Toddler Dormitory

I am one of those women who loves to re-arrange our household furniture! I get tired of looking at the same arrangement, and I am always thinking up was to live more efficiently in the space we have. Our team-full of children certainly give me plenty to work with, as they are always growing and developing, and encouraging me to redo the bedroom space.....at least that is the excuse I am using! So, we spent this past weekend re-arranging a couple bedrooms to make way for growing kids.

Until now, Jersey #5 has been sleeping in the crib, in our master bedroom. We tend to keep our babies in our bedroom until they are sleeping pretty well through the night, with minimal wakings. (I don't handle sleep deprivation well, so it is safer if they are close to my bedside versus me walking sleepily around the house with an infant in my arms). We don't usually go a full year like this, but we've been much more casual with Jersey #5, because he is a much more casual baby.

This weekend, we decided to move him to the bedroom that Jersey #3 & Jersey #4 share. Our bedrooms are currently divided by age, not gender. I also got the notion to go ahead and move him to a toddler bed, instead of the crib. Our children tend to be very active in their sleep at night, kicking, squirming, and rolling all over the bed. We tend to move them out of the crib around 16-18 months old, because the crashing against the crib rails wakes them up in the night. I don't know if it is because Jersey #5 is so much bigger than his siblings were at this age, or if he is the most active sleeper, but he has been crashing against the crib rails for a couple months now. So, he is our youngest child to move out of the crib. I was only waiting until he could safely climb onto and off of the toddler bed....and he started climbing before he started walking!

Jersey #5 loves his new bed. He naps there with ease. He woke twice a night through the weekend, but rocked back to sleep easily. For the first day, he sat in bed and cried when he woke up, until we went to get him. Now that he realizes he can get out of bed on his own, he gets down and plays, or comes to find us when he wakes up. He enjoys his new independence...greeting us with smiles and giggles!

Here is a picture of Jersey #5 napping in his bed...

His toddler bed is a hand-me-down from his brother. We lucked out that it happened to be a Cars-themed bed, as we were using Cars toddler bedding in his crib (crib bedding is crazy-expensive, and it is the same size, so we use toddler bedding instead) Jersey #3 has Thomas the Train bedding, but we could not find a Thomas bed at the time the toddler beds were purchased. Our crib converts to a toddler bed very easily. Since it is higher off the ground, and a little larger than the toddler beds we have, we opted to use it for Jersey #3. So, both boys moved to a "new" hand-me-down bed! Our little princess (Jersey #4) sleeps in a princess-themed toddler bed, with Elmo bedding, because that is just the way she rolls! (When given the choice as to what was her favorite, she could not choose just 1 theme).

We set up the bedroom with beds along one wall, and toys along the opposite wall. The line-up of beds reminds me of a dorm. So, this bedroom arrangement has been jokingly called the "Toddler Dormitory"!

Food & Finances Friday--Mom's Sugar Cookies

I was asked to contribute a family recipe to our church newsletter this month. I knew the exact recipe I wanted to share. Finding the recipe and sharing it brought back such sweet memories from my childhood.

My Mom found this recipe in a magazine when I was a little kid. She made these cookies at least every December, cut into various Christmas shapes. My sisters and I (and in middle school/high school, some of our friends would help too) would help her decorate them. We would come home from school to find a mass of cookies on wax paper on the dining room table, just waiting for a group frosting and decorating session. We decorated, talked, and laughed....and ate cookie after cookie! We certainly got our fill of cookies, colored frosting, and sugar sprinkles. She made dozens upon dozens, and fixed up plates of cookies for all the neighbors. Even though she passed the recipe on to us, the cookies always taste best when she makes them.

The Best "Soft" Sugar Cookie Recipe
1 cup of sugar
3/4 cup of margarine (melted)
1 teaspoon of Vanilla
1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt

Mix well. Cover with wax paper and refrigerate at least one hour (overnight is better). Roll out on a floured surface and cut into favorite shapes 1/2 inch thick. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 5-6 minutes. Remove cookies from cookie sheet right away to keep from over cooking. Cookies should only be lightly brown on the bottom. over cooking them or cutting them too thin will cause them to become hard. Cool, frost, and decorate. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen

It was even more touching to copy this recipe off the index card my Mom gave me. As a gift a few years ago, my Mom hand-wrote some of her favorite recipes onto pretty index cards and placed them in a pretty recipe box, and gave a box to each of my sisters and to me. She was leaving a beautiful legacy with her beautiful handwriting, passing on this gift to her daughters. When I think about the fun we had, the smiles, the laughter, (and even the complaining about having to do ALL that work), I realize that it was Mom's willingness to give us her time that makes her legacy the sweetest!

Jersey #5 is ONE YEAR OLD today! We had a blast celebrating his 1st birthday. One of my favorite childhood traditions is letting our 1-year-olds dig into their own birthday cake. It is wonderful, messy fun! I enjoy watching their reaction to having an entire cake set before them. A little taste of the frosting.... then a fistful of frosting.... before we know it, there are two fists digging in. I laugh in person, then I laugh some more as I view the photographs. I even laugh at the sight of the colored bathwater! Turning 1 can be so much fun!

Food & Finances Friday--Ebay

Oh My! What have I gotten myself into? What was I thinking?

I've been questioning my sanity a lot lately. I have been busy beyond belief (hence, very few blog posts this month). I have been battling a big monster---EBAY!

We decided to pursue selling a bunch of excess stuff from our house, in order to bring in more income to put towards credit card debt. We were off to a fantastic start. We purged the house and held a big yard sale. We purged the house and sold stuff through Craig's List. And, we started listing items for auction on Ebay. So far, so good....

AND THEN.....

I got the notion to list a hoop of my excess scrapbooking stuff on Ebay. My husband got the notion to list his collection of Star Wars action figures (the ones still in the boxes). So, one Friday evening, I guzzled Coke and listed items on Ebay all evening, and into the night. Then, I continued my listing adventure the following morning, for half of that Saturday. Wow!

It was amazing! I had 80 items listed on Ebay at the same time! I was so proud of my accomplishment. Bidding started within that first hour, and one-by-one things were selling. It was exciting. We checked the listings periodically through the weekend, and grew excited about how well things were selling. It was working---we were going to bring in extra funds to pay on debt. Wahoo!

Seven days later, the auction listings ended, and 76 items had sold.

Within the first hour of auction close, the payments started arriving. When the items are paid for, Ebay lists the reminder for us to ship the item, within 3 business days of payment clearing. It is a really nice, organized system.

The problem was that we had over 50 items waiting to be shipped at the exact same time!

What was I thinking? What was I thinking listing that many items at the same time?

I bought bubble mailing envelopes, brown paper, and tape. Then, I spent a few days straight wrapping, packing, and preparing those 76 items to be mailed. After researching the earliest post office opening time in town....as well as the latest closing time in town, I sent my husband on a series of package mailing adventures before and after work for days.

Our house is emptier. Our bank account is fuller. We know where to find the friendliest post office workers in town.

...And, I have finally recovered enough to blog about it!

Puggles!

It is AWANA time again. AWANA runs through the school year. This year, the church where our children attend AWANA, started a Puggles program. Puggles is for 2 year olds. It starts the year before Cubbies (which is for 3 & 4 year olds). I just love the AWANA program. I was excited to sign Jersey #4 up for AWANA Puggles. Here is a picture of her in her cute Puggles T-shirt...

I was rather concerned about how Jersey #4 would do attending class. She is not very friendly. She won't speak to strangers. I signed up to help out in her class the first 2 sessions, to help her adjust. I was actually pleasantly surprised by how much she was willing to participate. She did not speak to anyone the entire first class. She did go through the motions of putting on her attendance sticker, playing with toys, coloring the craft, eating snack, and listening to the story. She just did all of these things silently, while she took in her surroundings.

Afterwards, she proudly ran to her siblings to show them her story card. The Puggles get a picture card to take home every week, which is related to the lesson they learned that day. She said she had fun. The following day, she was able to tell me the lesson--God made light.

The second class, she was a more willing participant, and actually answered a few questions from her teacher. She proudly remembered that God made light. I noticed that she still lingers at the start of every activity...observing everyone around her...before she joins in.

Pushing His Way Through

This is my idea of a push-toy when the kids are starting to cruise. This was bought for Jersey #1, and each of the kids used it. I think it is so cute! It starts out as a crib toy and converts to this push-toy. The wheels at the bottom spin slowly, helping with steadiness and balance as new toddlers start cruising...

This is Jersey #5's idea of a push-toy. It is a metal (dangerous to babies!) dump truck that rolls too quickly, throwing him off balance easily. It has metal corners that are just waiting for him to take a tumble....

He knocked my adorable dog push-toy to the side, and pushed this metal dump truck all over the yard and house, giggling every time it threw him off balance. I don't know what warning to take from this, but I am already starting to get concerned about this rough-n-tumble BOY becoming a toddler!

Food & Finances Friday--Credit Card Debt

After setting up the $1000 emergency fund in Step 1, it is time to work to eliminate consumer debt.

We have learned some hard lessons about the evils of credit cards.

We should know better, because the Bible clearly tells us "...the borrower is servant to the lender." (Proverbs 22:7)

Even so, we ended up running up a mass of credit card debt. That was the easy part. Like every bad habit, we attempted to overcome the problem. We started a new financial diet every 6 months. We cut things here or there. We added income. Yet, we always fell off the wagon. We never followed the first rule...

Rule 1: No new debt.

We cannot get out of debt, if we continued to add debt. Of course that makes mathematical sense! For the past 3 years, we have slowly reduced the amount of debt we were adding. Reducing is not the same as eliminating! We have been practicing not using our credit cards off and on all year. This summer, we made a real commitment to eliminating our consumer debt---and we shredded the credit cards!

The credit card companies must have noticed the change. They appear to be fighting back, demanding we continue to add debt. Some have raised our interest rate. Some have doubled our minimum payment. Some have reduced our credit line. Some change the due date each month, moving it forwards and backwards on their whim. Their tricks and games are frustrating. We have to remain extra vigilant to make sure we are not trapped into paying extra fees.

I was growing frustrated because each of their tactics added to our monthly minimums, which reduced the "extra" payments we were trying to make to reduce the debt principal. It looked like we would take years to get out of debt at that slow pace. Then, an idea struck me this week....

Our vehicles are secure assets.

We went into our credit union and inquired about taking out loans against our vehicles, to pay off the meanest of all our credit cards. We know we cannot borrow our way out of debt. We were hoping to re-arrange our debt, to better our situation. It worked. Thankfully, we have been vigilant about making payments on time, so our credit score encouraged the credit union to offer us their best rates. The loan adviser said that many folks were doing the same thing....taking out auto loans to pay off credit cards....so it wasn't my original idea.

In the end, we have paid off a big, evil credit card, and replaced it with an auto loan that has a low fixed interest rate, a low fixed payment, a defined term for when it will be paid in full, with our credit union, who is much nicer to do business with. Since the auto loan payments are less than the credit card minimum, we have freed up some money to apply toward paying off the next credit card in line.

Hopefully, we can pay down the other cards faster than those companies can find new tricks to try to trap us.

Just like riding a bike

We've been having some fun riding bicycles this summer.

Jersey #4 has figured out how to pedal her tricycle. She is mighty proud of her accomplishment....

We were finally able to convince Jersey #1 that she is fully capable of riding her bicycle without training wheels. She has been nervous about falling. At one point, she claimed she was not going to ever learn to ride on 2 wheels, because it was too scary. I assured her that we would go out to a big grass field to practice. The Referee and I ran beside her a couple times each, and it wasn't long before she was on her way on her own. We knew she could do it. We were a bit surprised by how quickly the progression goes once she has her confidence in place. Mere minutes after learning to ride on her own, she was riding all over that big field, up and down inclines, on the sidewalk, and in circles!

She took the safety gear very seriously. We require the children to wear a helmet to ride their bikes. Jersey #1 was so concerned about injury, that she put on her knee pads, elbow pads, and wrist guards before she would even try to ride. Of course, when she did fall, she hurt her foot....the only thing that did not have a pad on it!

Food & Finances Friday--Crown & Nachos

Finances: I am very excited about this evening. I am signed up to take the Journey to Financial Freedom class offered by Crown Financial Ministries, at a local church. I'm going with a friend, which will make processing the information that much more fun! With the recent news of Jersey#2's need for more in depth medical treatment, we know we've got to add another savings to the budget right now...savings for those expenses. So, I am hoping to learn a lot in this class, and find some added inspiration to keep hiking on this uphill road.

Food: This week I learned that nachos make an easy, inexpensive, filling meal or treat for my family. It seems that my children and all of their friends like one or more of the ingredients, so it is easy to please everyone at once. Tortilla chips, shredded cheese, and refried beans go a long way! Personally, I like to add shredded chicken, salsa, sour cream, lettuce, and tomato. Mmm! It is nice to be able to make that meal/snack with any combination of ingredients. So, when I am overdue to go to the grocery store again, and a few ingredient are missing from the cabinets or fridge, I can still serve nachos with what is on hand, and no one is complaining or feeling deprived. Whew!

Cardiology Check-up

Jersey #2 is a heart patient. We say she is the cutest face of heart disease! She was born with the heart defect, Tetralogy of Fallot. There were 4 things wrong with her heart...1) a hole between the ventricles (lower chambers)...2) a narrowing at the pulmonary valve, where blood goes to the lungs for oxygen (pulmonary stenosis)....3) her aorta (major artery carrying blood away from the heart) was out of place, hanging out at that hole between the lower chambers instead--which meant it was carrying blood that had oxygen, mixed with blood that did not have full oxygen...and 4), the right ventricle (lower chamber) was enlarged, because the muscle was having to work so hard to push blood towards the lungs, due to the narrowing.

She underwent a successful open-heart surgery when she was 2.5 months old. The amazing surgeon was able to fix all 4 problems with 1 single surgery. Unfortunately, her pulmonary valve was underdeveloped, so he had to cut it to open that narrowing. She has lived with a mesh patch in place of a valve so far. She has to be evaluated by her cardiologist regularly, to keep an eye on her heart, and to make sure that patch is still working. Due to the nature of this particular heart defect, she will require cardiology check-ups her entire life. She will also require a valve placement....and future valve re-placements throughout her lifetime.

Yesterday, we visited the cardiologist for an annual check-up. Annual is the best kind of heart check-ups, because that is an indicator that a patient is at their best heart health! I took a few picture along the way...

After taking all of her vital signs, the Cardiology Tech sets up for the EKG. Jersey #2 asked her how many sticky tabs she was going to use. The answer is 10.

EKG...10 wires attached via sticky tab to specific areas of the chest, provide electrical readings to the attached computer. It takes longer to set up the sticky tabs than it takes to run the EKG reading.

Jersey #2 got to remove the sticky tabs all by herself. She was mighty proud...

Next was an exam with the cardiologist, followed by an echocardiogram (an ultrasound of her heart). I didn't get pictures this time. After the echo Jersey #2 gets to pick a toy out of the prize box. This is very important to her. She did not let her cardiologist forget that part of the process! We then met up in the exam room again to discuss the findings of the day.

Unfortunately, the cardiologist announced IT'S TIME! Time to get that valve placed. Everyone had hoped Jersey #2 could grow to adulthood before getting that first artificial valve. Unfortunately, her heart is not going to cooperate with that plan, so they need to act sooner. The next step is a series of tests to make absolutely sure her cardiology team is acting at the "right" time to place the valve.

First up, the Holter monitor. This is a portable EKG that stays attached for 24 hours, giving a complete report of the electrical patterns of her heart throughout a whole day and night. We do not want her right ventrical to start failing, and throw off the rhythms of her heart. Jersey #2 wears this monitor and goes about her life as normal.

She is such a good sport about all of the medical interventions she must endure. And, clearly, she is the cutest face of heart disease!

Food & Finances Friday--Emergency Fund

I am a big fan of the financial advice I have heard from both Crown Financial Ministries, and Dave Ramsey. Their methods of getting a grip on our finances are tried and true. I have studied lessons from Crown for years. My husband finally got on board when we listened to one of Dave Ramsey's CDs. Their styles are a bit different. As a friend explained, Crown will hold your hand and encourage you through the journey.....Dave Ramsey will come at you with a brick!

Both resources list their first step to set up $1000 as an emergency fund. This fund will help eliminate the use of credit cards, because when an unexpected expense shows up, there will be cash to cover it. Unexpected expenses will arise. Trust me. It was not long after we set up a savings account funded with that $1000, that the dog became deathly ill and had to be put down. In the past, we would have managed that expense with a credit card. This time, we withdrew the amount from our emergency fund. We now work to put every extra penny we can find back into that emergency fund until it is funded at $1000 again.

A degree of stress is reduced when this emergency fund is in place. It is comforting to learn that emergencies do not have to become a financial crisis.

A 6-year-old princess

We've got a birthday girl! Jersey #2 is 6 years old today!

She says that the things she likes best on her birthday are getting presents, and getting all of the attention! With those parameters, it is really easy to make her birthday special.

She had a princess-themed birthday party last Saturday. We invited (hired) Sleeping Beauty to attend. She does a fantastic job of entertaining the guests (most were also dressed up). She teaches them to curtsy and waltz. She dances with the birthday girl first, but she takes a turn with all the other guests too.

She brings the birthday girl a princess crown as a gift. She dabs magic fairy dust (glitter) on each guest's cheeks. She reads them her story, pausing to sing and dance along the way.

It is a very magical birthday. Our girls have loved them in the past, and Jersey #2 loved hers this week. In the past, Cinderella attended Jersey #1's 5th birthday, and Snow White attended Jersey #2's 5th birthday. I was thrilled that Jersey #2 chose to have a princess party again this year. Not only did I know another princess who could attend, but I also love this phase of girlhood. They grow up so fast already. Let's keep sweet and innocent a little longer....

11-months old

Jersey #5 is 11 months old today. I am quite stunned how quickly his first year is going. He is in a big hurry to grow up and join his siblings in all their fun.

He's been cutting teeth all month....the 2 bottom teeth are visible when he smiles (He's also got 3 on top)...

He pulls himself up to stand, and cruises the furniture....

He likes to feed himself.....(and he loves to eat)....

He has mastered the sippy cup (because as soon as he learned to crawl, he could reach Jersey #4's cup that she leaves laying around).....

I'm really not ready for him to start walking....how do I slow the year down a bit?

First Day of School

It's that time of year again.....the First Day of School!!!

Time to break out the new school supplies and school books....

We are a homeschooling family. This year, we are schooling a 3rd Grader (Jersey #1), a 1st Grader (Jersey #2), and a preschooler (Jersey #3). I can see already that it is going to be big year! I'm ready!

Ok, I'm ready mentally & emotionally.....but I've still got some organizing to do in our schoolroom. Thankfully, the first week is filled with review work, so it moves along quickly and painlessly! In theory, that should free me up to finish the organization and lesson plans. In practice this morning, I've got Jersey #5 sick with a cold, and Jersey #4 who has puddled more on the floor than in the potty. So, every one of my spare moments are filled to the max!

Considering how well school went this morning, in spite of the extra challenges, I am optimistic about this school year. Jersey #3 wants to learn to read RIGHT NOW! His excitement is contagious. Thankfully, he was willing to settle for learning to print the letter A, and learning some of the sounds the vowels make. Jersey #1 is excited to learn cursive writing, so that should help keep her motivated....because even I was a little surprised by how much work is involved in 3rd grade! There is also a big jump in work load from kindergarten to 1st grade, for sure! The blessing in that is that Jersey #2 has plenty to keep her interested (and hopefully challenged), so that she doesn't grow bored.

We wrapped up our school day with some outside playtime and a little painting...

Vacation Bible School

Our church is holding Vacation Bible School this week. All of my kids are participating. I am the director/lunch menu planner/bossy lady who runs around crazy-like! We are having a blast....a beach blast to be exact! (Since it is a beach theme). We've got a great group of kids, they come from some wonderful families, and our "lifeguard" VBS volunteers are just awesome! It has been a great week.

God is Faithful...I can Dig It!

Lesson Time...

Music...

Games.....

Popsicles....

Crafts....

Food & Finances Friday--Purge the Junk

I have been on a mission this summer--a mission to purge the junk from our house. We have a lot of junk. We've been caught up in the materialism mind-set, along with the fact that we are pack rats. That is a dangerous combination...we buy it and keep it along time...and that adds up to a lot of junk!

I joke that I am a recovering pack rat. A few years ago I decided that all of this stuff in our house was cluttering up the place, and was cluttering up our finances, so it was really unnecessary. I suggested to my husband that if we purged most of the stuff from our house, it would be much easier to clean and care for, freeing me up for more important and enjoyable activities with the family.

Last summer I met a family whose home was destroyed by flood. As I listened to them describe that experience, it dawned on me that they had to run for their lives with just the basics of life...their health, and a change of clothes, and a handful of their most prized possessions. They inspired me to start thinking about what was most important in my life. If my home was flooded, or if we died today, how big of a mess of junk would be left behind to clean up? Suddenly, all that stuff did not seem as important.

Shortly after, I met a couple who was taking a leap of faith and going out to the mission field. They were leaving behind their nice home, job, and social life, to work for the Lord in a much more desolate environment. They spoke of yard sales and getting rid of most of their possessions, only packing and hauling the very basics they would need to live. I was impressed!

I have been inspired to go through our entire house and purge every room and closet of all that unnecessary stuff. I am not quite ready to live in the mission field. Thankfully, I am not dealing with a flood or a natural disaster. I am able to clean out the clutter from my life, and free myself up to enjoy the more important things. I value time with my family, outings, activities, and birthday parties! I do not value cleaning house or complaining about the clutter and junk left out all the time. I have let go of my packrat tendnecies, and I am starting to focus on what REALLY matters to me. I am much happier for it!

Then, in perfect timing, I started listening to a CD of Dave Ramsey talking about how to dump debt. He says "Sell so much stuff the kids think they're next. Name the dog 'Ebay'!" I was inspired to hold a big yard sale by the end of this summer, after purging our entire house of junk. As my husband and I cleared and purged, we would quote Dave Ramsey to each other, and laugh. It worked! We emptied a drive-way full of stuff out of our house, and sold it in a big yard sale last weekend. Towards the end of the day, we were practically giving the junk away. At the very end, we loaded up the rest and donated it to a thrift store.

Nothing came back into the house!

Potty Training

Guess who’s potty training???

I stink at potty training (no pun intended). It is one of my motherhood jobs that I greatly dislike. I do enjoy the results of potty training. I just do not enjoy the process. That being said, Jersey #4 is clearly my easiest child to potty train. I would like to think it is because I have grown so patient and mature as a mother through the years. But, I am guessing it has more to do with the fact that Jersey #4 is our most meticulous, clean child. She was eager to wear underwear, eager to sit on the potty, and eager to be a big girl. We casually “practiced” a few months ago when she seemed interested. But she did not make that connection to what actually constitutes potty success until last week. I had predicted that as soon as she had that first idea of what I was talking about, she would catch on and run with it. I love it when I am right!

Potty training did not always go so smoothly for me…

Years ago, when Jersey #1 was old enough for potty training, I learned the hard way that potty training success seems to vary depending on how it is defined. I thought a potty trained child was one who could recognize the need, get themselves to the bathroom, accurately use the toilet, and call to me to be wiped and to supervise hand washing. My, was I mistaken! I could not figure out why my Jersey #1 was not “potty trained” like all her friends appeared to be (according to their Moms). It took a couple of those “potty train in 1 day” articles to open my eyes to the fact that a potty trained child (by definition) may actually only be a child who understands what is expected of them, not one that actually does what is expected of them. There is a BIG difference!

Jersey #1 understood fully what was expected of her—she simply refused.

Thus began my potty training woes. There was added pressure from the grandparent generation...

"Back in my day, girls were potty trained at 18 months old. We didn't wait like parents do now. Everyone was potty trained by age 2."

There was added pressure from other Moms who claimed their daughters were already potty trained. They offered all of their advice on what worked for them—bribery with candy or stickers, special juice, etc. I had tried all those things, yet Jersey #1 refused to use the potty chair or the toilet. She insisted on Pull-ups.

There was added pressure from the parenting books and websites who listed all the signs your child is ready for potty training. According to those lists, Jersey #1 was ready. [One cool indicator I learned much later, from the gymnastics teacher, is that when a child is able to jump, with both feet off the ground, from the standing position, they have the abdominal muscle control/physical development to begin potty training].

Our family doctor advised to wait until it was her idea. He was in no hurry to reach potty training success by any specific developmental age. He assured me that Jersey #1 would not be in Pull-ups in high school. I liked his idea, but I was leery. So, I kept trying. I grew too frustrated. I started just throwing away the yucky soiled underwear, because I could not stand it. Ick. I finally gave up. I admitted defeat. I announced to The Referee that we had failed as parents. We were unable to potty train our 2 ½ year old, and she would be going off to college in diapers! I hung my head and put her back in Pull-ups, and I didn’t consider underwear again for an entire month.

Then, one day, out of the blue, Jersey #1 insisted that she wanted to wear underwear instead of a Pull-up. I informed her that the only way she was going to be permitted to wear underwear was if she kept them dry. She agreed. She was almost instantly potty trained at that point.

I say “potty trained” loosely. She understood what was expected of her. She tried to be successful. She continued to have accidents, only they became fewer and further apart over time. She was nearly 3 when she was potty trained with the independence that I had originally desired. It was then, that I was informed that some of her peers were still having accidents??? It was then that I learned about the varying definitions of “potty trained”.

I did not recover from that experience quickly. I was so resistant to take on that challenge again, that Jersey #2 had to practically potty train herself. She would follow her sister in to the bathroom and sit on the potty chair at the same time her sister was using the toilet. One day, she accidentally used the potty properly….we cheered and celebrated….and I continued to put her in Pull-ups. She became very successful at using the potty, and keeping her Pull-ups dry, so I eventually gave in to letting her wear underwear. She was also nearly 3 when she was potty trained with great independence.

I won’t even discuss how much patience it takes to potty train a boy. I am still recovering from that trauma of Jersey #3! I didn’t even bother to attempt with him until he was well past age 2. He was not successful until he was past age 3. Even now, at age 4, we are still working on his aim. I shudder to bring up those memories right now. So, that will have to be another post….in the distant future!

Jersey #4 was flushing toilets and asking to use the potty for months before she turned 2. I would let her sit on the toilet whenever she asked. She sat there almost a full second before she proudly announced she was done. I finally bought her a potty chair just after her 2^nd birthday. This time around, I am in no hurry. I am much more casual about the process. I am thankful she has made the connection about what is expected of her. I celebrate the small successes more. I am certain that the number of accidents will decrease over time. [I still throw away those really icky soiled underwear.]

Through the years, I have heard some brilliant potty training ideas from other parents. Some parents embrace the duty and are quite creative with their motivation methods. Here are a few that impress me the most…

• The Potty Train: Choo-Choo together like a train on the way to the bathroom for each potty attempt.

• Gatorade/Soda/Juice: Any form of “special” drink that you don’t normally offer your child can be your special potty training juice. Notice these beverages also encourage frequent urination, to help learn the concept with frequent trips to the potty in a short amount of time.

• Movies/books/toys: A nice distraction to keep the child on the potty longer, so that there is a greater chance of accidentally using the potty properly while being entertained. I have also used a Popsicle for this reason. Jersey #3 is food motivated, and he would sit still long enough to eat a Popsicle on the potty.

• Peer pressure: Kids seem to potty train easier when they observe other kids. Many Moms find it easier to let the group daycare providers do the bulk of the training. Friends, siblings, and cousins can also provide good potty training role models.

• Rewards (aka: Bribery): stickers, candy, special toys, given for every success on the potty. One Mom would let her daughter pick out a sticker for her own body, and also a sticker to decorate the toilet lid with each potty success. Their toilet looked very pretty during those potty training months.

[Rewards are often needed most for bowel movement issues. Find the thing that motivates your child. Jersey #3 loves trains. Letting him pick from a bucket of trains each time he was successful on the potty, created great motivation for him. Stickers and candy did not have the same effect.]

Celebrate the successes and be encouraging with the accidents. Hugs, kisses, and high-fives go a long way! Jersey #4 smiles real big, while I clap and cheer. Once she is wiped and dressed again, she runs to me with arms open wide and says “Me Hug!” She giggles while I give her a big bear hug.

Sandy-blonde Hair

Jersey #5 gives new meaning to "sandy-blonde hair"....

Here is the culprit who proudly admitted to pouring sandbox sand onto her brother's head...

Clearly, she and I have different taste in sand art!

Food & Finances Friday

There are two areas in my life where I am attempting to really "mature," as much and as quickly as I can--Food and Finances. I have been on such a slow path in these two areas, as I have been slow to grow in the past. I decided to turn them into a weekly theme and share the details...hoping to help myself with personal accountability.

Let's start with food. Until recently, I have joked about my inability to cook. I stunk at cooking. My Mom taught me how to operate a stove and oven, and a microwave. She taught me how to measure ingredients, and follow a recipe. I am really good at baking. I enjoy baking. But, I never made the connection to cooking.

Back in my scientist days, I joked about my lack of cooking skills in a conversation at lunch. A colleague looked at me quite puzzled and reminded me that I followed recipes and "cooked" in the lab all day long--all kinds of broths, chemical mixtures, salt solutions, and culture medias. Hmmm. She a had a point.

After that I "experimented" at home, and came to the conclusion that I had a problem with timing. I am easily distracted....toddlers make a great distraction....so I was burning and destroying dinner regularly.

I've discovered 2 tools that have improved my kitchen abilities tremendously--a timer on the stove, and the crockpot! A timer brings me back to the kitchen before the food starts smoking. A crockpot lets me put all the ingredients together in the morning, and forget about it until evening!

After I developed a little more cooking confidence with crockpot dinners, I started branching out to other meals on occasion. My family is thrilled to get edible meals regularly!

I spent all that time talking about my new-found cooking skills, only to share that my favorite meal is cheeseburgers! (Not much skill needed there). I was so proud of myself this week because I made mini cheeseburgers for the kids, using dinner rolls for buns. They were kid-size, and so cute. My kids thought I was losing my mind when they saw me pull out the camera and take a picture of my creation before serving it to them....

Jersey #2 said, "You are taking a picture of FOOD? That's weird!"

Dat Me?

I have a mousepad next to my computer that has photos of Jersey #1 and Jersey #2 when they were 21 months old and 2 months old, respectively. (We can actually see Jersey #2's purple lips, as the mousepad was made prior to her heart diagnosis/surgery)

Jersey #4 keeps pointing to the picture of Jersey #1 on the mousepad and asking me "Dat Me?" She is certain it is a picture of herself. It cracks me up, because I have not been able to convince her that it is really a picture of her older sister. We are going on 3 days now, and she still does not believe me.

It is true that these two children look remarkably similar. This is the strength of my husband's genes. Both girls look like him and his Mom. Jersey #1 favors her Nana tremendously. Jersey #4 is a "mini-me" female version of her Daddy. I don't know where my genetic influence went when these girls were created!

I got the notion to search out some older pictures of Jersey #1 when she was 2-years old, and compare them to pictures of Jersey #4. Then, I added a little photomerge fun with like poses...