NO MORE DIAPERS!!!

After changing 5 little bottoms over 10 years, I am now ready to leave the diaper stage! Really I have been ready for months but S was not ready yet. But he has finally gotten it! R was trained last July but S was not ready yet. For months we have been asking him, bribing him, even begging him to pee in the potty.

Well last Sunday after pee 90% on the floor, I rushed S to the potty and he got the last 10% in it. BOY did we celebrate! It is the moment I have been waiting for. He is 3 years old and never produced on the potty. He said "It is too Hard". I could detail our entire struggle but it does not matter now.

All my other kids trained by 2 1/2. Each was fairly easy to train WHEN THEY ARE READY! A actually trained himself. He would follow his big brother in and copy him then bring me his diaper to put back on. T trained in a weekend with Daddy using M&Ms a few weeks before A was born.

I knew that once S got the idea he would train quickly and he has. I have used 5 diapers/pull ups this whole week! The first few days we had a pair or two of wet underwear, but no accidents or diapers wet since Thursday!! Day and night, he has got it. R also is staying dry overnight. So I think it is safe to say I have purchased my last diapers. I bought 1 package of pull ups this week, but I doubt I will use them all. I did not use the whole package I bought for R until this week putting them on S.

I am so happy. I am done with diapers!!!!!!!!

RODEO

Well, unfortunately our camping plans for Spring Break did not work out. We cancelled them on Tuesday when the weather said it would be highs in the 40s and 70% chance of rain both Thur and Fri. That is not fun camping. So what to do....a fun family activity to substitute for missing camping

We decided on the rodeo. We go about every other year. Last time we went 2 years ago we just did the outside exhibits, AGventure and the carnival. When I know before hand we are going I can order the half price carnival tickets, but this time we had short notice. But I found out about the value Wed rodeo tickets and we gave it a try. We drove to Reliant park with no tickets hoping to get some....and no problems. We got cheap parking getting there before 3 pm and the value priced $10 tickets got us access to the exhibits, the rodeo action and the Reba McEntire concert. It was a good deal. The tickets plus cost of food at the rodeo cost about the same as going camping....except camping would have been 3 days of fun instead of one. WE are sad to miss camping.

But the Rodeo was fun. My favorite part for the kids was the new exhibit called Farm to market. The kids don aprons and then they have to feed fake chickens and collect an egg. The plant a wooden seed then pick a Vegetable, they milk a cow and get milk, they see a sheep and they person talks about getting wool, the kids are given some wool. There are also some cotton plants and corn plants and they pick corn. Then they take all they have been given to the market and sell it for a plastic dollar which they use to buy a treat. They also had a cute little tractor and back drop for pics as you see. I like that it was fun for the kids, educational, and it was great for pics.

R and S loved the petting zoo. One goat starting eating T's shirt. We watched GASCAR where a goat raced a pig and a duck. Just pig racing each other is better, there is no competition when the goat won every race! But it was cute....the twins did not care to sit for it.

We told the kids before going to the rodeo that we would not do alot of carnival rides. They may get to do one or 2. We were actually hoping for rain so we could nix doing any but it did not rain so the kids got a ride. In fact the twins rode the bumble bee all by themselves. A and the twins got to do the big slide. Toby had to go with S but R was brave and did it alone. That surprised me. C and T went on another flying on your tummy spin ride.

We made one poor choice, thinking we would eat inside Reliant Stadium instead in the food courts outside. We would have saved some money($2.50 hot dogs vs $4) and the food would have tasted better. Oh well. I tried to convince Toby to buy his turkey leg outside, but it was me who said having food to eat while we watched the rodeo inside would probably help the twins sit longer.

This was the kids first time (Except C) to watch the rodeo action inside. Roping calves, bucking broncos and bulls, barrel racing and stage coach races. It was fun to see. The kids enjoyed most of it but they felt it was going long...but we wanted them to see the concert. We had to keep R & S awake....even A was fighting sleep off. I have been to the Rodeo quite a few times and most of them I have seen Reba. I don't know how that happens. She is good but not a particular fave of mine. At least C knows one of her songs....Cowgirls don't cry. But she would have prefered to see Hannah, Jonas Bro or Taylor Swift.

It was a fun night, we left half way through the concert when the youngest 3 could not hold on any longer and need their beds.

Twins Birthday

I can't believe it has been 3 years that these boys have been part of our family! They bring us such great joy. So far in life we can feed ourselves, we know our colors and many shapes. We are just starting to count and learn letters. One of us is potty trained.....day and night but the other is not getting with the program. His words "Its too Hard, Mom!"

Each day they are learning new things. Age 3 is a great one...we learn to do more things ourselves and mom is looking forward to boys dressing themselves (They have the undressing down great!) and doing our own shoes. We love to color and soon those scribbles will actually form shapes and letters.

3 is a great blossoming age that I look forward to except for the power struggles. I have learned from past experience that it is not the terrible curious twos that are hard but the independent..."I want to do what I want to do" threes that can really push Mommy's buttons.

May we all work together and have a happy 3rd year!

A 6 year old!!

Austin is now 6 years old. It is so fun to have a birthday when you are 6. Austin was awake before me and dressed and ready to start his day. It is our family tradition to have breakfast in bed for your birthday. So Austin waited there. Here is a picture of Austin and his breakfast. We usually add a special touch. His was a smiley face waffle with was lips courtesy of a Valentines gift from Mema.

That night we had a party for Austin at our house for him and some friends. We set up some sport stations for the kids.....kicking a soccer goal, throwing a football in a hole, we had a tire run using the hose are made into circle, and they had to bounce on a hoppity hop ball around the trees. Then we pinned the soccer ball on the goal. The kids liked that one and all did it twice. A little pizza, cake and ice cream and we had a fun party. Happy Birthday Austin!

2 year olds speaking. Gotta love it!

I am truly enjoying listening to Robert and Steven talk. Whether it is to me or to each other it is really sweet to listen to. Lately Robert loves to say "Woo Hoo" when he is excited about something. It is soo cute and makes me smile every time. And both boys call elevators "alligators". Steven does not like to be called names. I call him sweet boy or cutie and he says "No, I Steven." And I just love the way Steven says "yes" with a little lisp at the end.

And the other things they like to do is sing songs....but they only remember some of the words. So Robert would sing "Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way" over and over again because that is the line he knows. Steven will sing ABCD because he knows that part.

They know their colors and we are working on counting. They go "1,2,4,6" or "1,3,5". They cannot make it to 5 yet but we will get there. Their vocabulary is great and I love each time they have something new to say.

Wanted to share this with other moms

I came across this on a forum I belong to and had to share. I have had days like this. For any mom who stays home I think you can relate. It really is the hardest job.

"What Do You Do All Day?
A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pyjamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard.

The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog. Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing.In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.

He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened.He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls.

As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pyjamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went.He looked at her bewildered and asked, 'What happened here today?'She again smiled and answered, 'You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me sarcastically what in the world I do all day?''Yes,' was his incredulous reply.

She answered, 'Well, today, I didn't do it.' "

Our work is seen most when we don't do it!!

Pinewood Derby

Last night we attended our first Pinewood Derby. Sure Toby did some when he was younger and I probably went to my brothers......But this was our first as a family. Toby has always commented each time we have another boy something to the effect of "that is more years of pinewood derbies!" Yes, we love our boys and I think we can have fun at all of the pinewood derbies in our future!

Tanner is our first cub scout and he did a great job on his car.....I mean truck! Toby did the big cutting things....including drilling holes for weights but Tanner sanded and painted it. The sanding was not Tanner's favorite part. But he did enjoy the painting....I mean spray paint is cool!!

Tanner did great. He won second place but it was really close. We are so proud of him. One derby down.....How many to go?