Potty training, Patience and Perspective

Oh my what a week we have had here at our house! On top of homeschool,church responsibilities and workouts I am potty training my three year old. My patience has been sorely tested this week and in all honesty I have lost it a time or two!

Hannah is a wonderful potty trainer in some ways.She WANTS to go on the potty!Great!Awesome!This IS progress I am thankful for. The down side is that every 5-10 minutes (right through the middle of math lessons no less) she wants to go sit on the potty.This is not my great frustration. The frustration comes when she sits for five minutes then says “My potty later mom” and hops down just to repeat this whole seen 10 minutes later!I didn't want to just drop school for the week.So we plugged along doing all that we could. Dealing with the interruptions.

Then my dear hubby tells me mid week that he will not only NOT be off early on Friday(which sometimes happens) but he will be working Friday all day AND all night! At the end of what has been a fairly long and trying week this was NOT what I wanted to hear. Now before I make you believe I was all doom and gloom this week we have had some great successes!Hannah is making it in the potty almost every time.She can “do the deed” completely on her own. These are exciting developments and it feels great to only have 1 in diapers now!

Upon hearing my hubbies news I knew I had to do something Friday to get through the day without being a total grouch.So we planned a trip to the library(our favorite place).Then to the play place at the BX (base exchange for you civilians) and then we were going to rent a redbox movie and have a movie night.

All of those things would surely brighten my Friday. Friday morning I got some perspective on my whole week and how wonderful it had all been when I got up Friday morning and saw the news about the quake and tsunami.Honestly it  didn't really stop me in my tracks.I had too much on my mind I’m ashamed to say.But thank goodness for my children and the lessons they teach me. Isaiah had asked me what the strongest metal was. I didn't know and our response to a question we cant answer is going straight to the computer ;0) So we head that way and the first thing Isaiah see’s is a picture of the devastation in Japan.

“What is THAT Mom?” That question started a long discussion  about the earth quake and resulting tsunami and what was happening to the poor people there. Followed by an internet search for sites explaining how earthquakes and tsunamis happen.We also talked about relief efforts and things like the Red Cross.

At the end of this discussion I asked my kids what WE could do for the people in Japan.On my mind was prayer. Isaiah said “We could send them money.” Isaiah is a very financially minded guy for his age. We talked about the different places we could put our money to help out.Then the boys leave,the discussion is over. Minutes later they come back with all there “fun money” from there banks.Telling me that they want to give it to help out in Japan. 

As I have had time to mull all this over in my mind I have really been blessed with some perspective. How good my life is, how much I have to be thankful for each day. A potty training three year old, homeschool, the things I am taught by my children, and a husband who has a job and is working long hours.

What a week this has been. We are praying for those affected by the quake and tsunami and are trying to find more ways that we can help. I hope that we can all use this tragedy to get some perspective on things and as an opportunity to come outside of ourselves,reach out and help others.

A refreshing Sabbath day

Today I heard a lot of things I needed to hear. I felt a lot of things I needed to feel.Mostly because my daughter is sick!

Some Sundays are hard for me.We sit in sacrament meeting and TRY to listen to the word being preached.But with a 15 month old to occupy, a 3 year old to quiet and two  older boys with boundless energy hearing anything can be a miracle! Today Hannah(3) has a hacking cough.So Daddy kept her home from church with little sis and one big brother.That left Isaiah(9) and I to go to church today. Now let me be clear I would NEVER wish my children to be sick and I know that the best place for them to be on Sunday is at church. But ooh how wonderful it was to be able to sit and focus on the truths being taught!

One of the things that struck me so strongly was what a new Brother said. “God has a plan for my life and that means I am exactly where I am supposed to be.” I know this sounds simple. There are just times in life when we can become discontent over “where” we are.Whether that is where physically,spiritually,in the church or other. I have admittedly felt a bit of that lately and it was like God was speaking right to me.Telling me that I am exactly where HE wants me to be right now and that I should be making the best of that.

God being the ultimate parent took an opportunity on the drive home to Reiterate this point to me.Listening to some music on the ride home Isaiah said to me. “Mom sometimes in songs you hear people talk about there purpose here. I’m not really sure what that means.” I told Isaiah that God has put us all here for a reason.We all share some of those purposes.To get a body,to learn and grow,etc. and that on top of that we each have things we have been sent here to do that God has planned for just us.Like serve a mission and reach a certain person.I told him that I knew part of my purpose here was to be his and his sibling mom.And then God told me something as I spoke to my son and it was just so wonderful to me. I found myself saying that I was put here to raise them to follow God and to teach them to become the people that God wanted them to be. Again this may seem kinda obvious but today I needed that reminder.It is so easy to lose sight sometimes of our purpose here.We lose it in the midst of the  everyday humdrum responsibilities.Or in the harried rush that is our life.

Today was so refreshing.I am going to remember this throughout my week as I ask my 3 year old why she hid and used my lipstick as paint.Or when I remind my 9 year old for the 10th time today to speak with a kind tone to his siblings.Or when I am wrangling the baby during church service. I am here for a purpose and I am EXACTLY were God wants me to be.

Breaking out of the mold

 

It never ceases to amaze me how stuck we can become.I have been contemplating the kids homeschooling.What do we want to start next year?What do we want to change?Things like that.

One specific area that has been on my mind is my son Justins reading. I think the spelling curriculum we use will really help him with his reading as well.

“So” I tell myself “We will start that next year once we finish up kindergarten.” 

I’ve been going over Level 1 of our All About Spelling curriculum all weekend and thinking to myself how wonderful it will be for him, how much I think it will work with his learning style, etc. OH if only we could start it NOW….Wait a minute..Who says we cant start it now?

Well goodness me we cant just pick something up in the final few months of the school  year can we? They don't do that in public school! That curriculum is level 1 so he MUST be in first grade before we start that. That's how it works in public school.So that's how we need to do it right?

This was the dialog I was having with myself today. Tell me I’m not the only one who does that LoL! Then I realized that I was STUCK! Stuck in that public school mold that just makes no sense! By golly if I think that spelling curriculum is right for my kindergartener right now then that's what we should do! Even though that's not the way it was done when I attended public school.

I sure do love the freedom of homeschooling. I just have to remind myself of it sometimes!

Small and simple = Doable!

This week has been a really good week for me. I have struggled with food for a long time and knew I needed  SOMETHING to help me get the baby weight off. I don’t gain easily. I can eat basically anything I want and if I still exercise 3 to 4 days a week my weight doesn't change.Its nice for me.The down side here is I am also not one of those people who can eat whatever,exercise and lose weight! So after doing a bit of thinking and research I decided I would try taking Alli.

Alli is a weight loss supplement containing orlistat. It is well studied and Alli is the ONLY FDA approved over-the-counter weight loss supplement. I wouldn't feel safe taking something that wasn't FDA approved.

I of course talked this over with some close family members and one pointed out the fact that if I could only lose weight on this pill then once I stopped taking it I would simply gain the weight back.

I think there are two things on my side here. 1. Like I mentioned above  I don't gain weight easily.My body seems to just settle in at a weight. The second thing is that Alli works best with a diet change.Based on your age,gender and activity level you are given a calorie amount to stay within each day as well as a number of grams of fat to stay in per meal and per day.If I don't stay within these parameters I wont lose weight even with taking the Alli.So while I am taking the Alli I will be learning this new way of eating.

I bought the Alli at the beginning of the week and sat down to read all the info.It tells you to eat within the new parameters for three days before starting the Alli.So that's what I did. I ate within my ranges and exercised and all be darned I lost 3 pounds in 4 days…I was shocked! I don't know why I was shocked LoL Everyone knows to lose weight you  have to watch your fat and calorie intake!But for some reason I had never figured out quite how to do that.

I am now on day two of actually taking the Alli and have had no unpleasant side effects thus far.I decided though that if I could lose 3 pounds simply by “doing the diet” they suggest then I don't really need the Alli. I will take the 20 day supply I bought because it wasn't cheap and I wont just throw the money away.But I wont be buying anymore Alli after that either.I geuss the saying is true.There are no magic pills and no quick fixes.Put in the work and you’ll get the results :0)

Small and Simple Things Challenge

I have been blogging a bit about small goals I am making to improve my health and other aspects of my life. I am glad to say that my exercising goals have been going really well. We got a membership to the local YMCA and are using it frequently. I am averaging exercising 4-5 days a week :0)    My eating goals are NOT going so well. I just love food!I love to eat! I am really trying to commit to having healthier meals planned. I think food will always be a struggle for me. Something I am putting to prayer is self control. I know that is what I am lacking when it comes to my eating habits.

This week I am going to really try to focus on my eating.Take the time to make healthy meals for EVERY meal.As well as working on my self control.

Our Week

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentines week this past week! I know I sure did! My week started out with a date with my sweetheart of almost ten years.

 Here is me before my date posing with my second son Justin.

On Valentines day we decided to make some pink playdoh to play with. My sons were none too keen on the pink part!

Isaiah has been reading a lot about pirates lately and asked to try out this recipe in his pirate cookbook

They sounded yummy and we had all the ingredients we needed so make them we did! Isaiah even made some flags to go on them

We did some shopping that seemed rather odd to me in the middle of February.We went swim suit shopping!Ha Ha Ha! We just got a family membership to the YMCA.The boys have been taking homeschool P.E. and Swim classes there so they already had suits. Dad and I still fit our suits from last year but both the little girls needed new suits.

 Hannah of course picked the pinkest one she could find! I have yet to get a picture of Alyssa in hers but it is super adorable too!

Today we decided to make some Red Velvet cupcakes. I had everything I needed.Everything that is except enough red food coloring

So we had PINK Velvet cupcakes instead!

I spent the afternoon today putting together some special things for school on Monday.We are going to be learning about George Washington and about the role of a President. I hope everyone has a great Presidents Day weekend!

Our week in review

I don't often do a review of our week.I don't post often enough to do a weekly review lol! But I used my camera a bit this week and thought it would be nice to post them.

School is moving along great in some area’s and slow in others. History and science are still everyone's favorites and we cover  A LOT each week. Math is sailing smoothly too. Justin my kindergartener moved up from math k to 1st grade level on his mathletics membership after only having it for a month! I’m glad he is grasping math so well.His older brother does too.On a scale of 1 to 10. 1 meaning I love it and 10 meaning its the worst.Math for me is a 10!So its very nice to see them “get it” so easily.

I am learning more and more that each child is different. My oldest learned to read very quickly and easily. My second son however is … not struggling per se but really taking his time. I mean turtle time here! He can sound out simple words and read simple stories.But as far as progressing to harder words there really isn't much progress at all. I am really glad to be homeschooling so that I can give him all the time and support he needs to process what he has learned and get ready for what's to come.

I am also excited and nervous about the fact that I will be homeschooling three kids FAR sooner than I had anticipated! Both of our sons started to show an interest in and a long enough attention span for schooling right around 6. I assumed (silly me!) that my third child and first daughter Hannah would be the same!Since she is three I figured that would give me three more years till she would be homeschooling! WELL that is just not going to happen! Hannah can already identify and tell you the sound of all the letters,she will look over my shoulder as I read and start sounding out the words(although at this point she doesn't know that's what she is doing).She asks to sit and do  school with her brothers and can sit AS LONG if not longer than both! 

Aside from the general school update here are some pictures from our week

 Here is Isaiah having quiet reading time in the closet!Since our boys share a room,when they need quiet time alone we send them to the large hall closet.

 This is Justins word wall.We have some site words, blends and other things we are practicing on there.

Isaiah’s lego alien space station

 Hannahs new zhu zhu pet I have named Evil. To understand why I named it Evil look below

Thats the hair that got ripped out of Hannahs head by Evil the Zhu Zhu pet. I honestly didnt think to tell her to keep it off her head!

Hannah and Alyssa playing cards ;0)

 Hannah eating breakfast…

And last but not least

 Everyone out back getting a lesson in fire building from dad.

I hope you have had a great week too!