Life has been crazy lately with both good and bad stuff going on! Because of everything that has been going on, Steemit has taken a back seat for various reasons. Life happens and we make adjustments. Here are 10 things you may not know about me that have happened recently...in no particular order!
1 - My computer totally died. It made me recover it, but I lost a lot of stuff that was on it. Thankfully I had saved my password elsewhere for Steemit...it just took me a while to get things back on track. I've been sharing my husband's computer, so it's not always free when I find the time to get a post written. And I can't find my discord password at all, so I'll need to figure that out!
2 - We got a milk cow and her baby a few months back. If you've ever had a milk cow, you know that it takes a while to get a routine down. We finally got a milk machine, so milking her went from about 2 hours to about 15 minutes. My husband is doing all of the milking himself as the rest of us can't figure out how to do it efficiently! Mama's name is Buttercup and Baby's is Poinsettia (she was born 3 days before Christmas). We get about 2 gallons of milk from her a day and she's a Jersey cow.
3 - With the milk we get from Buttercup, I make yogurt, make butter, sell some of it, and I just learned to make cheese. We tried mozzarella cheese, but it turned out kind of funky. The ricotta cheese I made, though, is really yummy! I added some Italian seasoning to it. I wish a gallon made more than one cup from the leftover whey!
4 - We are keeping up with our homeschool co-op meet ups. We have about 5 families that come regularly to our house to do a day of learning. We did a lesson on recycling and then visited our local recycle center. We also have recently talked about Panama.
5 - I did something recently that I never thought I would do. I am desperate for my kids to learn Spanish and it's just not happening with the little bits they get every once in awhile...so we made the decision to enroll them in "public Spanish classes" as I like to call them. They will all (5) be attending a local public school for 5 hours every morning and I know this will help them get the language down! We cover Prek, Kindergarten, 2nd, 3rd, 4th. Should be an interesting time for them and I just hope they do well with it! We plan to continue homeschool in the afternoon.
6 - My BABY boy turned 4 last month! I am pretty amazed that he is now four years old. He still acts like the baby of the family and gets his way most of the time. Ha. But, life is about to change for him...
7 - I am almost 30 weeks pregnant with Baby #6! I found out a while ago that we are expecting a baby and that has been pretty interesting. I turned 40 in June of last year and I really wasn't expecting this baby to come along. With all my other pregnancies, I was working out, lifting weights, and really active up until the day they delivered. With this baby, I've been taking it easy...and my back has been much happier!!
8 - We are trying to figure out how birth in Panama will work. My last three births were homebirths in Texas and I really wanted another homebirth here in Panama. We have found out that really the only way to do a non-hospital "home" birth is to drive 8 hours to Panama City. Logistically with 5 kids, 2 dogs, 2 cats, 2 cows to take care of, that doesn't seem to be working out so far. I have found a good "naturalish" doctor about an hour from me who will deliver me in the private hospital. We aren't sure which direction we will go at this point, but it's a good thing I still have 10 weeks to decide.
9 - This pregnancy has had a few complications I've never had before! I found out at 23 weeks that the baby was lying sideways and the placenta was in the wrong spot. We prayed for weeks that the placenta would move, and we learned at 28 weeks that it had. Baby, however, still hasn't shifted into the correct position...so we wait! I have another appointment at 34 weeks to see how she is laying and make decisions from there!
10 - It's a girl! We're super excited to have our second daughter be added to the family! We have a name picked out, but we don't share names until the babies are born. I can't wait to make that announcement. Our pattern for gender goes: boy, boy, girl, boy, boy, girl. Many people have suggested we keep going so that the pattern keeps up, but I'm thinking that might not be the best idea. Ha!
So, there's all my latest news! It looks like I've got Steemit up and going on the computer, so now I just need to figure out my password to my old email so I can get my password for Discord figured out. Ha!!
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Congratulations! It's great to see some activity from you again, and wow, so much has been going on!
Best wishes in trying to arrange the baby's birth. I hope that goes well. I'm sure having a cow will help somehow. haha
Glad you had your Steemit keys safe before your computer stopped working. That would have been unfortunate!
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Yeah, there has been lots going on! Kids just started school today and it was insane. Hoping to get the baby figured out soon...I've got 9 weeks until my due date!!
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Wow! Congratulations! No wonder you have little leisure time.
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I'm hoping to figure out how to get back into steemit on a regular basis soon!!
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Oh my goodness! I was wondering what you have been up to, and boy, its a LOT!
♥♥♥
Congrats on the baby, ♥ and of course, your new cow! Fresh milk is the BEST!
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Yes, life has been crazy! We are enjoying all the fresh milk from the cow. Somehow we thought it would be easier than it is. ;)
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O wow, so many things happening in your life and all valid reasons to focus on more important kids. Taking care of 5 kids is one big duty for a mom. You are superwomen in my opinion. I am wondering now really how do you even find time to write anything? Really how do you do it?lol
Congratulations on the soon new arrival. I will pray the baby will soon return into normal position and that it all turns out well for the rest of your pregnancy. Have you thought of a name for her yet?
Thank you for sharing your life with us here. I wish you an amazing and blessed day. :)
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Well...the kids are currently entertained during their "free time" playing a video game for 30 minutes...and I have some potatoes cooking in the crock pot. So I have a few minutes to hop on steemit and reply to my comments...although it's been a few days since I posted! We do have a name for baby girl, but we don't tell anyone (not even family) before the birth. :) Thanks for the prayers!! Have a great day also!!
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Sure sounds like you have been busy, as for milking the cow, I remember doing that regularly on my Uncles farm, both manually and with a machine,, brought back nice memories
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I have tried to milk by hand twice and I'm no good. Glad we got a machine! :)
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A machine is for sure so much easier milking by hand is hard work
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Thank you Lord for answered prayers! I’m so glad to hear the placenta has moved! I’m glad to see you got an update post out to let everyone know what’s been going on!
I look forward to see how the kids do with the Spanish class! We will be moving soon and I am on a lookout for a co-op group! I need it and my kids really need it. It would be great to find some families to grow with and where we can support each other. I hope you find your discord password soon. If not I’ll be emailing you to check on you soon ;)
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Going to school today was insane. I'm hoping it gets easier in the coming weeks. Let's just say I had a lot of homework. ;) I was able to find my discord password and I changed it and wrote myself a reminder! Lol! I just haven't had time to get back on there really!
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I’m sure it will get easier as time goes along. Yay I’m glad you found it!
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I've never had a milk cow... so I'll have to take your word for that! But I do have kids... but nowhere near 6! So congrats and best of luck with the coming months (and years...)!
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Thanks so much! :) Happy to be back on steemit...just need to get my schedule figured out.
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Congratulations on all fronts. Great that the cow and calf are doing well, fresh milk is really good.
Home births in Texas.... now I know why you left the state and headed south. Good move.
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Lol! Yep, three home births. ;) Thanks!
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Congratulations! This post has been chosen as one of the daily Whistle Stops for The STEEM Engine!
You can see your post's place along the track here: The Daily Whistle Stops, Issue 419 (03/05/19)
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Yea! Thanks!! :)
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Congratulations with everything!! How exciting. Sounds like you've really been busy!
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Thanks! Thins have been crazy, but we really don't know life any other way. ;) Ha!
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hahah woooooo thats a lot changes you have going there! 30 weeks and going strong!
And those gallons of milk every day is a beautiful amount, look at all the stuff that you are making out of it...Can imagine that it is really time consuming though,...like really!
For pregnancy in Panama check @evecab as well maybe?
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Yes, thankfully I can make my yogurt in the Instantpot and the butter in the food processor. The cheese took a little while the other evening, but it was an interesting process! :) Life with a dairy cow is busy during milking times, that's for sure! Thanks for the comment! :)
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Well congrats! And that calf is really cute! The Spanish classes sounds like a good decision. Especially living in a Spanish-speaking country, one should take advantage of the opportunity!
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I know right? Glad I finally agreed to send them to "free" public school. So far it's around $200 for enrollment ($13 for 5 kids), uniforms for 5, and a few school supplies. I got the lists today and it's going to add up quickly!
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Woohoo!!! First of all: congratulations on the pregnancy and second daughter on the way! Yeah, my youngest is going to be 5 in June and I can't believe it. He is also still the baby, and will probably stay that way too.
Good to see you back! I thought it was a bit quiet from your end.
As for the birth, have you considered going unassisted? (not offering medical advice here, but since I had my youngest two unassisted, I thought it could be an option...for me, our closest hospital is 1 hour and a bumpy ride, so I probably wouldn't even have made it there with the youngest).
As for the baby (stubborn? lol) Some exercises like yoga and belly dancing could help move baby into the right position. If you look up Ina May Gaskin, she should have some info about it too. Or maybe even Laura Shanley. It could even still happen last moment. My son was laying sideways (never went to pre-natal care though, I figured it out myself) and he turned not long before the birth. I felt it happen and it was the most amazing thing ever!!! Here's a link with information too: https://spinningbabies.com/learn-more/baby-positions/other-fetal-positions/sidewaystransverse/
I don't blame you for sending the kids to school a few hours to learn Spanish. They'll have it down in no time when they're in contact with Spanish speaking kids.
Personally, I am dealing with some choices too. I am thinking of getting a part-time job and unless I can find something for the evenings, I will have to consider sending the kids to school for at least a while. But then again, it will only be for a while as the job will be to save money to travel...
Anyway: glad to have you back @apanamamama!
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Thank you! We are super excited about the baby. 9 weeks to my due date!! I am glad to be back, but still need to figure out timing to get on regularly. I have already had a few complications, she's still breech, I'm 40...blah, blah, blah, so I'm not really wanting to go unassisted. Plus I'm about an hour from a decent hospital if I did encounter a problem myself or with the baby. My placenta is really low, so that's why the doctor thinks she hasn't turned yet. I need to see what Ina May says! My baby does not like it when I lay on my left side, so I know she's still laying sideways. I can't wait to feel her turn! I have heard about Spinning Babies - need to check it out. Sending the kids to school was a huge decision. I plan to keep homeschooling and don't really care what grades they get there. I seriously just want them to learn Spanish!! :)
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So happy to read your post - so many things happened. Looking forward for more about Poinsettia! ❤️ Followwwww
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She's a sweet cow.
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wow number 6? I'm preggo with number 1 right now =) glad everything is getting better now for your pregnancy! I will give birth at the hospital though, so don'tknow much about homebirth unfortunately..
BTW just out of curiosity about your cow - does she produce enough milk for you and for the calf?
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Ah you're in Bocas! Nice! I'm in Volcan, so not terribly far from you as the crow flies... I had my first two in a hospital and the last three at home (all in the US). Here homebirth isn't that common yet unfortunately!
Yes, we take about a gallon of milk and the baby takes about 1/4 of a gallon now. She's getting old enough to be weaned soon. She's already eating grain and grass, just like her mama.
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ah that's great!!!! I have friend who delivered her baby here in Bocas, with the help of an indigenous midwife. She didn't have a doc present, and did this for both babies she had. I'm too much of a chicken to do that =)
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Hi @evecab! How great that the Panama Mamas come together here :) I heard women say this all the time about their first (and other) births, (about being too much of a chicken) but remember, midwives usually have much more 'hands on' experience, and a lot of doctors are men...they will never know what you feel. I believe people put too much trust in doctors for their births, when in reality, the midwives know as much, if not more about healthy pregnancies and birth. Doctors tend to work more from protocol and because they're dealing with a lot of issues, they work from problems. There is a video of Ina May Gaskin where she says that she asked 89 Ob/Gyns at a conference for birth to raise their hands if they had seen a natural birth. None raised their hands... It's kinda like this: the man with the hammer sees nails everywhere. Any way: How are you feeling? I hope everything is great and you get to enjoy your pregnancy fully!
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This is quite true and I definitely prefer a midwife. Sadly, Panama isn't pro-midwives. I am having a hard time finding anyone outside of Panama City (and I'm not sure I'd go with an indigenous midwife). Even the doctors who allow homebirth in Panama City are a husband and wife team. They have a pic on their website with Ina May!
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Oh hehe, that's cool. I hope they learned from them. I always get the chills when I hear people say 'the doctor allows' or 'I wasn't allowed to move' or similar. It implies that the doctor or even the midwife is the boss and that birth is not autonomous. Every woman everywhere should have full autonomy on how and where she wants to birth in a healthy pregnancy. Doctors often hide behind the words: But if you do this, we can't guarantee...' while the fact is that they can never guarantee anything. They will simply never know how any birth will be or end. I'll have to find that website :)
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yeah I agree...and I also really want to avoid a C-section =(. Here they just looove to administer them because it's easy and quick, and good $$$...
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The 'trick' is to know what you want in advance and have a birth partner who will be your voice. Fear is the worst enemy and in a lot of hospital settings, that's exactly what they will play on during birth (i.e. making you feel guilty for wanting or not wanting certain things). In my case, with my second, I asked about literally everything why they were going to do it and if it was absolutely necessary. In the end, none of what the midwife wanted to do was needed...and the things she did do in the end, were also un-necessary but she told me it was for something else. I once did an interview with a midwife who had been working in a hospital for 6 years and independent for 25 years and when she told me that she 1. had never cut a cord before it had stopped pulsating and 2. never 'cut' a woman or anything remotely in that area, I asked her why she had never done that. (I didn't know much at the time) She replied: Because it is never necessary. That totally opened my eyes to a lot of things. Most interventions are done for their comfort. And with even just one intervention, also comes fear in the mother sometimes, which is simultaneous to adrenaline release in the body. The very last hormone anyone wants or needs during birth. I learned one very valuable thing during my last two births and that is to 'check the jaw', if the jaw is relaxed, the body is. You can't have a relaxed jaw with a tense body and the other way around...It may sound weird, but it's true.
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Oh wow! I have heard of people using indigenous midwives, but I haven't found anyone who was willing to help yet! I"m hopeful to find someone who will be willing, as long as the baby turns! I really don't want my first c-section!
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yes but my friend's case is very extreme, because the lady doesn't even speak Spanish, only Ngobe LOL. I personally wouldn't trust that...communication is key. I hope you will find someone too =) I feel the same about C-sections, I really hope to avoid it!
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SO many exciting news from you! Yay! Congrats on baby number six!!! I see the little ones are having fun at school! Hope you continue to feel well! I have been away for a month as well! Big hug!
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