Catch up Pics

I don't post pictures nearly as much as I'd like, so I thought, while I have the chance, here are some pics from our everyday life...which, in my opinion, is best!

Our Cute little house

Mommy and Gabriel sharing a PB&J

(p.s. I completely whacked off my hair...and I love it!)

My two men "laughing" and "playing" on the top bunk
Gabriel just being Gabriel---Too Cute
Benjamin's very first High Chair experience...along with

some elephant chowing (p.s. he is now 27.5" and 17lbs)

Growing so Big!!!

Parties, Diapers, Laughs...and more

Oy! It really has been a whole month since I posted last...how the time flies, and how little seems to get "done". Aaahhh, but I'm learning to enjoy it and not fret so much about dirty floors, un-made beds and misplaced couch pillows (honestly-big pet peeve for me...but I'm letting go).

However, we have truly been having quite a bit of fun lately. To start if off, we had a Wonderful 4th of July Weekend. Two Couples from Portland and their kiddos came for the weekend. Kiely golfed, we barbequed, sat around the fire, rode the trolley, went to the Jetty and Battery Russel, roasted marshmallows and did a whole lot of laughing! Oh, and we watched the fire works from our front lawn! Glorious! Unfortunately, I was so busy having fun that I didn't take any pictures to post on my blog : ( Maybe next time

Also, the last few weeks we were blessed to have my niece some stay with us and help out while earning money for her Mexico trip. She did everything from cleaning up dinner dishes, to gettting the kids dressed and taking them to the park to the all-time favorite babysitting so Kiely and I could have a night out! Then, when my sister came to pick her up we happened upon a local rummage sale where I bought a whole bag of 100% wool sweaters and skirts for a grand total of $2. Now, why would I want a bunch of wool you ask???

Cloth Diapers! That's right, I am completely old school. Right now though, I supplement with disposibles because the covers I use are slightly less than ideal, especially for overnight or longer outings! However, I'm hoping the wool will help me go completely cloth! So, why wool! It so happens that wool is a natural insulator- i.e. It keeps you warm when it's cold, but also keeps you cool when it is warm! Fantastik! The other great thing is that wool is waterproof when lanolized! That just means that it has the natural oils (lanolin) that are found in wool. Viola! A perfect candidate for a diaper cover. Waterproof. Breathable. Cheap. Natural! I love it! However, I am in the process of felting (or rather shrinking) my wool and still have to sew the covers up. I'll probably post all about it once I have another grand spare moment!

Last, but not least, some of my favorite moments from the last few days!

Justus is laying on the floor head tilted, looking at Benjamin (also on the floor), when he says, "Benjamin-You daddy! Yeah-You daddy! Why you look like daddy Benjamin! (more a statement than a question: )

Also, while standing in his chair at the breakfast table and quite noticeably grunting and working to fill his diaper. Red face and all, Gabriel pauses looks up at me and completely innocently says, "I not pooping!" Yeah-right!!!!

Lastly-which was very near a disaster, but was a laughable moment instead. The other night after finishing a gallon of milk at the dinner table we decided to show the boys how to lightly twist the cap on and then smash the jug so the cap went flying! Perfect entertainment for boys. Kiely, then kept blowing if back up so the fun continued....Well, fast-forward to the next day. I run down to the basement to switch a load of laundry and when I come back up, they boys have a gallon of milk sitting on the floor, taking turns jumping on it! However, it was not empty, but 3/4 of the way full. Luckily the cap was on tight enough and we didn't have a milk flood all over the dining room, Phew!

Where we've been

We have had a busy last few months...moving, setting up our house, re-arranging, re-arranging some more, trips to Portland and Corvallis, and most recently, Justus' third Birthday!!! At one end I can't believe he's 3, and on the other side, I am amazed at how much has changed since then. So, here's to hoping for a little "down time" the next few years (i.e. no major life events such as new jobs or new towns or new babies : )

In the mean time, here our a few pics of our most recent days... Bejamin...growing like crazy, Justus being a good big brother and showing off his new Radio Flyer trike ($25 at a resale shop), Gabriel charming his way through life...and the view from our house. AAaaaaah Astoria!!!

Home Remedy

So, I was finally going to post some recent pics and lo and behold I can't find our camera. There are a lot of people around here, so hopefully someone will know where it is. Until then, I've decided to post little home remedies, in lieu of "mothering naturally". Most of them will probably be as I use them, so I'll let you know how they work! The first remedy is inspired by the "creative nature" of my two older boys. They found permanent markers the other day and thought it would be a great idea to color all over my mothers antique trunk in the family room...luckily, a few days previous, my mother was telling a story of when I got a hold of a permanent marker and colored all over a wall right before we were moving...and so I simply used the same remover she said worked when I was 2...

Remedy #1:
Hair Spray! Spray the hair spray(any brand should work) on the marker and rub off with a slightly damp cloth. You may still have to do some rubbing, but I was able to get it all off. Pfew!
Be aware that if you are cleaning it off a wall, it will start running, so you'll want something to protect the floor, especially if there is carpet!

A Done Deal!

Well, It happened!!!
All the documents are signed and we will have officially sold our house!
Now, to be totally honest, there are a number of mixed feelings involved here.
Excitement-because our house sold and we can move forward!
Thankfulness-that in the current housing market our house sold at all!
Nostalgia-it was our very first home and it was so nice taking ownership in it and truly making it our own. We really loved that house!
Jealousy-that the new owners get to live in OUR house and enjoy our yard and patio that Kiely spent hours working on along with all the other little improvements...built-in microwave, custom closets, pull down ladder and light in attic, fence in the front yard....and many other things. Aahhhh!
However, on the brighter side we will have absolutely NO Debt whatsoever. So, in Kiely's words "Our entire economy could come crashing down, and it wouldn't effect us a bit!" Yes, a bit melodramatic, I know! : ) We are pretty excited about it though! We've taken and are now facilitating a Financial series called Financial Peace University. It's completely altered our views on managing our money and have given us a few new goals...and some adequate motivation for doing so. "Live like no-one else, so LATER, you can live like no-one else."
To be honest, it's a bit challenging to choose to "live like no-one else" (i.e. no car payments, no credit cards, no debt) Which usually means living in a smaller house than most people our age, driving older cars than our friends and having to explain to people "Why?" on this great green earth we don't borrow money?" What a concept!

All in all though, we are excited to be moving on and may have found the perfect little rental for our "live like no-one else." motto. I'll keep you updated once we know for sure. And hopefully get organized enough that I can post some pictures of our life these days (i.e. our three adorable boys). Until then, many blessings.

A Blessing Indeed

Well, we are absolutely loving our new little addition. He has been completely wonderful, and I am totally spoiled. He is still sleeping great at night. He only wakes up once to eat and then goes right back to sleep. He isn't the least bit fussy, unless he's hungry, and that has a very easy solution. His older brothers love him and Justus is always relaying what Benjamin "needs".
"Ben-a-min wants more milk mom." is the most prevalant one, and on occasion he'll tell me "He needs a clean diaper, he has poops!" Oh, I love it!

The other wonderful news is that our house is set to close on the 28th this month! Hallelujah! We are looking at a few different housing options here, but the important part is that we are actually going to have our own place...with our own furniture and dishes and groceries and all those little things that set our home apart from any other place. Tomorrow we're heading to Portland to pack up our furniture and bring it here. It will be sad to say goodbye to our first house. All sorts of good memories happened there and after all the hours and countless weekends Kiely spent on our backyard and patio...we didn't get to use it even once!!! Ahhh, well, life goes on.

So, with all that said, I should probably get some sleep so I have brain power to get stuff done tomorrow! : ) Ta-ta.

The Story!

Benjamin Lawrence

This labor was, once again, totally different than both my previous ones. I started having contractions on Saturday. They were consistent and strong, but very spaced out...which is somewhat similar to how Gabriel's labor progressed. Except that my bag of waters broke first with Gabriel. So, I just went about a pretty normal day...all the while thinking it was possible we could be having our baby that evening. However, once evening came, they had spaced out more and by the time I went to bed they had faded off. I woke up maybe 3 times with a strong contraction, thinking maybe they would keep going, but eventually I woke up around 7...still pregnant!!!

Shortly after I woke up on Sunday, I noticed they had picked up again at 10 minutes a part and still fairly strong. I still didn't want to get too excited, but new at least SOMETHING was happening : )

So, our little family stayed home and relaxed. It was a beautiful day so we took the boys for a walk, as well as hoping to help my labor progress.

After our walk, we had Grandma Bondurant come pick up the boys to go play and keep them occupied for the rest of the day so Kiely and I could run some errands and get ready for the birth. Not knowing what my body would do we rented a few movies to help pass time and bought an exercise ball for me to sit on during contractions.

Then, once again, my contractions let up a bit, so I took a midday nap. Not wanting to just sit around, we went for another walk while my contractions picked up again and then opted to go have dinner at his parents house where the boys were.

In the mean time, we had received an offer on our house and were negotiating a counter offer-They wanted our washer and dryer...and I'll admit, I'm a little attached to them : )

So, while we were at Kiely's parents, trying to print and fax and email all the offer papers, I started feeling more and more like settling into my own space and focusing on what my body was doing. We waited for our offer to be sent and headed back home around 7:30. Expecting a somewhat quiet atmosphere upon returning home, I was a little shocked to find a completely full house and plenty of activity going on (We are still living with my parents) Not necessarily my ideal for having a baby...but the house is big enough so I opted to spend some alone time in my parents jacuzzi while Kiely caught up with my dad on the soccer game he missed and my brothers and nephews ran through the house... : ) Never a dull moment.

After getting into the jacuzzi I timed my contractions between 7-8 minutes apart, but to my dismay they seemed to be getting weaker. At this point I really had no idea what was going on and if I might be in labor again the next day.

However, my brothers fiance', who was planning on being at the birth was getting back from a trip that evening, so I figured maybe that's what we were waiting for...and evidently we were!

Probably only 45 minutes after she got to our house the gears changed. We were talking casually and watching a movie, while my contractions were getting closer, but still quite a bit weaker than most of the day and all of a sudden a felt a "pop" and my water broke. Only my forewaters leaked, so it wasn't a giant gush, but enough for me to know what happend. So, I went to the bathroom to rinse off and instantly felt a need to go lay down and start focusing. Feeling like I was getting a bit panicky I asked Kiely to pray...and was able to calm down and focus for maybe the next two contractions...then, I had probably the biggest "transition" contraction I've ever had. It peaked and stayed for what seemed like a number of minutes. By this time, I had already asked them to go get my mom, and even though she had been in the room for probably 5 minutes, she knew exactly what was going on.

So, in a need to do SOMETHING I got off the bed to try a different position, hoping I would be more comfortable, and with the next contraction, felt the baby moving down the birth canal. Now my mom prefers to deliver babies on the bed, so her and Kiely were trying to set it up for me to get back there once I told them the baby was coming. But realizing I wasn't going anywhere, I decided to feel for the babies head since I KNEW it was too late to move. And sure enough it was right there and just about fully crowned! SWEET RELIEF!

Evidently, I was keeping this information to myself since they were still trying to set up the bed for me and when I announced "There it is!" my mom asked, "Uh! There WHAT is?!"

"The head!-Of course" (lol) So, with the next contraction, the rest of his head came out and with one more-he was completely born!!! Our third boy!

The rest was completely wonderful and a great relief to have accomplished the task! He nursed great. Is still nursing great. Breathed fine...and so far, has slept wonderfully at night. I just keep smiling everytime I think about our three little men. Such an adventure we are on...and I have a feeling it's going to be one of the greatest adventures of our lives!!!

Right after our "20 minute delivery"

I'll admit, the best feeling is when it's over and you have a beautiful and healthy baby.

I love natural childbirth!!!

Aunti Anya holding little Benjamin

(this was her first birth experience-and she loved it!)

My little men singing "Happy Birthday" to there little brother,

While anxiously awaiting the Red Raspberry Ice-cream Cake

with Chocolate Graham Cracker Crust and

Whipped Cream Topping

(We like to treat ourselves after giving birth : )

And it was a wonderful treat!