Let's Just Hope it Sticks!

I just spent about 5 hours having a "potty party" with Braden. I used some of the methods from the book, "Toilet Training in Less Than a Day", written in 1976. Let me say, Braden can pack in the liquids. He drank 3 juice boxes, 3 cups of chocolate soy milk, and 2 cups of punch. This gave him lots of oppourtunities to go to the bathroom (one of the suggestions in the book). I gave him complete 1 on 1 attention and praised him every time he completed one of the "steps" properly. I also gave him treats (as seen on his face and shirt in the picture) and toys which tapered off toward the end of the party (so that he won't be expecting them forever). This party was a chance to prove to him that he can be successful at potty training, and that it really is better to be clean and dry. It was very positive, and he responded very well to it. He's now officially not using diapers any more. We'll see how things go in the next few days, but whatever happens, I won't be putting him in another diaper (OK, maybe a pull-up at night). I'm glad that I had this chance to show Braden what a big independent boy he can be without his diapers. Let's just hope it sticks!

Flying Machines

Today was a pretty intense day. It has been an interesting ride. I had a very high point and a very low point. I am choosing tonight, to write about the high point, and then when I am ready to blog about some not-so-fun things in life, I will add another posting.
Today was the long-awaited helicopter ride with Spencer. I got to fly with him in a two-seater helicopter (R-22) that he has done the majority of his training in. Let me tell you, it is an amazing feeling to fly in one of those. I've flown in the big brother (R-44) which is a bit bigger ship, but I don't remember it feeling quite like today's flight. Let me explain...
First of all, when we started the rotor-blades spinning, the whole helicopter started shaking horribly. It felt like it was about to fall apart and leave us sitting there in a pile of rubble in the middle of William's Gateway airport. I asked Spencer in my headset if that was normal and he laughed and said, "yes, I used to get scared about that, like... what am I getting myself into?" Just a side note, it's interesting to hear things through the headsets. It is only activated when someone starts talking, so you get this interesting cut off word at the beginning of each communication. It also only picks up if you talk directly into it and fairly loudly, so I was having a little trouble. I had to keep putting it close to my mouth. Spencer was talking through a lot of the procedures and pre-flight checks into the headset. I didn't have a clue what he was saying, but it was really neat to see him in his specialty, using this vast knowledge that he know so well now. It was actually pretty attractive, if I do say so. So, after talking in the headset and getting weather and permission from the tower, we took off. This is were it got really cool. In the R-22, it almost felt like I (personally) was flying. The aircraft is so small, and we were flying without the doors, so I felt everything and it hardly seemed like there was a floor below me. I felt like I was physically taking flight. What an awesome feeling! So, anyway, we flew North and East to the Superstition Mountains, flying over parts of Gilbert, Mesa, Apache Junction, and Gold Canyon going about 90 knots (95 mph). Then we meandered back toward the airport at a more leisurely pace, taking pictures of interesting things as we passed them. Here are some things that I learned from the sky view:
1. Being in the sky is very peaceful.
2. Arizona is very brown.
3. The Renaissances Festival looks a lot better from the ground when you can't see all the trailers parked behind the building facades.
4. It is very cool to see a hawk flying from above it.
5. Apache Junction truly is redneck heaven (no offense to anyone who has lived there. I am sure there are nice areas). Really, I think I saw more cars flying over AJ than any other part of our flight... and they were all in peoples backyards rusting out into fragile red/brown carcasses.
6. The valley is very small.
7. There is a reason that they call them, "cookie cutter houses".

All in all, the flight was wonderful and amazing and enlightening. I hope this is just the first of many flights I will get to have with Spencer, and I thank him for making it happen. It brings a whole new perspective on the world in which we live and a great appreciation for those "magnificent men in their flying machines".

I Love It!

Tonight we did our traditional Halloween Family Home Evening. We invited the Shaw's to take part with us and it was a lot of fun. I don't really love the whole Halloween spooky thing, but I do enjoy some of the fun activities and celebrating fall and the harvest etc. So, tonight (just like every Monday night before Halloween) we carved pumpkins. The kids are always so eager to "help" us with the Jack-o-lantern, but of course we figure it's not the best idea in the world to give them a sharp knife and say "start carving". So, we let them draw their portion of the face and then let them help us scoop out the seeds. This year, Braden was in charge of the nose, which he decided should be pretty small. Jade was responsible for the ear, which ended up being a large circle that took up almost the entire side of the pumpkin. We decided to not cut it out, but it didn't make a difference to her. Also, since Jade can't really scoop the seeds out very well, we had her "scooping" stuff off of the lid. She made an amazing discovery while she was doing her job... pumpkin is delicious! She kept sneaking bites off and she was beaming from ear to ear. So cute... While we were carving, I shared a devotional about the fall harvest being compared to the harvest that we reap for ourselves through living right. As we make good choices in our lives it is like planting seeds, and as we work hard to help those seeds grow, we eventually have the oppourtunity to reap a good harvest in the form of blessings and happiness. After the devotional, JulieAnn taught us some really cute Halloween songs. The kids LOVED them, and I think I'm going to incorporate them into our yearly Halloween tradition (until they get too old and think that I'm lame for even suggesting the idea). My favorite one?

Mr Jack-o-lantern is so round and fat.
He has a yellow candle lit underneath his hat.
It makes his face look happy and very very bright.
As he smiles and winks at me on spooky Halloween night.

I have to agree with my cousin who once said, "Having kids really brings out the nerd in us." It's so true, but I love it!

Wish Us Luck!

Today is a beautiful day! I woke up next to the man I love after being away from him for three whole days. Do you know what is equally cool? He is now the man I love plus a man who is done with school and ready to take on the work world! Yippee! He is so amazing. So, now our job is to get hired and move somewhere. Hopefully this will be able to happen quickly (since we've been living off saving for some time now). I'm really excited for this next chapter in our life together, and I am so proud of Spencer. Today I'm just going to take the day and enjoy the end of one journey and then we'll prep for the start of another one. Wish us luck!

Missing You So Much

Let me tell you about my husband. I love him so much. When I fell in love with him the first time (it has happened many times since then), it was because he was such a caring individual. I had only hung out with him for a couple hours when we discovered that I had run over something and my tire was flat. He was willing to fix my tire and then check on me later to make sure I made it home safely. If someone needs something or is having a problem, he will do everything he can to try to find a solution. It really doesn't matter if he has any sort of relationship with the person, he'll take time out of his life and figure out a way to help. He is a wonderful husband. One thing that I love is his ability to let disagreements go. He is quickly willing to move on and come to a compromise. He kisses me often and reminds me that I am beautiful at the funniest times (like when my hair has air-dried and it's frizzing all over the place and I'm wearing "comfy" clothes that make me look like a bag and my make-up isn't on and I have bags under my eyes). He never notices any of that stuff... he just thinks I'm pretty all the time. He's never given me flowers, but he likes to surprise me with other random things (like a new pair of shoes or something). It really makes me feel loved even if I end up taking them back. Spencer has proven to be a involved father. He often tells the kids that he loves them and takes time to have special outings with them when he can. He helps take care of them whenever he is available, and understands when I ask to get out for awhile. He is a very hard worker. He has been working hard at school for two years (and holding a full-time job for the majority of that time) and he's stayed strong to the last. He is up in Oregon right now taking his last check ride (verbal and demonstrative exam given by an FAA examiner). I know he is working hard up there (and probably sweating a little too). I miss him a lot. It's only been about a day, but it feels like a week. So Spencer, if you are reading this, just know that I love you and right now I am missing you so much.

Happy Birthday, Braden

Today was a great day. We had a birthday party for Braden. It was so fun. We had badminton set up and croquet and of course the zip line is always a hit. We also did a picture treasure hunt. I took pictures of things around the yard and then put the pictures in envelopes. Each envelope was the clue that told him where to go next. He LOVED it and that made me so happy. He was the leader and he kept saying, "follow me," or "I'll show you the way." It was so cute. The treasure was a pinata made by Spencer and I. It was a helicopter, and I have to say that it turned out pretty good for a homemade thing. It lasted through Braden, Jennifer, Jarad, Andrei, Nathan and then Sharilyn finished it off. After that, we did cake and presents and then just played for a couple hours. Another adorable thing that happened was that Jade started pushing Radek around on Braden's toy car. He's about 6 months younger than she is and it was so sweet to see her hug him and pat his head. She kept saying "baby" and then she would say "eyes" while she poked him in the eye. She loved having a little person around. That little guy is such a cutie and so patient with Jade. I also got to see my recently engaged Brookie, and that was so awesome. She is an amazing girl and I could write a whole posting all about her, but I'll save that for another time. Anyway, it was so great to see everyone that made it. I took a total of 148 pictures, but I'll post just a couple of my favorites. Happy Birthday, Braden

Mama Drama

Yesterday afternoon, Spencer had a couple of hours before he had to go to school. He decided to have some "guy time" with Braden and took him out with him. They were going to go to the bank and maybe some stores. Well, when they returned, they had some new shoes that Braden had picked out. They were really cute shoes... Lightning McQueen, of course (from the Disney/Pixar movie, "Cars"). Braden was all excited about them, and I wanted to be too, but something in my gut told me that they were not the best bargain in town (they were, after all, Disney). So anyway, I proceeded to ask Spencer how much they had cost, and he proceeded to tell me that they had been $14.99! I almost choked. That is so freakin' expensive for toddler shoes. (*Note: If some of you are wondering why I am making such a big deal about this price, please read my archived blog entitled "Afraid to be Frugal"). So, I was bummed about the price being so high and then throw in the fact that the guy at Walmart had measured Braden's feet at a size 6 when really he is on the way out of size 8, and the other fact that Braden already has black sneakers... I knew we needed to take them back. Well, Spencer had to book it to class, and I had nothing to do but wait for laundry to dry, so I decided to take both kids with me and go return the shoes. Everything went well. Braden was sad that we had to take them back, but when I explained that the size was wrong, he understood. So we did the deed and then headed back to the car. I opened up Braden's door and asked him to climb in then went around his door, opened up my door, and set the diaper bag down in preparation to put Jade in her seat. I had no sooner done so when I heard a scream and then hysterical crying coming from Braden. I had not seen what happened as my head was in the front of the car, but I ran back around the door to see him face first on the asphalt. It was such a sickening feeling. I wanted to cry myself, but I knew I needed to keep my head on to take care of him. I picked him up and blood was starting to come down his face from his nose and mouth. My first thought was that his nose was broken and his teeth had been knocked out. I asked him what had happened, but he was crying so hard that he was unable to answer. I set him back in the cart and had him lean his head back while I ran around to the other side of the car to grab a roll of paper towels. I tried to clean up some of the blood, but Braden was very resistant and kept saying, "I don't need a towel". I thought about taking him to the hospital as we were about a block away, but then realized that I needed to access the situation better before doing that. So, I drove him home. JulieAnn took Jade and got her occupied with play-dough. By this time, Braden had calmed down and was not crying anymore. I took him in the bathroom to wash him up (his face and hands were covered in blood). As soon as he saw himself in the mirror, he started crying again. I told him that he was going to be OK, and that we were going to wash all the blood off. I also told him that blood helps our bodies to heal. He relaxed as I washed his face softly with a warm washcloth. Then he started getting all curious. "Why did I get blood on me?" "Why do you have blood on your shirt?" "Where does the blood come from?" It was great to be able to talk to him about it while I cuddled with him on a chair. I touched his nose and wiggled it around, and he didn't scream, so I'm pretty sure his nose is not broken. Also, his teeth are still attached, so he'll be fine (in his words, "It will heal"). It could have been so much worse. I'm so grateful that he is alright. However, it's still so sad to see my little guy all beat up. By the end of the day, I was exhausted. I guess thats what happens with so much "mama drama".

Our Little Indi

I went on a date with a hot guy on Friday night (Spencer). When we were coming in the house, we heard a couple of quiet mews coming from behind the couch on the patio. We shined flashlights behind there, and lo and behold... there were a couple of kittens back there. Well, in the morning all but one of them was gone. We found him around lunch time scared as can be just waiting there for it's mommy to come back. So we lifted up the couch and Justin climbed under it and picked up the poor little thing. It wasn't too excited about that (as evidenced by the bite and scratches Justin received). Anyway, it was pretty much the cutest thing I have ever seen (besides my kids). Esther and Sherilynn and I immediately adopted it and began the process of feeding it and teaching it that people aren't scary. A couple of us came up with the name, "Indi" short for Indiana Jones.... suitable for a spirited little male. He was a needy little thing and we came to a pretty quick realization that it needed someone with more time and attention for him. I new that Allen had been wanting a cat for awhile, so I called him and let him know the situation. He was so immediately excited and agreed. So, we started preparing Indi for life in a high-rise condo. Within two days, we had it eating from a bowl, kinda using a litter box, and completely socialized. Allen picked him up yesterday, and so far things are going well, but we sure miss our little Indi.

Important Things to Accomplish in Life

With the release of Halo 3, I have felt the urge to write about my love for video and computer games. Video games and computer games are amazing devices that allow grown men to justify shirking responsibilities as well as limiting their progress in life without feeling any wrong in doing it. When properly used, they can turn a lively social and healthy individual into a recluse with little interaction with actual people... instead pseudo-relationships with online people whom they've never actually met. They can be a tool for people to spend time with, but never talk about serious things with those that matter to them. They can be the means of carving out a canyon between them and their family members where there was once unity. People who they used to know and spend time with become people who are taking them away from their important tasks in the game. The list goes on with the wonderful things video and computer games can accomplish in an individuals life. But, before I get a bunch of nasty comments on this blog, I must say that I dearly love many people who choose this form of entertainment. And I must admit, that regardless of my taste and opinion, in some instances and with some games, video and computer games can be a harmless form of entertainment. But I just want to challenge any one reading this to forget about just eliminating "bad" forms of entertainment, and seek for uplifting, relationship-building, and personal progression oriented forms of entertainment. Make yourself a list of things you would like to learn or do... service that you've thought about, but never did, or people you want to know better and then when you have the time read your list, pick something out and TAKE ACTION. If you really ponder on these things and listen to yourself, I think you'll find that having more kills than the next guy isn't really on your list of important things to accomplish in life.