Revisiting The Daily Ten

I sat down and started writing about how I am sick and it doesn't seem fair. Moms shouldn't be allowed to get sick. I have too many things I need/want to do besides being sick.

But then I thought, who wants to read about that? I know I don't. So, I'll do a daily ten instead. That always helps me look for some positive things to say!


1. The highlight of Cade's day these days is getting to dump his pee from the potty chair bowl into the toilet. And the highlight of my day these days is seeing how excited and proud of himself he is! (And also not having to change his diapers anymore!)


2. I got a new calling at church...Primary President. I started out really excited about it. Now reality has set in and I'm about 20% excited and 80% overwhelmed. I love the primary children and I love serving in Primary, it's just a huge responsibility and I want to get it right.


3. The day after I got called as the Primary Pres, I was asked to be the room mom for Boston's class. I kinda chuckled and said, sure why not?! I am excited to get into his classroom and meet the children and be able to help. I have been going in once a week. So far his teacher has needed help with sorting papers, laminating, cutting, putting work up on bulletin boards, etc. I am happy to help wherever I can, but I'm also looking forward to getting to work with the kids more.


4. Boston made a best friend the first week of school, a little girl named Avaree. He talks about her everyday. They play toy story together at recess, and he always tells me if he got to sit by her at lunch or walk next to her in the line. He woke me up last night to tell me Avaree was in his dream. So cute. I feel really crummy right now but we HAVE to go to the family picnic and ice cream party at the school tonight because Avaree will be there.


5. We went to Austin a few weeks ago just for a fun visit. When I was going through my phone pics I found this one, and it brightened my day!



6. Cade likes to take pictures on my phone and I love going through them to see what he's taken pictures of. I have about 10 pictures in a row like this:




7. I am happy to say ever since I wrote this post about striving to find better balance in my life, I have made some changes that have made such a difference. I have been getting up early to read my scriptures. As much as I hate getting up early, I have already come to love that quiet time spent studying. On Saturday I was having a bad morning--just feeling grouchy towards Jamie and overwhelmed. Then I realized I hadn't started my day with scripture study. I truly notice a difference on the few days that I have missed.

8. I also made a goal to include exercise in my morning routine. Not just to lose weight, but to feel better all around. It is so good for my body, my spirit, my mind--it just recharges my batteries. For now I am walking a mile most days of the week. Sometimes Hudson wakes up early or I wake up too late to get in both my scripture study and my walk, but most days I try to do both before getting the boys up to get ready for school. When the weather is nice I sometimes wait and take the little boys after Boston goes to school. Pushing them makes for a harder workout, but good company!
Hudson almost always falls asleep on our walk!
9. Today after working on primary stuff all morning I was starting to get overwhelmed. I also didn't walk this morning since I am sick, so I just needed to get some fresh air. So we headed outside for a picnic lunch. It helped give me a little mental break and made me smile to see how happy Cade was!
10. Last but not least, my sweet Hudson. He has been such a blessing to me, especially with all the changes and new stresses! I am so so grateful for his calm, sweet temperament. He continues to be our easiest baby so far. He only gets up once a night to eat and usually when he's ready for a nap I just lay him in his bed or the swing and he goes to sleep without needing to be rocked or bounced (something neither of our other boys did!). He smiles and coos a lot, especially when he has a nice full tummy. The older boys continue to adore him and always want to be wherever he is so they can make him smile!

(All smiles when he first woke up, but then...stop taking pictures of me and just feed me already!!)

Silly Lunches and Other Odds and Ends

A little while ago I came across the idea for muffin tin lunches. Boston calls it a "silly lunch" and is so excited whenever I make lunch this way. Definitely a clutch idea for when I don't have any bread and need to serve a bunch of random stuff out of the fridge and pantry in a fun way!

This little man is having nothing to do with potty training so far. I thought he'd be easier to potty train because he generally copies everything big brother does. But potty training?

Not so much.

I'd love to not have two in diapers in a few months, so hopefully he'll decide he's ready soon! But I'm not pushing it; I'm a believer in waiting till he's ready. Still, Daddy can talk him into sitting on the potty if a movie is involved. He's had a few "accidental successes" using this method.

Cade is such an independent soul. He often plays by himself when Boston is at school. He'll either get out a handful of cars or a stack of books and entertain himself for the longest time. I love walking into his room to find him "reading" a familiar book. It reminds me he's just not a baby anymore! And I can't believe he's going to be my middle child soon!

And lastly, these roses in my front yard make me happy every time I see them, so I had to photograph them today. It's a colorful reminder that spring is here in Texas! Also, I am horrible at keeping plants alive, so the fact that these rose bushes are still alive and thriving year after year is something of a miracle.

Happy Spring everyone!

More potty talk

Boston was on the potty last night and announced, "That's gross!"
Jamie (laughing): "Where'd that come from, Boston?!"
Boston: "From my bumb."

And the other day Boston yelled from the bathroom, "I fluffed and poop came out of my fluff!!"


ps. I realize this may be offensive to some of you. I do apologize. Really, I do.

Potty Mouth

Something about a little bumb with character underwear...just makes me smile!

Potty-training Boston was pretty easy, although I have nothing to compare it to, since he's my oldest. The KEY to the whole thing was waiting till he was ready. I know there are a lot of different schools of thought when it comes to potty training, but this is just what worked for us. I tried to force it on him back in January and he was having none of that. This time around I didn't bother with the charts, the stickers, the candy bribes/rewards...none of that. Just TONS of praise when he went on the potty. Hugs, clapping, bringing Cade into the bathroom to show him, singing, jumping for joy, more hugs, more clapping...you get the idea! And I tried not to make a big deal about the accidents, which is hard when you're cleaning up poop off your carpet (luckily he only did that once)! I just let him run around naked for a couple days and now diapers are a thing of the past. (Oh wait...I still have one in diapers...) I am going to do that with all my kids. Worked like a charm.

The other day Boston was doing his business and Cade was sitting on the floor outside the bathroom keeping him company. I walked away for a minute and when I came back, they were deep in conversation. (Well, Boston was anyway). He was telling Cade "Cade, I'm going poop cause I'm a big boy and we don't eat poop; that's yucky. It will get on your hands and then you have to wash your hands like this" (imagine the visual of Boston rubbing his hands together).

It was funny, but gross. I don't know why he was talking about playing with poop!

A Good Day to be Naked

This is what my life looks like right now:

1:15pm

Boston has been nude since 9am. We are potty training, you see. So far, about 10 successes (thanks to plenty of chocolate milk) and no accidents (somebody knock on wood, quick!)

Cade just woke up from a 3 hour nap. LOVE that. I have had time to do laundry, make playdough with Boss, clean the kitchen, and celebrate all Boston's potty-time successes.

Rainy Days and Mondays

Today is both rainy (and freezing) and Monday. Perfect day to take down Christmas--it's about time--and dive into potty training. I have my doubts that he is ready. He never vocalizes when he wets his diaper and up until now when we've asked if he wants to sit on the potty, he usually protests.

But today is the day.

He's 2 and 1/2. I'd like for him to be potty trained before he starts kindergarten (and before age 3 would be nice, too). We are equipped with a potty chart with new Thomas the Tank Engine stickers, Thomas underwear, a picture of a wooden train track set that will be his reward when he becomes a master of the toilet, a stack of Thomas books by the potty, M&Ms by the hundreds, and the microwave set to go off every 30 minutes. I decided against going cold turkey and putting him in just underwear. And hallelujah for that decision. I have already changed 2 dirty pull-ups.

Mastering this whole potty-training business might take a while for us. Good luck to me.