Potty-training Time!

I decided to just work with Porter, but Madison wants to join in. She doesn't want to wear underwear. She wants to wear her diaper. So, Porter has on cute little boxer briefs. He has peed in the toilet three times today and pooped in the toilet all by himself. Whoever thought pee and poop could get you so excited. Vicki has given me some training tips so we'll see how it goes. Hopefully, we will be out of diapers soon! At least 0ne out of my three, that is! And then soon, two out of three. What will life be like with out diapers! Any advice on potty training is appreciated.

Cute Quips

Madison and Porter are getting very talkative. They are learning new words. Madison is so studious. When I say a word she hasn't heard before she'll repeat it. Yesterday I said, "Don't get on the countertop." I usually say counter. She said, "Countertop. Countertop. That's a countertop Mom."
I asked Madison, "Do you want to be Mommy and I'll be Madi?" She said, "Yes!" I mimicked her voice and said, "Mommy, I want some juice!" She always says that. She thought for a minute, then looked at me and said, "I want some juice TOO!"
I asked Porter if he was my boy. He said, "No, Mom. I a man!" I have no idea where he picked that up.

Can you relate?

'Housework is a Woman's job' She'd been taught 'housework is a woman's job,' but one evening, Jenny arrived home from work to find the children bathed, one load laundry in the washer and another in the dryer. Dinner was on the, and the table set. She was astonished!
Turned out that Ralph had read an article that said, 'Wives who work full-time and then had to do their own housework were too tired to have sex'.
The night went very well. The next day, she told her office friends all it. 'We had a great dinner. Ralph even cleaned up the kitchen. He helped the kids do their homework, folded all the laundry and put it away. I really enjoyed the evening.' 'But what about afterward?' asked her friends. 'Oh, that ..., Ralph was too tired...' God is good.

Me and Lane

I get to spend some time with Lane in the afternoon while the twins are taking their nap. It has been so fun having just ONE baby. It's not that I love (the feeling of love) him more, it's that I get to love (the action) him more. I don't know if that makes sense or not. I was just so tired with the twins and trying to give them both love and affection, it was hard to give them as much as I have been able to give Lane. It's such a different experience. I don't have many pictures of the two of us together so I set my camera on the desk and set the timer.

Brant is taking welding classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I don't get to see him until later in the day. I miss when he is not home, because he helps so much with the kids. The twins love playing with him.

Spanish Rice

I have been looking for a good recipe for Spanish Rice for a long time and came across this one. It was very easy and tastes delicious! It makes a great side dish for Enchiladas.

Prep Time: 05 minutes Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
· 1 1/2 cups rice
· 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
· 1 cup plain tomato sauce*
· 3 cloves finely chopped garlic *
· 1/4 of a medium onion*
· 2 tablespoons oil
· 4 heaping tablespoons of finely chopped parsley (optional)

Preparation:
In a medium sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add in the fresh garlic and onion. Saute for 1-2 minutes until softened. Add in dry rice. Stir for about 5 minutes until rice becomes a golden brown color.
Add in broth and tomato sauce (Slowly into rice, not directly onto hot pan!) Add in the parsley if you're using it. Stir it up and bring to a boil. Once it starts boiling, turn the heat to low and cover. Let it simmer for 20 minutes and fluff with a fork.

*If you don't have fresh garlic or onions on hand you can use the equivalent in powder form. Do not saute the powder, just skip that step and add the garlic powder and/or onion powder when you add the liquids. If you don't have tomato sauce you can use unseasoned stewed tomatoes, or canned diced tomatoes with their liquid.

Lane in a walker

Lane is learning to navigate around the house in his walker. He was working his way to the sliding glass door where all of the kids were playing outside. He is so excited about all of the new things he sees and that he has more control with this legs. Brant had just gotten home and was chatting with the women. Cambry is 6 weeks older than Lane. They enjoy playing together.

Outside Playing

We are reaping the rewards of the nice weather in Las Vegas. After our boiling heat during the summer, it is such a nice break. The weather gets to the mid 70's in the afternoon and evening. The kids enjoy being able to play outside again. It was so hot in the summer, they wouldn't stay out very long.

Jumping on the Trampoline

Geneva was babysittig kids and they all went out on the trampoline to jump. Porter and Madison love jumping. They also love crowds, so they were having a ball.

I am so tired

I never fully appreciated sleep deprivation until having 3 children. Mind you, I am the person that NEEDED 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep or I was a massive, offensive, angry bear! I have sisters that can attest to this--and Ron, I don't think I got much sleep that time he wanted to set me up with Grant. I think Ron was tuned in, but just not exact. He was hearing "Grant" and it was supposed to be "Brant.
The twins are at an all-time high of destruction. They have become fully function and figured out what a great team they make when it comes to mischief. What one can't do the other can. Yesterday, Porter woke up at 4:10 a.m. Brant gets up about that time, so when Porter came in, he thought it was time to greet the morning. I was so tired. That is also Lane's eating time. Porter came in, Brant played with him, and then Porter got Lane fully awake. There was no chance of going back to bed, though I tried for the next couple of hours. Needless to say, it did not happen. Lane was cranking and fussying the whole time--due to his early wake up. Plus, he was off schedule for the rest of the day.
When Madison woke up at 6, I gave them juice and turned on Barney. Lane had fallen back asleep. I locked my door and fell back to sleep. I woke up a half hour later, with Geneva telling me that my kids were banging on her kids door yelling for them to wake up. They woke up Aundra, Jantzen, and Cambry. They had figured out how to unlock my door.
Later that morning, I was downstairs loading the dishwasher. Lane was in a walker. I hear a big crash and Porter and Lane suddenly crying. Porter had tipped over the walker and Lane hit the tile floor with his head. He was still upside down with his head on the floor and his feet stuck in the walker.
This morning they went into my closet while I was feeding Lane. I thought, what can they do in there? When I went to get them, all of my clothes had been thrown on the floor. Two boxes of junk I was organizing were dumped out on the floor. They were in the process of removing all of the hangers from shelf. I have put them in their telling them they are not coming out until the mess is cleaned up. Porter is handing hangers to Madison (she's up on the shelf) and she is hanging them up. They keep getting distracted. I figured they have messed up as much as they can so I get a break because they can't come out of the closet.

Little Angels...

...especially when they are asleep. They went down for their nap today and fell asleep like this. Too bad, they weren't this sweet all day.

"Aunt" Ida Tenney visits

Last night, Ida Tenney, her daughter Leann, and her son-in-law, came by to visit Mead and Geneva's family. I grew up in Page, knowing her as "Aunt Ida" so it was a treat to get to visit with her and to let her see my kids. Lane, of course, was already asleep. Madison instantly called her "Mi-Ma" (her version of Grandma). She is so spry and healthy--she is a good example to all of us. It was really neat to see her.

Pizza! Pizza!

We made homemade pizza Saturday night. I made the dough and sauce from scratch and then let the kids make their own pizzas. Madison put a little bit of everything on it. Porter put one mushroom on his with lots of pepperoni and ham. He's a big meat lover.

Pics of Porter

Porter is so mischievous. He loves getting into things--especially water. He turns on the hose in the backyard all of the time. He plays in the watering system for the plants. He has poured water all over the floor after getting it out of the water dispenser on the referigerator. He likes to dump water anywhere and everywhere. He does have a tender heart and gets his feelings hurt easily. He likes to wrestle and fight and tease.

Pics of Madison

\Madison is such a cute little girl with a lot of spunk! She is very proud of her blue eyes and tells everyone she has blue eyes. She is very good with both of her brothers. She's tough and bossy to Porter, and sweet and motherly to Lane. The other day she was mad at Porter for taking her shoe. Aundra went and grabbed it from Porter and gave it to Madison. Porter started crying because Aundra took the shoe from him. Instead of being thankful to Aundra for getting her shoe, she turned on her and started shaking her finger and telling her "No!" because she made Porter cry. Then she went and told on Aundra, saying "Aundra did it!"

Labor Day at the Water Park

We took the kids to a Waterpark in Henderson. They had such a blast. It was fun watching them run through the water. The temperatures were nice too...only 92 degrees. It has started to cool down, although we still have a week full of 100+ temps. I'm sure it will be really mild in October. Grandma and Grandpa Smith joined us with their daughter Heather after we had been there for an hour or so. Also, Mead, Geneva, Aundra, Jantzen, and Cambry Tenney.