dave & janet horsman ::: keepin’ it real since 1998

Well, Noah decided it was high time that he be potty-trained.  Imagine that.  I was feeling pretty apathetic about the whole potty-training thing this time around.  I thought this summer, after his third birthday, sounded like a good time, but in the course of just a couple weeks Noah seems to have figured out, pretty much on his own, how to do his business in the toilet.  I haven’t changed a dirty diaper - well a big-boy dirty diaper - in over a week.  Sweet!  Although…I’m not so naive as to think that potty-training is over and done with.  I’m sure there will be accidents - many - but it’s so nice that Noah has initiated the whole process!

Now the only hurdle to overcome is getting him to leave his underwear and pants on.  He seems to like the freedom of not having a diaper on a bit too much…”goin’ commando!”

P.S.  Can you guess what Noah has been eating?

Oh boy, am I glad that I can stay inside on this cold, miserable winter day!  I just refuse to venture outside on days like this.  Dave even drove the boys to the bus-stop today, so they wouldn’t have to wait in the -40 windchill.  Brrr!

Does this weather make anyone else want to bake?  Or more importantly, eat baked goods?  It must be my instincts kicking in, telling my body it needs to fatten-up, to survive!  Yesterday, I had a serious hankering for something baked, but, sadly, I was out of eggs, (don’t you hate running out of eggs?) and there was no way I was doing a grocery-run yesterday.  Then I remembered this super-easy, one-dish, eggless recipe I had!  It totally hit the spot.  I love that you mix up the ingredients right in the baking dish…

1 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
powdered sugar, if desired

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix flour, brown sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt with fork in ungreased square pan  (8×8x2 inches).  Stir in remaining ingredients except chocolate chips and powdered sugar.  Sprinkle chocolate chips over batter. 

Bake 35 - 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean.  Cool in pan on wire rack.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.

So easy!  It makes a nice little after dinner treat.  I like it warm right out of the oven, when the chocolate chips are all melty, but somehow, it seems to taste even better the next day.  Yum!

Just having fun with one of my - er…  I mean, Noah’s - favorite presents from this past Christmas.

Oh, and while I’m on the topic of Christmas presents, check this out… 

Remember what Zeke asked Santa for?  Isn’t that hilarious?  A Segway!  It’s one of the game pieces in the new Electronic Banking Monopoly that we got Elijah and Zeke for Christmas. (Which, by the way, I love that they’re totally able to play by themselves, without the confusion of all the paper money.  And it goes without saying who gets dibs on the Segway gamepiece!)   Zeke said, “Well, I guess I didn’t say exactly what kind of Segway I wanted.”

Can you believe this is my baby?  Pulling herself up, and cruising around on the furniture.  Unbelievable.  And let me just say that I think it’s really unfair that my daughter (it still sounds so wierd to say that!) has been my earliest crawler - she was barely six months old.  I thought girls were supposed to be more into the verbal side of things, and slower at those large motor skills.  No such luck for me.

She’s gradually looking more like a girl (I think), although, she still gets mistaken for a boy when she’s in some of her brothers’ clothing.  Normally, I can’t get enough of all the pink, but there are a few outfits that she simply must wear.  Like the fuzzy, cuddly, green outfit she’s wearing above.  It was Elijah’s, and it’s my very favoritest.  So cute.  It’s close to being retired for good, though, as you can see from the picture.  Boo-hoo.

Ever play Hi-Low?  You know…when everyone shares their personal high point in the day, and then their low point?  We “played” last evening around the supper table.  Wanna hear what mine were? 

My high was at about 11:30.  During Phoebe’s morning nap, I cleaned the entire house.  Everything.  Sorted toys out and put them away.  Vacuumed.  Swept.  Made beds.  The diswasher was humming away.  I even washed down the toilet (a job usually reserved for my husband, since it was his idea to teach our sons to pee standing up!).  So, at 11:30, I sat down triumphantly to revel in the fact the my house was spotless.  Oh, it felt good.

My low was 45 minutes later.  Lunch was over, so the kitchen was messed up again.  Zeke, upon arriving home from school at noon, had run to the bathroom and peed in (and around) the toilet.  Noah had toys strewn about already.  Again I realized, as I have hundreds of times, that it’s impossible to keep my house “Martha Stewart” clean with four kids! 

The general consensus around the supper table was, though, that if that was indeed my low point, then I had had a pretty good day.  So true. 

But as I lay falling asleep last night, I reached a new high point.  As I pondered the day, and it’s happenings, I thought, “I have four kids.  FOUR KIDS!”  Wow.  Four amazing, beautiful, heathly, active kids, and I’m so thankful for them.  What a gift.  The reason that my house is a mess, is also the source of my greatest joy!  Would I trade my messy house for a perpetually spotless one if it meant I would be childless?  Never!  Children and messes go hand in hand.  And that…that is Okay. 

Elijah:  Hey Mommy, you know what I’ve heard? …I’ve actually heard that little girls - if they have three brothers, that are all boys - usually turn out to be tom-boys.

Sounds good to me.

For some reason, yesterday I allowed Elijah to drink an entire 600 ml bottle of Coke for a “treat” while we were out and about.  (He and Zeke had no school yesterday because of MLK day.)  I don’t know what I was thinking.  Oh my word…you should have seen him.  For those of you who have the pleasure of knowing Elijah personally, you know that the kid already has enough energy to power a small town.  Add caffine to that…oh dear, he was absolutely berserk!   He really couldn’t control himself…and it was totally my fault.  All I could do was try to stifle laughter.  I guess at least the next time he tries to talk me into letting him drink Coke, I’ll have undeniable proof that he can’t handle caffine!