So all you ladies I have been thinking about the second child and what was the best thing ever….food.  So I have a question for you all:

Would you like to do baby showers for the babies (one or individual showers) or would you rather make a dish for the family to enjoy when the new one joins the ranks?  For the food what I would do was make up a little thing where the expecting families could give their disliked food and liked food and then a calendar.  You could either make a dish that is kept in the freezer and give it to them (with cooking instructions) or you could sign up for a day to drop off the meal!

Thank about it and let us know.

Pregnant moms right now include:

Mindy

Chris

Who has Novemeber covered?

Who will be December?

Who is working on making the January baby?

funny memory for you prego moms.

When I was 8 months pregnant Maddy started having nightmares and only mom could make her better.  So I would have to go into her room and calm her down.  Then she decided that I should lay down with her (yes in her toddler bed that has only a 12 inch opening to climb into it).  One morning Brian woke up and I was missing so he came into Maddy’s room to find me asleep, wedged between my daughter and the bed rails.  I was so stiff that Brian had to pick me up to get me out!!

I am so glad that she has a full size bed now (no we don’t sleep with her, but story time is much more fun in bed with her).  We have been considering #3 and how to do sleeping arrangements if we go down this road (more honestly if God takes us down this road).  I can not even imagine Madelyn and Lydia sharing a room and having bunk beds!  I wonder if we can teach them to share a bed?  What do you do if you do have bunk beds and the kid in the top throws up? ick.  We have a day bed and trundle, but really I am not into making and pushing the bed under, but maybe that is the answer….or maybe we do put maddy in the basement bedroom!  Anyway, we don’t have to think about that now, as it isn’t an issue, but that is what brought up the fat lady memory!  Happy baby belly to you all.

The DVDs and other stuff is here!  So next week we can dig into some conversations and tips for being a great parent!  I just previewed the first session and it looks okay.  The first one is 20 min. It looks at the marriage as a foundation and then the next five look at children and parenting.  There are “workbooks” but I think that just conversation around the dvd would be good.  Although if you are interested in the workbook stuff for doing REAL devotions with your hubby I will gladly get you one. 

No I didn’t spell check or proof read this posting, I want to stay true to my normal standard!

Calling all moms, calling all moms….

Kirsten has been pumping for a year and is excited to celebrate the end of pumping (and many of us other moms are excited to be done pumping too!) In an effort to celebrate the separation of mom and pump we are having a party.

Meeting at EL Mezacal on Rib Moutain Drive at 6:30 on Saturday (March 21).  Please sign up below saying that you are coming.  This is a mom only event.  After the dinner there will be an “after glow” at Kirsten’s crib.  Contact her for more details.

Did it get your attendtion (the title post)? I know you all are so interested in our personal life (not really, that is a sarcastic comment).  But sometimes it is good to hear that others don’t do it right.  Over the last 4 years (starting with my first pregnancy) we have read hundreds of books and tried so hard to structure our lives in a way that would be conducive to raising two (well I have always wanted 8, but that is insane) wonderful children.  So where did we go wrong?

There have been so many wonderful times and even nights where Brian and I lay in bed in complete awe of our beautiful girls.  But there has also been too many volcanic erruptions, harh words, wrong punishments.  So I have been wroking hard on finding ways to correct and raise my girls without yelling or hitting or harsh statements.  It isn’t easy.  I know that when Maddy was only 1.5 years old I could understand correcting a child through spankings or yelling, but I admit she has experienced a spanking and I have raised my voice.   I don’t want to be that kind of parent.  I have searched the scriptures for help too.  Unfortunately there isn’t a lot of “how to” just a lot of raise up your children in obedience!  How do you do that?

Part of my master’s degree is pastoring families and raising Christian children.  I have to observe different methods, structures and the such.  So as I get ready to write papers and put together the “oh-so-fun” presentations how would you like to participate in exploring bibical ways to raise a child?  How would you like to talk about different ways to teach your child about God and what it means to be a child of God? 

I don’t have the answers, but I have a paper to write and children to experient on, do you want to help?  The first think I have to write on is a DVD series which is posted below, let me know if you wouldn’t mind doing these (like a 25 – 30 min commitment on Tuesdays) with me.

Six Video Sessions for small group:
Recently we’ve been working with Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott with some things for the parents of young children. They are best selling authors, who have sold over one million copies of their books. They are a very solid Christian couple that has been featured on Christianity Today, ABC’s Good Morning America, Focus on the Family, The New York Times and they’ve even made their way on to Oprah.
 
What we’ve been finding is that so many parents out there are wondering, “Do I have what it takes to be a good parent?” A lot of times parents need help, but nobody likes to ask for help. 
 
That’s why we’ve teamed up with Les and Leslie Parrott to create a new video-driven study called Parenting: The Early Years. Now, this goes deeper than any technique of just getting kids to eat their broccoli and clean their room. It takes a Biblical approach into the traits parents want their children to have and what traits they want their children to see modeled in them.
 
On this six DVD series our team took their cameras into the homes of 20 families and captured real-life parenting moments. Some of these are funny moments and some are just completely honest moments that every parent can relate to.

•         Session One – Time (19 Minutes)
•         Session Two - Affirming (16 Minutes)
•         Session Three – Defiance (24 Minutes)
•         Session Four – Authenticity(21 Minutes)
•         Session Five – Worry (15 Minutes)
•         Session Six – Legacy (17 Minutes)

So lets try again!  Ollie will we a party animal with it being celebrated over 2.5 weeks! way to go Man!

This week lets get down and party with ollie. 

Also we hope to have Courtney and her girls joining us and maybe Jessica with little Matthew.  I am thinking I need a bigger home! that is fun.  Or maybe I can buy fun stuff for the gym for the mommy group.  I am dreaming of slides, and ride on cars and all of those fun things! I wonder what Captain brian would say to all of this?  Not to mention we have pool table, ping pong and all we would need is a large flat screen for the men and we could really party into the nights!

Hey all, many sick kids and bad roads = no mommycafe

But if you don’t get the message and come we will take you out to dinner (on us!)

Our last baby is turning 1 tomorrow.  So we will celebrate Ollie’s offical first birthday! yeay.

Also visited Rachel and Issy at the hospital today.  Issy is still pretty sick but is going home today.  keep the family in your prayers.  Don’t worry I will be doing an extra wash on the toys tonight to kill the germs all of the little ones have been carrying!

See ya tomorrow night!

Hey Ladies,

As most of you know, Tuesday March 3rd is Build your own Pizza and bring your Daddy too night at Katrina’s!!!! Please sign up for a food below or suggest something else to bring. I was really trying hard to think of what we need for this!

Personal Pizza Crusts – I believe Kirsten was going to do this.
Mozarella Cheese
Sausage
Pepperoni
Onions
Peppers
Black Olives
Green Olives
Any other toppings
Pizza Sauce
Dessert

Anything else you can think of!

I will bring Pitas, spinach, and mozarella cheese for any babies that would like this for dinner!!!!

If I am a little late, come in the house is open.  I have to take the girls to get their passports, I have from two to three blocked off and this should be enough time, but who knows.  I will deffinately leave by 3:15 so I can be here by 3:30, but don’t sit in cars, just come in and make your self at home (it isn’t my home so you won’t be bothering me!! )

-see ya in a few hours.