A Journal Entry

Lately I have felt like my body is "wigging out", for use of better words. 

Over the past month I couldn't quite put my finger on why.  Was it my age?  Because I'm certainly getting older.  Was it the sleep deprivation that comes along with 5 kids and their random reason for waking during the night?  Was it the seasonal allergies?  Was it the medicine I take for allergies which make me super sleepy?  What?

And as I sweated, grunted, hyperventilated and jiggled my way through the 5am bootcamp, I had an epiphany.  Since March of 2006 until March of 2011 I have been pregnant or nursing the whole entire time except for 4 months of those 5 years.  Say WHAT!?!?!

Now I have officially not been lending my body to be leached off of (aka: nursing) for 2 months.  And my body is finally changing.  My hormones are trying to settle down and I'm sure my thyroid (which I've been taking my medicine for since I got pregnant with Emma) is fluctuating to keep up with. 

And now I get it. 

I'm kinda, sorta excited to see what my body will do over this next year as I force it back into shape.

For another side note interesting dates:  as of this November it will be 8 months since my body has returned to my control....the longest period of time since I got pregnant with our first kid in March of 2002.  I think we might just have to celebrate.  Maybe with a 5k or something!!!

Simply Perfect Moments

We spent a beautiful 70 degree day

at the park as a family.

It's a rare thing to have a saturday

with no obligations and

perfect weather in the middle of May.

The End.

A Warm Welcome

I don't know about the rest of the world

but I think something on the front door

shouts we're friendly, we're nice,

knock on our door!!

So I couldn't help myself.

I needed something new for the

patriotic holidays

and I really like making these simple

flowers.

You just take a 2-3inch long

strip of fabric.  Then roll &

twist while putting a dot of hot

glue down to secure it.

These flowers are also those super

popular ones that moms are

attaching to headbands, necklaces

and shirts for them and their daughters.

All Night Long

pee pee problems cont'.....

So the next natural question most parents have when

it comes time to potty train their child is...

how do you teach them to hold

it through the night?

Especially if they have attitudes like

this little firecracker of ours!!

"Usually"  most children will learn on their own.

Stop laughing!

I promise, they do!!

Some may do it right away after they decide

to start "holding" their pee during the day.

It becomes this natural progression to do the

same during the night.

And other children will take a few weeks,

 as their muscles become stronger

they will conquer the last challenge of 

becoming a Big Kid.

But I highly suggest as you begin the night

time training to do a few things, 

like move them to a toddler bed

so they can leave the room and

go the bathroom during the night if

necessary.

Also this would be a great time to 

wean them from the night time 

sippy cup if you haven't yet.

For my toddlers who are potty 

training through the night we have

 a strict "NO DRINK AFTER DINNER"

policy to help keep their

bladder as empty as possible.

But for those parents that can't get

the bed wetting to stop,

don't give up!

This is the last hill to climb.

And you've come soooo FAR

throwing your hands up

at this pivital opportunity

would be a failure on your part.

One of our children had a hard time

learning this process, but we found

that if we took them to the bathroom

between 10-11pm they could have a 

successful night time sleep with

no accidents.

And once a month we would try to let 

them go all night long on their own

to see if their body was physically

ready to hold it.

We even started pushing the nightly

toilet deposit later and later.

Eventually (almost 6 months)

this child became successful.

Now I'm not sure if it was their

body maturing enough,

if it was our nightly routine or

a combination of them both...

But it worked!

And that child never thought

they were different from other kids

or ever labeled themselves as

a "bed wetter".

Once again,

this is dedication on the parents

part to teach their child.

But I warn.

There will be accidents.

I suggest purchasing mattress and

pillow plastic covers for every child's bed.

And remember to take a deep breath

and don't sweat the little stuff.

Many times we have found that a child

will have an accident for a few nights in

a row, which usually corresponded with

a growth spurt.

Bodies are a funny thing!!

A Parents Nightmare

 I remember a sign I saw in a friends backyard when visiting for a summer swim.  It read "Please don't put P in our _ool"!!!  Still making me smile years later.

Potty Training....*sigh*....in my mind it's like a cuss word.  I loath it.  There isn't one single enjoyable part of it's process other then when it's completed.  It is a two steps forward, one step back.  Rarely is there a child that one day says I would like to pee & poop in the toilet (especially my children, whom rarely speak until 3) and from that day on they have no accidents and can hold it through the night.  Although secretly every parent wants it to be their child.

But after many discussions with friends and family about the ups and downs  (mainly the downs) I've come to realize something...when you start, you can absolutely NOT give up.  And when I say "you" I'm speaking to the parent.  The worst thing you can do for the future of that child (physically, socially and emotionally) would be to get them 1/2 way there and then throw up your hands and not finish.  Even though potty training could last 6 months or more, I firmly believe it is the parents duty to see that child through to the end.  (of course excluding those with physical or mental disabilities).

When to know to start is also a guessing game.  A child can show interest, can talk about it, can insist on watching the process but it won't matter unless the Parent is ready.  Because this training takes total and complete dedication.  The Parent has to be ready to deal with some dirty, dirty, DIRTY situations.  They have to be ready to run the 50 yard dash, leaving their whole cart of groceries in a store and know the "fire escape route" to the nearest potty.  They have to have supplies on hand no matter where they go...extra underwear, pants, even shoes and socks.  (oh yes, a pee puddle can collect there too!)  You must be willing to get to a park for a leisure afternoon and be willing to race home or knock on a neighbors door within minutes of arrival even if you did have the child "go" before they left.  You have to be ready to with cleaning supplies, carpet spot cleaner, anti-bacterial wipes and maybe even a fingernail scrub brush (my 4th child taught me that).  A parent must be ready to have an internal clock set for every 30 mins to take a child potty.

But most importantly we must be filled with the patience of Job.   Because getting upset with the child, no matter the extent of the stain they have left in their wake, only scares them.  Instead a parent needs to take a deep breath and quietly remind the child wear bodily fluids must be deposited.  Anger will only take you further back in the process.

So how to do it?
Load them up with fluids like CRAZY and find a way to make them relax.  Some read books to their kids, some let them sit on a portable potty in front of the tv, some teach the kids to clean up their own mess, some have a child practice running to the potty and sliding off their pants from the scene of the crime, some throw cheerios in the pot and tell their boys to try to hit them and some do a sticker chart with a reward at the end.  Some do ALL of that.  But really you do what works for your child.  Sometimes it takes a while to figure out what it is that will convince the child the potty really is better then their diaper.

Unless your like me and one day just stop buying diapers so not only can the child not have them, but also so that I won't have a crutch to fall back on.

Growing Like a Weed

 Guess who's 9 months old?

Daniel!!

He's officially 23 pounds

(80th %)

and 30 inches (90th%)!!

Dan is finally starting to army crawl,

roll both directions and sits up

like a pro.

Last week he leaned forward on

one hand and up on his toes from

a sitting position to reach for a toy...

in the bath...

it scared me to death.

But he did just fine!

He is happy as can be and

smiles his wide mouth frog

smile at everyone!

He enjoys sitting with his dragon

toy that he can put balls into

and watch them roll out.

Life wouldn't be the same with out him!!

Testing In Progress

 This is me.

This is me taking a picture

in low light,

and no flash.

And I think this new camera did a great job!

It's been one of my annoyances of my

previously "dying" camera...

I really don't like to use the flash,

but I not ready to commit

myself to a DSLR camera.

Now time to test out the auto focus

on a close up picture.

Time to let the camera use its

auto flash.

Another low light photo

with no flash and more shadowing.

This one is a bit more grainy

but still, MUCH better

then previous photos.

Now to try a picture on the

subject who is least likely

to sit still long enough

for a decent shot...

DAN!

Pretty good!

I never usually get the shot I wanted

but this camera was so fast!!!

And lastly a close up

outside with no flash!

I'm in love!!

Panasonic Lumix (DMC-FH24)

Mom Day

This would be my 8th Mother's Day.

And here come the troops

with special gifts and

breakfast in bed!!

Emma was filled with excitement

all weekend long,

just dying for me to open

her bag full of goodies

that she put together in class.

Many times I found myself reminding

her the reason I hadn't looked at

her special gift yet was because

Mother's Day wasn't until Sunday.

She could barely contain herself.

Yummy, orange juice and

cinnamon rolls!

Sydney was also extremely proud

of the bath salts and flowers

she made at "Activity Days"

with the other 8-11yr old girls

from church.

She even brought a purse along

the night she made her gift so

she could hide her present properly!

Piles and piles of good stuff for me.

Coupons for 5 mins of quiet time,

 a bath, help with dishes, etc!

Mr. Blue-Eyes

I love Sydney's face full of laughter

and Emma looking at me

with eyes full of love for me.

I felt so special.

Kisses to share to say 

"thank you"!

Sydney has happily found the section

in the library that has "learning books".

She loves to bring home craft books,

cook books, how to draw books

and recently a book about New Mexico

where her cousins moved to.

The flower she's holding in this picture

is just one of the many things she

has learned to do with those great resourses!

But the best gift of all

was a new camera!!

We had been searching for months

for a camera that fulfilled our needs

small, quick snap shots, large pixels,

and cost effective.

Thanks to holiday sales

Larry picked out a great camera

that snapped all of these great photos!

Thanks honey!!

I'm one very very lucky mother and wife!!