Electrifying

This weekend was the first of many a snowfall that will grace our dear state. Oh we've had flurries before now but nothing that has stayed on the ground or warraunted a snowplow to grace the streets.  Our kids proclaimed it "A Winter Wonderland." I told my Beloved that thought will hold true until the year that they are enlisted to clear the drive way off. : )

Both my Beloved and I have gotten a kick out of the fact that our state now names storms coming as if they were hurricanes. I am not sure if they decided we were lonesome for some personalization to the weather systems or if we have name envy from seeing those ocean side states name their weather systems. Who knows?

We had been anticpating this storm for a few days and knew it was going to be a good one. What we hadn't expected was to see fireworks outside our window in the middle of the night. Oh, not literal fireworks, but there was diffintely some glowing and sparking of electrical lines.

We are always a little weary of the electrical lines because we have some trees that hang close to our line. We've had our line ripped off the side of the house during a similar winter storm by these trees so our weariness is not without merit. Both my Beloved and I went to bed fairly sure we would lose power at some point. When we were awakend to a loud buzzing and a click I simply said, "There it goes." I really thought nothing of the noise. (My curiosity is not easily peeked in the middle of the night.) My Beloved jumped out of bed to look out the window and the noise came again and would you believe the electrical line coming into the house was glowing? I was near another window and noticed some bright light from that direction. We aren't too far away from some more substantial lines and it turns out the sparking and bright light was a transformer going just down the hill. Not sure if the current jumped to our line (closest to transformer line) and that was the result of our line glowing or what. Craziness.

Long story short Beloved called the power company and grabbed the ladies attention with the glowing and bright light info. Two very short hours after we lost power it was back on again...in the middle of a fierce storm.

I've got my eye on that electrical line. I'll be stepping smart whenever I need to pass under it. It better be on its best behavior from here on out....or else.  : )

And the thankfulness goes on....

# 113-124

- beautiful Christmas lights

- holiday baking has begun

- beautiful, crisp fallen snow

- a working snow blower (& a man who loves to use it!)

- power only out 2 hours

- the electrical line didn't start on fire or cause damage to the house

- no trees took out our line : )

- nephew ok after seizure last week

- getting to see the sweet faces of some dear family and friends through their Christmas cards

- warm cups of tea (fighting a cold just now)

- kids enjoying and looking forward to Jesse Tree Devotional

- wonderful reading books to go along with era we are studying in history

Nothing Changes

Every year it is the same. Every year. You would think I would learn and attempt this feat earlier than I do. What feat am I yammering about? Getting a picture of the family or at least of the kids'. I know I have been remiss about posting lately and especially posting pictures of the kids. I assure you this will be sufficient coverage of all four!

Least you think I am joking about how very difficult it is to capture them I'll show you just a small portion of my efforts.

There are always those who refuse to look at the camera.

 Those who insist on closing their eyes.

Those who get bored and whose eyes begin to wander.

A random gem that has potential even though each child isn't looking your way.

There are those who are naughty with their squinched up face. (Makes me smile every time. Little weasel!)

Those where they shy away from one another and you hear, "Mom! So and so is touching me!"



And there are those where one child must make it look as though the lighting is much to bright for their delicate eyes.

 

Since I struck out with the group photo's I took a few individual pictures.

There is the oldest, whom even though the smile wasn't always there, was a faithful child looking at the camera for each click of the shutter. She looks a bit worn but did a wonderful job of hanging on to that squiggle worm of a brother.

Then there is him whose eye lashes truly are ridiculous looking all spiffy in that suit Grandma got for him.

Here is she who thinks smiling means this grimace with her tongue placed between her teeth.

Lastly is him who is just so sweet you could eat him up! Those dimples!

To make sure you know I truly have been busy...keeping up if not posting about it...here are some of my 1000 gifts from the last few weeks. You'll have to bear with the list (Its been 3 weeks! Oh, you didn't notice? Never mind then. Read away and be blessed!)

# 76 - 112

-  a warm pair of slippers

- fresh, warm, homemade apple crisp

- a Mom who is intentional about calling no matter how many time zones separate us

- a sweet pen pal for my girl

- few to almost no "accidents" from a girlie who had reverted a bit in the potty training department

- overbites in sweet little mouths

- accountability

- free material for school use from local library

- homemade brownies

- rereading "The Light at Tern Rock"

- a sweet sister making us rethink how we celebrate the birth of Jesus

- the warmth of small bodies on my lap

- that my girl thinks my arms are a safe place to be when the sound of the 'frain' (train) frightens  

  her

- the easy, no tears loss of a tooth

- vacuumed stairs

- neck kisses = much giggling : )

- a meal at home with some dear friends before they moved out of the state

- plants that merely wither, but don't die, to remind me it is watering time

- a stain stick that removes baby spit-up the 1st time through the wash

- a husband who has the Thanksgiving meal all under control and boots me from the kitchen

- girlfriends

- Cat in the Hat school paper

- brothers who take the time to call me

- a little bit of peace and quiet (around here known as bed time for the kiddies)

- kitchen aid mixer

- homemade bread gracing our house after a few years hiatus

- a girlie who was quiet as a mouse sneaking into my bed while her daddy was out of town

- the smell of baby

-the love story that is Christmas

- flannel sheets

- the safe return of my Beloved after a week away (the return of my sanity as well!)

- a cup of sugar borrowing type of neighbor

- a camera that is only maimed, but not broken, after falling prey to curious little hands

- bath time

- facilities nearby where I can take the kids to run off some pent up energy

- an afternoon watching snow fall that belonged in a movie it was so beautiful

-  sunny days in the midst of days upon days of grey

(Yes, I know it isn't Monday...bear with me for being a day late.)

Fumes

Just the other day my Beloved commented on the fact that Zeke is now 4 months old. “Where did the time go?” he asked. He followed that up by saying, “Are we just running on fumes?”

To which I most assuredly replied, “Yes!”

I am not sure why it has worked this way but with babies #1 and #3 I seemed to bounce right back into the swing of things. I hit my stride, if you will, after a month or two. But with babies #2 and #4 it just feels like chaos reigns and here we are four months out and I still haven’t hit my stride. Yet. (Thinking positive.)

Part of the problem is sleep. Yeah, not getting so much of it again these days. I stay up a bit late with Zeke to get a feeding in. He has had some trouble with gas discomfort so often times he wakes up more than once scrim scrambling crying out in pain. Thus sleep time is not solid but broken up. Add to that Katie has taken to waking up early. By early I mean around 6ish. It would be irritating but she wakes up and comes down to the bedroom in the sweetest way.

“I waked up, Mommy,” she says in her little girl voice. She has her blanket in hand and her binks still in her mouth.

“Climb on in Mommy’s bed,” I tell her. She grabs a pillow and snuggles in the covers close to my side. She doesn’t sleep but does doze from time to time. What I most appreciate is that she isn’t a wiggle worm. She just lays there and snuggles and dozes. That gives me a little more time to lay there and doze myself.

Someday I keep telling myself. Someday we’ll get on track. The schedule of nursing every 3 hours will click with all else that we have going on around here. Someday. Perhaps on that day they’ll be some actual gas for us to thrive on. Until then I am afraid the fumes will just have to do!

Blessings 61-75

- a tank that still has fumes

- sweet little girls who snuggle in my covers with me

- babies who forget/forgive mommies for ugly behavior in the middle of the night

- older children keeping baby occupied so I can make lunch

- good old peanut butter and jelly sandwich

- 2 hours or so of quiet at home with just baby while rest of family went to church

- Husbandry allowing me to stay in bed when older children got up after a particularly rough night

- deal on cutest little shoes for Katie

- empty dirty laundry baskets

- no one is sick

- my Beloved doesn’t give me a hard time for coming home to find me still in my jammies and not showered

- long eyelashes (all four have them) to go with beautiful eyes

- children ‘seeing’ that not all kids live the way they do through Mission India’s My Passport to India

- math doesn’t seem to cause Kiersten anywhere near the frustration and boredom as it has previously

- seeing that Isaiah’s penmanship has improved from just 8 weeks ago

A Bun

Each Friday it is a mad race to get Kiersten ready for dance on time. It shouldn't be a big deal and yet it is. See the first week she came home after ballet she promptly informed me that Miss Jean said her hair needed to be in a bun.

Ta-Ta.

You haven't met Miss Jean but if you did you would be well aware she is a force to be reckoned with. If Miss Jean says that's what she wants than that is precisely what Miss Jean will get. Or you will regret it. Promise.

Oh, I don't mean to play her out as some mean lady. She isn't. She is just a person who knows how she wants things done and expects you to follow suit. She knows that what she does she does well. Know what I am talking about?

There is that and the fact that she is 80 some years old. You're getting the picture.

Anyhow, I am not a 'hair' girl. Never have been. I just have uncooperative hair with a mind completely of its own so I have never really taken to 'fixing' it all that often. And what I do consists of no more that 30 minutes tops, for a wedding or some special occasion, and 15 minutes on a regular day. To be honest I mostly just brush it after I shower and let it dry as it is with a bobby pin added here and there to keep hair out of my eyes. When it was longer it just went straight into a ponytail, wet and all.

This order to have Kiersten's hair in a bun had me panicked a bit. I seriously set aside 20 minutes the next week in order to ensure it would get done. That was before I realized that bobby pins fight back. I should have allowed for another 10 minutes.

Each week it is still a challenge to get her hair just so. I not only have to get it in the bun but need to make it so that it stays in a bun despite her moving around dancing. (Last week she came out of dance with a ponytail. Oh, the bobby pins were still logged in her scalp. Chalk that down as a win for the bobby pins and a loss for me.)

This week though...ah, I won. She came home with this lovely bun still intact. Bobby pins 1, Me 1. A tie. I hold no grand illusions. I know the bobby pins will win more than I will but each week I am determined to try hard to give my girl a beautiful bun that stays. Why? Because she feels like a ballerina and because it looks beautiful on her.

Blessings # 46-60

- learning the art of making a good bun for my ballerina

- children who have contagious giggles

- a girlie girl learning to apologize without it being asked of her

- babies who smile in their sleep

- a husband who loves to cook

- a husband who always thinks I am beautiful and often tells me so

- cousins who live close enough for sleepovers

- a little girl declaring, "I'm a princess!" at the top of her lungs because she is in a dress

- homemade caramel corn

- a soft, warm head nuzzling into my neck (a.k.a. a cuddle : ))

- coming home to a vacuumed living room 

- seeing 3 dressed up kiddos, all with tails (kitty, dragon and giraffe)

- clean sheets

- a stolen nap for myself when my energy tank was low

- the Lord wooing me once again

Blessings to you and yours as we head into the Thanksgiving season. : )

Dodged a Bullet

Boy did I luck out the other day.

Isaiah lost his second tooth. It had been hanging on by a thread and while playing he wiggled it out with his tongue. So tooth out means a visit from the Tooth Fairy. He seemed to have the idea that so long as he put the tooth under his pillow, no matter the time of day, the Tooth Fairy would come. When lunch time hit and nothing happened he made a comment.

We reviewed what we knew to be true of the Tooth Fairy: she makes no appearance until all are asleep and in dreamland. It is only then that she comes and then that she makes the trade of some treat from the tooth.

That is what she does if she doesn’t FORGET!

The next day Isaiah and I are by the dining room table and it hits me. I did not make a nighttime trip to his room to deposit a ‘gold coin and a lollipop’. How could I have forgotten? (I know how, I won’t bore you with the details.)

The funny thing is Isaiah didn’t say a thing. Not one word.

I needed to get some clean, dry clothes for Ezekiel so I had good reason to be near their bedrooms. As any good Mom can, I gathered together a ‘gold coin and a lollipop’, without any little people taking notice, and made my way to his room. Sure enough there lay the littlest tooth under his pillow waiting patiently to be taken. I made the swap and headed downstairs.

Of course I couldn’t say anything to him right away lest I appear the culprit. I waited for an hour or so and then asked him about his tooth is some sly way. THEN he mentions that she didn’t come.

“Are you sure?” I asked him. “You’re sure she didn’t come? Let’s go upstairs and look. I cannot believe she didn’t show up!”

Up we went. He lifts up his pillow…”She came!” he shouts. The coin went in the piggy bank and the lollipop in the mouth. All was well and right with the world.

My excuse? I told him there must have been an awful lot of teeth she needed to collect in the night. She was busy. She didn’t forget him, she just hadn’t made it here yet. (Good thing he didn’t remind me about what I had shared with him only the day before regarding when the Tooth Fairy comes!)

Whew! That was a close call.

Life

I fear life has kept me busy enough that right now I am just counting blessings here. : ) Not a bad thing to be doing, mind you, but I know some dear ones (Hi Mom!) are missing seeing the little people with whom I dwell and hearing about their shenanigans. I'll get there again soon, promise. I definitely need to do a post all on the wee littlest man of the house.

To be honest one of the things that has kept my time occupied is laundry. I believe it to be related to bunnies - seems to breed at an alarming rate! I don't water or fertilize my laundry and yet it blooms and grows. It is amazing! If Zeke ever stops being one who cannot hold down his milk or Katie doesn't have any more 'accidents' in her bed (mostly my fault for giving a try at no diaper for rest time and forgetting it one night when I put her to bed) I think I might gain ground. Until then....

So enough with the excuses let's get to counting some of our blessings shall we?

31.  a dentist who is amazingly good with children

32.  a haircut given by a dear sister that is both cute and a nice change

33.  a warm, quiet (non child interrupted) shower : )

34.  Friday dates with Isaiah at the coffee shop

35.  the game of Sorry

36.  the smell of newly bathed children

37.  the sound of baby squeals as his neck is kissed

38.  a gracious husband (more on that another day)

39.  floors that were cleaned by a hand other than my own

40.  listening to Scottish friends talk (I love accents!)

41. having friends over for a meal

42.  an upgrade to my cell phone (I snatched my Beloved's old phone. This is my old phone 6+yrs of faithful service)

43.  catching a good sale on clothes for the kids

44.  getting time to read for pleasure several times a day while meeting the needs of the littlest person here

45.  laughter

Still honing that eye, training it to see things to be thankful for and rejoice over. Slowly but surely we are learning. (A good night's sleep goes a long way to helping the learning curve I've discovered. I know, I should have been a rocket scientist. : ) ) All kidding aside Miss Ann had a lovely post today and it is worth a read if you have the time. She is the dear lady with whom this 1000 gifts, the art of seeking blessings in the everyday, was prompted. Anyhow she blessed her Mom with a sweet gift.  Something like that would be a dear gift for any family member for Christmas. Can't put a price on something that feeds the heart. You'll have to jump over there and see what I am talking about! : ) 

Alright, I hope to be back before we count blessings again. I'll try, that is all I can guarantee just now. Hope you have a blessed day. Keep counting!

Blessed

I am tired today so we'll keep it short and sweet. I know you won't mind. :) If you've a mind to see what is blessing others jump on over here. The links are at the end of the post.

We are continuing on our journey to count our blessings...all the way to 1000.


15. Zeke's thrush seems to be gone : )

16. babies who have a snort mixed in their laugh every now and again

17. a husband who readily laughs...makes me smile when I hear it

18. gift cards

19. baby announcements in the mail

20. a boy who dances during church worship

21. sweet girl who looks precious with her hair in a bun for ballet

22. Dora sheets and underwear (making transitions easier and more fun for the Katie girl)

23. a laundromat mere minutes from the house

24. white chocolate mocha's (a weakness of mine to be sure!)

25. little toes on little feet (really all things little)

26. shared recipes to add to my arsenal

27. naps

28. a dent made in the laundry

29. bunk beds

30. Grapevine Bible studies for kids

A Small Smile

That is what I had on my face a few times at church this morning. Each of the children brought one to my face and all for different reasons.

After my Beloved and I had dropped all but Ezekiel off in their rooms we headed across the fellowship area towards the sanctuary. As we walked I noticed a cute young boy heading our way.

“Look,” I said as I nudged my Beloved.

He looked up but not where I wanted him to.

“Look!” I said again. “It’s him.”

This time he noticed to whom I was directing his attention.

“That’s Ian.”

“Oh!” a dawning realization then of what I was wanting him to see came over him.

Ian.

Kiersten’s crush. Her first crush.

I had a feeling my Beloved hadn’t yet known who the young boy was that had captured his daughter’s attention. Now he knows and now I won’t be alone in my secret smiles each time I see him at church or the dance studio.

Isaiah. I didn’t witness this but a dear friend of mine who helps run our children’s ministry made it known our biggest man was dancing for joy to the Lord during their worship time.

If you had only seen this boy when he was in the room with the 2,3, 4 & 5 year olds during their worship time you would know why this was such a surprise but a delight to know. I honestly never would have imagined my boy enjoying worship at church let alone dancing.

When he was in the other rooms, the 2, 3 or 4&5 year old rooms, he was a totally different person. See they crammed all those kids together in a cordoned off area within one of those rooms. He is not one to be in a crowded room and function well. He would slump to the wall and there he would sit. All the other kids would be dancing, singing or following the motions of the teenager leading them in worship. Not Isaiah. Never did he participate although he would sing the songs on the way home in car. Go figure.

So my point…my boy was enjoying worship so much so he was dancing. : ) What a sweetie that boy is.

Katie girl. She’s at the age/stage where a lot of what she does makes me grin. I’m not complaining. But what she did this morning at church that made me smile was grab my hand, follow me to the bathroom and proceed to use the toilet. This was the first Sunday we let her leave home in her Dora underwear (sorry if that is too much info!). She does a fabulous job whether we are at home or out and about of letting us know it is ‘time’.

She does play this little game when she goes and you are watching.

“I made some tank-le, tank-les Mommy!”

“Make some more tinkle, tinkles.”

“I’m all done.”

“Make some more tinkle, tinkles.”

She does.

“I’m all done.”

We go through this a few times before she says in a different tone, “I’m all done.” And all this is always said with a grin. She knows she is teasing you. Mark my words…she is going to be the ‘fun’ one (and a handful!).

Lastly Ezekiel. This morning was child dedication. This is simply where we dedicate ourselves to live for the Lord, promising to do our best to raise him in the love and knowledge of the Lord with the support of our church family.

Zeke is just such a sweetie. He has the most precious smile. When he flashes it your way, which he will often (he’s not stingy with them), it makes you feel like a million bucks.

As it the usual Sunday morning routine he fell asleep in my arms not 10 minutes after we were up front. I got to hold him and enjoy his little sleeping self. It is a rare thing to do that at home but at church it is a blessing and joy to be able to.

It was just one of those days that I could help but smile over each of these dear ones. Am I blessed or what?

Thankful

I have decided to try to be intentional about seeing the goodness of God and giving thanks to him in the big and the small.

I find I can find fault easily. That bugs me. I know my perspective needs a different vantage point. In changing how I look at everyday things and in even taking the time to ponder the everyday things I figure to find more that I am pleased with than I am displeased with. And yes, I mean mostly in regards to my family.

Please don’t get me wrong. It isn’t them it’s me. : ) Ok sometimes it is them.

The point is I am with them day in and day out. They school at home so we are never apart. Living life together all day every day helps magnify those things that do get on your nerves…but only if you are looking for them.

So instead of looking for things that bug me I am going to try to look for things that bless me. To get an attitude of gratitude as Miss Ann would say. : ) The eyes of my heart need a new vantage point, a refocusing, to one of thankfulness. So here we go on our journey to counting 1000 blessings.

Let the thankfulness commence!

#1-15
1. a baby who sleeps through the night


2. a husband who supports homeschooling


3. a husband whose job supports my being at home full-time


4. four healthy, happy children


5. a little girl who cries out as we near church, “Friends! I’m coming Friends!”


6. some serious progress on the potty training front


7. all things pumpkin (pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins…..)


8. a big man who gets right down to business with his school time


9. a daughter who has come around in her attitude towards school, math in particular


10. the sweetest smile an my baby boy’s face


11. dimples


12. Fall, the beautiful colors of leaves


13. a warm cup of something each morning (coffee, tea, hot chocolate)


14. quiet, the sound of all sleeping peacefully


15. a soft pillow on which to rest my head

Here’s to our journey of gratitude, being thankful in the everday- cheers!

Family Entertainment

(Since we’ve been immersed in all things potty training I thought a change of pace would be nice. You’re welcome. : ))

As the summer ended and Fall began we started to see more and more large spiders around the house. I say we, but I mean they (Beloved + children). Until I went out to take pictures I had not laid my eyes on the little, or not so little, buggers I knew to be infesting our yard.

To be sure I had been beckoned, “Mom! Come see the huge spider!”

 “Thanks so much. But I’ll pass.”

I leave all that spidery stuff, especially ones still out of doors, to my Beloved. (A spider inside the house? Different story altogether. I wouldn’t be able to rest until I knew I had done all I could to get it. Make no mistake, get it I would.)

Anyhow, what my Beloved decided to do once the spider was pointed out to him was catch a moth or some other small bug or insect and toss it into the web so the kids could watch the spider come down, sting its victim and wrap it up nicely.

That is some serious free family entertainment let me tell you! I’m not much amused by the whole display but then it isn’t me my honey was out to impress. The funny thing is that even though I avoided these ‘shows’ my Beloved would induce by throwing things into webs I recently ended up seeing that very thing. However it wasn't a spider in my backyard I was watching. (Thankfully.)

We are using Sonlight Core 3 as well as their science program this year for school. Incredible Creatures that Defy Evolution is a DVD that is built into the curriculum. I am thankful the topic of evolution has come up. We’ve chatted a bit about it now and again but I think it is hard for Kiersten to understand what all evolution means, entails. (She’s still little. : )) What I am even more thankful for is how this DVD shows time and time again that all these different creatures (us included) are so complexly made and have such individualized tasks our bodies perform that there is just no way we evolved from some other type of animal. We have a creator, who is God, and in His awesome power and glory made all things unique…especially man, his most beloved creation, formed in his image, loved deeply and created to have a relationship with him.

But I am getting off topic.

The point is in this video there is section that shows a spider, a rather nasty looking bugger, catching something in his web, going in for the sting and then spinning his prey up in a nice neat and tidy package!

This same spider, or at least it looks a lot like the same spider (the big ones all start to look the same to me, scary and in need of killing), showed up in a library book Isaiah just adored that same week. This is it…

It is a picture book of letters found in nature. For the letter “X” wouldn’t you know the creepy crawly guy from the DVD would make an appearance. The kids just giggled when I would act grossed out and not even want to look at it. They would cover it, I would sigh with relief, they would uncover and I would cringe. Isn’t it a blessing kids are so easily prone to giggle? And in return make you giggle? : )

Nothing like spiders to keep a family entertained.

Beggars can't be choosers

I might have begged to have my third child do her business on the toilet, but I most certainly do not get to choose the time at which she does it.

Beggars cannot be choosers.

Why might I ask, can't they?

I'd like to be.

Is too much to hope at 8:30, when your child has called out from her bed for the first time that she has to go potty, when you place that little hinder on your favorite red toilet that she would succumb to the pressure and do what she said needed doing?

Guess so.

How about at 11:30, when she called out a second time that she had business to attend to, is it too much to hope she would do it then?

Apparently it is.

(By now my suspicions are confirmed. I had a feeling earlier in the evening that my sweet girl needed to make more than make potty on the toilet but just couldn't, nay, wouldn't. When I carried her down at 11:30 and her legs were stiff and she was straining there was no doubt what was going on.)

Now, finally, after her third cry out at 2 a.m. that she needs to visit the toilet it isn't too much to hope that she'll follow through. She has done what she thought she wanted to do all evening.

She is relieved and I am exhausted. : )

Good night. Sweet dreams. I'll see you in the morning!

Liar Liar

Have you ever had your child or children make a liar out of you?

For example making a doctor’s appointment because your child wasn’t feeling well or had a fever only to take them to the appointment and have them smile and act like nothing was wrong?

Or tell someone else your child ‘never’ …. (fill in the blank) only to have them do that very thing right in front of this person?

Me neither. : )

Well, that is just what Miss Katie girl has done to me after my little tirade on potty training. She has made a liar out of me. The day after I wrote this post she took to potty training like a champ! Oh, she’s had a few accidents between now and then. Let me share what else she has done between now and then.

First let me just say that I recently reclaimed a portable training toilet I had lent to another mom. I have never used it but rather trained both Kiersten and Isaiah with those insert toilet seats that fit on a regular toilet. After seeing how Katie was fairing and feeling I was in for something new I decided what could it hurt to try a training toilet?

Oh little red toilet how I LOVE YOU!

This toilet has made potty training more bearable for me and more enjoyable for the Katie girl.

Back to what all has transpired between now and then. Katie has taken to telling us she needs to use the toilet even while wearing a diaper (she was headed up to bed). The diaper was dry. She was waiting until we placed her on the toilet to do her thing. (This makes Mom VERY happy!) This ‘telling’ us she has to go has replaced setting the timer in order to ensure she sits down again to try within a reasonable amount of time.

What else? How about waking Mom up at 3:30 in the A.M. to tell her you ‘pooped’ (code for I made potty) in your diaper. I asked her if she wanted me to change her.

“Yes!” was the prompt reply.

“Would you like to sit on the toilet?”

“Yes!”

Down we went to the living room where I took off her still dry diaper and put her on the little toilet. Within a matter of seconds that sweet, headstrong little thing made her potty! We went through our little routine and we headed back upstairs with her chocolate treat in her hand. She ate it, I gave her some lovin’ and sent her back on her way to dreamland.

I must say a middle of the night potty call is a first for me! I’ll take it though, because middle of the night or middle of the day, any time she tells me she needs to make potty and waits until we are on it in order to do so…well that is some serious progress in my book!

And can I just say a little person running around half dressed in girly underwear is precious?

Thanks again little red toilet ( & Hershey’s Hugs)! Without you I am not sure how I would be fairing in this battle between diaper and toilet. GO TOILET!!! : )

Calgon....

won’t you take me away? Please? Pretty please?

What?! That is a statement you use on your commercials but don’t mean literally?

Oh.

Scotty? Beam me up?

No can do either, huh? Bummer.

Yeah, I could use a little taking away or beaming up. That Katie girl, you know the sweet minx I spoke of recently? Well, I took the notion in my silly little head to go ahead and give the potty training a try.

Big mistake. What on earth was I thinking?

My husband coined the phrase “intestinal fortitude” with regard to Kiersten back in her potty training days. Let me just say I am not sure Kiersten has anything on Katie. The jury is still out on that one, but that is my contention anyway.

We started yesterday. I use a timer to help give me as a gauge for when the next time is to sit that little hinder on the toilet. Oh, we had a few accidents here and there. To be expected.

Today, however, that child wised up and thought she would give me a run for my money. I kid you not she sat on the toilet for 2 hours. She had had her morning juice, was watching a little Dora and did nothing. Not one little tinkle did she make.

She got off the toilet. Within a few minutes she has tinkled (that word is not cute when it isn’t paired up with the word toilet) upstairs in Kiersten’s room.

So she has to go…she just doesn’t want to go in the toilet. She is holding it until she gets off and within minutes goes somewhere in the house potty most certainly does not belong.

The one up?

She sits on the toilet for a while, makes a little tinkle, we rejoice, she gets her chocolate treat and then with the treat still in her mouth makes a ‘tinkle’ on my dining room floor! While still eating her reward! Can I tell you how much I wanted to snatch that chocolate from her hand and eat it myself?

She had gone on the toilet, released a little, because the dam was full, but didn’t give full vent to all that was behind the dam. She waited until she was off the toilet for that full release.

Wonderful.

Where is Calgon or Scotty when you really need them? Better yet why is there no potty training fairy who swoops in and saves the poor mother whose task it is to teach her child this most necessary of things? Somebody please tell me!

*(I am being dramatic-allowed to a mother of many children every now and again. :) If you don't laugh, which my mother did a little too long and loudly when I shared this with her yesterday, how do you keep sane? And sanity is key. :) )*

"Good Ni-iiight!"

I wish there was some way to better convey to you what kind of child Miss Katie is since you cannot see or hear her. She is a minx, an imp, a pixie. Her eyes twinkle and she has this mischievous air about her. It is funny because she can be so fun and yet so naughty. Everything she does is done with force. A pistol, my mom calls her and she isn’t far off the mark there. Katie is just something else.  I love her so.

Here is her in fine form a few nights ago.

Everyone had been in their beds, teeth brushed and stories read for some time. They, Kiersten and Isaiah, get 15 minutes or so after alls said and done to look at books in their bed or play quietly in their rooms. While this goes on the hall light remains on. Our hall up there cannot be more than 6 feet long so the hall light shines adequately in all the rooms. So although Katie’s light is off she still has some luminescence with which to look at books or play a little herself.

After the said 15 minutes are up either I or my Beloved calls up the stairs, “Lights off! We shut the hall light off and wait for the other 2 lights to blink off as well. Once they do I say, “Good night.”

That night the littlest of voices calls back, “Good Night, Mommy!”

“Sweet Dreams!” she adds having had this said to her on more than one occasion.

“Sweet Dreams,” I mimic.

“See you in the morning!” she chimes in. Again something I’ve said as I tuck her in good night.

“See you in the morning,” I reply as my Beloved and I share a secret smile.

“Good Ni-iiiight!” she says again.

We repeat the whole conversation over and I add, “All Do-ooone.”

Well, she isn’t done because I hear once again, “Good Ni-iiiiight!”

Silence.

30 seconds later a little louder this time, because maybe I didn’t hear her correctly, “GOOD NI-IIIIIIIGHT, MOMMY!!”

I stay the course and say nothing although I am ever so glad she is upstairs and I am downstairs so that she cannot see me grinning to beat the band.

Katie is nothing if not persistent. Several more times she tries to get me to respond by calling out, “Good Ni-iiight, Mommy!”

My Beloved calls up to her, “Good Night, Katie-girl. We’re all done.”

“NO. Good Ni-iiiight, Mommy!”

After that we both held our tongues so as not to drag out this game all night. We held our tongues but nothing could hold back our smiles.

Oh that girl, she is something else alright. Something sweet and special and such a handful! : )

Retreat

After a rough start to school I was in no way disappointed to cut the week short and take a drive to see my Grandparents and Mom.

The cabin has long been a place of rest, fun, laughter, solitude and family for as far back in my memory as I can go. I wish I had before and after pictures to show you how much the place has changed (inside) over the years. It is truly a special place and as my grandparents get older the reality has set in that there will come a day when I can no longer retreat there. This post might be a little nostalgic and so you’ll just have to bear with me!

This time around our trip, as apposed to the one taken in the Spring, was not based around the lake. The weather was simply too cold to allow for water time. Instead there were many walks in the woods collecting things and having good conversations as well as games to be played.

Kiersten picked up a ton of acorns. The baby ones were the cutest. She also grabbed a few red leaves that had fallen here and there. The tops of the trees were just starting to change so we didn’t get to enjoy the fullness of God showing off his magnificent artist’s hand. We weren’t hugely disappointed as we have plenty of trees here that will soon grow most beautiful in color.

Back to the trip- taking walks in the woods. Here is Isaiah out on a gander. The older two took several walks with Grandma (my mom), Kiersten more so than Isaiah.

I tried to get a picture of Mom with the kids’ on one of their walks. Katie was throwing a fit and had sat down on the hillside (mostly in protest) so I had the others join her there. No one really looked at the camera save my mom and usually she avoids it! That alone made the picture a keeper. What is memorable about it is that when Katie stood up we found she had sat on an ants nest. And not just any ants, red ants! Her pants were covered with them and she grabbed a few bites on her ankles. She needed a distraction (or was it me who needed the distraction?) to allow me an excuse to send the others on ahead and have her and I turn back. No nap = no mood for a decent walk to be had by others.

She did enjoy the boat ride though, all the kids did. Isaiah and Kiersten both got a chance to be captain and drive us around. Does it scare you that Isaiah is driving here and is looking down and not out? It certainly did explain a few things on our trip, I’ll say that much! : ) Kiersten isn’t really all that much better. They’re young yet. (My Beloved says that a crazy driver is synonymous with a woman driver. And yet I am the one with no tickets to her name. Hmmm…whose the crazy driver? : ) )

Kiersten and Isaiah both got a taste of some different games while we were there. When I was younger we always seemed to play cribbage. Both are still a bit young to play…the rules a bit more than they can handle. So instead of cribbage what did they play? Isaiah played “Whacky Blaster” (a game that has been there since I was a kid) and “Battleship”. I have to say I was most impressed by him. We have played this game, or rather attempted to, a time or two at a local coffee shop. He just couldn’t get the gist of the upper and lower boards and how each recorded different things and what to do with the different colored pegs. Things were too complicated for him. This time around however he just got it. I have to give a little help the first 5 minutes or so and then it was all him. He did fabulous and even sunk all my ships! (Ok, he peaked around my board for the last ship’s location. The game was getting long and Zeke needing nursing soon. Excuses, excuses.)

Kiersten on the other hand played some dominos with my Grandma. Here they are with my mom. My sweet Grandpa is in the background on the left. I didn’t manage to get any good pictures of him. He is so near and dear to me. Quite the teaser. It is funny to watch him pull Kiersten’s leg and hear her giggle at his antics. She tells her Dad he is a teaser just like Grandpa is all with a big grin on her face. I just love that my kids love my Grandparents too.
I haven’t said much about Zeke because he was loved on and held by his Grandma, Great Grandma and two Great Aunts. Grandpa gave him plenty of lovin’ too. I really only saw/held him when it came time to nurse him. Would you believe that little bugger let out TWO laughs there? And that neither of them was in my presence? Honestly, where is the love? : ) Ah well, I won’t begrudge my other family members when I know I bound to hear it too and more often then they will.

And Katie? She didn’t play any of the games the other two did (with an adult) nor did she get held by all my relatives. She rode on the chicken swing, walked up and down to the dock naming all the bird statues my Grandma has placed along the steps, took laps up the big hill and attempted a walk or two. It definitely took her a day or so to get used to everybody. She hung out a lot with Daddy there at the start and would have no one else. Then she gave a little sugar to my uncle and took a big shine to my Grandpa. Once she gets going she is a ham and a half!

A good summation of our trip is that everyone had a wondeful time despite the fact that it was cooler this time around and as result no one got to play in the water. : )