Atlanta LDS Temple Open House

We went to the Atlanta Temple open house on April 22, 2011. Its a special place to us since we were married there. We have certainly missed being able to attend while it underwent lots of changes. The woodwork inside was gorgeous! It was a lovely experience to share with our little ones.

Potty

Wesley has been in underwear for the most part these past few months. If I put him in a diaper he wouldn't do anything on the potty. At least in underwear he would pee in the potty. But continued to struggle with going poop. Oh so frustrating for him as well as ourselves. Tonight he successfully did it!! He recognized the feeling and ran for the potty. He was so proud of himself! His fear has been that it will hurt so he holds it in and tonight he realized it really doesn't hurt. He had a huge grin on his face and had to call Nana & Grandma to tell them. He is really very proud of being a big boy.

Josie is potty trained as well. She's been absorbing everything with Wesley. On occasion she's inform us she needed to go potty, but wasn't consistent. And while dealing with Wesley we really didn't want to add another to that struggle if we didn't have to. A week ago she stayed completely dry in her diaper for a whole day. So the next day I had her in training pants. After that day she wanted back in the diaper but stayed dry and wanted to go on the potty. Saturday Ben asked if she wanted to pick out some underwear and she was so excited! She picked out Princess & the Frog and Ni Hao Kailan. She's been wearing them and has only had 1 accident. It was today and in the car on the way home. She told me but I misjudged how long it could wait, so its my fault. I now know to stop in a parking lot and let her use the mini travel potty in the van.

We are so excited that after 5 1/2 years we are finally done buying diapers! The pictures are from our Poopie Party at Chuck E. Cheese's. (It cost us nothing! =])

new method

potty training wesley has been extremely frustrating. But the biggest thing is I haven't been consistent. Since I'm trying to organize myself and get an order to things around here I'm giving it a go again. Wesley is definitely old enough and mature enough to be out of diapers. We're going to work as a team this time. His job is to listen to his body and tell me. My job is to get him to a potty and remind him to listen to his body. I even have a potty that will travel in the car until we nail this skill. Pray for us.

Mother's day

My munchkins enthusiastically planted pink & white flowers for me for my mother's day gift. They also helped plant some marigolds with my tomato plant. It's so beautiful to have color in front of the house now. Something about digging in the dirt just feels so good!

Despite what you might hear while on the phone with me, I really do enjoy them & love being their mommy. Ben & I were very happy in the first 2 1/2 years of our marriage, but then something happened and it changed everything- we had a baby. And instead of our world being flipped upside-down, it was actually more like bringing life into focus and we could truly see. And we became immersed in the bittersweet world that is parenting.

And now being in their shoes I am grateful for not only my Mom, but Ben's Mom as well. They both keep me grateful for how good I have it now with blessings such as affordable well-constructed diapers, bottles w/ drop-in liners & Mylicon to name a few! Mom H. has truly been a blessing for a mother-in-law. I could not have picked better! And my Mom is always there with advice for me, I don't always listen the first time, so I'm very grateful she's always there to repeat it for me!

My Oma is also such a blessing in my life! She is who I want to be one day. She's so loving, faithful, joyful, & hard working. Oh, and she makes the best jam ever. You can ask any of my family, it's like you can taste the love when you eat it. Now I just have to work on getting a dozen jars back to her for a refill.

My darling Grandma J. is gone, but I still think of her often. I can't smell a gardenia or pass a garden without thinking of her. Her memory is what gets me digging in the dirt. I feel such peace when I'm in the yard doing what she used to do and it brings a connection to me. A connection I want to pass on to my children.

So we dug in the dirt today and started our garden. And as it grows, and as they grow, we will share these experiences and I will share my memories of these wonderful mothers in our family.

also Josie's birthday

Today is also Josie's 2nd birthday! We were set to have a birthday party until she threw up yesterday. So she and I stayed home today and cuddled to make sure she was over the sickies, we don't like to share germs. =] And the party is on schedule for tomorrow! We went ahead and gave her one of her gifts. She loves her dog!!

My sister

Stacy took this picture of my sister Anna during our Family Reunion this summer. She said it was her favorite even though you can't see half of the kids faces and I agree with her. I love the by chance symbolism of her sitting in the center and you can see in this picture that she is the center of her home. So sweet!

Family Reunion pics

I finally uploaded the pictures from the camera so I can post. During the reunion we had fun hanging out at my mom & dad's. They had some crafts which Carlise really got into. Here she is making a necklace all my herself. She did great!
Josie really wanted to go outside and play with the big kids.

Not to Mention

So last Tuesday Wesley decided to stuff his peas up is nose instead of eating them. He complained of his nose hurting and Ben managed to pull 9 of them out with tweezers. But after looking with a flashlight and consulting with 2 nurses we decided to take him to the ER to remove the ones we couldn't reach. After 1 1/2 hours of waiting, we get called back to be informed that they don't do that in the ER, they'll have to refer us to an ENT doctor. 30 minutes later we get discharged with an 8am appt. with an ENT doctor for surgery. Apparently a pea had swollen up to the size of a butterbean and they had to push the fragments through his sinus cavity to get them all out the other side. I'll tell you how expensive those peas were after we get the bill. So despite what we wanted to teach our children about manners & picking noses, our new mantra is: Only fingers in our nose!

The bib Nana bought for Wesley as a reminder.

Benjamin is 32

Today is my beloved husband's 32nd birthday! We bought him a 3-burner propane grill - the first one for us! I asked what he wanted for dinner and since he knows I can't cook well and he wanted to spend it at home with our children, he requested simple chicken alfredo. Well, this man works hard for us all week and loves spending every minute he's not at work with all of us, so that simple dish wasn't going to cut it for me. But I'm no cook and called Olive Garden and ordered To Go!

On the menu for us: Braised Beef & Tortelloni, Chianti Braised Short Ribs, Zuppa Toscana Soup, Chicken & Gnocchi Soup, a Jumbo Salad order (that came with 12 bread sticks), 12 more breadsticks (that I didn't know came with the entrees), and fresh-made Alfredo dipping sauce.

And dessert is Cheesecake from the Atlanta Cheesecake Company. Yeah, I splurged on all of it, but we still had some tax money and he deserves it!!

So, we love you and hope we made your birthday wonderful!!

Home Improvements

Papa Joe (Ben's grandpa) came over today to help us install a new stove & rangehood. It took all morning because we had to cut some wood and such, but It's beautiful. I also included pictures of lights we've updated.

And I've added a poll to the side to see what you think about the hallway doors. If it's "other" then please comment & explain. =]

Oh yeah, and the reason for the home improvements? we're selling our home and moving just a few miles away. We'll still be in the same ward at church and near everything, but our budget won't be stretched so tight.

Wesley is 2

Wesley is officially a 2 year old. I can't believe our little man is another year older. He hasn't grown that much, only 34 1/2 inches tall and a light 25 lbs. 7 oz. But his mannerisms do show us that he's growing up. We didn't do anything too special for his birthday today (the party's not until this weekend). He had a well visit with the pediatrician who said he looks great and no worries. I did take some pictures of him in his birthday diaper. (Thanks Anna!)And we picked Ben up from work and went out to dinner to celebrate. We even had the hostesses come around and do their clap & chant rendition of happy birthday for Wesley. He got a smirk on his face when he realized they were singing just to him, but the attention became too much and he slouched in his seat to hide his face. He was embarrassed, but he was sooo cute about it that Ben & I just had to laugh. He is definitely Ben's kid!
This is my favorite photo that I took today. It took a couple tries, getting him to focus where I needed, and lying on the driveway. I'm slowly getting better.

Halloween

yeah, so we had a "fun" week. I realized that I rely very heavily on Ben in our parenting, especially for a break at the end of the day. But I think the most difficult part was Ben not being able to pick-up the kids and play with them. They all reacted negatively towards him because the lack of attention, which made him feel even worse. Poor guy.Our church did "trunk or treat" on Wednesday and my mom came up and helped me with the kids so we could go, while Ben stayed home & healed. Carlise was a cowgirl, Wesley a cowboy, & Josie was a cow. All of this started from a paci clip & bandana bib we got from Charisma's shop. Anna sent me costumes (she had made years ago), boots & a sheriff diaper (i drooled over) for Wesley, and Ian sent me a cow costume for Josie. Then Mom flew in & saved my budget with cowboy hats she had in her stash. All I had to purchase was a shirt for $1.87 from a thrift store for Wesley to wear. We didn't go out for Halloween trick or treating because Carlise is easily scared. But our neighborhood gets swamped so we're either hostages in our house until it's done or we can go to the empty stores. It was great shopping because not only was it Halloween, but it was also opening night for the National Peanut Festival and the grand opening of the new 12 screen Carmike Theatre. Halloween was still a great day because Carrie's box got here that day. She sent me like 40 cloth diapers. I think my stash is complete. =]

hilarious!

Oh, I had so many laughs playing with these pictures at Yearbook Yourself. I marked which ones are my favorites in the captions. Which ones are yours?

Updating request

nothing like going to church in another ward and getting requests to update your blog.

speaking of updating, we need a new family picture. *Oh George!*

JaNae

JaNae's birthday is August 13th. When Josie was born she had these cute shirts made up for the kids as Charisma's. They say "Aunt Nae Is the BEST!" In honor of her birthday I dressed the kids in their matching shirts. I even took pictures. But I forgot to post them because she was working on her birthday & I knew she wouldn't get them. better late than never, i guess.

Happy belated Birthday JaNae!

July 5th

Ok, so our 4th wasn't too exciting. But it was quite an adventure on the 5th. We went to Grayton Beach State Park in florida. It was nice & beautiful. Too much whale snot (seaweed) though. So surely you would think after our backyard swim disaster with our children we would learn. Well, I thought that Carlise would enjoy it if she saw her many cousins enjoying the beach. Ha! Oh yeah, it was that kind of day. The drive wasn't too long and the kids did really well. (a DVD player will do that, though) We paid $4 to get in (but they don't allow alcohol-- Yay!) Lots of white blistering hot sand. Carlise very quickly to inform us (as in right when we got on the beach) that she wanted to go home-Now! Ben tried taking her down to the water but she screamed the entire walk down there. Josie & Wesley enjoyed our wonderful sport pack-n-play that has a canopy and UPF 50+ rating. Carlise screamed until she realized we were ignoring her, then she willing went into the pack n play as well. I got burned really bad even though I used sunscreen. I tried spraying my back down when I was changing, but I couldn't reach what I sprayed. so, I got this fantastic drip mark burn. Wesley enjoyed the water. I got to use my solarveil pouch sling! I tried taking Carlise to the edge of the water and sitting on the sand. Even the waves coming in and just barely touching her toes, she freaked! And I got some ugly looks from folks for this cruel treatment of my child. I can't help that's she all drama. I took pictures of a couple food stands that swamp a small stretch of road w/ a speed limit of 35.

We got home around 5:30 and quickly showered & changed clothes and went to Jacob & Crystal's reception. I just need to say that Google's directions sucked & Aubrey was correct. We didn't get there until 7pm when everyone was leaving. But we can always go on a double date with them. The picture of Crystal & myself really shows my sunburn & just how bad I look.

Memorable part of the night- Jacob seeing Carlise for the first time since before his mission, him being surprised that I now have 3 children (Crystal was so ITK), and when Carlise said," Hi Jacob!" & his response was," *Gasp* She can talk!" =]

Field Day & Ice Cream Social

We recently went out to Landmark Park to let Ben participate in Field Day. No, not that kind of field day. It's a Ham thing. Field Day is an exercise for amateur radio operators (Hams). They essentially try to contact as many hams in as many places as they can during the 24 hour period of field day. They have it at Landmark Park to get more exposure for the Wiregrass Amateur Radio Club. Why is ham radio so important? during an emergency, it's the only thing that will work. Ben's had his license for almost 10 years. I'm working on getting mine as well.


It was also the annual Old Fashioned Ice Cream Social day at Landmark Park. I love going out there and enjoying the home made ice cream and seeing the animals, old houses & stores. It's quite a unique place. Here are pictures from that day. We also saw an educational presentation on milk cows. Like did you know- a dairy cow has to calf every year in order to keep producing milk? We met Lilly the preggo cow.

Wesley

It started with a bandana bib we picked up at Charisma's. Well once I saw the bib, she showed me the sheriff star paci clip. Then I found a great deal on a Happy Heinys one-size diaper in Moo cow print.Now I've found a hat in the cheap bins at Target. (I would say $1 bins, but it was $2.50). He loves his hat.

For Nana

Here is Carlise in her big girl Pajamas. They are NOT from the baby section in the store.
She growing so fast! She wears 4T or 5. She JUST turned 3! But, I love my 98th percentile little girl. *Please disregard my stained cushion
And here is just another fun picture of her =]

What's that you say?

You'd like an update? Yeah, I know I've been bad. But I come bearing pictures! =]

Backyard Makeover

Yoda has had full run of our backyard since we first got him 2 years ago (on the fourth of July now that I think about it). He just gets so excited he knocks our kids over. So except for on two occasions, our children have never been in our backyard. Pathetic, I know. So we got a farm type of fence and steel posts to put up and divide our backyard so Yoda has half and we have the other half. Well, I went out and measured and put the posts where they needed to go and that saturday Ben & I got out there during lunch and starting putting it all up. I held the posts and he hammered them in with the sledge hammer. It was slow going but not too bad, until Ben somehow smashed the tip of his pinky between the post top and the hammer. That man bleeds really well. Eww! Well that put a stop to that project. Thankfully Mr. Brian T. was willing to come over (and George ok'd it too) and help us finish the fence so it wasn't half-way done until next saturday. Yayy!! It's done and Ben's pinky was healed in a week once it stopped bleeding.

Since we now had our own part of yard we got out there and cleaned it up and got all the misc. junk Yoda had dragged in there from the neighbor's yard. Because anytime the neighbor's dogs tore the wood planks off the fence (oh, yes, you read that right) to get in our yard, Yoda would go over there and confiscate their toys for his yard. So we cleaned all that up and cut the grass and sprayed it with a bug treatment. The next day we got out the pools I had gotten on clearance last summer. Only after blowing up the two smaller ones did Ben remember that we had a pump for air mattresses in the closet. Thank goodness he remembered!

We got so excited setting these things up for the kids and the kids are inside telling us how much they want to get in a pool. We even have a really cute splash kind of pool that Josie can enjoy near the end of the summer.We get the pool filled up while we got the kids dressed in swimsuits and slathered in sunscreen. We take them outside and a sprinkler hits Carlise's leg and she FREAKS! I mean totally screaming her head off like a giant spider was coming to bite her head off!! She refused to go near any of them. At ALL! Where we just a little annoyed after spending 5 hours total in the heat cleaning the yard up for them for this reaction and total disdain for the summer treat we had for them. Umm, YES! Because after she screamed Wesley followed suit and didn't want any part of it either.*sigh* We'll try again on another day and maybe I'll have playgroup over here and some of the older kids will at least get to enjoy it. *Andre'a - do you think this would work for playgroup?