Ooops...I did it again!

I started a new website!

Now, I know what you're thinking, "Jenae, didn't you do that like a couple months ago and it didn't work out so well?"

Well, yes...but this time it is different!

No really--I promise!  My old website was all about getting "good deals."  Yes, I think that is fun (and somewhat consuming), but it isn't my passion (Plus, there are a million other bloggers who have the deals covered).  But teaching is, and always will be, my passion.  Whether it is teaching a room full of first graders or my own kids, I love to learn alongside children!  And everything I do to enhance this website will ultimately benefit my own children...how great is that?

So...this is my new website.  It is called "I Can Teach My Child" because it it dedicated to helping parents of young children (birth-age 5) be their child's first teacher.

The idea came to me this morning, I spent $10 for the domain name (it's stand alone--I've got big plans, people), and here we are!!!

My favorite website is "No Time for Flashcards", but I found that not all of the "domains" of development are necessarily covered on her site and there isn't much for babies to two years old.  I'm licensed as an early childhood teacher with a Master's degree, after all, I can take this and run with it!

It is really bare right now and just the skeleton for the site but I AM SO EXCITED.

And I will probably be looking for people to do some "guest posts."  So let me know if you're interested! 

So, come along and follow me on my new site!

food, fun, family, flicks, & FIREWORKS

Caleb and Luke were like little birdies...begging for poppers!

Kevin, Brad, Kylie, Kellie, and of course the boys--We all enjoyed Toy Story 3 (although I wasn't expecting to have to dry my eyes there at the end)!  And Caleb wore his big boy underwear and stayed DRY (we took one potty break in the middle of the movie)!

Caleb "lovin' on" his cousin Luke

Cousin Blake having fun with the "big boy" fireworks.

Getting into trouble...

Noah, Lola and me looking at pictures

Our family of 4 on the fourth (with Caleb singing a song).  :)

Happy boy!

He looks like he's posing for his "fully body shot"

The only smile we could get... :)

Daddy and Noah

Uncle Brad, Kylie, Aunt Kellie, Jaydan, Lola, Papa, and us!

If you look really close (between Kevin's legs), you can see the ankles of a little boy wanting to demonstrate his ability to potty in the bushes while at my parents house.  Gotta love boys!

We hope you had a happy fourth! 

inspiration

In this journey of parenthood, life, and the pursuit of a deeper relationship with God, I have found inspiration from so many.  Our parents have been such an inspiration to me by the way that they unconditionally love their grandchildren.  They love to spend time with them and often times have much more patience than I do!  I am so glad that our boys are blessed with two sets of grandparents that love them so much

I find inspiration through conversations with my friends.  Silly conversations about the crazy things our kids do and serious conversations about raising them to love the Lord.

I find inspiration my listening to music.  I am SO NOT a musical person, but there are some songs that just touch me to my core.

And one unlikely place where I have found inspiration is here...on the internet.  Reading blogs of other people--the struggles they are facing and the ways that God is using them--has brought unspeakable inspiration to my life.  These blogs are different because they are truly authentic.  These sweet friends don't sugarcoat the trials they are facing.  But they don't complain about them either.  They simply point their readers to their one source of lasting hope--God!  What a powerful way God is using these women.

I think about Jessica, who I worked with at Eddie Bauer Home in college one summer.  Her and her husband Joel lost their firstborn baby girl to cancer when she was 11 months old.  Her blog has touched me (and tons of other people, I'm sure) in ways I could have never imagined.  Reading about their heart-wrenching grief and how God has brought them peace has done more for my relationship with God than any sermon could.  I am utterly amazed at the way Jess and Joel put their trust in God to carry them through such a dark time.  They now have a sweet baby boy to cuddle and love...but I know their hearts will always ache that Levi will not know his sweet sister until they are reunited in Heaven.

And my college friend, Julie, has also been a source of inspiration in my life recently.  Her sweet little girl Calla was born at just 26 weeks gestation.  After months in the NICU, Calla is home and thriving!  Reading about Julie and Ian's constant trust in God and their daily prayers and praises while Calla was in the NICU is humbling.

I found Shilo's blog through Facebook.  She is a long, lost childhood friend who lives in the northwest with her husband and three beautiful children.  After spending some time reading some of her posts, I was so encouraged!  She has a way of challenging me in my walk with God (and I doubt she even knows I read it) while revealing her own struggles in an honest and most genuine way.  This particular post brought a fresh renewal to the way I think about my relationship with God. 

I of course love reading about all of my friend's children and all of the sweet and silly stories!  Kristen, Beth, Mercedes, Emily, Brittany, Kara, Crystal, Kate, Rachel, Sharla, Melissa...thanks for sharing your lives with me (with a few of you...your blog is the only way I keep up with what's going on in your lives).  And for anyone else that I know who reads this...let me know if you have a blog so I can read yours too.  :)

And finally...my sweet, wonderful husband left this rose on our kitchen counter one morning.  It is from our yard.  If you can't tell, the "vase" is actually a baby bottle.  For some reason, I found this picture to be so fitting of our lives right now.  So very beautiful...bottles, poopy diapers, potty training and all!

potty progress

We have had a pretty good week!  We have had some accidents (like this morning when Caleb chose to go poopy in his underwear instead of the potty), but overall he is doing really well.  I consider one accident to every ten times going on the potty a pretty good ratio for a novice!

We are still using the timer, so I am hoping that in the next several days he will begin telling us when he needs to potty.  Until then, we will stick around the house (uhhh...that's getting really old) and be consistent.

Progress is progress--one tinkle at a time.  ;)

Day 1 of Potty Training (second try)

I have decided to document our journey towards this milestone because I think it will be pretty humorous to look back on in 10 years...

We have been building up to this day for the last week.  I told Caleb that on Monday, it was "no more diapers" day!  I know he's ready because he was basically potty-trained for 2 weeks back in January, but it soon lost its novelty and he decided he didn't really care for it anymore.  That's when it became a battle...and I gave in.  With a 6-week old baby and some crazy hormones, I decided it just wasn't worth it.

Fast forward 5 months...and I have been changing at least 5 poopy diapers a day (2 from Caleb and 3 from Noah--my boys are VERY regular).  Enough is enough!  So, I decided I was ready to tackle this monster head-on with all guns blazing.  :)

We started off the day yesterday putting on big boy underwear (the padded Gerber training pants).  I set the kitchen timer and every 30 minutes we would head to the potty.  There was very little training because he already knew what he was supposed to do since we did this back in January.  He did great all morning...until I was distracted and he was perturbed that I wasn't giving him my undivided attention, so he wet (on purpose).  And then he pooped in his underwear a few minutes later when I was yet again distracted.  It was just lovely (can you sense my sarcasm?).  This is another reason I knew he was ready--he can use his potty against me!

The afternoon/evening went very well--no accidents!  So, tomorrow we will see how he does...if by Friday, he doesn't have any accidents all day, we are going to Red Robin to celebrate.  :)

Oh, and here is my very own list of "potty" essentials:

-A toilet.  We aren't using a "little person" potty or a seat that goes on the toilet.  Caleb likes to just sit backwards on the "big people" potty and straddle it.  It works WONDERFULLY because there is absolutely no clean up!  It is virtually impossible to have any messes with this method.
-Gerber Training Pants--These have extra "padding" in them so if he does have accidents it will soak a big portion of it up so that I at least have time to get them off before a mess is made on the floor. 
-M&M's, suckers, and anything else he wants for a reward (he doesn't necessarily get one every single time)
-A whole lot of made-up cheers, songs, and praise to encourage him in this grand endeavor!

Wish us luck!!!

child labor

What can I say...the kid loves to vacuum! 

my favorite parenting book (so far)...

I'm weird.  I like to read parenting books. I'm not sure why I feel so compelled to stuff my head with knowledge from so-called "experts" instead of just relying on my own instincts. But I do.  Perhaps it's because I feel the weight of this outstanding responsibility that God has entrusted us with, or perhaps it's because I just don't feel like I have the right "strategies".  Who knows? 

In most books I've read (and I've read quite a few), I've agreed with some, but usually not all, "advice" given.  But I think I might have just found a book that I can agree with... at least 95%.

Making Children Mind without Losing Yours by Dr. Kevin Leman...funny title, huh? 

In this book, Dr. Leman emphasizes an approach of authoritative parenting that he calls "reality discipline."  Basically, letting the natural consequences of life (with your direction and guidance) discipline your child.  From the pendulum of permissive parenting (letting your kids rule over you) to authoritarian parenting (ruling over your children with an iron fist), this "authoritative" style acts of sort of a happy-medium while still maintaining control. 

He also emphasizes that our homes need to be a place where children feel safe to fail...because sometimes we learn the most through our failures.  If they can't fail at home, the consequences will most likely be much harsher when they fail in the world.

Something that has really worked for us has been his approach the mealtime.  Dinnertime in the last few months has been our most frustrating time with Caleb.  He went from a child who would eat everything to a very picky eater who will barely eat.  We followed the instructions from the book by offering Caleb what we were eating for dinner as a family.  If he didn't want it, fine.  He didn't have to eat it, but he wouldn't be getting anything else to eat that evening.  I was somewhat hesitant to trying this seemingly "mean" approach and was afraid that he wouldn't be getting enough food, but then what Dr. Leman predicted would happen the following day actually did.  He woke up very hungry and ate a WONDERFUL breakfast.  We have had fewer battles now than ever.  This approach coupled with a cheer my mom taught Caleb--"Try it, you'll like it, take a tip from me.  I tried it, I liked it.  Yummy green beans (or whatever food it is)" has transformed our mealtimes. 

The other strategy that has worked well has been allowing Caleb to throw his tantrums--but placing him in his room (or isolation) when he does so.  This takes away his desire to throw fits--because he isn't getting the (negative) attention he used to.  Don't get me wrong--we still have our fair share of tantrum-throwing and mealtime mayhem, but it has given me a strategy that keeps me from feeling so frustrated.  That in and of itself has been worth it--whether or not it is actually changing Caleb's behavior.

It also has great ideas for children approaching school-age years and the importance of responsibility--emphasizing the importance of allowances, in addition to the normal household chores that everyone must pitch in to do as part of being a family.

And, in case you're dying to know, here are some other parenting books I've read with a short synopsis.

ON BECOMING BABYWISE--a great resource for expecting parents!  Read it while you're pregnant and in the first few weeks of your child's life (as if you don't have enough to do).  If you wait to read it until your child is over 6 weeks, you definitely lose the benefits of 7 hours of continuous sleep at 2 months.  :)

Secrets of the Baby Whisperer: I really liked this book!  Many of the ideas were similar to Babywise, but it also focused on treating a baby as a person (i.e.--calling him/her by his/her name rather than saying "the baby", telling him/her that you will be changing his/her diaper before you do so, etc). 

On Becoming Baby Wise: Book II (Parenting Your Pretoddler Five to Fifteen Months):  Parenting your Pre-Toddler--Ideas on introducing solids, etc.  My advice--save your money and time and consult your doctor/pediatrician.

Toddlerwise:  Good strategies on toddler issues...not anything earth-shattering.  Still, a great resource for those tricky toddler years.  In fact, maybe I should go back and read this book again!  Also a great resource for potty-training.

Dare to Discipline(the new one) by James Dobson:  A great book on discipline and it has recently been updated so it isn't outdated.  We started reading it when Caleb wasn't even quite a year old, so I think I should go back and peruse this one too.  :)

The Strong-Willed Child by James Dobson:  This book has some good perspective regarding parenting a child with a strong will  I read my mom's copy of this book, so I felt some things were outdated (like him talking about Dr. Spock repeatedly).  However, I just saw that he has a *new* Strong-willed child book, which I just might have to get a copy of!

Bringing Up Boys by James Dobson:  I haven't actually finished this book yet, but I really like it so far!  I think it is one I will want to read every few years as my boys mature.  It has great perspective on letting boys be "adventurous" because it's in their nature (something I struggle with sometimes) as well as helping them grow to be spiritual leaders of their families. 

Training Up a Child: Following God's Plan:  This is a book that my mom used when she was a new mother.  It is VERY outdated, but has some good "strategies" to use with children.  I don't think it is even printed anymore. 

See?  I told you I was a nerd when it comes to parenting books.  :)