What you shouldn’t do when toilet training

Now you think I would know how to do it after training 4 kids. You would think after lecturing people, yes I do believe I lecture people in regard to toilet training, I would know what not to do. Well, I’m here to tell you with baby number 5 I have broken almost every one of my toilet training rules.

I had a friend today say I shouldn’t be so hard on myself. I should be ok with the fact that at almost 2 he’s going to the toilet at home. Oh, believe me I am very happy about that. I’m not happy that I am too scared this time to let him go without nappies to the shops, playgroup, friends’ houses, in the car, anywhere. Why is that?

Since forever I have lectured my friends and their friends and told them, “Don’t put them back in nappies. You just send them backwards.” I know. I’ve seen it in my friend’s kids. I know what I’m doing is stupid and has long term consequences. I know it is only prolonging the whole terrible experience that is toilet training. Trust me. I KNOW.

I’ve had kids wee in their sibling’s classroom. I’ve had wee on the floor in the supermarket. I’ve had accidents on carpets at playgroup and on the couch at home. I’ve had wee in the carseat and the pram. I’ve dealt with this for basically 5.5 years. What is wrong with me this time?

My friend today said, “It’s not like he’s going to go to kindy wearing a nappy.” I know. I know I shouldn’t let this get to me. I guess it will eat away at me until I can finally bite the bullet and do this properly. The way I have told everyone else to toilet train their kids.  I also know without a doubt this is my problem and not his. I know he is capable of going in public without wetting and I know even if he does it’s not the end of the world. I know the problem. I’m lazy.

This has been my whole argument over the years regarding other people not toilet training their kids early like I have. It comes down to what’s important and right now it is not important enough for me to make him go to the toilet in public and deal with the accidents so I’m being lazy. Yes, I’m being lazy. I know I am and it is not something I like to associate with myself. I am being lazy because I know he can do it. He’s been going to the toilet or potty for more than 6 months now. I guess I have to get myself in the mindset to toilet train him for the public.

Realisations.

Ever wondered whether you married the right person? This week I've attended the Stampin' Up! convention. I've travelled by train each morning to the convention centre in Brisbane and I've watched these mothers rush to work (I've overheard them talk of their children because essentially I'm a sticky beak) and I've felt very blessed to be able to be the one who stays home with the kids and have a husband who actually wants this lifestyle for his family.
I have realised how tough these women have it. On the first morning of the convention I left home at 6:50am and didn't get home until 7pm. The kids were already in bed when I got home. I'd seen them briefly in the morning before I left. That was really tough for me. I missed them so much. Don't get me wrong, I had a wonderfully inspiring and fun time at convention and I didn't think of them that often but it broke my heart to see so little of them all day and I wonder how hard it is for working mothers to only see their kids at those horribly rushed times of the day.
I am fortunate we bought a house which we could afford to pay off on one wage. I don't have to work unless I want to or it fits in with the lifestyle we want for our family.
Kevin and I are massively different. Gosh, who knew. We are polar opposites in so many ways but when it comes to what we want for our family and what we believe is best for them we are so similar. I married someone with my family belief system and I am truly grateful for that. I know I married the right man for me. My heart still swells and skips a beat when I see him and didn't expect to.
For everything you have done for us this week, my love, I am grateful. For what you do day in day out to support our family I am eternally grateful. I'm glad it is you who leaves the house each day to miss out on the kids lives and earn the money. Thank you.

Gifted children

We have thought for a while our lovely little Jessica is a gifted child. She has spoken well from a very young age, speaking in full sentences since she was 18 months old and singing nursery rhymes from an even earlier age. Last term we attended Jessica's prep interview.  We have been tossing up the idea of early entry to year 1 for a while now but the cost of the tests and the process seemed a little too much for us considering it isn't up to the school to approve the early entry but the district director who will never actually meet her. I took a school library book of Hollie's the interview and Jessica read it while we waited. Hollie, year 1, borrows from the year 3 section of the library at her teacher's request. The deputy principal doing the interview wasn't so impressed with a nearly 5 year old reading at an 8 year old level as it is quite common for girls especially to read early but she was impressed when we showed her Jessica's writing and spelling. She sat up and was visibly shocked by what she saw. Couple her literacy level with her numeracy levels there is no way she will cope with prep. She will be bored out of her brains. The deputy was the one who suggested we do an early entry. We didn't have to say anything. I didn't want to be one of those parents marching in there and telling the school how amazing my kid was.

This is Jessica's story about going to the football in May. At the time she was 3& 1/2 months shy of 5. I had to help her spell Giants and fence. She did the rest herself. She even remembers the colours of the seats we sat in.

I know almost every parent thinks their kid is very bright or skilled with a particular thing. I have many friends who insist their kids are very bright, above average, gifted even. When I look at Jessica who was reading Hollie's prep readers when she was 3 and reading them with the top readers in prep I know Jessica is gifted. This was confirmed last week when the school's Guidance Officer did an intelligence test on Jessica to support our application to early entry to year 1. Jessica was tested and came out as having "Superior intelligence" as her results were in the 95 percentile which means only 5% of children her age are smarter than her. 

Then I think about Hannah who is 3.5 years old and created her own perfectly stamped and punched birthday card for her cousin and wrote the entire card by herself and I wonder about Hannah too. Hannah's card to Gemma read, "To Gemma love and hugs Hannah" which she needed help spelling "love" and "hugs" but was able to work out the letters when I sounded them out except the e on love. She was most proud that she could now write a G all by herself. I have not taught her to write. I have written a lot with her, labelling pictures, writing on the fridge, just general mum stuff. We have read a lot and she picks up words all the time. Tonight we had a book that had "we" on every page and by the end she knew which word was we. I'll see if she remembers it tomorrow. She is so curious about writing and reading and spelling at the moment that we just explore together. I don't teach her. I don't think I do anything special with them. I give them my time. We share and have fun together (most of the time, I'm not a perfect Mum- far from it. Yes, I yell at my kids, I'm not angel.) The children have learnt through example, time and exposure. Maybe this is what mums did in a previous era. Is it possible that the time I spend with them and not the money I spend on gadgets or educational toys that has made the difference? I really don't know. What I do know though is they have a love of learning. Hopefully I can continue to foster that in them and they carry that into their adult lives.

This story is amazing to me because at 5 she knew the difference between slid and slide all by herself. 

Hopefully we'll find out at the end of this week whether the district director has approved the application. I know that if he doesn't she is going to be a huge strain on the teachers next year. I think even if she is advanced her teachers will have to modify their work to be able to cater for her ability. It will be just the same as having a child with a disability in the classroom. Let's hope there is someone else of similar ability to be able to work with her.

Moments in time

I have to take time with my newest addition at night. During the day life is very hectic with four other children and I don't get as much time as I'd like to sit and cuddle and adore my little darling Kevin. Night times for me are very special. Day time often involves fighting the kids off Kevin. I'll often find Lisa has shoved a teddy right next to him or tucked a blanket over him. Hollie wants to cuddle him constantly and when it's a school day she walks in the door and it's not, "Hello Mum," it's, "Can I hold Kevin?"

I adore the new baby smell. The soft skin. The cute little noises they make. Babies are just the sweetest things. I could have hundreds of them but I hate being pregnant and babies don't stay babies for long at all.

I'm off to comfort and cuddle and kiss my darling little Kevin.

10 on the 10th The Best Husband

Everyone knows how much I love my husband. He really is an amazing man. Here are ten reasons why I love him.

1. He makes time for us every day. He knows how important it is for us to connect daily. Our lives are so busy. 5 kids, 1 dog, 2 cats and 5 chickens makes our lives full and hectic. From day one he has made the effort to put me and us first even when he knows I'm not putting him first. I love him for this.

2. He is the most amazing Dad in the world. Anyone can be a father but only special men get to be Dads. He is one of those. I am so grateful to have married a man who really appreciates and values his role as a Dad. The kids all adore him which is testament to his dedication to them.

Giving Hannah a cuddle. Always the comforter. He is such a great Dad.

3. He makes me laugh. As frustrating as he sometimes is he manages to make me laugh every day. He teases me, tickles me, shares his stories from work, tells me jokes. He makes me laugh at myself. I love that he can put a smile on my face and make me feel so young and carefree.

4. He values what I do as a mother at home. I know sometimes it feels as though he doesn't value the effort it takes to wash, fold and iron 3 loads of washing or how many times I've tidied those particular toys away in one day but I know he does. He loves that I am home with our kids and not at work. He appreciates the lessons I teach the kids and the love I give them when I'm with them. I am glad he doesn't want me to go back to work any time soon.

5. He's such a supportive husband. After every new baby he cooks every evening meal for the first 4 or more weeks. How amazing it that? He fixes things, tidies, cleans and helps with the kids without being asked. Who wouldn't love this man?

Kevin Joshua being cuddled by Daddy at the hospital soon after his birth. Now starts his cooking. At least Kevin will know how to cook. His Dad will teach him that men cook too. 

6. If I give him a list of jobs he will do it. He will do what needs to be done to help me around the house. It took a few years for us to sort out this system. Prior to the list system I would get frustrated that I'd have to nag him to do jobs. With the list system I write out this list and he does the jobs in his time. AND he's quite efficient too.

7. He is deeply religious and has changed my life because of it. He has shown me a way to live my life. He has shown me another world. Thank you darling.

8. He supports my hobby. He values my hobby. He enjoys the discussions we both have about our hobbies. He encourages me to spend money on my hobby, maybe that's so he doesn't feel guilty about spending money on his hobby. LOL. Not many women have a husband who says spend my money.

9. He takes photos because they would be good to scrapbook like this photo of Lisa who fell asleep at the door to the girls' room because she wanted me to fill up one of my water bottles for her even though she had her own. He's a true scrapbooker's husband.

10. He holds my hand. Just that show of support when I'm sad or that affection. He also knows what it does to me. I love him dearly. I hope he still holds my hand when I'm 90.

The holidays

Yay. It's the holidays now. It felt so good to only have to drop Jessica to kindy today. The state school had a student free day. The girls and I walked to kindy, we gave a train demonstration (the kids had been interested in trains and I offered to bring in some of Kevin's trains to show them. We played trains for about half and hour.), spent time with the girls at home doing puzzles, colouring in and playing dolls. It was a great way to start the holidays. Now if only Lisa would sleep through tonight I might be able to feel normal in the morning.

Here are a few photos of our week.

We went to the RM William's Muster on Sunday. Instead of watching the crazy men and women ride horses, Jessica and Hannah dug in the dirt.

After a terrible night awake with Lisa I found her like this under the coffee table. No wonder she was awake most of the night. Anyone want a kiss? I certainly didn't. She is such a mobile baby at the moment. I don't think it will be long before she crawls. There is a lot of scooting backwards which is why she was under the coffee table and a lot of rocking on all fours. She's cute just not in this picture.

Hollie's class had a picnic in the park with the other classes with year 1 students in it. They modeled their costumes and then had a variety of games. I love the look on Hollie's face here. It made me want to jump in a sack and have a race too.

After nights and nights of not sleep I thought I would give Lisa a formula bottle. I thought, like with the other 3, my milk was drying up or wasn't enough for her. She didn't sleep through so no more formula just yet. I look reasonable happy about it but I was crying on the inside. All I could think was, "If she's my last baby, it's too soon."

I think Daddy's going to have to buy a gun. They are just so beautiful. Daddy took these just before dinner yesterday. Hollie looks so tired but still so beautiful. Not that I'm biased or anything.

Hollie is such a helpful (most of the time) big sister. She cut up kiwi fruit for Hannah and herself and they enjoyed it on the veranda. I love the way she takes responsibility for her sisters and is usually willing to help them. You're growing up too fast missy. 

A Birthday to celebrate

It was Kevin's birthday yesterday. We had a very lovely relaxing day. I made his favourite dinner a sponge cake. This year I also picked his present all by myself. I got him a barrometer. He loves it and keeps checking the temperature because that's pretty much all that changes around here. Here are some pics of our day.

Unwrapping his locomotive from the girls. A Farish B1.

We always do presents in our bed. Jessica is giving Lisa a cuddle.

The sponge I made for him.

Hannah enjoyed the food as always. These are her Tim Tam hands.

Jessica and I played on the floor and Kevin took some photos of us. She blows me away with her beauty.

Lisa found the day very exhausting and fell asleep on the floor.

There are a few photos taken of Hollie but they aren't very good. I'm glad Kevin had a lovely day. I love sharing his birthday with him.

So much news

Since November (the last time I updated) so much has happened.


1. School finished so Kevin has spent time looking after me, letting me sleep in, chasing kids around, rousing on kids (and giving me a break from it), cooking dinners ( I have cooked a total of 3 meals since the beginning of December) and generally being the best husband and Daddy in the world.

2. Christmas was celebrated and is a distant memory now. I was 10 days overdue on Christmas day and kept hoping I wouldn't go into labour. We had a very quiet day with just our small family, the 5 of us. We didn't go over board on food but ate a lot of desserts.

3. Baby Lisa Lily was born at 1342 on the 31st of December weighing 7lb 9oz in the world's (my world) shortest labour. 2 1/2hours from the time the put the drip in. Oh how much energy did I have after that! Wow. Very quick.

Lisa's baptism with Fr Jordan and proxy Godparents Gran and Grandpuff.

Hollie is such a big help with Lisa.

4. On the 7th of January we flew to Brisbane so Lisa could meet the families and be baptised. Kevin also attended a PD while we were there which was the other main reason for us going.

5. I celebrated my 29th birthday.

6. During our time in Brisbane the floods hit. We went and had a look at the fast flowing Brisbane River. Amazing! We saw pontoons floating down the river. It was so fast. Our prayers are with the people who lost family and friends in the disaster and to those people whose property was damaged or destroyed. Mum's place took a battering and her roads are in very poor condition. We spent a few hours helping her shift rocks and repair the road before returning to Brisbane to celebrate our wedding anniversary.

Lisa's Godparents Matthew and Zoe.

Now it's back to reality and the adventure of 2011 begins. Tonight we got back on the bikes and rode for 30mins. Next week we start school and a hectic life.
Until next time. Thanks for looking.

Cyber crop

This weekend I participated in the Scrapbooking Memories Cyber crop. I got 5 layouts done. I'm not overly impressed with any of them but they all meet the set criteria so I guess I'm happy with that. I'm also happy that I got another 5 done. It's 5 more stories I've told and I had a great time doing it too.
Sister love challenge was set by Bella to create a layout with the following criteria:
Use die-cut cardstock as the base - buy a ready-made shape or cut one out yourself
Use only black and white paper or cardstock colours
Use photos that make a strong connection between the past and the present
Use button clusters to accentuate journaling.

Watch your smile bloom was a challenge from Buzz and Bloom.
The challenge is to create a layout using hot pink, orange, polka dots and use either ‘buzz’ or ‘bloom’ in your title

Outside was a challenge by Kaisercraft was to use the sketch. I was lucky enough to have Kaisercraft patterned paper.
The others were sketch challenges too. I liked the sketch challenges as they weren’t so challenging but the challenge of the others was also very rewarding.

Anyway, enjoy. I’m off to bed so I can get up and swim 3kms in the morning. How exciting. Well it is. It is so good to clear my head and feel like I’ve done something by 7am but it is just the thought of getting out of bed at 5:45am in the freezing cold I don’t like. And 120 laps is rather daunting. 102 laps this afternoon!! I’m going well. My size 14 jeans don’t fit any more. That’s a bonus.