Guess who the lucky winner of a new princess potty doll is................................................

Kyra!!!

She has been going strong all week so we took our trip to the toy store today. Woohoo!! 2 down, 1 to go!! :P

A Little Potty Talk (don't read Mandy)

Potty training STINKS in more ways than one!! I do believe this is one of the hardest stages to get through for us. Many multiple parents say that first year was the hardest for them. I have to say I thought the first year was easy compared to age 3 ......and potty training takes the cake!! The girls continuously show us how different they are......even down to the way they are potty training. Maya was very against even sitting on the potty until it was her way and on her terms. Then one day it all just clicked with her, she wasn't afraid anymore and she has been going 100% (during the day) on the potty ever since.

Kyra on the other hand has been sitting on it for a long time "practicing" and talking about it. She just never actually did anything. She is the "holdout". That girl can literally hold it all day long. I realized later she was able to hold it many days until she got her diaper on before bed and then would go. Turns out she was terrified to actually go on the potty. Finally one day I managed to get her on the potty before the inevitable happened and as she was screaming, kicking and crying the pee came out, and low and behold it didn't hurt. She was amazed with herself and has been talking about getting her potty doll non stop (she chose Sleeping Beauty).

Eryn is doing great at wearing underwear, staying dry and sitting on the potty, but nothing has happened yet. Another holdout I fear!! The other 2 girls seem to think that she will pick a Snow White doll for her potty reward, but you never know what E has in store for you.

Most importantly if they continue to do well in this department they can go to preschool in September.................................this is super fantastic news because it means that I will have 3 hours at least 3 days a week all to myself for the first time in 4 years!!!!! Whatever will I do with myself??????

Guess who has been going potty on the big potty since Wednesday.................

MAYA !!!

Here she is with her new Ariel doll (brand new and the poor girl is already naked) that she picked out for pottying for 2 days straight!!! Go girl!!

Dance Class- Week 2

TWENTY THINGS TO REMEMBER

1. Faith is the ability to not panic.

2. If you worry, you didn't pray. If you prayed, don't worry.

3. As a child of God, prayer is kinda like calling home every day.

4. Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.

5. When we get tangled up in our problems, be still. God wants us to be still so He can untangle the knot.

6. Do the math. Count your blessings.

7. God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.

8. Dear God: I have a problem. It's me.

9. Silence is often misinterpreted, but never misquoted.

10. Laugh every day - it's like inner jogging.

11 The most important things in your home are the people.

12. Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional. (Preach it!)

13. There is no key to happiness. The door is always open. Come on in.

14 A grudge is a heavy thing to carry.

15. He who dies with the most toys is still dead.

16. We do not remember days but moments. Life moves too fast so enjoy your precious moments

17. Nothing is real to you until you experience it; otherwise it's just hearsay.18. It's all right to sit on your pity pot every now and again, Just be sure to flush when you are done.

19. Surviving and living your life successfully requires courage. The goals and dreams you're seeking require courage and risk-taking. Learn from the turtle, it only makes progress when it sticks out its neck.

20. Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. Your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are. No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting.

Leave gentle fingerprints on the soul of another for the angels to read. I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.

My friend Jeri sent this to me a while ago and I really like it and wanted to share. I highlighted some of my faves (I especially like # 18 :). I always felt very comfortable with my faith growing up. The many summers I spent at Lutheran Lakeside Camp were awesome and hold some of my most favorite memories and it was the place that I met some of my best forever friends. I never thought that I would ever doubt or question my faith. Over the last few years I have had a constant inner battle of doubts and questions about God, religion...... I think the questioning really started when I started working as a nurse in the pediatric ICU. Seeing so many sick innocent beautiful children suffering and dying. Granted it wasn't like that everyday, and we had mostly happy feel good endings, but there were still those patients with stories so sad that I will never forget. The doubting continued as we struggled with infertility, a difficult pregnancy and having multiples , autism.................Now this year as things are calming down a little I am feeling more in tune with my faith. I really look forward to moving and getting established in a new church community.........now who knows how long that is going to take, but that is a whole different post. :) For now I find a little peace in little things like the list above.

Happy Friday!!!

triple hug

having fun in the new pool

working on preschool skills with Robbie

Girls first dance class(obviously Eryn had no problem being center of attention)

Kyra in black, Eryn in purple, Maya in multi colored leotard



Saturday was the girls first dance class. It was too cute. They were almost the youngest and had a little bit of a hard time waiting in line and keeping their attention, but overall did a great job and had a BLAST. This a trial class at The School of Classical Ballet and Dance in WDM. Its being put on by a dance teacher and physical therapist for kids under 6 with special needs. They were kind enough to let all 3 girls participate. Kyra started out a little scared and was a little timid and teary, but then really go into it and did an awesome job. Maya was torn between acting shy and having a good time. She would run around and have a great time then see me and run back to me and hide. Eryn did really well, but had a hard time waiting and would run around like a wild child in that inbetween time. She did not want to leave at the end!! Can't wait to see what happens next saturday.

4th of July and Summer Fun!

I love this one. They are just kickin back with their snack and drink waiting for the parade to start.

Its not an Iowa parade without a few tractors!!

The girls got TONS of candy, we had to keep emptying their buckets so they had room for more.

Trying out sparklers and snakes for the first time.

......probably the last time for Eryn, this was right before she decided to try and touch the hot part and will probably never touch a sparkler again...poor baby.

Bedtime stories with daddy.
Lexi's birthday party


Which one of the girls has autism do you ask???? Yes, it is the one greeting everyone at the zoo and talking to those girls at the pool!! Way to go, sissy!!!

Riding the train at the zoo

Hey everyone, check out my sisters blog. She is blogging from China. She is spending about 6 weeks there doing an internship.

http://debschinablog.blogspot.com/

California

Malibu

Kelle and I
Just a little shack in the hills.
Griffith Observatory
We loved our rental car, it had that great new car smell.

Deb and Mom on Venice Beach


A diner in Santa Monica with Deb
Here are just a few pics of our trip to California. I got to see my friend Kelle who I have not seen since my wedding 8 years ago. We picked up like we had never left each other. We had a fabulous time and I really hope its not another 8 years before we do it again!! Deb took us to some awesome local restaurants and we were able to go to quite a few different beaches. I really liked Hermosa Beach, very cute little area. I can officially say that I was a rock star driver on the LA roadways.......I may have had a few small heart attacks in the process, but I have perfected the U turn and quadruple lane change during rush hour. As much as I enjoyed visiting I can definitely say I don't wish to move there.
When we woke up our first morning there and turned on the t.v. we were shocked to find every news station broadcasting from Iowa. We knew things were starting to flood in many places, but had no idea how bad things were going to get, especially for the people in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City and those poor boy scouts who died and were injured during the tornado. It was such a strange feeling being somewhere else and watching "home" go from bad to worse. I have a friend who lives near CR and has family in town, and another blog I came across that has some of the devastating pictures of the flooding. (you may have to scroll down a little on their blogs to get to the pics)
http://www.ernbergerfamily.blogspot.com/
http://www.ghcccarlson.blogspot.com/
My sister is in Iowa City and has said that the damage to the U of Iowa is bad. The theatre and many of her buildings were down by the river and badly flooded. We are thinking and praying for all those families who are starting to put things back together after all this.

Back from California!

My mom and I got back early this am from L.A. (let me tell you the red eye flight sucks!) My sister graduated with her Masters in Urban Planning from UCLA on friday. We had a fantastic time celebrating with her, meeting her friends and relaxing.

We are so proud of her and were honored to be there to help her celebrate all the hard work. She leaves on thursday for an internship in China, can't wait to see what this next chapter brings for her.


More to come.....majorly jet lagged and must sleep. :)