Random Thoughts while Sick in Bed

Last night a spontaneous high fever hit out of the blue. The fever broke sometime last night, but it left a horrid headache and extreme fatigue in its wake. Thankfully Chris was home today and took care of the kids while I allowed my body to get the rest it demanded. Though I am feeling much better, I’m still a bit sluggish and weak – so here I am…in bed blogging =)

I thought I would blog some random thoughts…I can’t remember the last time I did that – and my goal for this year was to do a more variety of blogging.

Random Thought 1 - Recovery Service:

The other night, as I was walking through the house to check on the boys, I saw a sad looking dog sitting outside the dining room window….staring in with big sad eyes. I noticed immediately that it had a collar on – and hoped it had a number or some sort of identification attached. It was cold outside, and the poor dog looked quite pathetic. I took the dog and put it in the fenced in backyard and noticed it had a recovery tag, phone number and ID number. PHEW! I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with a stray dog otherwise! So, I called the recovery number who patched me through to the owner (which was a relief, but I felt bad that it was midnight…but I just kept telling myself – “I would want to know where Riley was at ANY time if she were missing.”) The owner was really nice and we were able to meet her and give her back her dog. So, why am I blogging about this? Just to encourage any pet owners out there to register your pets with a recovery service if you can. Though we never like to think of our pet going missing, you never know when they might get away from the house. This isn’t the first stray dog we have come across but it was BY FAR the easiest one to get back home.

Random Thought 2 - Donuts:

Earlier this week, I took Will to his 2 yr well baby check up. I always dread these when I know it’ll end with a vaccination. Will did great! His growth was on track and he checked out healthy (short of a small ear infection which the Dr. prescribed some antibiotics for.) Of course, Will was not excited when they gave him his shots – it’s always hard to see your unsuspecting child get a shot…and they look at you with those tear filled eyes that are screaming, “HOW COULD YOU?!” I promised him a donut after it was all over, and that seemed to smooth it over. Phew! =)

Random Thought 3 - Strangers: To trust or not to trust…

While Will and I were at the store waiting for his prescription and picking up a few groceries – the skies continued to pour out rain. It was miserable yucky weather. The store was practically deserted because no one wanted to be out in such a mess. In fact, the “less than 20 items” check out lady asked me to go down her lane because no one else was there! Anyway, after checking out, Will and I plunged out into the nasty rainstorm. To my surprise, just as I pushed the cart up next to the car, the young man who was gathering up all the carts outside offered to load my trunk for me. (Of course the first thing that comes to mind is “Trust no one…” and it’s unfortunate that has to be a woman’s thought in today’s world…but sadly it’s just not a safe world.) However, I was able to quickly assess the situation. I had seen this young man a million times working at the store and knew in my gut that he sincerely just wanted to help, and there were people walking in and out of the store very close by. So I accepted his help. By the time I had Will buckled in, he had loaded my trunk and taken my cart and was off to gather up more carts in the parking lot. As I drove away, I was thankful for his kindness. But it grieves me greatly that we can’t trust strangers in today’s world. It saddens me that –for a woman- going on a walk alone is dangerous. It scares me that a child can be abducted from the park – or even worse, from their own house. I am humbled that a complete stranger was willing to stand in the rain and load my groceries so I could buckle my little boy in - and that he meant no harm. If only we could trust all such strangers. Unfortunately, crime has proven time and time again that we can't trust just anyone. It's a shame.

Random Thought 4 - The Job Situation:

Ugh. It is a really tough time to be looking for a job...really tough time. So far nothing has panned out. This, of course, is frustrating. We have lived in limbo for such a long time now; it would be nice to be able to settle down. We are eternally grateful to Steve and Judy who continue to open their home to us. I know that God has a plan for us – a path for us to journey. So, as we continue to wait – and to hope – I continue to pray for God’s guidance.

Random Thought 5 - Coffee:

I love Coffee! =)

Random Thought 6 - LOST:

I am SO excited for the final season of LOST! It is, however, bittersweet. Chris and I got into LOST way back in KS. We have enjoyed trying to figure out where everything is going. Now that the final season is upon us, it’s kinda sad to know there won’t be another season. Oh well, I guess all good things must come to an end sometime.

Well, if you’ve made it this far in my Random Thoughts blog, I applaud you! =) Thank You for perusing my random thoughts.

Happy Birthday Will!

Our precious baby boy has turned two! Two years ago we were holding our newborn baby in our arms - and now he is running, jumping, talking and growing! It really does go too fast.

Will is such a joy. I can't even begin to express how much this little guy means to us. He is truly a gift from God - an incredible blessing (as is Luke too!) Will has such a fun outgoing personality. He is charming and sweet but can be a firecracker too! When he looks up at you with his big blue eyes, your heart can't help but melt. I wish I could slow down time so I could savor each and every moment - it's hard to believe that two years ago...we were just meeting our little boy.

(Will's 1st Birthday)

Happy 2nd Birthday Will! We love you and are SO proud of you!!

Puppy

Puppy is Luke's favorite stuffed animal.

When we lived in Germany, a good friend of mine let Luke keep this cute stuffed dog after he took a liking to it while playing at their house (Thank you Monica!) Ever since that day, Puppy has had a very very special place in Luke's heart.

Puppy sleeps in bed with Luke every night. He fits just right in the nook of Luke's arms.

Most days, Puppy comes out to play with Luke - sometimes he even shows up to a meal or two!

Puppy has gone on every trip we've made - tucked safely in Luke's backpack or in his arms.

Puppy is truly irreplaceable! He is Luke's security blanket and can bring instant comfort.

Luke even prays for Puppy, telling Jesus just how much he loves his Puppy.

And believe me, there is no denying how much Luke really does love his Puppy.

Snow Days

There is nothing quite like waking up and seeing a fresh coat of bright white snow covering the ground and trees! Last week we got a beautiful snowfall and the boys were itching to get out and play in it. So we all bundled up and headed out for some snow fun!

Off we go on our boogie board...er, I mean sled!


What you can't see in this picture is that Luke is getting ready to pound me with a snowball...


Sweet Will


Even Riley got in on the fun!


Uncle Joe and Luke playing snow baseball!


Snow covered docks

Potty Training Continues:

Potty training has remained about the same. Luke had an accident while napping yesterday, but has continued to do well with going in the potty. He still has to be encouraged to go sometimes, and other times he tells us he has to go. He is alternating potties now…which is good. Sometimes he’ll go in the little froggy potty, and other times in the “big boy” potty. I think our biggest challenge is getting him to go #2 (using the number system on this for those squeamish about the word poop…whoops, I just said it…) in the potty. We’ve told him that in order to earn his Potty Party (the party we offered him after he had done a full week of really good potty training) he just needs to start going #2 in the potty…once he starts doing that, the party is his!

Also, I thought I would link to this site that contains lots of great potty charts for both boys and girls. We’ve printed and used quite a few of them.

Potty Training Day 5:

I am so pleased with how smoothly potty training is going at this point. It’s still a work in progress, but I’m so incredibly relieved that we’re progressing. We had one incident today where he didn’t want to go. I put him on the potty because he was doing the I-gotta-go-potty dance and he went and was fine from then out. Even this morning, we put a diaper on him while he played in the snow (I didn’t want to chance an accident out in the snow…with all the layers and the cold) and he managed to keep his diaper dry. YEEEEHAAAAW!!!!

This evening, I forgot to have him go sit on the potty, and he came and told me he had to go potty. I was so proud of him! He’s doing such a good job! I even allowed him to start wearing his dinosaur big boy underwear today instead of the white training pants. He was really excited about that.

I promised Luke a “Potty Party” when he had done a full week of good-try-really-hard potty training. I think he’ll have it earned by next week! We’ll make him a cake and give him a space shuttle toy I promised him the very first time he started potty training. He’s pretty excited and working towards earning the party.

I’m almost giddy with glee when I think we’ll soon have one child out of diapers! WHOHOOO!

Potty Training Day 4:

Today I have seen lots of progression in our potty training journey! I am so proud of Luke I could burst!

I was nervous this morning as he fought me once again to put on his training pants. However, that proved to be his only fuss about it today. He went every time I took him to the potty, we were out of the house at playgroup for a few hours with no accidents, he even went poopy on the potty (this is huge because as of today, he's been waiting until I put his diaper back on at night or before he I change him in the morning to do this), and three times tonight he told me he needed to go on the potty...and he did! Two of those times he even had his diaper on (ready for bed) and chose to go on the potty instead. Can I just say YYYYYEEEEEHAWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm hoping this is a sign that we're moving in the right direction quickly!

I hope that tomorrow brings as much success as today did!

Potty Training Day 3:

I’m almost afraid to say it out loud (er... I mean write it down,) but today has been pretty good!

Luke fought me this morning when I put his training pants on, and later in the day there was one instance where he fought me a little on getting on the potty – but all in all, he’s done very very good! What a relief after the struggles we had yesterday. I even took him to his classes at the church tonight and he made it all the way through without any issues. I was a little nervous about taking him out for 2 ½ hours since it’s only been a few days and I’m not sure he’d be willing to go on a different potty yet. I took an extra set of clothes just in case and told him to tell his teachers if he had to go. He didn’t go there, but he didn’t have an accident either, so all is well!

We are doing diapers at night, but other than that, he’s in his training pants all day long…even through nap time!

So, here’s hoping tomorrow goes as well as today did!

Thank you all for your encouragement!

Potty Training Day 2:

I wouldn't say today was exactly a success, but we made it through.

Luke, as I expected, provided quite a bit of opposition. This morning was ok, but it just went downhill from there...with a literal kicking and screaming tantrum after nap time when we put him on the potty...from Luke that is...though I think Chris and I both were ready to throw our own tantrums of frustration. It took awhile to get Luke calmed down and I eventually allowed him to get off the potty even though he didn't even try to go. And it was blatantly obvious he had to go. He was doing the twisty-hold-the-legs-together-gotta-go-potty dance. After a few minutes of him walking around in this manner, I asked if he would like to use his little Winnie the Pooh potty (we had been trying to teach him how to use the "big boy" potty)...he considered this and said, "What about my froggy potty?" (Yes, we have two little potties...both I bought awhile back hoping it would entice him to want to go.) Anyway, I was eager to comply to his request - especially after such a long and strenuous tantrum. I was so relieved he was willing to try again.

So, I got out his little froggy potty and within minutes he excitedly ran out to tell us, "I did it!"
Yehawww for accomplishments!

So, we've had some issues, but also some progress as well. Tomorrow is a new day!

Potty Training

Yesterday we started potty training Luke...again...for the 3rd time. Third times a charm right? Well, that's what they say...

The first attempt this summer was a complete disaster. He was not ready, he was not cooperative and it was more frustrating than it was worth.

The second time I didn't push it too much as I was just excited he was willing to get on the potty and go. However, his willingness dwindled and we were back in diapers.

This time there's no going back. Though he prefers the security of his diapers, it's time that he's potty trained. This time I'm trying to be more relaxed about it...but also more consistent. I've come to learn that potty training take a great amount of motivation and consistency from the parent.

I will admit that I was secretly hoping that since Luke is on the older side for this process, that he'd take to it right away and Poof! he would be potty trained. A mom can dream right?! =) Well, it clear that this secret hope will not be a reality. He did do well yesterday with only one accident. This morning though, he didn't want to put the training pants back on...but he did. We'll see what the rest of the day brings. I have a feeling we'll get more opposition from him today. Oh well, it's all part of the process.

Something that has been very helpful is a Cars sticker chart a friend of mine sent me. Luke likes picking out stickers to mark his accomplishments.

Here's for hoping today will bring great progress in this potty training journey!

Fhins Fans

This afternoon we watched the last game of the season for The Miami Dolphins. We thought it appropriate to take a picture of the boys in their jersey with daddy before the game ended.

This brought back memories of when we were unpacking all of our things in Germany (Sept 2007) and found Luke's Dolphins jersey and had to take a picture of him in it. We had boxes EVERYWHERE and the only decent place to take a picture was in the corner of the guest room...and even then, you can see (below) it was stacked up with piles all around. Anyway, I thought I'd post the pictures. It's amazing how much Luke has changed over this time. I was 20 or so weeks pregnant with Will then, so today's is the first picture we have of Will sporting his and Luke's jersey.

(Sept 2007 - Luke would have been about 15 months here)

Reality Blogging

I have definitely struggled with being a consistent blogger the last few months. I always have good intentions, but somehow the "good intentioned blog" just never gets accomplished.

This year I have quite a few goals to aim for.

One of them being blogging.

I hope to tweak my blogging style a little bit by being more...me. I have found that I've somewhat shyed away from blogging about the frustrations of life. And yet, I am always grateful to those who share their struggles and thoughts...it always makes me feel like I'm not alone. So, one of my goals is not only to share updates and pictures, but to also share the real life moments and thoughts that aren't as frilly and pretty...but are just as real.

I hope that you'll stick with me and still be inclined to read our blog! =)