It's a GIRL!!!

I had the 20 week anatomy check sonogram on Monday the 30th of November and found out that we're having baby girl #4! This makes two girls in a row, which I've not had before. I am SO excited. She appears to be healthy in every way, too.



The sonogram technician got some really great shots of the baby for my pictures:

Well, its been a while since I posted our announcement, so I guess I better update on what is going on these days. I am just over 15 weeks and doing well, in spite of my busy schedule of working a full-time job (40 hrs/wk), taking 6 college credits this quarter (Chemistry), along with my work I do for our home businesses and then the home and child care aspects (though I must give Scott and the kids the credit for keeping up on the house chores, etc... they are so awesome to take so much of that load off me! Scott even does most of the shopping and cooking these days, what a man!).

I have found a midwife who has agreed to assist me with a HBA2C (home birth after 2 cesareans) - YAH!!!! She is so awesome! I am also seeing the OB I went to last time for prenatal care so we can keep track of baby and make sure we are both healthy and good to go for a homebirth. The reason I have chosen to go with both options is because my insurance will cover the OB and all testing we want/need and also the hospital birth if its needed in the end, but it won't cover the birth at home with a midwife. In order to save out-of-pocket expenses, my midwife agreed to take a lesser fee for just the delivery and we'll give her updates of my prenatal visits and test results as needed.

I have already told my OB that I intend to have a VBAC this time and that I know that it means I cannot have him deliver me in the hospital. He was not surprised to hear it since he remembered from my last birth how desperate I was to have one and was so devastated when it didn't work out as planned. He suggested I could transfer care to the University of Washington Obstetrics clinic since they do allow VBA2C. My biggest issue is going to be getting past the 42 weeks mark, though, since I always go close to 43 weeks. I told him I was thinking more along the lines of finding a home birth midwife to attend me at home (note that I already HAD found this midwife but she advised me to not let on this to him at this point). He immediately said, "I didn't hear that... I'm going to pretend I didn't hear you say that!" LOL!

I guess if I have to "fire" him in the end to keep from being pressured into another repeat section, I will do that. I would rather not have to though, and know that he is there as a back up if we need it, as the hospital is only 5 miles down the road. I don't know how the hospital administration would view that, though, him having a 42+ week patient refusing to come in for a c-section. I'd be happy to do NSTs again, whatever it takes to convince them all is well with me and baby. This midwife claims to have an induction method she uses when under the gun such as in this sort of scenario, so I'm curious to see if it would work on me when nothing else ever has to kick me into labor!

But I'm not going to stress over the finer points until the time comes to do so. Until then, I'm just going to enjoy this pregnancy, as it was a long time coming. Maybe this one is my last, though I certainly hope not. I'm only 41 right now and always thought I'd be fertile until my late 40s or early 50's.

I had a sonogram at 13½ wks. Its too early to tell what baby is right now but I would sure love another girl, as we're at 8 boys to 3 girls right now. I've already figured out the ratios this one will give us: if its a girl, we'll have 2/1 ratio of boys to girls, but if its a boy, the ratio will be 3/1!

As some of you may have already heard, we are expecting another baby! This will make #12 (in case anyone is counting), so we will get to find out if that old adage "Cheaper by the Dozen" is really true!


The news totally shocked me as I was pretty much thinking we were done since I was well over 1 yr beyond the biggest gap between babies we'd ever had. Savannah just turned 3, so she will be almost 4 by the time this baby arrives. Our biggest gap so far is 2 yrs 7 months, which is between #s 9 and 10, Reuben and Jesse. Since my last 2 babies had been c-sections, I figured perhaps scar tissue had formed and given me a natural tubal or something.

Anyway, my due date (at least that would be given by the medical community) would be April 17, but since I always go at least 2 and sometimes even 3 weeks past, I don't expect baby to arrive before May 1. That is, of course, assuming I can even find a provider that will let me go without cutting me open again, simply because I've had two prior sections! I SO want to VBAC and I think I may even be prepared to go it alone again if need be. Scott isn't quite for that option, but he does know how important it is to me, so I believe he will go along with whatever we need to do.

I have a Christian midwife friend who I have spoken with on several occasions, who has indicated that she would probably take me on if/when I do have another baby. I contacted her this week to let her know I am expecting and so I am now waiting to hear back from her. I guess she is seeking God's will for her in this situation.

I am thinking I may just go ahead and do the standard prenatal care with an OB, just to make sure everything is working as it should and baby is growing healthily. I mean, I *am* 41 yrs old now and expecting my 12th. I'm sure no spring chicken anymore! Not to mention, I weight a LOT more than I ever have before, even when I was full term with each pregnancy - UGH! I need to get more exercise - I sit on my butt at work for 8 hrs a day!

Speaking of exercise, I went to the city pool and swam twice this week, it felt so good!! Hopefully I can keep that up once school starts back up in late Sept. My schedule is always so full though, between work, school, homework, trying to get enough sleep, trying to maintain some semblance of family life, home business stuff, etc.... I recently took on the night shift at work, from 9pm - 5:30am, because I am allowed to do homework between calls, since it is like 45 mins to 1 hr between calls most of the time.

I hope I will be able to find time to update here regularly, so if you have any friends who you think might be interested in following along, feel free to share the link. I did a pregnancy journal once with baby #8, Charles, and by the end had over 150 followers. That was really fun. If I missed a week updating, I'd get like 10 emails requesting I get to it - lol! Not sure how often I will be able to this time, we'll just have to see.

Just wanted to share a recent pic of the family taken Friday, July 24, 2009 - the sun was low and right in our eyes, so everyone was squinting.

Just wanted to share this really timely pro-life ad....

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Just for laughs....

Ever browse YouTube just to get a good laugh? These are some of my all time favorite videos, and of course they all have to do with BABIES...
















On this last one, the third section with the little blonde-haired toddler yelling at the waterslide, that little guy reminds me of my Jonny at that same age. He was JUST like that! LOL

6 year old Reuben playing computer game

A great gift idea for our ever tightening budgets!

My dear friends,

Christmas is tight this year.

I will be making bedroom slippers for you all as gifts.

Please let me know your sizes. You'll most likely agree that it's a splendid idea, and should you wish to do the same, I've included the instructions below.

How to make bedroom slippers out of maxi pads:

You need four maxi pads to make a pair.
Two of them get laid out flat, for the foot part.
The other two wrap around the toe area to form the top.
Tape or glue each side of the top pieces to the bottom of the foot part.

Decorate the tops with whatever you desire, silk flowers (this is most aesthetically appealing), etc.

These slippers are:
* Soft and Hygienic
* Non-slip grip strips on the soles
* Built in deodorant feature keeps feet smelling fresh
* No more bending over to mop up spills
* Disposable and biodegradable
* Environmentally safe
* Three convenient sizes: (1.) Regular, (2.) Light and (3.) Get out the Sand Bags.

I've attached a photo of the first pair I made so that you can see the nifty slippers for yourself...



Awaiting your response. It's crucial that I get the right size for each one of you.

What can brown do for you?

Well, we've got a bit of news to share... Roy is a UPS employee for this holiday season! He has a temp job as a driver's assistant. Today was his first day.



Its pretty neat how he got the job, since he wasn't even looking for one. We operate a home business and do a lot of shipping with UPS- we have an account with them and our local driver, Mike, makes almost daily stops here. Over the last 2 yrs, we've gotten to know him pretty well. He has become quite impressed with Roy and his strong work ethic. When Roy was gone on his mission trip to the Ukraine this past summer, Mike inquired weekly about Roy's well being and when he would be back, etc... He even gave Roy a UPS t-shirt as a welcome home gift.


Well, Scott got a phone call about 2 weeks ago from Mike asking permission to have Roy be his personal driver's assistant for the holidays. He knows Roy works with Scott all day on our home business stuff, so we thought that was very nice to ask us first. Scott thought about it and asked Roy if he would even be interested, and when he was, gave the OK for Roy to apply.

So Mike gave Roy all the details then proceeded to ask him every day if he had applied, did he get the call for an interview yet... etc... Mike was also daily contacting the guy who does the interviews and hiring if he had reviewed Roy's application and made arrangements for the interview yet. I guess the guy who interviews/hires is a good friend of Mike's.

Roy finally got all the application/interview stuff done and had orientation yesterday- then he was on the job today. Mike picks Roy up here at the house, they do the deliveries and then he drops him right back here at home! You can't beat that! $8.75/hr and almost guaranteed overtime hrs as they get closer to Christmas.



The best thing about this job is that if Roy proves himself a hard worker, he has his foot in the door for a permanent position if one becomes available! When they arrived here after the route today, I went out to snap a pic of Roy on the truck and Mike called out to me that we should be very proud of our son, he is a hard worker and he was very impressed. Yes, I am proud of him!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

It's the most wonderful time of the year.
With the kids jingle belling,
and everyone telling you,
"Be of good cheer,"
It's the most wonderful time of the year.

There'll be parties for hosting,
marshmallows for toasting and
caroling out in the snow.
there'll be scary ghost stories and
tales of the glories of Christmases
long, long ago.

It's the most wonderful time of the year.
There'll be much mistletoeing
and hearts will be glowing,
when loved ones are near.
It's the most wonderful time of the year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE! HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A VERY BLESSED HOLIDAY SEASON. REMEMBER TO KEEP CHRIST IN CHRISTMAS!

A tasty variation of the mug cake!

I tried the mug cake recipe and, while its not as good a boxed cake mix is, it would definitely work in a pinch for that cake craving if you don't have any mix. So, I got to thinking, if you can mix this up and microwave it in a mug, I wonder if an actual cake mix would also work in small portions and microwaved. So I picked up a Betty Crocker French Vanilla cake mix when I was at the grocery store the other day. I measured out the same amount of tablespoons of the dry mix as is called for in the mug recipe (10 tbsp) and mixed in one egg, 3 tbsp oil and 3 tbsp water (water instead of milk, since the cake mix calls for water due to already having dry milk in the mix). I mixed the batter in a wide cereal bowl instead of a mug and microwaved it for about 3 minutes. IT WORKED! It made a yummy little cake that tasted just like the mix you bake in the oven!! MMMmmmm!!! I'm loving this new little trick!

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

1 Coffee Mug (large mug)
4 tablespoons flour(that's plain flour, not self-rising)
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
some nuts (optional)
Small splash of vanilla


Mix flour, sugar and cocoa - Spoon in 1 egg, Pour in milk and oil, and mix well (a fork works great!) Put in microwave for 3 minutes on maximum power - Wait until it stops rising and sets in the mug. Tip contents out of mug onto saucer and enjoy!

And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

Why did the chicken cross the road?


BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a change! The chicken wanted change!


JOHN MCCAIN: My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogs with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

SARAH PALIN: You betcha he crossed the road, but let's not talk about that, let's talk about energy policy, and how gosh darn hard it is for a middle-class hockey mom to manage the budget of the only state in America with a massive surplus, especially while surrounded by countless Russian and Canadian chickens we have to keep an eye on.


HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure - right from Day One! - that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn't about me.

GEORGE W. BUSH: We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

DICK CHENEY: Where's my gun?

COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.

BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that chicken...What is you definition of crossing?

AL GORE: I invented the chicken.

JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens!

OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed the road because he's guilty! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.


PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain... alone.


JERRY FALWELL: Because the chicken was gay! Can't you people see the plain truth? That's why they call it the 'other side.' Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay, too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media whitewashes with seemingly harmless phrases like 'the other side.' That chicken should not be crossing the road. It's as plain and as simple as that.

GRANDPA: In my day, we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.


ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?


COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?

NOBAMA!!!!!!!

An internet acquaintance posted a pic of her ONE vote for Obama, so I thought I would post a pic of this household's FOUR votes for McCain!!! Yessssss...... nobama, go McCain!!!!!

"Slugs and snails and puppydog tails......"

Yes, I know the *real* nursery rhyme goes "snips and snails" but slug goes better with this story!



Slugs are a very common pest here in the Pacific Northwest. These are not just the little things that you find in any damp forest. These slugs are HUGE. They grow to about 4" and these slugs in this story are at LEAST that big! You can not go much of anywhere on spring days without seeing one or more slugs sliding along the ground. Sometimes there is an over-abundance of them. They especially like tomato plants, so you have to aggressively treat your gardens with slug bait, etc...

We didn't have any weather-stripping under our front door in our old house we were in for over 12 years. We would usually keep a long towel along the door to keep out drafts, etc.., but occasionally, someone forgot to put the towel back after closing the door. We had slugs slip under the door from time to time, so I tried to make sure that a towel was tight against the bottom of the door.

Well, late one evening, after putting the oldest 5 of our then 6 kids to bed, Scott and I were sitting in the livingroom, relaxing, while 7 month old Abby played quietly on the floor. I was laying down on the sofa facing away from the front door. Abby had crawled over by the front door and I thought she had found a toy or something, as she was over there for several minutes and I didn't hear a peep. Finally, I got curious as to what she was doing and looked over, only to discover in horror that she was SUCKING ON A HUGE SLUG!!!! It had slid in under the front door and she must have spied it from across the room and thought it looked like an interesting toy. She was sucking on that thing, in and out, in and out, like it was the tastiest treat she had ever had!

Well, I totally FREAKED OUT!!!! When Scott looked, he started laughing hysterically. He thought it was the funniest thing!

I immediately started to worry about whether it was poisonous. Scott said he doubted it, as people eat escargot all the time- which is just slugs with shells on their backs- ICK!!

As I scooped Abby up, the slug flopped to the floor, very obviously dead (I wonder what that slug thought as its life was literally SUCKED away -LOL).

I ran a bath for Abby and attempted to clean the slime off her. If you have ever touched slug-slime, you know that the stuff is STICKY! (I have read somewhere that they use the stuff as medical-grade glue now.) AND it is NOT water-soluble, as I soon discovered. I had to literally SCRAPE the slime off her tongue, inside cheeks and the roof of her mouth. I had to scrub her hands, too. The next morning, I was still finding pieces of slug-slime clinging to her mouth.

Is that a gross story or what? But WAIT- there's more!

As if that isn't bad enough...

Our next baby Kenny did the very same thing!!!! Only this time it was in the kitchen. The slug had come through the back door one cool summer evening. We left both front and back doors open for a breeze. What is the worst part to me is that all the older kids were in the kitchen with him and DID NOT NOTICE the baby sucking on a slug!!? What is up with that?! Not only did Kenny kill his slug, but he actually BIT the end off and the guts were HANGING outside the body!!!! Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! Hope noone was eating as they read this post- lol!

Two Word Answers:

Two Word Answers:

Remem​ber your answe​rs have to be two words​.​

1.Where​ is your cell phone​?​ my pocket
2.One tattoo? no way
3.Your hair? getting long
4.Your brother? have none
5.Your sister? have 5
6.Your favorite color? pretty pink
7.Your dream last night​? don't recall
8.Your favorite beverage? mocha frappuccino
9.Your dream​/​goal? homebirth midwife
10.The room you'​re in? living room
11.Your ex? no ex
12.Your fear? kids dying
13.Where​ do you want to be in 10 years​? see 9
14.Where​ were you last night​? the church
15.With who? some friends
16.Muffins? costco poppyseed
17.One of your wish list items​? attend oc
18.Where​ you grew up? several places
19.The last thing​ you did? opened post
20.What are you wearing? shirt/slacks
21.Your TV? not on
22.Your pets? cats/bunny
23.Your computer? Dell notebook
24.Your life? very full
25.Your mood? slightly irritable
26.Missing someone? not really
27.Something you'​re not wearing? swimming suit!
28.Favorite Place​? no favorite
29.Your summer? missed Roy
30.Love someone? very much!
31.Your favorite shape​? cute hearts
32.Last time you laugh​ed? was today
33.Last time you cried​? last week
34.Who will repost this? don't know

My children are so precious to me!

So I have met up with some old friends in this blogworld, friends whom I haven't seen in many, many moons. I want to share some recent photos of the kids for you!

Roy will be 20 in December.

Sally, 18 - this is just after braces were
removed and before she got contacts.


Jason will be 17 in about 2 weeks!

Jonny is 15 now.

Nathan is 13.

Abby will be 12 in 2 weeks.

Kenny is 10.

Charles is 8½.

Reuben is 6½.


Jesse will be 4 next month.

Savannah turned 2 in August.

Savannah's butchered bangs...

Here is a glimpse of the chop-job Savannah did to her hair.....

before:















and after:




















Needless to say, mommy is not at all happy about it. At least she still has the rest of her hair, though (so far)!

And while I am uploading some pics of Savannah, here is one Jason had fun with using the morph feature on his cell phone:

"The Bible calls debt a curse and children a blessing. But in our culture we apply for a curse and reject blessings. Something is wrong with this picture." ~Doug Phillips

"Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his His reward" Psalm 127:3.