Our family doesn’t do as much baby preparation as many families in North America do. We never have any Baby Bedding to buy because we are devoted co-sleepers. We also have a lot of baby things from our previous children, and our baby stuff is rarely put away for long before it is hauled out of storage again!  A year and a half to two years in storage – depending on how soon I start planning for the new baby to arrive (our children are normally 2 – 2.5 years apart so far) then it’s out again. Having four girls in a row also helps – if we ever have a boy we’ll have to do some serious shopping though!

Even though we don’t own a crib, and therefore have never purchased Baby Crib Bedding Sets, I have to admit that I still do admire the cute, trendy, and color co-ordinated offerings of brands like Glenna Jean (especially if I’m in the Babies ‘R Us side of the Toys ‘R Us and spot the cutesy cribs with matching blankets etc.)   I have to admit, I’m one of those moms who really goes in for insect themes.  Ladybugs, dragonflies, butterflies – all super-cute, but I also get excited about frog-inspired themes for some reason…

Still, no matter how tempting the cute bedding sets might be, I can’t express how very thankful I am that I learned about co-sleeping before any of our children were born.  It has saved me so many hours of sleep, and has kept my babies happy and well-fed as well.  Right now I’m in the waiting zone, if there are any new cousins coming in the future for my children (only the Lord knows this is all a ways off for now)  maybe then I’ll get to buy them some froggie crib sheets .

We are home from the wedding…but we forgot to bring our camera to the big event .  We are SO bad about taking pictures!  Now we need to unpack, run to town to get mail/do errands etc. and try to get back into the swing of things!  It always takes us a couple of days to transition to being home again.  We absolutely LOVE going to see our extended family (on both sides), but it does take a lot of time and mental space for the switches back and forth between home and being on the road .  This seems to be increasing with each child we have!  I keep thinking we should try to stay home so we can get into our groove deeper and for longer, but we just can’t resist family events it seems!

My experiences with London don’t extend beyond one of their HUGE airports that I spent many, many hours in on the way to and from Norway.  I went there with my grandmother to visit my father and his wife when they lived in Norway, and it was a great trip!

Even though we didn’t make it into London-proper, I’ve always wanted to visit.  My children would love to see London as well – we have a couple of children’s travelogue type movies on DVD that cover London, and other parts of England, and my oldest daughter always says she’d like to visit England.

For a large-ish family like our own, finding accommodations can be a bit tricky.  Hotels often have limits on the number of people who can stay in a single room, and booking multiple hotel rooms over a period of many days can become expensive quickly!  Sometimes it is more affordable to rent a london apartment for a family instead of a hotel.

Robert and Polly Arnold operate a service booking london apartments for their clients on a personal basis, so if you plan on traveling there in the future for an extended visit, you might want to check them out.  And if you do get to see Big Ben, please consider sending my oldest daughter some pictures!   That is her main reason for wanting to see London .

Well, we are here at our in-laws, we finally made it!  We stopped for some ‘going out’ shoes (now I don’t need to wear my red crocs to the wedding – oh red crocs….I love you…)  BUT, Larry didn’t pack my laptop charging cord, so this is probably the last blogging you’ll see from me before we get back home!  Must conserve battery power!

So, if you don’t hear from me before then, tata!

…who sometimes feels like she needs a vacation!  Over this past week I went for four nights with only 2 or 3 hours a night.  On day five I was starting to cry randomly, for no reason, all day, until I had a nap.  Then I started to feel somewhat human again!  Argh, hormones can be so frustrating!  With melatonin I am getting some sleep now, but it doesn’t feel the same as real sleep, it isn’t as restful, it isn’t as deep, and I’m always afraid that maybe I’m not actually sleeping even though I’m having dream sequences.

It is weeks like this when I feel as though I’d like to win a vacation sweepstakes.  We can’t really afford an exotic vacation, they’re really expensive – that’s where the vacation sweepstakes come in!  Of course, going on vacation wouldn’t change my hormonal state, and would likely on bring MORE stress into my life, but some sunshine would certainly be pleasant!  Italy sounds good.  We still have upwards of three feet of snow on the ground, and it’s already the end of March!  Hard to believe, isn’t it?   I just hope that our road isn’t snowed in again when we head home after the wedding in a few days – when we went out it looked as though it was trying to drift in, and the wind was still blowing!

Larry’s sister is getting married tomorrow, so we are off to her wedding today!  It’s 3 hours away so we’re driving down and spending a couple of days with Larry’s mom (she’s only 30 minutes or so away from the hotel the wedding is taking place at.)

So, if things are a bit quiet around here, you’ll know why!  I will be taking my laptop, but I don’t know how many opportunities I’ll have to be online .

I have very fond memories of taking naps in my grandparents bed at their house with the radio on listening to oldies music. I would lay in their air-conditioned bedroom, tracing patterns in the wallpaper with my eyes as the soft strains of their favorite oldies radio station trickled into my ears.

It is interesting how the hits of the early or ‘golden’ ages of rock ‘n roll have maintained their popularity.  I mean, how can you resist “Big Girls Don’t Cry”?  Somehow the melodies are just so catchy that these classic tunes never seem to go out of style.  Of course, some of their appeal becomes a bit corny or cultish over time, but they’re still very fun!

One of my first CD purchases as a young adult with my own spending money was the greatest hits of Lesley Gore.  You know…”It’s My Party and I’ll Cry if I Want To” fame?  And the lesser known sequel song, “Now It’s Judy’s Turn to Cry”?  Well, while I may not agree with the vengeful sentiments of the songstress now, there’s no denying that she’s indelibly left a mark on American culture for better or worse.

What are your favorite oldies songs?

While the new Sonlight catalog isn’t fully online for ordering until April 4th, you can now download the new catalog or view it online here.  Things have changed a bit, and they have definitely been re-organized.  I’m liking a lot of the organizational changes, but it will take a while to get used to the new nomenclature.

In the meantime, the 2010 product line is still available to buy until April.

Don’t forget, if you are interested in trying Sonlight for yourself, use this referral code when you register with them: JB20316498, and receive $5 off your first order of $50 or more!

Families familiar with Focus on the Family’s wildly popular Adventures in Odyssey series of audio adventures will be thrilled by the release of a new series of ‘ready-for-chapters’ style books that will spur emerging readers on towards reading fluency.  Voyage with the Vikings is the first in this new series of short chapter books (rated at a 1.7 Flesch-Kincaid grade level) that follows cousins Beth and Patrick in their time-traipsing adventures in the Imagination Station.

Filled with non-stop adventure, the cousins’ adventures take them to Greenland where they meet the historic figures Erik the Red and Leif Eriksson in the year 1000 A.D.  After my daughter (7) read this chapter book, she dug out the “V” volume of our encyclopedias to learn more about Vikings, added Erik and Leif to her timeline notebook, and visited the book website to really dig into the topic.  It was a delight to see her so excited about a book!  Homeschooling families looking for an easy reader to ignite an interest in their children about Vikings should definitely put this title on their list!

This is also a great way to engage reluctant readers; the book doesn’t allow for any pauses in the action, it’s one exciting event after another, keeping young readers engaged and on their toes.  After reading the book there is a puzzle in the back to solve.  The resulting secret code can be redeemed at the book website for a free Adventures In Odyssey recording – a bonus my Odyssey loving daughter greatly enjoyed.

As a bonus, these titles are extremely affordable; they are great for any adventure-loving boy or girl.  My daughter INSISTS that I give this title five stars.

CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW AT CHRISTIANBOOK.COM OR AMAZON.COM!

Do you live in or around Franklin, Indiana?  If so, you might be interested in checking out Journey Church in Franklin.  They are a modern, fun, non-denominational church that has live music, teaching, and children’s programs weekly.  They aim to reach out to new believers, those who are just beginning their spiritual journey, and young families.  I like the slogan on their website “We Love Kids!”  We once attended a very small church where our children were the only small people.   There was a handful of teens, some adults, and a majority of seniors.  As sweet as that fellowship was, our children really needed some socialization opportunities with other children.

I know that the wrong kind of socialization is often cited as a reason why children should go to public school, and I’m certainly not talking about that.  However, we do want our little ones to get together with other children and have the chance to form relationships with them.  Church is a great place to do that.  Of course, I also enjoy the chance to get together with fellow believers IN PERSON (though I love my online crews as well).

So if you live in the Franklin area, you might want to check them out – looks like a good time!