Clues

No current giveaway. Shocking, right?

September 30, 2009 By kimc

Most or many of you already caught on to the little mystery, but if by chance you haven’t I’ll try not to spoil it. We have been placing clues all over the blog for the past couple of days. How many did you spot? Can you find them all now?

One in the left sidebar
One in the right sidebar
Our About page
Our Stuff We Love page
A new category
The title of this post
The url of this post
Several improperly capitalized letters in this post
The header
The url of one of the proposed cover images for our new book

Some of my status updates on Facebook were also meant to beg the question. Two that come to mind are the ones about a nap and celebratory amounts of chocolate brought home by hubby.

Filed Under: pregnancy/labor 66 Comments

Puppy babies

No current giveaway. Shocking, right?

September 29, 2009 By kimc

It’s been a while since we posted pics of the pups, and they have grown tremendously.

Here’s the proud mama, Lady:

and a couple of recent pics of her children:

Filed Under: pets, photos 29 Comments

Announcement

No current giveaway. Shocking, right?

September 28, 2009 By kimc

When I posted about my grand idea, I mentioned that we were hoping you would help us pay for it.

We’re nearly ready to get started, but we need your help with part of the fund raising: we are releasing our first 2 e-books ever! These have been in the works for a while, always on the back burner, but the prospect of our new BunkBeds has motivated me to finish them. There’s a third one as well, but it’s far from done. It was actually the first one I started. Maybe if y’all are excited enough about the first 2, I’ll find the time to finish the other one.

Right now, we need your input on the cover for one, Big Family, Small House.

We have drafted several designs, And each of us thinks our favorite is the best. We want you to take sides help us choose. Just to keep it fair and prevent you from choosing mine just because you like me best, we’ll assign numbers instead of names to the choices.

So here’s the big question. Please leave a comment if You have suggestions, opinions or input!

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Filed Under: big family, books and poetry, questions 42 Comments

Review: Thirsties diaper covers

No current giveaway. Shocking, right?

September 25, 2009 By kimc

You probably remember that we switched to cloth diapers earlier this year. I started with a big assortment of used items, sold by a kind reader at a very, very nice price.

I split them with my sister and never looked back, but our used items are beginning to show some heavy wear. We’ve had to repair several of our Proraps, and they just don’t have much life left in them. It was time to start looking at replacements.

On the recommendation of several readers, we recently got some Thirsties. These are among the more moderately priced diaper covers, and claim to be the best-selling diaper cover on the market. Based on the number of recommendations we received, I believe it!

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Oh, look. My baby was helping with the post, and she knows how to spell my name! Do you see it? I always knew she was smart. She must know that this post is about diapers, and therefore about her.

We have really enjoyed our Thirsties diaper covers. The colors are adorable and they do the job, plain and simple. They have gussets – a must for us, with our rather bulky prefolds.

I think the crossover tabs are brilliant and obvious. Why doesn’t every cover on the market have those?

Ditto for laundry tabs, though we’re not used to them yet. I’ll have to train my diaper-changing children to actually use them, right after I retrain myself. If our old Proraps had laundry tabs, they might not need to be replaced already.

Like most diaper covers, size medium covers a lot of ground, from about 9 months until potty-training age for many children. If you want even more sizing flexibility, pay a wee bit more for the Duo Wrap. It has all the features of the standard cover plus snaps to quickly and easily change the rise. Did I really just say wee while talking about diapers?

Just for fun, we also got one of their Fab Fitted diapers. I have to be honest: I squealed just a little when it came. I can’t explain the thrill of a soft-n-squishy raspberry colored diaper, but there you have it. You’ll probably want to rub it on your cheek before you put it on the baby the first time. I can almost guarantee that this diaper will be the first one to get used every time. It’s not super absorbent, but is just fine for daytime use and is much trimmer than the prefolds that we normally use.

Speaking of absorbency, I have to confess one more thing: I think the Fab Doublers are irresistibly adorable too. Why would I care if it’s cute when it’s going to completely hidden from view? I don’t know, but I want them.

Now for the best part:

GIVEAWAY!

Thristies has generously offered to give one of our readers a Thirsties Cover and a Fab Fitted in their choice of colors!

To enter, just visit the Thirsties site to pick your favorite color for each. While you’re there, consider sending Thirsties a quick thank you on their Contact Page for sponsoring the giveaway. Then come back and tell us in a comment. To enter up to 3 more times, tell your friends about this giveaway by linking to it on Facebook, Twitter, and/or your own blog. Come back and leave another comment for each entry.

Filed Under: babies, crunchy stuff, reviews

Autumn in Texas: Two Perspectives

No current giveaway. Shocking, right?

September 25, 2009 By kimc

Deanna’s perspective:

For the past few days the weather has been cool. Not cold, which I would revel in just as much, but in the 60′s during the day, and 50′s at night.

I LOVE IT.

I love the hyperactive, mischievous feeling I get when it’s cool.

I love to play games at night that involve screaming and running.

I love huddling around a fire with my friends.

I love being able to wear long sleeves, jeans and my big, tall, cowboy boots without sweating.

I love being able to smell Christmas coming.

I love the new texture in the air, the halloween candy in the stores, and the dying leaves on the trees.

I love the crisp coolness in the air when I take a deep breath.

I love being able to sleep with a blanket and snuggle with our cat without suffocating.

I love hot cocoa in the morning.

I love wearing my denim jacket outside.

I love cooking hot and hearty soup for dinner.

I love the blue-grey smoke in the air as people take advantage of the chilly drizzle to burn over-ripe piles of brush.

I love the restless, wanderlust I get when it’s cool outside.

I love climbing the trees as they shed their leaves.

I love the the hazy, smoky, cold smell in the air as I lay on the trampoline listening to the deer, squirrels, and birds get ready for colder nights.

I love being comfortable in my flannel pj’s and my over-the-knee-length wool socks.

I love wandering alone in the woods.

I love how clingy and snuggly Bethie has gotten in the cold mornings.

I love how people have such different reactions to cooler weather.

I love arguing with them about the wonderfulness of cool weather.

I love making fun of the ones who hate, hate, hate cool weather.

I love the way the chilly drizzle makes my ears tingle.

I love acorn wars and marshmallow roasts.

I love gorging myself on Thanksgiving dinner.

I love hanging out on our deck with friends in the crisp night air.

I love the fact that God decided to give us so much variety in the weather, even in Texas.

Especially in Texas.

Mom’s perspective:

I hate cool weather. I’m cold. Do you know why we moved from Ohio to Texas? SO WE WOULDN’T HAVE TO BE COLD. That’s why God made Texas: so people wouldn’t have to be cold.

Yes, I know it’s beautiful and crisp and sparkly out there. It’s also cold out there. Close the door!

Who borrowed my fuzzy socks without asking? And why is my coat on the deck being using for a tent? Would somebody bring a cup of coffee?

No, you may not have cocoa for lunch. That’s not food and besides, that’s what you had for breakfast.

Where is Deanna? What do you mean she’s still out in the woods?

Go call her and close the door!

No, we DO NOT want it to snow this Christmas. It would also be nice if the pipes weren’t frozen this year on my birthday like they were the last 2 years. No, it wasn’t fun. You’re forgetting important parts, like how and where you went to the bathroom. No, I don’t know either. I forgot on purpose.

No, we’re not buying any more heaters. Put some socks on if you’re cold, and close the front door!

Yes, you can sleep in a blanket tent on the deck, but be forewarned: I’m locking the door. No, you may not have a space heater in your blanket tent. If your blanket tent is so airtight, you don’t need a heater, do you?

Hey, where’s that coffee I asked for? And why is the door open?!

Filed Under: Everyday life 24 Comments

New series of Bible videos at Vision Forum

No current giveaway. Shocking, right?

September 24, 2009 By kimc

Vision Forum has just launched an exciting new set of DVDs. We saw three of these at the last film festival, and they were amazing!

Titles include:

Abram’s Reward
Abraham & Isaac
Widow & Oil
Jeremiah’s Call
Rich Man & Lazarus

These are very richly done films with sparse dialogue and a huge impact. I think they drive home the fact that the Bible is about real people, not just names and chapter references.

The scenery and raw emotion in Abraham & Isaac blew me away! Rich Man & Lazarus captured the hopelessness of hell with terrifying realism, without stooping to scary horror film tactics. Widow & Oil really made us feel first the desperation of the widow’s situation, then her amazed glee and thankfulness at the miracle that followed. I have no doubt that the other 2 are just as powerful, and can’t wait to see them!

Filed Under: videos, Vision Forum 1 Comment

To do today

No current giveaway. Shocking, right?

September 23, 2009 By kimc

Find my phone – failed
Get a new sim card so I can turn the kids’ phone into my phone – done, sort of . They gave me the run around and made me do it the hard way.
Insert sim card into kids’ phone – failed, so far. There’s a lot of duct tape to peel off the back of the phone first.
Take pups to the vet for first round of shots – done
Buy dewormer for pups - done
Deworm pups – failed. Why do today what you can put off til tomorrow?
Post office to check PO Box, where all of our mail is now routed – done. Mailbox Marauder is foiled again!
Pick up weedeater – done
Go to bank to deposit money from first puppy sale – done. Hurray!
Advertise pups for sale in the local paper – failed. Losing my phone makes everything harder.
Swap out the memory in my laptop – done
Return the extra memory chip – failed (can’t find the package)
Return my netbook and wait for a price drop in a few weeks – trying. I can do it. Parting is such sweet sorrow!
Go grocery shopping – not yet. Hey, I have time…where’s my list?
Post something on the blog – DONE!

Filed Under: Everyday life 8 Comments

Beach Trip, part 2: the photos

No current giveaway. Shocking, right?

September 21, 2009 By kimc

My first beach post was sadly lacking in photos because the camera and computer were giving each other the cold shoulder. Now they have kissed and made up, so we can move ahead.

Bethany loved every minute of the day. She was equally content on somebody’s hip or on her own two feet. She was in the water, out of the water, watching us contentedly from her shady towel-tent, and napping while the rest of us played some more. She helped herself to an endless supply of animal crackers and sand-encrusted watermelon.

As you might have expected, The Boy was a crazy man. He ran endlessly up and down the beach, playing in the water, chasing the birds, taking care of Bethany, and smearing wet sand onto anybody who didn’t see him coming.

Rachael was as sweet as ever, floating and bobbing happily on the waves all day long.

The rest of the kids were a blur. They chased wildlife and waves, built sandpeople, buried each other, wrinkled their noses at the pit toilets.

Quote of the day: “Whaddya mean the bathrooms are too far? You can pee in this pool!”

I thought that was pretty clear, but maybe not. The Boy still came to me when he had to go. I told him he could go in the ocean, so he stood on the sand, dropped his pants, and went. That boy.

Filed Under: fun, photos 15 Comments

Our beach trip

No current giveaway. Shocking, right?

September 18, 2009 By kimc

I asked you to check this post again later for more photos because we couldn’t upload from the camera til we got home. Now there are so many great photos, I can’t bring myself to bury them in an old post. They’re in a new one!

Today was our first-ever family trip to the gulf coast. We did go the beach once in Oregon 7 years ago, but it was spring and COLD. I don’t think anybody actually touched the water, and we only stayed for an hour or two. It was beautiful and frigid.

Today was different: not as beautiful, but the weather was perfect. Lest you think I’m complaining about the beauty levels, let me just say that oceans are like pizza and a few other good things in life: even when they’re bad, they good. And this was not a bad beach!

We aspired in a laid-back sort of way to leave the house at 6:30 this morning, but we didn’t actually pull out until a little after 8. That’s ok. We only had a 3 1/2 hour drive, so before lunch time we were pulling into Mustang Island State Park.

We packed a lot of food, but I think everybody forgot to eat. We’re bringing home nearly as much as we took. There was just too much to do!

The beach was nearly empty and we were able to drive right down to the water’s edge – as close as we dared. There were just a few other vehicles, spaced at intervals of several hundred feet. As soon as the engine was shut off, the kids were out the door and gone.

The water was perfect, and so was the weather. We swam and waded, sat on the beach watching the wildlife, splashed in self-made pools.

We realized we forgot to apply sunblock.

The wildlife was amazing! Each time a wave hit, the shore was absolutely covered with what looked like tiny polished agates of varying colors. They were pink, orange, purple, blue, yellow, green. But as we watched, they all disappeared beneath the surface of the sand. They were tiny clams!

We saw chipmunks.

We caught shrimp and hermit crabs. We spotted and avoided moonjellies in the water, and rescued them on the shore.

We realized that we had still forgotten to apply sunblock to the redhead.

We watched as graceful terns and huge, majestic brown pelicans dove for fish all around us. We were surrounded and stalked by gulls and more terns. We stalked a great blue heron, who casually lifted off when Megan was just 7 feet away. We saw what we think were varieties of sandpipers and/or snipes – can’t wait to get home and check the field guide!

Near the end of the day, Megan found a small but complete sand dollar.

And then it was time to go home.

Filed Under: fun, photos 11 Comments

and we have a WINNER!

No current giveaway. Shocking, right?

September 17, 2009 By kimc

You people are really excited about Charlie’s Soap, aren’t you? The entries to win a free Laundry Powder Combo are still pouring in, but it’s time to choose a winner!

Thank you to everyone who entered! I know you can’t all win every time, but your enthusiasm makes it easier for us to share giveaways like this, which gives you a better chance of winning a future drawing.

And the winner this time is…

Corrie, who posted the very first comment! How often does that happen? Here’s what Corrie said:

OOOOHHHHH! I’ve been really wanting to try this stuff. My friend uses it for all her laundry, and we both use cloth diapers. I’ve had trouble with other detergents causing build-up on my diapers and rashes on my baby, and I have a feeling Charlies’ would fix both. I’ve tried homemade, soap nuts, etc, and they all work okay, but not spectacularly. I’m hopeful!
Corrie

Corrie, just email me your shipping address and I’ll forward it to the good people at Charlie’s Soap. Be sure to let us know how you like your goodies!

Filed Under: giveaways & deals 2 Comments

Big family in a small house, part 5: Finding personal space

No current giveaway. Shocking, right?

September 16, 2009 By kimc

Did you miss the beginning? Start here:

Although our living quarters are small, we are not forced to spend our days crowded together. God has given us plenty of space if we choose to use it.

Outside – We live in the country, so the kids can make all the noise they want outside. They can also enjoy all the silence they want out there.

One of the girls has hung a hammock under the house (it’s several feet off of the ground) and she enjoys reading down there in the dim cool shade during the summer.
Another child has a favorite tree that provides a spectacular view.
Still others love to play in the woods nearby, or jump on the trampoline.
Perry-Boy likes to “drive” the retired Suburban at the bottom of the driveway. He once took me to his aunt’s house and back without ever starting the engine.

Deck – We are blessed to have a rather large deck on the front of our house. When we have company, or when the children are just restless, I often send them out. The deck is close enough that I can hear them and keep an eye on them, but they are not underfoot like a pack of hungry puppies. This is perfect for noisy games and restless children. It’s also great for cold days when they are not likely to stay out for long. On muddy or even rainy days, they can play on the deck without getting filthy and bringing the mud back into the house.

Inside – I sometimes let the kids make blanket tents in the house. If they use heavy comforters, I find that their noise is heavily stifled, and they will enjoy the same sensation from inside their tent. If you toss some snacks and ideas in every now and then, you might be surprised at how long they stay occupied. “Are you Eskimos in an igloo? Have some seal jerkey and a whale-oil lamp, and don’t let the polar bears find you.” Actually I don’t have to come up with ideas because my children do it all themselves. Their storylines invariably involve kidnappers.

Flashlights, books, or an old laptop with a DVD drive will keep them busy for longer than you think. Oops. Did I say that out loud?

If they use a set of bunkbeds for the base of the tent, you won’t even have a mess in the living room.

If you don’t have these options, you might find that you can improvise. Do you have a garage that can be used as an alternative play area? A storage room or closet? A hallway or empty space behind the sofa?

Filed Under: big family 7 Comments

Annual staff photo, take 2. New family photo.

No current giveaway. Shocking, right?

September 16, 2009 By kimc

Apparently I got a passing grade on my lesson last week, because the 2009 staff photo was a delight today.

We left on time, and stopped along the way for a delicious, relaxing, cheap breakfast at Burger King. Sausage biscuits and hashbrowns for $1 are hard to beat!

We easily arrived on time,

everyone was in good spirits, the weather was beautiful, and the photo shoot went off without a hitch. Unlike most other years, we had not a hint of vomit anywhere. Be sure to watch for the staff photo inside the front cover of your new Vision Forum catalog soon.

Afterward each family was treated to an individual photo session, courtesy of several accomplished photographers. I’m not sure who took this one, but I like it. Do we make good-looking kids, or what?

Then we topped it all off with a second breakfast of ice cream.

We dropped hubby at work and did a few errands before going home. In the process, we skipped lunch and had half-price Cherry Limeades from Sonic during happy hour. Still no vomit. We’re on a roll!

It’s going to take one super-healthy dinner to make up for our diet so far today. Maybe we’ll go all the way and eat cookies instead of dinner. Or maybe we’ll just celebrate the crashing blood sugar with a 5 o’clock nap.

Quick vote! What would you do?

Filed Under: photos, questions 11 Comments

2009 Family Portrait

No current giveaway. Shocking, right?

September 16, 2009 By Perry C.

2009 Family Portrait

Filed Under: big family, Dad's corner, family 17 Comments

My grand idea

No current giveaway. Shocking, right?

September 14, 2009 By kimc

I woke up with The Best Idea Ever.

Remember when we were wondering how to fit our kids more comfortably into their 2 smallish rooms? We talked about stacking them higher, or building a loft over the bedrooms. We kicked around the idea of triple or even quadruple bunks, and where to put them.

We even talked about finding a way to fit them all in one room and turning the other into a library, thus freeing up all the space in the rest of the house that is currently cluttered crowded consumed by books.

Here’s what we’re going to do:

The 2 bedrooms are nearly 12×12 each, and each houses 4 children plus assorted pets and a baby. The beds are, of course, the biggest piece of furniture in each room: bunkbeds with a full on the bottom and a twin on top.

We’re going to build-in a set of shelves that runs the entire length of the room, just behind the door. They will probably be 24-28″ deep. It will be over 11 feet long, and 4 levels high. Each shelf will sleep 2 children, feet-to-feet. If they enjoy each other’s company and/or want to share a booklight or alarm clock, they could choose to sleep head-to-head.

The beds will be built of wood, probably similar to the storage shelves the girls and I built under the house for hubby’s birthday, though these won’t be hung from the ceiling. We will buy thick comfy mattress pads to cut down for mattresses. We have already done a bit of research for this part. Three king size pads will be more than enough.

We will have 8 beds – or even 9, since 3 small children could sleep on the bottom level – on one side of one bedroom. The kids love the idea!

We’re still working on other details:

Treasure boxes: I hope to leave a 12-18″ space underneath, which will be divided into cubbies for personal possessions. Right now they each have a large cardboard box under the bed, which we refer to as a “treasure box.”
Clothes: Yikes. We already have some very bad habits, and I have resolved to become a laundry nazi. We’ll need to thin things severely and learn NOT TO TOSS CLEAN AND DIRTY LAUNDRY INDISCRIMINATELY ON THE FLOOR. ahem. Pardon my raised voice. We will probably build cubbies on the opposite wall for underthings, and heavily thin the hanging clothes. I would like to see our rundown dressers disappear entirely.
How to fund the project? We’re hoping you’ll pay for it, but don’t worry. We have a very fun idea in mind!

Now, who thinks we’re crazier than ever? Who wants to see pictures of the project when we start it? Who wants to see my fundraising idea?

Filed Under: big family, madness, methods 56 Comments

a childhood story: The Pool

No current giveaway. Shocking, right?

September 11, 2009 By kimc

I was wondering aloud what to blog today, and 5yo Rachael suggested The Pool. I don’t know why that story came to mind, and she doesn’t know either, except that all children love to hear stories from their parents’ childhoods.

I had intended to write down some childhood stories and even created a category for memories, so now, like my own children, you’ll know the story of the pool too.

The Pool

We were very poor when I was a kid. We ate a lot of beans, and luxuries were few and far between. Our idea of luxury was having our own pillows – something that didn’t happen until I was a teen. Before that, we used pillows in shifts: the older ones waited until the younger ones fell asleep, then took their pillows. It worked for us.

When I was 8 or 9 and there were 5 of us, Mom somehow managed to save enough money to buy us kids a pool. I don’t know how she did it. It was just a kiddie pool, the kind that was $15.44 this summer at WalMart, but we couldn’t remember ever having had one before. We hadn’t even thought to hope for one. We were indescribably excited, and Mom was excited for us. This was going to be the best summer ever!

We bought the pool, and had to carry it home on the top of our vehicle. Mom drove as slowly as she could, but once we got on the divided highway she had to pick up the pace a little.

Then the unthinkable happened. The pool blew off the top of our vehicle. We knew the instant it happened, but there was nowhere to pull over. Mom did the best thing she could think of: she hit the gas, took the next exit and came back around.

As we crossed the overpass, we looked down and saw our pool by the side of the highway. There it was, just a few hundred feet away. But as we watched in horror a truck on the other side had pulled over right next to our pool.

They got out, no doubt delighted at their luck. Why would anyone throw away a perfectly good pool?

To the best of my memory, Mom pulled over and got out right there on the overpass.

“HEY!” Our shy, quiet mother yelled at the top of her lungs. She waved madly. ”That’s my pool! THAT’S MINE!” They were oblivious. With 8 lanes of traffic thundering between us, we watched helplessly as they loaded our pool into the back of their truck and drove away.

There was no happy ending. We didn’t get a pool that summer. I don’t know how many years passed before we finally had a kiddie pool of some sort but I suspect that first one had been long forgotten by most of us.

I often wonder why the memory stayed with me. I forget so many things; why did I remember this? And why did Rachael think of it tonight?

I think it’s because my mom cared so much. She seemed more disappointed than we were. The pool itself couldn’t have meant a thing to her, but she desperately wanted it for our sake. Our gentle, softspoken mother was willing to stand there like a crazy lady on the overpass bellowing at strangers, so that we could splash around in a kiddie pool.

Our mom loved us and we knew it, even though we lost the pool. Maybe losing the pool gave us a clearer look at how much she loved us.

Filed Under: memories 12 Comments