Sister's Crafty Day- Part 1!

My sisters came up for a fun 2 days of crafting and sewing this past Thursday and Friday.  My sister, Lori, has been making the cutest skirts for her little girl so I was dying to have her teach me.  Thank goodness for 2 days off of school due to a statewide teacher training that made this possible!  My mom was sweet enough to come and join us mainly to entertain kids and help feed the crew (all 13 of them).  It just wouldn't be the same without Grandma!  We had a ball to say the least!!  I love hanging out with my sisters and I must say we don't do it near as much as I'd like.  In two days we managed to accomplish the following:  (I say "we" but actually, Lori was the brains behind the operation...she's seriously amazing!  Actually, Julie is totally crafty and does quite a bit of sewing but she'd never made the skirts before so we learned together!  I did not get the crafty gene but I started to catch on after a while and I totally enjoyed watching my girls get in to the action.  Regan is not afraid of the sewing machine at all and caught right on.  Morgan loved to hold the pedal down for me while I did the sewing.  Thanks to Lor for all of your help!!! Here is what we accomplished:

7 darling skirts
20+ hair bows of different kinds
1 table runner
a few belts for the girls

We laughed, we ate, we sewed, we glued, and we unpicked (occasionally) and laughed some more.  It was a perfect two days. The older girls even joined in the sewing fun from time to time and the other kids were content to play with each other.

What a way to end the season!

Regan participated in her last Cross Country meet last Wednesday in American Falls.  She ended up winning the race by literally an arms length.  She was so excited and so happy that the season went so well.  Her middle school girl's team was undefeated this year so I can hardly wait to see what happens in the coming years!  She's still running with the High School kids until their regular season ends in a couple of weeks which makes me realize how much she enjoys running. 

Regan and Maran at the beginning of the race!

Regan, Morgan, and Sierra

Kaleb, Kam, and Porter-They are not sad that Cross Country is over.  They are sick of hanging out for hours at "boring" meets--as Kaleb puts it.  I can't say I'll miss carrying around the babies while running parts of the course to see Regan. 

                                            Way to go Rocky Mountain Middle School girls!

What does a kid have to do....

                                                         ...to get a drink around here.

Disgusting, huh? 

a stinkin' update!

We all survived day 2 of potty training.  Day 3 is much better so far.  The babies have been up since 6:00 a.m.--no accidents for either of them.  They are down for a nap right now and I'm dreading the afternoon because the poopy thing has not been mastered just yet.  I'm holding my breath (and my nose)!  I'm hoping the new pairs of underwear we just bought this morning at Walmart will serve as some motivation but judging from my past experience, if they're going to poop their pants, nothing's going to stop them.  Not even adorable princess panties and manly truck underwear. 

Things that are keeping me going:

*  My diaper expense caculation from the past 2 years on average:  12 diapers per day (between the 2 babies) x  365 days in a year x 2 =  8,760 diapers!!  In terms of money, I'm not even going to go there.

*  I love hearing them cheer for each other when they potty in the toilet.  It's pretty cute!

*  Kaleb pointed to them this morning and said, "mom, their bums look so cute in underwear"

*  We ran errands for 2 hours today and neither one had any accidents.  They even used the "big" toilet at  the oil change place. 

*  Porter woke up dry this morning.  He was in a diaper but held it until I got him out of his crib to go potty! 

We'll see how the rest of the day goes!

It's a dirty job....

....but someones got to do it.  I'm not sayin' I'm happy about it but it was time.  Some of the red flags were:
*  trying to change their own and each other's diapers
*  bringing me wet wipes and diapers
*  hiding and pooping in the closet (that would be Kamryn)  Thankfully she kept her diaper on, then she'd come and tell me "I hide and poop"
* both of them saying, "I potty train mommy" 
* All of my kids have been unofficially potty trained at 2 yrs and 3 months--they are a month late. Not that I think they all have to follow that pattern, it just seems like a good age.
*  Every time I go to buy diapers, I want to scream!!  I just want to be diaper free in my house in the worst way!  Less money spent on diapers means more grocery money!

We're on day 2--the worst day in potty training EVER!!  If I can make it past today, there just might be hope.  I'm not a nice mommy while potty training, I have no patience, I have no problem admitting it.  Not that I'm not trying to be better, it's just that scrubbing out poopy underwear in the toilet time and time again, losing my voice from asking, "do you need to go potty," and investigating every "suspicious" wet spot on the tile and carpet, all of these things combined just wear me down. Wish me luck cause I desperately need it.  Actually, wish them luck because they need it. 

One funny thing that helped lighten the mood yesterday was these two with underwear down to their ankles fighting over the little potty chair.  It was cracking me up (no pun intended) 

Jordy's 7!!

Happy Birthday Jordyn!!  We've nicknamed Jordyn our "Conference baby" since she was born on October 3rd which always falls on Conference weekend. In fact, I can remember watching the sessions of Conference in the hospital while holding our new baby girl!  I'm not sure I got much out of the talks that year but I will always remember the experience.  I need to post my "favorites" list about Jordyn but for now I'll share a few pictures from her B-Day!  She was so thrilled with everything she got, even right down to her new Barbie toothbrush.  Yes, aren't I the most exciting mother:)  Her main gift from us was a personalized jewelry box which she was beyond thrilled about!  This child LOVES jewelry more than any child or adult I know and it was so cute to watch her excitedly organize everything.  She's a lucky girl because this year she got to celebrate her B-Day in Cokeville with Grandma and Grandpa Teichert and then she also had a little party in Blackfoot that night with Grandpa & Grandma Rose which meant two B-day cakes and two parties!  What more could a girl want??

My kids love to come up with their own decorating ideas for the cake.  This is what she came up with!  I love her creativity but had to laugh that it is very similar to last years!  She loves Polly Pockets just about as much as jewelry.

Jordyn's "No Bullying Contest" Award!

A couple of weeks ago the girls entered a "No Bullying" contest that was done throughout most Elementary School in the two I.F. School Districts.  Both Morgan and Jordyn put a lot of time and effort in to making their posters look just the way they had invisioned.  I love contests like these because my girls really love to draw and color but part of me dislikes them because the likelyhood of them both winning is pretty slim.  Anyway, I got a call last week from our Principal telling me that Jordyn's picture had won 1st place.  She got to attend a rally held at Freeman Park on Friday afternoon where they honored 2 grandprize winners, 13- 1st place winners which Jordyn was a part of, and 13- 2nd place winners, and quite a few "honorable mention" winners.  With over 3,000 entries, this was quite an acomplishment for all of the kids.  Jordyn was THRILLED but totally nervous for the opportunity to shake our Mayor's hand and claim her prize which was a bag filled with goodies, a DVD, movie tickets, some gift cards, a coloring book, crazy bands, and various other fun things.  She say's she's "Totally doing this next year" and I'm proud of her for doing her best!

Jordyn with Mayor Jared Fuhriman!

Jordyn's 1st place poster!  I crack up everytime I look at the "bully's" spiky hairdo and the giant size tears on the victim's face. Jordyn is all about detail and color!

                      

Jordyn claiming her award!

                                      The "No Bullying" Rally at Freeman Park- October 1st, 2010