Potty Time/Party Time!

I am getting so excited about the next few months! We are leaving for the beach on the 30th of May (just under two weeks away!) and I am definitely ready for a vacation! We're staying in a beautiful condo that is walking distance away from everything you could want at the beach. We will have a ninth floor view, balcony from our room, lazy river, hot tub, pools, private beach...all setting us up for seven nights of R&R! Then of course comes the wedding and many weekend camping trips which you know I love.

Natalie is turning two on July 5th. The date really took me by surprise, I just realized last night that it is already time to prepare for this big day! I think I have been so wrapped up in preparing for our upcoming trips that I suddenly realized July 5th is not as far as it used to be... (haha).

Nat has been our little "monkey" for so long now. She swings and climbs and hangs at the bars over the slides at the park, I think we'll stick with that theme for her birthday :) I'm going to try and design our own cards and decorations so we'll see how that goes.

Surprisingly, our little girl has just taken to potty training today. She wants to use it, she knows what to do, she loves the praise she gets (especially from her big brother who is all about cheering her on). I'm creating a "potty chart" for the two of them, so that we can continue to encourage Luke to keep up all the progress he has made. It will hang on the playroom wall outside of the bathroom and they will accumulate stickers every time they use it. I'm looking forward to the day when we do not factor diapers and wipes in to the household budget any longer.

In an effort to save money, I've been visiting some of the popular children's product sites to print coupons for things I think I might buy. I've been getting some great offers in the mail and online, and it's making potty training even more "rewarding" lol. We don't subscribe to the newspaper and no matter how much I say I will go pick one up, I just never do. Maybe I will add that to my list of duties for the summer.

We've decided that we will be so busy, and it's not necessary for me to take a class or two this summer so I'm planning to take that time to focus on the kids, the house, and all that "homey" stuff. I'm borrowing some tips from Jessi, (who has become the ultimate SAHM!) and learning to save some more money and be a little more frugal. That log cabin isn't going to build itself, and until I'm earning a full-time income once more, saving as much as we want to keep on track requires more effort than I have imparted upon it in recent time.

So that's what's down in the Ferraro neighborhood now! You'll have to excuse me though, Luke is asking for his favorite...."Jelly, Butter, and two breads on top!"

~Tanya