Pillowcase dresses and potty training...

My good Friend Hot Mama recently introduced me to pillowcase dresses (sorry mom if you have told me about them before, I didn't get it) I have been struggling with Super Girl to conquer the potty business. So my lovely mom made her a reward, a super cute purple & pink elephant puppet!
 

This has gotten her motivated, but has produced minimal results. So today, I was finishing up a bunch of dresses that I made out of left over fabric and some remnants I bought...and suddenly it hit me...these are POTTY DRESSES! Super Girl wears only the dress, no undies, no diaper! I have been waiting for warmer weather to do the naked butt potty training technique, but I can't wait anymore! So this morning when she had a dirty diaper, we were miraculously out of diapers! So the potty dress was initiated! Super Girl was SO MAD!!! She whined and cried for 1-2 hours, then suddenly stopped and told me, "I think I'm starting to do toots!" So we rushed into the bathroom and.....ta da!!! Poop and Pee in the potty! YAY!!! So here's the breakdown:

Fabric and ribbon for 11 potty dresses and 1 dress for me = $33.25 (that's about $2.77 per dress!)
Getting the most stubborn of children to pee and poop in the potty = PRICELESS!!!
Here are photos of the mass production that's been happening here for 3 days! I made my dress and 1 potty dress on monday. Then I made 7 potty dresses yesterday. And today I finished up with a respectable 3 more dresses! Enjoy!

All 11 potty dresses lined up in a row

My dress (the bottom half atleast!)

The 8 potty dresses made on days 1 and 2...

 

The 3 dresses I made today...

Super Boy's murals & birdhouse, and Super Girl's Easter Dress

Super Boy had a fun painting day yesterday. Ever since we moved in, I have been promising him he could do 2 murals on the white walls in his room. Yesterday I finally came through on that promise! He had the ideas of what he wanted to do for about 3 years now, so here are the pics!

This is his Football Mural: Colts vs Tigers, Colts ahead 99 to 0 with 3 min left in the 3rd quarter. They have just run a play to give them another touchdown. Super Boy is in the stands all the way on the left, holding a sign that says "Colts always win!" The black dotted line is the path the ball took on the play, and the black solid lines are the routs the players ran on that play. All of this he dictated to me 3 years ago, he stuck to his original plan! I only helped with the areas he couldn't reach, but the rest is all Super Boy's talent!

This is his Landscape mural. He has wanted this since we moved in to our last house 4 1/2 years ago! I kept trying to figure out a less-permanent way to get it done, and finally I gave in and let him use real craft paint! Hope he doesn't get sick of these murals any time soon! I do not want to start painting walls again!

The hand print is his signature on his artwork! He put his name and the date in black in the center of his red hand print.

Super Boy recently started Cub Scouts and has been begging me to put together a birdhouse since he read it in his book! So I finally gave in and we bought this kit. It is all glued, so it is still not finished, we had to wait for the glue to dry to add the embellishments.  The blue pieces go as trim on the roof and as decoration over the door in the yellow wall. The red are little perches that go outside the doors to help the birds get in. More pictures will come once it is finished. He painted everything himself (and even let his sister help a bit) I just cleaned up drippy spots and held while glue dried!

Now on to Super Girl. I made her Easter Dress again this year. I'm really trying to keep up the tradition my mom started when I was little. So this year I made this one...There are a few boo boos, but she really likes it! I also made a matching shirt and skirt for her favorite bunny "Tim" who wore her dress at the same time, so the matched and were super cute! Tim has since gone missing...maybe in protest to the outfit??? Anyone with information on the whereabouts of "Tim" the girl bunny please contact me! Super Girl is so sad anytime she thinks about "Tim" which is about once a day.

DRESS AND PURSE

UP CLOSE ON DRESS TOP

UP CLOSE ON PURSE

I will probably have another post for you tomorrow with Super Boy's first pack meeting and receiving his Bobcat. I might also post whatever other pictures I find on my phone (our camera was having issues, so I finally broke down and bought a new one. The pictures from today's blog were taken on the new camera. I have yet to download all the pics from the few months we were without a camera and left to use crappy cell phone cameras...)

Adieu until tomorrow....

I love the rain!

I am sitting here at the computer, working on some stuff for scouts...then I hear the rumble of thinder and all I want to do is go sit out on my porch and listen and smell...I have always loved the rain, but I haven't seen or heard it in so long, it was a nice reminder! So now I am pacifying my need to waste my day by leaving a window open and walking by it every now and then...life must move on...

In other news, we got Super Boy's test results back from the Accelerated program. He scored high enough to qualify for the program, but is on the alternate list. We will know in the summertime whether or not a spot opens up for him. He told me he is happy either way. He said he likes learning new stuff, but is happy to know everything already too! What an amazing kid! I hope he gets a spot, just because his mind needs stretching!

Ahhh...the sky just opened up with a downpour of rain... I must go watch for a minute...

Finally another update!

Sorry I've been away so long...life happens!

I have new pictures of the kiddos to share!

 Super Boy is loving his new 2nd grade class at his new school. He has tested for the accelerated program in this new district and we should be finding out soon how he did. He also had an awesome school performance a few weeks ago where the whole school honored people/ideas of the past that helped shape the future. Each grade had a different person/thing. Super Boy sang about Christopher Columbus discovering America. The whole school sang about believing in yourself and reaching for your highest potential. It was really great and fun too! Super Boy also had a very important birthday...he turned 8! He made the decision to get baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He also started Cub scouts and has already earned his Bobcat rank and 2 achievement ribbons! My parents came to visit for a week to celebrate his birthday and attend his baptism. It was so good to see them! I miss them already!

Super Girl is as active as ever and growing like a weed! She is pictured here with her favorite friend "Tim" the girl bunny! Tim was a gift from the Fab 5 for Christmas, and she hasn't put her down since! Super Girl has been struggling with potty training and attitude growing pains. Hopefully she'll get back in the program and get potty trained before she turns 4 in September! My mom even has made her a special surprise that she only gets when she is potty trained...I hope it works! She seems excited about it, so here's hoping!

We absolutely love our new home, but I miss Tall Boy's mom sometimes. She is such a wonderful woman, so helpful and caring. I miss her conversations and guidance. But we are adapting to life on our own and really enjoying it.

Tall Boy and I have new callings in our ward. We both teach the 9 year old class in primary, and I have a 2nd calling of Webelos Den Leader Assistant. I love working with these young men who are curious and want to learn. What a fun bunch!

Tall Boy is still secure at his job, though there were some cutbacks and layoffs, we were spared. We are so grateful for his job and for the love and respect his company shows all of us.

I am still at home with the kids, but am looking forward to going back to school soon. I hope to get a degree in Elementary education, but that probably won't be for another 5 years! Oh well, like I said before...LIFE HAPPENS!

Hope all of our friends and family are well! Love you all!