New home!

It has been awhile since I updated. We found a condo to rent while we start the home buying process. It's close to family, and we really enjoy the views of the mountain! All the boys are doing well. Mycah is happy to pull up on anything he can get his hands on, but doesn't seem interested in moving his feet to actually walk. I don't think we will have another 9 month old walker. Hayden and Nixon are eager to start home school on the 18th of August. Im trying to hold them off for a couple more weeks! Big news for us...we are having another baby! After getting over the initial shock..we are excited. So far this is a strangely easy pregnancy, which is great since I have three other kids to chase around! I'm just taking it one day at a time. I'm super thankful that so far, Mycah is still nursing well with no issues. A lot of people lose their milk supply pretty fast. We have our first midwife appointment this Saturday with a tour of the birth center. I'm hoping everything goes well so we can gbo through with our plans of a natural water birth out of hospital.

Our home made light table

Here is a more elaborate post on the light table I made the boys. I found instructions on Pinterest and modified them. This is the box we got. A Sterilite 50 Quart/47L. I filled it with three strands of clear Christmas lights I found in the party section at Walmart. We burned a hole in the side to slip the strand of lights out to plug in. Notice our pretty job of melting a hole haha! These are some ideas for things to go on top. We have Wonder Tubes, blocks, and empty chunky plastic test tubes which I filled with random things. Dry lavender flowers, glitter, water and one tiny pump of hand soap so it doesn't get yucky. One of the hem is filled with clear quartz rocks, one had oil (I used sweet almond) and 10 drops of food coloring, one has tinyour plastic colored balls that are usually used to decorate and texture your nails (dollar tree) they getc super staticky and stick to the sides  of the tube. Another has water, chunky pieces of glitter and small glow in the dark stars, and the last one has pretty see through plastic jewels, and no water.

The test tubes, clear square building blocks, Wonder Tubes and marble maze were all purchased at Lakeshore Learning. We also have clear plastic links and bracelets that we got at the Dollar Tree. I also found colored plastic dividers used for school folders and cut them into shapes.

All three boys love it, and I will admit, it's kind of relaxing sitting in the quiet, watching them play!

Being the bad guy

I have had a few older people tell me that they wouldn't ever want to raise children in this day and age. I have to agree with them to some point. It's scary. I feel like when my parents were raising us as little kids, they didn't have to question as much, or think as much as I feel like we do today. I'm not saying it was easier. No. But now..thanks to technology, there is so much information for the general public to get their hands on. Previous generations, they sent their kids to school. Sometimes just debating on public or private. Not wondering about homeschooling, charter, part time or unschooling. They went to the store, bought food, and fed their family. Most people didn't tediously read all the labels, looking for hidden additives, dyes, preservatives or processed particles. They took their kids to the doctor and listened to everything they said and didnt qurstion anythjng. They bought them toys and didn't think twice about any lead, chemicals or cancer causing agents lurking amoung the BPA ridden plastic. They got their child a drink of water from the sink and didn't think about what their city adds to the water and what the percentages were. Well I do. I know I sound crazy to some, but I'm not the only one either. There are many other parents out there just like me. I'm not saying we are better, we are informed, more curious and more selective about what we let on, in and around our children's bodies, and most of the time..our own. To me, things are a lot worse. If you do research, things will start to add up. When your parents and grandparents said "oh you ate that when you were a child, and you turned out fine." No. Cancer of all types is at an all time high. So is Autism and and other spectrum disorders. Women have horribly imbalanced hormones. So many people cannot get pregnant, have miscarriages or their babies have genetic abnormalities. Mental illness rates are insane. Diabetes is rampant. You may be fine now, but who says you wont have somethihg like that 5 or 10 years from now. Most ailments such as food allergies, asthma, arthritis, chronic ear infections and stomach issues are being cured or healed with diet changes. That tells me something about the things we are putting in our bodies. You don't have to break it down anymore for me. Call it a belief if you will, but I will do everything in my power to not let my children fall victim to disease without at least trying to keep as many toxins from their life while they are still in my care. Once they leave the nest..they make their own food decisions. I hope they bring a little bit of what they grew up with.

Tonight I felt mean when I wouldn't let the boys have red white and blue cupcakes that a neighbor brought over. 'It is a special occasion!'I thought, but I have been using that excuse way too much. I compromised and gave them an organic gluten free oatmeal cookie. I hope they understans one day that not everything is created equal. Especially food. So for now, I will just be the bad guy from time to time...