Our $40 Vacation

Yep, that's right.

For $40 dollars we spent two nights and three days at Grizzly Jack's Grand Bear Resort in Utica, IL next to Starved Rock State Park.

"How is this possible," you may ask?

TIMESHARE PROMOTION.

"Oh no! You didn't fall to prey to those blood thirsty sales reps pushing over-priced, useless condos and "amenities" that you'll never use?"

No, we didn't :)

This past January we went to the annual Kids Expo in our town where we signed up for this promotion: 2-nights at Grand Bear Resort and their indoor waterpark. The only caveat? Sit through a 90 minute presentation to learn about vacation opportunities through Silverleaf Resorts. We couldn't pass up the opportunity, considering hotel rooms at this resort average about $150/night depending on room and season. So we took our chances. I don't think we would do this again, since our 90 minute off-site presentation ended up being a 4 hour excursion! But we were able to enjoy the waterpark and some hiking at Starved Rock. Here are the pics!

On our way home we stopped for lunch at a local drive-in. David was surprised to find that I had never been to a drive-in before. The waitress didn't come out in roller skates, but everything else was definitely old school!

It's a Bug!

This is what we do on sunny days while Kate takes her morning nap. We go outside and look for creepy crawly things... That day it happened to be a caterpillar.

Just for fun

A slide show of recent pics of Kate and her tiny toy box

(http://www.slide.com/r/RnVxvUhz0D8UCV8eYspJ7S8VEI4tUH7T?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original)

Playtime with Kate

Ethan's favorite pastime is trying to make Kate laugh. We love to watch. Now you can, too! Enjoy this clip...

The Neighborhood Gang

The nice weather has brought out all the kids on our block. We have children ranging from 6 months to 16 years!

It's wonderful to go outside and see the kids playing. I don't know what it is, but it totally warms my heart. For the past couple of days Ethan has played with the boy next door, Jaden, who is 5 years old. He's also played with the kids two houses down from us, Naomi (5) and Daniel (7). Ethan LOVES to hang out with the older kids!

All this has made David and I very sentimental and nostalgic about this neighborhood. You see, in about one month we'll be moving to a new house! We're only moving a few miles away within the same town, but we will be sad to leave some of Ethan's friends behind. Jaden is also moving in about two weeks! Our neighborhood has experienced quite a bit of turnover as houses have been selling rather quickly. I guess it's our turn, huh?

We found a lovely house to call our new home. More details on that later...

Sent From Above

I like to think that God sends me little gifts.

Yesterday, still recovering from whatever cold/sore throat I had, I needed to go to Walmart to do some grocery shopping. Though I woke up, with a foggy, dull headache I needed to get some food since our fridge and cupboards were bare! David was done with classes and so he was able to stay home with the kids. I quickly got myself into the car for an hour or so of "me" time (if you can call grocery shopping without the kids "me" time!).

As I was standing in the dairy aisle contemplating what butter to buy, blowing my runny nose and rubbing my dry, itchy eyes, an old man further down the aisle said to me smiling, "I saw you yawning just a few minutes ago back over there. Rough night?" I chuckled and proceeded to tell him that I was sick, and my 7 month old was sick, so we were both up several times the previous night.

Such a little thing to strike up a conversation. I would never believe it, but it's so true about that whole "smile" thing, and how it's a wonderful gift to receive. This old grandpa began to share a little bit about his children and grandchildren, and after those ten minutes I had laughed, connected with a generation so far removed from me, and walked away forgetting that I even had a headache.

Thanks, God, for lifting my spirits and making me feel better!

Potty Training STINKS

For the past month we've had a second go around at potty training Ethan. I hate it. I can't believe how much I hate this.

We've tried a few approaches. In January we attempted the "one day approach", pumping him with juice and salty snacks while letting him run around in just cotton underwear. The philosophy behind this is the more he eats and drinks, the more opportunity he has to go, and in 5 hours you can get your kid to use the potty chair. While this did indeed give him the urge, he did not like peeing on himself. He did not like sitting on the potty either. As a result, he would withhold. Oh, the pain he was in! He would only relieve himself in his diaper at naptime or bedtime when he could finally relax. I mean, this was causing some serious physical issues! He could really hurt himself, I thought. We ended up trying this approach for one week. While he did go in the potty a couple of times, the longer we trained the more he withheld. It was terrible. We decided we needed to back off and regroup.

Three months later here we are. We decided we needed to take a more laid back approach, focusing on giving him a positive attitude about the porcelain throne. We decided to put away the potty chair and just use a cushioned seat on top of the real thing (Ethan is so tall that none of the potty chairs we found seemed big enough for him). How about a reward system? What kind of rewards? Do we force liquids and salty snacks on him again, or just make sitting on the potty part of his routine? We decided to just incorporate it into his routine, use training pants to avoid messy accidents, and make a rewards chart where he put stickers everytime he successfully uses the pot.

We've been doing this for about 3 weeks now. He's still sometimes negative about the toilet, but at least we can get him to sit there. And the only times he has used the toilet was when we put him there ourselves and let him sit there for an extended amount of time (like 30 minutes!). We read books, sing songs, and lately we've put his portable DVD player so he can watch a video. This is REALLY sad, but we just don't know any other way. We say to ourselves, "If he could just eliminate in the toilet once, he'll get it!" No. Not really. I don't think he's made the connection between the physical sensation of "having to go" with actually walking over to the bathroom and using the toilet. Our only comfort is he knows how to pull down his pants and training pants.

I don't know how long this is going to take, but according to everyone I've talked to, it takes a long time. And it takes patience. I thought I was a patient person, but this experience has definitely challenged me in that area. Truth is, I don't have patience at all. I really wish someone else could do this for me. David has taken most of the responsibility for this, but I'm the one who spends the most time with Ethan. It is work I must do.

I know Ethan WILL learn to do this one day. I just need to remember that this, too, shall pass. And perhaps a year from now I'll hardly remember blogging about this...

7 months

Where has the time gone?? The month of April flew by, and I'm sorry to say I never got formal 6 month photos taken of Kate!

In the past month she has gotten two teeth, learned to roll over, got her second cold and second ear infection, and weighs just over 20 lbs. She and Ethan "play" together a lot, and the older she gets, the more interactive the two of them become. It is so fun to watch.

The biggest challenge is her eating and sleep schedule. I'm sorry to say that it is quite erratic. With Ethan I was such a stickler about his schedule, but with two kids it's so hard to impose the same standards. She often misses a morning nap, or gets a very small one because Ethan inadvertently wakes her up, or I'm just busy and insist on getting out of the house--even if it is with two kids. Lately she hasn't been nursing well either, probably due to her sickness. But this is really hard for me because without a set routine and schedule, I can't set my own routine or schedule for the day.

With her sickness this past month her nighttime sleeping got messed up as well. She would wake every two hours on the dot--probably due to discomfort of her ears and/or throat. To comfort her and put her back to sleep I would nurse her. All that eating during the night might be another reason she's not eating so well during the day. All this being said, we are almost past it. She is on the mend, and we are working hard at flipping her schedule. But the best part of this past month is that Kate began taking a bottle again! And she takes it from me! Usually breastfed babies refuse a bottle from mom, so this was quite the breakthrough. I think she probably prefers the bottle now, though she will nurse from me a few times a day. With this switching back and forth I will have to pump and make sure I keep up my supply. But hopefully this will afford me some time away from Kate for some much needed breaks.

I always put Kate on her back to sleep. Here is how I found her one morning after taking her morning nap. On her belly!


And here are the two misfits causing trouble :) It's so fun to see them interact and laugh together. It's going to be crazy in this house when Kate gets mobile!