Potty training...in reverse?

So Jenna is almost 3 and still not potty trained. I tried to tell myself that it has been a sub-conscious thing, you know, her being my last baby and all that. But the reality has everything to do with me and how uninterested I am in following through on anything lately. Anytime I have made an attempt, she has been completely uninterested, so why try? Right?

We have made a little progress lately. She has been successful a few times, but very inconsistent. She will usually run up to me in hysterics saying, "I need to go potty! I need to go potty!" It is always right after she has "gone" potty in her pull-up.

Last night at 3:30 a.m., Jenna starts screaming, "Mom, I need to pee! I need to PEE!" I am totally groggy and really not wanting to jump up and entertain her or start a "just for fun" middle of the night potty run, so I said, "No, I think you are ok (AND WEARING A DIAPER), just go back to sleep and you can try in the morning." But Jenna was not having any of that. She insisted she needed to go, so I reluctantly got up and walked her to the bathroom, took off her diaper, and set her down. I have to say, I was VERY surprised to hear her actually start going! She had the biggest grin on her face and said, "I AM A BIG GIRL!" My heart melted--I love this lady!

I wish I could say that was the magic moment and today we are on the other side of potty training, but today has been very much the same as yesterday and we have already gone through 3 pull-ups...still love this lady.

What day is it?

I don't know exactly WHY, but this week I haven't really felt like myself. I think it is a combination of Gavin graduating from Kindergarten a week before all the other kids, which broke my routine, and Memorial Day weekend that seemed to make it Sunday all over again on Tuesday. That and I realized it has been 1 YEAR since I started my blogging--which also kicked off my exercise and eating right campaign because I could not bring myself to post a picture of me on the blog. Here I am, one year later, totally confused and STILL PRETTY MUCH THE SAME SIZE!!! So all that combined has thrown me into a feeding frenzy that may or may not end this week. Someone please come save me...or bring me something with nuts and caramel.

Gavin did graduate from Kindergarten! He was so excited for his graduation program and had been talking about it for weeks. He was soooo excited because he and Shari sat right next to each other and shared the same speaking part---BIG DEAL TO AN OBSESSED 6 YEAR OLD! The day of his program he had a total melt down. Remember the picture of the melt down on the first day of school? Well, he is a little older now and WOW! is all I can say. I can thank Brents genes for this social anxiety ridden episode.

This is a picture of Gavin in his Sunday best, which was the dress code for the program. I pretty much had hold him down in between sobs to get them on him. Sad, I know.Once he got to the school he was ok. That gym was PACKED, but the program was SO CUTE and Gavin did a great job with his part. Isn't Shari a cutie!He had a great cheering section with our family, Grandma and Grandpa Smith, Grandpa VanCott and Liz with James and Ashton. Gavin sure loves his grandparents, but he can't get enough of his "best bud", James. Pretty sure that has something to do with the way James will do anything Gavin says and thinks Gavin is the coolest thing in the world! Don't we all need a bud like that?Congratulations Mr. G!

Dreams really do come true!

Last week Gavin's ultimate dream came true. He walked out of his kindergarten class and guess what was waiting...Grandpa Smith and a 57 Chevy!!! You haven't ever seen a kid that awkwardly excited! They went and picked up Brent from work and the self proclaimed, "Three Dudes" had a day out on the town. Gavin has never felt so cool and has not stopped talking about it! I'm not sure there will ever be anything that will top this!

Here is Grandpa, parked and waiting for school to let out.Here is Gavin--he was to the car and already in the backseat in 3 seconds!
Aunt Amber helped arrange the whole thing and even had these cool 57 chevy t-shirts. Unfortunatley, I don't do laundry fast enough for him to wear it EVERYDAY!Thanks Grandpa and Amber! You really made his day!

Channeling Carol Brady....grrrrr...

So for Mothers Day, I thought I would pamper myself a little. These days pampering is either a brand new outfit from Target (if I am feeling rich--Wal-Mart if we're broke), or a haircut. Since I just bought a new Easter outfit a couple weeks ago and Brent, of all people, pointed to my head the other day and said, "you have this really weird line that goes across your head", I knew I better choose the haircut--and touch up.

I HATE getting my hair cut. A few months ago I went to a new girl who cut hair out of her basement (red flag #1). She was super cheep (red flag #2) and said she had gone to a neighborhood hair cutting school that let her learn as she went so she felt like she was WAY ahead of those girls who have to go to school for 9 months before they start getting their "real" experience (red flag #3 WHY DID I NOT TURN AND RUN?). I told her I wanted to lighten things up for spring, you know, with a few highlights or something. I came out of that basement florescent green--with a few chunky orange streaks. *#!@*!! I really was too depressed to do anything about it and have just kinda let things just go from there--so you can see the need for some help as my dark brown roots have been approaching the 3 inch mark lately.

This morning I made an appointment at a nicer studio, crossing my fingers that I would have some better results. This girl seemed nice and things started out great. She really understood how much this last lady had fried my hair with bleach and an orange marker. She asked me what I wanted and I told her I liked my length, but wanted things "cleaned up a little" and I really didn't feel like I was a good blond...never should have left things that open ended. She went to work putting in some new highlights and dying the rest of my hair back to it's original brown. She even dyed my eyebrows for free! What a nice girl she was turning out to be! Once I was rinsed, I really liked the color and was feeling really confident that things were really going to turn out. Somehow, in all the excitement, I forgot to knock on wood.

Have you ever had an out of body experience? Something is happening and you have no control over it and the more you worry, the faster things go. I'm telling you, as soon as I sat back in her chair after being rinsed, she disappeared and Edward Scissorhands attacked my hair and did not stop for breath until I was a dead ringer for Carol Brady. I kept thinking--she knows whats she's doing...she said she would take care of me...WHY IS SHE STILL CUTTING? At one point I said, "Wow, that sure seems fun...you know to be snip, snippin away so fast...it's like a cartoon where there is just a whirlwind of cutting and then your done! It's got to feel kinda good to be able to do that and know what you are doing!" I seriously said that...kickin myelf.

I can't post a picture of this horrible mess just yet. I need a few days...

Happy freakin Mother's Day!

Congratulations, Mr "V"!

My dad is retiring after 34 years of teaching. I was lucky enough to have him for my teacher in 5th grade and it turned out to be the best year ever. He was always one of the most requested teachers and you could always find kids from other classrooms hanging out in his classroom during recess. He was a great teacher, but he was also a guy who had a passion for building kids confidence in themselves. Who wouldn't want to be close to a guy like that?

Life lessons I learned in 5th grade:

"If you can't create it, don't destroy it." My dad has a love of nature that translates into his classroom in a way that will stick with you for life. His motto of, "If you can't create it, don't destroy it," runs through my head every time I kill a spider...the guilt of knowing I am killing a little brain, a nervous system, a working digestive system...it is not a secret that we are not a hunting family! My memories of my 5th grade classroom are filled with plants, hamsters, hamster babies, fish, snakes and a preying mantis that became the class mascot. Animals were only a part of it. Every season change, we all went outside and painted a seasonal picture of Mt. Timanogos. We had seasonal walks and even walked all the way to Geneva Rd. to collect caterpillars, that became crysulus', that hatched into butterfly's. Magical!

"No downers, only uppers" Sounds like drugs, I know. But it is all about RESPECTING OTHERS. My dad did not tolerate bullying, clicks or prejudice of any sort. If you were caught doing any of the above, you would find yourself answering to Mr. V...and that could be very scary indeed. He is the ultimate example of someone who lives what he believes and practices what he preaches.

Self Confidence. My dad had a very special way of giving a little confidence to the kid who was really struggling. He taught all his students how to juggle. Kids who didn't have anything that they could "do" or were good at, learned how to juggle! He would say that every kid needs SOMETHING that they feel like they are good at--and juggling is easier to teach than football!

He also had us give 2 minute talks every week. I think this really helped me come out of my shell and be able to talk in front of a group of people without crawling under my desk. Another way to help kids become more confident in themselves.

Keep it fun. No matter what we were in the middle of, our class broke for 10 minutes to go out and enjoy a rainbow, or catch those HUGE snowflakes during a heavy snowfall. We sat in a circle and popped popcorn during rainy day recesses. We always had an all day read-a-thon on the day after a major candy holiday like Halloween or Easter. He knew kids on a sugar high were not going to be able to concentrate so why not make it fun!

I could go on and on. Dad, I love you. You were the best teacher ever and I feel blessed to have you as my dad. ENJOY YOUR RETIRMENT!