tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40298952012-02-16T14:27:10.798-05:00Better Than Ice CreamLiving as simply as possible with lotsa kids and crazinessCherylnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3131100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-64098603118224680942009-03-05T09:43:00.002-05:002009-03-05T09:52:15.973-05:00Ack, I missed my three month posting point lolWell, Winter has been interesting. Scott got laid off in January. We're doing well, he's looking, I'm looking...but there seem to be no jobs around here at the moment. Fortunately this happened when we got our tax return back and have money to put aside to get through this.I'm not totally freaking out, which is unlike me. I think it's hunker down timeCherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-13742815172453655452008-11-11T10:18:00.002-05:002008-11-11T10:26:13.421-05:00Apparently I only post here every three months or so lolAnd it's also apparent I lost most of my blog links?? Weird...will have to figure that out.We're still plugging along here! I got totally immersed in the election and was just freaking GIDDY with excitement when America proved to the world we do NOT in fact have our collective heads up our collective arses. I can't wait to see what the next Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-20836759092733279972008-08-14T10:03:00.002-04:002008-08-14T10:24:24.115-04:00Been awhile! We're still here, still working on the homesteading thing...The garden has been doing well. Like last year, I suffered from mid summer lack of enthusiasm. Some of the patches got pretty weedy, but still producing so it's not all bad. My square foot garden did the best, and I think I'm going all sfg next year. I realized broccoli takes up too much space and is too finicky for my Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-25033007160732598532008-05-27T14:21:00.002-04:002008-05-27T14:27:56.690-04:00Been feeling yucky lately. Not physically, just everything else lol. Not sure why and that bugs me.Well, to be honest, there has been some physical stuff (extreme fatigue, heart palps, etc..) and putting it all together...it looks like it could be something like a potassium deficiency. I'm trying t work on that, hoping that's all it is. My mom has this, and when she was first talking about it I Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-37217517025131830732008-05-26T17:37:00.002-04:002008-05-26T17:45:25.662-04:00Really. This is getting old.This weekend I was in the vicinity of a 3 week old baby girl...okay, I was holding her and ooohing and ahhhing over her constantly. And I had a couple conversations about my baby love. Of course, it's right near ovulation time again and I'm in BABY FEVAH mode. I suppose I'm going to have to ride this out until menopause. That'll be fun every month. Yeahhhh. So maybe Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-69719920623484127812008-05-16T13:22:00.000-04:002008-05-16T13:26:12.324-04:00So gardening season has seen it's first casualties.My cukes, cabbages and cauliflower have officially not made it. I'll have to buy the plants at the local nursery or diy store. They looked so good inside, but small, like everything else I've got. But the temps were right so I transplanted. Something "got" the cauliflower, I think the cukes and cabbages were still a bit small for whatever it was Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-30779026589832925442008-04-12T10:16:00.002-04:002008-04-12T10:29:34.207-04:00We've been busy, busy, busy this week!The weather finally got nice enough to get outside and get started on our yard work. I planted, covered and mulched about 500 sq ft of flower beds out front. Scott and Gage used the brush hog to clean off a huge area of brush and such out back of our house, adding almost another full size yard to our existing yard. We laid out the square foot raised bed, I'm Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-21345399890380340602008-02-27T12:28:00.002-05:002008-02-27T12:39:37.683-05:00Life's been crazy lately. Reallllly crazy lol. But we're dealing. It'll be okay in the end. It's just getting to that "end" that will be frustrating.Some financial problems have cropped up that we thought had "gone away"...funny how problems with money really never seem to just disappear on their own lol. Again, we'll manage and it'll end up okay, it's just trying to figure things out and work Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-68209617573700879052008-02-05T14:41:00.000-05:002008-02-05T15:00:31.723-05:00I'm feeling really good today...I've lost 9 lbs over the last week and a half! I'm going to leave my ticker above as is, because I'd last changed it in mid November (after that awful sickness that lasted for almost three weeks..os obviously some of that was illness related and came back pretty quickly lol) I'll be back at that 34 lb loss in a few days, so it's all okay lol I'm sitting at 32 lbs Cherylnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-7173125759062760722008-01-24T11:29:00.000-05:002008-01-24T11:43:52.308-05:00Okay, I have to quit kvetching about another baby. My husband is pretty much done and I have to just get on with things. I can't stay in this place of longing and sadness forever, I have four other babies who need me right now!So in that vein...I'm planning my garden this year and I'm just loving it! I'm going to try my hand at square foot gardening instead of the typical gardening set up. Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-62039452519523950102008-01-18T12:45:00.000-05:002008-01-18T13:00:25.652-05:00Since I'm fairly sure no one is reading here lol I'm going to rant on...So I'm not sure what is up with my up and down desire for another baby. Just within this morning, I went from thinking I was really done and felt good about it to wanting to be pregnant RIGHT NOW! lol I have no idea what's up with me.I know I'm trying to let it go and let whatever is meant to happen, happen. But, for many Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-61061183058908944692008-01-08T12:37:00.000-05:002008-01-08T12:39:00.257-05:00I've had a very....enlightening few weeks. I've been excited about this year because I've finally decided to put some work into ME. And not in the usual sense, not concerning weight or appearance. I'm going to put more time into figuring out what I can do to be happier and mentally healthier. I've started reading some books that have already had an impact on me, on my thinking anyway. I'm trying Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-29379488290070446822007-12-10T11:36:00.000-05:002007-12-10T11:38:40.661-05:00I'm feeling like I have a lot of "stuff" to get out, like I need to do some writing and vent my spleen a bit. Not sure about what though lol so that puts a damper on things.I'm feeling pretty good with life lately, content I guess. I feel like things are going pretty well right now. It's two weeks until Christmas, we didn't use any credit cards this year and we're pretty much ready for the big Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-31774536796011666712007-11-14T18:59:00.000-05:002007-11-14T19:11:11.457-05:00*cough cough* Well, I think I've finally managed to get to the other side of this illness. I suppose it was the flu. It hit Maddie, Lily and I pretty hard. Over two weeks of feeling like crap...uber fun.So today I finally took the first step in possibly getting Mace a diagnosis. He's got quite a few eccentric behaviors that I feel are starting to affect him more and more. I'm betting he's on the Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-66616641186637642812007-10-29T12:34:00.000-04:002007-10-29T12:48:07.303-04:00Okay, not much more baby whining. After some more talking, I'm just going to say I think we WILL have another baby at some point, likely within the next year and a half! And that's all I'm going to say (he's seeming to come around, I think it's mainly that he feels he'd like another, but then he worries about the particulars like time and such). And I don't want to dwell on it lest I jinx Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-21833267672626534452007-10-26T14:05:00.001-04:002007-10-26T14:15:02.140-04:00God, I need to get this out. I need to get over it is what I need. But I just can't. I feel a sadness so deep I can't even begin to explain it. I think about not having another baby (yeah, yeah, THAT again) and I feel a physical emptiness in my chest. Man, I can't do this. I seriously wonder if there are women who have to go through therapy to get over this desire.I hate to go on and on about Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-71313401253570360902007-10-04T13:33:00.001-04:002007-10-04T13:42:09.854-04:00Okay, okay...so it was PMS. I thought about deleting the post, but ya know, it's honest and honesty is okay, even when wrong. It's how I felt, right or no.I guess I tend to overreact (nahhh, me?). One small fight and it's a slippery slope to "you don't love me!" lol. It's how I do.Anyway...today things are good. Kids bickering a bit, but who has kids who don't? I know they're good kids overall, Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-77858657807143149192007-10-01T10:23:00.000-04:002007-10-01T10:31:34.051-04:00Having a ...day. PMS is here in full force unfortunately. Things are weird.Things that would be different...Less laundry. But then I couldn't smell his shirts.Could do what I want. But would only have myself to blame when everything goes bust.No more worries about disappointing someone.No waiting for him to come home from work, wondering if the house is clean enough, did I do enough during the Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-78788480364389325792007-09-22T11:40:00.001-04:002007-09-22T11:40:31.490-04:00I’ve been thinking a lot lately about other people. I know it’s a lost cause, trying to figure people out, but I keep plugging along hoping at some point I’ll stumble upon some epiphany. It hasn’t happened yet, but maybe someday…What’s bugging me lately is the perception other people have about what we’re trying to do, how we live, how we raise our kids, etceterah etceterah…Okay, and when I’m Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-52209977803825651522007-09-11T09:08:00.000-04:002007-09-11T09:11:33.756-04:00I swear, I think I’m bipolar on this one issue lol. Of course I had to catch a repeat of one of those Duggar family specials. If you haven’t seen them, this family has 17 kids and they do shows on TLC about how they live, etc… As a by the by, if you do catch these types of shows, look for the Heppners. They have 12 kids iirc and I just love them. The Duggars are a source of discourse and discord Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-30344164487936316542007-09-08T10:51:00.000-04:002007-09-08T10:54:25.227-04:00Hit my lowest weight in a looong while and all I want to do is eat. Everything. Ugh.This weight thing is hard. I can’t get people to understand that. Well, people who haven’t struggled with weight. It’s really hard to keep going, seems like such an uphill battle and…I don’t know. Maybe just having one of those days.I think we’ve decided to be done. I feel good about it but I guess all the Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-63789901774297607452007-08-22T15:13:00.000-04:002007-08-22T15:24:57.092-04:00Yesterday, Scott asked me if, logically, I really wanted another baby. And I answered *logically* no. But deciding to have a baby, or another baby, can't ever be a logical decision. If we were all Vulcan and thought only logically we'd likely have died out before now. Deciding to have a baby is a decision of the heart, not so much the brain. But seeing as the heart tends to be a bit loopy and Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-49732238783751524882007-08-20T12:47:00.000-04:002007-08-20T13:06:47.989-04:00Wow has it been a while! Life's been busy I suppose :)We finally did get moved and we've been here since..I guess it was May lol. It was an adjustment at first, but I think we've all managed to get acclimated. The kids are doing well..we're running back and forth from town quite a bit to make sure they still get to see friends and such. It's funny, most of their friends just want to come out hereCherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-61814438543551976922007-05-26T18:02:00.000-04:002007-05-26T18:24:01.531-04:00Whew! It's been a few weeks!So we are officially MOVED IN! I can hardly believe we've actually done it. Still a few loose ends to tie up here and there, but for the most part we're settling in. A few bumps in the road in the form of my emotional ties to the old house and my concerns about moving the kids to the country, but things are looking up more and more all the time. We've been running the Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-2825461701224471462007-04-27T20:53:00.000-04:002007-04-27T21:06:01.696-04:00Lily's ONE!! It's been a year already!Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-9539191384061921932007-04-02T22:07:00.000-04:002007-04-02T22:10:50.447-04:00So here are some pics of the new place! Work (still!) in progress. The flooring is done now as these pics were taken last week. Yes, it's small but I'm loving it already! This was mostly to show the new countertop dh put in for me :)Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-11093666039309085572007-03-17T22:24:00.000-04:002007-03-17T22:30:22.895-04:00Wow! I've been sorting and packing and just generally decluttering and it feels fab! Gotten rid of a lot of stuff, gave to Salvation Army, Freecycling...it just feels lighter around here.I think I'm enjoying it too much.This downsizing is going to be good for us, I know it. Truly, I think a lot of my stress and depression issues related to this house and the state of it. It wasn't dirty, or Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-62389880242575259902007-03-15T21:56:00.000-04:002007-03-15T22:28:07.816-04:00A couple sites I visit have recently had discussions on homesteading and what, ideally, is our goal or dream.I know that for now, we won't be close to real "homesteading". Even though I grew up (mostly) on a farm, I have to say I didn't really absorb lots of information. I was upstairs reading Sassy and Seventeen dreaming of my life in the Village as a writer lol. Funny how things have come Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-46793338825633410692007-03-14T19:36:00.000-04:002007-03-14T19:40:50.971-04:00So we have three weeks to move...yikes! This is going to be nuts. Packing and plumbing and flooring OH MY!I guess it's really going to happen!Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-73148211457287288272007-03-10T12:31:00.000-05:002007-03-10T12:34:24.892-05:00It’s hard to explain my awakening desire to have a fifth baby. I had three, then I had Lily. I was sure I’d be content with four kids; it felt right on a soul level. The Downs threw me for a loop though. So now here I am, wanting to do it again. Not that I’m guaranteed 100% health. It’s just…hard to explain.This is what it’s like…You plan a trip to the Cheesecake Factory for your birthday. You Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-23678075404146160262007-03-09T21:15:00.000-05:002007-03-09T21:25:09.595-05:00I'm alive!Things are going well in our little corner of the world...Gage is 11 and starting to exhibit peculiar pre teenish behavior that is crazymaking, Maddie is 8 and is our little jock, currently playing basketball and loving it, Mace is 4 and nutty as ever; still won't wear clothes for long but is the most sensitive kid you could imagine, Lily is almost ONE! I cannot believe it! Next month, Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1153157422803767862006-07-17T13:29:00.000-04:002006-07-17T13:30:22.816-04:00It's been a while since I've checked in here. The house could use some additional cleaning and the baby is sleeping, but I'm here instead.Not sure if I updated, but Lily does in fact have Down Syndrome. It's been a wierd time. Some days I'm totally fine, I can deal with it and all the implications. She's a beautiful baby and so sweet. I love her completely. At the same time, it's totally Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1148924956343750262006-05-29T13:36:00.000-04:002006-05-29T13:49:16.356-04:00The last few weeks have been a whirlwind. Lily will be 5 weeks tomorrow and she's beautiful and serene. She sleeps through the night already, and during the day will have alert times where she just watches the world going on around her. Obviously, we're totally smitten!We're dealing with some issues though. When we first saw Lily, I had thoughts of Down syndrome. I knew I had an increased risk Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1146855690682872062006-05-05T14:58:00.000-04:002006-05-05T15:01:30.696-04:00On Monday April 24, 11 days before my due date, I was feeling crampy and just…off. But I knew I normally didn’t birth “early” so I wasn’t particularly worried. I figured my body was just gearing up for the big show in the next few weeks.Color me surprised when I started noticing “different” contractions late Monday night. These were painful, but they were only waking me every hour or so. Too far Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1141855494913762852006-03-08T16:55:00.000-05:002006-03-08T17:04:54.923-05:00Not sure why I'm still posting here but I need someplace to vent...Or rather, I think I need some primal scream therapy. It's all financial too. Just trying to figure out how to pay bills while staying home for a bit with this baby and things are just getting out of hand. We're not even halfway through the renovations on the new place and I'm super stressed about how we're going to sell the Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1139341494214866222006-02-07T14:29:00.000-05:002006-02-07T14:44:54.226-05:00Have few minutes and thought I'd catch up here...Next Thursday, my oldest will be TEN! We're hitting the double digits and it's scary. I mean, 10 isn't so scary, but it's just one year closer to those dreaded teen years. I already see hints of teenage angst in him at times. I'm scared. It's cold and there are wolves after me.Sorry, stupid Simpsons flashback...anyway...We're having a little partyCherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1138145238653620182006-01-24T18:20:00.000-05:002006-01-24T18:27:18.666-05:00Our new place has a new front door! Yippee!I'm getting excited as even little improvements seem to make this feel more real. We're actually going to do it! Granted, we've still got some big stuff to do before we could theoretically move in (oh, new flooring, new walls, new ceilings, new siding, new windows...) but I still feel like we're moving in the right direction. We've pretty much found the Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1136668174685211662006-01-07T15:58:00.000-05:002006-01-07T16:09:34.696-05:00Just a quick post holiday update...We had the second ultrasound, she's fine. Stomach is there lol. There's still some renal pelvic dilatation, but nothing to be overly concerned about.I'm refusing insulin treatment that's being recommended by my backup CNM's backup OB (lots of backups). My homebirth mw's feel this is fine, and all my research points to the fact that insulin therapy in pregnancy Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1134772040338041842005-12-16T17:26:00.000-05:002005-12-16T17:27:20.353-05:00If I could just have one more thing to worry about, I’m sure I would just spontaneously combust!This week, I opted to have the 20 week ultrasound. Mainly, yes, I wanted to know the gender of the baby. I had been sure I was having a girl, but wanted that confirmation. For some reason, I had been very ambivalent about having the ultrasound but I kept talking myself into it.So I go in and as we Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1134083386031746072005-12-08T17:59:00.000-05:002005-12-08T18:09:46.043-05:00Yeah, I'm still around!Feeling...pretty good. I'll be 19 weeks pregnant tomorrow and am glad to be almost halfway done. Funny, I thoroughly enjoyed my previous three pregnancies and for some reason I feel a lot more worry and anxiety over this one. I think it's the feeling my body is failing me, or that I've failed my body, over this blood sugar issue. I can't eat the foods I want, I feel hungry Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1132694396833224802005-11-22T16:16:00.000-05:002005-11-22T16:19:56.846-05:00Oh yeah, can I add how freaking unfair this is RIGHT at the holidays?!? I love to bake and I love the holiday goodies. I know, kind of a silly thing to get upset about, but there ya go. I mean, it would be different if I was seeing major results with cutting out sugar, but I'm not and I *still* can't eat it.I often think I shouldn't have tested this early. Most women don't get tested for Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1132693370911186442005-11-22T15:51:00.000-05:002005-11-22T16:02:50.923-05:00I've got to vent about this somewhere else...I keep going on about it in different places and I'm sure I'm getting tiresome.Just over a week ago, I decided to listen to that little voice that was telling me to watch my blood sugar. I figured it had to mean something; I've never even thought about it much in the past. I do have a family history of diabetes, I have big babies, I'm overweight. I've Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1130011442809729482005-10-22T15:57:00.000-04:002005-10-22T16:04:02.816-04:00Haven't posted in a while...getting annoyed with the spam comments. Helloooo people, no one reads this blog, you're wasting your tiiiime!! :PAnyway...I just passed that 12 week mark, where you let out a sigh of relief then you freak out realizing you're a third of the way to a new person. I'm feeling well, the you-never-know-when-it's-going-to-hit sickness as I like to call it has gone for the Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1127592867779560152005-09-24T16:03:00.000-04:002005-09-24T16:14:27.786-04:00I was the first to say, way back when, that my homebirth was really nice and all, but not necessarily life changing. I'd read all these homebirth birth stories and hear people talk about how their homebirth was so empowering and life altering and amazing. Now, I've always felt it was amazing, and I knew had I been in a hospital I would have been hooked up to everything imaginable and would likelyCherylnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1127257463700697562005-09-20T18:55:00.000-04:002005-09-20T19:04:23.706-04:00So here I am, almost 8 weeks pregnant! Hard to believe. It's still sinking in here, though the fatigue and nausea are doing a good job of convincing me.I'm already wondering how to do this birth. We're pretty financially strapped with all the expenses of this move we're working toward. All those surprise clerical fees and higher than expected estimates have a way of adding up! I know it's around Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1126049192017285972005-09-06T19:14:00.000-04:002005-09-06T19:26:32.023-04:00I was just reading a board at a site I visit frequently and I feel sick. I just can't stomach some of the crap going on in our country and in our government at this moment. And the fact that there are people out there who still support and speak up for GW and his cronies just makes me feel like screaming! What the hell are you THINKING?????I can't believe after all that's gone down in the last Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1125175366608774722005-08-27T16:26:00.000-04:002005-08-27T16:42:46.616-04:00I think reality is finally settling over me.I notice that I keep saying "it's early". Having had one miscarriage, albeit almost 10 years ago, you still have that in the back of your head with any pregnancy. A positive pregnancy test does not mean you'll have a baby in 9 months. It means the possibility exists, not that it's a foregone conclusion. I've heard it said, and it's true, you lose your Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1125024607433287872005-08-25T22:45:00.000-04:002005-08-25T22:50:07.440-04:00So the big news, if anyone is reading, is that I'm pregnant.Just found out earlier this week, due in May. Another FAM faux pas, but really not really. I had my sustained thermal shift which indicated I'd already ovulated then lo and behold I actually ovulated a week and a half later. No more FAM for me. Someone's getting snipped.Dh has come around - was in massive shock the first couple of days Cherylnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1124852716757700072005-08-23T23:05:00.000-04:002005-08-24T07:27:07.650-04:00Another boring day at Chez Cheryl ;)I keep debating about posting something. Or I should say I keep posting it then removing it lol It's early and I really don't know....Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1124747769848574542005-08-22T17:56:00.000-04:002005-08-22T18:01:07.743-04:00Sorry, not ready to post this actually....Stay tuned thoughCherylnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1124383455120378902005-08-18T12:43:00.000-04:002005-08-18T13:37:18.746-04:00Something very odd has been happening to me lately. It probably means nothing, but I can't be totally sure.A couple weeks ago I was meeting friends at a local restaurant. I got there a bit early, and just sat listening to music for a few minutes. During this time, a woman pulled up in the lane across from me. She looked familiar but I couldn't place her. She got out of her car and walked slowly Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1123967778791011202005-08-13T17:08:00.000-04:002005-08-13T17:16:18.796-04:00Well, I finally broke down and bought the newest Harry Potter book and have finished it. I'm sad and wanting more, more, MORE!But other than that, life is just spinning merrily along around these parts!Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1123105721086111802005-08-03T17:39:00.000-04:002005-08-03T17:48:41.093-04:00It seems like my dreams become dimmer upon revealing them to other, less open minded people. I don't think many people I know irl "get" what we're trying to do. And I guess I do gloss over it a bit with people whom I know I have no chance of convincing. So I'll say we're moving into the mobile home until we can build, so that glossy eyed look of bewilderment goes away somewhat. It makes me sad Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1122756401666193342005-07-30T16:36:00.000-04:002005-07-30T16:46:41.673-04:00Today I realized I want to maybe, think about, perhaps weaning Mace. I know many people who are thinking "Finally!" but I really do believe in child led weaning. Maddie nursed until 3 and weaned when I got pregnant with Mason, so I really have no solid weaning experience. I didn't really do anything to wean her. So without another pregnancy on the horizon (envision pouty face) I think this time Cherylnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1122608555894130992005-07-28T23:33:00.000-04:002005-07-28T23:42:35.900-04:00It finally happened. I knew it would at some point, I was just putting off the inevitable. I've been bitten by the Harry Potter bug.I started reading Philosopher's Stone to the kids last week. Well, they weren't all that into it. Their interest waned after a mere few pages. I, on the other hand, couldn't quit reading. I finished that and Chamber of Secrets in a couple days. Then I couldn't locateCherylnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1121892826182026632005-07-20T16:08:00.000-04:002005-07-20T16:53:46.186-04:00Still here, slogging around.There has been progress on our move to the country. It's slow but moving forward which I guess is better than fast and moving backward. It's going to happen and that's what's getting me through. Reading about the family in Mother Earth News who lived in their pop up camper for a while made me see we can definitely live in almost 1200 square feet. And they had 5 kids - Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1120762285688847942005-07-07T14:44:00.000-04:002005-07-07T14:51:25.693-04:00Since I'm feeling bitchy lately anyway, here are some pet peeves of mine as observed working in the library computer room...First of all, I absolutely hate when people bring their small infants and chilren in then proceed to ignore them while they chat online or play stupid video games. The baby wants your damned attention, dumbass! This annoys me to no end. Okay, it breaks my heart more than it Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1120575807036698552005-07-05T10:53:00.000-04:002005-07-05T11:03:27.043-04:00It's raining out today and I'm loving it. I normally love rainy days and today is no exception.We had a good holiday weekend, and Scott is still on vacation this week though I am not. I'm enjoying a rainy morning here at work while I lazily surf the net (and yes, I am allowed to do this at work thankyouverymuch!). We had surprise birthday dinners and pool parties and lots of time visiting with Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1120146143535185522005-06-30T11:09:00.000-04:002005-06-30T11:56:12.576-04:00I've been hesitant to blog about certain things and I don't know why. It's not like I have this huge readership (hell, I don't think anyone reads this effer!) but I just feel self conscious about certain topics. I think it has to do with tainting the waters; if I post about something negative and someone actually DOES happen to read it they'll get a certain image of me that may or may not be Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1119482068113073312005-06-22T19:10:00.000-04:002005-06-22T19:14:28.113-04:00So I know I've been babbling on about our move and all the crapola involved....But the property has been graded, I repeat, the property has been graded!Will be going out shortly to take some pics and see the results. Now just 32,348 more things to do...Other than that, things are going well. Well, other than that and the fact my 2.5 year old will just NOT go in the potty, not for love of Thomas Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1119375991787864522005-06-21T13:43:00.000-04:002005-06-21T13:46:31.793-04:00I'm not going to believe this until I see it....but....Our contractor is supposed to be grading the property out there this week! And he's the one who was dragging his feet before. The one with the lower estimate! He said last week he was going to do the grading and get our drawing/specs to us this week. It's not a large part that needs grading, just the area over the old foundation where we'll Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1118964122314947132005-06-16T19:02:00.000-04:002005-06-16T19:22:02.320-04:00Another year of homeschooling comes to an end. I guess I shouldn't say an end, because it really never ends. But our annual assessment is coming up, which signifies and "end" to this year of our homeschooling experience. Sort of like the Jimi Hendrix experience just without the mind altering drugs. Caffeine could be construed as a mind altering drug, but I digress...I feel like I actually have Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1118338921868154112005-06-09T13:21:00.000-04:002005-06-09T13:42:01.873-04:00I have a million and one things that need to get done and I'm just not interested in doing any of them!I think I just don't know where to start.I can't keep up with my own house, let alone keeping up the other property, getting homeschooling done, trying to make contractors actually want to do their jobs, etceterah, etceterah, etceterah...The neighbor/contractor we were planning on using still Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1117731728319449642005-06-02T13:01:00.000-04:002005-06-02T13:02:08.326-04:00Lately I haven’t kvetched much about my weight.That’s mainly because I’ve been trying to get to a healthier place about my self image; a more accepting place. I’ve been pretty successful. I feel good about myself, I’m not beating myself up about my weight anymore.It’s just felt really good.Well. I made the mistake of hopping on the scale earlier this week. I hadn’t done that in weeks. I’ve gainedCherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1117300498543365742005-05-28T13:05:00.000-04:002005-05-28T13:14:58.550-04:00I'm feeling very hopeless today. I'm feeling hopeless about the state of our nation and the direction it's headed.I hear Democrats being happy about preserving the right to filibuster. Preserving? There should be no preserving. It's a right, pure and simple. If Democrats were in power you'd see the same Republicans who are blasing the right to filibuster singing it's praises. I'm sick of the Cherylnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1117059509601871392005-05-25T17:53:00.000-04:002005-05-25T18:18:29.606-04:00I can never quite get a grasp on my ebbs and flows. Last night, while holding my sleeping baby and watching As Time Goes By I just felt so happy. Giddy even. Just excited by the possibilities spread out in front of me like so much chocolate. I wondered then why that seems to happen and what I did to deserve feeling so good? There was nothing different, nothing I had done or hadn't done to provokeCherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1116968363837883272005-05-24T15:25:00.000-04:002005-05-24T16:59:35.996-04:00So we finally got the "yard" taken care of. Scott used the bush-hog to get the main part of it, then I had a muscle-jarring few hours of quality time with a brush cutting mower. Most of the brush and tall grasses are gone for the time being. Still lots to rake up but we're working on that between rain showers. Normally I'd just let it mulch but there's just too much.So yesterday while I was out Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1116521909617262642005-05-19T12:58:00.000-04:002005-05-19T12:58:29.623-04:00It’s one of those gray, rainy days. Normally, I really enjoy these days for some reason but today we need to go out and mow at the new place. It seems like every chance we get to go out there, it rains lately.I keep wondering if we’re getting all these messages from the universe and we’re just not heeding them. Earlier this week we found out some of the neighbors out there are not too happy aboutCherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1116104772030011502005-05-14T16:58:00.000-04:002005-05-14T17:06:12.063-04:00Feeling muuuuch better today. The ball finally started rolling and took PMS with it. The first two weeks of my cycle are so much more relaxing and enjoyable.So, what's new...Well, the MH is on our land. Not right where I want it to be, but it's a move in the right direction. We've got the attorney lined up to do the deed transfer, then I just need a couple MORE things to turn in to the Health Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1115852745599230872005-05-11T18:51:00.000-04:002005-05-11T19:05:45.690-04:00Is it bad to be jealous of other people's lives when mine seems so comparatively un-lived sometimes?I think it's bad. I think I need to keep telling myself that their life can't possibly be *that* good and they're just typing up nice. I'll keep telling myself that.I feel depression playing around the corners of my life lately. Not sure why or how she's come around again. No real reason. I feel Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1115482072316671282005-05-07T11:57:00.000-04:002005-05-07T12:07:52.440-04:00What a day it's turning out to be!And not in a good way.So we've paid for the MH, we're getting things set up to move it...and today Scott met with the guy who we thought would be the best bet for doing the excavating. We're assuming it might be a few thousand since my brother just built his big house across the street (4 bdrm, 2 bath...pretty big!) and his septic was around $5500 using the same Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1115317042205209612005-05-05T13:57:00.000-04:002005-05-05T14:17:22.326-04:00Crazy week around these parts.Things moving forward and back, side to side. Nothing major, just moving along with our plans.Will blog again when stress level recedes.Glad Scott is gone. Bo will win.Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1114893723280673192005-04-30T16:10:00.000-04:002005-04-30T16:42:03.283-04:00Still can't get my sidebar to actually BE a sidebar. So for now, it's a bottombar. Whateva.Got to take a nice long walk with my husband this morning (kids with grandma); it was a good thing. We got a chance to talk about all these looming changes and how we're both sometimes scared but mostly excited.I really do think that there is going to be a large scale economic downturn unlike any in our Cherylnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1114711690945336642005-04-28T13:57:00.000-04:002005-04-28T14:08:10.946-04:00Okay, this is much more summer-y. Wow I get bored at work!!But for some reason, when I preview it through Blogger it looks fine but then when it's published all my links and archives fall to the bottom. If any poor soul wanders through here and can tell me why, I'd be much obliged. (cue spaghetti western whistling) Mmmm...spaghetti....Anyway :PSo I've been working hard lately on accepting myself Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1114638788068225792005-04-27T17:48:00.000-04:002005-04-27T17:53:08.070-04:00Just messing around with a new look. Not happy with Blogger's template options.Everything else still going well. Mr Loan Guy will get everything closed tomorrow and the check out a few days later. A few details were different than we had initially agreed upon, but what can you expect from a bank.Still waiting for HI guy to make good on his promise of some letter regarding the site inspection withCherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1114034089072357042005-04-20T17:50:00.000-04:002005-04-20T17:54:49.073-04:00Head cold is gone! Vitamin C is a wonderful thing.Feeling good, feeling great, how are you?!need an outkast fix...Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1113925723508779072005-04-19T11:37:00.000-04:002005-04-19T11:48:43.510-04:00UGH! Feeling crappy today. This spring cold is having it's way with my family. It's not all that bad, just annoying. I don't want to feel ucky right now!So, the planets are apparently aligning. I guess I should say, the majority of the planets are aligning with a few asteroids smacking into them here and there. Loan guy came though and things will be finished this week. We can move the home onto Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1113413677347673962005-04-13T13:33:00.000-04:002005-04-13T13:34:37.350-04:00This whole process is turning out to be very stress inducing.So right now, I’m waiting on moves from three different people. Any one of these not going off without a major hitch will seriously affect our ability to make this move. One is the Health Dept, another is the owner of the mobile home and the last is the loan officer we’re working with to get a bit of money with which to get this party Cherylnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1112884920465589462005-04-07T10:41:00.000-04:002005-04-07T10:42:00.466-04:00So, more about Plan B. The full title being Plan B: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble. You can see where this is going, can’t you?So far my jaw has dropped numerous times, and I had previously considered myself fairly knowledgeable about environmental issues. But this book touches on far more than simple environmental problems to social and political and cultural Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1112831175274046762005-04-06T19:42:00.000-04:002005-04-06T19:46:15.276-04:00On a less fluffy note, I'm still wading through Plan B by Lester Brown. I'm finding it's rather like a large meal; I need to read a bit then stop and digest the magnitude of it before reading more. Normally I plow through books at breakneck speed but this one is different for sure.I'm getting ready to go home for the evening so perhaps tomorrow I shall expound upon it further. There, my big word Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1112821545901685162005-04-06T16:32:00.000-04:002005-04-06T17:05:45.903-04:00Now for an altogether fluffy post...I just hated watching Idol last night. The songs were just the worst! Don't get me wrong, I like a good musical as much as...the next person who likes musicals. But I just felt they all chose such boring songs. I wanted Bo to sing something from Hair or Jesus Christ Superstar. I wanted much of the same from Nadia, or even a selection from The Wiz. There are allCherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1112710809729371312005-04-05T10:12:00.000-04:002005-04-05T10:20:09.730-04:00Of course, we still don't know anything today.Silly me, I expect people in offices to work as quickly as I want them to.And then there are hang ups with the permits and such. Things like my brother ended up tying up the entire property, both sides of the road, with his mortgage when he built his house. Oh the joys! It just keeps making me wonder if these aren't all signs of some sort. Scott Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1112468653431028792005-04-02T13:59:00.000-05:002005-04-02T14:04:13.433-05:00Week in Review:I turned 33.Scott turned 37.One day this week saw temperatures in the 70's and right now it's snowing heavily.Scott tore ligaments in his back when he reached back up the basement stairs to catch our as-yet-unfixed male cat who was trying to make for the furniture upon which to spray. Looking back, it would have been much better to let the damn cat spray everything. Scott has been Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1112123754542754212005-03-29T14:07:00.000-05:002005-03-29T14:15:54.546-05:00Wouldntchaknowit, my family had to get involved this weekend as well.I fail to understand how, when we're trying to make decisions in our childrens best interests, we continually get judged as bad parents by mainstream society. No, we don't beat our children with a wooden spoon and even threaten them with it regularly as my brother does. No, we don't send our kids to school because we believe Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1111872678085379402005-03-26T16:13:00.000-05:002005-03-26T16:31:18.086-05:00My mother in law is driving me crazy again. Just today it was "did you two talk more about sending G to -insert name of local private school-? You know we'll pay for it". I figured it was safe to say "well no, he doesn't really want to. He still wants to homeschool" then the whole can of worms opened up.Her: "YOU are the parent, he doesn't make the decisions"....Me: "well, if it were up to just Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1111510178375440262005-03-22T11:49:00.000-05:002005-03-22T11:49:38.376-05:00Last night I watched a special on PBS about the music of the 60’s. Fabulous music, a fabulous era. As I was singing along to The Mamas and The Papas, Strawberry Alarm Clock et al I started to wonder where it all went wrong.Society was pulsing with a desire to be more, do better back then. There was an alternative to the way the world was traveling, a road less traveled if you will. Wars could Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1111248851092418942005-03-19T11:04:00.000-05:002005-03-19T11:14:11.093-05:00Okay, I was thinking last night that maybe I didn't word my last post correctly. I'm thinking it came out like I'm fat but I eat a healthy diet while all those other fat slobs are that way because they eat Big Macs and Doritos all day. That's not what I was trying to say.It just seems that most people in this country, fat or no, eat a diet loaded with processed foods, fast foods, refined carbs, Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1111162212927483932005-03-18T11:09:00.000-05:002005-03-18T11:10:12.930-05:00The story is again circulating the news outlets that our “obesity epidemic” in this country is cutting years off our lives; it may, they’re telling us, actually reverse the trend toward longer lifespans we’ve been seeing over the last decades.While I don’t fully discredit the science behind this, I don’t believe it’s the fat in and of itself that’s causing the problem. I think it’s the crap in Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1111079321940344382005-03-17T11:49:00.000-05:002005-03-17T12:08:42.013-05:00The news lately has saddened me. No big surprise there. Both locally and nationally it seems there are just some really bad people doing really bad things. I know, I know...I said I don't watch the news. And I guess that's surprising too; I've not actually sat down and watched a news show, I'm just getting these stories from here, yonder and there. The scrolling bar at the bottom of CNN when I Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1110905752615014112005-03-15T11:54:00.000-05:002005-03-15T11:55:52.616-05:00Forgot to add...Haven't heard anything about the bid we put in on the house. Ah well. I think we need more planning time and a bit more time to add to our savings. It *will* happen, but maybe in a few months rather than next week.Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1110903145296926032005-03-15T11:03:00.001-05:002005-03-15T11:12:25.296-05:00My two year old has celebrity teeth. All white and pretty and perfect. Shining white crowns on the four in front, plus some sealants, a crown and a couple fillings in back.The surgery went well and he's fine. He didn't like the "no nursies after midnight" rule and stayed up from 3 a.m. in protest. He was fine for the hour drive to the hospital - laughing and clapping and dancing in his seat. He Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1110306931951949002005-03-08T13:01:00.000-05:002005-03-08T13:38:52.356-05:00fuck you blogger!just lost another post. And it was a big one! I promise! Oh well...Everyone's healthy. I'm watching too much American Idol. I've decided I'm not going to live my life hating myself for something as stupid as my arse size. I'm a good person and I'm not going to squander life any more.There's a new possible house we've bid on. That was the topic of my last post, plus all the Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1109703058414498092005-03-01T13:13:00.000-05:002005-03-01T13:50:58.416-05:00Okay! I admit when I posted a bit ago I was in the throes of losing hope about our move along with a healthy dose of PMS. I'm now over that!Been doing some surfing and my excitement is re-igniting. Reading over at SolarHaven has got me riled up again. Just seeing that other people have done it makes me see that it's a very real possibility. I laughed when reading about their problems with Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1109692793156814852005-03-01T10:51:00.000-05:002005-03-01T11:06:53.540-05:00Well, that fell through. They likely would have accepted my second offer but then I discovered that I would also be responsible for back taxes and lot rent and that was...a lot. So I told him if they wanted to accept the first offer while I still paid the back fees, I would be open to that. Heck, HE didn't even know how much the back fees were. But no call back so I guess that's done with.So Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1109440379011989022005-02-26T12:47:00.000-05:002005-02-26T12:57:00.530-05:00-In the U.S., 4.39 pounds of trash per day and up to 56 tons of trash per year are created by the average person.-Only about one-tenth of all solid garbage in the United States gets recycled.-Every year we fill enough garbage trucks to form a line that would stretch from the earth, halfway to the moon.-Each day the United States throws away enough trash to fill 63,000 garbage trucks.-Almost 1/3 Cherylnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1109438622690848352005-02-26T12:13:00.000-05:002005-02-26T12:23:42.693-05:00Seriously, still very excited!!I'm now looking into rain catchment systems and tanks and reading lots of books and looking forward to this change.I can't believe we're finally going to start walking the walk as far as off-gridding and living more sustainably. Sure, we'll likely go ahead and hook up to the electric grid for now, and use the existing septic system until we can afford to go solar Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1109380796897838962005-02-25T20:18:00.000-05:002005-02-25T20:19:56.896-05:00We made the offer this morning. The waiting game begins. I know I was nervous about these changes previously, but all I feel is excitement now! I’m hoping they accept this first offer, but I still have a bit of room to negotiate.We found out that while we need a Health Department inspection, we don’t need the septic system actually installed yet since we won’t be living there for a while. We’re Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1109200197602643392005-02-23T17:58:00.000-05:002005-02-23T18:09:57.606-05:00Things are moving much more quickly than expected on the "downsizing and moving to the country" front. I'm learning about building permits and septic systems and zoning, OH MY! We found the house we want - and yes, I'm calling it a house! We're actually going to buy a newer model mobile home and move it to our lot, do some renovating and making nice (as much as you really can to a mobile home Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1108778120928233962005-02-18T20:47:00.000-05:002005-02-18T20:55:20.930-05:00Yesterday, I attended services for a friend of ours who recently, and very unexpectedly passed away. She was 38. She had two young sons.I'm not sure how to put my reaction to this. The tears were expected, the resulting unity I felt and still feel for our friends and family was not. I realized that while we are all different, there are too many similarities to overlook. It's easy to stay away Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029895.post-1108658845629532372005-02-17T11:29:00.000-05:002005-02-17T11:47:25.630-05:00So my oldest kid turned NINE yesterday! How in hell is he 9 already?! I know we moms always say this but it really is true. Time seems to just fly by, and the older you are the quicker it seems to go by. My life has changed so dramatically in the last nine years. I think having my first child propelled me to changes that I hadn't even began to think about. With each additional baby, I was moved Cherylnoreply@blogger.com0