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Hey, Landon Luke Latham is finally here

Here is the story...

We were dead set against inducing this time but after talking to the doctor, we decided to do it. He felt really strongly about how fast my last labor had progressed and the driving distance. We also prayed about it... Wes and I felt a trust towards the doctor. So, we went home and then prayed for God to start my labor that night... at 12:30 my contractions began and stayed about 7 minutes apart till we got to the hospital at 5 am. We started monitoring my contractions and they couldn't put me on pitocin because it made the baby's heart rate drop. I had awesome strong contractions but no efacing. They finally decided that I needed an emergency C-section. They wanted to go so fast that they put me under general anesthesia and neither Wes nor I were "there". I woke up about 45 min later. I had to stay on Morphine for a long time...

Luke is fine but a full term baby at only 5 lbs 15 ounces. After talking to the nurses and doctor, we found out that Luke's head was tilted wrong. He also had umbilical cord issues. His cord was twisted like a telephone cord and was rather small in diameter. We don't think Luke would have ever come out naturally. If we had not induced, we might not have a happy story. After putting together a few clues, I believe that Luke was trying to be born about a month ago. I think my body and my baby were in a scary situation and that waiting for the due date might have been a big mistake.

It is April and there is still no baby...

I am still a week away from my "due date". However, I am disappointed because last time I only had to be pregnant for 8 months. This time, I guess I will be going all the way and the maybe then some!

I am not so happy...

First of all, my Doctor decided to go to Europe this week... Leaving with a substitute who snickered when I said that my real doctor had promised to order the epidural right away instead of making me wait till 5 cm. He looked at me like I was making it up!

And secondly, Friday I went to the hospital with a false alarm. I was having painful contractions from 3:30 am to 7:30 am before we called the hospital. They told us to come in. We did and by lunch they had determined that they were not close enough or strong enough.... I guess they were right.... But, I did lose some steam. My perfectly packed and organized bags have been plundered. My baby-ready clean nest has become un-nested and lazy again. And, I am now giving up on a second child. I just guess I will be permanently pregnant!

Thirdly, I am so fat! I am a human sponge that keeps expanding and collecting more water. I look in the mirror and I see Jabba the Hut in Drag! I am thirsty and hungry all the time and my stretchiest maternity clothes are at their elastical limits!

Lastly, because I have spent so much time on the net questioning every pain and symptom, I have become well acquainted with the umpteen-jillion pregnancy websites out there. I have read all sorts of message boards, listened religiously to the Pea in th Podcast, and been a faithful member of Whattoexpect.com for more than two years... But there is new documentary coming out soon called, "The Business of Being Born" that tops the list. I wish that I had enough brain cells tonight to just rant about it, but instead, check out the site and watch the trailer. I wish I had the guts to do a home birth!

The Porch Monkey

Great Article on for stay-at-homers

http://www.christianitytoday.com/tcw/2001/novdec/9.74.html?start=2

Great Site for Stay-at-home moms
http://www.homebodies.org/

Home Keeping, Back to the point...

I created this blog and renamed it a few times and now I would like to get back to the main thing:

HOME KEEPING

I have read lots of articles and books about being a disciplined keeper of the home. I have, unfortunately, found no great Christian specific sites that really get to the point. So, I am going to get to the point.

I STUCK TO THIS "GREAT PLAN" FOR A TOTAL OF ONE AND A HALF WEEKS...IT'S FUNNY HOW I THINK I AM AN "EXPERT" ONCE I GET A 'GREAT' IDEA! BLAH, BLAH. BLAH...
How do you turn a day that is a blob of depression and chaos into a productive day?

• MY THREE FIVES

I am no expert but this is working for me. I have a daily schedule that is structured into three sections: morning, afternoon, and night(-duh.) I allot myself a set of 5 chores that I do everyday at the same time. I have the morning 5, the mid-day five, and my evening 5. My morning 5 are always: make bed, start load of laundry, get dressed and ready for the day, straighten our bedroom and bath, fold and put away one load of laundry. My mid-day five are always to de-clutter and pick-up all four major family areas and start either the dishwasher or another load of laundry. My evening five include moping the kitchen, making preparations for the next day, de-cluttering living room, check email, start next load of laundry. This helps me to stay on top of the daily 'grungees' as I like to call them.

• CHORE CARDS

There are lots of chores that need to do be done weekly and then there are others that need to be done even less often. These tasks include cleaning out the fridge, reorganizing the kids closets, vacuuming under the couches, etc. I simple make 3X5 cards with a chore written on each one. I have a system that indicates whether it is a once-a-month or a once-a-week chore. I even have chores that are twice a month. I try to do at least 3 chore cards a day and I write the date on the back so that I can keep track. As I complete a task, I move it from the "do" pile to the "done" pile. My simply move them all back to the "do" pile at the end of each month, week or two week cycle. This also helps me maintain control of the larger picture.

• MY BRAIN BOOK

I make a notebook filled with form "to do" lists. Each day is one day. I have the date at the top and a list of check boxes with daily tasks which include a box for the number of chore cards, and exercise "yes/no" box, a vitamin "yes/no"box, and other things like prayer time, learning time with Ky, and a connect box that helps me to remember to reach out to my family and friends via email or a phone call. My page central box to write my tasks for that day. On the right, there is a side bar with a place to write my prayer focus, my meal plans, my exercise plans, and a place to jot down items to add to my shopping list.
My brain also contains my daily routine and my three fives incase I forget. I like to mark of each thing that I accomplish. If I don't do everything on my list, I simply transfer it to the next day. Everyday is a fresh start. I love it because I get it all out of my head and I don't have to use my brain as a storage container, I can, instead use it to think, pray or whatever throughout the day.

• MY MORNING LAUNCH

Right after my morning five and while Kyson is distracted with his toys, I squeezed in my "launch". Some people call it a quiet time but to me it is a chance to put the day into perspective. I usually have several books that I
am reading but this is just for bible study, prayer, reflection, and planning with my brain. I even assign a specific prayer focus to each day, for example, Monday I devoted to my kids and husband and our circumstances. Tuesday I pray for my family and friends, Wednesday is for my neighbors and people that I don't know who are in a tough situation. Each day has a specific purpose though I try to pray everyday for anything that the Lord puts on my mind.

• OTHER

This leaves a lot of time each day for more interesting adventures. After my "launch" I have time to spend teaching or playing with my son. I can run errands, visit my grandmother, or tackle a project. I also try to work in a daily play/learn time, a reading/education time for myself, and a creative time.

The KEY is flexibility. This system is just my "floor" . I can leap off schedule anytime knowing that when I land I will stick to the plan...

THATS IT!

Billisms

My Dad's birthday is this Saturday. We are having a family get together in his honor.

My dad is a very intelligent man who is 100% dedicated to his family. He has always been very involved in our community and is a faithful servant and member of his church. He is always doing something for someone else. He is an awesome worker who in his spare time can build, make, or fix anything.

However, Bill is famous for his "Billisms".

Here are a few of Kandis' favorites....

"Hooo-ey! Them must be some elastical pants!"
-(Bill in response to the movie "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants")

"LAWD-A-MIGHTY! Them marshmallows big as apples!"
-(Bill watching marshmallows in the microwave.)

MOM: "Bill the phone's ringing!"
BILL: "What?? Three nuns are singing??"

MOM: "The keys! I need the keys!"
DAD: "The Cheese? I didn't know it was bad! I'm sorry."\

"Man those are so good they make your lips chap yer??? "mom help I can't remember!