Honest Breakdown

So, I am having one of those weeks where I am just at my wits end. I have zero patience for anything, which is really not good for the children. And Amanda's potty training is about to send my blood pressure through the roof - if it hasn't already. I find myself so short tempered with the kids and I hate that. But at the same time I just don't know what to do because I am just at a loss. I don't have any idea what I am doing and I feel like I am doing everything wrong because nothing is going right. How in the world am I supposed to teach my children about the love of Christ when I can't show it to them? When I can't control my lack of patience? When I am in a place of nothing but tears?

Both of the girls are so sweet, but man are they testing me. And I feel like they are winning. Amanda is extremely disobedient and disrespectful and I can't seem to reign her in. Abi is seeing things from Amanda and is turning from her obedient self to a less than obedient child. And Abi really struggles with being thankful and sharing. And not letting Amanda do things the way she wants. Has to be Abi's way or there is a complete meltdown. And then they both start screaming and focus on how they can get the other in trouble. I seriously don't have the energy anymore. Nothing seems to be working and all that ends up happening is that I lose my cool and end up in tears, along with everyone else.

I could seriously use some helpful advice for anyone who may still be reading this and has any thoughts. Thanks!

Gluten-Free

Well, it's been a while! Although not as long as I had thought. I forgot I wrote about the 4th of July. Yay! So, here is it is. The reason I have not written. Well, I have been deep into Gluten-Free research. YEP! I am trying us out on a Gluten-Free diet. There is Gluten sensitivity in my family and Mark is experiencing some joint discomfort so I began to research natural remedies both for the joints and for my digestive issues. After a week of researching every free moment I had, everything linked back to Gluten. So, that is where I started. The girls do eat some Gluten foods, but I will slowly move them away from it too. Mark and I have just completely removed it from our diet so the girls eat Gluten-Free meals, but their snacks still have some.

Here are some things I have learned so far from being Gluten-Free:

1. It is not as hard to find Gluten-Free foods these days

2. Just because a box is labeled "Gluten-Free" doesn't mean it is actually Gluten-Free.

3. Reading labels is crucial!

4. Baking is very challenging

5. There are a lot of flours needed to make one baked good

6. I thought organic was expensive

7. Gluten-Free is WAY more expensive than organic

8. I learned the phrase "xantham gum"

9. Modified Food Starch = GLUTEN

10. When in doubt, leave it out

11. Pancakes are still tasty, even Gluten-Free

12. Thank goodness for McCormick spices!

13. Pizza crust is a pain to make

14. I will try pizza crust again and experiment

15. Really dislike seeing the term "spices" in the ingredient listing. Please list them out!

16. All "comfort foods" can be interpreted in a Gluten-Free form

17. Gluten-Free Chicken Parm was my first homemade GF meal

18. Real eggs make things rise better than egg substitutes

19. All condiments I used to use are no longer in my recipes

20. I secretly love the challenge

21. I need to make a dessert soon

22. I have a lot of friends who are Gluten-Free!

There will be more learns down the road and when I find a really great recipe or create something I think should be out there, I will post it! If you have any ideas, recipes or suggestions, please feel free to post too. This is an exciting ride!

Fourth of July

Well, we made it! We ventured out late to see the fireworks. Anticipated rain and all. Abi took a 2 1/2 hour nap so that she would be ready to go out. We knew at that moment that rain or not, we were going to have to venture out somewhere and find some fireworks. We decided to head to the beach. So we scarfed down dinner, packed up and went on a hunt for parking by the beach.

On the way there we sang, talked about what we were going to see, saw lots of fire rescue trucks (we past an accident on the bridge) and went on a hunt for parking. We drove around and around, while Abi kept saying, "Daddy, why are you driving in circles? there are lots of parking places right there! LOOK! I see 2!!" We explained that those were reserved for the people who lived in those buildings, but she still wanted to park there :-) After driving around for a bit, Mark went a little further down, asked the police officers if there were any parking places left in the area they were about to close off, and when they said yes we turned in. YES! PArking right by where we were going to be! we got out, pulled out the stroller and went on our way over to the beach.... just across the street. We saw the barge getting in place, so we knew right where we needed to be and were able to get THE perfect seats on the steps down to the sand. The girls played for a while in the sand until Amanda said, "Oh no! I need to go peepee!" and was dancing. 10 minutes before the fireworks were due to start. I did have a pull-up in her just in case, but you can't look at a 2 year old who is potty training and say, "It's okay, hunny. Just go in your diaper." WRONG! We had the potty in the back of the truck so Mark grabbed her and said, "Let's go!" He ran her across the street and she made it! Score! So very thankful that the Lord provided such close parking :-)

Once the fireworks started, Amanda said, "I don't like those! I don't like fire!" I think it was the noise she didn't like, but she wouldn't even look at them. She was looking at the ground. I kept telling her to look and see how beautiful they were and she would glance up shyly every once-in-a-while. I finally told her, "It is just loud. Like thunder. It won't hurt you, but if you don't look you will miss all the pretty colors!" She said, "Like thunder? BOOM!!!" and then giggled. She was fine after that. She was even telling a doggie not to be scared, "It's just loud, doggie. Don't worry. It's okay."

Abi loved them too! Although she asked, "when are they going to be over?" after only 5 minutes. She did still want to watch though. And both of them stayed up until after we were home. So much fun!!!!!! AND the rain held off! What a great night with the family.

Happy 4th!

Potty Training, Round 2

I think the title says it all. We started potty training Amanda this week. I was hesitant and dragging my feet because I didn't know what to expect. You see, Abi was SOOOO easy! However, the time was now and off we went. Area rugs covered, potty out, diaper off. OK! I can do this!!!!

First we went through the, "ok, now remember that you don't have a diaper on. You need to go to the potty if you need to go...." drill. We started outside since that is the easiest place. Potty outside, water and lemonade galore, we are running all over and nothing. I think this girl is a camel!! So we get ready to go inside. BUT WAIT! I hear, "Oh no! I'm peeing!" She runs to the potty and there you have it! Success. A couple of partial accidents inside and then we were full speed ahead. YIPPEE!!! My diaper days are coming to a close!

After a few days of no accidents, I took Amanda for a mommy daughter shopping trip to pick out her own big girl panties. She was SOOOO excited. We went shopping and she picked out monkeys. Glad I took her because that is NOT what I would have thought she wanted :-) They are cute though! And she could not WAIT to put them on. She actually pulled them out of the package and put them on over her pull-up. Yep! They are keepers!

Something I did differently with Amanda is that I didn't really take a break from errands and going out. It was easy with Abi to stop, but not so much with Amanda. And I think it worked out better for her too. I was more relaxed this time around, just offered a lot of verbal reminders to remember to go on the potty and she worked it out. So we are now 2 nights dry, and last night she actually woke up during the night to get up and go to the bathroom! She still needs help with pulling her pants down, but I am fine with that. She will get there and I am fine with helping her for a few weeks until she gets it. I am just really excited for her and for us! What an accomplishment!

Yay for Amanda!