Thursday, January 30, 2014

Diaries of a potty training mom





Well, this about sums it up. We have been actively trying to get Daniel to use the potty for the third full day now. It's not going as smoothly as I had hoped. In good Daniel fashion, he will be a little late doing this as well I suppose. I was so proud of myself for not even attempting this until he was 3 because I wanted him to be ready! 
Well, apparently him having a birthday didn't do much to change his readiness. 

So far: 
I am taking him to the potty every 15-20 minutes
Spending 5-8 minutes on the toilet waiting (and singing) 
Funny story: Last night every time I started singing "To the King" he would let out a good amount of urine. Then stop. I would start to sing again and he would let more go. Perhaps my singing has a relaxing effect)
giving him lots of juice
diapering him for nap and sleep 
allowing him to go nude underneath pajama pants. 

He is: 
peeing in between potty visits 
(He has slightly changed the color of the water one time, which means all of his other bowel movements have been in his pants)

Sigh. 

Maybe he needs more time. Or maybe I haven't given it long enough. 




Monday, January 27, 2014

Daniel

In October, we always usually go away for our anniversary, but this year, since we just had bought a house, we decided to just make a day trip away. We went to the fall festival, had lunch, and then walked over to the train museum in Clifton Forge, VA for a little wondering around. Enjoy some photos of Daniel. (There is even one or two of me in there!) 













Potty Training Recipe


Tomorrow.
Tomorrow my baby becomes a little boy. And I could not be sadder. 
Tomorrow we forsake diaper wearing through the whole day, and we begin to ask the question: 
"Do you need to go to the potty" 
Tomorrow, our $40/month diaper bill will decrease because we hope he will only wear them at night and at nap. 
Tomorrow I need to go the grocery store. 
Uh-Oh. 


Saturday, January 18, 2014

Desire

Motherhood was something that I longed for in my bones. It was something that I desired more than a thirsty man trapped in a hot desert with no hope of water. It was something that I cannot describe to any other person on the planet that doesn't understand that type of longing. In May of 2010, that hope, that desire, that deep longing was quenched when I found out that we were pregnant on a Spring night around 11:35 p.m. It was a surprise. Off the radar. Honestly, it was something that I had lost hope of. It just seemed more than my body was capable of handling for some strange reason. So I was starting to accept it. My husband however, had taken A LOT longer getting sad, and mourning the loss of a bigger family than "The Maggi Two" He in fact, was just beginning the phase of sadness, literally moments before finding out that we were in fact, pregnant.

 Pregnancy was one of the most joyous occasions of my lifetime. I LOVED it. I loved the way I felt. I felt so beautiful. I felt special. I felt priviledged. Loved on by God. Even loved on by my husband. Helping me out of chairs was something I hoped he would never stop doing. I loved not worrying about: "does my belly look flabby in this shirt" because I had BABY in there! It didn't matter. I loved feeling him move. Did it have some "downsides?" Yes! Of course. Rolling over in bed was a 3-step process. Getting up in the night to pee was something that I never did before, and something that I don't do after being pregnant. On the very night that we found out that we were expecting, Dennis and I got up about the same time in the night to pee, and he allowed me to go first. It was a special memory. He regarded my state, I suppose. I didn't enjoy this constant state of heart burn I expereinced. I must have consumed 2 LARGE containers of Tums, in a month. for months. Maybe that is an exxageration. Ok It is an exaggeration.

Regardless, there were discomforts. Maybe more than I can even remember. On the way home from the hospital with a 2 day old newborn in the backseat, I said to Dennis: "perhaps we should think about birth control." It was the post partum body and hormones speaking. We never did. Not once. and here we are 3 years later with no additional children.

 Do I have the deep unfulfilled longings as I once did? No. Am I completely satisfied with Daniel and all of the joys (and struggles!) that it brings? Yes. It is the best. I love it and I enjoy it and I have truly grown more into a woman and more into a mother because of this. Age has done this as well I am sure.

BUT.

But.. I do long. I do pray. I do want.

I want to have another child. In fact, I would LOVE to have atleast two more children. I even type that after just battling with Daniel for 20 minutes about me not putting his shoes on. So, I am not speaking out of some wonderful intoxicatingly amnesic (is that a word?) experience of having the most behaved child.

In fact, he gets more and more obstinate with each passing minute. But, I still do long. So, I thought I would put it on "paper" that I am desiring a child.

May God bless us yet again with another baby. Soon, I hope.

Soon.

Missing Daddy

Dennis has been in Uganda for nearly two weeks. Daniel has missed him immensely. I will have more pictures once he returns, but this is some so far. Enjoy! 




I can't wait to hug him, kiss him, and see all of the pictures and hear all of the stories!!! :-) 

My birthday boy

We began the day by going to Denny's to have chocolate chip pancakes. I don't know why I insist on this he doesn't even really like pancakes. Maybe next year, I will give him a cereal bar. It's his favorite breakfast. 
My mom came with us to help us celebrate since Dennis is in Uganda. Getting to Roanoke by breakfast would surely be an ordeal. 

Before we went to Bubblecake, we went to Target to get popcorn and let Daniel have some fun choosing a toy to take home. We also did this last year. Last year, he picked out a box of matchbox cars, which have still been a favorite on his second year, but this year he picked out a Cat dozer. I even put my sweet child on a budget, and just like his mom, he stuck to it. We plan to give him his bigger gift when daddy comes home. 

Anyway: Bubblecake: 
I hate cupcakes. I sort of hate cake, period. But, Daniel. Well, he inherited Dennis' sweet tooth. And he loves it. We let him pick any cupcake he wanted. Of all choices, he picks out a simple chocolate cupcake with white icing. 



He enjoyed it immensely. And I love the last picture. 

At this moment:
He's playing at his train table, talking to his trains. He still has his blankie and paci, and e isn't potty training quite yet. My goal is to have him potty trained by the second week in Feb. We are waiting for Dennis to get home to make it an easier transition. 

More later! 
 

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Resolved

A photographer is quite the hypocrite if he/she doesn't actually photograph their family, PRINT them, and either hang them or get them in a book. So, this is step one in my efforts to get life on paper. I will do this! 

Our Myrtle Beach Vacation


We went to the beach this past September and had a wonderful time!!! It has been many years since Dennis and I have been there alone, and the very first time Daniel has been to the beach for longer than 1 hour. He didn't really love the sand, but seemed to tolerate it well. It was memorable and was able to take a few pictures when we went out one night!! 

If you are reading this, what a miracle! :)


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Reclaiming the blog world.

 

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I have so much to catch up on. Not necessarily for you, but for me. It’s almost like 2013 didn’t exist according to my blog, but SOO much has happened. We sold our house and moved into my mom’s house, lived there for nearly 10 months, bought a new house, Daniel started preschool, we started tot school, and then it was Christmas again!!!! So, here is 1 picture of Daniel’s first day of preschool and I am uploading and exporting to make some newer posts. Maybe I will even attach a few pictures of our home for you out of town family members!!!! 

A new weekly ritual.

Starting today, I am going to be bringing home 2 extra sweet children home 3 days a week. I've already enjoyed the day, and I'm looking forward to the next couple of months! Happy new year! One of my resolutions is to blog more!!! I've missed it! 

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