Hanging On... Why!?

My son pulled over my jewelry armoire and so my jewelry got all mixed up. I've finally gone through it and actually cleaned it out. Please tell me why I've held onto these little stud earrings for 10 years? I don't plan on wearing little ladybug studs or flowers. And they're all tarnished!

What are you holding onto? What are you putting off going through? I just know cleaning out is a very nice feeling.

Mostly Healthy Shopping Trip

Yesterday I managed to go to three stores,  toddler in tow, in an hour and half, and only spent $80! And I feel good about what I bought. Mostly healthy, mostly whole foods. The only bummer was I only used one coupon. I haven't done much couponing lately but thats ok.

Do and Don't... (Things you should and shouldn't do around the house)

I'm always taking pictures. Pictures of my family, my dogs, my food, my crafts... and things that go wrong! And these things are mostly my fault! So, learn from my mistakes. Enjoy!

 

Don't put your corn cob holders  in the sink with the rest of the dirty dishes and forget about them. Mine got washed down the drain, and then I turned the disposal on. Oops!

 

 Do cover your bean soup when microwaving. Beans, especially, have a tendency to explode in the microwave.

 It did however result in a nice and clean microwave.

 Don't drop your bowl of oatmeal. It's a big gloppy mess to clean up.

 Do sort through your dried beans. I've found small stones and shriveled up beans.

 Don't wash your dark denim jeans for the first time and accidentally get a white towel in the load too. It just has a touch of blue...

 Do take a picture of your missing snaps Fuzzibunz and submit it for warranty. They sent a brand new one(in a newer design) for free! And I even bought them secondhand!

Don't cry when all the peaches from the tree in your backyard have little worms in them. Such high hopes for my little neighborhood Missouri tree.

 

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Erin

Big Boy Undies and No Accidents!

 

 Sportin' his big boy undies!

Today was a nice relaxing day. I didn't have to work and we didn't have to run any errands so we spent the day at home. My son is 17 months old now and keeps me on my toes. He loves to play, loves wrestling with our dogs and he even helped me make pancakes this morning for Daddy and us. But! The most awesome thing that happened today is that he wore big boy undies all day today and had no accidents! Way to go buddy!

This is the first day that he's done this in big boy undies. He's been wearing them since he was 15 months old but we've also been using cloth diapers with the liner on the outside(not in the pocket) so that he feels the wetness. I change it right when it gets wet, even if it's just barely wet. 

We've been using the potty with him since he was 3 1/2 months old (since November just over a year ago). It might seem crazy but our little guy has done awesome! And we've saved so much money in not needing so many diapers over the past year and a half. Not going to lie, it's lots of work but it's worth it! It helps that my husband is 100% on board.

Anyways, here are some pictures from our day today. We have fun!

 

He's actually starting to smile when I say "Say Cheese"

 

A few weeks ago we started giving him stickers for going potty. As a toddler they become so excited about all the new things that he doesn't want to stop to go potty. As an incentive we've given him stickers. They work! Gotta do what works! However... I now find them laying around my house because I don't want to do a potty chart.

Our puppies love Levi so much! And they are so good with him.

 

 Super cute undies! The smallest size is 2T so we're making them work!

  

 We also sign with him. In this pic he just signed cereal. (Finger goes across under your chin)

I'll  post more on signing soon.

 

This sign is cracker. Knock on your elbow.

Yeah... More stickers! And it makes  him laugh when they're on Mommy.

 

There are a lot of ways to stay entertained on the potty.

 

Another "Say Cheese" moment. Love his smile!

**Another note about Elimination Communication/Infant Potty Training when your child gets older and you're still working on it: Once he started saying no when I asked if he needed to potty I believed him. I didn't take him even if I thought he needed to go. This is an important part of the process. It's not a potty pause, it's simply him learning for himself how long he can hold it. We had accidents. We had lots of wet pants. But he was figuring it out. He was learning that wet pants are no fun. Little kids are smart. We still get lots of "No No's" when we ask him, but he's also doing the potty sign and letting us know he has to go a lot more consistently.

That's all! Time for bed for this Momma.

~Erin

A New Blog Layout for the New Year

 

My son has found a new way to use these red striped popcorn "bags". He's been walking around the house with these on his hands, and I'm surprised he's wearing the baseball cap too!

My husband and I celebrated the new year at a 1920's themed party. We had fun thrift store shopping for  our outfits. My husband wanted to dress up like an old guy, and he stayed in character the whole night! He was making everyone laugh so hard!

So, with the new year I figured my blog needed some attention. A new look. I bet it's been feeling...well...a little neglected. I've tried to post often, and I have so many ideas for posts... but, I just don't post enough.

So, since everyone always has resolutions for the new year here is one for my blog: I promise to post something new every week.  Maybe I'll even post two times, or three times! But let's not get carried away... Life gets busy right?

I promise to have at least one new post by Monday morning every single week.

I love blogging, I really do, and my stash of pictures and ideas for blog posts is overflowing.

 

Happy New Year!

~Erin~

A snowy Sunday morning

We woke up this morning to snow falling to the ground. My husband worked late last night so he's sleeping. He's the one that loves driving in this stuff so we're staying home from church this morning. It's a wonderful day to relax. Sundays are our day of rest. That means doing very little housework and just enjoying our time. Right now I'm sipping hot tea, working on a crocheted blanket and watching my son play with his toys. It's so nice to slow down.