An addition to the family!!

We are officially Uncle Brian and Aunt Ashley! And Madi has a cousin!! Yay! Cannon was born on April 11th and we are so excited! Madi and I are going to visit next week! I'm excited to see how Madi does with a newborn! I hope she is nice... :) We shall see.
And we have another cousin on the way for Madi!! It is so fun to see our families growing! We have high hopes of moving closer to our siblings so that cousins can have fun play dates.... and lets be honest we are excited to leave this boom town. :)
So I did officially give up on potty training. I said I didn't want to change any diapers in 2012... well that was a huge mistake... probably shouldn't have ever declared that. oops. Anyways we are back in diapers. And i'm not really okay with it.... but for my sanity and my childs well being I have found that is the way it has to be. :'(
I don't want her to go to preschool and get made fun of by the other kids! I don't want that to be her turning point.... So hopefully when she decides for herself that she would like to be potty trained, it is before she is 4! :) But since I gave up we have all been much happier. Actually sunday was the best sunday we have had in a LONG LONG time. Every sunday has always been the same, we all get up and from 7:00 until church starts at 9:00 there are multiple tantrums and screaming... well then we get to church sit down and 10 minutes in it begins again... well we have the "church bag" full of fun quiet things to do, favorite books, yummy snacks, but she rummages through the whole bag in the following 10 - 15 minutes. Then she is ready to go play with kids... well we still have 45 min. So let the struggles begin. Meanwhile we aren't getting a whole lot out of what is being said, as we are simply trying to keep her calm enough and quiet enough to not disturb everyone else. So we do the battles of in and sitting to out of the chapel and in quiet time which = in trouble. So in and out at least 4 times... By the time the first hour is over, i'm exahusted and cranky, brian also has had his fair share and is ready to head home and strap her into lock down... But that is when she becomes a little saint.... she wants so badly to go "play with kids" (At church the first hour everyone is together, then the next 2 hours are separated. So toddlers can go to nursery) But 1/2 the time she has worked herself up so much that she has gotten a bloody nose, so we (the parents) have blood on our arms and shirts and madi has it all over her dress... UGH... anyways half the time she doesn't get to play with kids. Sad for her... BUT last sunday I feel as though she may have caught on! She behaved amazing through the entire first hour of church! NO outbursts!! So she got to go play with kids, we got to enjoy our classes, and we even had a few meetings after church and she did SO amazing! She was happy and not one tantrum... until we were heading out the door... But considering what normally happens we were feeling super awesome! We all headed home and everyone was happy and no one had blood stains! It was a fantastic day! So that being a result I am fine with my child still being in diapers. Don't get me wrong I still feel sad that I spent so much energy and time helping her figure out the toilet, I am praying that when she decides she is ready then she will already know how and what, and then she will have the why. :) That is the hope anyways. Well I'm going to post this and then add some pictures from my phone. We went to the library for story time and she made a crown. If you ask her she will tell you it is her princess crown. I love the way she says princess. "pwinsess"
Anyways then we went to the park, and there are some pics of how we made bathtime a little more enjoyable!! And also how she makes eating even more difficult. But just enjoy the pictures.... They are much more interesting than me!! :)
OH and just in case you are following my forever long college experience, I did finish my labs in NM and I'm so happy! The end was a great one for me, and I felt as though I learned more during those 2 weeks that better prepared me for actual work in a clinic. It was exciting to feel as though I could actually work with patients and not fail as a PTA.  :) Anyways I have 2 more exams and then a short break before I begin my summer semester. I will only have one class, but I will also be doing my first internship. So we shall see how it all works out. Surely it will be exciting. :)  

A little me time....

I am in Farmington, NM right now. Again at my labs for school.... I have been here a few days and have quite a few more to go. It has been a nice break from the daily routine of life, but is full of other challenges too. Right now I should be studying but I became side tracked by wonderful blogs that I love to read and decided I should update my own. :) There are a few things I need to update:

Potty-training:
I have pretty much given up. Yes I have thrown in the towel on the whole process. Right now little miss Madi is having the time of her life with grandparents that love having her around.. (hopefully she doesn't wear that welcome out)... but I decided that she knows exactly what to do! She can tell me what needs to happen when one needs to go potty - so she has the comprehension. She has proved that she can do it - so she has the capability.... So the only thing lacking is the desire... How do you motivate a self-driven, strong-willed, super and i mean super independent, child..... no make that a 2.5 year old, to be motivated to go to the bathroom on the potty? Well you might be saying: a sticker chart - tried it, candy - tried it, big rewards - tried it, toys that she picked out herself - tried it, favorite activity trips (park or library) - tried it, special mommy time with stories - tried it, wrapping little surprises as rewards - tried it, decorating the bathroom one glittery star dangler at a time reward - tried it..... I could keep going, but I feel this list is sufficient. I have tried everything, well okay not everything because that would be impossible as there are a million and ten ideas BUT I have read books, and articles, and online blogs about what to do, and it's not working. So this is me admitting defeat and saying I was wrong. I cannot potty train this child. So now that I have said that I'm sure she will potty train herself and show me how big she is and what an awesome job she can do!! Ha ha  ha... But none of you can mention this new approach to her! I mean this is of course not my last attempt and try at potty training....... :)
Reverse psychology has worked on me numerous times... perhaps I could get lucky and this could work for Madi as well?? My creative bank has run dry and I'm out of options. I don't want to clean up messes for months on end. And I'm tired of changing the sheets on her bed more frequently than I feel necessary.... Many say this is the worst thing you could do, Many say I did the worst thing in trying to potty train her on my time instead of hers, Many say that you can just let them do it and you won't have to potty train them, they will do it themselves.... well I have learned that my child does not fall into any normal categories and she definitely will not let someone else define her, so this epistle is to make me feel better by justifying my actions.... So there you have it. I will not win any mom of the year awards, but I'm pretty sure those weren't coming anyways.

Going to school online has been one of the hardest challenges I have ever faced. It is hard for me, and I'm a very hands on person. I like to ask questions when I have them and with this program I have had to become more self-reliant in figuring out problems and learning on my own. I'm very grateful to my Heavenly Father for guiding me to this opportuninty and I do feel very blessed to be in this program. That being said, I will be SO HAPPY... i mean SO HAPPY .... when this is done. I will only have to come to Farmington one more time and that time will only be for 8 days! So fantastic! Then i have my internships (3) and then in November, I will have completed this program and then I will only have my state boards to take to be a LPTA. That will be a very happy day for me. I am writing this to motivate myself to attack the pile of notes stacked on my hotel bed that seem to just be staring at me, waiting for their turn for review.
 I miss my family when I come down here but this time has been different. I'm enjoying my time away as I am able to have some nice quiet study time all to myself. I wouldn't want to live like this - wake up, go to work/school/ whatever for 10-12 hours, come home, go to bed, do it all over again... but it has been a nice break from the vicious 2 year old I left behind. :)
She isn't nasty all the time, we have great moments, but I haven't had one fight in the few days I have been here... Can't say that has happened for a long time. I wake up and don't feel as though the invisible announcer will say "and in this corner we have at 2 feet 8 inches, full of brute strength and endless energy MADISON, and in that corner we have...........mom." Ha ha ha... Alas the break will make me miss those rounds we go.... At least I assume by the end of this I will miss them? Maybe not... but I will at least miss being a mom at home.
I miss my hubby too... It is hard to be away from the one that you choose to be around all the time, and I don't get in the boxing ring with him... so there isn't a whole lot that makes me feel like I need a break from him... He does a great job of supporting me in my endeavors, and I feel very fortunate to have him. He is a very good man.

Well this is officially longer than it should be as I have lots and lots of information to review, but it has been nice to remind myself and document these things. I have said some things that may put a damper on your vision of our little spitfire... But the more I read the more I understand she is just "intense" There is no other way to describe it, but she is intense... However even though the intense madness can be overwhelming and so difficult, it also means she is an intense love bug too. She gives intense hugs, and can be the best intense friend you have ever had. So in all the madness there are those bright shining stars that make it all worth it. At least that is what those parenting books keep telling me, oh yes and those people whose little children are no longer little and have all grown up. So I will try to remember that and enjoy the journey, because I believe that is why we are here. To have joy!


Disclaimer - I said I will try to remember..... that doesn't mean it will always happen.... :)

What a goober!

So I'm really enjoying my new phone and it's awesome I can lie in bed and update my blog with the daily happenings... So these pictures show what happens when the time changes!! Some people don't like it but we love it!! Madi somehow over winter decided the four wheeler was a great thing!!! Yay for us! Finally a year later she uses the toy that we bought thinking she would love it from the beginning. Anyways she does it all by herself... No taping the throttle down or anything!! :) Brian started prepping the area we deemed "flower garden" :) we shall see how it turns out.
The bucket over the head pictures well... Here is the story: madi had an accident and I told her she had to go to the bathroom and get changed. ( potty training update is for later) well I'm cleaning up the spot and I realize it is super quiet. Well that's never good.... So I peaked in the bathroom and I started just laughing! So I had to go get my phone and take a picture. I was so happy to find all that had happened was the garbage can got dumped out. :) not too big of a mess. :) I can handle that! :)

A new way to blog!

So as many of you know, Brian has been very anti smartphones... Well I had been looking at an iPhone for sometime and debating whether it was really worth it. I wanted to do it but couldn't seem to pull the trigger. So on a Saturday I went with the youth to a stake activity and I was gone all day. But when I got home there was this ringing and I found an iPhone hidden! My hubby went and got it for me! To my surprise and delight he got himself one too! So we have joined a new age!! And joined the smartphone family. Anyways I'm trying this out and seeing how well it will work to update my blog. So below are some of the fun things we've done recently. Today was beautiful and in the 60's so we enjoyed the park and got some riding in too! Awesome day. Other pictures are fun cookies we made and random stuff at home. I hope you enjoy!! Happy spring to you!! Hopefully it stays? :)

Messes!!

This amazing box has been so great! We decided to finger paint inside it for FHE one night! Madi absolutely loved it.

 It started like this.....

 And just kept getting messier and messier...

 Dad showed her how..

 Uh-oh and then Dad got it!

 The final products. :)

 So that is finger painting with Madi.


I would say Madi is the master of getting into something she is not suppose to be into and making a mess faster than you can say, "Madison, where did you go?" She has discovered where I keep my make-up and has a fetish with it. :( Such a water-proof mess....

 You probably think I don't supervise my child....

 She looks like she knows what she is doing! Ha ha ha

So proud of what she did....

By the time I got this cleaned off, I went to finish the dishes... and wouldn't you know it she snuck right back in my room and this time got into the eyeliner and had lines all over her face.... Needless to say I didn't take pictures that time, and I also didn't clean it off... thinking maybe then she wouldn't feel the need to put more on again. And I shut the bedroom door... That was the clencher... :)



A little update on our potty training experience:
This has been the hardest thing I have ever had to work with her on. She is SO stubborn and determined to do it her way.... Honestly I actually don't know what her hold up is... that is my guess..... but truthfully i'm at a loss. I would say 75-80 % of the time she goes in the potty, but the other 20-25% of the time is going to kick my trash.... She can go on really long streaks with no accidents and then a nice little "I'll show you whose really boss" streak as she makes mess after mess.... I have read tons of articles online and asked lots of moms, and I have some really good advice, but none of it seems to work for her. I know every child is different, but man.... you would think some child development researcher could find a trend for that 10% of the "difficult" child. Anyways, we have done presents, candy, stickers, markers, books, play-doh.... hopefully soon I can find what she really wants, and once I have that maybe we can cut the 20-25% down to 5%. I'm convinced children are not potty trained for years. I think people are crazy that say their child was potty trained in a week or less..... Maybe they knew what to do and were able to do it most of the time... but i'm pretty sure they all had accidents... (maybe some really do have wonderful children that do what they are asked and get it figured out! To those parents I say kudos!! I'm so happy for you!) And for me... while my child can do it most of the time, that is not potty trained... potty trained is when I don't have to clean up anymore accidents, and she can reach the sink to wash her hands by herself so overall when she goes to the bathroom, I don't even know it happened!! :) Ha ha ha... so alas... I have years until my child will be potty trained.
People say you are going to miss this, and I think they forgot how exhausting it was to change the bed sheets every day or more than that on those bad streaks, constantly be washing peed on clothes, and giving 2 or more baths a day! I am sure I will miss this age in general and I will miss how much fun she is when we are playing or doing something that isn't related to the bathroom, BUT I don't think I will miss potty training. I think when that gets checked off the list I will say good bye and good riddance!! :) And please don't tell me you miss potty training... if you do please just keep that your little secret until I have no more children that have to be potty trained. :) ha ha ha unless you really feel the need....

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

We had a great holiday season! It was very relaxing and it was great to stay home. We didn't travel at all, and since we have been married this is the first year we have stayed put. It was a very fun year as Madi has figured out how to rip into presents and learned that behind all that neat shiny paper there were even cooler things!! It was so much fun. Because Brian and I have tried to combine our families traditions we have come up with our own that are tweaked enough to fit us both. Brian likes opening all presents on Christmas Eve, I don't think any presents should be opened until Christmas morning... so what we do is we open one gift on Christmas Eve... and it has to be P.J's (mostly so I can take some nice pictures the next morning... even though it has yet to work in my favor). Anyways below are some pictures of our Christmas holiday!!

 Dashingly Handsome wouldn't you say?? Hee hee he would kill me if he ever knew i put this on here... :)

 Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree!! My favorite part is the chain.. Madi and I made that one day... it was more fun than I thought it was going to be!

 I think I will start a new tradition... On Christmas Eve we cleaned out Madi's room to get rid of old toys and make room for the new ones coming... On Christmas Day this is what it looked like after the new toys "took their place"... Makes me sad knowing it won't ever be this clean/ organized again. ha ha ha

 Madi loves her dress up shoes and necklaces... she has a love/hate relationship with the dresses though...

 I'm sure your wondering why she has her p.j's on and wet hair... well she was so excited about other presents it took her literally ALL day to open her gifts... It's not like we had 50 presents for her... but she loved playing with her new toy or whatever and didn't want to open more so we let her run the day...

 Her Christmas p.j's!! Brian found these! i think they are adorable... I love her face in this picture....

 She got to play with Daddy's remote control car... She was loving it... She packed her turtle around everywhere with her too!!

The Beautiful Weather!!

Because it has been SO nice here we have taken advantage of it and gone to the park quite a bit... I finally took my camera and I got some great pictures of Madi!! They are pretty self explanatory so I will just let you enjoy!

 

 Winter Mischief.....

Madi decided to not only draw and color herself with a pen... (lets be hones that happens a lot...) But this time she broke the tip off so it exploded everywhere and she thought it was SO fantastic!! Here was the result.

 After Bathtime..... comes the craziness....

After her bath she usually goes crazy right up until we force her into her bed, hurry and turn off the lights and run out the door and shut it. We even have to take out the light bulb at night because otherwise she would stand on some toy and turn it on and off... on and off.. on and off... you get the idea... on and off.. :) Anyways she is usually crazy and has some pretty good faces... I got a few on camera! :)

 And a homemade park... :) 

At least that is what Madi calls it. We turned this huge box into a slide for her and she LOVES it... I'm not sure how long I can take it because it is huge and we don't have a big house so it takes up a good portion of our living room... but she climbs up, slides down, giggles and does it all over again... all the while saying "park!" "park!" So I haven't had the heart to take it away yet... plus it works as a great fort when we put blankets over the top and she climbs under... and I turned her loose with crayons inside.... It has been a great box! ha ha ha

 Oh and I forgot to mention that we have been potty training... I tried the beginning of November and she did great until I took her on a month long road trip/ hotel stay. Then it all went down hill... but I didn't want to change any diapers in 2012 so I started again the last few weeks of December.. and I haven't changed any diapers... i've changed quite a few bed sheets and washed a lot of clothes... but no diapers! ha ha ... no she is actually doing really well... except for nightime.. but I was prepared for that so I know it will take some time but other than night she is pretty much doing her business on the "pot".... Not sure why she doesn't call it potty... no one here calls it the pot... ha ha ha

Anyways give her some praise next time you talk to her... because for a while I was beginning to think it was a miracle any of us are potty trained! 

Best wishes for 2012!!