It's Official!!!

 Hayden is officially potty trained!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are so excited.  Hayden earned his cars last week (went #2 12 times).  And we have only had one wet accident since (even during naps and nighttime).  We are only wearing pull-ups at bed-time and after this package is done we are done doing that.  He doesn't wake up in the middle of the night to go, but he stays dry all night.  So we are going to take a chance and see how it goes.  I am so proud of him and so excited.  I feel like it pretty much consumed our days and we had some not so fun moments because of it.  He is pretty proud of himself too and talks about how he is a big boy! 

Last week we worked on Hayden going by himself without help.  He is getting VERY good at it and even says.  "Mom, leave!  Give me privacy!"  So I have to stand outside the door until he is all done. 

Hayden being a goofball when we were taking pictures.  This is his newest pose! 

I was doing laundry the other day and came back into my bedroom and found this.  What is so exciting about a laundry basket??  He has always loved playing with the laundry basket since he was very little.  

The week of the 14th was a tough week here.  Here's a little play by play!

Monday - good day!  Playdate at our friends!

Tuesday - Hayden wasn't feeling very good and had a fever of about 101 all day.  Gave him motrin and tylenol all day.

Wednsday - He woke up in the middle of the night with a high fever and wouldn't come down.  He told me that his tongue hurt so I was thinking strep.  So I made an appointment with a PA here in Lisbon.  His fever was around 103-104 all day and wouldn't come down with OTC meds.  So when we got to the clinic she tested him for strep and influenza.  Both came back negative.  She then did a blood test and his white counts were very high.  We almost ended up with a stay in the hospital.  She said he was very sick.  So he got a shot at the clinic and we were sent with 2 prescriptions of antibiotics and nebulizer treatments.  We also needed to continue with tylenol and motrin to get his fever down.  We got home and he wouldn't even eat a popsicle and started throwing up.  So we decided that we needed to bring him into the ER.  So we went there and the Dr. there wasn't much help.  He did do a chest xray just to see if maybe we should stay over night.  He confirmed what we already suspected, pneumonia.  This is now the third time he has had pneumonia and he isn't even three yet.  Poor little guy.  His fever was still very high, so we came home and had a cool bath.  Hayden didn't seem to mind it, because we put him in the tub with his swimming trunks on and told him it was like going swimming.  His fever came down and stayed down through the night.

Thursday - We went back to the clinic for a recheck on his blood.  His white counts had come down substantially.  That afternoon his fever came back a little.

Friday (my birthday) - He was finally on the mend.  Jason was going to bring me to Fargo for my birthday but he wasn't feeling well so we just stayed home.  Sickness doesn't really care if you have a birthday! :)

We are very glad that week is over.  Hayden is back to 100% and we are all very ready for the winter to be done.  It seems like everyone and their dog has been sick lately.  We all need to be aired out a little!  April is just around the bend, so hopefully we will have some better luck in that month.

I did end up getting to celebrate my birthday a little late.  A couple of friends surprised me last Tuesday with a girls night at the golf course.  We had a lot of fun and then I had lunch with some other girl friends on Thursday.  I am very blessed with great girl friends.  

And one last thing...this is a funny conversation that I just have to share.

Lately Hayden has been saying that he is a girl.  So last night the three of us were sitting around and he said, "Mom, is a boy, I'm a girl and Dad is a girl!"  So I told him that he and daddy are boys because of their certain anatomy (I used the proper word) and that mommy is a girl because of her anatomy (again used proper word)  He said..."No!  I have a "gina," and daddy has a "gina!"  Oh boy!!!  I just let it go.  

Someday he'll get it!  At least he realizes that he and daddy are the same!  :)  I have a feeling this is just the beginning of our many interesting conversations!

Opportunity Sensaria

Have you ever gotten a postcard in the mail for one of "those parties?"  The ones where your friends want you to come and buy things so that they earn free products?  I don't know how many times I have been invited to one.  Too many to count.  And believe me I have either wasted some serious money on something I didn't really need or just ignored the invite all together hoping my friend wouldn't be too mad at me for not attending.  Why are we women ridden with so much guilt when it comes to these sort of parties?  Anywho....

Back it up about 8 months ago.  A friend invited me to one of "those parties!"  I had never heard of the company or any of the products so thought, why not!  And it was a night out with some girls.  So I went.  I ended up buying a couple things and didn't think much of it.  Well then another friend of mine had a party and I went and I tried a few more things and pretty soon I really liked the products and decided to host my own party.  So I ended up getting a lot of free products.  Now my shower and bathroom cabinet is full of the products and I use them every day.  

The girl that was selling the products became a friend (she is also a stay at home mom with two girls - we have lots of playdates together) and she started talking to me about joining the company.  I quickly told her NO!  that is not for me.  I would not be good at it.  Well, after a little persuading and a really good deal I decided, why not!  So here I am now a rep for "those parties!"  YIKES!!!  I seriously don't know what I am doing or what I was thinking but so far so good.  I'm looking forward to having a night out once in awhile and if nothing else paying for the products that I use on a regular basis.  

One thing I like about this kind of party is that it's a SPA party! :)  What's better than that, right?  We do foot soaks, facials, try out scrubs and moisturizers and all of the products are natural. 

If you want to check out the products go to www.sensaria.com and see for yourself.  If you have any questions let me know - you can email me at ebishoff@hotmail.com!!!  We'll see how this all goes!  :)  

Wish me luck!  

And if you are wondering which products I use and can't live without now (even before I decided to sell this stuff!:) here is my top 8 list!  I use even more than this! 

1) Soothing System w/ White Tea Calming Serum - this has helped my acne since I am pregnant and unable to take any prescription strength.  The White Tea Calming Serum helps with my redness. 

2) Microdermabrasion Crème Gentle Resurfacing Treatment - again helps with my acne.  I use it about twice a week.  My mom also loves this!

3) Pure Gold - Basically like Botox in a cream!

HUGE SAVINGS ON THIS RIGHT NOW!! 

4) Green Tea Body Butter - I use it on my growing stomach to ward off any new stretch marks and I LOVE this sent!

5) Sweet & Smooth - MY ALL TIME FAVORITE!! I use this in the shower or bath for my feet, elbows, knees and also to shave - no need for lotion afterwards!  Smells awesome!   

6) Sole Survivor - I put this on my feet at night to keep them from smelling and it eats the dead skin while you are sleeping.  (Gross, I know, but makes them feel soft!)

7) Center Pulse Point Cream - I USE THIS EVERY NIGHT TO HELP ME SLEEP! And under Hayden's nose when he is stuffed up.

8) Citrus Cleaner - I use this diluted in water to wash down my counter tops and full strength for stains.  I got marker out from couch the other day with it.  (2 year olds!!)

Don't worry, I won't be bugging or pressuring, I just wanted to let you all know about something new in my life.  I'm a little excited and a lot nervous about it, but I figure I have nothing to lose.

Half Way

Lots to update on....

Baby
We are half way there....or at least almost!  I am at 19 weeks and I am starting to feel the baby move around a ton.  Also felt the baby move from the outside for the first time yesterday.  Must mean we have a busy, growing little one.  I tried to have Hayden feel and he wasn't patient enough.  I had my 18 week check up on Tuesday.  We had to wait for about an hour and a half to see my doctor for all of five minutes.  Not fun...especially with Hayden in tow and during his nap time.  I was suppose to go on Monday and go right away in the morning but was called the week before to reschedule for Tuesday afternoon.  I won't do afternoon again.  Not fun!  Anywho....dr. said everything looked good and we go back on April 4th for our big ultrasound.  I'm looking forward to it very much!  I remember how much of a relief I felt when we had Hayden's knowing that he looked health and on track.  We won't be finding out if it's a boy or a girl.  However, it is very tempting.  We will just have to wait a little bit longer to find out. 

Playdates
We have been busy with lots of playdates lately.  I'm not sure who enjoys them more, me or Hayden.  We are very lucky that there are a lot of stay at home mom's in the area and I have gotten to know quite a few.  I'm definitely looking forward to bringing the playdates to the pool, the park or even our backyard.  The weather is starting to wear on us all.

Projects
We (or I should say Jason) has been VERY busy around here.  Along with a lot of help from our parents he has built a wall in our upstairs.  We had a loft type room up there and he has built a wall so that we have a proper bedroom.  This room will be Hayden's when it is all finished and the baby will go in what is Hayden's room now.  He is very excited to move rooms.  I will post pictures when it is all done. 
This past weekend my mom came to stay with us and we (again Jason) worked on another project with her.  They painted our guest bedroom which is in our basement.  We have not done much in our basement other than Jason building a closet in this bedroom and redoing our office.  After he got the closet finished I decided, let's get this room finished and off of our to-do list.  And what better time to paint it then when I am pregnant! :)  So I got out of that.  It didn't seem to take them very long though, so they didn't complain.  It looks much better than before and we are planning on getting new carpet in there too.  I will post pictures when this is done as well. 

Potty Training
I am VERY pleased to report we are on our way to having a potty trained little boy!  :) :) :) :)  This makes me so very happy, you have no idea.  Last Wednesday after going #2 in his pull-ups THREE times, I put things into high gear.  No more pull-ups (except at nap time and bed time), he gets a treat after going #2 successfully in the toilet, a sticker on a potty chart to earn some toy cars and he gets to pick out his big boy underwear every night.  I don't know which of these things is working, but we have not had any accidents (except for during nap time) since Wednesday.  I know there will be bumps along the way, but something seems to be working.  I feel like this pretty much consumes all of my day. 

18 weeks

Today I am 18 weeks into my pregnancy!  So crazy how fast this time has gone.  We are almost half way to the finish line.  It makes me very excited when I think about it.  This pregnancy seems to be going faster than my pregnancy with Hayden but also seems like it's taking longer.  Faster because I don't really have the time to think about it and wonder what everything is going to be like.  And maybe because it's a feeling of been there done that so I know what to expect.  On the other hand I have felt a huge difference in this pregnancy compared to with Hayden.  I have been sick and still have moments when I don't feel the best. 

We took a picture today to show how I am growing - The picture on the left in the blue is today.  The picture on the right in the black is me when I was pregnant with Hayden at 21 weeks.  I have a picture at 18 weeks but I can't find it right now.  So this will have to do! :) 

 

And Hayden wanted to take a picture like mommy! :)  

I get a newsletter every week from Baby Center and this is what is going on this week.

Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.