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Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Our First Camping Trip with our NEW CAMPER
For Thanksgiving Vacation we headed up to Maryland. We stayed at the Duncan Family Campground with our new camper. We spent our days in DC and our nights in the camper. It was our first real vacation as a family. I enjoyed EVERY MINUTE of it!!!!
Day 1 in DC
Washington Monument... is WAAAAY up there!!
The Capitol Building
Mommy's Favorite....The Lincoln Memorial
Daddy showing Gabe the plaques in the World War II Memorial
The Civil War Memorial
The Wright Brothers with The Ehlenberger Brothers at the National Air Space Museum
The Conservatory.. the jungle is steamy
The Lone Sailor
The Ice Skating Rink
The SUPER FAST carousel
The Capitol Building
Mommy's Favorite....The Lincoln Memorial
Daddy showing Gabe the plaques in the World War II Memorial
The Civil War Memorial
The Wright Brothers with The Ehlenberger Brothers at the National Air Space Museum
The Conservatory.. the jungle is steamy
The Lone Sailor
The Ice Skating Rink
The SUPER FAST carousel
Friday, December 05, 2008
Day 2 in DC
The Smithsonian's Natural History Museum
Next time you talk to Noah and Gabriel ask them what a Mammal is. They have got this down pat... thanks to the Mammal Exhibit at the Museum
We went to the IMax first and saw the Dinosaurs in 3-D and then we went to the HALL OF DINOSAURS and saw all the dino bones!!
They know what fossils are now too... and what it means to be fossilized... We learned a LOT at the Natural History Museum!!
After that we headed over to the Archives, this was a mommy stop... I felt a little selfish afterwards, Daddy had seen it before... and the boys didn't get much out of it. But it was so awesome to see the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution up close and in person!!
Next time you talk to Noah and Gabriel ask them what a Mammal is. They have got this down pat... thanks to the Mammal Exhibit at the Museum
We went to the IMax first and saw the Dinosaurs in 3-D and then we went to the HALL OF DINOSAURS and saw all the dino bones!!
They know what fossils are now too... and what it means to be fossilized... We learned a LOT at the Natural History Museum!!
After that we headed over to the Archives, this was a mommy stop... I felt a little selfish afterwards, Daddy had seen it before... and the boys didn't get much out of it. But it was so awesome to see the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution up close and in person!!
Monday, December 01, 2008
Crying over spilt milk...
Last week I had a big disappointment... I was really sad at first but now I am full of renewed spirit to try again after we move. So I just want to share.. in hopes that all of my friends and family will help to encourage me to start anew.
In early June I came across a charitable organization called the international breastmilk project
www.breastmilkproject.org
They send donated breastmilk to orphanages in Africa. A lot of these babies have AIDS and the breastmilk is a lot easier for them to handle. You might think that it would be easier for local African women to donate to these orphanages but the problem is that many of them have AIDS as well, and it is often hard to find donors in these areas. This project is very close to my heart. And I was especially excited to be able to donate my own milk after having difficulty breastfeeding the boys. So after a thorough blood testing process and medical evaluation I was named a breastmilk donor on June 19th and I have been pumping and storing milk as much as I can. It isn't a easy thing to do to pump and breastfeed and manage 3 kiddos... but I am so proud that I have been able to do so.
Then last week I was doing some yardwork and I accidentally unplugged the freezer in the garage, I didn't catch my mistake until 3 days later, when I went to put some milk in the freezer only to find that all of my hardwork had thawed and spoiled. I don't know why I didn't notice it earlier I put milk in the freezer every morning, but I didn't. I had finally accumulated 100 ounces which is the minimum for a donation box. I had already asked for a box to be sent.
Unfortunately, I know I can not pump 100 ounces before we leave, so I will be waiting until we get to Whidbey and then I will reapply to be a donor there. I am determined to donate at LEAST ONCE to this project though! So keep watching... In a few months you will see another post about the breastmilk project and pictures of my milk in a fedex box headed for the milkbank :)
BTW... here is a pic of the milk I had pumped... to those of you that don't know ( MEN, haha ) the average that a breastfeeding mama can pump a day is 2 ounces. Some ladies are blessed to be able to pump a lot more than that... but I am not one of them. On a GREAT day I could get 3 ounces TOTAL, but most of those bags have only 1.5 ounces in them. It took a long time to accumulate these 100 ounces.
In early June I came across a charitable organization called the international breastmilk project
www.breastmilkproject.org
They send donated breastmilk to orphanages in Africa. A lot of these babies have AIDS and the breastmilk is a lot easier for them to handle. You might think that it would be easier for local African women to donate to these orphanages but the problem is that many of them have AIDS as well, and it is often hard to find donors in these areas. This project is very close to my heart. And I was especially excited to be able to donate my own milk after having difficulty breastfeeding the boys. So after a thorough blood testing process and medical evaluation I was named a breastmilk donor on June 19th and I have been pumping and storing milk as much as I can. It isn't a easy thing to do to pump and breastfeed and manage 3 kiddos... but I am so proud that I have been able to do so.
Then last week I was doing some yardwork and I accidentally unplugged the freezer in the garage, I didn't catch my mistake until 3 days later, when I went to put some milk in the freezer only to find that all of my hardwork had thawed and spoiled. I don't know why I didn't notice it earlier I put milk in the freezer every morning, but I didn't. I had finally accumulated 100 ounces which is the minimum for a donation box. I had already asked for a box to be sent.
Unfortunately, I know I can not pump 100 ounces before we leave, so I will be waiting until we get to Whidbey and then I will reapply to be a donor there. I am determined to donate at LEAST ONCE to this project though! So keep watching... In a few months you will see another post about the breastmilk project and pictures of my milk in a fedex box headed for the milkbank :)
BTW... here is a pic of the milk I had pumped... to those of you that don't know ( MEN, haha ) the average that a breastfeeding mama can pump a day is 2 ounces. Some ladies are blessed to be able to pump a lot more than that... but I am not one of them. On a GREAT day I could get 3 ounces TOTAL, but most of those bags have only 1.5 ounces in them. It took a long time to accumulate these 100 ounces.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Our Big Adventure
Jason and I decided to buy a camper in preparation for our big move to Whidbey Island. We have always made a big trip of the actual move... so this time we decided to camp all along the way. It will be especially fun since the boys are old enough to really participate in the activities.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Hand's On Gallery
While we were on vacation we had the chance to check out a small children's museum in Hendersonville called the Hand's on Gallery. It's nice to have found such a fun stop for the kids to keep in mind next time we visit mamaw and papaw! The boys and I baked in the deli. Noah, of course, had to check out the Big Skeleton Puzzle... he's my puzzle man you know!!! We shopped in the grocery store. We had a lego car race... and then our cars got stuck and daddy had to help us finish, haha! And Abigail practiced standing up. Daddy, as you can tell, did all the picture taking :)
Friday, November 14, 2008
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