Elmo's Potty Video = Hilarious!

I found this video, and used it to inspire my kid to actually go #2 in the potty. He has got the #1 down pat, but he has this thing about hiding under tables, beds or piano benches to go #2. But alas, today he finally did it, and actually initiated it! 

So you gotta see this music video- it will surely make you laugh! Welcome to my world!

My Story. part 1

This is my story and I'm sticking to it. 

I've been wanting to really put into words what exactly God has done in me through the years. From when he first grabbed a hold of my heart and how it has brought me to where I am today. This will probably turn into a few different posts because I don't know if I can sum it up quickly- there is just too much. I hope you can find some common ground with me in this journey of new beginnings in me.

I'll begin in high school, where I feel like I "met" God for the first time. Don't get me wrong. I grew up in church, very involved in pretty much every aspect church offers, and knew "of" God; but that is way different than knowing God. I was one of those kids that had "frequent alter miles", whenever there was an alter call to "accept Jesus" I was there. But I never felt different. It never sunk in to my heart to actually consider it an encounter with the one true living God. I know this now because I have had that experience. I have had a powerful encounter, and now I will never be the same. I don't think you have met God unless it brings a change in your life. Here's the kicker, it's not about just having an encounter with God either. It's not just about meeting him. It's about what you do once you meet him. Do you get to Know him, do you as a person change? Or do you shake his hand and walk away with the attitude of "I'll just see ya later, when I might need you."? 

A few years ago I found one of my diaries from when I was in 8th grade. I read one of the entries. It said something along the lines of there's gotta be more than this. I feel like I'm missing something. I feel like when I read the Bible like "I know I should" it just doesn't make sense. I want to understand what I am reading. I want to know what God is all about. I just don't know where to start. I was in a youth group then, and at this point we had some great youth leaders. In fact I sought out the wife of our youth director back then and asked her how I can get deeper with God. Then they had to move away. And the pursuit of God ended for me (for a while). That was also the summer I was heading into high school- and oh the distractions began. 

I think I funneled my pursuit of God into my pursuit of curiosity, boys and popularity. It all began when I got my braces off (up to that point, I was queen of the dorks, haha). You may laugh at this, but literally that day I got my first kiss. I was a sophomore. And a popular junior kissed me . That was about when I figured out how to mute my conscience. I still had that voice inside me saying "woah, I don't think you can handle this... back off" but the more I ignored that voice, the more I stopped feeling guilty. I went quickly from being the little girl with crushes and swooning with my girlfriends about the cute boy, to manipulating and finding a way to actually get the attention I wanted. 

I can see my hunger for attention and my manipulation started when I was way younger too... just read this story. Ha! Anywho. Looking back now, I see I was sad, lame and pathetic. I began to care more about what people thought of me, caring about my popularity and attention from guys, than being known for something honorable and with integrity. It boils down to the fact that I wanted to be known. I was subconsciously filling this need to be known with friends and guys, while all along the only thing that could satisfy that was being Known by God, the one who knitted me in my mother's womb- cells, bones, and personality. 

Stay tuned for part 2, where I share how I went from my first kiss, where I found that mute button... to some crazy days leading me to my encounter with Jesus.

Stepping Into The Future

I just signed up my 2 boys, ages 2.5 and .5 for their first email accounts. How strange is that? Feel free to send them some fun emails.

aidenmiddleton [dot] gmail [dot] com

elijahmiddleton [dot] gmail [dot] com

I just saw a special on TV and a 6 year old girl was typing 80 WPM- Just watch out, Aiden will beat that by 3! haha. 

You Say It's Your Birthday... nah nah nah nah nah nah nah

Well, it's my birthday too, yeah! (that was way dorky, sorry!)

I had the pleasure of sleeping in today! Thank you to my mom coming to visit!! Anywho, I was just thinking about it, and I have acutally been pretty excited about my birthdays all my life (who doesn't love a day to celebrate life?!) I get excited about most people's birthdays for that matter. 

Here's my question though, when should I start not looking forward to them? My sis-in-law's birthday is a few days away, and I was in the card aisle and could hardly find a card that didn't crack a joke at hating getting older and being depressed. 

I love birthday's... I still love my birthday- is there something wrong with that? What age am I "supposed" to start hating them? This is my 27th and I'm happy! :) 

Finally!

The boys have been sharing a room for a couple month now and it's been a battle to get them to settle down each naptime and nighttime to sleep. But here and there I get break through. They only take 1 afternoon nap at the same time now, so I have Eli in a pack n play in the guest room for that one, other than that it's official that they are roommates now. 

It took a while for us to figure out the most effective way to get them to bed, and I think we finally did! We put Eli in there first, around 7pm, and give him time to settle down and fall asleep. He's usually out by 7:30, so that is the time we start getting Aiden ready. We read to him in the guest room and pray in there, and started "whisper time" after reading. This gets him in the quiet mode to then go in his room and quietly lay down for bed. It took a few weeks of being consistent with discipline to get him not to wake Eli up to play, but I think it's finally sticking! There were a few weeks there where they would keep each other up until like 9 or 9:30, but now it's usually quiet in there by 8:30 if Eli happens to wake up. Finally!

Aiden did the cutest thing one night.  They were quiet for a while so I thought they had gone to sleep, then I heard Aiden jumping in his bed. I went in and he laid down real fast, then I went over to Eli's crib to try to get him back to sleep and he was holding  a monkey. 

Aiden had obviously given him the stuffed animal... the cute thing is that Aiden has slept with a stuffed animal monkey since he was about 10 months old and he went to the toy bin and got this one out for Eli and he told me "Eli needs a monkey too." 

I love it. I think it's gonna be worth these tough few months to help break down the selfishness that arises when sharing a room, ultimately for a life time of brothers who love each other and enjoy each other. 

Unreal Real News.

Got this info from foxnews.com. I didn't believe it until I saw it. S & M Barbie called Black Canary will be on sale for a kid near you starting in September! WHAT!!!???

Seriously, what is Mattel thinking??? How do they tell themselves this is an ok toy for a kid? How do they reason that a sexually suggestive doll is good for a toddler or anyone for any age at that matter.

Ridiculous is what it is. Ridiculous.

Worth Fighting For

There is a battle raging near,
so close and so sincere.
I choose to fight for this promise,
You have spoken very clear.

When the battle is raging,
and my heart begins to fail.
Impatience and anger rise inside,
attacking my stance so dear.

I choose to fight this battle,
To fight for what I know.
What you have spoken to me.
It IS worth fighting for.

I won't give in.
I won't give up.
I believe it's mine to win.
This Battle that has begun,
is worth fighting to the end.

Oh Brother...

So we ventured into the world of the boys sharing a room this week. When we were traveling they had to share a room at my parents house and it went surprisingly well, so we decided we wanted to put them in the same room when we got home. 

I sadly parted with the animal/jungle theme for Aiden's room that I loved so much and went for the Knight/Castles theme for the 2 of them (seemed like it'd last a little longer). It's also themed around the book Wild At Heart, talking about every man is born with 3 dreams in their hearts A Battle to Fight, An Adventure to Live and A Beauty to Rescue. We made an old english sign with those words on them. I'll be posting new pictures of some of the new things we got to decorate it on facebook soon. 

There are several reasons we bunked them together. One, eventually we want them sharing a room because we have a great bunk bed bedroom set that Ross grew up with getting handed down to us. Two, we really want them to bond and love each other, how can you bond any closer than sharing a room? Three, we want them to learn not to be selfish. A few others include, freeing up another room in the house for guests, work, etc., and so on. 

Anywho.... I wanted to hear your thoughts. Did you have to share a room with a sibling growing up? What were your pros/cons in doing it? Do you have your kids sleeping in the same room now? How do you get them to both fall asleep; any tips on getting them to not wake each other up?? 

The Real Engagement

I have shared many fake engagement stories (see "relationships" label), so now it is time I share the real story.

It was June 15th, 2002 and we happened to be visiting Ross' family over in Panama City. His sister, Shelby, was also home that weekend (it was Father's Day weekend) so all seemed normal. I had been faked out so many times through the duration of knowing we were going to get engaged relatively soon (we had a wedding date in mind for after graduation the following December). 

At this point, besides all the fake engagement stories I have shared before, there were many more times I suspected it was "the time",  but then another day passed. That weekend I honestly had put the idea out of my head because I didn't want to get my hopes up, or ruin the surprise of it all. 

On Friday Ross decided to tell Shelby his plans- good thing! He planned a REAL FAKE Engagement! That's right- he was going to be mean and fake me out the night before to "throw me off". He planned to take me on a romantic date over to Seaside (where Truman Show was filmed) and get down on one knee and all and not actually propose, just set it up to fake me out. In the words of Stephanie Tanner "How Rude!". LUCKILY Shelby told him that was a very Stupid Idea, so he decided not to do it.

So Saturday morning comes around. We got up early because Ross told me he had to "run his dad's boat out for a little while to make sure the engine is running good for Father's Day". I believed him so I just threw on a bathing suit and and got ready to go (no shower or make up or anything like that, cause it was just going to be a quick boat ride, right). Meanwhile, Ross' family all knew what was up so his mom packed a fancy lunch for us. 

I totally didn't see this one coming! We go out to an island called Shell Island that we usually went by boat to the beach for. Everything seemed normal until I noticed Ross kept looking up in the sky. I kept asking him what he was looking for and he just said he was watching for those boat-plane things. By the way, there was NO one out there with us, it was like our own private island that day- pretty cool.

So all of a sudden this random guy on a jet ski pull up next to us and says "I have a delivery for Amy Hoch." What??!! We are out on an island... what is going on? He hands me a Walmart bag with a postal box in it and says "there you go". We get up on the boat and I open the box. My heart begins racing...

I open the postal box and all these notes fall out... I had an idea what was going on at that point, but Ross thought it'd be funny to act like it was a box from a stalker so the notes were to "throw me off again" and they said stuff like "I've been watching you... etc" (I didn't fall for it, but I didn't care, I saw a little jewelry box at the bottom!)

So I pull out the ring box and open it... BLING! BLING! The ring box alone was awesome... it had a spotlight that shined on the fat diamond! Ross gets down on one knee and says some romantic stuff that I can't quite remember (sorry, I was distracted by a fat ring!), but I did hear the "will you marry me?" "YES of Course!" I scream back! After enjoying the moment for a couple hours we started calling everyone we knew... then went to a romantic dinner (after getting all dolled up at home) at THE Capt. Anderson's in PC. And the rest is history...

But there was a catch.... Ross told me why he kept looking in the sky. The guy who came on the jet ski ended up calling a little while later and explained why he came by jet ski... Ross hired him to deliver the ring by boat plane, then we were supposed to go on a little ride after the proposal, but of course that day he went to start it and it wouldn't start. After calling several other friends and people with boat plans, all having engine trouble for some reason, he resulted in delivering it by jet ski. ha! I didn't mind... I still got it! 

Ross was funny, he wrapped it in several layers of floatable stuff and in a walmart bag so if it accidently fell out of the boat plane it would float. haha. 

Anywho- that's the story. I love my man and his creativeness. I would say YES to him a million times over!

An Apple A Day

My husband would be so proud about the following post, I should get brownie points. :)

After being a PC girl my whole life, I finally am completely sold out to Apple/ Mac Computers. I had a HP computer all through college, which did great, even after getting soaked (if you missed that story, read here). But I also never really used that computer much for anything other than typing papers and IM back then. It was huge, and bulky, so right after Ross and I got married we used some of our wedding money to buy a new laptop computer... we got a Mac. That was over 5 years ago and it has not skipped a beat.

I was weary to buy one at first, because they operated so different, but after just a couple days I found out how easy it was to navigate. Now after going through probably 4 other PC computers through these last 5 years (as my computer, luckily all donated to us), I give up. They have all gone down the drain before I could even really do anything with them!

We are about to get a new computer (prayerfully the funds will all come in!) and it will definitely be a Mac, no question about it. Plus there is a little incentive for me... I hear if you buy one through school you get a free iPod Touch! Woohoo!

Trust me, once you go Mac, you'll never go Back!

Oh, How Life is Different Now

I was just contemplating this morning how life looks so different for me recently. It's so funny how perspectives change and priorities and even time schedules once kids arrive in your life.

Aside from how much my life drastically changed once God radically changed my life my freshman year of college (which I will share in an upcoming post), having kids has brought even more change.

Gone are the days of sleeping in, period. I used to be able, on weekends, to go until noon if I wanted... I am lucky to make it to 7:45am these days! And even if my hubby wakes with the kids, my body is so used to getting up early I can't sleep past 8:30am any more. I know this hardly compares to some people and their jobs waking them at 4:30 or 5am (mom!), but I also don't have a job that lets me go to sleep by 9pm... it's usually closer to midnight if I'm lucky.

Gone are the days of eating out (at all, let alone every once in a while). It's just too much hassle, and gets more and more expensive feeding more mouths, esp. when my 2 yr old can eat more than me.

Gone are the days of going out late, or hanging out at a friends house past 8pm. Bedtime for the boys is 7:30 or 8pm, so now we gotta get home by 7 to do the bedtime routine!

Gone are the days of getting a "day off". Sure, I get a sabbath.... but do I really? I still have to cook, clean, feed people, and discipline them, teach them, entertain them, so what is a sabbath, really, for parents?

Gone are the days of quick road trips (or long ones for that matter). This was a hard one to get used to once having kids... I love travelling...but now that it requires the circus coming to town, it's quickly dropping on my priority list.

The list can go on... but DO NOT feel sorry for me for one second (as if you did, ha!) because...

Here are the days of hugs, kisses, unconditional love, laughter, fun, growing, character building, watching in amazement, wonder and awe of God's gifts of kids. Here are the days of cuddling, fixing boo boos, smiles, milestones, potty parties, using imagination, being silly, and pool days, and so much more. :)

I am blessed!

oh- and a litte booty camp updated: Aiden actually poopied in the potty last night!!! I think it started out as an accident (he was trying to pee), but once it happened, he kept going! He got a phone call from his favorite TowMater, and was so excited I think there is a good chance it can happen today! YAY!

I Recommend...

I had a fear of public restrooms. Not for me as much as for my potty training kid, and his curious hands and bum bum.

He has officially conquered potty training (#1 at least) so I quickly had to figure out what to do in public places when he had to go. I found this travel potty seat at WalMart and quickly fell in love.

I am surprised at how fast he caught on to going #1 every time. Besides the 2 messes the morning after Booty Camp, he hasn't skipped a beat! If only we could get #2 in the toilet, we'd be golden... any suggestions??

We have used several public restrooms, luckily the ones I have experienced in these last few days haven't been too bad, but this little seat was still a life saver. We practiced at home with it, and at first he said he felt like he was going to fall in, but after I reassured him, he got used to it. It folds up pretty small so it fits in the diaper bag nicely in a gallon baggie so it doesn't gross me out too bad... better than his little hiney sitting on "who knows what".

Now I feel like we are safe to go out and about again... he only goes #2 during nap time in his pull ups, so at least that is predictable. Otherwise he is officially wearing his big boy underwear! Woohoo! He's a Big Kid Now!

Until I can share some good tips on #2 training... I will call it quits on sharing the details of my child's bathroom habits... he'll kill me if this is circulating when he is big and famous one day!

Booty Camp!

I finally sucked it up and did it. I attempted the Potty Training in Less than a Day method of Potty Training for my 2. 5 year old! Crazy huh!

Currently we are only 3 days out from the initial day- and so far so good! I will keep you updated as we go, if I recommend this style or not. So far I am happy with it though, and it will so turn out to be worth it if it lasts!

So what does potty training in less than a day look like? Here are some pictures (they are at the end of the album).

I'll break it down for you:

It all started months ago. I got a little potty with a seat that can transfer to the big toilet. Every day before nap time I would sit Aiden on it and ask if he needs to go potty. He never did it, but the goal was just to get him used to it and excited about it. A few weeks ago I made a Potty Training Chart (thanks for tips Emily!). It's a curvy road that he fills with stickers, small ones for going #1, big ones for #2.  curve in the road he gets a reward, and at the finish line he gets to go to the store and pick out a prize. I also got it in his head that he would get M & Ms if he actually went. 

So Monday night was time to prepare for Tuesday- D-Day for Potty Training Boot Camp (Booty Camp as I call it). You may think I'm crazy but I prepared for LOCKING myself and Aiden in our bathroom ALL day. We literally sat in the tiny room for 8.5 hours straight, without opening the door. We packed our lunches, snacks, tons of juice, an alarm clock, books, games, shower paints, and toys and big boy underwear. I brought in a DVD player, and some shoes to motivate him. If he went #2 I was going to give him a few minutes of his favorite TV show, or a chance to run outside. I called some family and friends and had them on stand by for the next day to receive a phone call from Aiden telling of his success and some of them agreed to be his favorite characters. 

Tuesday morning came. We ate a normal breakfast and talked about spending the day in the bathroom. He seemed pretty excited. Ross agreed to take care of Eli all day and pretend they weren't even home so Aiden would get distracted or want to go out. We went in the bathroom and the eating and drinking began. This kid threw down the food and juice boxes! 

I set the alarm, every 10 mintues we would sit on the potty and try to go. The idea was go get him used to it and muscle memory on what it feels like. I would encourage him every time for trying. Finally about 2 hours into it, 3 juice boxes and 1/2 a water bottle later, I knew he had to pee! He started to do the dance. We sat on the toilet and he dribbled his first few drops. His reaction was hilarious! He was just amazed at watching it come out! LOL- sorry if that is TMI. So we flushed it, washed our hands and got M & Ms and a sticker. THEN we called his favorite- "Diego & Baby Jaguar" (from Nick Jr.) Ross did his best impression with a spanish accent and Aiden was hooked! As soon as he got off the phone he yelled "I gotta PEE!" He sat down and it was like a FLOOD. He even started laughing half way through cause it lasted so long! He was so excited... this time he got everything plus a call from "Mickey Mouse" (my mom). Ha! 

He did great through out the day- got calls from Blue & Joe (Blue's Clues) and Daddy, the grand parents and Aunt Shelby & Friends. I kept waiting for him to go #2, kept reminding him we could go outside, but he just held it in. I waited and waited, even missed his nap because of it (And I was so looking forward to that break). I was amazed at his attitude the whole time, he's an active little guy so I never thought he'd last cooped up in there! 

5:30pm rolled around and we both just about had it. He hadn't made any messes ALL day, peed 7 times perfectly so I decided we could go out and see the rest of the fam. He was so proud of himself! I was origionally planning on staying in there through dinner if I had to so make sure he got it, but he did so great with #1, I was satisfied. 

So what has happened since? He's had 2 messes... right when he woke up the next day. I feared he may have lost all that hard work. But I think after he realized what happens when he goes through underwear, that it doesn't just soak in (and he has to help clean it), he decided to tell us when he had to go from then on. We still set the alarm... we have moved up slowly to 20 minutes between, even though he tells us every time now. And he still has yet to go #2 in the potty, but I just heard a new trick for that, I will try later. 

We have him wearing underwear all day, but at naptime and bedtime he wears pull ups (he calls them naptime underwear) just until we are sure he's got it. That is where he has pooped the last 2 days. So I would have to say so far, so good! Booty Camp is a success! 

Next thing to tackle: going #2 in the potty. The tip I got was to give him a lollipop to go #2. He will only get it when he sits there and tries to poop. Hopefully it will keep him patient enough and relaxed enough to actually go. We are also bribing him with a phone call to TowMater (from CARS, Ross w/ a redneck voice- he's excited about that one!) I'll let you know! 

I just can't believe he is old enough now for this! That makes me sad! :) I'm one proud mama though!