Moreland, ID

We just got back from a fun weekend trip to visit my Grandparents in Idaho!  The kids had a blast (as always) and it was fun to spend some time with my mom and grandparents.  We left Sean at home since he had work and school, and headed up after school on Friday.

These are just a couple of pictures of our adventure.  I'll post the others later.

Life Lately

At Sean's birthday dinner with Grammy

  

Playing in Grammy's yard

Lets see....what has happened since I last blogged?  We finished our summer.  I have mixed feelings about that.  On one hand it is a really exciting stage of life to start (Mara goes to 4 day a week preschool and Sean started his last semester), but on the other it is sad to see this summer end because we had so much fun.

Let's talk about Mara first.  She has started her first official team sport: soccer.  While driving to her first practice she let me know that she "has been waiting her whole life for this day".  She talks about soccer, so makes up dances about soccer, and she sings songs about soccer.  You probably wouldn't guess it if you watched her though...how shall I say it?  She gets a little distracted.  She might see a flower that needs picking, or a pile of dirt that needs stomping, and heaven forbid she not look at all her admiring fans and give them big smiles!  Really though, it is all super cute.  After her first game we had to teach her that it is okay to steal the ball from someone on the other team.  She thought it was too mean.  Hey-at least she is worried about sharing, right?  She also insists on exercising every day so she can be strong for soccer.  She joins me and Sean in our workouts, and when that gets boring she makes up her own.  I'm just gonna say it: I seriously hope she loves soccer and picks that sport to play out of all her options.  I think as her mom I'm not suppose to say those kinds of things but it's what I'm thinking!  And hey, as long as I don't say it to her I should be good.
As mentioned previously she is in Preschool.  It is technically her 2nd year, but since she only went for 3 months before we moved I don't know if that counts.  After her first day of class she now sings the alphabet correctly.  Instead of: H I K K L M N O P, she sings H I J K L M N O P.  I don't know how many times I've tried to teach her that, but in one day of class she decided to say it like her teacher suggested.  Gotta love her.
While it is a super fun stage of life to enter (revolving my life around my kids schedules instead of vice versa), I do have mixed feelings.  It is fun to be "out of the house" more often.  Especially since that is the thing I probably complain about the most.  It's fun to see her learning new things and gaining new experiences.  It is fun to see her personality when put into different situations.  It is also kind of sad.  I feel like maybe I haven't prepared her enough to tackle life.  Don't worry, I know she is only 4...but now a lot of other people have a big impact in her life.  I find myself wondering if I spend enough quality time with her while she was home with me all day.  The answer makes me kind of sad.  I'm sure that I didn't.  I'm sure I acted annoyed too often, or yelled too much, or plugged her in front of the T.V. so I could "have a break" too often.  Now I'm wishing I could take all of those moments back.
Those thoughts have led me to really enjoy my time with them more and worry about the little things less.  Remember I said LESS not never. lol
Logan is crazy.  We are trying the potty training thing.  I say trying because we are no where near completion.  I've found that the best thing to do is let him run around naked and he will go to the bathroom when he needs to.  Sadly, he has pooped on the carpet twice.  Both times were seriously rotten.  Him running around naked also leads to him doing a naked dance on the patio for the world to see.  That boy sure loves the freedom that being naked affords him.  He can hold his pee for hours.  I know this because I made him sit on his potty chair for 5 1/2 hours (don't worry it is a very padded cushy seat and I sat him in the front room with movies on) and he refused to pee.  We had to leave somewhere so I put his diaper on and he immediately filled it up.  He is just a stubborn dude.  When I asked him why he won't just go on the potty his reply is "because I don't like to!"  Lovely.  I'm hoping we have him potty trained by the time he's 12.  Ha ha, I know-but my real goal is to have him 100% trained by the time he goes into Sunbeams.  That is in 4 months.  He is going to be one of the youngest in his class where Mara was one of the oldest.  It is super crazy to see how different they are.  Mara basically potty trained herself because she thought it was yucky to poop in a diaper.  Logan thinks it is hilarious.  Gotta love little boys, right?
Sean has started his last semester to receive his Bachelor's degree.  It's gonna be a long couple of months, but at least it's almost over.  I'll blog more about that later, but right now my bed is screaming for me to hop in!!!