Pirate Potty

For months now we have talked about potty training. Trying desperately to get Andrew excited about using the potty. One day Rebecca got him to do this.

I was excited...hoping she was going to handle the whole thing for me. But I was wrong. That was the only day he sat on the potty for months. Then about a week ago I decided to pick up some Toy Story underwear and start trying to get him excited again. I cleared a couple days off to be at home and focus on this only, but Andrew was finally excited about big boy underwear. He didn't want to wait and I didn't want to spoil the excitement. In two days he was pretty much potty trained. We have had a few accidents, but he got it and got it fast. The trick for us was 4 things:
1. Waiting until he was 3
2. Bribing him with candy (I was shocked what a strong motivator this was for him)
3. Bribing him with a toy after so many successful #2's (that was a little scarier and no, I am not above bribing my kids)
4. The Pirate Potty book that I read to him on the potty and gave him stickers on his hat when he went. Meet Pirate Andrew who successfully is using the potty!!!! YAY! So proud of my big boy! Really not a baby! So Bittersweet.

Last set of house updates

Here are a few more changes to the house. Not the best quality of all the pictures, but you can see that there has been improvement (of course that would have been hard to not see).

Here is the hallway right after we moved in (everything is just dropped in that room you see).

And here is the hallway now, standing at the other end of the hall. That wooden door has also been painted white, but that was not finished yet and the basketball goal is a permanent fixture in the hallway. I think it is my 7 year olds most prized possession.


Here is the rest of the hallway...

And now bathroom #1. A close up of the beautiful wallpaper.

And here is another shot of the same bathroom. The lighting was horrible, I have no idea why you would box it in that way.

This was our solution:
And here it is once the box is removed, molding is added, and the cabinets are painted.

One last view:

Now to bathroom #2. This is a very hard room to photograph.
Here it is all painted and much improved.

One last view:

Lastly, here is Aidan's room. I don't have a before, but it was a pretty plain room. Here it is finished with my kids and nieces all piled in during our last visit

And this is the Long Overdue picture that I never posted of the boys first night in bunk beds
And sweet Andrew's first night in a big boy bed. This was taken August of last year. Can't believe how the time has flown!

So there you have it. Here is our little home. Thanks for checking in. I will keep adding updates to catch you up in the days ahead!

A Tiny Bit of what we have been up to...

Hi there my dear friends! I have missed this blog of mine and I am committed to catching up a bit in the next few weeks, but since it is easier to start back with a light, surface, post I decided to post some of the changes we have made on this house of ours. We have now been here since June of last year and we have repainted every room other than one (not counting the laundry room, but that doesn't count right? I mean who wants to spend anymore time than necessary in that room). If you have any recollection we moved to this house, because it was cheaper and would help us to pay down our debt (you can read about that here). It did need quite a bit of love though. We have tried as inexpensively as possible to give it that love and I thought it would be fun to post some before and after pics. Here they are for your viewing pleasures:

Our Kitchen the first time I saw it

Our Kitchen when we moved in with new floors

The Final Product
The upper cabinets are antique white and the lower are a brown.

Here is the breakfast nook the first time we saw it.

And here it is now:

The Living Area is connected to the kitchen/breakfast nook. Here was a prior to moving in picture:

And the other side

And this is what the walls have looked like much of the time we have been here...that wallpaper was torture to remove!

Here is a finished picture. Of course I could list about 5 more things I would like to change, but I won't point them out. I think it is quite the improvement.

Here is another view

And one last look

Well, that is about it for this room. I still have plenty more to show you, but this will wet your appetite, right? And maybe just putting something up here will get me started once again. Look for me again...hopefully soon.

Hagler Academy

I am way behind on my blogging! I know most of you are perfectly fine with that, but I do try to use this as a family journal and as of late this journal has been boring!!! We are halfway through our second week of school and we are not only surviving but I would say we are thriving. I have felt a sweet kind of closeness with my kids and in our home. Things are by no means perfect, I mean we have 5 people living in this house and we all have our hangups, but life is good. It seems to be the time of year when life is gearing up and things are getting busy, but there is a calm here that seems to be unaffected by the busyness.

Homeschooling has helped me to focus more on home. I am doing a better job getting laundry done, toys put away, and keeping the clutter tamed. I think I feel like I have to do a better job since this isn't just home, but also school. We aren't running around frantically and the best thing of all is that there is no mad dash to be on time to school at 8:00 in the morning. I always hated that! Now if we are running 10 minutes late or have a rough start it is OK, life will go on and we will adjust throughout the day. Having so much focused time with the kids has given me the opportunity for some much needed training time to address issues of the heart. The kids seem to be closer and be getting along better also since they are not only classmates but playmates much of the time. I am so thankful for this time that the Lord has given us where we can focus on our home, our kids, and their hearts. I truly feel like this time is a gift (talk to me 4 months down the road when I am worn out and that might be different).

I did take a few pictures to mark our first day because that is just what you do on the first day of school, right? Here are the kids in the school room. That door is a pocket door between the kitchen and school room/office and I painted it to be a chalkboard which is great fun to use.

I am going to write out our school day for my own benefit(down the road)and for those of you that are interested. If you have no interest at all; this is where you want to stop reading.

We start our school day off at 8:30 with Bible. We usually spend about 30 minutes together in the morning and we spend this time doing scripture memory, reading the story, discussing it, praying together and singing at least one praise song. It is a sweet time together and it is a time that we simply were not finding to do together when Aidan was in school. We did try to do something simple over breakfast, but the available hours were just not long enough when he was in school and if we were running behind that went out the window. We follow that up with math, phonics for Becca, spelling and grammar for Aidan, and then handwriting. Andrew loves to be a part of handwriting time and that works some of the time (until he colors on someones paper, gets corrected, and has a 2 year old melt down). He isn't actually handwriting but he has his own "book" to work in and insists on using a pencil like his big siblings rather than crayons. When I am working independently with one of the kids the other one plays in the room with Andrew. This works most of the time, but we always have unplanned breaks and interruptions to deal with some conflict or issue.

After handwriting we take a break for outside time and lunch. Then before Andrew takes a nap we all snuggle together on the couch and read. It is truly the highlight of my day! Andrew takes a nap and the bigger kiddos join me for a simple history or science lesson (I do mean SIMPLE!). Then they rest and read in there rooms and I get a little quiet time.

That concludes our school day (usually history is finished about 1:00-1:30)and the remainder of the day consists of planning for the next day, doing laundry, cleaning, cooking dinner, and running errands. The biggest struggle for me right now is finding time to get to the grocery store. I just can't seem to get that done during the day and have been making late night trips after the kids go to bed. Trace and I will have to figure out the details as time goes on.

We also have chosen to be a part of a co-op called Classical Conversations and we have loved it so far. The kids all seem to like it, they get a morning in a very structured environment and they are learning so much! Most of the families stay after class time for lunch and playtime together and we have enjoyed having this time scheduled into our week. We go on Wednesday mornings and take off those afternoons. The style and philosophy of the co-op fits perfectly into my homeschooling philosophy so far and the material overlaps and helps tie the loose ends together. I expect many hard days ahead, but I am so thankful that this is the place where the Lord has us for this season of our life.

And here are the pictures that the kids took turns taking with there new teacher on the first day.

A Girly Room

I finished Rebecca's room last week and thought I would share pictures. I am so happy with the results and I think she really likes it too.a> Here is the view from the door.
Another picture from the door.
The other side of the room.

A close up of her stars and the "R"

Another wall with a more clear view of the stripes. I followed the patter of 5", 2", 7", and then 3" stripes to give a little variation. The light pink horizontal stripe is 10" wide. Lots and lots of taping, painting, and touching up, but happy with the results in the end.

This is the scripture board I painted for Rebecca when she was an infant. I love that I can still use it. We could use some curtains or something to soften up those cheap mini blinds, but they do the job so we will see if that happens or not.

I love kids rooms. I think they leave so much freedom to be creative. I will be working on Aidan's room over the next few weeks and will post pictures when I am done. It won't be nearly as busy as Becca's room but it will involve a few stripes. 2 rooms done and several more to go. All the fun of an older house.

Hello out there blog world!

Just checking in to say hi...that is if anyone is still out there. It has been a terribly long time since I blogged. We have been oh so busy with our move and an attempt to reclaim a little order in our home. We have managed to get down to the last few boxes and I hope that soon I will get to begin decorating a bit.

We love the house that the Lord has provided for our family. I am very happy with the layout and LOVE being about 5 minutes away from just about everything we do. I have a long list of rooms to paint, but that will have to be a process. I am hoping to have my bedroom painted today or tomorrow( all that is left is the trim around the doors). We leave for South Texas on Wednesday. When I return completing the painting in Beccas's room will be at the top of my agenda.

We also got to go for a quick trip to Clovis for Trace's High School reunion and to visit his family. Suzan, Trace's sister, met us in Clovis also. She and Trace's parents helped out with the kids while we went attended the reunion. I have gotten so bad about taking pictures but here is one of Aidan, Becca, and Suzan during our stay. They just adore her.
Here is a picture of Trace and I before the gathering the first night.
I did finish a couple easy and quick lamp projects. I will finish by sharing those pictures. My mom recently cleaned out my grandmothers house and I inherited a few things. One was this lamp. Here it is before needing an update:

And now with a new shade and a coat of oil rubbed bronze spray paint.

I picked this up for $2.00. Red was the wrong color, but it was $2.oo so I bought it.

I bought some fabric and some black spray paint and here it is now. Please ignore the blue half painted wall. Don't worry, it won't stay like that. A big improvement for a little girls lamp and a few bucks.

I will post more before and afters of the rooms as I complete them, lamps are all I have gotten completed at the moment. Have a happy Monday!

Caught Red Handed...

Or should I say brownie handed. Yesterday Aidan, myself, and the little girl who lives across the street made brownies. I set them on the counter to cool and after they cooled for a bit I gave all the kids a little piece. Andrew ate his and then begged for more. I said no, stood my ground, and watched the fit that took place. After a brief timeout in his bed, Andrew was calm and I felt victorious.

I headed to my room to pack my paint and other misc. craft supplies. All of the sudden I hear Rebecca yelling "mommy, Andrew is eating the brownies". What? He can't reach the brownies. How? I walked into the kitchen and this is what I found...

And look at this one, he almost even looks proud in this one.

He had pushed the stool over to the counter and was helping himself to some more. I only thought I was victorious. He is a very strong willed little boy.

BTW, do you think it counteracts the correction when mom is grabbing the camera to take a picture, because really it is just too cute? Ya, I do to. Oh well.

Our Sweet Nest

Look what we found! The kids and I were both terribly excited to discover this nest perched atop of the speaker that hangs in the corner of our back porch. I have been repainting the porch so the nest had to come down. We enjoyed getting to admire nature.
I am terribly sad to report that I don't think momma bird has been back. I haven't told the kids that but I think we got a little too close (and they were so careful to not touch). I am feeling a little guilty, but sure did love the chance to share this beautiful glimpse of God's creation with my kids.
This is a random picture that Trace took of Aidan. Aidan was sulking and Trace thought it would be funny to get out the camera and take his picture. Sure looks like it turned his spirits around.