Thoughts on Thanksgiving

thanks⋅giv⋅ing–noun

1.	the act of giving thanks; grateful acknowledgment of benefits or favors, esp. to God.

2.	an expression of thanks, esp. to God.

3.	a public celebration in acknowledgment of divine favor or kindness.

4.	a day set apart for giving thanks to God.

5.	(initial capital letter) Thanksgiving Day.

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,

'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gain'd,

To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,

To turn, turn will be our delight,

Till by turning, turning we come round right.

by Elder Joseph

A thankful heart I strive to have...

The Queen on her Throne

We are in the stage of life that most people we know are, recently potty trained or are in the midst of it themselves.
I was thinking about you all and actually praying for you when I realized that I just might the unofficial "Queen of the Potty."
I have potty trained more than 35 kids in my life. (I used to say I got my BS in bs. Then I got my masters and now I am a well educated bottom wiper! )
I taught kids who had limited physical abilities and kids who had VERY limited mental abilities how to be independent toileters. Poo stories-- I've got a million.
Now you might be saying to yourself:
Why is this important?
Or if you are my dad- getting hives just thinking about what I might say next.
If you fall into the second- just skip to the end where there's a picture.

If you are still with me.. take heart fellow warrior!
Things I've learned over the years:
Sometimes it's not whether the child is ready- it's if you are. A very motivated Momma is the #1 key to success. Why? Because you will stick with it. It's important to you. And you want to do it. If you try it and it's just not right. Don't sweat it. Either try again later or stick with it. But be all in if you stick with it.
When you are in it- it seems SOOOOOOO much longer that it really is. Think about it. How long did it take for your child to be a clean eater? They're not already? But they've been eating from a spoon since they were 6 months old! They really should be good that it by now, right? I know I still need an occasional napkin and I've been eating for a LONG time too. Tell yourself this as you are cleaning off poo from the walls, sheets, toilet and hosing your child off in the shower.
Think of potty training as a new skill to learn like a using spoon or writing your name- NOT a will of obedience. MOST kids just need help making the connection between what is happening in their body and how to act. It is rare that peeing on the carpet for the tenth time in a row is disobedience. As hard as that is to remember when you are cleaning it up for the 10th time in an hour! (But if this is you- let me know I WILL pray for you!) :)

Some helpful hints I use are:
Don't ask if they need to go. Say it's time to go.
If there is an accident- have a catch phrase like," Uh oh. Pee pee goes in the potty." And then take them there. (and as a side note: having children clean up their own accidents is not something I recommend. Think about the eating/spoon thing again. Reinforce when they go on the potty not just focus on the times they missed.)
Set a timer for you to remember to take your child. But once they have been doing it for a few days back off. Let them take the lead and go by themselves. Remember that is your ultimate goal. EVEN IF YOU MAY HAVE A FEW MORE ACCIDENTS!
Make the potty a wonderful place to be. Potty parties and potty songs make kids feel good.
Have lots of changes of clothes, travel with lots of changes of clothes and get used to doing laundry. Most kids are not fully potty trained (all night) until the age of 6!
But one of the number one practical ways I suggest is to pray. Pray specifically and earnestly (this is done usually while cleaning up the carpet) that your child will learn this new and useful skill.
It's OK if it's hard. Somethings are. Some kids don't fit a perfect plan. Most will use a combination of a few plans.
You are not better than anyone if it was easy for your child to potty train. It's usually the kid that did it. :)
You are not a bad parent if this is a hard time for you. You probably had a "easy baby" and now it's evened out. :)

There are tons of ways and personal stories on the internet of how to do it the "right" way. Do it in a day, use rewards, get a doll. But just like everything else you've learned with your child in the last 2 years- they are unique and special. And sometimes potty training queens aren't in your shoes and don't live at your house.
You can do it. You can do it. You can do it! Think of how hard labor was- this is easy! Or how the millions and billions of women who have potty trained their children without the use of Elmo potty time videos. It can be done. You too can get your BS in bs- just be a momma!

1 Corinthians 15:51

⁵¹Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—

From the mouths of Babes:

Mommy I need a cotton ball.
You need it?
Yes. A cotton ball.
Um Ok Let's go get one.
Mom starts to go to the bathroom where cotton balls are kept.
Gianna goes to the pantry. A sudden light comes on for momma.
Mom stops and says, "Do you mean a marshmallow?"
Yes. A marfmallalalalalalalaooooow.

Well what could I do? I gave her the marfmallalalalalalalaooooow.

From Daddy:
G- It's not time yet (to go to bed)
D- It is time.
G- No it's not time yet.
D- Well, what time is it Gianna?
G- It's 3 o'clock so we can stay up

Mom can I tickle your bottom?
No Gianna.
Can I tickle your neck?
Yes, yes you can tickle my neck.




What kind of feet do YOU have?

This Day...

This day shall not be looked back on fondly. It will ever be known as Poo FEST 2009.


Gianna's new decoration color choices have been noted and denied.



It's best there are no pictures.

A Story

When I was a kid our church had "Harvest Festivals" or they had "Noah's Ark Parties." This was to be able to celebrate the "fun" of dressing up with out the scary costumes. (I like "quotations" today. Yea punctuation!!!!!!)

So one year I dressed up a beautiful Queen Esther. Oh, how I loved that costume. It basically consisted of an old velvet evening gown of my mothers and EVERY piece of costume jewelry I owned. I mean I was decked out. Layers and layers of pop beads. Colors and colors of Marti Gras beads (although I didn't know that's what they were- I just enjoyed the pretty colored beads.) Every cast off mismatched piece of jewelry that my mother let me wear. Oh I was beautiful. I had so much jewelry because of course that's what queens did- wear lots of jewelry.

I have no idea where she gets it from


I also learned a powerful lesson from those days of dressing up. NEVER have props for your costume. Well I should say my mom did. Because one year I was Rebekah. And how do you dress up as Rebekah? You wear a bathrobe, a scarf on your head, and have two babies. Sooooo different from the Mary costume. Call one Jacob and one Esau and hold them the the whole night. Well not the whole night- you have to give them to your momma to hold because you can't do any of the fun games if you are holding them. I guess I learned another lesson that night- Holding twins is hard work!

Want to help hold my dolls Momma?

Right HERE Momma!

Gianna likes to dip things. Pretty typical of most toddlers that I know. I don't have a problem with it most days.
Dipping = eating
Mostly.
But a "fun" new "discussion" we've been having is PLACEMENT of the said dip. Amount does not seem to be and issue (yet). Just where it is placed is a battle. Who knew that placing something right where it was pointed to go in the spot would cause wails and gnashing of teeth? Not me. Did you know that ketchup runs when put on the side of a plate? And thus can cause a particular two year old I know to loose her Christian witness? (Well, not really hers, but mine to her!) Did you know that a microscopic millimeter makes a difference?
I didn't before but I do now.

Just a new trench in the warfare we call parenting. But this particular battle I'm ok with loosing a few inches. Because if the spot I see isn't the spot she sees, and tears result- I just take a deep breath and remind myself that this is her way of having order in a large and unpredictable world. And that what is important to her does not mean it is less important because it is not important to me.

So I smile and try to teach problem solving. "Move it with your fork to where you want it." And smile again.


Even if I'm gritting my teeth and white knuckling the bottle of ketchup.

Two Purple Princesses and One Pink princess

Going to the Zoo!

In honor of the beautiful weather we've been having, John took Wednesday off and took us to the Houston Zoo.
We set off all prepared and stuff. It does take a fair amount of planning to get five people out the door with everything you need for a day of fun.
Extra clothes for the babies. Check
Extra skirt for Gianna. Check
Snacks. Check
Water. Check
Spoons for baby food. (they're on solids now- extra stuff to remember!) Check
Houston Zoo iphone app. Check!
So we were set. All prepared and ready. We drive down got stuck in traffic for 45 minutes! Gianna was READY to be out of the car and got so worked up that she made herself throw up. YUCK. John and I look at each other and laugh. We had too. What else could you do, while stuck in traffic and then are presented with throw-up? WE pulled over into a Sam's parking lot and asses the damage.
Car Seat Nasty
I packed and extra skirt but not an extra top so John and Gianna went into Sam's to buy another outfit! WE decided that Gianna was not sick- just worked up. And pushed forward!
We loved the zoo. It was nice and not too crowded. We saw some of the animals that we've been reading about in our family devotion book so Gianna was excited. She also was VERY interested in the PINK flamingos. I think they were her favorite!
WE didn't see everything, but left enough to do on another trip. We'll try not to start out with such a "fun" beginning next time!

Solid

Solid food. That's what we've started feeding the girls. It's just one more reminder that they are growing up. Now I am never one to early feed my children solid foods. Why? Well, it's M-E-S-S-Y. Have you seen these pictures?!??!?!?! And then it's one more thing to have to do.You know- besides taking care of their every need- bathing, burping, changing, holding, nursing, clothing, entertaining , teaching, talking to, and much much more. Phew! I'm tired just writing it down!
With Gianna I waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited. Until that child DEMANDED that I feed her from a spoon. She would watch the spoon go from the bowl to the lips and watch and lean in and try to get it while the person holding her was eating. My mom was here for a visit when all this leaning and lip moving was happening and so she fed her her first food- ICE CREAM. I kid you not. My MOTHER fed my first born baby ice cream! Wow, was I upset. Gone were my hopes and dreams of an all organic diet for my baby. Gone were my hopes and dreams of reforming my diet before her knowing such a food as ice cream exists. So I broke down and actually started to feed Gianna solid food. I did give my mom the "you are crazy" lecture, but she recovered because well, she is a Granny, and Granny's can feed their grandkids ice cream. At least that's what she told me.
Anyway, Elizabeth and Cosette got cleared from the doctor to eat solid food. So I bit the bullet and did it. No Granny here this time. So poor Elizabeth and Cosette had to eat plain rice cereal. And their faces show how much they liked it: