Beating the Winter Blues!

Here are a few things that our family did this week to try to beat the winter blues!
1. ICE SKATE





2. SLED




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3. And of course when all else fails, EAT CAKE!

"I'm a Big Kid Now!"

It is official, Nash is potty trained. Why is this blog worthy? Because I am convinced that aside from the problems that may come with puberty and adolescence, potting training is the worst part of parenthood. So, I feel that with the small exception of giving birth later this year, potty training Nash will be my biggest accomplishment of 2010. Our entire family worked so hard at accomplishing this goal. We read books, watched movies, tried bribery, punishment, and a long list of other methods to get this kid to use the toilet, all to no avail. Atley even drew him explicit pictures to illustrate how and where urine leaves the body. However, Nash absolutely refused. Then suddenly a week ago last Sunday I caught him carrying all of his diapers into the baby's new room and he told me he was through with them. I thought, "Yeah, right!" But, he hasn't had an accident since. He stays dry all night while still taking his sippy cup of milk to bed. I guess it just had to be his idea. Surprise! Surprise!

Product Endorsements!

Since my last blog was a litany of complaints about pregnancy, I thought it only fitting to share with you two items that have helped ease my pain just a little.

First, Scott bought me a body pillow for Christmas. However, this is not just any body pillow this one is made by LOVE SAC, the company that makes the giant bean bags. I can hardly express the level of comfort and joy this pillow brings into my life. It is a little piece of heaven! I named it Jacob!



Second, last summer I bought a pair of "Skecher Shape Ups". These shoes are costumed made to correct your posture and help with muscle tone. They are also created to help people with chronic back and/or knee pain. I honestly can't say that I saw a major "toning" of my butt and thighs while I wore them but since I have been pregnant I have been wearing them most days. And I can testify that on the days that I wear these shoes I have substantially less back and pelvic pain. Yes, they are not really pretty but I am all about comfort right now! I highly recommend shape up shoes to anyone.

The Joys of Pregnancy

If you want a warm and fuzzy entry about how beautiful and wondrous pregnancy is, than you better go read some other pregnant ladies blog. She will be the girl that only gains 16 pounds, never has morning sickness, a headache, and sleeps comfortably each and every night. She gives birth in 3 hours flat to a perfectly round headed six-pound baby, and then leaves the hospital the next day in her pre-pregnancy jeans, and guess what, her baby immediately sleeps through the night! Granted, pregnancy and birth is definitely a miracle but if I had had a vote in heaven I think I would have opted for the chicken method of procreation. Just push out a small egg and sit on it for awhile keeping it warm until it finally hatches. This inside your body incubation for 9 months is for the birds-pardon the pun.

Needless to say there will be no belly pictures posted on my blog! Why? First, I couldn't risk the public humiliation. Unlike some lucky women, my belly is not the only thing that grows. There is no doubt about the fact that my belly gets enormous but my butt grows in direct proportion. So, do my thighs, arms, face, ears, hair. You name the body part, it is unnaturally enlarged. Second, my self esteem just couldn't handle the, "you're so cute!" comments about the belly picture. Because when I get the "you're so cute" comments when I am pregnant I really don't doubt their sincerity. But the cute that is implied is the same kind of cuteness held by Chunk on Goonies! You know the fat kid cuteness that everyone loves and everyone hopes they don't possess. Let me give you another perspective when I was a kid in 4-H, the steers that gained weight the most quickly won an award for "RATE of GAIN." I make the rate of gain winners look like amateurs. My only goal this time around is not to double my body weight which I nearly did during my first pregnancy.

It's crazy how quickly life and priorities change when you are expecting a baby. I used to never leave the house without lipstick. Now I never leave without Rolaids. I used to drink water with lemon now my water is mixed with Metamucil. My biggest fear is sneezing because I only have three pairs of maternity pants and I just can't afford to get a pair wet. I used to love smelling good with my favorite perfume now the absence of scent is heaven to me. An older man in a white coat, glasses, and stethoscope sees me naked more than my husband and we all prefer it that way. Well, maybe the doctor doesn't prefer it. He is definitely getting the raw end of the deal.

I also love how people suddenly think that personal space doesn't count for women who are pregnant. I feel more like the community pet sometimes than a human being. And why is it okay to comment on a pregnant woman's size but totally taboo to comment on a non-pregnant woman's physique. A day rarely passes that I don't get a "Wow, you are really getting big!" Or, "Are you sure you aren't having multiples?" My favorite line, "I don't think your doctor got your due date right, you'll never last that long." The other day I was lying on the couch freezing so I had two blankets covering me. Atley approaches and says very sweetly, "Are you getting so big that you have to have two blankets now?" Thanks buddy! Although, I can't be too upset at him, he saved me a great deal of embarrassment the other day. I pulled on my stretchy and oh-so-sexy maternity jeans and was ready to head out the door when Atley stops me and says, "Mom, why is your fake zipper on your crack and your back pockets on the front." Yes, I put the jeans on backwards. Don't blame me it isn't like I can see anything below my belly button anymore.

All kidding aside about the joys of pregnancy, I am grateful for the chance to be a mother again. I will be especially grateful when it is all over. Heaven knows things could be worse. At least I am not riding a donkey to pay my taxes 9 months pregnant and then delivering the baby in a stall. Or crouching behind a tee-pee to give birth and then heading out on the next buffalo hunt. Or even giving birth in a covered wagon along a rugged mountain trail in the middle of winter. No, I am fortunate enough to be comfortably settled in an overcrowded hospital with the modern miracle of strong narcotics! And come to think of it maybe the chicken doesn't have it that great either. At least no one steals my unfertilized eggs to make breakfast or bake a cake. I suppose with all the discomforts, frustrations, and humbling experiences associated with child bearing, God's plan is the best plan. My goal is and should be to keep that eternal perspective even on the really rough days.


By the way, I thought this cartoon was funny and applicable!

Back to Real Life

The tree is gone and so are the other decorations. Scott is back at work and Atley is back in school. Our two-week dog sitting adventure ended this morning with Nash crying over the puppy that went back to his real family. Life is back to normal. Now we find ourselves staring down a long cold winter that usually doesn't end here until April. And I have the last months of what has already seemed like a long pregnancy to look forward too. In other words spring cannot come fast enough for me and my family.

We had a longer than normal holiday vacation due to the large amount of snow fall on the East Coast. Atley's vacation started three days earlier than expected which made it even harder to send him back to school today. With the exception of the four short days that my mom was here, we were pretty much alone and some days even a little lonely throughout the holiday season. Scott calls these days relaxing, I call them boring. We did manage to do a few things like eat a lot, spend time at the library and the mall, watch a lot of football and then a little basketball and some more football. Scott also broke the world record for the "MOST TIME A GROWN MAN CAN PLAY A COMPUTER GAME WHILE ON VACATION." We saw a couple of movies including:

I give Alvin a big thumbs up and Fantastic Mr. Fox two big thumbs up.

The boys spent time painting and building model airplanes, which gave me something to do as I spent the next several days cleaning paint off of anything and everything imaginable.
No vacation is complete without at least one visit to Chuck E. Cheese.



And of course we had several failed attempts at getting Nash to use the potty. Nash also had his first day in primary as a Sunbeam. He proudly told me that he would be the only sunbeam that wore a diaper. Of course he was right, my only justification is that he is also the youngest sunbeam by more than four months.


Despite the depressing nature of the winter ahead we are looking forward to 2010 and hope that all of you had a great holiday and are adjusting better than I am to normal life. I also hope that your New Year's Resolutions are more attainable than mine. I am already on day four of falling behind.

Teddy Roosevelt and the Ghostly Mistletoe

The day after Christmas Granny, Atley, and I went to the Kennedy Center to watch a performance of "Teddy Roosevelt and the Ghostly Mistletoe." It is a true story written by Teddy's daughter Ethel set in 1905 at the White House. This year Ethel's dad decided to set a good example to the country by not having a Christmas tree. Apparently, he was afraid that if everyone cut down a tree every Christmas we would run out of trees rather quickly. But, Ethel's older brother Kermit sneaks one into the White House. At first they try to hide the tree from their father than the little brother Archie suggests that they should haunt him like in a Christmas Carol to convince him to allow a tree. Of course the President knew that his children were responsible for the ghosts all around the White House but he plays their game and they get to keep their tree. Atley had a great time only partially marred by the fact that we thought our van had been stolen after the performance. We even got the police involved until we realized that we had just lost it in the maze of underground parking under the Kennedy Center. Just a little embarrassing!

Christmas 2009

SPOILED! What more can I say! Atley's favorite part of Christmas, "Opening all those presents!" Nash's favorite part of Christmas, "Eating all those chocolate candies!"
Because we still had over a foot of snow on the ground Christmas Day, Granny's Christmas present to the boys wasn't fully enjoyed until the 27th, unfortunately Granny was also gone by then so she did not get to see the fruits of her labors. The 27th is when we could actually set up the trampoline and it was warm enough for them to enjoy it and of course enjoy it they did!

Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas Eve decorating cookies and building both edible and non-edible Gingerbread men. The boys than opened their "ONE" present which of course was pajamas and was very very disappointing for them both. But, they put them on anyway and put on a program for the family, which was quite entertaining. Atley preformed a "rockin" version of Santa Claus is Comin' to Town and Nash sang Jingle Bells. Nash did a great job but Atley who was the MC or should I say stand-up-comic-wanna-be got up after Nash's song and said to the crowd, which consisted of me, Scott, and Granny, "Let me hear it guys! Did that guy suck or what?" Santa shouldn't have visited him at that point, but of course he did anyway. Luckily, Nash didn't hear and survived to sing another day.

ICE

Granny came for Christmas and after we picked her up at the airport we headed to the Gaylord Resort on the Potomac. They presented this huge ICE display, complete with hundreds of scultures and four slides made of ice. The temperature inside was on 9 degrees so Nash was pretty unhappy at first, but he finally began to enjoy himselves. And, yes the fashionable blue parkas were provided!

Favorite Christmas Books

Ever notice how so many so-called heartwarming holiday books make you want to jump off of a cliff? It's like they are written to make you feel guilty about being happy at Christmas time. I love to read books set around the Christmas Season. But who wants to be depressed reading about an underprivileged boy whose mother is dying of Cancer and all he wants to do is buy her some new shoes for her to meet Jesus. Yeah, that's right life is sad enough, why read fictional stories that make it sound even more horrible. No, "CHRISTMAS SHOES" for me. But, here are some of my favorite Christmas books. A couple I read for the first time this year and a couple are Christmas Classics in my opinion. I promise they won't make you feel depressed or guilty, just happy and thankful for this joyous season and the wonder of childhood.

Singing Slips and Holiday Magic

We love Christmas music at our house and both of the boys love to sing. But, sometimes they don't get all of the words right. We had a lot of time to listen to them sing over our snowy weekend and this is what we heard.

Atley's Version of Deck the Halls:
Deck the Halls with Balls of Holly
Fa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa
Tis' the season to be naughty
Fa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa
Call we now all hidden Pharaohs

Nash's Version of Frosty the Snowman:
(please note the reading program at Atley's school is entitled Jolly Phonics)
Frosty the Snowman was a
Jolly Phonics Boy

Atley's Version of Silent night:
Silent Night, Holy Night....
Sleep in Heavenly Fears
Sleep in Heavenly Fears.

Trust me, they are not even trying to be funny they actually think that is what these songs say!

Before we were stranded in our house for four days due to the blizzard of the century we, along with Uncle Jeff who was visiting from Georgia, took the boys to the U.S. Botanic Gardens where they have a special Christmas display called Holiday Magic. It is essentially a fairyland with many types of trains and carved wooden houses and figures. It was beautiful and worth the wait. Sorry that some of the pictures are not the best. We forgot the camera and used Scott's phone.