Times are changing

Sadly, my kids are growing up.  Please understand that if Jon was writing this post it would have a whole different feel and a more positive spin on it.  For some reason I do not embrace these new stages the way my husband does.

From December 2012 to November 2013 our lives were "hard."  When Jon was diagnosed with cancer we had 2 2 1/2  year olds and a 3 year old.  They were all just flat out "hard."  It was constant.  From when the twins were 2.5 to 3.5 years old, they were draining and took lots of energy to parent.  Don't get me wrong, there were also times of joy, and laughter.  But for the most part those ages are hard to deal with in a good situation and we were dealing with them in a bad situation.  

In the past 2 months we have come leaps and bounds.  Our house has changed drastically.  We no longer carry any strollers in our car, 2/3 can buckle their own seat belts, no more naps which means they all go to bed super easy by 7:30PM, I have gotten rid of all baby clothes and baby gear which was stored away in our garage, all the kids actually "get" discipline and time out actually works, they can all take 2-3 directions and go accomplish them, I can do more than 1 errand at a time with all 3, the last of the 3 is learning to potty train this weekend so NO more diapers--when the twins were born 3.5 years ago we were changing 28 diapers a day, have gotten rid of all the cribs and all are in big beds, Jon now takes all 3 out with him on errands including the grocery store, I can get 1 babysitter for all 3 kids instead of having to hire 2 at a time,  no high chairs, no more baby gates and on and on.  You get the idea that life is WAAAY easier than a year ago.  Not to mention our kids are so much more emotionally stable because Jon and I are more emotionally stable and less stressed. 

Here is a picture of our weekend potty training.

Here Ryan is conquering fear #1:  his fear of wearing underwear and not a diaper.  After he conquered his fear, he wanted nothing to do with his diapers or pull-ups.

Here Ryan is conquering fear #2:  his fear of sitting on the potty.  We helped him out by buying a small potty.  My boy is always on the go so once he conquered sitting on it, he would sit and scoot around and play.  It was hilarious.  He would be WAY too bored if he had to sit on the big potty all alone in the boring bathroom!

On a final note, Coach K has raised the bar for all of us.  He wrote this note to us the day after we went to the game.  I'm forever making excuses that I don't have time to do this and that.  Well, if this man has time, I have time.  No excuses!  He has been amazing and gone way above and beyond especially during the middle of his season!  He clearly doesn't need 10-12 hours of sleep a night like I do, HA!