Life a year later...

Hello there!

Life is moving and grooving in our home, and FULL of blessings!

A year ago, I was an exhausted mama of 3 littles and a newborn. Let me just tell ya, it gets easier. There is hope, even in the middle of seemingly hopeless days.

A fellow homeschooling mama of seven boys (yes, SEVEN!), reached out to me and shared hope with me. She shared about some natural supplements that changed her life, literally! I was able to join her team and begin the supplements myself in June 2016.

Fast forward one year and I'm a happy mama who feels better overall and who has renewed hope! I'm enjoying the plant-based products and the business. Such a fun journey!

Our family is staying busy with life at home, preparing for our fourth year of Classical Conversations, and planning a trip to see family in the PNW later this month.

God is good!

I pray that you are doing well, dear friends. That you are ever crying out to the Lord to increase your hunger for Him and His Word. Jesus is the only life source that makes a different in our spirit, soul, AND body. He is more than enough!!!

I look forward to sharing more about my recent journey with you very soon.

Until then, be encouraged...

How to Pack to Save Money and Have Fun at Great Wolf Lodge!

Next week we will be heading back to the The Great Wolf Lodge to join many other local home school families and to celebrate my husband's 43rd birthday!

I never thought we would be Great Wolf Lodge enthusiasts, but we are. The indoor water park has something for everyone, the staff is friendly and very helpful, it's a clean hotel, and the lifeguards are some of the best I've ever seen! They often have discounts offered on Groupon, and always offered for military and emergency response families, as part of their Howling Heros deal.

January 2016 - Family of 6!

It all started with a trip last November. Daddy scored a great deal and off we went. I scoured the web for tips and tricks on how to save money while staying at GWL. The ideas I gathered greatly helped me pack and prepare for our overnight stay.

After one trip, the kids were hooked (including the biggest kid of all - Daddy!). We returned to the Lodge in January to celebrate my daughter's 7th birthday. Only this time we were a little wiser and had a newborn with us. My husband's parents and brother, along with his family, joined us as well! It was a blast!!!

As a mom of four little ones and a mom with specific dietary needs (Trim Healthy Mama diet specifically), I thought my experience and tips may help others as well. So, here's a run down of things to pack and/or prepare for as you plan a trip to Great Wolf Lodge. 


BE IN THE KNOW:
 - Great Wolf Lodge (at least the one in Grapevine, TX) has the corner on the food market. They boast of their 7 different restaurants to choose from, but when it comes down to it the food isn't as good as home-cooked meal and is very spendy. So.... pack a cooler of food! Pretend that you are camping... in a hotel! There is a microwave and a mini fridge in every hotel room. This makes life easy when storing food from home and warming up a meal or a snack.

- You CAN take a few snacks into the water park, but not bags of take out food from your favorite local restaurant. I usually pack water bottles and snacks in our backpack so we are less tempted to purchase an over-priced snack or drink from the food stand in the park.

- In the past we have ordered pizza and salad from the pizza shop in the Lodge and eaten it for dinner at least one night during our stay. When we return next week, we plan to order from Little Ceaser's down the street and pick it up for a pizza party with friend in our hotel room. Again, saving money and a bit of heartburn, as the GWL pizza is pricey and greasy!

Pizza and giggles for dinner at the water park!

- There are various other "expereinces" offered at the Lodge. We stay away from MagiQuest and ShadowQuest but have enjoyed the Howly Wood XD Theater (a movie theater with short shows that you can enjoy in 3-D in chairs that shake and move), The Scoops Salon (an over-priced, heavy-scented place for girls to have their nails painted) and the Northern Lights Arcade (see below).

- On our first visit we purchased a refillable game card to add money to to play the arcade games. The games are much more enjoyable for the kids and Dad than our local Chuck-E-Cheese. Some games give tickets and at the end of our stay the kids have enjoyed choosing a stuffed animal or other toy from the prizes offered. This isn't necessary to enjoy GWL, but the arcade games offer a break from the warm air and chlorine in the middle of the day.

Daddy hit the ticket jackpot!


THINGS WE PACK:
For the water park:
 - goggles for the kids (they are in heavily chlorinated water all day and the goggles help protect their eyes)
- Swimsuit covers and beach towels. Even though towels are provided at the water park, we take our towels to wrap our wet children in as they walk back to our room.
- Flip flops or water shoes. All of our kids prefer to swim without water shoes on, but Daddy likes having them on. At least have a pair of flip flops near by when you need to walk to the restroom or head back to your hotel room.
- A bag with water bottles, snacks (nuts, fruit, granola bars, etc), diapers, wipes, and sunscreen and sunglasses if headed to the outdoor pool.
- The Lodge provides great life vests and arm floaties. They fit our kids better than our own floaties did.

 Snack time at the water park.

For the hotel room:
- A 12-cup coffee pot, sweetener and creamer of choice. This saves my sanity and pocket book! Even though there is a small coffee pot in the hotel room and a Starbucks down the hall, I prefer a good, cheap cup of coffee each morning to get my gears turning. A regular-sized coffee pot and even a mug from home makes my day begin well, especially if we stay two nights. I have also used it to brew hot water to make hot chocolate for the kids for a special breakfast treat.

- A small fan. This provides white noise for night time sleep as well as nap time. Being in a hotel with other guests guarantees that there will be some noise to deal with. A fan makes it easier to rest.

- Favorite movies, coloring books and picture books. Sometimes kids need to rest. That time for our family is in the evening before bed or even mid morning. A short show to watch on our laptop, or a book to read together helps out a lot!

- Food your family likes and that is easy to warm up in a microwave. We have ordered pizza for dinner before and have even gone out to eat at a local restaurant. The following ideas are for when you want to eat in.

• Breakfast items we have enjoyed - microwavable breakfast croissant sandwiches, homemade quiche, Jimmy Dean sausage and pancake on a stick (much like a corn dog), homemade pancakes, and cold cereal. Don't forget the syrup and milk!
• Lunch - sandwich fixings, fresh fruit, chips, drinks, and salad in a jar for mom.
• Dinner - microwavable Angus Burgers (from Costco), hot dogs, homemade lasagna and cut veggies with ranch.
• Snacks - nuts, granola bars, fruit snacks, fresh fruit, pretzels, yogurt, microwave popcorn, oatmeal in a jar, etc.
• Non-food items - paper plates, bowls, paper towels, cutlery, a sharp knife or two, extra cups for hot beverages, water bottles (lots of them), coffee pot filters, stir sticks, condiments (for burgers, sandwiches, pancakes, etc).

 Breakfast time!

IDEAS TO MAKE YOUR STAY MORE ENJOYABLE:
- You are allowed to arrive to play at the water park as early as 1pm on the day of your overnight stay. Packing a small bag with your suits, flip flops and goggles that is separate from your larger bags is wise. Then you can leave larger luggage in the car, as check-in is at 4pm, and go enjoy the water park. This will also help when it's time to load up your belongs and check-out by 11am, but you want to stay and play at the park. Guests are free to stay at the Lodge to play until the water park closes at 9pm. Just pack a change of clothes in your small bag and you are ready to have fun, then head home!

- If someone in your family is celebrating a birthday, tell the front desk when you check in. That person will receive a special wrist band that will allow them to get free ice cream throughout their stay (about one scoop per hour we were told). They also receive special birthday hat wolf ears! You can also bring your own decorations from home to place on your hotel door and in your room. This has made my kids feel so special, and also helps us find our hotel door easier  :o)

Our birthday kids in front of our hotel doors.

- The nightly show at the Great Clock Tower is enjoyable for little ones. Although, after seeing the 8pm show once, our kids weren't interested in seeing it again at our next stay. The bed time story that is read following the show changes up each stay. At the end of the story there is a chance to take a picture with the character who helped read the story. That's always fun!

 November 2015 with Oliver and January 2016 with Violet

- Take advantage of the FREE Shutterfly photo book coupon (you just pay around $8 to $10 for shipping/taxes). In each hotel room is a card with a promo code on it for a free photo book. We have made one with photos from each visit and now my kids each have a book of birthday memories to enjoy!

- Be ready to make the most of the water park. As a mom of four kids, ages 7 and under, I can run on little sleep. But taking a rest with the baby in the afternoon is sometimes needed. I would say, be ready to be in a noisy (yes lots of rushing water is noisy) and heavily chlorine-scented environment for most of the day. But if you need to step out and take a break, do it and don't feel bad! Enjoy the time with your family and make great memories.

Momma with her baby boys... Nov. 2015 and Jan. 2016

I hope some of these tips and ideas help you enjoy your stay at Great Wolf Lodge even better! We are looking forward to our trip next week, although our kids don't know about it yet. We can't wait to surprise them!

God bless and have fun,

A Peaceful Birth - The Arrival of Baby AJ

Amos James "AJ" Baldwin was born on
December 6, 2015 at 1:20am.
8lbs. 12oz. and 21 1/2 inches long!

It has been two years and four months since our last home birth, and I am SO happy to get to share another wonderful experience with you!

~~~~~

God answered our prayers for another quick, complication-free home birth. He orchestrated the timing and all. Labor lasted just under 4 1/2 hours and everything fell into place so well.

Here is how our day and night went:

December 5th - We ran some errands as a family. A trip to a local thrift store for a bouncy seat and to drop off donations that were filling up the back of my van, lunch at Chick-Fil-A (my favorite!) and a stop at Kroger for last minute groceries (even though I had been trying to be as prepared as possible for baby's arrival every day for the past 2 weeks!). We stopped at the park to let our three kids run and play before heading home and after about 40 minutes or so, I felt the need to be home... to be ready for birth. A God-placed instinct I'm sure.

After returning home I had all the kids lay down to nap. I laid down with our 2-year-old but couldn't really sleep. I would have an occasional Braxton Hicks or need to use the restroom. The room got too warm with the afternoon sun coming in the windows, so I opened the window to let cooler air in and the roosters in our backyard wouldn't quit crowing! Goodness! By about 3:30pm I gave up and got up. I cleaned the restrooms (hoping it was one last time before giving birth) and picked up the house in general.

At dinner time I didn't feel very hungry but knew that I needed some protein. I prepared a tasty orange/banana smoothie with almond milk, raw egg whites, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, and some flax meal. I even included some honey, because I was sharing with my husband who didn't feel like eating anything heavy either but prefers his smoothies a bit sweeter. In my heart I felt like I may give birth very soon.

I was cleaning up after dinner and felt a significant contraction, it was about 6:45pm. I took note of the time and the one that followed was about 8 minutes later. I kept track of them for about 30 minutes as I walked around the house. They stayed consistent at 8 to 10 minutes apart, lasting about 1 minute each. I was becoming short with my children and realized that it was time for them to go to their grandparents' home (around the corner from us) for a sleepover. Their bag was packed and I had my husband call his parents to come get them as I prepared last minute details before labor really began.

After our three kids were picked up, I contacted our midwife and her intern to let them know what was happening. I didn't ask them to head our way yet, but would keep them posted.

By 8pm things had slowed down so I decided to sit on my birth ball for a while. I had a couple more surges but they were farther apart. I was feeling tired so I laid down to rest a while and see if they would pick up again later.

 

 Resting between surges, staying focused and relaxed.

Around 9 pm I was using the restroom and I felt AJ wiggle way down low, he was very active that evening. He was getting ready to enter this world! The contractions picked back up strongly then. They remained around 5 minutes apart and lasted 1 to 1 1/2 minutes each. We let our midwife team know that they were welcome to come get set up, as things were moving forward!

It's always an exciting, yet a bit scary, time knowing that labor is really present and your baby is arriving soon! It's a fight between faith and fear. Which will win? During this birth, like my others yet even MORE so, I felt God's great presence and peace in my home and heart.

The verses that my husband and I were trusting in and leaning on this delivery were:

"Oh taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the [woman] who trusts in Him!"

Psalm 34:8

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning."

James 1:17 

 (How fitting, as his middle name is James :o)

"Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, Who have been upheld by Me from birth, who have been carried from the womb; Even to your old age, I am He, and even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made and I will bear, even I will carry, and will deliver you."

Isaiah 46:3-4

These were playing over and over in my head as I let my body lead the way to bring forth my son. I would say out loud, "Thank you God for this gift!", "Our gift is coming soon!", "Deliver me, God!". These words, coming from my heart and into my ears, increased my faith, even when I felt weak or tired.

Middle of the night birth, or any birth, is no time to be tired and weak, and God truly strengthened my mind and body and those around me. He is faithful!

~~~~~

From the time the midwives arrived (around 11pm) to the time AJ was born the surges continued to grow in intensity. I felt the urge to push a little here and there and even had three or more good surges on the toilet, as he descended even more! After that work out I was ready to lay down again.

I began to shake and become queezy. I vomited into a bowl and felt better, ready to get this over with! A paper towel with some peppermint essential oil on it refreshed me and I was ready to continue.

Soon my water broke and I continued to enjoy the rests between the surges and push when my body wanted to.

I felt empowered to push when my body lead after my midwife told me I could. I really rely on the encouragement of those around me during labor, especially towards the end. I need to HEAR that I can do it, that the baby is almost here and to push when I feel like it. It really helps me KNOW I can do it!

The pushing started and didn't stop until AJ was fully out. This birth was different, in that I got to watch my son come out! His head emerged first and he just hung out there. I yelled, "Get this baby OUT!". I was encouraged to push some more. Then his torso came out. I reached down and felt his head and told him to come out! My husband was saying, "Push honey! Push!". I yelled back, "I AM PUSHING!!!!". Next came his legs and he was free! Daddy helped catch him and place him on my tummy. It was a victorious moment, filled with relief!

Here are some pictures to help tell the story

 

AJ's arrival into Daddy's arms.

Great joy and relief... our son had arrived!

All smiles just minutes after birth.

Soaking up his sweet gaze.

 Getting clean and cozy with momma. 

Newborn exam time!

So thankful for our midwife Amy and our midwife intern Bethany. 

They are both sweet blessings and such gentle souls.

Cuddling our boy... ready to rest for the night.

Sunday morning, around 9am, AJ's siblings joined us to welcome him into our family. They were all very excited to hold him and check him out!

 

Moriah (age 6) loving on her newest brother. 

She is already asking for a sister next time around  :o)

 All of our sweet boys - Josiah (age 5), Andrew (age 2) and AJ. Quite a trio!

Everyone who needed to be there arrived in plenty of time: my midwife, two interns and my mother-in-law who picked up our other kids. My own mother was here the entire time, praying and helping as she could. What a joyous day!

God orchestrated the entire event, He is so faithful and trustworthy! He

Blessings to you from this thankful momma,

Megan


PS - A big thank you to Amy for the birth pictures! What a treasure! 
 

Our First Week of Homeschool 2015-16

Moriah, Mommy and Josiah ~ First day of school 2015-16 

(And yes, the sun is STILL out in full, hot force at 8:15am in September)

I count myself blessed to be able to be home with my children each day - to love and teach them. It's definitely NOT the easiest thing I've done, nor is it the easy way out. It's hard! But it's in the hard times, when my patience runs thin and my sin of anger and lack of self-control surfaces, that I find my need for my Savior in a GREAT way. Homeschooling my kids is another tools that God uses to show me what is in my heart and how He is willing to cleanse me and change me into the likeness of His Son, Jesus.


Here is a run down of what our first week of home school looked like this year. It may will change and morph, especially as we add a new baby brother to the mix in early December. But for now, this is what works best for us! I always find it encouraging to read what other moms of young children do in a day of homeschooling... I hope that this blesses your heart as well.

Our typical week of school (so far):

Sunday: 

 A day of worship and family time

Monday: 

We work around the home or enjoy an outing together as a family.

We also prepare for our CC Community Day.  This is our second year with Classical Conversations and we LOVE it! CC provides us with a like-minded community, a method and a means to home school a variety of ages at once, and the accountability to keep on track throughout the year. Each Monday we prepare our in-class presentations for Tuesday, gather bags and books we will need the next day, review our memory work learned the previous 7 weeks, and as a tutor, I make sure I am prepared to lead my class. 

My class - set up and ready for a fun morning of learning and growing!

Tuesday:

We head to our local CC campus to enjoy 4 hours of new grammar (Timeline, Geography, History, Latin, English, Math, and Science), an art project, a science experiment, class presentations, memory work review and lunch with friends. 

This year I am tutoring the Abecedarians - kids ages 4 and 5 (which includes my Jo). They are a HOOT and have such sweet hearts. We had a great first day this week. 

Because my kids are all under age 10, we head home after our lunch/fellowship time at CC. It's rest time for all (including this very pregnant momma) and our afternoon is pretty laid back. 

Later in the day we may read books together, draw pictures, play outside and do some house chores, but our school day is complete after our full morning at CC.

Sweet friends drawing pictures and writing letters to each other after our CC community day. 

Mo and Jo's new school binders for the year, along with new markers for them to enjoy


Wednesday - Friday:

This Wednesday was our first "at home" day of school for the year.

My 6-year-old-going-on-12-year-old LOVES to draw, so she asked for a blank space on her binder cover to draw a picture in. And my son, who is in sea creature mode helped pick out his binder clip art online with me. Of course I had to strategically place the squid above the hungry shark's mouth. :o)

These binders have dividers in them that are marked: 
CC Memory Work, Geography, Handwriting and Math. 

These are the four areas we plan to focus on this year at home. We will also continue reading aloud (Mommy to the kids and Mo and Jo to Mommy), adding drawings and information to our Nature Journals, enjoying art projects together and various other subjects of interest that arise. But if we can make noted progress in these four areas, we will have succeeded!


Our Morning Routine:

Having three (going on four) children ages six and under, it helps to break our morning into 30 minute increments. This allows us to complete assignments and chunks of schooling, yet keep the pace moving so no one gets bored. The times mentioned below are flexible, but so far they are pretty accurate as to our normal routine around here.

8:00am - Wake up! Get dressed, brush hair and make bed.

8:30 - Breakfast together, devotions and prayer at the table.
Morning chores: clear and wipe off table (Jo), sweep floor (Mo), and put clean dishes away (both kids). Also, feed animals if needed (sometimes Daddy does this).

I believe I came across this kids devotional book at a local discount store. So far we LOVE it! It gives us a Bible verse to think on and discuss each day, a word of encouragement and application, a prayer and an "Our Amazing World" fact. It takes us 5 minutes or so to read through and prepares our hearts for prayer. 

9:00 - Circle Time: Sing a song or two, stretch, read poetry, work on scripture verse memorization, and review our phonics and ABC's.

We all enjoy a laid back approach to Circle Time  :o)

Momma and her boys enjoying poetry together

*photo courtesy of Moriah*

9:30 - Table Time: Handwriting (Wed), Math (Thurs), Geography (Fri).

(We will touch on math through games, etc on days besides Thursdays, but that day of the week is set aside to sit at the table and work out math problems on paper.)

Table time is used to practice sitting still for 30 minutes, holding our pencils correctly, working hard and finishing assignments that are given. 

Our goal in school is NOT only to learn information, but to learn HOW to learn, practice obeying, doing our best, growing in grace, finding truth and beauty around us, and honoring God in what we do. 

Mo having fun with Dominoes!

Concentrating and doing her best

Sounding out words and finding beginning sounds

Jo works on various fun worksheets, as well as more focused assignments. 

Just sitting in a chair for 30 minutes and focusing on school work is an accomplishment for him!

I expect that these skills will become easier (and be able to go longer) as the year progresses.

 After checking Moriah's math work, I gave her a review assignment. 

This day she needed to practice writing the numbers 2,6 and 7. 

She did so with a happy heart and received one "Baldwin Buck"! 

These pretend dollar bills will be placed in each child's "bank" and can be spent at the end of each week. The school store will contain a few toys and school supplies, as well as tasty treats.

We are all excited for the incentive to: Do one's best and work with a happy heart and good attitude

Drew and Grammy playing together

Usually I get to keep my toddler, who just turned two, busy with toys, books and drawing on a white board. This day my mother came for a visit and kept him busy for me. What a blessing!

10:00 - Snack Time!

Drew enjoying a blueberry-bananna smoothie!

10:30 - CC Memory Work Review

11:15 - Play a game together, do a craft (like make play-do or cookies), free play, head outside,  or watch an educational show. May run errands with momma as needed.

12:00/12:30 - Lunch and free time

1:30/2:00 pm - Rest time in rooms with books.
More often than not, Jo naps and Mo stays up - but she stays in her room quietly drawing, reading or playing. Most days, I rest with my toddler. I need this time to re-charge for the evening ahead. After a short rest I enjoy reading, going online to check social media, etc.

4:00 - Up and at 'em! Everyone up from quiet time to play, read, and help with PM chores.
PM Chores include: catching up on dirty dishes from the day, folding/putting away laundry, picking up toys, checking mail, etc.

5:00 - Outside to play, help prep dinner.

6:30 - Dinner as a family and more outside play (if weather allows). Help Daddy with collecting eggs and feeding/watering animals.

8:30 - Baths, brush teeth, read books, to bed by 9pm!


Lord willing, most Wednesday, Thursdays and Fridays will look like this!

***

I would also love to give you a peek at what our "home school room" consists of.

It is a multi-purpose room: our kitchen, dinning room, craft room, school room and fellowship hall all rolled in to one!

With limited space, one must get creative. The truth is, it has taken me over a year to find a solution to fit our home school needs. But this is what works for now, and I'm so thankful!

Because we meet in the kitchen for table work and it is the central hub for each day, it made sense to have all of our home school supplies IN the kitchen! After moving our deep freezer in front of one window, I found some wall space I could utilize for school.

The only "large" purchase that I made to help simplify our supply organization was this 9-cubby shelf. It was at Big Lots for $39! And it has really helped keep us all sane. We can find what we need and it also limits what we think we need. If it doesn't fit on the shelf, we don't have room for it. So I ask myself, "Do we really need this right now?"

Our ABC's, world map and this week's timline cards are hung above our shelf.

The top shelf houses:  Regular pencils and sharpener, my laptop that we use for worship music throughout the day, motivating music during chore time, educational YouTube videos on various subjects, printing off handouts, you name it! It's used all. day. long. And lastly, our geography maps, world atlas and Baldwin Bucks money jars.

The first row of cubbies: our scratch/project paper, drawing/coloring tools and Momma's school books.

The second row: More supplies, Moriah's pink box and binder, and Dry Erase markers along with a basket of glue, scissors and erasers.

The third row: More school text books/activity books, a small crate of math manipulative, and finally Josiah's green box and binder. 

A closer look

Making the most of what you have and being grateful for each blessing sure helps one's attitude when it comes to wanting a beautiful school room. One day we may have the space to have a separate room for school, but for now we are cozy together - learning and growing in the space that God has provided us.

May you have a blessed day and enjoy each gift (including the little people) that God has given to you!

Many blessings,

Simmered Chinese Chicken

Here is one of my favorite childhood dishes that I'm glad to share with you! It's a very simple main dish to prepare and goes with a variety of sides!

Even now, as the chicken simmers on my stove, memories of running around the house with my little sister while Mom made dinner surface in my mind. It's crazy how the smell of certain foods can recall memories so quickly!

This dish takes only a few ingredients and a few minutes to throw together yet it warms the body and soul.

 A few, simple ingredients make this dinner a WINNER!

Simmered Chinese Chicken

Ingredients:
1 whole fryer
1 Tbl oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1 Tbl ketchup
1/4 cup apple juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 green onion, sliced

For sauce:
2 Tbl cornstarch
1 Tbl water
2 tsp. sesame seeds (optional)

Directions:
- Heat oil in large pan with a lid.
- Brown chicken on all sides in oil.
- In a small bowl, mix together soy sauce, brown sugar, water, ketchup, apple juice, garlic and green onion.
- Pour mixture over chicken.

- Cover and simmer approx. 45 minutes. (I like to flip the chicken over half-way through cooking, so that both sides get to simmer in the juices.)
- Remove chicken to platter when done cooking (reads 165 degrees on meat thermometer)

 

- Mix cornstarch and water in a small cup and add to sauce in pan.
- Cook, stirring constantly until thick (about 10 minutes).
- Serve chicken with sauce on rice,sprinkle sesame seeds on top if desired. Enjoy!

Trust me, you will not be disappointed by this simple dish. It's a little sweet, a little salty and Oh. So. Good! We enjoy Simmered Chinese Chicken served with Jasmine rice and sauteed veggies. Leftovers make a wonderful meal the next day. Okay, I'm ready for dinner!

God bless you as you bless your family and those around you,