Happy 2012!!

It's hard to believe 2011 is over!!! We had a fantastic Christmas and had several days off to spend with our family. The kids ended up loving Santa after several exposures. However, on the Tuesday after Christmas, when the snow finally fell, Matthew asked, "Is Santa coming tonight?" I think he missed his delivery 2 days prior.

Even with all the fun of the season, Matthew started to understand the true reason for the season. We were having Christmas with my mom's side of the family and my Aunt Janet asked the kids why we celebrated Christmas. Matthew's hand shot up in the air and Ryan and I braced ourselves as we figured he would say something about getting a "Spitting Robot" (which was the only thing he ever asked for from Santa). Instead, he said, "Because it's Baby Jesus' birthday." YAY!! Small victory!!

Ella is talking more and more. In fact, I am pretty sure she has more to say than I do which is a pretty scary thought. She loves taking care of her babies and playing with her dollhouse. She certainly has an ornery streak which we are still trying to figure out where it came from. My mom told me the other day that she was pretty sure we will likely hear from the principal about Ella!! We are certainly blessed to have the opportunity to parent these little blessings.

The rest of the Peppler gang (mom & dad) are doing great! We are entertained by our children, loved by our families, cared for by our friends, and treasured by our God. Our hope is that we live in such a way that God is glad he gave this life to people who are enjoying the gift!!!

Lots of changes...

There have been lots of changes around here since my last post:

1. Ella turned 2 years old!! We had her party a couple weeks ago. I can hardly believe we have a 2 and 3 year old in our house now! Matthew and Ella are very good friends and enjoy playing together most of the time. They are learning very quickly how to be partners in crime when it comes to doing exactly what mommy and daddy tell them not to. Needless to say, we are getting an education every day in real life parenting.

2. I have a new job. In September I resigned my position with Dupont Hospital and started working for Visiting Nurse Hospice. I am so happy with the change and am getting to use my degree each and everyday. I am working a few more hours with this job, but we are fortunate to still have my mom watching our kids so it works out great! I am amazed at how many people say, "Oh, how do you like that?" in a tone that certainly implies that there is no way someone could like this line of work. I am learning everyday what a privilege it is to walk with patients and families through this journey. There are some days that are more difficult than others, but I am blessed by the work I am doing.

3. Our Christmas shopping is DONE. In fact, it has been pretty much done since October 1st. We are getting very excited for the holidays around our house and are looking forward to experiencing the thrill of Christmas through the eyes of our children.

We hope each of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and a blessed holiday season. We are certainly a family blessed!!

Thankful Thursdays

Today, I am thankful for...

1. Food coloring. A long shot turned into a sure thing. On Tuesday at work I was thinking about what we could do to help teach Matthew how to use the potty. I was thinking about how much he likes colors. He is very into mixing colors and remembering what 2 colors change into (e.g., red and yellow make orange, blue and red make purple). It hit me! Maybe we could use food coloring in the toilet to make Matthew more interested in it. I know it seems gross, but hey, after our last potty training adventure, I was willing to try just about anything. It has worked like a charm. NO ACCIDENTS! 2 1/2 days and we are off and running. I am not about to think that we are completely out of the woods, but this experience has almost been pleasanet (I mean, as pleasant as mixing pee into multiple colors can be).
2. An opportunity tomorrow. More on this later.
3. Another opportunity to teach at Huntington University this semester. I am almost done with all the preparations. I am looking forward to having the same students again this semester!!
4. Great weather. We have had some great days lately! Loving playing outside!
5. Fix n freeze meals. Our church started this new program last month and we have 9 meals in our freezer ready to eat! Tonight we had crescent roll pizza! It was fantastic, especially since Mommy had no prep time today to make it!

Have a great week!

Where has the time gone?

Our little boy turned 3 this week! We had a pirate-themed party and Matthew received beautiful gifts from our family. Thank you to all who made his birthday special for him!

Three years ago today we brought our baby home from the hospital. He was so little and cried most of the first night. I remember wondering if life would ever be the same. The easy answer was NO!! Life is so much better than it was 3 years ago!!! I have 2 beautiful babies who I adore, and while we struggle with all the regular toddler craziness (x2) everyday; I am so thankful for this journey.
Our neighbor girl who babysits for us was over tonight. She was showing me her new clothes for the start of high school and I just kind of paused and thought about how in the blink of an eye we are going to be shipping these kids off to high school and wonder where the time went. It was in that moment that I thanked God for the simple struggles we face everyday: sharing (or lack thereof), eating (err, dropping food on the floor), and bedtime (the nightly ritual of Ella trying everything she can think of to get out of going to bed and Matthew coming downstairs about 20 minutes after we put him to bed to tell us he wants something to eat). I know our struggles will get more complex as the years pass, but today it made me thankful for where we are on the journey right now.

Ryan's family

Jamie's family

Us.

Can't imagine loving 3 faces anymore!

I am blessed!

Potty Training Mission Accomplished!

Well, we completed the 3-day potty training program at 5:12 PM this evening by putting a diaper back on our little boy. He pranced around all day and never once completely emptied his bladder on the potty. He did not even act like the same child. He hadn't had a BM since before we began on Wednesday morning and after a little consultation with my mom and my neighbor, we decided to abort the mission. Why is this post entitled mission accomplished you might ask? Well, we did accomplish what we set out to do. We did stick with the program for 3 days. We did encourage our children to tell us when they had to go potty. We did reward them for successes. But, in the end, we realized they are just not ready. Mommy and Daddy are very ready to be done with diapers, but we're going to put the potty chairs away for now and revisit this mission a little later down the road. Are we disappointed? Maybe a little, but we're more relieved that our kids can get back to being kids and we can get back to enjoying life alongside them.

Potty Training Day #3

Mission aborted, well almost. This morning, I decided that part of the problem was that I can't be in 2 places at once. Trying to tail 2 kids for the past couple days has been a full-time job and every time one got out of my sight, they had an accident. I finally realized this morning that I think we would be more effective if we tried to train 1 at a time. So, I put a pull-up on Ella, still encouraging her to tell Mommy if she had to pee or poop on the potty. She excitedly exclaimed, "Biaper!" and proceeded to fill the diaper within about 10 minutes. All my attention turned to Matthew. CONFESSION: I made peach tea and filled his sippy cup with it to make it all but impossible for him to hold it in any longer. He drank 2 cups full and was obviously miserable. Part of the training says that accidents are a good thing because they catch on faster of what not to do. Well, he still was prancing around and didn't want to sit on the potty until after he started going in his pants. He is no longer scared to sit on the potty, but he just doesn't want to. We managed several trips to the potty this morning with results. He is down for his nap now and Mommy is trying to regroup. It is weird to me that he cries when he pees on the potty despite our encouragement. Not sure what that is about. This morning I tried a couple times just putting him on the potty, offering encouragement, and leavng the bathroom until he called for me. We will see where this goes. We are committed to keeping him out of diapers if we can, but we also have to be able to leave the house at some point in the next 6 months!! Will update tonight! Hope you're having a great day!

Potty Training Day #2 - Evening update

Post-nap: Matthew = Dry, Ella = Wet.

If you're keeping track, Matthew has not gone on the potty at all today (or in his pants). I can tell he is absolutely miserable, but the poor thing just dances around and cries when we take him to the potty. He has a couple dribbles before dinnertime and a small amount on the potty, but nothing major.

Ella starts to go in her pants (#2) and I get her to the potty before she finishes!! I don't think she went on the potty again at all for the rest of today. Several accidents. Wondering if she is just not ready. Trying to stick with it, but she doesn't seem to be catching on.

6 PM I left for a meeting at church and Daddy was quite frustrated when I got home. Many dribbles from Matthew and Ella went several times in her pants.

8 PM Ella to bed. Matthew to the potty as it is obvious he has to still go. Offer Matthew the opportunity to watch Mickey Mouse if he empties his bladder in the potty. He does! Happy with the small victory. Watched Mouse and went to bed.

Tomorrow: Candy for each successful potty!!!

Potty Training Day #2 - Naptime update

Well, we are to naptime of day #2 and I am still curious as to whether this will really work by end of day tomorrow.

7 AM Matthew wakes up, comes out of his room and appears to be dry. But, once we investigated a little closer, it appears he peed in his bed right before he got up! Stinker!

7:15 AM Ella wakes up dry!!

8 AM Ella has accident #1, but runs to the bathroom instead of just peeing on the floor.

10 AM Ella has accident #2.

12 PM Ella PEES ON THE POTTY!!!

12:30 PM Matthew sits on potty for first time today, but no results.

12:35 PM Both kids to bed. Keep in mind Matthew has not pottied since he got up this morning! Should be an interesting find after naptime today!!!

I would say we have made definite progress since yesterday morning! Ella was peeing tiny little bits every 30 minutes and now we are going every couple hours and no accidents in between. Matthew hasn't cried today about it and even sang a song this morning about wearing big boy pants!! More later...

Potty Training Day #1

Well, we started off on a potty training adventure today! When Ella was born we kind of joked about waiting to potty train Matthew until Ella was old enough. Well, that is exactly what we have done. Matthew had absolutely no interest up until this point and Ella seemed ready. We had several friends try the tips at www.3daypottytraining.com with much success so we decided to try it x 2! Today was day #1.

Side note: Before today, I would have definitely said that Ella would do better at this than Matthew.

8 AM: Matthew and Ella were both up and I had my potty training manual in hand and my game face on. Matthew had a BM before we began, so I was kind of relieved about that. We "threw away" our diapers and put on big boy/girl pants. Matthew put up the biggest fight with getting into his pants. Once we accomplished this feat, he was pretty good all morning (1 accident and no pees on the potty). Ella loved her big girl pants and even liked sitting on the potty. She always seemed to pee as soon as we got her off the potty (not sure about that, will be consulting my manual to see if I am doing something wrong).

1 PM: Naptime. No one went on the potty before naptime. I was certain we would have 2 wet beds when everyone got up.

2:30 PM: Ella woke up. I rushed in to find a dry bed. Took her to the potty and she sat happily for a few minutes. No pee. Once she got off, she flooded the bathroom floor. Matthew woke up shortly thereafter. The last time he had gone was at 10:30 this morning, so I knew he had to go. He repeatedly started to cry and each time we would rush back to the potty for him to only dribble in the potty (he received a reward each time even for a few drops).

4 PM Finally, a breakthrough... Matthew went more than a few drops twice on the potty. I knew he had more in there, but each time he went he cried, so I wasn't going to really push him over the edge. Not to mention, Mommy had used up just about all the encouragment she had for the day.

4:30 PM Daddy's home to join in the fun!

5 PM Matthew peed on the potty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For real, a load!

The rest of the evening was fairly uneventful, except for Ella peeing on Ryan's leg TWICE!!! :) Baths, added a second mattress pad and sheet to each bed, Mommy got away for a run, nighttime ritual + potty, off to bed with big boy/girl pants on. Now, Daddy is running.

All in all, I would say today was par for the course. I did not expect to be done potty training in 1 day and I am still hopeful we can make great progress by day 3!!! I will try to update each day for those who are in the same boat as us!!!

Have a great night!!

More pics

One of my co-workers gave us this swing to add to our swingset! Matthew loves it and continues to request to go, "High as the ball" instead of "Highest of all!"

"High" or "Ing me!"

Old Settler's Day fun with cousins!

Fun with Photos

DIY Deck

Ryan and I decided we wanted to add an exit off the back of our house this summer. We started by putting a 10 foot door/window unit in and then added a deck. It took about 3 weekends, but has already been worth it! We love it! We had lots of little helpers and big helpers, too! We can't wait to host several parties this summer!

The finished product!

The Mommy in Me

I have some friends who are welcoming their 4th child into the world tomorrow. WOW!! This Mommy is impressed at the thought of raising 4 kids. Some days my 2 give me all I can handle. But, as I think about them bringing another life into the world, I am so thankful. You see, these people were my supervisors when I worked at Camp Adventure in college. This couple modeled what it is to have a real, authentic relationship with Jesus and with each other. They showed hundreds of teenagers what it meant to yearn for Jesus. I have not seen them for years. I keep up with them through their blog and Facebook updates. One thing I know for certain: They are modeling that same love and grace for their kids that they modeled for me so many years ago. I am so excited for this new little life that will be joining their family. God has already blessed this little bundle with amazing parents!! I hope I model the same grace for my kids that they modeled for me. Congratulations Scott & Deanna! Thank you for being the hands and feet of Jesus in my life!

Mardi Gras Masquerade

The table.

Ryan & I hosted a prom dinner for 15 incredible youth on Saturday night. We had such a great time creating a dinner that reflected the Mardi Gras prom theme. We think the kids had a good time, but regardless, we had fun hosting this festive party!

The whole gang! Didn't they look fantastic?

Easter 2011

Insanity Day 1

Well, Ryan and I have started a new journey. For the next 60 days we will be taking the Insanity challenge. For those who don't know, Insanity is an intense workout program. We purchased the program on Ebay a few weeks ago and started our first workout at 6 AM this morning (someone told us that people who work out in the morning are more likely to stick with it). At 6:06 AM I was walking down the basement steps and stepping into 43 minutes of Insanity!!! The first day we were supposed to complete the Fit Test. The idea is that you fail miserably and then at the end of the 60 days you can see how much progress you've made. Well, we decided to forgo the fit test because we already both know we are out of shape. I didn't feel like having a test that early in the morning anyway. To say that the warmup was a challenge would be an understatement. We were both huffing and puffing before the first water break! We survived the workout and are both feeling pretty good tonight. We are sore around our waists which probably has something to do with all the times we went from standing to push-ups. While I won't be updating on this daily, I hope to blog about once a week. I am hopeful that by day 30 or so we will be seeing some results. If anyone feels like going insane with us, 6 AM everyday except Mondays at the Peppler's is time for Insanity!!!

Our private beach!

Little toes in the sand!!

Well, almost paradise! Ryan built the kids a huge sandbox on Satuday! They LOVE it!

Thankful Thursdays Times Thirty!!

Today is Ryan's 30th birthday! So, I thought in place of Thankful Thursdays I would post 30 reasons why I am thankful for my husband. 1. He loves Jesus. 2. He puts up with me. 3. He is a fantastic Daddy. 4. He works hard for our family. 5. He is older than me. 6. He makes me laugh. 7. He is thoughtful. 8. He gets excited about little things. 9. He has a great family. 10. He is older than me. 11. He can handle the kids. 12. He helps around the house. 13. He puts his interests on hold for his family. 14. He is easily entertained. 15. He is older than me. 16. He is smart. 17. He has a sense of humor. 18. He rarely loses his cool. 19. He understands me. 20. He is older than me. 21. He is silly. 22. He is handy. 23. He is ambitious. 24. He leads our family. 25. He is older than me. 26. He cares deeply. 27. He teaches our kids life lessons. 28. He is discerning. 29. He loves us. 30. He is 5 months and 5 days older than me!!!! Happy Birthday, Ryan! I love you!

Thankful Thursdays (in pictures):

Thankful Thursdays

Wow! It's really been quite awhile since I posted anything on Thankful Thursdays, but I thought I would jump back in!

Today, I am thankful for...

1. Temper tantrums. Now, don't ask me this in the midst of the fit itself, but I am glad that my children are growing and developing on schedule and with that comes some fits. We have at least 1 minor meltdown everyday and sometimes a major meltdown thrown into the mix. I am most thankful when these little tantrums happen at home so we don't have to display our wonderful toddlerisms in front of an audience, but regardless I am grateful my children have thoughts and feelings they feel comfortable displaying for us.

2. A wonderful husband who is a great parenting partner. He is great at jumping in and helping or taking over when Mommy is running low on patience. Our kids LOVE their Daddy!!!

3. My job. There are days when I am frustrated by my job and all it entails, but I am grateful to have a job and work with a great group of people! Makes going to work so much better!

4. Coupons. We have been somewhat hesitant to use coupons here because we don't want to get in the habit of buying it just because it is on coupon. But, somewhat cautiously we started clipping coupons a few weeks ago and loading them on our Kroger card, and last Friday was our first attempt with having a coupon for almost everything we purchased. We saved > 40% at the grocery store last week using coupons. We only bought what we needed for the next 2 weeks' meals and snacks. Tonight, we were running low on snacks and cereal, so Ryan went to the grocery and bought 14 boxes of General Mills cereal, Nature Valley granola bars, Golden Grahams snack bars, 2 boxes of Weight Watcher frozen treats, 1 Jello Temptations desserts, and bananas for around $35. It was a 50% savings!!! If you're in the mood for cereal, we've gotcha covered. We are getting ready to purchase a better organizational method for our coupons, but we are excited about the savings.

5. Spring! Hallelujah!!!