Lane is my little Sweetheart

Lane is so sweet. I have really enjoyed having him for a baby. He is not just happy, but giggly all of the time. He's sleeps well, only poops once a day, and is just happy to be near me. So unlike the twins. It is so neat to experience only one child at a time. Of course, I loved Porter and Madison, but it is a new experience to get to be able to love a child so much--not just take care of their needs. He is a very content little man. Unlike Porter, who was so anxious to sit, scoot, crawl, and walk, he is content to just be. He's active and loves to use the walker, but takes all of the world in stride.

Great Grandparents Visit

The kids had their great grandparents visiting over the weekend. Tom and Dena Cox, Rhonda's parents, stopped by for a quick visit. It is so fun to have the gift of great-grandparents. I love that the kids have so many grandma's and grandpa's.

Madison...maybe partially potty-trained

Madison has been stellar in her potty training performance. Porter dropped out of the race and I didn't encourage him to get back in. I didn't want to deal with two of them and a 4 1/2 month old baby. Anyway, Madison has not had any accidents. Her exceptions of course are nap time and sleeping. I don't have that much faith. She wore panties to church and all through Sacrament Meeting. I was too afraid to send her to nursery with panties, so Brant put a diaper on her. She also has a very hard time pooping--every time. Or I should say she has bowel movements with much effort. She asked me yesterday if she could wear a diaper to poop. So, of course, I let her put it on. She didn't want to do that on the toilet. Mostly because she has to stand up to poop. I think we're on the right track! I'm so glad.

Madison (pictured above) was showing off her new underwear. She was thrilled and picked out the pink ones to wear--her favorite color.

Day Two

I'm writing this braless, in pajamas, and tired and it's 1:30 p.m.. Training twins is not easy. I didn't mean to do both of them. I tried to get Porter on board, but Madison wanted to do it too. I feel like I have been living in the bathroom. Porter did really well this morning at first. Then he got bored with it and told me he wanted to wear a diaper. The kids great-grandparents were visiting, so it was easy to give up on him. I still had Madison and that dang timer that would go off every 30 minutes. And oh don't forget my 4 month old baby.

Madison was awesome! She wouldn't always go when the timer went off so I just started asking her when she needed to go. She started running to me saying, "Mom, I gotta pee!" I would help her and she would say, "No Mom. I do it." They can both get their underwear off and get on the toilet without any problem. When it was nap time I put her in a diaper, but she wanted her underwear on over the diaper. A couple of times before falling asleep she wanted to go potty. Then, she realized this was a great way to get out of taking a nap. After several, "I have to go potty" I said, okay that's enough. Use the diaper.

Porter did get up before he fell asleep because he had to use the bathroom. I was like, just go in your diaper! He was very insistent and I realized I shouldn't stop him if he was willing. Thankfully, I didn't because he pooped in the toilet. Yeah! He did this twice. (He's got an amazing metabolism so he is a frequent pooper.)

They are both sleeping like little angels, so I have a break. Of course, baby Lane is awake, but he is so good. He has really been in to the political debates. Maybe that's because I have it on so much and he just stares at the lights.

So am I on track? Are they doing what they're supposed to? This is my first time, so I am hoping it will go well.

End of Potty Training Day 1

So, we did the every 30 minutes thing. I was just trying with Porter, but Madison was way into getting a potty treat. She would sit on the toilet and try to convince me she had peed just to get her potty treat. They get ONE smarties--not a pack--just one. She wanted it every time. Porter was doing really good all morning. Right before nap time, I slacked off a little and forgot to ask him if he needed to go to the bathroom. He wet his pants, but was not happy about it. I asked if he wanted to try again and he did. So we put new pants on. He did okay in those and started to wet himself, but stopped and ran to the bathroom. We did have an early morning success as well. Porter had just gone to the bathroom and then caming running to me saying, "Mom, I gotta poop! I gotta poop!" I said, "Well get in there!" He was very proud of pooping in the toilet. I put a diaper on him for nap time. He sleeps for about 3 hours and I didn't want to deal with a big, wet, bed. After nap time, I put a diaper on. His 3 pairs of underwear were dirty. We continued with going. He didn't do as well in the diaper, but both of them would run to the bathroom when the "Potty Timer" went off. We have two bathrooms right next to each other, so most of the day I had one in one bathroon and another in the other. I feel so tired today. Lane, however, continued to poop and pee in his diaper and we got no where with him! :) I would like to send them to Dona to get housebroken--just like I always did with my dogs. She can give them back once they are potty-trained. :) I guess it will pay off once the work is done. And, I guess for the first day, we didn't do so bad. I just have to keep up with it. I was hoping to have Brant home to help tomorrow, but he has to work! Oh well.

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.