Potty Training is tough....

So round 2 begins of Potty training my little boy.... he's over 2 1/2 (he'll be 3 in January).
A few weeks ago my husband put actual underwear on him and took him to the potty... we proceeded to go out to my husbands mom's house (the farm). Shortly after we got there he wet his pants- my son then proceeded to complain that it was cold! My husband wanted him to experience this... and my son did! Good thing for Grandmas who always have extra clothing for little boys!


This photo was taken at the exact time he was going, or at least about to go... can you see the concentration on his face? The interesting thing is that his dad wore those bibs when he was his age... yes my mother in law keeps stuff like that, and no, I don't know why... but I think it's nice to have some things from my husbands childhood that my son can now wear- which I know is rare, considering my husband has a younger brother and I'm sure both boys wore their clothes out... living on a farm might do that!

I was very productive the other day and printed out this Thomas & Friends Potty Training Chart, since my son loves all things Thomas! I then searched the internet high and low for some sort of stickers that I could use on my sticker paper I have to correspond to the chart I printed off.. (silly me thinking that this would motivate him.) At last I decided... why not make the stickers yourself? I have the skills and programs, everything I need to make a sheet of stickers for my little boy. So here are the corresponding stickers to go with the chart. I printed mine on clear sticker paper, but you could use white as well. So far, he's earned 2 stickers, one for upstairs and one for downstairs. Hopefully he'll earn more in the coming days!

We are studying the letter I this week and probably next week too, and it's pretty hard to find books that have anything pertaining to the letter 'I'... but I've started with Iowa, Insects, Igloo, Ice Cream. We loved this book: H is for Hawkeye... an Iowa Alphabet whatever I can get, sometimes I have to take! Plus, learning about a state I didn't grow up in it's fun to learn right along with Christopher! I grew up in Minnesota, so I know a lot about that state from growing up, but I've only learned what I know about Iowa in the 8+ years I've lived here.
Here's to the cutest kid in the universe! Being awesome on a day I decided to torture him and take him to the park for pictures, but not very long at the playground to play (it was lunch and nap time)! He's growing up so fast and there's nothing I can do to stop it!

Letter H Song

This is our new favorite YouTube Channel!! It's really hip, and they have done all the letters and even done the alphabet song in a hip-hop got the beat kind of music. The song also teaches them to 'write' the capital and lower cases of the letter in the air. But I stumbled upon their blog rather by accident, and now am in love with their videos they have on YouTube. Have Fun Teaching is great!

Since letter H is the letter of the week we are going to make helicopters, and yesterday we made a paper house with simple shapes. We are reading books that start with the letter H- like Halloween Howl, Hello Shoes!, Up in Heaven, Harbor, Horton Hatches the Egg , Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies, etc.

Another thing I found and printed off for him was a list of H items in square boxes (2 whole pages)... surprisingly he knew what most of the things on each page were... there were a few complicated ones like hen (he called it a rooster), hook, and hut- and I can see how hut would be hard, seeing as no one that we know who lives in Iowa lives in huts. Get this download here, from Homeschool Launch... where you can network with other homeschoolers and share files too!

Maybe we will make a small cardboard house for his train table sometime this week too, which would include painting and I just usually try to avoid that all together... but maybe I need to jump in with both feet, and let him do it!

What does it mean to be a stay at home mom?

So I've been struggling with this question, as of late, and recently I've read some articles (one in a magazine and one online) that deals with this aspect of the women's role as a provider. Not so much as a provider, like the man provides the food- drags it home and kills it, but a provider in the home.

Titus 2: 3-5 tells us this:

Tell the older women to behave as those who love the Lord should. They must not gossip about others or be slaves of wine. They must teach what is proper, so the younger women will be loving wives and mothers. Each of the younger women must be sensible and kind, as well as a good homemaker, who puts her own husband first. Then no one can say insulting things about God's message. (Contemporary English Version)

One of the articles I read is here, the other article was in a magazine, but unfortunately is not online. The online article focuses on husband and wife, while the magazine article focuses on differences of boys and girls in learning.

So I told my husband the other night that being a stay at home mom isn't easy, he told me he knew this, but he has faith and confidence that I can do this. So whatever stereotype that was brought into my mind as a child or even as a young adult that stay at home moms don't do anything but sit around and watch juicy soap operas all day has been (thrown) far out the window! Do I enjoy my time in front of my TV?

Oh yeah, and maybe a little to much. The dishes need done, I don't have any clean clothes to wear because I haven't done laundry and I'm sitting here blogging instead of doing all of that. Why? Because it's nap time right now, and judging by the way my little 2 1/2 year old boy was acting right before he went down for nap, it should be a good 2 hours before he wakes up. I enjoy nap time more than he does- obviously. I get to do what I need to do, or want to do, and in yesterday's case, I sneaked in a nap myself!

Is the house a mess? Of course... does my husband expect it to be clean each day he comes home, like on Leave it to Beaver? I'm sure he would be ecstatic, but no, he just expects me to get something done. I love my husband, especially because he believes in me.

I was able to get some teaching time in with my son today, we are working on the letter G (we skipped F, because if you ask him to say Fish... it comes out sounding like "phish"). That's okay. The letter G is awesome, especially now because he has it in his head that anytime he puts a towel over his head he's a ghost, I made him a really cool box guitar (see photo) and of course we spent some quality time on Starfall this morning! I love that website, it's the best. Granted, I have to help him do a lot of the clicking, otherwise he gets click crazy like his mom! But it was so good because he's getting to the point where he's repeating everything on Starfall, and he loves the ABC song and was even trying to sing along with that.... so this website might actually help him learn his ABCs!

I had a friend over yesterday and showed her my whole house, and I told my husband that when he came home last night and he said, "so you showed her the mess, huh?" Yup. The crazy thing was, I didn't care, because her house isn't spotless either. We are both okay with each other's houses not being 'commercial' ready! I wish I had a clean house all the time, but lets be realistic! Is your house a show house, or are you actually living in it? If somebody were to walk into my house they would definitely know what kind of person I am- because I live in my house. I'm not the neat freak type person, never have been- just ask my parents! I told my girlfriend that it wasn't going to get any better. Wrong... it will get better. It just takes time and motivation- she knows that and so do I, the hard part is getting motivated!

My husband and I are currently in the process of moving our computer room down to our 'guest room' - albeit it hasn't been a guest room for some time, more like a storage/junk room! It's been a lot of work so far... and all the big stuff isn't even out! But I've taken 2 loads to Goodwill, and will take another load today, plus a drop off at the local outreach center! I feel good about getting rid of my stuff, and I feel good that I can help someone less fortunate than me.

Whoever is generous to the poor

lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed. Proverbs 19:17 ESV

Life As a Designer

I've set off on a new adventure. I've been busy writing up a proposal to design a website for a local non-profit agency. They don't have a website, and are needing one. So I hope they decide to go with Royall Design. Although we are a new company, we have plenty of experience, just no current clients to speak of, although we have a few happy clients that we have completed projects for in the past.

We don't have our company official, but hopefully this income will provide that shortly. I've decided to work about 10 hours a week on Royall Design projects. So, I'm trying to implement 'lightbox' onto our website and it's supposed to be easy to do, but for some reason I can't get it to work. It's a photo thing, where I would like to have a thumbnail of a previous project we have done and then it 'zooms' into the actual version, but for some reason I can't get it to work. I've done all the research I can possibly do, so hopefully my husband will have to help me on this one!

I've gone so far as to copy other websites that have this element on their website and copy paste it into my Dreamweaver program, but it doesn't work because I don't have their images on my computer. I'll get it figured out- I've never been the fastest learner in my family, so hopefully this is something that I can do, I just have to figure out how. I don't need it on the website that I'm going to design, but it would be a nice thing to know how to do for Royall Design's website.

Meanwhile, Christopher is growing by leaps and bounds and is always talking up a storm! He's all boy and enjoys shooting stuff with his guns (fingers) and making noise with anything that will make noise for him. He loves Thomas the Tank & Friends, and is into Dinosaurs and Dragons right now- he also loves Diego, Dora and Bob the Builder! He's so smart, and next week our letter of the week is "G" so we will be concentrating on things that start with G: Grandma, Grandpa, Guitar, Garage, Go, Goat, Grass, etc.

I'm making him a box guitar, and we'll probably do a craft that involves him collecting some grass and gluing it on to a piece of paper!

The photo above is Christopher, Grandma and Papa John worshiping at revival in Keokuk!

Summer Fun!!

So I've been working for the YMCA for the summer... not sure if I will continue on through the school year or not. When you are working for 1/2 pay, it's a hard decision to make! Plus when you get that job and that dis-qualifies your family for WIC (Women Infants and Children) program, and NEST- the local mom's group in Ottumwa that you can earn points for going to doctors appointments, participating in PAT (Parents as Teachers) and going to weekly meetings. Those points can then be used to buy diapers, and other things my child needs at the NEST store.

I haven't been able to go to these things, and miss going to the library every Friday for story time to talk with other moms!

It's not that I'm working for 1/2 pay, it's that I'm only taking 1/2 of my actual paycheck home because of daycare costs! I miss being home with my son.... and I think truthfully my husband misses me being home with our son as well! Sure, he's fine at the YMCA Child Development Center, but I like to get an update of cute things he did during the day, what he's done that was naughty, etc. I don't get that there, and I don't know how his day is going because I'm usually not even in the same building.

Christopher at the YMCA holding a worm- with the 'big kids' at the YMCA... we had a worm farm this summer!

McKena and Christopher on the alter at Youth Camp 2010- she's wearing his hat... does that mean anything when you are 2?

Last week Christopher and I took a little mini-vacation by ourselves and went to church camp with the youth for part of the week. I'm kind of the camp's webmaster, so I needed to take photos, and we did have fun! Now I have a lot of work ahead of me to upload photos, get other people's photos, and creating a place on the website.

I have one more week working at the YMCA... then Roy and I are needing to look at our expenses, my income and if it's worth it or not for me to work or stay home with our son. I miss teaching him his ABCs and getting all that together... right now he thinks every color is either pink or green- so we need to work on that... and he's right on the verge of actually wanting to be potty trained. Why do boys have to be so hard to do that?

So I have a lot of goals for myself and for Christopher, and it's hard to implement them if I'm only here with him half days (he naps before I go to work when school is back in session.) So we shall see, what becomes of the job.

Logically, I need to stop working otherwise I'll have to re-name this blog! LOL

Hope your summer was a great one. Here's some of the things that I was able to do:

Go to a St. Paul Saints Game with family

Minnesota Children's Museum in St. Paul

Como Zoo in St. Paul with family :)

Mall of America

Youth Camp 2010 at Inspiration Acres

Vacation Bible School teacher at Zion Community Church of God

Big Bang 2010

Jordan Creek Shopping Center

Iowa City to see family

Wapello County Fair

The Beach Ottumwa (several times)

Albia Pool (loved it!)

Rollerskating

Knoxville Sprint Car Museum

Pioneer Ridge Nature Center

Nelson Pioneer Farm

Toured Ottumwa Airport

Toured Al-jon Mfg.

Created a library for the YMCA Summer Safari

I've been blessed this summer and yes, I have photos from almost everyone of these events- some of them I can not show you because they 'belong' to the YMCA. But, my goodness- I've been a busy lady! Hope your summer was as good as mine was!

Life Goes On

So, I've been a busy mommy! I have successfully organized and supported Olan Mills coming to our church to get portraits done. It was a busy 2 months of April and May! I am still working on the final design of the church directory that everyone will get for participating. I am anxiously awaiting our family portraits and still deciding where to place them on my walls....

Where did the month of May go? Some years it seems like I always want May to last just a little longer because I know when June and July hit it's going to be HOT!!! But I shouldn't say that this year, because come the end of May we did put the air conditioner in my little boy's window- haven't gotten the one in our bedroom window in yet. That was supposed to be done this weekend by the hubby... but we were out 'playing' at the farm this weekend. His mom's place, where he grew up, and usually when he goes out there he isn't playing- he's working- I'm playing :)

I enjoy the farm, but this past Monday (Memorial Day) I would have chosen to be anywhere else other than the farm. You see, earlier this spring, my mother-in-law thought it would be a good idea to get some meat maker chickens. Great, except she bought like over 50 of them! So this past weekend was D-day for some of the chickens... the rest are having their day soon! I don't have a very strong stomach, I have never claimed to and so I watched the kid and a friend of ours kid while she was helping with the chickens. I didn't enjoy going over to grab my child from the hen house area when there were (excuse me- if I get kind of graphic here) chicken heads laying on the ground. It just didn't seem appropriate that my child be in there at the time. He went in there because he enjoys helping grandma feed and water the chickens, and putting down new sawdust. I walked back to where it was okay for them to play- and of course I gagged. Twice. Not fun. I don't enjoy doing this, it's something that my body has done more frequently since I had my son. Road kill... don't think about it or the gagging reflex will happen.

I was lucky- the first day they did the chickens- I was absent- I was home. The second day they did chicken... not so lucky- I saw way to much- and mind you that's why I'm not posting any photos- because I didn't even Feel like taking my camera out during that day- to disgusting to even get chicken feet in the background of my son playing.

The way I would have rather spent Memorial Day? Driving around to grave yard sites of my husbands ancestors. Don't ask me how that's different and better- but it is. I enjoy genealogy(when I find the time)... I enjoy taking photos of grave markers and maybe I should have done that with my son anyway and placed some flowers on his grandfather's grave- a man I never met. A veteran. A dad. Now a grandfather. A husband. A hard-working man.

So here's to the father-in-law I never met: thanks for serving your country, thanks for being a dad to my husband, and a husband to his mom, thanks for taking care of the farmland we all love so much, I wish I could have met you- hopefully I'll meet you in Heaven one day.

Clifford Duane Howk

Born December 31, 1949

Died March 25, 1999

Buried: Zion Community Church of God Cometary on Copperhead Road

No TV Tuesdays!!!

Thanks to my local mom friend, Julie, we are trying something new, No TV on Tuesdays! Which is especially hard because Tuesdays are my day off..... and all I want to do is veg out in front of the TV.

But I can honestly say this past Tuesday Christopher did not watch any TV, despite the fact that mommy had to sneak in a few episodes of Jon & Kate Plus 8 while he was taking a nap! And I might have enjoyed some TV with Roy after Christopher went to bed for the night! I will do better next week! Hopefully the weather will still be nice and we can take a bike ride to the park!
So I am looking into finding someone else to care for Christopher while I'm at work... I love the program at the YMCA, and the fact that I get a discount, but it's getting ridiculous if I get a paycheck and all of it, plus $10 goes back to the YMCA for child care! So we are going to look at a place this morning... hopefully this will be the one, because a lot of home child care centers don't take part-time kids- or are full, like my neighbor. I wish Jennifer wasn't full, but she is- that would be nice- but oh well!

I am busy getting ready for Olan Mills to come next Monday and Tuesday afternoons to our church for Portraits- we are finally getting a new church directory- after a good 11 years, it's well needed for the new people who are in the church, and certainly might not know how to contact anyone! It was a year ago this past March that I was actually working for Olan Mills, and then after 2 weeks of being on the road- I decided I couldn't leave my precious little boy and my husband alone while I worked for Olan Mills. It was a decision I don't regret one bit.... there was a time in my life I wouldn't have minded traveling and meeting new people, but not after having a child. In the short 2 weeks of training that I had I pretty much made my poor husband a single dad.... never again... especially when I was gone for a good week before I came home for a day and a half and my son didn't even recognize me :( He was scared... and at 14 months I would have been scared too if my mommy had left and didn't come back for days!

Since I've last blogged on here, we've been introduced to Vemma, a liquid vitamin supplement, that tastes yummy! It's got Manogsteen in it (it's a fruit). We take a shot of it every morning and seem to have more energy throughout the day... breakouts on my face seem to be less and few and far between than before taking Vemma. They have one product, but several different ways to get it into your system. They have Vemma NEXT for kids, Vemma Verve! an energy drink- but it's actually good for you! They also have Vemma Thirst that you can add to a bottle of water!

This is also something that you can sell to other people, and my husband and I are thinking about getting into, but the money isn't there right now to start a business... but once we do we can have our Vemma that we get paid for..... we just have to introduce it to people who are also interested in the product or even the business!

So if you are looking for extra income.... and an easy opportunity. Or are looking to stop taking all those morning and evening vitamins and just want something much easier- contact me and I can help you out!