Potty training ain't no joke

We survived! We made it through potty training weekend without major damage to the carpets or upholstery and without booze for me. It was a success. I used the potty train your child in 3 days program and it was fantastic. Here is a link to the program that I used. I wish I would have used it with Ava. The program calls for your child to be naked from the waist down for 3 days and only putting on a diaper at night (no panties either). You also have to have potties in almost every room you will be occupying. You eat lots of fruit and salty things to get them to drink extra water. Ellie did not have one accident in two and a half days! Go get em girl! We even went to church, the commissary, and our friend's house for the super bowl and she was successful using the potty in all the places. Unfortunately, I had a doctor's appointment today and Ellie went to the CDC for 3 hours and they put her back in a diaper and she regressed a bit. I think I left her too soon for this technique to work. I am canceling my appointment for Friday so that we can march on with potty training. I am happy to report that we are back on track. Future houseguests maybe alarmed because the program calls for her to be naked from the waist down for 3 months while she is home and when she goes out to wear mostly loose dresses. I have been dreading doing potty training again but this weekend was actually a lot of fun. The grin Ellie gets on her face when she has a success is priceless. It melted my heart when she told her Daddy on the phone, "Daddy I went on the potty all day. No accidents. I work hard Daddy".  There is no stopping this girl when she gets a goal in her head. 

 One of the reasons Ellie was so successful was because Ava was her "Potty Coach".  She made up the potty victory dance that we all did and the Pee Pee in the Potty Fight song. She was so supportive of her all weekend and kept asking her if she needed to go, etc. This child is such a wonderful older sibling and Ellie is so lucky to have her. 

Lots and lots of craft time this weekend. I even brought out their Holy Grail of crafts- Markers.

 In our old house that we potty trained Ava we had linoleum floors so clean up was a easy peasy. Not so in the new house. It is almost ALL carpet. We improvised and put out blankets, table cloths, beach towels, bathroom rugs, etc. I'm sure Martha Stewart would be proud.

 Ellie running to the potty. She insisted that if she had to be naked from the waist down then we had to be too. We compromised by doing loose dresses. 

Minnie Mouse providing moral support on her teeny potty.

One of the things that I absolutely love about this neighborhood is that it is flooded with children. It reminds me of the movie "The Sandlot". One of the big meet up spots for the kids is at a big tree across the street from our house. It was too torturous for the girls to see all the kids playing outside in 68 degree weather and being holed up inside potty training. I let them outside and just did knee highs for Ellie and just brought the potty with us. 

When you gotta go you gotta go. Even if it is in the front yard. It was quite the icebreaker with some of our new neighbors. They were so nice and came over to introduce themselves and tell me that they had all "been there done that".  I love how relaxed and friendly our neighborhood is. If this happened in our neighborhood in Virginia Beach, our Home Owner Association director would have a coronary and write me a fine!

 This Ava's BFF Emmy. They live across the street from us and we car pool with them to preschool. Playing with Emmy is my ace in the cards of bribes with Ava.

This is Sarah who lives next door to Megan. She is in fifth grade and has a gift with kids. She entertains them all the time for us so Megan and I can catch our breath. Ellie has taken quite the liking to her. 

Potty training has not kept our bike rides at bay. This is still how we spend most afternoons hitting the pavement. 

New Kind of Resolution

One of my new year's resolutions this year was to give to a different charity once a month. It has been fun the last two months deciding where the money will go and which cause I would like to support. I am always compelled to donating to runners running for a cause because of the support I received while running for the American Cancer Society in Marine Corps Marathon in 2010.

In January I chose The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.   Bob's Daughter (yes, our GrandBob) Katie Might is running a half marathon for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She has had two family members pass away from Leukemia. My idol, my B-Mom passed away in 1999 from Lymphoma so it is a cause near and dear to me. If any of you feel compelled to run a race for charity I highly recommend the "Team in Training" Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. They are very organized, have lots of training events and coaches, and one of the biggest presence at most races I have attended. If you would like to donate to Katie Might's fundraising page for the team in training, click on  this link.

For February, finding the charity to donate to was easy. Shockingly, my friend Sarah from Virginia Beach was diagnosed with Stage III Colon Cancer. She is about my age and is a stay at home mom to a 4 year old and a two year old. She is the definition of a mother warrior. Up till right before her first round of chemo this month she was an avid runner. Her Mantra is "Run because you CAN and think about those who CAN'T". A group from Virginia Beach called, "Mom's Gotta Run" are running the Shamrock Marathon in Sarah's honor and raising money for the charity Chris 4 Life. Sarah's fight is inspirational and here is her blog link.  To check out the Momma's Gotta Run fundraising page for Chris for Life click here.  

Sarah's Colon Cancer fight and the passing of close relatives to Leukemia and Lymphoma helps keep my attitude in check.  I think twice about complaining about potty training Ellie while Greg is gone (and not being able to have a cocktail while doing it). Life is precious and I need to do what I can to make at least some of my New Years Resolutions count. The world will not be a better place with me being in size 4 jeans again but these charities do make the difference. 

Goodbye Thumb, Hello Pinkalicious Potty

I was trying to delay this until Greg came home in March....but as always, Ellie has her own plans. I am nervous about potty training in a mostly carpeted house but at least us having brown carpets works to our advantage in this situation.  When we potty trained Ava it took us 6 months because she would regress every time Greg left for work ups. I promised I would not force the issue with Ellie until she was truly ready.  Not surprisingly, she is motivated by fashion to wear "fancy panties" like sissy and is lusting after some Minnie Mouse big girl panties. Wish me luck this weekend.

On a side note, this week I took Ava to her new pediatric dentist in Fresno. We are enamored with Dr. Powell. Ava had a nasty face plant in late November that damaged one of her front teeth. Our dentist in Virginia said she would need a root canal and that he didn't have a papoose (aka straight jacket) small enough to restrain her during it. This dentist said that a root canal might not be necessary and we would revisit the situation in two months to see how the tooth is healing. If a root canal is necessary he said he will not use a papoose. He said he builds trust with the kids he works with, works quickly, and only does enough that she can handle. If she freaks out during the procedure then they try again the next day. Worst case scenario if she doesn't respond well to treatment they will take her to a hospital setting and give anesthesia for the procedure. The miracle of this visit was that I told him she was a thumb sucker and we had tried many methods to get her to stop and all were unsuccessful. Dr. Powell then had a heart to heart talk with Ava asking her why she sucked her thumb, when she sucked her thumb, etc. Then he showed her with his mirror how she was moving her teeth forward, showed her the xray of her adult teeth coming in, and explained to her how important it was to stop sucking her thumb. He then asked her if she would be willing to stop sucking her thumb for a week. When she agreed the dentist said that he would personally be calling her next Tuesday and if she had a successful week he would be buying her an icecream. He gave us a coldstone gift certificate and Ava was thrilled. The technique has worked and we have gone 4 days without thumb sucking! We had a celebratory breakfast date afterwards and Ava came home telling Ellie how much fun it is to go to the dentist. Our healthcare in California has been spectacular with each doctor we have seen taking their time with us, building rapport and trust.  So this weekend instead of watching the big game we will be doing the big game of potty training and thumb sucking avoidance. 

Sir Teeny Grump

The news was double checked and made official yesterday at our ultrasound: Teeny Grump is a Boy! We are obviously thrilled. I am a bit intimidated because I have never lived with a boy/man besides Greg and he is gone half the time. The poor little man is going to have three mommies checking up on him since both his sisters are such mother hens. 

Here is the catch up of baby bump pictures. 4 Months pregnant here. 

5 Months pregnant here- Goodbye Heels. See you in 20 weeks!

Here we are at 6 months. Two great things about this picture: 1. Ava took it  2. Ellie doing a "bump" picture. Both girls love to pretend they have a baby in their belly too and have many sympathy pains. As you can tell I am growing steadily and at the ultrasound yesterday they estimated that the baby already weighed about 2 pounds. He is an active guy and I am carrying him much lower than I carried the girls. I have decided that becoming pregnant in August is the best time of the year to get pregnant. You get to experience Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Super Bowl, Mardi Gras, Valentine's Day, and I'll be going out with a possible Memorial Day Barbeque. I have never appreciated all these yummy holidays as much as I do now. Also, it is liberating NOT to have "lose weight" on your New Year's resolution list. My biggest cravings of the second trimester have been Cinnamon Toast Crunch, any kind of red meat, and all things chocolate. I am devastated that the movers broke our fondue pot but it is probably for the best. We have a name picked out that we will be surprising everyone with at the birth.  

taking the Valdez Zoo to the Zoo

It was a beautiful day in the central valley last Saturday so the girls and I had a date day. We went to the Fresno Zoo, Chickfila (only one in 100 miles!), and Nordstrom Rack for some shoe shopping. One of the things I have really missed since moving here is the YMCA in Virginia Beach. Let me tell you though, running after these girls and lifting them to see all the exhibits at the Zoo is a work out! It is neat to hear how the girls make up stories about the animals. There were ostriches fighting and chasing after each other and Ava said, "Their Mommy needs to have them take a nap!"We had a great day of girl bonding.

Ava is all about the pink fancy birds in nature

Ava is like her Daddy and loves maps. She is like her Momma and loves to plan. She routed out our whole day. The map was very kid friendly with lots of pictures so she enjoyed her tour guide role.

Elephants!

This monkey was such a character. 

How we traveled between exhibits

The petting zoo was great. The girls were very excited because they know a lot of goats and sheep that live down the road from us. When we got there Ava said, "Momma look its our neighbors!"

playing beauty shop with the sheep

The sea otters were our absolute favorite. They just love to put on a show and did a whole routine about 5 feet away from the girls

Girlfriend Getting Quiche

           One of the sayings in the Navy wife vernacular is that the more the remote the base is, the better friends you will make. With that wisdom, my social life has the potential to be bumping. I was fortunate enough to come here with two friends Megan (from Virginia Beach who nows lives across the street) and Annie (college girlfriend who lives about 20 minutes away). After I ended up yapping the ear off of a girl scout who came to the door to sell me cookies, I realized I need more of a social life. The girls and I are still church shopping but we have found a great Wednesday morning Bible study. I haven't met any of the Weapons School wives yet because we are not officially in that squadron till the end of March. That leaves me trolling the park in the afternoon trying to "pick up" neighborhood moms. It really is like dating but much more complex. I'm sewing my oats at the park but my first real girlfriend"catch" was when I got together with one of Greg's Top Gun classmate's wife.  She came over for morning coffee and quiche and apparently I set it up like a date. I texted this picture to my best friend and she teased me relentlessly. In Lemoore, you can't fake it and run off to a bakery before friends come over because there is NOTHING close except the commissary. I have been experimenting with lots of different recipes lately and this Quiche has by far been the best and foolproof to prepare.

Girlfriend Getting Quiche:

Ingredients:

1 9 inch refrigerated pie crust

1 tablespoon of Olive Oil

2 Medium Onions, chopped

Kosher Salt and Black Pepper

1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

4 large eggs

3/4 cup half and half

1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg

8 ounces of Gruyere cheese, grated 

Optional Dress it up Ingredients:

Just stir in thawed frozen spinach, sauteed mushrooms, or diced ham into the eggs before baking

(I did spinach and ham)

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Fit the crust into 9-inch pie plate. Place on baking sheet.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onions and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the parsley.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, half and half, nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir in the onion mixture and the Gruyere. 

4. Pour the egg mixture into the crust. Bake until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, 35-40 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving. 

New girls in town

      When you tell other Navy friends that you have been stationed in Lemoore, often times you get a look of shock and pity similar to that if you told them you had an aggressive cancer. I have been determined to go into this with a positive outlook and the mantra to "put myself out there". Greg left the second day we were here in Lemoore so he has actually has never seen the inside of our house. In 2009 and 2010 Greg did a year of work ups and a deployment. A 3 month separation then to me was a breeze. In 2011 we were so blessed to only have Greg leave for 2 week periods sporadically through out the year.  I was so spoiled in 2011 that it took me awhile to get back my single mom swagger. 

The princesses were ready to move into their new castle

My Mom got married to her 14 year long significant other (GrandBob) on January 2nd. We were so sad to miss the wedding in Northern Virginia. Instead of immediately going on a honeymoon, she decided to come to Lemoore January 6th to help me unpack for 5 days. Then she headed to Utah to help my sister's family with their new baby for a week and a half.  She is so selfless and I am still in awe that she put such a joyous occasion of a wedding on the backburner to come into the Valdez disaster moving zone. I get a lot of strength from her. She raised me and my two sibblings by herself for 16 years, I can be a single mom for 3 months. I'm so happy she came because I was wiped out from the stress of the holidays, the move, becoming mammoth pregnant, and Greg leaving. We unpacked about 200 of the 236 boxes while she was here. Ellie was attached to GiGi's hip while she was here and wanted nothing to do with anyone else. We are looking forward to her return in May when Teeny Babe makes his debut.

Presenting my newest nephew Stein Ferdinand Braun. Born on January 11, 2012. Weighing in at 8 lbs, 9 oz and 20.5 inches long. He is just precious and we can't wait to meet him in person. I also cannot believe how incredible my sister Betsy looks after having her 5th baby! I will not be looking this vivacious and camera ready after having Teeny Babe. 

This was the most random find from the boxes in our move. What?! Why? Where did they get this?

Our movers were a bit challenged in putting things together. Our table fell apart because they put the wrong screws in it. Our guest bed fell to the ground because they assembled it incorrectly (it fell while my mom was on it too). They didn't set up our washer and dryer. Other minor things are broken too. Unfortunately, Greg has all of our tools in his car in Nevada. We have adapted and are using our fold out tables and the guest bed is on the floor. My neighbor Wade Ashley, was kind enough to come over on one of his last nights with his family before he left for a detachment and set up our washer and dryer. We aren't sweating the small stuff and are thankful that nothing major is broken. The Browns are visiting soon and Matt is saving the day with fixing things. 

Mom gave us one of her curio cabinets so we are excited to finally display (possibly use?!) our China for the first time in 5 and a half years. Not pictured here: Duck tape on the side. Ellie, our resident engineer, learned how to open the doors and was climbing into the cabinet. The duck tape gives us time  to get to the scene of the crime if she decides to strike again.

Penny's welcome to California gift was a new bed. She is enjoying our big yard, lots of sunny spots, and side walks in our new neighborhood. This is Penny's 6th home in her lifetime. 

The girls still managed to have fun in the chaos. Here Ellie was telling us she was checking her map to get around traffic. Side note: I do not make Ellie walk around in a helmet all day. It is now her accessory of choice and will claw you if you try to take it off her.

The girls miss their VA family. Here they are listening to a Charlie Brown Christmas read by their Aunt Jess and Uncle Justin. 

Most afternoons we are heading to the park. There are 3 different parks in about a 5 minute walk from us. 

It has been a lot of work having the girls close together in age but I am so thankful for it. They really enjoy playing with each other every day and are making their new surroundings much less intimidating for each other. 

My life would be so much more difficult and stressful without the Ashley Family living across the street from us. Megan has watched the kids several times while the movers were here, having to sign paperwork, and other time consuming move items. Ava and Emmy are in the same class at preschool so we carpool everyday. Her kids have become the ultimate bribe for my kids to behave during the day so they can play with the Ashley kids in the afternoon. 

One of the many meals the Ashleys have made for us since we have moved here

The kids favorite indoor activity right now is dress up. Brenner is such a good sport having all the girls boss him around and dress him up. They are a riot to watch play together.

The radioflyer biker gang!

We are starting to get into the swing of things and develop a new schedule. Here the girls are enthralled with story time at the library. They are up front in the white and pink long sleeved shirts.

This separation from Daddy has really been hard for Ava. Here I found her asleep with the deployment book I made her in 2010. She mostly misses him at night but luckily, Skype has been a savior for us. I truly believe Skype has been the best thing to happen to the military community in the last few years.

Ellie acts like a big girl now but she still sleeps curled up with her butt in the air like she did when she was a baby.

One of the rewards from this week of good behavior for the girls were manicures and pedicures. The girls went to the store and picked out their own colors. Ellie has finally learned to sit still enough for a pedicure to dry. She is so proud of her purple toes and tells everyone she encounters about them. 

Every afternoon we have craft time. Today we did stamps and this is the first time that stamps did not end up on the wall! We are slowly becoming a civilized household.

With Ava back in school, Ellie and I have our quality time together again. This is on our morning Penny walk. Its hard to believe I only have a couple more months of mornings of just her and I.