I Learned Something New

http://debunkingchristianity.blogspot.com/2011/09/get-educated-about-homosexuality.html Go watch this short video! It gives scientific reasons that contribute to a person being gay. Its very interesting:)

POAS Addict, I think So

I'm a self admitted addict to pee sticks. After 4 miscarriages, who can blame me? I am obsessed with seeing the line get darker. 9-15 dpo here. The LH tests are are not pregnancy hormone persay so they are naturally always darker so don't let those throw you off. Control lines are all on right side, my lines all on left. Today's cheapie(bottom) is as dark as the control line though! Looks like we might have a sticky bean. I am starting to let myself get excited!

Random Rant

AVENT bottles. Why oh why does Jax have to love these peice of crap bottles? Seriously. They leak through the collar. I do them tigher, they leak more, looser, same result. What am I doing wrong or are these notorious for this? I am having to change Jaxxon's entire outfit many x a day because of these leaking pile of crap bottles.

Whoops

 10dpo

10dpo

9dpo

This is how we told the kids!

 I think I sat on the toilet seat! :O Didn't see this coming. Faint lines, but already nauseous(thats what tipped me off), yay me*insert sarcasm here*

Note: for the grammer police, yes I KNOW there shoulda been an apostrophe in we're and I put it there later after I took the pic. Blame it on preggo brain!

Large Family Dynamics

Its interesting to think about how different the dynamics of a large family are in a very religious home vs a non-religious one. Many of the Xtian books I was reading were all about training my daughters to be good little caregivers and house cleaners. My boys have always done plenty of chores too, but mostly outdoors or garbage related as suggested in books like "Created for Work." I realized this summer after we had been living without religion for a bit that this was clearly the wrong way to look at things. Why couldn't Everett bake cookies if he wanted to? I had previously told him this was too girly. Shame on me. Why can't Kayla take the trash out and water the dogs while Wyatt does dishes and Tanner scrubs the toilets? This is cross-gendered training according to several Xtian books. What is really is though, is hogwash! So back to the summer, I decided, the kids had to be rotating through ALL chores whether previously assigned "boy" or "girl." Everything has become gender neutral when it comes to chores in our home. Things like baking and knitting are no longer off limits to the boys if they should choose to try them. Kayla is free to ride dirt bikes and play in the wash for hours catching frogs with her brothers. I never told her she couldn't but I placed imaginary pressure probably to be non supportive of such things.

 I am seeing how ridiculous most of the anti-feminism garbage, really is. They claim it ruins the family unit and causes societal problems. I think its quite the opposite. What if I kept Kayla inside all the time helping with household chores and acting as a mother in training? She would grow up burned out and angry and resentful towards me. She would likely not want any of her own children because she would have felt she already raised a brood. Now this is not to say she doesn't have to help out with babies or small kids or clean on occasion, of course she does. It does mean though that the boys help equally with those same responsibilities and I can guarantee you one thing, if they have kids, they will be great, hands-on dads who KNOW how to change a diaper and hold a newborns head up. They will know how to make a bottle and fold laundry. These skills are valuable to all the kids regardless of whether they are boy or girl. They will all grow up well rounded people with many skills and talents, some that never could have developed if they were shoved behind the fundamentalist label of Xtianity.

I'm proud of the way our family is evolving and the funnest part of our lives right now with the kids having started school, is seeing how their unique styles(clothing and personality) are developing. Watching everything evolve rapidly as the kids(and me) get up to speed with mainstream life will be what I will be writing about next time.

MOVING

http://happilymainstreaming.blogspot.com/ This is my new blog address.

Blog Intentions

The intention of this blog is well thought out. I am leaving the other blog behind because quite frankly, I have outgrown it. I love my kids, but no longer refer to them as peas.....their getting a bit old for that. I am no longer searching in life. I have happily landed in mainstream land and I am likin' it despite all the negativity surrounding public schooling and every other thing I tried to be and wasn't. Who am I, I am me..... first and foremost. My seven kids play a large part in my life obviously, but they aren't all I am. I am done being controlled by religion, religious friends and church's. I have NO desire for brainwashing or indocrintation. I am over being impressionable and suppressed. I am over hating myself and hiding who I am. I am here to speak my mind loud and clear about whatever pops into my head be it politics, parenting, marriage, education, sex, religion or lack thereof, tolerance, etc. Welcome to this blog and I hope my old readers understand that I am not here to be "saved" or "helped." I don't need to be saved or fixed. I am not broken or lost or in need of rescue. If you think I am, then I think you are. I don't need followers who are in perfect agreement with all my sentaments, but I don't want daily links about why the bible is true or why I am wrong for not being a submissive christian lady raising a big family. I don't care if you think I am raising a generation of fuck-ups by no longer practicing religion. That isn't the purpose of this blog. I just want to talk openly without constant links from the "conversion police" or "missionaries" or whaever else you may call yourself. If god is up there, tell him to show himself because until then I am done believing. So if your not offended and willing to stick it out, "follow" my blog, if not, it was nice knowin ya!

School Update

Lots have asked so I am here to tell. School is going AMAZING! We are super happy with our decision to put the kids into public school. I am so happy to be mainstreaming our family. Kayla is loving her 6th grade class despite having to switch teachers due to crowding. She is a social butterfly and mingling with friends all day has really changed her into an exciting and fun young woman:) I am so happy for her. Wyatt started out with some bumps, but those are smoothing out. Obviously Wyatt has special needs so he had to have an IEP and then was placed in an amazing mild pull out classroom. Most of the kids there have mild issues or just need extra help with their work so Wyatt is now starting to get used to his new class and really loving it. He is making friends which is something I am so grateful for. He is getting services like speech, OT, PT, and has a 1 to 6 ratio of teacher to student or aide which is giving him a huge advantage. Everett is also quite the social butterfly like Kayla. He has tons of friends and even has a little "girlfriend" who wrote him a "do you like me, check yes or no," note. Tanner had a VERY rough first 3 weeks including a move to another class because of crowding which was really hard on him as he has some issues adjusting. This past week he seems to finally be settling into a pattern with the school routine. His teacher says he is making good progress now that he isn't crying all day. I am so glad he is finally adjusting. He still needs some reassurance from me at home, but seems pretty happy now that he is making friends.

Nate and I are adjusted........and I mean WELL ADJUSTED!! We love our newfound freedom and quiet during the days. He is home 3 week days one week and 4 the next so our alone time has REALLY increased as the 3 little ones at home all nap and  are so easy compared to 7. We are able to go to lunch many days and talk in quiet. Its sooooooo nice. We never could have imagined how great it is. We miss them, but we enjoy having time to shop and do fun things for a surprise somedays. For example, Thursday we went and bought a new 50" flatscreen to replace the 37" in our living room and got a new DVD player as well. We got it all set up and had a box of popcorn and a movie for the entire family ready to suprise them when we got home from school. It was awesome to see their faces. Its fun doing little things too, like baking them a yummy treat for after school or planning a short outing. We have less time, but its more quality. My relationship with Kayla is getting better too. We needed the time away from each other to miss each other as sometimes we would get annoyed with each other from being around each other too much.

There have been many unexpectedly wonderful aspects of school. The whole family is growing from the experience and its been in positive ways. The kids love being social. I love having time for friends and lunch dates, time to paint my nails and do a little something for myself. We are learning to savor time together and not take it for granted. This is such an exciting new chapter of our lives. We could not be happier with our decision and I don't think my kids could either. Kenna is already looking forward to starting Kindergarten next fall! Yay