Sam, do you need to go to the potty? NO!

Well....I've been attempting to potty train Samuel since Friday. I had a plan, a great plan....Andrew went to Aunty Mel's for the day, I had Luke's naps planned out for the day, every thing was going to be perfect and I would have one less kid's diapers to change by the end of the day.

To make a long story short my attempt hasn't been successful and I'm mostly to blame. I'm contemplating giving up due to my frustration with the whole process.




Firstly, I didn't read the book ("How to Potty Train in less than a day") I use as a guideline thoroughly enough before starting. Now after an accident has occured I quickly look through the book for advice. I'm being very reactive versus proactive. The book also focuses on being very positive and encouraging throughout the process and that requires A LOT of patience which is hard to have when you have two other young kids to care for. At this moment I'm not feeling very positive. Luke's really sick, Mommy is sick, Andrew's feeling neglected and Daddy...well Daddy jsut wants this to be done and feel's potty training shouldn't be one of his duties.

Looks like I have to cut this short, Luke just woke up and is crying, Samuel just peed in his underwear in the living room and my stomach is turning. Please pray that my next attempt is more successful!

Oh yes...and the title....everytime we mention the potty to Sam he screams NO!

Our Jolly Jumper

Luke typically loves the jolly jumper and will stay in it for 1/2 hour or so. This picture was taken one day when he had enough. As long as his brothers are around when he's in it, he loves it.

Cutting Out naps.

I have been trying to cut out Andrew's daytime nap for the last month or two. Somedays he just can't handle not having a nap. He was having cereal for a snack the other day while I was nursing Luke. Mel popped in just as I finished nursing and we discovered Andrew napping like this and had quite a laugh.

Strong.

So...I got home from getting groceries tonight and Andrew wanted to help carry them from the garage to the kitchen. As I handed him a 4L jug of milk he said....
" I can't lift it Mom, I'm only a little bit strong."

Andrew: "Nana and Papa are gone home...that makes me so sad."

Okay...so the flash blocks out what the chalkboard says...but it says "we miss you Nana and Papa."

Please note that there is a chalk line down the middle of the chalkboard to resolve conflicts that were taking place. Daddy decided that each boy gets half of the chalkboard and can't touch or erase the other person's side!

Thank you soo much Dad and Denise for this easel. The kids love it!

Nana and Papa's visit

Nana and Papa were just here for a week long visit. We were spoiled with

cuddles, playtime and lots of toys!

Thanks for coming Nana and Papa, we hope you had as much fun as we did!

"Elephant Ears"

So...the saying is true that children have ears the size of elephants. On Saturday I was checking my mailbox for flyers quite frequently so I could make my Christmas shopping list. Our flyer boy is very inconsistent with our flyers and this happened to be a Saturday that he wasn't going to deliver. Apparently I was sputtering away about it because I overheard Andrew, while looking out the window, saying: "where is that rotten boy anyways?"

For those of you who don't know Ken's Dad, he is a man with very unique terminology and expressions. " Rotten" is a word he frequently uses that has rubbed off on my vocabulary.