Purple Valley: potty training

Some exciting stuff happened yesterday in this toddler potty-training home.

Maia went all day in her big girl underwear with NO accidents! Poo and pee all in the POTTY! I can just (not) hear it now . . . no more "cha-chings" at the cash register buying diapers!!!

I thought potty training was hard with Noah; he wanted to do it when he was ready and that seemed to take for-EVER. For Maia it's been back and forth, back and forth. And that's been tiring, hard and just frustrating. But what we did was stop buying diapers all together (minus night-times) so it's not even an option and suddenly, suddenly (!) she wants to be a "big girl"!! Night time is another story, but I know we'll get there. At least there is hope. 5 years with diapers and I may may may actually be done (knock-on-wood)!! WOW. :c)

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Noah is a tiny bit sick. He isn't "acting" sick but he's been infected (very very mildly) with the Chicken Pox! (He thinks a rooster pecked him in the night!) Yes, he's had the vaccine, but there's always still the chance you can get whatever it is. And he did. Actually, most of his school has. I knew it was just a matter of time before we got it here. He has 6 spots. And he's doing fine. He can go back to school on Wednesday, pending there are no more outbreaks on him, just in time for his field trip to the zoo which his mommy is excited about :c)

Back to Matt. Susan, from WBNQ in Bloomington (101.5) has a blog and apparently she has been tracking Matt as well. She's got some great info and great pictures! And I read there that George Clooney is coming to town this weekend. (Really?! Seriously?? Oh please please!) I have a reception that I'm shooting downtown, and not till 5:00 . . . Heather and I may be doing some stalking beforehand! (It's not like we have anything better to do!) And I also read that the cute body guard who I have a few (dozen) pictures of, his name is Mark. And apparently Mark is normally Will Smith's body guard. Kinda. . . exciting :)

Off to work . . . lots of proofing to do. Check out VWC Photography's blog for the latest! (That is, if I can ever get anything done. Matt is all-consuming. He needs to leave town soon so I can get back to my REAL work!)

We just had Easter (probably like most of you) yesterday afternoon on Neil's mom's side. It was really nice. Lots of kiddos. I made fruit pizza which was too pretty not to take a picture of! I had a piece for breakfast this morning. Mmmmmm . . . (All the food and conversation was very good! Hope you all had nice Easter celebrations as well.)

Remember my face pain a week ago? It turned out to be a sinus infection! I have 2 or 3 more days left of my antibiotic. I feel sooooo much better. That was absolutely no fun at all (and very scary)!

Today I finally see a doctor for my back pain. I'm now seeing a neurosurgeon. Hopefully it will all go okay. I'm not really nervous because I don't think it's anything serious. I just want to get it fixed and the chiro isn't helping that area of my back at all which tells me it's not mechanical?? I'm just ready for today to be over with already. (I also have my "yearly". Blech.)

Last week was a really successful week for us with potty training. We went all week long wearing big girl undies with no training pants or the like! We either went bare booty or underwear. (Maia, not me! I always try to be clothed!) Night time is a bit harder, so we're wearing diapers to bed still. But I know we're on the right track because this is how it went down with Noah. Noah was trained when he was ready, and I think Maia is following in his same "I'll do it when I'm ready" pattern. Yayyyyyyyy!!! What will we do with all that extra diaper money?!

The kids got an Easter package in the mail from their cousins,
Ella and Adi. And guess what?! Mommy got a little treat, too, from Chel. It's the cutest little giftie ever and I can't wait to plant the seeds :c) Thank you, darlin'!

My weddings start back up in 3 weeks!

Remember how I said I wasn't going to do anymore weddings or else very little?! Well, I really do have a hard time saying no. I have nine. Totally better than 15+ which is what I did every year for a few years. But it's still too many. I really seriously am not taking any next year. (PLEASE hold me to this, friends!) Neil and I both decided last night that it would be a good idea. Now if you're a friend or someone who has lots of really different fun ideas, I might possibly be swayed. (hehe)

Next weekend I get to see Corie! She's coming home for her BABY SHOWER! Then 2 weeks after that I get to do her maternity photos!! (She'll be such a beautiful subject, too. Okay, so will Keith, her hubby, but I think Corie's going to be glowing a teeny-tiny bit more?)

Over the weekend I got my hair cut (only like a 1/2 inch) but I also got it colored and thinned out. I have soooooo much hair so thinning it out totally changed how it looks and feels. I love it. Noah told me I looked "pretty". If that doesn't make a mommy feel good, I'm not sure what else would! He's such a sweet boy.

Neil and I rented our first movie in probably 2 years . . . the Holiday. I remember Corie and Keith telling me about it a while back, so that was the one I chose. I can't wait to see it. The last time I saw a movie at the theater was with Alexis and Jamie. How long ago was that, girls?! Well over a year, wasn't it?

I was about to buy this chair last night, but then thought I'd ask your opinions on it. I always feel confident in my purchases when it comes to cameras or lenses or clothes or paint colors. But a desk chair which could change the way my back feels forever because I practically live in it, well, that's a different story! I tried out a whole bunch after my hair cut at Office Depot and Staples on Saturday. I definitely do not like the big frumpy cushy executive chairs because they are not made for sitting at a desk staring at a computer screen for hours on end kind-of-work. At least not for me and my back. I need high lumbar support big time. I hope this one will work. I want to order it online because it's free shipping and I have a $30 off coupon when ordering online. (at Staples) You can't beat that. Any suggestions or advice? Why am I so nervous about this purchase?

Oh, and I forgot to add that I hope to post an entry this week on something photography-related! Alexis's gizillion trillion questions to me when about to purchase her new (awesome DSLR Nikon) camera a while back stemmed an idea in my head to turn those questions and answers into an informative post for you. So look for that this week!!