Potty Training Confusion

Emma is starting to show some signs that she might be getting ready to start potty training. I LOVE the idea of never having to buy diapers again. I do not love the process. Today was a failed attempt. It goes something like this. I warn you. If you are eating, you should leave and come back later...

Emma demanded to have her diaper off and she wanted to sit on "Emma Potty" so I removed her diaper and she sat on her potty every 5-10 minutes consuming half a bag of jelly beans in the process. I was proud. The bribery was working....

I got distracted for a minute when the phone rang. Literally, ONE minute.

Emma ran into Daisy's cage, closed the door and pooped right square in the middle of it. I became aware of the situation when I heard her say, "Look Dais! Look!!"

I won't sugar coat it......Daisy ate the poo. It happened so fast. It really did. Like a blur.

Emma was horrified and totally peeved at Daisy. I wanted to put them both in time out and spend an hour vomiting that vision out of my brain.

Now the dog has gas, really really bad gas. The End.

I love you!

This morning Dan's parents left our recently updated abode for their long trip home. We had a great time! We are so thankful for all the updates, presents, food and fun they brought with them. It is a very busy time for us and I'm especially thankful we could just take some time to visit and relax. I just wish I could say the same for Emma's Nanny and Bubba who are possibly my favorite people on the planet right now. While they were "vacationing" in good old Kentuckiana Dan's dad:

Installed a new storm door for us, which we LOVE,

Demolished that old beast of a hot tub and hired someone to

take it away (marking the the end of a 2 year battle with my

husband to give up his ant and wasp infested leaking bird bath)

.

I have the world's BEST father-in-law

Bye-bye you big piece of junk!

Dan's mom revamped this piece of furniture from

Dan's family with fabric that she first sent me in the mail

so I could pick it out. She also made tons of food

and gave my baby lots of good old Nanny lovin'

I have the world's BEST mother-in-law

WE MISS YOU!!!!

ZOOM!

On Tuesday we went to the Indianapolis motor speedway! Actually, I've never been a big fan but I had a lot of fun. It is definitely more interesting in person!! We were lucky enough to catch some of the drives testing their tires and getting ready for their next big race! Emma loved it and was totally thrilled each time a car went flying by. She would follow the car with her finger and yell "ZOOM!" Then after they were out of sight she would look at me and do the "more" sign with her hands and ask for "mo-mo." I love that she thinks I have that kind of power :)

The drivers. Even though I learned their names I couldn't

pick them out of a crowd and I still get confused on their numbers :)

At first she wasn't sure about the noise even though

her freaky looking baby was enjoying the show..

..but then she became an expert at spotting race cars

Emma ate some trail mix with her "nanny"

(mostly M&Ms)

and climbed the hill with her "Bubba"

Yes, that's right folks. Take it allll in. This is what any

true NASCAR fan should look like after watching a race :)

(and yes, I did just have to google to make sure I was spelling

NASCAR right...baby steps)

BOOM!

This weekend we celebrated Thunder over Louisville with Dan's parents. We braved the crowds and traffic and staked out a spot on the Indiana side. While the Kentucky side seems to be more popular, the Indiana shoreline offers a great view of the Louisville skyline, is closer to home and thanks to wind blowing in the opposite direction it was free of the smoke and ash. Emma LOVES planes. She liked the air show but was a little scared of the louder planes. She slept through most of the fireworks.

I'm a Domestic Diva

no way. Not me. Not even close.

But I did make this cake! A chocolate cake. My first ever from scratch cake. It even had layers:).... And homemade frosting. It was delicious and looked pretty decent. I didn't get a good picture because I was too busy eating it. I made it for my boss's birthday. It was a success.....expecting big pay increase any day........

For the recipe and source visit my food blog (which I barely update anymore because boxed mac&cheese is all we seem to eat)

I need some ideas for meals. We eat the same stuff over and over. If you have any super awesome favorite recipes send them my way!!!

"I'm Naughty"

While putting away clothes I hear Emma in the living room.
Emma: "EMMah!" (in her mommy's dissaproving tone) "soooorry" repeat, repeat.

I find her covered in pen, head to toe, pen marks.

Me: EMMah! What did you do!?
Emma: "I'm naughdy......sorreey!"

Wardrobe Malfunktion

What are you looking at!?!

Going to Oww-SIGHe!

People who love to be oww-SIGHe (outside) more than Emma= NO ONE! This girl will do just about anything for a jelly bean, but will stop at nothing to get out the doors to the back yard. Last night we ate our dinner and played until it rained in the magical land of Oww-SIGHe.

Emma will now smile and say "CHEEESE!"

(maybe my happiest moment of the day)

So happy to be sitting on the "steps of terror"

(you should see all her scrapes on her legs,

she doesn't care)

"so smelling and eating the flower are two

different things?"

What you cannot see in these pictures is that I sent Emma to school with her shirt on backwards. Some shirts have the button in the back, some in the front. Who can keep it all straight! :)

Why Discipline Matters

This is the subject of an email I got today from Parents Magazine. It couldn't have come at a better time. Really. Have you ever imagined what a battle ground looks like just seconds before war breaks out? It looks like this....

Removing Emma from the front seat of the car this morning became a battle that ensued for the next 20 minutes. And my dear friends, I nearly lost. You see Emma is a 19 month old going on a 16 year old. A 16 year old who has apparently passed her drivers examine and is fully prepared to drive herself to daycare. Scratch that. Demanding to drive herself. (giggle)

Yeah, on the planet of "your dreaming"

If you are laughing, it's okay. I was too. Until I tried to pick her up. That is when I learned that I birthed a child with exceptional physical prowess. Not only is she a Houdini at freeing herself from my every grip, she can instantly gain 100 pounds falling to the ground like a ton of bricks. Her ninja strength and lumberjack grasp also come in very handy......

when it comes to holding onto (and pulling) my hair.

My sweet Emma has been possessed. Tantrums. They are REAL. They attack when you least expect them. There is no daily tantrum limit. They can happen anywhere and at anytime; at home, in a parking lot, and apparently at school............

Thank you to Miss Jessica who sent this to me

(and totally made my day)

And so the terrible twos have possessed my sweet little angel. This story has no end because I am in some seriously uncharted waters.... but we are all learning the power of "time out" (like when I give them to myself). Too be continued (I am certain).....

Mondays are tough on everyone!

I was not the only one who didn't want to wake up yesterday. It seems we are all still recovering from our fun weekend.

Fun with Balloons

Both Emma and Daisy love balloons. This is some of the fun they had with a couple of balloons Easter morning.

First we taught Daisy that the balloons should never

touch the ground.....

which is something Daisy took very seriously....

If Emma was potty trained she would have peed her

pants for sure, instead she fell to the ground and peed

in her diaper laughing......

Balloons, $1.50 = Entertainment for 2 for at least 30 min

Sure, we lost a few good balloons on the way, but....We have more :)

Happy Easter!

Emma's new stroller for her babies and

a candy filled Elmo Easter basket

complete with balloons

Chocolate bunny, peeps, Sesame street stickers,

animal crackers, balloons, honey graham crackers

and jelly bean filled plastic eggs

We hid the stroller/basket by the window

kisses for Elmo

pushing her baby around

taking a break from pushing her baby :)

Taking a bath before church

Dan trying to get her comfortable in her classroom

at church. Today was the first day she cried when we left her :(

FaMiLy RiGgS

Easter Egg Hunt 2010

Today we took Emma to her very first Easter egg hunt at our friends the Hills!

We prepared for our hunting by doing a few exercises.

Emma picked up on the game pretty quickly and loved finding eggs!

We had so much fun! Thanks to our friends for a great time!

We had even more fun once she discovered there was

candy and chocolate inside those fun little eggs!