A few pictures

The kiddos sure have changed a lot in the past few months! Here are a few of the latest pictures:

Miles hanging out on the patio in his bouncer

Maddie being a goofball as usual

The whole family @ the family reunion

That's really it for now. I am trying to write my blog posts during lunch at work so I update a little more frequently. We'll see how that goes.

As always, Kevin and I are both on facebook. Find us there for more frequent updates and pictures of the kids and family!

Enjoy~

Thank Goodness it’s Brecanday

Like most people these days, we Doyle’s are busy. We are going non-stop from the time we get up to when we finally collapse on to the couch for a little time until it’s time for bed. A typical day for us? Well, we both get up around 5am. Kevin is out the door to meet up with Art for a run and I try to get in a little strength training. Then we both get ready for work. I’m out the door first. Mad props to my husband who gets both kids up and ready for their day. Then it’s a long day at work. I usually get home first and try to get out the door on my run as quickly as I can. While I am out, Kevin and the kids get home and he gets them settled. I get home a short time later and we start on dinner. After dinner, we spend as much time as we can with Maddie and Miles. Then it’s time for the tag-team. One person cleans up the kitchen and the other starts getting the kids ready for bed. By the time both kids are down, it’s 8 PM at the earliest. I can’t even imagine the lives of people who work more than one job or what it’s going to be like when the kids have activities to participate it!

You would think we could get some reprieve on the weekend, but we would need some free ones! Look at our August –

• the first weekend (8/7-8) was Miles and Maelan’s baptism so we tried to finish up a few projects and clean up the house and backyard. At least we were home…

• the second weekend (8/14-15) we were away for a family reunion

• the third weekend (8/21-22) I was away for a bridal shower/bachelorette party, so Kevin was home with both kids by himself

• the fourth & last weekend(8/28-29) is finally a free weekend!

The same thing is going to happen in a couple weeks time again. We have 4 weekends in a row with travel or guests or something going on so we won’t have time to stop moving.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my life. I couldn’t imagine a place without Kevin and my kids. I enjoy working. I also love to spend time with our families and friends. I just wish there was more time for it all. Ideally I could work a modified work schedule like a 9-80 or 4-10s, but that doesn’t seem like it will be a possibility any time soon. So, to help with the lack of time, I have decided that scientists need to come up with a way to add an extra day in the week. I’m thinking it could be between Wednesday and Thursday and should be called Brecanday. That’s from the Old English word for break...I was trying to be somewhat consistent on how the days of the week were named. It would be a day when you get a break from the craziness in your life and you can use it to do what you normally don’t find the time to. I would use it to clean my house and do the hobbies that I don’t have time for now or spend time with my family. I’m sure you are thinking, “why would you spend your free day cleaning the house?” Well, a dirty and cluttered house just causes me to stress out. Having 2 kids and a husband means my house is constantly a mess. Even my fortune cookie yesterday was telling me my house needed to be cleaned. I was hoping to insert a picture of the fortune, but can't find it. In any case it said, There are domestic matters that need your attention. Having the extra time to clean and organize it would mean less stress during the week. Then I would use the rest of the day for whatever would make me happy that day. So if it means I do something fun with the kids and Kevin, I curl up on the couch and read a book, I bake cookies, or I do something crafty, it doesn’t matter as long as it’s something that makes me happy.

Next year, hopefully I’ll have some vacation days to spare. So when I need a break from the craziness in my life, I can declare it to be Brecanday.

By George I think she's got it, well mostly anyway

Three weeks ago we took the big plunge into potty training Maddie. Up to that point we hadn't really put a lot of effort into it. If Maddie wanted to sit on the potty she would, but never did anything. I finally decided I was sick of changing diapers on two kids so it was about time Maddie was potty trained. The first few days were a trial, but it got continually better. This past week she only had 2-3 accidents in 7 days. 

It all started with what I called Potty Training Boot Camp. It was a very intense 3 days of getting Maddie used to using the potty and wearing big girl underwear. On a Friday we said good bye to diapers and hello to underwear. That first day was pretty stressful for both Maddie and me. There were way more accidents than successes, but we did have a few successes so that gave us enough encouragement to keep going. The program said the child would be completely trained by the end of the third day. That didn't happen for us, but the change from Friday to Sunday was pretty dramatic. To go from a kid who wouldn't do anything to one who finally sit and go on the potty was a huge step.

So we used the 3 days as a starting point and kept going from there. We have all come to realize the signs that she needs to go to the potty and get her there in time. In fact, this past week she consistently told us when she needed to use the potty!.Giving her special treats for each success has also helped get her trained too. I'm hoping to start weaning that system because she has had way more candy/sugar in the past 3 weeks than in her whole life.

Maddie still have a little ways to go, but we are so proud of how well she has done!