Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Yesterday was so much fun. We came home from our various activities to a message on my phone. It was Trader Joes, and Julie was a winner in their most recent coloring contest! Woo-hoo!

I figured she would get something like a food item from their store, but no. Julie won the Banzai Ships Ahoy Pirate Ship Pool! The thing is enormous. It is 9 feet by 6 feet, and comes with a water blasting cannon and slide...we are talking serious fun, people.

The only problem is this. I have no backyard, no place to put it! So it sits by our couch in its box, mocking our apartment living. Oh well. One more thing to look forward to when we go to Utah next summer.

On that same note, Utah does NOT have a Trader Joes. Sad. Can I survive without one? Without my friendly neighborhood store that has coloring contests where you win inflatable pools? I honestly don't know.

An exciting day

Today we had our ultrasound, the big one where you can find out whether it is a boy or a girl. Brian was able to make it, so we brought all the kids as well.

We had 2 votes for a girl, and 1 vote for a boy. After pestering the kind doctor with questions like "Is the baby fat already?" and "What is that? Oh, gross..." we got a decisive view of the upcoming baby's anatomy.

It seems that it will be looking more like this

and this and less like this

Three girls! AAHHH! What on earth am I going to do with 3 girls? Three girls hair, three girls emotional disorders, three girls drama?!!

Honestly, it serves me right. High maintenance, drama-queen girls get what is coming to them...mine is coming in a nice package of three.

The best part of the whole thing was the baby's hand...she was holding it up in a perfect number 1. I think this child is going to be seriously disappointed when she finds there are three other children already in this family. Either that, or Brian and I are getting a SLIGHTLY competitive child. Now why would we get one of those? :)

A quick update...

I have learned a few things about potty training in my experience.

1. don't mess around with Pull-ups. They are a complete waste of money and totally confusing to the kid (except for at night)
2. it is messy, whether your kid is 1, 2, or 4. It just is.
3. getting rewarded with treats after using the potty is for YOU as well as the child. Bad for the waistline, but oh so good for the soul. :)
4. it takes an incredible amount of patience

That's pretty much it. Julie is doing really well, and loves wearing underwear. That is a first for us...my others kind of mourned the diapers. She only had one accident today (yippee), and that was when I was out running errands. Pooping is a whole other issue. We have made little progress there, but that's ok. Church is tomorrow. That could be interesting...

Potty Training...ugh

I jumped in today. Julie is getting potty trained. I hate it. Period. I'd like to avoid it, but society dictates that we must have at least some portion of our lives not in diapers...:)

This is the kid I am training...

She got into my makeup a few weeks ago, and made herself "pretty." She is independent, stubborn, and feisty. This is not an easy task to be sure.

I have gotten advice many times about potty training, and it is always the same. You have to be completely unemotional about accidents. Let me translate: Don't get upset when you are cleaning up a puddle of pee for the 14th time that morning. Uh, ok. Me not being emotional is about as likely as a fish walking down the sidewalk. It would be a miracle.

First day is over though, and this is what I can say. Julie peed outside the toilet more than in it, but she is still alive and went to bed happy. Awesome. Now we move on the day 2. Wish us luck!

Family Reunions

We went to Idaho the last week of June. We spent the week with my family (with the exception of one brother and his family) in Island Park. It could have been warmer, but it was nice all the same.

I love the excitement of going to visit everyone, and then I love the end of the week when we are all ready to get away from each other for a while. It is a good pattern. There was a lot of talking, yelling, screaming, and laughing...probably in that order. Good times.

When I grow up

I should be posting about the vacations we have just been on, but I will do a little of this first. I covet. I am a sinner. I know we are not supposed to covet, that it is so important that it made it into the TEN commandments, but all the same, I do it.

Every since Brian and I got married, I looked at other people's apartments with envy. I like their furniture better, I love the way they decorated, etc. It is sometimes hard to visit our friends who are moving into their second, better homes and then come home to our 2 bedroom plus a study apartment. Ugh. It annoys me that I am bugged by it at all.

I not only covet things, I covet careers. I covet Brian's career. I sometimes wish it were me who could be helping people like he does. It's cool. I wonder what my life could be like if I owned a dance studio, if I was a famous author, if I were a physical therapist, an attorney, etc. I wonder about that stuff a lot. Probably too much.

I love the idea of photography, and I am reading lots about it. But my pictures are oddly similar to what they were before. Lame. There is not enough time to learn what I want and do what I want. Even writing that feels selfish...I guess it is good there is reality.

It is getting late, and my kids are needing baths, teeth brushed, books read, and good night kisses. That is my reality for now. I'll have to covet tomorrow. Or maybe I'll grow up instead. Here's hoping.

The meaning of life

This is what it is all about folks...


In case you can't see it, my score is 561,000! Sweet! And yes, that little head belongs to Julie. Not bad for a 2 year old.

A warning...

I'm going to post about our vacation in Idaho last week, but before I do, I feel you should all be forewarned. My face is getting fatter and my bum and legs have done their best to expand to an abnormal size. I'm not sick or just eating an extrodinary amount of ice cream...I'm pregnant with our fourth baby.

So now you know, my new appearance will make sense. Pictures and explanations coming soon.