potty training

I can't believe I am actually saying this but our diaper buying days may soon be over.  OT has been peeing on potty for a while but like most little peeps, he has been withholding his poop.  He kept saying all day "poop on potty" but every time we'd put him on the toilet he would freeze.  This evening we put his little potty chair in the kitchen and he finally decided to use it.  He ran to tell his sister (which we overheard) and all six of us came running into the kitchen to cheer him on.  I couldn't help but notice what a different environment it was for him vs his older siblings.  Life may get more chaotic with more kids and we definitely do not get the one on one time we would like and need with our children but the bond among siblings and the love they share is priceless.  I could not have been more proud sharing that moment with some super special people.  And after months of bribing him with a promise of a "mammer" (hammer) we ran to the bedroom and grabbed his hammer out of the Christmas gifts pile.  When hubs pulled it out from behind his back OT said "bang bang".  When I asked him whose hammer it was he said "mine".  He could have cared less about his cookie and headed down in the basement to mammer in some nails.  We are SOOOOOO thrilled to almost be done potty training!!  Way to go little dude.  

Has it really been a year?

It's 10:38 p.m..  I am waiting on the acid stain to dry in our basement.  The house in a total mess right now because we are in the process of finishing over 1400 sq ft of concrete floors in our basement.  My busy body husband took it upon himself to start this while the kids and I camped over labor day.  Upon our return we've been working like crazy to get it finished.  So far; day 1 - scrubbing and mopping of the concrete dust from husbands first pass over the floors with concrete grinder.  Day 2 0 rental of concrete grinder for a second time to do another pass while vigorously mopping and scrubbing right behind him (this was over an 8 hour day and I thought my arms might fall off).  Day 3 - finish the hosing, mopping and shopvac-ing of more concrete dust.  Day 4 - attempt to acid stain floor with a strong dilution.  Day 5 - neutralize, scrub, mop and shop vac floors.  Day 6 - attempt to seal but realized you went to light on stain.  Proceeded by a pity party and trip to floor store to buy a "wet look" incredibly toxic sealer.  Chicken out and return said sealer for fear of exposing family to all sort of awful toxins.  Spend your evening acid staining floor with stronger ratio (stain to water).  And then blog. Tomorrow I will neutralize and scrub the floors yet again.  It will take all day.  I will then let it dry for 24 hours and hopefully get a coat of sealer on it by Thursday night.  It has been way more than I had bargained for but we are saving some serious coin by doing this ourselves.  Not to mention we will also have the reward of another job tackled on our own.  It's a good feeling.  Anyway, I was unwinding tonight and reading an incredibly article and all of the sudden my blog popped in my head and I realized how much I miss writing.  And how much I miss documenting my journey through motherhood and stories about our children. With that statement I should keep it real.  Some days I can't wait for the day to be over and I find myself fantasizing about what it would be like to wake up, shower and put on some "grown up" clothes (the kind that require an iron), kiss the kids goodbye with coffee in my hand and hop into a quiet vehicle to commute to work and actively participate in society.  Today started off that way.  It's all the chaos right now.  It's too much and I find myself wanting to escape.  Our living/dining room is packed with all the excess stuff that was removed from the basement.  We have no kitchen table at the moment, it feels like there are a dozen projects we are in the midst of, the littlest one is potty training, laundry is piling up since our washer/dryer is not usable, the kids were full of energy and I'm exhausted.  Nothing that really justifies complaining over but some days it knocks you on your ass.  And I want to escape.  I pretend the grass would be greener.  But in reality, I love my gig.  I would hate having to set an alarm and be out the door at an exact time every day (I used to do it prior to having children).  I would hate someone else loving on my babies all day.  I would hate sending them off to school.  I would miss my morning ritual with the kids.  I would miss my sweet Junie-B following me around the house telling me how much she loves me.  I would miss watching my three bigs playing in the yard, laughing in their room, listening to them help each other with homework.  I would miss random snuggles throughout the day.   This afternoon I looked over the past four lessons of math the kids had finished and it made me smile.  Sometimes it is something so random that causes me to pinch myself and overwhelm me with gratitude. Lucky me to be able to have the privilege of teaching my kids from the comfort of our home, for sharing some of these moments with my hilarious husband when he works from home and for the five kiddos that call me mom! Sometimes I daydream about an escape but really, I wouldn't want it any other way.  I will continue to chip away at the basement and task by task and item by item we will get organized.  Meanwhile we are going to escape to the mountains to camp and enjoy the hot air balloon festival.  Peace Out blog.  See you in 2017 at the rate I blog :-)