AND THEN THERE WERE 5!

Introducing our little "Buddy".



I said I was done at 4, but God had different, better plans.





We were induced at 39 weeks because my fluid was low.  Longest, hardest labor of my life.  Because you'd think after 4 rounds of "THE PIT" in previous deliveries, I would have just asked for the epidural from the get go.  But noooo.  My hippie self decided I should give this last one a go as naturally as possible.

Ow.

But honestly, we had a midwife this time and a large part of that was amazing.  She even let me EAT.  Did you know you can achieve a special kind of nirvana eating dry, overcooked hamburgers while in labor?  I do now.  Oh, and I could move around as freely as I wanted.  It was all pretty great until about 2am when my body decided to kick in and "THE PIT" was stronger than I could handle.  And so, the shameless begging for an epidural ensued.  

(I wanted to kiss my anesthesiologist when she was done.)





Oh my heart.  This Monkey won't ever look at the camera but for some reason he was so in love with his new brother that the camera didn't matter.


















So there it is!  The post is a few weeks late but whatever...  We're really exhausted excited and can't wait to see what new adventures await with this little dude!


God is so good.

Pumpkin Spice Playdough!

Bunny, "Mom, because it's Veteran's Day, we don't have to do homeschool right?"
Me, "Well, we will probably do a little homeschool.  I have a project planned."
Bunny, "OH MAN, do we really have to Mom?  My other friends get the day off."
Me, "But it will be so much fun!  You see, we are going to make Homemade Pumpkin Spice Playdough!"

Bunny, "That's not a homeschool project."

Me, "Sure it is.  You could make homemade playdough at school for a project."
Bunny, "Not at the regular school.  We just do projects with paper."

Me, "Not anymore you don't."  :-)

The house smelled like a Pumpkin Spice Latte!  My hands did too.  :-)

I found the recipe at Small + Friendly

• 1 Cup Flour
• 1 Cup Water
• 1/4 Cup Salt
• 1 Tbsp Oil  (She used coconut, I used canola...)
• 2 Teaspoons Cream of Tartar
• 2 Teaspoons of Pumpkin Pie Spice (Or cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg)

Basically you just put it all in a saucepan on medium heat and stir until it turns into a ball and is not longer sticky (kinda smooth).  Then pull from the pan and let cool.

Divide up and add food coloring if you wish.


We talked about gluten and how it makes the dough stick together.  Bunny copied the recipe from the computer and Hannes read it off.  We made a triple batch and I thought I was giving Hannes a challenge when I asked him to figure the fractions times 3.  It was no sweat for his super math brain.

My arms were getting tired so the Bunny stepped in.

It was really nice to work with.  I definitely recommend making a triple batch if you want a decent amount to play with.

We added a few colors to the mix once it was cooled.  It's a good idea to wear gloves until it is all mixed in.

While I was mixing colors, Bunny stepped in and made lunch.  (He's such a big help!)

They loved it!  The texture is fantastic, probably one of the best I've used.  It keeps for a few weeks in an airtight bag or container too.

And the Answer Is...

We are Homeschooling!

Pinch me.  I had been going back and forth wondering if this was the right thing to do, praying God would give me a solid nudge in the right direction.  He did and we have jumped in with both feet!

We were definitely not fully prepared to do this, but something happened at the school last week that sealed the deal.  In very short order I was calling the Hubs saying that I wanted this to be their last week.  He fully agreed and we put in our formal intent to homeschool paperwork that very day.


There are some heavy initial costs (and some ongoing ones as well) we will incur and so I was encouraged by a friend to open one of those Go Fund Me accounts in hopes we could fundraise a little to soften the blow.  I felt kinda weird about it but I went forward with it anyway.  You can see it here if you feel led to give us a boost.  We are very, very thankful for every single penny.  


Our initial plan is to work with the older two first and then pull the latter two as they get further along (and I get myself grounded a bit).  Much of their base curriculum is done online with heavy supplementation by your's truly.  We are hoping to start the online curriculum by the end of this week!

Yesterday we started getting used to the whole homeschool routine.  It's going to be a bit tricky as I spend a good portion of 3 days out of the house, playing schoolbus for the Monkey, and watching the Little Mister.  The director of our church preschool is SO awesome.   She set up a table yesterday for the boys to sit and work while I was taking care of baby business.  

They were so very well behaved and focused!  No whining, no tears... I saw a side of Hannes I hadn't seen before.  He was very intently working and yet so calm.  I can't even begin to tell you how fascinating it was to see that.  They both stayed calm and focused for much of the day, through our bible study, the book we read, and pretty much everything else we did.

Incredible.  God is SO good.

This without at doubt is going to be good for them.  I just hope I do this right and don't screw it up!