Call me Sherlock

Clues my eldest daughter is about to go poo:

I hear the door to her room close.

She walks in the room where I am to say, "buh bye!"

I walk into the room that she's in and she says, "buh bye!"

She gets a look (kind-of a sudden far off look) on her face, looks slowly around at everyone in the room, ducks her head and leaves.

Clues my eldest daughter does NOT need to/will not go poo:

She requests to go sit on the potty.

She says, "poopy? change diaper?"

She asks to get out of playpen time because of poopy.

Don't dare be obvious or do anything that makes sense, Eden, please. That would just make it too easy on me.

Re-purpose

Great ideas need to be remembered and this is one way for me to remember them when the time comes. Sorry if this doesn't apply to you in the least, but if you don't have a crib, maybe you can make something else into a bench. You never know.

We have this exact crib, I think, and I thought this was a great idea to continue it's life after the baby has left it. It's got "good bones" as they say and might even be fun to paint and distress or something fun like that....

Great idea from Whimsy Smitten's blog.
And a different take on it here at Tater Tots and Jello.

Talkin' up a storm

Wad or Fold?

Just in case your grandmother didn't teach you...

How To Fold A Fitted Sheet

Losing It : The Trend Continues

My last weight loss update was in April (click here to refresh your memory) and it was rather vague.  I've decided I'm going to give out details now.  Firstly, so I can look back and appreciate my progress without having to keep all these numbers in my already crammed brain.  Secondly, because I'm kinda proud of myself and think I have some bragging rights.  Sorry if you disapprove.  Don't read on, then.

Ok, for those of you who continued to read, here are the stats:

Pre-Eden weight: 116
At 42 weeks: 165

Pre-Arielle weight: 126
At 39 weeks: 160

First goal: Feel good better about myself by summer and see that I'm making progress.
Accomplished.

Second goal:  Buy a fantastic dress and feel good about the way I look in it for a family wedding in June.
Accomplished, thanks to Jillian Michaels and Belk.

Third goal:  Don't gain weight over vacation and wear a bikini.
Accomplished, although I was very uncomfortable about my belly in (or out of, as the case may be) the bikini.

Fourth goal:  Break the 130 pound barrier.
Most recently accomplished!

Current weight: 129

Next goal: 125 by the end of July for Chuck's high school reunion.

Raising Godly Tomatoes

I've just now been doing some reading about parenting on this site and, after only about 10 minutes, became totally engrossed.  It's hard for me to pull away, but I had to share this letter from a reader to the creator of the site.  The reason I wanted to share is because I thought it was such a pivotal piece of the disciplinary puzzle.  If you know our family, you know we're pretty strict.  I'm constantly trying to walk the line of complete intolerance for sin, down to the smallest infraction, while still making sure my daughter feels encouraged, loved and secure.  I'm also concerned about suppressing or stifling feelings she has... just to get the "right" response on the outside.  I want to teach her how to correctly handle her emotions, not pretend they don't exist because they're unacceptable to Mommy.
This letter addresses some of that concern:

Untamed Whining Leads to Misery
Dear Elizabeth,

I never allowed my children to whine and I make no exception for my grandchildren. I simply found it unbearable. Now I see a far better reason than my personal irritation, to disallow such behavior.

The best reason is that a whining, pouting, tantruming child is truly miserable, a fact that sunk in recently when I spent a day with a friend and her two-year-old grandson. What an experience! That child whined for everything...first time...every time. "Just-on-the-verge-of-tears" whining, was his habitual day-long demeanor. He was truly miserable.

So now I correct more for the sake of the children's own happiness than because I find them irritating. Now, if I swat a grandchild's bottom for pouting after a reprimand, and say, "No pouting. Play and have a good time", I am doing it to render the child's life joyful. I am setting up this child for future success and happiness by consistently helping him to reject and transcend the frustrations and anger that will poison his future paths.

Correcting behavior does not drive a child to bury or deny his feelings. Rather, he learns he has a choice regarding those things he will think and act on. One cannot think good thoughts and smile while stewing and sulking in anger. Try it.

Another major reason I discipline pouting is because every minute of pouting, whining, and rebellion is a minute outside of God’s desire for us, and of happiness lost. In correcting my grandchildren for this, I am teaching them to do as we are told in Philippians 8:8-9: "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." I am teaching my grandchildren to dwell on, think about and ponder, what is good; knowing that their reward will be genuine, radiant joy.

Yours truly,
Sandra, mother of five, grandmother of ten

Portraits!

My mom is really a fantastic studio photographer.  We are sooooooo blessed to have the opportunity to get professional pictures of our girls so often.
You may or may not know that we have a Tiny Treasures grouping of photos on our wall (I can't find the picture I took of it right now...) from when Eden was about 6 months old.  I have been waiting with baited breath for Arielle's turn so that I could have my two girls next to each other.  I'll take a picture for you when they're both up.
We got to have that photo session while we were on vacation for the last two weeks and I was able to pick my favorites for the Tiny Treasures frame and was sent home with a disc of all the pictures to enjoy.  Do you know how much money photographers charge for all that?!!  Talented family is a treasure.

Here are a couple I didn't choose, but they are just too cute not to be enjoyed somewhere.