While brother's away . . .

So, with their oldest brother on the bus, what will the other three be busy with this week. The kitties.

We have 4 baby kitties. How perfect! The #4 seems to run in the family. And right now, their names are Tinkerbell, Snow Leopard, Zebra and Saber. Obviously, mommy didn't have much say in their names. They are truely tamed and will tolerate most any amount of affection.

1st Day of 1st Grade

We started school on Wednesday, August 25, 2010. Ephraim had his 1st day of 1st grade. All his friends are back for another year together and they've added a few new classmates, so he has a class size of 16.

Same bus driver as last year and same pick-up time of 7:22 (give or take a few minutes). And Ephraim is usually ready by that time.

And, to welcome brother home on his first week of school, we made cupcakes with our names on them.

We fought the potty and the potty won!

Good bye diapers/pull-ups and hello underwear!
I've been waiting for this day for a long time! All four kids are now in underwear! YES!
We started buying diapers in 2003 and haven't quit since. It's been non-stop changing diapers, using wipes, packing a diaper bag, etc. Those days have ended and I'm not sad. Should I be?

Ephraim wasn't potty-trained until he was 38 months old and Emmet was born before that, so we had two in diapers for a while.
And then when Emmet was two, the girls were born and for another 17months (roughly 510 days), we had 3 in diapers. Emmet was 41 months old before he was trained. The bonus was that he stayed dry at night right away! Not so with Ephraim but that's okay. In fact, we may have had 4 wearing diapers/pull-ups for a short time in there before Ephraim turned 5.

And that brings us to this month. Eden started showing signs first. I'd try to get them to wear underwear on my days off, but on one day, after going through 18 pairs of underwear, I threw in the towel, surrendered and bought a 72 pack of pull-ups. At this point, I thought it would take forever and I didn't have that kind of patience.
And then it happened this week. I decided that on Wednesday we'd try again. Eden did very well. And Eliza was a little slower, but still coming along. Eden was really cashing in on the tootsie rolls as a reward! Now we're going to have to break that habit. :) The boys were even benefiting with a bit of candy for the girls' accomplishments. Eden is even staying dry at night already. We still have a few accidents but I am SO GLAD to be this far along.

Which is easier to train . . . boys or girls? Hmmm. Not really sure. I thought that birth order would have something to do with it, but it doesn't. Emmet had no desire to go potty early even though he had an older brother. I think it has to do with individual personality and "when they're ready, it'll happen." But parents are the ones who are always the most anxious to get kids potty-trained. Don't I know it! It can be so frustrating and time-consuming, too. I've heard all the techniques of potty-training and have even tried a lot of them (bribery, giving them lots of drink, Dr.Phil's theory, sticker charts, signs of the moon, etc.) but like they say, it'll happen eventually. Patience!

Whew . . .2600 days (give or take a few) of changing diapers is a lot!

I'm going to be saving my diaper money for a new camera (to replace the one that Eden broke).

S U M M E R

Some random pictures of the end of summer.

This is one way to solve the "there's not enough swings" problem.

They were having so much fun!

August always means the DeKalb Supper at Seth's Uncle and Aunt's house. For the kids, it means playing with cousins and getting a few freebies.

Eliza in her DeKalb hat.

Eden in her hat.

And the boys with their swords (yardsticks).

We also enjoyed a short visit with Danny Carroll. I remembered him from my days in the legislature and now he's president of the Iowa Family Policy Center. He's also working with Bob Vander Plaats to influence the judicial retention election this fall.

The boys have taken to sleeping in the same bed again. It works most of the time. Ephraim was complaining that the top bunk was too stuffy. But in the morning, he's usually quick to mention that Emmet kicked him in the night or wasn't giving him much room. I snapped this picture one night before I went to bed. Looks like Ephraim doesn't have much room to talk--he's using Emmet as a pillow!

Oh yes. This incident. This is to prove that there really isn't a dull moment at our hosue. We were having lunch and Eden was messing with the lid and got her finger stuck. AND went bezerk!

It actually was stuck pretty good and we had to use dish soap to free it. But all is well.

Non-Stop {Hot} Fun at the Iowa State Fair

We left for the fair on Thursday, the 12. We arrived by 9am and got in half price with the coupon. We headed straight for the Cultural Center to see Seth's brother's pictures.
Emmet pointing to one of Paul's pictures, a picture of a park in the winter.
Ephraim is pointing to Paul's picture of the courthouse in a lightning storm. It is an honor to have your pictures chosen to be on display at the State Fair. Good job, Paul!

Next up was the Animal Learning Center. We saw a wide variety of newborn animals. Then it was Little Hands on the Farm.

It was hot on this fair day so I made sure that we all were drinking alot. We'd also packed our lunch, which was a good thing, because on a hot day, sometimes you don't want anything too greasy. The kids enjoyed their bologna, chips, applesauce and oreos.

Captain Ephraim and Lieutenant Emmet.

Taking the . . . uh . . .girls for a walk. We used the "leashes" some but the wagon was more convenient and kept them contained. On the leashes, they were more apt to gawk at the things around them and then we would end up pulling on them to keep up.

The DNR building was a favorite because of the fish. They also had this display where the kids could rearrange the trees. Leave it to Eliza to try and rearrange the telephone poles.

Emmet wanted his picture taken all the time.

Going through one of the animal barns. This was toward the end of our tour, when the kids were getting hot and tired.

Emmet again and again.

And we've made it back to the van, hot and tired.

How hot? This hot!

We dropped the kids off with my parents and went back to the fair. My birthday present from Seth was Mercy Me tickets and a night in a hotel. We saw a little more of the fair and then found our seats, which were pretty good.

Newsboys were first and they had a great concert!

After intermission, it was Mercy Me. And they were good!

While mom and dad are away, the kids will play . . .

Ephraim with a treefrog from Grandpa's house.

Eden and Grandpa checking out the calf.

Eliza and Emmet.

Eliza and Grandpa.

All in all, it was a good day at the fair, despite the heat. Everyone had a good time and saw what they wanted to see.

Short trip to Illinois!

We're getting pretty good at taking vacations and having others pay for them. This week it was a one night's stay in Bloomington, Illinois courtesy of Case IH. We left Tuesday night traveled the 3 1/2 hours. On our way, we had the priviledge of seeing two complete rainbows side by side. It was beautiful and something I don't think I've seen before. Both rainbows were complete from up and over and back down. Thankfully, that held the kids' attentions for over an hour! Unfortunately, there was no way to get a picture the entire rainbows.

Wednesday morning, when Seth left for a combine clinic, the kids and I hit the pool for a while. That was fun!

There was an Aldi's next to our hotel so we went there and picked up stuff for a picnic lunch (peanut butter and jelly, chips, juice, etc.) That info is important later. Then we headed for Sugar Grove Nature Center. It was free, so that was the main reason I chose it.

Lots of snakes and turtles to watch.

And a table of 'treasures'.

Eden checking out the latest in furs.

Ephraim and the skunk.

A showcase of bird nests.

Of course, Eden's on the phone (listening to bird calls).

Emmet up in the stand.

Little Miss No-Fear.

I'll stay right here, Mom.

In a hut.

Swingin'.

Crossin' the creek.

Diggin' for fossils.

Okay, at this point, we're hot and hungry. We head for the picnic shelter to get out our lunch supplies.

We pass out the plates and drinks.

We pray.

I get out the peanut butter and jelly and it's then that I realize, to my horror, that we have no bread. Ugh. Again, the kids are hot and hungry. And eating peanut butter from a jar isn't exactly what I'd planned for lunch. AND we're 15 minutes from town.

But, I loaded 4 disappointed kids in the van and went to town. We found Culver's before we found a grocery store, so we stopped there. We needed some air conditioning anyway.

Then it was back to the nature center.

Emmet with antlers.

Eden with a beaver.

Ephraim with the owl puppet.

And a variety of books to read.

Relaxing. Love the pose!

All four.

This is a renovated corn crib with window flower beds and a view of a pasture of wildflowers, home to butterflies and hummingbirds.

Yes, Eden's going to be left-handed.

Ahhhhh!

We had a great time and came home Wednesday night. The kids did great and we made some great memories.