Palm Art: Field of Flowers

Last year I wasn't able to get around to crafting with my palms until it was too late. They were all dried out and not bendable. This year I was determined to make new flowers for my sad looking (and dusty!) flowers that I made five years ago. It was time for them to be burned and buried (or brought to church for them to burn). Since the boys were napping and Adam took Nora to work with him, I was able to get some quite time to document the process and show others how to make them as well!

You can either work with a palm that it still together with it's two "leaves" or separate them and make something else with the other half. I chose to separate them. If you leave them together you'd just have a lot more flowers.

Next you need to split the palm into several little segments that are about an 1/8 inch wide. I ended up with 9 on my single "leaf."

Then you pick out strand, and figure out what height you want your flower to be (I like to vary mine so they're not all the same height. Then you start to make your petals. First, just make a simple loop.

Then make a second so that it looks like you have a bow. You're going to want to pinch the center to hold all the petal centers together.

Then make a third petal by bringing the loose end under the center of the flower and pinching it.

Then make a fourth petal by bringing the loose end over the center of the flower and pinching it.

The make the last petal, the fifth one, by bringing the loose end under the center of the flower and pinching it.

Now that you have all your petals pinched together at the center, you're going to use the loose end to weave around the petals to hold them in place. Start by going over the petal next to the loose end, then under then next one, then over... (you get the idea), making sure you pull it snugly to the center of the flower as you go. You will not want to include the stem of the flower in your over-under weave, or you won't end up with a true weave.

Keep pinching the center until you have gone around twice (once won't hold all the petals in place). Then you can let go of the center and keep weaving over-under until you only have a tiny tail left.

The tiny tail you can stick through a little hole or gap you see in the center to hold it in place so it doesn't unravel.

Once you're done with the weave, if you're finding you have unevenly sized petals (which I almost always do!),

you can adjust them by pulling a little on the smaller petal. You can play with it a little to get them all evenly sized by following the path you made with the petals.

Allowances: Six Years Later

Shortly after we were married, we discovered that Adam and I had very different spending habits. I was a saver, he was a spender. We both still fit into those categories very much so, but almost 7 years later, we've found some middle ground that really seems to work for us.

First of all, communication has always been a huge key for us in all areas, but especially when it comes to financial concerns (and you'll see that as you read on). Even in the beginning, we were communicating about how I didn't like the idea of him spending money on this or that, and how he felt we had the money to spend on whatever it was. We were often in disagreement in our communication, but we were talking about it and being honest with each other. We have never hid money or purchases from each other, as that only causes them to not trust you, if (but more likely when) they find out, and builds resentment. Of course, we've asked each other to not check the account around birthdays or Christmas, but we've talked about what our limits on gifts are each time it comes to that time of year.

With our differences in spending habits and our almost constant disagreements, several people suggested we try an allowance system. Adam was really for it, since it gave him money to spend, I wasn't really for it, as I saw it as something children get from their parents, and I didn't want to be Adam's parent, I wanted to be his wife. Eventually, though, he won me over to the idea.

We worked out a system that suits our needs, but have been flexible with it as well. Life changes at different stages, and so we've adapted our system to meet our needs. First, to address part of my concern, we both get an allowance from us together (not mine from him and his from me). The amount has varied at different life stages anywhere from $10-$30 per week. When we've had a had a good steady income from his job or my job, it's been higher, when we had lower paying jobs it was lower. And when Adam was in college, I was on unemployment, and we had a new baby, we weren't allowed to spend any of our allowance.

I've heard some people use a cash or envelope system, but I knew that wouldn't work for us. We use credit cards pretty much exclusively because of their benefits (and pay them off each month, but that's for a different post). For us, we kept track in a spreadsheet. We picked Monday as our payday, and I'm in charge of keeping track, since I'm the one handling all the receipts when I'm paying all the bills anyway. It is a little more work for me, but Adam helps by entering his stuff sometimes, and the financial peace (not to steal from Dave Ramsey!) we have found between us is totally worth it to me.

We came to an agreement on what would come out of our allowances, and what wouldn't, but again, it's a flexible system where we communicate. We decided it would be our "fun money." If we wanted to go out for lunch with co-workers, or grabbing a drink at Caribou, or video games, or new clothes, that would come out of our allowance. Gas for our cars would not, unless we were taking a long trip somewhere, for example, hunting up north, or going to a friend's cabin. Groceries or going out to eat together or as a family would not either. We also decided right away that if either of us were thinking of saving up and making a large purchase, that we would discuss it first, like when I bought my DSLR camera or when Adam built both of us new computers.

The day we started, we both understood that our system was going to be flexible. Adam already wanted to "pre-spend" his allowance. While I wasn't too keen on the idea, I understood that he wanted to go to a gun show with his family, and had been considering buying a gun for a while, so I was okay with it, but then he agreed that he wouldn't be spending any money until he got out of the hole. And, other than needing to grab lunch a couple of days, he didn't spend anything. There have been a couple other times since we started as well where things have come up where Adam wants to "pre-spend" or take an "interest-free loan" out. We discussed what would be fair, and then decided on what we should do. 

Now, six year later, I think we've both learned a lot from each other. Not just from the allowance system, but from our communication. I'm finding that Adam is finding ways to be more thrifty and searching for the best deals on stuff that he wants to buy. He's also become a better saver, and not just with his allowance, but with money that we spend (or don't spend) together. In turn, Adam has helped me learn to be okay with spending money on myself and not feel guilty about it. 

A Little Scare for Daddy

I had my 30 week appointment last week, and, as is usual for me, I started measuring behind. Dr. Mahan didn't seem really concerned even though I was measuring 2 1/2 weeks behind, until she looked at my chart. Apparently, I hadn't grown at all since my last appointment (when I measured perfectly!). I had an ultrasound scheduled for my next appointment at 32 weeks, so I figured I'd just have the growth ultrasound tacked onto that ultrasound. But, she wanted to get me in right away, and that she did!

Lacy, the ultrasound tech, came right to my room and brought me back. I wasn't worried about the growth part at all, but I wanted to know about the cyst that she found at my 20 week ultrasound. She checked, and it was gone! Praise the Lord! I know they told me that it wasn't anything to worry about, but I still did a little.

I was also hoping that she could get a 3D ultrasound so that I could have one of her along with the rest of the kiddos. That baby girl was all squished and cuddled in there though. She tried, and when she turned on the 3D, I could see her furrowed eyebrows. She has a mad face just like Nora did in her 3D ultrasound, and through most of her newborn stage. I'm just going she's not actually as mad as Nora was as a small baby!

29 Weeks 4 Days

Once she finished the ultrasound, she told me that she was measuring at 30 weeks and 1 day, perfectly! I thought then that I could cancel my ultrasound before my next appointment, but apparently Dr. Mahan didn't have her check that the placenta isn't an issue with my c-section scar since it's anterior. (Maybe baby girl will cooperate for a 3D next time!)

When I got home, mom (who was watching the kids) and I were working in the kitchen when we clogged the disposal. Adam hates having to take it apart and unclog it, so when he got home, I told him I had bad news and tried to butter him up. He wasn't having it though and was pushing away wanting to know what was going on. I finally told him what mom and I had done and he looked relieved. He knew I had an appointment and thought the bad news was about the baby, not the kitchen sink. I felt horrible, not even thinking that that was where his mind went! I think that's the happiest I've seen him fix that darn sink though (not that he was smiling about it).

Review: Classroom Friendly Pencil Sharpener

My 4-year-old daughter, Nora, is starting to do more hand writing, but hates worksheets. She got a journal for Christmas from Daddy, and is loving writing sentences in it (with my help, of course), and drawing a picture to go with the sentence.

She had been using markers for pretty much everything, but I thought it was time to have her start using pencils. Being a former math teacher at a school that closed, you'd think I'd have enough pencils, sharpeners, and erasers. Nope. I had loads of unsharpened pencils, a few erasers, and absolutely no pencil sharpener! (I don't understand how that happened! Not even one of those itty bitty ones that you pinch between your fingers.)

So my search for a pencil sharpener began. Since we're planning on homeschooling for the foreseeable future, I wanted to get one that would last, and I wouldn't have to replace all the time. Being a math teacher, and having to stop my teaching so a student could sharpener his/her pencil, I also wanted one that was relatively quite that wouldn't interrupt me working the our other children. I checked some homeschool groups on Facebook for ideas and recommendations, and I stumbled across Classroom Friendly Supplies' Pencil Sharpener. It looked like a pencil sharpener that would work for our homeschool, so I requested to review one.

When I first opened it, Nora started playing with it, and the face plate popped forward. I was scolding her for breaking it, until I realized that it was supposed to come out, so that it would hold the pencil and draw it in as you were sharpening. Since we haven't mounted it, I had to hold the sharpener down while I cranked the handle, which was a little tougher for Nora's small hands, but she managed just fine! She then wanted to sharpen a bunch of pencils, so I pulled out some of those broken, unsharpened pencils I had laying around and let her have at it! I figured she'd need some help with it, but I left the kitchen and when I came back she had already sharpened several.

Once I finally got to play with it more, all that was left to sharpen was colored pencils. (Thanks, Nora!)

Fresh & Ready to Color!

PROS
-Really quite compared to all the ones I've had in classrooms
-Holds the pencil in there straight to avoid little hands breaking it inside and jamming it
-Quick
-Doesn't "eat" the pencils, but gives a nice smooth point

Pencil Shavings Left on the Table

CONS
-Super fine, sharp points on the pencils quickly break when littles are still learning how hard to press (I discovered if you don't sharpen it until the face plate meets up with the sharpener it will give you a "duller" point, which is easier for my littles to write with, so it's more something to be aware of than a super big con when considering to purchase it)
-Leaves little a bit of a mess (okay, I haven't found a pencil sharpener that doesn't do this, but the shavings still drive me crazy, so I have to list it as a con)

Gender Reveal: It's a ......

Being on Baby No. 5 means that we have to start getting creative with announcements. Well, maybe not have to, but we think it's fun to announce in creative ways. We haven't done fancy gender reveals for all our kids, just the last two (now three) babies. 

The first one we did was for Nate (baby number 3). Since we had done balloon releases for Danni's birthdays, I thought it would be a perfect fit for us to do a balloon release to find out if we were expecting a boy or a girl. We didn't do a fancy party, just took a few minutes out of our day helping my mom with her garage sale to open up a box that my friend, Amanda from Two Little Gingers, had filled with balloons for us.

Finding out Nate was a BOY!

For Sam (baby number 4), finding out his gender lined up with the weekend we were going to have Danni's birthday party. So I asked my friend, Theresa from Bakery 88, to make a cake that was either pink or blue on the inside. She made a fantastic cake with a pennant banner on top that said "Danni's Gift: Bro or Sis" that turned out to be blue inside when we cut into it.

Finding out Sam was a BOY!

This time we Googled and Pinterest-ed, but couldn't really find a gender reveal idea that fit us. Adam finally came up with this idea! Props to my creative husband, as I'm pretty sure it's never been done before, because when I was trying to find inspiration on how to make the box look, I came up with nothing! Being a electrical engineer, it totally fit as something we would do, plus, I thought since this baby is due so close to Danielle's birthday, it was kinda fitting that this baby would bring new light to us in the days that we remember Danni each year. 

Adam bought two light bulbs, a blue and a pink, and a socket-thing to hook up a light bulb socket we had laying around (because when you're married to an electrical engineer, these things become commonplace in your home!). I grabbed a box, cut a hole to put the socket through, wrapped it in inside out Christmas paper (because, yes, I still had it out earlier this week), and cut hearts in it to see the light shining through. When we plugged it in, we found out we were indeed expecting a girl (as we had both suspected and hoped since we found out we were expecting). 

It's a GIRL!

If anyone likes this idea, and wants to use our box, let us know. We were thinking of selling the box and light bulbs on Craig's List, since we can't return the bulbs and have no use for them anymore! 

Halfway Through Pregnancy No. 5

I guess it goes to show that once you're a mom with littles at home, you don't have as much time to sit down and write posts about each day or week of your pregnancy, since I'm already 20 weeks and 4 days along, and I'm finally getting around to my first blog post about it. (And that while writing that first sentence, I was called away from my computer twice... and that's during nap time.) I'm sure this will be a brief post, but I'll try to mention everything that has been going on during this pregnancy.

First, let's talk about due dates. By my charting, I calculated a due date of May 21st. The nurse practitioner at my first appointment gave me a due date of May 20th, which lined up with my early dating ultrasound. But, at my first trimester screening (the one where we found out with Danielle about her heart issue), they gave me a due date of May 22nd. The same due date that the same ultrasound gave me with Danielle. For a momma who has lost a baby, things lining up so well like that aren't a fun way to go through a pregnancy. While Adam and I wanted to have more kids and weren't seriously trying to avoid getting pregnant, we didn't (and would not!) plan this timing. Which tells me that God, in all his wisdom, must have some crazy plan for this baby that I haven't a clue about yet. It's been difficult with Facebook's new thing where you can view your memories from the past when my posts about Danni show up and I'm thinking about the baby growing within me, who's the same gestational age as Danni at the time of my post. It has helped having so many friends and even a cousin, pregnant and due close to when I'm due (two are due the same week I'm due!)

20 weeks 3 days, measuring 20 weeks 1 day

The next thing I wanted to talk about was my 20 week ultrasound which I just had yesterday. (This is normally the ultrasound where you would find out if your baby has any major complications that are detectable by ultrasound.) While I was pretty sure that I could see a glimpse of a 4-chamber heart at the first trimester screening, it was wonderful to see such a beautiful 4-chamber heart so clearly on this ultrasound beating away around 120 bmp. The placenta is also placed well that I should be able to have another VBA2C. I left the ultrasound room feeling pretty good about this pregnancy.

It wasn't until I saw the doctor that my heart sunk a little. Dr. McDonald shared with me that while our baby had no other complications, the baby does have a cyst in the back right side of his/her brain. Combined with other abnormalities, such as heart complications or limb deformities, it would indicate that the baby likely has Trisomy 18. With no other complications though, they don't worry about it. I have the option of having it looked at again around 32 weeks, but post birth, they do nothing. I have heard from other mommas that sometimes it disappears completely, while other times it grows. Please pray, just for my peace of mind, that it goes away completely when they check at 32 weeks.

Now, the last part, the part that everyone always asks after a 20-week ultrasound... "Do you know what you're having?"

Well, yes, we found out it is indeed a baby, not an alien, so good news there! But, for those referring to the gender of our baby. The ultrasound tech knows, probably the doctor, and a piece of paper in an envelope sitting on my kitchen counter. We will find out on Friday evening, and I'm sure I will post about it sometime on Saturday (kids willing!)

I'll leave you with the last baby bump picture Adam took for me on Christmas Day.

18 weeks 6 days

We Had A Lot to Say in 2015!

First of all, let me apologize to anyone who didn't get a Christmas picture from us. I used two different companies and had problems with both! But, here it is! And here's the letter that went with it...

Nora: "That's when Sam was in mommy's tummy."
Grandma: "Then he came out of mommy's tummy."
Nora: "Yeah, he came out in pieces then mommy fixed him back together."

While playing doctor, Grandma was trying to get kisses from Nora after a shot. Nora replies, "Doctors don't give kisses."

Nora, holding up a Chinese noodle from her salad, says, "This is an angry worm."

Nora: I got cereal down my naked. Silly cereal!

Adam: True to gender stereotypes, he appears to be a much better driver than she is.

Nora: *super excited* I just licked Sam and Sam just licked me!

Nora: I'm still hungry, I want pickles.
Sarah: You had pickles at breakfast.

Adam: *undress Sam for bed, starts putting Sam's jammies on him*
Sam: *begins crying*
Adam: *realizes he forgot the important step of a clean diaper before bedtime & proceeds to change Sam's diaper and puts jammies back on*
Sam: *coos & babbles*

Adam to Nora: Hey, you're not Grandpa, quit poking him with a stick!

Nate: *crying*
Nora: Oh, Nate, you're okay. You're so nice. You're so smart.

Adam: Do not send me to the grocery store anymore without supervision.

Nora: Thank you for putting my clothes out momma... ...maybe we should write you a thank you note.

Sarah: Sam is not a horsey, he is a little baby. Get off.

Nora: Can you let me focus on eating? Talking doesn't let me focus on eating.

Nora: Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Spider-Man, and the Doctor will hold my hand if I'm scared.

Adam to Nate: We do not strip at the dinner table.

Nora, seeing a man in a cowboy hat, says, "That's somebody else's Grandpa Mike!"

Sarah: If your tummy says, 'I'm full,' or 'I don't feel good,' you just stop eating and you can finish it later.
Nora: Umm, my tummy doesn't talk.

Sarah: *singing* You and me baby, we're stuck like glue.
Adam: I wouldn't say we're that close.

Sarah: How about a French braid today?
Nora: Oh! That's kinda like French fries.
Sarah: Um, not quite.

Modesty from a 3 year old who was wearing a cute spring dress: "But people at church will see that I'm not wearing pants!"

Adam: Nora, say, "You're the boy in our relationship."
Nora: You're the boy in our silly ship.

Adam: If you sit on a camel is it like sitting on a water bed?

Sarah: God hadn't made Sam yet.
Nora: Oh! I bet He made him out of puzzle pieces!

Nora SITS Sam in the Bumbo, then tells him, "I'm going to babySIT you."

Nora: Um, which one (bee) stung you?
Adam: I don't know, I think it was Larry.

Adam: ...Maybe I'll pick up a Jimmy John's the night before.
Sarah: For breakfast!?
Adam: It's toast... With meat and stuff.

Nora: I just have to go potty. You watch my food and make sure it doesn't get moldy.

Adam: Who do you want to read the story to you?
Nate: Dinosaur read!
Adam: Dinosaurs can't read.
Nate: No, they have hands. See!

Nora: Mom! You forgot something in your picture of our house... Oh, and the sun and the moon... And the earth.

Adam: Do you smell licorice?
Sarah: I smell spray paint.
Adam: Yeah, or that.

Sarah: Sam, can you say treadmill?
Sam: *some utterance that's not even close*
Sarah: Can you say dada?
Sam: DA-da DA-da dada dada dada...
Sarah: Can you say mama?
Sam: Dada.
Sarah: *sigh*

Nora: Mommy, do you have a baby in your tummy?
Sarah: I do!

So from our family to yours we hope you have a very blessed Christmas season!


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