nothing makes it better like your two year old crawling into your lap and saying “Mama, I love you too much.”
Posts Tagged ‘Children’
When Everything Is Going Wrong…
Thursday, December 8th, 2011Potty Training…uhh…Adventure
Wednesday, September 14th, 2011I started trying to potty train my daughter when she was 16 months old. For some reason she wouldnt go in the potty, but she started potty training her doll. Then I had my son when she was 20 months. So we stopped for a while. I figured she needed to get used to the baby, and that was more important.
We started potty training again shortly after her second birthday. We did the timer until we acctually caught a “pee-pee” and something clicked and she has peed in the potty ever sense. We did the same thing for bowel movements, and she had woken up with a dry diaper every morning since she was about 14 months, so she was completely potty trained at 25 months…or so I thought.
Then, one day, I told her she couldn’t do something and she got mad and pooped herself (something she still does if she’s sufficiently mad at me). I hasnt realized that the “mad at mommy, and messing self” were related yet and thought it was an accident. So I said “uh oh! you had an accident, lets get you cleaned up.” That one time was all she needed to regress entirely. I tried everything I could think of, the timer again, sticker rewards, getting in trouble, making her rinse out her training pants…nothing seemed to help. The only time she was potty trained was at night. I had to move the carpet shampooer into the bedroom closet because I was using it every day — sometimes several times a day. Then, two weeks ago, I was eating some homemade chocolate and she walked up to me and said “mama, I want chocolate, please chocolate?” I looked at her, and had an idea. “No. Edward poopoos in his diaper because he is a baby. Babies can’t have chocolate, they are too little. You poopoo in your panties, you must be a baby, so you can’t have chocolate. Only big girls who poopoo in the potty can have chocolate.” She glared at me and melted to a flood of tears. I stepped over her feeling somewhat like a meanie. The next day, we had no misses. Every time she has a bowel movement she gets 5 chocolate chips, if she misses, she forfeits all chocolate chips for the rest of the day, and we’ll try again tomorrow. In the last two weeks, we’ve only had 1 miss — because she was mad at me. So, it took us until she was 32 months, and a bribe, but finally I think we are making some progress.
This post is part of a link up with 
I originally somehow manage to link the wrong post, if you got directed to the birthday post, I’m really sorry! I got into a disagreement with the linky tool and didn’t realize it.
I Cleaned my Fridge Today
Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011I discovered that since I have a two year old that can open the fridge door by herself….perhaps I should clean the fridge more often…
Teachable Moments
Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011It snowed about 6 inches last night. We usually just get a very light dusting of snow — if we get any at all, so it was a surprise, and our town has basically shut down for the day.
We keep a digital thermometer on top of the chicken coop so we can easily tell if they chickens are warm enough or need a heat lamp. The thermometer is now under 6 inches of snow. The snow insulated it, so it says its 30 degrees outside when its really 8. I wanted to explain this to Rachael, since I didnt understand igloos when I was little. But, as Rachael is 2, she has no idea what an igloo is. Nor does she care about snow insulation. I was lamenting that I am going to miss such a great teachable moment when it occured to me.
I miss them all the time.
Several times, when I’ve done house work, and I was in a hurry for one reason or another, Rachael comes and tries to help me. My response was not to slow down and show her what needed to be done, or to redirect her to a task that she could do. It was “Rachael, you are going to make me trip, why don’t you go play with your toys?” — A nice way of saying “get out of the way” At least once a day she come to do something with me asking if she can help, or telling me she is going to help, and I just shoo her away. A missed teachable moment.
Another missed moment. Recently, a couple came to our door asking for money so they could pay their rent. I gave them some, explained the gospel to them, and sent them on their way. I could have had Rachael with me, during that, but instead I told her to play with her dolls while mommy talked to the people. After they left, I could have explained to her about helping poor people, and telling people about Jesus. Another missed moment.
I pray that God will help me to see and utilise these teachable moments that He has given to me now instead of lamenting over the ones that I cannot use.
Happy Birthday Rachael!
Monday, January 10th, 2011
Two years ago, God blessed me with a sweet little girl. Everyone told me time goes by quickly, I didn’t realize how quickly they meant. My little girl is now walking, talking, and even old enough to ride a tricycle.
Happy Birthday Rachael!
Learning to Sew
Wednesday, November 17th, 2010Rachael has been wanting to sew when she sees me sewing. She was thrilled when I let her sit in my lap while I worked on my apron. But, honestly, its quite difficult to sew with her in my lap. I doubt I could do anything more complicated than a straight line.
I had a stoke of inspiration the other day. I found a picture of a pumpkin (it’s fall, and I like pumpkins) and colored it. I then glued it to the side of a box and using a box cutter and scissors, cut it out. Then came the hard part, punching holes in it. I just used a regular single hole punch, and punched around the edges. After that, I got some scrap yarn from a baby blanket that I had knit Edward, threaded it on a plastic needle and sewed a straight stitch around the pumpkin. That gave me the length of yarn I would need. So I tied it to the pumpkin and the needle so Rachael cant lose it.
Now we have a learn to sew toy that cost basically nothing.
October?
Monday, November 1st, 2010Where did October go?
I never realized how much more work it would be with 2 little ones instead of one. I thought I would just be able to incorporate Edward in with whatever I was doing with Rachael. But Edward has such a different personality than Rachael did.
Even when she was small, Rachael needed her alone time. Edward on the other hand, would be thrilled if I held him all the time, and he panics if I get out of sight.
Over all, we had a fairly good October. Rachael is cutting teeth, and Edward is growing tons. At his 3 week doctor’s visit, he gained 2 lbs, and had grown 2 inches. I think he’s done about the same again by 5 weeks. His 0-3 month clothes are looking to be a little small.
I’m learning to manage my time better, and life is gradually going back to normal. Children really are a blessing, and I am so thankful for the ones that God has given me.
Learning To Adjust
Wednesday, October 6th, 2010Poor Rachael, her little 19 month old world has been turned completely upside down. Her baby brother came and messed up her perfect world.
So, my newest mission is to try to help her adjust.
We spend most of the pregnancy, almost every day after i started showing, telling her that she was gonna be a big sister. She would tell us no. She would also tell us no when we would ask her if she was going to love the new baby. Luckily, it seems she changed her mind.
I’ve learned an important lesson in trying to help her get used to the idea of having a silbling….dont use her blankets, even if they are the closest and the baby is cold…she had a melt down.
She does, however, seem to genuinely care for her brother though. He gets cold easily, so he wears a hat a lot. But, when its fairly warm in the middle of the day, we take it off him. And Rachael tries to put it back on.
We are adjusting, slowly. 
Welcome To The World
Sunday, September 26th, 2010This morning, at 3:11am, Edward James Hughes was born. He is 7lbs 14oz, and 19.5 inches long.
Both mama and baby are doing just fine.
Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Psalm 127:3
Being A Joy-filled Homemaker
Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010
It is very easy to get caught up in the drudgery of homemaking. Especially if you have gotten behind. Meals constantly need prepared, the dirty dishes never end, laundry piles up, toys are scattered down the hall, and then your toddler wants to show you their newest art project — on the wall…in a combination of pen and crayon.
(Its a panda)
How do we remain joyful homemakers and mothers when our houses are being destroyed faster than we can clean them?
We must first understand what joy is. According to Merriam-Webster joy is “the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires”. This type of joy is shallow and has no substance. According to Merriam-Webster, our joy is dependent on our circumstances and can change from one moment to the next.
Scripture speaks of joy differently. Throughout the New Testament, joy is sponken on in spite of the circumstances. James 1:2 tells us to have joy even in the midst of trials. This would be impossible if our joy was found in the circumstances around us. Paul spoke of rejoicing always (Philipians 4:4) while he was imprisoned — a much more dire situation than a messy house.
We can only have this joy because of our salvation. We rejoice that while we are wretched sinners, God has seen fit to grant us so great a salvation.
Joy comes from having peace with God. When our salvation is sure, we can rejoice in our salvation. Then, no matter our circumstances, we can joyfully rest in Christ Jesus.