Stations, MDA Walk, Veggies, and Nuns

Prepare yourself, an entire post about nothin'!!! Well, some things.  Just a little all over the place.  You ready? K!

With help from a dear friend, I was able to purchase the reading and writing curriculum slightly used.  Pretty decent savings 'round here, y'all!  Stoked!  I told Owen that kindergarten came in the box.  He was excited to crack it open, but stopped that from happening, because I would like to use it a few times before it's completely destroyed.

The family and I have been going to Stations of the Cross every Friday.  Owen prefers to go to Stations rather than mass.  His friends are usually there and food is served afterwards, plus it only takes about 30 minutes.  His friends are usually at mass too, but everyone is usually getting out the door quickly.  But I think he is really driven by food.

Speaking of food, Simon has been devouring our salads.  He is the first kid to really enjoy a salad.  Smart kid.  I think I may try Kendra's idea to get our family to eat more veggies.  If I remember I will let know know how it goes for us.

The drumline

The kids

Team Zachary

The fam did the Muscular Dystrophy Association Muscle walk to day for our little buddy Zachary.  The kids had fun, and Owen kept talking about how we were walking to help people.  I hope that we planting the seeds for our children's charitable future.  It was great, lots of smile everywhere.  During the walk there was a drumline that we walked in front of the whole time.  Owen and Amelia covered their ears during the walk, while Simon looked over Chris's shoulder in awe at drumline.  Chris and I were in the marching band in high school.  Chris was in the drumline.  I wonder if Simon will want to play percussion also.  Simon loves our instruments especially the percussion ones, and he can find a beat.  Maybe.  Anyway, Team Zachary reached their goal for raising donations, but our family was just a little short.  I think you can still make a donation, if you can.  Every dollar counts!  You can donate here.

Ok, I have watched two videos recently of joyful, JOYFUL nuns.  I'm not sure if it's the pregnancy or their overflowing love and joy of Christ, but I just well up!  I'm not much of a happy crier.  I tend to just laugh uncontrollably.  But man, these awesome women! Awesome-sauce to the MAX y'all!!!  (Click the cc in the first video so you can see what the judges had to say!)

Amelia Rose Lockhart: The Birth

I know I am writing this three and a half years later...and I still have one to write for Simon, but really want to type out all of my birth stories.  Detail may have already been lost and ten years from now even more may be lost.  So, I will try to do it now before I forget more details.

26 weeks with Amelia

Amelia was due October 19th 2010 and October 11th (ish) 2010 began deployment of Chris's unit to Afghanistan.  The kids and I would going to NC to wait out most of the deployment which meant we were also in the process of moving out of our home.  Most of our furniture was either in NC or in storage by the end of September.   Chris and I were sleeping on and air mattress in the living room while Owen was in a pack n play in his room until he figured out how to climb out of it.  All while I was nine months pregnant with baby likely to be over ten pounds.

The boys rubbing my feet. Livin' on an air mattress for a month.

Most of September and October was filled with Braxton Hicks contractions.  Almost every night I would time them, but they were never closer than 10 minutes apart.  Our focus was trying to get this baby out so she could meet her dad before he deployed.  On October 22nd, Chris came home from work saying that his unit was talking about putting him and rear-detachment.  Long story short, he would stay behind until the baby arrived.  As appealing as that sounds, there are lots of reasons why we didn't want him to stay.  One reason being that we had to clear housing October 25th and we wouldn't have a home.  When Chris came home he said I HAVE to have the baby this weekend.  No pressure or anything right?

39 weeks with Amelia

We Googled every wives tale we could find and took a trip to Walmart.  I bought some castor oil and pineapple juice to chase it, and I had already been using evening primrose oil for two weeks.  The castor oil was labeled odorless and tasteless.  Pineapple is another one of those wives tales so I gave it a try. We came home and the bottle sat there.  Eventually I took the castor oil.  Side note: not nearly as terrible as I thought it was going to be, but definitely not something I enjoyed. I took a dose around 7 pm and by 11 pm there and been no changes.  Everything was the same.  Around midnight before going to sleep I took one more dose.

At 3 am I woke up to relieve the bladder and I noticed the air mattress had deflated some.  There was a hole that was leaking slowly.  Around 5 am I woke up again needing to use the bathroom again and this time the mattress was flat.  I woke Chris up, asked him to fill it up because I was sore from sleeping on the floor.  We got ourselves comfortable, I closed my eyes and felt a small gush of liquid.  I nudged Chris saying I think my water broke.  It was about 5:30 am.  I wasn't completely sure because it wasn't tons of fluid, but within a few minutes the contractions began quite strong.

We made all the the calls, dropped Owen at a friend's house, and headed to the hospital.  Chris was not at Owen's birth so he was in a bit of a hurry and I assured him we had time.  I figured we would have the baby around 4 pm.  We don't need to have to run around like a bat out of hell.  The hospital is about 20-30 minutes away and my contractions we a bit intense.  They were coming steady and we weren't timing them.  I would guess about every two minutes.  We parked in the parking deck.  I told Chris I didn't mind walking that will help move the labor along.  The contractions were coming and caused me to stop a few times walking to the hospital.

6:20 am we were checking in and I was rolled up to Labor and Delivery.  As we approach what I assume was the nursing station to sign some papers I stood up, a contraction began, and I had the sudden need to push.   They quickly moved me to a room, got me undressed, and check me.  The clock said 6:45 am so I was starting to guess that maybe the baby would be here between 12 and 3.

Once I was checked they informed me that I was already 9 cm dilated.  I was told I could push if I wanted and I did.   The midwife suggested getting on my hands and knees because Amelia was sunny side up.  She eventually flipped.  I remember being hot and feeling like I might pass out.  They gave me some O2.  It helped but I was still hot.  The midwife was great, pretty much letting me labor however I felt comfortable.  Her only request was for me to straighten out on the bed so Amelia wouldn't hit the floor when she was pushed out.

I probably started pushing around 7:00am and she was here at 7:31 am.  So, all of my estimations were completely wrong.  Amelia did not waste any time.  And after 2 quick hours she was here.

Unlike Owen, I was pretty well rested, but just like Owen I was hyped up on adrenaline. My camera was left at home so all we had were our cell phones.  We did our best.  Amelia was cleaned up and brought back to me very quickly. More quickly that Owen was.  They also left her in the room with me even if I was sleeping, which they did not let me do with Owen.  Both of which I preferred.

October 23rd 2010 at 7:31am 10 lbs 11 oz 22 in

Chris spent a good deal of time working since he was the armor and he had to finish cleaning our house since we were clearing housing in two days.  Actually Chris cleared housing Monday the 25th and then came to the hospital to pick me up.  I had been so focused on the on the pregnancy I had not had the chance to really dwell on the deployment.  Chris left on November 3rd for a year long deployment and the next day we headed to NC to wait it out.  Our lives have been forever changed because of Amelia Rose Lockhart.

Owen's birth story.

Simon's birth story.

Becket's birth story.

Homeschooling 2014-2015

Chris and I have been on the fence about the educational path for our kids.  I have written two posts about reasons to homeschool and another with reasons to send them to an institution.  After some back and forth, we made the decision to start homeschooling this fall.  We did not take the decision lightly.  I personally had a hard time committing.  A few years ago, I really didn't think we would homeschool, but the seed was planted a few times while attending MCCW (now CWOC).  We had to really discern if this was the right choice for us.

For now, we will take it one year at a time, and I am going to try and keep my expectations low.  Hopefully not the quality.  There are so many possibilities in a homeschool, and many are extremely appealing, but in the end we can't do it all.  Not everything will work for the kids, and not everything will work well for me.  Part of the beauty and the stress is trying to figure out my kids as students and myself as their educator.   We will have to rely on our intuition, because we really do know our children.  We have to trust that we know our children, too.

We are now in the process of buying our curriculum for next year.  For me, I became very overwhelmed...maybe even over-stimulated.  Again, the endless possibilities getting in the way. What foundation are we wanting to lay for our kids?  Are we making the right choice?  Are we going to completely  ruin our kids?  Am I even smart enough to do this...because really, I'm clueless about everything.  I mean...my grammar people!!!  I'm guessing some people really have the focus and know where they want to start even if that might change along the way, but I was having a hard time finding that focus.

I am very, very blessed to have friends who are currently homeschooling.  Their kids are roughly the same age as mine, just a tish older since their kids are currently in kindergarten.  Anyway, they are a great resource, and even better people.  They have been able to answer my questions, give advice, and help narrow down our search for next year's curriculum.  I kinda feel like I'm just copying them, which is silly since we all have very similar goals for our kids.  After some prayers, talking to Chris, and looking through the material I feel like their suggestions were a good place for us to start.  I'm sure next year I will have more questions to ask, advice to seek, and need someone to talk it out if I need to vent.  So...here we go.

So, here's our list for 2014-2015:

We are starting with Mother of Divine Grace.  We have purchased her kindergarten syllabus specifically for her book list.  She has a book list of the saints, liturgical year, and rich literature.  Many of the books on these lists I would probably never have found on my own.  We have already started buying some of these books.  Each time one comes in I excitedly read through it with the kids.  So far my favorite book was a gift to Owen from my mom, The Weight of a Mass: A Tale of Faith.  It is a cute story about the value of the Mass.  The book list by Mother of Divine Grace would be great to have in your home even if you don't homeschool.

Owen working on his Occupational Therapy "homework".

For reading and writing we are using Institute for Excellence in Writing. A very comprehensive and hands on curriculum, I think.  One of my friends felt that it was great for boys.  I am positive that Owen is going to hate copy work, but OT is helping some of his frustrations, but I think he will really enjoy the games.  I actually won't be surprised if Amelia learns to read at the same time as Owen.  She is already interested in letters, words, and sounds.  At this age Owen couldn't have cared less.

Amelia has "homework" too.

Saxon Math K is what we have chosen for math.  K level uses the calendar, patterns, shapes, counting, graphing, and manipulatives.  Again, it seemed comprehensive, hands on, teacher/student friendly, and expanding on what Owen is already learning in Pre K.  I already feel like Owen has more of an interest in math.  I could be wrong.  I'm trying not to have any preconceived notions about what my kids will or won't like.  So we will just take it on day/lesson at a time.

Simon being cute. (the ladder situation is confusing)

Finally, I am most excited about this resource, and I hope Owen loves it as much as I already do.  Classically Catholic Memory incorporates religion, timeline, history, geography, math, science, poetry, and Latin.  Again without trying to have any preconceived notions, I think Owen is going to love the science and geography.  Religion, Latin, and poetry will probably be my favorite.  There are 4 levels Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta.  We are doing Alpha this year.  The next 3 years I will just get the next level, then I will repeat.  When we come back to Alpha Owen will be in the 4th grade, and we can get into more details about historical events, the timeline, science, geography....all of it really.

I'm so excited for next year!  The task of creating lesson plans and scheduling out the year is a little daunting, but it can be done.  It must be done.  Of course the baby due at the end of September will be a nice little curve ball just as I might be getting use to schooling.  But maybe the comfort will never come...who knows.  Here we go 2014-2015, the Lockharts will be a homeschooling family.  {big exhale}

7QT - #16

{one}

The baby kinda looks like a Sour Patch Kid.

I mentioned in my last post that I was 10 weeks along in my pregnancy, well the next day I went to the doctor and the baby was measuring about a week ahead.  So my due date is now moved to September 26th and as of today I am 12 weeks along!  AND I just might have a September baby as opposed to my 3rd October baby in a row.  Owen and  Amelia were 4 days late and Simon was 3 days late.  So if this due date is accurate and we continue the trend, #4 will be here September 30th if he/she is 4 days late.  Of course all of that really doesn't matter, but I love speculating. 

{two}

Like speculating if we are having a boy or a girl.  I am still very much on the fence as to whether or not if we will find out.  We have been talking about names a little bit, and one of the Facebook groups I'm in made two threads with one boy one girl of Catholic names.  Chris and I are not oppose to straying from the a "Catholic" name, but we figured it was a good place to start our search.  I have 5 boy names that I really, REALLY like.  Which is weird, because I usually have a harder time finding boy names I really love.  I feel like they are a little trendy like Jayden or a little common like Joseph.  I do not have problem with either name.  They are nice names.  I just don't LOVE them.  Now this is MY short list and I'm still looking.  Chris isn't fond of all the names and he's still mulling some of them over.  So if Little Lockhart #4 is a boy there is a chance that none of these will be his name.  Here it is

Theodore, Fulton, Becket, Jude, and Kolbe (and I'm thinking about Kolbe for a girl too).

I am still searching we aren't narrowing down yet.  But I'm having so much fun looking at boy names this pregnancy.  Very different than Simon's pregnancy.  

{three}

The kids and I (and Chris if he doesn't have to work) are signed up for a MDA Muscle Walk.  We are just $40 shy our our personal goal.  Our team is a little over half way to its goal.  The kids and I are talking about ways we can help others by raising money and awareness.  I think Owen is starting to grasp that he can make a difference.  We are walking for our friend 3 year old Zachary.  If you could help us out please donate here.  We understand there are wonderful, important causes and that you can't contribute to all of them.  Prayers are always welcome :)

{four}

The CWOC is hosting a soup supper after Stations of the Cross every Friday during Lent.  Today I had to go without Chris.  It wasn't terrible.  Only 3 potty breaks, two spills, and some listening kinda happened.  I was proud of Owen.  He followed around, knelt some of the time, and used his picture sheet to keep up.  It felt like a small success. Chris and I might be doing something right, maybe.  The company is always wonderful, too. 

{five}

You probably know I'm on Instagram.  It's becoming a new fave as far as social media is concern.  Maybe it's because it take very little energy to look at people pictures. But some people can take some amazing pictures with their camera phones. It's impressive.  Not really a talent I have, but I like to participate anyway.  Abbey at Surviving Our Blessings is hosting a #holylens during Lent, by providing prompts for a picture.  Here is mine from yesterday

Told you the talent is bleak.

Yesterday the prompt was #answer.  My caption was:

#holylens Starting to accumulate resources/literature for our #homeschool next year. I pray to have the#answer or can find the answer for our kids as we jump into the endeavor. #catholic

These were some of Owen's birthday presents!  Anyway, you can join too!. 

{six}

If you could please pray for this family.  They are a Fort Drum family.  I don't know them, but they could use some prayers.  Hinman Family (the link takes you to their story).

{seven}
Now head over to Jen for more Quick Takers that are way better than this, I'm sure!

10 Week and a Bajillion to Go

It's been a week and a half since my last post.  I'm pretty sure most everyone who reads this are catching the link through Facebook, so you've seen my statuses and know that not much is going down around here.  I will share with you anyway.  Feel free to snag yourself a cookie if you make it to the end of this rather painful post.  And if you gave of cookies/snacks/sweets for lent, you can skip the cookie and say a prayer.  I'm sure the sacrifice of reading something so boring will help you on your lenten journey.

Mostly I've been tired.  I'm sure the last few post have mentioned how tired I've been.  Nothing has changed.  I'm still complaining about it.

I'm pretty sure that's more brownie than baby.

As I look around my house I'm overwhelmed by the chaos, but I don't have the energy to fix it.  I'm not even sure how it got to this state since we have been out of the house most of the day.  I've had way nausea and headaches than previous pregnancies which is draining the tiny bit of energy I might have.  I am looking forward the next three weeks to be over.  If like my other pregnancies I should get some of my energy back around 13 weeks.  The first trimester probably is my least favorite of all the trimesters.

Owen's birthday was last week.  He's 5.  I had wanted to do a small tribute post for him like I had with Amelia and Simon in October.  I still hope to do that, but all creativity left my brain about 10 weeks ago.

Fingers crossed and prayers said that Chris's packet is completed by Friday.  Lots of loose ends that he is waiting to hear back about.  All out of his control at the moment...just the way God likes it.  We're remaining calm and trying to be okay with however things fall.  My little Facebook Prayer Group is starting a St Joseph novena today.  You can find the link here.  If you would like to join the prayer group let me know.  It's a place where people post intentions and sometimes start novenas.  It's a nice little online community.  Anyway if you don't think you could commit to the whole nine days it's fine, but maybe you could one day to help a sista out? I know, always the beggar!

I do have my first OB appointment tomorrow.  We get to see our squirmy little baby.   I'm kind of excited.  I will say though this go round appointments are more stressful.  Making arrangements for all the kids is stressful.  I have very generous friends, but I already dread having to ask for them to watch the kids...again.

Ok, are you still here?  If so, get that cookie :)