Pea is now 2 1/2...which means we are a bit overdue in the potty training department (actually it's more like overdoo, but more on that in a minute). I kind of thought that I would wait until I had a less crazy schedule (excuse #1), and when she wasn't going to the babysitter three times a week (excuse #2), and when Matt was home to help (excuse #3). However, all of the above have now come and gone, so I am officially out of excuses. It is time. I suppose the straw that broke the camels back was this morning when (WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT) Hannah walked into the bathroom, pointed in the tub and said, "das POO". Sadly, she was right. There was indeed poop in the tub. From her bath the night before. Somehow amid all of the bubbles we (actually it was Matt. I was jogging. Just sayin'.) missed that little gem. Soooooo...we figured that if she can do that in the tub, she can just as well do it in the potty.
Fast forward to later in the day. I made a special trip to my most favorit-est place to shop..target-to get Pea some big girl underpants. I let her pick them out-which meant the gigantic pack of princess underpants...one with each of the disney princesses on them. (note: while I was there I also could not resist this). Matt's mom and sister ended up meeting us at the Target and Hannah proudly holds up her new underpants and announces (clear as a bell and loud enough for the folks around us to hear) "I POOP TUB". "I POOP TUB" "I POOP TUB!!!!" Great!!!! Thanks for sharing Hannah!" Fortunately one sweet lady who overheard just grinned and said, 'I have two year old twins. Nothing phases me :)" haha! That made me feel slightly better.
So...let the fun of potty training begin. Hopefully she is going to catch right on and there will be no grocery store accidents, and DEFINITELY no more tub incidents. Wish us luck...
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Four
Having four kids is something my husband and I are very proud of-it isn't always easy and sometimes we look at each other and wonder what the heck we were thinking (haha, actually we just say, "Mexico?", as in..."shall we just leave it all behind and go to Mexico?" Fortunately it hasn't gotten to that point. YET.) I digress. The point is that clearly we haven't done things the conventional way (four kids in less than 8 years all while we are in our twenties) but we wouldn't change a thing. Most of the time though, it seems that people don't understand this...they think we are crazy. (which we ARE, but not because we have four kids) I get so tired of being asked if I REALLY have four kids- And if I have to hear one more time that "FOUR IS A LOT" I'm just going to go postal. Major pet peeve. I'm not a circus freak, I love my family size and I am not opposed to increasing it thankyouverymuch.
Now having said all of that...today something really great happened to me. It was just an email...a forward at that, but it totally warmed my heart and made me happy. My mother in law emailed the following to me with the comment, "I thought of y'all when I read this":
Why big families are easier:
Patience. I never have to teach patience. My children know that I can’t drop everything for them if I have a baby in my arms.
Work Ethic. My children have learned to work because there are always chores to do in a small house packed with little messy lunatics. And they all learn quickly that sometimes they have to clean up a mess even though they didn’t make it.
Humility. My children have learned it’s not always their turn. They’ve accepted they can’t always get their way because other people have to get their way sometimes. They’ve learned that some children are better at certain things than they are.
Foreign language skills. You can learn a lot of Spanish by watching ten years of Dora the Explorer that you just can’t pick up in two. And now with the Diego spin off I’m practically fluent.
Laughter. The children have learned to laugh at the insane non sequiturs of younger siblings. They’ve learned that laughing just feels better when seven people are doing it along with you.
Competition. Do I really need to go into this? Everything is a competition in big families. The children compete over who reads faster, who drinks their milk faster, who gets to the bathroom first…etc. Everything is a competition and they’re all keeping score.
Balance. The floor of the front room of my home is a minefield of toys and childhood paraphernalia. Just walking through the room requires great skill and balance. I’m absolutely convinced my two year old will be a favorite for Gold on the balance beam in the 2016 Olympics. (She might have to lay off the cookies a little but I’ll deal with that later.)
Life isn’t fair. Sometimes you just give it to the baby because you want a little quiet. Not all the time. But sometimes.
Just say “No.” Being able to say “no” may be the most undervalued skill in this world. The need to be liked is pervasive. The need to be cool even more so. Having brothers and sisters teaches children to say “no” about 143 times a day. It’s a good skill.
Praying. They learn that nothing beats praying together as a family.
Nature/Nurture. Having many children has taught me that nature has a lot more to do with who my kids are than nurture. This is helpful, especially when your children misbehave you don’t have to feel bad about it. Just say “Stupid nature!!!” and blame your spouse’s genes.
Namecalling. You can occasionally call your child by the wrong name and still not be considered a terrible parent. They know who you mean just from your tone. Sometimes if you need something done you can call the wrong name and someone will still show up. That helps.
Spying. My children have learned that they can’t get away with anything. I have spies who look a lot like them who are willing to drop the dime on them for anything. Even at school I’ve got a child in just about every grade. If they do something I’ll hear. That keeps them nervous. And I like keeping my kids a little nervous.
Friendship. The children have many friends. They’ve got girly friends, crying friends, fun loving friends, consoling friends, and crazy friends. And they all have the same last name. And they’ll be there forever for each other. No matter what.
Love. I think my children have learned to love because there are others around them to love and who love them. I honestly can think of no better way to teach children to love than siblings.
Sure, some of it is idealistic, and it's all pretty funny...but overall it was nice to hear something positive about having a big family (love you Nana)!! And for the most part, it's true-and I'm thankful everyday for my "big" family :)
Now having said all of that...today something really great happened to me. It was just an email...a forward at that, but it totally warmed my heart and made me happy. My mother in law emailed the following to me with the comment, "I thought of y'all when I read this":
Why big families are easier:
Patience. I never have to teach patience. My children know that I can’t drop everything for them if I have a baby in my arms.
Work Ethic. My children have learned to work because there are always chores to do in a small house packed with little messy lunatics. And they all learn quickly that sometimes they have to clean up a mess even though they didn’t make it.
Humility. My children have learned it’s not always their turn. They’ve accepted they can’t always get their way because other people have to get their way sometimes. They’ve learned that some children are better at certain things than they are.
Foreign language skills. You can learn a lot of Spanish by watching ten years of Dora the Explorer that you just can’t pick up in two. And now with the Diego spin off I’m practically fluent.
Laughter. The children have learned to laugh at the insane non sequiturs of younger siblings. They’ve learned that laughing just feels better when seven people are doing it along with you.
Competition. Do I really need to go into this? Everything is a competition in big families. The children compete over who reads faster, who drinks their milk faster, who gets to the bathroom first…etc. Everything is a competition and they’re all keeping score.
Balance. The floor of the front room of my home is a minefield of toys and childhood paraphernalia. Just walking through the room requires great skill and balance. I’m absolutely convinced my two year old will be a favorite for Gold on the balance beam in the 2016 Olympics. (She might have to lay off the cookies a little but I’ll deal with that later.)
Life isn’t fair. Sometimes you just give it to the baby because you want a little quiet. Not all the time. But sometimes.
Just say “No.” Being able to say “no” may be the most undervalued skill in this world. The need to be liked is pervasive. The need to be cool even more so. Having brothers and sisters teaches children to say “no” about 143 times a day. It’s a good skill.
Praying. They learn that nothing beats praying together as a family.
Nature/Nurture. Having many children has taught me that nature has a lot more to do with who my kids are than nurture. This is helpful, especially when your children misbehave you don’t have to feel bad about it. Just say “Stupid nature!!!” and blame your spouse’s genes.
Namecalling. You can occasionally call your child by the wrong name and still not be considered a terrible parent. They know who you mean just from your tone. Sometimes if you need something done you can call the wrong name and someone will still show up. That helps.
Spying. My children have learned that they can’t get away with anything. I have spies who look a lot like them who are willing to drop the dime on them for anything. Even at school I’ve got a child in just about every grade. If they do something I’ll hear. That keeps them nervous. And I like keeping my kids a little nervous.
Friendship. The children have many friends. They’ve got girly friends, crying friends, fun loving friends, consoling friends, and crazy friends. And they all have the same last name. And they’ll be there forever for each other. No matter what.
Love. I think my children have learned to love because there are others around them to love and who love them. I honestly can think of no better way to teach children to love than siblings.
Sure, some of it is idealistic, and it's all pretty funny...but overall it was nice to hear something positive about having a big family (love you Nana)!! And for the most part, it's true-and I'm thankful everyday for my "big" family :)
Friday, February 19, 2010
Big Boy Ben
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
So...I'm in class right now. I know! I know! I should be using this time to catch up on school work rather than blogging (note: paying attention? Not an option. It's all personal anecdotes and irrelevant tangents) But actually he is talking about something that made me think a little bit. (This is a social studies for teachers class btw) Today's subject matter is Civics, and one of the ways to teach civics is through community service learning. This is essentially where you get the students involved in a community service project to give them a hands on way of learning civics. I love this idea! I hope that by the time I am teaching, I'll be able to use it in my own class. However I started thinking about my own kids, and how they haven't really done anything like that. I have actually been thinking about this since MLK day...which is usually considered a day of service; where you use your day off to give back to the community. I wanted to do something with my kids, but I wouldn't even know where to start finding some sort of project we could ALL (including tiny Ben) be a part of. When I was younger, I can remember participating with my family over the summers with the Meals on Wheels, where we took meals to elderly people in the community. I can remember dreading it when we first had to go, but looking back, I actually have a lot of good memories-there was the sweet old lady with the EXCESSIVELY fat cat-Peter. She loved that cat, and even gave my sister and I a framed picture of him to show her appreciation of the meals (it was an 8x10 lol). Then there was the old man, who's name escapes me right now, who always had juicy fruit gum for us. The gum was probably purchased when the man was a teenager (it was crunchy) but for kids who rarely got to chew gum, this was a treat. My dad's personal favorite was this sweet old lady who LOVED John Wayne-(my dad loves John Wayne movies) Every time we'd go she'd find a way to bring John Wayne into the conversation.
But I digress! (I'm as bad as this professor) The point is that in spite of having a family of six, my parents still made it a priority for us to be involved in community service. I want to do that with my kids-in a bigger way than just writing a check for charity or buying a raffle ticket for a good cause. I'm going to keep my eyes out for a good opportunity. Lent starts tomorrow...maybe we'll incorporate it there somehow.
I'd better get back to paying attention.....
But I digress! (I'm as bad as this professor) The point is that in spite of having a family of six, my parents still made it a priority for us to be involved in community service. I want to do that with my kids-in a bigger way than just writing a check for charity or buying a raffle ticket for a good cause. I'm going to keep my eyes out for a good opportunity. Lent starts tomorrow...maybe we'll incorporate it there somehow.
I'd better get back to paying attention.....
Friday, February 12, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Matthew's 6th Birthday
Well, today it's just pictures...a picture walk through our trip to Fernbank for Matthew's birthday. Frankly I don't have time to do a long update and not too much is going on here-aside from me trying to keep up with my school work. Turns out procrastinating is not such a good idea....;)
Daddy and the birthday boy-
Matthew and Pea in front of the giant dinosaur bones
The whole gang! Matt's Mom and Dad came with us :)
One of my favorite family photos...all the kids seem to be making a funny face!
Matthew playing with the bubbles...(I really want one of those here at the house!)
Mommy and The Ben...
Silly Caitlin
Pea...pollinating the flowers
Dee and the birthday boy
We had a ton of fun!! And Cracker Barrel afterward was a great way to end the day! (Mostly because Ben decided to sleep almost the entire time-so nice.)
Hope y'all have a good week...I'm not going to be able to post very often until this quarter is over....but i'll do my best!
Monday, February 1, 2010
Rookie Mistake
Today's lesson: No matter how tempting it might be to take your kids to the pet store on a rainy cold Saturday-DON'T DO IT. Go to the library instead. Seriously. We made that mistake this weekend and ended up broke and with two more little responsibilities here at The Shoe.
Introducing:
Rosie:
Introducing:
Rosie:
and Coconut (both dwarf hamsters)
(confession: i love them and think they are adorable. I am clearly a glutton for punishment. Plus, the look on the kids faces when they found out we were getting them hamsters was totally worth any future inconvenience. Remind me of this when I am ready to flush them).
Matt and I got them out for the first time last night and it turns out that Rosie is a bit of a jumper-she managed to escape from him and there was a very tense two minutes when we were not sure we would _ever_ be able to get her back in the cage. Also...Coconut seems to be a bit of a bully; every time Rosie is doing something that Coconut may or may not want to do, Coconut squeaks at her, and she runs away. Poor Rosie spends a lot of time on the wheel and can't seem to figure out why she cannot ever get away from Coconut. We are considering moving Rosie into her own cage (can I just tell you how excited Matt is at the prospect of buying _another_ hamster cage?)
Overall though, I'm glad we did it. It was so much fun to experience buying a new pet with the kids. The only one who is not thrilled is Chassie. I think she will eat them if she ever gets the chance....
Here's another shot of Rosie eating a grape: (that one is an eater...)
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