Boy I am really not good at keeping up with this.  Now that Elijah is 19 months, he is SO active I am barely able to sit at the computer and type for any length of time. Right now he is sitting next to me eating animal crackers. We'll see how long this lasts. 

Elijah really keeps me on my toes that's for sure.  He is by far the most active and into-everything-all-the-time child we have had.  Not only is he active, he is also fearless.  He loves to jump off of things and be swung and hang upside down.  Unlike his big sister Abigail, who couldn't stand to do such thingsbecause it scared her.  I think Jonathan has another "roller coaster buddy" in the future.   

The older kids are doing great.  There's a month of school left, then summer break.  I need to go tomorrow and do our membership to the YMCA so we can swim.  we all really enjoy that.  I'd like to get one of those big, fill-up-yourself pools, but Jonathan keeps telling me we don't need one.  He's right we don't, but it would be so nice to have, to be able to take a dip and cool off any time we wanted and not have to pile into the car and drive. Well I will try to up date more later.  I have a little monkey boy trying to get the computer off my lap to get my attention. 

Where do you think?

Bella, Abby and I were at the computer playing one of those hidden object games.  Bella and I are pretty good at them.  One of the things we couldn't find was a horseshoe. 

Bella - "Momma is that it there?"
Me - "No, I already clicked there"
Bella- "I was trying to think outside the box"
Abby- "well I am thinking INSIDE the rectangle"

Fish Oil is AWESOME!!!

They don't look like much, just big, honey colored capsules filled with clear fish oil.  I have been giving them to the dogs for years for healthy skin and coat.  Then a couple years ago I learned that taking fish oil can help with psoriasis, which I have on my elbows and knees.  Jonathan showed me an article on it and it said that taking 6000 to 9000 mgs of fish oil daily was suppose to be better than the prescription steroid creams.  So I figured what the heck, I have to try it.  Most of the fish oil pills you get are 1000 to 1200 mgs, the triple strength are 1400 mgs.  So I started taking 6 pills a day, 3 in the morning and 3 in the evening.  Within a few days I saw a noticeable improvement.  After a week, a HUGE improvement!  So I take fish oil, lots of it, everyday.  It hasn't completely cleared the psoriasis, but it has made it much better. 

Now Abigail gets eczema on her face every winter, right around her mouth.  In fact if you look closely at the top picture on this blog of all the kids in my bed, you can see it on her face. I have been treating it with a very mild cortizone and vaseline mix that does seem to help, but I have to apply it several times a day.  I can't use anything stronger on her because it burns her.  Even the mild stuff burns sometimes when it's really bad.  Two weeks ago it was looking so bad that the school nurse called and wanted to know if Abby had ringworm on her face.  I know it's not ringworm, it's the same thing, same time of year, same spot. 

Last week I had an "AH HA!" moment. I wondered if the fish oil would work for her ezcema.  Now the pills are pretty big, so I wasn't sure she was going to be able to take them.  I explained about the fish oil and how it might help her eczema and she was all for trying it which I thought was funny because she is 5!  Abby tried to swallow those big pills for 2 days.  She kept asking "Momma, can I try to take a pill now?"  So finally she did it.  And let me tell you, she was proud of herself!  I didn't want to give her too much, so I decided 2-3 pills day would be good.  I wish I had thought to take a picture of her face that day because now a week later, IT'S PRACTICALLY GONE!  I don't mean it's better or improved, you have to get up real close to her chin and look hard to be able to tell that anything had been there.  In a week I have only put the cortizone/vaseline mix on it once.  All I know is I am convinced.  Not only is it good for your skin, but VERY good for heart health too.  So we are going to keep taking our fish oil here in this house and I am going to recommend to anyone and everyone, if you have skin issues, psoriasis, eczema, dry skin, OR NOT - take fish oil supplements.

OK, OK! I am back.

OK So it has been longer than I would like to admit.  I think I just saw that my last post was at the end of October.  I am not really sure why I feel bad about this since I am likely the only person who is reading this!  Let me just say it has been a whirlwind last few months.  Elijah turned a year, is running all over the place and is jibber jabering like crazy.  He is saying some words now too and at the rate he is going, he's going to be speaking full sentences soon.  He's a mess - absolutely into EVERYTHING!  and if he can climb it, he will.

The big kids are doing great!  We had a really nice Christmas and 2 week vacation from school which was great, but of course we got totally off schedule.  This is their first full week back and let's just say we're all pretty tired.  Jonathan started his new job at the post office last week too.  Thank goodness he is DONE with working at DHR.  So hopefully I'll be able to keep this updated a little better than I have  :-)

Sunday Funday ~ on horseback :-)

Leona spent the night on Saturday and Sunday after church we decided to have some fun.  Bella is taking after me in the animal department!  This is my friend Kim's Quarter horse mare.  I think Bella had the most fun.

I think a horse for Bella (and me) is in our future.

Busy Busy Busy!!!

It's been over a month since I last posted.  I have been so busy, I barely get a chance to sit down at the computer.  I've done 2 vending events with the fleece leashes and have another one coming up on the 29th.  That will probablyh be the last one for a while.  I might sign up to do a booth at our kennel club show in April, but it depends how much the fee is and if I have to have a booth all 4 days.  I have gone ahead and gotten a website for the leashes, but I haven't done anything with it yet.  It'll be http://www.nikkisleashes.com/.

The kids are doing awesome! Bella got straight A's on her report card.  Alex got A's, B's and 1 C.  That's actually the first time Alex got anything lower than a B.  I was a little surprised, but thinking about it, it's his first report card period his first year at the middle school.  So I guess I can cut him a little slack.  I am sure he'll pull it up with no problem.  Abby doesn't get letter grades in kindergarten, but she got S's for satisfactory with 1 P for progressing. The P was in the "Uses Appropriate Voice" column - I'd like to think that means she is soft spoken, but not my Abby - she's loud like her Momma  :-)

Elijah is running around like crazy and babbling up a storm.  He's a sweet and love able little boy, but he boy can he be stubborn!  When he gets something in his head, he is determined to do it.  You can almost see the wheels turning in his head to figure stuff out.  And he's QUICK.  While it's awesome that he is learning and developing his problem solving skills, he sure does keep us on our toes! 

I am doing OK.  I have lost 9 lbs since I went to the doctor last month.  My blood sugars have been lower due to a combination of diet, medication and exercise.  I have been kind of bad the last couple weeks on the diet and exercise due to so much running around, vending and traveling.  It's harder to eat right when you're out. Well I better get back to trying to figure out this web site thing.  I have a week to get it up and running.

I can't believe it's been a year.

Tomorrow is Elijah's first birthday!!! I can't believe that it's been a year.  It is amazing to me how the time flies. He has 4 teeth, he's walking all over the place and he's saying a few words.  Really, a year already? Wow.

Now come May I'll have to wrap my mind about Cory turning 18!!!!