School Time!

“Let it be remembered, that I do not speak to the wild, giddy, thoughtless world, but to those that fear God. I ask, then, for what end do you send you children to school? “Why, that they may be fit to live in the world.” In which world do you mean, — this or the next? Perhaps you thought of this world only; and had forgot that there is a world to come; yea, and one that will last for ever! Pray take this into your account, and send them to such masters as will keep it always before their eyes. Otherwise, to send them to school (permit me to speak plainly) is little better than sending them to the devil. At all events, then, send your boys, if you have any concern for their souls, not to any of the large public schools, (for they are nurseries of all manner of wickedness,) but private school, kept by some pious man, who endeavours to instruct a small number of children in religion and learning together.” - John Wesley (1703-1791)

Top 5 Reasons Not To Send Your Kids Back To Government Schools

Underground History of American Education

Free Book Online

I checked this book out from the library and it is HUGE. I can't believe they put it all online!

Spankings

I have been reading a ton on child (and baby) training recently and have come to the conculsion that its awful. At least conventional methods. Maybe I should keep my mouth shut since I don't have unruly toddlers running around, but there are some wonderful articles here (on spanking & discipline) and here (on the different baby training methods) written by Christians that do have older children and the gentle disciplining they write about seem to be working.

I read "To Train Up A Child"(TTUAC), you could read it online until just recently... something fishy is going on, all the links I post to free online books end up being removed from the internet. anyways, it is like $5 on amazon, but just reading the reviews should give you an idea. And Barnes and Noble has stopped carrying it... hmmmm Basically their answer to everything was "switchings" (for babies too, with a willow branch) and never use your hand on their bottom because it doesn't hurt the child and it can mess up their spine apparently. But, you can use a large tree branch, wooden spoon, a belt across the back of the legs; I believe is what was suggested. They back this up with biblical evidence of "God spanks us when we disobey", and of course those Proverbs on 'The Rod'. No, God doesn't give us the exact same physically painful consequence for every sin committed. I felt like the author made up a bunch of bologna... he said a rebellious teenage boy came to him and said that he wished his parents loved him enough to spank him... really?! And a small child telling his mother he loved her for spanking him. huh? The author gives examples of children that weren't spanked and how they are devil children compared to the kids that received switchings. All he says is that they weren't switched not that they also weren't disciplined, so readers believe children that aren't spanked are thus horrible and out of control.

Now, I wasn't spanked often (I only remember a few occasions, and thinking it was funny when it happened. I know.. I was awful) and my sisters and I grew up completely selfish and rebellious and disrespectful to our parents.... so you'd think I would be all for "switchings", but my parents (I love them dearly) just weren't consistent in their disciplining.

In TTUAC multiple times he uses animals as examples... "this is how the amish train their mules". So, that means this is how we should train our precious children?! He doesn't even try to hide the fact that this is nothing more than behavior modification psychology. They say if you are nursing and your baby bites you to pull the baby's hair. Poor baby never knew what was coming. Why not just remove baby from breast everytime he bites, he will figure it out, seems more logical right? You will get switched for: not playing with a toy you were given, crying, not being happy or joyful, not having unquestioned obedience to any adult/older child. Gee, you know... after I've had a bad day a good, long switching or solitary confinement always put me in a better mood! And, apparently fear is how you gain your child's respect. Think about the people you respect, seek advice from, trust and love... did they use a large tree branch on you to earn it? What happened to "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"? That verse was never quoted in the book, I actually don't remember anything from Jesus being quoted.

I love this article: "I’ve read several articles that address the issue of spanking where the writer says it’s okay to spank if the child is in danger - for instance, if a toddler is running into the street, or reaching out to touch a hot burner on the stove. They suggest that at these times a few pops on the rear end are okay. I must admit this naïve mindset baffles me. Why in the world would we want to teach our children about safety by hurting them? Does you ski instructor jab you with his ski pole to teach you not to jump off the chairlift?

A parent who believes that spanking is the only effective way to teach a young child about safety issues is not giving the child enough credit. Children - even little ones - can indeed learn about safety through our teaching them. As a matter of fact, through teaching they will learn much more, as they can absorb the reason for the rule, and over time, can learn to make good decisions on their own. I watched two friends one summer teach their toddlers not to run in the street Mom A give her toddler a swat on the rear every time he went in to the street. Mom B picked up her toddler, looked him in the eye, and said, “NO street! Dangerous. Stay by Mommy.” By the end of the summer, both children learned to stay out of the street. Which child understood why? And which child has better communication with his mother?

Positive, respectful, consistent discipline is the real key to raising well-behaved children."

10 weeks old

Faith is now 10 weeks old!! I love this picture of her (it was cold one day). At her 2 month check up she weighed 12.6 pounds, I think (it was confusing because the scale jumped to like 13 for a second and then went back to 12.6 and the nurse is like I think she is 13... I'm like whaaat?) and 23 inches. So that makes her 90th percentile for weight (but probably for being 13lbs) and 75th for height. And she still sleeps through the night... she nurses to sleep around 10-11 and will start making noises around 5am (some nights around 2 also) and I nurse her before she has a chance to wake herself up and then around 7 I wake up and take her to the potty (she has gone all night w/a dry diaper the past week! that isn't normal right?) then she goes back to sleep until 8:30 or 9. She sleeps most of the day (except in the evening) for 2 days, then the 3rd day she will be awake all day long.

And, the doctor was so impressed with her head control. He said that babies that are worn in slings, etc tend to have better head control & learn to walk faster :-). And, when I told him we were "delaying" vaccines he was like "that's cool." he did say his ultimate goal was to have her vaccinated, but he wasn't pushy or mean and didn't call CPS. lol

Laundry Without a Washing Machine

I really just needed this for my own documentation, because once upon a time, I lost my mind. When we first moved here, we (I) didn't think a washer/dryer was necessary since it was just the 2 of us. So, this is how I did laundry for the first 4 months (before I got sick from being pregnant)... and now I'm using it for our cloth diapers because we are at a hotel due to kitchen remodeling. All can be obtained here

Fill this with clothes, water, and detergent... it actually holds a surprising amount of clothes.

Use the handle to spin it around for 30 sec-2 min depending on size of load.

empty the water with this tube thing, and repeat to rinse.

The "dryer"... this holds surprisingly little amounts of clothes (i have stuffed a pair of jeans in there before though), but takes much less effort than the "washer".

You have to make sure you fill it evenly or it will wobble all over your counter. Set the timer for 1-5 min, and they come out slightly damp.

As much as I hate the line-dry crunchiness (towels are the worst!)... it works. But, don't worry... we do have a washer & dryer now.

Living Within Your Means

Why does everyone think the military pays you awful or that you can't live on what they pay you.  We are reading Family Driven Faith right now and there is a story in it about this man who started having children when he was a captain in the military... and about how rough life was for them in the beginning because they had no money.  A captain makes about $2,000 more A MONTH than what Michael makes.  There is a commercial on tv for one of those Direct Buy showroom places with this woman who says "I know on military pay, I couldn't afford to buy top of the line..." and under her name it says "Colonel"... thats about $5,000 (probably more than that depending on how long she has been in) more A MONTH than what Michael makes.  I went to this "New Parent Support"  class (they give you a free gift bag, so I went.  lol) and they encouraged everyone that qualified to enroll in WIC (a government program for families if the woman is pregnant or if their are young children in the home, you get formula & some essential food for free because you are poor...).

Now, you're probably thinking... poor Michael and Beth... they must be so poor & she doesn't even work & they have a baby, the military is so stingy.  au contraire.  The "base pay" may not be a lot (for us that is... those people mentioned above are just being ridiculous!), but we have NO BILLS.... we get free health insurance, free housing (kind of... we just never see the money we would be getting if we didn't live on base), tax free groceries, free baby clothes (via airmans attic... LOVE IT).  This is what we spend our money on every month... groceries, car insurance, and internet.  How do we do this, you ask... well, let me tell you.  We don't use CREDIT cards, we don't take out loans for cars (and we didn't for school when we were going)... if we can't afford it with whats in the bank we don't need it (well, that would have to be something pretty expensive like a new car... which is ridiculous to buy anyways).  We hardly ever go out to eat or buy premade meals (ok, frozen pizzas I do... lol).  I can find PLENTY of great clothes at goodwill (for me at least, Michael not so much).  Maybe its because I love thriftiness so much... I think I should have lived during the depression.  

I just don't get it.... why can no one else "make it" in the military but we seem to be stockpiling money over here.   What are people spending money on?!  All the wives of Michael's superiors "have to work".  When we first got here Michael had to go to a "First Term Airman" seminar and they had a finance person come & talk to all the new airmen about saving money and went over the finances with each person... the woman told Michael she had never seen an airman with so much money saved.  SERIOUSLY?  And, that was a year ago and I don't even work!!!  

Even when I lived in Pennsylvania all alone and had to pay for my own apartment & electricity I still managed to save $2,000 by the time I came home (though I did have 2 jobs for the last few months and didn't have to pay for my health insurance).  I don't know, I guess no one is teaching good money management and is instead trying to get them to sign up for credit cards to pay off their other credit cards.  

K, thats my tangent about the military.  I imagine its much harder in the "real world".

Oh, and I would like to thank Michael for teaching me saving money with nothing in mind to spend it on is fun, because right before I met him I almost overdrew my bank account (and that wouldn't have been the first time).   Though, I think we are too stingy now and need to give some of it away. 

4 weeks old!

Well, 4 weeks tomorrow...

These are the birth announcements I made.  I'm pretty proud of myself, they cost us a grand total of $15 (plus $35 postage!!!).  We were looking at spending $100+ on the ready-made ones, but thanks to wal-mart and picnik, we didn't need to.  

I don't know why, but I am in love with this picture.  Cloth diapering is going swell.  No problems, except I have to wash everyday it seems... small price to pay.  Oh, and everything is really bulky on her (even just prefolds w/covers), so we can't button her onsies (see picture) and 98% of the time she doesn't wear pants because she only has 1 pair that look ok over her diaper, and I find it pointless having to take them off to change her anyways.  But we like the sleep sacks. 

Breastfeeding is going great too.  We never had any problems, thankfully!

ECing (I love her modesty! lol).  She has always peed as soon as we take her diaper off, so since day 1 we have made a "ssss" sound as she is going and the day she was 3 weeks I held her over the toilet like this and made the sound and she went.  I don't know what her signs of needing to go are, so right now its just timing and guessing and usually she goes.  but i have about 1-2 real "catches" (she still has clean diaper) a day.  Today has been particularly good.  I'm still not sure if she is just going because her diaper is off though.  lol

I look gigantic in this picture.   She was like 2 days old here.  We co-sleep.  Its a good time.  lol.  We had a pack n play given to us and it has a bassinet part in it, so we were going to use that as a solution to this because I wasn't sure how I would feel sleeping with her in the bed when she is so little.  But, she would wake up & cry as soon as we moved her into it (ok, we only tried it the first night she was home, but now it serves as a diaper holder).  Even in the hospital she wouldn't sleep in the plastic bassinet, so I held her all night, and then since the first night she was home she has slept in bed with us.  And, since her first night home, she has slept through the night.  Is that ridiculous?!  I have to set my cell phone alarm to go off 4x a night so I can change her & sometimes she will wake up enough to eat... sometimes not & then I'm sorry in the morning.  I wonder how long this sleeping will last.   I love being able to nurse without having to get out of bed/stay awake though.  

This thing lives up to its name.  Its called a "Sleepy Wrap", unless she is real angry she could be in it all day.  And within 10 minutes she is asleep.  The only problem is if she is awake she won't let me sit down with her in it, so I have to be walking around.  And, she likes her head to be hanging out of it, so I have to hold her head like that.  You should see the looks I get from people when I'm out with her in it... "is there a baby in there?!".  Usually her legs aren't hanging out the bottom though.

The first 2 weeks she slept like 20+ hours a day so that was so easy!  But, now she is starting to be more awake during the day.  When she is sleeping I just want to pick her up & play with her, but then when she is awake I just want her to go back to sleep.  lol  And, I always think of things I need to do when she is awake or fussy and when she is sleeping I just get on the computer.  lol