Happily Ever After...

First and foremost, let me start by saying that my spunky monkey has had only one accident in THE LAST EIGHT DAYS!! Can I get an AMEN to that??? However , she has traded her love of diapers for the LOVE of visiting bathrooms. Multiple times. Every.single.place.we.go. And when I say multiple , think MORE THAN FIVE TIMES. Oh the sheer joy of grocery shopping: We make it through 5 isles, have a half full cart, run to the front of the store, eek out a few droplets... Lather, rinse, repeat.  All the while, ice cream is melting in my cart, the frozen chicken is partially thawed, and the milk has become sour cream. ALL FOR A FEW DROPS OF PEE!!! Speaking of lather, the M&M rewards have been replaced with a much funner thing: Hand Washing. With Water. Oh the joy she has found in WASHING HER HANDS. You would really think she has never done it before. Public restrooms just bring out the big girl in her.... Sigh. Until this little love affair with public potties subsides, I think when we go ou...

I found this cool website that gets words off your blog and makes a collage.   No big surprise that pee and potty made the list of frequently used words.  I am just so sad pickle and tomato didn't make the cut... We better not tell Aria :)

After 2 straight days of a DRY little undies, I think we can confidently say that Miss Gianna is potty trained. For the most part. And because I said that, I'm sure tomorrow she will prove me wrong. But for today, I am SO PROUD of my little spunky girl, who just 2 weeks ago, had NO IDEA she could make herself pee, and sat for hours on a potty with stickers and books. And then acted totally shocked that she put something in the potty that got so much praise and chocolate. Then last week, we turned a huge corner, when she would go each time we put her on, right away. Which is particularly wonderful because I'd hate to say I spent my vacation in the Bahamas putting stickers on the hotel potty for hours on end :) By the time we got home, she started telling us occasionally- usually after the accident had occurred.  Better late than never, I guess. But for the past 2 days, she is telling us, in Gianna-like fashion: "Gianna do you need to go potty?" " I play playroom....

Daddy does devotions each night with Aria. It is a very special time for both of them, and she listens with rapt attention. Tonight's Bible passage was how God doesn't see as man does, man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at our hearts. As follow up, Daddy asked her what God sees when He looks at her heart. "Pickles and Tomatoes," was her reply. Oh, right. And we thought He saw a little girl's heart.

Although we had a great time in the Bahamas, it is so wonderful to be home. Albeit coming home with LOADS of dirty laundry, no laundry detergent, no milk or decent food in the house,trying to celebrate Father's Day today, and a dog that has to be picked up from boarding...  But it made me realize one of my favorite things about getting off the "train"  and having a relaxing vacation, is that I am ready to jump right back on happily. I love my sons, our family as unit, and I miss that family togetherness when we are apart. I missed my daily disciplines- cooking, cleaning, exercise( okay, I didn't really miss that!) a set time to wake up, a set time for devotions, and a routine that I follow. It is amazing how fast you get lazy on vacation!  I missed our home and having more than just one room for 2 adults and 2 toddlers. Greg was taking conference calls on the balcony while I was trying to keep the girls quiet in the room.  Bedtime took forever because they knew we wer...

the mice will.... Get rear ended ( not his fault) and total his car at 11 :30 PM.  Yes, we got the phone call that wakes you in a frantic panic.  Thankfully, he is okay and so is the driver that hit him. I hate it that we are so far away.... ....I miss my boys and I'm ready to come home.

Do as the Bahamians do! I can just barely stand the cuteness of these girls and how excited they were to get beads in their hair!  As normal Cl@xton projects go, we started out with the idea of 6 braids each, and ended up adding, and adding until most of their heads were done.  Oh, well.  At least they can bring their souvenirs home with them :)

As a BAD day in the Bahamas? Technically, the answer is no. But today might be close. Today is Greg's really long day. Conference call bright and early, then meetings from 9 AM until 4 PM, and then a dinner from 6PM to whenever. No problem. I set the girls swimsuits out last night, put all the flotation devices in the stroller, and packed all our snacks. A lovely day at the beach was in motion.  I had it all planned: I would wear them out playing in the sand and sun, we'd head for the pool to get them extra good and tired, and then head back to the room for a long summer's nap. They would wake up in time for Daddy's 2 hour break, and we would all go down to feed them dinner. I would take them for an evening walk on the beach, and then off for bath and bed, when I could leisurely read until he came home. Ahh, the best laid plans. Instead, THIS is our day: In very un-Bahamalike fashion, this storm is NOT sweeping in and right back out. It will be raining, thundering and ...

The view from our balcony We've sold our home, and just bought the boat in the back. Boys, pack up our stuff and come on down! The girls never get tired of playing in the sand! All this vacationing makes the girls exhausted!

...From the Bahamas! We got here this afternoon, and since we had to leave the house this morning at 7:30 AM, we are celebrating our wonderful Daddy next Sunday when we can all be together. Greg and the boys have a golf tradition on Father's Day which is the highlight of his day. We are looking forward to spoiling him next weekend with his favorite things! No pictures yet-we got settled, ate a really late lunch, and played in the sand for a bit. Now were are ordering room service, and getting our girlies to bed. No nap today, but they are remarkably chipper. Much love to my Dad,  My Father in Law, and my stepdad on this Father's Day!

The score is: Gianna- 4 wet panties in 14 minutes Mommy: 1 #2, and a few "I pee-pee" recognitions. I think we know who is winning. SOOOO, I decided I needed to add to my bag of tricks: ~ We bought a second potty for upstairs. She happily will sit there IF we are entertaining her. I can't get anything done in the girls bathroom. Now I can move her potty chair to the room I am in. ~I bought rubber pants. Those things have been around for 100 years, but I had a hard time finding them! If she has a pull up on, she doesn't feel uncomfortable. She hates to feel wet, and I hate puddles- Voila! The rubber pants should help! ~I bought stock in a sticker factory. She will sit and peel stickers for hours! That and books and we are happy little potty campers. ~And my greatest upgrade of all? Utilizing my resources. I reward Aria with an M&M too if she helps encourage, entertain and do "are you dry checks"  By the end of the day yesterday, she was telling me she had ...

I am pretty much a potty trainer failure. Not that I haven't had LOTS of practice- I did daycare for 9 years and have potty trained at least 15 children. You'd think I would be an ol' pro at it by this time, wouldn't you? The sad, sad truth is, that I would PAY for a potty training camp to send them to for a week and have them come home happily trained with narry a puddle on my floor. Aria was by far the easiest child I have ever trained. The week of her second birthday, we introduced her to chocolate, and that girl would pee for an M&M every single time. It was a breeze after we found out how much she loves chocolate. Gianna will probably be the HARDEST child, if she trains at all, due to her sheer stubborn streak.  Because of this, we have decided that the longer we wait, and the older she is, the more likely it is that it will become a battle of the wills. Case in point: This morning I put her on the potty when she woke up with a dry diaper. We do this almost e...

You and I will never meet on this earth.  My prayer is that we will meet in eternity. I am forever connected to you...                                      ...we share a bond in our love of this child. I wonder... Does she have your sweet, gentle personality? Did she get her love of learning from you? Do your eyes sparkle like hers do when she is excited? Did you think of her today as she celebrated her birthday? Do your arms still ache from the last time you held this sweet girl? Do you know, do you imagine how much she is loved and adored?    ...I thought of you today, I prayed for you, I ached for your loss.  Your decision to give her a life you could not provide, gave us a blessing we cannot imagine our life without.   Thank you.                                              We honor you today, and always.

If you weren't my little girl, there'd be a hole in the world!  A piece would be gone! We just couldn't go on. The world wouldn't work without you! For who would share smiles that outshines the sun?  And who would be doctor and help everyone?  And who would give food to those needing some?  It's a good thing your my little girl! If you weren't my little girl, there'd be a hole in our home!  A piece would be gone, we just couldn't go on.  Our family's no fun without you! For who would be princess, the fairest of all?  Who would spin circles and dance down the hall?  Who would be mommy to all of your dolls? It's a good thing you're my little girl! If you weren't my little girl, there'd be a hole in my heart!  A piece would be gone, I just couldn't go on.  My heart would be searching for you! For who would pick flowers to put in my vase?  Who would give kisses all over my face?  Who'd say, "I Love you" in sweet little w...

"Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world" James 1:27 We sponsor this adorable little boy through Love Without Boundaries .   He has one of the same conditions that Gianna has, but his is a more severe form. Sponsoring a child takes them out of the orphanage allows them to go into a foster home, where they will receive one on one care. It made a WORLD of difference in attachment with Gianna to be in a foster home, where she was loved and cared for. If you are like us, and always planned to sponsor a child, I'd encourage you to visit LWB's site and just see if one of those little cuties speaks to your heart. We CAN make a difference.

Our family loves, loves, loves, to rib and tease each other, about basically... anything.   I am great food for the boy's fodder, and many a laugh has been had at my expense. My, ahem, safety consciousness has been at the top of their list of things to tease me about as of late. "Mom, did you know that children who sit on the potty alone has been proved to be the number one killer in America?" Chortles of laughter as I run to the bathroom to check on the girls. Last night, we unfortunately had a safety breach with our stubborn little 2 year old. I was holding her hand and we were walking up the stairs, and she, like she has been told NOT to do 100 times, tried to JUMP UP to the next step. Can you say strong willed?  She slipped right through my grasp, and fell part way down the stairs. I was crying- she fussed for a minute, and was fine. ( She really is fine Mom.) Me? Still not fine.  How could I have lost my grip? Why didn't I think to let her go up by herself and s...

The dress may change, the accessories change, but her outfit is not complete without her hat from Brazil that Aunt Dani and Uncle Jim gave her. It is a "Must have" in her fashion wardrobe. She gets her fashion sense from her Daddy :)