POTTY TRAINING & SANDBOXES... NOT A GOOD MIX!!

What a pain...
It didn't use to be until we decided to move.
I think since then, I have been totally wrapped up in getting the house ready for sale, that I have successfully neglected my poor kids.

I feel bad because I know it is mostly my fault Isabella isn't COMPLETELY trained by now. She kinda decided to take the wheel and do this in spite of me. She tries to be very independent, and is VERY stubborn. She has been #2 trained for a long, long time now... I cannot even begin to tell you how THRILLED I am about not having to change another poopie diaper.

Peepee has been a little challenge. She has good days and bad. While I was in FL, my Mother & Sister said that she was pretty much in panties the entire time with no accidents. Since I came home, I have managed to mess things up by forgetting to remind her.
She is very good about reminding herself 80% of the time, but recently we've been in such a crunch, that I have been too LAZY to deal with accidents. SOOoo... she is back in pull-ups again. I KNOW.. What an idiot!! I should totally just snap out of it and give the poor child some attention. It's hard. I just have too much to do, and not enough time in the day... hence the 2 AM blogging.

Here is a perfect example why I should just wait at least a few more weeks with this potty training deal...

Yesterday, my Mother & Sister came by. Isabella, Joshua & my 3 year old niece Lorena were playing outside in the backyard.
No big deal until I remembered that Isabella was wearing panties. I called out to her and asked... "Bella, do you need to go potty??"
What a dumb question!! Course NOT! She was having fun with the kids outside.
ANYWAY... a few minutes later my Mom looks out and says in an alarmed voice... "Is Isabella playing butt naked in the sandbox???"

WHAT?!?!?
I ran out, and sure enough... there she was mooning the entire neighborhood in broad daylight.
I was totally freaked out!! I usually buy new sand (not that it would be any cleaner) but I've been so busy, (yeah, yeah, yeah..) that it has totally been moved to the bottom of my list...
Then I looked over to my niece... HER PANTS WERE MISSING TOO!!!

At least Isabella had the sense to leave the sandbox, pee her pants, take them off, and return to the sandbox...
Oh and somehow she managed to convince her older cousin that it was cool to be in the sandbox without any pants... Lorena joined in just for the fun of it... She has been potty trained for over a year!!
Yes, after the shock of it all, I did manage to get some pictures of their naked hinies, but off course I will not post them. Immediately after the Kodak moment was over, I took them upstairs for a good long soak in the tub.

You know, people don't usually believe me when I say I live with a crazy little 2.5 year old. SHE IS NUTS!!

Feeling a little Home Sick....

I've had this picture on myspace for a while... I've also not checked that account FOREVER. I finally checked it yesterday. As soon as I saw this picture again, my whole body went... Awnnn :S
I really do miss my homeland.
Last time I was there in 2002, I really didn't stay nearly long enough. Mostly I miss my Grandmother and the rest of my relatives. Other than my immediate family here in the US, I really don't have any relatives.
When I moved here in January of 91, I never thought I would live here for the rest of my life. I really thought I would be back on a plane home bound in 6 months of less.
I never thought that it would take YEARS before I would see my friends and family again.
I don't know how we did it... I really have to admire my parents for being so brave and coming to a land where they didn't know anyone to start again from scratch.
Thanks, Mom and Dad.
I love my life, I love this country...

But I still miss the Homeland.

Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

From Josh with Love

Joshua came home from school the other day, and gave me a fist full of... these...



It was so Sweet :)
He told me "There are some clovers in there, and some flowers... I think."
Course it made my day. I love it when out of the blue the kids tell me they love me or bring me weeds. It's so genuine.

Aleksei's Visit

Last week Sandrine came by for a doctor's appointment & visit with the Smalleys.
Off course it was also a great excuse to get the kids together. Joshua was thrilled that his buddy was coming to town. Off course as soon as they saw each other, they gave a big hug and played like Aleksei had never left. It was really cute watching them walk around chocolate world holding hands.

Shake it...

And send it on its way.

From a Friend

THE NEXT SURVIVOR SERIES

Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and
3 kids each for six weeks.
Each kid will play two sports and either take music or dance classes.
There is no fast food.
Each man must take care of his 3 kids; keep his assigned house clean, correct all homework, and complete science projects, cook, do laundry, and pay a list of 'pretend' bills with not enough money.
In addition, each man will have to budget in money for groceries each week.
Each man must remember the birthdays of all their friends and relatives, and send cards out on time--no emailing.
Each man must also take each child to a doctor's appointment, a dentist appointment and a haircut appointment.
He must make one unscheduled and inconvenient visit per child to the Urgent Care.
He must also make cookies or cupcakes for a social function.
Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house, planting flowers outside and keeping it presentable at all times.
The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all chores are done.
The men must shave their legs, wear makeup daily, adorn himself with jewelry, wear <> uncomfortable yet stylish shoes, keep fingernails polished and eyebrows groomed.
During one of the six weeks, the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, back aches, and have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never once complain or slow down from other duties.
They must attend weekly school meetings, church, and find time at least once to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting.
They will need to read a book to the kids each night and in the morning, feed them, dress them, brush their teeth and comb their hair by 7:00 am.
A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information: each child's birthday, height, weight, shoe size, clothes size and doctor's name. Also the child's weight at birth, length, time of birth, and length of labor, each child's favorite color, middle name, favorite snack, favorite song, favorite drink, favorite toy, biggest fear and what they want to be when they grow up.
The kids vote them off the island based on performance. The last man wins only if...he still has enough energy to be intimate with his spouse at a moment's notice.
If the last man does win, he can play the game over and over and over again for the next 18-25 years eventually earning the right To be called Mother!
After you get done laughing, send this to as many females as youthink will get a kick out of it and as many men as you think canhandle it. Just don't send it back to me.... I'm going to bed.

A Miracle.

After avoiding the ER, Dad finally realized overnight that there was no way he was going to get any better on his own. He called my brother who said he would come as soon as he took his little girl to the doc.'s. (My brother and all of his kids were sick.) A few minutes later my dad's roommate called my brother and said, "Maybe you should come a little sooner, your dad is NOT looking good." When he got to Dad's apartment he found him laying down, unable to sit or stand. (every time he tried, he would pass out) He was as pale as a ghost and his eyes looked dull.
After a couple of very scary episodes of fainting and seizures, an ambulance came and took my father away to the hospital. After a TON of test, the doctors determined he had two ulcers, one was bleeding. He had lost 2/3 of his blood, and had to have a blood transfusion, which took 6 bags of blood to get his levels to normalize.
Later on my Dad joked that he no longer needs to get his citizenship because American blood now runs through his veins. LOL

He was admitted to the Critical Care Unit on Thursday morning. Sunday afternoon he was discharged. His recovery was amazing. A Miracle.

By Monday, we went to work together. I had the chance to spend one-on-one time with Dad, and learn more about him. He told me stories of his younger days and we laughed a lot together. I was able to serve him and help him, and fortunately enough i never had to cook!! YES! (Thanks Michelle)

I am so Thankful to everyone who prayed for my father, fasted on his behalf, and called temples to add his name to the prayer roll. I think his name was in just about every temple on the east coast.... and a couple in the west as well. This experience really strengthened my testimony of prayer, faith, priesthood, temples, families, you name it...

On a lighter note, by Thursday, a week after the event, my work in FL was done. There was only one thing to do. GO TO THE BEACH!!! This time I had the chance to go ALONE. I have never done that before. I must admit, it was a little lonely. The peace and quiet was great, but I'd rather have company. The sun started getting a little too hot and my sunscreen wasn't doing much, so I went back to the house. (I didn't want to look like a lobster on my way home.) I think i was only out there for an hour... Sad hun?
In all the trip to FL was great. I got to see all of the FL Limas... Dad, Vinny, Michelle, Payson, Gabi, and their newest addition Miley. I love you all.
Here are some pics.

Bridge to Anna Maria Island, where my brother & Fam. lives


A VERY SHORT walk to the Beach. (it's practically their back yard.)


One of my favorite things to do...


My Father. This picture was taken a few hours after we got home from the hospital.

I LOVE the Ocean...

Gorgeous!

Building a castle with Gabi

Dad and Miley (a few days later)

This little girl has THE longest lashes I have ever seen!!! You can hardly tell in this picture how long they really are.

My sister-in-law Michelle in her Beauty school best.

My Gorgeous niece Gabriella

This is Payson, my brother's clone.

Another day at the beach...

Miley... she is such a great baby.

Dad and Miley again :)

The FL Lima kids

Which Jane Austen Heroine are you?

Hummm... I don't think so...

You are Marianne Dashwood of Sense & Sensibility! You are impulsive, romantic, impatient, and perhaps a bit too brutally honest. You enjoy romantic poetry and novels, and play the pianoforte beautifully. To boot, your singing voice is captivating. You feel deeply, and love passionately.

Take the Quiz here!

Can't sing for beans, much less play the piano. But the brutally honest, impulsive and impatient might be right :)