My big girl

Yay! Katie is officially potty-trained. We (or should I say I) have been fighting with her for a while now. She knew what to do, just wasn't doing it. She would do fine when we were at home and she could run around naked, but as soon as she put clothes on, she would have accident after accident. I guess it was just the sensation of having something against her skin that made her think she had a diaper on. Anyway, I told you all about the dance class that we are signing her up for. She is so excited! I also told her that they don't take babies that wear diapers. They only take big girls who wear panties. That was all it took. She just did it. "Now I can go to dance class" she says. We were trapped inside by super-cold weather and sickness for several days and she was able to concentrate on going in the big potty. We worked at the Y on Tuesday and she went all day with no accidents. I didn't even have to remind her to go but once. I repeat--YAY!!!!

We really have nothing else to report right now. I'm still running. I'm so proud of myself. I really am beginning to enjoy it. Well, maybe not enjoy, but...I don't know the right word. I find myself WANTING to go run. Who would've thought? On days when I can't get out for a run, I get cranky. Most days, especially this past week I have been inside on the treadmill, which is way less fun than being able to get out on the trails, but at least I have that and my DVR'd episodes of The Young and the Restless. I'm up to 3 miles a day now. I think I may be stuck there for a while. By the time I'm at 2 1/2 miles, I'm really ready to stop! Lately, I have been concentrating on increasing my speed. I have said before that I run really slowly. I still do. I'm up to 5 MPH now. Not very fast, but it feels like sprinting to me!

Sam is getting faster too. He is just army-crawling all over the place. It's so funny to watch. Just a couple nights ago, I went into his room in the middle of the night to check on him and he was just sitting up in his crib. He's never been able to sit up by himself before. He's done it several times since then. He once tried to pull himself up on the recycling can. That didn't work out so well for him. He was just covered in plastic and aluminum! Now I have to worry about blocking him out of the kitchen. I blocked the main entrance from the LR, but didn't worry about the other entrance from the hallway because I didn't figure that he would crawl that far. Well, of course he outsmarted me! I came back in the LR and he was on the kitchen side of the blockade. Silly mommy. Now I have to block off both doorways.

Today was fairly warm by SD standards. It got to about 50, so I took the kids to the park after picking Audrey up from school. I brought light coats, but it was still cold with the wind that is always blowing here. Katie about froze to death. She was just shivering. Audrey, in true Audrey fashion, didn't even notice the weather. She never does. She could be out there in a T-shirt and not be cold. Or at least not admit that she's cold. They were having to step around the piles of snow that haven't melted yet. I will have my first parent-teacher conference next week. I'm a little nervous. I'm afraid that she's going to tell me that we are raising Audrey all wrong. Of course, the tiny portion of my brain dedicated to sane thinking is saying that that's ridiculous and that if she were having troubles in school, surely I would have been informed before now. But as all moms know, rational thinking goes completely out the door on most days with kids. I'll let you know how it goes.

I think that we are all feeling better now. Sam went back to the Dr. and he said that he's over the RSV, but will have a cough for several more weeks. His cough seems to be gone already and we have not had to do a breathing treatment for a while. Katie is over her belly issues. I have started giving her a daily dose of Miralax to keep things moving along. She gets so constipated all the time. Since I started giving her the Miralax in her drinks, she hasn't had any issues and I am getting a lot more sleep. Another yay! I probably just jinxed myself, didn't I?

Well, I guess that's all for now. Like I said, nothing much to report. Hugs and kisses to all...

Funny things the kids say

I have a list of things that I have been meaning to put on here that my children have said or done recently that have really made me laugh.

1. We are trying (unsuccessfully) to potty train Katie. When she goes in the potty, she gets a chocolate chip or 5. Audrey always wants one too. One day Vince asked her if she was Katie's agent. Why should she get a treat too? Like she gets a cut of the profits or something. Then the other night I asked Katie if she would like to go to Audrey's school next year. She started to say no, but Audrey interrupted and said, "We'll think about it." She really does act like Katie's agent or spokeswoman.

2. Audrey is finding out that mommy has eyes and ears everywhere! After their bath, I sometimes let them put on some of my smelly lotions. They always try to get too much if I don't stand there and supervise. Yesterday, Katie was putting lotion on Audrey's back (you getting a sense of the pecking order?) and I took the lotion bottle away and put it back in the basket. I left the room for a minute and when I came back I saw that the bottle had moved. It was in the basket, just in a different place. So, I said, "I told you girls no more lotion. Why did you get some more?" Audrey looked at me with a really surprised look on her face and asked how I knew. I said because I am a mommy and I know everything. She goes, "Did God tell you?" Yeah, honey. I have a direct line to Heaven! Then later she was mopping the floor for me and had squirted a bunch of water on the floor. I told her no more water and to get the mess mopped up. As I walked around the corner, I heard the mop squirt again. I came back in the room and very sternly told her NO MORE WATER! I walked away again. She whispered to Katie, "Mom heard that! Man, she hears everything." Which I heard, of course.

3. I asked Audrey today if Lukas (a boy at school) was still her boyfriend. She said, "You mean Miles?" I told her that last time I remembered she said it was Lukas. She said, "Well, they are all my boyfriends, they just don't know it. If I told them, they would all be crazy about me."

That's all I can remember for now. If I remember what it was that Katie said that made me laugh, I will surely post it too.

Sick kids

Why do kids always pick the worst time to get sick? I swear, they have great timing. This week is our MOPS meeting. It's Mothers of Preschoolers and it's a Christian-based group of mommies that get together twice a month to eat, discuss, craft, and enjoy a couple of hours without the kids. They provide the childcare. I have not been able to attend for several months now because of various things. But this week I REALLY wanted to go because it's spa day! Free massages, yoga, facials, a chocolate fountain, etc. And it figures that my children would get sick. Sam has had a cold. Nothing out of the ordinary until yesterday when he started a nasty cough and then he started wheezing and running a fever last night. I called the doc this morning to see if I could give him a nebulizer treatment here at home and they recommended (of course) that I bring him in first so they could listen to his lungs and make sure it's nothing serious. Turns out that I'm glad I took him. He has RSV. For those of you without small kids, it's a highly contagious respiratory virus that is the main cause of pneumonia and bronchitis in young children. Most kids get it by the time they are 2. They told me that we could go ahead and bring him home since we have a neb here, he is still acting normal and his oxygen saturation levels were pretty good. We're doing breathing treatments every 2 hours and watching him closely. Then we have to take him back on Thursday to make sure that he's doing okay. Poor thing. Also last night Katie started with a sick stomach/fever. When it rains, it pours, right? We were supposed to host Joy School at our house this morning, but had to cancel that. She seems to be feeling better today. Must have been something she ate or a 24 hour thing. Audrey was disappointed that we didn't get to have Joy School. She really enjoys it. She's so funny. She came home from Texas with a little southern accent. But it only comes out sometimes. Like she's got multiple personalities or something.

The wind here has been really crazy. I think the house is going to blow away at times. We have a big picture window in the living room and when the wind gets to whipping that glass just rattles. It's kinda scary because I'm afraid it's going to break. Mainly because we can't afford to replace it. We had someone come out and give an estimate on replacing the windows. I have 11 windows in my whole house, including that big one in the LR. I'm thinking 2, 3 grand. $9,000!!! But he was gonna give us a discount and reduce it to only $6,000. Which, I admit is quite a reduction, but still! The windows must be made of Kryptonite or dipped in gold dust or something. I just think that's way too much for this little house. We would never recoup that cost when we sell. Anyway. The wind. We were walking across a parking lot yesterday and Katie was almost being lifted off of her feet. She could barely walk against the wind at all. And when it gusted, it was knocking her over! She was too cute.

Well, I should go. I'm done complaining for now. Sam just woke up and I should get him fed and give him another treatment. I guess we'll have another spa day--next year.

You're making me a head-ache!

That's Katie's new saying, except when she says it, it sounds more like, 'You're making me a hay-dayke." It's too funny. Whenever someone does or says something that she doesn't like, she tells us that. She's getting ready to start dance classes. We have to wait until March for the next session to begin, but that's okay, because she won't be 3 until the end of February anyway. She will be taking "creative movement" and she is very excited. Now Audrey is mad because she wants to take them too. One of the reasons that we are gonna do the dance classes with Katie is that Audrey gets to do all kinds of stuff like school, and soccer and joy school and Katie doesn't really have anything that is "hers". We want her to be able to do something that Audrey isn't doing. But I'm kinda struggling with that decision, because is that really a good reason not to let her take the class too? If she would enjoy it, why not? I don't know. Audrey usually gets her way and hates to be excluded, so maybe it would be good for her to not get her way for once. Vince and I are really trying hard to not make Katie feel like she's just the "middle child". I know that my brother really struggled with that and I have heard other people talk about the middle one being kinda left out in the cold. We don't want Katie to ever feel like that. All our kids are special and they all have their unique features that make them so different from one another and so easy to love as individuals. Does that make sense? I imagine though that Katie could feel as if she's stuck between. She gets all of Audrey's leftovers and hand-me-downs, and Sam is the youngest and the only boy. Double whammy! We just want her to do something by herself that no one else gets to do. Ah, the mommy guilt never stops, does it?

My little boy is 8 months already! Gee, it just goes so fast. He's such a happy kid. I have been getting rid of some of my baby stuff that he has outgrown like the swing and the infant seat. It's really bittersweet. Did I already blog about this? It seems silly to get sentimental about that stuff, but I guess it just really makes it hit home that this is my last baby and I will never have a newborn again. *sniff, sniff* Vince doesn't get it. I think it's a mommy thing. My friend Carrie says the same thing. Her husband doesn't really get it either. Plus, I'm such a sentimental, emotional mess anyway! On the flip side, it really is nice to have the extra space. Getting some of that stuff out of the garage and closets for good is my reward.

Today it warmed up a little. It had been snowing for 2 days. Not anything really heavy, just slow constant flakes. Today the sun came out and it was in the 50's! It melted a lot of the snow, so we took the kids sledding while there was still some on the ground. We had a really good time. There's an open field behind Audrey's school that has a hill at one end. A perfect place because we can just walk there and it's not too steep for the girls. Audrey got dumped off on her first attempt and didn't want to go again for a while, but once she went with one of us and had fun, she warmed back up to it. I forgot the gloves so we had issues with cold hands, but that's what pockets are for, right?

Today I ran 3.2 miles!! I ran 3 miles earlier this week while pushing the girls in the stroller. That will give you a workout for sure! I plan to run a 5K this spring, so I wanted to make sure that I could run that far. Running on the treadmill is way different than running outside, but if I can do it pushing 2 kids, I can surely do it alone. I bought some new jeans because my others were falling off of me. I went down 2 sizes! I was so excited. People have started noticing that I have lost weight, which makes me feel better. I could tell, but wasn't sure if it was showing to others. I even got an ego boost at Wal-Mart the other night when some college guy told his buddies to check me out and I overheard. I was on the phone and I think he thought I wouldn't hear. Boy, was I excited. Of course I was buying baby food at the time, so I wasn't feeling very hot right at that moment. Anyway, as soon as I finished my run today, I took Audrey to school and had to go run some errands. One of them was Sonic. I ruined my run with a Frito Chili Pie! Oh, well. I try not to get all worked up about it. I just eat. That's life.

Well, it's 10 o'clock and my girls are still up because I am a horrible mommy and have been on this machine all evening. It's Friday, right? They can stay up late on Friday. I guess I should go put them to bed now. Maybe I should hit the hay too, because they will still be up earlier than I'd like! Cheers!

Home sweet home

Man, what a trip! I feel like we have been gone for months! When we were packing up the car to head south, Audrey told Vince that she hoped the movers found a toy that she had been looking for. Apparently she thought we were moving again. Poor thing! Vince said she didn't seem upset by it at all, just matter-of-fact. We had a great trip. We left here on the 23rd of December and just arrived back home late last night, Jan. 9th. We were definitely glad to be home, but sad to leave everyone. We stayed with Vince's folks for a while, had our Christmas with his family, then went to his cousin's wedding (the scene of the horrific poopy incident). From there, we visited with Vince's aunts and uncles, then went to his brother's house overnight. The next morning, we left for Wichita to visit with some friends we met in Arkansas. I know I told y'all some of this already, but bear with me. Spent the night with them. We enjoyed seeing them again so much. Trekked back to Vince's parents house (a 4 hour drive), then on New Year's Eve, Vince and I left Grandma and Grandpa with all the kids (sorry, again) and drove to Weatherford, OK to hook up with some friends at Vince's old stomping grounds. We had great time dancing, but I was ready to go as soon as that ball dropped. I really don't miss the smoke and extremely loud music. Plus, I always feel old, fat, and waaaay overdressed anytime we go to a club now. I didn't drink much. Our recent date night cured me of any desire to over-indulge! It was nice to spend the night out with our friends though. We got in way too late and woke way too early the next day to drive the 2 hours back to pick up the kids and make our way to TX, which is another 6 hours south. That was not a fun day. But we made it! As soon as we got there, Audrey wanted to start opening presents, so that's what we did. What Audrey wants...! Side note: We got a Wii!! It's so much fun. Anyway, I finally got to meet my nephew Grayson. He just turned 2 and I have never met him until now. Sad. And I also got to meet my brother's girlfriend, Ashley. Again, they have been together for over 2 years and we've never met. They are expecting a little boy in March. I am so excited for them. I think they are too! Vince only got to stay for a couple days since he had his class to teach back in NW Oklahoma. The kids and I stayed on and hung out with my family. I was loving the 75 degree weather! The kids got to ride the horses. Audrey wanted to do that every day, but it turned cooler and we even had an ice storm one day. It warmed back up, but we had stuff planned every other day, so we didn't get to ride again. But she was out there every morning and evening helping Nana feed. She loves being there on the farm. PaPa took them for tractor rides and they were chasing the guineas and giving the horses hay through the fence every chance they got. I couldn't keep Audrey inside. It was so much fun. One day we went to meet up with some friends that I went to school with. My BFF Nikki, who has 5 kids!!!!! She knows she's crazy! And my other friend from grade school, April. She has 2 kids that are the same age as Audrey and Katie and she brought her sister, who is my middle brother's age. My mom and Nik's mom came as well. Am I using complete sentences? I think not. Anyhoo, we met up at this really cool indoor playground thing that has bouncy castles and giant play structures with slides and all that. I took off my shoes and played too. It looked too fun! I haven't seen April since we were pregnant with our first kids. She's expecting her third now. It was so great to catch up with everyone and to meet Nik's newest, Anderson, and April's kids AJ and Sophia. ~Hey AJ!! I know your mommy is reading this to you. I told you I'd give you a shout out! Thanks for coming to play with us. Audrey and Katie had so much fun playing with you guys.~ We went to lunch after and tried to talk and eat as fast as possible to make the most of the short amount of time we had. It was great! I also got to spend some time alone with my mom. We left the kids with my brother and dad (although I don't know if he was much help) and got pedicures. Ahhh, it felt so good. I hated to leave them all on Thursday to return home.

I also caught up with another friend that I have not talked to since Audrey was born. She and I went to college together and worked together for a while. We were really close and then when we graduated, we just lost touch after a while. I have been trying to find her, but have not had any luck. Then I thought about her daughter, who is in high school and decided to try to find her instead through Facebook. I found her and she led me to her mom! This is how old I am--I used to take her daughter to Kindergarten sometimes and now she's a senior in high school! Ridiculous. It goes by too fast! I tell ya, I have just been so blessed to have such wonderful people in my life. I have so many great friends and I really enjoyed catching up with some that I have not seen in a long time. To those of you whom I didn't get a chance to see this trip. I'm sorry and I hope to be able to see more of you next trip. It was just too busy and hectic to fit everyone in. That sounds awfully snobby, doesn't it. I don't mean for it to. It's just that things get pretty crazy for us when we come home and we want to see everyone each time and it's just not possible. Hopefully we will be able to get closer to home in the next few years and then it won't be so hard to visit.

Let's see. What else? Oh, Audrey lost her first tooth! Her bottom left tooth. She was so excited. It was loose and just hanging there for a while, and then on the way home last night she goes, "well, that was easy!" and held up her tooth. Last night the tooth fairy left her 2 quarters! Oh, was she excited. She came running out of her room and started shaking the matchbox yelling, "Mom, she left me TWO QUARTERS!" She loves quarters. She thinks everytime she gets one that she needs to go to the mall so that she can buy some gumballs from the giant gumball stand. She was rambling about thinking she was only going to get one quarter, but actually getting 2 and she needed to call Nana and Grandma and tell them. And also her cousins to tell them and maybe the tooth fairy left her two because she had been so good lately (that's doubtful). It's pretty funny. Now the other bottom tooth is loose. The kids got the movie Madagascar for Christmas. Audrey was saying something and said, "That's crackalackin'!" I busted a gut. Vince was less than amused. My brothers will get a kick out of that one!

Sam started crawling while we were home. He was on the verge and then just all of a sudden took off into a full-on army crawl. He's gonna be a handful I can tell already. He puts EVERYTHING in his mouth. My girls never did that. Grandma was a little concerned because one diaper she changed had bright red spots in it. Not blood--tissue paper. This morning he got really mad because he was wearing a gown and couldn't crawl. Then, after I dressed him in the proper attire, the first thing he did was crawl into a corner behind the treadmill and get stuck. Then off he went into the laundry room. He was already on the go, but now I have a feeling that my running is going to come in handy! Do they sell baby treadmills? I have had to have a talk with the girls about leaving tiny bits and toys laying around.

Katie is in full drama mode. Everything is sooooo dramatic. Anything you say to her, she throws herself on the ground and throws a tantrum. I have NO idea where she gets that from! (That's called sarcasm, people). In the car at one point, she was trying to get Vince's attention and kept saying, "Daddy. Daddy. Daaaaddy. Daaaaaaaadddddyyyy!" Finally, she goes, "Daddy, HEELLLLOOO?!" We just cracked up! Most of the time when she says something funny, it's not what she says, but the delivery that cracks us up.

I guess I should get off here and try to do some more unpacking. My house was clean when we got home. It's just in ruins now. Unpacking is way worse than packing. I just have no desire to do it either. I will try to post some pictures from Christmas soon. Happy New Year!!