End of an Era (part one)

Tomorrow I begin a dreaded task. Something I hate to do. I have done it 3 times in my life. This will be my last.

I am going to begin potty training my 2 yr. old.

Anyone that has done this knows that it is more work for the mom than the child.

It's the end of an era because I have had a little one in diapers for the last 5 yrs. I could tell you everything you need to know about brands of diapers, who has the best prices, which ones work the best, what character Huggies was using 3 years ago....


We have a potty chair and Jeven will sit on it, in fact, he's even gone tee-tee on it a few times.
When we were potty training Jarrett about 6 months ago, Jeven would sit on the potty as well and I kick myself for not jumping on the chance then but....

I hate potty training! It means setting the timer and making a busy toddler sit still for MINUTES (can you imagine the horror!). It means packing extra outfits when you leave the house, running to the public restroom (gross) 5 trillion times in Walmart, it means accidents and tears (I am so embarrassed when they see me cry).

But, it also means no more spending $10 on diapers, no more stinky pants, no more expensive wipes to buy.

It also means that Jeven will no longer be a baby. Which I think is the thing I am dreading the most.

I Am Thankful For:

1) Being able to say, 100% certain, that I am going to Heaven someday.
2) My husband, who is my best friend and the one who knows me best which is a blessing and a curse!
3) Jayce, my first born. With him, I finally knew what true love really was.
4) Josie, my only girl. With her, I get to practice my french braiding, paint fingernails and play dress up.
5) Jarrett, my little clown. He has taught me that you can always find something funny in the mundane.
6) Jeven, my baby. He has taught me to let go. With him getting bigger every day, I am sad that my baby is gone forever but my big boy is so much fun.
7) Being able to stay home with my kids. Only because my husband works so hard.
8) Being poor. Because when you go without, it makes it all more special when you get a treat.
9) That most of our family lives close by. I always have back up.
10) Our church and our Pastor. These people have come to mean so much to us and have taught all us so many things.

This list could go on and on.

During this Holiday season, I have made a promise to myself that I will try and say "thank you" for all my trials and triumphs.
It's easy to say "thank you" for the major things: family, food, house, etc. but to say it when you are struggling is a very hard thing to do. But I am going to try.

Happy Thanksgiving

I have so much that I want to say about being thankful but after 2 turkey dinners and I am getting up at 3 a.m. to go shopping in the morning, I am going to put it off until tomorrow.

I hope all of you had a marvelous day w/ family, friends and loved ones.
I hope all of you took at least a moment to give thanks for all you have.

Saying thank you is easy, being truly thankful in your heart is sometimes more difficult.
But, I know I have lots of things to be thankful for. So, I am off to bed with a happy heart.

Great Idea!

I am so sick of cooking that tonight I said "I wish we could order pizza."
Jayce asked why we couldn't and I told him that we don't have enough money.

He nicely offered me his $5 as long as I paid him back $6 next week. I said thanks but no thanks!

He then exclaimed that lending money and getting paid back more than you lent was a GREAT way to make money. And he was very excited about his idea.

I hated to burst his bubble and tell him that someone already invented this great money making scheme.

"It's called a bank, son!"

Ah, the innocence of youth....

Connect Four

Or five, six, seven or more!!

'Tis the Season

Yes, it's that time of year again.

Cold and flu season.

Last year, it hit our house pretty hard. Not me so much but the kids and my husband.
Right now, Jarrett is sick w/ a fever and Jayce has a bad cough. Judd stayed home from work (which is a WHOLE other post: why do men have to be such babies?) with some sort of stomach bug.

Since we replaced our carpet with laminate flooring, I thought maybe we'd escape all the germs but... I guess having 2 kids in public school just brings everything home.

We are very careful about who we expose our kids to when they are sick. We stay home from church, we don't visit family, all of our kids know how to cover their mouths and wash their hands.

I get extremely frustrated when other parents don't do the same.

If anyone has suggestions (beside the obvious) to avoid such a disasterous winter, please let me know!!

What do I say...

...when my three year old hands me this picture he has made, all by himself?