When I opened Teddy's school folder today, what should I see but school pictures!  He looks so contemplative in it... And I'm not sure which coloring I like best.

Black and White Teddy

Color Teddy

Sepia Teddy

The cuteness of children

"Mama, dere a dinosawa on dat boot."

He hands me his toy and steps toward the display of Christmas books that stand, along with the toys and candy, in the middle of the aisle.  Reaching out, he pulls Our First Snow, a Dinosaur Train book, from the cardboard shelf.  He turns as though he's going to hand it to me, then changes his mind.  Instead, he sits down on the floor in front of the display and opens the book.

I push my cart a little closer to him.  The seasonal aisle is quite full of paper and ribbons, toys and gifts, ornaments and lights.  He is close enough to the small tower of books that I don't worry about him being in the way of others, but I position my cart to shield him none-the-less.

He starts on the first page, telling the story as he perceives from the pictures on the page.  After perusing the page and naming each dinosaur, he moves to the next page.  The process starts again.  I watch with a smile.

An older woman ghosts by with her cart.  I watch her face for a reaction and, when there is none, a part of me becomes indignant.  Don't you see my child there?, I think. You could at least smile to acknowledge how utterly adorable he is. But of course I don't say it.  She is, I'm sure, as focused on her search for Christmas supplies as I am on my adorable three year old.

Soon, the final page has been closed and a brightly smiling face glances up at me.  "Aw done, Mama!"  He rises, returning the book to where he got it.  At first, he's set it with the back cover out but before I have a chance to mention it, he turns it the right way, the pteranodon family smiling at passers-by once more.

Back to my side he comes, his small hand reaching up for mine.  "Otay, Mama.  Less doe."

Times like this, it's good to be the Mama.

Helping Your School the Way You Want To

Rich and I have two places that we regularly give money to.  One is Kickstarter, a site where you can pledge money for projects you believe in.  The person who is trying to get the project funded offers incentives for various levels of support, so you can choose to support whatever your wallet and your interest can afford.  The other is Kiva, a site which offers micro-loans to people in poverty stricken areas of the world trying to make a go of their businesses.  Much like with Kickstarter, you can choose what to businesses interest you and where you want your loan to go to.  The recipient of the loan pays it back in small increments and you can choose to either take your money out or reinvest it in another business.

Today, I found out about another opportunity to help, this time in my own community (or any other community of my choice).  It's a site called DonorsChoose.org and through it, you can donate to schools in your community.  Teachers apply to have their project listed, including a blurb about what they are trying to raise the money for and the amount of money they need.  A staff member of DonorsChoose.org reviews the application and confirms the amount of money needed for the supplies they want to buy.  Then the project is posted to the site, ready for people to bid.  You can look for projects that interest you by school, by subject or by keyword. It gives you the chance to help a classroom full of kids in whichever way that works for you.

We haven't donated yet (though we will be donating to one or both of the proposals at Teddy's school).  It doesn't matter that neither project will directly benefit either of my boys. It WILL benefit their school, and that's what's important.  So check it out.  And if you're a teacher needing something for your classroom, consider putting your request through here.  You never know who is out there in your community, just waiting to help you out.

^{I am in no way affiliated with DonorsChoose.org and I am not getting anything from them for this post.  I just think they're a really great service and I'd like to get the information out there for those who may want to participate in something like this.}

Five Things - Weekly Writing Prompt

In the hopes of getting back to this blog with some regularity, I'm doing the Weekly Writing Prompt from Mama Kat's Pretty Much World Famous Writing Prompts at Mama's Losin' It!  Each week, she gives those who wish to participate five prompts from which to write.  She e-mails the prompts on Mondays to those who want them so we can get a head start.  I've decided that I need a head start this week.

The prompts she offered up this week are:

1.) What did you go through in order to get out? “The best way out is always through” (Inspired by Shatterboxx and some dude named Robert Frost)
2.) Five Things. List 5 things we don't know about you, 5 things you're knowledgeable about, 5 things you know nothing about, and 5 things you believe. (inspired by LouLou’s Views)
3.) The first of December is upon us! Describe an Advent Calendar or a special way you count down days until Christmas (past or present). (Inspired by Classy Chaos)
4. Kids say the darndest things...describe a time a child's honesty made you think. (Inspired by Ashley’s Closet)
5.) Tell us the story of how your pet came to be a member of your family. (Inspired byBusy Day Blog)

Several of them have been grabbing my interest, but for this one, I've decided to go with the Five Things lists.  I may come back later in the week and do the other posts.  It'll depend on time.

So... let's get started here.  Five things that you don't know about me.  This is a bit tough, since I'm pretty open about everything.  But I'll give it a try anyway.

1. I've loved writing since I was a kid.  I used to have reams of poems and stories everywhere.  Most of them weren't very good.  But I did like getting my thoughts out on paper.
2. There's a real dichotomy about me when there's a crisis. If no one else needs me, I'll break down pretty hard.  But the minute someone else needs me, I'm able to put my own turmoil aside to be there for them.
3. I still have the teddy bear that my parents got for me before I was born.  He's a bit worse for wear, but his amber eyes still glow brightly when I look at him.
4. I'm incredibly impulsive.  I went to the first college that I visited (and it was the only one I applied to). I bought the first wedding dress I tried on.  I often buy the first electronics I come across.  I can't help it.  
5. I wanted to sing at my own reception, but I couldn't make it happen.  I did, however, get to do something special for my dad and my sister.  He hadn't been able to make it up to NY for her wedding two years before mine, so he missed the father-daughter dance with her.  After my own father-daughter dance, I invited them up to dance together.  This was when I'd planned to sing.  It was probably more beautiful without my song.

Now 5 things about which I'm knowledgeable. Hrm.... Where to start?

1. Doctor Who.  I'm not the most knowledgeable.  My husband leaves me in the dust.  But I do know quite a bit about both the original run and the reboot.  And if I don't know the answer, I usual know how to find out. (By asking Rich, usually.)
2. My husband.  Ok, this may seem like a "well, DUH."  We've been together for almost 10 years, after all, and were friends for a year before that.  But I do know him really well, and he knows me.  We'll often throw the same quote out at the same time, can speak with a look, and know just the right (and wrong) times to call one another.  
3. My kids. Another, "well, DUH".  But even without them having to tell me, I know when they need me to be silly or when I need to be comforting. I know (as long as I'm not anger-locked) how to get through to them when they're upset about something.  And I know where they like their kisses.
4. Writing.  I'm not editor quality, but I'm knowledgeable enough to make sentences that sound the way they should.  To me, it's important not to sound like a teen on the internet.
5. My heart.  It's taken me a long time to become knowledgeable about my heart and what it wants.  It's taken a lot of mistakes and a lot of pain to get me here.  But I've finally found the knowledge of what will make me happy and what will just leave me with heartache in the end

Narrowing it down to five things in which I know nothing may be a bit tough.  But here goes.

1. Mountain climbing.  I wouldn't even know where to start.  And honestly, it's not something I want to know anything about either.
2. What it's like to be a star.  I've read autobiographies of stars and the like, but that's not quite the same as KNOWING.
3. How I'll react to the unthinkable.  After all, it's unthinkable, so I haven't thought about how I'll react.
4. Keeping on top of things.  This is one thing that I DO wish I knew how to do.  I want to have a clean house, a successful blog, and a good life.  But I haven't found that secret yet.  Everything I've tried hasn't worked for me.  So I keep searching.
5. Dancing.  Seriously.  If you saw me try to dance, you'd be convinced that I have two left feet.

And finally, five things that I believe.  This is, by far, the easiest one for me to write.

1. I believe that everything happens for a reason.  Every pain that we endure, every mistake we make, is what makes us the people we are today.  Yes, there are a LOT of things that embarrass me  about my past.  But they are the things that shaped who I am.  And the mistakes I will make will in turn shape the person I'll become.
2. I believe that it is important to laugh a little every day.  Laughter is a balm to the soul and it's what helps keep you young.  It doesn't have to be a full belly laugh, but it does have to be enough for a chuckle.
3. I believe that who you are is more important than what you have.  And by "who you are", I don't mean the labels that people give you.  It's not about being someone's wife or someone's mother, being a multi-millionaire or a kid from the wrong side of the tracks.  It's about who you are inside - what you believe, how you treat people, what your hopes and dreams are and what you are - and just as importantly, are not - willing to do to make them come true.
4. I believe that we don't know everything, whether it be scientifically or spiritually.  We can't know what higher power is waiting for us until the day comes that we pass away.  We have our beliefs, certainly.  But we won't know for sure until that day.  Everything in life is a hypothesis... because some day, everything could have an exception.
5. I believe that there is nothing as healing as the hug of a child or a mother's kiss on a boo-boo.  There's something magic in those things that, even if the pain is still there, manages to set it back enough that you can deal with life around you again.

So those are my five things for this week's writing prompt.  Glad you stopped by!

Adventures in Potty Training

Pete's been in pull-ups for... well, probably close to a year.  When we first put him in pull-ups, he had seemed really excited about potty training, but that didn't last long at all.  Occasionally, he'd want to be on the potty but more often than not, he would use his diaper.

The last few weeks have been a bit more of a change, though.  He's really seemed more interested in going on the potty.  It was still more passive than active - going when Mommy, Daddy or Teddy had to use the bathroom rather than deciding he needed to go on his own.  He didn't do anything when he sat on the potty, but at least he was acting like he wanted to try.

Fast forward to today.  I was sitting on the computer, going through my (tons of) e-mail when I heard him say, "Oh no!" and he started running.  I followed him into the bathroom and he looked at me and said, "Mommy, I gotta go potty! Help!"  He was going to use the big potty and pee standing up.  So I helped him pull his little potty over to use as a step-stool, lifted the lid and tried to be encouraging.  He got a bit frustrated because nothing was happening. "I can't goooooo, Mommy!"  Then he decided to try going poo-poo instead.  Of course, he was going to sit down without the seat down, so there was a quick interruption there when I helped him get settled on the potty.

He still didn't do anything, but that doesn't worry me.  The important this is that he decided - on his own - that he needed to go potty.  I think he's getting tired of diapers. And I think he likes, in his words, "wipin' [his] butt".  He actually took one of the flushable wipes to use, put it in the potty when he was done and then flushed it.

He got his tootsie roll for sitting on the potty and when I handed it to him, he said, "Awesome!"

Personally, I think HE's the awesome one.

Picture Time!

I finally managed to get my pictures uploaded to my Picasa.  So here are a few of them from recent weeks that I hope you enjoy.

My favorite pic of Pete from his birthday weekend.

Rick and the boys at Gentry Farms.

The boys and our (meager) haul at Gentry Farms.

My favorite pic of the boys from Halloween - Ash and Pikachu.  Looks like Pete's saying "Pika pika?"

Teddy at the Celebration of Cultures in Nashville.

Believe it or not, he actually LIKED having his face painted for this!

I always have called him my little pumpkin!

Trying to Find the Time

Yep.  Still not updating regularly.  Bad Amber.

I'm alive, which is good.  I'm busy, which may be good.  I'm still trying to organize my life and my thoughts to do the things that I want to do.  Little bit at a time, I guess.

I've actually been doing fairly good at the whole cleaning thing.  I started last week and have been doing a deep cleaning of the apartment.  It's taken 3 days to do the living room so at this rate, it may be the new year before I'm finished.  But the important thing is that I'm getting it done.  Thank the Gods for audio books, though.  That's what's helping keep me going.    This weekend has undone some of what I'd done last week, but it shouldn't take me as long to get that part to rights tomorrow before diving back in and continuing to work.

I've started a series of swaps over on Swap-Bot that are helping me keep up with my book reviews.  It's a weekly book review that we're sharing by e-mail.  I do my reviews on my Goodreads, which gets posted to my book review blog, Views from the Reader Side and then I copy them into my e-mail.  I've been doing a lot of reading and a lot of listening to audio books, so please feel free to come on over to one or both places and add it to your reading list.

I got a bit of good news this week that I hadn't expected, mainly because I haven't been paying attention.  We finally paid off our van!  I suspected that the time was coming for it to be paid off, but the last few months have been insane so things haven't been on my radar as much as they should have been.  But when Rich went to pay the latest amount, he was told that was the last payment we'd need to make.  They'll be sending us the info for getting our title in our name.  We finally have another asset!  Woo-hoo!

I've got so many pictures I need to upload and post here.  I've got a ton of Halloween pictures.  The boys went as Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and Pikachu (both from Pokemon).  I need to switch back over to my side of the computer (I've been on my husband's for awhile) so I can upload them more easily to my Picasa account.  Look for them soon, though.

Life is about to get even busier, thanks to job situations.  Classes have started picking up for Rich at University of Phoenix - he's been teaching one on Thursday nights for the last three weeks and starts another on Tuesdays nights this week - and his tutoring has picked up as well.  He's gone almost every night and does some tutoring on Saturdays as well.  Luckily, he tutors at our local library on Saturday, so we go as a family to the library and while he's tutoring, the boys play outside on the library's front lawn while I watch them and read.  It does mean, however, that I'm having to step-up on the cooking end of things.  I hate cooking!  So if anyone has ideas of easy things to make that the kids might enjoy, please pass them my way!

For now, I'd better get my butt in gear. Rich and the boys are at church and I have a bit of shopping I want to do while they're gone.  So I'd better get out of the house or they'll be back before I am!  Hope everyone's having a great weekend!  Happy November!