Updating and Procrastinating

10:32 AM Edit This 0 Comments »
I thought I would jump on and update the potty progress. It seems that we may be turning the corner. We have stuck it out and for 6 days now lived life running to the potty every 45 minutes or so. She has twice told us she had to go and twice she just went and did it without telling us. Andrew and I and her sisters have all praised her and hugged and kissed and hooted and hollered and made a huge deal every time. This morning we got the big prize........ POO on the potty Oh yeah! You would have thought we won the lottery and she got a fudge cicle at 10 am and her sisters were jealous. She immediately wanted to call her grandma (my mom) but ahem... they were not home! I said oh Hun grandma is not home right now and she says OK can I call PatPat (my dad) I guess she does not get that they are at the same place. She was OK with we'll call and tell her later.
In addition to the news on the potty training I am on here procrastinating the tasks of the day. I have 3 loads of laundry to fold AND I have to pack for our trip. I HATE BOTH! I can wash laundry no problem just throw in a load here and there as I go about my day as they come out of the dryer I put them in a basket in my bedroom and avoid it like the plague Spending an hour folding laundry is not my idea of a good time. Yes I know if I just folded them when they came out of the dryer it would not take that long. My mother tells me this ALL the time I just can not bring myself to do it. As for Packing I do not know what the hang up is there I just do not like to do it I am a chronic over packer in that I want to prepare for every possible occurrence. Making those choices on what to bring and what to leave GRRR... I just do not like to do it! I think I will go do the dishes and exercise and then shower... then I will get to the dreaded tasks of the day. Oh yeah I have to call mom too..... I am good at procrastinating!

A Family trip... LONG over due!

10:59 PM Edit This 2 Comments »
On Monday Andrew and I are heading out with our girls on a camping adventure in the desert. We have not been camping since late summer 2007 due to moving and deployment and whatnot it just has not worked out. I had big plans of going to Yosemite and camping and experiencing that with the girls. Apparently you have to plan to visit Yosemite at least 6 months in advance. Which is not going to happen I do not even know if my husband will be in the US in 6 months let alone be able to take time off when my kids do not have school and I can find some to cover babysitting my nephew for me. So Yosemite will have to be a non camping adventure in the future.
Our destination is Yucca Valley California which is about 3 hours north east of us and near the Joshua tree National Forrest. We are hoping to do some hiking and off roading in addition to making s'mores.
I have loved camping since I was a child, although I never really knew real camping until I went with my husband's family roughly 5 years ago for the first time. I had been with Andrew camping but he apparently fed into my spoiled nature and we only went to places fully equipped with a shower house where I could not only get clean but use a hair dryer. He grew up with "rustic" camping, and um you are lucky if you have a toilet and a near by lake to wash in. We have made a few treks to Michigan to camp with family there and I have learned to enjoy the less glamorous aspects of camping.
We are hoping that we picked a nice area to camp, it is hard to pick a destination when you know nothing about the area. This could be quite an adventure. We know they do not have showers but do have what they call a comfort station with flushing toilets and a sink.
On Friday after we pack up camp we are driving 3 hours North west of Yucca Valley to Bakersfield to visit my Grand Father and his wife Cathie. We will return home one week from tomorrow and I will be sure to post the details of our adventure as well as any cool photo's we may get along the way.

Family Night Fun!

1:57 PM Edit This 0 Comments »
We have set aside Friday nights as family night for a few years now. Every Friday evening we are in the house with the kids either watching a movie or playing games. We typically leaned more toward the movie being that the girls well did not have the attention span for too many games. Until recently that is. Last night we enjoyed more than two hours of game playing fun with the big girls. Kate is not a staying up after bed time kind of girl. She pretty typically demands to be in bed no later than 8. Party of the glory of family night is getting to stay up late (and sleep in on Sat. morn... hee hee) we actually we playing games until ten o'clock last night and did not even realize how late it was. I LOVE to play games and am so very excited for the girls to be getting to a point that we can enjoy them together. Last nights Games were Apples to Apples Kids and Uno. These were Melanie's picks.

More on Potty Training

9:13 AM Posted In , Edit This 0 Comments »
The first two days of Mom's Potty Training Boot Camp went pretty well. Then day 3 came and someone realised she had control and not in a good way. She had 5 accidents and peed very little on the potty. Day 4 was a bit better but still not great. I do think she is starting to hold it some and not have to pee as frequently, but she has started resisting sitting.
Last night she had a nightmare about NOT wanting to poo on the potty and she was yelling that out in her sleep. I am not looking to traumatise my child but I also am really ready to be done with diapers. This is getting a bit frustrating and honestly I am about ready to quit!

The Great Potty Training Challenge

11:05 AM Posted In , , Edit This 0 Comments »
Oh where do I begin???
Katelynn is 2 years and 9 months old. and I have been trying to patiently wait for her to show SOME interest in using the potty basically since she turned 2. Being that I am not a very patient person this was a challenge in it's self it has been a long 9 months! She has been willing to go if you take her and we have even had a few lucky moments when she poo-ed! That being said If I do not take her she is just as happy to go in her diaper or all over herself in undies.
A little bit of background:
This is not my first child to potty train. She is MY third child third girl. In addition to that I have been a day care teacher and have potty trained dozens of other people's kids. I am NO rookie I know the tricks and the rewards and the ecouraging. I even know the "punishment" techniques. and non of these have any affect on my strong willed child.
I decided that since my big girls are on spring break this is a great time to focus on Kate using the potty. I have nothing that I have to do for at least 4 days NO distractions to complicate things this is a prime time to just buckle down and be a slave to the 2 year old who needs to get potty trained. So we started on Monday March 23rd, 2009 and three days in I am pretty sure I am not potty training the child I am training myself like pavlov's dog to grab her and run to the potty every time the buzzer goes off.
Here is what we are doing. When I wake up (I have not given up sleeping in over break a mom can only sacrafice so much and the children think waking at 6:30 no matter the day is a good thing) I take her to the potty and put on undies and a t-shirt NO pants for less laundry and thinking that that free feeling will help her hold it. If she goes a normal amount we set the timer for 45 minutes, just a little pee and the timer gets 30 minutes, No pee and the timer gets 15 minutes. She gets rewarded with 4 mini MM's when she pee's and a chocolate if she poo's!
In the last 3 days we have had three pee accidents and 1 poo accident. To the naked eye this may seem like a great start. HOWEVER.... she has not TOLD me not even once that she has to go. is she really learning anything? I guess only time will tell. I am not sure how long I can live with the buzzer going off ever 45 minutes but I am willing to try at least for a week. We leave to go camping Next monday and that will make the process a bit harder but I plan on taking the little potty with us.
If any of you mommies have any suggestions my ears are open!

First Time

9:15 PM Edit This 0 Comments »
I am totally new to Blogging.... Well to writing a blog anyway. I have read other people's blogs and always thought it to be a great idea, BUT I am NO writer I do not even Journal so bare with me this could be a bumpy road!



I mainly decided to start this as a means of recording the experiences and adventures of our Family for the Family we do not get to see as much as we'd like. I think will be a nice way for them to keep up on what we are doing. I can not say I will write daily but I will do My best to keep it current.



SO WHY Ordinary Miracles? Well It is a song by Sarah McLachlan from the movie Charlotte's Web. I just think it really sums up LIFE for me being full of Ordinary Miracle's every day! As a mom I experience little miracles every single day, and some days it is just a miracle we made it to bed time!



Here is the song...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Urv7tyeJ7qE



These are MY miracles: