reprise

so i hate to go on and on about potty training, but i am in love with this method so i just want to say a word about it.

the guiding principles of this method are love and consistency. but i might also add that there is no fighting (not because it's a principle not to fight, but because it is not possible), coercion, or bribing (that doesn't mean no rewards). accidents are important as they are how a child understands what is happening in their body. you are to remain positive at all times and there is to be no reprimanding or punishing.

as of 5:30 today, we've had one accident. it was at about 4:00. she hadn't gone to the bathroom since around 11:30, so i was waiting and waiting for her to yell "mommy, i'm peeing." that's what she says when she has to go--one in four times she probably already is going. but most of the time, it means she needs to go.

from about 2:00 on, i was anxious. i knew she had to go and i just kept reminding her, "let me know when you need to go potty." i knew her little bladder could only hold so much and that sooner or later she was going to need to let it go. in the afternoon she has a tendancy to hang on to it.

it would have been really easy for me to make her sit on the potty and tell her she needed to go. i could have told her it was time, because it was. i know there are a lot of methods out there that encourage that. the truth is i'm and adult and i understand the body and i know that she probably needed to go. but that wasn't what was important.

mae is the one who has to learn when it's time to go. she's the one who needs to understand the signals her body is giving her; what it feels like to be full. and the only way she's going to understand that is if she has accidents.

i think life is sometimes like that. at least parenthood is like that. God trusted me enough to throw me into something TOTALLY new and said, "have at it. you're in this for good; i've thrown away any crutch you might have. so here's what you should do, but you're in charge. and you're going to have accidents, lots of them. but we celebrate the accidents because that's how you'll learn."

i have a whole new outlook on accidents. they're all part of the learning process. of course we can prevent accidents, but doesn't that just dely the learning process? when accidents happen in potty training, i'm not frustrated at all. i think that has helped my whole outlook on this process. i dreaded the thought of potty training, and maybe i'm just really really lucky--but so far this has been one of the most enjoyable weeks of motherhood for me.

big girl

i'm out of interesting things to blog about, so here's this post while i think of anything better to write:

yesterday at 2:00 we dumped all of mae's pullups and diapers in the trash. we've been at it for 30 hours, and so far:

success: 9
accidents: 3
false alarms: 2

she's doing great. i'm using the 3 day method because i've heard so many great things about it, and because it really makes sense to me. it has been a really positive experience for us so far. mae's been really happy and so have i. she had one pretty huge accident yesterday and two smaller accidents today. after each accident today she has had three perfect potty moments--tells me she needs to go and does it all perfectly, including compulsively washing her hands while singing her abc's.

i waited a bit longer to start training than some others, but i really believe she is ready for this now. this week turned out to be the perfect time to go at it--which is fantastic because i think if i didn't do it this week, i'd be doing this in december. which would have been fine too. but whatever...6 less months of diapers is a good thing.

i know i'm not out of the woods yet; we still need to address wearing shorts/pants/skirts, going on the go, relapses, etc. but i'm so happy with the progress we've made so far.

we've got a big girl in the house now!

moose loves corndogs

mae wanted to make sure her moose got a nutritious dinner. like a corndog.

ode to summer, 2009 edition

it was really helpful to have a list of things i wanted to do last summer. i did most things on my list, resulting in a fantastic summer. those that i didn't do will appear on my list again this year, along with many new additions. this summer is going to be busy since my parents get home, but i hope to make time for a few other adventures.

here's my 2009 ode to summer:
*walk a 5k
*not cut my hair
*watch hot air balloons
*ride the heber creeper
*sit on my new flagstone patio (this would require making the flagstone patio)
*go fishing
*demolition derby
*play kickball
*make a new summer playlist
*paint my toenails every week
*outdoor concert
*squeeze lemons to make lemonade
*go to cove fort
*drive alpine loop in the BMW
*go to moab
*ride ski lift at sundance
*go golfing with jayson
*can peaches
*outdoor movie
*ride bike from bridal vail to utah lake
*batting cages
*go on lots of walks
*make ice cream in a hand crank bucket

michigan

i loved college. i really really loved it, and i could list lots of reasons why. but the number one reason is the people i met there. they are my best friends (for life) and no matter how long it's been since we've seen each other, we pick up right where we left off.

so when kimberly called me and told me she was getting married, i told her i'd be there. and then i found out that three other of my roommates were going to be there too, without husbands. uhhh...party, anyone?

we kicked off the festivities with a bachelorette party for kimmie. here she is...doesn't she look fantastic?

we had manicures and pedicures. here are the five of us that lived together at one point or another--kim, becky, ruth, me, harmony.


me, ruth, harmony, and becky. i love these girls.

after we were pampered and feeling relaxed, we went to dinner and gave kim some "gifts."


then we had a few days to relax, shop, eat, shop, stay up way too late, etc before the wedding. i didn't get too many pictures, because i was way too busy enjoying myself. thankfully, becky did!

here we are before the sealing (without the bride).


after the sealing...

since i really love these girls (becky, kim, and harmony are all from the same hometown), i went out to visit them in michigan in 2001. i stayed with kimberly's family, and fell in love with them. they're fantastic. i also stayed with the jensens for a day after jayson and i went to toronto two years ago. here i am with kim's sister, becca.

and her brother michael. i had to take this picture because a couple weeks ago we catered michael's wedding lunch. while i was busy cooking, mae was outside playing. she came running inside and said "mom, uncle drew is here!" i was pretty confused, until i saw michael. turns out he does look like my handsome brother, drew.


here are the girls again. me, becky, ruth, and harmony.


this time with kimmie.

and fine, i guess ben can be in the picture too.


harms and me.

and the sexy roommates again.


i had such a good time in michigan. congratulations kimberly and ben! have fun in mexico, and don't get sick.

honey bucket

do you ever think about doing something funny, and then you do, and it flops...and then you realize it went over a lot better in your head?

a few weeks ago we were driving around in mapleton showing houses to my in-laws. we had just been out to eat and i had one too many glasses of water. if you know mapleton, you know there are not an abundance of public restrooms around. so when we saw a honey bucket (port-o-potty), i begged jayson to pull over.

i was in there, doing my business when i heard jayson moving the car. i couldn't figure out what he was doing until i heard the truck bump the door of the honey bucket.

jayson thought it would be a real laugh if he bumped the door of the honey bucket a bit to give me a scare. so he did, and everyone in the car got a good laugh, until...he realized he was stuck.

the honey bucket was sitting right over the curb. once jayson got over the curb, he realized there was a large drop off which he couldn't see. once over this drop, he couldn't get the truck to move. so the truck was pinned up against the honey bucket. and i was stuck inside.

several attempts later, the truck was still stuck and i was really really anxious to get out of the honey bucket. (GET ME OUT!!!) jayson thankfully decided that the number one priority was to get me OUT of the honey bucket. somehow we pried the door open just enough for me to get a leg out. but i didn't think i was actually going to fit through.


prying, squeezing, sucking in, please get me out of here!



i can't remember if i was still laughing at this point. it was pretty funny, but it would have been even funnier if someone else (not me) was stuck inside. while i wasn't sure it was funny, everyone in the car thought it was funny enough to take pictures. and truthfully the story gets funnier everytime i tell it. really, who gets stuck in a honey bucket?

happy anniversary, j dawgs!

this year was j dawgs' five year anniversary. i have no words to describe exactly how i feel about this. i'm still amazed that jayson had the vision to create this. he started totally from scratch--no product, a dump of a location, and not much support. his story is so inspiring, i get teary every time i hear it. but i don't want to embarrass him, so i won't go into too many details. maybe one of these days we'll get the story up on the website, or link one of the lectures he's given.

mae was there, of course. and looking so great in her j dawgs shirt!

we handed out cupcakes again,

spent time together,

and really enjoyed talking to our customers. there were a lot of old timers, friends, family, and some new faces. there are so many people to thank for our success. we have had fantastic employees, terrific support and help from family and friends, mentors, etc. but our big thank you always goes out to our customers. without them, we'd be nothing. THANK YOU.

it's so hard to believe that everything i am surrounded with i owe to this little shack. because of the shack i met jayson, and then dated and married him. because of that i have a beautiful daughter and one on the way. and because of the shack i live a comfortable life. five years has changed a lot of things.

we're around the corner of a new phase at j dawgs, and i'm excited to see what the future holds for us. as soon as we're ready to open headquarters, i'll let you know. we're getting sooooo close.

here is our party from last year.

st. george

bridget, jill, and i have been friends since middle school. we got together for a couple days in st. george and bridget's mom's house. it was great to hang out with these ladies, and our girls had a blast. all three of us have girls within about 4 months of each other.


here are the girls--mae (mine), paige (bridget's), and quinn (jill's).

the girls were pretty pampered--the played at the river park in downtown.

and the splash pad.

they took baths together every night,


which they really loved.

we were pretty pampered too. bridget's parents took us out to dinner our last night there, and fed us very well everyday.


jill had a baby girl recently, and bridget and i are due a couple weeks apart from each other. so far we're 5 for 6 with girls--i hope bridget has a girl too so our kiddos can all go to EFY together. ha ha!

it was so great to be with these girls, and wonderful to be out of town for a couple days! thanks again, ladies!

pre-blogging.

i'm trying to post more, i swear.

there's been a lot going on (i'm sure you all can say that), but i really love to blog so i'm trying to get there. i've preblogged some things this week, so you should get something every night for the next few nights.

my camera's been neglected. i need to show it some more attention. any suggestions?