guess what we are doing...

Hey, aren't those...?

They look like...?

Is that...?

Are you...

POTTYTRAINING?

Well, perhaps you could say that. Perhaps not. Today we spent a good four hours or so exclusively in underwear and had no accidents. Naptime came and then it didn't go so well. He didn't even pee in the bed. He got up and peed in the floor! Ah, well. :) Still, he is grasping the concept. He's excited about his new "undaweah" and he aready has a favorite pair.

And what other theme could we possibly go with but "Cars." (have I ever mentioned that he has never sat through the movie, yet has a running obsession with the characters?)

We are using the actual toilet vs. a potty chair. Basically there are two or three reasons for this. One, he hasn't gravitated toward his potty chair. Two, when he has successfully urinated in it... it ends up on the floor, not in the chair (potty chairs are, apparently, for girls -- whether they have a "cup" or not). Three, it makes the whole thing much lower-maintenance. He will be able to use a toilet basically anywhere, but we can't carry a potty chair around and I really don't want to create a whole "safe toilet syndrome" thing.

The potty chair does, however, come in handy as a step-stool.

But apparently so does the regular toilet. Hmm.



Anyway, he's started telling me "Mama, I needa pee-pee!" And usually by the time he's announced this, he's standing with his underwear down. You know, to save time.

So then we dash to the bathroom.



I think he's a little proud of himself.



What do you think?

Thursday

Today is Thursday. The kids are asleep and will be for maybe another couple of hours (they just went down). Tomorrow MJ is going to his aunt and uncle's house and Saturday and Sunday going to his grandparents. I'll miss him being gone for that long but they are really, really wanting him to come visit. I have to admit it is nice to have those breaks sometimes. But gosh I miss that little dude when he's not here. I keep running around with a Kleenex looking for someone whose nose I can wipe.

Oh. That's not funny unless you know that Micah's allergies are acting up from the weather changes. Well they are. Insanely. So you can laugh at my funny joke now!

I'm trying to plan my childless Saturday. I'm hoping it will mean a haircut for me. I need one desperately. Does anyone remember The Layering of November? Well... I haven't had a haircut since then! My split ends are driving me nutso. NUTSO. Plus, my hair is plainly just longer than I like it. I mean, I like long-ish hair but I don't like dealing with it. It's about four inches longer than I like it to be. I'm about to take a knife to it. Imagine the results of that!

Yesterday Jesse was off work and Lexi and MJ had a blast with him. Lexi loves "Uncle Jesse."

The kids are doing well together. They've been a little bit cranky toward each other today and it's been a little funny... they aren't trying to kill each other by any means but hearing a couple of two year olds holler at each other over a toy is pretty stinkin' funny.

Here they are fighting over sharing Micah's little Huffy bike.

Oh, and for those of you who like creative, easy little ideas for kids' lunches, I made these today:

Take two small unbaked biscuits, flatten them, put about a quarter of a teaspoon of pizza sauce or something similar on one of them, add about a tablespoon and a half of your favorite cheeses, and one shredded pepperoni. Place second flattened biscuit over the top of the first, and squish the edges together. I placed a pepperoni on top to give the kids an idea of what is inside. Cook according to biscuit-making directions! They are basically homemade pizza rolls. They're quite yummy!

Well, if I'm going to accomplish anything else before nap time is over I should dash.

How is your Thursday going?

happy-to-me, babysitting, flirting, and peanut butter sandwiches

My long-awaited, highly-anticipated by so many of you... or not... happy-to-me news is...

My dead, dried up, and sadly broken coffee maker has been replaced! Yes, I know. We can all breathe a little easier now. You can all go back to your daily lives instead of wringing your hands and hoping that your children survive the terror that is A Fall And Winter In Which Candi Has No Coffee. You're welcome.

Today was the first day of babysitting Lexi. Because of a doctor's appointment for Nana, I also had Sami. Micah enjoyed the presence of two small women in the house.

Commence flirting... now.




They had a lot of fun.







Peanut butter sandwiches made a great mid-morning snack.



Although Micah thought they weren't flat enough.



This was Sami's just-woke-up face after a nice nappy. She slept on half of her face so she looked a little red and disheveled. :)

*********************************************

In other news... have you ever had a splinter... that is a hair?!? I cut Jesse's hair the other day and apparently somehow one of his hairs were sharp enough to end up in my foot! Last night I discovered my foot felt really sore when I moved it certain ways and discovered the little bugger in left foot... how weird is that? Anyway I had to take a pin and get it out much like a splinter. Except flimsy and much more difficult to grab. I'm just really glad it wasn't embedded any deeper than it was. It doesn't really sound painful but it is.

So how about the weather -- is it as nice where you are as it is here? I am not really looking forward to the cold and the early nights but gosh I love the Fall!

Well, tomorrow is gonna come early and I need to be at my best for the two toddlers I'll be chasing. Hopefully with a good night's rest, a few prayers, and about four cups of COFFEE! I'll be good to go. :)

I hope your night is a great one!

Late?

It has been way too long since I updated this thing.

Since June 5th I:

- Found out I was expecting baby #2 on June 12th and also lost said baby in August, one week after my son's second birthday.

- Turned 22.

- Became incredibly ready for a vacation.

It has been a terribly difficult few months to say the least, but by God's grace we are making it one day at a time.

I've completely revamped this blog and I'm hoping to get more interactive with it. Any readers still out there? :)

Oh and p.s. - MJ is STILL not potty trained!

yooooou do it... yooooouuu use the poootttyyyyyy

I'm singing an Elmo song. Yeah, we watch a lot of Elmo around here and I just cannot get that CONFOUNDED song out of my head. :-/

MJ is at his grandparents tonight, tomorrow is grocery shopping and church, Sunday -- church (twice), and THEN... if all goes as planned we'll be going right into a rigorous week of intensely focused potty training. My sister will be here from Texas. I hope you like helping clean up "accidents," Mandi. :) Welcome to my home!!!

Anywho. I am seriously contemplating cloth-diapering our next child, whenever we receive that blessing. I know a lot of people who would say you. are. crazy. Well, no. Not really. When comparing the costs it's overwhelmingly tempting just for that reason alone. I also hear that CD'ing (look at me lingo'ing like a pro!) helps ease the potty-training transition since kids can immediately sense when they are wet in cloth diapers. Plus, some of the cloth diaper designs are just so darn CUTE!

Well listen to me. All absorbed in the possibilities of cloth diapering when I'm about to move out of diapers altogether! Ah well. :) Next time.

work and marriage: synonym

Has anyone ever told you that marriage is work? As in genuine talk-it-out-when-you-don't-feel-like-it, choose-finding-a-resolution-over-a-decent-amount-of-sleep, sometimes-tears-aren't-bad, hard, but totally-worth-it work.

Well, if you're not married, I'd like to tell you -- it's work.

Unlike housekeeping (er... maybe exactly like housekeeping) or a traditional clock-in/clock-out job, the work is continual. Also unlike a traditional job the rewards of said work can be very frequent and life-affecting. Sometimes they aren't bi-weekly -- sometimes they're daily. Sometimes they're monthly. Still, sometimes they're even hourly.

I want to be willing to put in the work. I want to actually be willing to put some of myself on the line -- my time, my energy, my money, my attention -- for something greater. In our "liberated" society, nothing difficult stays on the table. It's hastily cast aside to be replaced by another thing -- perhaps something which yields those happy feelings and excitements that come with something new.

I don't want something new. I want something real. Something that maybe has been fixed over and over like that old microwave you were given as a wedding gift. The one you keep putting in the garage and replacing, only to bring it back in, fix it, and put it back to use when the cheapy, new one you picked up stops working for no reason at all. Perhaps it's because that "old" microwave (which you've perhaps referred to in such terms as "piece of junk," "old thing," "worn out," "outdated," etc.) was a real piece of quality equipment. Sure, it might not be shiny on the outside anymore, but that may be because you stopped cleaning it. Or maybe the turntable is cracked because you put it in the dishwasher when it clearly says "hand wash only."

A twisted parallel to marriage? Perhaps. But maybe not. It seems to me that sometimes the things we should handle with the most care and careful maintainance are hastily thrown into the dishwasher instead of being given the time and attention they deserve. Given a band-aid instead of real medical attention then carelessly broken or maimed over and over again.

I hope I can maintain the "old." Because I have no desire to continually search for the new. New does not always = better. Sometimes old = best.

I don't wanna spend my whole life askin'

what if I had given everything

instead of going through the motions

The Motions - Matthew West

teething, late nights, and, of course, photography!

We are up late tonight.

Micah is cutting his fourth (and final!) canine. This has been quite the battle. I'm inexpressibly glad it's the last one. He's still up and it's almost 11:30. He was in bed by nine but woke up feverish and feeling poopy. Poor dear.

For any of you who follow my new photography blog, I have taken lots of pictures recently but they've all been indoor and I'm not currently marketing indoor portraits, so I really don't want to falsely advertise.

So, my brother is no longer getting married... his ex-fiance broke it off (cruelly, brutally, and without notice... but that's a story for another blog). Aaaanyway. A handsome marine such as he will have no trouble finding a girl.

Back to happier things. Micah is almost twenty months old. Less than five months until birthday #2! I'm sure it will be Cars themed, since that's his current interest. Every night he asks for "Mae-Mer" (Mater a.k.a. To-Mater) and snuggles with him in his bed. As long as Mae-Mer and Dogggy are there, life is good and sleep is coming. :) What cuteness I get to live with!

Please ignore the girly-lookin' bedding... we are getting his Cars bedding soon.

Anyway, since I'm NOT falsely advertising, I'll show you a couple of the photos I took of Micah and Gavin (Mandi's baby for those of you who may not know) at my house, using my windows as both setting and lighting.

Gavin:

Micah:

Let me know what you think!