GOOD RIDDANCE, Spring Break

Can I just say that I hope Spring Break never comes again? Usually I welcome any extra second I can have with my husband. But last week for Spring Break Marty took off Thursday and Friday and we just tried to do WAY too much for a pregnant lady with limited physical capacity/emotional stability.

We painted our ENTIRE downstairs (besides the den) which was a humongous project that we tried to accomplish while Brynn was napping and then pretty much all night after she went to sleep.

Then, while Brynn was awake we started potty training! We did this three day method that some of our friends have had luck with, and actually Brynn is doing really well. There were about a thousand times over the last few days where I just wanted to bang my head against the wall. But we started it 5 days ago and Brynn has gotten up dry 4 out of the last 5 mornings and the same with her naps. Yesterday she only had one accident! Today I am taking her to the library to see how she does when we are out in public. This is a really...intense method, but I think it's a good one and if anyone is looking for a potty training method, I'd be glad to send you the info. My back and legs are aching from running Brynn to the potty so much and I think I may just send myself into an early labor...but I think it will be worth it! But next time spring break rolls around we are taking a vacation!

This is the color of our kitchen! I'll post more pics when I get the decorations hung back up and everything. Oh, and this nice little tribute is hidden behind the fridge. :)

Grandma and Grandpa Johnson!

Grandma and Grandpa Johnson came out for a three day weekend last week and we had so much fun! There was lots of bonding, playing, reading, ping-pong tournaments, and of course there was dancing. Thanks for the great weekend, Neil and Sharee!

Epic Battles

In a fight to the death, who would win?

Bear vs. Tiger?
Bulldog vs. Husky?
Spartan vs. Trojan?
Seminole vs. Viking?

If you said picked the tiger, bulldog, Spartan, and viking, chances are you are not going to do very well on your March Madness bracket.

Every year I fill out a bracket with Marty. The first year I went by the costume color (oh, sorry Marty - uniform), then by places I wanted to visit (I beat Marty that year!), then which mascot I liked the best, and this year I am choosing which team will win by which mascot I think would do better in a duel. We had some pretty epic battles going on and some tough choices to make. However, now that it's all over, I don't think I'll pay a bit of attention to March Madness because apparently 3 of the 4 1-seed (or whatever) teams went out in the first round and the fourth went out in the second round. But...meh. I think my husband loves me a little more now for at least trying to be supportive.

Fridays

Ok, well I had a post about Mondays, now here's one about our Fridays.

Every Friday while Marty is at work, I take my girl out for a cheap treat somewhere. But today our car is out of comission, so instead, we stayed home and made our treat together! I have decided that lemon bars are a really fun treat to make with a toddler. She loved squishing the crust between her fingers and patting it into the pan.
























Don't you love that you can do such cheesy things with your little kids, like wearing aprons together? :) That's pretty much the only time I actually wear one.




































"Brynn, show me your messy hands"


















She even wanted to help with the dishes! Awesome! And actually, she was pretty good about wiping things down under the water. Maybe I will have to give her more jobs....

Let's settle this

I know, everyone has heard about this and is probably sick of me bringing it up. But I am so terrified of raising a boy! Why are they so....destructive? And wild? Very often when I say this, I am surprised to hear people tell me that I am very wrong and that boys are way easier to raise than girls. Are people saying that just to be nice and comfort me in my time of sheer terror? Or do they really think that? Well, I want to hear what you really think. So, it's poll time, again.

Monday....

It kind of seems like I used to hate Monday. It's true, I don't have any Monday research paper deadlines following me around anymore, but it's still back to the grind. After a nice long weekend full of Marty-time, I miss him on Monday when he goes back to work, and so does Brynn. But I just don't dread Mondays like I used to. In some ways being a mom is difficult and exhausting, but then other times it doesn't seem like work at all. I love taking Brynn for walks to check the mail, watching her splash in the bathtub, I really don't even mind changing her diaper (even 2 yr old bottoms are SWEET!). Well, this is me talking on a good day, I'm sure one day this week I'll change my tune and start complaining to anyone who will listen.

I think another reason I look forward to Monday is because we are having SO much fun with Family Home Evening! I love that Brynn is starting to understand some gospel concepts, and she is so eager for every part of FHE. If anyone with toddlers or young kids hasn't seen the new nursery manual, "Behold, Your Little Ones," you have GOT to check it out online. They basically outline everything you need to do for a lesson, including songs and activities. Brynn is usually as interested in the lesson as she is in the games (last night it was the "pokey pokey" - hokey pokey) and treat.

Speaking of which, we had a pretty fun treat last night - we were actually able to sort of combine the treat and game thanks to our new "Wacky Snack!" Yesterday when I checked the mail, Brynn had a present from her Aunt and Uncle - thanks guys! We had so much fun!

Basically, you shoot popcorn from the catapult to the basket

"Where'd it go?"