Landscaping project

 This summer, we decided our outside project would be removing the mulch and bark and putting in rocks. We had so many weeds growing and neither Michael nor I have the desire to spend hours and hours every week weeding and keeping a nice landscape. We thought rocks would make the house look much nicer and do a better job of keeping out the weeds. Friday we had the rocks delivered and as soon as we saw the size of the 2 piles of rocks, we knew it was going to be a a huge project and take up to a several weeks of working a few hours ere and there. I spent about 4 hours weeding and prepping the yard on Friday. The weather was miserable- raining, hailing, and windy. Then, Michael spent almost the whole day on Saturday bagging the mulch and getting the ricks in. Thankfully, we live in the best neighborhood and several of our neighbors helped us. That Saturday, it poured all day, but everyone stayed and worked though the miserable weather. They almost finished, but decided by about 4 in the afternoon that it was too rainy. They were all soaked to the skin.

Monday morning, Michael got right back out there and within minutes, more neighbors came to help again. We had no idea that 72 hours the rocks were delivered, we would be done. And it's all due to our wonderful neighbors. THANK YOU!
 

Admiting defeat or taking the high road?

This past Monday marked week 4 since I started potty training Jillian. When I began, I thought she was ready. We talked about it for weeks beforehand and got all prepared. Right from the start, it was pretty clear that she was not going to get it as fast as Annabelle did (Annabelle was the exact same age as Jillian  when we started potty training and Annabelle only needed 3 days to get it). After about 10 days of living in the bathroom, Jillian finally started telling me when she needed to go. I thought it would be easy sailing from there, but I was wrong. She seemed to only tell me when it was convenient for her. I swear sometime she wouldn't tell me just because she wanted to test me. Sometimes, she would be accident free until the evening and I would think that she's gotten it and then the next 3 days, she would be having accidents every couple hours. And she was also pooping in her underwear almost every day, which would make a huge mess and get me so mad. It was getting to the point where she would go through about 6 or 7 pairs of underwear per day. I had her go straight o wearing underwear because the pullups felt too much like diapers and didn't teach her anything. I have been so frustrated all the time that it has affected the mood in our home. I've finally decided that it's time to go back to diapers and try again at a later time. Michael mentioned doing this last week, but I absolutely refused to entertain the thought because I felt like that would be wasting weeks of hard work. I felt like I would be considered a failure and there would be no reward for all the effort I put into potty training. But then I realized that it wasn't about me. If Jillian wasn't ready, then there was nothing I could do to force her. If putting her back in diapers would make me less stressed and upset, then perhaps it was the right thing to do.

So yesterday, we went to the store to buy diapers, which I never thought I'd be doing for Jillian again. She occasionally tells me when she needs to go to the bathroom, but she has transitioned back to diapers with such ease that it's clear to me that that was the right decision. I feel so much more energized and happy now that I am not constantly making her sit on the toilet and life has become much more enjoyable.

See you later potty seat, pullups, and poopy underwear....... until next time.

Another year older

Yesterday was my birthday and I had a great day. I’m really excited for Michael’s gift. I haven’t gotten it yet (I still have some research to do to figure out which one I want), but he’s letting me get myself a double jogging stroller/bike trailer. Along with that, all week long, I had been getting cards in the mail, ecards or telephone calls from family and friends (my grandma even mailed me a big can of Ovaltine, my favorite type of chocolate milk that I only get when I visit her). Even my wonderful piano students remembered my birthday. They brought things like flowers, chocolates, cookies, cinnamon rolls, a birthday cake, and wonderful cards. My good friend also surprised me and took me out to lunch without my kids. It was wonderful (and thanks to Michael for letting me go alone). I am grateful for the wonderful people around me. Thank you for making me feel so special.

Different sizes and different personalities

Annabelle and Sarah both had a doctor’s appointment last week. Annabelle needed her shots for kindergarten and Sarah just had a regular checkup. I was really interested to see what the percentages were for weight and height for both kids. Annabelle is very tall for her age and Jillian is extremely petite and so I’m curious as to which end of the spectrum Sarah will fall.

At 5 years and 2 months of age, Annabelle weighs 44.4 lbs (72^nd percentile) and 47.5 inches (99^th percentile). Holy cow, that girl is tall. I think she’s also going through a growing spurt right now because she constantly asks for snacks and sleeps 10- 12 hours at night. But she’s got tons of energy and loves helping her little sisters.

Just to put into perspective how much smaller Jillian is for her age, at her 2 year checkup at the end of January, she was 23 lbs (7^th percentile) and 32 inches tall (20^th percentile).

At 10 weeks old, Sarah weighed 12.3 lbs (78^th percentile) and was 23.5 inches tall (81^st percentile).  If she continues to grow like this, she’ll be as tall as Annabelle at age 5.

Not only are they all different in size, but their personalities are so different as well. Annabelle is cute, creative, smart, and extremely kind, but easily distracted and very sensitive. Jillian is beautiful, smart, strong-willed, and defiant. There’s definitely a rebel streak in her. And Sarah so far seems to be very low-maintenance and easy. She may be the mellowest child of the three. Although they are all so different, I love them each dearly.

Secret Spy Girls

Annabelle has a pair of sunglasses and for the last little while, she and Jillian have been fighting over who gets to wear them, so I bought Jillian her own pair. She loves them and constantly wears them inside and out, sunny or cloudy. Annabelle is so happy that Jillian has her own glasses and they like to play a game that Annabelle made up where they pretend they’re secret spy girls and they’re wearing their secret spy sunglasses. It’s so fun to see them play and pretend together.

Another tooth gone

Annabelle has lost a second tooth. This time, she didn't lose it and was able to put it under her pillow. It’s right next to the one she lost over a month ago. The strange thing is there is no sign of a permanent tooth poking through where her first lost tooth was, and as I said, it came out a while ago. When she went to the dentist in February earlier this year, he said that one of her bottom front teeth was missing (as in it doesn't exist and she is one tooth short of the normal number of baby teeth that most kids have) and he couldn’t tell from the x-rays of her mouth if she was missing the permanent one as well.  

Anyway, she was thrilled to lose it. It had been hanging by a thread for days before finally coming out. She got a dollar from the tooth fairy and can’t wait to spend it at the carousel.

This is a video of how Jillian drinks the milk in her cereal bowl after the cereal is all gone.
Step 1: Tuck the napkin so far under her chin that it defeats the purpose of catching any milk that should spill down her front.
Step 2: Slurp the milk as loudly as she can.
Step 3: Tilt the bowl as much as she can to get the maximum amount of milk in her hair.
Step 4: Untuck the napkin and wipe the front of her shirt to get the milk that spilled and then wipe her mouth.