potty persuasion

It's amazing what a tug-of-war it can be to convince a toddler that using the potty is the best and cleanest way to go! I learned from much experience in this matter (3 kids strong) that you shouldn't stress out about it, get frustrated, or panic that your child will be the last on the block to be trained! I have let Jenna have her way, using the potty as she pleases. BUT-of course there is a BUT (no pun intended!) she is THREE! And, I don't want to buy diapers in bulk anymore! So, I had a heart to heart with the little diaper addicted child. I told her that there are NO MORE DIAPERS! Simple as that! Hello Disney Princess panties! I told Jenna that she could have a gummy worm each time she goes to the bathroom on her potty. (That was the magic deciding factor for Sam, so I thought it would work for her too.) Now, pooping on the potty is BIG! My kids tend to struggle with that concept. I told her she could have 2 gummy worms for a poop. She refused. The older kids were even in on the convincing too. Last night Noah very sweetly offered Jenna ALL of his Pokemon cards if she would go poop on the potty! What a guy! (Pokemon cards are to the kids as chocolate is to their mom!) For the past two days, Jenna has made it in time to the potty without any misfortunes of a wet nature. Today was a very exciting day! She finally had to go so bad that she pooped in the potty! Sam and I danced around the room and gave lots of praise and high fives! I hope this means that she will continue down this road with no more stubborn refusals. The things that make a parents day! We're moving up in the world! Four out of four-knock on wood!

Beware of the Vampires!!!!!

It is that spooky time of year when the wolves start to howl and the gouls and goblins run at night. The vampire is extra thirsty and the witches make their brew. The ghosts shriek and the mummies arise. There are black cats on the prowl and strange noices under the stairs. It is is Halloween and it is one of our favorite holidays! We are getting ready too......wooooooo!

New York, New York

This picture in the subway is for Emily and Andy "Chambers"-we were thinking of you!

This is the monument that stood outside the World Trade Center symbolizing the earth and global peace. It was damaged during 9/11 and now sits in Battery Park.

Central Park on a beautiful autumn day!

Skip and Wendy Williamson

"Usnavy" or Lin-Manuel Miranda who stared and also wrote music and lyrics and conceived the play. Notice he's a lefty?

The Thiegs and Passeys after the play!

Love this house! It is for sale too which is good since Kelly and I were about to buy it until we saw the price tag-$3,000,000! (It's on the beach, but still!) Kelly will need to sign on some serious banks for that price!!! HAHA

Kelly has been traveling to Norwalk, CT for the past 2 years for business. Each time he goes, I get extremely jealous because Norwalk is just minutes away from Darien, CT which is where I was a nanny back in my college days. He would come home and tell me the sites he passed and how beautiful everything was...I told him finally that I must accompany him on his next trip because I needed to get back there! Darien is also sort of where we got engaged. Kelly popped the question in "The Sacred Grove" in upstate New York but we spent the few days after in CT at the Williamson's, calling our parents to tell them the news and walking Roton Point beach together. I took Kelly all around the Darien/Norwalk area to show him where I lived and worked. So, for Kelly and I to go back there together, was meaningful for both of us! I told Kelly that I must go back in the fall because CT is absolutely gorgeous in fall color! So, he managed to get me back out there this past week for a quick visit that was absolutely perfect! It was rough making this whole trip happen due to babysitting glitches, but after a nice red eye Wed. night, I touched down at JFK very excited and anxious to see Kelly who left a few days before me for business (which included fishing in the Long Island Sound!) Our first day was long since I got in at 6:30 am. We drove into New York and had a hardy breakfast at the Brooklyn Diner near Central Park. We then walked the park for a good hour or so. It is so BIG and beautiful! The highlight was walking near the river and seeing a caucasian man doing Tie Chi in dockers with no apprehension what so ever! Different strokes for different folks! That was just the first strange sighting. (There were many!) We then made our way back to get our car and drove out to Darien. Good thing we had "Martha," our GPS, to guide us! We stopped at the Williamson's house first (the family I nannied for) and then drove around and around through gorgeous neighborhoods, cute New England shops and out to the beach at Rowayton. We took pictures of some houses we loved on the way. The thing that struck me was the fact that it all looked slightly foreign to me at first. It took a while for it to look familiar again. Rowayton was the most familiar, and the train station area. Driving around, looking at the tree lined streets, the spacious yards, the streams, the few fall colors that have turned, I was struck by the beauty although not surprised. I love Darien! We shopped, ate, and walked the beach next to Roton Point where I used to spend alot of time with Kari and Matt when I lived there. The beach was closed to us because it is private so we went next door to Bayley Beach which I had never remembered the name of and now that name is significant! We were the only ones on the beach so we settled into some adirondack chairs and eased back into complete serenity! Kelly and I walked around looking for some interesting shells to take home to Bailey (because she LOVES the beach and has a collection of shells.) Kelly came up to me with his hand closed and said, "I found the perfect shell!" He then unfolded his hand and placed a $20 dollar bill in my hand! SCORE! We then went to check into our hotel in Stamford, CT. We got ready and headed back to the Williamson's to meet them for dinner. I can't tell you how much walking into their house and seeing their faces meant to me! It was a wonderful reunion with two incredible people! Unfortunately both kids are gone, Matt in SF and Kari in New York in college. But, Matt did call moments after I walked in the door, to my surprise and delight! I talked to him for a bit while we walked around the house, reminiscing. We went to dinner at a superb place in Norwalk. Great meal, perfect company! It was so fun to catch up and remember the old times together. I had seen the Williamson's only once in 14 years. They came to UT for a family trip to the parks down in southern UT and had a nanny reunion here since most of their Nanny's came from this area. The kids were probably 10 and 6 then. Boy does time fly! Matt is 23 and Kari, 19! Sandy, a puppy when I first arrived on the job, has since passed away. So, thing have changed a little yet are very much the same! The Williamsons will always have a special place in my heart! The next day, after sleeping in, we went to Greenwich, CT and had lunch at The Ginger Man and drove around, shopped a little then went into New York! We stayed in the Soho area where there are a lot of cute shops and restaurants. We walked around for the rest of the day, found some great shops and that night, ate at a wonderful sea food restaurant. We were slightly under dressed for the restaurant which was very romantic, candle lit, piano music etc...but it was OK and we had delicious food that cost wayyyyyyyy tooooooo muchhhhhh! (The hotel picked the restaurant for us!) Saturday we did our tourist obligations and went out to the Statue of Liberty. It was a long trip, cold and slightly damp, but worth it! Every time I see the Statue, I get a little emotional. It is the symbol of our Country, our freedom and independance. It was also a little strange to see the NY sky line without the World Trade Center. There were more foreigners on the boat than Americans! It was fun to listen to where they were from! We went to Ground Zero after the Statue. We were a little melancholy as we marvelled at the gigantic hole that is still being excavated! Such a tragedy! We took the subway up to the Museum of Natural History. Talk about an amazing place! It would literally take you a full day maybe two to see this place! They have the biggest collection of dinosaur bones in the nation. They had bones of prehistoric animals of all sorts-strange and amazing! We loved the American Indian exhibit. After the museum, we were pretty wiped out so we went back to Soho, fought the crowds at a few stores, then hurried back to our hotel for some quick cleaning up before our night out. We met Eric Thiegs, a good friend and colleague of Kelly's, and his wife Becky for dinner. We had fun talking, getting to know Becky and eating great Italian fare. After dinner, we walked to the theatre to see "In the Heights." What a fun play! It won the 2008 Tony for best musical and best story! The main character, Usnavy, rapped, the dancers did some great street dancing, very modern and fresh, the actresses playing lead roles were so gifted with strong voices, the mom and dad characters I recognized from movies and TV. It was a great show and great company! Eric and Becky are easy to love and a blast to share a play with since they are involved in plays themselves and have a passion for Broadway! Kel and I were in heaven! Broadway is a favorite for us and we just sat back with big grins on our faces! Tracey, from Access, lent Kelly the soundtrack so we had already listened and memorized some of the music before hand. Kelly and I stayed after to get some autographs from the performers! So, that was our trip to The Big Apple! We have made new memories to cherish and we won't wait 14 years to go back together! Next time we'll bring the kids and do upstate NY with them!

jenna's new do

I finally managed to get Jenna to cooperate at the hair salon! She just got her first, professional, hair cut! She had cut her own hair just the other day, but that wouldn't do. We had to even out her new "layers" by giving her a bob! She looks great! Kelly about died when I told him that I went to get her hair cut! He loves her long hair. But, who could resist Jenna no matter what length her hair was? So here are her new pictures, on her birthday. What a big girl!

Sweet Baby Jean

Three years ago today,on September 29th, at 8:30 am I was giving birth to our 4th and final child, Jenna! I was scheduled to be induced that morning, but nature took it's course when my water broke at 6:00am. Kelly wasn't sure about the whole inducing thing...he felt weird choosing the birth date of our baby. Funny how that was always supposed to be her day! Jenna has been a blessing and pure joy to us! We love her sweet personality and easy going attitude. Being the fourth, she goes with the flow, enjoys her older siblings interests, and has learned to share and be patient. Jenna has a great vocabulary and the cutest voice. Some of my favorite things she says are: Gog (dog), Dizzyland (Disneyland), "her" instead of "she", and when she sings "I am a Child of God" it's the sweetest thing ever! She says, "with parents kind of dear" instead of "with parents kind and dear." My favorite is when she sings "Quinkle, Quinkle Little Star." I love Jenna's habits. She has been sucking her fingers since birth and hasn't let up. She also has an inseparable connection with her pink blankie. Kelly and I have spent many nights scouring the house in search of blankie when a desperate little girl is crying from her crib. Blankie is truly another member of the family because Jenna just can't live without her! She is sitting by me right now talking to herself in a play act mode. She loves to create dialog for her toys or any objects. Her first impersonation was after she saw Wall-E. She went around the house saying Waaal Eeee just like the robot! She is using her potty now but isn't trained yet. She just got a big girl bed for her birthday which I'm a little sad about since she can get up and out. Jenna is also known in our family as: Jean, Jenny, Jen, Billy Jean (by the Plumley's), Jane, Janey, Dodie, Dodin, Jane Seymour, Jane Goodall and Jeanie - and on the rare occasion when we get upset with our sweet girl she reminds us just who she is by saying "No, I'm Jenna" -- meaning, you can't get mad at me -- I'm Jenna, your baby. It makes you want to cry she is so cute. I can see why any mother would want to have more children. There is something so refreshing, satisfying, peaceful, tender about the time you spend with a sweet baby. No matter how bad my day is, Jenna always breaks through the rain with her sunshine and warmth. I am in love!

Sunflowers in September

Today, after church, the girls and I went outside to look at all the wild flowers and sunflowers around our house. I am amazed at how many sunflowers there are! They are wild and they are beautiful! It reminds me of pictures of southern France and Tuscany! The whole hillside is covered! The girls found a nice flat seat and entertained themselves picking, smelling and making bouquets while I hurried and snapped some pictures! What darling girls I have! Sam managed to get in there too! Ahhh nature!

What is Fall?

Harvest grains, squaw bread, baked apples, carmel apples, apple pie, pumpkins big and round, gourds with gnarly shapes, cabbage, potatoes, soup piping hot, pears, pecans, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pot roast roasting, tea with lemon, sage, mushrooms, spiced cider, sweet pearl onions, oatmeal for breakfast, clam chowder, corn chowder, rolls baking, sauces simmering, carrots steaming...

Leaves bright and orange, falling, kids in masks and capes, spooky nights with moon winking through clouds, black cats, and bats, scary stories, candy corns, cookies shaped like ghosts, cool, crisp air, days growing shorter, nights longer, sweaters, mittens, hats and rain boots, umbrellas, colds, coughs and sneezes, cozy blankets, story books, puddles to splash in, frost, school buses yellow, rosy cheeks and cold fingers...