The IN's and OUT's...

Thats right people... we are talking about the body today. Namely, our son's body. His pee. And of course his poop!
Let me just start off by saying it has been very trying all weekend to get this kid in the mindset that we are no longer wearing diapers. I mean real trying. Trying my patience. Trying my ability to remain happy and upbeat about pee all over the floor for the third time in an hour. Trying to be persuasive with such things as candy and future monster truck purchases.

I mean, at times I am not even sure he knows he has to go... until after he has gone.

He was doing so well to start off. He went poop in the pot the first day and I showered him with praise! I mean down right silliness ensued in that bathroom the first time I saw those darling little logs floating in there! I clapped. I cheered for him. Told him I was sooooooooooo proud. We even called daddy. It was a big deal. He kind of has the poop down. Only one "unders" accident over the weekend. After a bath, of all things.

Day 2 and 3 of this "bootcamp", which by the way is more of a bootcamp for the parent than the child, ends up going fine for the remainder of the three day training session. I however, cannot report that this kid is trained like the booklet suggests he should be. And really not sure if I am any closer to tell the truth.

Over the weekend and today, I don't feel like I was lazy. I made all efforts to get this kid to go on the pot... kicking, screaming, crying and beating the sides of the potty included. Not by me. By Him. He just hates it. He tells me he does. He says it's not fair. I think he would prefer to wear that silly cotton safety net than to grow up and do it the way everyone else does.
A part of me thinks that would totally be easier.

But I also would be letting not only him, but myself down. He has to go. On the pot. And I will continue to make daily sacrifices of not leaving the house, asking the repitious questions of "ready to go yet?", cleaning more laundry than I have in weeks- in the matter of a day's time... and of course just the insane task of following him around instead of doing what I want to during the day. I never realized how much I just enjoyed the time I had when they would let me veg in front of my laptop and read insignificant things while they fought, played and laughed together. Oh how I miss it.

I think I said this last time, but we will get there. I am just hoping sooner than later. I applaud his efforts. And, I love him more and more for who he is becoming.

This is where I leave you with some pictures of our dear boy. Who loves washing his hands even if he doesn't do anything in the bathroom, while singing his ABG's (he doesn't quite have the alphabet down in the right order yet). He is a great kid. Who also enjoys vacuuming!

Look at those little toes tippied to the top so he can reach the sink in the guest bathroom....

Time for a Potty Break...

We have been telling Nolan for almost a month that when the diapers are gone, he is going to be wearing his new "unders". He would always ask me why, so I came up with the story that HIS diapers cost too much money and that mommy can't buy them anymore. I would remind him as they started to dwindle in numbers that very soon he was going to start using the potty like a big boy. He would tell me, "I know mom..." and then go back to running around and playing with his Sis. Didn't think about it much past that.
Then we bought a potty about two weeks ago. I set it in the guest bathroom downstairs and would talk to him about how it was his potty and his toilet paper, ect. He even had his own hand soap! He liked that idea... for a while.

Then this past weekend we used the last #5 diaper. Sunday morning we got out his unders and said "this is it". I took off his diaper and slid the new Thomas the Train unders up over his white little legs and then around his waist. Immediately he started crying. He was very angry that this day had finally made it's way into our house! He pulled at the waistband. Said he didn't like it. Threw himself on the floor. Said he wanted them off.

I just looked at my baby boy and tears began to welt in my own eyes. I had told him he was no longer a baby, and that is exactly how I felt. He was growing up. Even if we didn't succeed yet at pooping and peeing in the potty, we were at that stage, and he was no longer that little baby I had brought home back in May 2008. It broke my heart. These last 2 and 3/4 years have gone by so quickly. Too fast. Memories of this little boy flooded my mind.

How he was so very beautiful when he finally arrived on May 2, 2008 at 11:23pm. How he was such a quiet sleeper. And would be mostly awake during the day for the first couple months of his life. How he used to pull at my skin when his milk wouldn't be coming out fast enough, and beat at my back or scratch with his little fingers. How we used to just hold him, because we knew someday he wouldn't let us anymore.

How he started to roll over at 3 mos. And sit up at 5mos. How he loved to go for walks in the stroller and just fall asleep to the birds and the sunshine sparkling in the deep blue skies. How he would be into doing anything and everything that I was doing... and often fall asleep while I was doing so.

Nolan got his first teeth at 6 mos. Two little white chompers popped through the bottom of his gums and suddenly... he was changing. I can remember being in Bed Bath and Beyond and just wanting to squish him because he was just so darn loveable with his new smile.

He was a very happy baby. Very placid. Easy to please. He started crawling by 7 and a half months. Would creep our staircase by 8 and a half mos. And by 9 and half months started to creep around furniture and stand up in his crib. He started sleeping in our bed at 10 mos and that lasted until he was about 2. That part I might relive and do differently. But then I think about how I loved to know he was safe with us and how I could hear him breathing next to me... and I know I did things just as I was supposed to even if most people wouldn't agree.
He started walking by 10 and a half mos and running by a year. He had about a full mouth of teeth by the time he turned one, minus his molars. Which he got at around 16mos.... all at the same time. Worst diaper rash I have ever seen. I remember crying for him and calling my mom to bring me two different kinds of creams. Poor baby!

He has always been very bright. Into exploring everything, as any child does at that age. He would talk to us in short phrases by the time he was a year and half. It stunned us. We would wonder if we were giving his mind enough stimulation. We would be in Kohls or other stores and people would stop me and ask how old he was, because they couldn't believe how well he could talk!
He knew his colors and could count to five by 20mos. And by the time Nolan turned 2 you could carry on a conversation with him. He would respond back about things that you would think he had no idea of.

Nolan started to learn his shapes and could distinguish numbers from 1-10 by the age of 26mos. He can kick a ball, use a golf club (needs some practice), draw some really great pictures on paper, use scissors, and say his dinnertime prayer (with a little help, of course). He likes to recite movie quotes, and would prefer to eat candy for breakfast, lunch, and dinner... although that never happens.

And now at 33 months old he is about to be potty trained. I just can't put into words the true feelings I have for how I wish time would just slow down. It escapes me. I cherish all the things I can remember about his life thus far and I look forward to all of the things he will make me smile about, laugh at, and cry over in the many years to come.

To expound upon our Sunday potty adventure, we had three pee accidents and one poop accident that equated to Nolan in a diaper by the time I returned back home from working at the Orchid Sunday evening. I hadn't expected the Hubs to be the one potty training, so I was fine with it.
We will get there. I have no doubt. I think being able to stay home for three days is going to be the real challenge!

Until next time...

Happy Valentine's Day, Loves

Yesterday was Valentine's Day. We spent most of the day doing what we usually do:

Giving each other hugs and kisses!

Spending time as a family. Which we have the privalege of doing everyday. We play together. Read together. Run errands together. Clean the house together. Make dinner together. Even sleep together.

(Photo from Summer 2010)

Doing special things to make the ones we love... know we love them! Like make chipboard photo books of our favorite people (uh hem... the hub's Vday present this year).

We made each other happy. (most of the time)

We said "I love you" out loud. And proud.

We decorated the house in special ways to commemorate such things as a Monday afternoon craft with a lovely twist.

And we bought the kiddos some candy and a sheet of stickers.

The hubs brought me a heart shaped box of Turtles candy and a really big red rose :)

We were supposed to have professional pictures taken last night (not because it was Valentine's... I just happened to have a coupon and schedule the appointment on the same day). But we called 20 minutes prior to our appoinment and cancelled on the way there because Nolan fell asleep and sissy was in a really bad mood because she was ready to eat... now. And I already knew where that was heading... a very very bad photo session with a husband who already had no interest after having a typical Monday work day, a 2 year old who would have got a 15 minute nap and would have woken up beyond GROUCHY and uncooperative, and a 1 year old who was ready to dine and would not be photogenic until after that happened. I was somewhat bummed because we haven't taken a family pic since before Nev was born and I seriously looked cute last night.

My outfit was just adorable. Skinny jeans~ dark wash. A thin yellow thermal V neck. Sequined sleeve navy cardigan. My infamous leather bow belt that I simply wear with everything lately. Some leopard print flats. And a gold and white scarf. Plus, my hair just knew it was going to be photo-ed or something... it was behaving perfectly! My eyebrows were looking nice, my skin had a slight glow... I really hope our waitress at Pizza Hut appreciated my cuteness instead of the photographer last night. Because that's where we ended up. Ordering 2 mediums (Monday special... you get 2 for $6 each) and drinking soda pop with our munchkins for Valentine's Day.

Came home and were ready for some relaxation time by 7:30pm. The kids were wound up from all their candy and pop, so we nixed the idea to share cupcakes we had bought. We spent the rest of the evening watching the Bachelor while the kids played with some toys in the basement. Then we all went to bed by 10pm. Exciting. I know. But as I said in the beginning... yesterday was Valentine's and we spent our day almost like any other day.

Until next time...

Hockey Games and Homemade Pizza

So we decided to venture out into the frozen tundra last evening... just to watch a mediocre hockey team score five goals against a rather terrible opponent. And, we had a blast! It was seriously so much fun watching Nolan watch the game. He sat in the fold down chair and ate an entire bag of Skittles while the opening activities unfolded. The lights flashed. The music was loud. The national anthem was sang brilliantly. And a fight broke out in the very first minutes of the first quarter. It was everything I remembered the Komet hockey games to be and probably more now because I was sharing it with my own family. 
I just hope that next time I will be able to feed the kids before we leave the house so we don't spend $20 on junk food at an overpriced, sub par vendor and still make a stop at Taco Bell on the way home.

I had planned to make a homemade pizza before we left, but time escaped me later in the day yesterday trying to find out about my HUD file. I was on hold for 45 minutes alone!! When the hubs got home at 5pm I was talking to the buyer and the lender... with no pizza in sight! And we were supposed to be leaving at 6:15! I still hadn't even taken a shower!
So I threw together this simple crust recipe:

3 cups All Purpose Flour
1 .25oz Package Dry Active Yeast
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Granulated Sugar
1 cup warm water
2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil

Combine the flour, yeast, salt and sugar. Add the water and the vegetable oil. Roll out onto a pizza pan. Add your toppings. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes. 
I baked it for 5 minutes before topping the pizza and putting it back in to bake for 20-25 more minutes. Seems like enough time right?

Well I showered, got dressed and came out to see what the pizza was looking like...... and found that it was not even close. The toppings were done, but the crust... well lets just say it was pulling apart like the melted cheese! Completely raw. What the heck! We have to go!

Scrambling to get the diaper bag ready, I just threw my hands in the air and said we would eat at the game. The kids by this time were just starving!Nolan was throwing a fit because he wanted to eat the pizza. Nevaly was crying and refusing to get her coat on. And I don't blame them, the last time we ate was 11am! Even my belly was grumbling! I felt terrible. I hoped being at the game would make up for it. And, I suppose it did.

Nolan woke up this morning and asked if we were going to another hockey game tonight. So all in all I think it was a fantastic experience, that will probably happen again soon.

Here's a couple pics of the evening:

Until next time...

Something's wrong with the world today...

I have that song stuck in my head lately. And for good reason. I have recently been reading a lot of articles pointing to not only the end of America, but also the last days.
Last week someone posted on their FB page about this website: http://www.endofamerica12.com/
I sat in front of my computer for like 45 minutes just enthralled in this video. I can honestly say that I wholeheartedly believe that this can and will happen to this country, and that I hope I am not too late to prepare my family for a very rough road ahead.

I follow quite a few blogs now. Mostly sewing and craft blogs. I find it very interesting to read about people I will never meet and get ideas for my own life about cooking, crafting, LOVE and parenting. Partly the reason I started my own blog was to talk about nonsense that most people could give a hoot about, just to talk about it.
I think it is sort of therapeutic. A release of mindless ramblings for someone who has little interaction with other adults unless they happen to venture out to go to the grocery store, real estate office, or craft shop during their day. Which I do often. I am not a real homebody type gal. I live in the country.

But, I also follow serious blogs such as http://endrtimes.blogspot.com which is a Christian based blog that disects the events that take place around the world on a daily basis. It often blogs  about things you don't hear about on the news. Things that would make you angry and sad, and scared if you really took the time to read them.
And recently an article was posted on February 2, 2011 that made me really wake up to what this world is quickly turning into. Many biblical prophecies from the New testament have already come to pass. We are on our way to being part of the last days. I truly believe that. Here is the link to that article: http://endrtimes.blogspot.com/2011/02/fulfillment-of-scriptures-in-last-days.html

And just yesterday a random old man came up to my husband while he was out on a job site and began telling him that the world was coming to an end. What?! That we were in the last days. That our government controlled even the weather now (Huh??). And although we both thought this man was clinically insane, I do believe that he did have some truth to his words. I have never before felt like I do right now about what is currently going on in this world. A lot of things can't even be explained by scientists (and those people know everything, right?!). If you do nothing else for yourself and your family... get right with Jesus. Your faith is going to be the only thing that saves you.
This is not our heaven people. But it can quickly become our hell.

I know I have very few followers, because many of you are just lurkers... but I love each and every person in my life~ friends and family alike. I care about you. I care about YOUR family. I don't think it would be fair to know about these things, especially if they are somewhat public and then not pass them along.

It is our human nature to think that things could never get "that bad". And if they do, that things will "get better". We all have droehms and ambitions that we want to see carried out. I am one of those people. It makes me sad to think I may never get to see my children get married and have children. Or to even just grow up.
But God has a plan for each of our lives. He knows each one of us personally. He knows the hour with which He will return, and what we will be doing.
So please... take heart.

It's Snow Much Fun!!

Last week was a blur of snowflakes, high winds, whole family naps, homecooked comfort food, bad mood babies, ornery behavior, and four wheel drive. The hubs got to stay home on Wednesday since we were on a Level 1 Snow Emergency... that was super nice :) Makes me prefer a Monday Tuesday Thursday Friday work week every week, with the same pay of course.
I took some pics of our snowpocalypse:

 It was blowing so hard at our house! Sounded like our house was alive!

 This was the kids playset the next day. The swings had wrapped around once and it almost tore off the top!

 Cuddle bugs.

 Burning some energy equates to running around the house nonstop.

 I was certain I gave birth to a boy... but I guess at some point he turned into a monkey.

 Busy playing hide and seek with Sis.

 I see you!

They got into the markers.... and created arm art. Yah!

All in all it was a rather lazy couple of days. Which is fine to have once in a while... but I get the feeling my husband is going to start thinking I have lost all interest in doing anything around the house real soon~ if he hasn't already. And even though he won't say it now... he will hold onto it and bring it up later, like even two weeks later, how I don't do anything. 

Yes, I know I have a sky high pile of laundry that isn't going to do itself (oh how I wish it would though) just sitting around on my closet floor, a plethera of unfinished projects all over the house including a yarn wreath, new hair bows, unfinished painted walls, dirty floors that need swept and mopped and a rental that is begging to be finished. I know that I said I would start to get things ready to do the taxes. I know the kids have crackers and drink straws all over the couch.

But let me tell you, I also know that I have the ability to make it look like I have been busy all day long in a matter of just thirty minutes. And that the hub will arrive at around 5 or 5:30 tonight... so that leaves me with a couple hours to get lost in Blogland (my latest addiction) or naptime.

Until next time...

Some Random Things

I decided that today since I have done nothing productive, I would try and come up with a list of 25 30 random things about myself that even my family might not know.... here goes!

1. My favorite M&M is brown.
2. I adore high heels but rarely have the opportunity to sport them and am a giant when I do.
3. I hate lotion. As much as I think my skin could use some moisture, I will not put it on.
4. The first thing I notice about people are their teeth.
5. I hate my own smile. I would go gaga for some smaller pearly whites and some bigger lips.
6. My children sleep in the same room as my husband and myself... and most some nights even the same bed!
7. My children don't have a bedtime and usually fall asleep ONLY when we end up going to bed. Hence the same room situation.
8. I could eat Mexican food everyday if I had to.
9. I have five siblings and so does my husband.
10. I have lived in 10 different houses since graduating high school. All except two, were with my husband.
11. I have been a Realtor for almost 6 years now and manage to generate a decent part time income from it.
12. I didn't mind being pregnant, but had overwhelming fears of dying during labor because of the things I read about in Nursing school. Eek!
13. I also have my Associates of Science in Nursing with equates to an RN status...
14. But, I failed my boards in September 2009 after getting all 275 questions so I still don't have my license! And I'm not motivated to start trying again, but know that I need to in order to get my license!
15. I loathe laundry. I seriously have the same pile sitting in my closet because I only pick out the things I want to wash and wear and leave the rest for "another day".
16. I adore making hair accessories.
17. I love being a stay at home mom, regardless of what I say at the end of the day.
18. I love to cook.
19. A place I hope to visit before I die is either New Zealand or Iceland.
20. I played with Barbies and babies until I was a junior freshman in high school.
21. I can still become a pile of putty in my hubby's hands.
22. I believe in Jesus Christ as my one TRUE Savior.
23. I love to get dressed up just for the heck of it.
24. I love the sound of my children belly laughing.
25. I would marry my husband again... except on a beach this time.
26. Even though I have a dishwasher I will leave dirty dishes in the sink... for DAYS!
27. Have bit my nails since I can remember. But suddenly just stopped about four weeks ago. I can't wait to paint them!
28. I don't have a single framed picture in my house... ANYWHERE. And I hate that.
29. I started working when I was 15 at Subway. Got hired because I was the only person he had ever seen send in a resume at my age :)
30. My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving, with Christmas in a close second.


There you have it. Random ramblings.
I have seen this done in magazines and often wondered if I could even come up with 25 (or 30) random things about myself.... found out I could have had about 500. Once you get going, you can really get going.
Now, leave me a comment with 5 random things about yourself. Please! I would love to know a little more about you too.

Until next time...