Potty Genius!

So we've been thinking that we would wait until Roman turns three next April to start potty training. Grace started at two and a half, and we had quite a few accidents in the process, so we thought waiting might be better for Roman. After a couple of friends mentioned potty training their boys, we decided to get out the training potty a few days ago, just for fun. We haven't really tried to get Roman to sit on it or anything, but he's done it on his own. It's like he thinks it's some fun game or something.

Tonight, a few minutes after I put him to bed he started calling, "Mama, poopy." I went in to check him and he wasn't poopy. I tried putting him back to bed but he got pretty upset when I did. So I asked him if he needed to go poopy in the potty. He said yes. So we got it out and he went! Not poopies, but he did go! I was pretty amazed! Now if we could just get him to do that everytime.

TPR Reports

Steve is working at the district attorney's office this summer, where he spends his days sitting in a cubicle, filling out TPR reports. I couldn't resist posting a clip from Office Space. It's the first thing I thought of when I heard about the TPR reports. Strangely, none of the people Steve works with made the connection between TPR reports and TPS reports. TPR in this case stands for termination of parental rights. Steve also gets to go to court occasionally and watch the loser abusive and neglectful parents trying to keep their kids. Fun, huh?

Poor Starving Kid

A couple of days ago, right before lunch, Roman came up to me saying, "Eat, eat, eat!" This is something that happens more than a few times a day, so I don't ever rush to get him something. We were also waiting for Steve to come home so we could have lunch together, so I told Roman he had to wait. A couple of minutes later I found him in the kitchen eating uncooked egg noodles. Mmmmmm. There's nothing better than crunchy noodles is there? Oh, and see that door latch that is hanging from the door knob? That was latched. I learned my lesson after the fridge incident. (See http://romangrace.blogspot.com/2008/05/oh-buddy.html) I guess there's no stopping Roman when he's REALLY hungry!

Yummy Drink Recipe

Here's a yummy and refreshing drink recipe. It was inspired by the mojito, which is a drink with rum and which I've never tasted. I've always thought that the lime and mint in it looked good, so I made up this drink. As you can see, I didn't measure anything.

1 can limeade concentrate

2 cans water (even though it will call for 4+)

1 or 2 limes, sliced

a handful of mint leaves

Mix the above ingredients together and let sit in the fridge for a few hours to combine flavors. When ready to serve, add cold Fresca. I added almost all of a 2 liter bottle. You could maybe add more, I just didn't have any more room in my pitcher. Enjoy!

It's official... I miss Utah.

Just a little over a year ago, we packed up our moving truck and drove away from Draper. We haven't been north of Cedar City since then. I really didn't know whether I would like living in Las Vegas (well, techinically we live in Henderson), but I have to admit that I like it. I have started to miss Utah though. So here's a list of things I've been missing:

• I miss the grass. Just about everyone has a lawn in northern Utah. I didn't realize how nice it is. It's nice grass too. It's so nice to sit on. Much better than sitting on rocks.
• I miss the mountains. We went to Mount Charleston on the 4th of July. It's a mountain close to Vegas with a ski resort and plenty of hiking. It was nice to get out of the heat for a while, and it was pretty, but it just wasn't as pretty as the Utah mountains. I guess because it's so dry here not as much can grow. And there aren't any streams. A couple of the hikes at Mt. Charleston were described as having seasonal waterfalls. I assume that means that they dry out during the summer. How sad.
• I miss seeing family. I was reading my cousin's blog this morning and she had pictures of our family's 4th of July picnic. I miss going to things like that. Yes, we do have family two hours away in St. George, but with gas prices so high we can't justify the trip just for a day or two.
• I miss the summer nights where it stays light past 9:00, and it feels cool outside. Here it gets dark just after 8:00 and it stays hot all night long! It also gets light here just after 5:00 am. Ugh.

In all fairness, I should post things I do like about Henderson:

• I love my ward. This is the second one we've been in down here and they've both been great. I think members here stick together more. The ward becomes more like a family than wards I've been in in Utah. We also seem to have more adult converts, which is really cool. Both wards we've been in have had people investigating and being baptized, and newly baptized couples getting ready to go to the temple. It's really neat to get to see their excitement toward the gospel. It makes me appreciate it more.
• I love the fall, winter and spring. I love not having to ever drive in snow, and I love being able to take the kids to the park in January.
• I like how there are pools everywhere. It's fun to go swimming all the time.
• I like having parks all over the place, rec centers where Grace can take all kinds of fun classes, and free activities like outdoor movies and plays.
• I like not having to pay sales tax on food.
• I like being closer to California. This makes a drive to Anaheim or San Diego much easier (and actually possible) with the kids.

I'm sure there are more things that I miss about Utah, and more that I like about Henderson, but that's all I could think of for now. Maybe it will make some of you appreciate what you've got! :)

Happy Independence Day!

"God had a divine purpose in placing this land between two great oceans to be found by those who had a special love of freedom and courage." Ronald Reagan

Black Thumb

As some of you know, our backyard consists of concrete and gravel. Because we're renting, we really haven't wanted to do much to the yard, but it was so ugly I had to do something. So I bought three little trees in the end of May and planted them in pots. They looked so cute at first, but sadly, two of them are now dead. (See above picture.) I guess I didn't inherit my mom's talent for gardening. Oh well.