Stuff

Stuff. So much stuff.

 Sometimes we don't realize how much stuff we have until we are going through each and every piece of it. I read somewhere recently that the average American household had about 300,000 items in it. I thought that was a ridiculous number, until I started thinking about all the stuff in my own home. 

So, what do we get for those 300,000 items? Do they make us happy? Do they save us time and energy? Do they free up our lives so we can go out and invest in people, relationships, our communities? Or have we just wasted the time it takes to work for that stuff? Wasted the money in purchasing it? Wasted our efforts in keeping it organized? And clean? And accessible? Does that stuff help lift us up, or does it just weigh us down?

Well, recently we have been going through all of the things we own. Some of it will make it to the trash, some to donations, some of it we are keeping, and lots of it will be sold! 

Why don't we need our stuff you may be asking? Well, we are moving. No, no. We aren't leaving Virginia just yet (we still have about 15 months left at this command), but we are moving out of military housing. We've decided to downsize into something smaller. Much, much smaller. Our current place is about 1430 sq. ft. Our next place will be about 400 sq. ft! Yes, you read that right: 400 sq ft for a family of 5. You thought we were crazy, but I'm sure you didn't think we were this crazy! (Or maybe you did.)

I'm sure you have a lot of questions right now. Like, why? Why in the world would you do this to yourself? Are you seriously selling all of your stuff? How is that even possible to live in a place so small? 

I've got lots of reasons for each of those, but I'll give you the short version! (You're welcome.) It comes down to just a few ideals: 

      1. We don't want to raise our children to be little consumers who always want "things" to fill up their lives. We want to instill contentment, simplicity, imagination. 

      2. With the style of learning we will be following there will be a lot of time spent out doors, getting into nature, meeting all sorts of people, going to different places, attending festivals, and just playing. For me it came down to lighten our load to make those adventures possible! I do so much better when things are clean and organized. So wanting to leave a house full of messy stuff to go to the zoo doesn't work for me. It needs to be clean before we can leave for the zoo. So much easier to leave the house when you only have to keep 400 sq ft clean!

     

So, how are we going to make 400 sq ft work? And if we sell all of our possessions how are we going to live?! The answer is easy: our new home comes in the form of a 5th wheel RV. Yup, there's that crazy again! It has all of the amenities/furniture we "need" built right in. Our clothes, bedding, some kitchen items, much less toys, and homeschool supplies will all make the cut, but so many other things will not. We have also decided to rent a very small storage unit for some items that we will not be getting rid of, but don't need to be taking up our everyday living space. 

It's going to be a challenge. I'm sure there will be some major growing (well, downsizing) pains. But Patrick and I have decided that this is the course we would like to take for our family, and can't wait to get the wheels rolling! 

Pray for us. And let the madness begin!! :) 

Five Years of Madness

I can't believe our 5 year anniversary is next week! Sometimes it feels like we have been married forever and that this has just always been our life. At other times I feel like we are newly weds still feeling it all out. As I was reflecting on all the craziness that has happened during our first five years of marriage, I couldn't help but smile. So, I thought I would catch you all up with a "cliff notes" version of our last five years of "madness!"

Hi, nice to meet you!
Hey, I think I really like you.
Wanna start a family?
Hey Baby, we're gonna have a baby!
Wanna get married?
Okay, but let's wait a little while.
Never mind, let's get married 6 weeks from now so we can go to Guam together!
It's a long drive from Montana to California in a moving van while 5 months pregnant.
I do.
I do, too!
We're no longer going to Guam, instead we are moving to Washington.
Staying in a tiny hotel room for two months in San Diego while going to "school" counts as a honeymoon, right?
Thanksgiving and pneumonia are not a great combination.
Let's map out every hospital between San Diego and Bremerton, WA just in case baby decides to come while we're on the road!
We are never moving while pregnant again!
So glad baby was "late" so we could get a few more things unpacked in the house before he made his debut!
Sleep, what is that?
Hi Tala (kitty cat), it's nice to have you back from Colorado.
I wish this kid would take a bottle so my boobs could have more than an hours rest.
(7m later) I wish this kid hadn't started taking a bottle since that was the beginning of the end of breastfeeding.
Of course baby would say "dada" for the first time 3 hours after daddy leaves for deployment!
Nice to have you home!!
Hey Baby, we're gonna have another baby!
Donovan falls off slide and scares mom to death while trying to induce labor by walking/playing at the park.
Well hello sweet baby #2! You look nothing like your daddy, but exactly like your grand daddy!
Hello postpartum depression, you can go away any time you like.
Bye daddy.
Hello daddy!
Yay, Aunt Maddie got married!
Hey Baby, I know baby #2 is only 6 months old, but, we're gonna have a baby!
WHAT?!
Let's sell the house.
Okay.
We have a buyer! Looks like we better move into an apartment!
Oh, and we're going to be moving to Virginia in a couple months, so start planning a cross-country trip.
3 weeks on the road with a cat, baby, toddler, daddy, and very pregnant mommy is interesting.
I thought we said we were never gonna move while pregnant again?!
At least we had two months to get the house together this time. :)
Hello midwife, I think it's time for you to come to the house!
Well hello baby #3. It's so nice to be the first one to touch you earth side!
Let's take 3 kids in the van across the country for Aunt Shanna's wedding!
Can we not go anywhere, just for a little bit.
Hey, life has calmed down a bit and it has been nice to find a rhythm.
It has been nice. Let's get a puppy!
Hey, it's almost our five year anniversary... think we should do something crazy?
Sure!

Well, that's our marriage in a nut shell. Stay tuned to see where the madness will lead us next!

Home Birth

I was certain Aoife would be born early. My mom was due to arrive about four days before my estimated “due date” to help with the boys, and I figured it would be my luck to have a baby before she was here. Thankfully, that didn’t happen. Mom arrived and it was another eight days before Aoife was born! We had a few days where I thought for sure I was going to go into labor… and yet it was just my body prepping for the big day. Two days before Thanksgiving my dad was able to come visit and help as well, and we’re so lucky he was here (the boys loved playing with Grandpa). I think Aoife was just waiting for everyone to be here, she didn’t want anyone to be left out!

The night my dad arrived Patrick and I finally got to sleep just after midnight. Just after 2:30am I woke up with some very strong contractions. Lying in bed through two or three of them, I quickly realized that these were the real thing and we’d be having a baby soon. I woke Patrick up and had him send our midwife, Laura, a text message to let her know and put her on alert. In the short time it took me to go to the restroom, Laura quickly replied by calling. She asked me a few questions and listened while I had a contraction or two during our conversation. After accessing how I was feeling, she asked if I would like her to come now or wait. I thought about it for a minute and decided she should just head over now. Honestly, I didn’t think I quite needed her that soon, but I felt much better having her there even if she had to wait around for an hour cause the thought of having her miss it made me a little nervous. As soon as we got off the phone Patrick got to work! He made the bed with a plastic liner and extra sheets, pulled out the birth pool and started pumping it with air. All the while I just paced back and forth from the bathroom to the bed stopping and leaning on the doorway to work through contractions.

Laura arrived within about 30 minutes of our conversation and was a welcomed presence. She checked my blood pressure and listened to Aoife’s heart rate. Everything checked out, so she started setting up her equipment and checked the tub. Not long after, Gloria, the midwife in training, arrived and began boiling some water to add to the birth pool. At one point I remember sitting on my knees next to the bed leaning on Patrick’s legs to get through some good contractions. I was in this position while Laura and Gloria were down stairs checking on the water, and all of a sudden I felt a little pushy. I had this flash of “Oh my gosh my body is going to start pushing and will have to yell down to the midwifes to get back up here!” Thank goodness they came back up stairs and I no longer felt worried. Around 4:15 Laura asked me if I wanted to get in the birth pool since she knew I really wanted to deliver in the water. I said yes, and Gloria added more hot water to get it to the right temperature. The water felt so good! We talked a little about who would catch the baby, and Patrick decided that he would unless something wasn’t quite right. I was laboring in the pool on my knees and leaning over the edge, which is not the best position for someone to catch, but it was the best for me. I had decided that when she started to come I would switch positions… but we didn’t have time for that! My body was pushing on its own, even while I wasn’t contracting. I felt her crown, then looked down and saw her. Laura told me to reach down and gently lift her up and out of the water.

I’ve seen many water birth videos, and it seemed almost like I was watching another one as I was lifting her up. I almost couldn’t believe that this was real life. Patrick and Laura helped me out of the tub and onto the bed so we could wait for the placenta to be birthed. It was so wonderful to just lay in my own bed with her. Within about ten or fifteen minutes the placenta was out, placed in a plastic bag, and put under the towel covering Aoife to help keep her warm. After the umbilical cord was done pulsing, Patrick was able to do the honors of cutting it. Laura examined me and for the first time I didn’t need any stitches after giving birth! I was so happy because that has always been my least favorite part of the birth process.

The midwives began draining the pool and tidying up the room while the three of us got to snuggle in bed for a little bit. Finally I got up to use the restroom and take a wonderful shower.  After getting back in bed it was time to do the newborn exam. With both of the boys they were taken to the other side of the hospital room for their exam and I had no part in it (Donovan right away before I even got to hold him and while they were placing stiches, and Cale right after they were done stitching me). This was the first time I was able to watch and be in awe of this little creature while she was being measured and looked at. She measured 22 inches (2.5 inches longer than Donovan, and 2 inches longer than Cale!!) and weighed in at a shocking 9 pounds 6 ounces! I couldn’t believe how big she was! She was almost a pound heavier than both boys! Although our birth photographer missed the actually delivery because it happened so fast, she was able to get some great pictures of Laura examining Aoife! I will cherish those photos always.

As everything calmed down and our birth team was getting ready to leave, my mom came in to check on us all. It was so wonderful that the boys slept through the whole thing, and that my mom was there to support us. She even went down and made us breakfast (which she did every morning for the rest of the week and was a huge blessing!) before the boys got up.  

Birthing my three children has been a huge learning and growing process for me, but I would say that this last birth was absolutely everything I was hoping it would be: no hospitals or doctors, just my hand picked birth team, no IVs, no unnecessary augmentations, 100% physiological labor and delivery, no vaginal or cervical exams/checks from conception to delivery, delivered in the water at home, delayed cord clamping, immediate skin to skin, immediate breastfeeding, no rushing, and the boys slept through everything (healing and subsequent breastfeeding are another story, but I’ll save that for another day). I fell so blessed that we were able to have this experience, especially as our last one. 

Aoife Marie
Born: November 27
4:34am
9lbs 6oz
22in

Natural Living and Christianity: Why they go hand-in-hand

So, this could be a book (and probably is already), but I'll try to keep my thoughts short and concise.

I feel like a lot has changed in the past few years of how I do things and how I think about things. It really started while researching pregnancy and child rearing when we were pregnant with Donovan, and has just expanded from there. I would have NEVER described myself as natural, earthy, or hippy growing up or in my early twenties! Now, it’s a different story. The more research I do, the more I’m convinced that a more “back to nature” way of living is best for our family. All of these more natural ways of doing things I feel should go hand in hand with being a Christian. I’ll try to categorize them and explain why I feel this way:

Natural Birth, Breastfeeding, No Circumsision: God designed women to give birth. We are not “broken” or need to be saved from this sometimes painful and fearful experience by doctors (save for true emergencies). Pain is not some innately bad thing: we learn from pain, we grow through pain, we appreciate joy on the other side of pain, and with His help we get through the pain.  I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength! We are also told to “fear not, for the Lord is with you.” Another thing women are designed for is to feed our babies with our breasts. It is the most natural and God-designed function of a mother’s body. There are actually more references in the Bible to a mother breastfeeding/nursing than anything sexual regarding the breast (love this post:http://mamapsalmist.com/2011/10/30/lets-flesh-this-out-breastfeeding-and-the-bible/ ). It should not be shamed or hidden away. As for circumsision, God made man in His image, and although boys were called to be circumsized in the Jewish Law with Christ death that all changed. This is a decent post that explains some of my feelings and gives Biblical references concerning circumision: http://voices.yahoo.com/circumcision-bible-christian-parents-should-575491.html. I won't go into detail on the topic here. 

Attachment Parenting/Gentle Discipline/No “Cry-it-Out” sleep training/Babywearing/Co-sleeping: There are lots of things grouped here, but they all come down to the same theories: children are designed to be an integrated part of the family. Jesus called children to him when he was teaching, he did not send them away. That is what all of the above topics do: they bring children closer to their parents and family. They build attachments, confidence, love, a feeling of security, togetherness, forgiveness, and thoughtfulness on both the parents’ and child’s part. We aren’t always the best at all of these things, and every kid has different needs and ways of learning, but we try our best and we learn from each other.

Natural foods/non-vaxing/chemical free cleaning/essential oils: The Bible teaches of being mindful of what you put in your body, and all of the above touch on that subject. We have been given this vessel as a way to worship God, and we are entrusted with keeping it healthy. By limiting our exposure to harmful chemicals and unnatural foods/consumables, and instead taking advantage of his wonderful creation of natural substances we can decrease our chances of illnesses, cancers, and all sorts of harmful diseases. And when we do come down with the sickies, we can look again to His creating for healing. Thanks to my sister, we finally got the push we needed to get started using essential oils (and we're loving them!).

Cloth Diapering/Limiting paper and plastic products/composting: On the same note as the previous group, this group has to do with being good stewards of God’s creation. Our family has really tried to limit our “trash.” We cloth diaper for financial reasons (being good stewards of our money) and to keep our portion of thousands of diapers out of landfills! We try to use cloth rags and towels instead of paper towels (we still keep some on hand, but try to use cloth first), and compost anything we can to use in what will be our garden this spring! God created the earth and gave man the weighty responsibility of tending to it. These are just some small ways that our family has tried to do our job in being mindful of how these precious resources He has made are handled.

That’s about as short as I can make it. I’ve been thinking about how all of these aspects of my life go hand and hand, and I feel that for the first time my everyday way of life gels so much more with my beliefs. It’s a good feeling.

My favorite "hippy!"

I still can't quite believe it!

On July 3rd we had our 20 week ultrasound to check on Baby #3's growth, scan progress, and the most exciting part... find out gender! Although we would have been happy either way, if I have to be completely honest, I would have been disappointed if it was another boy. Since before getting pregnant with #1 our deal was we would like to have at least 1 boy and 1 girl, but no matter what, we max out at 3. After finding out Donovan was a boy we knew that if Baby #2 was a girl we would be done. Coming from a family of 3 girls, I didn't want to risk having more than 1 girl, even though the thought of two boys didn't really scare me. When we found out that Cale was a boy, we knew that we would at some point have a third child. Baby #3 came a few years sooner than we were planning! As the only reason we were open to a third was in hopes of a girl, it was probably the most nervous about finding out baby's gender that I've ever been. I think somewhere deep down I was resigned to the fact that we would be having a boy, it's just what we do. Anyway, the 3rd rolled around and after Patrick's re-enlistment ceremony, off to the appointment we went! Being funny Patrick had put it on our calendar as a "Wiener Hunt." I don't think he knew how correctly he had labeled it! With both of the boys it was very quick and easy to see that they were boys. This time around, baby kept the suspense going. Finally by the end of the appointment the doctor was confident in the fact that he couldn't find any boy parts, but man it felt like the longest ultrasound we've ever had!
Now, a few weeks later, I'm still in awe of the fact that we are having a girl! It's been so fun to make and purchase girly things (not just for other people anymore!). I can't wait to see how having a baby girl in the house will change, or not change, the dynamics of our growing family. It will be good for the boys to have a little more femininity in our home (and nice for me too!). 

Oh, and for anyone totally confused on the name:
 Aoife is a Scottish/Irish name. We are going with the more Scottish pronunciation of [ay-fa] or [eh-fa] (they sound the same)  instead of the Irish sounding [ee-fa]. I know this will trip people up because the spelling looks nothing like the pronunciation, but they'll just have to deal with it, cause we think it is beautiful. That also happens to be what the meaning of Aoife is: Beautiful, or Beauty. Aoife was a Scottish warrior woman, which is appropriate for our family since Donovan means "Dark Warrior" and Cale was also a warrior. I guess we want to instill a warrior's spirit in our children (at least the good parts)! 

Well Hello Again!

Hello blog world, it's been far too long. With all the new McCormick Madness happening I thought maybe it was time to get back to sharing our story. A lot has happened since I last posted: we had baby #2, a boy named Cale, my younger sister got married, we found out that baby #3 is on the way (not sure of gender just yet), and we're planning a cross-country move from Washington to Virginia at the end of the summer! We've also been making some changes in our thinking and actions (mostly in terms of going more natural in our food and cleaning) that you'll probably be reading a lot about on here. It's really become an exciting time for me (and hopefully Patrick too)! Hopefully I'll be posting much more frequently as I'm thinking I'd rather share life's ups and downs on here rather than the world of Facebook where most of that happens.

Here are a few pictures from the past year or so:

 

8lbs 7oz Born Sept 1, 2012

Mama and her boys in California (February)

Enjoying a nice run on the beach

Keith and Madeline Silvas  :)

Enjoying the zoo with Uncle Binky

Ready for the cold Tahoe morning

9 months old!

New Years Resolutions

Mine are simple this year since the usual "lose weight" is not one of them! Instead, they are as follows:

1. Grow a healthy baby for the next 8 months. :)
2. Sew more (in hopes that it might pay for itself).
3. Blog more.
4. Foster good relationships with friends and family.

The above sound simple enough, but with a husband, toddler, and the joys/morning sickness/unknowns of pregnancy it will be an interesting year. I look forward to what 2012 has in store for the McCormick's though!

<3 To All and a Happy New Year to You!