Finding Fall

Fall has always been my favorite time of year! I love it when the air finally turns crisp, longs sleeves and pants come out of hiding, and the treetops bloom with vibrant colors. I love it when dinner warms your house and your belly, the hot chocolate comes out of the pantry, and everything smells of pumpkin and spice.

 For me, Fall has always been synonymous with my birthday (which was Monday). I can always count on Mother Nature giving me one of my favorite presents for my birthday-- Autumn!

But this year I was disappointed when Mother Nature didn't come to my birthday party.

The leaves here in the valley are all still green! Not a yellow, red, brown or burgundy leaf in sight! Did I mention that on Monday the temperatures were over 90 degrees? Now that's just wrong!

So today in protest, I made soup for dinner and went looking for Fall. Sure the trees up high in the mountains behind my house have changed color and the temperatures overnight are cooling down; but it's still usually in the upper 80s during the day- which is too hot for almost October!

Then as I walked around I finally found a hint of Fall!

Apparently some of the leaves on my trees have been stealthily changing colors and dropping off at night when I am not watching. I guess that means that maybe Fall is just around the corner and Mother Nature hasn't forgotten me after all. I sure hope so!

*Potty training update: After four days of one Number Two accident per day (eww!), we had NO ACCIDENTS today! Wahoo! Maybe that means I will be cleaning less underwear soon!

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

The Trouble with Number Two

At aerobics this morning one of my friends asked me how potty training with Boy Number Two is going, since she knew we started a week ago on Monday. I figured that potty training with Eli would be harder than it was with Jonah, but I never really figured on HOW it would be harder.

The first couple of days of potty training were rough. Since we go directly to underwear with no pull-ups, I expect a bit of a learning curve. We mostly stayed inside and spent lots of time going to the bathroom; but with rewards for going on the potty, Eli learned pretty quickly and things got better.  On Friday and Saturday day we had absolutely NO ACCIDENTS, even though we spent time out and about shopping (and visiting many public restrooms)! Can you believe it? I was singing the hallelujah chorus and we were all happy.

For just a moment I thought I was mostly finished with potty training! Believe it or not, Jonah trained just that fast. Ha! Not so fast, Mommy! The inevitable happened... for the past three days we have had an accident every day. Only one accident per day is pretty good, right?!

Well, it WOULD be pretty good... if the accidents weren't all the dreaded Number Two! Ugh!

Dealing with this kind of accident makes us all feel a bit like this:

I don't understand how Eli can stay dry for 5 days in a row and yet not make it to go poop on the potty! We go to the bathroom at least once or twice an hour, but if I don't get him to the bathroom at the random right moment, then I end up with yuck!

I guess the good news is that we are making progress. This evening Eli actually told me he needed to go potty! He had already started to do his business, but at least he caught himself. Maybe we will get through this potty training business after all.

That would be nice because I love this boy and I would really like to keep him. :o)

Looking for some fabulous blogs to link up with? Visit Supermom, A Beautiful Mess, Parenting by Dummies and Live and Love Out Loud.

Potty Training and Project 365 Fail

It seems that potty training and photography don't mix. This week I only managed to take four pictures for seven days, unless I manage to find something interesting to photograph after I get home from work this evening. It seems to be getting harder for me to take a photo every day, so the question is do I keep going, or give up?!

Oops! I totally missed Day 260.

Day 261

September 18: My mom came to visit and we attended the Fallow Field Farm Marketplace in Lindon, UT. They had many different vendors selling everything from quilts, jewelry, sweets, soap and so much more. We had a fun time looking around at all the fun creations.

Day 262

September 19: My son Eli fell off the neighbors trampoline and landed on his head! Luckily he didn't get a concussion or a big goose-egg, just some nasty scrapes. It seems their nine year old daughter was kind enough to help him get on the trampoline and then he got bumped off while jumping with some bigger kids. This is exactly why I don't have a trampoline! The new rule is that Eli can't jump without an adult present!

Day 263

September 20: Saw the most gorgeous sunset today! The sky seemed like it was on fire. I threw my kids in the stroller and walked super-fast to get a picture without houses in it. What a work out, those kids are heavy!

Day 264

September 21: I see London, I see France! I see Eli's underpants! So this picture is from Monday when we started potty training. Diapers and pull-ups are too absorbent and kids KNOW they can potty in them. So we go directly to underwear, with diapers reserved for naps and bedtimes. Sure we have accidents, but my boys seems to get it more quickly this way. Today was Day 4 and we only had 1 accident, so I think it's going pretty well!

 Day 265

September 22: A whole series of thunderstorms rolled through today! We had lightening, thunder, rain, hail, and some really cool-looking clouds.

No picture yet today. Wonder if I will get it done or not?



Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

Water, Water Everywhere and Not Just in the Potty.

Holy Cow is potty training time consuming! So late this evening I was searching through my photos, trying to find something that portrays the pain and agony that is potty training. I took a cute picture of my little guy's tushie in underwear, which was cute but I don't know if it's really blog appropriate.

Then I came across this picture of Bridal Veil Falls I took last week.

Lovely, isn't it?

I miss being able to go places and spent time away from the bathroom. It seems a spend a lot of time thinking about waterfalls, but not this lovely kind! I have also gotten to clean up some "waterfalls" here an there. So much fun!

Actually things are going pretty well. Eli is starting to get the hang of going on the potty and we haven't had too many accidents. Who knows, maybe one of these days I will actually get to spend more time away from the bathroom!

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Diaper Daze

The rewards are strategically placed in the bathroom:

We have the right equipment:

We have plenty of underwear:


I guess it's official...



(Somebody shoot me.)

Oh well, at least I've done this once before and have a little better idea what to expect. I'll be hanging out at home for the next couple of days, hopefully to get us off to a good start. Wish me luck!

Picnics in the Park: Daily Photo: Week 37

Day 253

September 10: Friday afternoon the boys and I went and had a picnic at a local park. It's probably more accurate to say that I had a picnic lunch and the boys had bites on the run!  It was a beautiful day and we had a lovely time.

Day 254

September 11: If you don't have boys, you really have no idea how dirty little humans can get in the space of a few hours!

Day 255

September 12: Eli the tool man. Helping Mommy get ready for preschool the next day.

Day 256

September 13: We drove up the canyon to see if we could see any signs of fall. Sure enough! The leaves are starting to look gorgeous up there already!

Day 257

September 14: Honey Daddy "accidentally" cut a few roses off our rosebushes while he was trimming them. So I got to put them in a vase in the house.

Day 258

September 15: Nothing says Fall to me like CANDY CORN! I don't know why (maybe because it's pure sugar), but I love this stuff! Not in large quantities, but a little bit once in a while. When we saw candy corn in the bulk candy at the grocery store, Honey Daddy was kind enough to buy me some.

Day 259

September 16: We ended our week with a picnic in the same park. This time we met up with friends and ran around the park picking up pine cones and blowing dandelion seeds. What fun!

Tool Time!

This week it was my turn to teach as part of the cooperative preschool I am doing for Jonah. We are doing a series on community workers, and I was lucky enough to get to teach about construction workers. It was so much fun!

Of course since I have two boys, I had no difficulty coming up with books or props. We just got out all their bulldozers, dump trucks, rollers, and excavators. We also pulled out their hard hat and tool box. Since preschool was at my house, little Eli got to participate too, which he LOVED!

Of course I couldn't resist taking a couple pictures. All the kids loved to wear the hard hat and learn about what construction workers do. We also talked about tools and sang "This is the way we hammer the nail... this is the way we turn the screw..." etc. while the kids mimicked the action with the tools. It was awesome!

Later Jonah put on the hard hat and insisted that I take a picture of him with each and every tool as he pulled them out of the tool bag. What a funny boy!

p.s. Need a new dress? Don't forget to check out my  Shabby Apple Giveaway which ends Friday!

Bugs, Boys and Fruit: Daily Photo: Week 36

Day 246

  September 3: My sister literally has a plague of grasshoppers at her house, so it was not hard to get a good picture of one of these guys. As you walk to her front steps the grasshoppers leap out of your way so they don't get stepped on. The boys thought it was hilarious, but my sister does not find it amusing at all.

Day 247

September 4: Choo- Choo! Thomas and Friends make bath time for dirty boys more fun.

Day 248

September 5: Honey Daddy recently got a new job and got to get a smart phone for work. Now he can get his email, surf the web, and do all kinds of other things with his phone. I don't really mind because his employer will be paying part of our phone bill. I also get send texts now, which is pretty fun.

Day 249

September 6: Happy Labor Day! I spent the day canning some delicious salsa... now if only I wasn't out of corn chips!

Day 250

September 7: If you ever wonder what raising boys is like, it looks a lot like this.

Day 251

September 8: The plums are just about ready to fall off our tree! I guess I will be making some plum jam this weekend. Yummy!



Hosted by Cecily and Lolli p.s. Need a new dress? Don't forget to check out my  Shabby Apple Giveaway! !

Fly Boys

Last week I took my boys to visit Grandpa and Grandma in Wyoming while Honey Daddy attended a conference in California. Even though the weather was a little cool, we had a great time. It was so warm before we left home, I didn't even pack jackets for the boys. So we had to go buy them some!

One of the highlights for the boys was getting the chance to take a ride in an airplane with Grandpa. They were SO excited that they would barely stand still!

We got the boys buckled up and all ready with their headsets. Then we taxied to the runway. Before you knew it, ZOOM! and we were up in the air!

Eli was so excited that he got to sit in the front with Grandpa. He kept telling me that he was driving the airplane! My dad assured me that he was definitely trying to "help" move the yoke!

I love the view from the air, so beautiful!

Both the boys had a fabulous time on their plane ride! They loved to see all the tiny buildings and cars. It was fun to listen to their excitement as they commented on their airplane ride in their headsets.

I think I may have a couple of future pilots on my hands, don't you think?

p.s. Don't forget to check out my Shabby Apple Giveaway!

Wyoming Road Trip: A Photo A Day: Week 35

Day 239

 August 27: There's nothing like jumping in puddles after a thunderstorm on a warm afternoon!

Day 240

August 28: We have cucumbers coming out of our ears around here! Not to mention tomatoes and peppers!

Day 241

August 29: Since Honey Daddy was going to be at a conference in San Francisco all week, I decided to take the boys to Wyoming to visit my parents. Here is the view just before we get to Grandpa and Grandma's house.

Day 242

August 30: I grew up near this small town in Wyoming. Yep. Our one claim to fame (besides the gorgeous scenery) is having the world's largest elkhorn arch. Nifty, huh?

Day 243

August 31: I knew the weather would be cooler in Star Valley, but I didn't expect highs in the upper 50s! We have been hanging around 90 degrees in our part of Utah! So we had to go to the store and buy jackets for the boys so they didn't freeze their buns off. While we were driving around I had to stop and take a picture of these round hay bales, which are EVERYWHERE.

Day 244

September 1: The boys got to go for a ride in an airplane with Grandpa. They were SO excited and loved every minute of it! I may have a future pilot or two on my hands, since this was definitely one of the highlights of the trip for them.

Day 245

September 2: We drove to Logan to visit my sister and her family. Since we were nearby, we decided to stop at the Pepperidge Farms factory and outlet store. I couldn't help buying a few bags of mint Milanos for myself. I also got 11 bags of Goldfish crackers for 99 cents a bag! Who knew they had SO many flavors and varieties of goldfish?! We can't wait to try them all.




Hosted by Lisa and Cecily





Hosted by Chris

p.s. Don't forget to check out my Shabby Apple Giveaway!