Saturday

Saturday is one of my favorite days of the week because I get to spend all day with my best friend/husband. Today was a great day. In the morning we hit the grocery store so we could avoid the usual madness of Saturday shopping. Then we came home and I fed the baby while John put the groceries away. Then we headed to the new Carters outlet in Tracy that I've been dying to go to since Christmas. Not having a car this week has made me really itch to get out--thus all the outings. We looked for some cute matchy dresses at Carters for the girls so we can get some pictures taken soon. We only found one for Esther. After Carters we came home and had lunch. Esther took a nap while we caught up on some of our Tivo'd shows. After naps we headed to the park where it was a bit cold but Esther still couldn't get enough swinging. Then spontaneously we decided to go to the Almond Blossom Festival Carnival. It was a lot bigger than we thought it would be for being in the small town of Ripon. Esther was gripping John when we were walking around all the rides. But then when she saw the slow train for kids she perked up. After riding it with mommy (it was a bit of a tight squeeze for me) she did not want to get off. So we pryed her off and headed to get some "carny" food. Nothing healthy of course. We shared an expensive teriyaki bowl and then had some freshly fried mini donuts for dessert. Yum! After the carnival we came home and John was so sweet to start some cleaning while I ran to Payless to look for some shoes I wanted. Then I came home and we got the house all clean for Sunday. To top it off we watched one of our favorite shows Monk and had pbandj's (carny food was not very filling, fattening but not filling). It was a GREAT day.

Anti-Potty Training

Having two girls in diaper is not the ideal situation. Diapers are expensive, bad for the environment, and especially not fun when your toddler's bowel movements are sometimes too much for them. So since Lucy is definitely too young to start wearing panties it falls to my older daughter Esther to do some growing up and start using the potty like a big girl. The problem is Esther seems to be anti-potty training. When I first showed her the new panties and potties it was pretty neat for a day, maybe a few days. But she really enjoys the convenience of her diaper, especially when it comes time to poop (excuse the word). When I suggest to her to sit on the potty while she is starting to poop she screams "No!" She'll even deny she is pooping until she is completely done and ready to be changed. I have even tried bribes... Esther loves suckers! They are her favorite candy--the one way I can get her through any doctor appointment. But apparently she does not love them enough to even try pooping in the potty. So I decided to up the wager yesterday as we were reading an Elmo book and Grover was wearing a stethoscope. She got all excited about the stethoscope and even tried to pick it up despite it being a picture in a book. So I suggested to her that maybe if she went poo poo in the potty then she could get a stethoscope. It was to no avail. Today she screamed "No!" again while she pooped away in her diaper. I'm a little discouraged. I guess I'll wait a few weeks and try again. I thought girls were supposed to be easy! Potty training is definitely one part of parenthood I could do without.

Carless/Stranded

This week I have had no car because John's truck has been in the shop--he backed into a trailer and then rear ended someone a couple months later so he's finally getting it fixed. So he has been taking my little Focus to work. Pretty hot car. We can barely squeeze the girls' two carseats in the backseat. Anyway, it's been an exciting week with no car. Wow, I'm being really sarcastic today. There are some benefits to having no car--I read the bookclub book in three days, I can work on some intensive potty training with Esther (wahoo!), I don't spend more money than I should, I go on more walks, and... that's all I can come up with. Beth has been very sweet to meet me at the park and come to my house to keep me company during these stranded times (this is my second week stranded). Esther and I sat outside for a bit today blowing bubbles. The worst when being stranded home is when it rains--then you cannot even get out of the house to go to the park or on a walk. Yes, it's supposed to rain tomorrow. Maybe by the end of tomorrow I'll have Esther potty trained! If wishes were fishes... Esther is anti-potty these days. No panties, no sitting. It's going to be a long day for a couple days.

My amazing John

I just wanted to write a little bit about my John. He is the best husband and father ever. Every day he makes the long commute to San Ramon and works extremely hard at his job. Then he comes home and takes care of his three girls. I don't know what I would do without him. Every morning when Esther wakes up she asks two or three times, "A Daddy go?" I tell her every time that he had to go to work and she says, "A work?... oh." And sometimes she'll even glance in our room to check the bed and see if he really is gone. We sure miss him every day but also appreciate him taking care of us. Yesterday when he came home we all went on a walk and then to the park where John pushed Esther on the swing, chased her around and played with her. When we got home he cuddled little Lucy and after dinner did the dishes. He is what every husband and father should be. The cutest thing is when Esther calls his whiskers "hurties" and rubs her hands over his face over and over to feel them. I love to watch my husband be a daddy.