I know what you're thinking, "You must be joking!" or else, "Not my toddler!"

Hear me out. The premise of this idea came from the book Toilet Training In Less Than A Day by Nathan H. Azrin, Ph.D and Richard M. Foxx, Ph.D.

I took this route with my oldest after trying Infant Potty Training or Potty Whispering, the Every-20-Minutes-To-The-Toilet method, the Candy-Reward method, and the healthier Sticker-Reward. This method is what finally made the whole potty training thing click for her. 

The basis of this method is staying positive and fully-focused on your toddler for the full 5 hours. I recommend doing this on an uncarpeted floor and in a room you can block off so that there are as little distractions as possible. 

Besides this, you'll need a toddler potty, wipes, a trashcan, a child-safe floor cleaner (for accidents- and they will happen!) and paper towels, about 8 pairs of toddler underwear, salty snacks (to make them thirsty) and a sweet drink (that won't actually...

I read an article about how moms tend to live behind the camera, taking picture after picture of their family. This particular article encouraged moms (and parents in general, really) to put down the camera and live in the moment.

We traveled 4 hours to get to see my husband’s sick father and ailing grandmother 2 days before Christmas. We stayed only a day but shared a couple meals with his dad, talked, laughed, and watched Christmas movies together. He got to see our 3 daughters again. He met our then, 8 month old son, Elijah, for what ended up being the first and last time. 

At one point Elijah sat with my husband but kept staring at his grandpa sitting next to him, so grandpa held out his hands. Elijah grinned and reached for him like he...

Tight finances recently had me calling out to God for help to diaper my toddler. My over-preparing mind wandered about Baby #4’s diapering future, too. Cloth Diapers to the rescue!

When I was pregnant with our first baby, I researched disposables versus cloth and found that obviously, cloth was the way to go for overall health- not only for baby’s skin but the planet as well (yes, cloth diapers to the rescue!) Here is a book that will help with the transition (and in thinking, too!) from disposable to cloth.

We went a couple different routes: pocket and tri-fold, mostly because at the time we could only do half of a small 32 cloth pocket diaper layette and made up the difference with the cheaper, classic tri-fold.

The pocket diapers we went with were BumGenius and they are awesome! Even after using them for different extended times with each of our three daughters, they have minimal wear and tear! We even got a large bag and a small bag for when we go on trips...

It’s been awhile, I know, so allow me to catch you up. I’m currently 22 weeks along and we found out about 3 weeks ago that we are having our first boy! Here is a link to The Big Gender Reveal!

BabyGenderReveal

I had a feeling the whole time that this one was a boy- call it a mother’s instinct I guess! The differences in pregnancies with our girls and this boy are crazy! The morning sickness didn’t last very long, so that was a positive, but the hormones are still wreaking havoc with my emotions!

Besides the expected and acceptable “congratulations” we have actually been lectured on how different raising a boy will be- several times- as though we are slow or dim-witted and do not grasp the concept. It may surprise people to know that we know that already, thank you very much. 

We have been helping raise boys of various ages almost since the beginning of our marriage. We can see the difference! Since I started babysitting at the age of 10, 95%...

I’ll be 12 weeks in just three days and I have finally discovered my bump! I mean my real and actual Bump! When I stand I can hold it all in, for the most part, it’s just my Diastasis Recti… But when I laid down in bed the other night, I could definitely feel a bump! 

I was actually thinking there for a while that maybe it was some sort of fluke (in 3 consecutive pregnancy tests???) because I really wasn’t showing, you know? I felt certain symptoms; the fatigue, the morning sickness that lasted all day, the tender bits, and the like, but as for actually showing… I had nothing. 

When I had gotten pregnant the second and third times I showed right away but that could have been because I didn’t even try to suck it in (hahaha). This time I had been working on some exercises to strengthen the weak muscles before I had found out I was pregnant and not wanting it to go completely out the window in the first few...

I love autumn. I’m one of those people who’s favorite season starts in September and ends in December. Cool days and cooler nights, bonfires, falling leaves, hot chocolate, and hoodies…

I get a thrill bringing down and sorting through my fall and winter clothes…however, at this time, I’m 10 weeks along. Where most of my poochy belly is actually a food baby, my non-maternity clothes are too snug and stretched to ridiculousness which leaves me with my maternity clothes… Having worn them with a full-on 9-month belly, though, has left them a bit loose for my food baby.

Oh the fun first quarter of pregnancy

In every chapter of life, it seems like the social norm kind of changes a little. As children, we were told to leave the room when we had to pass gas, but how many of us as adults do that?

Bathroom talk, in general, was discouraged unless it was necessary to make a request of an adult, but now we (as pregnant women or as mothers) find ourselves openly sharing about how often we have to pee or the color, consistency, and even the smell of bowel movements- our own and our children’s.

Growing up, our private parts were private. Now, they have feelings and we discuss how they are feeling because everything changes when you are pregnant.

Everything is a symptom when you’re pregnant, too.

Have a headache? That’s probably because you’re pregnant.

Dry eyes? Pregnancy will do that to you.

Tender or sore lovely lady lumps? You must be pregnant!

Too much saliva? Pregnant

Not enough saliva? Pregnant

Tired? Food cravings or avoidances? Acne? Pregnant!...

I’ve been hiding from the quease for the last several days now. I’ve managed to keep it away by almost constantly eating.

Granted, I’m not talking meal after meal’s worth, just a little something here, a little something there.

Many mini meals, if you will.

Like a small bowl of cereal first, then a little later an apple, then some water, then some hot chocolate (because coffee is still mad at me) then a little after that, maybe a handful of raw almonds and walnuts…

Any way, you get the idea. Keeping the hunger at bay helps keep the acid down which heads off the quease. Granted I feel like I just happen to catch it just right, because this whole getting through the day without wanting to puke just came upon a midnight clear…

Christmas puns in September, oh boy…

Today I woke up feeling great! A little tired, but no nausea! I even had scrambled eggs, sausage with cheese, and hot chocolate!

Is it too much to hope for that the morning sickness is over? I mean I’ve only been up for four hours, but… *sigh*

Besides that, I’m feeling a little squeezed into my jean capris that I had had to take in twofold (I took them in properly but it wasn’t enough so I added another button to tighten them perfectly). Well, now I have to use the old pony-tail-holder-extender trick.The one where you loop a hair tie around the button hole and then put the loop around the button. I am able to loop to the smaller button, but I’m running out of time to surprise my besties. :-0

I’m thinking of getting them a little something and signing the card with Baby’s name- tricky thing is, obviously, we don’t know if he’s a he or she’s a she :-/

Ok, so the quease-factor so far this pregnancy hasn’t been bad- pretty normal for me. It’s just been a constant feeling of nausea that makes nothing sound good but I can still function well enough to homeschool the girls, prepare meals, lead in the clean-up, etc. It does, however, make reading difficult and the only thing I can really stomach is water and tomato soup. Still, I know it could be worse!

But yesterday, oh boy! I found myself having to stop going to the bathroom to curl up on the floor taking slow deep breaths until I could stand up again. Then I was able to make it to the living room where I had to grab one of the girls’ bean bag chairs and I lay down on that for several minutes to breathe through it.

I figured that maybe I needed to eat something to calm my stomach down so when I was able to, I slowly made a small bowl of cereal and ate it practically laying on the table. When I finished, I was able to take my vitamins and then promptly needed to...