Martin Family

15 month stats

2012-02-01T13:36:00.008-06:00

Height: 31 inches 93rd percentile
Weight 24 pounds, 3 ounces 44th percentile
Head Circumference 19 inches 79th percentile
Zachariah is still growing, growing, growing! He's jumped from the 35th percentile in height to the 93rd. Frankly, I'm not sure how much stock I put in the height measurements they take at the doctor's office. Z is so squirmy, I can't imagine that it's particularly accurate.

Since 12 months, Zachariah very consistently signs for "milk" and "more". Sometimes he signs "more" while nursing, which might be the sweetest thing ever, and will also run through the house shouting "more" and signing "milk". This is a boy who knows what he wants. To his signing vocabulary, he's added "please". He can't decide whether or not he wants to sign with his right hand or his left, so he signs very enthusiastically with both hands at once. Cutest.thing.ever. He also signs "thank you" with prompting. New spoken words since 12 months include "nurse" which sounds like "nnnsss" Very cute. "Dog" has morphed into "doggie" and last night at dinner, he exclaimed "Pasta!"

Zachariah has never been a good sleeper, but lately napping has gotten a little more consistent. He's starting to sleep a bit better at night when he's not teething, which is a blessing. Sleeping while teething, however, is another story. I really thought Jonathan was going to have to check me into the loony bin after 4 days of no sleep at all. Mr. Z cut 4 new teeth, two of which were molars, in just over a week. If you're keeping track, that's a total of 12 teeth.

Other developments include climbing on the sofa and the ottoman, and dancing on the very same ottoman that I danced on as a toddler! He is a terrible button-pusher and I'm constantly having to pull him away from the computer, dishwasher, television, or one of the various electronic devices hooked up to it. He is a very affectionate boy and will often stop playing to come give kisses, or hugs and shoulder pats. He loves to make new friends, and wastes no time in giving them loving as well. Additionally, for some reason, he's become terrified of the shower head and the big tub. Bath time is still his favourite, but ONLY in the infant tub. I'm going to have to start working on that.

If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go lay LEGOS with my boy. Keep your eyes peeled though folks, I'm going to be trying to get caught up on blogging.

You might be a "crunchy mom" if...

2011-12-30T11:57:00.003-06:00

Starting over again as a mom has been very eye-opening. The mom wars are out of control with grown women acting more like elementary school bullies than mature adults. Maybe it was always there and I was sort of immune to it the first time around because I had no other mom friends. Regardless, it's BAD. Work, or stay home, crunchy or silky, you just can't win. Honestly, I don't think anyone is purely one thing or the other. I obviously fall full on the crunchy side of the fence, but I'm not perfect. We own a 4-wheel-drive truck, and another SUV, and frankly, have no plans to drive anything smaller. I have three children, and not one of them have been born via a drug-free labour (although I do plan to change that the next time around) We are super-geeks and own a redonklus number of computers and video-gaming systems. And just last night, three out of five of us took *gasp* over the counter medications before going to bed! (For the record, that is not a normal day) For sure, though, from a mainstream point of view, we're pretty out there. Periodically, I stumble upon a "You Might be Crunchy if" post and they make me giggle. The last one I read seemed a little judgy mcjudgerson to me, so I want to say here and now that I don't really care HOW you raise your kids as long as you're meeting their basic needs, and giving them lots of love. I am well aware of the fact that my friends run the gamut in everything from religion to politics and, yes, parenting styles. That's the way I like it. So without further adieu, and in no particular order...
You might be a crunchy parent if...

You own "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" and religiously chart your cycles because those birth control hormones are kinda unnatural.

You jump for glee when anything by Ina May Gaskin shows up on the shelf of your local Half Price Books, and would really flip if you could meet her to get one of them signed.

You own more than 5 vegetarian cookbooks.

You secretly think that packing your bags and taking a month-long getaway to The Farm would be a refreshing break.

Your toddler got a big, fat stack of books, woolies, cloth diapers and Duplos for Christmas, but not one single toy with batteries.

You know all about the healing benefits of amber and have an amber teething necklace for the baby. Bonus points if you also one one for yourself and older children. ;)

Before taking any medication for sore shoulders or a stuffy nose, you bust out the aromatherapy pillows.

Your favourite form of relaxation is yoga or meditation, and you have already introduced your toddler to Itsy Bitsy Yoga.

You make your own laundry detergent.

You use wool dryer balls instead of fabric softener or dryer sheets.

You delight in shopping locally and from small businesses, and wish you never had to buy anything from a national retailer.

You're more than happy to buy most anything used or from a thrift store because reducing, reusing and recycling is cool!

You've done an entire blog post extolling the virtues of coconut oil!

You make your own deodorant.

You no 'poo!

On the rare occasion that you do purchase body products from the store, you read the back of the label looking for parabens and other yucky things that you can't pronounce.

You have a stash of essential oils and know various applications for the use of them.

You put your knowledge of essential oils and love of natural remedies to good use making your own body products.

Your household cleaning products consist of baking soda, white vinegar and tea tree oil.

When you're sore at the end of the day, you're far more likely to reach for a glass of wine than a pill bottle.

You don't actually own any paper towels or napkins, but use the heck out of some microfibre towels.

You use cloth diapers and wipes. Bonus points if you use cloth wipes for any other family members. ;)

The ladies in the household use a Diva Cup, Sea Pearls or Mama Cloth.

You have ever breastfed a baby beyond 12 months.

Your answer for everything from pink eye to stuffy nose is to squirt breast milk in it!

You save your veggie peels to make vegetable stock and compost everything else.

You own more than two babywearing devices (but not a Bjorn or Infantino, eww!), love each of them for different reasons, and have your eye on just a few more.

You co-sleep, and couldn't imagine having your baby in a different room from you.

You have ever had, or plan to have a home or birth centre birth.

You have researched and plan to consume your own placenta via encapsulation or otherwise.

You have ever thrown or attended a chicken pox party.

Your child is on a delayed, selective, or nonexistent vaccination schedule.

The idea of cry-it-out makes you cringe, and the sound of another baby crying in the grocery store makes your nipples tingle.

Your toddler has never had actual "baby food".

If you can answer yes to half or more of these, you, like me, are probably more on the crunchy side than the silky. If not, that's OK. We can still be friends. Just don't be surprised when my toddler asks to nurse after lunch time. :)

Busy, busy!

2011-12-28T14:40:00.002-06:00

If you thought there was EVER a dull moment in our lives, guess again! The last week or so has been so full with family and friends, I hardly know where to start.

One of the girls' best friends had a birthday last week, and they went to her house for a sleepover. These particular friends were actually co-workers (and obviously good friends) of Jonathan and I back in our Starbucks days. (Oh, did you not know that Jonathan and I met while working at Starbucks together?) I simply couldn't resist trying to get a shot of Zachariah in the little apron they had purchased for their oldest daughter!

As amazingly cute as my boy is, he is not always the most willing of models.

Later on, Zachariah proved to us that, indeed, there is no use crying over spilled milk. So long as it's not breastmilk. lol

On Christmas Eve, the kiddos unwrapped their traditional present at our house... Christmas jammies!

Afterward, we headed to church for Christmas Eve service. Our little town had suffered a water main break earlier in the day, and when the water was turned back on, the school cafeteria where we usually meet was flooded, so we held service in the gym. I love how so many people showed up early to help move all the equipment (which thankfully had not been left in the cafeteria) and set up shop in a whole new place!

Too bad all the pics were all fuzzy. This was the best one. I love this group so much!

Our tree was full of presents when we went to bed that night! I have to admit that seeing the bottom of the tree so devoid of ornaments makes me smile. :)

Wonder what those could be?

We had so much fun opening presents that there aren't very many pictures.

Poor Celestia always seems to get hurt.

Suffice it to say, the girls were very happy with their big gift...

Zachariah is enjoying playing with the perpetually out of tune guitar that Celestia and Tatiana had been sharing before. The only real question is - will he be a guitarist...

Or a drummer?

He's also enjoying his super cute new woolie.

Both the boys got new building toys.

And we've all been enjoying playing Dance Dance Revolution.

Yes, even Zachariah gets on the mat and dances. TOO CUTE!!!


Dancing while babywearing must burn more calories, right?

And my big gift?...

My wonderful hubby rebuilt me a laptop! <3 All in all, I would say that we had a pretty rockin' Christmas!

December goodness

2011-12-16T13:53:00.000-06:00

The last several years, my girls have done a great job of decorating our Christmas tree while watching "White Christmas". This year, they had a little help.

Z kept trying to hang things on the tree and couldn't quite figure out how to get them to stay.

He quite enjoyed playing with these jingle bells and ornament box.

Jingle! Jingle! Jingle!

We're slowly, but surely getting presents under the tree, and Zachariah has actually been pretty good about leaving them alone. Jonathan has made one very special decorated gift for me. I hope there's nothing exciting in it, because I MAY refuse to unwrap it!

Meanwhile, we had a little helper unloading the dishwasher as I was trying to wrap some gifts.

Life is good!

Someday...

2011-12-10T16:34:00.000-06:00

Someday
My girls will be grown.
Zachariah won't get into everything, or ask to nurse quite so often.
Someday
I'll get back on top of this blogging thing.
Until then, here's another catch-up post!

Celestia turned 14 years old! She actually went to a church retreat over the weekend and was not with us on her birthday for the very first time, ever. It was a little bittersweet. She had a great time, and Jonathan and I certainly enjoyed an entire weekend for dates, but it's a little sad for my big girl to prefer to be with her friends.

Happy 14th birthday to by biggest baby! <3

Jonathan and I celebrated our 9th anniversary for an entire week, with Jon being on vacation. On our actual anniversary, we took the kids to the aquarium, a sweet memory from our wedding. Jonathan and I stayed in a hotel downtown on our wedding night, and went to the aquarium all by ourselves the day after we got married.

Pregnant seahorse!

Love my babywearing babies!

Good thing he has a cute bum...

Because we spend a lot of time chasing him these days!

Little did we know that someone was going to come down with chicken pox the very next day. My apologies to anyone who was at the aquarium on Wednesday and has now contracted the chicken pox!

He wasn't too sure about the oatmeal stocking.

Once he decided that it wasn't out to get him, he enjoyed squishing it!

Not looking too bad! That's because most of the actual chicken pox are inside the diaper. :(

Family photos 2011

2011-11-26T23:34:00.002-06:00

A few weeks ago, we got family photos taken with our favourite local photographer. I've been so busy lately, I haven't known whether or not I was going or coming, so it's taken me a while to get them up. Here are some of my favourite. I think they turned out wonderfully, don't you?

Love this man!

Someone stole Daddy's hat!

Good lookin' boys!

I found a penny!

Zachariah loves the water.

Sacked out!

Awwww, Dad!

My wild child loves to climb!

Where's your tongue?

Can't catch me!

Ooh, grass!

And a stick!

Let's go for a walk.

OK, I'm done!

What? I'm cleaning up the grass.

Bye Bye!

Beautiful boy!

2011-11-08T13:26:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago, we were at the aquarium and it was practically empty... EXCEPT for a girl taking pictures! She asked if she could snap a couple of photos of Zachariah in the shark tunnel.

How beautiful are those?

Weekend randomness

2011-11-05T17:03:00.000-05:00

We participate in a homeschool co-op that holds Friday School for the kids to get together and take enrichment classes. A couple of weeks ago the sign language choir performed in chapel. The pictures aren't great, but here they are.

Today, Zachariah hurt his finger and got his very first bandage. :(

It didn't last very long. He chewed it off his finger.

Halloween festivities!

2011-11-01T09:50:00.002-05:00

It was a busy weekend (and Monday evening) of Trick or Treating fun! On Saturday, we passed out candy in a "Trunk or Treat" sponsored by our church at the town's Glow Fest. Most of my pictures of the balloons turned out blurry because it was dusk and there was just no good way to get a shot of them.

Mahna Mahna!

Jonathan had fun trying to convince some of the kids to take candy from him. lol

Hey, look! It's Tow Mater!

I've never been this close to a hot air balloon before!

Funny story about Glow Fest... My girls were off running around and saw a mother with a baby in a skunk costume. When they stopped to admire him and saw that he was wearing an amber teething necklace, they asked his mom if she also cloth diapers. Turns out she does, and we're on several of the same facebook groups. hehe! Thanks, girls, for making Mommy a new friend! :)

Moving on to Halloween itself, the girls went Trick or Treating with friends from church this year, and had a fabulous time, while we stayed home, sat in the driveway with Mahna Mahna and passed out candy.

All gothed out!

And someone from Kingdom Hearts.

That's my girls!

In case you wondered, Zachariah is pretty much never still...

Yum, candy!

Except when he's nursing. Still his favourite activity! <3

I have a confession to make at this time. I've been feeling awfully guilty lately about not having many pictures of the girls. The truth is, that they've gotten to the age when it's just not cool to hang out with your parents anymore, and Tatiana, especially, doesn't want to have her picture taken. So if you've been noticing, too, that most of my blog posts have been a little Zachariah-centric, it's not for lack of trying.

1 year stats

2011-10-19T18:30:00.001-05:00

Height 29.5" 35th percentile
Weight 23.2 lbs. 51st percentile
Head Circumference 18.5 65th percentile

Zachariah eats just about anything you put in front of him (I'm sure you can't tell) but he especially likes
All kinds of fruit
Mexican food (but not tortilla chips)
Pasta
He also loves ice, and will drink water from a glass or straw with help.
His very favourite food, however, is whatever happens to be on Mommy's plate at the time!

How 'bout this beautiful picture from Stefani Marcus Photography?

He imitates vowel sounds and syllables and says some words in his own way.
"Dada"
"Mama"
"Bababa" is banana
"Dog" is pretty clear
"Hi" is also fairly clear
He says "Uh Oh"
He has been known to put together "Hi Dada"
He knows the signs for "milk" and "more" with prompting and will sometimes sign for "milk" without prompting. He also claps for "yay" As I'm sitting here, typing this post he began coming up to me and asking for "more" yogurt, so I guess he's got that one down, too! Time to add in "please" and "thank you"! ;)

When asked to show his tongue, he will stick his tongue out about 75% of the time. :P
He also likes to give big open-mouthed kisses. <3

More than anything, Zachariah is a very, very busy boy. He's been walking for 2 months now, and has actually graduated to mostly running. lol He keeps us busy for sure!

Rainy day fun

2011-10-17T22:30:00.000-05:00

What do you do when it's raining out and everyone's going stir crazy?

I taped the paper down, but it didn't last long.

Finger paint with the baby, of course!

See? No more paper!

Yum! Flour, water and food colouring.

Zachariah's first trip to the zoo!

2011-10-15T17:36:00.001-05:00

The day after Zachariah's first birthday was homeschool day at the Fort Worth Zoo. We love it there, so Jonathan planned to take the day off of work for all of us to go, and we had a great time!

Those are some good lookin' kids, if I do say so myself!

Let's check out the petting zoo!

Ooh, what's that?

A goat!

Hi crocodile!

I get to play in the water?

Yay, touch tank!

I crawled through a tunnel with Zachariah to show him the kangaroo rats!

I have a joey, too! :)

Look at that birdie eating!

What's that behind me, Mom?

Double fisted bird feeding!

That would be Celestia's arm. Somehow, we didn't get a single picture of her feeding the birds. :(

Snack time for Zachariah!

Nap time for the baby...

...and snack time for the rest of us!

Checking out the critters in the new herpetarium.

I'm thirsty!

Dig a tunnel!

We had a great day together. I love doing fun things with my family! <3

Birthday boy!

2011-10-05T22:27:00.001-05:00

A year ago today, we were in the hospital, having a baby. Today, we celebrated one whole year with our big boy! Our birthday tradition of having cupcakes (or brownies) for breakfast started when the girls went to preschool, and we took cupcakes for the class, so this morning, we started the day with a much more normal faire of sweet rolls.

Poor Z, always stuck with girly plates. The curse of having 2 older sisters!

We played for a bit...

And headed to the park after lunch time to take a walk through the woods...

Where Zachariah stood up by himself for the first time ever in the meditation garden!

Let's see, first I'll do "downward facing dog"

It worked!

Can I do it again? Downward dog...

Squat

I did it!

Then, we enjoyed the rest of the forest trail.

After our romp in the park, we came home, had a big supper...

Love it when this man cooks! <3

I made sure he got Clifford tonight. ;)

And opened presents.

But WHY can't I walk around with it and eat the wrapping paper?

I want those linking bugs!!!

Cake was smashed...

When a friend posted pictures of the Lego candy she had made for her kids' birthday, I knew I had to make a Lego cake for Zachariah's first birthday!

They were white chocolate coloured with blueberry. Yummy!

First bite of candy!

Ooh, what's this?

Decisions, decisions. Candy? ...

Or cake?

Cake!

This is fantastic!!!

See my tongue?

Finger lickin' good!

That about does it, folks!

And then...
THEN...
He took a bath.

We read his new book.

And snuggled up to nurse.

Because some things don't have to change just because I'm putting a big one-year-old boy to bed instead of an 11 month old. <3

Ketchup!

2011-10-04T23:59:00.000-05:00

I am so far behind! Three weeks ago, we had a stomach bug blow through the house. The girls and I were all very sick, and Jonathan was gone. I was relieved that he and I weren't battling for space to be sick, and thankful that with him out of town, he wouldn't get the bug. More than anything, I was relieved that Zachariah didn't seem to be getting sick. I had crazy visions of having to haul a baby that takes no liquids other than breast milk straight from the tap to an emergency room for dehydration, while my two older children and myself were all also throwing up. Thank God we didn't have to cross that bridge. The moment I was eating normally again, I came down with a cough. Jonathan came home from Philadelphia, and was home for three days before he, too got a stomach bug. My cough still hasn't gone away, Zachariah has a cough, and the two of us finally gave in yesterday and went to the doctor. He was given an inhaler, I was given steroids. So basically, it has been the saga of the sick people around here, and I have a TON to post!

I will start with the most important event in the last few weeks. On September 22nd, Tatiana turned 12! That's right, folks! It's her last year as a tween. This time next year when I have two teenage girls and an almost two year old, you'll be able to find me cowering under a rock.
We began our morning with brownies for breakfast...

Then went on to play Dungeon Quest, by special request of the birthday girl.

Opened a few presents...

And had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe...

Volcano!

Where the waitstaff sang happy birthday to her, and made her act like an elephant!

Someone didn't want a picture taken with her mouth open. lol

Yes, Zachariah got some too.

Even with 4 out of 5 Martins tackling the Volcano we couldn't conquer it!

While we were at the mall, someone decided she was ready to have her ears pierced. It wasn't planned, but she did great! I apologise for the blurry photos. Mom might have been a little nervous! ;)

First time seeing her newly pierced ears!

We wrapped it all up with a visit to Nana and Papa's house for her to open more presents.

Happy birthday to my sweet, sweet Tatiana. Sorry it's a little late, Baby!

So what else have we been up to lately besides being sick and having birthdays?
Well, we've enjoyed the cooler weather.

See the blurry feet? He was kicking. We call that his "happy feet"!

blurry baby!

First time down a slide.


Yay! That was fun!!!

The kids and I went to Celestia's uncle's wedding...


We chased Zachariah most of the night.

It was SO cold, Tatiana used my ring sling to keep warm!

Mom forgot a bib.

MMMMM, fajitas!

Where there was a whole lot of dancin' going on!

Dancing on the stairs...

Dancing by the table...

Dancing on the dance floor...

Eric and Maritza

Mother and son

Celestia and Eric

Until someone fell asleep!

I honestly can't believe he slept through the DJ playing.

And tonight, I put an 11 month old to bed for the last time...

Bath time first!

Then we read his favourite book...

And snuggled up to nurse.

Tomorrow, we will celebrate a whole year with this little guy! <3

Ode to the last bag of breastmilk I pumped while working.

2011-09-16T11:16:00.001-05:00

Sweet breastmilk, I painstakingly pumped you

To keep my beautiful boy fed while I was at work.

But you were rejected.
In bottles,

In sippies,

He would not drink you.

So I quit,
And you were cooked!

He loves his oaty-meal!

Yay oatmeal!

Gotta keep it all in!

Last bite.

But you are gone now,

So tomorrow's will be made with almond milk.

Boys in hats!

2011-09-10T18:37:00.001-05:00

In case you haven't noticed, Jonathan wears hats.

Which is just fine with me, because I think he looks pretty stinkin' sexy in them! ;)

He is, of course, attempting to pass down his love of hats to Zachariah...

who is not always cooperative...

but is always every bit as cute as his daddy in a hat!

I love my boys!!!

Finally, a break in the weather!

2011-09-05T16:32:00.000-05:00

It's been a bad summer. No rain, SO hot, we've pretty much hibernated indoors. So when we woke up today and it was actually cool, we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and go to the park! This was Zachariah's first visit, and he seemed to enjoy it.

We ran into friends and walked around part of the lake with them! :)

And then fed the ducks.

Ummm, actually, mostly geese.

And of course, Zachariah wanted some bread, too!

Even these big girls haven't gotten "too cool" to feed some fowl.

A little milk to wash down the bread?

Love snuggling with my boy!

Daddy saved a piece of bread just for me to throw. <3

I have to say that I'm really looking forward to being able to go to the park more this fall! :)

First field trip of the school year

2011-09-02T11:34:00.002-05:00

I know I've said it before but one of the things I love about homeschooling is the flexibility it gives us to do things during the week. Jonathan had already gotten his hours for the week, so last Friday we went to our favourite place in Dallas! Zachariah is really aware of things around him now, and enjoyed it lots! Jonathan was the cameraman for the day, so I am actually in a lot of the pictures.

Yummy fish!

It's a pygmy

Sweet girls

We almost never see this sloth!

They actually let Daddy take their picture!

Love my girls!

"Can you say owl?"

Mommy's view

Tiny cuddlefish

It's an eel garden!

Snack time!

Ooh, dinner AND a show!

Hi seahorse!

Ooh, look at the big kitty!

Dancing Z

2011-08-27T21:30:00.000-05:00

Zachariah has been walking since August 15th or so. Tonight, after supper, we danced together in the kitchen. <3

Morning chores

2011-08-22T12:23:00.001-05:00

I'll help you unload the dishwasher, Mom!

Trust Birth

2011-08-19T13:12:00.001-05:00

This is my family blog, so I haven't said too much about my endeavors to become a midwife. As of right now, everything I'm learning is self directed, and life has been SO busy lately that I haven't had a chance to do much of that. Once school gets going and things calm down a bit, I want to apply for a scholarship to a midwifery institute so that when I'm able to pursue an apprenticeship, I won't be completely clueless. Meanwhile, I'm running a natural birth support group called Trust Birth. I also have a blog dedicated to that, so if you're interested, feel free to check it out. One of our amazing mommas brought her camera last night and took some pictures, and I just couldn't resist posting some of them here, because they're so stinking cute! :)

Cheese!

Who, me?

Sweet Celestia loving on sweet Clara! :)

2011-2012 homeschool kickoff!

2011-08-12T21:44:00.002-05:00

Each year, we begin school going over rules. They really haven't changed much over the years, but I like to sort of revamp, and remind everyone of what we're trying to accomplish here. One of the things that I am required to teach by the state, and one of the things I feel that I fall short in, is good citizenship. Especially this year, with a tween and a teenage girl, I want to focus on attitude, which can, even on the best of days, go south in a hurry.

1) Treat others the way you want to be treated.

Matthew 7:12

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

2) Respect your teacher.

Deuteronomy 5:16

Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

3) Do your best work.

1 Corinthians 10:31

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

4) Do your chores cheerfully.

John 13:4-5

so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

I wasn't able to find a verse really applicable to doing household chores, but if Jesus can wash his disciples smelly feet, then NO ONE is too good to pick up around the house a bit!

And that, dear friends, is the summation of our rules. I, of course, have little specifics for how I want work completed and organised, but it all boils down to those four rules. I'm seriously considering printing them out in a pretty font and framing them in the hallway where we keep some of our visuals for school.

So what exactly have we done on this, our first week of homeschool for the year? Well, chores, of course. I've implemented a new system that I stole from my pastor's wife. I am not a naturally neat person, so I need all the help I can get! Each room has its own card, and everyone has to choose a chore card to complete that day. So far it's working pretty well.

We use a literature based curriculum for most everything, so there's been a lot of reading, a bit of science, some math...

copywork...

music theory...

music appreciation, and composer studies...

and we died some formerly natural coloured wool longies for Zachariah a pretty purple, because the natural gets really grungy.

And what has Zachariah been doing during all this? Eating is always a big favourite...

And Tatiana made him a transmogrifier.

All things considered, the first week back in school went pretty well. We had a few meltdowns the first couple of days, but once we got rolling, there weren't too many problems.

A busy mom's pictures

2011-08-07T17:38:00.003-05:00

Daddy worked from home one day.

Hi Daddy!

Oh, you mean I'm not supposed to have this?

Celestia babysat at our house.

Livy and Tatiana

Ela

We went to a birthday party where Zachariah was quite enthralled with the baby playing on the other side of the window.

Hi baby!

Mwwwwwwah! I kiss you!

And attended the Big Latch on!


We had to raise our hands to indicate we were nursing for the count.

Where we were on the news!
And that's just the pictures I (or someone else) took.
WHEW!!! This week may or may not be any quieter. We're starting the 2011-2012 school year!

Stinkin' cute!

2011-08-02T13:35:00.000-05:00

Lately, Zachariah has taken to hanging one leg over the side of his hammock. <3

Summer fun!

2011-07-24T18:44:00.001-05:00

Busy, Busy, Busy summer!
Both girls have gone to camps and had bunches of fun. I have absolutely NO pictures of Celestia at camp, but we took Tatiana, and picked her up, so there are pictures of them at Camp Copass. I'm really glad I got to go out, because we've had at least one child there for the last five years! This, sadly, will be our last year for a while though, because both girls have gotten too old. :(

The Jonathan Project playing a final set. Oh how we love these guys!

Drew Worsham is always a hit, too!

Love these girls!

It's Zachariah's first trip to Camp Copass! I hope he will have the same wonderful experiences that his sisters did there when he's old enough.

One last look at Lake Lewisville before we leave.

Zachariah is eating lots of new foods. Basically, if we eat it, he does too. Sometimes we need to keep him clean...

But for the most part, he feeds himself.

What's this?

Ooh, noodles!

Thanks for the super tasty stew, Daddy!

Which is often a very messy experience

Requiring multiple baths in a day.

Which obviously, Zachariah loves!
And while we're on the subject of water, How's this for some super cheap entertainment?

Several bowls of water and a half a dozen towels later, Zachariah had happily splashed for a solid 20 minutes. :) Gotta stay cool somehow. I'm so ready for fall!

Zachariah's first trip to the lake

2011-07-13T13:37:00.001-05:00

Zachariah loves to swim! Our visit to Lake Texoma this past Sunday was no exception. I forgot my camera, but Cody took this amazing picture. Click on over and check out some of his custom paint jobs!

9 month stats

2011-07-09T17:39:00.004-05:00

Height 27.25" 17th percentile
Weight 21.4 pounds 62nd percentile
Head Circumference 17.75" 43rd percentile

Zachariah loves trying new foods, and prefers to feed himself rather than being fed. Some of his favourite finger foods include
Apples
Avocados
Blueberries
Fruit leathers (perfect for diaper bag snacks!)
Grapes
Mangoes
Pasta
Peaches
Pears
Raisins
Watermelon
Things he likes so much he will actually deign to being fed are
Baked potato
Rice & veggies
and apparently oatmeal

1/3 cup oats
2.5 oz breastmilk
Throw in a few raisins
Sprinkle on a little cinnamon
Yum!
UPDATE: I wasn't particularly pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, so when I gave it to him a second time, I added some pureed prunes, and he seriously gobbled it up!
I also realised that I hadn't mentioned anything about drinking. Zachariah likes to take sips of water from a big-person glass. He still doesn't seem to know what to do with bottles or sippy cups at all. Baby steps! :)

Coffee CSA

2011-07-05T20:57:00.000-05:00

If you've been following my blog for any amount of time, you'll know that I'm something of a tree-hugger. And a coffee lover. And I try to be socially conscious. Yes, I'm one of "those" people. You can go ahead and call me a bleeding-heart liberal. I promise I won't cry. So when LaRissa spoke to the church about slavery in the world today, I was horrified to think that my coffee could be (and probably was) harvested by people who were not paid a living wage, or in fact, any wage at all. Yeah, I know. I probably should have thought of that. I said I try to be socially conscious, I didn't say I was perfect. Interestingly enough, Jonathan did not know any of this, as I quietly started buying Fair Trade coffee without saying anything. He, knowing my love for wanting to save the world in my own small way, sent me this link to a coffee cooperative last week. I jumped all over it, and we got our first shipment today!

I can't wait to try it out! :)

It's a busy little life!

2011-06-29T13:23:00.004-05:00

No, we haven't fallen off the face of the Earth, we've just been busy! So to recap...
We've gone to the aquarium several times.

Took the kids to San Antonio...

Look at my new swim diaper, mom!

I'm ready! Point me to the pool!

Look at Daddy's new hat!

Outside the Alamo

Waiting to go on the riverboat.

Zachariah's first boat ride

At the Rainforest Cafe

Love these babies!

Zachariah's first meat? Fajitas! Because that's the way we roll!

Yum! Guacamole!

Such beautiful girls!

At the wax museum

They love Johnny Depp!

Dancing with Zachariah. <3

And here's my handsome hubby in his new top hat!

I don't often get all three of my babies sleeping in the same room! <3

Took a field trip to the Dallas Art Museum...

Lunch in the sculpture garden

Had some fun around the house...

You can never start teaching them to type too early! :)

I think you've got it wrong, son.

Getting ready to go swim. Sunblock sure does make your hair sticky!

My tomato plant actually grew one lone tomato, and boy, was it yummy!

And went to Six Flags, where I took almost NO pictures! lol We sure had fun, though!

I THINK Celestia is in the blue car about to go back in the building. It was going so fast!

Gotta keep that boy hydrated!

The one lone ride that Zachariah could go on.

I think that MAY actually have us completely caught up for blog posting. WooHoo!!! I'll try not to fall behind so badly again, although I can't promise, because Zachariah is a busy boy these days. Something tells me he's going to be an early walker.

The quest continues

2011-05-20T09:15:00.001-05:00

Since Easter Sunday and Mother's Day were both so close together, I'm going to lump them into one post.

Easter Sunday was extremely low key this year. I feel a little bad about it, since it was Zachariah's first Easter, but frankly, I just didn't have the energy to do much. I also forgot to take my camera to Easter lunch with my parents, so the only pictures we have were taken on my mother's phone, which aren't very good.

Jonathan also took a few later in the day, but the girls were out playing, so they're not in them.

We backed Zachariah off of most solid foods shortly after this, because it was not agreeing with his tummy. Now that he has so many teeth, he occasionally gets table food to nibble, but for the most part is exclusively breast fed. We'll try giving more in a month or two, but purees were short-lived. :)

On to Mother's Day! Also a very low-key holiday this year. We went out to lunch (again, lol!) with my parents, and then did a little shopping. This time I did not forget my camera! Notice the beautiful amethyst necklace I'm wearing. It was my Mother's Day present, and I love it!!!

Celestia made me breakfast. English muffins with scrambled eggs and hollandaise sauce. Yummy!

I danced with Zachariah before church, making us late. A good song came on Pandora, and I decided that dancing with my boy was more important than rushing to get out the door. Not sorry. <3

This is what our family is REALLY like! ;)

Love that hand on my cheek!

Yum! A napkin!

Zachariah noshed on breadsticks at lunch...

...and then nursed and fell asleep.

The Great Cloth Diaper Change

2011-05-19T10:50:00.002-05:00

On Easter weekend, we participated in a Guinness Book of World Records event - The Great Cloth Diaper Change. The last count I saw was was that over 6000 babies participated from around the world to change the most cloth diapers at the same time. In order for it to count, there had to be witnesses, and at least 25 babies in the changing place. DFW had two events - one in the north, and one in the south. We attend the northern event in Lewisville.

This is the diaper he had on before...

Lots of cloth diapering, babywearing and nursing going on here!

Wave to sister!

My beautiful friend Heather, and her Livvy. Our big girls played together while the GCDC was going on. It made my heart happy to see the three of them together!

And another sweet momma, Ashley with Zachary


Here is one of my friends from homeschool co-op, Jennifer

...and after. I made sure to bring my favourite diapers. :)

I love that I know so many wonderful, beautiful mommas! <3<3<3

*Disclaimer* The following picture has nothing to do with the GCDC.

These boys melt my heart!

While the house is still asleep

2011-05-19T10:23:00.001-05:00

It's been an eventful month in the Martin household. Zachariah cut his first tooth on April 20, and since that time hasn't stopped. As of yesterday he has six teeth! I've had my hands full, hence the lack of blogging. This will be my first in a series of catch up blogs!

We went to the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens for what was supposed to be a homeschool field trip. It was on the field trip calendar. We were the only ones there, and no one at the gardens knew we were coming. I've since found out that the field trip coordinator for our co-op quit. Must have missed that memo. lol Anyway, the kids and I had fun once we stopped wasting time wandering around and trying to figure out where we were supposed to be.

How beautiful is that? Love my babywearing babies! <3

This tree was literally growing around the bridge. Co cool!

<3 these three!

This crane followed us throughout the day. :)

See, I was there, too!

The girls fed fish while Zachariah was snacking.

See? There's the crane again.

Hello pretty lizard!


How about one for the road, Mom?

All in all, we had a great day! I love to take my babies out and about to see beautiful new things! :)

Just in case you wondered

2011-05-10T14:51:00.001-05:00

Since April 20th, Zachariah has cut four teeth, and has two more coming in. So I'm slakin' on my blog and not at all ashamed. My hands are full!

Happy Good Friday. Happy Earth Day.

2011-04-22T10:05:00.002-05:00

The following is going to be a little out there for some of you. It's a little out there for me. I usually keep politics and religion off my blog. Not today. You have been warned.

Today is Good Friday. And Earth Day. As someone who cares deeply about the planet and conservation, but who is also a Christian, I am often conflicted. It would seem that many of the Christians I know believe that conservationism is best left to the democrats. And of course you can't be a Christian and a democrat. (That was sarcasm, by the way.) Most of the time I feel like I don't fit in anywhere, but that's a story for another day. I find it interesting though that we need Earth Day for the very reason that we need Jesus and Good Friday. Stick with me, here.

After the fall in the garden, God punished Adam and Eve
Genesis 3:16-19
¹⁶ To the woman he said,
   “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;
   with painful labor you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
   and he will rule over you.”
¹⁷ To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’
   “Cursed is the ground because of you;
   through painful toil you will eat food from it
   all the days of your life.
¹⁸ It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
   and you will eat the plants of the field.
¹⁹ By the sweat of your brow
   you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
   since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
   and to dust you will return.”

So what have we done? Everything in our power to escape the consequences of being being kicked out of the garden. Chemical fertilizers pollute our water supplies. We've covered our crops in pesticides to make them easier to grow. The suffix -icide means someone or something that kills a particular person or thing, or the act of killing. I don't know about you, but I don't really want poison on my food. We eat an awful lot of produce in our household, as I only cook vegetarian. Even if you don't eat as much produce as we do, your meat does. I have to think that all that poison is going to catch up with us eventually. We buy organic as much as possible but there is a vast price difference.

And oh, how we've (literally) butchered childbirth! What should be a lovely, natural experience has turned into an emotionally traumatic event for so many women. All because we were trying to escape the pain. I won't say more, because this one is still very raw for me.

So I think it's appropriate that we should remember the sacrifice that Jesus made for us on a day when we also consider the planet that He created for us. Because really, if we were still living in the garden, Christ would never have needed to make that sacrifice. If we were still living in the garden, caring for the Earth would be what we naturally did. Today, when you're thanking God for the price that He paid for us, maybe you could take a moment to thank him for the beautiful Earth He made for us to live in. Or maybe you could hug a tree and remember that lonely cross that the Lord hung on to save us.

Zachariah's first visit to the farmer's market

2011-04-16T20:23:00.002-05:00

McKinney has the coolest farmer's market that's in a little historic village.

We went once before when I was pregnant with Z, but I didn't bring my camera, and regretted it. This time I did not make that mistake. They were having a Civil War history event and had people walking around in costumes and showing off some of their weapons.

These clothes were laid out on the bed in one of the houses.

It also looked like they might have been preparing for a wedding.

Don't worry though, we didn't get so distracted that we forgot what we came there for... FOOD!

Zachariah helping me buy some tamales.

And other stuff.

I was just talking about buying some worms for my compost bins. Guess I know where we'll be getting them!

We had a great morning, and will definitely be going back soon!

Random info

2011-04-16T19:54:00.000-05:00

Zachariah's 6 month stats taken on 4/7/11:
Height 26.5 in. 53rd percentile
Weight 17.10 lbs. 52nd percentile
Head circumference 17 in. 33rd percentile

First food given on 4/5/11 was avocado and he loved it!
Second food given on 4/11/11 was carrots, and he was not impressed. Two days later, he turned his nose up at them completely.
Third food given on 4/14/11 was apples. Better than carrots, but not as good as avocado.
First food combination was apples and carrots given on 4/15/11, and it was a hit.

Recent facebook status, just because I never want to forget it:
I love baby kisses! You know the kind I'm talking about - open mouth, tongue stuck out, I-know-this-is-how-I-show-you-that-I-love-you-but-I-don't-know-how-to-pucker-my-mouth-yet kisses. The kind that leave you covered in slobber (or milk!) and simultaneously reaching for a burp cloth yet wondering if you really want to wipe off where that sweet baby smooched!

Can she do it?

2011-04-16T17:21:00.003-05:00

I don't exactly have a green thumb. I am actually known in my household for killing plants. Granted, those are plants that are kept indoors, but I don't have a great track record for outdoor plants either. My flower garden I planted two years ago grows...

morning glories. Last year, the morning glories tried to take over my entire front yard, which I'm kind of OK with, because on my list of flowers that I love, morning glories are probably in the top five. The flower bed that I tried to plant around our tree which should have Lady-in-the-Boat Jew grows grass. Despite the fact that Jew tends to take over everything, and we tried cleaning the grass out by hand, choking it out with gravel, and finally, tearing the entire thing out and lining it with material that was supposed to kill the grass, that is still the only thing that the silly bed grows, with the exception of the tree, which I suppose was the point, anyway.

So I'm really not sure what I was thinking when I told Jonathan in the winter of '09 that I wanted to plant a vegetable garden. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Clearly, we didn't get around to it last year because I was pregnant and working outside in the Texas heat while large with child did not sound amusing. But this year... This year, Jonathan was determined that I should get my vegetable garden. He spend the only weekend that he's had home since February building me a little plot to plant things in.

The girls made cute little signs,

and we planted things in neat little rows... *

and the dogs promptly ran through it.
We should have put the fence up first, eh?

Arynson promptly charged right into the stake on the end. It only took once. lol

Several weeks later, we've had a couple of major storms, and there's a lot of tree parts in the garden which leaves me wondering... Should I pick them all up and throw them out of the garden? Should I leave them there and let them decompose, which should, in theory, provide more nutrients in the soil? How am I going to be able to tell the little sprouting trees from the things that are supposed to be sprouting? Aaaack!!! What was I thinking??? I don't know how to grow things!!!

But there are these little sprouts...

Little green, growing things that are obviously not trees.

Some rosemary, I think...

And maybe onions?...

And possibly cilantro...

And I think these might be zucchini...

I have a recipe for a natural pesticide that I need to spray on.

And I bought some actual tomato plants which should do OK if the storms will quit knocking the buds off.

Which makes me think that maybe, just maybe, I might be able to grow something after all. It sure would be nice to be able to walk out to my back yard and pick some carrots to cook for my boy. Or some mint to throw in my coffee. And rosemary is tasty in just about anything.
So we'll see. This may be more of an experiment than an actual vegetable garden, and if that's the case, I guess I'll try again next year. You know what they say. "If at first you don't succeed..."

*I was outside planting things in the garden, and Celestia did not wear Zachariah the entire time, lest you think I am forcing my children into slave labour. I was dressed in my typical at-home attire which consists of a pair of shorts and a nursing tank. Fine for the backyard, but not so hot in pictures! lol

A break from school and more food!

2011-04-11T16:41:00.000-05:00

Last week, we took a break from our regularly scheduled curriculum and had a documentary and field trip week. It's nice to mix things up every once in a while.

This morning, I gave Zachariah his second solid food - carrots!

They took considerably more milk than I expected. For the avocado, I used about 3 ounces of milk and got six days worth of avocado, so that's about a one to one ratio. For the carrots, it took six ounces of milk to get them to a passable consistency. I have enough for nine days, so that's about a two to one ratio of milk to carrots. It tasted like carrot flavoured ice cream, and I was sure he would love it.

Not so much. The first attempt he actually broke down in tears.

We tried again in the afternoon, and he ate them, although reluctantly.

Guess he prefers to eat in the afternoon. Ideally, I would like for food to take the place of one nursing a day. My chunk-a-monk still eats like a newborn, which means that he nurses roughly every hour-and-a-half to two hours. It can be exhausting. Dropping one afternoon nursing session would be a welcome break. We'll get there eventually, I'm sure.
I just had to throw in these last few pictures, because they're so darn cute! My Zachariah is so loved, even the dog is a mother-hen! :)

6 Months

2011-04-05T15:03:00.001-05:00

Today, my precious boy turns six months old. *sniff, sniff* It's been a really long time since I've done this, and I'm finding myself very emotional.
Zachariah woke up this morning sweet and chipper. Jonathan just finished up a show yesterday, and leaves for another tomorrow, so he stayed home with us today. <3

I gave Z his very first solid food. We're skipping cereals and going straight for whole foods. Cereal is really more of a filler, and I think my sweet chubby boy gets full enough. ;) On the menu first? Avocado! Here we have enough for today, and five cubes to be frozen for later use.

I'm ready, Mom! See, I have a bib and everything!

What's that? Looks tasty!

Hummmm...

I'm thinking.....

It is! It is tasty!!!

I'll take more, please!

Nom! Nom! Nom!

So good I think I'll save some on my face for later!

Can't waste any of that yummy stuff! Think I'll eat it off my bib!

My sweet boy is getting so big!!! Happy half-birthday, my little love! <3

Cesarean Awareness Month

2011-04-04T19:38:00.000-05:00

April is cesarean awareness month! In honour of this, I'm creating a top five list of things you probably don't know about having a c-section. Here is an up front warning for those that are easily offended. You may want to skip the rest.

1) Scar tissue takes a year to form. You may experience discomfort in the incision site for that entire year. I hear from other moms that they still feel twinges years after having a C.
2) There is a longer recovery when it comes to sex as usual. Seems counter intuitive, right? Shouldn't a baby coming out of your vagina affect that more than a scar in your belly? Um, no.
3) A cesarean has a profound emotional impact on a woman. I have heard this from almost every mother I've talked to who has had a C. Even those who had very necessary c-sections. This emotional aspect is often overlooked.
4) Having a cesarean may turn you into an activist. I promise it's not just me. ;)
5) Having a cesarean may change your course in life. I, also am not the only one. The more I talk to women who have chosen midwifery, or some other birth profession, the more I realise that these are women who, much like me, had a traumatic birth and want to give other mothers the chance for something better.

What about you? Have you been touched by a cesarean in some way? For those of you who have been affected by a cesarean, I highly encourage you to check out ICAN, and find your local chapter.

I have a secret.

2011-03-27T12:35:00.002-05:00

I have a secret. I guess it's not going to be a secret for long. I'm 32 years old and I've finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up. In the days after I had Zachariah, as I slowly came back to reality (man those drugs they give you after surgery are killer!) I realised that it wasn't supposed to be this way. Why would God (or Mother Nature, if you prefer) make our bodies to create beautiful new life and not create a way for us to bring that life into the world? The answer is that he didn't. The original intent of a cesarean section was to separate a baby from a dead mother. Sometimes that child survived, sometimes it was simply to satisfy religious edicts that a woman not be buried while she was pregnant. Now don't misunderstand me, I KNOW that c-sections save lives. One saved my sister's life, and her son's. However, the national percentage for cesarean births reached a staggering 32% in 2007 (the most recent year that final data is available), which is more than double what the WHO recommends. So I've decided to stop being pissed off about the medicalization of birth, and do something about it. Namely, I wish to study to become a midwife. This process is going to take me a few years. Currently, I have a lovely son who despises bottles.

I'm not going to be able to leave him at a moment's notice. My wonderful husband travels for a living, so I'm not sure how I'm going to juggle that with these lovelys.

But I do know that I have to try, because this was not how it was meant to be.

My first step is to be certified as a Trust Birth Facilitator. I'm working on my training now, and hope to start running meetings by summer. At least that way I can start to get the word out that birth is natural. I think somewhere along the line, we've forgotten that. If I'm stepping on any toes here, I apologise. Please remember that I had three very medical births, so I'm preaching to myself here as much as anyone else. I read a great article the other day about being an activist. It basically said that people are passionate about things because they've been touched by that particular subject in a profound way. And I have. If you really want to know the ugly details, I could tell you about my first birth. It would turn your stomach. If I had known then that midwives still existed and practised, I may have come to this conclusion 13 years ago. Regardless, I'm here now, and I'm telling you because I want to be held accountable. I know that this is going to turn our lives upside down. There are probably going to be days when I'm not so sure about this course of action, but I will not quit. Because I'm sure that birth should be much more like this

and much less like this.

Zachariah's first vacation and a new (to us) car!

2011-03-13T14:41:00.171-05:00

My super awesome brother-in-law...

Love this guy!!! :)

bought a new car, and offered us his old one.

So when Jonathan had a show in DC, Zachariah and I flew up to meet him.

As you can see, I had a frog pillow sticking through my backpack. While I was walking through the airport with Zachariah a man came up behind me and said "Ma'am, I don't know how to tell you this, but you have a rather large frog on your back. I don't think they're going to let you through customs with that!" hehe! We definitely attracted a lot of attention with Zachariah in my ring sling, and a bright green frog hanging off my back!
Zachariah did great on his first airplane ride. I fed him just before we left Nana and Papa's house so that he would be hungry about the time we were boarding. He nursed as we took off, slept, and woke up just in time to nurse while we were landing. Perfect timing, as his ears never gave him any trouble!

Grandpa Martin met Zachariah for the first time...

Awwwww

as did Christopher.

Have you ever seen so many pretty blue eyes in one place?

And I was a good girl and finally got some pictures of my son with Grandma Martin who came to visit us in December.

Zachariah was so sleepy! He fell asleep shortly after this pic was taken.

We enjoyed a (far too) short visit.

The doggies weren't sure what to think of this little person. Jazzy kept watch while Zachariah played on the floor.

We've spent lots of time around this table sipping coffee and playing board games. Jonathan and I almost brought it home, but when gas prices went up, decided that it wouldn't be cost effective. Funny how no matter how large a house is, family time always seems to occur around a kitchen table.

It snowed while we were there, and the only shoes I brought were flip flops. I should really know better. I've made the drive between Dallas and DC four times now, and three of those, it's snowed. lol

Zachariah was packed into his new car seat with some new toys, courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa Martin...

and we set out toward home in our new Escape!

The drive home from Northern Virgina is a loooong trip, but the scenery is absolutely amazing! I took literally hundreds of pictures, and it was really difficult to narrow down the ones to show here. I actually ran out of storage on blogger and had to purchase more before I could finish this post! :)
On Monday, we conquered Virginia and made it into Knoxville, Tennessee.

This handsome man drove almost the entire way. <3

Bad picture, but the best I could get of the "Welcome to Tennessee" sign at night through the dirty windshield.

We stopped at a state park on our first day of travel just to take a break, as all three of us needed to get out and walk around a bit.

Z was so happy to be out of the car seat for a bit!

Tuesday it rained all day long. We made it through Tennessee, and spent the night in Little Rock, Arkansas. If you ever find yourself driving through Arkansas and think "Little Rock is the capitol of this state, surely there will be a decent Italian restaurant and a good place to stay" think again. While the Holiday Inn Presidential was nice, food was a chore to find, and we finally gave up driving around in the rain, and ordered a pizza for a very late supper. Little Rock is as its name suggests, little.

The mighty Mississippi River

My sweet boys in our hotel room in Little Rock.

Breakfast at the hotel seemed the easiest solution. It was pretty tasty.

Zachariah let us know when he was hungry like clockwork every two hours...

and did a fair amount of sleeping, too.

We stopped in Hooks, Texas to get a Blizzard...


Stopping for Blizzards in Hooks is a Bradshaw family tradition. We always stopped there when we visited family in Tennessee. :)

and let Zachariah try out the Escape.

I took the wheel for about the last hour and a half...

and Jonathan took a well deserved nap.

I love it when we cross Lake Ray Hubbard, because it means we're almost home.

My feelings are always conflicted when I travel. I'm amazed at the beauty of other places, and how much of the country really is wide open space. Part of me thinks I would love to live somewhere more remote, and the other part of me loves being in a city where everything you could possibly want or need is in an easily drivable distance. For now, I'll stick with the great state of Texas!