Potty Party!!!

Not a lot of time tonight and not a lot to write about.  I'm busy getting stuff ready for Truett's birthday party, taking care of a sickly Michael, prepping for class, and planning our beach trip this weekend.  So, no pictures tonight, but some fun things are happening.  Namely, Paisley is potty trained!!!  On Saturday afternoon, we got a message that Sunday school was canceled (about half of the class was, or had recently been, sick).  So, Saturday afternoon, we decided that it was time for Paisley to stop wearing a diaper.  We had been talking about it for months, but we just couldn't find a free morning where I didn't have anything to do and Michael could take Truett out for the morning.  So, I went to the store and loaded up on salty and sweet snacks and made a plan of attack.   Have any of you heard of "Potty Training in Less Than a Day?"  Well, it works, I promise.  It worked for Tru and it worked for Pais, and it worked for my friend who used the method with all four of her kids.  Sunday morning we went to work and Paisley only had one accident the first morning!  That's it, no more accidents since then!  Now, I will say that both of my kids still wear diapers when they're sleeping, and Paisley doesn't quite have the poopie-in-the-potty thing down.  Lucky for me, she only went once in her big girl panties and once in her diaper.  I hope she figures that part out soon!!
That's all I've got for you folks.  Like I said, we're headed to the beach this weekend.  So, there won't be any Photo Friday this week.  I hope you all have a great Easter!

Photo Friday March 28

It's Photo Friday!!  Well, okay, I know it's Saturday, but I was super busy last night.  I've been cutting out 20 little super hero capes from Truett's school friends.  His birthday is next week!  We're gonna have a FOUR YEAR OLD!  I don't think I've mentioned on this blog how birthdays are celebrated at the kids' school.  The birthday kid brings in a cake (okay, that's pretty normal), they get presents from all of their friends (normal, too), and then they give out goodie bags (okay, nothing unusual there).  However, let me tell you a little bit about these goodie bags.  Most of the time they are similar to those reusable grocery bags, but decorated with kiddie characters.  They are filled to the brim with all kinds of goodies, mostly snacks and drinks (including this awful shelf milk in chocolate and strawberry that they sell over here.  YUCK!).  But there is also an actual gift in each bag.  Truett has gotten a polo shirt and a bath towel, both embroideried with "______'s Fourth Birthday."  Today he got a fabric Frozen lunch box.  Last week he got a back pack with TRU embroideried on it and an Angry Birds balloon.  It's all pretty extravagant.  Just stay tuned for Truett's birthday treats!  Here's a picture of some of the kids on the day they gave our personalized back packs.

We had to make a little trip to the hospital this week.  Don't worry, that really just means going to the doctor.  We thought Paisley just had some diaper rash/heat rash the other morning.  But, as I was teaching English class, the head of the preschool came to my class and said that Paisley was sick.  Apparently she had a little fever and spots all over her hands and feet, too.  Turns out she has Hand Foot and Mouth (Singapore Flu).  Both kids had it once back in the States and Truett's best friend here had it.  Guess we shouldn't have had a play date with him =(  While we were there, Paisley got ahold of the camera.  Budding photographer??

A few random shots:  Paisley posing in her uniform at school, Truett looking so excited by a motorcycle, the kids hiding their eyes while we open a package from friends back home (THANK YOU!!  Ya'll are awesome!).  The last one is my favorite.  Yesterday, Truett didn't take a nap.  That happens about 2 or 3 times a week, unfortunately!  On the way home from dinner, he was so tired that he fell asleep.  Paisley reached over, grabbed his hand, and put it in her lap to hold.  Sweet moments!

And I have a new hobby.  PING PONG!!  A lady from the Ladies' International Club (although I am the only international!!), invited me to start playing with some women in her neighborhood.  It would be incredibly great, except it's at 6:00 in the morning on Sunday.  WHAT???  I wasn't the best and I wasn't the worst.  But, I did have lots of fun, so I will go back. 

Kopeng, up in the mountains

Last week, we had a couple of days off of school, so we headed up the mountain.  It was beautiful and CHILLY!  Oh, it felt so good to wear a sweatshirt!

We stayed at an old Javanese house.  It was built in 1825 and moved up the mountain a few years ago.  A nice couple runs it and lives right down the path.  They have 6 kids and our kids loved playing with them.  They had a blast!  There was a trampoline, which was wet from the rain.  The kids slipped, jumped, laughed, got soaking wet, and had a great time.  Here's a picture of the house and some of the view.

It was beautiful up there!  Flowers everywhere.  So many colors, so many kinds.  We went on a walk before dinner and saw so many flowers.  It's like every house was a greenhouse with a nursery out front.

these looked like little pumpkins hanging from a vine.

The kids and I went for a walk early the next morning.  We had a nice time and saw some fun things.  We saw people carrying things on their heads (I'm not quite sure what it was).  We also passed by a small school.  The school kids had a fun time looking at my little ones.

After our night in the cool, we headed down the mountain.  We stopped in Salatiga (the city where I used to live).  Lucky for Michael, we found DR PEPPER!  Too bad I didn't get a picture of the joy on his face when he took that first sip!  We then headed to another city for an afternoon at a big mall.  It was nice.  Paisley had a ball finding places to take pictures.

And this is where we ate dinner . . .

Last, but not least, these might be my favorite pictures from our little journey out of the big city.  A little background . . .   We knew there was going to be a pool, so we brought some swim stuff (it was WAY too cold to swim).  Truett has also started liking to pick out his own clothes, and we know how much he likes to dress up like a superhero.  This was his outfit of choice.  I've also added these pictures of Paisley because her expression and stance make me laugh.  She wants to be a super hero, just like her big brother, and these moves are the best she could come up with.