AUGUST

August began with a BANG.  Our kids, who had been sick since June 22nd, were diagnosed with Cyclosporiasis.  Actually, only Brooklyn received a positive test result, but given the boys and her had the exact same symptoms we just accepted they all 3 had it.  Brooklyn was the 3rd confirmed case in the state of Louisiana and while it was an incredibly horrible parasite that caused a lot of discomfort and  sickness for our kids, I was SOOOO grateful to finally know what was wrong with my babies!  Thankfully, our pediatrician was willing to take an aggressive approach and treated the boys as well as Brooklyn. It was only a matter of time until they would all be feeling better, or so we thought.  

Within days of the kids diagnosis we moved to Borger, Tx.  It just so happened that Brooks had a meeting in Houston, TX right before we were planning to leave Lake Charles so he met up with us and helped get our Uhaul loaded up and all our stuff since our move from Saudi packed up.  It was a sad day leaving my parents house since we had been with them since May.  I'm not quite sure the kids knew what was going on, but we were off for our next adventure.  

I ended up getting a minivan as my rental car, which ended up being a blessing.  I fell in love with the simplicity of it and decided I'd get one when it was time to buy my car.  We decided to split our drive to Borger up in 2 days since we were taking the Uhaul and had never made this drive before.  We weren't ready to take on an unknown/expected 14 hour drive and it end up being a 21 hour drive.  We stopped outside of Dallas around 11pm and got as much sleep as we could.  

This was my view the entire drive!  And guess who was still awake at 11pm?!?

We made it to Borger around 7pm one evening and were set to close on our house the next day.  We were staying in a local hotel for the week until our shipment was expected to arrive by the end of the week.  Closing went somewhat smooth if you call having to move back your time a few hours because you find out your loan approval never got processed!  Yea, that was fun!  Eventually everything got settled and the house was ours.  We brought the kids by that evening and they were excited!

Check out the balcony banister that over looks our living room!  It wasn't to code and failed the inspection so we had to come up with a quick and easy solution to keep the kids safe.  Their bedrooms are next to this and since we live in a small country town chicken wire was the only accessible/ cost efficient item we could find.  It did the job though!

I spent most of the week cleaning the house and on Thursday the movers were here with our sea and storage shipment.  For some reason our air shipment was not on the truck so we had to wait another week for that.  Funny, our air shipment was suppose to be the first shipment that arrived and it had all of our necessity/essential items.  Oh well. It is what it is!  It kinda felt like Christmas seeing all our belongings from our storage shipment.  It was things we didn't take with us to Saudi and I forgot we owned some of it!  The kids were awesome with the movers and stayed out of the way for the most part.  We had some great guys working and they worked hard.  At 6pm they had all 9,000 lbs of our belongings unpacked in the house including furniture and beds set up!  What a glorious nights sleep we got in our own bed for the first time since May!

Friday morning I stayed busy putting things away and getting the house ready for our first house guests!  Brooks' mom, her husband John, Brandon and Kate were driving in to help us get things settled.  It was great having all their help and the extra hands to entertain the kids.  They were so excited to see familiar faces in this new place we now called home!  From staining the boys new beds to changing door knobs, we worked everyone the whole time they were here!

It was sad to tell our family goodbye, but we were onto our next adventure to visit my best friend Stephanie and her little boy Jacob while they were in Oklahoma for a few days!  Steph and Micah moved to Doha, Qatar a month after we left Saudi, which meant this was the first time in the 7 years we've been friends to NOT live in the same place.  Telling each other goodbye back in May was brutal so the fact that we had the opportunity to see each other again this soon was GREAT!! The kids and I drove to OK and made it the 6 hour drive and as we were 30 minutes out Miles got sick from the Cyclosporiasis.  He had been sick so often he was always able to tell us when he needed to throw up so I handed him the trashcan.  Unfortunately, Miles used it as a hat instead of throwing up in it.  He spent the last part of our drive in a diaper and I drove with all the windows down!  UGH!

When we arrived we were so happy to see Aunt Steph and the kids were excited to finally see Jake!  Steph and I had fun watching the kids play together and we got to catch up!  My kids ended up getting sick while we were in Oklahoma, so that made the time a little more straining, but we managed.  Apparently the meds they were on just weren't doing the job!

The first evening we just ate at home and spent the night catching up and getting kids into bed. The next morning we did our best to keep 4 kids entertained. We went to a little children's museum type place in Stillwater called the "Wondertorium".  It was a great place for all the kids. They had older activities for Gavin and even Miles but they had a separate toddler area that was great for Jacob and Brooklyn. It definitely got some of their energy out.

Once they were played out at the Wondertorium we took all the kids back out to the farm house for nap time. When they started waking up we did a little playing around outside. Gavin got to go for a ride with Aunt Steph around their property and loved checking out the cows.

When everyone was awake and ready to go we headed out again for dinner at Eskimo Joe's. It felt a little crazy to be at a restaurant so outnumbered by kids but they did great and we enjoyed our dinner. As a reward we took them all out to Boomer park and let them have some time running and playing.

The next morning we packed up and headed home.   Our trip was WAY too short but still wonderful to see Steph and Jake.  I miss seeing them on a daily basis SO much and wait for the day when we're back in the same place again!!! 

Life didn't slow down once we made it back home.  Miles decided he was done with diapers and semi-potty trained himself!  This was his favorite way to pee for a while.

Gavin started KINDERGARTEN.  Kindergarten.  I mean where did all the time go?  He was excited about going to a new school, but had some hesitations.  He still didn't understand why we weren't going back to Saudi and asked often when he could see his friends Devin, Tucker, and Peyton.  We encouraged him that he would make new friends and like his new school just as much as ISG in Saudi.  Thankfully, my mom came to visit us and help me get things somewhat organized around our house so she was able to help with the little ones while I took Gavin to school.  Brooks met us there and we sent our little guy off to big kid school!  Gavin's school is only Pre-K and Kindergarten so they have the kids line up in the cafeteria every morning and wait for their teacher to come get them versus sending the kids to classrooms before 8am.  Kinda smart on their part!  Gavin was shy after telling us bye, and it was so hard to watch him sit in line, not knowing or talking to anyone!  Broke my heart, but I knew all he needed was a few hours to meet a few kids and be comfortable in his new class!  He had a great first day and by the end of the week there was not a shy bone in his body!  

Gavin's first day was a crazy one for me.  On top of the emotions I was having sending Gavin off to school, Miles touched the chrome muffler of a motorcycle parked next to us and burnt his hand which meant for major screams and tears and heartache, and at some point Brooklyn ended up with a sucker stuck in her hair and required cutting some of her hair to get it out.  This day was NUTS!  So glad my mom was here for that, too!

 

Two days after Gavin started school, he turned 5!  Can you believe it?  Our little man turned 5 years old!  We weren't having a birthday party for him since we didn't know anyone here in town (we had only been here less then 3 weeks) so I made sure to make his actual birthday a BIG deal!  I decorated the house with balloons and streamers, got donuts for breakfast, and let him open a present before leaving for school!  We also pulled out his baby book and watched him look through it.  He couldn't believe he was that small!  It was cute to see his reactions to all his first things as a baby.  He asked me to bring cupcakes to his class to celebrate his bday and he had specific instructions on the colors and type of cupcakes!  It was fun to meet his classmates and see Gavin interacting with his new friends.  

We decided to have dinner at home and give Gavin plenty of time to open his gifts.  Grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins, and friends sent gifts that we were holding onto for him to open today!  Gavin was excited to get his new gifts and played with them all evening.  Afterwards we went to the local park to play and have cake!  Gavin had a special day and loved the extra attention he got.  He kept saying how we couldn't wait until he turned 6!

Whew!  Just like that August was over!!  

Wait.  not yet.  We had surprise visitors come through Borger a few days later.  Brooks' grandparents, Mim and Pop dropped in to see us and celebrate Gavin's birthday, too.  It was so nice to see them and catch up!  

Not all Glitz and Glamour

We're done Potty Training.

Whew.

That's all I have to say, okay not really, but I will admit this process has been one of the most exhausting tasks I've taken on as a parent thus far.  Yes, I realize my child is only 2 years old and there will be plenty more issues to tackle down the road, but still.  It has taken both Brooks and I a few days to recover from our 3 days of non stop training!!

As I stated in my previous post, Gavin took to the potty training beautifully and was understanding the concept by lunch on day 1.  For that, we're grateful we didn't spend 3 straight days of continuous accidents since that could have been the way things worked out.  He did awesome throughout the 3 days and has continued to surprise us!  He has been able to go through the night dry and accident free for the last 5 evenings!!  We attempted to wake him up during the night the first few nights, as the method recommends, however, Gavin did NOT appreciate that at all so we stopped and figured we'd just be prepared to wake up to a wet little boy and change his sheets.  Haven't had to do it yet!  Brooks and I both feel like we have a newborn again.  We're constantly more alert at night and any sound from Gavin's room we both would jump out of bed and run to him.  Guess, it's getting us prepared to start that process all over again in a few months.  Gavin hasn't made it 2 straight days without any accidents, except for nap time.  Not quite sure what that's all about-- he can make it 11 hours at night dry, but not 2 hours during the day.  Well, if that's the only accident in a 24 hour time period, we'll take it!

I titled this post "Not all Glitz and Glamour" since there are a few aspects of potty training that you have to deal with that aren't listed in the manual nor are you fully prepared for so I thought I'd share them with you.

1. Apparently, going #2 isn't as easy to do in the potty when you're first learning to be potty trained.  Poor Gavin is scared of going and that's the only time he asks for a diaper.  We're slowly working on this, but for now, it seems Gavin's preferred location to go #2 is in the bathtub, no matter how much we watch for signs and remind him to tell us when he needs to go potty.  Yuck and Gross!

2. Sometimes, boys don't want your assistance in helping them point a certain something downward.  That wouldn't be an issue, except, when you're the parent sitting on the stool directly in front of them while they potty-- IT IS AN ISSUE!

3. No one tells you what to do when the 3 days are up.  Going out in public is a whole new scenario and there should be a handbook for that too.  From experience: 3 pairs of underwear aren't enough.  Extra shorts and shoes are required.  It helps to bring a towel to wipe up the mess and dry your child off.

4. Bringing the potty seat with you is important!  However, not leaving it in the car when you go inside a restaurant, is even more important.  For many of you that's not an issue, but when you have a driver who goes to lunch while you're in a mall and needs 10 minutes to get back to you-- it's a problem.

5. You have to teach your child it's not necessary to bring every toy with them to the potty.

6. You also need to teach your child that the show on TV will still be on when they come back from the potty.  Geez-- you'd think he was going to miss something just to go potty.

Needless to say, Brooks and I have learned a lot from potty training and we're looking forward to the day when Gavin can go all by himself.  Until then, we're going to continue encouraging him, reminding him to let us know when he needs to potty, and praying for his and our patience to not run out.

Today, I have a doctors appointment so for the first time, we're going to be bringing Gavin with us.  We aren't ready to hand him over for someone to "deal" with his potty training needs, nor do we want to risk any inconsistency causing him to relapse.  Plus, the dr appt is an hour away.  We decided this would be a great time to work with Gavin on long trips.  It wouldn't be a big deal, except there aren't exactly gas stations or fast food places on every corner or at every exit on the interstate.  Not to mention, the driving here is horrendous, so pulling over on the side of the road won't be an option for us.  This should be interesting.   I'm thinking step 1 will be for him to not get any liquids at least an hour before we leave.  Say a prayer for us as we embark on this new adventure!!!

"Tell Mommy & Daddy When you Need to go Potty"

Well, we're 2 days into potty training boot camp and Gavin has been doing AMAZING!!!  This has been a really intense method, but Gavin picked it up within 3 hours of starting it.  It almost seems like there is more work for the parents (except the kid has to be doing the pottying) but Brooks and I have made a great team.  We watch Gavin like a hawk and say a 100 times to him to tell us when he needs to go potty.  The whole idea of this method is to train the child to tell you when they need to go and not force them to go.   He has loved going potty, & getting M&M's, and he gets a sticker to put on a special chart every time.  He has enjoyed wearing his new big boy underwear and hasn't even asked once for a diaper.

DAY ONE: We woke Gavin up telling him he was wearing the last diaper he was ever going to wear!!  We gave him his first juice box of the day and he was happy! We started explaining to him and showing him his new underwear that he was going to start wearing.  He had a look of worry some on his face (the 3rd picture), since I'm sure he wasn't really sure what was going on).  After breakfast, we had him throw away the last of his diapers (we kept 3 or 4 in his drawers and hid the rest in the top of Miles closets for him someday) and then put on the big boy undies.  Within 10 minutes he had his first accident, but we stuck with the method and after 7-8 accidents and lunch time, he was telling us he needed to go potty.  He made it through nap time without an accident, and did awesome the rest of the evening.  Night time, was the same thing.  We kept him in his undies and told him to tell us when he needs to go potty.  We woke him up a few times during the night to put him on the potty, but he never went.  He had 1 accident around 3am and that was it!!  He did awesome.   Here are some pictures from our day.  Including the first change of clothes AND his first time to potty in the toilet without having an accident.      

 

 

DAY TWO: Gavin woke up dry this morning, after his 3am accident, and went straight to the potty.  He has done an even more amazing job today then yesterday.  So far, he's had only 3 accidents (it's 7pm so our day isn't over yet), but I will say 1 of his accidents was our fault.  He started off struggling this morning because he really needed to go #2, but was scared to on the potty.  It resulted in him telling us he had to go potty every 5 minutes- this lasted an HOUR!!  He finally went in the potty and he was soooo excited and I think relieved.  However, we realized he wasn't done going #2 when we let him take a bath and he finished his business in the bathtub.  Neither Brooks nor I were standing directly over him since the water had already drained and he was just playing so we never assumed he would have gone potty in the shower.  We learned our lesson.  He showed small signs of regression after that incident, and it took him a while to get back into the swing of things; resulting in his next 2 accidents of the day.  Although, he made it through nap time without an accident (YIPEE) and he has been accident free since 1pm!!!  He has enjoyed getting lots of different liquids- kool aid, tang, gatorade, apple juices, mango juice, chocolate milk, etc, etc! He has even been getting lots of popsicles throughout the day!  We're so thankful that we did this and we keep laughing at ourselves of how nervous we were to start this, but he has surprised us once again!  

Brooks is going back to work tomorrow (he's been home for the weekend) so I get to do this all by myself tomorrow.  Brooks has been a HUGE help with this and is always encouraging to both me and Gavin.  I can't imagine what the past 2 days would have been like had he not been here to help!  Even though Gavin has done great with the training, it's been a lot of work. Plus, with me being 7 months pregnant it has made it tough running and carrying Gavin to the bathroom.  Not to mention bending down over and over to help him potty.  My body has taken a little beating, but it's worth it.  I can't imagine had we waited until December to do this, with me being bigger, I don't know if I could have done it. 

Well, I better run.  Brooks has let me take a long enough break.  I'll let you all know how tomorrow goes and then we will start a new routine with attempting to get out of the house while being "potty trained".  We are also going to put shorts on (those aren't allowed during the training program) , which I'm sure will add to the bathroom fun!  

I would highly recommend this program to any of you moms who don't want to deal with potty training for months at a time.  Sure, it's a ton of work for a few days, but then you don't have to tackle the issue constantly all the time.  I'm sure Gavin will have accidents once the 3 days are over and I'm prepared to handle any situations out in public and in new places, but at least he will know that the goal is to go potty in the potty.

Hope all is well with everyone!    

Potty Training Here We Come

Brooks and I decided to potty train Gavin and we are going to start tomorrow!!  The program we're doing is the 3 day Potty Training Method.    It's been seen and advertised all over and we have had several friends who have done this program with their kids around the age of 2 and it works!!  We're really excited to begin this new adventure and are hoping that Gavin picks up on it quickly.  Brooks and I both studied up on the method, together, and this week I got all of our supplies ready for the 3 days!  We have M&M's and popcorn as rewards, a sticker chart, and 3 brand new CARS potty seats for each bathroom toilet.  We've been preparing Gavin for the past few days of what was about to happen-- we let him try on his new underwear, practiced sitting on the potty seats, and have been showing him where his pee pee goes.  In the morning, we're going to let him throw away his diapers (the rest are hidden and put away in Miles closet for when he needs them in a few years) and start drinking lots of liquids.

Brooks and I weren't really planning on potty training Gavin this soon, however, we knew we wanted him to be potty trained before Miles gets here, and thought this would give Gavin plenty of time to work out having accidents and adjust to this new freedom.  Plus, our schedules are going to get busy with events and things that we weren't going to be able to miss, so we're taking advantage of not having anything going on this weekend.  In order to use this method, you really have to give up going anywhere and doing anything for the 3 days.   We're ready and prepared as we will ever be so here goes nothing!  I'll let you know how things go in the next few days.  Say a prayer for us, please!