Rayl Family

The potty training continues. Carson has been pretty good but I still mostly need to remind him to go. He still poops in his pants pretty much every time. Once he tried desperately to convince me that it was mud in his pants, but I know poop when I see it! The potty training aside, Carson is delightful. He is getting better at talking all the time, and the whole potty training has given him a new sense of Independence. His favorite thing to say is "No, me do it!" I love-hate this phase that all of my children have gone through. Independence for my children means Independence for me eventually. But as of right now, there are some things he wants to do himself that he truly cannot. For these things I have to take a step back and let him try, even though I want desperately to jump in and help. Then there are those things he can do himself but sometimes we are in a hurry. It often creates a little fight between us.

My favorite thing about Rachel is her unique view on the world. Her latest philosophical question posed to me was why did Heavenly Father send us to Earth? I asked her what she thought the reason was and she more or less suggested he sent us here so he could have some peace and quiet up in Heaven. I am sure I am responsible for this idea since I frequently send my kids downstairs to play so I can have some peace of my own.

So spring is here, and with the weather being warmer, my kids have been spending more time outside. For Lilly this means that worm-hunting season has begun. Now she has a partner, our neighbor Elizabeth. The two of them spend hours in my garden collecting and playing with worms. They are not malicious, but I am a little worried`about my own worm supply for the sake of my garden.

Tuesday was my house cleaning day. It was a nasty, cold, snowy day. Rachel did not have school so we spent all day in the house together. I have been trying to limit the amount of TV the kids watch, and because of this we REALLY spent a lot of time together. It was wonderful. Everyone was happy, and because I had nothing else going on, the house-cleaning was not as rushed and urgent as usual. At the end of the day, we were all a little stir crazy so we went to McDonald's in our jammies for ice cream. It was an absolutely perfect day. I have great kids!