? Snow Day ?

Today was day two of a smiggin of snow at our house. Yesterday was busy and cold so we didn't make it out. But today the snow cancelled bible study so we had lots of fun being spontaneous with our day filled only with potential! It started with a yummy treat for breakfast. In our pj's we dashed out to pick up breakfast from Chick-fil-a. Then out we went to enjoy the 'snow' and mostly ice. Lauren tried collecting snow but it was lots of effort with little yield, so she moved onto collecting ice. Olivia just had a ball sliding around and playing in the playhouse. Good times! Here are some pictures of the two cuties I got to spend my fun day with and the hot cocoa we enjoyed after we got in- at 9:30 am. Mommy was feeling adventurous- obviously. Then we spent the rest of the day playing and enjoying our free day! Gotta love God's little gifts in each day.

"Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. 

Worship the LORD with gladness; 

come before him with joyful songs. 

Know that the LORD is God. 

It is he who made us, and we are his; 

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture." 

Psalm 100:1-3

We see the 'yellow' light!

Disclaimer: This whole post, or most of it at least, is all about pee and poop. If that makes you ill then I suggest you read something else. If you're interested in our potty training craziness then read on my friend!

So I was crazy in the head this morning, after such a trying experience with Olivia's potential potty training last Saturday, as I tried to yet again put her in underwear. 

Again she was really doing great this week at actually going whenever I put her on the potty. I know she knows how to 'make it come out' but it is the knowing when it's going to come out she hasn't figured out yet. Then I remembered my own advice to myself after going through this fun with Lauren. It really isn't until they truly need to that they actually figure it out. Another words, it isn't' until they're diaper free and have to learn - oh this is what it feels like when I pee and right before that feels like this - do they actually learn it all.

So that brings us up to speed and this morning she woke up and did her business on the potty and I asked her if she wanted to wear undies today (oh I have energy in the morning that I would love to have at this time of day). She was all about it, jumping up and down and carrying on as she went to pick them out. I reminded her to tell mama 'pot.' Within twenty minutes she pooped in the first pair but she had true remorse and was very upset by the fact that she had pooped in them. That means so much to a potty training mama since if they are upset that means they don't want to poop in their undies and therefor will work at not doing it. Encouragement to continue was all I needed and this was it.

Onto pair number two. About a half hour after she then showed up at the bathroom door, where I was tending to Lauren and she just had this pathetic look on her face. I asked if she had pee peed in her undies and she said yes. I looked around but there was no trace of anything except on her clothes. So I think she was honestly trying to make it to me. She again was not happy about it and I had to talk to her about how we would try another pair and that she was doing good coming to me and telling me and that she'll get it.

Onto pair number three. This was no less than ten minutes after putting this pair on that she called me upstairs to tell me she had pooped again. She again was so visible upset with the situation. I reassured her again that it was okay and we can try again with a new pair.

Onto pair number four. This pair is the one I'm so excited to write about. You see she kept this pair dry and clean all the way to nap!!! (can you hear the squeal of excitement behind that statement) That is four hours of no accidents!!! I put her on the potty about every forty-five minutes starting after the first pee accident. She actually went in the potty each time she sat on it and was overjoyed at herself. Right before lunch she even looked at me and said "pooh, pooh!" and made it to the potty before she did her business. I was overjoyed with her progress and she was too!!! She was so happy to see the clean and dry undies each time she went and the M&M was the candy on top after each success!

I called Matt to tell him what progress we had made and he was reluctant (he is still a little scared after Saturday) but excited for her. 

I put her in a diaper for nap but had her use the potty before I did. This is one of the many times she has been regularly going to the bathroom anyway so to see that continue was a huge reinforcement that she's getting there.

I know this is not the most interesting post but I need to document for myself that we can do this, she can do this, I can do this- prayer and perseverance will get us there. We can reach goal number two (refer to previous post for more detail on this) before April!!

I still worry, for what reason I'm not sure, about tomorrow because we have planned a trip to the library as a family but then I remember I got through all those moments with Lauren and I'll get through them with Olivia too. Extra clothes in the diaper bag, lap pad on the car seat, bathroom trips before you leave the house, asking five hundred thousand times while you're out "do you have to go pee pee?" I got through it then and I'll get through it again- and in two years again...oh bless my heart!

Just the joy of raising kids. I hope and pray that her success continues tonight so Matt can see it too and have some relief for the future too. I know he's going to be a hot mess on tomorrow's outing but he can do it. We can do it!

How can you not just love that face...even when it's covered up...cutie!

"May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance." 2 Thessalonians 3:5

I'm still here, or at least I think I am

Well here I am again at the doctor for my three hour glucose test for baby number three. Yes...again, since I failed the one hour and will now get to endure the quiet of the morning in the cozy lab room across the hall from the doctors office. Oh did I say endure...silly me I mean enjoy! I did not want to fail the test and I’m hoping I pass this one with flying colors but this time I’m embracing the alone time to write on here, read a little from my book, and get more acclimated with the curriculum I have selected for high school bible study that starts up again this next week.

I haven't had a moment to blog this holiday season with all the hustle, celebration, and visiting. It was a good holiday, not without it’s foully but enjoyable all the same. 

I am in awe of how much the girls are growing these days. Lauren has started taking showers, with mommy’s assistance of course, but she’s big enough now. I also kept thinking- how on earth are we doing to bath all three of them? So I set some goals for the girls and I to achieve prior to the baby’s arrival in April. Lauren is going to learn to take showers (mission accomplished) and Olivia is going to get herself potty trained (I hope you're laughing with me not at me on that comment).

Some might think these goals random but not me. You see my girls are growing and as much as I want to hold them in my lap and pray they don't get any older...just yet, they keep doing just that- growing. Lauren has so naturally become more independent these days and Olivia is just coming into her own. Oh her fun, crazy little personality is too much. She has a few words she likes to use these days but she can say a lot more than that when prompted- so I'm waiting for the day when she just burst forth with some crazy decoration or goofy remark. She is a little independent girl with one of her favorite words being ‘me.’ She likes to do things for herself and sometimes that is so appreciated but when there is a time crunch situation, oh man it can be painful for this mama to endure. But never the less, I try to encourage the independence since in just a few months I'll look forward to it as I am tending to the baby who will need me to do everything for her.

I’m getting so excited for little ones arrival although I don't want it to come any faster than it needs to because I'm also enjoying life as a family of four. I'm very curious about the family dynamics with three kids. I grew up with just one older sister but Matt was the oldest of three so he can envision it better than I. I have no idea what to expect and I like that there are no expectations just possibilities.

So back to those goals. Well I started them both this past Saturday but they were both flops...and oh big flops. I put Olivia in underwear all morning and she went through five pairs of Cinderella and princess undies before nap. Not once did she actually pee in the pot even though she desperately needed to many times, and she sat there resisting. All I have to say is our floors are cleaner than they've been in months right now! By nap I was so happy to see her monkey diapers I think I could have danced around like a monkey. You see I feel she is ready because she has been using the potty on and off for months. She uses it before bath, sometimes in the morning, and other random moments that pop up here and there. She is well aware of how to ‘release’ the goods into the pot but sometimes she fights it- like she’s got some better pressing plans to tend to- like dancing around the bathroom?!? It makes me laugh most of the time but other times I get so flustered because I know she’s got it but yet she’s just being a kid- so I can’t blame her for all. She'll get it, now when I’m not sure. But oh how her personality plays such a big roll in her development it just amazes me. So very different from her older sister.

Speaking of that crazy older sister, she also enjoyed her first ‘independent’ shower on Saturday. She fussed and carried on the whole shower. Yet another fail. But I’m one who doesn’t give up so easily. I came at the situation from a different angle and on Sunday Lauren and mommy took a trip to Target and she picked out three new ‘shower’ washcloths. She got her wild watermelon (aka pink), blue, and mint green washcloths and then Monday nights shower was “a whole new world!” (and yes I was singing that Aladdin song right there). Not a single fuss, whine, or crab about anything- it was like she had showered all her life. I tell you never a dull moment or a predictable moment when it comes to kids!

Me on the other hand, I've been as unpredictable as them. I seriously have no brains inside my head. I've been so forgetful or just plan out of sorts. I try and hold it together but most of the time I look like that dancing monkey I was talking about earlier than anything! I'm enjoying all of baby's movements and trying to find moments when Matt can enjoy them too but when I'm not dancing around like monkey, I'm sleeping like a cat- but we still have three months of my belly getting bigger, baby getting bigger, and movements being easier for others to enjoy too! She likes to kick my bladder and all the other organs in my lower half- which makes for some interesting moments. She has also, thankfully, moved out of my pelvis area causing me to find much relief on my poor, frail hips and for this I'm so thankful. It won't be long before she heads back down there causing me to walk and sit in funny ways- maybe by then I'll have to throw in the white flag and quit my monkey dance, throw my feet up and do more of those cat naps...hahaha, oh I crack myself up! No it will most likely be more slow and awkward dancing for this mama- aren't you glad you don't get to watch this?!? 

So I guess you can say we're getting along just fine. Slowly making our way through these days with joy and craziness in the midst of it all. We've met one goal...now about that diaper thing...well we've got until April right...maybe we'll make it. Well life continues to keep us on our toes and always wondering what is behind the next door- most of the time we end up with the the door full of crazy but we come out smiling all the same.

The silliness of us. I got new
kitchen towels and this is what the
girls did with them. So goofy!

"Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs" Psalm 100:2 (Or crazy monkey dances;-)

If You Want My Advice...Or Not

I've been needing to write this blog for myself. I've had so much swimming round in this crazy head of mine and I find ease when I spew it down here. This post is simply for my own selfish need to get this stuff out of my head and also because maybe, just maybe the thoughts I have might ring true to someone who reads them.

So I've been thinking a lot lately as I've been mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually preparing for baby number three. So much is different when you're preparing for the third child than the first, or even the second for that matter. I'm noticing a big change in my expectation and my dreams as this one grows inside my ever growing belly.

First, I want to say that I am indeed no expert. I just know what I've experienced and these thoughts come from just that- my experience. In fact, that is one of my first thoughts- how everyone is so very different. Each couple is very different from the next. So it is so hard to give parenting advice to anyone since they are two very different people, with different personalities and vastly different upbringings usually. For Matt and I you can see just that. Matt came from a home with three kids, laid back parents who have been married to each other his whole life. His household was very steady and consistent. His personality makes him a parent who doesn't act irrationally and has patience with just about anything (that goes out the door when he’s tired though- as it does with anyone who is tired). I, on the other hand, came from a family with two kids and my parents divorced when I was three. I had a working mother from then on and only went to my dads every other weekend and on holidays/vacations. My life was not as steady and consistent. My personality makes me a parent who will gets twenty five things done at the same time and I’m the snuggler/comforter.  Neither one of us is better than the other but each very different so we bring our own dynamics into our parenting style.

This also remains true when it comes to our children. Both can be very different and their personality cause us to parent them just a little differently. What will work for Lauren might not work for Olivia and vise versa. So not only does each parent come to the table with different personalities and different upbringings- each child is so different.

Sorry if this is sounding like a college term paper but what I'm trying to say is this is why I struggle giving people parental advice and often just stay away from it unless asked. 

I have a friend who is very different from me- she gave birth to her first child shortly after Olivia was born. She would often ask for advise for this or that and I would tell her how I did things with my girls but I knew deep down that her personality and her daughter’s personality were nothing like my kids and I so I'm not sure what good I did or if she was able to use any of the things I told her- and I'm pretty sure she didn’t. I felt bad that I wasn't able to help her out but at the same time I was thinking- you'll figure it out. I felt like more than anything she needed more confidence to trust herself than anything. That is advice you can’t really give a person though.

I recently went to a baby shower for a wonderful lady who is about to give birth to her first. When I went shopping for her shower I was thinking that she needed to have something for when baby wasn't a newborn anymore. So I thought about six months out she might need stuff for teething and eating- so I themed my present around that. Then I wrote a one page explanation of my gift- since I wanted her to know the reason behind each purchase I made and let her know the multiple uses of a teething ring and pacifier tether, the reason I purchased the bowls I did and those wonderful inventions- the disposable bib. I didn't want her to think- oh great another person who completely ignored my register and for her to just shove my, what I'd like to believe were thoughtful gifts, into the Target bag to be returned. When I got to the end of my WAY TOO LONG explanation of the gift (surprise, surprise) I was thinking about the advice that I did appreciate along the way. The stuff that wasn't about how to get baby to nurse better or sleep longer or other such nonsense. These were the three things I am glad someone told us or we learned on our own:

1. Just when you have it figured out, it all changes.

2. You can't spoil a baby.

3. Trust your gut and your God.

If anything has held true through the raising of both our girls is that as soon as things seem to settle or you think you've got the upper hand on this parenting thing they change, grow, and throw you for a loop. It has held true each and every step of the way for both kids. Now I'd say there is an upside to this advice because the stages you'd rather not endure but must, also go away. The never ending crying of a newborn passes, the I’m not going to listen to you since I've realized I have my own opinions and desires passes...you name the stage and it will pass. But the stinky part is the good stages pass too. The part where they just want to be held or everything they do is new and exciting...this will also pass. I always think of how Lauren could go no where without Bunny Night-Night and lately she sometimes comes and sometimes doesn’t- how sad that she doesn’t always want or need her. I think it makes me sad because someday down the road I will be Bunny Night-Night and she will seem to need me less and less (sniffle...oh I'll get through it but I won't like it...sniffle).

But this ever changing thing makes parenting always new and always adventurous that is for sure. With every new child there are different stages and different goods and not so goods. But the fact remains that as soon as you gain the confidence that you have it down- the game changes.

Secondly, you can’t hold your baby too much. I’m talking newborn to six months. In fact, the honest truth is usually by then they want to be down exploring and getting into everything anyway. So don't let people tell you to put your baby down! Hold it all day long if you want. That stage is soooo short in the grand scheme of it all, so don't waste a minute- but do give yourself a break- you'll need it. I remember with Olivia just embracing it so much more and maybe because I got that little bit less with her since I still had to love on her big sister too. I think that is why this time I'm so adamant on getting a Moby Wrap of some kind- I just want to hold that sweet thing as much as I can and if I can’t do it with my two very busy arms then the wrap will do (plus I’m preparing for any kind of baby that might ‘pop’ out -fussy, laid back, snuggler, etc.). Where with baby number one they're all you have to worry about and all you have to love on- so have at it!

Lastly, everyone is going to give you advice whether you want it or not. About every part of your parenting. Most will say it in this form “when my kids were young...” or if it’s your parent “with you...” or still others "well with my child..." and it usually something you're not going to do or it won't work for you and your spouse/child. There is no big problem with other people giving you advice except that it often drowns or clouds over our natural gut instinct. Or as I refer to it as the Holy Spirit talking to us. God equips us with the tools we need to parent our child. Sometimes, yes it is through others advice but more often the advice we ask for not the things said to us. 

He made your baby special for you. Unique to fit perfectly into your family. I think most of us parents know what will work for us and what won’t. For instance, with Lauren we took her pacifier away at 9 months. We endured three nights of her crying and crying to fall asleep at night. And I endured a whole week with no naps. I know many parents...many parents who could never and would never had been able to do that. They would have given her back the pacifier. And I was not better than them by any means. But we did what worked for us and our baby. I think for us  we endured it because I am so revolted by the thought of a child walking around with one hanging from their mouths, pulling it out to talk only to put it back in again. That might not bother you but I does me. So for me it was worth it in the end. Now my MIL told me her kids just simply stopped them on their own. I've had another friend who only allowed them at bedtime and yet another who took it away and had no ill effects like crying or such. Again this just reinforces my point that each parent and child is so different, that what worked for me might not work for you. But what does work often times is what you feel is right. And God is prompting you through the Holy Spirit and if you take the time to listen then you will figure out what works for your family.

That’s the fun of parenting isn't it? Well to some. The fact that we get to go on this grand adventure discovering things about ourselves and our child along the way. The best is that God is with us on the whole journey and each child He created was a special order for each family. You get to navigate it with the special spouse He sent you too- each with your own unique gifts and talents to bring to the table. Where I am weak, He is strong. And I say that in the context of God and my wonderful Husband. I am so amazed at how perfectly He created such imperfect people to fit together so perfectly. I hope that make sense beyond me.

In our family we like to do ‘sandwich’ hugs. Matt or I will be holding a kid or two and we give a big family sandwich hug. Matt and I are often the bread or bun and our sweet girls are the PB&J or the meat and cheese that make us so yummy all together. Yes, we have our moments when we don't see eye to eye or our own selfish desires get into the way of things but all in all we're the perfect little family of four...soon to be five...for us. God didn't make a single mistake anywhere along the way. Thank goodness we can count on Him and not ourselves to know what is right.

So all that to say you got this- you know what works for you, what you're willing to put up with or deal with, and the solution that will solve your current problem. And heck even if you don't get it figured out- don't worry because things will change before your eyes and you'll be dealing with a new puzzle, challenge or if you're lucky a moment of reprieve!

So those are the words of ‘wisdom’ that have been floating around this big ol’ head of mine as I think about this third miracle growing inside of me. Oh I can't wait, well I can, to meet baby number three.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6