Schedule Addition
I thought I'd add a few things to my 'schedule' that I posted a couple of days ago. First of all, I am trying to establish a routine that will work for and benefit all three of us. I have started trying to prepare on Saturday for Sunday (something Frankie has asked me to do for 2 years!). Here are the few things I'm trying:
Bathe Lydia
(all the kids we have will get baths on Sat night to make Sun am easier)
Prepare diaper bag (I end up forgetting items if I don't, which is a big deal
when church is an hour away and you're there all day)
Lay out my clothes and Lydia's clothes (including everything, esp shoes!
In fall/winter, make sure tights/hose are hole/run free!)
Put breakfast items on table (coffee mugs, cereal, bowls, etc.)
Set and double check alarms
Lay out Bible's, notebooks, pens, etc.
Iron anything that needs it.
Pray for the Lord's Day.
Our goal for Sunday is for it to go as smooth and stress-free as possible, freeing our minds and hearts to focus entire on worshiping the Lord.
Sunday afternoon
today was a bit different as far as our sunday goes. usually we all go to munfordville, but lydia has been sick this week so she and i went to southeast christian church this morning. she has been so pitiful. it started with nasal congestion last saturday and then friday night she started having a fever. saturday i took her to ped. and he said it was viral (cbc indicated wbc's were a little low). last night, however, her temp got up to 103.5 rectally. i freaked. big time! she could totally seize with that temp! but she didn't...she was ok. now we're just rotating with motrin & tylenol and praying a lot! she seems to feel ok. she's a little whiny and clingy, but overall seems ok.
Over it...
Ok, I'm not going to post for awhile about the headlines. It's depressing and can become an obsession. I'm finding myself hesitant to smile at men that speak to Lydia or smile at her. I don't think I've been overcome by a spirit of fear and I don't worry about this issue (most of the time) but clearly Lydia's life, as my own, is completely in God's hands. He holds her future.
So anyway, I've been overtaken by two new things. I'm very excited about these projects and am eager to post about it.
First, two weeks ago I started a sewing class. It's free here at the seminary and it awesome. I wish I'd have known about this two years ago!! We meet once a week for an hour and a half and in just two weeks I've made a bag/purse! I'll post a pic later. I was very excited about this amd am eager to start on my next project... a dress for Lydia! What fun! I think I'm going to attempt to make her a pillowcase dress. I recently saw one on Ebay and think they look reasonably easy to make (and cheap)! (Although Frankie doused my excitement by saying, "Looks like that kid's wearing a pillowcase to me.") [Sigh}.
The second thing I've been eagerly reading about and attempting is scheduling my cleaning time. I have read many blogs lately from homeschoolers that lay out their time and schedules for cleaning certain rooms. One blog in particular described how to get rid of excess! And become organized!! (Something we desperately need!) I told Frankie about it and tried to get him motivated to get rid of his piles of clothes that he cannot and will not wear. The task failed; he is such a packrat! I, however, cleaned my closet last week and have two bags of clothes to give away. Very exciting. I also packed up two bags of maternity clothes that were crowding my closet. My child's almost a year old and I still hadn't bagged up maternity things...long overdue. I also organized Lydia's clothes for the fall/winter. Our space here is very limited and therefore very crowded/packed/stuffed...we have junk everywhere. I'm resolved to at least clear away much of my own junk to free space and clutter.
I also have started doing specific chores on specific days. I have tried this before, but it didn't last, so I'm trying again. Here's some of the schedule:
Monday I get groceries, clean fridge, clean kitchen cabinets, stove, microwave
Tuesday is laundry day (If we had a washer/dryer I'd do this daily but because of the laundry room/basement, it isn't convenient to wash daily).
Wednesday I mop kitchen and dust.
Thursday I clean the bathroom: including scrubbing shower, tub, toilet & sink and mopping floor
On Friday we usually get out of the apartment, but I do laundry Friday night and/or Saturday morning.
Saturday I clean our bedroom and the study.
Each day or every other day I vaccuum and lysol floors (because Lydia is crawling everywhere).
I'm attempting to plan our meals for each week (doing this for two weeks now) and we are saving money! We have not been out to eat nearly as much as usual, which I love!
Previous news article update:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070928/ap_on_re_us/
girl_hanged;_ylt=AkF5WLPH8955MlBGqUo.YRhH2ocA
Neighbor charged in hanging of girl, 6
An apparent stranger to a 6-year-old found hanged in her family's garage was charged with sexual assault and capital murder, authorities said Friday, freshly jolting a community that had been told the main suspect knew the girl.
Police said Arender lived less than a mile from the Macks' rural home, which is hidden among a web of dirt roads about 65 miles south of Dallas. The girl's family members said Arender did not appear to have had any connection to her.
Family members have said Dana Mack last saw the youngest of her three daughters sleeping on the couch around 1 a.m. She discovered Hanna's body hanging from the garage rafters hours later, when she was supposed to have been getting ready for school. According to the arrest affidavit, the girl died "by asphyxiation by a manner and means unknown." The girl's body was nude from the waist down when police arrived. Among several items reported missing from the home was a pendant necklace that Dana Mack said Hanna always wore.
Tuesdays News
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,298016,00.html
Nevada Authorities Search for Girl, Man in Explicit Sex Tapecheck out the above web address. authorities are releasing these pics in hopes to find this little girl and her rapist.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297972,00.html
Teacher Charged With Having Sex With Teen Aide
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297957,00.html
Indiana Mother Sentenced to Life in Prison for Killing 4 Children
Just a few hours since my last post, there's even more...
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297537,00.html
Award-Winning Teacher Guilty of Sexually Abusing 11 Studentshttp://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297535,00.html
Confessed Rapist Castrated to Avoid Life SentenceI personally approve of this option. I think it should be madatory for child rapists, molestors, abusers, etc. I think they should get life in prison in addition.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297471,00.html
Prosecutor Accused of Sex Attempt With 5-Year-Old Tries to Kill Himself[Atchison, the accused, of Gulf Breeze, Fla., is an assistant U.S. attorney in northern Florida, based in Pensacola. He also is president of a youth sports association in his hometown. Atchison, a married father of three, is president of the Gulf Breeze Sports Association. The group runs youth baseball, softball, cheer leading, soccer, football and basketball programs.]
Overwhelmed with the world...
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297362,00.html
Man Gets 421 Years in Prison After Admitting to Raping Teenhttp://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297352,00.html
Seven Disabled People, Including 5 Children, Imprisoned in Pa. Horror HouseI'll go ahead and post some of this article here:
"HARRISBURG, Pa. — Five children and two disabled women were locked in a basement cell, fed meager food and rarely allowed to bathe, by a couple facing criminal charges over their care, authorities said...couple were paid $9,000 a month to care for the seven. The unlit 4-foot-by-5-foot cinderblock cell was called the "toy room"...One of two 14-year-old boys spent more than 20 hours a day there, sleeping on a concrete floor with only a blanket...the boys, two of whom have disabilities, were adopted by James and Stephanie Dickinson starting in 1998. The boys ranged in age from 6 to 15. Breakfast for the seven consisted of peanut butter sandwiches and dinner was a crock pot meal prepared by Stephanie Dickinson, including a dish known as "doggie dew stew." Only two of the victims were allowed to shower about once every week or two. The others would wash or be washed in the basement sink.
The seven victims had unsupervised access to prescription medications and rat poison, and one of the older children was forced to empty the basement's portable toilet daily by hauling a bucket upstairs, according to the affidavit. The Dickinsons' house rules kept the seven from the basement refrigerator without permission, required them to drink water from the sink, limited radio and television to Christian stations, banned going outside without permission and punished noisemaking with spankings using a spatula or wooden paddle, police said. In general, they were not allowed upstairs."
More saddness...
All Charges Dropped Against Maryland Mom Who Had Fetuses Buried on Propertyhttp://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297383,00.html
A quote from this article:
"Maryland law
expressly protects women who abort their own unborn children from criminal prosecution. It was not clear whether it was a crime to keep human remains of miscarried children. When asked if the couple was considering filing any lawsuits, Godman replied, "Multiple. Somebody is paying for the destruction done to my property, the destruction done to my house, the destruction done to my business and it rests solely on the police department. We're getting offers (from lawyers), and we're going to get the best."
If you don't remember this case, the overview is:
The case began when Freeman, a 37-year-old taxi driver and mother of four living children, went to the hospital in July after giving birth. Police searched of Freeman's home for the baby, and investigators found a recently deceased fetus under the bathroom sink. They also found three more sets of older human remains, two in a trunk in the living room and one in a Winnebago parked outside. After an initial exam showed the recent fetus was born dead, prosecutors dismissed murder charges against Freeman, but charged her with killing one of the children found in the trunk. That charge accused her of giving birth to twins on the toilet in 2004 and allowing one of them to die. That was the charge dismissed Wednesday.
Cool Give-away
http://ooohpickmepickme.blogspot.com/2007/09/im-baby-wearin-mama.html
Check out this blog and enter to win a free sling or pouch from Rockin' Baby Shop
Thursday
Obviously, my time spent on the computer has been very limited lately. Lydia Catherine is just over 10 months and is into everything! We are still completley enamored with our little one and are currently considering beginning to try for another baby. Frankie will finish his coursework in late November...praise the Lord. He has been talking to churches lately, but nothing has become definite so far. I have often posted links to news articles dealing with the horrors our children face in today's society. I think I'll post more this morning. These are depressing and beyond sad, but I think necessary to read. My husband avoids these headlines, but I prefer to know just how bad our world is getting.
Parents, keep your children close to you!
Sorry, but to read you have to copy & paste web addresses
Cops: Texas Girl, 6, Found Hanged in Garage Was Sexually Abused
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296585,00.html
Fifth-Graders Mistakenly Shown Part of Porn Movie
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296573,00.html
Man Convicted In Beheading of 3 Children Freed By Texas Court
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296612,00.html
Kiddie Porn Movie Rocks Toronto as 'Feel-Awful' Film of the Year
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296376,00.html
September already
It's been just over two months since I last posted! So much has been going on. July was busy, and at the end of July my mom had open back surgery. We packed up and went to help her and ended up staying a full month! (Frankie came back just a few days before we did to start classes). I was so busy with chasing Lydia and cooking and cleaning and taking care of my mom that I barely had time to check my email. Although I confess, I had a fling with Ebay that lasted about 4 days! Addictive.
Anyway, Lydia Catherine is now five days shy of 10 months! UNREAL. We're in the midst of planning her 1 year b-day parties...she'll have one with just us and one at each grandparents house in SC.
Hopefully I can resume blogging since we're back in our Louisville routine.
