Potty Woes

Who knew that a little girl who refuses to pee or poop on the potty would bring the worst out myself. I felt possessed this morning.

She was eager this morning. She wanted underwear on. I wanted her to wear them too. I witnessed her willingly go to the potty a few times. Then everything fell apart. She took a crayon and coloured our living room wall. Then added a splash of colour on our wedding plate. I cried. She peed. I changed her, and offered a second chance. (There was discipline action that occurred over the art work of course). We visited the bathroom before heading out for a quick visit to the grocery store (quick being less than 10 minutes). She was good in the store. But somewhere between paying for the few items in our cart to the walk to our van, she peed. I made her remove everything waist below,I didn't want her car seat wet. She complained all the way home that she was cold. Of course she was. We got home. Again, I offered another chance. She knew I was disappointed. She visited the toilet every 2 minutes. I left her to prepare our lunch when her brother announced that she pooped. She pooped in her underwear. She thought she should get rid of it before I could find out. This meant there was poop on the floor of the bathroom. It wasn't completely out of control, at least she got freaked out about poop being on her hands, she was washing those when I found her. Ahhhh. It was at this point I lost it. I put her in a diaper, said some things I shouldn't have, and felt exhausted.

Maybe she's not there yet. I realize that. So starting today, I'm going to pray that the Lord will give her a desire to sit and use the toilet. As silly as that sounds, at this point, this is all I can do. I've tried everything. Incentives, disadvantages, positive words and actions, removing prized possession. Nothing worked. My daughter loves chocolate, and this morning I should have known it was a bad day when she peed the first time she said, "I guess the bunny will only have chocolate for Caleb Mom." She seemed cheery when she said this to me!

Ahh she's my girl. I love her to bits. And today, I'm turning a new leaf. I'm not going to push her into it. I will always encourage, but I'll be patient and wait. I guess not only will I ask God to help her want to use the potty, but I'll ask Him to not wait until she's 6 or something ridiculous!

So humbled over the grace of God and the knowledge that he is always forgiving. I can see His grace in my daughter when she looks at me with those loving blue eyes and says "I love you Momma" after I exploded with my anger.

Cinders and Ashes

It's been a few months now that I've started to talk to Dave about getting a cat for our family. I've been missing having a pet in our home. I miss having the cuddles and the playing with animals. Around the Christmas time, I would see specials and movies with families which almost always included a beloved pet. Dave would continue to remind me of the litter box, the hair on everything and wouldn't seem at all interested in that world anymore. Until one day. He went to visit one of his buddies for a day and came home with a new tune. Not only did we need to get a cat, but we needed two!
I always thought we would go to the local humane society to adopt one. I wanted to be a hero to a kitty, and rescue them. But when Dave insisted on getting two young cats, I knew that picking from the humane society could be a hit and miss. After all, we have 3 little babies in our home and cats will have a wide variety of personalities and social tendencies. For our family, we needed to get kittens and have them mould their personalities as they grow with us and our children. The hunt began and I started searching the kijiji ads. Last Saturday I found these little babies who needed a home, and came without a price.

Meet Cinders and Ashes.




They are both girls and are 8 weeks old. Caleb and Amberly absolutely adore them. Caleb loves looking out for them , watching them and most importantly, playing with them. Dave and I enjoy the quiet times with them. Once the kids are all in bed, we get them out and they cuddle with us. I almost forgot the sound of a purr.

They are so great, and have settled into their new home really well. Right now they are cuddling with Dave upstairs as we await our afternoon out with friends.


Oh the joys of pets!

The Escape Artist

For Christmas, Caleb was given a small aquarium from his aunt and uncle. They have a huge aquarium with an abundance of platys fish and snails. So they stock our little aquarium. We have 6 fish and 3 snails.

Well just this morning Dave asked me why the lid of the filter has come off twice now? I had no idea, and quickly in a defensive tone said "I don't know". Off to work he went. While baking in the kitchen the thought of Finding Nemo crossed my mind. I laughed to myself thinking the fish were planning a great escape. At lunch time I sat in the living room for just a quiet moment and was watching the fish. Enjoying the scene something caught my eye off to the right of the tank. There on the table was a snail. Sitting there dry as ever. Dave came home and I showed him. The snail wasn't attached to the table I just picked him up and tossed him back in. The thing is still alive. Apparently they can live out of water for a couple of days! But the vulture fish we have seem to be picking on him and he doesn't look so normal at the moment. I hope he'll be o.k.

But yes, the adventures of a snail!

Five Months

My baby is 5 months old now. Where did that time go? It's amazing really. Time. Some days take forever to run out and other days fly by and you lay your head on the pillow and wonder what happened? There are days where in the moment you wish the time away. But looking back, I begin to wish time back. The experience of raising a baby is extraordinary. The amount of changes that occur in such a short time frame alone is amazing. To see the little personality come out. To hear the laugh and squeals of joy for the first time. To see the adoration in the eyes when he looks at his brother. Already the bonds are forming and that is beautiful.

Joel cut his first tooth on Saturday March 5. He's been a little under the weather for quite some time now, and I'm sure the teeth are the cause of this.

He loves bath time. And to make life a bit easier we graduated him into the big tub and he absolutely loves it! He's a huge splasher!

He's pretty perfect I think. I'm biased I know. But look at him!!!

People think he looks just like Caleb, but I think he's got a perfect blend of both Caleb and Amberly. He has the same eyes as Amberly. But the same adorable smile as Caleb. He's simply lovely!

Music

I've added my playlist at the bottom. If you don't want to listen, just scroll down and shut it off. Otherwise, enjoy!

Oh ya, one other thing. After a long day of worry and nursing. Caleb came out of his classroom, took one look at me and started to cry. He didn't want to come home with me, he wanted to go home with Christa. His tears almost made me cry. Christa hugged him and I told him he could pick out a treat at the store when I went to get Amberly a few things, and it was all good.

Not in the Clear

I thought we were safe, moving towards health and normalcy. I was wrong. Today, a Thursday, a quiet day for Mommy and Joel while Caleb goes to school and Amberly goes to Christa's my mind began to think of the many things I could accomplish. Well, Amberly was gone for only 20 minutes before I got the call from Christa telling me that she threw up all over. I had just got out of the shower, dripping wet trying to quick think of how I'll get to her and get Caleb to school. Christa came to the rescue by suggesting that she drop Amberly off home and pick Caleb up. Phew. By the way, Caleb was over the moon that Christa was coming to get him. It was record time that he managed to get all his school gear on and even waited eagerly on the front porch for her.

Once Amberly got home Christa said she was throwing up about every 10 minutes. And sure enough once I got her settled on the couch, she started throwing up. At this point she had nothing in her system. My heart just broke. I suggested that she get her jammies and relax, but she worried that jammies meant bed and refused, until Mommy came out in her jammies. Then it was o.k. and we had a jammie movie day. First she watched Curious George on the couch (love the music in that movie!) Then I set up our van's portable dvd player in her room and took her there. I put her Princess Stories on and during that she fell asleep. After waking up she wanted to watch Winnie the Pooh. So I layed down with her and she then threw up again. She wanted me to hold her. I did for a long while. Then it was time for me to feed Joel and get back into my clothes so I could greet Joy (who came to stay with the kids so I could get Caleb) and go out to pick Caleb up. At that point she was watching Mary Poppins. When I returned with Caleb, she had thrown up again, this time all in her hair. So once Mary Poppins was over, we ran a nice warm bath and put her in. She didn't want to get out. After 25 minutes, I insisted she get out (so I could get supper made) and put Tarzan 2 on. She watched that, and then some Dora and finished the night off with Oswald.

I'm worried about dehydration. Although she's been drinking, she hasn't kept it down and she hasn't peed all day. Before she fell asleep tonight she finished a large freezie and had a couple of mouthfuls of Gatorade. I'm telling myself to be prepared for a long night ahead. Not only worried for her and vomit, but Caleb has a terrible cough, he's coughing constantly. So much so I kept him home from Cubbies tonight. I hope he'll be o.k. for school tomorrow.

So yes. I am SO DONE with all this illness. I want it gone! Spring can not come fast enough. But having said that, I look at my little man and wish for time to slow down. 5 months old and growing up so fast. I can't have it both ways. So although this sickness, while in the midst is terrible. I will make every effort to savour each moment, each day, every minute, because my babies are growing so fast I don't want to miss a thing.

Baby Laughing Hysterically at Ripping Paper

This totally made my day. Can't wait to get uncontrolable laughter out of Joel like this!

So Long February

It was brief, there were good moments and bad ones, but it's over now. Moving onto March. Wow.

Joel is 5 months old.
Amberly learned terms such as "What's the big deal?" and "I just don't believe it"
Caleb somersaulted in the water.
Dave finally agrees it's time for a new kitten.
I joined the choir at church for the Easter Cantata.

To send off the month, we went to East Side Mario's for dinner. Kids eat free on Mondays. We successfully pulled it off despite a few mishaps. Caleb fell off his chair smacking his ear on the floor, with some very dramatic screams. Joel only slept for 5 minutes, the rest of the time we had to hold him to keep him happy. We chose to confine Amberly in a highchair which was a wonderful decision on our part. Caleb tried cutting his ice cream with an actual sharp knife. We're such model parents! But having that said, we did enjoy our time. Dave even had a smile on his face occasionally and had no signs of embarrassment come across it. We actually ate hot and yummy food. And we got home in time for normal schedule routine. We are quite proud of ourselves for our public appearance over a meal.

Here's hoping for a great nights sleep, I sure need it!

What a Long Week

I'm so ready for a new week to begin in hopes that we can leave behind the sickness, sleepless nights, vomit, irritablilty and just plain sadness. On family day of all days it started. First it was Amberly, she was acting completely normal, except for the fact that she actually did sleep during nap time. Then once awake, she started to cry and I scooped her up in my arms, only to become a very close target of vomit all over me. It was discusting. Then she was fine again. She didn't eat the rest of the day, but was happy none the less. That evening, when all the kids were settled in to bed (or so I thought) Joel began to cry. Dave went to him only to tell me that he puked. He began changing him into new jammies when I entered the story. Once he was cleaned up, I brought him into our room and was about to swaddle him up like we always do. Well. He vomited again, all over me. So again, we had to change him, and he was so tired, I just laid him in the bassinet in our room and he went fast to sleep. He slept really well that night.

Amberly developed a cough through the night as well as Caleb, but both seemed well enough to go to school and the sitters on Tuesday morning. Joel was still not himself. Tuesday was long. He would scream everytime I would try to feed him. He hardly drank anything. By Wednesday, I made him a doctor's appt. The doctor checked him over only to come to the conclusion that he must have the flu. She suggested giving him Soy formula for a while to ease digestion, but other than that just ride it out. We've been riding until now. He has come down with a terrible cough and congestion. I've been nervous about pnuemonia, so I keep a close eye on him. If he isn't any better by tomorrow I suspect I'll be making another visit to the doctors. The odd thing out of the whole week and illness, is a fever has never been present. This morning while trying to feed him, he threw up everything he took in. Now I don't know why. I feel helpless a lot of the time.

I feel so tired. I skipped church and as soon as Joel went for his morning nap (which he's still doing) I put a movie on for the other 2 and went to bed. Didn't get a whole lot of sleep. But still it's been nice and quiet.

Praying for health to return to it's proper place in our house.

To my Hubby, Happy Valentines!

4 Months

Joel at 4 months weighs 16 pounds and is 26 inches long. My lovely BIG boy!

The Love Month

Ahhh February. I'm absolutely sure I did not like this month's entrance. I got sick on Sunday and woke up on Monday with the most worst painful throat EVER. I would clench my teeth and fists every time I had to swallow. I called the doctor's office first thing and they couldn't get me in until 5pm. I took the appt. and cried as I hung up knowing I couldn't make it until then. I called my mom to ask her what she thought I should do and she answered the phone on her way out the door to come to me. I love that. Once my parents got here, Dave took me to the hospital, and there I waited a couple of hours, and as suspected, the doctor told me I had strep throat. I got some drugs and went back home to get better. In the course of 3 days I had 9 hot baths, countless pain pills, unending tears, I even uttered the words that I would prefer childbirth to this, at least they have really good drugs for that! But by Wednesday, things were looking up and I felt good. And as of today, I feel wonderful. It's amazing how time makes you forget. When you're in the moment, it's magnified 100 times worse and I really just wanted to die.

Joel is 4 months old. I still haven't taken pictures of this milestone. He's doing great. He's a happy little guy, a routine little guy, a drooly little guy but most importantly an amazing blessing of a little guy. Dave and I just love him to bits. I love looking at my 3 little ones and can't help but feel God's blessings. Amberly is the most beautiful little thing. First thing in the morning, she's a chatterbox and the things she goes on about is really about nothing, but it's serious conversation for her, you can see it in her expressive eyes. She got her first bloody nose last night. While hopping up into her bed she smacked her face on her headboard. Oh the blood was flowing. Nicely onto my white shirt through to my white bra. Once she saw the blood all the tears stopped. Yes, she was intrigued with her bloody nose. Caleb is still a routine boy. He's developing more of a personality and is always hungry!

Our weeks are getting busy. I find it really challenging to keep up. With all of Caleb's school stuff he brings home. Yes, home reading, homework sheets and memorizing scriptures for Awana, it's a lot of work. Then I've stepped into the role of co-leader at our women's small group that meets every other week. I really struggle to get my own homework done. I end up cramming all 5 days worth into the actual day of the study. I guess the advantage of doing that is it's all fresh in my mind for that night! Dave has various meetings and social events that take up some of our evenings. It's nuts! In all of this, I still believe we've maintained a routine for our kids which is so important, they truly thrive on that.

I'm reading "Choosing to See" by Mary Beth Chapman. Wow, does this ever make the tears flow. I can relate to her personality so much, and I don't even know what to say about it here. All I know is her story has touched me in such a way, I don't think I'll ever forget.

Anyway, the Superbowl is on. I hate football. I love the party of the Black Eyed Peas. My husband went to a buddy's place to watch it. The kids laundry is ready to be folded. I need to turn my electric blanket on. This day is pretty much over. Tomorrow we are off to Orangeville for Joel's 4 month check up and needles. Next week we have another appt. for Caleb with the ENT's. I think I'm tired of seeing doctors all the time. Oh well. That's what you get with 3 little kids.

Poison & Wine

Oh Man, I keep finding great music. Here's another one which I love. Enjoy!

I'd Do it Again

This past Sunday was a blast. Benji, Caleb and I left home early and ventured into the metropolis of Toronto. We went as far as Yorkdale and took the subway to Union station. Caleb loved that he got to ride the rocket! Once we made it to the Rogers Centre, we had to wait in line to get to the field where all the trucks were. While waiting I asked Caleb which truck he wanted to see first, Gravedigger? This was my natural assumption because his main truck that gets most play is Gravedigger. When asked, he got a panicked look on his face and said "No Mom" right away. This was odd, but then he insisted on seeing Ironman first. So we saw Ironman, Gravedigger Legend (different truck) and Maximum Destruction. Again I asked about Gravedigger and he was again quick to say no. So we wandered around all the other trucks and then Caleb was ready to leave to his seat. I thought no way were we leaving without visiting Gravedigger and so reluctantly he made it over to the truck and that's when he got all googley-eyed! I think he just couldn't fathom that he was seeing the real Gravedigger in person.
We had great seats, we were right on the side where the trucks come and go from the stadium. Caleb was able to stand at the side and watch them up close, again he looked down in amazement really.

It was an exciting start to the show and Caleb was waving his arms and screaming like the rest of the crowds. It was so much fun to watch him (and the trucks!) He was a little nervous about Robosaurus, and I'm not surprised, we happened to be so close to it that we felt the heat and wind from his flames. And by the end of it (which was the most exciting part where the best trucks would come out and destroy themselves), Caleb was tired and just wanted to go home. But I must say, Monster Jam was such a great show full of entertainment, and I will definately take the kids again, I even believe that Amberly would love it. Now it's just trying to convince Dave of the same thing!!!

BELOVED

Another song I've found that is so moving. Honestly I find it hard to imagine Jesus' love for me, and this song puts it in a different perspective. It's a beautiful song.

Caleb & Amberly Dancing

They love "I Gotta a Feeling" Caleb has some break moves, Amberly's got the party jump down (despite hitting her funny bone at the end) Now if we hear this on a commercial, they always get up to dance.

Challenge 2011

I know the beginning says 2006, but lets challenge ourselves in 2011. Frances Chan is someone I've truly enjoyed listening to, someone who does amazing things for others living like Christ. Lets not live comfortably.

Happy January

Yes, this month is going slow. Or so it seems. Yet, lots of things happened this past week. Caleb started back to school and began a home reading program. Amberly had a few really good days with the potty and a few really bad ones! Joel is staying up much more during the day and is enjoying his exersaucer and fishy mat. While giving him some tummy time (which he doesn't like) he got angry enough to roll himself over onto his back! This is very exciting! Although it makes me realize that he won't stay my ity bity baby, he keeps developing and growing every day. Caleb and Joel are now sleeping in the same room as well. This makes for a more solid sleep for both Mommy and Joel I believe! Dave started his regular routine back at the gym and I bought a swim pass and so far have done one aqua fit session. Once things are really settled I hope to make it to the pool 2 times a week. On top of that I have small group to attend AND Dave and I hope to join a Bible study on Tuesday nights. Busy Busy.

Today I received our Monster Jam tickets in the mail. I'm so excited to be taking Caleb to this. I just know he's going to have a blast! To top it all off, I think I'm going to just go as far as Yorkdale and run the subway into Toronto, he'll love that too!

Not sure what else has gone by that I'm missing. But again, it's only been a week!

What does 2011 Have in Store?

That's right, a new year is here. It's the time of year where plans are made, ideas are set in motion, resolutions are made. Do you have any? I don't normally think of it. In fact I don't like New Years. I don't like staying up late, I love my sleep. I don't understand why it's any different then yesterday? But people love to celebrate. Dave says it's a good excuse to get together. I was exhausted from all the Christmas celebrations, I didn't need another one!
Today I started to think about what I want to see accomplished this year. The first thing I thought about was building a stronger-better relationship with God. Quite often I find myself thinking that something is missing, I need something to make me happy, and ultimately that something is truly and undoubtedly the Lord. The next thing I thought about is myself, physically. I have been feeling so old lately. So unfit. I need to get energized and start feeling better by not longing for more sleep, but by actually getting active again. I'm not sure how this will happen or when, but surely, in small windows of opportunity, I will get going on that. Another thing is I want to read more. I'm motivated most often by the television to find my escape, but I want to start finding that in books again.
Will I accomplish this? I don't know. I'm still a procrastinator at heart, I still have 3 children to look after. I still have a husband who I need to continually build a deeper relationship with. I still have so many things that are piled on top of ME every day that it's hard to find the time to actually work on a better me. But by starting with God, I think everything else will fall into place the way they should.
Happy New Year to all of you.