Potty Mouth No More

(I feel horrible for telling you this-but this is my life)Clay has been picking up on alot of new stuff. He wants to dress himself, wash his own hands, puts things away...without anyonehelping him. He always says, "I a big boy, I do it!" So it didn't surprise me when I noticed that he's not only picking up on actions and chores, but also on some of mine and Chris's bad habits. On my way up to Erin’s (my sister) for dinner last Sunday, Clay said a bad word in the car, and I said “Clayton, why did you say that?” He said, “bc that car pissed me off!”. So I pulled over, and got out, came around to his side-so that he could see my face and I said, “we don’t say those words. They are very bad.” He looked at me and said “only big kids say those words?” I said “no, not even big kids should say those words”. He said “OK mom, saw-yee” (That means "sorry"). And then I said I was sorry and gave him a hug, bc I know he got it from me and Chris. So we resorted to crap, dang, shoot, and fudge…etc. Should’ve resorted to those awhile ago, but I guess it took us hearing it from Clay’s mouth for us to learn our lesson. But there are also some words he’s been learning from kids at school. The other day Clay called Chris “Stupid-head”. Again I asked him where he got it from and he said "my friend at school say'd that". So I told him, if his friend say it again, for Clay to tell him “that’s not nice”. We practiced it together so he would know how to say it. And I know he’ll say it, bc everything we practice he says over and over again, even when it doesn’t apply to the situation. I know that he's learning alot more that bad words and I can see that in come out in his compassion for the dogs, which leads me to believe that he might be ok with a sibling. Molly licked his pizza last night, and I got mad at the dog, and yelled at her. Clay put his pizza on the table and went over to her and said “I not mad at you “Maw-yee”, I still yuv’s you”. It completely melted my heart. Moral of the story, aka my blog, "Kids really do pick up on the little things. Even when you think they aren't watching or paying attention...they SOOO are!"

2 Going on 60?

A picture really does say it best..... I'll let you be the judge. Potty Training? Please. We've moved on. :)

Blankets for Babies

Seems like everyone around me is pregnant and/or having a baby. My cousin, Amy (due in April)- my cousin in law, Heather (had her baby late January)- my other cousin in law, Valerie (due early May) -my friend, Melissa (had her baby late January)-my sister in law, Jannelle (due first week in June)-my neighbor, Shelley (due early July)-my other friend, Heidi (due in August)....the list feels endless. Especially when you're trying to get pregnant yourself! Blah!!

So to welcome all these new comers to the world, I've started a whole slew of baby blankets. Of course I couldn't show a few of the blankets bc I've either given them away already or some of those lovely people mentioned above follow my blog and I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise. So here's just a few of the ones I just barely finished.

These four blankets are all very similar. But the fabric was on sale and sooo adorable! Not all of my blankets make look alike. I crocheted Heathers blanket with camo like colors of yarn. (I can describe it because I've already given it to her precious Beckham.) A tight crocheted blanket of pure yarn, makes for a very heavy and warm blanket.

As you can see, Clayton had to try them all out. He makes sure they are nice and soft...and his favorite thing to say is that they are "warm and smell nice". So I can honestly say, they are all "Kid tested, mother approved".

Clay Loves the feel of fleece. So I had to make him a new "biz" (his nickname for his blanket) as well. He takes it everywhere. So this is what I've been doing for the past few weeks, while we wait for our own results in the baby making department.

I should, but I don't...

So I'm an advid blog reader(there I've said it). Every day, or every other day, I jump online to read everyones blogs. And I must say I was getting pretty good this past month with getting online and updating my own blog. (I eventually plan to have my blog printed, as it definately doubles as a journal - even though I keep a written journal as well.) I will not tell a lie... I get so excited to read everyones blog, mainly for the pictures. I L-O-V-E pictures. Mine, yours, everyone elses.... pictures are my weakness. Even in a store, when you pass the picture frames on the shelves that all have the same modeled pictures, I still have to stop and look. Bc to me, a picture really is worth a thousand (+) words. A picture can give you so much information.... about a place, a season, an era, a feeling, a mood, a moment... a person. It is meant to capture a moment, and save it forever-or at least for the life of the photo paper. I guess that's why my favorite past time is photography. Anyways I regret to inform you all that this blog has no pictures this time. Just boring old me and my rambling thoughts. I know with photography being a great passion of mine, that should have an abundance of new and exciting pictures to share at least several times a week...but I don't. I've been putting off "blogging" bc I have no pictures to show. I know, I'm ashamed. So I was thinking about it tonight and I said to myself "Self, that's absolutely ridiculous that you aren't recording your thoughts and your life all bc you don't have a picture. So you don't have a picture....guess you'll just have to write a thousand words, right?" Right. Here we go. The potty training task is going fabulously. Clayton was definately ready. We haven't tried overnight yet, and I'm a little nervous. But I figure we'll get him going strong with going potty during the day, and during naps and maybe that "natural instinct" will just kick in...naturally. :) He really is surpassing all of my expectations. I mean we're 3/4 of the way there and he's not even 3 years old yet! (Sorry I have to brag about my kid sometimes!) So Clay is doing great and growing like crazy. His vocabulary extends by at least 10+ words a day...at least that's how I feel. He's always coming up with new phrases. His favorite thing to say right now when I ask him what he's doing is "Nofin". Or if I ask him anything like if he's still hungry, or tired, etc- he always says "I'm fine mom". It seriously just melts my heart. This weekend Chris proved to be my knight in shining armor, once again. About a month ago, the garage door motor broke, so lately we've been having to lift it up and pull it down, strictly by man power. What a pain! I wanted to call a repair man and just have it instantly fixed, but Chris convinced me, that even though he had never done it before he could replace the motor himself. So Friday night, Jerad, his brother came over to have dinner and hang out. Out of nowhere they decide they are going to tackle the task of the garage door motor, that night! So they made the trip to Chris's second home- Home Depot, of course- and started the project. They worked from 7pm to 2:30am, and then the next day from 12pm to 6pm and finished it completely. Not only did he fix it and it works flawlessly, but he also programmed one of the buttons in our diesel to open the garage instead of carrying around a remote! And all the while saved us a $175 fee for a repair man just to come out and look at the door. It's pretty freakin' awesome if you ask me. (Thank you Jerad for your patience with Chris- I know he couldn't have done it without you). Chris is amazing, and reminds me alot of my dad. I grew up thinking my dad could fix anything, anywhere. I remember that, that particular quality was something I always knew I wanted in my future partner. Guess I got pretty dang lucky. Which brings me to my next and last point of my blog tonight. Being that it's Valentine's Day, a holiday made to acknowledge your loved one(s)... I am reflecting on my life as a half, to our whole. I can't imagine my life without Chris. I wouldn't want to imagine my life without him. He is the one who keeps me sane and completely grounded. I am so fortunate to have someone so hard working and motivated. Someone who understands and treats me as an equally invested person in our relationship. And as grateful as I am to have him, I am just as grateful for my family. Both mine and Chris's. I am so thankful that we are all as tight knit as we are, and that we know we can rely on one another to get us through our rough spots. I know I got all mushy on you, so I'll end it here. Happy Valentine's Day everyone, I promise I'll put up pictures next time. (Just know that this may be my first blog without pictures, but it won't be my last- hey I gotta keep you on your toes somehow, right?)