Potty trained!

Last Monday I decided I had enough of buying diapers for two kids. So ... we went the "warm chicken" approach to potty training. This is almost like cold turkey - no diapers or pull-ups at home at all, but I did do diapers when we went anywhere, and also during nap time. This is how she spent a lot of time last week:

At first, I could get her to sit, but not go. I did lots of cleaning the first couple of days, but by Wednesday, she had warmed up to the idea and was occasionally going on the potty. Friday was her first accident-free day, and she has been accident-free for the most part (1 or 2 small accidents) since. She is pretty much trained! She can tell me exactly when she has to go, gets on and goes within a minute (all potty types!), and is back to playing with not much interruption. Yay!!! It is a beee-yooo-teee-fulll thing! This morning we did our first public outing sans diapers; she had a small accident about 5 minutes before we got home. This is what we're working on now.

She is exactly 2 1/2 this month, which puts her almost a year ahead of when Connor trained. He was 3 1/2. My parents had come to watch C & I when Brian and I went to Seattle. They told him they weren't going to change a big boy's diapers, and he pretty much trained within a day or two. I'm embarrassed to admit this, as clearly he was ready and we weren't on the same page.

So technically, this is my first successful training. Woo-hoo!!!

Running buddies

Today I went running for the first time with the double jogger since having Lucas. I really have quite the collection of strollers: a single travel system, double travel system, single jogger, double jogger, and an umbrella stroller. For the record, I have used them all extensively.

When Connor was a baby, I went running with him in the single jogger ALL THE TIME. Really, we probably went religiously 4 times a week. After Isabel was born, I took both kids running somewhat frequently in the double jogger. Now, Lucas is pushing a year and I have never taken him running. It's amazing how life used to be so calm with just Connor (at least in retrospect). Now, between the varying schedules of three children, primary president duties, increasing freelance workload, keeping up a house, etc., running has failed to find a consistent place among my list of priorities. And when I do get out there to pound the pavement, I generally try to go sans children when Brian is home. This just hasn't always been working, so I hauled out the double jogger today.

It is a workout! I'd forgotten how much more difficult it is to run with two kids. I think I ran about 1/2 mile of my 2 1/2 mile route! But the kids loved it. I really should have been doing this all winter, rather than a few weeks before Connor is done with school.

Isabel's face is crazy in the first pic, hence a second redeeming one. Such cute little faces, if I do say so myself!

Love baby laughs

Don't you just love a full-on baby belly laugh? Lucas was laughing so hard last night at Isabel jumping in the bathtub. This had already been going on for some time before I grabbed the camera...

BTW, it didn't seem steamy in the bathroom, but I guess the lens had fogged over. At least you can hear the cute laughter!

A little attorney on our hands?

Isabel is a sharp little one. She is often a couple steps ahead of me...

This morning, as she was eating breakfast, she noticed something floating in her glass of juice. She cannot stand this. She asked me, "mom, what's floating in my juice?" Without looking, I gave my usual answer of, "oh, just a piece of your cereal."

As I sat down to eat my cereal, she asked, "mom, what color is my cereal?" I said, "you know it's brown." Then she asked, "what color is the milk?" I said, "it's white." And she said, "then what is this blue thing floating in my juice?"

What reasoning skills! Of course, I then had to investigate and find the tiny blue piece of fuzz. Jury rules in favor of the 2-year-old prosecutor. Better luck next time, mom defense!

Leatherheads

We had a fun double date night last night. Brian and I had planned to go to dinner and the movie Leatherheads last night. When I was talking to my friend Elizabeth, she said they (Elizabeth and Trent) were also going to see Leatherheads. So we ended up going to dinner and the movie together. It was a really fun night! It was the perfect spring evening - so nice to have an adults-only night out.

Anywho... Leatherheads was highly entertaining. Just a fun, lighthearted movie. It was written by Rick Reilly, Brian's favorite sportswriter. And who wouldn't like an opportunity to watch George Clooney for a couple of hours? He was FANTASTIC in this movie. Incredibly funny. Several scenes - and his facial expressions - had me laughing out loud. Renee Zellweger was great, too. Here's the synopsis if you're interested:

"Jimmy "Dodge" Connelly (George Clooney) is the team captain of the Bulldogs in the struggling pro football league in 1925. The entire pro football league is in danger of collapsing, one team at a time, and his team is next. Dodge gets an idea of saving the team by recruiting a college football star who fills the college stadium with over 45,000 cheering fans. With the lure of big money, Dodge is able to convince Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski) to drop out of college and join the team. Carter is not only a star football player who can outrun his completion, but he is also a national war hero of WWI who single-handedly captured a platoon of German soldiers. Lexie Littleton (Renee Zellweger) is a newspaper journalist assigned to get Carter's real inside story about the capture of the German soldiers. To get the story, Lexie must travel with the team, and in time, both Carter and Dodge fall for her. Only one will win her love as the fourth quarter comes to an end."

The acting and music were great. I would highly recommend this as a date night movie! Don't expect anything too deep, just prepare to be fully entertained. Oh, and BTW, the Bulldogs are the Duluth (MN) Bulldogs, a real team from way back when, right near where I grew up.

And the weather quiz winner is...

Wendie! Well, honestly, the winner was Brian. He did this completely on his own, FYI, but he was the only one who had all 16 answers right. He said I should default to the next best score, which is Wendie with 15. Congrats Wendie! I'll get your gift card in the mail.

Thanks everyone who played along! It was fun - I'll have to do another game sometime. Here are the answers. I'm sure there was some discrepancy in the answers from different sources. I based my answers on what I learned in my weather spotters class and info from the official National Weather Service weather spotters guide.

1. What is the number one weather hazard in the United States?
-Flooding

2. What is the number one weather hazard in Colorado?
-Lightning

3. What is the number one killer among weather phenomena?
-Lightning

4. What is a highly organized thunderstorm called?
-Supercell

5. What is NOAA an acronym for?
-National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

6. Who developed the F scale for rating tornadoes?
-Dr. Theodore Fujita

7. The F scale ranges from an F0 tornado on the low end to an ____ on the high end.
-F5

8. How many documented hail-related deaths have there been in the United States?
-Two

9. What is a violently rotating column of air that has not touched the ground called?
-Funnel cloud

10. A thunderstorm is defined as severe it if produces a tornado, wind gusts 58 miles an hour or higher, and/or hail that is HOW WIDE in diameter?
-3/4 inch

11. At any given moment, there are roughly _______ thunderstorms in progress around the world: a) 2,000 b) 4,000 c) 6,000
-a (2,000)

12. In the United States, the Florida Peninsula and the southeast plains of THIS STATE have the highest thunderstorm frequency:
-Colorado

13.What region of the United States has an average of only 2 to 3 thunderstorms each year? New England b) Pacific Northwest c) Great Lakes
-b (Pacific Northwest)

14. All thunderstorms, whether or not they become severe, must have three conditions present in order to form: instability, lift, and ____?
-Moisture

15. What do you call a strong downdraft with an outrush of damaging winds on or near the ground?
-Downburst

16. A ____ tornado is when two or more circulations orbit about each other or a common center. (most of the deadly, destructive tornadoes in the US were this type of tornado.)
-multiple vortex


Oh, and BTW, my official weather spotter number arrived in the mail this week. So, next time severe weather strikes, I'm all ready to file a report on what is happening at my house!

New arrival

I have a new niece! My sister Lara had her third baby just hours ago. Welcome Emma Margaret - and all 9 pounds 14 ounces of you! We love you. You can see pics on Lara's blog.

So that brings the total of grandkids in my family to 7. Pretty even at 4 boys, 3 girls. Fun!

Are you weather savvy? Take my quiz, win a fabulous prize

On Thursday evening I went to a weather spotters class. It was SO fantastic! The class was put on by my city's Office of Emergency Management, and the National Weather Service. The instructor is a meteorologist with the NWS. It was all about how storms form, what makes severe storms, ow to recognize when severe weather is possible/imminent, how the NWS weather warnings are issued, and similar topics. They showed THE COOLEST storm footage! I was so fascinated. I actually signed up to be a volunteer weather spotter; we'll see if I actually hear anything back.

With all this new weather knowledge floating around in my head, I thought I'd put together a little weather quiz. Here's the deal. There are 16 questions (mostly fill-in-the-blank, a couple of multiple choice). You have four days (until Thursday evening) to leave me a comment with your answers. Then, on Thursday evening, I'll post the winner (and the correct answers). The person with the most correct answers wins a $10 Barnes and Noble gift card (because there are few things in life as great as reading/learning). If there is a tie for the most correct answers, I'll do a drawing between the top scorers. Anyone reading this can play along. Have fun!

1. What is the number one weather hazard in the United States?

2. What is the number one weather hazard in Colorado?

3. What is the number one killer among weather phenomena?

4. What is the name for a highly organized thunderstorm? (these are the most dangerous of thunderstorms)

5. The National Weather Service is part of NOAA. What is NOAA an acronym for?

6. Who developed the F Scale for rating tornadoes?

7. The F Scale ranges from an F0 tornado on the low end to an F___ tornado on the high end.

8. How many documented hail-related deaths have there been in the United States?

9. What is the name for a violently rotating column of air that has not touched the ground?

10. A thunderstorm is defined as severe if it produces a tornado, has wind gusts of 58 miles per hour or higher, and/or has hail that is HOW LARGE in diameter?

11. At any given moment, there are roughly _______ thunderstorms in progress around the world: a) 2,000 b) 4,000 c) 6,000

12. In the United States, the Florida Peninsula and the southeast region of WHAT STATE have the highest thunderstorm frequency. (Name the state)

13. What region of the United States has an average of only 2 to 3 thunderstorms each year?
a) New England b) Pacific Northwest c) Great Lakes

14. All thunderstorms, whether or not they become severe, must have three conditions present in order to form: instability, lift and WHAT?

15. What do you call a strong downdraft with an outrush of damaging winds on or near the ground?

16. What is the name for a tornado that has two or more circulations orbiting about each other or a common center? (most of the deadly, destructive tornadoes in the U.S. have been this type of tornado)

Saturday night project

My friend Elizabeth and I did these super cute paper/glass pebble projects (a Becky Higgins idea). I did one for my brown and blue bathroom; I love how it turned out!


And in its place:

My little friend

Isabel frequently has been telling me, "Mom, we're best friends! I love you!" She also loves to point out when we go somewhere just the two of us that it's "just the girls." She can be such my little buddy! I'm in love with her new shirt, and she's in love with this new purse, which makes her "just like mom!":

I think that Lucas being mobile and more interactive has made her a bit jealous. When I'm reaching my arms out to him to crawl to me, she'll often come running into them first. And when Lucas does something that gets my attention, she'll try to outdo it. Ahhh, sibling rivalry. She will have to learn to hold her own, being surrounded by brothers! I'm pretty sure she's capable of it, though. Love you little Isabel!

If you're interested...

One of the big freelance writing projects I've been working on the last couple of months was for the 2007 Children's Hospital Annual Report. It was just published, and if you're interested, you can read it here. Just click on "Download the 2007 Annual Report." I wrote the 2 patient stories (Will and Hayden). I always love to see the finished product! The beginning of the AR has tons of pictures of the stunningly beautiful new Children's. Seriously, it doesn't even look like a hospital! I feel honored and blessed to have been able to meet with and tell so many amazing patients' stories over the years. The one on Will was unbelievable. When he was 2, he had a brain tumor that literally exploded - and then grew back 3 times. Really, I have nothing to complain about.

Lucas is 10 months

He's arrived in the double digits! A few things about Lucas at 10 months:

• He LOVES all the baby games (peekabo, so big, patty cake, etc).

• He will sometimes wave bye-bye on his own

• He loves to feed himself, and has recently mastered spitting out food he doesn't like

• He is always happy to be going somewhere - never cries when we're out doing things

• Now that he's zipping around via crawling, he is getting into everything. The kids are both trained to be on "Lucas choke patrol" for anything he gets into that he could choke on. The other day he had a penny in his mouth. It was so much easier to monitor small things when I didn't have small people leaving things out! Connor is pretty good though about watching for small things. Really, once they're mobile, they might as well be walking. At least they're off the floor then!

• He still has just the 2 teeth, but has been working for weeks on 2 top teeth. I think they are about to break through. Really, I thought teething was just a lame excuse parents used to explain cranky behavior. Connor would just get new teeth with very little drama. My thinking has radically changed after seeing Isabel and Lucas teeth. Sheesh! It's caused some disruption in his sleep schedule. But have no fear, sleep nazi that I am, I will endure!

• Still the shaggy baby hair, I vow it will be cut before 11 months. At least I'm pretty sure. It just makes them look instantly older! And he is my baby...
  

Lucas brings us so much joy. He is a busy, alert, curious boy. Love him!

Family Day at Preschool

We had the last preschool family day today! Wow - I can't believe preschool is coming to an end. First was lots of treats...

Then we worked on a nursery rhymes project together. Connor has gotten SO much better this year with cutting:
And gluing:
The finished Humpty Dumpty! Isn't he cute?
Brian was a good sport about entertaining Isabel and Lucas while I worked with Connor. He did seem to attract lots of the younger siblings - I told him it looked like Brian's Daycare Corner!

Preschool has been so good for Connor. He is so ready for kindergarten - good work Connor!

Kids underfoot, and some cute phrases

For the record, I want to state that our week ended on a much better note. Per my last post, Connor and Isabel were really fighting (more than the average clashes), and Lucas is cutting two top teeth, and all in all, I was feeling really unpleasant 'bout mid-week. Then I remembered this Ensign article I read a few years ago, titled "Two Toddlers Underfoot." The author makes the point of how if we follow Christ's example, "then even when the laundry and dishes are piling up, the bills need to be paid, and I’ve had too little sleep, I can stop, take my children in my arms, and love them." The last line reads, "when your children are in your arms, they are no longer underfoot." That line has stuck with me, and from time to time I really take its meaning to heart. Even if I'm not literally holding them in my arms, I think it can also be figurative - if your kids have your time and attention, they are less likely to cause trouble.

Such was the case this week. Sometimes, I think it's important to put aside all the things I have going on, and make sure my kids know they are my top priority of a long list of priorities. It's amazing how just putting my full focus on them and really engaging them can have such a positive outcome. Just a simple game or outing can turn a bad day into a significantly better one. On Thursday afternoon and Friday, we did a spur-of-the-moment ice cream cone/McDonald's playland outing, scheduled a last-minute playdate with good friends, and explored a new park a friend had told me about. We were all much happier!

It's also amusing how a change of scenery can turn Connor and Isabel from bitter enemies to the best of friends. At McDonald's on Thursday, they were having so much fun, they kept running up to each other and giving each other huge hugs. These other mothers kept looking at me with smiles and looks that were like, "awww, look at how sweet they are and how much they love each other!" All I could think of was, "you should have seen them about 20 minutes ago!"

On another note, I wanted to record a couple of cute things my kids have said recently:

Connor, walking back to his seat after giving a talk in Primary last week, announced to everyone, "that was a really nice talk I just gave!"

Connor wasn't feeling well today. He said to me, "mom, I feel sick. My swallow hurts."

Isabel was indulging in a chocolate croissant at Atlanta Bread last month, and said, "I don't like it - it has bread in it." Apparently the chocolate straight up would have been more her style, that sweet-toothed girl!

And Lucas's new favorite thing to do: ride/play with this Tonka Truck. He LOVES this truck with all of his sweet little heart. He really loves to move the red handle back and forth; this makes a lovely revving sound. Such a boy! And looking at this picture, I can no longer pretend that his hair is OK. It is crazy long and shaggy! I'm going to have to get him in for a cut before our family pictures next month.

Thoughts for a Thursday

Just a few random things today:

1) American Idol: So long Ramiele. Good call on Idol last night. I'm hoping next on the line will be Kristy Lee Cook (really, the sign was SO tacky) and Jason Castro. From there, we'll start to lose the really good talent. My top pics are the three guys (minus Jason) and Brooke. I was so sad to see her in the bottom three. The Dolly show was surprisingly entertaining! I like Dolly Parton, but wasn't so sure about an entire hour. But I guess with 3,000 songs, there's bound to be some variety!

2) Cats and dogs: My kids are having a rough week - is it something in the stars? They have been fighting like cats and dogs and making lots of bad choices. And when they're not fighting, they are literally acting like a cat (Connor) and a dog (Isabel). Did you ever put food in bowls on the floor when you were younger and eat like this? Please tell me I wasn't the only one...:

3. Is it just me, or does Pottery Barn Kids stuff get cuter with each catalog? The latest wall art is SO stinkin' cute. I am especially in love with this frog and owl (I love owls), but at $119 each (for an 18 inch square!) it is so not in my price range. Love it, though!4. The housing market. Really, I can hardly bear to even read the news stories anymore. This latest article was on our 9News website yesterday; it's about a community in my stake. They are calling it an "exodus" with the number of vacant homes there b/c of foreclosure. And how do you feel about the feds planning to help out those in foreclosure? For people who were stupid and greedy and got in over their heads, I have no sympathy. Maybe it's harsh, but really, when a buyer can find an entire home for close to what we are trying to sell our townhome for, it stinks. But something is needed to turn things around. We are now at 2+ months on the market with our new realtor, and not one showing. We are putting our ducks in a row to get the rental ball rolling. Stay tuned.

5. I am really looking forward to general conference. It's always really uplifting, and it will be interesting to see President Monson sustained as the new Prophet.

6. Connor is done with school May 7. That is like a month away! Not sure I'm ready for him to be out so soon. I think starting school in August and getting out in May is wrong. Much prefer September to June. Oh well, summer break is on the horizon! At least we have a 2-week trip to Minnesota in July for the 4th and my brother's wedding. Isabel will be a flower girl and Connor a ringbearer. July will SO be here before I know it!