The Outspoken Mom Blog

Stop legislating my life!

Good afternoon everyone,

Oh, sometimes I get so worked up and I think this is one of those times!  I don't have a lot of time since my daughter's bus will be here soon but, here goes.

Our lovely state of Minnesota has a bill they are trying to pass that would make it a CRIME to smoke in your OWN car with children in the car.

Now, I think people who smoke are just plain stupid(including my hubby) and I think people that smoke around their children are plain selfish and frankly, I don't think they gives a rats behind about their children HOWEVER, it isn't a crime.  It is stupid but, not a crime.

I think there are so many other things we can spend our tax dollars on and our officers time on besides ticketing people for smoking in, once again, their OWN car.

What is next, your house?  Socialism here we come and it isn't pretty.

http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/38598657.html?cache=n&uccb=1233260567#post_comments

The Peanut Butter Recall

Wow, I hadn't really paid much attention to this however, they just revised their list and it is quite extensive so, I thought I would pass some of it along. 

This is only a portion of the foods they had listed and they are now saying it affects some food all the way back to August 2007!

Here are some of the food products and brands....please do not only take my word for it!  I got these names off the CDC website, please look at that website for the complete list...I take NO responsibility for something I do/don't mention here.

Cookies:

Archer Farms (Target), Cub Foods cookies, Famous Amos, Grandessa, Keebler, Sam's Choice (Walmart/Sam's club), Trader Joe's, Walmart Bakery

Crackers:

Keebler, Little Debbie's

Fruit and Veggies Products(I do not know what this means)

Trader Joe's

Snack Bars:

Arbonne, Clif Bars, GNC, Luna, Larabar, Nutrilite, Nestle, NutriPals(toddler/kid), NutriSystem, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Zone, ZonePerfect

Again, this is just a sample of the products listed...check out the whole list.

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/peanutbutterrecall/index.cfm#Brownie

Good luck and go through those pantry's!!

Liza

7 words I never thought I would hear my husband yell

Ok, my husband understands that sometimes, there is something that happens that you just can't help but, tell people about, this is one of those times!

So, tonight, The Schwab family was in rare form.  We were all goofing off, laughing, giggling, and pretty much bouncing off the walls.  The children and I were laughing out loud as we tried to clean up the kitchen before dad got home from work.

I had everyone helping but, the baby and wow, I think we were at certain points, making a bigger mess than we were cleaning but, we were 'teamwork!' so, it didn't matter.

Daddy walked in the door and we just giggled some more and dad joined in our crazies.  The dinner just got more and more nuts!  Our 5 year old learned about China today in school so, she told us all about the Great Wall.  So, Steve looked it up on his Blackberry and we learned more.  Well, we learned how to count in Chinese (well, we learned 1 and 10 as that is all our 5 year old could remember) and somehow, all of that got us into doing karate chops, kicks, and everything else karate.

Yes, all started at the dinner table, gravitated to the kitchen and finally mom(me) said, 'enough'.  Dad kept going a few more times, lol.

So, our 6 year old had dance tonight so, she was getting ready for dance, and I hear my husband say 7 words I never imagined he would yell at the children....."Who put the gum in my hair?!!"

I have to tell you all, I am still laughing about that and almost peed my pants! 

I think this is all just things you sort of shrug your shoulders at when you become a parent.  You just can't believe some of the things you are saying sometimes, doing sometimes and what on Earth are those crazy little things around you doing?!

As I came upstairs to write my blog, I had another, "WTF, is that?! moment(obviously I didn't abbreviate).  I am walking, thankfully, in my slippers into my office and there is a crunch, crunch, crunch on the ground and I can feel piles of things on the floor.  I look down and can't see anything but, obviously, there is stuff on the floor in my office that wasn't there this morning!

I look down again.  Now, you have to picture my floor, we have the old Asbestos tiles in my office that are dark, dark brown with some speckles in them so, hard to see things on the floor.  Especially with the 60 watt light way up in the ceiling and dark wood walls, it is a little dark in my office.

I get down and feel the floor with my hand, just at that moment, I glance over and see the empty bag of chips on the floor.  Oh my gosh, who the heck was eating chips and spilled them all over the floor?!

Well, the little heart purse with all the Webkinz and Littlest Pet Shop codes all over tell me it was my 6 year old but, when did she do this?  Seriously, there was only a 15-20 minute window she could have done this in.

Oh well, I will sweep it up.  Just another one of those well, I could scream, yell, get mad moments or just shrug it off to having children.

Like 2 nights ago when the children decided to 'decorate' their bedrooms and the upstairs hallway by drawing on the walls.  Well, been there done that with them before, however, AWWWWWW!  This time, they decided to use ball point pen and 'etch' their names into our tongue and groove wood walls and trim!  Oh yes, another one of those do I scream and yell or just shrug it off moments.

Obviously, I didn't shrug it off but, I tried to keep the yelling to a minimum but, had to scare them a little bit didn't I?  Man, this house has been standing for almost 65 years and no child had managed to 'etch' their names into the wood upstairs until mine!

Oh the damage we have done to this poor little house.  I really feel bad for it sometimes. 

There are so many of those wow moments that children bring into your lives.  So many things that come out of our mouths that we thought we never would say let alone ever though anyone would say! 

Things we have dealt with from the children...oh here is another!  My 5 year old has been waiting 8 months to change our baby's diaper.  Finally today I shrugged my shoulders and said, "Sure, why not."  Famous last words!

So, she is changing the diaper, of course, it happens to be a poopy diaper, usually they run when they see these but, oh no, our 5 year old is thrilled I am finally letting her change a diaper.  So, diaper is off, I tell her to wipe the bottom.  Well, she wipes, gets sort of freaked out by the poop and drops the poop on the brand new rug in the basement.  I again, just smile, laugh and can't believe what came out of my mouth.  "Oh look, you dropped the poop on the carpet."  I was laughing so hard I could barely pick it back up. 

How does this happen in life?  When does something like poop on a rug, etched names in your wood walls, gum in your husbands hair become your comedy in life?

I think my husband is right, God does have a sick sense of humor.

Hope I made you smile, I am still just giggling about the gum in the hair thing.  I can barely contain myself!

Now, I still don't know how my husband got gum in his hair or even who put it there but, oh gosh, good stuff.

I need to stop writing and go have a Wii contest with my son.

Blessings to you all and find those little things in life to laugh about!

If you can't laugh at yourself and your own situations, who can you laugh at?

-Liza

PS:  After I wrote this, the girls came home from dance class and I asked who spilled the chips in my office.  Oh, just another one of those moments of things I never thought I would hear.  My 6 year old says to me, "Oh, that was sister, she dumped the chips over my head."  WHAT?!  So, as I am cleaning them up tonight as my husband is putting them to bed and praying for them, I find myself saying something I never thought I would say to my 5 year old daughter.  "Please don't pour chips over your sisters head again."

She promptly says, "Sorry" in her sweet little voice and goes to bed.  Ah, a moments peace.  Wonder what things will come out of my mouth tomorrow?

Influenza VS "Stomach Flu/24 hour Flu" aka viral Gastroenteritis

Ok, so I have been hearing a lot of people are getting sick and the 24 hour 'bug' is going around.

So, I thought I would take the time to write about the difference between the real flu and just a stomach virus.

Influenza:

First of all, the flu very rarely has diarrhea or vomiting involved.  Sometimes young children will get it with the flu but, it is not very common.   Also, the flu can ONLY be diagnosed going to the doctor and getting tested for it through a nasal swab.  I highly recommend this as you can get the flu medicine they have out there and if you 'catch' it within 48-72 hours, you can take this medicine and it will greatly reduce the strength and duration of the flu.

A typical flu 'outbreak' for lack of a better word lasts around 5-7 days.  There is no such thing as the 24 hour flu or the stomach flu!  That is something completely different.

Symptoms of Influenza/the flu:

-first, it comes on suddenly - fever(usually high and can last @3 days)

-headache    - extreme fatigue    - dry cough     -runny or stuffy nose

-sore throat     -muscle aches     -sometimes stomach issues but, it is most common in younger children not adults

Complete recovery from the flu usually takes about 1-2 weeks however, the fatigue can last longer.

Influenza is a Respiratory Illness caused by the influenza virus.

Call 911 if:

-Baby younger than 3 months old has a high fever

-you have trouble breathing

-you have a stiff neck, are confused, or are having troubles staying awake

Call the doctor:

if your fever lasts longer than 3 days, you start wheezing, you have new pain develop.

The Stomach Flu, aka 24-hour flu is really Viral Gastroenteritis.

Symptoms include:

-diarrhea, fever, headache(usually from dehydration), dehydration, vomiting.  Usually comes on a bit more slowly and can take 1-3 days for full symptoms to come up.  Tends to last until all the 'virus' is out of the system which, is usually about 12-24 hours.  Hence the '24 hour flu'.

It is caused by parasites in soil, from wild or domestic animals, and humans.  Germs from infected things get into your stomach via your mouth.  Meaning, you didn't wash your hands after touching something/someone infected.  ONLY way to prevent is by washing your hands. 

I also strongly recommend not eating lemons, limes or orange slices from restaurants or bars.  As many of these and other diseases/viruses come from people not washing their hands properly and not ONE restaurant or bar I ever worked at or know of washes their lemons, limes, and oranges before cutting them up and serving them in your water, mixed drink, beer or on your plate.  Yep, did you know that is the NUMBER ONE place people get food poisoning and other Gastroenteritis things from?  If you talk to most food service inspectors, they don't eat what they call, 'bar fruit'.

So, skip the water with lemon unless you are doing it at home and even then, make sure you wash it first.

So, in this wintertime of being couped up with a lot of other people, remember to wash your hands and sanitizers are not, I repeat, NOT enough to keep these things at bay.  In fact, they actually open the door to other diseases and germs to come into your body because you kill all the good bacteria on your skin too!  Plus, many times, the sanitizer just rubs the germs around not killing them.  I also don't recommend anti-bacterial soaps either, they kill all bacteria, good and bad.

Just wash with good old fashioned soap.   Good luck to everyone and try and stay healthy.  And for goodness sake, quit drinking water with lemon or cuba libra's!(that's rum and cokes with a lime)

-Blessings to you all,

Liza

Scare tactics and vaccines

Good Afternoon everyone!

Well, again today I went to the headlines to find my blog story.  The headline today came from our local newspaper the Star Tribune (www.startribune.com).  The headline that caught my eye was this, "Minnesota reports rise in children's infectious disease." 

I quickly click on the headline wondering what it is and again questioning myself and my decision to not vaccinate our 4th child.  So, I click on it and it says, "State health officials today, citing a surge in the illness known as HiB, advised parents to make sure their children are fully vaccinated."

Now, I quickly breathe a little sigh of relief as that is the ONE vaccine we did choose to do on our daughter as it has the least amount of side effects and it truly is one of the diseases that hits babies the hardest.  So, then I read on.

It says that Minnesota health officials are worried about a 'surge' in cases of HiB (Haemophilus influenza type B) and that they believe it is due to a shortage of the vaccination last year.  They then proceeded to talk about how they 'think' Minnesota doctors because they knew of the shortage were having children skip their 3rd and 4th boosters of it.

It was also mentioned that 1 in 5 children didn't receive their required Hib shot in 2008 which leads them to believe that the doctors were having problems finding the shot. 

Now, I do know this is a horrible disease and that is why we did vaccinate our baby for this one particular disease because it tends to hit babies and usually isn't a factor in children after age 5.

However, the 'surge' in new cases went from 1 or 2 a year in Minnesota to 5 in 2008.  Yes, percentage wise, that is a big jump however, if you think of the number of children in the state of Minnesota, and the number that do not vaccinate at all, and the number of children that missed their 3 and 4th shots of this vaccine, going from 1 or 2 a year up to 5 isn't really what I would call a 'surge' or something I would really see as needing to be a 'warning to parents' about vaccinating their children.  Especially as almost 1 in 150 children are diagnosed with Autism each year.

I do struggle daily with the decisions we are making with all of our children and I especially struggle with knowing if I am making a wise decision or not in not vaccinating our baby.  It is sort of a catch 22 place I am in.  I would never forgive myself if I vaccinated our daughter and she ended up being diagnosed with Autism however, I also would never forgive myself if I didn't vaccinate her and she got some horrible disease or something that could have been prevented with a shot.

No one ever said parenthood was easy but, no one ever said it was this hard either.  I think educating ourselves and not relying on the newspaper or any other media and not relying on just that well, they are a doctor, they must know best mentality.

I cannot recommend this book enough to help in your journey to educate yourself on vaccines.  The book is "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations."  By Stephanie Cave, M.D., F.A.A.F.P. and Deborah Mitchell

It really helped me in my understanding what each vaccine is, what disease it prevents and what the side effects are.

Blessings to you all,

liza

January 22, 1973, a tough subject.

Good Afternoon Everyone.

I want to warn you all that what I am going to write about today will probably be controversial.  It is something that weighs very heavy on my heart being both a Christian and a parent and I don't think it is nearly the black and white issue people believe it is and there is a dangerous slope our country could easily slide down without even knowing what we are doing.

Sigh, big inhale, big exhale.  The subject is Abortion.  I am sure I lost a few people right there with that word.  However, I hope the rest of you left continue to read through my blog all the way and try to have an open mind.

I am writing this because I just read something on the Drudge Report about a 32 year old man ramming his SUV into the front of a Planned Parenthood in Ramsey County.  However, that wasn't the headline!  The headline reads, "Minn. abortion clinic rammed by SUV -- on Roe v Wade anniv....."

Quite the catchy headline for sure!  About a year ago I wrote to the editor of our local city newspaper about all of the mislead people who had been writing to the editor about a proposed Planned Parenthood (PP from now on) in Richfield.  Everyone was saying, 'not in MY town', 'we don't want abortions here', only big city folk have abortions, etc.

Let me first say, I have been all over the map in my beliefs about abortion.  Really, all over the map!  However, now that I am a parent and a Christian, I feel where I am is where I will be.  At our old church it was put in a way I will never forget and that finally made sense to the whole pro/against abortion issue. 

Until we(you and I) are able to stand up behind these women who feel abortion is their only option and walk beside them, we can't condemn them.  What that means is, we can't just tell them, don't have an abortion or tell them about adoption choices.  We need to find out more.  We need to stand with these women/girls and lift them up.  Help them with their most basics needs and that might be anything from housing, to a job, to support, to helping them finish school, to whatever place they are at in their life. 

Our pastor told a very good tale of what it means to stand up and walk with one of these girls.   Not sure how he started it but, there were 2 women who had been friends for a long time, raised their families together, etc.  In fact, their children often called the other one their aunt instead of just a friend of their moms.  One day one of the women's daughter came up to the other one and told her she was pregnant and scared to tell her mom and that she wanted her to go with her to have an abortion.  Well, this woman told her she would stand next to her while she told her mom.

The girl was scared that her mom would kick her out of the house among other things.  The woman told her if she did, she would take her in even if it caused stress in their friendship.  She believed it was far more important to help this girl out and to help her so she wouldn't have an abortion. 

Well, they did tell the mom(this woman's long time friend) and the mom did kick the girl out and stopped talking to her friend too.  So, the woman had the girl move in, she helped her find a job after school to save up some money and helped her with school and such.  After the baby was born, the girl decided to keep the baby and the woman that had taken her in then helped as she could with watching the baby while the girl finished high school.

Now a friendship was lost as the women never did get that back however, a life was saved.  Not just the baby's life but, the girls too.  The ending of the story is the girl did end up graduating from high school and even went on to graduate from college.  It wasn't easy but, she is so grateful she didn't have that abortion and she is also very grateful that she had an adult other than her parents to talk to and turn to in her time of struggle.

So, our pastor said, unless we are willing to step in and help out, we cannot judge those for their decisions because we don't know their circumstances and we don't know if this girl/woman was raped, or if her parents would throw her out, or if even something as just shame about her situation.  If we don't know what they are going through, it is very hard to judge them.

I struggle a lot with the people that stand outside of clinics and yell at these women/girls going in and telling them they are baby killers and they need to change their minds.  Or the worst are the ones that say God hates them or God is going to condemn them.  You don't think that these women/girls have already in a way condemned themselves?How often is it we hear stories of people walking up to these girls/women walking into these clinics and genuinely talking to them, trying to find out their story, asking how they can help, asking them what they need?

It is time that we let God do the judging and we try to be more like Jesus and walk with these women/girls.

Now, my 2nd point with this whole subject.  Planned Parenthood or PP is NOT just an abortion clinic.  In fact, there is only one PP in the entire state of Minnesota that actually performs abortions and that is the one in St. Paul. 

PP is NOT in the business of trying to eradicate babies like so many people think.  PP is in the business to try and to prevent unwanted pregnancies from happening in the first place however, if they do happen, they want to give women/girls another option too.  However, what many people don't know is PP also does adoption counseling and placement, STD testing and education, HIV tests, annual exams/PAP smears, birth control, body image help, men's health, pregnancy planning, pre-natal care, infertility, help for parents in talking with their children about sex, and the list goes on and on! 

They are really in the business to help and to educate people.  They provide low cost exams, low cost and sometimes free birth control, they educate every person that walks through one of their doors about pregnancy, birth control, STD's. 

In a time of rising STD's among our youth ages 15-25 (with Syphilis making a comeback), rising health care costs, more and more people without health insurance.  PP is not in the business of 'killing babies'.  They are so much more than just an 'abortion clinic'.  They are a great help to the community and to parents and children alike in educating people so that hopefully they won't get themselves into a bad situation.

So, next time you see a PP please don't cringe and think that person walking in there must be a baby killer.  Also, unless you are willing to walk with someone in their journey, please don't condemn them.  You don't know what they are going through and you haven't walked in their shoes.

Blessings to you all and I hope I don't lose any of you as readers, I hope I just got you to think a bit.

-Liza

Grace and Peace

Good evening everyone.

Life has been a little busy lately.  I am throughly enjoying every minute of it though!

I had my 2nd week of Bible study today and I have to say, Galatians is the place to start!  At least for me it is.  It has really opened my eyes to a few things already and I can really feel God speaking to me through this book in the Bible.  I do love how God works, it is just amazing to me.

I have also had it reaffirmed to me that we aren't 'lucky' we are 'blessed'.  Things don't happen to us because we worked hard for something or because we deserve it!  Things happen to us because it is God's will and if we are following his word, he will show us the way.  It is very true.

I learned today that God gives us Grace and without God's Grace, you cannot have Peace.  So true!!!

I know this for fact.  There is no reason my husband and I should be together.  Absolutely no reason.  Many of you know our story and there is nothing we did to get ourselves to become a family.  We know that only by the Grace or God did we become a family and find our Peace.

Our story is long however, I think it is truly a testament to God's love and enduring love for us.

Steve and I dated for about a year.  Things happened, we broke up.  Well, we were not really 'walking with the Lord' in our relationship or in our break up.  About 2-3 months after we broke up, I found out I was pregnant.  Not good!  I called Steve to let him know and he promptly said, "It isn't mine."   A lot of things happened that summer when I found out I was having a baby. 

People I didn't know rallied around me.  Steve's brother in law got me involved with an Alpha group at a church and I was starting to find a peace within me I had never felt before.  I didn't have a good job for I had quit my really good job with free health/dental benefits and great wages just weeks before I found out I was pregnant and I was only working part time that summer.  There is absolutely no reason I should have been as calm as I was.

Even my mother rallied around me.  She was very supportive, loving and helpful.  It was truly a blessing.  I had more friends than I had ever had in my life!   People were coming out of the woodwork to walk beside me in my pregnancy.  Not all were Christians but, I know all of them were sent by God.

Steve and I very rarely talked during my entire pregnancy, in fact, he actually had a girlfriend while I was pregnant.  Now, for those of you who knew me before I got pregnant, I was sort of 'psycho' when it came to many ex-boyfriends.  I would freak out a lot especially if I knew they had left me to go to another girl.  I never had been so 'peaceful' about anything in my life.  It was something I couldn't explain but, I knew even though things on paper seemed really bad, things were going to be just fine.  I wasn't in denial, I was just calm.

Then came that fateful day; October 15, 2000 (the birthday of a good friend of mine).  I pray I never forget that day and how I felt that very moment!  I went to church that morning, just like every other morning.  I knew Steve was dating someone however, I had never seen them together, until church!

I was sitting in my usual spot toward the back and happened to glance toward the doors.  I instantly started to breathe heavy and all the peace and calm I had felt instantly was wiped away.  There was Steve standing in the doorway with his new girlfriend, talking to his sister(who happened to be a pastor at the church) and they each had their little to go coffee's in their hands.  My mind instantly filled with all sorts of thoughts and panic moments.  How could he?  Did they sleep together since they have coffee in their hands?  Oh, the thoughts, the feelings, it was unbearable.   I had to get out of there but, the worst part was, I was going to have to walk right past both of them!  Would she recognize me?  Did she even know about me?  Oh the stress, the emotions, I couldn't handle it anymore.

I quickly stood up and walked as fast as I could past them with my head down.  Did they see me?  Oh, I didn't care, just get me out of here!  I barely made it to the bathroom before the tears and flood of emotions filled up inside of me.  They burst out and I fell to the floor in a slow motion heap.  I just sat in the corner, with my legs curled up to my chest and just sobbed into my hands.  I couldn't help it.

A woman walked into the bathroom and asked if I was ok.  I told her I was fine.  Of course, I totally wasn't and I really didn't look it!  She asked if I needed any help, I just told her no.

She went into the stall and when she came out she washed her hands, looked at me in the mirror and said, "I know you are pregnant.  I know that something happened with your ex-boyfriend and I would like to help you.  Would you come sit with my family and I during service today?"  I was shocked!  How did she know?  I was barely showing and besides, my legs were pulled up to my chest!  Did she know me?  Did she know Steve?  Did someone send her in here to check on me?  I asked her how she knew.  She said she didn't however, when she walked into the stall, she prayed for me and God told her I needed help and I was pregnant and my boyfriend had caused me some great pain.  WHAT?! 

Something about that comment, instantly stopped my tears.  I told her she was right about me being pregnant and told her what had just happened in church.  She helped me up, I washed my face and followed her out of the bathroom.  As we approached the auditorium, she whispered to me, don't look at him, don't think about him, just follow me and focus on the stage.  I did. 

During the sermon, the pastor seemed to be focused and talking to me the whole time, what was going on here?  I normally would be very self-conscious however, I felt that inner 'peace' again.  It was much stronger this time though.  I sat through the service, thanked the woman and her family and went home.

I was just south of downtown Minneapolis when it 'hit' me.  I started laughing, crying, and screaming all at the same time!  I smiled, cried, and screamed(in joy) some more.  I laughed super hard and said, "Thank you God, thank you!"  I quickly dialed my church's phone number for we had a hotline called, "Braggin on God".  I left a message telling them what I had just experienced.  Again, wow, just amazing!  I laughed some more and then, just started to weep.  Not out of sorrow but, out of joy.

Why?  Because as I hit that bend in 35W just south of Downtown, it all hit me.  Everything, and I mean everything that had just happened at church that morning, I had dreamed about the night before.  Right on down to what I was wearing!  The whole thing I had dreamed about and I had forgotten until the drive home.

I had dreamed that Steve and his girl friend came into church with their coffee, I had dreamed, I couldn't handle it and went to the bathroom, I had dreamed someone came into the bathroom and said, "I know you are pregnant."  The person who came into the bathroom was different but, the words and actions were the same.  I had even dreamed of the exact spot of where I sat with her family!  Even the pastor speaking to me, directly to me was in my dream.  It was crazy and fantastic all at once.

I instantly knew my life would never be the same again.  I knew from that moment on, my life would be dedicated to God and I would follow him.  I knew everything would be ok and I knew finally, I knew that God really did exist.  Not just in the Bible, not just to other people, he really existed in my life and he knew I had to be hit over the head with a hammer to finally trust in him and follow him.

Sunday, October 15, 2000.  The day I was 'born again'.

So, the rest of my pregnancy went along fine.  I still had a lot of people rallying around me.  I had great friends and a good small group in my Alpha group.  Even old friends I hadn't seen in a while came out of the woodwork and just walked beside me.

Then, early February, I get a call.  It is Steve.  He is wondering how I am doing and if I have any more birthing classes left.  A quick update...I had kept him informed of all of my appointment, classes, and such.  Not because I wanted him there but, I didn't want him to ever say, "I never knew" or "You didn't tell me."

So, I tell Steve I have one birthing class left and he asks me if he can come to it.  I say yes.  Again, not because I want him but, he is the father, I won't deny him being there if he chooses.

He goes with me for the last class...which weirder yet, is on February 14, 2001.  So, we finish the class and all of a sudden, he wants to be at the birth.  Ok.  I am still really calm.  Not like the 'normal' Liza or I should say the past Liza. 

I was due March 22, 2001.  I am overdue.  Steve is around a bit more because it is close to my due date.  Saturday, March 31, 2001 I start having a few things happening.  It is weird.  I am set to be induced on Monday, April 2nd.  Then, Sunday, April 1st I am at church with Steve.  His sister walks by me and says, "Liza!  You are in labor aren't you!"  I said, "I think so." But, nothing was too steady. 

All day on Sunday, I am feeling weird.  However, no, I can't have a baby on April Fools Day!  But, I don't want to be induced in the morning either.

I need to be at the hospital Monday morning at 7am for my induction.  Steve is planning on spending the night on the couch so he can be there in the morning plus, I have had contractions all day. 

At just after 10pm, I need to get some sleep.  I get ready for bed, Steve comes in and tucks me in and prays for me/with me.  It is just about 1030 pm.  He prays we have a save delivery and covers me in prayer for safety and comfort.

Before he is completely done with the prayer, my contractions are about 2-3 minutes apart.  I didn't want to be induced in the morning but, I also didn't want an April Fools baby! 

We walk over to the hospital(I lived right behind it).  Yep, in labor.  Contractions are every 2-3 minutes and gaining strength.  They tell me I should have a baby in a couple hours.  Yeah!  I don't have to be induced! 

Well, I checked in at 11pm Sunday night.  I labored all night and all day.  Finally at 320pm Monday, April 2, 2001 Seth Christian was born.  Steve was there the whole time, so were a lot of other people!  Steve held my hand, stroked my hair and was so great and so calm.

When Seth was born, they handed him to Steve and Seth looked up at him and just yelled at him! (We have a great photo of that moment!)  I will never forget the moment and my life has never been the same since.

Steve came around and stayed around.  He was at my condo everyday after work.  He slept in Seth's room on the floor for the first two weeks and would bring me Seth when it was time to feed him.  He was great.

Over the summer Steve and I started to talk about trying to date each other again.  I was re-baptized that summer by Steve's sister on July 14, 2001; my 29th birthday. 

I went back to work beginning of September, actually, September 11, 2001 was my first day back at work and away from Seth.  He was at home with my mom and Steve was at work.  Right before I walked out the door to work, I saw a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Centers.  Wow, it was a sight.  I thought not a lot of it.  Until I was in the car and heard the radio host say, "Oh my God, another plane just hit the other tower, Oh my God, this isn't an accident!" 

I got to work, called Steve and he said, he heard the whole thing over the mic at work from the New York offices.  I told him to get out of his building and go get Seth! 

Well, I will never forget where I was at that moment just like many of you and I will never forget my feelings.  However, as Steve says, we are one of those couples who 'got together' after 9/11.  For within a week or two of 9/11 we decided we should get married.

We got married December 22, 2001.  We are still married and now have 4 children :-)

We know that God brought us together, we know that we wouldn't have the family we have now if it wasn't for God and we both know that we have nothing if we don't have God in our lives and in our children's lives.  Our family wouldn't exist without God.  I also believe he chose certain dates that would have meaning and would help me never to forget his love.

Most of the people that had surrounded both Steve and myself(individually) during my pregnancy are not in our lives anymore.  It was definitely a God thing those people.  Steve's Bible Study group disbanded shortly after Seth was born, my Alpha group sort of faded away after our wedding.

It wasn't because we pushed them away, I truly believe those people were put in my life and in Steve's life to set our path in motion and to bring me to Christ and Steve back to Christ.  Even though we don't have contact with many of those people anymore they will forever be a part of our walk with God and be a huge part of our faith journey.  God really does give you what you need in life.

Without God, we wouldn't have Grace and without Grace, we wouldn't have the Peace we have felt over the 7 years of ups and downs of marriage and parenthood.

Grace, Peace, Joy, Love.  We have it all and we have it all because we have God.

Blessings to you all,

Liza

Baby Sign Language

Good Morning everyone!  It is absolutely beautiful outside here today in good ole Minnesota.  Yes, it is overcast but, it is lightly snowing and the temp is supposed to reach a very balmy 25 today.  My husband said he is going to walk around all day with his shirt off it is so warm.

For those of you not from Minnesota, for the past few days it has been 25 below zero without the windchill so, this feels like summer to us!

So, today I am writing about baby sign language.  I am a HUGE believer in baby sign and think it takes a lot of stress from the parents and the baby when they are able to communicate with each other a bit more.  I used baby sign with my first 3 and we never experienced temper tantrums or the terrible twos like so many people do and I believe it is because our children were able to communicate with Steve and I what they wanted so, they didn't get frustrated.

Now, as far as temper tantrums go now....WOW, we definitely have them at ages 5, 6, and 7, lol.

So, I was a big believer of baby sign even before I had children.  In college my foreign language was ASL(American Sign Language) so, I already knew a lot of signs and once I heard you could teach them to children, I was sold on the idea!

I remember teaching our son (who was our first born) signs, he picked them up pretty fast and before you knew it, he was making up his own signs and pretty much had a full vocabulary of signs!  He loved signing, I think it helped him to feel like a 'big boy' and he was such a happy go lucky little guy.  Of course, it has been 6 years since he was signing so, I can't remember a lot of his signs but, they were really cute.  I even have a picture of him at Costco in their parking lot of him making his made up sign for fire hydrant standing in front of one.  Fire hydrants were his favorite thing when he was a baby and wouldn't you know it, starting at age 3 he said he wanted to be a fireman.  That is still the job he is going to be but, now he is going to be a volunteer firefighter so that he can draw and design buildings for a job.  These are all his words not mine, love that guy!

So, we also did baby sign with our 2 older daughters and they did well with it too.  Our son loved teaching the girls signs and so, it was a family effort.  I think the only person who suffered in all of this was my poor hubby who only knew a few signs.

Now it is our time to teach our youngest her signs.  I actually had to buy a book to refresh myself however, it is working wonders!  She says, "all done" when she wants out of her high chair, she this morning for the first time did her sign for 'nap' and she is working really hard on her sign for 'water'.   I am sure 'kitty' will be the next sign after that.  Now if only I could remember the sign for dog!

She is our only child that has no interest in bananas which is a bummer because that sign was always a Schwab favorite! 

I do remember from learning baby signs with the other three that food signs were hard to find.  I remember those signs were mostly the ones we made up because all the foods in the baby sign language books wasn't food we were eating.  I remember we made up the sign for strawberry, beans, cereal bar, and spaghetti.

Now of course, I can't even remember our made up signs!  I think I am going to have to do a refresher course in sign language for our baby now.

I really believe that teaching our children baby sign language can really take a lot of the frustration out of babyhood and parenthood.  Yes, it takes a little bit of effort from the parents however, it is well worth it.

I think I have stated my theory before but, I really don't believe there is such thing as 'unexplained colic' in baby's.  I believe a lot of it has to do with their diet or the nursing mothers diet and their environment, their schedules and how attentive the parents are to their children's needs.

I think a lot of us really do the best we can.  I just know that I really couldn't handle the stress of a baby that cried all the time.  I will go again with something I heard once when our first was born.  "God wouldn't have babies cry that loud and often, if something wasn't wrong."

I need to go and get our super busy Saturday started :-)  We have Cub Scouts swimming, cartwheel clinic(both at the same time across town from each other, should be interesting with one car.) then tonight my husband is taking our 3 oldest to MONSTER JAM!  Oh yea, going to see a little monster trucks!  Our children all love Monster Jam and look forward to it every January.  And every January they go to it.  They had to miss it last year because it was so gosh darn cold but, this year, they were going to go no matter what so, I am grateful it is warmer since it is downtown at the Metrodome.

This will be our 5 year old's first year, she is our "Can I go to bed now." child so, I pray she will be ok and not get too tired as they usually don't get home until around 11pm.

I will let you know how they all did.

Blessings to you all,

-Liza

Book Club and it's stresses.

Good morning everyone!

So my baby...well, my 5 year old baby, is sick again today.  It makes me so sad because she is the one who just sits there looking so sad and her eyes are constantly watering as she is trying to hold back tears.  It breaks my heart when she gets sick.  She is carrying her little bowl around and laying on the couch when she doesn't feel like she is going to throw up.  She hasn't eaten anything in over 24 hours, oh my poor baby!

We are taking her in this morning to see if she has the flu.  Hopefully the doctor will take the focus off of me not giving her a flu shot and be able to keep it on my sick 5 year old.

So, last night was my first book club.  YES, I just started a Bible Study for the first time on Tuesday and now I am in a book club for the first time too, all in one week.  Let me tell you, I probably should have been in a book club years ago.  I just sat on the couch and listened to all the ladies discuss all these authors and books and realized, I had never heard of one.  Seriously, they had read them all!  So, I started making jokes when I noticed a title that had also become a movie.  Seriously, unless some of these books hadn't become a movie, I wouldn't have heard of ONE!

I was thinking back, when does reading begin?  Like reading for pleasure, I guess it really never happened for me.  Or actually, I do go in spurts.  I am one of those people though that will never go out of my comfort zone with anything, including reading.  If I haven't heard a bunch about something or whatever, I won't do it.

I do remember when I was growing up LOVING the V.C. Andrews books and how I would get a new one and I would read it in a day or less.  However, I think my deal with reading is I get too involved with characters and the books really start to blur reality for me.

I am really big into Nelson Demille, he by far is my favorite author however, he only comes out with a new book every other year.  HELLO?!  Doesn't he know I read his new books in a couple days?!  I have yet to get his newest book.  I asked for it for Christmas but, alas, no one gave it to me :-(

I have also discovered as I have gotten older, I really only like reading Hardcovers.  The paperbacks always are flimsy and the ink seems to get on my fingers a lot more, sort of like a newspaper.  I know, I am weird, you are just figuring this out now?!

So, we picked out, actually, they picked out our first and 2nd books.  The first one is something about a marble ceiling or something and the other one is something about revolutionary or something.

Oh yes, I really tried to listen, I really tried.  I couldn't do it.  Once I realized how behind and really how little reading I do and how these books all sounded like one chick flick after the other, I spaced out.  I am really trying to become sort of, 'one of the moms'.  Hard to explain but, I really am not involved in a lot of activities with other women.  I never really have been.  I have always stayed away or on the outer fringes of groups and such. 

As I am starting this Bible Study and this book club, I am really trying to expand my world and get out there more but, wow, this is going to take a lot of energy and time for me.  I am not organized, and I am not very good socially.  So, these two things are really going to test my skills in both areas far more than they have been tested in a long time.

I know that my children will be better for having a mother who is more well rounded (and not just in the hips!) and is able to have friends and social groups.  However, after last night, I am not sure if I am that woman!  Don't get me wrong, our book club is only once a month, I definitely will continue with the book club however, the social part of it all, might be too much to handle for me. 

As I sat there last night, listening to one woman after another after another talk and discuss things I had no clue about and then, people I didn't know, places I wasn't sure about and such, I realized, that isn't me at all!

I don't know a lot of people and I don't know a lot about things however, I am very happy and I love my life and my family so, I feel that is ok.  I will say it, I felt very uneducated last night.  VERY!  I don't like that feeling.  I haven't felt it in a long time but, I did last night.  I also felt way in over my head socially as they continued to bring up more and more people that are going to be joining this book club.  How on earth do you type a scream?!!! 

So, I am being tested, I am being pulled, and I feel doubt sinking in.  I know I am smart, I know I am educated, I know I have friends, and I know well, no, I still know I am not good socially.  However, I guess this is one of those teaching moments.  I guess it is true that life is always a lesson.  You always have something to learn and you can never know enough or too much.

Ok, I get that.  I think some of my stress also comes from the family side too.  All of a sudden I am doing something not only on Wednesday nights(soccer) but, now one Thursday a month I am doing something else in the evening.  This is going to cause some strive down the road, I know it.  It already started last night because the baby was up a lot while I was gone and Steve needs to go to bed early since he gets up so early.

Or, is this just another excuse?  Is this just another way that Satan is trying to keep me out of the word and trying to turn me from God and his people?  Or is this just my own insecurities rising up?

Whatever the case, I am stressed today, very stressed however, I can do it, I know once I pick up that book and read it and get going into this club, I can do it.  I also know that my stress level and anxiety level will be high with each group until I get more comfortable with some of the ladies I don't know.  Come on Liza!  You know 3 other ladies in there, get over yourself!

Anyway, I need to focus on my 5 year old and I need to do all my daily things, laundry, cleaning, and I need to find some time to study for Tuesday.

Blessings to you all,

-The basketcase :-)  Liza

Pain and unsure of the right decisions

Good morning everyone!

Ok, if you are in Minnesota, another brrrrrr morning.  I think we are almost out of the deep freeze though.  I really didn't want to bring the baby out in todays weather but, I knew I had to drive my 5 year old to preschool and I had a friend finally coming to a Zumba class with me today.

Well, my 5 year old set the course of the day in a different direction when she told me her belly hurt, got a weird look on her face and threw up all over the dining room floor.  It's ok, I really did need to wash that floor anyway!  So, decision made, we are not leaving the house today, oh darn.

Really, I am thrilled she threw up, I really don't like these types of days.  I don't mind them for myself but, I don't like bringing my peeps out into this type of cold, especially the baby.  So, I am hunkered down until my 1st book club tonight.  Yea!  Oh yes, forgot, I am starting in a book club with some girl friends of mine.  Very excited, I have never been in a book club before either so, this should be fun.

Does this mean I am finally becoming an 'adult'?  I am not just playing soccer for my time away but, I am also now in Bible Study and Book Club?  Wow, look out world, Liza Schwab is growing up :-)

So anyway, on to the blog.  First, the pain part.  Actually, this is the physical pain part of the blog.  Last night, I broke my first non-New Years Resolution type deal.  After hearing a friend of ours say he wasn't going to spank his children anymore because they were getting too old and they could be reasoned with instead, I decided that was a really good thing to work on so, I adopted it for myself.

Well, last night, I broke it however, I paid dearly for it in my own pain.  Long story short, I had put everyone to bed, read with them, prayed with them, etc.  I went downstairs to watch a little TV and get ready for soccer.  I can hear footsteps, they are messing around!  I let them do it for a while, then about 15 minutes after their warning, I go upstairs fully intending to spank my 6 year old.  I caught her trying to wake up her little sister and she had already woke up her brother, I was mad and she was being naughty!

So, I caught her as she tried to run past me, I grabbed her arm to lift her up and went in for the spank.  OH, the pain!  Not her, me!  She turned at the very last moment and my forearm whacked into her knee.  I fell on the floor in a heap.  I couldn't feel my hand, my arm was throbbing so bad I actually lost my breath!  I just laid there, for a moment I actually thought I broke my arm.  Not good.

Well, the pain finally became somewhat manageable and I walked downstairs to finish getting ready.  I am at this point still not entirely sure I haven't broken my arm however, I have learned my lesson!  No more spankings in this house from me.  No way, lesson learned.  Wow.

So, I went to soccer with my arm still throbbing and unable to bend my wrist without pain.  I am a little late and we are short 1 girl so, I run out onto the field.  Just as I am getting out there, someone passes me a ball.  I quickly look upfield and kick it, SNAP!  Ouch, what on Earth!  My neck, oh my neck.  Something snapped in my neck, instantly I can't turn my head either way, my shoulders are instantly cramping up, and my arm still hurts.

Ok, ok, I get it, I am not supposed to spank anymore!  So, I had to play the whole game unable to lift my arms above my head, unable to turn my head more than a little big to either side(hard to do when you play defense) and I have throbbing pain in my left arm and both shoulders and neck.  Wow, is this what it is like to get old?

By the time I finished the game, I could barely move.  When I got home, I was almost immobile from my neck to my waist.   This should be a fun night of sleeping.  Thankfully the baby was only up 6-7 times instead of her normal 10-15 times lately.  So, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

I know I need to go to the Chiropractor but, oh, that will hurt so bad since my muscles have completely tightened up.  I think I will wait until tomorrow to go.  Anyway, so, that is my physical pain part, isn't it pathetic?!!

Now, my emotional pain/parenting pain/am I doing the right thing pain.  Our son is 7, he is in 2nd grade.  He is one of the neatest little guys I have ever met and he is a spitting image of his daddy and me if that is possible.  If you have ever met him, there is something inside of him that captures a piece of you immediately, he is definitely a cool little guy.  Well, he is also tough sometimes.  He has Asperger's Syndrome which is on the Autism Spectrum however, he is VERY high functioning and really, to tell you the truth, Steve and I don't think he needs any 'special' treatment or things like that. 

Well, after 2 years of struggling more than we ever imagined with my son's schooling and frankly, seeing our sons will being broken and our faith really being tested.  We quit fighting with his school to keep him in there and sent him to the local public school.   He actually has done really well there and has blossomed as a student, learner, and a little boy.  He has friends at school he plays with and he really is learning what it takes to be a 'student' in a classroom and to be responsible for your own actions.  He is finally understanding boundaries and all is well.

I know I should be happy about that, I know that I should be happy he likes his school, I know that I should be thanking God for this opportunity for our son.  I am grateful for all these things and I do thank God everyday that we are getting our boy back and he is flourishing in his new school.  I struggle, on a daily basis about his school though still.

Steve and I still don't feel his local school is good for him, we miss the 'love' and the parent/family connection at his old school.  It is very difficult to get to know other families at this new school.  Yes, we know a few however, very few are actually families in his classroom.  We love his teachers and the Special Ed. department people are fantastic.  But, something still isn't sitting right with me.  I still don't think this is the right place for my son.  I thought that feeling would go away but, it hasn't.  In fact, it is getting stronger and stronger and I find myself fighting back tears somedays. 

This isn't where he belongs, I know it down to my soul I know it.  Our son is a loving little guy.  Relationships mean the world to him.  He likes to be able to connect with people and teachers and families.  That isn't able to happen here.  He also isn't getting the amount of free time/recess I think is needed and his school lunches are disgusting and small.

I think our local schools have lost focus on so much and frankly, it is hard to see.  We were very spoiled by the 2 recesses a day at his old school and how the parents were the playground supervisors not hired staff.  We loved how they played soccer, basketball and were able to be free and explore.  They can't even bring a ball or jumprope out onto their playground at his new school and heaven forbid they run! 

The lunches at his old school were catered and were healthy, big, and yummy.  Every Thursday was my sons favorite meal, salad.  It was either Chef Salad or Chicken Caesar Salad and he loved those days.  Well, his lunch today at his new school is Italian dunkers, Garden Salad, and Pineapple tidbits.  Sounds good right?  Oh gosh, how wrong we all are!  I have eaten lunch with him a few times and the food is horrible and the portions are so small he is starving when he comes home from school everyday! Same thing with our Kindergartener and she rarely eats!

I don't know what the Italian Dunkers look like or how many you get since Seth can't eat wheat.  However, I know that the 'tossed salad' is served in a souffle cup.  It is less than 1/2 full of shredded lettuce and some have dressing on them and some don't.  By the way, there is such a small amount of dressing, you can't even taste it!  Then, the pineapple tidbits, everyone knows how small those are and you get maybe about 10 of them, that actually might be a bit more than what you get.

That is it, that is their lunch!  Growing children cannot live and learn and thrive on that size of a lunch!  One time I went and it was hamburger or hotdog day.  Both the hamburgers and hotdogs were cold and the french fries, all 10 of them, were still frozen.  Yuck!

So, my heart aches.  My mind wonders, are we doing the right thing?  Can't we find a place were our family can be involved, we can play on the playground together, we can find a place were our faith can be celebrated and our son can not only get the small amount of help he needs (he takes 3 10 minute breaks a day in the special ed room and gets a small amount of extra help in the classroom via picture charts in addition to the normal things in the classroom) but, he can also get the love he so desires and longs for.

We prayed he would return to his old school for 3rd grade but, he doesn't want to.  The bad memories and experiences now far outweigh the good ones in his head.  He wants to continue in the public school system and we are ok with that however, where is the love?

I pray about this every single day often many times a day.  It still isn't leaving my head or my heart that this isn't where he belongs or where he can get the right education for him and the love and affection he needs too.

I need to go as the baby is screaming mad right now!  Wow! 

Blessings to you all and please continue to pray for our family and that God will lead us down the correct path and we will follow it.

-Liza