The Great Snow of 2014

Things here have been pretty slow. I've read a few books lately (mainly while Natalie is napping.... on those lucky days that she doesn't refuse to).

I was invited to give the lesson at our monthly relief society meeting and it was a big hit. The topic was Wheat 101, which sounds lame and a lot of sisters admitted that they weren't very excited about it. But it actually turned out great; everyone seemed to enjoy it and thanked me afterwards. I expect that they weren't aware of how versatile wheat really is, so in addition to grinding it for flour, I talked about sprouting it and steaming it to use as a high-protein rice substitute and some other less common uses. People were WAY more interested in wheatgrass juice than I expected, so I wish I had grown more so that I could have given more samples of it. Everyone got to walk away with a potted plant of wheatgrass sprouts to grow their own wheatgrass and so many sisters have told me excitedly about how theirs is growing. I made up the most fabulous recipe using wheat berries that was a variation of Arroz con Leche with coconut milk. Then, I had some steamed berries leftover and made this for breakfast the other day:

Warm wheat berries and steel cut oats with strawberries, blueberries, craisins and almonds, all  bathed in milk. 

Friday was my birthday. I didn't have any plans, but then that morning, I realized that since it was my birthday I could get into the GA aquarium for free (usually like $40). Natalie got in free for being under 3, so we went downtown to the aquarium. It was less fun than it could have been because Natalie had been up all night the previous night screaming, so she was a little temperamental. She wanted to be held the whole time and didn't want to spend very long looking at each tank. We got to see the dolphin show, which I had never seen. Due to me being pregnant and emotional, I bawled the whole time because the dolphins were so beautiful. Natalie cried about half the time because the story line was scary and the special effects were too dramatic. The kids behind us were also crying and wanting to leave. Most not family friendly show ever!!!! On my way home, I went to firehouse subs for my free birthday sub and called it a good day. Except for the hour of backed-up traffic coming home (not even during rush hour?!) and Natalie refusing to take a nap once we finally got here.

Darlene sent these balloons, which Natalie has been enjoying heartily. I cut the mylar ones away once the latex ones lost their helium, and one made it to the stairwell and will now be up there until it eventually stops floating. 

Potty training is going.... well, it's going. We're 4 weeks in now. Natalie was doing great after 2 weeks- went 5 days with only one accident- but then she seems to have gotten bored/rebellious and has been having 1-3 accidents every day since. On Sunday night, I was nearing my limit after Natalie danced over to happily announce that she had peed on the bed. We investigated, and she had emptied approximately 500 gallons of urine across 2.5 feet on the air mattress in her room, soaking the pillow, quilt, both sheets and collecting in pools on the air mattress. Thank goodness she didn't do it on the new memory foam mattress topper on our bed, or I might have skinned her alive. 

 I was firmly determined that we should not train her with candy because it would ruin her ability to be intrinsically motivated, but dang it, it works! We started giving her chocolate chips the next morning (after considering many, many alternatives) and she hasn't really had an accident since.

Other things on the radar: 

• If Natalie does well in the potty training department this week, she gets to go have a sleep over at Grandma and Grandpa's house this weekend while mommy and daddy take a relaxing evening to themselves to celebrate both of their birthdays and valentine's day.
• The downstairs bathroom has a few good nicks and spots that need patched, so we're thinking of repainting and decorating it. The design challenge: it is very small and has very little light. I read that in small spaces, it's important to draw the eyes up, away from the crowded floor, so I'm thinking a wallpaper border along the top. Thinking about color schemes.... 
• It's snowing. We have about an inch on the ground. I made Micah stay home from work today because I don't trust the idiot southern drivers here not to kill him. We'll go out this evening and play in it, hopefully.