Potty Training...

So yesterday went really well, maybe it was the excitement of something new. This morning - not so much. It's 10am and we've had 5 accidents already. I don't know if we have enough underwear to make it through one day. ;) Joshua is still very young to potty train according to my pediatrician but we thought we would give it a try. I'm not giving up yet. We will see how the week continues to go. My fear is that Joshua just doesn't hold his pee long enough. We have been going every 15 minutes and he goes every time but yet still has accidents in between. Lord give me strength!

Our weekend in pictures

Here is a picture of Joshua hiding during a game of hide & seek with his daddy! They take turns hiding and count to five before shouting, "ready or not, here I come". It's really cute but Joshua hasn't quite got the whole concept down...like only hiding his head and answering John when he says stuff like, "Hmmm...I wonder if Joshua is in the cloest?" and Joshua answers, "no!" Giggle, giggle! Too cute!
Joshua helping us paint baby brother's room- he just doesn't realize he doesn't really have any paint on his brush.

The results! I'm thrilled with how it's turning out. We only painted this one section for today - but it looks great! The T.V. is only there temporarily for guests - but will be removed once the baby is born. We are leaving a queen bed up in the room since we only have 3 bedrooms but the room is a good size and it's working out really well I think.

Finally, we started potty training today. We are going cold turkey straight into big boy underwear. Today worked out really well. We had one pee-pee mistake and one poopie mistake but Joshua went both pee & poop in the potty today. YAY!! We are still using diapers at nap & nighttime and pull ups for when we go out. I'm hopeful that once the baby arrives Joshua will be an old potty pro! I seriously almost took a picture of his first poop in the potty cause I'm such a proud mommy - but decided against it. So lucky for you I don't have any potty pictures for the weekend.

VBS Recap

What a wonderful week we had at VBS! Today was our last day as I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow which I'm EXTREMELY happy about because I don't think my sciatica could have taken one more day of VBS. Today in fact, we had to go in 1 1/2 hours late cause I was in so much pain but we got through it. It was such a blessing to be a part of such an incredible ministry and I'm so thankful that I could be apart. It took over 100 volunteers to make it happen so I'm glad I could do my small part.

Another lady and I taught the 3rd graders and had 15 kids. (Side note: it was extremely interesting to note the differences in boys vs. girls. I love my little boy and am thankful for having another one on the way - but boys are a real handful. It's amazing to see how different they are - boys being so physical vs. girls being emotional.) Total there were probably around 200 kids attending VBS at our church. Our church does a fantastic job organizing it and keeping the kids busy. It starts at 9am and ends at 12 each day. We basically rotated around different areas throughout each day starting & ending in the fellowship hall for music. We do crafts, movie, drama, snack & bible story time. Our church did such a great job letting the kids experience the bible story each day physically, musically, emotionally, etc. It really drove the story home each day. One day the kids were blindfolded and had oatmeal put above their eyes. Yesterday the kids got to even walk on water - a fun experiment with cornstarch and water makes this possible. It was such a great experience!

Joshua was in the 2 year old class and was brought to the finale music each day. I can't tell you how precious he looked every day walking into the fellowship hall seemingly in awe of all the kids and the "fast" (that is how he says loud) music. Every night at dinner we tell daddy about our day and I wondered how much Joshua was getting out of the program so I asked him if he heard a story about Jesus and he said, "Yes, walk water". I was FLOORED that he actually recalled the theme for the day which was the story of Peter walking on water. Anyways, it just goes to show you what little sponges their little brains are even at 2!

Quick Joshua Story

Maybe this won't sound as precious to everyone else as it does to me...but I thought this was a cute story. If Joshua gets up before John leaves for work we always stand at the kitchen window and wave to daddy as he leaves. John will stop his car right outside the window and wave and blow kisses. So anywho, yesterday after we did this Joshua said, "dad going to work". I said, "Yes, do you know where we are going today?" and he said, "Chase dad (to) work". It was really cute and funny I thought. If you don't find it cute or funny, then humor me, cause I don't get much adult interaction. :)

Brevelle Linen Company

Check out my sister-in-law's new Etsy shop - Brevelle Linen Company. They make some absolutely beautiful aprons, burp clothes, receiving blankets & more! Their fabric is absolutely gorgeous!!

Little blessings....literally!

Teaching our son good manners is something that I strive for but don't always know that I'm getting through. But this morning when I sneezed, Joshua, who is across the room playing with his toys, stopped and said, "Bless you mommy". Be still my heart - my boy does have manners!! He still thinks that it's funny to burp and toot but today that is ok because it's those "little blessings" that make motherhood so wonderful!!

VBS

I'll be teaching vacation bible school this week so won't have a lot of time to blog. Please pray that my sciatica will hold out so that I can make it through the week.

My cool dude!

The one with the sunglasses on top of his head is him looking like mommy he said since I seem to always have a pair of sunglasses on top of my head.

Plastic vs. Reusable Bags

Back in March I posted this on how I have switched from plastic grocery bags to the reusable bags. I continue to do so and am thrilled with how easy it is and how FEW bags of groceries I have to carry in. It really has made my life easier and is helping the environment so much. Anyways, I recently received this slideshow on why we should stop using plastic and figured I'd post again on this topic and encourage anyone who hasn't to give it a try.

99 days to go!

I'm so thrilled to be out of the triple digits! 181 days finished only 99 left to go! Yay! And this time next week I'll be in my last trimester. Yahoo! I'm really starting to feel like the end is near as my doctor now wants to see me every other week and of course, hitting my third trimester.

Pregnancy is amazing and I feel so blessed with this miracle...but it is SOOO much harder on my body then I figured. I'm seriously only getting about 5 hours of sleep - even though I'm in bed or trying to sleep for at least 8-9 hours. I get up to go to the bathroom at least every hour and 1/2 so no stretch of sleep is longer than that. I am also a stomach sleeper and sleeping on my side is just next to impossible for me. This little boy also seems to hate ANY pressure I place on him so if I get even a little bit tilted on my stomach he kicks and kicks and kicks. I can't wear certain clothes either if they hit him in the wrong spot cause that seems to upset him too. Picky, picky!

I absolutely LOVE feeling the baby kick but it is starting to get a little bit stronger and now it wakes me up at night too. This little boy is VERY busy at night. I find myself laughing in the middle of the night though wondering what the heck he is doing in there. He kicks me all over but it's definitely strongest on one side so I "think" I know what position he is in - but that is the other game I play with myself - wondering if it's a headbutt, a hand, or a foot kicking me. In fact, I think he still has enough room to do complete flips so I could be totally off. I also love that John can now feel the baby cause I feel like we can share in the baby a little more. I'm hoping that Joshua will be able to feel the baby soon...but the baby definitely kicks the most at night when he is asleep.

Other than painting and washing stuff the baby room is pretty done. Joshua loves to play in 'baby bwovers room". So I'm glad he is getting excited although I think he might be a little disappointed at first when all the baby does is lay around. So that is the pregnancy update for now.

Energy Savings

With gas prices going up and seeing a new report about how prices for electricity are going to start climbing as well, I've been looking up some ways to try to save energy around the house not only for saving money but for the environment. Here are some of my findings...

1. About a year ago we put up Gila Window Film. Which is a film you can get at your local hardware store. It reflects heat and UV rays. Once we got the hang of installing it we put it on all the back windows of our house where we get the afternoon sun really badly. It has made a HUGE difference. We use to not be able to keep the blinds open in the afternoon due to the heat/sun and now I keep them open all the time. It really works and does not tint the windows very much at all - so our view has not be obstructed. I HIGHLY recommend the stuff!

2. I just saw this article on Frugalchoice.com on ceiling fan efficiency. I'm the queen of ceiling fans and found it really interesting that in the summer keeping them on constantly does not increase your A/C efficiency.

3. We also installed energy savings bulbs in all of our lamps. I still need to find those for our can lighting since we have a lot of those.

4. We put in a digital thermostat to program for different times of the day. As well try to keep our AC at a higher setting then normal - which is tough right now being pregnant and HOT!

5. Unplugging appliances not in use is tough but something I've been trying to do more of. It's amazing to think they are still draining energy even when they aren't on.

Here are also some websites with great tips:

• Saving Energy
• US Dept of Energy
  
  I'd love to hear ways that you are saving energy!

A mind of his own

Joshua has certainly developed a mind of his own. Most recently, we could not get him out of a shirt. So we had to let him wear the shirt over his PJ's as a compromise. Doesn't he look so precious & hilarious!

Printer

Our printer has been broken since February. It's been quite a pain in the neck. So finally HP was suppose to send us a replacement/upgrade since they could not correct the problem. Well, it finally arrived last week and it was the wrong printer. So then, I called to tell them it was incorrect and they said the correct one would arrive the following day. Nothing came. UGH! So I called again and they said someone would call me back in 48 hours. No one called. Double UGH! So today, I finally spoke with someone who says that tomorrow I should FINALLY have my printer. YAY! So I'm all excited in hopes that I will once again be able to print things off. It's amazing how much we depend on the little things like a printer and when they are gone we feel so helpless. What did we do before technology?

Random Stuff

First it is HOT HOT HOT. It's suppose to be close to 100 tomorrow. 100! Yikes! So today we are off to try to find me a maternity bathing suit so we can go to the pool tomorrow. Joshua is all about his baby pool right now and wakes up first thing in the morning saying - Back in POOL!

Our garden is growing fast! It's fun to watch. I can't wait till the vegetables start to grow. I'm hoping to get a lot tucked away in the freezer as well as start making freezer meals for myself in late August for when the baby arrives.

John felt the baby kick for the first time this week. I just started crying when he said he felt it. I've been feeling the baby for weeks but of course, it's not as easy for me to get John to feel it. First because it's so sporadic and then it's not always hard enough. When the baby kicks really hard you can see my stomach bump a little. It's amazing to experience God at work in such a magnificent way.

We continue to be busy even though I thought things would slow down in the summer. Lots of play dates and time outside even though it's so hot. The last week in June I'm teaching VBS and hoping that my sciatica will hold off a little so I can do it - so please be in prayer about that. Usually if I make sure to sit a lot it doesn't bother me too terribly - but some days there is no rhyme or reason to it. The other day I really didn't do much and couldn't even stand up it hurt so bad. It is no fun! I'm hoping lots of time in the pool will relieve it and keep Joshua busy busy.

Finally, I had a training class yesterday so John stayed home with Joshua. I was so tickled to come home and find lots of surprises prepared for me. John and Joshua had picked out some very beautiful sunflowers for me. Had made a delicious pork chop dinner & made chocolate covered strawberries!! I always feel so blessed to have a husband that is so involved and am so humbled when he surprises me - just because!