When too much snot pays off

(People I know in real life might've already heard this story on my Facebook page. If so, just hum a little tune to yourself while you scroll down and click on the "Top Mommy Blogs" link.)

Lucas really likes cats. One of the first animal sounds he learned to make was a cat sound (assuming of course that you know any cats that say "aaaa.")

Notice that he threw the picture of the dog onto the ground so that we could continue discussing cats. This video is from six months ago. He's much more skilled at meowing now.

I've been meaning to get Lucas a cat stuffed animal for a while now after he discovered that there was such a thing when we were in a book store. He found one and fell in love with it, and I almost bought it for him until I realized that it cost $28. Which is completely ridiculous. So we went home without the abnormally overpriced stuffed cat, but I've been on the lookout for a less expensive one ever since.

About two weeks ago, Lucas had a cold, and instead of taking his normal three-hour nap in the afternoon (I know, I'm spoiled), he only napped for 45 minutes and then woke up pretty angry at life. I figured we'd both benefit from getting out of the house, so I decided to take him to the toy store in search of a reasonably priced toy cat.

They had several options for $8 each, and I handed him two of them to let him pick which one he wanted (which was obviously a really stupid idea, because 19-month-olds don't really grasp the concept of pick ONE but not both.) Of course he wanted both of them. So I pushed him around the store while he held both kitties. I figured he'd get distracted at some point and I could sneak one away without him noticing. And then... he sneezed. Not like a cute, delicate little sneeze. And definitely not a "cover your mouth" sneeze. Snot. Was. Everywhere. Both cats were soaked. It was kind of horrifying, really. And because I didn't want to be the mom who put a disgusting, snotty cat back onto a shelf for some other unsuspecting kid to find, Lucas got two cats.

This is the face of a kid who found a way around his mom's "you can only have one toy" rule.

I ended up spending $16 on toy cats, but he loves them madly and meows at them all the time, so it was worth it in terms of child-satisfaction and mommy-amusement. I have a feeling that I shouldn't tell him this story until he's at least 25, or I'll be the mom of the child who purposefully sneezes all over things he wants because he knows I'll have to buy them.

I sneezed on this button, so now you have to click it. Those are the rules.

Things I said...

...when I wasn't saying things here.

If you click this, I will say more things. But in the interest of full disclosure, I should probably tell you that I will definitely say more things even if you don't click this.

Wordless Wednesday: The many faces of Lucas

(Click to enlarge the picture for a close-up of the awesomeness.)

Stuff on my walls

I would love to live in a home where every wall had something fabulous on it. The hard part is that I have to be the one to find all of those things to hang on my walls, and that's a lot of work! Especially because the majority of my artistic taste is just me knowing which things I don't want to hang on my walls... which isn't terribly helpful.

Anyway, I like when other people post pictures of things they've put on their walls with tips (or links) so that I can copy their look and then pretend I came up with the idea all by myself if anyone ever asks. (Haha! Just kidding. I'm that annoying person who has to give you some long back-story if you ever compliment anything in my home.) So while my walls are (and probably always will be) a work in progress, here are some things hanging on my walls that I really, really like. (Complete with back-stories. Obviously.) Feel free to borrow any of these ideas, provided that you include a plaque under it that says "I got this idea from Bethany. She's fabulous." underneath it. (Ok, fine. Don't get the plaque.) So without further ado, here's some stuff on my walls. (Non-disclaimer: Nobody paid me to show you any of this, and none of it was given to me for free. Unless Dan gave it to me as a gift, which is ok, because he's my husband, and I'll say nice things about him even if he doesn't give me stuff.)

"Our House is a Mess" poem (aka "Song for a Fifth Child")

"So quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep. I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep."

When Lucas was a a few months old (see? I told you everything would have a back-story), I was talking to my dad about the fact that I never got any housework done, and he showed me the poem "Song for a Fifth Child" by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton. I loved it so much that I decided I wanted to hang it on my wall. I found an etsy seller who designs various "stuff" for your wall and asked her if she would make this poem pretty for me, so she did! You can buy your own copy of it here. She'll also customize the colors for you. This is hanging by my front door so that people know right off the bat that my house is a disaster...

Pictures of Our Fairytale

These are on  two different walls across from each other. In case you can't tell that.

In the last two places we lived, I had four of our wedding pictures hanging under a wood sign that says "and they lived happily ever after" (which I think I bought on ebay six years ago, so I can't link to where I got it.) After Lucas was born, he became a big part of our "happily ever after" (and a HUGE part of our "living with a lot less sleep," but that phrase doesn't look quite as cute on the wall), so I bought the "Once Upon a Time..." sign (from this ebay store) to hang above the wedding pictures. These pictures are in our home's entryway. I haven't decided yet how many more frames I'll add to the "happily ever after" wall. I guess it depends on how happy we are (so far, very)... or how often I get around to putting more pictures in frames.

An Awesome Caricature of My Husband... Who is Awesome

I should probably point out that he is wearing that shirt because I bought it for him to wear at his graduation party,
and not because he likes to walk around advertising that he's a doctor.

No joke, I found this medical school graduation gift idea for my husband at least a year and a half before he actually graduated from medical school. It's the farthest in advance that I've ever planned a gift. Giveacaricature.com actually charged me extra because I insisted that they add so many extra details (as if it's MY fault that my husband is a water-skiing pilot/doctor/cop who worked out of emergency helicopters,) but I thought the result was worth it. This is hanging in Dan's office in our house.

Pregnant Me

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb."

A good friend of mine took some fantastic maternity photos when I was six months pregnant with Lucas (yes, that's what I looked like at six months pregnant. At nine months pregnant, I looked like Lucas was standing on end with his feet on my spine and his head on my belly button. I was a torpedo.) I used Picasa (which was called Picnik back in those days) to put the verses on it. It's hanging in Lucas's bedroom.

Wall Art for Forgetful People

A list of the birthdays we forget.

Dan and I used forget our family members' birthdays all the time. And then I saw an awesome idea on Pinterest for a birthday calendar and found this etsy shop that makes really cute ones in any colors you want. I asked Dan for one for my birthday (after telling him the exact colors I wanted and listing everyone's birthdays, obviously) and now it's hanging in our kitchen. To be honest, we still forget everyone's birthday, but we no longer have an excuse. And we have something cute in our kitchen now, so it's still an improvement I guess.

Ok, so those are some of my favorite things hanging on the walls of our home. If you've written any posts with pictures of things on the walls in your house, please give me the link in the comments so I can steal your ideas. Thanks!

Statistics show that most people who click this are talented and ridiculously good looking.

Love Letters

Dan and I sponsor two girls through an organization called Compassion. Sorieth is 13 and lives in Honduras. We've sponsored her since 2007. Tina is 17 and lives in India, and we've sponsored her since 2009.

There are a lot of things I could say about how they have fewer possessions and opportunities than we do and less money. About how when we send them relatively small amounts of money through Compassion, they send back photos of themselves surrounded by all of the things they were able to buy with the money: a table and chairs, shoes, a new dress, food for the whole family, plates and bowls, sheets, personal hygiene products and an umbrella. I could tell you that for $38 a month - less than what you might pay for one dinner out with your family - you can pay for schooling, medical care and food for a child and make sure that they hear about Jesus. I could mention that Charity Navigator gives Compassion four out of four stars for financial health, accountability and transparency and that 84% of all the donations Compassion receives go directly towards their programs to help children in poverty (instead of towards, say, the electric bill or a CEO's multi-million dollar salary.)

But instead, I'd like to show you this:

These are just some of the letters we've received from "our" girls. (The binder on the left is filled with letters that I didn't feel like taking out, and there are more letters in a box that I have temporarily misplaced. Because I'm disorganized.) The letters tell us about their lives and ask about ours. They let us know that Sorieth and Tina were praying for Dan's medical school graduation, our move to Ohio, and a healthy pregnancy and a safe delivery for me and Lucas. They tell us that Tina got to ride a train for the first time and that she's enjoying her karate class, and that Sorieth's favorite song is "Little Duck Juan." And they tell us over and over again that something really simple like giving a few dollars and writing a few letters makes a huge difference in the lives of girls who were born into poverty. A recent letter written to us by Sorieth's mom ends with, "I thank you so much for being so special with my daughter, and I pray God to bless you abundantly. I love you very much. Until next letter, Mirian."

This month, Compassion is hosting "Blog Month," and they are hoping to find sponsors for 3,160 more children through blogs like mine. There are thousands of children who were born into poverty and who are waiting for help from someone like you. I'd encourage you to click the button below and help release a child from poverty in Jesus' name. (And I promise to return to my regularly scheduled randomness very soon.)

We're potty training... apparently.

This post talks about poop. So, you know, read at your own risk.

First things first: Lucas is eighteen and (and a half) months old. If you're thinking, "Umm... it is way too early to potty train," I agree. So here's the story.

There was this completely fantastic, abnormally cheap used bookstore that opened in my town about two years ago. I shopped there pretty frequently and bought an obscene number of books, but apparently some people in my town weren't carrying their book-buying weight, so the bookstore closed two weeks ago. (Excuse me, I need a moment to mourn the loss.)

Anyway, they had a going-out-of-business sale where everything was 50% off, and of course I went... twice. I bought Lucas some Melissa & Doug toys for the next two Christmases (no, seriously. They were a really good price) and a ton of books. Since I didn't know when (if ever) I'd find books that cheap again, I planned way ahead, book-buying-wise. I got Lucas a book for Valentine's Day, some books I'll give him at Christmas, and a book about using the potty.

Please ignore the food on the floor. I have a toddler.

I had no plans to potty train anytime soon, of course, but I figured it would be good to have on hand. It's written for kids, but there are also tips for parents on each page. One of the tips suggested introducing your child to the potty at around 18 months by just having him sit on the potty fully clothed every now and again. Dan and I had already gotten Lucas a potty (because it was really cheap at Ikea. We like cheap.), so I figured it would be an interesting way to kill some time every once in a while. (Any mom with a toddler can tell you that 75% of the day is spent looking for ways to keep said toddler occupied. The other 25% is spent looking for lost sippy cups.)

On Thursday, I sat him on his potty with his clothes on a few times, he thought it was kind of amusing, and there were fifteen less minutes I had to fill. Friday after his nap, I decided that I might as well just sit him on his potty without his diaper on since I had to change it anyway, and he pooped in the potty. Obviously it was just lucky timing, but I made a big deal about it while he stared at me like maybe I'd gone insane. A few hours later, he was finishing his dinner in his high chair when he suddenly started asking to go to the potty. I put him on his potty, and he pooped! (On the downside, I took him off the potty a little too soon, and as I was rinsing it out he started frantically saying "More! More!" and then pooped on the floor. Oops.) I was amazed, but also SO not ready to potty train, because I seriously thought I had at least another year before I had to think about it. (Actually, I have no idea when it's normal to start potty training. I'm not ready to think about it. I actually googled "when should you start potty training" and found forums with a lot of parents "yelling" at each other. Way to not overreact, people.) But then yesterday after dinner, he asked to go to the potty again, and he pooped and peed in the potty. (I seriously started to type "went number one and number two," but then I realized that the "not saying poop" ship had already sailed.)

So... I'm potty training my 18 month old? Or more accurately, he's potty training himself. This motherhood thing is confusing. And weird... because I just typed an entire post about poop. Weigh in if you have any awesome advice for me, but please don't shout at each other. Because that's just stupid.

If you click this, something good will happen to you. 

I mean, it will probably be totally unrelated to you having clicked this button, 

but something good is bound to happen to you at some point, right?