It's always cuter through the eyes of a child

Jazzy has been potty training for about a week now. She is doing so good...well, as long as she's naked. If you put a diaper on her, she just pees in it. She does ok sometimes with undies on. Well, now she has diareah. So, I've been keeping a diaper on her after having to clean out under pants with diareah in them twice yesterday. Yeah! Not that fun. Well, when she has diareah, it's pretty noisy. She'll go "I making bubbles!" It's so cute. Of course, I know that I then have to change her...not so cute!

Fearless! Uh! Oh!

The kids and I got invited to going swimming at a friend's parent's house. They have a 24' above ground pool. They had a ton of swim stuff and the boys had a ball! Jazlyn was the one that totally scared me! She was fearless! She didn't want to wear swimmies or a life jacket. I finally got her to put a ring on because it was Dora. She took it off after awhile. She jumped in off the side of the pool to me several times with no hesitation. They have stairs that go in instead of a ladder and she played on those forever! She tried to just walk off of them. She didn't want my help at all. I kept trying to explain to her that she would go under the water, but she's 2! She almost went under once, but it really didn't scare her. They had squirt guns and she had so much fun squirting me and her brothers. I didn't know she could squirt one. Guess I'll have to buy her one to play with. We ended up staying almost 2 hours. I've really wanted a pool, but now I'm a little hesitant. I'd have to be in it constantly to watch her because I know she'd just jump in if left on her own!

Lovin' the Library

Every summer, the library has free programs. We have gone to a few over the last couple of years. This year, Aus and I went to a see a storm chaser. It was pretty dull and we left half way through. Then Wednesday, Aus & I went to a magic show. It was pretty funny. Then yesterday, Austin, Brandt and I went to a fishing workshop. It was outside, and they had a ton of fish they showed to all the kids. They told what they were and a little bit about them and even let the kids touch them. They also had a few frogs and turtles. They had two giant snapping turtles that the kids loved! Austin's favorite thing was when one of the men dropped a fish on his back! Austin and I are excited for Tuesday night because they are having a Murder Mystery night. Maybe we'll solve the crime, you never know!

New Pool for Jazz

I bought a pool at Walmart today for $10 for Jazz. When we went to the park yesterday, she thought we were going swimming since I said we were going to play in the water. I decided she needed a small pool of her own. Austin put her slide in it and she kept sliding down into the water. She also really wanted someone to play with her and was saying "c'mon, play with me" It was so cute. I said no because the water was fresh from the hose and freezing! Doug, of course, ended up in the pool with her :) Kimberly gave us her easy set pool for the boys, but we don't have a pump that fits. The kids are having so much fun playing in it with just a few inches of water in it. They run and jump and slide in it. They played out there today for a couple of hours. Isn't it funny that we spend all this money on amazing toys for our kids, and then they play in a pool that isn't even set up.

A Good Day!

I was sitting at the computer this morning, eating breakfast while I was checking my email. I could hear Doug outside mowing the lawn and the kids upstairs giggling and playing. I knew it was going to be a good day. Tonight we took the kids to the park by the river. They have an area that has a bunch of water jets that squirt out. Kids can run and play in them. Brandt loved it! Austin said he would have loved it if there wouldn't have been so many kids. Jazlyn acted like she wanted to go in, but once Austin got wet with her, she didn't like it at all. We then crossed the street and went to the playground. Jazlyn loved that. It wasn't that big, but that was ok. After that, we finished up the day with Dairy Queen. What a good day with family. I couldn't ask for anything better!

Happy Father's Day

I did not have the best dad growing up. I know that towards the end, he definitely would have done things differently if he could have. I say that to say how thankful I am that my kids have Doug. They fight over who gets to sit by him at restaraunts, they get excited to "play" with him and if given a choice, they would choose him to read a book to them instead of me. This brings me to what happened today. I bought Jazlyn a Dora the Explorer seek and find book. She was sitting at the island today looking at it. She motioned to me to come over and said "come here." I started reading the book with her. Then Doug walked in. She literally pushed me aside and motioned for Doug to come over and said "come here." Then he came over and read with her. At first, I was a little offended. Then, I realized how precious it was. I LOVE that my kids love their dad so much. Even more, I LOVE that he loves them that much! So, I can take a back seat...at least sometimes.

Bedtime Conversation

Brandt is spending the week with mammaw so I've let Austin and Jazz sleep with me the last couple of nights. Here's how last night's conversation went:

Jazlyn: I love you mama

Me: I love you Jazlyn

Jazlyn: I love you Aussie

Austin: I love you Jazlyn

Jazlyn: I love you mama

Me: I love you Jazlyn

Jazlyn: I love you Aussie

Austin: I love you Jazlyn

Jazlyn: I love you mama

Me: I love you Jazlyn

Jazlyn: I love you Aussie

Austin: I love you Jazlyn

Jazlyn: I love you mama

Me: I love you Jazlyn

Jazlyn: I love you Aussie

Austin: I love you Jazlyn, this could go on for awhile

Me: Yeah, I think we're going to have to stop answering her

I Pee!

Jazlyn came up to me and said "I Pee!" No, she hadn't peed on the floor, she needed to go. So I took her to her Dora potty and she sat down and peed about a 1/4 a cup. Austin and I cheered and hugged her. This was the first time she said she had to go and actually did. I rinsed it out while Austin got her a sucker. Then, she sat down and peed again, about a tablespoon this time. She jumped up, screaming "Yeah!" and clapping. So, I rinsed it out again. I came back and she peed again. She did this five times. Finally, I went upstairs to clean the kitchen. I could hear her downstairs telling Austin "I peed! You want to see it? Come on! See it!" Hopefully this will pass soon and she'll simply pee once and be done with it. I'm not complaining though, just super excited that we're making progress!

It's OK to say "no"

I was recently asked to be the children's director at our Pekin Campus that is launching in September. At first, I was like Yeah, I'll probably do it! Then, I really got to thinking about all I do right now. I am a stay at home mom, I run Jazzy Girl Boutique, I do bookeeping for a business and soon to be a second one and I'm treasurer of the PFK at the kids' school. I am also trying to enjoy my kids while they're young. It's so hard when it's church! I want to volunteer! I want to be involved! I want my kids to see me involved! But, I also want them know that it is ok to say no. After sitting back and looking at my life, I realized that this is not the position for me at this time. I can be involved in an area that is not a 10-15 hour a week position. I don't want to miss Jazlyn coming down the stairs with Doug. He's in his softball uniform and she has a pair of socks pulled up past her knees just like him! So I've found a position that is needed, that I'll be good at and that is only a few hours on Sunday. It's so good to serve and be a mom! I wouldn't want to give up either one!

Be Careful What You Wish For!

I have one less child this week. My mom left today after being here over the weekend and took Brandt home with her for the week. Not that I ever wish for less children, but I definitely wish for some quiet at times. This morning they were bouncing off the walls. I swear someone sneaked them all energy drinks. Jesse came over to help Doug do the cam lights in the kitchen, so mom and I took Brandt and Jazz to the store with us. Jazlyn came up to me while I was getting fabric cut at Hobby Lobby and said "bruddie and I runnin." That pretty much summed up the morning. Earlier, Brandt was supposed to be cleaning his room since the attic entrance is in there. I go in to find him and Jazlyn under all the covers on the bed. She sticks her head up and says "bruddie and I hidin" They wouldn't listen and they ran everywhere! At that time, I wished to go back to the Turkey Festival where I didn't deal with kids, just mostly quiet and an occasional customer. I read and got some crafting done. Now, it's back to being a mom. It's weird how different it is with just one less child here. I really miss him. I'm sure if he was here, Austin and him would either be fighting or running around like mad men. I'm going to try to enjoy the madness going forward. Take some deep breaths and smile, because one thing I'm realizing is that this is but a moment. They won't be running around here forever. They'll be running around elsewhere. Today it's with mammaw, tomorrow it'll be their friends and then to start their own life. I don't dread it. It's a good thing. I just want to enjoy now. What do I wish for? The joy of watching and enjoying my children...everyday...no matter if it's a good day or bad.

It'll all be different once SHE has kids!

I had the Tremont Turkey Festival craft show this weekend. While I am sitting there, I keep seeing all these kids walking around with these HUGE blow up swords. They are, of course, hitting each other along with other people. They would also squeeze the handles and it would make a squeaking sound. I was thinking how glad I was that my kids were not coming to the festival. Then, I get a phone call from my mom telling me they all decided to come to the festival. I really didn't think anything about it. So, the boys walked around with Auntie Kim and Joe. They come back about an hour later with, you guessed it, big HUGE swords. One for each of them. I asked where they got them and Kimberly said "it was only $3 apiece for them to play the game and win them." She had a huge smile on her face as she said it like I would be so excited. Within the next 10 minutes I could not tell you how many people they accidently hit with them. They then gave Jazlyn one and she walked over and hit a little girl with it. I was thinking, once Kimberly has kids, she'll realize why I had a grimace on my face while she had a big smile on hers.

A Big First!

I was having a terrible morning today. I woke up at 4 am and couldn't fall back to sleep until almost 6. Then Doug got home a little after 7 and Jazz woke up so I had to get up. Everything kept falling off the shower shelves while I was showering. Annoying! And to top it off, I got the hiccups in the shower and they wouldn't go away until I drank a big glass of water. Ugh! Well, then I asked Jazz if she wanted to take of bath, which of course she did. I had put her in big girl underwear this morning because she had peed through her diaper and I didn't want to put one on her just to take it back off 15 minutes later to put her in the bath. When I took her undies off there was a little bit of poop in it. I asked her if she needed to go poop and she said yes. She started to poop so I told her let's poop in the potty. So, I put her on her potty chair and she sat there and finished pooping! Yeah! Ok, so it was halfway out already, but still! She sat there and finished! Hopefully this is the start of no more diapers!!! Amazing how a little poop can change my day :)

It's All About Winning

Yesterday, I was working on birthday party hats for Tremont Turkey Festival. I use my big cutting machine to cut out the cardstock for the bases. I was having Brandt push the button on the computer to start the machine. Of course, this turned into a competition. The machine was beating me. It would finish cutting one before I had another mat started. My kids, at least my two boys, always want to win. "I ate the first bite" "I got the first drink" "I stepped inside the door first" Anything they can make a competition, they do. Where does this competitiveness come from? Is it just something innate in us? This made me wonder if I'm teaching them to win at the most important race of all. Are they winning for Jesus? They can win at anything on earth and it all be for nothing if they lose the Big Race!

Hebrews 12:1

Therfore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

When to start blogging?

Is there ever a good time? Maybe while I was on bedrest 2 1/2 years ago. That's probably the only perfect time. Right now, I'm terribly busy, but aren't we all. I have a three day craft show in 3 days. Of course, I'm cramming to get everything done. Why do we wait until the last minute? Last year I said I wasn't going to do this, yet here I am again. This year, my focus has changed. I realize that my kids aren't going to be little forever. They are growing up so fast! My baby turned 2 last week. I can hardly believe it! My other baby is 12. That's even harder to believe. So, I decided, in the midst of everything to start this now. I'm hoping to record a little piece of my family's life. Not only for your sake, but for mine as well.

Well, time to get busy. See you tomorrow...hopefully.