"I did it. Oh Yeah. I did it."

Well, we are at it once again. We've been "talking" about potty training Jonathan around these parts for a while now. Today, sweet hallelujah, he showed interest! AND HE ACTUALLY WENT PEE PEE ON THE POTTY 7 times. He wore underwear all day and only had one accident. Hooray! It is so funny - when we goes, even if it's only a few drops, he gets so excited and says - "I did it. I did it. Oh Yeah. Oh Yeah." And dances around like a little crazy guy. It is GREAT! I really need to figure out how to post video on here.

So, now... the hard part is for me. I need to stick with it and make him sit on the potty every 45 mins or so until he gets used to his little body. We didn't make stinkies on the potty today, so we'll see how that goes tomorrow. I can't pass up this little opportunity!

I can't believe my baby boy is getting so big. *sigh*

Final Four Baby!!!! (and some other randomness)

That's us celebrating - sorry for the poor pic quality. Yahoo! UK is going to the final four. Holy Moly. What a great day in Kentucky! We enjoyed the game with our friends, the Gaithers. Our boys - all four of them, were GREAT! What's your favorite color baby, BLUE and WHITE!

Also - did you know that MOM upside down looks like WOW? Coincidence? I think not!

Snow in March - late March? Wrong! Just wrong!

I am nervous about going to the new Kroger because I don't know the order of the aisles. I have been planning out my weekly meals since the beginning of the year and making my grocery list accordingly. One of my new years resolutions and I've actually kept it for the most part. But, I could make my list according to the order of the aisles in Kroger so I can be in and out in a jiffy. OCD much? Yep, I admit it.

One of my other new years resolutions - to start couponing - hasn't happened yet. I need a tutorial. Any volunteers?

I had to go to a training on ethics on Friday as a requirement for my social work license. It was B-O-R-I-N-G. But necessary.

My boys have been almost perfect this weekend. I know I brag on them a lot on here, but really, I can't remember such a great weekend in a very long time. No real agenda. Lots of special activities. Treats for awesome behavior.

We ate inside two restaurants this weekend. Granted, one was McDonalds. But still - we dined inside TWICE and it was perfect. If you are around us much at meal time, you know that is MAJOR!!! We aren't the best at making our kiddos stay in their seats during meals at home. They eat a bit and then they are off to play. Then they come back... you get the drill. SO, eating out isn't one of our favorite activities But, I was so proud this weekend.

There you have it... random, see? Happy Sunday! Hope your weekend was filled with precious memories too.

a little advice?

So, something weird in the world of mommy-hood happened today and I'm not exactly sure how to handle it (or I guess how to handle it in the future...) There's tons of kids on our street and it is fun in the spring. Everyone is out, running and playing. As soon as we drive up today from getting Jacob from Preschool, a little girl rides up on her bike. She is 5. ONLY 5!!!! She lives at least 8 houses away at the end of our side of the street. So, I told my boys they had to play in the back yard because I was going to cook lunch (thank you fenced in back yard.) Jacob asked the girl to come play. She did. Of course, I don't mind this. The more the merrier! But, I just couldn't get it out of my mind that her parents probably had NO idea where she was and they definitely couldn't see her or her bike if they peeked out to check on her. So I asked her if her parents were home. She said her daddy was and he didn't care if she played. So then, it was lunch time. She asked for lunch too - which again, I totally don't mind, but this whole thing was making me feel super weird. So, I asked her to hop on her bike and ride down and tell her daddy she was at our house and eating lunch. She did and returned really quickly. She ate lunch and stayed another hour or so after that. I hated to, but I asked her to leave since it is rest time. So she rode off back down the street, still not a parent in sight.

so advice??? how should I handle this in the future? I totally welcome her playing here, I just freak out at the thought of my boys going to a complete starnger's house eating lunch and stuff. It's one thing to ride bikes and play in the yards, but inside? Oh me, I just didn't know what to do. My boys were having the time of their lives and she seemed to have fun too. I hate to sound judgmental, but what was her dad thinking???? what if ( I know I'm getting close to crazy on this one) but what if I was a crazy serial killer or pedophile??? She could have been in danger. I know it might seem like overkill, but I don't exactly let the boys out of my sight when they are out front! I keep a close watch on them every second. So, what if the pages were turned and it was my boys who just jumped in cars or asked to go to strangers houses. YIKES!!!

Ten Terrific Tuesday Tidbits

Jonathan style:
1. You say “you can’t catch me not so fast.” 117 times a day – and when you do, it’s a little sing-songy.
2. You love cereal. I mean you are obsessed. I’m worried about your teeth! I’m trying to brush extra since you are getting about 3 bowls of sugary cereal each day. (Kirby, don’t read!)
3. You have shown a little interest in potty training, but honestly, mommy hasn’t put forth the proper effort. I need to just buckle down and do it. You are very stubborn so I have a lot of anxiety about this process.
4. You have inherited my OCD-like qualities. (Sorry!) You like to line things up and get freaked out if anything is not as it should be – a speck of dirt on your cup, tags on your shirt. Oddly though, things like inside out socks and dirt on your face don’t faze you one little bit.
5. You have quite the entourage at nite nite time. You have “bear,” “monkey,” “elephant,” “teddy bear” and “lady bug.” Stop the world with the originality of their names.
6. You love going to Walmart, which you call “mallmart.”
7. Your speech is very clear now. But, you stutter sometimes. Should I be worried???
8. You love going to “ex –a-size” with me and it is so cute. You even try the stretches.
9. You HATE me touching your ears. Consequently, you have the dirtiest ears on the planet. Sorry kiddo!
10. I signed you up for (GULP!) preschool last month and can’t believe it’s already time for that.



Jacob man:
1. You are so very bright. I love how much you are learning these days! You have the best memory!
2. You still like superheroes, but your obsession has cooled somewhat.
3. YOU ARE SLEEPING ON YOUR OWN AND IT IS AWESOME!!!! I couldn’t me more proud of you! Santa’s letter to you had a real impression. (Santa said to Jacob, “I sure hope you start sleeping on your own before I come see you next year!”)
4. You have a very kind heart. I hope it always stays that way and that you never experience heart ache. I know you will, but I wish I could take it away.
5. Along with that kind heart, you wear your emotions on your sleeve. When you get upset, it’s not at all uncommon for me to hear, “I don’t want to play with you ever again.” Or “I wanna live in a new house.” “Growllllll. I’m mad at you.”
6. Sometimes you hurt my feelings (see number 6) and I have a hard time with that.
7. You can be the BEST helper most of the time. You love helping me dust and wash the dishes. I need to be more patient and let you do it, even though it takes twice as long. It really is good quality time for the two of us.
8. You also love cereal, but not as much as your brother.
9. You love to wear the boots that Pa and Grammy got you for Christmas. And you love to get yourself dressed. Sometimes you look like a little ragamuffin. Short pants, mismatched shirts, comfy pants and boots… but you try so hard. I try not to correct.
10. You can get dressed, brush your teeth, pour your milk (if the milk gallon is less than half full), put on most of your shoes, zip your jacket and buckle your seatbelt all by yourself. How did you get so grown up my little angel?

Play anyone?

So, often, people ask me "what do you do at your job?" Sometimes, I have to remember that other than my MAIN j-o-b of domestic goddess, I do have a part time job. I am a therapist at Square One: Specialists in Child and Adolescent Development. I work with kids and families with some type of behavior/mental illness. And often, since I work with kids, the medium I use is PLAY! Really???? What did that say? Yep, I get to play all day long. In fact, I'm working toward a special license in play therapy. AND.I.LOVE.IT!

I was fortunate to get to go to Kentucky's play therapy conference last week. And the topic was using play when working with families who have endured some trauma. Well, I came back totally inspired. The trainer, Eliana Gil, was fantastic! She taught many techniques and this was the most practical conference I've ever attended.

She demonstrated several therapy ideas that involved the use of miniatures. You know, little figures like animals, super heroes, princesses, dragons, etc. I learned that I will never ever throw away any more happy meal toys!

So, I'm shamelessly going to ask that if anyone have any little figures that they don't want or plan to throw away, PLEASE think of me first and I'll be happy to take them and put them to good use. I have several that I've collected through the years do do sand tray therapy (a whole other post), but my collection is still very small. Thanks all!

What's your favorite color baby?

BLUE and WHITE!!!!!

C-A-T-S!! Cats Cats Cats!




So, today, we watched our beloved Wildcats win another SEC championship. What fun! The boys like the Cats too, but they don't get into a whole 2 hour game. Lucky for us, it was nap/rest time!

We think they got ripped off getting a 4 seed in the big dance - don't you??? And Florida got a 2? Not fair, not fair!

Billy always hosts a bracket challenge for his work. I don't know if he's gonna be able to do it this year because next weekend is his biggest work weekend of the year. But I hope he does. Because he's really good at it. And sometimes even wins. And that means a trip to Pottery Barn for this happy momma! :-) (I know my high school English teacher would be shattered if she read all those sentence fragments.)

Random facts

So, I’m jumping on the bandwagon and following Megan, Rachie and Shubie and doing the random facts post. Sadly, I’m older that the others and more than 30 facts just seems like overkill, so I’ll go with 21 facts – because my anniversary is May 21.
1. I hate veggies – except green beans. It’s embarrassing, really!
2. If chocolate milk were beer, I’d be in major trouble. Not just any chocolate milk, but Nestle Quik – YUMMO!!
3. I’ve always loved babies and kids. I started babysitting when I was 12 and was really good at it! I even made sure I washed all dishes and houses were perfectly clean when families returned home. Oh how I wish I could make me house perfectly clean now!
4. When I was in 8th grade, I was on national TV. Seriously – America’s Funniest Videos crew was traveling through my town and they called my high school to see if some students would help do the pre-commercial promo…. “after these messages, America’s Funniest Videos will be right back.” What a sad little claim to fame.
5. I like to dip almost anything and everything I eat in either ketchup or barbeque sauce.
6. I have never seen the Star Wars movies all the way through. Every time I try, I fall asleep.
7. One of my favorite memories from middle school and high school was playing “Girl Talk” with my besties, Amanda, Belinda and Beth. Do any of you remember that game???
8. I once tried to “be a rebel” and take my dad’s truck out for a spin before I was 16. I got as far as the garage and started the truck before my big ole conscience told me to go back upstairs.
9. I broke my wrist in 4th grade - my wrist bone still sticks out a little crazy.
10. Once, my sister hid my piano books and it kept me from going on a fun trip to Huntsville, AL. Mean mean sister!
11. The day I found out I was preggo with Jacob, I went to lunch at Taco Bell - when I walked in, I almost threw up. Shortly after that, I went to Kroger and bought a pregnancy test. First, I NEVER eat Taco Bell, and it sounded good. Second, the urge to throw up was just too strong to ignore!
12. I got to go on a special trip to Europe the summer after I graduated from High School. I had to pay half. 
13. My first job, other than babysitting was at Bugle Boy factory outlet store. I can still fold a mean t-shirt.
14. I accepted Christ when I was 11 years old because I was afraid of dying. I really began to know who Christ was during college. Now, my relationship with Him means everything to me. I can’t fathom life as a young mommy without Jesus as my guide!
15. My favorite pizza is Wicks – hands down.
16. I think I should have taken stock in pampers or huggies – or Target, since now I use the Target brand diapers.
17. I may pull my hair out potty training my sweet little Jonathan. He has shown interest the last few days, but today said, “when I’m three, I’ll use the potty.” Well, allrighty then. That’s settled.
18. I love love love hanging out with my family. Immediate and extended.
19. I am super competitive about some things – like board games. Look out!
20. I have seen every single episode of Beverly Hills 90210 – some more than once. And if I get the chance, I still watch re-runs on the Soap channel’s “breakfast in bed” every Saturday.
21. I’m madly in love with my hubby and feel like the luckiest woman on the planet to be walking through life. We are so much alike, it’s scary.

Okay - leave me a comment with a couple of random facts about you! Can't wait!

Bubbles + Baloons + Blankets + Boys = FUN!!!

laides and gentlemen of the jury

I’m here today to present the facts. Once the facts are presented, I’m sure you, the jury, can determine what these little facts mean. They are irrefutable and sometimes irresistible:
• Forgotten toilet seats left up
• Pee stains on the toilet seat (and some on the floor surrounding the potty)
• Weapons made from the most simple household items
• Wrestling matches nearly every hour (I mean minute)
• Dirty fingernails
• Stinky shoes and socks
• Stinky toots that make the crowd erupt in laughter and giggles
• Balls, hoops, bats, tees, helmets, etc. are found quite frequently
• Cars, legos and superheros are constantly underfoot
• “to infinity and beyond” followed by loud thumps from jumping off furniture
• “Hey bubby, watch this” also followed by loud thumps from jumping off
furniture
• “Betcha can’t beat me” -heard loud and clear throughout the house
• Grass-stained knees on jeans
• Scuffed up shoes
• Bubble wars
• Dirty faces
• Bed heads
• Slobbery kisses
• Dance parties
• Endless games of hide and seek

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury - what say you? Have you reached a verdict?




Yep, you guessed it. I am in fact surrounded by sweet little boys and one big handsome boy. I am outnumbered. There is no shortage of testosterone in this house. And. I. Love. It!

Live Strong

So, I've talked on here before about my journey to wellness and weight loss. Still on that journey and loving almost every second of it. It's a huge sacrifice to fit exercise into the busy life of a mommy, but for me, it is oh so worth it. And, I need to publicly thank my husband for his support and for helping me make time for it. Currently, I am training for the Lexington Mini-marathon on April 2. So you can hold me accountable on my training, okay? I need all the encouragement that I can get. I ran 8 miles this past weekend and will try to do a 9+ mile run this weekend. Holy moly... Here's my problem though. The more I run, the more I wanna eat. And I mean eat fatty stuff. I'm craving pizza and french fries. Not good. Not good. Does anyone have any advice for some good filling foods that I can eat after a run? (Keep in mind that I am super picky!)

I have also reacquainted myself with a great website that I would recommend to anyone. www.livestrong.com - there's a thing on there called "my Plate" that allows you to track every thing you put in your mouth as well as how many calories you burn. So, it's kind of like Weight Watchers, except it doesn't work on points - only calories. It breaks things down nutritionally - lets you see how much protein, fiber, fat, sugar, etc. you are consuming. I have learned that my fiber intake is severely low and that my sugar intake is usually too high. It allows you to type in your weight and weight loss goals (mine is currently to lose 1 lb a week) and it gives you a maximum amount of calories you can consume each day. It corrects for exercise too, which is really nice!

Check it out and let me know what you think. Also, if you happen to see me, be sure to ask if I've tracked my progress on Live Strong that day!