Childhood Memories

I finally found a CD I have been looking for for 2 months with pictures of my family as babies, and even my mom & dad as young adults! It was great to see these as I really thought my images of childhood would only ever be in my head. Mom & dad did good as photographers and it was fun to see me & the kids as little ones.
These are some of the memories (from photos that I got from Mom & Dad) that I actually remember as a child. Mom had photos of each of the kids on a disc, or I do too if you want a copy (family). Each picture here is of me and other members of our family. I am in each one, so see if you can figure out which one is me.
The kids are Beth, Amy, Jonny, Me, Benny in that order of age (Beth Oldest). We are all about 18 months to 2 years apart in age so should be able to figure out who is who based on that age scale.

WARNING!! could be TMI! (Potty Training)

Ahhhhh! Okay, I am going to have to blog my frustrations out. I am currently in the process of trying to get Jakie to potty train & so far it is a lot of work. I have tried m&m's , thomas trains, books, candy bar bribes, even the promise of a coveted Thomas Table when he gets fully trianed. He gets excited about all of the ideas but then he does not really get it. He comes to tell me that his is stinky, which means he decided to poop in the diaper. He goes #1 already in the toilet when we tell him to, but he does not like the idea of #2 not being closer to home, AKA in his pants!
Rick and I are starting to worry. He has absolutely no desire to use the pot like we want him to, and we cant punish him for not using it. What we have here is a dilemma. I am reading everything I can think of on Potty training, but Jakie tries to outsmart me and has turned it into a game. He waits until seconds before nap time or just seconds after we get off the pot to tell me oops, I went in my pants. He's 3 & 1/2 now and I have threatened it for 6 months but now its gotta happen. I am taking away the diapers! I have a tarp that I am going to put down and he gets to spend the day naked as a J bird in the living room (on the tarp) with a potty seat near by. I am waiting for Breaking Dawn to come out on Sat. before I start so that staying home all day will not be terrible for me. I plan to set a timer and every 30 minutes he has to sit on the pot for 5 minutes. I am bound to catch him when he needs to go #2 at least once right? I figure a week of misery for me will get the job done. I would let him go at his own pace, but that could be till he is 5 at this rate, and I am sick of changing 3 year old diapers. Somehow, I don't think it is that far off from adult ones, and I don't do big diapers! Any ideas anyone???

Memories:

So I got this from Kelly Harkers site and liked the idea.
Here are the directions:
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I (Sarah and you, Rick and you, or even Jakie and you) had together. It doesn't matter if you knew us a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.
3. Like Kelly did, I will come and post one for anyone that posts on mine. It is a fun way to remember good friends and good times. (that sounded like a beer commercial line, but it is all me).

Swimming Fever

So, now that I finally have everyone up to speed on our lives, I think I will start keeping the log as a family journal . I want to not only show what we are up to, but things that are happening day to day. Everyone misses out on what we are up to because we are so far away, but we have funny stuff that happens and new interests daily.
For instance, I have been going to LA Fitness for about the last 2 weeks. I do interval lap swimming 3 x's a week and either Upper or Lower body (alternated) resistance training the remaining 3x's a week. When I signed up they gave me free babysitting for Jacob in their brand new "kids club" and Jakie loves it. It is like a playground but I get to go work out while he is supervised and has fun. It was hard to get motivated at first, but since Jake loves the "kids club" he asks for it each morning and I cant refuse. It actually reminds me to go sometimes. I am determined to get back into shape ASAP! I have some lofty goals but I am inspired! I caught sight of the girl that won the Biggest Looser and I cant believe what she was able to accomplish. I don't need to do near that kind of weight loss, but I am inspired!!! I figure that if I keep it up and eat right, I can be right where I want to be within 6 months of hard work. 4 if I work really hard, and 3 if I kill myself. I am thinking 4 will work since I want to do it right.
Anyway, I am excited because I hit a goal of mine today. I did a full mile in the pool today. That is not easy to do as a re-beginner (I took swim classes in college and did a mile) but I pounded out all 60 laps (in a 25 meter pool) in just under 35 minutes. I love the burn of the arms and the muscles that ache when I am done! I am tired and hungry when I get home, but I feel so much better when I do it. I cant wait to do another 60 laps on Friday & Monday in 33 minutes and then head for 62 laps on Wednesday in 35 minutes. I think that timing and pushing myself will help me get better and in shape faster, but I really am loving it. Having somewhere for Jake to go while I do it really helps. It kinda gives me no excuses anymore, and that is nice! Anyway, everyone watch out. If I do this right, no one will recognize me when we see each other next! Here's to hoping!
(I will post before and after photos someday when I am where I want to be)

What the heck, is that a buggy?) Our Amish Trip

So, we knew we had hit the Amish country we were headed for, when we saw a black buggy going down the road. We wanted to get out of dodge and headed about 1 hour North of Pittsburgh. The land and people did not disapointing. We had fun scouting local shops and seeing what the Amish were up to.

A River Runs Through It (The town that we visited)

What a beautiful escape we had on Saturday (26th I think??). I would move here in a second! The Amish were so pleasant and we bought oatmeal raisin cookies, and strawberry jam from the locals to show our support for their talented arts.

Playing With The Amish Toys

There was a great little store that had Amish made toys and crafts, etc. Jakie loved the toy horse that was large enough that he needed a boost to get on. It was fun to hear him cry "rid em cowboy" and see him rock with all of his might. If I had 300$$ for a toy, I would have taken it home for him.