Oh Me Oh My!

I think this boy needs a brother. Tu-Tu (pun intended) many girls are in the house.

I was sitting at the computer this morning checking Facebook, and these precious princesses greeted me. Only one of them was indeed the ugliest princess I have ever seen! Of course they giggled and laughed and thought they played a good joke on me. If only their father could see them.

Oh Me Oh My!

Wordless Wednesday~Salad Loving Boy!

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Show and Tell Friday~My Cute Cow Clothing.

Today I would like to show you the outfits I sewed for my kids for Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A. The framework of the idea came from my oldest daughter Sweetie.

This is such an easy romper to sew. It takes about an hour from cut to finish! It's completely lined as well!

This is the dress that my daughter's Bean and Sweetie wore. They both wore identical dresses. I appliqued' the cow faces on a T-Shirt, and then sewed a cow print skirt onto it. It is such fun learning how to applique' with my sewing machine.

All dressed up and ready to head out to Chick-Fil-A. I am asking them to say "Moo" here.

When we got to Chick Fil A the cow spotted them right away, and wanted them join the "herd".

And this is the picture that I have entered into Chick-Fil-A's Show us the Cow photo contest. I would be SO VERY MUCH appreciative if you would click over there and give us your vote and help us make it into the finalists! Here is the link: http://www.showusthecow.com/photos.php?view=browse&tag=CHURCH

To see what others are showing and telling about it on their blogs, please visit Kelli at There's No Place Like Home. ♥

Isn't He just the Cutest Thing?

While I was taking pictures of my hair bows for etsy.... Tiny Boy came up, put on his daddy's old hat from when he was a boy and said, "Take picture! I handsome!" Who couldn't resist that? And you know what? He's right! ♥

Little Miss Bean, and Tiny Little Boy

Today at 7:18am Miss Bean was born five years ago.

Little Tiny Boy was born three years ago on February 1st ♥ I missed his birthday post. :(

We have big plans for today....

• Grocery Store to pick up cupcakes
• Build a Bear
• To a friend's house to visit.

This weekend we are going to be having a party to celebrate both birthdays with family and friends.

Have a great day! We are. ♥

Potty Training Philosophy

Well, we have been in the middle of potty training around here.

So far so good.

Tiny Boy is my third child to potty train. And I have found a method that works for me, I can dare say, after almost seven years of experience in motherhood.

Over the years, I have heard say, "Boys are harder to train than girls"

Well, that maybe true on average. But Tiny Boy has been a pleasant experience so far. ♥

My method is quite simple:

1. Wait until the kid is ready. Don't PUSH. If they don't understand simple directions, then they aren't ready. Maybe you can "potty train" them at an age where they don't follow simple directions...but it will be a headache in the long run.

2. Make sure that they can communicate clearly with you, the mommy. If you don't understand what they are trying to say to you when they are explaining something important to them, then it will only lead to frustration on the mommy's part.

3. Make sure they they are able to handle dexterity tasks. Can the unscrew bottle caps? Can they put their toys away, etc.

Those are my signs for when a child is ready for graduation out of diapers.

Each child is different. Sweetie and Bean were both ready waaay before I did train them. But I was pregnant and nearing delivery when both of them were ready to train, so I didn't bother. Having a new baby is a huge adjustment for a little tyke, as well as the mommy. Adding the stress of potty training just didn't seem wise to me.

So Tiny Boy. He began showing in "interest" in September. And I "played" with it with him. I wasn't being pushy about it. But I acted extremely pleased if he wanted to "sit" on the potty like his big sisters.

But the time came. It was past his third birthday.

So. I brought out the "big boy pants" with Carz, Woody, Buzz, and Nemo on them. I Stocked up on his favorite Juice.

The morning came, and I told him, "We are going to wear Big Boy pants". I put them on him. He fussed.

I asked him if he wanted Juice. Of course he did. And promptly he forgot about wearing those stupid things.

I set the timer for 10 minutes after he drank his juice.

When the timer went off, I sat him on the potty. That was a bit of a struggle, but I told him that if he went pee pee, he would get a candy. So he sat.

Eventually he peed.

Yaaaaa! BIG BOY!!!! YIPPEE!!!! LET's GO GET SOME CANDY!!!!

You get the idea.

More juice. Set Timer.

Oops. accident. Tiny Boy does *not* like that feeling. We change Buzz Lightyear pants to Mr. Incredible pants

Set Timer again. This time I set it sooner than before.

We made the deadline!

Yaaaa! BIG BOY!!!! YIPPEE!!! LET'S GO GET SOME CANDY!!!!!

Set the timer again.

Success this time.

Yaaaa! BIG BOY!!! YIPPEE!!! LET'S GO GET SOME CANDY!!!!!

Oh no. Another accident. Tiny Boy not Happy. Change Pants.

So you see the routine right?

The next day we start all over. This time Tiny Boy isn't upset about putting on the Big Boy Pants. I set the timer, give him juice, and repeat the process from the previous day.

This time a slight change occurs. Tiny Boy is starting to come and *tell* me he needs to go...and a few times before the timer goes off.

Only one "accident" on the second day.

Day Three. We repeat the same scenarios as in previous days.

This time, I can't remember the timer going off before Tiny Boy comes and says he needs to go. There are no accidents on day three.

Tomorrow will be day four. The real test is when we leave the house LOL!

Now, let me just stop here and go off on a little bunny trail here. I don't know why but Potty Training can be *such* a controversial subject amongst moms, aunts, grandmas, and friends. I am still scratching my head as to ummmm.....why!?

I have been in groups where different ladies were discussing this, and many of them passing judgment on mothers in how they and their husbands choose to go about this not so fun duty.

Well, if the child is eight, then maybe....maybe there might be something wrong. But I know of many friends, and other people, who's little children's bladders are *not* developed in the way they need to be in order to potty train.

And other mothers just need a little encouragement. Not disdain and judgement over what can be a difficult time.

I know I have been made to feel like I wasn't doing my job because my kids weren't trained by the time they were two.

People need to give people grace. Sometimes Mommy's have issues and circumstances that won't allow them the time that is needed to potty train.

Sometimes Mommies are:

1. Pregnant and about to give birth

2. Nursing. (Which is demanding in of itself. Try nursing, hearing your toddler scream, "I gotta go now!" and you have your babe stuck to your boob. Putting the baby down and running the toddler to the potty.)

3. Moving Homes. (packing, unpacking, rearranging furniture, etc)

4 Having more than one child.

5. Have all the above scenarios and your husband works late, and you have no immediate family near by to help you.

Yeah. Those are some pretty trying circumstances in which to take a toddler to the potty every 15 minutes and then sit there and wait patiently until they go. Not to mention all the "normal" things like, laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc.

So the next time you see a toddler in diapers. Make sure you think twice before thinking "Ugg! That Mother hasn't trained him yet?" ♥ ♥ ♥

Feeling Icky Sicky

For the past month, I have been feeling yucky. I am not sure if it is a combination of some bug traveling around our area or allergies or both.

Normally, I don't get "allergies". The only thing I am allergic to is mold; as most people are, lol!

But the pollen count is high in our area. And whenever the weather changes, I seem to get some sort of attack.

Scratchy throat, stuffy head and nose, and just feeling like snuggling up in a warm blanket. That feeling lasts about two days at the most, then I start sneezing and blowing out whatever was in my body. By day six and seven I am starting to feel normal. Then the next day on day eight or nine, I wake up to the stuffy head, nose, and scratchy throat again. Uggg!

This has been lasting a *MONTH* I am so sick of it!

My hubby was so sweet. This morning, as I lay snoring in bed, he , hid a card underneath a pile of junk mail. He knows me so well, in knowing that I throw out junk mail pretty quick. Thankfully, I checked underneath the pile this morning before I tossed it in the trash, and there was a card with my name on it.

It was a sweet card that just told me he was thinking of me today, and that he hopes I start feeling better throughout the day. ♥ And he wrote a cute poem/verse in it. That sure did help raise my spirits!

My "Get Well" card next to my Valentine's Day flowers he gave me

I got alot of comments about how to roll and crush oats. It's getting time for me to roll and crush some soon, and I'll be sure to take pictures, and write an entry about it. Hopefully next week.

And those of you who left comments, I will slowly come by and visit your blogs as I have a few moments. As well as being "sick", I am in the middle of potty training Tiny Boy. Praise the Lord he is picking this up fast, and I am hoping that most of the "training" part will be done in a couple of days.

But I value your comments and your visits *Sooooo* very much. Please keep coming by. Just please understand, as I am sure you do if your a mom yourself, that other things come first before blogs. ;-)

For My Friend

So. I was commanded asked by a friend of mine to post on my blog. ;-) I know it's been awhile. But....its been one of those months. You know? Actually, I am very flattered that people are reading my blog. So thank you for sticking with me. :)

During Thanksgiving my Sister came down for a visit. I haven't seen her youngest for a year. He and Tiny Boy look like sooooo much alike! The only difference I see is their mouth. So I made a little digital scrap page of the two of them together.

The funny thing is that they both share the same first name. So When I saw one of them out of the corner of my eye getting into trouble it didn't matter whose name I called, because they both came, LOL!

In case anyone is confused, my sister's boy is on the left, and Tiny Boy is on the right.

Fair Days

Our items are now entered into the fair. What a fun experience this has been. It's my/our first time ever entering anything into the fair, and I am excited to see what comes out of it.

I made the above page at Scrapblog.com. My Sister In Law showed this site to me, and boy is it fun and addicting! ;-)

As you can see we have a good sampling of things that are stumping the judges right now. I entered two pieces of photography. This:

and This:
I am not sure if they are considered good or not, but *I* liked them well enough. ;-)

Tiny Boy and Bean (as well as Sweetie) entered the egg decorating contest. They were so proud to see their eggs up on the display shelf! (And so was I, mind you. ;0) )

Other Things Sweetie entered were

Cream Cheese Cookies
A Draw String Tote bag that she sewed herself

And this water color painting of the sun

I entered a couple of other things:

Freshly Ground Whole Wheat Bread

And A Custom Boutique Outfit that I had made to sell on ebay, but never did. :(

The girls and Tiny Boy were both pumped with excitement as they saw the fair grounds transformed and workers hustling about busy setting up their stands and rides.

We also saw a friend from church helping out with the gathering of the goods.

Well, wish us the best! :)

I *Finally* Got Brave!

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