Potty Training: Take Two

We are once again in potty training mode at our house. You would think it would be simple compared to the first time around considering there were two of them but it has not.

The truth of the matter is the girls were a breeze to train. We woke up on a Saturday morning told them what we were going to do, set ourselves, two little potties, lots of candy, juice, etc. in the play room and off we went. By Sunday afternoon they were fairly well trained and on Tuesday they went to school and came home without having had any accidents! It was really that easy. We switched to panties that Saturday and never looked back. They were not quite two and a half and I guess they were just ready.

The weekend of Mother's Day was the time we picked to train Jack.

You may think it is weird to just "pick" a day but David and I have a system. We both pick a weekend and we plan to not do anything except potty training. So I had it on my calendar and my type A personality was prepared.

Then Friday came and Jack was having some poop issues. I should have tossed the whole plan right then and there but in my mind I wanted this over with, not to mention I had made all the necessary preparations. Saturday morning we started and it was in one word...

DISASTROUS.

He was not feeling well (neither was Claire) and he did not hit the potty once. At noon I gave up and decided to fight the good fight another day.

This last weekend we tried again and he is doing well! He is still having accidents when he gets too busy doing something really fun but that is to be expected.

He is certainly not as focused as the girls were. I am reminding him constantly and using every bribe possible. This would explaing why you would have seen oreos, powdered sugar donuts, cars and tattoos filling my basket at Target this morning. At the rate we are going he is going to have gained ten pounds and probably the same amount of tattoos by the time I take the girls to school tomorrow.

Since I took these pictures he is now sporting three additional tattoos. The mothers at the preschool picnic are going to love him, HA! Here he is tattoos and all!

I Joined - Have you?

Summer

Summer has pretty much arrived and the kids and I are loving it! They have been outdoors just about non stop playing in the sprinkler, enjoying the playground and getting dirty in the sandbox.

Today we went to the pool for the first time this year and as much as I hate the necessity of putting on a bathing suit, I love the laughter, the sun, the smell of sunscreen and early bed times from the kids being worn out. This is my favorite time of year and I hope you are all enjoying it as much as I am:)

On a separate note our first family pet, Nemo, went to fish heaven Saturday. David removed him Saturday night and gave him a proper burial.

I was not really sure how long it would take the kids to notice, the girls barely acknowledged him since the arrival of our rescue dog Tammy, but like clock work Jack checked on him this morning and came running to tell me he was not there.

I called the girls in to my room and informed them all that Nemo had passed away. Sarah asked me if he was is in Heaven I said I was sure he was. One question and those two were completely satisfied and off to play barbies again. Not much love loss there.



Jack continues to look for him though; in our bed, the toy bins, the trash etc. I have given up trying to explain to him what happened. Much in the same way I gave up trying to convince him to stop putting goldfish crackers and fruit loops in Nemo's tank. Rest in peace Nemo, you never really had a chance.

We originally bought Nemo to try and satisfy the girls desire for a pet with a fish. It did not go over well. A day later Sarah reminded me again that she really wanted a dog. When I asked why she told me you can't do anything with a fish, not even pet them.

Point taken.


I started looking for a rescue dog that day. After meeting with several animals from different rescues and weeks of searching we rescued an extremely sweet one year old maltipoo. She was named Tammy in honor of a sweet donor who paid for her initial care and heartworm treatment.

She is completely spoiled! The kids are taken with her, with the exception of Jack who really preferred the fish, and so are we. I must tell you that for the most part she is the most well behaved "child" in our house and definitely the least demanding.

Meet Tammy

Angie Smith (The Story of Audrey Caroline)

Long before I started blogging I stumbled upon Angie Smith's blog "Bring the Rain-The Story of Audrey Caroline". I spent the next several hours reading her blog from start to finish completely enamored by her story. Angie Smith is an incredible wife, mother, writer, and child of God. I encourage every one of you to check out her blog at http://www.audreycaroline.blogspot.com/ or pick up her recently published book "I Will Carry You". I hope it inspires you to walk closer with the Lord and shows you the grace of His love even in the most desperate situations.

A New Year

So long 2009! Welcome 2010 a new decade!

Looking back throughout the last ten years I can hardly believe how much my life has changed. I left for college. I graduated from college. I took my first job and moved to Houston for the first time. I went back to school and got my teaching certification. I got engaged and married. We bought our first home. We struggled with infertility and dealt with the heartache of miscarriage. David took a new job that meant a move back to Victoria. The day he left I discovered I was pregnant. We struggled through a tough first trimester and were elated to discover I was carrying twins! I finally moved to Victoria. A few months later I had our precious twins. We over came a really rough year with lots of financial stresses and two demanding infants. We celebrated surviving that year! We welcomed Jack to our family. We struggled and prayed for job opportunities for David. A year and a half later a new job and another move. July 2009 we finally found our family under one roof again after a long 9 months. Since then we have just been rejoicing over being together as a family and feeling so blessed.

2009 was a year so many struggled through. Financial collapse, unemployment record highs and a government that is challenging many of our more conservative views. Struggles that lie behind us and many more sitting out in front. Praying for the new decade, the decisions, trials and joys that lie ahead.

Wishing you and yours a wonderful 2010!

Merry Christmas

As the kiddos would say "Happy Birthday Jesus!"

Sprained Ankles and Recycled Gum

The last couple of weeks have been so busy for our family!

The weekend before Thanksgiving we traveled to Victoria for a weekend of fun. It started with the girls' very first sleepover with Nicole. Needless to say they had a great time with their "best friend" and are ready to do it again as soon as Tammy can regain her stamina from being up half the night.

The next day we celebrated Ava's 4th birthday at magic bounce and Sarah took home a badly sprained ankle. All I can say is I don't know why my sister is never around to do her thing when disaster, I use that word extremely loosely, strikes with my children. On a side note Sarah is feeling much better now but is still hobbling around on occassion.


The Wednesday before Thanksgiving we headed back to Victoria and took care of holiday haircuts for everyone except David and a few other holiday related errands. The kiddos were so excited to spend more time with Nana, Papa, and Aunt Juli and we did our best to keep them occupied with walks and playground time. It was fun to see them play on the same school playground that I enjoyed as a child!

Friday I did my annual Black Friday shopping. I am not one to stand in line for hours I just like to get up and be out and about. If I get a few good deals even better! Once the girls were up we picked them up and did a mall trip with my mom and sister. There Sarah and Claire managed to turn all of our stomachs by recycling gum from under a table. I don't have any clue what would possess them to even consider it but I am sorry to say they did. After the adults completely freaked out and I gave a lecture on germs we tried without success to forget the whole event had happened. But really how could you forget an event like that? I mean just the thought of it now makes me want to clean compulsively. EWWW! And why would I share this with you all? Simply because I am longing for one of you to tell me that my children are not the only ones to do things that I never thought I had to outline on a "We Do Not Do... List".

We had a crazy but blessed Thanksgiving and year and hope you and your family did too!