Sweetie Sewing Sweethearts :)

This week, I decided to start a Sewing Project with Sweetie. This is the first time that she has sewn something, and she did a fantastic job!

For being only five and half, I think she has a bright future of sewing ahead of her. I documented the process of her project, which was a heart-shaped pillow.

We went to the fabric store a few weeks ago, and Sweetie picked out the fabric herself. I think she has an excellent eye for beautiful fabric. And, as you look at these pictures, notice the color of the fabric she chose. ;-) And notice what color she is wearing for these past three days. And No, that wasn't planned. ;-)


Before I had Sweetie Cut out her pillow, I had her practice with these practice cutting patterns. I figured that it would help her with her moter skills when it came time to really cut out her fabric.

I drew a heart pattern from a heart- shaped cake pan, on her material. I used a sharpie pen. I know. I should of used chalk, but it worked out just fine. :) Here Sweetie is cutting out the heart. She did an excellent job.
Sweetie learning how to work the peddle on the machine. Push it soft to go slow. Push it hard to go fast. I took the thread out of the machine for this lesson; otherwise it wouldn't be very good for the machine.
When I learned to sew, I remember my teacher using patterns like these to teach me how to steer and control the fabric before I really started to sew. I thought that these cutting practice sheets would work very well. They did.

Sweetie did an awesome job with her hand, eye, feet coordination! I was really surprised, and she was giddy with excitement. :)
The next day, she practiced more on some paper, then she learned how to pin her pillow together. She's coming awfully close to her finger there!

On the third day, she begins the actual sewing. This was a bit more tricky than the paper, but she is getting the hang of it!
Notice how carefully she works.
The last stages of her pillow. Stuffing it was lots of fun!
Another tricky part. Hand sewing. I had to help her out alot on this part. This requires extra fine moter skills. She has really tiny hands.
A job well done, and a little girl who is excited and proud of her accomplishments. She went right to bed and slept with her creation.I do believe she will be a better seamstress than her mommy. And I don't mind one bit. :)

To see what other's are showing and telling about today, please click on the Show and Tell picture at the beginning of my post. Have a wonderful Day. :)

Treating Fevers

I am going to probably delve into a controversial topic here. But this is what *I* do and what works for *me*. That is why I am writing about it in Works For Me Wednesday. :)

I am an unconventional mommy when it comes to treating my children's sickness. I believe that the mom and dad have the ultimate responsibility for taking care of their children and their health. Which I believe means, they should inform themselves as much as they are able on how to care for their children during sickness.

I have chosen the topic of fevers because this is where I seem to get a lot of raised eyebrows over, so I thought that maybe if I gave some information about it, some would understand where my husband and I are coming from.

When my child shows sign of sickness, and a fever begins, I do not rush to the medicine cabinet and bring out the Tylenol. I went to an MD who told me that the fever is the bodies natural way of fighting the sickness that the child is dealing with. Bringing the fever down for the sake of bring the fever down can actually prolong the sickness.

Instead, I should try to find out what the sickness *is* and treat the sickness not the fever. Sometimes it is a cold, so I will give vitamin C, an herbal formula made especially for children etc. If the fever is climbing, a tepid bath brings the fever down for awhile and tends to make the child feel a bit more comfortable.

Also, I make sure that my children get *plenty* of fluids during the fever. Mine like Pedalite or Gatorade. ;-)

There have been times where I have used Tylenol. When the fever reaches about 103 I will give some Tylenol; and this is usually at night so they can sleep better. The high temps seem to climb during the night or during resting periods for some reason.

Many people get scared, thinking that a high fever will cause the child's brain to fry. There is a certain point where that *can* happen, but it is usually a serious disease that would cause a fever to go high enough to do that.

Children who have problems with seizures anyway, are more likely to have problems with a high fever. But if the child is acting "normal" such as talking coherently, crying and whining, and showing signs of *life* the fever is probably best left alone.

When Sweetie had the flu one year at 19 months, her fever got high enough for me to use Tylenol, and I could tell she *needed* it. Tepid Baths were not working, and she would just lay there staring off into space. Once she had the Tylenol she started acting like herself.

I would like to quote Shonda Parker on Fevers. Shonda Parker wrote a book called Mommy Diagnostics, which is a great reference tool in treating your children during a sickness naturally. Her are her thoughts about it:

"Fever and Fever Reducers

Since I am NOT a physician and not the child’s mother, I could never make the decision as to what you should do for your child. Choosing family herbal care is choosing to self-diagnose and self-medicate unless medical attention is needed. Now, it’s also hard without information to be able to make those kinds of decisions. What has the Parker family done in regard to this issue? Two of my children, my boys, have had febrile seizures. I believe this is due to some protective mechanism for their body that God has given them, and yes, when you abruptly change a child’s temperature status, a febrile seizure can result. With both boys, I’ve allowed the fever to rise until 103 degrees (when they are under 2 years of age), then I choose to treat with Tylenol if all of my natural fever measures are not helping. For my older children, I let the fever go as long as they are not miserable. I am always treating with herbs, vitamins, physical medicine, etc. If they are in extreme pain, I choose a pharmaceutical that I’m comfortable with.
Tylenol can be toxic to the liver. I choose to use milk thistle any time Tylenol is used in this house. I NEVER use Tylenol (acetaminophen) if I have previously given any alcohol tinctures or extracts to myself or my family. Tylenol mixed with alcohol, in any amount, is a risky measure – people have died from the combination.
The herbs I use are a combined product of peppermint, yarrow and elderberry as well as feverfew (Yummy Yarrow and Elderberry). In known bacterial infections, I also use white willow. I’m a little uncomfortable using white willow bark during viral infections in children.
I do not use homeopathic remedies. The system of homeopathic medicine would require me not to use my herbs if I were going to use it the way it was intended. I like my herbs and am unwilling to give them up."

Anyway, this is what Works For *Me*. Like Shonda said, I am not a doctor, and it is up to the parent to decide what is best for their child. I am not against using Tylenol to treat fevers, but I don't jump to use it whenever my child has a fever either. So that is what Works For Me. :)

My suggestion with this writing this post, is to inform yourself. A lot of people seem to blindly follow the doctor. And while I believe doctors are wonderful. ( I have used them when my child has been sick) I also think parents should inform themselves and be knowledgeable as possible when it comes to their children's health.

My recommendation is to buy Shonda Parker's Mommy Diagnostics. This is a great place to start to learn how to begin treating your children with home remedies. The book also gives you much encouragement and confidence in your abilities as your child's mother to learn how to effectively treat your children when they are sick.

For More Works For Me Wednesday Tips, please click on the button at the beginning of my post. Have a wonderful day! :)

*disclaimer: I am not a doctor, and I am not telling you that this is what you need to do to treat your child. As a parent please be responsible in *your* own parenting decisions. Thank you! :)

In *Everything* Give Thanks!

I Thessalonians 5:18

In *everything* give thanks: for this the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Today I may get a little long winded with this post, but it something that I have to remember to remind myself constantly, and something that God has blessed me because I have given thanks to him.

So, I will tell a little story. :) To make an extra long story short with too many details to bore you with, my husband and I finished up our last college credits after we married about six months into our marriage.

We sold our little home, and moved back into a college dorm with no air conditioning. When we did this I was four months pregnant. This was fine at the time. I wasn't overly huge, and the weather was nice. But as the months progressed closer to the summer, and as my belly grew, the heat became uncomfortable. As graduation neared, and temperatures sored into the low to mid 90's it became *very* uncomfortable. The mornings were not too bad, as I was in class where there was air conditioning. :)

However, the afternoons were pretty bad. So I got this wicked idea in my head to ask the Lord to have someone take pity on me, and have them offer me a cool place to stay (like their home) while they were at work. That way, I could do my homework in comfort and relax. My legs were beginning to swell from the heat in the last stages of pregnancy, and it was just plain hot in my dorm. So I prayed, then I hung around in the afternoon hoping someone would ask me how I felt, and I could tell them all my woes, and hopefully they would take pity and offer me a room.

I was pretty disappointed that no one did so. Discouraged, I went up to my hot room. As I was sitting on my bed with only the bare necessities on me, in front of my fans, after I had taken a cold shower; I *decided* that instead of dwelling on the uncomfortable, I could be thankful for what I did have.

So I began to thank the Lord for the cold running water, for in some countries you have to walk a long distance and carry the water. Then I thanked the Lord for the fans that were blowing on me, because I could have no electricity for fans to work!

I fell asleep, and forgot all about my prayer that the Lord would have someone take pity on me. One day, when the heat was especially bad, I stayed in a school building and sat in a comfortable chair, and tried to take a nap.

A teacher walked by and asked how I was doing, and I said fine. She asked me how my feet were (because they were really swollen) and I said that they were fine. Then she asked me if I would like to have a dorm room that had air conditioning. A few students had left during the semester, and there were rooms available. I said Of course! So I went and choose a room that had really cold air.

As I got in that nice and cold room, I realized that I had given God Thanks despite my circumstances, and He probably took pleasure in that. He probably won't do that every time we are in a tough circumstance. After all, there are more problems people face than not having air conditioning. But it showed me that God does care about our comfort and all the "little" things in our lives. I didn't complain about my circumstances, and He blessed me in a way more above than I could think. Instead of staying in someones house and having to leave, I could sleep overnight in a cold room!

So this Thanksgiving remember to give God Thanks for everything, including your tough circumstances. As I have progressed into our marriage, there have been much more "important" things come up, besides having air conditioning. And I must admit that I haven't responded to each situation as I did above. I wish I could say that I have; because it is so freeing when I do!

With that said, I would like to list some things that I am Thankful for.

#1. That Jesus died on the cross and took my sins and placed them on himself. I should of died, but He did instead because He loved me. The only way that I could pay for my own sins is death. I have sinned against a Holy God, and he cannot let me into Heaven because of this sin of mine. His justice wouldn't allow it, even though God is compassionate and does not want me to go to Hell, his perfect justice demanded it. God would not be God. I broke the law, I must pay for my crime.

But God had a plan. He is a loving God. He doesn't want us to go to Hell. Just as much as God is a God of pure justice, He is a God of pure love. So He sent His Son, Jesus Christ (God himself) and placed our sins upon Jesus. Jesus died instead of me. God's Justice was satisfied in behalf of my sin. I do not have to work for my salvation. I do not have to be good enough. All I must do, is agree with God, that I have sinned against Him, and trust that Jesus has made the complete payment for my sin. Jesus has paid for my crime. I don't have to go to Hell! Jesus will credit his righteousness to me if I just believe and bet my eternal soul that that is true! What a wonderful God!!!!!

#2. I am thankful for my husband. Here he and I before we began our courtship at the Christmas banquet at our college.

I was pretty young when I got married. I was two months from turning 20. Marriage is a big decision is life. I was pretty picky about men. My husband was the first one that I "dated", the first one I gave my heart to, and the first one I kissed on our wedding day.

But as I sit and think about our marriage in hinds sight, I am soooooo grateful for such a wonderful husband. He isn't perfect; neither am I. But of all the guys out there that do what they can to "catch" a girl, and then turn out to be crazy lunatics afterwards, I am very blessed indeed! ;)

This Thanksgiving I am especially thankful for him. I am going through a tough time with various issues, and he has been there right beside me. He has been the "strong" one in the family. He listens to me with an understanding heart, and tries to make me feel better by bringing me my favorite flavor of ice cream. :)

God knew what he was doing when I choose this man and allowed me to marry him. My husband has caused me to grow in more ways than I could of imagined. He is my best friend, and I cannot imagine life not being married to him. Being married is tough work for sure! But it is a good work. I love and respect my husband so much!!! Look at what he did for me on his day off.

He cleaned my van from top to bottom! He took the seats out, and vacuumed the floors, he took upholstery cleaner and cleaned the seats. He got all the sticky juice spills out of the cup holders. He worked on the van for about six hours!! If anyone knows my husband well, they know that cleaning isn't one of his specialties; although he has many other great ones.

Yet he did it, and I didn't even ask! When Sweetie saw it she said, "Our van is clean! I have never seen such a clean van in my life! I just can't believe my eyes!" That shows you how bad our van was. I tried to clean it as much as I could, but with three children, it is quite difficult. So anyway, I am thankful for such a wonderful husband!

#3. This will be my last thing I write about what I am thankful for. There is so much more to list, but this entry has gotten way too long. I am thankful for my children. They bring so much into our lives, that I can't begin to write about it here. That was one of the main reasons I started this blog; so I could write about my adventures with them.

I am going to post their baby pictures, because this is how I received them from the Lord; as babies. :)

This is Sweetie I don't have any new born photos on the computer. She was about six or seven months here. This is Bean
Here is Little Tiny Boy.

I told you that today was going to be a little long winded. If you have read this far, be sure to stop by Kelli's and see what other's are writing about Thanksgiving.(If you have the time after reading mine!) Just click on the "Giving Thanks" button at the beginning of my entry. Have a wonderful Day! :)

Wordless Wednesday~It Finally Happened.

For More Wordless Wednesday Pictures, visit here.

Works For Me Wednesday~Teething Tablets

This Works for Me Wednesday is for Hyland's Teething Tablets. I am sure many of you have heard of these, and maybe have tried them for your own babies. Many times when I have talked with other ladies about these on forums or in real life, they think it has a placebo effect on the child.
Well I am here to dispel that myth. I believe that they really *Do* work because I have tried them myself. A couple of years ago when my wisdom teeth were coming through, the teeth were causing a lot of pain for me. My gums were sore and swollen, and it was giving me a slight headache. Then I got to thinking, "I wonder if this is how poor babies feel when they are teething?" I happened to have some for my own little girl, and I thought that there was no harm in at least trying the tablets. I popped a couple under my tongue and it helped soooo much! It didn't take the soreness completely away, but it took the sharp hurting away, and my slight headache was gone. They really helped me get through that tough time in my life! Ha ha! :)
As one that can *talk* to vouch for this product; they worked for *me* as an adult, so I am pretty sure they will work on your baby too. I know that my baby was a lot less fussy after I gave her these; plus they are very safe to use, I don't believe you can overdose on these.(Disclaimer: just be sure to read the label, and Never leave medication within a child's reach).
Another consideration is that a paramedic warned us in my MOPS group that Baby Orajel can be dangerous because it causes extra saliva to produce in the mouth, and if the baby sleeps, they could choke on their own saliva if you give that to them right before bed time. Another reason to gives these a try.
I have found them in my local supermarket in the baby section, but I do know for sure you can get them at a health food store. So that is my Works For Me Wednesday Tip. :)

For more Tips and Ideas visit Rocks In My Dryer

Bean was Sick On Sunday :(

Bean woke us up three times during the night on early Sunday morning. The first time I woke up with her, she was being irrational about her water cup. She kept crying that when she drank it, it hurt her head. I thought that maybe the valve in the sippy cup was on backwards, which sometimes causes the sippy cup to not work, and you end up sucking and sucking and nothing coming out. I tested it my self ;-) and it was fine. She did not believe the cup was ok, then I began to wonder if she was sick. The thermometer was in Tiny Boy's room, so I had to sneak in there, and of course, in the process of stumbling in the dark looking for the thermometer, I woke him up. I took Bean's temperature, and it read normal.

I went Back to Tiny Boy's Room and rocked him a bit to settle him back down. I then went back to bed, only to be awoken an 1 1/2 later by crying Bean. Daddy said he would go and check her out. Pretty soon, I heard the freezer door open, and ice being moved around. When Daddy got back into bed, he told me that Bean said she wanted her water cold.

We both drifted back to sleep, and Bean woke up *again* an hour later. Daddy went in there again, and couldn't find the problem this time; I then went into her room to see what was up . She told us that her tummy hurt, and so I took her temp again. This time it was reading warmer. I lied down with her and both of us dozed, and Daddy went back to bed. A couple of times Bean woke up crying that her feet were hurting her.

I got up around the time that we needed to start getting ready for church, and I took her temp again, which was now reading 100. Bean wasn't going to church. She cried about this, and tried to tell us her tummy was feeling better. I fed some breakfast to the girls, got Tiny Boy and Sweetie ready for church, and did a few other things. When I was done with the chores, I found bean as you see her in the above picture. Apparently her tummy wasn't feeling *too* much better. :)

After everyone left for church, she stayed on the couch a bit and cried because Sweetie went without her. I asked if she was tired, and she, rubbing her eyes, whined out, "yes". I asked her if she wanted to sleep in my bed. She thought that was a good idea, and went there on her own.

About a half hour later, the weather warning radio went off to warn us of a tornado watch. Bean then stomps into the kitchen, with the most grumpiest attitude and said, "Mommy, That woke me up!" I turned it off, and told her to go back to bed. She stomped back to bed. I decided to join her too, as I was starting to feel a little puny too. We both slept until Daddy, Sweetie, and Tiny Boy came home until 1:00pm! Yikes!

Blessing From The Lord

Last night, after I tucked all the children in bed, I heard a thump, then a child crying. At first I thought it was one of the girls, because that is something I would normally hear from them. But it was Little Tiny Boy. I thought that was kind of peculiar, and wondered what he could of done to make that noise. He sleeps in a crib, and he is too short to climb out of it.

Then it dawned on me. Our crib is a Baby Tenda, which has a door on the side. I forgot (I know I am a bad mommy) to latch the door from his afternoon nap. I had taken him out of the door after nap time, but when I put him to bed that night, I had put him in the normal way.

Anyway, I get in his room, and somehow he ended up under the crib. I am not sure how that happened! I then picked him up and soothed him by rocking him.

As I was rocking him, I started to think about my children and how fast they were growing up. My children are pretty close in age. The oldest and second are 20 months apart, and the second and third are 24 months. It just seems I get in a rote routine, with them that I don't really stop to enjoy them. I have also been having some hard time emotionally, and that makes it harder to stop and enjoy your children when you are dealing with some other issues. I just do things because they have to be done, without really thinking about it. It is just automatic most of the time. Sometimes I just feel *numb* to those around me, because my mind's going in a different million directions. I have been doing better with this than I normally do, but just sitting there quiet and thinking about all of this, put into perspective of how much I am missing with my children.
This was really bothering me, and I started to pray about it. I asked the Lord to please help me to stop and start enjoying my children because they are growing up so fast. After I was done praying, I was still rocking Tiny Boy. I then started to pat and rub his back. All the sudden I felt a tiny little hand patting my arm. Boy that did my heart alot of good, and I sure did enjoy that! Tiny Boy is only 14 months, and he was showing his affection back to me. Out of all my children, I don't remember my babies ever doing that at such a young age. Maybe babies do this, but my girls didn't, and it was the first time that Tiny Boy did.

I found ironic that *just* after I prayed that the Lord would help me to enjoy and savor the moments with my children, that Tiny Boy showed some love to his mommy. The Lord is so good, to even hear the slightest details of our heart concerns. :)

Bean's Potty Trained!!!

For those of you who are interested in knowing, Bean was pottied trained in the end of January sometime. She still has a little accident now and then, and going #2 has been a challenge. She doesn't like to be sitting when she does that, so she holds it, till I put a pull up on her for nap time or bed time. She will use that opportunity to finish up business. But she has gone # 2 on the potty; it is all psychological with her.

I think I found a way to potty train that works for me. I wait until the child is well aware (and I am too that they know) of the sensations of going potty.

Then I say to them, "OK, your a big girl now", and put them in their "big" girl panties. Give them their favorite drink (In Bean's case Capri Suns) and let them have as *much* as they want. They will have a couple of accidents, but they will be going all day, and finally learn how to control themselves. It took about a day for Bean to learn. On the second day she had about two accidents. Now she has very few, as long as I am consistent in making sure sits on the potty every two or three hours.

During the training process she got a piece of candy every time she went to the potty. She caught on to the this pretty quick, and would come tell me she needed to go potty so she could get the candy. So it was a very positive experience for her, because she drank juice that she rarely has, and ate tons of candy.

Night Light Crisis.

You may think it is funny, but maybe not as funny as I did. I was sitting down in the living room winding down from the day, (And eating a cupcake) When I hear this blood curdling scream. Daddy yells out to me from the computer room "Is that Little Tiny Boy?" So I get up half heartedly to see what is going on. The scream is coming out from the girl's room and as I get closer, I realize that there are two blood curdling screams coming from the room. I throw open the door in alarm, wondering what on earth happened thinking that maybe Sweetie fell from her bunk. As the light came on, there was Bean screaming her little heart out, nightlight in hand, trying to put it back in the socket. I said, "What on earth is wrong!?" Sweetie, screams, "The Cinderella light fell out all by itself, but Bean is trying to fix it!" They both proceed to scream again at the thought of it falling out by itself. At this point I couldn't c ontain myself, and I began to laugh, I had to leave the room.
By this time Daddy comes, because I am laughing and the girls and screaming blood curdling screams. I was laughing so hard that he told the girls that I was crying too because their light fell out. He settles them down, and I am still laughing. I come into the kitchen and I just can't stop. Daddy still didn't understand completely was going on, and so I tried to explain it to him, all the while still laughing. Finally I settled down, and then began to cry because I was laughing so hard. I don't know what tickled me so much, because I have not laughed like that since I can remember. I just could not *stop* myself, no matter how hard I tried! The look on the girls face! Bean was trying so *hard* to be the brave one, and get out of the bed in the unknown dark. And Sweetie was huddled in a ball in the corner of the wall on the top bunk just crying her eyes out, all because the night light fell out!

You may think this is strange, but I thanked the Lord for such a good laugh.