Potty Training: The Hits and The Misses! (prt 2)

Day 4 of potty training brought on Christmas Eve. We spent the day at home, and to be quite honest. I can't even remember how Gretchen did! It must not have been too bad, since I haven't a clue! We did go to Christmas Eve service at church, and she stayed dry the entire time, although, she didn't sit still! I tried to take her to the potty after the service, and she did very well sitting on the potty, but she didn't want to "go".

Day 5 was Christmas, and we decided to put a pull-up on her while we opened presents, so as not to risk an accident all over her toys, and we didn't want to interrupt camera time, since we were video taping opening the gifts! Thankfully, she stayed dry during that time, but beyond that, again, I just can't remember how well she did!

She woke up the morning of day 6 at her regular time, but was not like herself. She didn't want to stand up, she wouldn't sit on the potty, then she walked into the living room, but ended up falling down! So, we stuck a pull up back on her and put her in the bed with us, so we could all get some more sleep. Gretchen fell asleep right away, and slept until 11:00! I had left around 10 that morning, so I could hit some after Christmas sales, and left the training up to daddy. When she finally woke up, she requested "milk", and downed 2 glasses while standing in front of the fridge. Afterwards, she just sat in daddy's lap and cuddled. I finally came home around 1, and Gretchen still wasn't feeling well. And, a little while later she threw up, so off to the pediatrician we went. I'll spare all of the details, but we kept her in a pull-up that day, and didn't push the training at all. The poor girl was miserable, until around 6:00 in the evening, when she was bouncing off the walls!

On day 7, we stayed home from church. She was having more accidents, but I wasn't too discouraged.

My plan for days 8-10, was for us to stay home and work on it, while daddy drove to Arkansas to pick up his new truck. I think the one thing that Gretchen has learned, is how to hold it! She wets during the night (i'm not working on night training at this point), and won't go first thing in the morning. I will give her 1-2 glasses of milk, and then a glass of flavored water. On day 8, Gretchen was sitting at the table for lunch, and as I looked over to remind her to "tell mommy when you have to go potty" I noticed that she was sitting in a puddle of pee not even phased! On day 9, (after she held it all morning), I decided to take her to the potty before lunch and she succeeded!

Today, is day 10, and again, she held it all morning! We went out shopping for 1 1/2 this morning, and she was dry the entire time! As soon as we got home, I put her on the potty, but she would not sit. Of course, moments later, she had an accident, and continued to have them throughout the afternoon. So, we've had a discouraging day to say the least! Finally, I took her to the potty, instead of relying on her to tell me (because let's face it, she's not telling me!) and she went! We made it a huge deal, ran out to tell daddy, said "bye" to our peepee and flushed it down the potty; she even got 2 m&m's!

So, I've made a plan for tomorrow. I'm going to take her to the potty every hour, if she wants to sit, then she will. If she doesn't want to sit, then I'm not going to force her (in order to keep it positive) and then take her 30 minutes later to try again. We will definitely take her right before lunch, because she seems to go at that point consistently. And, we'll keep her in panties while she's awake. I'll continue to give her lots of fluids, in order for her to get more learning opportunities, and I think I have to change up the coloring while she's on the potty. Thankfully, she received some new toys today, so those are going in the bathroom!

Lastly, I'm praying for more hits and less misses tomorrow and in the days to come!

Potty Training: The Hits and The Misses! (prt 1)

Well, we are on day 8, of our supposed 3 day potty training plan. I guess as a parent, I've learned that you have to be flexible, take what works for you, and realize that not every plan goes as planned.

Potty training has been one of the hardest things I've had to do as a parent. Unlike most things, I had not a clue where to begin! I knew that I wanted to try to skip pull-ups and go straight to panties, but that was it!

My friend led me to a 3-day potty training method. There are numerous 3-day methods when googled.

The basic method is to have your child throw away their diapers, and put on underwear. On day 1, you do absolutly nothing. Meaning, the parent cannot do anything, except spend time with their child. When you catch your child having an accident, you rush them to the potty and have them "finish". Giving positive reinforcement when your child is successful. Day 1 for us was rough! We had about 15 accidents and had to do a few loads of laundry. Thankfully, DJ was home to clean up the messes while I played with Gretchen. He also cooked dinner that evening!

You repeat the process on days 2 and 3. The morning of day 2 wasn't as bad as day 1, we still had accidents, but not as many. Gretchen even woke up dry after her nap! On the evening of day 2, she actually made it to the potty three times in a row! We went to bed very happy that evening!

On day 3, Gretchen was able to run to the potty by herself! However, she wouldn't sit long enough, meaning she ran to the bathroom several times! I don't recall many accidents that day, and I was so pleased!

So, as the "method" promises- we should be finished with potty training! But, we aren't (sigh).

.... we continue to have many misses and just a few hits!

Celebrating Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas morning! Gretchen ran into the living room and immediately found (and fell in love with) her red wagon from her gran and grandpa! We conned her into getting out of the wagon with more presents!

She was very good at opening the presents by herself this year!

She received "bug" and "sheep" from Word World! If your child hasn't seen this show on PBS, then you should definitely turn it on! It's my all time favorite!

Gretchen also received a new outfit for this spring! It has umbrellas on it, because it rains so much here in April!

She climbed back into the wagon, and decided to just open her next present in there.

But, we convinved her to climb out again to open her baby doll.

She's such a good little mommy!

Her grandpops and grandma Dee got her a huge national parks puzzle, along with tons of baby doll accessories!

In her stocking, she received a straw cup, play-doh, nail polish, bubbles, and color wonder tablets for the tub!

End of Year Clearance!

In order to make room for new inventory, I'm offering all listed hair bows at 1/2 off their regular price until December 31!

To take advantage of these super low prices, please visit www.honeypieaccessories.webs.com

Coming soon: Valentine's bows, and Hello Kitty!
And, in honor of Gretchen's 2nd birthday, I am having daily specials on my website and multiple give aways on the blog!

How we spent Christmas Eve!

What a week we've had! I've taken a bit of "time off" since we were busy potty training Gretchen (posts to come later). But, I've enjoyed the week with my family, just the 3 of us! It was nice this year to not travel, although our families were missed!

DJ made cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve. Gretchen has been wanting to "help" in the kitchen, so we let her climb up on a barstool and play with some measuring cups and spoons. She was also able to lick her very first beater! (We try to keep as many sweets away from her as possible) She wasn't sure what to do at first! We told her that she could lick it, but she just pretended.

She finally took a "lick" and loved it!

We went to church on Christmas Eve. Gretchen wore her Strasburg dress from Gran.

When we got home, she picked out a few cookies for Santa.

She put them on the plate, and helped daddy carry them to the living room.

She set the cookies on the table, and had to have one for herself!

Then, she needed a sip of Santa's milk.

We were able to get a few pictures of her by the tree before she headed off to bed!

Christmas day pics coming soon!

Merry Christmas from us!

Merry Christmas!

- DJ, Elaine, and Gretchen

Play-doh

Gretchen and I have been stuck in the house since Sunday! There's snow on the ground, it's cold, and more importantly, we've been potty training. Which, is going well by the way!

I decided that I wanted to take part of the afternoon today to make homemade play-doh with her. She had a great time helping and pouring everything into the bowl. We used the recipe, and divided it into 3 equal balls, and I let her choose the colors. She chose pink (which turned out more red), purple, and green. My hands are still stained from pouring in too much food coloring!

I let her play with the play-doh when it was all finished. She hasn't been able to play with play-doh in a while, because she eats it! Thankfully, she did not eat this, and had a great time playing!

A few weeks ago, I made play-doh for my neice, Katie, for Christmas. I decorated 3 containers, and made 3 colors of play-doh, using the same recipe.

Katie, recieved pink, green, and purple. I wrapped each in saran wrap and placed in a sealed container. The play-d0h also keeps longer if you store it in the refrigerator.

Below are the 3 decorated play-doh containers for Katie. She also received a set of cookie cutters!

Holiday Baking!

It's the time of year, where everyone is baking tons of yummy goodies! I baked a few weeks ago, knowing that the week of Christmas would be crazy, and I wanted to give my homebaked goodies as gifts!

I remember helping my mom in the kitchen and baking with her. I can't wait to continue this tradition with Gretchen.

If you are doing some last minute baking this holiday season, I wanted to share some of my favorite recipes with you!

Chocolate Covered Potato Chips
These were my absolute favorite as a child. I would take them to school as my lunch snack and all of my friends would make fun of me and tell me it was gross. That is, until they tried one! If you love salty, chocolaty, and crunchy, then this is the treat for you!

Melt 1/2 block of chocolate almond bark in the microwave. Make sure you stir often, it will not take more than 2-3 minutes to melt the chocolate. Purchase a bag of ruffled potato chips. The Great Value Wal-Mart brand works well, too. Lay out a sheet of wax paper. Then, dip each potato chip into the chocolate and lay on the paper. Allow to harden and voila!

Oreo Truffles
I first tasted these when we lived in Louisiana, at my work Christmas party. These are absolutely divine, and take you back to the days of your childhood of dunking oreos into milk!

Crush one whole package of oreo cookies (use a large ziploc bag). If you want, use the low fat oreos! Pour into a bowl. Add 1- 1 1/2 packages of room temperature cream cheese. Mix well with the oreos. Put the mixture in the refrigerator and allow to harden. Lay out wax paper onto a cookie sheet. Pull the mixture out of the fridge and form into balls. Place each ball onto the cookie sheet and back into the refrigerator. Melt white chocolate almond bark in the microwave. Using a toothpick, dip each ball into the white chocolate and place back onto the cookie sheet.

These are more time consuming to make, but they're definitely worth it!

Red Velvet Truffles
Follow the same steps for the oreo truffles, but replace the oreos with red velvet cake. Simply bake a red velvet cake mix and let cool. Crumble and add the cream cheese. Follow above steps and using toothpicks dip the truffles into white chocolate.

** enjoy**

Potty Training begins!

We've had a relaxing weekend at home, in spite of th efact that Christmas is 5 days away! It snowed here on Saturday, so we spent the day cleaning the house and enjoying the time as a family.

Gretchen got a bath on Saturday evening, and she even let me blow dry her hair! I had to get a picture of her in front of the tree in her cute snowman pj's! (sorry I can't turn it around!) Gretchen also learned that she could color on her hand with a pen:

And, our big announcement: we begin potty training in the morning! So, I won't be around my computer as my full attention needs to focus on her. DJ and I took Gretchen to Target this afternoon, so she could pick out a package of panties and a potty training DVD.

This evening, we let her open a very early present from mommy and daddy. She did very well unwrapping her gift; which makes me excited for Christmas morning!

She received a lot of panties! I think we have at least 20 pair!

I think she's very proud to be a "big girl". She enjoyed showing off her panties to the camera. She even tried on a few pair over her diaper.

We are using a 3-day potty training method, and I just pray that we will all get the hang of it. As a parent, it's actually the most nerve-wracking thing I think I could ever do. I literally, had nightmares about it last night!

So, wish us luck, and have a wonderful week!

Train Ride and Letter to Santa

I haven't posted in a while (at least it seems), but I have had the busiest week ever! Today was my last day of work for 2 weeks and I'm so relieved to be off for Christmas break. I wanted to post earlier in the week about the rest of Gretchen's trip to the mall on Sunday.....

After visiting Santa (what a disaster that was!) we let Gretchen ride the train. For a girl, she loves trains! Each time we drive over a train track Gretchen says "choo choo" and I always point out a train when we are stopped by one, which is quite often in Muncie! I wasn't sure how she would do riding the train, since it was too small for DJ and I to fit in with her. But, she walked right up to the "conductor" who helped her in the train. We all had to convince her to "sit down", and once she did, she had one of the biggest smiles on her face! She grinned from ear to ear as the train went around the tracks. Sadly, the train ride came to an end and Gretchen through a fit trying to get out, but a group was handing out cookies, so she was easily bribed by that! Gretchen getting into the train.

Gretchen sitting in the train and holding on to her candy cane from Santa.

After the train ride, we went to Macy's. Macy's has an area set up where you can write and send a letter to Santa. Macy's will also donate $1.00 to a charity for every letter. So, we let Gretchen write a letter.

She took a minute to show daddy her letter.

She let daddy help her drop it into the box. We were very suprised that she dropped her letter in without throwing a fit that it was "gone".

I love making these holiday memories with my family, and I hope that you are taking this time to make your very own memories and traditions!

Happy 4 Year Anniversary DJ!

Today is my 4 year wedding anniversary! It has been a wonderful 4 years, that have gone by so fast. DJ and I have been very blessed to have lived in some wonderful places, met amazing people, and have a beautiful little girl. Through it all, DJ has been an amazing support system for me, and my best friend.

Here are a few pictures from our wedding: Mr. and Mrs.

Walking down the aisle with my brother.

My wedding bouqut.

One of my bridal portraits at the state capitol.

My muff, bouquet, bell, shoes, flower girl basket, and ring bearer pillow.

As I reflect on our wedding day (I really wish he'd burn the videos onto DVD) I realized this morning how much our life has truly changed (and how blessed we are amongst all of the chaos). DJ got Gretchen up, and for once she wasn't calling for 'mama', changed her diaper, and sent her to me so I could get her dressed. I had to force her clothes upon her as she was trying to pull them off. I then went into the kitchen where DJ had fixed her breakfast. She refused to sit in her chair, so I had to hold her in my lap while we both ate. She then stole my cereal bar, so DJ had to get me another.... I asked DJ to iron my pants while we ate breakfast, but I had to go find them for him. By this point we know we are going to be late. He decides to take her to daycare, and we are scrambling to get out of our bedroom and into the cars, as Gretchen decides to dump out a glass of water onto our furniture and herself. She requires a change of her shirt, and DJ cleans up all of the water. We head to the door, and as I get in the car I hear my daughter screaming because I left her with her daddy.

I think this morning pretty much sums up our normal, romantic, fairy tale life, that I don't really remember dreaming about on our wedding day 4 years ago. But, through it all, I'm thankful that DJ is there with me to share in these moments!

Happy 4 years, honey- I love you!!!!

Dancing with Daddy

DJ is a much better disciplinarian than I am. Therefore, there are times where he feels that Gretchen loves me more. But, it's moments like these where I think, "she truely loves her daddy".....

On Saturday, DJ jokingly spun me around the kitchen while Gretchen was eating lunch. She immediately hoped down, grabbed daddy's hand and started spinning herself. It was so cute to watch them dancing.

After they twirled a few times, they stopped so I could take a good picture of the two of them.

And, they shouted, "mommy!"

Winner!!!

Jeni is the December giveaway winner! Congratulations Jeni!

I've just sent you an email, so hopefully I will hear back from you soon to get your snowman clippie and suprise in the mail!

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 2 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Gretchen's Visit with Santa

DJ and I finally had some time to take Gretchen to see Santa on Sunday! This month has been so busy and we don't even have a bowl game to prepare for!

We were able to get one good picture with St. Nick, but only because I was in it! Gretchen would not go near him! She would not sit on his lap, she would not sit beside him, and she would not sit in front of him. She simply....... ran away!

She only approached Santa because I told her that he had candy. She shyly approached him signing "more". I had to tell Santa that she wanted the candy and that his candy was the bribe to get her to approach him. But, as you can see, the candy was not enough to keep her near him!

Applesauce Ornaments

I had this great idea to make cinnamon-applesauce ornaments for family members as a part of their Christmas gift. DJ, Gretchen, and I had fun making them, but our finished product wasn't as I had envisioned!

If you are feeling brave, or just want to have a fun activity with your kids, you can always try this and hope (or pray) that yours come out better than ours!

The recipe is very easy. Measure out 1/2 c. applesauce and pour into a bowl.

Next measure out 1/2 c. cinnamon. Stir ingredients together forming a dough. Form into a ball shape and place on a sheet of wax paper. Place a 2nd sheet of wax paper on the top and roll out the dough.

Using cookie cutters, cut out the shapes. Place them on a baking sheet and bake at 150 degrees for 1 hour. *Note- ours did not dry out in that one hour time and our oven only goes to 170 degrees. You can also let them dry overnight (or for a few days). Make sure you poke a hole in the top to thread ribbon, so they will hang on your tree.

To all of Gretchen's grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.: Please note that you will not be receiving these! It did not help that our toddler wanted to poke holes with her fingers in each one. Also, DJ poked the holes in the middle of the ornament, so even if they did dry, which they did not, they would not hang properly on your tree! We may try this again, but not until next year! It is the thought that counts; right?!