And Then There Were Three...

I have no way of saying this cute or clever (my creativity is on hold for a while...in fact pretty much EVERYTHING is on hold right now), so I'll just say it out right...I'M PREGNANT! We indeed are expecting baby #3 and we're very excited!

I'm about 14 weeks along, due in May. I've been to the doctor twice and had 2 ultrasounds (one at 9 or so weeks and 1 yesterday!) The baby seems to be doing wonderful...has a strong heartbeat (we LOVE to see that!), seems to have all the right parts, and is VERY active (I can't feel it yet, but the ultrasound confirmed this baby is JUST like my boys...never stopping!)

While the baby seems to be doing great, I, on the other hand, have not been doing so hot. I have been sick and miserable and tired and super (and I mean SUPER) nauseous for the last 6 or 7 weeks. Ugg! I'm sure I have thrown up more in the last month than probably in my entire life put together. No joke. Not fun. I literally live off of white bread (can't even take saltines any more) and I can't even take a normal prenatal vitamin, I have to take a Flintstones Complete. I really wasn't sick with Jonah and only a little with Jaxon, but this time...man! I hope (but am not convinced) that this means its a girl. :) So my house is an absolute disaster (please, no one come over...it is incredibly embarrassing!), Jax wears his pjs all day most days, Jonah now gets hot lunch quite frequently (he's happy about this!), and I have only cooked maybe 2 real meals in the last month and a 1/2 (David's been cooking the boys a lot of eggs!).

I'm really not complaining, just stating the facts! :) I am just happy that we have a healthy baby. I have to remind myself of this sometimes as I'm bowing down to the porcelain god. :) Healthy babies don't come so easy for us. We've definitely had our trials when it comes to getting pregnant. This is actually my 6th known pregnancy. I miscarried before Jonah, it took us a year to get pregnant again, but he was a healthy baby boy and my pregnancy was great (although the stinker refused to nurse ever!). When we tried again after Jonah, it took us another year, but when I went in to the doctor, there was no heartbeat and turned out I had a blighted ovum (that means the baby stopped growing at about 6 weeks, but my uterus and hormones and everything else still thought I was pregnant and kept growing). It was heartbreaking and I had to have a D&C around 13 weeks or so. Probably a year later I was pregnant again with another blighted ovum. Luckily my doctor was great and did a bunch of blood tests on me and found that something in my blood that has to do with clotting was too high. So basically when the baby was big enough for the placenta to grow (about 6 weeks), my blood would clot it, preventing any nutrients to get to the baby and our poor baby would die. It totally stinks and has put us through torture, but fortunately its a problem that can be managed. I am so grateful for that! SOOOO, to fix the problem, I have to give myself a shot (yes, from a syringe!) of blood thinner twice a day for 20 weeks. I hate it, its painful, its scary, its annoying, but it works! It worked last time I was pregnant and I got my sweet Jaxy, and it is working this time...my baby has a heartbeat and is moving and I'm 14 weeks...not a possibility without those stinkin' shots! I just tease that I guess my boys weren't quite ready to join us the first time around...it took them a couple tries. Or maybe I've got a LOT of babies waiting up there to meet me in heaven...either way, I'm grateful for Jonah and Jaxon and our new little one.

I can tell you my belly is the sexiest preggo belly around...my nice spare tire (courtesy of baring 2 boys) is now black and blue and yellow with lovely needle tracks. Its quite a sight! Ok, its not sexy at all, its pretty repulsive, but I'm sure I have the most colorful preggo belly around! :) Whenever Jaxon sees my belly, he quenches and says "oh, mommy owy? Your shots? Baby in tummy? Oh, ow!" and covers my belly. He just can't bare to see it. And no, I don't let my kids see me shoot up, but they do know I have to. Jaxon doesn't get the whole baby in the belly thing. Whenever someone has a stomachache, he says, "oh, baby in tummy?" Jonah is VERY excited and I'm excited for him...he's old enough now that he can understand it a little more. Every doctors appointment I have, he comes home from school and says, "mom, how'd your appointment go?" and every night he prays that "our baby will be be safe and healthy and not die." A little morbid, but hey, I get it and its sweet.

Ok, that was long I'll try not to be so long winded next time :) Oh, and fyi, you most likely won't be getting any belly shots of me in the coming months...I'm not one of those cute, "you've got a little basketball popping out of your belly", "you can't tell from behind you're pregnant" kind of woman. I get fat and puffy and water logged, and, look 9 months when I'm only 5, and well, not picture worthy anyway, so don't ask, you'll be disappointed (or at least I will!). :)

Its Fundraiser Time!

Come one, come all, Jonah's earning money for his school!

Yes, its that time of year again! Jonah (and his school) would really appreciate any help that he can get in raising money for his school, so if you'd like to help click here. This year his school is trying to raise money for a much needed and desired science lab, which will really be cool for the kids (especially our little blooming scientist).

There are candles (really good ones) and gifts and such, but the most popular is the wrapping paper. Yes, it does cost more than Walmart or Target, but I got some last year and it really is awesome stuff! It doesn't tare or wrinkle and it makes your presents look nice. Oh, and you can renew magazine subscriptions, too!

After his assembly Friday, Jonah got all excited to sell so that he can win the grand prize...a Wii. Um, I don't think that he'll be selling 236+ items, but a kid can dream, right? But no matter what he sells he gets prizes and if he sells 8 or more items, he'll be entered to win some High School Musical memorabilia signed by (none other than our native Central Coaster) Zac Efron. He's not in to HSM, but he still thinks its cool.

Thank you for any and all of you who help!

Just click on:

School Fundraiser

Confirm "Yes, Credit my order to this student" (make sure it says Radmacher Jonah)

Then Click "here" to begin shopping.

OR

If you live close, you can email me your order and it'll save you some on shipping and I'll just deliver it to you!

Thanks again!

I Think I've Lost It!

I did a crazy thing yesterday. I don't know what the heck was I thinking!

I cut my own hair.

AAHHHHH!

I've become my mother (mom, that wasn't an ahh to that, but to cutting my own hair!).

Don't really know why I did it. I guess 'cause I've been sick of it for a long time now. It was too long.

I'm really a hippiesque, all-natural-sort-of, pioneery girl when it comes to my image.

I've never owned a flattener, in fact I've only used 1 once in my whole life.

I only acquired a hair dryer like a couple years ago, which was an old (and I mean old) hand-me-down from my mom, which I only use like maybe 5 times a year when I don't feel like having a wet back.

I've only bought hair spray once and that was for Jonah's Oompa Loompa hair (my claw bangs in 6th grade don't count...that was an unfortunate time in my life & my mom supplied the Aqua Net).

I never wear makeup, only very very occasionally and even then I wear so little that no one actually notices and most people wouldn't even consider it "wearing" makeup at all. In fact I only own mascera and eye shadow.

I've NEVER dyed, highlighted, or bleached my hair. I have used Sun-In occasionally in the past. I did regretfully have a few perms in elementary school...ug...I try to forget most fashion mess-ups of the 80's. And no, that summer after my freshman year of college when my hair was practically white, I did NOT bleach it - that is from WAY too much sun!

I'm a jeans and flip-flops kinda gal...no heels for this gal.

And I DON'T go to a hair dresser. Never have...well I've only been once ever. I was 8 and I went to Fantastic Sam's. I wanted my hair to be like the girl on the commercials and the lady botched it major! So I've never been back...I was scared...majorly. My mom, mother-in-law, and David...oh and once my aunt...are the only ones who have ever cut my hair...sad, I know.

So this makes for one plain and boring and all-natural girl. I can say I hardly ever get split ends, though. And fortunately for everyone around me, I do shower daily, wear deo and a bra, and pluck my eye brows and shave my pits. Thank goodness. So I'm not totally granola (is "granola" even used outside of Utah? And I don't mean the food.).

So I was sick of my hair. Its still plain and boring and all-natural, but its shorter, so less of the plain and boring to look at I suppose.

This was my hair originally. Yes, it's pretty much down to my rear!

I will most likely never have bangs, 'cause I HATE my hair in my face (even though I most likely should since my forehead is so humungous...just means I'm real smart, right Dad?) and I have to be able to pull it back, 'cause I HATE hair in my face and since I started having babies, my hair just gets frizzier and frizzier and now its wavy, but not curly and really annoying!

Back in June or so David cut almost a foot off. It was still real long. David likes my hair long, so he wouldn't cut it any shorter. So here it is now.

I might still go a little shorter, but I was too scared of messing it up too bad and having to cut it super short. I still need someone to fix it for me, but not too shabby for doing it myself. I'm sure I've probably got a bunch of hairs that are like 4 inches longer than the rest...cute, I know...but it's SO much better! (You wouldn't believe how hard it was to take a picture of my own hair from the back!)

It's back!

I'm SOOOO happy! My camera came back from the shop today good as new. So I might actually have a little better photos to post. My camera isn't much - its just a cheap Canon point and shoot, but it is SO much better than taking picts on my camcorder and definitely better than nothing at all. So I am so grateful its back and thank goodness for that extra $15 I spent on the extended 2 year warranty so I didn't have to buy a new camera!

Its a Miracle!

I just can't believe it! A miracle was performed today and I am just SO, SO happy about it!

Let me give you a little background first. The house we live in is like 100 years old...well at least 75 anyway. We have a well. The water is better than plain ol' city tap water, but we've got LOTS of minerals in it. That means MAJOR hard water! I guess I should use some kind of water softener or something - that would be the smart thing anyway. So this oh so hideous hard water rears its ugly face everywhere. It jams our sprinklers and shower head. It leaves my dishes (remember no dishwasher!) all cloudy with a nappy white film on it. It leaves crust on the edge of our water purifying pitcher. The worst of all? Our toilet and tub are just COATED with seriously rock. The minerals have probably been building up for at least a decade or 2 or maybe even 3 (I'm assuming thats the last time they were replaced). I've tried everything and I mean EVERYTHING! I tried CLR, bleach, baking soda & vinegar. I've tried special cleaning sprays that say they're for hard mineral deposits. Nothing has even touched the stuff. I even tried a stinkin' brillo pad, but all that did was leave a grey residue (like I needed more junk added!). I even tried using a butter knife to chisel the stuff...but alas, nothing worked. Nothing even came close. And to make things worse, all our drains work super stinky. 9 times out of 10 we're showering in an inch of water (I absolutely HATE that!) and our sink takes forever to drain. AND a couple days ago it stopped draining altogether. I've been beyond frustrated. As a homemaker who's job it is to keep the house clean, its really frustrating to have guests over who will actually see the bathroom. It really is sterile, I swear!

SO, what was the miracle? Clobber.

I had nothing left to lose, so I asked the plumber who's been working at the new studio. He went down the list of things to try and of course I'd tried them all to no avail. So he said the only thing left was to try Clobber. Its this super toxic stuff that I guess you can only buy at a plumbing supply store and only plumbers can buy it. Its like pure acid. It was kinda scary at first...the plumber scared me and the bottle had all these warnings. It came in this super thick plastic sealed bag, so that gives you kind of an idea of the toxicity. Anyway, he said he'd get me some and that he did. I finally did it today and AHHHHHH (that's like an "angels singing"). It's a miracle! Praise the Lord, my tub and toilet are clean again. And my sink and shower drain!

So now it might have burned a hole in the pipes or eaten away our septic tank (no, actually its supposedly supposed to by okay on septics...hopefully!), but my bathroom is now clean!

So Sara, next time you come, you don't have to be afraid to put your kid in the tub (I know you didn't say anything, but I'm sure you were thinking it...I would be!). And you don't have to feel like you should be wearing flip-flops in the shower either.

Three cheers for Clobber!

It's That Time of Year Again...Boo!

It sure is...Tax Time!  For those of you procrastinators out there, don't forget taxes are due tomorrow!  I am definitely one of those procrastinators, but not by choice.  Every year we have to wait on David's paperwork for the studio, which actually came early this year...4 days before taxes were due, as opposed to last year when it came the day before and the year before when it came the morning of.  I just have to say that I LOVE TaxCut!  You can do it for free online if you have easy taxes, or if yours are more complicated (like ours), you can buy the full version.  Lucky for us my dad is close and he has the full version, so every year its like I get my own personal accountant for free (oh, and it helps too that my dad's major in collage was accounting, so I can refer to him for any questions...very handy!).  The best part about it (other than it's SO stinkin' simple!) is that it finds all sorts of things you didn't realize you can write off...like for us, we have so many medical and dental bills each year, that we actually get a great write off.  So after all is said and done our adjusted income comes out to being pretty much nothing at all, so we get a nice check via the government...pretty cool!  Too bad that check won't be going toward anything fun this year...like always we've got too many new medical bills to pay off, but even that is nice to get out of our hair!  So if you haven't done it already, get your buns in gear and finish those taxes!  :)

The Future of Eduction

I know that I haven't posted in a while, in fact I've got all my pictures sitting here waiting, I just haven't got around to it yet.  But some things have come up this week and before I post the fun stuff, I just had to put in my 2 cents about them.  

This week (as many of you may already know or be experiencing yourself), our state has been laying off many, many wonderful teachers.  Our state is in major economic crisis, as is our country (please, out of staters refrain from comments about how great your state is!)  Unfortunately the first budget cuts to be made always seem to be in the education department.  This week at Jonah's school there were 4 teachers, as well as pe instructors, librarians, computer specialists, tutors, teachers assistance...who were handed pink slips.  Our principal next year will become a "teaching principal" meaning she'll teach kindergarten in the morning, while still acting as principal and assume her full principal duties in the afternoon.  How lame is that?  We already only have 12 teachers at our school, now we're down to 8?  And now those teachers who are lucky enough to keep their jobs will have to work that much harder to make up for the lack of pe, computer, library, etc instructors!  Why is it that our government (federal included) cannot see the importance of education?  Why is it that they pay our teachers so poorly in the first place, then cut their salaries, and pass out pink slips?  I was speaking to Jonah's teacher this morning who said that already a first time teacher in our district makes so little that they're eligible for food stamps...food stamps!  And now they're saying that many of those teachers can stay only if they take a 5% pay cut...when they're already eligible for food stamps?  Come on!

Our education system is the future of this country...of the world!  Those future doctors, politicians, lawyers, farmers, etc all go through some sort of education system at some point.  What happens when that system fails?  What happens to our country then?  What is the incentive to become a teacher, go through all of the schooling, rack up the debt, only to be paid pennies or have no job security what so ever?  Who wants to do that?  Will people stop having the desire to teach...then what?  I figure eventually we'll all have to home school anyway...I was just hoping it'd be after my kids graduated :)  But seriously, why is it that our society and economic system feels that we should be paying politicians and big wig government execs SOOO much stinkin' money and our teachers nothing?  Don't even get David started on the subject - he is VERY passionate about it (or rather pissed off!...pardon my french!)...me too.  Because I never had a child in school before, I never knew the issues, but now that I'm "in the know," I've seen the light - or rather darkness.  

So basically I think that educators are majorly being screwed over, spit on, and thrown in the gutter.  Our educators deserve MUCH more than this!

The Weekend

We had an eventful weekend.  Thursday David's parents came to town for a visit.  My poor mother-in-law shattered her kneecap 2 weeks ago, had surgery on the moosh of a bone she had left, and is now trying her darnedest to recoop, all the while not being able to bend her knee for 4 weeks.  Poor thing!  She was a real trooper - we did some shopping while she scooted around in those old people scooters - Jonah loved it and it made things easier for her, but I know she'd much rather be walking.  I'll tell ya though, next time I'm big-o pregnant, I'm gonna use one! :)  While us girls and the little boys hung out, David and his dad did some recording and had a great time doing so.  Its not every day that a father and son get to work on music together!  

Friday night we had a nice dinner together.  David's aunt and uncle were also in town for the weekend, so we made a party of it.  We had lots of fun and many laughs.  Thanks for coming over everyone!  (And thank you Uncle Burt for sharpening my knife!)

Saturday David's parents went home and I was off down south, while the boys were left alone to play.  David took them to the beach where they all saw who would get the most wet.  I, on the other hand, was perfectly dry at a RS conference down south.  We were privileged to hear Julie Beck (the General RS President) speak.  I'll be perfectly honest, I was dreading going.  Saturdays are the only day we have to completely spend together as a family and I really need that each week.  So I went with somewhat of a stinky attitude, but was so glad that I went.  She was a wonderful speaker - a REAL woman - a woman with a family and problems and stresses and worries just like me.  A lot of times I think that I'm doing too much, but yet still not doing enough.  I worry that I don't do my part to spread the word of Christ, or help those around me in need or that I don't do my visiting teaching just right or do enough in my community.  But she reassured me that my responsibility is in the home with my children, teaching them what is right and wrong, teaching them about Christ and their Heavenly Father and His gospel, teaching them to be loving, righteous people.  And if those other things happen, then they happen and horray for me and when my children are old enough, I can do all of those things, but my main focus needs to be on my family.  I was lucky enough to go to a leadership meeting afterward where she spoke.  I wish that all of you women could have participated in both meetings - it really was spiritually and emotionally uplifting!

After my Saturday high, I came home appreciating my family more and had a great night hanging out with old friends.  Sunday was a sad day, though, my crockpot broke into a million pieces :(  So sad.  But we met with some other friends that night for dinner and I ate some of the most amazing meat ever, so all my sadness went away (well at least until I go to use my crockpot again).

So this was definitely one of those posts that probably bored you to tears (sorry 'bout that!), but for memory sake, I had to write it all down for my own self.  Thanks for baring with me!  Hope you all have a great week!

I Love This Man!

I feel like time is just flying by and I haven't had any time to blog about it.  Unfortulately I'm too tired to update you all and I left my camera at my parents.  But I did want to write about one thing...how much I love this man!

David & I celebrated our 8th anniversary about a week & 1/2 ago.  Life hasn't always been smooth sailing for us, but one thing has always remained the same, that we love each other more than ever!  I am SO grateful for him in my life and in my children's lives!  I would do absolutely anything for that man...he means the world to me!  What a wonderful man, husband, father, and friend!  He blesses the lives of all who know him and is just so incredible!

Happy (late) Anniversary, David,

I Love You!!!

OxiClean

(See how white the curtain is now?  This isn't a good picture of the shirt - the shadows make it look like there's still stains, but I promise there are none!)

A few of you asked, so here's the OxiClean products I use:

O.C. Versatile:  I only use it as a laundry booster on my whites and for my extra dirty loads.  The best way to use it is to dissolve some in water in a bowl and soak the clothes in it for a while, which really DOES work.  Jonah once had a white shirt totally covered in chocolate, strawberry juice, and tomatoes that sat for a few days.  I put it in OxiClean for an hour or so and it was cleaner than before the mess.  I've actually had a few shirts that were Jonah's that I've taken out now for Jaxon, that had 4-year old stains on them that I soaked in O.C. and totally got rid of them...crazy, I know (mind you, this doesn't work for ALL old stains!)

O.C. Carpet:  This is great for spots on your carpet & upholstery - I use it all the time.  The Woolite Oxi-Carpet stuff is great too.  When we wrecked our car back in April, we got it back a few months later with 2-month-old soda stains all over the upholstery & floor from the accident, as well as grease and autobody junk from the mechanics (real nice, I know), which had turned black.  It was really nasty.  I tried everything to get it out, but nothing worked.  So I sprayed the rugs and upholstery with Oxi-Clean Carpet spray, left it for a few minutes, then wiped it off with a moist towel.  I was amazed at how good it looked!  My car looked brand new again!

O.C. Laundry Stain Remove Spray:  This is my favorite of them all.  When you discover a stain, spray it and leave it until you're ready to wash it.  I'm tellin' ya, this works the BEST on berry stains...its amazing how fast and good it works!  I don't even put bibs/aprons on my kids anymore...it works that good!

O.C. Instant Stain Remover:  I love this, because its small so I can fit it in my purse (I love mini stuff like this - I also have a mini Febreeze spray I keep in my car!)  

So do I sound like an OxiClean ad yet?  I've found that if the stain isn't coming out, soak it in OxiClean a little longer and (for me at least), it almost always comes out! And make sure you wash it after you O.C. it, or else the stain doesn't completely come out.  Whenever Jonah eats something that will really stain, I always tell him to be careful because it will stain.  Lately he's been saying, "Well Mom, why don't you just Oxi-Clean it!" I hope that at least 1 of these things works for you too (I recommend the carpet & laundry spray the most!)...its changed my laundry world!

My Soap Box

(Thanks to Maxenurse for the image)

I hate politics.  I think its dirty and corrupt.  Therefore I try to stay out of it as much as possible (unlike my husband who LOVES politics and debating).  I'm not naive, I am well informed, but I just don't like it.  I wasn't going to post anything about it, but I just felt like I should voice my beliefs/concerns with those I care about.  

As many of you may know, there's been a debate in California whether or not people who are gay should have the right to marry or not.  In 2000 California voted on this issue resulting in 61% of the people voting against gay marriage.  Just recently 4 CA judges overturned this, saying that it was unconstitutional.  Now we are coming up on voting day again and it again is an issue.  Therefore Prop 8 was created, saying that marriage should only be recognized between a man and a woman.

So what is my view on all of this?  Hmm.  Well first off I do not agree with the gay/lesbian lifestyle.  This does not however mean that I am homophobic, discriminate, or living in the dark ages...I'm far from any of those.  I do not believe that gay people (or anyone for that matter) should be discriminated against.  In saying that, though, I do support Prop 8, which keeps marriage between a man and a woman.  I believe that Prop 8 has been misunderstood.  Since I'm not good with words, I'll just quote from protectmarriage.com:

"Proposition 8 is about preserving marriage; it’s not an attack on the gay lifestyle. Proposition 8 doesn’t take away any rights or benefits of gay or lesbian domestic partnerships. Under California law, “domestic partners shall have the same rights, protections, and benefits” as married spouses. (Family Code § 297.5.) There are NO exceptions. Proposition 8 WILL NOT change this."

Prop 8 will do 3 things:

1. It restores the definition of marriage to what the vast majority of California voters already approved and what Californians agree should be supported, not undermined.
2. It overturns the outrageous decision of four activist Supreme Court judges who ignored the will of the people.
3. It protects our children from being taught in public schools that “same-sex marriage” is the same as traditional marriage, and prevents other consequences to Californians who will be forced to not just be tolerant of gay lifestyles, but face mandatory compliance regardless of their personal beliefs.

I believe that every decision at the polls should be made not because your party or religious affiliation says so, but because YOU believe for or against it.  I have to think, "how will this affect me, how will this affect my children now and in the future?" and then make a decision from there.  I know that if Prop 8 is not passed, then my and my children's lives will be effected.  I love my country and the morals and standards by which it was founded upon, but unfortunately we live in a time where those morals and standards are being compromised, stretched, and destroyed.  I believe that now more then ever we need to stand up for what we believe to be true.

I encourage you to research this yourself and not just make a decision because you are liberal or conservative, democrat or republican.  This is an important issue that will  effect everyone!