The Crazy Life of the K Family

I have waited a while to post, so that I could be certain I had all of my information, and a little healing time too.   On May 27, 2016, Papa Bear and I drove down to Phoenix for a Nuchal Translucency Scan (genetic testing on the baby, since I am of "advanced maternal age").  Our kids were with their godparents, and we drove across town to the office.  The ultrasound tech came out to get us & took us back to the room.  She started with a standard scan - she asked a few questions that concerned me - mainly "you are 13 weeks, right??" After she took some basic measurements, she said she wanted to do a vaginal ultrasound to get a better look.  As I left the room, for a moment, I glanced a piece of information on the screen that clued me in to her concern.  The baby was only measuring 11 weeks, 1 day.  The tech started the 2nd scan, and I noticed the baby wasn't moving at all, and when she ran the radar scan, there was no "heat sense" on the screen - n

Papa Bear and I have been feeling pulled toward having another baby recently.  It's odd, because I was told that babies weren't even possible, and I already have 2 miracles!   So, God and I had a chat recently!   Me:  hey, Father, you know, I'm getting up there in age, but I really feel like there might be another miracle for us.  Father: Yes, but you'll have to wait & see.  Me:  but, see, I turn 39 this year, and really don't want to play with being a statistic after 40.   Father:  you're doing your part, just relax & let me do Mine.  Me:  ok.  So, Papa Bear & I both lost a big bit of weight & have rally been working on being more healthy.  I've also been trying to get my anxiety under control.  It's definitely been a long couple of months.  Well...  This last Monday, I received a notice on my M. Cycles App, that I usually don't get.  My period was coming (I found this odd, because I normally "start" before I get the notice

"Hello, Friend!"  I say as I answer the phone.   "Hello, Mama Bear, I'm sorry to say it but I've been in a car accident.  Little Miss Muffet & my son are OK, but I can't drive the car..."  You see, they were in a carpool home from Preschool the next town over.  They had taken a break, gone to have a picnic lunch & play at the Lake - since it was free parking day at the National Parks!  They were going to visit a fire station, as my friend's son ADORES the firefighters, and we have some great fire houses in our town!  Awareness of our community helpers has been extremely high, since we lost 19 firefighters in the Yarnell Hill Fire of 2013.   My friend was turning right, at a 4-way stop & a car blew through the stop sign & hit her, on the driver's side tire! My friend did the right thing, pulled over, got insurance information & drove on (the fire station is a scant 50 yards from the site of the accident).   Her next call was to

Oh goodness!  I promised to write every week & somehow that has escaped me!  I need to touch-up my Whole30 posts, write & post 2 more M is for Monster Reviews, talk about my Bible Study class, tell you about my MOPS group, and a myriad of other things!!  We were hit with the flu a couple of weeks ago & it knocked the wind out of my sails!  We ended up running Little Miss Muffet to the Emergency Room with a fever of 106.2 (the highest I've ever seen in my life)!   At any rate, I promise to finish up my current blog posts & post new ones very soon!! Thanks for Visiting!!   MamaBear

Crazy Snow - Cancelled Preschool Last week, here in Northern Arizona, we got enough snow, that we had a full snow day.  Our yard doesn't look like much, but the next town over, where Little Miss Muffet goes to school, got buried!   We decided that it would be appropriate to do our Snowman Unit from M is for Monster ( www.misformonster.com )! Reading "Snowmen at Play" Activities in "Snowmen at Play" As we normally do, we started with our book.  This unit's book is called, "Snowmen at Play" by Caralyn Buehner.  Unfortunately, I didn't like the book this time.  It was a lot more hands-on than I had hoped, and a lot of the activities were beyond my little ones' ages!  So, we did a few of the activities, and set the book aside. Snowball Cover Up Little Jack Horner Matching Numbers Snowball Cover Up was a fun activity for both kids!  Little Miss Muffet is really getting a handle on her numbers, which is good,

Papa & Mama Bear recently completed our first round of the Whole30 (www.whole30.com).  It has been a truly amazing experience!  We have learned & grown & lost!  But, there is truly NOTHING that compares to how we feel!!!  Together, we have learned that we CAN do this!  We supported one another & thrived our way through the process!   We are now aware of what is in our foods, what we are putting in our bodies! Who knew that there was added soy in tuna fish?!  Who knew that every cut of deli meat has sugar in it?  Who really thought about the extra sweeteners & preservatives in EVERYTHING??  I know that some people knew, but I didn't realize until going through this process!   How we handled the Whole30 with our children:  We did not force Little Miss Muffet (4 1/2 years) & Little Jack Horner (2 1/2 years) to go through the process with us.  We kept peanut butter & jelly, bread, cheese, yogurt & milk in the house, and even candy/chocolate around.  Papa

Day 29 - February 1, 2016 Round One, Day Twenty-Freaking-Nine!!!!!!  As excited as I am to say that - I could have caved a million times today, thrown in the towel & said, "nope, the stress is too much, I don't feel well, and I'm ready to be done."  But - I - didn't!   My little man woke me up at 1 am with a fever - telling me, like his sister before him, he has the flu.  We went to the pediatrician this afternoon, and sister is on the mend, but brother is in chest deep.....  😢. This Mama Is exhausted & needs some serious sleep, and a cold is kicking in (I was checked too, and no flu!). Also, it was a complete snow day here, for us....  So cooped up kids & sickness all around me, I really had to kick myself in the bum to stay on target!   Breakfast:  Roasted Pumpkin, Scrambled Eggs & Chimichurri. Lunch: Tuna salad with tomatoes & celery.   Dinner:  Salsa Verde Turkey Breast, cauliflower mash & green beans, with a dash of Frank's Hot Sa

Day 22 - January 25, 2016 The homestretch (kind-of, since we'll be going a bit past 30 days)!  Day 22 of Round 1!   M1:  2 over-medium fried eggs, sweet potato & sausage hash, topped with salsa verde guacamole.  M2:  leftover BBQ ribs, paleo potato salad & balsamic sautéed squash.  M3:  leftover balsamic sautéed squash, cauliflower mash, leftover orange-pineapple chicken in a spaghetti squash boat, and a sparkling water with blackberries!   Day 23 - January 26, 2016 Wow!  Just Wow!  Definitely feeling that "downhill slope"!  Day 23 of our first round!   We did NOT do any shopping this last weekend, and are literally cleaning out the fridge before our next grocery trip!  Thankfully, we've overbought the last 3 weeks!  😜 Breakfast:  pumpkin sautéed in ghee, and 2 fried eggs.   Lunch:  tuna salad, with celery, carrots, tomatoes, & avocado, over a bed of romaine!  Dinner:  leftover roast (with a few potatoes

Static Electricity Butterfly Wings Preschool Science Lab - Static Electricity Once a month (while it's cold), our Homeschool Group has a Science Lab.  Our Teacher divides the activities into Bigs & Littles -- and my kids are among the littles, so I typically end up teaching that group!  This month, our Littles learned about Static Electricity, while the Bigs made Potato Circuits! Mama Bear, teaching about Static Electricity Nope, these things don't attract one another My kids really like that they have a Science Lab that they can participate in!  I'm really grateful for the time that our teacher invests in the classes too!  We look forward to the Labs! Little Jack Horner, getting into the experiment He's so serious sometimes Raising our hands to answer Little Jack Horner is only 2 1/2, but he dives right in!  Sometimes he copies what Little Miss Muffet has done, but this time, he sat independent of her, and

M is for Mittens The Second Unit, from M is for Monster , that we chose to review is the unit on Gloves/Mittens!  We chose to complete the unit all on one day, since we had another 100% free day!  This set of activities actually took a little less time than the Polar Bear Unit did, that we completed a few days back! Reading "A Mountain of Mittens" by Lynn Plourde We chose to start with Activity #5, which is technically optional, and read "A Mountain of Mittens," by Lynn Plourde.  The kids really got a kick out of the story!  I really do recommend getting the books with the set, unless you already have the books -- which I'm surprised we didn't already have -- given the size of our home library! Items to find "Hiding Inside" Little Jack Horner, trying to guess what's "Hiding Inside" Little Miss Muffet, trying to guess what's "Hiding Inside" Activity #2, we chose "Hidin