Okay, it wasn't specifically for being awesome.
But we did have the Cub Scouts Blue & Gold dinner this past Wednesday night. It went very nicely, aside from starting at a very crazy 7pm, with so many families bringing young kids in tow. Combine the two very big "no-no's" of kids eating a very late dinner and kids being up long past their bedtime, and you have a recipe for an extremely long, tiring night. But I digress. Back to my award! :)
At the end of the very long awards presentation (one of the boys even got his Arrow of Light badge...I'm new to this whole scouting thing, so that was definitely a learning experience), they asked Jesse to come up, as well as "Sister Newson". I blinked, looked at Jesse, and asked, "They want me to come up front?" I couldn't imagine why. I was rather embarrassed. But they wanted to give me an award (an actual certificate, mind you!) called the "Scouter's Wife Award". I kid you not. This thing actually has a large, golden, embossed scout symbol on it. It says, "Becky Newson, whose devoted support of her husband's Scouting has made possible his service to youth." Signed by the Den Leader, and one of the Bishopric members (it says "COR" under his name - does that make him a coordinator or something?), and [insert me giggling quietly] also by Jesse. The Den Leader made a very small speech about how impossible it would be for anyone to serve in Scouting without the large support of their spouse. I said a bashful thank you, and waddled (remember, 36 weeks pregnant, folks!) back to my seat as quickly as possible.
It's nice to be thought of and thanked, that's for sure, especially for something so unexpected (I mean, doesn't every wife need to support her husband's calling?). And I guess I do help out a bit. I screen his email and make sure he's paying attention and following up, at very least! And I do have to deal with him being out of the home at least one evening a night for Scouts, and encourage him to go to his crazy long Roundtable meetings even when he knows that he'll be there forever for very little logical reason. Now if only I were supportive enough to help him track down a Scouting shirt that he keeps being badgered about!
OH! Side story that Jesse related to me: The Arrow of Light committee, who did the award presentation (rather ceremoniously!), were taking bets on their way to our dinner- whether we would be serving chicken breasts or spaghetti. They commented to someone that we totally blew them out of the water! The theme was the Chinese New Year, so we had quite an array of Chinese-themed foods. Sweet & Sour Chicken and another version of Chinese Chicken were served as the main course, and little egg rolls were also provided...and fortune cookies, of course. Attendees were asked to bring sides in theme. I ventured out on a limb and made vegetable chow mein, although a *lot* of the other dishes were some variety of broccoli and carrots, it was almost funny. But yeah, it was fun to hear their expectations compared to what we actually had. (And a note to myself - in the future, keep to Jesse's potluck rule: Never bring more than would feed your own family, no matter how much they ask for. Otherwise you go home with enough leftovers to feed you for three days.)
In other completely unrelated news, but still worthy of mention: We were out enough today that we couldn't continue the diaper-less experience of Jacob and the potty. But while we were home, and Jacob in his diaper, he did come to me and tell me that he wanted to poop on the potty. I again helped him with getting his pants and diaper off, and sure enough, a few minutes later he came running down the hall to tell me he did it!! I am very proud of him! And then he did it again this evening, a bit before bedtime. But he had to go a little bit more after we had already tucked him in for the night, and I guess he didn't realize he can call for us. He just stood at the bedroom door, wiggling it enough to make me annoyed enough to get up and put him back in bed...but when he saw me he quickly said, "I pooped, mommy" and grabbed at his diaper to make sure I understood, I guess. Still - it's very cool that he's taking so much initiative in this potty stuff!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Jacob goes potty
Two weeks ago, if you would have told me that Jacob would learn to use the potty any day now, I would have laughed in your face. Just the way that he would pee anywhere as soon as he was out of his diaper, giggle with glee, and proceed to step in it....well, didn't seem like a kid ready for the potty to me, you know?
But somehow, amazingly, all of the sudden he decided he wanted to use the potty. I think it was when he was watching Melinda, not too long ago. Melinda always begs Jacob to come "help" her go to the bathroom - to hand her toilet paper, and then flush the toilet for her (she doesn't like the loud noise it makes, and she's had nightmares about the water overflowing out of the toilet and filling up the house). So Jacob's very involved in the process. And then, we went to the library 3 weeks ago, and decided to check out a couple potty books. He especially likes the Once Upon A Potty - Boy book. We also checked out the You Can Go to the Potty book, but he pays more attention to the pictures of a crying baby being taken care of than the bigger boy going potty, in that book. Anyway, just about a week ago, he pee'd in his diaper, and all of the sudden was saying, "I want go potty, mommy!" and started tugging at his pants. I was a little dubious, but I helped him get his pants and diaper off, and he went and sat on the potty. And got the teeniest little trickle out, lol. But he was so proud of himself!! He started jumping up and practically dancing, proclaiming "I did it!!!" He asked to go to the potty a bit sporadically after that, for the next several days.
Yesterday was a lot of attempts, all day long. Every time he noticed his diaper getting wet, he was at my side, begging me to help him go to the potty. And every time, of course, he had practically nothing left to do on the potty, because it all went into the diaper already. And today was looking like a repeat, and I was getting tired of it, fast. So before lunchtime, when he was already on his 3rd trip to the bathroom, I decided to leave his bum naked. He didn't like that at first, he kept asking for a diaper back on, and pants. I eventually compromised and gave him an oversized shirt and leg warmers to wear. (By the way, I used this Flikr tutorial to make my own children's leg warmers (aka "Baby Legs") out of women's knee high socks, it was fun!) He decided that was a-Okay with him! And pretty soon, he was running back to the potty every 10 minutes to go pee, with chants of "Quick quick quickly! Go potty!" And then he'd come back out and tell me, triumphantly, "I pee-peed! I pee-peed, mommy! Come see, come see!" I swear, that kid pee'd on the potty at least 20 times today. (What is the deal with boys!?!?) He *also* pooped on the potty, twice!! He only had one accident all day long. Amazing, huh? I guess being naked just made things click for him, finally!
My only problem is that, at least as of yesterday, he doesn't really seem capable of 1) understanding that he should use the potty before he goes in a diaper, and 2) getting pants and a diaper off quickly enough to take care of things by himself.
And of course, there's the whole issue of a baby joining the family somewhere in the next 3-6 weeks. I've heard many stories from other moms about how their child regressed with potty training after a new baby was in the house. So I don't want to get my hopes up to high that he will keep this up, just in case it all goes back to the way it used to be in a few weeks.
Still - the fact that he did so extremely well in a single day gives me hope that he won't still be in diapers when he's 4 years old!! :)
But somehow, amazingly, all of the sudden he decided he wanted to use the potty. I think it was when he was watching Melinda, not too long ago. Melinda always begs Jacob to come "help" her go to the bathroom - to hand her toilet paper, and then flush the toilet for her (she doesn't like the loud noise it makes, and she's had nightmares about the water overflowing out of the toilet and filling up the house). So Jacob's very involved in the process. And then, we went to the library 3 weeks ago, and decided to check out a couple potty books. He especially likes the Once Upon A Potty - Boy book. We also checked out the You Can Go to the Potty book, but he pays more attention to the pictures of a crying baby being taken care of than the bigger boy going potty, in that book. Anyway, just about a week ago, he pee'd in his diaper, and all of the sudden was saying, "I want go potty, mommy!" and started tugging at his pants. I was a little dubious, but I helped him get his pants and diaper off, and he went and sat on the potty. And got the teeniest little trickle out, lol. But he was so proud of himself!! He started jumping up and practically dancing, proclaiming "I did it!!!" He asked to go to the potty a bit sporadically after that, for the next several days.
Yesterday was a lot of attempts, all day long. Every time he noticed his diaper getting wet, he was at my side, begging me to help him go to the potty. And every time, of course, he had practically nothing left to do on the potty, because it all went into the diaper already. And today was looking like a repeat, and I was getting tired of it, fast. So before lunchtime, when he was already on his 3rd trip to the bathroom, I decided to leave his bum naked. He didn't like that at first, he kept asking for a diaper back on, and pants. I eventually compromised and gave him an oversized shirt and leg warmers to wear. (By the way, I used this Flikr tutorial to make my own children's leg warmers (aka "Baby Legs") out of women's knee high socks, it was fun!) He decided that was a-Okay with him! And pretty soon, he was running back to the potty every 10 minutes to go pee, with chants of "Quick quick quickly! Go potty!" And then he'd come back out and tell me, triumphantly, "I pee-peed! I pee-peed, mommy! Come see, come see!" I swear, that kid pee'd on the potty at least 20 times today. (What is the deal with boys!?!?) He *also* pooped on the potty, twice!! He only had one accident all day long. Amazing, huh? I guess being naked just made things click for him, finally!My only problem is that, at least as of yesterday, he doesn't really seem capable of 1) understanding that he should use the potty before he goes in a diaper, and 2) getting pants and a diaper off quickly enough to take care of things by himself.
And of course, there's the whole issue of a baby joining the family somewhere in the next 3-6 weeks. I've heard many stories from other moms about how their child regressed with potty training after a new baby was in the house. So I don't want to get my hopes up to high that he will keep this up, just in case it all goes back to the way it used to be in a few weeks.
Still - the fact that he did so extremely well in a single day gives me hope that he won't still be in diapers when he's 4 years old!! :)
Monday, February 25, 2008
Mmmm, Potato soup
I think I might have given this recipe to at least a couple people...but this is one of my favorite comfort foods, lately.
If you're unfamiliar with leeks, like I was before this recipe, it's not too bad. This is what a leek
looks like. In my grocery store, I find them near other vegetables like celery, carrots, etc. - the section that is refrigerated and gets sprinkled with water. What I was told is to use the white part, and the lighter green parts, not the "leaves", which are pretty tough. They grow in the ground, so you may need to be extra careful between the layers as you wash them, making sure they look clean. When I chop them for this recipe, I basically slice the leek into disks, and then lay the disc flat and cut it into quarters or more, based on the size of that particular leek.
And if you just want to skip the leeks, you can substitute onions. They have very similar flavors. But leeks have some good nutritional value, too:
Potato and Leek SoupThat's it! Easy, huh? Now, here's some modifications I like to do: Either add more potatoes or use less broth for a thicker, chunkier soup. Keep in mind that you're pureeing a portion of the soup, which will take out a bit of the chunkiness. 4 cups potatoes to 8 cups broth just doesn't cut it for me. Also, since I'm going for absolute "YUM!!" factor here, I like to add a bunch of shredded cheddar along with the cream. I usually end up adding a good cup or more of shredded cheese. I've also added chunks of ham before, which is good, but I like it just as much, sometimes more, without the ham. You can also play around with adding a green vegetable - like chunks of green beans, or maybe asparagus. (I haven't actually tried the asparagus yet, but I had some cream of asparagus soup just a day before I had this soup, and I think the two flavors might mix very nicely!)
3 tablespoons butter
3 cups leeks, washed and chopped
4 cups peeled, diced potatoes (make sure you use a non-mealy potato, like red or white/yellow)
salt & pepper to taste
6-8 cups chicken broth
2 cups heavy cream
Melt butter and cook leeks over medium heat. Add potatoes and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add broth, bring to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are tender.
Remove and puree a portion of the soup, return to pot, and stir in cream.
If you're unfamiliar with leeks, like I was before this recipe, it's not too bad. This is what a leek
looks like. In my grocery store, I find them near other vegetables like celery, carrots, etc. - the section that is refrigerated and gets sprinkled with water. What I was told is to use the white part, and the lighter green parts, not the "leaves", which are pretty tough. They grow in the ground, so you may need to be extra careful between the layers as you wash them, making sure they look clean. When I chop them for this recipe, I basically slice the leek into disks, and then lay the disc flat and cut it into quarters or more, based on the size of that particular leek.And if you just want to skip the leeks, you can substitute onions. They have very similar flavors. But leeks have some good nutritional value, too:
- Low in Saturated Fat, Sodium, and Cholesterol
- High in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Folate, Manganese, Dietary Fiber, Vitamin B6, Iron and Magnesium
- Low in Saturated Fat, Sodium, and Cholesterol
- High in Vitamin C, Dietary Fiber, Vitamin B6, Folate and Manganese
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