvin was mowing the lawn. Between mower breakdowns and rain, the lawn was looking pretty hairy. More hairy than pretty.

Christopher was watching chicks and trying to see how many hatched. He also emptied the dishwasher. (Click here to see a video of the chicks.)

I worked on making menus for the next couple weeks and getting a shopping list ready. Then I made a list of some food prep that could be done.

The last few months I've been using Eat at Home meal plans, simply because of pregnancy brain. It was too difficult to plan and Tiffany has all the thinking done for me. Actually, I did alternate my own meal ideas with hers but leaned heavily on her plans.

Now that I can think again to some degree, I decided to make my own plans for the next couple of weeks and see if I can whittle the grocery bill down.

Last year was not a real profitable garden year so my freezers and canned food shelves are quite empty. That does not help the grocery bill! Especially with six big eaters. My appetite has returned so that includes me.

After lunch we headed to school for program practice at 12:45. It's that time of year again. Practice every day this week and Friday evening is the performance. Next week we'll be FREE.

While the boys practiced (for an hour) I crawled into the back seat of the van, curled up and slept. If you've never tried pregnancy at age 46 you should! Ha ha. It is quite difficult.

After we were home and I rested a bit more, Christopher and I tackled some things in the kitchen. He started working on a breakfast casserole. Then he had to go do the milking early so Melvin finished the casserole.

I got a batch of bread mixed and rising, then worked on supper and other things. There were leftover mashed potatoes from Sunday that I reheated;

I fried burger, onions and cabbage together

and made a fruit salad with apples, canned pineapple, frozen blueberries and yogurt. Sweetened with a bit of maple syrup and flavored with vanilla.

The cow has really upped the milk production this spring. I turned a gallon of it into vanilla pudding, sweetened with Sucanat.

I want to make some freezer meals so I fried a couple packs of hamburger for that venture.

And a pound of bacon, baked for another potential breakfast casserole.

The fresh baked spelt bread.

It takes more bread with the guys getting their own breakfasts and lunches. With my poor coping skills at present, there are fewer leftovers as well for lunches. Plus Austin wants more finger foods to eat "on the run" with his lawn care job.

I felt pretty good about how much I accomplished single handedly. The boys were all gone to Kid's Club for the evening. But. ..if I do that much, it just kind of sets me back physically. One day up, the next day down. One step forward, two steps back.

Thomas spent the evening working on a chicken coop. The chickens have been in the fenced-in garden area but if we want to plant a garden they need to move. Plus the chicks need something with a "roof" so hawks and owls can't get them. AND we want something that we can move across the lawn or field to let them pasture feed.

The boys came home around nine o'clock, ate their supper and we called it a day. Kitchen cleanup waits till morning. That's the way we roll around here. Not the best way but hey, you can't always have the best, you know.

SURPRISE, SURPRISE

The day has come to let you in on our surprises. I finally have enough energy to sit at the desk and enough clarity of mind to be able to write. The last few months have not been conducive to either.

Toward the end of December I began to suspicion that we were pregnant. I didn't know how that could be so I said nothing to Thomas and just kind of waited.

In January our church ladies' sewing group reorganizes and we vote in a new committee member. I was voted to take that position and agreed to it; but on second thought, I stopped by the Dollar General store and bought a pregnancy test.

Oh my! Those positive test lines turned pink so fast! Now what? I had lots of fear because I knew this either meant months of miserable pregnancy or else another loss. Of course, I dreaded the latter the most. After three losses I thought I just couldn't take ONE more.

The sewing committee position had to be turned down. Pregnancy really takes my energy away plus if it continued on to baby I knew I couldn't do both. It was distressing to me to have to inform people of my condition so early on but at my stage in life no one thinks twice that I might not be able to fulfill normal duties. 

The distress came from hearing their excitement and not sharing in it. How could I be excited when any week might mean a loss? I finally came to the conclusion that it's okay to anticipate and it will be okay to be hurt again. 

With so many people knowing my situation there were a lot of prayers covering me and the baby. My nutritionist has been "holding my hand" all along and keeping me pumped full of supplements. I still struggled/struggle with having enough energy to keep our house clean and food on the table.

The church sisters have been very gracious in the help they've extended to me. A meal brought in now and then. A pot of soup. My assignments for fellowship meals taken. Teaching Sunday school when it's my turn. A batch of granola. Or two. Help with church house cleaning. Washing my windows. 

I'm sure I've missed something but oh my! They know how to make me feel loved and cared for. What I would do without the church we're a part of, I don't know.

Another good friend said she will raise garden produce for me this summer since I won't feel like bending over. I am so blessed to have such friends!

The boys have really stepped up to the plate as well. Helping more with cooking, cleaning and laundry than what they normally would. They've been getting their own breakfast. Even Thomas has perfected his egg frying skills.

People often ask, "What do the boys think about it? How do the boys feel about it?" They're excited. They were all so close together that they really don't have clear memories of babies. But here's a unique thing to have another sibling at their age.

They've been positive about it all along. When I was in doubt as to whether the pregnancy would continue, one of them would say, "This one will!"

Once when I was speaking of some event or situation in relation to the pregnancy, I said, "If this continues to baby". Melvin asked, "What else would it be? Tiger?"

Am I excited? I hardly know. I think about all the realities of the situation. Sleepless nights. Childhood illness. Child training. My age.

By the time this child is 14 Thomas and I will be 60 and Christopher our youngest will be 28. How's that for perspective??

But yes, I'm excited. This is God's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes. He will be (and has been!) with us every step of the way and He has a plan for this child!

Springtime and second trimester have given me back some energy. Life looks a lot brighter. Even though some days you would still see me in bed nearly all day. 

Just this week we got our 20 week ultrasound done and they tell us we're having a .....

Click here to see the reveal. Let me know in the comments if you are not able to go there. (I'm sorry the video is sideways. I don't know how that happened and don't know how to fix it!)

Goulash

Here's another simple recipe for those times you can't think what to cook at five o'clock in the evening.

Dump a bunch of cans of stuff in a kettle, heat it through and serve it up!

We called it goulash when I was growing up. My family really likes it. I served it with cheese slices, cornbread and applesauce the last time I made it. Toasted cheese sandwiches would be good if you're bread eaters.

Here's what you need... 
1 qt cooked pinto beans
1 qt tomato chunks
1 qt green beans
1 pack of hot dogs, cut in coins

That's the basic recipe. You can tweak it how you will. I used a can of baked beans plus the pinto beans. I also added a bit of leftover salsa. All because I didn't even have one qt of tomatoes.

Then I like meat that is a little more real than hot dogs so I used some uncured Polish sausage I found at the discount grocery store.

So there you have it. Plain and simple and oh so good!