Letters to God

Okay, I just watched the trailer for the new movie LETTERS FROM GOD. Tears welled up in my eyes. I have to see this movie. If you haven't heard of it or seen the trailer, check it out here - http://www.letterstogodthemovie.com/the-movie. We need more uplifting films like this that point to our true source of hope, God.

I also found this post on the movie website blog. Oh, how it echos my heart...
http://www.letterstogodthemovie.com/blog/early-in-the-morning-/

And finally, a great quote to reflect on from Sheila Walsh on the Women of Faith blog.
http://blogs.womenoffaith.com/blog/2010/03/fully-alive/

I just wanted to share these with you all...so this post is short and sweet. Hope everyone's having a good week!

Potty Training Update

Well, we are off to a start...thought it's a slow start...with potty training. I still don't have a free weekend until after Easter so no Potty Training Bootcamp yet. But Evan's teacher has decided to work hard with the last 3 kids (all boys) in the class who aren't potty trained. So he's been going without pull-ups at school regularly! Though he is consistantly having accidents and came home with someone else's socks on yesterday! Oops, guess I forgot to put new socks in his backpack. 

I did try him one overnight without pull-ups but even though I grabbed him right when he woke up, he had already wet the bed. :( I've been putting him on the potty before bed for about 10 minutes but he doesn't do anything. Then 5 minutes later after brushing his teeth he'll go pee in his PJs!

Overall, we are realizing he just doesn't get how to tell he needs to go. It doesn't hit him untill he is already going. Last night he told me he was going pee as he went. Not enough time to get to the potty before he was done and we were cleaning up yet another mess. Luckily, it's been more in his clothes than on our carpet. I'm hoping something will click soon. For now, I've got 2 changes of clothing including big boy underwear in his backpack at school because we know there will be more accidents. And I'm still struggling with patience throughout this whole process. I put a pull-up on him for on the way to school the other morning as I wasn't in the mood to clean up a messy car seat cover. And I'm lucky I did because he went #2!

Evan's 1st Class Photo

I can't believe it's that time already! He's just 2 years old (almost 3) but because we have to put him in full-time daycare we went ahead and started him at a Christian preschool. So here is Evan's 1st official school class photo! Aren't the kids adorable! They just crack me up with their smiles. The photographer did a great job getting them to smile SO BIG!!! I think Evan looks like he may be the class clown! There are actually about 4 students missing so his class looks small. He can name every one of his classmates though. And the cute little girl on the left front with the cute pink boots...I found out she mentions Evan and one other kid in the class in her prayers. So sweet! I think he's having a blast at preschool and that just makes me smile. :)

Sushi Making 101

I have wanted to make my own sushi for years now. I first learned about it before I got pregnant with Evan so probably 4 or more years ago. I even bought a rolling kit that included a mat and instructions. But there was just never the opportunity, and then the kit ended up forgotten about in a drawer. Fast forward to a few weeks ago, Brad and I had a rare Saturday afternoon to ourselves because my mom and stepdad were entertaining Evan, and decided to grab some sushi. During our lunch I remembered the kit and how I'd still hoped to do a sushi making night. I realized Brad's birthday was coming up in a couple weeks so I mentioned it to him. Since he loves sushi, he was all for the idea! So we contacted a few friends and scheduled it for last Saturday!

It was a great time, and though we went all out for our first time, if we had kept it more simple, it would have been cheaper than eating at a sushi restaurant. We did end up being able to enjoy sushi for 3 days because of all we'd gotten. I think we will incorporate this into our dinner plans more often.

In addition, Brad loves tempura so he decided to make some shrimp tempura as well. I told him up front that I'd get everything for making regular sushi rolls but if he wanted tempura, he'd have to do it himself. I'm not good with oil. In fact, I almost burnt down our house when I was a teenager making mozzarella sticks! Okay, not really, but I did start a small fire on the stove!

I did some research up front to learn how to do everything and though I'd share what I learned. First off, I found this great website, http://makemysushi.com/. You have to check it out if you want to make sushi. It has demonstration graphics and all the basic information you'll need to know.

Luckily, Orlando has great Asian markets downtown that offer supplies at the best price, but many Publix supermarkets now offer everything as well, just a little bit more cost. I was lucky to have a guy help me at the Asian market who was a chef for many years and gave me a run down on how to make the shrimp tempura. A five minute lesson of what he'd learned over 10 years! I passed this info along to Brad and he did a great job with it. It turned out delicious. That was the one thing that was all gone by the end of the night. (Also, the website I mentioned has a shrimp tempura tutorial - wish we had seen that before, then we would have known to put them on a skewer to keep them straight. Well, we'll try that next time!)

If you are interested in trying this out for yourself, below are the basic supplies/food you'll need. You have to make sure to get sushi rice - it's a short grain rice that will be sticky enough to hold together when you roll it. It actually sticks to your fingers when you are making it, so have a bowl with water and sushi seasoning mixed to dip your fingers in.

Basic Supplies:
Nori (Seaweed)
Gari (Picked ginger)
Wasabi
Sushi Rice (Shari)
Sushi Seasoning (or rice vinegar, sugar and salt - see recipe at link below)
Rolling mat (the ones with one side flat and the other round are the easiest to use)

Filling Ingredient Ideas (Choose ones to make the rolls you like):
Tuna - raw
Shrimp - cooked
Imitation Crab
Carrots
Avacado
Cucumber
Cream Cheese
Green Onion

Topping Ideas:
Toasted Sesame Seeds
Spicy Mayo

Here is the direct link on how to make the sushi rice - http://makemysushi.com/index.php/Sushi-Preparations/sushi-rice.html

Check out all the other links in the Sushi University area for tips and techniques for rolling the sushi and cutting the filling items. You can make traditional rolls or just put together different combinations that look good to you and enjoy! I liked being able to try different combinations than what is typically available. All were very good!

Here are some fun photos from our sushi party. I'm definitely ready to do it again soon!

6.3 A1C!!

This number is amazing! Especially since I've been hovering at around 7 to 7.5 over the past 3 years. I haven't been in the 6 range since I was pregnant with Evan. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Diabetes speak, I am talking about my hemoglobin A1C, which is essentially a 3 month average of my blood sugars. This is such an important number that I have my blood tested every 3 months to check. It's an indicator to how I am controlling my blood sugars. If I have more highs and lows they will throw off my average.

The one big difference over the last 3 months has been my Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM). This is a system that reads my blood sugars continuously (every 3 minutes) and transmits that to my pump so I can see a graph of what my blood sugar numbers are doing at all times. I upgraded my Minimed insulin pump last year in May and bought the CGMS transmitter and 1 box of sensors, but was having trouble using them in the beginning so I took a break, that turned out to be a long break! I finally got back into it at the beginning of January and it seems those 2 months really helped my average, aka my A1C. So, I've had to suck it up and purchase more as I ran out the other week. With my deductible it's going to be a bit more expensive than I would like but it's for the betterment of my health! Who can put a price on that? Though it's something I struggle with regularly as I hate what I have to put out for medical expenses. But overall, I am so grateful that such advanced technology is available to help me get the best control possible!

Today Marks 7 Years of Marriage!

Well, today marks Brad and my 7th anniversary! It also means we've known each other and been together for over 10 years! I just can't imagine my life without him, nor would I want to! It is amazing to look back at our wedding. I posted our favorite wedding photo below. You can just see the joy on our faces! It was a beautiful day I will cherish forever. And it was a great start to a wonderful marriage. It hasn't always been easy and we don't always feel happy. But that is life. And we are taking this journey together one day at a time. We've been tested, we've seen tough times, and are actually walking through a hard time in our lives right now. But I've always felt God cementing our lives together....giving us strength and helping us learn to lean on each other and him to get through it all. So today I feel that same joy and realize how my love for my sweet husband has grown and strengthened over the last 7 years of marriage. I'm looking forward to the many years ahead!

On our Wedding Day - March 15, 2003

Recent photo - March 13, 2010
(Celebrating Brad's birthday and our anniversary
with our first attempt at making sushi. So fun!)

I definitely see a change in Brad's appearance (in a good way!) as he's matured, but I still seem to have the same baby face!

And some more fun photos from our memorable wedding day!

Potty Training: Consistency and Commitment

I'm finding that the key to success in potty training my little boy is going to be consistency and commitment. As a two working parent household it's hard for us to commit to the consistency it takes to potty train him. We've watched videos (actually, I think Evan liked watching the potty training video more than we did!), read articles and listened to parents who have been through it. We are just trying to figure out how to make it work for us. We have the potty chair, the potty chart with stickers, and treats for a reward. He was sort of interested when we first introduced it all but now he just runs away screaming "No" when I say he needs to go to the potty. I really have no indication when he goes pee but I can definitely tell when he is going poo as he does this funny little dance! Oh, and it's usually right at dinner time! Fun! Ulimately we are finding it's really less about whether he is ready, which I think he has been for some time, but whether me and my hubby are ready! :)

Life has been crazy and hectic and so many things have taken priority over potty traning. But I recently heard about a 3 day potty training bootcamp. I was really hoping it wouldn't come to that though many said it's what works, but others also say that kids just "get it" and you don't want to force them. Who to believe? A lot of little boys I know were around 3 years old and Evan will be 3 in April. But he shows the signs of readiness so I've decided we need to take action soon! :) Oh, and he's one of only 2 kids left in his 2 year old class that aren't potty trained. His class is mostly girls though and they tend to pick it up earlier, so at least that makes me feel better.

Unfortunately our schedule and the ability to stay home all one weekend to do the training is hard. March is our month of birthdays, both friends and family, so we have events booked most weekends. Right now I'm realizing I don't have enough big boy underwear (as they tend to have a lot of accidents), and I've got a cold that is just hanging on, plus we are having someone babysite Evan overnight next weekend and I really don't want to put them in the position of having to deal with a newly potty trained little boy! All of these excuses (though valid I believe!) are going to get in the way until the last weekend of March or first weekend of April, depending on when my nephew's birthday party gets scheduled. But once I pin down the weekend, we are going to get him potty trained! I'm putting it out there so I'll have even more motivation to follow through! I need to be held accountable I think.

Anyone have any tips or feedback on their experience potty training? I'd love your thoughts and reassurance that it isn't as awful a process as I think it is and I shouldn't be dreading it! :)

A Typical Day in My Life

It's Show us your Life Friday at Kelly's Korner Blog and she's asking everyone to share a typical day in their life. I thought I'd join in since it will be great to remember in the future what my typical day was like at this time in my life.

I'm a working mom so I'll outline a typical workday, which is M-F for me.

6:30am - wake up and shower
7:30am - wake up my toddler and get him ready (luckily my hubby shares the responsibility of getting Evan up and to school in the mornings so every other day I get to sleep in a bit, or get to work a bit earlier to get caught up on things there)
7:45am - grab something for breakfast - usually to take in the car
8:00am - we are out the door, watching videos like VeggieTales or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in the car on the way to his preschool
8:30am - drop him off at preschool (Evan loves to give me multiple hugs before he'll let me go. So sweet.)
8:45am-9am - get to work where I do a variety of marketing activities. Typically I'm at my desk writing e-mails or working on a proposal or searching for new project opportunities. Every day is different. I also have meetings both in and out of the office periodically.
12:30-1pm - grab lunch, usually something I eat at my desk so I can take a shorter lunch and leave work earlier.
5:30pm - leave work and head to pick up Evan from preschool (again, this is every other day...if I take him in the morning, my hubby usually picks him up in the afternoon and vice versa but occasionally I end up having to do both because of a change in my hubby's schedule.)
5:50pm - pick up Evan and head home
6:30pm - usually get home around this time. (My hubby is usually home already though he teaches and his class changes monthly so sometimes his class runs later if it's an afternoon class and sometimes he's not home in the evening when it's scheduled at night. I hate when he has night classes - I feel lonely.)
6:45pm - Start dinner. Evan usually wants to help me so I find something for him to do like stirring something or pouring an ingredient into the bowl.
7:30pm - We all sit down together and eat. (I love this time of day and just slowing down to enjoy a meal together after a busy day.)
8:00pm - Bath time for Evan, then in his PJs.
8:30-9pm - Put Evan to bed, which is a process as he always wants another hug, or water, or a book, or something else! :)
9pm - clean up dishes from dinner
9:30pm - my down time - finally! Usually chat with my hubby about his day, then catch up on shows on DVR, check out Facebook or Twitter, reply to e-mails, blog, work on a bible study assignment or work on downloading and organizing photos for my scrapbooks. Sometimes if I have a burst of energy I'll clean. But usually I'm pretty tired at this time.
11pm-12am - go to bed. I'm really trying to get to bed earlier, around 10:30pm, but I usually get caught up doing something and I really need that "me" time at the end of the day.

Weekends aren't on a regular schedule. They are my time for errands, visiting family and friends, and catching up on cleaning and laundry as I don't have much time for any of that during the week. Though occasionally on Thursdays we'll meet up with my Dad and Step mom at a restaurant for dinner. That's fun and nice because then I don't have any dishes to clean up!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!