Friday Favorites

HAPPY FRIDAY TO YOU! Whoo hoo people! I just love a Friday! Can't wait for the hubby to get off work and do our normal Friday Night Family night out to dinner! That's one thing I love about living in a big town....although we have our favorites...there is ALWAYS something new popping up that we haven't tried!  

I went out to eat with a friend last night, and y'all...we didn't LEAVE the restaurant until 10:45!!!!! Listen, in college, I was still drying my HAIR at 10:45. But Mama can't keep up like she used to.  I'm strugglin' today. 

Nevertheless, I'm linking up with my usual, Miss Narci, for Friday Favorites!

1) Jeremie built Greyson a sandbox over the weekend and OH MY STARS this thing is like a free babysitter. Greyson is totally obsessed with the sandbox and has spent HOURS in it. I can see him in there from out the back door, so I've even managed to get a little done while he's out there having a little "independent play time".  Our buddy Patrick had to come break ground with us and Greyson has also asked our little neighbor Audrey to "PLEASE come play in my sandbox." He was like in her grill, asking over and over until she said yes.  I told him he sounded like his Daddy asking for my number 12 years ago.  ; ) 

2) During my weekly Kroger run, I spotted this little gift card kiosk. Apparently these are gift cards appropriate for the #BestMomEver. Excuse me, but if Jeremie Wells blesses me with a Cabela's and Uber gift card I'M OUT. #mostjadedmomever

On second thought...an Uber gift card to the Marshall's and Mexican Restaurant around the corner might be much appreciated.

3) Today I met up with my Square One tribe for a playdate at UrbanAir, a trampoline park. Friday mornings are reserved for toddlers only, and it was SO MUCH FUN. This is definitely the way to spring all that extra energy out of your little Tigger toddler. There's even a little Ninja warrior course, which I SEMI-ATTEMPTED and let's just hope there's no security camera's in that area. 

4) This was CERTAINLY not a favorite moment of mine....but for your pleasure, I'll report.  Without getting into details, just know we had a little accident in the Chic-fil-A bathroom yesterday in which one of Greyson's favorite Monster Jam toys fell into the toilet. With stuff in there, OH YES. And while I considered it for a split second, there was no way to flush "Grave Digger" down the toilet. So yep, Mama had to fish him out. And into the trash can he went. I was not even going to try to redeem that situation.  Nothing another $3.88 won't buy. I feel like I crossed the inevitable threshold of motherhood where you have to fish something out of the toilet. 

5) This Tuesday WAS a favorite for me, as I finally just CLEANED HOUSE. Not that I enjoy cleaning, but it was about to drive me CRAZY...because this is how I felt...

The bathroom floors needed a come to Jesus meeting. So even though it lasted about 2.5 seconds, I LOVED having a CLEAN house. And back on the hamster wheel we go!

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend! I'm off to a ladies small group retreat, so if you're reading, please say a brief prayer for my husband, child, dog, home, valuables, and marital status. ; )

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Teacher Gift Time

Here we are, already at Wednesday! We just attended our next to last session of Bible Study Fellowship for the year and my heart is breaking a little.  I love my study group, and I LOVE the couple hours I get to sit still and talk about the Lord while my little cherub is downstairs where there is teaching, training, AND rebuking happening.  That's biblical, y'all. 2 Timothy 3:16 ; ) 

Anyway, as we approach the end of the "school year", teacher gifts are on the my radar. Now that I have a WILD BANDICOOT of my own, I'm like, "YOU PEOPLE DESERVE A GIFT." A good one. 

Greyson is only 2.5, so he only does a little two day Mother's Day Out program. But these ladies have been amazing, they are ALWAYS so cheerful and praising of Greyson. They make lots of effort to do engaging activities with him, a lot of which are tied to The Bible. Even through potty training, and cleaning up G's many accidents, they have been so cooperative, supportive, and encouraging.  Great teachers really make a big difference! 

Now, I do think that like everything else, Pinterest has taken the Teacher Gift industry to a whole new level. The amount of creativity and crafting looks exhausting to the point I just want to go buy an apple. Y'all. Most teachers are moms too. They know we are running around like crazy people. They don't expect a sliced apple sculpture in the shape of the ABC's. A simple, sweet gesture is good enough. 

So I did a little craftless-Pinterest-trollin' today though, and found several SUPER easy but adorable ideas! 

Beach Towel

I found this on Sister's, What blog, and think this is adorable! No doubt, EVERYONE needs a beach towel for the summer! I just love the presentation and you could slip in any other goodies like sunglasses, beach balm, or flip flops! The BEST PART is that the card is a FREE printable and they have a couple of different designs! Seriously, this looks so easy! 

Caffeine

And all the teachers said AMEN, right?! My teacher friends say that this is one of their favorite gifts to get! 

If you know their favorite drink, I love this printable from Bren Did, And You Can Too. SUPER cute and super easy! I do love being personal and giving them the specific thing I know they love! 

If you want to give the freedom of choice, DIY JOY also has an adorable printable that you can tie to a cute cup and put a gift card inside. Again, love the presentation and the simplicity! This post actually has "33 Best Teacher Appreciation Gift Ideas"....so you should check it out! (Some are a little crafty and involve glitter and nail polish, which we DO NOT ALLOW in Greyson's sight. No ma'am.)

Bath and Body/Soap

I have actually done this a couple years because Bath and Body Works just has the most amazing deals on their hand soaps. (They are usually like 6 for $24 and sometimes there's a coupon!) They all smell so delicious! I do think scents are pretty personal, but hand soaps are general enough.  I always end up finding one that I feel like matches each teachers personality. I don't have a picture of mine, but I've used the little saying before: "Happy Summer! Now you can wash your hands of my child!" 

I found this FREE printable on Close To Home and thought it was adorable! 

Gift Cards

And finally, gift cards for the win, folks. I personally love getting gift cards but always feel sorta tacky giving them. Like I didn't really think about the gift. But, I love that you can pretty much find a gift card for any store now, so you really could get personal with this by asking your teacher some questions! I loved the many options of gift card printables at Crazy Little Projects. They are so cute and colorful! 

So that's my list! I really love all these ideas and can't decide which one to go with this year! Which one is YOUR favorite? 

Potty Training...For The Bold, The Brave, And the Bleach

As you might have noticed via my social media grumbling and perhaps some personal SOS texts, we are potty training.  And YES. I mean WE. Because it’s taken effort from my ENTIRE VILLAGE. Because I’m so wrapped up in it, I feel like I’m teaching myself how to use the bathroom all over again. As a BOY, if you will.

Listen. This post is NOT NOT NOT a resource full of advise. But I regret not recording all the things that I did that were/were not successful during Greyson’s babyhood so I could at least have some reference for #2. So this is a mere report. For your pleasure, and for my pain. Because seriously, I have PTSD from potty training. 

Potty training is not for the faint of heart y’all.  I really feel that along with newborn sleep deprivation, potty training should be added to the list of Navy Seal training activities.

Greyson reached the official 2.5 year mark in March.  He is communicating really well in regards to being hungry and CERTAINLY the things he does or does not want. Bless. He also was telling me when he peed or pooped in his diaper. So I felt like it was time to rip the band aid off and do this thing.  The only words of advise I have is that IT’S NEVER A GOOD TIME. EVER. There’s always going to be something more fun to do or an event coming up that seems completely impossible to face with a ticking time bomb of a toddler who might go at any moment. It’s really just a matter of saying NO to everything for a few days and staying home.

We started potty training on April Fools Day, so hey, maybe the joke’s on us. (Coincidentally, Jeremie and I met on April Fool’s Day in 2005. As we were sitting there with G on the potty, we thought, “If you would have told us that in 12 years, we’d be gathered in the bathroom with our toddler waiting to potty, we’d CACKLE”.  And continue dancing to the Usher song.)

Anyway, we kicked off the morning with a "Potty Party!" and let G eat a cupcake for breakfast, had him throw a few diapers in the trash can, and pulled out all the new exciting underwear for him to choose from. It was like CLUB POTTY up in here. We made it really exciting. (Plus, we'd been talking to him about it all week.) 

                                         

I had a KILLER treat basket.  I thought, seriously, if THIS won’t make him potty train, I don’t know what will.

                           

I used the “3 Day Potty Training” PDF guide by Lora Jensen. I will say I loved this guide, because I had no idea what I was doing. It’s short, to the point, simple to follow, and has a tremendous amount of FAQ’s that are real life situations. BUT. Supposedly this woman is anointed with the gift of potty training children in 3 days, but I’m just NOT believing it. No ma’am. I DO agree that a few consecutive/intensive days at home is really necessary to make it “click”, but there’s NO WAY that she pulls a bunny out of that hat in 3 days.  Like brushes her hands off on Day 4 and sends them to school without holding her breath. My super practical and honest pediatrician told me it wasn’t a 3 day thing, and she was right. (She did encourage the several days at home though.) 

I had read the PDF throughout the week and did everything.  ALL THE THINGS. Said all the things, did all the positive reinforcement, and told him ONE HUNDRED BILLION TIMES to “Tell me if you have to potty!” (Lora is all about them learning their body signals and telling you, which is something I totally agree with and loved.) Her method is based on catching the child in the act of potty-ing, and even if they have an accident, rushing them to the potty and letting them “finish” on the potty. And just like her PDF said, we had some wins and we had some losses. Serious losses. Like there was pee everywhere. At one point I considered putting on J's tool belt with a Bleach spray bottle and some paper towels in it. But Jensen does affirm that accidents are good and that’s how they learn. Greyson’s main problem was that he wouldn’t fully release all his pee, mainly because I’d scare him to death by grabbing him and rushing him to the potty, so he’d freeze up. So we’d go back and forth to the potty a million times before he was empty.  (For the record, he is still struggling with this, but it’s getting better.) The prize bucket certainly helped seal the deal, but he did get a little entitled, because if he squeezed out a DROP, he’d ask for a prize. ; )

I was good and positive and chipper and encouraging and forgiving until about Day 2.5. Then y’all. I was OVER IT. Over being in his grill, over being in the house, over being obsessed with someone else’s bodily functions. I had totally prepared for playing together inside a lot, but I’d reached my limit of toddler fun and creativity. We pushed through Day 3 with continued progress and Day 4 was Mother’s Day Out (Tuesday). And I decided to brave it. Seriously I felt like Katniss on the Hunger Games saluting his teachers….

I seriously had to pray over letting this go that first day. I don’t know why I had so much anxiety over him having accidents at school, because Lord knows his teacher have seen it all, and thank goodness, they were very cooperative to any method that I desired. I guess because we had put so much work in over the weekend that I didn’t want anything to mess up our progress. For the record, I put him in underwear for school and put a pull-up OVER it (a tip from my pediatrician) so he could still FEEL being wet, but it would contain the mess.

And the results were: Pee and poop in his pants at school. Sweet. On Thursday, he totally HELD IT ALL DAY LONG. I was encouraged to know he could hold it that long, but still was frustrated he didn’t realize he could potty at school. So I kept us bound to the house the rest of the week. That weekend, we finally got out and he pulled the same stunt of holding it ALL day. You can read all about that incredible day here. I know that some of you may think holding it is AWESOME, but to me, that just communicated that he was scared to potty anywhere but home. (And that freaked me out.)

I was at a loss by the end of the weekend. I didn’t feel like he was totally catching on and he had really stopped telling us when he had to go. And wouldn’t go when he clearly had to. After he had an accident during church and then a complete meltdown with the small group babysitter, I lost it. I walked into small group and burst into tears. Mainly I was tired. Potty training seriously drains you mentally. And emotionally I guess. I am also a LOVER of routine and getting out of the house, and I just felt like my entire routine and freedom was taken away. I know that sounds very menial and selfish, and in some ways, yes, it is. But, seriously, this is my full time job, so when there’s a change in procedure, I have to really shift my perspective. I don’t care who you are, EVERYBODY has a routine. And if something changes, it changes you.

So I really had to tell myself to give it a week. It was like taking the newborn mentality back on: “This will probably look totally different in a week.” I also had a lot of people praying for me, and for you that did-THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. I’m honored and humbled that you spent your God given moments and breath over my sanity and my son’s bodily functions.

I also thought about WHAT I was doing that was outside of the 3 Day Method. And while the pull-up-over-undies trick is helpful, that was the ONLY thing I was doing different. Greyson was even calling the pull-up a diaper; he clearly knew the difference. So I decided to go back to basics. G went “commando” if you will, with undies ONLY, no safety net. And I know each child is different, but I think this changed things for us. 

And one week later, things DO look different. Don’t get me wrong, Greyson still has accidents. Just yesterday, he got too distracted outside and left a little gift for me in his undies. BUT, something HAS clicked. I’ll spare details, but school time has gotten better. We even flew to Mississippi and spent the whole Easter weekend at my in-laws with NO ACCIDENTS.  I was sure that the change in routine would put us back at square one. It was SO good for me to have a change in environment and be assured that Greyson had caught on.

Many of you have asked what I did at night.  I will say G was already waking up dry a lot of mornings (unless I really let him linger in his crib), so I was brave enough to let him sleep without a pull-up.  And this has been hit or miss.  I’m finding that as long as I get him up about 30 minutes after I see him moving, he’s still dry. (I get up before him for my quiet time.) I will say that I DO very much miss letting him sleep late or linger in the bed…he was totally content when he woke up to play with his little stuffed animals and talk to himself. That would give me a few extra minutes and even a shower! BUT-I’m so nervous to put him back in a pull-up, because that seemed to really get him off track. So I’m okay sacrificing that time right now. (I’ve thought about getting him up immediately when I do to let him potty and then put him back to bed-but I don’t know if this would work and I haven’t tried it yet.)  I know some of you have 2 kiddos, so this is SUPER hard to give up. I honestly don’t know what to tell you. A pull-up might not affect them as much and I hear that most parents still do use pull-ups at night! 

The only other tip that I "added" to the potty training curriculum was the "DRY-MOMETER".  I literally came up with this the morning of, because I wanted to keep track of when Greyson was having accidents OR if he successfully made it to the potty OR if he even asked me to potty.  Everything starts to run together throughout the day, so I LOVED having this to visually track our progress.  And it reminded me there WAS PROGRESS. . 

The PDF guide says to "prepare your household",  and YES, I can't stress this enough. Plan what you'll eat, have the laundry done, and get yourself  ready before the cherub gets up. Your ONLY job should be to keep your kiddo within arms reach at all times to watch for signals and run them to the potty. Jeremie was here throughout the weekend and totally helped with the potty stuff, but he also was our personal chef.  He cooked ALL the meals and did most kitchen stuff so I could focus on G. Couldn't have done it without him! And again, if you've got 2 kiddos, I can't imagine how hard this would be.  The only thing I can think of is to have a friend or family member be in charge of #2! Or have hubby do that and just order pizza all weekend! ; )

So! That's our story for the first 4 weeks. It's BEYOND me that I haven't had to buy diapers, reload caddys, or replace Diaper Champ bags in the last 4 weeks.  Once we really get this under our belts, it really will be so nice!

I hope to do a Part 2 update in a few weeks to share progress.  I have heard of regression, so I'm trying to mentally prepare for that.  If you are about to start potty training, I'm gonna be honest IT'S HARD Y'ALL. It really tests your patience. I have to really check myself, because a lot of my frustration is from selfishness, because it DOES change your routine. But, just like all things in raising children, this IS a season. They WILL NOT be in diapers until they're 16. And when you're on the other side of it, you'll be all the more patient and wise, and have all types of great encouragement for the mamas behind you!

We have crossed the finish line yet, so I'd LOVE to hear YOUR potty training experience and any jewels of wisdom!

Friday Favorites

HAPPY FRIDAY everyone!!! I hope your week has been fantastic. We've had some wins and some losses (literally, G's school had to straight throw away 2 pairs of underwear), but overall, it's been a good one.  The randomness of this post will probably be absurd, but our life is just pretty random right now.

I'm linking up with my usual, Narci and company for Friday Favorites!

1) Even though my body isn't super ready, I'm mentally ready to break out the spring wardrobe..shorts, sandals, tanks! I still love jeans and boots and such, but honestly, shorts and tees are just easier with a child. So I'm embracing my pale un-toned legs and going for it. I've had some really good luck at my favorite consignment shop, Closet Revival lately.  I scored some presh cutoff denim J CREW shorts last week and a cute top this week. I think I've mentioned this store before, but what I've failed to point out is the kid friendly play corner.  YES YES YES. G had the best time while I browsed without a toddler on my hip or dangerously hanging out of a buggy. 

2) Speaking of shorts season.....J and I are trying to eat healthier. (Besides the powdered donuts, chips and Coke we inhaled Easter weekend.) To date, he's lost 10 pounds and I've lost 2.5. Doesn't that just make me wanna cuss. How is that? Anyway, I know it's something about percentage and whatever but still...we're eating the SAME THING. Blows my mind. Nevertheless, I've really fallen in love with the "One Pan Wonder" recipes.  This week we did pork chops (I dashed them with some salt and pepper, rosemary, and panko bread crumbs) surrounded by green beans and cherry tomatoes. (I did roll the veggies around in some olive oil and salt and pepper.) Bake at 375 for about 35 minutes and that's YOU'RE ENTIRE MEAL. Pull up the foil after you're done and THAT'S YOUR CLEANUP. YES PLEASE.

You can use this same principle with any meat and vegetables! I've done chicken & brussel sprouts, small steaks with squash and zucchini....the options are really endless!  

We also did Pan Sheet Fajitas, which were SO EASY and delicious. Greyson loves standing on his stool and "helping" me chop veggies. (I give him a butter knife.) You can find the recipe here at the Laughing Spatula. 

3) This week a NEW Dirt Cheap location opened in Allen!!! If you haven't heard of Dirt Cheap, it's a store that buys overstock inventory from great stores like Target, Gap, etc, and sales them usually 50% off or more! My hubby raised an eyebrow when I told him I shared this store on the blog last time but...I'm sorry...I have no shame. I love a deal, and seriously. Target has some DARLING stuff lately. The world celebrates Chip and Joanna's discount shopping strategy, so THERE.

G ended up the winner of our Dirt Cheap run....he picked out a Paw Patrol helmet, a Monster Jam truck (duh), and some shoes that look just like Natives.  

He's like a 2 year old Junk Gypsy. 

4) And ya'll. This child this week. He's hilarious. He sweet. Then he's WILD. And rude. Then he's having a tantrum over a graham cracker. He's so independent. But in the next instant he's literally like a monkey on my back. The he's a cherub. He's really sorting out all his emotions. 

But he's melting my heart. This week at Nordstrom Rack he was in the buggy and said "I want a hug." Then after a big hug..."I want a kiss"....Y'ALL. I was a PROUD mama and hoped that EVERYONE WAS LOOKING at how SWEET my son was.  

Then 4 minutes later I let him out of the buggy and he TOOK OFF in the shoe department with a show I was {trying} to try on and I was chasing him barefoot. Then I was hoping that NOBODY WAS WATCHING at how disobedient my son was.  Parenting is humbling if nothing else. 

We've also had a few moments this week where I've been blown away at how much G is perceiving, listening and remembering. We had our first actual "conversation" over dinner, where he legitimately answered my questions about what he did that day, who his favorite teacher is, and what his favorite thing is on the playground. Then today, he grabbed a little foot stone today and said: "It's a stone. Jesus rolled the stone away!" Now, we talk about Jesus a lot, but I haven't specifically mentioned the stone rolling away. He's really bringing that home from school, which made my heart burst.  But also made me realize I've really got to pick up my game.  

Growing up is exhausting. ; ) 

5) After a week full of highs and lows and wild mini-man tantrums, it was so good to end my week at The Nest ministry....coincidentally today was Part 2 of a Discipline talk. (You can listen to Part 1 here). I snapped this pick of a chart that describes the difference of punishment and discipline; I thought it was very helpful. 

After a morning where I raised my voice a little too high at G for needing to go to the potty, I needed a reminder that this mission of motherhood has kingdom goals and eternal impacts.  I've got to start thinking this way more.  But it was ALSO good to hear some stories of other moms who've had many of those moments too...that may have included bribery and some yelling. ; ) 

Okay! So we're off to eat Mexican tonight! Mama doesn't cook and we don't diet on Friday! So bring on the cheese dip and chocolate cookies! Hope y'all have a great weekend! 

Easter Recap

Hello and Happy Thursday to ya! I tried to post this yesterday, but I'm having a little disagreement with my iCloud and photo storage. I spent the ENTIRE nap time yesterday in the black whole of downloading and deleting photos. Which ticked me off. Sometimes I wish we lived back in the world of film where we don't have the freedom to take 724 pictures of our sweet cherubs each week.  Not really. But maybe. 

Anyway, I hope your Easter holiday was delightful.  Ours was. I came back about 6 pounds heavier due to powdered donuts, french onion dip, and REAL COKE. Like in the red can, people. YES. Give me all that syrup that takes 7 years to digest. 

At the last minute, my hubby decided for us to hop the 2x2 plane that charters us to our hometown regional airport with one gate. It's adorable y'all. The same people with the ear muffs and cones are the same people that check your bags. Thank the Lord though, really for this one hour flight. It has made it possible for us to see our families quickly and often!

Since someone actually has to pay the bills, Jeremie doesn't get to go on our week long excursions and spend much time with his family. So this trip was born and we had the best time; it was so nice to have Jeremie with us!

Since J also doesn't get the PLEASURE of flying with a toddler as much as I do, he booked Greyson's seat next to his. And all the angels sang and Mama sat in front and READ A BOOK during the flight. It might be the most still I've been since my epidural.

Our first stop was my Grammy and Big Jack's house, which is about 10 minutes from the airport. We had a "pizza party" and Grammy had a special gift for Greyson.  I can't tell you how many pizza parties I've had at this table. 

As you recall, my Big Jack passed away last year. He and Grammy spent a lifetime traveling together, mainly in campers. This "little camper" is one of them. And Grammy decided to pass the torch and gift it to Greyson. At first he didn't fully understand that the camper itself was the present, but after he hopped in, he was all about his "little house".

I have so many memories with my grandparents in this camper, so it was really sweet to see Grammy and my little guy in it together. 

This lady is my heart. She has physically fought for her life a few times, and we just have a special connection.She strong and sweet and loves her family.

Easter Day rolled around and we got all gussied up for church. I will say that our church is super casual, so it was really fun to get dressed up.  I think my crew looked pretty cute. I loved seeing everybody's pictures on Facebook, too. 

Can I be super honest and say that since we were all decent and together and had a great background, I tried to get some cute family pics. We tried this darlin' little natural pose where you swing your kid, and while Jeremie looks absolutely adorable, Greyson's head is missing and it looks like we are throwing him into a pot of boiling water. Over it. Seriously, how are these family Pinterest pictures happening? 

Nona managed to get a good one.

I hope she knows this dress WILL be missing from her closet soon.

The church cantata was great other than Greyson asking loudly "Is Nona done?" every time they finished a song. He also sat between me and J and rubbed both of our heads THE ENTIRE TIME. (It's a comfort thing. He does it to himself.) I wish a I had a picture from behind, because every church member mentioned it afterwards.

Jeremie's grandparents

And y'all. This is how we do it in the South. 

My mom joined us for lunch since my dad was on a turkey hunting trip. Our families are super close, which makes me super thankful!

Grandmother put the train together just for Lil G.

And the rest of the weekend, we just hung out together. We played in the sandbox....

And ate ice cream...

And took walks in the "woods"...

And picked flowers...

And played Oh so hard with our cousin, Judah.  They had the biggest time and it was so fun to see them really play together. WILD. BOYS.

And even though the boys look like the only ones who braved the 68 degree water.......

Let me tell you a little story. G had been by the pool a good bit during the weekend, and each time, we'd slip on his little Puddle Jumper. But at one point, everybody headed inside for a snack, so I took it off and was letting him finish his little "fishing trip" with his plastic pole. It was like slow motion. I saw him bend over a little and his equilibrium was just off and into the pool he went. Y'ALL. I haven't moved that fast since 9th grade cheerleader tryouts. I dived right in after him. He actually didn't freak out, and SHOCKINGLY, neither did I. You know that 90% of a toddler's reaction is usually based on yours, so I didn't want him to be forever terrified of the pool. I laughingly said "Well, look at you! You went swimming!" We grabbed a towel for the pool room, called for J, and he saw we were soaked and was like: "WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED?" I passed G over and then did my freaking out inside. Honestly, he was only in the pool for an INSTANT, but it just made me realize how quickly and easily something can happen. Needless to say, I'll be signing him up for swim lessons PRONTO. 

Our last night, Greyson requested that "Papa read", which is adorable, especially for the fact that he is ONLY letting ME read to him at night right now. 

The weekend ended as quickly as it began, and since we have a flair for the dramatic, they barely let us on the plane. (We were right on time, if not a smidge late, so really our fault.) But knowing how waiting around for the next plane would totally screw up my toddler's schedule, I about went all Mama Bear on them and they let us on. ; )

Greyson was super excited to experience his FIRST bus ride to the Remote parking lot. 

And that was Easter y'all! 

Friday Favorites...on Monday!

Did I mess with your head when you saw Friday Favorites?! I know...it's Monday.....

I had already started this post last week with my favorites for the week and got lost in Easter parties, packing, and catching planes! So I'm a little late, but still gonna link up to one of my favs, Miss Narci and catch up! 

1) I was still in the WOES of potty training last week.  Literally on Sunday, I walked into our church's small group time IN TEARS. The next day, my sweet friend said "I'm coming over with Starbucks. What do you want?" I just sent a screen shot of this and she arrived in 20 minutes.  Thankful, for YOU Emily. 

And YOU yummy Starbucks tea with a name too long to type. 

2) If you read my last post about my child looking like a sheepdog, please know that we had a reckoning right away. Haircut was scheduled and executed on Tuesday. I absolutely adore the little salon we go to.  G sits on a different apparatus each time and this time he chose a motorcycle.  Seriously, I sat on a wooden plank to boost me up as a kid. If you're local, you have to check out Kids B Kids. 

3) I didn't have anything special for G's Easter basket this year, and really wasn't that worried about it. But on Thursday, I swung into the Prestonwood Children's Bookstore, and wow, that place is adorable, and filled with the most DARLING gifts! There was ONE set of this Easter Story Egg sitting on a shelf and I fell in love with it! It has 7 beautiful nesting eggs and a book that leads you through Holy Week.  (Simple, short writings; perfect for children!) We'll be pulling this out every year.  Apparently, it is super popular, because the company website, Star From Afar was sold out! They have a super cute wooden nativity set too!

4) Greyson's school had an Easter party on Thursday.  They send us little photos throughout the day with updates of what they're doing.  I got this one during they're party while they were eating their snack. The caption says: "Break this bread and eat it-when you do, think of Jesus"....and OH DEAR, my heart just about burst. I pray every day that a seed is planted in his heart to know and love Christ early on in his life. And I am just super thankful that his teachers are watering that seed. 

5) And while G was breaking bread, I was drinking much coffee. I'm working on piece for Collin County Moms blog that required for me to check out some really neat places.  And drink some really good coffee.  It was a good day. : ) 

This IS an actual picture of my actual cup. 

So fast forward through the weekend, and we have gone and come back from a great Easter weekend in Mississippi. I'm 6 pounds heavier and G is taking a 3 hour nap. I'll be recapping our trip later! 

But for now, I hope you're having a great Monday! 

The Day that Wasn't...A Tale of Bluebonnets and Back Seat Potties

Happiest of Hump Days to ya. We are officially entering Week Two of potty training, which has been less than thrilling and around here. And if I'm super honest, it's been really hard on me. When I say that, all my friends are like, "Oh goodness, what's going wrong?!"  So let me clarify.  Greyson is actually doing great and really catching on. He's acting like a two and half year old and sometimes doesn't tell me in time and has accidents. Other days he holds it for unimaginable lengths of time.

Unfortunately, I also tend to act like a two and a half year old sometimes and when something upsets my schedule and routine, I act like a total Eeyore.

I THRIVE on routine. It was just so easy when I could slap a diaper on that munchkin and go wherever, whenever.

We pretty much stayed home all of last week, like literally within a 20 foot proximity to the bathroom.  The whole premise of potty training is to be super intensive with EYES ON THE CHILD for several days so you can learn their signs, catch them in the act, and rush them to the potty immediately.

That being said, when the weekend rolled around, I was like GET ME OUT OF HERE. Pretty sure Greyson felt the same way. He had caught on to going in the potty, so we decided to head to Ennis for the Annual Bluebonnet Trails Festival.  I couldn't WAIT to hit the beautiful field of bluebonnets like we last year to snap some pics. Because last year's were PINTEREST WORTHY my friends.

Remember these?

THIS.

And THIS.

And for the love, look at this....

We even snapped a family pic. Everyone is looking. Everyone is semi-smiling. Heck, everyone has PANTS ON. 

A mother's dream.  So it was reasonable to assume we would repeat this quality again, right!? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA....I CAN HERE THE HEAVENS LAUGHING RIGHT NOW.

First of all, let me just admit this publicly that I was already a little grumpy because I didn't feel well, hadn't slept well, and POTTY TRAINING Y'ALL. Secondly, my crew just wasn't in the mood to take pictures. J was already dressed.  He finally gave in (bless it) to putting on a neutral t-shirt, but couldn't find the ONE he had in his head. (I would fuss, but listen, aren't we always looking for that ONE SHIRT that we can't find?...I get it.) Then it just hit me how BADLY Greyson needed a haircut.  It's like I looked down and suddenly realized I was raising a sheepdog. I like my Southern boys clean cut. Therefore, every cute little outfit we tried to put on him just looked absurd.  Like a sheepdog in gentleman's clothing.

Now that we are potty training, it takes 472 times longer to get out the door. It's a totally different mind frame.  No more am I just checking to make sure we have diapers and wipes. I need extra underwear, clothes, baggies for accident clothes, the little potty itself, which we can't load into the car until G uses, in which we are WAITING for eternal glory for him to do. (He hasn't quite conquered squat and go mentality yet.)  When we finally left the driveway, we were all a little snappy and an hour later than planned.

The drive calmed us down and we were just ready to get on some country roads.  We planned to to the same route as last year and hit the big field first.  But when we turned off the highway, we merged with 5,342 cyclists who were participating in the Bluebonnet Festival ride.  And guess what their route was.  Y'ALL. I'm not hating on cyclists. I have many cyclists friends. Some are probably reading right now. But I am hating on the event planner of this ride. Because it wasn't genius to schedule the ride the same weekend as the festival when everyone wants to come down to Ennis and drive on the bluebonnet flanked country roads. After going TWO MILES PER HOUR for about 45 minutes, we finally got around the cyclists and moved on to a different trail.  We didn't even get to go to our field.  The other trail was beautiful, but there weren't really an public areas to get out and take pics.  Until I saw this.

Do you see what I see? A For Sale sign on a piece of property on a country road. 

I told J that it was FOR SALE anyway....surely they wouldn't care if we stopped and took pics? I added that Greyson probably had to potty for full convincing effect.  So we stopped, got out, and I sat G on the potty in the back while I got my tripod ready.  J knows what I'm thinking....I'm still set on my family picture.  And he's like: "No. You are not getting all that out. We aren't even supposed to be on this property." So here we are arguing on a dirt road with the tailgate up and our half naked child trying to use the bathroom.  Other bluebonnet finders were passing us by and giving us the raised eyebrow. In the end, J gave in to me trying to get a few pics of G, but the little sheepdog wasn't having it. So we headed on to the actual Bluebonnet Festival in downtown Ennis. By then, we were HUNGRY.  Scratch that, HANGRY. After shoving some corndogs down, everyone felt better and we enjoyed ourselves.  G started doing the potty dance but kept telling me he didn't have to go. Meanwhile, I'm eyeing all the closest port-a-potties which totally grosses me out, but where's the choice?

We finally left the festival thinking surely G would potty when we got to the car because we're rounding 5 hours now. And he's holding onto his pants for dear life. It's also past regular nap time. So that's awesome. We sat G in the car on the potty and NO GO.  Fine, we said.  We needed to stop at Tractor Supply on the way out of town for dog food anyway.  So we figured we could try again then.

I was JUST ABOUT out of energy at this point and super sad that we never even got a good bluebonnet pic. And Y'ALL. We rounded this random cul-de-sac behind Tractor Supply, and it was like the heavens opened and the angels sang. There, next to the dumpster, was the most charming patch of bluebonnets. So J was like: "Mama, here's your chance." So off went the ice cream stained tee and ON went the Easter button-up.

And while these are still unedited, they were pretty PINTEREST WORTHY wouldn't you think? 

You'd never know that THIS was the real was the real life version. 

Oh, and THIS TOO. 

Attempt #2 on the potty was a fail as well.

By the time we got to Tractor Supply, J and I decided Greyson wasn't relaxed with us just staring at him in the back of the car trying to pee.  So while J went in for the dog food, I set the mood. I turned on a movie, blasted the cool air in the back, and I sat in the front to give him some "privacy". 

NO GO. 

J gets back to the car and I'm ticked.  It's been 6 1/2 hours and I can tell G needs to pee like a Russian racehorse.  And I broke the "mood" and was like "JUST GO ALREADY!!!" We didn't really know what to do.  I didn't want to get on the road for an hour and him just fill my new car up with pee. 

So I gave him ONE LAST chance and I took him into Tractor Supply, thinking maybe being in an actual bathroom would help. That plan backfired because he saw the live chickies on the way to the bathroom and cared about nothing else. So I lost it. J walked back in to check on us as we were walking out and I burst into tears. In the Tractor Supply. Farmer Joe and everyone else in Ennis that day say me LOSE. IT. J threw me the keys and I went to the car and bawled while he took Greyson to see the chickies. 

Can I just clarify that my crying was NOT because my child was holding it for 7 hours? Usually when a mom cries, it's NOT about one thing. It's about ALL THE THINGS. All the energy that has been poured out that week.  All the analyzing and over analyzing, and little failures and pee on your feet, and tantrums over graham crackers and 72 loads of laundry and Legos falling into poop and trying to stick to positive reinforcement when you just want to scream. My adrenaline was gone. So I cried.  

Jeremie came back with the little human dam and we headed back home. He had bought some Twizzlers in the store and threw one to Greyson...and I was like "Can he have that?" J just shrugged his shoulders and went with it. 

As we were pulling out we were trying to decide if we'd had a good day or not.  We weren't sure. You'd think I'd learn to expect the unexpected and hold my plans loosely with a toddler.  But I don't. I get my head and my hopes on something, and it's hard for me when it doesn't work out the way I envisioned!

Okay-so I know some of you mamas have "A Day that Wasn't".... and I'd love to hear about it!

Happy Hump Day y'all!