Slowly Losing My Sanity to Potty Training

I kinda feel like there's not a whole lot to blog about lately, but life is going really well. We've had a fairly slow, relaxing January, and I just get to enjoy hanging out with my boys and having fun!

One of the most exciting things that have happened recently is that Grant and Connie received a mission call to serve at Martin's Cove in Wyoming. They are SO excited, and we all enjoy listening to Grant tell us how he is somehow going to figure out how to take his gator quad down there to use... We're a little skeptical that he will be able to change the rules on that one, but I guess we'll see. They will be there for 6 months and leave this April. It will definitely be very different around without grandma and grandpa! We will miss them a lot, but plans are already in the works for us to drive down there for a visit sometime while they are serving. Here is them opening their mission call! I thought I was recording it as a video... but obviously the picture below is not a video. Sad I didn't record it.

We are so impressed with the example they are setting by leaving there busy lives behind here to serve the Lord. All of the grandchildren will be able to write to them and pray for them while they are there.

Here are some pictures of the boys that I've taken recently. Brody love getting his picture taken. Connor's still not so sure about it.

Here is Connor at 3 mo. old on the rag quilt I just finished making for him. I couldn't get a picture of him without him opening his eyes extra big. As soon as he saw the camera they would get super wide. He's growing up so fast and starting to chunk up a bit.

I tried to get one of him smiling, because he smiles all the time, but he seemed to have a problem smiling while his eyes were open so wide. This was the only shot I got where he didn't have giant eyes, and he's sort of half smiling.

This is Brody's favourite pass-time in the whole world.... He lives a breathes for the chance to spend some time on the iPhone. I've got a few pre-school games and kids apps that he already knows how to navigate in and out of. We are recently trying to use this love for the iPhone as an incentive to get Brody to use his potty.

Yes, you heard correctly! We are potty training Brody!!!

... only it is taking the longest time ever, and we are seeing sides of him that I'd prefer not to know existed. Although he is very talented at going on the potty, he is very stubborn, and does not like sitting on the potty. However, we MAKE him sit on the potty, and then he usually does a great job. Our only accidents usually occur first thing in the morning as he's getting out of bed. Go figure, when he was in a diaper, he would always wake up with a dry diaper. Now that he is in big kid underwear, he seems to have to pee as soon as he starts moving in the morning. Thank goodness for mattress covers and washing machines.

I thought he would have figured out how to transition into telling us BEFORE he has to use the potty, but it seems that after 3 weeks of having pretty good success when we put him on, he has no desire to actually SIT on the potty, so he won't tell us if he has to go because he knows we will ask him to sit and try. Incentives don't work, constantly asking him doesn't seem to work, practicing doesn't seem to work... so I'm not sure where we're going wrong. Any ideas or advice would be so greatly appreciated, because I usually feel like I'm about to lose my sanity at least once a day.

So, I just bought a membership at this gym in Stirling. I think it is so great when people take the risk to start up a business in a small community. I have really wanted to exercise more, and have a hard time finding the motivation, so I'm trying out the gym idea in hopes that having to pay a bit of money will be more of an incentive to use it. I absolutely love the gym already. It's not too busy, really clean, and all of the equipment is in excellent condition. I can use it at whatever time of day I want, and that works wonderful for me, because Kevin's schedule is one that makes it difficult to go during the times I normally would go. Now that I'm exercising more, I feel great! I don't think I've lost much yet, but I feel more energetic and just that great feeling you have when you are active. My goal is to lose another 10 lbs. to make it back to the weight I was when I got married. Wish me luck!

(Also... have you tried Zumba? I LOVE it, and go every week since it started in Stirling. I'm awful at it, but I love it. Dancing is pure fun to me, and it makes exercising seem like it's not actually exercise. I'm hooked).

I've started up at directing the choirs again now for the Stirling School Elementary. I didn't realize how much I missed it until I started again. I love those kids. I love hearing their progress, and I love the feeling that I am helping them to learn to love music, and to understand how to sing. We were able to sing O Canada at a Hurricanes Hockey Game last week in Lethbridge. Only 16 of the kids could come, but they sang so well. I was proud to be in front of them. They were so well behaved, and they seemed to have a lot of fun. I'm so grateful for all of the parents who also came to support us. I know it makes a big difference to the kids to have their parents there to watch them perform. Even though it is just O Canada, I remember being older than them, doing the same thing, and being so nervous. I hope it's an experience they can remember as they grow older.

Kevin and I sang in church last Sunday. I try to act nonchalant when Kevin says yes to singing places with me, because I know that if I make a big deal out of it, he would stop saying yes. However, if I actually voiced my opinion to him on the matter, it would be this. I LOVE, and I mean L-O-V-E singing with my husband. I hate to admit it, cause it is kind of my thing, but he is a better singer than I am, and he still seems to be improving at it. Does he get razzed for singing? Yes, but he still does it every once in a while with me. He tries to act like he is only doing it because he doesn't like saying no to people, but I hope he realizes how important it is for him to set an example for other young men (and old men) that you can be a macho guy and still sing well. I know very few men who are willing to look past their own pride to sing in front of their friends, but he has been able to do that on several occasions now. I love him for it. I appreciate it. I look forward to hopefully doing it again with him in the future.

Stirling Choirs

Stirling School Senior Choir (Grades 4-6)

Stirling School Junior Choir (Grade 1-3... aren't they cute!)
Stirling Senior Choir sang 'O Canada' at a Hurricane's Hockey game in February! They had a great time, and did a wonderful job!

I am finishing off my first year of choir conducting tomorrow at our last assembly performance. I have absolutely LOVED the whole experience of working with the kids to do something that both they and I love. They did an amazing job at the Kiwanis Festival, with both jr. and sr. choirs receiving a grade of "Excellent" from their adjudicator. I have really learned a lot about conducting, and I am sure that I have so much more to learn as well! I will especially miss all of my grade 6 students who will be moving up into Junior High, so I won't see them in choir next fall when it begins again. I sure hope that things work out so that I can continue being the conductor for them in the next years to come! I really did love it!

Cutest Nephew Around!!!

Kim is just getting ready to send out her very adorable baby announcements for little Zachary William! The photos and the announcements were taken/created by Rhonda Steed! What great pictures!!!!! I sure wish Brody and Zac could grow up closer together, but Kim and I have plans to take turns travelling to visit each other often. "Little" Zac has almost already caught up to Brody in weight, and Brody`s been growing fast himself!! He was 11lbs. 12oz. last Wednesday at his six week checkup.

Brody was blessed at church on October 11 (Thanksgiving Sunday). He was such a good little boy for the blessing. Kevin said he only fussed a bit just as they were starting, but you couldn't hear it on the microphone at all. It was a very special blessing, and I know that I am so lucky to have such a sweet baby boy as part of my family. I am so glad that Kevin was worthy to give him the blessing. Brody was not such a good boy after the blessing though :) He cried almost the entire day, with short spurts of napping, after which he would be woken up by us having to go somewhere, or a niece or nephew wanting to touch his head or hold him. He had a good sleep that night though! He is inconsistantly, but gratefully, sleeping 7 hours straight some nights. Mommy and daddy couldn't be more proud of him when he does that! I have some pictures I want to put on of him in his blessing outfit, but my computer is not recognizing any new USBsor memory cards. If anyone reading this knows how to fix that, other than restarting your computer (we've tried that several times already), please let me know.

Another picture I wanted to post was of both my legs, right around my knees... Strange, I know, but you should see how many bruises I have right now from carrying the carseat! I am just not strong enough to hold it away from my body a bit, so it consistantly bumps against the sides of my knees as I walk into church, or into someones house, or into the store. I had to wear a longer skirt last Sunday, just so that people didn't start wondering if someone had beat me up or something! I'm hoping my muscle strength catches up to Brody's weight gain, or perhaps my knees just need to toughen up so that they don't bruise anymore.

I started conducting the Stirling School Elementary Choirs yesterday after school! We are practicing every Monday from here until June. Brody's Aunt Patti is watching him while I am gone for the hour and a half (Thank you Patti!) I was absolutely blown away yesterday with how quickly the kids learned the music I had picked out! I definitely could have tried something slightly more difficult. The junior choir had a big mix up (which I felt pretty dumb about), as I was having the students put the music in order. I accidentally told them that one sheet was supposed to go in a place where a different one was supposed to go, so I thereby created utter chaos, and all of the students were intensely trying to get me to help at the same time. By the time we had everything figured out and in place, we only had ten minutes left. * Note to self for next time: Organize the music beforehand for the junior choir... in fact, organize EVERYTHING for those kids, because they get easily confused. All I can say is that I was very grateful to have Amy Harding (our accompanist) and Betty Pitcher in there helping me help EVERY student to make sure they had it right. I have been especially impressed with the turn-out for the choir. In a small school, I did not expect to have the 30 kids for the junior choir, and the 26 kids for the senior choir. I just hope I do a good job so that the administration will want to keep me on for the choirs next year as well. I am really excited to get more experience conducting choirs.