What is it about baskets that makes life so much better?
I was in the mall with my girls today to get Alea's picture taken at Sears, which in a surprising turn of events didn't happen... After the appointment date changing at least three times (twice by them, once by me), I showed up to a closed studio. The sign said, "Sorry we're closed. Please see store hours above." Store hours above said, "Open Wednesday 9:30-8:00" (or something like that). I was pretty sure it was Wednesday and pretty sure it was 10:00, which I was pretty sure was my appointment time... But alas, the studio was vacant and obviously closed.
I was not to be dismayed. We were out of the house and could do any number of things with our free time. Then it hit me... baskets!! I have been waiting to get to the dollar store to buy several cheep, plastic, yet beautifully functional organizational baskets.
After nursing, having snack time, surviving the pet store, and working through several two-year old tantrums along the way... we made it to the Dollar Store! Maneuvering my sit-and-stand double stroller through the isles while picking up several large baskets and while carrying the large Sobeys bag I've been carting as my diaper bag was somewhat awkward... But I made it to the cashier and this time she did not tell me their debit system was down, praise the Lord!!
About an hour later, we arrived home and I excitedly positioned my baskets where I knew they belonged. I felt a deep sense of satisfaction and accomplishment organizing toys and hygiene articles under the bathroom sink. I couldn't help but feel a surge of gratitude for the invention of baskets. :)
Home with two babies... I guess its the simple things in life that start to bring out the most joy :)
4.07.2010
3.29.2010
"Yummy"
A snippet of my morning...
Sometime after breakfast, Roya goes in time out chair.
Refuses to stay in time out chair.
A two minute punishment lasts about an hour because she will not stay on the chair.
(Nursing, bathing, and dressing Alea while keeping tabs on the toddler.)
Then she claims she has to pee.
I take her to the potty (knowing it's a lie) and of course she has no pee.
She sits on the potty for a while, then receives a consequence for lying to Mama.
We go to the Bible and look up Psalm 34:13, saying it together.
Snack time.
Both girls are settled and enjoying a snack...
I sit down, ready to eat and drink myself.
"I peed." Roya says.
A pool collects underneath her high chair.
I get Alea to sleep.
Time for a bath.
Strip Roya in bathroom.
Clean up pee.
Try and get ready in the bathroom while Roya plays in tub and Alea sleeps.
Roya drinks the bath water.
Which means I remove her toys.
I am desperate to get my wet hair brushed and up... (I had showered around 6:30am)
Then I hear it... "Mmmm. Yummy."
I spin around and gawk at my barely two year old daughter.
"Did you drink the water?" I ask
SLURP.
"Mmmm. Yummy."
And there you have it.
Sometime after breakfast, Roya goes in time out chair.
Refuses to stay in time out chair.
A two minute punishment lasts about an hour because she will not stay on the chair.
(Nursing, bathing, and dressing Alea while keeping tabs on the toddler.)
Then she claims she has to pee.
I take her to the potty (knowing it's a lie) and of course she has no pee.
She sits on the potty for a while, then receives a consequence for lying to Mama.
We go to the Bible and look up Psalm 34:13, saying it together.
Snack time.
Both girls are settled and enjoying a snack...
I sit down, ready to eat and drink myself.
"I peed." Roya says.
A pool collects underneath her high chair.
I get Alea to sleep.
Time for a bath.
Strip Roya in bathroom.
Clean up pee.
Try and get ready in the bathroom while Roya plays in tub and Alea sleeps.
Roya drinks the bath water.
Which means I remove her toys.
I am desperate to get my wet hair brushed and up... (I had showered around 6:30am)
Then I hear it... "Mmmm. Yummy."
I spin around and gawk at my barely two year old daughter.
"Did you drink the water?" I ask
SLURP.
"Mmmm. Yummy."
And there you have it.
3.27.2010
Happy 5 months my sweet Alea!!!
I cannot understand why Alea must grow up so fast!! The top row of her incoming teeth can be felt just beneath the surface of her gums, and she is definitely unsatisfied with only nursing. She needs rice cereal at least twice a day just to get by!! She sucked away at my apple yesterday; I feel like I have to hold her back from taking and eating a whole plate of adult food!! What's up with that??? (She's 5 months today.)
3.25.2010
Potty Training.
Potty training is something I knew very little about until a couple of months ago. After growing up with two younger brothers who are 5 and 10 years younger than me, all I could remember of potty training was little boys peeing everywhere :). Then there were the stories told by my sister and other fantastic moms who lived to tell the tales of their own potty training experiences. Still, I was mostly hopeful embarking on this journey from dependent baby to full grown toddler :)
Roya started out text book child. She loved the pink potty from Aunt Kaia and the sticker chart pasted to the bathroom wall... She loved getting praised, picking stickers, and receiving treats. She loved wearing panties and knowing she is a big girl. Still, I knew we were just beginning and it was too goo to be true...
Yesterday, everything changed.
The day started out poorly (in the potty training arena). I couldn't figure out how much control Roya had over her bladder. I sat her on the potty to pee. She waited for some time. She said all done. I made her stay longer. She got wrestless. I eventually let her come down with her affirmation that she has no pee. Within five min or so, she'd pee on the floor, or in her chair... whatever. Things escalated throughout the day, and her creative defiance was becoming more and more evident. Mid-afternoon, lessons began (voice&piano) and Miss Becca arrived to watch the girls (Yay Miss Becca!). Roya was tired, distracted, and showing defiance at every turn. I had her sit in time out, but she would not stay on the chair. The consequence for this behavior is room time with the gate-up. Sometimes this works as a punishment (separation from others) and sometimes it does not. This time it did not.
I carried Roya upstairs to her bedroom explaining the situation as always and that we expect her to show an obedient heart and a respectful attitude. I knew, however, that it had been a while since the last time she peed and didn't want to leave her in her bed without sitting on the potty first. I told Roya that Miss Becca would be up with the potty, and once she had some pee, she would spend some time in bed.
Becca agreed to the task at hand and carried the pink potty upstairs. In no less than a minute, however, she was back. "I don't mind sitting with her," she said, "but Roya's already peed all over the floor. "UUUUrrrrggghhhh" I said. I quickly began gathering cleaning supplies for the hardwood upstairs. This took longer than expected, and when I arrived at the top of the stairs, this is what I found...
Roya was standing at the gate in wet panties and squishy socks. Pee foot prints covered the floor in her bedroom. Because we live in an older home and the floor isn't level, the pee had formed a river and traveled under the gate out into the hallway. Because Roya was so delighted by this unique turn of events, she conducted a creative experiment. Taking all the things within her grasp from the change table, she threw them one by one into the pool of pee on the other side of the gate. Needless to say, within a short few minutes, pee was everywhere!
Roya greeted me with a huge smile when I climbed to the top of the stairs and said, "Mama," (in that way every child knows will melt their mother's heart), "Roya made a big mess!" "Yes, honey. Yes, you did make a big mess." I sat Roya on the potty and proceeded to clean up the "big mess". "Mama," Roya says, "What' ya doin', Mama?" She continued talking to me, saying the most adorable things and making the cutest gestures she has ever made. At the bottom of the stairs, Lynn was doing a very good job conducting a piano lesson. Miss Becca was in the basement with Alea (our family room not dungeon), and I could not help but laugh at how amazingly smart, creative, and adorable my little two year old is!
In short, I think Roya has more control over her bladder than I had originally suspected. Just what I am supposed to do with that knowledge, I am not so sure...
I'm sure there are many more creative stories out there; my sister has the corner on some of them to be sure!! God bless little toddlers and may His grace be sufficient for potty training!!!
Roya started out text book child. She loved the pink potty from Aunt Kaia and the sticker chart pasted to the bathroom wall... She loved getting praised, picking stickers, and receiving treats. She loved wearing panties and knowing she is a big girl. Still, I knew we were just beginning and it was too goo to be true...
Yesterday, everything changed.
The day started out poorly (in the potty training arena). I couldn't figure out how much control Roya had over her bladder. I sat her on the potty to pee. She waited for some time. She said all done. I made her stay longer. She got wrestless. I eventually let her come down with her affirmation that she has no pee. Within five min or so, she'd pee on the floor, or in her chair... whatever. Things escalated throughout the day, and her creative defiance was becoming more and more evident. Mid-afternoon, lessons began (voice&piano) and Miss Becca arrived to watch the girls (Yay Miss Becca!). Roya was tired, distracted, and showing defiance at every turn. I had her sit in time out, but she would not stay on the chair. The consequence for this behavior is room time with the gate-up. Sometimes this works as a punishment (separation from others) and sometimes it does not. This time it did not.
I carried Roya upstairs to her bedroom explaining the situation as always and that we expect her to show an obedient heart and a respectful attitude. I knew, however, that it had been a while since the last time she peed and didn't want to leave her in her bed without sitting on the potty first. I told Roya that Miss Becca would be up with the potty, and once she had some pee, she would spend some time in bed.
Becca agreed to the task at hand and carried the pink potty upstairs. In no less than a minute, however, she was back. "I don't mind sitting with her," she said, "but Roya's already peed all over the floor. "UUUUrrrrggghhhh" I said. I quickly began gathering cleaning supplies for the hardwood upstairs. This took longer than expected, and when I arrived at the top of the stairs, this is what I found...
Roya was standing at the gate in wet panties and squishy socks. Pee foot prints covered the floor in her bedroom. Because we live in an older home and the floor isn't level, the pee had formed a river and traveled under the gate out into the hallway. Because Roya was so delighted by this unique turn of events, she conducted a creative experiment. Taking all the things within her grasp from the change table, she threw them one by one into the pool of pee on the other side of the gate. Needless to say, within a short few minutes, pee was everywhere!
Roya greeted me with a huge smile when I climbed to the top of the stairs and said, "Mama," (in that way every child knows will melt their mother's heart), "Roya made a big mess!" "Yes, honey. Yes, you did make a big mess." I sat Roya on the potty and proceeded to clean up the "big mess". "Mama," Roya says, "What' ya doin', Mama?" She continued talking to me, saying the most adorable things and making the cutest gestures she has ever made. At the bottom of the stairs, Lynn was doing a very good job conducting a piano lesson. Miss Becca was in the basement with Alea (our family room not dungeon), and I could not help but laugh at how amazingly smart, creative, and adorable my little two year old is!
In short, I think Roya has more control over her bladder than I had originally suspected. Just what I am supposed to do with that knowledge, I am not so sure...
I'm sure there are many more creative stories out there; my sister has the corner on some of them to be sure!! God bless little toddlers and may His grace be sufficient for potty training!!!
3.02.2010
Vulnerable
Every day I feel at the end of my rope. I feel like God has asked too much of me. I feel my strength is gone.
But each day is a day of grace... grace to enjoy or grace to endure (Graham Cook). His grace is sufficient. I cling to that promise. It is by grace that I am saved, though faith. By His grace and through faith I will see the fullness of salvation in Christ.
God's word to me for this year, given last Fall, is James 1:2-4:
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
My arms are open, God. I am yours. I put my hope in You. Carry me through this weariness and set me on a firm foundation of strength and confidence and sweet assurance in Christ.
But each day is a day of grace... grace to enjoy or grace to endure (Graham Cook). His grace is sufficient. I cling to that promise. It is by grace that I am saved, though faith. By His grace and through faith I will see the fullness of salvation in Christ.
God's word to me for this year, given last Fall, is James 1:2-4:
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
My arms are open, God. I am yours. I put my hope in You. Carry me through this weariness and set me on a firm foundation of strength and confidence and sweet assurance in Christ.
spiritual death
Father, I embrace the courage to live this day. I embrace the strength to fly. I embrace your grace to live victorious. I embrace the will to die.
2.06.2010
A year or so later...
Well, it has been just over a year since our home computer died, and I was unwillingly torn from the world of online networking... I am still without a home computer, though we are working hard to rectify that. I take advantage of brief opportunities when Lynn's MacBook is available. Usually, though, just like what is happening right now... I get one or two sentences into a blog post, one that has been weighing on my heart and yearning to be expressed, (whether or not anyone reads it!), and the window of opportunity closes. Alas, my existence as a human being is temporarily on hold... Perhaps I will get to write again later. It is Saturday after all.
Until then...
Until then...
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