Potty Dancing

Yeah! Potty Dance, Potty Dance...time again to sing our Potty Dance song. Yep! Baby George is doing an amazing job of going on the potty!! Yipeeee! I said a special thanksgiving prayer to God that my last baby is so easy to potty train! He's only 2.5 and he has got it down. ALL pee-pee is done. No accidents. Still workin' on a perfect record for the other...but it's only been 3 days. Doing very well. We of course went out and got him some Toy Story 3 undies! He's in heaven. He is wearing them with his TS shirt and socks....and pajamas too.

We are so close to no more diapers!! Wow! If I add all the years of diaper duty up...it's a lot. Tuba potty trained at about 5 and then Mr. P was born a couple years later. I think Mr. P was potty trained for about 6 mos. before Busy Guy came home and then it's been solid diaper duty since. We even had three in diapers for about 6 mos. Whoa! All in all that's about 11 years. So happy to be done...soon. And..the money we will save! Actually I always think of diaper money going straight over to pre-school funds. Anyway, Yeah and Yipee!

Stats

Something to entertain you! Poor Cam had a tooth fall out. It was a tooth that was damaged in a soccer game when he was a kid. The post went bad and the tooth fell out. We got some good laughs with the new look. Like Father like Son! Unfortunately the tooth couldn't be re-glued and Cam has been going through a torturous amount of dental work to have an implant done. Very expensive and very painful. He now has a retainer with a tooth that he has to take out every time he eats. What a pain. The dentist removed the root and put cadaver bone in and it will be about 6 mos. before he can get a tooth implanted. The bone has to grow. It was challenging to explain "cadaver bone" to the kids. Ewwww. But, we are thankful for access to a dentist and restoration of a beautiful smile. :)

Well, I actually got on here to post the latest stats on height/weight of the kids. No, I will not be sharing my stats. Ugh. Christmas indulgence has snowballed and I need to stop!! Eeeks!

Well, here's the kids.

Tuba: 5'1" and 88 lbs.

Mr. P: 4'3.5" and 55 lbs.

Busy Guy: 3'6" and 36 lbs

Sister: 3'1" and 25 lbs.

Baby George 3'1" and 30 lbs.

Wow! Finally, the wee ones are the same height...not so much in the weight. Sis is a feather, long and lean, Baby George is solid, strong and muscular.

Chopsticks

A few years ago my mom bought a couple pair of kid friendly chopsticks. They are hooked together at the top and can be used simply by pinching them together. Well, one set broke and the lone pair have been argued over. The other night at dinner Mr. P noticed there were some real chopsticks in the silverware drawer. So, we got them out to use. Everyone was excited.

Baby George used the stab method.


Busy Guy tried SO hard to make it work.

Mr. P worked hard too.

I wasn't really much help. I am terrible at using chopsticks. Terrible. I tried showing the kids how to do it but in the end I told them the only thing I knew how to do with chopsticks was to put my hair up! I showed them an up-do! Soon after I looked over and Sis had her own chopstick hair-do goin' on!

Of course then everyone had to get in on the action. Baby George was very sad that his hair wouldn't hold the chopstick.
Busy Guy was rockin' the look.

Tuba doesn't care about chopsticks or hair-dos. He's into the food!

Oh, and by the way, Yes, we do eat dinner naked. Okay, not naked but my boys are always running around in their undies and often eat dinner "in their boobies". So in case you ever come to dinner be prepared. :)

Kitchen Makeover

We just had our cabinets re-faced. They look amazing. I love them!! I'm hoping they help us when we put our house back on the market. I think the old dark nasty outdated cabinets were a big draw back to potential buyers. But, in the meantime...I'll be enjoying them. They are light and bright and really make the room sparkle. The next thing to do is update the tile backsplash and counter tops. But, we are paying cash so we will have to save up...and wait a bit longer. Actually, I think the cabinets are so nice they make the rest not look so bad! What do y'all think?
Here's the old ones. Ewwww.

And....the NEW ones!! Gorgeous!! The same man that built our banister and our built-in bookcases made the cabinets. Great work!! And...he was awesome to our kids! Thanks Clary! He is a Saint! Would you want 5 kids playing peek-a-boo with you while you use power tools? How about 5 kids running through the kitchen, asking 1 million questions and trying out your tools? Me? Not so much! Clary? Just fine and dandy with him! Like I said, a Saint!
And the BEST part of all!! A new pantry. I had not realized how much I hated our pantry. It was too deep, too dark and hard to access. It was designed horribly. You needed a head lamp and a prayer to find anything. The old pantry had accordion doors. Dumb. You couldn't see about 6 inches of the side. Here's photos of the old pantry. Side Note: Since I knew I was getting a new pantry I quit cleaning or organizing it before Christmas. What a pit!

Once it's empty you can see how terrible it is! Bad design!

And...the NEW one!!! Gorgeous! I'm in love with my new pantry...and yes, I want to marry it!! It now has double doors that open out...giving me so much more space that I can see. The shelves are also not as deep and they are bright white and there are more of them too. Ohhh....can you feel the love?

I had a shelf put way up at the top for all of my cookie cutters/sprinkles/cake making stuff. Love it.

MLK Day

This photo cracks me up. As soon as I started potty training Baby George I got out some cute boy undies to entice him. They were so exciting that Sis decided she wanted to wear them too! These precious babes. Two peas in a pod. The color of their skin means nothing to them. They are brother and sister...and friends. Beautiful.

We are celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Yesterday we took the kids to a MLK celebration in our town. The event was sponsored by several churches and featured music and speeches. It was an amazing event.

The MLK choir was out of this world. I had chills from their booming voices and tears in my eyes. The kids loved the music and were very good during the speeches. The celebration lasted 2.5 hours! It was something we want to be part of every year.


It was a wonderful sight to see...this morning as I arrived at the YMCA for my workout...there were loads of teens and seniors arriving to volunteer together. The United Way organized the event to have volunteers go out and help people in the community. Love it!! That is exactly what MLK would want to see being done in his honor.

What did you or your family do to celebrate MLK Day? I'd love to know...leave it in the comments.

“Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'” Martin Luther King, Jr.

Happy Day

Notice the big knife...hehe...I was just jokin' around before cutting my birthday cake. :)

It's our wedding anniversary today. Wedded bliss! It's amazing to think how much has changed in 14 years. Wow! Although some things have changed the love has remained. The dedication to our family is foremost. We are flawed and we don't always get it right but we do keep working to make our marriage better.

We are now a family of 7.


We went from 700 sq. ft. house to 2000 sq. ft.


We became Orthodox.


Cam was working in a saw mill and we were both students.


We have since earned 2 BA (one each) degrees and one MS (Cam).


We each traveled to Africa.


We have mellowed.


We have grown in our love.


Cam convinced me to drink red wine and I convinced him to eat shrimp.


We have worked side by side on many home projects...and have learned it's better to work on our own. :)


We have seen each other through many hard times dealing with Tuba's seizures.


We have laughed through the years.

We have seen the good, the bad and the ugly in each other.

We have been on many fabulous vacations...All over Washington, B.C. Canada, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Maui HI, California, Arizona, and our favorite summer ritual to Oregon coast.

We are very different people and yet the same people we were 14 years ago. We have made each other stronger. Cam makes me want to be a better person. He inspires me and and has taught me so much.

I look forward to many, many more years together.

Parenthood

Since Aunt Cinn and Uncle Jamie are going to be parents this year....well, this one's for you!

A friend sent this to me on FB. It's hilarious...in that true and funny kind of way. Of course as it states at the end...it is tongue in cheek humor. But man...can I relate! Enjoy

At the end you can leave me a comment to tell me your best "pre-parenthood" declaration. I said I would NEVER use disposable diapers! HA! And after a weekend staying with some friends (who had 3 kids) Cam and I were stunned that they used the word "ba-ba". We vowed to never talk baby talk or use such words. HA! How silly-willy of us. Everyone knows that a bottle is really called a ba-ba...and da babeee wan it fas! And the best one of all, on that same weekend stay Cam and I were shocked and annoyed at how many times their kids woke up crying...and doubley shocked at how many times the parents got up and gave them what they wanted!!! Scandalous! HA-HA! That will teach us!

If you do not yet have kids...here is the warning to you. Think these things in your head ONLY...never say them out loud...better yet...never even think them! :)

Lesson 1

1. Go to the grocery store.
2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.
3. Go home.
4. Pick up the paper.
5. Read it for the last time.


Lesson 2

Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their...

1. Methods of discipline.
2. Lack of patience.
3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.
4. Allowing their children to run wild.
5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior.

Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.

Lesson 3

A really good way to discover how the nights might feel...

1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner)

2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.
3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.
4. Set the alarm for 3AM.
5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.
6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.
7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.
8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.
9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive)

Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.

Lesson 4

Can you stand the mess children make? T o find out...

1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.
2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.
3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.
4. Then rub them on the clean walls.
5. Take your favorite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.
6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?

Lesson 5

Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.

1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.
2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.

Time allowed for this - all morning.

Lesson 6

Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.

1. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment. Leave it there.
2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.
3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Sprinkle cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with your foot.
4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.

Lesson 7

Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Lesson 8

1. Hollow out a melon.
2. Make a small hole in the side.
3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.
4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.
5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.
6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.

You are now ready to feed a nine- month-old baby.

Lesson 9

Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street , Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV but PBS, the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you're thinking What's 'Noggin'?) Exactly the point.

Lesson 10

Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy'; occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Lesson 11

Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the 'mommy' tape made from Lesson 10 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

This is all very tongue in cheek; anyone who is parent will say 'it's all worth it!' Share it with your friends, both those who do and don't have kids. I guarantee they'll get a chuckle out of it. Remember, a sense of humor is one of the most important things you'll need when you become a parent!

Sensitive Person

Yesterday I was reading one of my favorite blogs, Heart Condition and this post has me thinking. Like Erika I too read the book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time...about a boy with Autism. I loved how the story was written from the boy's view. It explains so well how a person with Autism feels and why they act and react the way they do. Actually, I could relate to some of the ways the boy felt. Hmmmm...I began to wonder if I could be on the Autism spectrum. Seriously. I did go online and take a quiz to see how I'd score. Okay, so I wasn't considered Autistic...but still I can relate...even if in a small way.

Now, back to Erika's post. She felt the same way after reading that book. Then she goes on to say how she discovered that she is not Autistic but instead considered A Highly Sensitive Person. Of course I went right away and took that quiz. Well, you guessed it. I too am A Highly Sensitive Person. No surprise to me.

Let me give an example of how I am Sensitive.

Smell-Basically I have a dog's sense of smell. I can smell dirty hair and BO from 10 feet away. And if there is a pile of doggy poo within a block I'm on full alert. Ewwww. Not such a gift. I cannot stand perfume or most artificial scents. They make me sick. The mall gives me a big head ache because it's too smelly. I hate air freshener.

Sight-I don't have any kind of super human sight but I do have eyes sensitive to the sun. I wear my dark sunglasses all the time....rain or shine. I'm also affected by dark. I don't like a dark gloomy room. I like things well lit. I like natural light. I cannot stand fluorescent light.

Touch-I'm extremely aware of how things feel. I HATE scratchy things. NO wool, NO polyester, NO tags, NO itchy seams, NO tight socks, etc. Seriously, my skin gets all red and I can't stand it. I love soft cotton clothing that is well made. Temperature. I notice too cold, too hot, to damp, too dry. All of it.

Hearing-Once again...dog ears. My MIL has joked that I would be the person in a village to stand guard because I'd hear the enemy coming...or maybe I'd smell them first. Noise really bugs me. Too loud, too high pitch, too much noise. I get all overwhelmed and implode. Just ask my hubby and kids. ;) Seriously, noise just does me in. I can put the dishes away but if Cam does it I have to leave so I don't wince from the clanking of plates. Ugh! Bells ringing, alarms dinging...good thing Cam is the nurse and not me. His ICU is a nightmare of pinging, binging, bonging noise. Sometimes when he is on the phone with me I cannot stand the beeps in the background. Kid noise is different...most of the time. I do have my limit.

Taste-For me it's not just about how it tastes. Yes, I love food....good food that is. But, it's also the texture. If it's not right...according to me...it ruins the taste too.

Feelings. I wouldn't say that I am super sensitive in regards to my feelings. Just don't ask Cam...he might have a different view...especially if it's the PMS time. ;) But, I don't get offended too easily. I do however take things to heart. Things that are heartbreaking. I have a hard time letting go of things I've read or seen. I take care to not watch or read certain things that I know will haunt me. If there is a headline in the paper about a child being abused...I skip it. It just makes me so sad. I am very passionate about certain things....like orphans and AIDS and world hunger. I think about those things a lot...I think about what I can do. Putting action to my thoughts helps.

Putting it all together. Cam and I have joked many times about this. When I walk into a new situation I immediately take in ALL of the senses. Is it hot, cold, bright, dark, loud, quiet, messy, clean, how does it smell, how does it all feel. I can give him a list of all of this within about 30 seconds. He is mystified.

And...I should add that when I get overloaded, when I'm "done", "I've had it", there is little I can do to hold it all in. Not pretty.

So, I'm going to the library to get the books written about being Highly Sensitive. There is also one for kids who are Sensitive. I know for sure we have at least one of these types. I'll report back after reading the books. Very interesting.

Resolutions

It's that time of year when I think about a resolution. In the past I've had many resolutions...such as loose weight, take my vitamins, be healthy, relax more, don't swear, don't yell....etc.

This year I felt like time is going so quickly and I have so little time each day. I'm not getting my chores done, I'm not as organized as I'd like to be, I'm not as nice as I'd like to be, I'm not as fit as I'd like to be...etc. I keep thinking that I can only do so much. What is it that matters most? I know that my kids don't care if my house is a mess...of course I do. But, I only have so much time in a day. I feel like the time to spend playing or snuggling my kids is fleeting. Soon the kids will all be in school and busy with sports and activities and the days of being home will be gone. Okay, I have tears about ready to spill over onto the keyboard. Ugh.

So, my resolution for this year is to do less. Less cleaning, less business, less time on the computer. And, do more with the kids. By more I mean I want to just sit with them on my lap, or lay on my bed with them, or read books in the middle of the day, or sing songs and dance around. I want to take the time to get down on the floor with them and enjoy them. I know this will bring me more joy...and my kids too. As for my undone chores...oh, well. I'll do them when the kids go to school in a few years.

More Birthday

Sis and I had a great time shopping on Sat. She picked Hello Kitty for her party theme. She picked out a new dress...and as soon as it was paid for she wanted to go home so she could put it on!! She held it in her lap all the way home...for safe keeping. :)

She then wore the dress all day and insisted on wearing it to bed...I said no but I allowed her to wear it to church the next day.

Sis (in another new dress from her Godparents) with the Hello Kitty cake I made her. It was so cute I had a hard time cutting it up.