You asked it!

Here is to the FIRST of MANY questions you all asked!

Q: What does Dad do for a living?

A: Dad has been in the IT, Tech, Internet Security field for many years. He has worked for large corporations, small companies, business start ups & independently. Last June, days after I was put on bedrest, he was let go from a business start up that was heading south. Since then he has done a lot of independent consulting to keep us going. It is very rare that he is not working. Our income may be lower than it was a year ago but God provides in amazing ways. Sometimes the numbers do NOT add up but it still works out.

Q: How do you afford pedipeds, etc. for your large family when you stay at home? I find finances a challenge with just 2 kiddos to clothe/feed/entertain

A: When Paul and I first married we decided that I would not work outside of the home so we have never planned or budgeted on a 2 income family. We are very careful about what we spend our money on. We try to live with less and be good stewards of the money we are blessed with from Paul's hard work. For example, we do not have cable, do not buy new toys, hardly ever buy new clothes, hardly ever buy things brand new, ect. I'll be answering more about this later.

Q: When you home school the boys what will the girls be doing?

A: Things may and probably will change as we settle into our homeschool routine but my plan for now is to work with the boys while the girls take their mid-morning nap. Right now the girls sleep from 10:30am-1:30pm which would be plenty of time for hands on teaching with the boys. I will have activities to do with Ozzie as well... such as puzzles, coloring, beans, ect. Our children usually nap for a while... Gavin just quit last year, he was 4 1/2.

Q: Do you have any tips on breastfeeding twins and babywearing twins?

A: Sure do! Breastfeeding -- don't give up, it can be hard at first and may take a month or more for it to become easy. Since the girls were #5&6 I did have experience on my side. Try nursing in lots of different 'positions'. Try using couch pillows, nursing pillow, no pillow, legs crossed, legs out... you get the idea. You are bound to find a position that works well for you and your babies. And before you buy a nursing pillow... ask around, I am sure you'll find someone who has one to give or loan.

What works for us -- no pillow, on the bed or couch, one baby on each side with their feet/legs intertwined together. When they were smaller I could nurse in a chair but now I need to have my legs out or slightly spread to make room for their legs.

Oh and another thing... if you are the least bit modest do NOT expect to be able to nurse in public. Honestly that has been the hardest part about nursing twins. You are quite exposed while nursing twins and the girls do not like being covered up!

Babywearing -- again, don't give up! Not all carriers will work for everyone. Try to find a few to borrow before you invest. That way you will figure out what works best for you and your baby/babies. Specifically for twins... mix and match. Don't think you need to use 2 of the same carrier. I thought this in the beginning but soon discovered that 2 ring slings for example was too much. But one ring sling and one pouch was just perfect.

Also, practice makes perfect. {grin} It can be a challenge to wear your baby properly. Some carriers are harder to learn that others but most require a basic learning curve. Once you learn you will be thrilled with how easy it is to wear your baby.

Some combinations that work for us --
pouch and ring sling, both on front
structured carrier and mei tie, one on front, one on back.
pouch or mei tie on front, backpack on back
when they were smaller both in the ring sling together worked well, however because of my limitations from the accident I never became extremely comfortable with this because I didn't do it enough.

Q: Do you guys plan on having more kids?! : )

A: Short answer -- not sure
Long answer -- although we both feel that we could be done we are open to Gods plans. We have let God direct our family size thus far and do not plan on taking back the reigns anytime soon. This does not mean we do not practice 'birth control/protection' which is commonly assumed. We both pray, separately and together about adding children to our family and wait until we both feel that it is time to try. For example -- Paul and I both felt that we should try for another baby shortly before becoming preggo with the twins. This lasted no more than 2 weeks before we both felt the need to control our lives again and said "maybe we should wait". Well... God had already used that opportunity to bless us with the girls. And needless to say... we are over joyed that he did!

Q: Are you going to have a Baker's Dozen like me :)

A: I absolutely LOVE large families and LOVE large mixed {birth, adoption, ect} families. Paul and I are both open to the idea of having a very large family but are not confident that that is Gods plan for us right now.

Q: Did you plan on having 6 children, and how old are you two?

A: When I was young I wanted to have 12 children... well... I am still young. {grin} Paul and I had at one point talked about our perfect number and it was six. We are both young... I am 27 and Paul is 28. We love being young parents and have no regrets about starting our family so young. We look forward to being younger when our children leave home and when we have grandchildren.

Q: Twins running in the family?

A: Nope! There are a few sets of fraternal twins on my fathers mothers side... BUT Identical twins are not hereditary. We are amazingly blessed!

Q: Did you ever think you would be a mom of girls, after 4 boys?

A: This is something that I prayed about a lot. After 4 boys I STILL felt the strong desire to have a daughter. I prayed that if we were not meant to have birth daughters that God would take that desire away and change my heart. When we were told that we were having twins I KNEW that they were girls. I felt so sure, unlike I have ever felt before. While I was preggo with the girls I was so sure that they were girls I found myself praying even harder for God to take that desire away if they were boys... and the opposite happened. I became so unbelievably sure that they were girls I would not have believed if our doctor had told us they were boys. It was absolutely crazy and incredibly faith strengthening.

Q: Do you get annoyed when you are out and people say, "Oh you finally got your girls!" Right in front of your precious boys:( (It happens to my friend and she gets so mad but doesn't say anything).

A: I do, and it used to be alot worse, I have learned to let go of that frustration a little {grin} and pray for protection over my sons. That they would not be hurt by those words and they would know and feel how loved and wanted they are in our family. I would NOT change our family 'line up' one bit! I adore being a mother to 4 boys in a row and feel honored God chose us. They were in NO WAY stepping stones to our girls. This is Gods plan for our family and we are completely confident in that.

Q: Does your blog generate income? Is that how you can afford etsy items & cute clothes?

A: Currently no, although I have been told {grin} that I should offer advertising for a small fee. And I might do that in the future. For now I have chosen to share my blessing of many readers with other mama businesses and good value companies. I have been given some items from etsy and others in exchange for sharing their names and links with you. BUT I have never shared a company that I would not support or would not spend my own money on. I feel very strongly about this and have turned down certain offers because of that.

Q: What kind of doctor do you see?

A: We see many doctors -- OB, pediatrician, Whole health Chiropractor & dentist

Q: what do you think of homebirth and would you ever consider it?

A: I love the idea of homebirth, although I firmly believe it is not for everyone. When we found out we were expecting #5 I decided that I wanted to have a homebirth... but then we found out we were expecting #5 & #6 and decided that we should continue to see my regular OB and deliver in a hospital.

Q: Love all your kids names!! Especially the girls! How did you and Paul pick names? What are some of your other favorites?

A: Thank you! We are 'no list name pickers'. We wait until we see the baby to pick out their name. In the very beginning we joked that Paul got to name the boys and I got to name the girls. Well... it kind of worked out that way. Paul picked out Grayson, Vance, Gavin & Nolia. I picked out Ozzie & Eliza. Although we both completely agreed on each name.
Some baby names that I really like? Off the top of my head here they are --
[boys] Nash, Clay, Wyatt, Beck, Nolan
[girls] Nola, Lola, Brin
I'm sure there are more but I can't think of them right now.

Q: How did you come up with all the names for the kids? I just love the name Ozzie (I'm thinking I might name my baby that if I have a boy - If that's okay)

A: See above answer {grin}. We love Ozzies name too! It fits him perfectly! After he was born I was sleeping with him in the middle of the night, we had not named him yet and in fact, had no names picked out yet. I woke up and the name Ozzie popped in my head. I looked at him and knew that was his name. I remember being very anxious for Paul to wake up so I could ask him if he liked that name. And sure enough... he felt it was perfect too! Oh and if your baby looks like an Ozzie you should totally name him that! {grin}

Q: i would LOVE to hear about your thoughts on sunscreen

A: I really have been wanting to do an entire post on this subject, but for some reason can't find the time! {grin}. Just a few thoughts --
-Our bodies need vitamin D and if we wear sunscreen we decrease our Vitamin D production by 99% or close to.
-Most sunscreen, even natural ones, contain ingredients that are worse or equal to the risk of sun exposure.
-Sun exposure without sunburn significantly reduces your risk of skin cancer. So safe sun exposure is key.
- Wear a hat that protects the thin skin on your face, if you wear sunglasses lift them up every 15 or so minutes so your eyes can soak up the rays. Your eyes tell your body that you are in the sun which causes your body to react differently to sun. If you wear sunglasses your body does not receive the right triggers that help your skin to protect itself.
-clothing is an EXCELLENT protection to strong rays, as is shade.
-Try to not over due it and listen, watch, for cues from your body. When your skin gets slightly pink, it's time to go inside, cover up or move into the shade.
-Now I know sometimes you can not avoid being in the sun for extended periods of time... and in those times we do use sunscreen.
-check out this site to see how safe your sunscreen is... Skin Deep
-another thought... you are what you eat, so the better you eat the stronger your skin will be and the less you will burn. A few skin boosting foods are -- Salmon, red-pink-orange fruit & veggies, cooked tomatoes, berries, red/yellow peppers, dark greens & dark chocolate. Yummy!
**this is information that I know, you can google any of this to find numerous credible sites that will confirm any of this**

Q: Why are your kids so cute?

A: Have you seen their parents? {grin} Thank you, we think they are very cute too! I joke that it is a survival technique!

Q: Do you ever eat out since you seem to eat just organic?

A: yes we do! We love Chipotle, subway & Chinese food. We eat healthy most of the time so we can splurge some of the time.

Q: If you had to chose a career (besides being a mommy), what would it be?

A: I would love to be a professional photographer some day, and or work in nutrition.

Q: What are the subjects you plan on homeschooling your children?

A: The normal, history, science, reading, writing, ect. with extra focus on math and art. We are also adding Spanish & nutrition, among other natural learning that goes along with homeschooling.

Q: What annoys you the most?

A: I am not usually easily annoyed -- but if I had to pick one thing it would be rudeness. If we could all just be a little bit nicer the world would be a happier place. {grin}

Q: Most annoying comment you get?

A: I receive a wide range of negative comments about our family size -- usually in front of our family.

Q: How did you handle each transition from one child to the next, and which number was hardest to adjust to?

A: For us, each transition has come quite easily. The hardest was going from 1 to 2 because I had to learn to really start multi-tasking. Adjusting to the twins was hard in the beginning but it was primarily from my accident, not because we had twins.
We really try to include our children in everything we do, we encourage them to take care of each other and to become best friends. We believe that God has given each of our children the heart for a large family because they all truly enjoy it.

Q: I was reading your birth stories but there aren't any in-depth posts about the details on the twins' birth! Do you plan to post their birth story, too?

A: I will post their birth story soon -- I am probably about ready. Because of the accident and a lot of emotions that go around that it has been hard for me in the past to really talk about it.

Q: How did you decide you want to homeschool in the first place?

A: When we first had kids I said I would NOT homeschool... ha! Funny how things change. One of the big reasons that we are choosing to homeschool is because Grayson does not enjoy school and has not for 3 years. He is incredibly bright but holds himself back because he does not want to be there. I want him to LOVE learning and I believe that homeschooling next year will help him see learning differently and begin to take ownership of his own learning. And with that... he will be able to take himself wherever he wants to go!

There are TONS of other reason why we have chosen to homeschool but that was the first reason.

Q: How did you get into photography? What kind of camera do you recommend?

A: I am a self taught photographer... although I did take a glass in highschool. The creative eye has come naturally to me, however the nitty gritty technical stuff has not. I am still learning everyday!
As for camera recommendation... The canon rebel is awesome! I have yet to find someone who does not love theirs.

Q: How do the boys like the idea of HS next year?

A: They ALL love it! They are thrilled and can not wait to start!

Q: What curriculum will you guys be using?

A: Not set in stone but we are almost certain we will be using My fathers World, Math-U-See, copy and dictation, Eye Q, and a few other undecided.

Q: Favorite bible verse

A: Oh, there are so many...
“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” {Philippians 4:19}
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock."
{Matthew 7:24}
Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass ... Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him
{psalms 37:4,7}

Q: How do you get your pictures so darn big??? I love it!!

A: I love it too! If you go to your html code and look at your picture code you should see "s400" change the 400 to 800 for vertical pictures and 576 for horizontal pictures.

Q: I know you shop at Goodwill...do you just go all the time, because I NEVER find good stuff there. Any tips?

A: I don't go that often... maybe twice a month. The key is find a good goodwill. We have 2 in town... one is great and the other isn't. And be sure to give lots of great things to goodwill and tell everyone else to also!

Q: Any tips on picky eaters? It seems like all your kids eat so well. I have one super picky, carb only eater. It kills me :)

A: Although my kids are good eaters, they have all gone through a picky phase. Start them out on good food and they will be more likely to keep eating it as they grow. If the kids are being stubborn about eating something I tell them they need to eat as many bites as their age -- 5 years old means 5 bits. And usually by the time they have eaten a few bites they are enjoying it. It's just the initial not wanting to try it that we struggle with. If there is something a child does not want to eat over and over I tell them they need to eat it every other time. I'll also occasionally let the kids pick one thing they don't have to eat if we are having more than one thing... I don't do that too often though but if they are not interested in eating 2 or more things this one works well. And lastly... keep trying. Eventually they WILL eat those red peppers if you keep serving them.

Q: What do you use to get stains out (of clothes primarily) and especially breastfed baby poo?

A: SOAK SOAK SOAK... soaking clothes in just a bit of laundry soap does wonders! They usually need to soak at least 12 hours but preferably 24.

Q: I love the post where you had your boys answer questions all about their mommy. I used it for my daycare kids and gave it to the mom's for mother;s day. They all loved it! My question is to you have one all about dad???? I would love to do one for father;s Day!

A: I don't but I love this idea so much I am going to put one together... very soon!!! Thanks!

LOTS more to come!