Potty Time Celebration!

Ok So we have been trying to potty train Shaylyn for many months and everytime we started we quit after a day or two because I just did not feel she was ready. I would ask her if she had to go and she would say yes and then sit and sit and nothing!Then Cr had the idea that maybe if we got a toddler potty I could just let her run around in the buff all day with her being able to use the potty as a chair when watching cartoons etc. I thought I would try it couldn't hurt. The whole point was that she would sit and eventually we would catch her going potty on it and we would praise her and maybe she would understand.Well that did not work...she would sit and sit on the potty all the time and then she would stand up to go potty on the carpet and then sit back down to continue watching her cartoon. Hilarious I know( although at the time of clean up it wasn't). Anyway today was the day!!I ran out of diapers and thought maybe it was a sign to try again and I figured if it did not work I would just go to the store and get more diapers.Well I asked her this morning if she wanted to wear big girl undies and go to the potty. She said yes and I thought "there's nothing new" but we went anyway and HALLELUJAH!!!!!She went!!!!I went nuts and got all excited, we even called dad at work( the bank) who got very excited but could not go into detail praising her on the phone because he did not want the bank members to hear.I thought that was funny...I am calling my husband at work to tell him his daughter went pee and we are having a celebration.Gees the things parents cherish!The best part of all was I was still a little unsure that maybe we had just gotten lucky this morning but when we went before nap she did it again.HALLELUJAH..it wasn't a fluke!I am sure we are going to have many accidents and frustrating times but I know we are on our way. The funny thing is I am not so sure I am that excited about it. As a mom I want my kids to grow up and see all the new things they can do but at the same time I had a thought earlier that when she doesn't wear diapers anymore she wont be my baby anymore.I almost cried.How hard it is to not only let go of my baby but also my only baby girl.It reminds me to remember to love her and cherish her and not to waste any time with her or my boys either for that matter.They will never be the age they are again. I just wanted to remind everyone of that.Enjoy your life, your days and your family for they are the true meaning of who we are and they are the accomplishment we should use to judge how fullfilling our lives have been..not other things. With love to all.
Missy

Easter Carnival

Well we decided that we needed to get out of the house on Saturday and find something to do. For once Cr actually had a saturday off and we did not want to sit around and waste it. We were afraid it might rain but we decided to venture out and participate in the Kissimmee Easter Eggstravaganza. We had a great time. Thekids got to hunt for eggs and no matter how many they found everyone got the same goodie bag in the end so it made it nice that none of the kids were fighting over eggs.They had a craft table set up for the kids to make things. They had bouncy houses and they had a section set up for little carnival games for the kids. They also ofcourse had the easterbunny come and we were able to get a few pictures with him. Shaylyn wanted to pull on his whiskers. I thought that was cute. Anyway all in all it was a great family fun day. After the Eggstravaganza we rented a movie and watched it together. It reminded me of why I hate Cr's job because he hardly ever has Saturday's off and it is the one day the kids have off school that we can go out and do things together as a family. anyway...Daddy we loved having you home. Happy Easter Everyone.

Easter Basket Drama

So I have to write about easter. What a wonderful holiday.I try to think of the reason for the season and teach my kids that it is not all about the bunny and the easter eggs.I think they understand as best that they can for their age but they still of course want to participate in the easter festivities and look forward to the easter bunny's arrival.This year was a lot of fun. The easter bunny decided to hide Chace and Makai's baskets and leave a easter egg treasure hunt for them to find them. So the night before we put out our baskets on the table as usual but at 4:30 am I have a hysterically crying Chace and Makai burst into my bedroom saying that someone stole their easter baskets. Did I mention it was 4:30 am!!!anyway obviously it was too dark for them to see the 2 eggs on the table with their names on them!So I gently( well maybe not so gently, I was a bit mad at the hour) put them back in bed and told them to trust the easter bunny and to go back to sleep and under penalty of death not to get out of bed again until after 7am. At 7:01 chace comes running into my room complaining that all he got was an egg. I proceeded to ask him if he actually opened the egg. He said No and I said GO OPEN THE EGG! He did and a hunt started and ended with he and Makai finally finding their baskets.Phew!!Remind me to tell the easter bunny next year to just leave the basket on the table.Anyway after that drama played out we watched the children's easter videos while getting ready for church.we had a great day at church and I loved being able to celebrate easter.

Thanks

I just wanted to say thanks to Jess and Jamie for the new website for blog templates. I love that you can change it so easily and whenever you feel like something new it is so simple to do! Hey I made a rhyme. Anyway I hope you like the new look. Nothing really new this week..same old stuff! Wishing everyone well=)

Missy

Puppy Camp

Wow have we been busy this last week. This weekend our beloved Guide dog puppy Sabrina went to puppy camp and in her place we got Maven. Can I say bundle of energy. She is like nonstop wanting to play. It is so funny to see the kids with her. So in case you are wondering what the heck puppy camp is...It is when a dog goes and visits another puppy raisers home for 3 weeks. Basically we trade dogs. The reason for this is that Guide dogs have to be comfortable with all kinds of different living arrangements and things. So by doing puppy camps like this it gives them a chance to know that no matter where they go the rules are the same and they are loved and taken care of. Maven is great. She lives in a home with other pets but not children so although in public she is ok with kids she has never had to be around them 24/7. The first time shaylyn threw a screaming fit she was totally beside herself. She had no idea what to do. Not to mention her absolute fear of the dreaded doll stroller=) It is so funny to see this big black dog go running full strength when shaylyn starts pushing the stroller. She also has not gotten used to shaylyn trying to use her as a pillow to use while watching cartoons. Sabrina knows how to play the couch potato/pillow well. Hopefully sometime before the 3 weeks is up Maven will learn how to be the perfect pillow for shaylyn.Anyway we are enjoying having her and we hope she enjoys us as well. To everyone reading this..in case I don't have a chance to post tommorrow HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY!!! Don't forget to wear green or you just might get pinched!!

Missy

" Curby" the talking trash can

Curby came to scouts last night. He was so cool. The kids are learning about recycling in scouts this month and I was trying to think of something fun we could do to learn about recycling. Well I had remebered going to the library with Shaylyn and Curby had come that day for storytime and I thought he would be perfect to help me teach the kids about recycling. So now I had the problem of figuring out who in the world to call to get curby to come. I called the county and they knew exactly who to talk to. I was so excited. The boys were taken by surprise. Curby was under a sheet hidden in the corner of the room and I was in the front playing a recycle trivia game with them. Then all of a sudden out of nowhere you here this voice saying " Hello", "hello" it's dark in here. The boys started freaking out and screaming they were so excited. I went over to the sheet and out pops Curby. Curby is a walking , talking robot. The boys don't notice but in the back of the room there is a man who talks for Curby. He was so funny playing with the boys. It was very educational and the boys had a blast. Thank you Osceola for having such a great educational program for the kids. For all you home schooling babes ( Jamie) call your county and see what kinds of educational programs they have available to you. Get a group of home schoolers together and have a program. Anyway it was a BLAST!!! One of the best scouting meetings I have ever been to.

Chace got to Shake Curby's hand.

The Weekend!

Ok so I have really great news this week. I just found out that I am being called as the Young Womens Camp Director for Church. Yeah. Those of you that know me well know this is a dream calling for me. I love camping and anything outdoorsie. I also love the young women and going to girls camp to me is better than going to a spa. It is my couple days off to do something I absolutely love to do.I am so excited. Other than that exciting news, this weekend was a slow one. We just hung out as a family. My brothers came to the park with my boys and played baseball with them which of course the boys loved that. We also played a really cool game my brothers got called Rock band. It was so funny to watch the boys play and sing. It is going to be really sad when we move away from my brothers but at the same time it will be nice to be on our own again. We all benefitted from being together in so many ways but now it is time for us to part ways. We will miss them. Well I hope everyone else had a great weekend. I will post tommorow after Curby the talking trash can comes to scouts tonight. I will post some pictures so you can see what I am talking about.

Thank you for your prayers

Thank you all for your prayers. Oma came out of surgery like a champ. She is doing very well and resting at the holmes Hospital in Melbourne. I am so grateful for her and I am so glad to say she is still here to give hugs and kisses!

Sabrina the Guide Dog Puppy

So here is the story. When I was younger and in Girl Scouts my mom took me to this fair where they had all kinds of informational booths and things set up. One of the booths at the fair was a booth about Guide dogs and how Families would sign up to raise a puppy. The family would take the puppy everywhere they went and socialize it to different situations and places. They would do the potty training and also the basic obedience. Otherwise the puppy is to be treated like any other family dog. Anyway ever since I saw that booth I always thought it would be so fun to be a puppy raiser family. So Last year I went on the internet to see if their was a guide dog training place here in Florida. There was a group called Southeastern Guide Dogs (their website is www.guidedogs.org ) down in Palmetto. So I filled out the online application and prayed that if it was meant to be that we would be chosen as a raiser family. They say that after filling out the application it takes 4 to 6 weeks to hear from someone and that the home visit will take place some time after that and then it usually can take up to 4 months to get a puppy. Well I knew my prayer was answered when the day after I put in the application I got a call and set up a home visit for 2 days later. Then 3 days after the home visit we got a call to pick up our puppy that weekend. Amazing huh! I knew we were meant to have this puppy. Her name is Sabrina and after my husband and kids she is the love of my life. We take her everywhere we go, grocery stores, library, parks, beach, camping, you name it we have been there. Her latest outing being the hospital to visit Oma. She is going to be an amazing Guide Dog. I am going to miss her so much when she goes back. They will be calling for her in probably the next 3 months. It is going to be so hard to see her go but I know what good she is going to do for some one who needs her. I am so proud to be a part of this cause. I know we are taught to do service and this is one of those service projects that is so rewarding for me that I sometimes forget I did this to help someone else. If you have time check out the website and maybe if you are interested find a Guide dog school near you and apply to be a puppy raiser family. It is a ton of work and there are days I say to myself what were you thinking?but mostly I see her and I smile!Her partner in life will be so lucky to have her. She will be the eyes and sometimes ears of someone who needs her.She will give them their freedom and their life back. What mom could be prouder of her girl than me?

Keep her in your prayers

Ok Everyone,

I am writing this today to let you know that Cr' s grandmother ( Barbara Wise) is going to the hospital for surgery at 7am tommorow. We are a bit concerned because it is not an easy operation and they are worried about her age that she may not make it out. I am putting out a request for your prayers that she will be able to make it out of the surgery and recover well. Or if it be the Lord's will to take her home I pray for comfort for Cr and our family. Cr's grandmother is like his mom so it would be a great loss. Anyway I am thinking possitive that nothing will happen and she will be just fine. I just wanted everyone to know and to keep her in your prayers.I will be going over to Melbourne tommorrow to be at the hospital when she wakes up. I figured I would take Sabrina ( our guide dog puppy in training, we are puppy raisers but I will write more about her later )to see Oma in the hospital because she loves dogs and it will cheer her up. I thought I could take Sabrina up to the pediatrics ward too while we were waiting. I am sure the kids would also love to see her. I will post as soon as I can tommorrow to let everyone know how she does.

As for our crazy day today..I am in charge of the scouts at my sons school and this months theme is litter to glitter. What a fun theme. Anyway I had a great time coming up with a game for the kids to play. It was a recycle relay. They had to dig for recyle items in the trash( cleaned by me earlier) with a color sticker on the bottom matching their teams color. Then they had to run back to their team and put it in the recycle bin. It was so fun to see the boys playing. We also played Recycle Trivia.I was the talk show host and asked trivia questions. Next week I am really excited because Osceola County has this cool program for kids to teach about recycling and keeping the earth beutiful. They have a talking trash can named " Curby". He comes and talks and plays with the kids. He is going to come and talk to us about recycling next week. The kids will be so suprised and I know they will get a big kick out of it.I love watching Chace playing and having a good time. Chace should be receiving his wolf badge in cub scouts by the end of this month. He is so proud of himself and we are so proud of him as well. He worked hard to earn his badge.We love you Chace and keep up the good work.Well I will try to post tommorrow and let everyone know what is going on. I hope everyone has a great day / week.

Missy

Let me Explain!

Ok,

So I figured I had better explain the comment my friend Rene wrote. She is mad because I went to the Strawberry festival in Melbourne without her. She lives in Melbourne and I live in Orlando so we hardly ever get the chance to see each other. So when I am in town I am suppossed to go see her. I called her today to explain and I repented of my sin.So to you Rene ....I am sorry and I will see you on Tuesday=)

Missy..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Strawberry Festival and Dinosaurs!!!!

Hey All,

Wow what a busy day we had. We went to Melbourne to spend time with family and go to the Strawberry festival and to the Dinosaurs at the zoo. First we went to the Strawberry festival. They had so many fun things to do there. The kids got to play games and of course there was the strawberries. Yumm! The boys did this balloon popping contest to see who could pop their balloon first. That was so funny because they were both afraid of the actual popping. Shaylyn's favorite is the bouncy houses and slides. She can't get enough of them. My favorite was the chocolate dipped strawberries. Cr had to work in the morning so it was just Grandma, Mom and kids for the festival.
After the festival we went to the zoo where we met Cr, his mom and grandma and we took the kids to see the dinosaurs. It is so fun. They have animatronic dinosaurs that make noise and move. The kids were so fascinated. They also made it into a story as you went through the exhibit. The story is there are three baby dinosaurs at the front who are lost. We have to go to all these different continnents and obstacles to find their mommies. All the while we have passports that we are stamping along the way. At the end they have the giant T-Rex. It was so funny because Shaylyn did not like the big T-Rex so she started yelling at it and sticking her tongue out at it. I have a picture of it in the slideshow. Then right before you exit you get to dig for bones, dig for fossils and pan for fossils. It was an educational and very fun experience. Overall we had a very fun day. My only regret was that I did not put sunscreen on myself or the baby because it is february and my mind is not on the thought of having my sunscreen with me at all times yet. Anyway I am fried and unfortunately for the first time so is my daughter. I feel like such a bad mom because that is one of my biggest pet peaves...not putting sunscreen on your kids!!!!!Anyway I hope everyone else had a great weekend. I will update again soon.