Potty Training

I knew Jacob was ready to be potty-trained for a few months now, but I kept putting it off.  While I thought Hannah trained easily, I also remember it being extremely exhausting for the first few days.  So I felt like we needed a few days with nothing on our calendar.  It took awhile to find the time and the energy to give it a go.  But since Jacob started telling me a few months ago whenever he needed his diaper changed ("I poop my 'haaants'"), I knew it was time!

I'm not into gradual potty training.  My advice is to go all in, and if it gets frustrating, put it away and try again later.  The first day we started, I gave Jacob a bag of goodies (underwear, treats, potty books, and lots of juice!).  I sat him on the potty and read for a long time.  Nothing happened.  We finally gave up, and a few minutes later, he wet his pants.  I scrapped it for the day and got back at it a few weeks later.  I did the same thing again.  I sat him on the potty and read to him for nearly an hour, until he went by default.  I cheered for him and gave him m&m's.  Then I put underwear on him and told him not to go potty in them because that's yucky.  He said ok.  He instantly started telling me when he needed to pee.  I didn't have to set timers or remind him or anything.  It's been 10 days, and he's only had one accident!  We didn't have a successful #2 until day 7, but he seems to get that now too.  He's even gone to the bathroom without me a few times! I was a bit intimidated by "boy potty-training" because they're notoriously more difficult.  But in true Jacob fashion, he was a piece of cake.  I'm so proud of my big boy!   

Aww, he's so cute in his 1st pair of big boy underwear!  He's not sure about how they feel.

Reading the Elmo potty book while waiting to go potty.

Spring Fun 2013

Here are some of the fun things I got to do with the kids this spring:

Jacob and I went and played at Winter Park in Danville while Hannah was at Thursday school.  He ran around with some older kids while we were there.  He would tell them, "Hold on, I miss my mom.  I'll be right back."  Then he'd run and give me a hug and then go back to playing.  He melts my heart every day. 

He loved the "bumpy slide!"  

I took the kids to a petting zoo and lunch at DACC.  Hannah loved touching the animals.  Jacob would get right up to them and then chicken out.  He didn't touch many.

Checking out the tractor!!!

We got ice cream cones at McDonald's.  Jacob ate his twice as fast as Hannah!

We have a little park literally right next door to our house.  We have been exploring the woods this year, hoping to find some mushrooms (no luck thus far!).  It feels like we're so far from home when we are here, but you can actually see our house from the park!  The kids LOVE it!

We didn't find any mushrooms, but we did find some pretty wild flowers!

Mother's Day

I love this picture of the kids and I because it is so "real."  This is a typical scene in our house these days.  The kids and I usually begin and end our day with cuddle time in my recliner.  This is how we wake up in the morning and how we settle down at night.  I love that Jacob has his little thumb stuck up in the air.  He only sucks his thumb when he's tired, and he just pulled it out for this picture.  

This year, I ordered my own Mother's Day gifts.  Josh said he didn't know what to get me, and I knew what I wanted!  I got a cover for my kindle, a new nightgown, new underwear, lotion, and a bundle of ebooks on homemaking.  Josh had the kids color me some cards, and they filled out surveys about me.  They were really funny and something I'll keep forever.  Also, the day before Mother's Day, our family went shopping and I got some new clothes, and we ate at Dos Reales!

Mother's Day was busy, busy, busy!  We were at church from 8-12 (typical Sunday!), and then we went to Champaign for a baby shower for Josh's cousin Susan.  They graciously allowed Hannah to open the gifts for them!  Then we headed back to Catlin for a cookout with my family.  And we ended up celebrating with Josh's mom the following Sunday at her house!  

Mother's Day is always a great reminder of how blessed I am and how much I truly love my job.  There is nothing else in the world that I'd rather do.  I'm so thankful for my babies and that I get to spend every day with them.  I'm still convinced that I'm living the best days of my life.  

Thursday School Graduation

At the end of April, Hannah "graduated" from Thursday School.  I use that term loosely because she's actually going back next year, but everyone gets to do graduation, even the 2 year olds.  Hannah was so  cute singing her songs:

The great news is that next year Hannah AND Jacob get to go to Thursday School (they will be in different classes).  That means this fall, I will have two hours in Danville every week to run errands by myself, and the kids get a free, Christian preschool education.  It is amazing and such a blessing in our lives!

 

 I felt a little sentimental on this day, even though it was not particularly a big milestone in our lives since Hannah's continuing preschool next year.  I just know that every day is precious, and the kids are ever-changing and growing.  I cherish every single day of these young years.  I love my babies soooo much!

Spring Break!!!

You wouldn't think that spring break would really affect us, given that my kids aren't of school age yet, but it did make our week extra busy!  Between having our first really big snowstorm of the year (yes, during "spring" break), having our older friends home from school, and having Easter activities, we have had a very busy, fun-filled week!

On Palm Sunday, Hannah sang with the children's choir at church.  Since I was helping with the kids, I didn't get any pictures of them on stage.  I had her go ahead and wear her Easter dress from Grandma Jody.  She was so excited about it!

On Monday, we had our first huge snowstorm of the year, and the kids got to play in the snow.  If I'm being honest, it wasn't that much fun.  The snow was so deep, Jacob could hardly move his legs, poor guy.  He kept getting stuck!  Hannah also was getting stuck, just not as bad.  But at one point, she ran to me, and I could see that she was running around with only socks on her feet!  Her snow boots had gotten stuck and lost in the snow!  Needless to say, we didn't last long.

On Tuesday, we went to McDonald's with my mom and Jessica Clutter's family.  This is a tradition dating back to when Jessica and I were Hannah's age!

On Wednesday we had a playdate at the church with new friends!  I got to know two new moms and their kids!  That night, we had a potluck at church and helped stuff 3,000+ Easter eggs!

On Thursday, we had an impromptu Easter celebration with the Downings at our house!  This day involved lots of cooking and cleaning!  My house was extra messy due to all the fun we'd been having!  Thankfully, my mom came over and helped me roll out some noodles for dinner!

On Friday, we attended the library Easter party in the morning and went to The Good Friday service at church that night.

On Saturday, we had a city-wide Easter Egg Hunt at our church and then we stayed at church all day doing Easter prep!

By that night, I was purely exhausted, and my house was a mess.  I really didn't feel like dying Easter eggs but knew I would regret it if we didn't, so we got them going.  The kids enjoyed it!

On Sunday, we attended early church, taught at late church, had lunch with my family, and then had dinner with Josh's mom's family.  Whew!  Talk about a marathon day!

 

Computer Time

Do you ever feel like you spend a lot of time on the computer?  I know I do.  I feel like I almost can't function without it, which may seem ridiculous, but it's true.  I don't know what I'd do without it.  And that brings me to desiring some limits.  But then I think of everything that I do on the computer:

1) My part time job at the church requires many hours on the computer each week.  I communicate with the other church staff via e-mail since I work from home.  I coordinate volunteers via Facebook.  I order my curriculum and supplies online.  The list goes on and on.

2) I am a financial forwarding agent for my dear friends who work for Pioneer Bible Translators.  Almost all of my work for this is computer based.  I record gifts, e-mail receipts to supporters, and verify spreadsheets.  All on the computer.

3) I am in charge of our family finances.  I pay all of the bills and reconcile the bank statements.  This is all done, you guessed it, on the computer.

4) I do shopping and deal-hunting online.  Sometimes it's hard to get to the store with little ones, and sometimes you can just get better deals online, but I buy everything from toilet paper to clothes to Christmas gifts online.

5) I do all of our family scrapbooking on the computer, via this blog!

6) I manage our family calendar online.  I ditched the paper one a year and a half ago and haven't looked back.  It works great for our family.

7) I use Facebook for all event planning that I do: small group hosting, t-ball coaching, church events, birthday parties, showers, and on and on.

8) Since becoming a mom, Google has become my best friend.  I Google anything and everything.  I would probably definitely be embarrassed if someone published a list of the things I have Googled...

9) Often, the computer serves as my "cookbook."  And I make my menus and my grocery lists on the computer.

10) I just received a Kindle as a gift, and I LOVE it.  But I guess it's making me feel like I'm "on the computer" even more.  I know it's the same time and a different source, but my books are now "on the computer."  I'm even thinking about converting my Bible reading to my Kindle... I just love that highlighting feature (not that I'm afraid to mark up my real Bible)!

11) The computer is my "texting."  I don't have a fancy cellphone, so Facebook chat and e-mail are the ways that I "text."  You can usually get a fast response from me.  Which may be sad, but it's true.  It's also the way I communicate with my husband during the day.

So, where my mom might have made endless phone calls, mailed lots of letters, handwritten checks, went to ten stores looking for one thing, put photos in an album, pulled the family calendar off the wall to make plans, called the doctor every other week, pulled Betty Crocker's cookbook out every night, and read actual books, including the Bible, I'm clicking away on the computer and getting it all done in one spot.  It's amazing really, how convenient the computer has made things.

But on the other hand, I've been feeling like I'm spending a lot of time on here.  I want to find a healthy balance.  I'm not trying to make myself all innocent here either.  I waste a lot of time on the computer as well.  It's easy to be distracted by the things not on my list above, such as scrolling the Facebook newsfeed, playing games, reading blogs, etc.

I decided tonight to do a one week experiment with computer time.  I'm going to allow computer time only during Hannah and Jacob's sleep times, unless it's justifiably necessary.  So during naptime every afternoon and after bedtime every night will be the only times I open my computer for the next week... And I'm going to spend those moments that I wish I could get on the computer in prayer for my dear friends in West Africa.  This may not sound hard to you but I know it will be tough for me.  Challenge on, starting now!

Mini Room Makeovers

In January, I got the itch to change up some things.  My bathroom is one of the only rooms in our house that we had never painted.  When we bought the house, the paint was fresh, and we didn't hate it, so we left it.  That, and I couldn't think of what color I would want.  Then one day, I decided I wanted it to be blue.... so now it's "Faded Denim"...

And I LOVE it!  I even sprung for some new blue bathroom rugs.  Seven years is long enough to justify throwing the old ones out, right?  Ok, good!

While I was at it, I noticed that the dining room could use some fresh paint.  The navy around the bottom of the room was looking worn since we painted it 7 years ago (could it really have been that long ago?).  Since it's a quick, easy fix, I went for it.  I also picked up some new curtains at Target, hung all new pictures on the walls (lots of birthday/Christmas gifts), and inherited a hand-me-down rug from Josh's mom which fit perfectly!  I love my Ten Commandments and Fruits of the Spirit signs that I had made:

Yay for cheap, quick room makevoers!  What's next?