biggest mama challenge.... the potty

I like to think I am a good mama to my boys. I remember when leo was just a new little baby and I was able to handle those sleepless nights because I knew that he was so much more important than my own sleep. Same with wyatt. Total sacrifice of love.

Even though I hate to admit it, potty training broke me. It's been 9 months from the moment I first introduced the potty to leo. He fought the process a lot and took a long time of back and forth trying with him, but we DID have success and he was pretty much potty trained before he started daycare september 1st... hallelujah!

Then he started having an accident a day at daycare.... then 2... then 3... I decided to send him in pull ups since I was feeling bad for the daycare staff... Then he started throwing fits at home, and no more going on the potty! Every time I asked, he said "no" and every time I forced him to sit down one or both of us would end up in tears.

One evening before bed, I tried the potty again... and again he was refusing.. I instantly get SO annoyed with him that I told him "you're driving me crazy!! just go pee already!" But he was upset and I was upset, so I called colin over to take over bedtime and took a break. Later, when colin was settling leo into bed (he was crying), leo says to his daddy... "daddy, mommy's crazy". colin just laughed and probably agreed with him.

I couldn't figure it out... this kid was stubbornly refusing to use the potty!!  why would a previously almost potty trained kid regress back to the beginning and have absolutely zero interest??? I felt like I was in a constant battle... and I was totally losing. How does a 3 year old beat his mama at this?? I thought I was good at this whole parenting thing....  the worst part was that he would still use the potty at daycare sometimes.... how come his own mama can't get him to use the potty but a daycare provider can???? that doesn't work for me, leo... no that does not!

So guess what? I gave him a couple of months and now I've had enough...  I have bought my last package of pull ups... i hope... I've gotten to my breaking point (again) .. I bought a jumbo pack of new underwear and that kid is going to wear them all... the.... time! (except for naps and bedtime to start). I don't care how much laundry i have to do! Even if he wont tell me he has to go, we're going anyway. the potty train has arrived...

It's been almost a week now... he still doesn't tell us when he has to go, but he's dry until we make him go... which is better than our previous attempts... only 1 success with #2 so far... he likes to save that for when he's in a pull up at nap time or first thing in the morning... sigh... but seriously... this is going to work... this is going to work..... this is going to work... right??

New clutch!

So I've been on Pinterest for quite a while now and keep on pinning all these fabulous sewing projects and haven't really made too many things yet.

 I've also been to fabricland recently while there was a sale, and bought some new fabrics, so I'm set for a little while now... or so my dear husband likes to think... 

I decided I wanted a new wallet/clutch. It seems like whenever I am out with the kids, I never take along a purse but just shove my overstuffed wallet into the diaper bag and away we go. So I wanted something where I could throw a few key items in and go. So here's my new clutch! 

Check out the link to make it here.

I think it turned out pretty cute. It has a divider in the middle and 2 credit card slots. Perfect to throw in the diaper bag with just enough stuff for the day or whatever!

I think my camera really doesn't pick up how cute it really is... seriously, I love it. Also, my favorite color is green, so it's a win win :)

This tutorial uses zipper end tabs to make it turn out more squarish. 

I had my doubts that my sewing skill could do this, but it actually worked out perfectly. I love that it doesn't have this pinched, unfinished look of my previous changepurse I made (which I don't even want to show on here... it's just not that great at all... I sewed a little crooked too... 

when will I ever sew a straight line???? 

Also, did I mention that it took me FOREVER to pick out fabric for this? 

and in the end I used mostly fabric I already had on hand because I didn't think what I picked worked well enough?? I NEED to learn to make decisions more quickly!)

My next project is a bigger one. I plan on recovering our Ikea Poang chair. (using this tutorial - if you have another tutorial or advice, I'd love to have it!!)

Right now it's white.... and with kids and over time that white has turned yellowish in spots.. 

So I bought some fabric (at buy 1 get 2 free) for only $14 and I'm hoping it will look awesome. 

It's my first project where people people will notice if I do a bad job. 

Plus I'm not a fantastic sewer yet. I can't think ahead and see if what I'm doing will turn out properly yet... or if adding a zipper or velcro will work in a certain spot. 

trial and error is my plan. 

Not a bad thing since I only spent $14!! 

Sledding!

We took our boys sledding for the first time yesterday. Well I'm pretty sure it was Wyatt's first time... I can't remember if Leo has gone before... (is that bad I have such a terrible memory? I feel like from the moment I first got pregnant with Leo, I have had constant "Pregnancy or Mommy brain"! If I don't write things down, it's in one ear and out the other.) But it's the first time we have it documented with pictures, so I'm sure it was a first for our family.

Winter in Winnipeg is usually pretty darn cold. Especially jan/feb. This year has been so warm, I feel bad that we haven't done more with the kids outside.. It's just such a hassle to get them all bundled up and out the door just to spend less than an hour (sometimes 20 minutes) outside. But the car told us it was 0 degrees. 0 degrees in feb?? crazy. So we decided to head out. My awesome sis-in-law Ruby made the kids these toques that go all the way over your head and cover head and neck and leave the face exposed. I'm sure there is a name for them, but have no idea what it is :)

We were on our 3rd run down the hill when it happened... I was at the bottom of the hill with Wyatt after our sled run and Leo was coming down all by himself for the first time... He did fantastic and loved the ride by himself...

 He's just getting up and starting to walk back up the hill with his sled when Colin shouts "watch out!!" I look up and see a girl on a sled coming right for us. I don't even have time to think or move, so I just take one step out of the way with Wyatt and of course Leo doesn't know what to do either... (oh and I'm about a 5 steps away from him, so it was too far for me to grab him.. ) She hits him head on and takes him out. He lands on his right cheek, face in the snow screaming. Poor guy. If I didn't have Wyatt with me, I might have dove at him, but what's a mommy to do when holding a toddler in one arm??

The girl says she's so sorry and I say "it's ok"... what else can I say?? where the heck are her parents and why didn't they say to her to wait until we've moved out of the way??? Seriously! He's ok though, just completely traumatized.

We moved to a quieter spot where I went down again with Wyatt.. (Leo has absolutely no interest) and then Colin goes with Wyatt. Colin's feet were dragging in the snow ahead of the toboggan and as he went down, Wyatt was sprayed in the face with powder... Needless to say Wyatt was a little upset and both our kids are done with our little adventure...

So I thought this would be a bad memory for both kids, but we decided to take a walk around the park and try one last time. Leo actually said yes to a couple more runs (but only with mommy) and hurray! Leo isn't scared of tobogganing anymore!  Hopefully our next trip out isn't as exciting :P

Here are a few pics of our adventure.

Daddy and Leo

 Mommy and Wyatt

 On our walk - Leo didn't even want to ride in the sled... too scared...

After tobogganing snack and hot chocolate 

 The pending bruise... 

Did I mention my baby is 13 months old now?? amazing!

new blogger alert!!

So I've decided to join the wonderful world of blogging... not sure how good of a blogger I'll be.... but I guess we'll find out! I've never had a real blog before, so if you have any tips or advice on set up or design or whatever, please send me a note.. like how the heck do you make those pretty banners that go across the top of a blog?

So anyway, I guess I can introduce myself. I am pretty sure most people who would read this would be family and friends, but hey, let's just pretend. I'm not even sure how much I would even want to disclose or even how free I want to be in a blog... It's funny because I feel totally comfortable writing this and sending it off into space and having random people read it.. but then when it might be someone I know, I don't know, I feel shy?

So I'm Sheilla. I'm a married 20-something mama to 2 beautiful boys. We've been married for just over 5 years and I have loved every moment of our lives together. I am currently back to work part time after spending a fantastic year at home after the birth of my second baby and am really liking the new schedule. I am home most of the week with my boys and still get a chance to get out of the house a few days a week to socialize with adults and accomplish something other than dinner or dishes or laundry...

I got a sewing machine for Christmas in 2010 and only just started using it a couple of months before Christmas of 2011! haha. So lately I've really been into crafting and making things for me and my kids. I am loving it! My only problem is having the time to do it. Since I'm so new at it all, it takes me forever to choose a fabric and forever to find just the right tutorial to do... but once I've committed to something, I work hard to finish the task. So I've made a few really nice things :) I look forward to getting better at it (and sewing a straighter line!).

So here are a few pics of me and my fam. thanks for reading.

 Colin and I

My boys - Leo (3) and Wyatt (1)