Faith as Small as a Mustard Seed

Warning: Poop and Potty Training Talk Involved. 

Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.  Matthew 17:20b

The verse above is one that I have thought a lot about during my years as a follower of Christ.  Mainly it makes me realize how little faith and trust I have. My understanding is that a mustard seed is insanely small. 

Source

Anyways, I said I was going to talk about poop, right?

You are wondering what the connection is, of this I am sure.

Well, Happy has had some, um, challenges with being willing to poo in the potty.  To say the least. It has been frustrating and exhausting for all involved. He knows when he needs to go, but appears scared.  He screams and cries, as do I.

One day a few weeks ago, I was totally at my wit's end.  And I started to pray for him, which is not that unusual.  But what was unusual was the instant very visible answer to prayer.

Seriously guys, as I was praying for him (envision him on the potty, me hunched over him, hugging him and praying) THE POOP, IT CAME OUT!  IN THE TOILET!

And I honestly thought of that verse.  Does this mean, at that moment, I had faith the size of a mustard seed? 

I don't know that I have ever witnessed such an instant answer to prayer. 

Or such an unusual or funny one, either.

So, there, in our bathroom, I had a sweet moment being reminded of God's goodness.

And I rejoiced, as did sweet Happy.

Apple Picking

Fall temperatures finally visited us this weekend and it was wonderful!

We decided to go pick apples this weekend. 

(Well, really, I wanted to go.  The Hubs amused me while the kids really had no choice in the matter.)

(The other option for this weekend was my 10 year college reunion.  I wanted to go, but I figured the apple picking trip would be less stressful for all involved.)

(Plus the whole potty training thing at the reunion would be challenging given that the only bathroom options where the reunion was being held were porta potties.  I am not ready for that part of my potty training journey yet, if ever.)

Anywho, the deal on picking apples in this area is that you drive about an hour and a half north and then there are twenty million apple picking orchards to choose from all along the same few roads.  Or, at least it seems that way.  But, seriously, there are a LOT.  They all have various "perks" such as a petting farm, a hayride, etc to appeal to the kiddos, as well as different "fees" into the orchards.  It's way too many options and decisions for me to consider.

So, we went to an orchard we had first visited when I was pregnant with Happy.  Mainly because it is one of the first ones we come upon on the long road of orchards.

It was an absolute zoo. 

Madness.

And the trees with apples left in them were hard to locate.  But we persevered and finally found some.

But not without me first dropping/losing my phone. Hubs had to retrace our steps and finally found it with a crack on it.  Someone apparently had stepped on it.

And then I lost it again.

Yes.

I was exceptionally scattered for some reason.

I'm thankful for a patient husband.

Anyways, I've included some pics from our little excursion.

He's mooing here.  I love him.

Lil Miss was quite cold, but was happy once I put her in the baby carrier.

Happy Fall!!  I love this time of the year!

Fess Up Friday-My Sweet Happy Boy

It's been a while since I did any fessin' up.  It's not for lack of fess up worthy events; just a lack of time and energy to sit down and type them up. 

My sweet Happy.

 1. Out of desperation, I have started to bribe motivate Happy with oreos to poop in the potty.  You poop in potty, you get an oreo.

The ac wasn't working for a few days and the HVAC gentleman was downstairs yesterday fixing the ac while I was trying to encourage said child to poo so he could take his nap.  The need to poo was keeping him awake.  And making me slightly (totally) nuts.  Because apparently if you are withholding poo, it makes you extra wild and crazy and insane-like.

And I reminded Happy of the incentive.  Many times.

Because I knew he was holding back on me. Or, really, on the potty.

And I needed him to nap.

The HVAC gentleman heard all the bribery through the baby monitor that was on the kitchen counter, a few feet from the ac thingy.  I am sure he thinks I am a stellar parent.

2. A few days ago, Happy pooped in the potty 6 times within a couple of hours.  That means 6 cookies.  I held to my word and gave him a cookie each time. 

Maybe he stores up so he can get many cookies within a small time frame?

3. To Happy, everything that is not a standard issue car is either a po-wease car (police car) or a boo bus (school bus).  I try to correct him and tell him whatever said vehicle is (tractor, garbage truck, truck, etc).  He just keeps repeating boo bus or po-wease car until I eventually give in and agree that the bubble gum pink Hummer is, in fact, a po-wease car. He is always super pleased that I have seen the error in my ways and admit my wrongful labeling of said vehicle.

4. Happy ADORES Maranimal's kids, Sassy and Jenksy.  Borderline obsessive.  He speaks of them non-stop, especially Sassy.

To appreciate the following, you have to know that Maranimal is a Sonic gal, just like me. (Here is where I blame her and her mom for my Sonic related issues.)

By default her kids are Sonic lovers as well, as is Happy.

The other day, Happy saw a Sonic cup in our living room (filled with water, NOT my magical elixir, thank.you.very.much) and turned to me and said, "Sassy and Jenksy?!?!"

I think he has figured out that a visit with Maranimal and crew always involves a Sonic drink for either herself or myself.   Usually both.

Here is recent proof.

One Sonic cup spotted.

Two Sonic cups spotted!

Please be sure to visit Kira's Fess Up Friday post.  It is always a treat!

Late to the Party

Hubs says I am late to this party on this, but I LOVE this video.  Have you guys seen it yet? 

When I saw it last night, it had like 700,000 views.  Now it is over 1 million in 12 hours or so.

I am having a challenging afternoon, but I paused to watch this video again and share the love with you all. 

I implore you, watch it.  You won't be sorry.

What a precious and endearing couple.

(And I'm sorry if the video shows up twice, blogger is acting strangely and I don't have the time to figure it out).

Deep Thoughts on My Mind

Why does Thomas the Train live on the ISLAND of Sodor?  Shouldn't he be more mainland where he can import/export items where boats can't get?  For an island, I think boats and canals would make more sense.  Yes?

Do you know the likelihood of a kid having an emergency during the 10 minute window you are making stove top popcorn?  

I'm eating burnt popcorn right now.  For the third day in a row.

It is confusing explaining to a toddler who loves the alphabet the difference between the letter P and the physical pee in the potty.  The first few days when potty training Happy, he kept sounding out, "p..., p..., P?" while looking in the toilet.  I think he was looking for a letter P. 

The term Tee Tee wouldn't work out so well either. 

Do you know the likelihood of a potty training child needing to poo during naptime?  And him being timid in taking care of business?  And it preventing him for sleeping? And causing countless trips to the potty? 

No?  Neither do I.

And, just because I think they are so stinkin' cute, some pics for your viewing pleasure.

 

Rain!  For like the 3rd time all summer!

Chilling out in the swing, enjoying the cooler temps!

Lil Miss sitting up in the tub last night (her first time without the baby tub).  Happy took it upon himself to douse her with water and letters.  She seems unfazed.

 

The Local Nut (Oops, I mean VEGGIE) Stand

I love me some veggies.  I think I have made that abundantly clear in all of my ramblings of cruciferous veggie obsession as of late.  Yes?

I also love me some local veggie stands.  Often, the sketchier the stand, the better the veggies.  That is my personal philosophy, anyways. 

WELL.

There is one quite close to my house that I have been wanting to try out, but was a little uneasy in doing so, especially with the kids.  You couldn't see it from the road, but there was ample signage directing you to it.  It was at someone's house.  (As opposed to in a parking lot or something of that nature). I have made many a veggie stand purchase at people's houses before.

The hand painted signage said, "100% Organic. Goat's milk. Eggs. Tomatoes. Corn. 1st House on Right."

Last Saturday, it was just me and Lil Miss in the car. Happy and Hubs were making the familiar trip to Costco and then on to the church to buy and deliver massive amounts of communion grape juice.

Lil Miss fell asleep in the car. Since she has some insane internal signal alerting her to when we are pulling into our neighborhood and thusly causing her to awaken, I decided to drive around a bit to let her sleep some more and ended up at this veggie stand.

I pull up and get out of my car.  It kind of looks like a scene out of Deliverance.  But with no river or canoe, thankfully.

I kid.  Kind of.

There was early 80's easy listening type of music BLARING. Which seems like a contradiction, does it not?

I saw an older gentleman facing the chicken area, with his back to me.  There were goats to the left of him.  Since his back was to me, I wasn't quite sure how to get his attention. I couldn't even yell to him because his music was so dang loud.

Finally, he turned around as he was zipping up his pants! From peeing, I can only assume.

Right by the chickens and goats.  I guess that is where he gets his claim for 100% organic?  Because I know homeboy is not USDA certified organic.  Not that I ever thought that is what his sign meant.  But I surely didn't envision him peeing by the stuff he is selling.

Now, this is where is gets extra awkward.  For me, at least.  He sees me now.  Do I pretend I didn't realize what he was doing?  Do I pretend I didn't see him and just get in the car and get the heck out of there?   

Too late.  He's coming up to me.  I ask for tomatoes.  It took him 5 minutes and a phone call to his wife to locate them.  How do you lose tomatoes?  Especially when you are trying to sell them?  And his house was a simple, small house.  Not many places to put tomatoes, I would imagine.

And he brings out like 15 pounds.  I only wanted a few, especially now that I have seen his fertilization method.  And I have like $2 in change and a $10 bill.  But, he "ain't got no money" to give me change. I give him my $2. He gives me a ton, because, "Hon, I am so dang sick of looking at these things!"

I hop back in my car as quickly as possible. But not before he leans over into my car {please visualize any creepy movie you have seen with an elderly man with questionable dental hygiene doing so} and says, "I've seen you before.  You've been here before, right?"

"No, sir.  My first time."

He replies, "Well, I've seen you somewhere before.  That is for sure.  I NEVER forget a blonde!"

To be fair, he was probably completely harmless and just being friendly.  But the whole experience was just strange and humorous to me.

And I am definitely going to revise my "sketchy veggie stand" visiting policies.

Lil Miss is 7 months!

Lil Miss turned 7 months old recently.  She is such a sweet, happy girl.  She has her unhappy moments, but that is usually because I have not been quick to feed her at her normal times. I take advantage of her good nature, I guess. 

She just recently began sitting up on her own.  There are a few tragic falls every now and then (with a LOUD thud), but she loves her new vantage point on life. 

She loves her jumpy seat and goes nuts in it.

She loves Puffs, as did Happy when he was younger.  They buy me some very precious moments during the mealtime insanity.

She definitely shows a preference for me over everyone else and always has her eyes on me.  She usually cries if I leave the room. 

She is started to express quite a dislike for the bottle.  Thankfully, though, she eats solids when the bottle is not going to be an acceptable option for her and I am not available to nurse her.

She likes to laugh at me making silly faces and sounds.  She is pretty quick to laugh, just as Happy was at this age.  Well, he still is.  

She is starting to "clap" to music.  It is so cute to watch.

She adores Happy and he can do no wrong in her eyes.  He can even fall on her and she rarely will make a fuss.  Happy also adores her and is so sweet to her.  He likes to look after her and always wants to know her whereabouts. 

What a precious addition you are to our family, Lil Miss!