Sunny 9 for 2007 September

to Jenni!! We miss you here :(

I posted a big family facts thing on my other picture blog. Check it out.

Day 1: It's not easy. Pretty miserable in fact. Lily didn't really make any progress today. Secretly, I was hoping that she would be one of those stories of "she was potty trained in one day". Nope. It is probably pretty much all my fault, I have no doubt. It is not like I know what I am doing, having never done this before. We started the day with new! training! pants! with flowers! She loved those so much that after she peed in both pair, Lily refused to wear her oh so treasured princess panties. Alas, I finally got her into them with a plastic panty over them.

I kept asking her if she needed to go potty and she would say yes and then I would take her to the potty but then she would just sit there and then get a ton of toilet paper and wipe and say all done. One time I caught her crossing her legs and holding her part and I asked if she did but she was already wet. She did pee just a tad though so there is a pin hole of light. One time she said she had to go potty and she sat there and pretended and wiped and then when she was "all done" she said now I can have my treat. Umm, it doesn't work that way kid, sorry.

Well, today was wet panties 4, pee pee in the potty 0.3. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

This sucks. I hate it!!!!!!!

Is all I have to say about this week. Sometimes I swear Lily thinks in her head "what would make my mom the maddest?" and then she does it. I think because she has a runny nose is the reason she is being extra naughty this week. Yesterday, halfway through the day she was still peeing in her training pants and after she wet them at the gym I just thought forget it. Maybe again in a couple months, but I think I did my part trying it out. Now I know she is not ready. I mean other than the 0.3 time she peed in the toilet, that was it. Do you know how much a person pees a day? That was how many wet clothes I went through. I think I have had enough torture. (And potty training is not what I am calling Lily being naughty. She has been extra abusive to her brother, and that is what I am referring to when I say naughty, but that on top of the stress of having to ask and sit her on the potty all day long.)

Today Lily got into my closet and she got on top of the dressers that I have in there and dumped everything on the floor and took off every single belt on the holder there was. Seeing it all on the floor, Aaron and I have a lot of belts put together. I feel so guilty because it's the same thing everyday. She wants to play with the Playdoh but I don't want to get it out because it makes such a mess. Then she wants to do all these puzzles, but I don't want to get them out unless I have a certain amount of time devoted just to her and helping her do them and taking them right back to the closet where they go, or they get strewn everywhere and I end up putting together 32 zoo animal/abc's puzzles. What a mean mommy I am. It's not to say I don't let her play with those things but sometimes I just get really tired of picking up after 4 people (me and my 3 kids 2 kids and husband).

But I am writing this down by some small chance I go back reading through this again and I might be having a bad day and hopefully it might cheer me up. My dirty room and messy kitchen had been nagging at me today and I wanted to start cleaning since I just put Gunnar down for a nap but Lily asked me to read her books. I thought to myself I better do this because when your daughter is begging you to "hold me like a baby" they probably want your attention. I sat Lily down by me and gave her a squeeze and she said "Mama, I wuv you. Oh, you're so cute. You're my little sweetie pie." It doesn't matter that she stole those lines from me, it is still adorable. And maybe she does like me and doesn't try to torture me. Maybe I will let her live to see another day.

"Mom, you count and I will hide in the quilt." And then there's me counting and as soon as I finish I hear footsteps running toward me and Lily says, "Mom, you found me." One of her new favorite games.

Cheap thrills...actually not so much, but money well spent. For my birthday Aaron got me a Bissell vacuum. I love it. My carpet feels soft and fluffy after I vacuum. It really makes a difference.

Also, new to the Smith household are 6 new fish and an aquarium. Fish I can do, mammals I cannot. Check out the cutest thing you can see on earth. He loves watching the fish swim as does Lily. The fish's names are Papa, Lily #2 and Gunnar #2 (Lorna gave Lily goldfish and that is what she named them, they only lived a couple days), Tank, Magnum, and Blue Steel. We took over naming the fish because Lily ran out of names to give them after the first three. Also new in this picture is two top teeth on Gunnar.

Some of my new favorite things lately have been Chocolate Peppermint Stick Luna bars. They are THE BEST! They taste just like Girl Scout Thin Mints, but better for you. I love having them as a snack when I am craving a treat. Try them!

Also, I love salads and my all time favorite salad dressing isAnnie's Goddess Dressing. Lately I have branched out and have tried new flavors that are also incredibly delicious. Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette is very tasty and also Artichoke Parmesan Dressing is great. It almost tastes like a really good pasta. The nice thing about these dressings are they are all natural and good for you. After watching Dr. Oz on Oprah and finding out that most salad dressings contain high fructose corn syrup I was so relieved to find out it wasn't in my treasured dressing. I already have it in my ketchup, I don't need the stuff in my dressing. So I am loving these, and if you haven't had em, go and get them. They will not disappoint.

Lastly, Aaron and I went out to lunch with the kids a couple Saturdays ago. We discovered something better than Olive Garden's Soup and Salad. It's Carino's Soup and Salad. Anyone who knows me knows I love, love, love bread! I love french garlic bread, cornbread, biscuits, pancakes, homemade bread, focaccia bread, rolls, cinnamon rolls, any type of bread, you name it, I love it. I guess you could just say I love baked goods...cookies, cakes, and the like. Anyway, this is my new favorite lunch spot. I love Carino's bread and dipping olive oil, and their salads are pretty good too. Not much of a soup person, but they were fine if you are into that.

And just so all my new favorite things are not all food (what a one track mind I have) here is a link to the new dinner plates that I ordered with my gift card I got from my dad for my birthday...so I can eat all this good food on something pretty.

Here I come!!! I can't wait for Heroes tomorrow for starters. I know some people think TV is evil and for the most part they would correct, but sometimes at the end of the day all I can do is sit and watch a good show. Hopefully I can stay on top of the laundry better now that I will have some good clothes folding time in front of the TV.

Lily has been doing great in preschool and loving it. Gunnar, though, is not adjusting well to Lily being gone. He almost knows immediately now when she gets out of the car to go into the house that his little friend will be away. He can sense that she isn't coming back for awhile. So the whole way to the gym he cries and cries because there isn't someone back there to make faces or talk to him.

He isn't just like this when Lily goes to preschool. When she takes her nap, the whole time I keep having to grab him as he crawls down the hall and goes to Lily's room. His little face is so happy when sometimes he makes it to her room and pushes the door open. And then he cries when I pick him up and go back in the family room. It's weird that he is so fussy when Lily is napping because when she is awake all he gets from her are doors slammed in his face and toys taken away or pinches or squeezes. He just loves his sissy though and wouldn't have it any other way.

I think Gunnar is cutting another tooth because he has been sad and ornery lately. I think my hip is going to fall off from carrying him so much.

There is nothing more scrumptious and snuggly than a chubby baby in a onesie.

I wanted to wish twins Logan and Seth a happy one year old birthday, yesterday. Where does the time go? Weren't they just born?