What I'm Loving Wednesday

On this Wonderful Wednesday...

I'm Loving this Beautiful Weather and I so can't wait for Spring!

I love that I'm getting some of my energy back and my housework and laundry are all caught up! I've even had a little extra energy for organizing a few things and I'm thinking of a few new projects!

I love that I'm only having to change one child's diaper as of right now! And that were only about a month away from finding out weather we are team pink or blue!

I love that my family is coming over to spend time with me for my birthday this weekend! And my mom's cooking of course! Yum!

And of course, I love spending every day with my silly children that God has blessed us with and looking forward to my hard working husband to walk in the door every afternoon!

Potty Queen

I think it is safe to say that Jaycelyn has now progressed from a potty princess to a potty queen. She has done really well and I am so proud of her! When I started to potty train her this time I wanted to do a little more research about it but couldn't really find the kind of information I was looking for, so here is what I did....

• I bought an elmo potty time coloring book that came with a potty chart and stickers. She really got excited with this because she loves stickers. Which, most kids her age also do. She got to put one sticker for #1 and two stickers for #2. Later in the week, it still kept her attention, but I threw in two mini m&m's a few times also.
• My Memaw bought her a new pack of panties a couple of weeks ago that has some of her favorite characters on them. She also has some with frogs, kittens, puppy paws, and other things she loves. I let her become involved and pick out her own panties.
• I set a timer for every 45 minutes just to get her used to the idea of going to the potty. She's a little older than some kids that potty train earlier so she can probably hold it for longer than a younger child. Even though she didn't go every time she would still try. If she didn't go after 45 minutes, I would reset the timer for 15-20 more minutes and we would try again. I keep a few books beside her potty so she can look at them while trying to go.
• We did not use pull-ups. (after a couple of times) Jaycelyn is old enough and smart enough to know the difference. She would go in a pull up every time. It confuses them and when they wear a pull up they think they can use the bathroom in their pants sometimes but not others. I would put a pull up on Jaycelyn at night and she woke up wet every morning. It's probably best that you limit their intake of liquids close to bed. Jaycelyn usually always has 1/2 cup of milk before bed so I limited her to only 1/4 cup. She is a very hard headed child and I knew that if I completely took away her milk, she would really resent having to use the potty. I put panties on Jaycelyn before she went to bed at 8:30 pm and she slept until 7:30am without any accidents. She has been doing the same since then.
• Last, but one of the most important is Praise, Praise, Praise! It is sometimes really hard to get her away from something she's really into or playing outside, but she has to be talked to in a calm voice and always positive. She loves the idea of being a big girl like mommy and not having to wear diapers anymore. Sometimes, I can say, "Mommy needs to go the potty, can you please come with me?" and of course I constantly tell her how proud I am of her and she's such a big girl now!

This is what worked best for my little angel! We're still in progress but having accident free days and nights. We haven't been out in big girl panties yet, but if she can sleep all night and stay dry, then I have faith that she will do just fine! She's just growing up way too fast!

Potty Princess

Today is the second day of the third attempt to potty train Jaycelyn. I am hoping it sticks this time! She has always done really well before, but this girl is so hard headed. The last attempt was a couple of months ago and one day she just said, "I don't want to pee pee in the potty anymore, I want to pee pee in my diaper". And the fact that she refused to go to the potty and would deliberately potty in her panties to prove her point, I decided to give it a little more time because I knew that I couldn't force her to do it.

This time I bought her an elmo potty book. It's a coloring book that has a potty chart, and stickers. She's doing really good so far and she loves putting a new sticker on her poster every time she goes to the potty. Here's the princess on her throne...

Here's her showing off her potty chart the first day (I took these with my phone so they're smaller, which I totally dislike!)

This is from today. She's so proud of herself! (you can tell because she never smiles in a picture like this)

Here she is counting her stickers...

Happy Valentines Day!

Today I want to take time out to say that I am most importantly so thankful for God's unfailing love that he surrounds me with every day, such a wonderful husband that loves me with every inch of his heart, two of the most beautiful loving children, and an overwhelming loving family that always reminds me how much I am loved!

I hope that you all have had a wonderful Valentines Day and surrounded yourself by the people you love the most!

Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:5

Love is Patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 1 Corinthians 13:4-6

Rachel

Boy or Girl

I added a Poll on the right hand side at the bottom. Please take a guess at what you think Baby Dunnaway will be!

Show Us Your Life: Beauty Secrets

I'm linking up with Kelly over at Kelly's Korner today for Show Us Your Life Friday and she wants to know Beauty Secrets!

Hair

I usually use Aveeno Nourish + Moisturize Shampoo and conditioner. Every once in a while I'll use something different for a change, but I usually always find myself using this again!

I guess you could say I'm obsessed with conditioning because even after I condition my hair in the shower I love love love this leave in conditioner. You can smell it all day long and it only takes a little bit! It's especially great for Jaycelyn's curly hair too.

And I also use Argan Oil drops from Sally's Beauty Supply. I use a couple of drops before I blow dry and after I straighten. It's great for your skin too! I've had a 3.4 oz. bottle for almost a year now and I've only used 1/4 of the bottle.

And MegaSilk Olive Heat Protection Spray from Sally's also before I blow dry and straighten

Face

For a daily face wash I use Olay Definity Illuminating Cream Cleanser

If I ever use a moisturizer, which is rare I use Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer

And Rare Minerals Blemish Therapy if I have some of those annoying enemies pop up at any given time.

Makeup

My favorite is Bare Escentuals Bare Minerals because it is so light, never cakes and it stays in place all day!

I've never really been a fan of lipstick but I like the tinted lip balm made by Soft Lips or Burt's Bees!

You can read more Beauty Secret stories from Show Us Your Life here!

Snow & Sweets

Well, last night it snowed what seemed like forever! For Alabama anyway! We didn't get a whole lot, but more than usual. The kids went to my mom's last night but at the time I had no idea that it was supposed to snow and even if I did, I probably would have said, "yeah right!" Well, right when I got home it started and when it really started to come down, Jason and I decided to get in the jeep and go for a ride and go see the kids. When we got to my mom's the babies were already in bed so we just wound up throwing snow balls at anyone who would come to the front door. :)

This afternoon we went for a ride to look at the snow that was still on the ground and had lunch at Zapopan's.

Then we went to my parent's to pick up the kids, visited with them for the rest of the afternoon and ate dinner. While we were there the kids made some valentine cupcakes with my mom. I must say the best ones I've ever had and the cutest little bakers I've ever seen! ;)

A Great Day

Today was my second baby appointment. Well actually last Wednesday was, but since I didn't show up because somehow I got the dates mixed up and thought it was today, I'm so thankful they were able to get me in anyway! Before my appointment, we met met my mom, sister, and grandma for chinese at Hunan's. On the way there I looked in the back seat and this is what I saw...

First

This kid will not stay in his car seat for anything. I can tighten the straps so tight he can barely breathe and he still manages to wiggle his way out of it!

Second

The other day he was in his car seat while I locked the house up to leave and when I came out, his door was open! So thankful we have child lock!

Third

Yes, he's playing with panties! lol Jaycelyn has this obsession with carrying all of her panties around in a bag wherever we go, but still refuses to wear them! That is a work in progress though! Soon, very soon!

This is my sister trying to get Jaycelyn to look at the camera which she never does.

That is about the only decent picture I managed to get.

After lunch, I went to my appointment while the kids went and did a little shopping with my mom and sister.

I got to hear the heartbeat for the first time. It was 176 BMP.

(I tried to load a video but it still hadn't loaded by this morning!)

The doctor said that everything looks great and in about 8 weeks we will find out the gender!

Today I also bought a little something for the baby. I just couldn't help myself. I thought they were so adorable and you so cannot beat $1.49!

On a different note, It's snowing!!!

Weekend Review

Last week we went to my parents house a good bit because my Grandparents (my mom's dad and stepmom) came in from Minnesota. I didn't get any good pictures really but here is a picture of them with Noah when he was about 2 months old.

Plus, my mom is a wonderful cook and we got to enjoy eating over there every day. :)

Friday night my Grandma (mom's mom) brought cabbage rolls and salad over for dinner. We had a good night and wound up staying until 1 am. Jason was especially happy because he got to take half of the pan home and eat them for the next 4 days. He could eat cabbage rolls every day for the rest of his life! Me, not so much!

Saturday was my first day back to work in a couple of weeks. It was a good day and I got off around 1:30. After I got home we got the kids ready to go watch my nephew Tucker's basketball game. Noah enjoyed some popcorn while we were there. Actually, the truth is Noah crawled over two people just to snatch the popcorn out of my hand and enjoy some!

Tucker played a great game and they Won!

Sunday we went back over to my parents house to spend the last day with my grandparents before they left on Monday. We also had cake and ice cream for my MeMaw since Thursday is her birthday and we wouldn't see her. Jaycelyn had to help her blow out the candles.

They had to leave yesterday and I miss them already! I'm so glad that we got to spend some time with them last week. We don't get to very often!

11 Weeks

So, I'm officially 11 weeks today and I have to say that it feels like just yesterday I found out I was pregnant! I can't believe I'm already 1 week away from being 3 months! I should've known though. With Jaycelyn it seemed like it took forever to finally have her and then with Noah it was like BAM, he's here! This week I haven't been as nauseous as I have been the past couple of weeks until baby reminded me today that he or she can make it happen at any given time!

I started taking my vitamins with breakfast in the mornings instead of night because It was really messing my sleep schedule up. Like up until 4 am messed up!

I haven't really had any specific cravings as of right now except I want fruit stuff like fruit loops, strawberry lemonade, and fruit popsicles. Other than that everything sounds so good and I want it!

I've been feeling very familiar flutters. It's early but it definitely feels like baby!

We've thought of a couple of names but we're still working on them. I can't believe we're actually agreeing on more this time. Poor Noah didn't have a name until 3 days after he was born.

We did the ring test and it say's boy. It was definitely right with Jaycelyn & Noah so I guess we'll see. I know I said previously that I thought it was going to be a girl, but I've so changed my mind! Not because of the gender test, this was before that. I go back and forth but I'm leaning a lot more towards boy now, just because this pregnancy is a lot more similar to my pregnancy with Noah.

I really would like another girl but I am so blessed & thankful to have whatever God wants us to have!

My next appointment is on Wednesday so I hope to hear a heartbeat this time!

Baby is the size of a Lime, measuring 2 inches and .3oz

Baby Bump measures 32.5 inches and weighing in at 118 lbs.

Earlier Today

Tonight

Frugal Friday

I think this is one that a lot of us have the intentions to do but like me I have not been completely 100% with it! What am I talking about?! COUPONS!! If I see a coupon then I will cut it out and have every intention of using it but I usually forget about it or it gets crushed in the bottom of my purse. I've heard a lot about Southern Savers and I read about it but never really followed through with it. So, this weekend I am going to cut coupons and read what I need to do to be successful at this and hopefully can update with a happy report soon! Wish me Luck!

Oh, and if you have any helpful suggestions, Please let me know!

What Do I Feed My Kids???

Today I thought I would join in with Kelly over at Kelly's Korner for the Show Us Your Life which is "What Do You Feed Your Kids?" By the way her blog is definitely worth checking out if you haven't before!

So..

What Do I Feed My Kids???

Neither one of my kids are very picky about what they eat, although Jaycelyn is becoming more picky. She eats breakfast really good and then sometimes at dinner she just doesn't really want anything. She'll eat a little bit and then plays with the rest. She just doesn't eat a lot, she's our skinny mini! Oh, and she would rather drink milk all day every day. Noah doesn't care what it is, he is so happy when it comes to food, but bless his heart, he's lactose intolerant and he can't have a lot of the things he loves like cheese!

Breakfast Usually Consists Of....

Oatmeal- usually Quaker Fruit & Cream

Pancakes or Waffles-usually with a banana or bacon

Eggs, Grits, Toast or cheese toast

Sausage and gravy biscuits

Dry Cereal

Lunch Consists Of....

Fresh Fruit or Dole Fruit Cups- apples, bananas, grapes, oranges, peaches, etc...

Pin Wheels- spread cream cheese, diced black olives, ham, and shredded or sliced cheese, roll up really tight and cut into slices

Miniature Pizza's- 1/2 an english muffin, spread with pizza sauce, cheese and mini pepperoni's, then bake

Peanut Butter & Jam Sandwiches

Homemade Tuna or Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Chicken Nuggets and French Fries-we like Tyson chicken, and Ore Ida fries

Beef Frank Hot Dogs

Macaroni and Cheese or Pasta salad

Leftovers from Dinner the previous night

Snacks and Other Extra's

Raisins (sometimes yogurt), sliced cheese or string cheese, yogurt, applesause (the mixed berry and strawberry banana are delicious!) Honey Kix, Nekot Cookies, Peanut Butter Crackers, Cheezits, Gold Fish, Graham Crackers, Granola bars, Fruit snacks, fruit, etc.

Dinner Consists Of....

Both of the kids eat what I make for dinner. We love to eat soul food or country cooking, whatever you may call it. I usually make things like

Chicken Pot Pie

Shepard's Pie

Beef Tips and Rice

Hamburger Steak

Roast with Onions, Carrots, and Potatoes

Fried Chicken or Fried Pork Chops

Pork Chops and Sour Kraut with Potatoes

Spaghetti or Mexican Spaghetti (with chicken)

Chicken Alfredo

Chicken Tetrazzini

Taco's or Fajitas

Salmon Patties

Side Dishes...

Carrots

Mashed Potatoes & Gravy

Homemade Mac & Cheese

Turnip Greens

Steamed Vegetables

Field Peas (with mayo, Yum!)

Fried Okra

Sweet Peas

Salad

Corn on the Cob

Okay, I am officially drooling now!

The kids overall have really good eating habits, I'm trying to keep them that way for as long as I can!

Lets Talk Diaper Bags....

Ok, let's face it, me going for just a "stylish" diaper bag this time around is completely out of the question. I am also so tired of not having any room for anything. When this little one is born I'm sure I won't really have to do much packing for Jaycelyn anymore. Just packing for a newborn is a lot in itself plus Noah.

Here are my thoughts!

First of all I'm going to need something hands free and very roomy. I like my stuff to be organized and in a specific place! This is what I'm looking at as of right now. It's not cute or stylish but it seems like it has a lot of room and it's a backpack so it would be so much easier! Also, it is bigger than what it looks in the picture. It is made by ERGO baby and you can read more about it here!

So that is all of my thoughts on that right now and if anyone has used this backpack please let me know or if you have any other ideas of something that would fit my "criteria" it would be greatly appreciated! :)

Photo Overload

I was looking through some pictures that we've had and some that we got from my mom's camera and I thought I would share some (a lot) of them that I thought were worth sharing!

This baby is so FULL...

Jaycelyn had her face painted as a puppy dog...

Jaycelyn helping my dad wash his car...

Jason, my brother-in-law Mark, my uncle Kevin, Noah, Grandpa, my brother Caleb, and my Dad...

Me and my Dad...

Jaycelyn and my brother Caleb playing "golf" hehe...