Angel on High

The Bugs of Potty Training

For the last few months I've been ready to potty train Daniel, but I couldn't stick to it because it hurt my back too much to bend over the toilet while I was pregnant. I got home from the hospital with Benjamin on Saturday and Monday morning I pulled out the training pants for Daniel. Jim questioned my timing and my sanity; I was just so glad to be able to finally bend over.

With this new potty training quest, I needed some kind of incentive for Daniel. My babysitter took him to the toy store to choose something exciting. He came home with a box of plastic insects. After each successful potty, he would go to the box of insects and pick out the scariest looking bug he could find. Ick.

A Box, A Bag, and a Boy

James needed one of my shoe boxes for a project at school. I reluctantly gave it to him. I liked my box. He knew that I liked my box and decided to make me a new box out of wood scraps from the garage. When the box was finished, it just didn't seem right to put my shoes in it. I looked around and wondered what we should put in this little box. Earlier that week, I had found a bag full of leaves and such in James' school bag. I asked him what it was. His reply, "Oh, those. Just stuff I found on the mountain that I liked." I looked again into the bag. I tenderly sifted through the leaves in the bag, impressed that James noticed them and thought they were special. I couldn't help but feel thankful that he noticed them. His "collection" showed me a side of his little boy heart that I didn't know was there. I decided they were the perfect things to fill this new box.

Our Pumpkin Moonshine, 2011

Favorite Fall Reads (preschool books)

Pumpkin Moonshine, by Tasha Tudor and This is Not a Pumpkin, by Bob Staake

Ben's First Bath, Halloween 2011

Home Sweet Home

On October 29th I came home from the hospital. Jim had to work all day, but Miriam was there with me at the hospital and helped me get discharged. We rode a cab home and when I walked in the door the house was the cleanest I have seen it in ages. On my bed were my pajamas and on my night stand was a bowl of cream of broccoli soup and toast. Susan Grace had taken the younger children to the museum near our home and the house was quiet and sunny. I set the baby down next to my bed. My children had worked so hard and it felt so good to be home, I started to cry. Later that night, the branch had a trick or treating party for the primary. Jim was still working. Pulling out all of the costumes (along with face paint) and getting the kids out the door was very overwhelming. For the second time in one day, I felt the burning sensation of tears welling up in my eyes, this time for a different reason.
Oh, no, here I go on the postpartum rollercoaster of emotions.