So potty training is not going that well. We finally got a mini potty instead of just the potty seat insert, but I don't think it is helping that much. Violet did so great the first day, but now I think she just lacks interest--she doesn't care! Oh well. Dan won't let me give up yet, but he goes back to school on Monday, so we'll see what happens.

Violet does get excited when she sees her parents going potty. If she sees one of us on the toilet she'll run over and start clapping. It's nice that the little things we do are so appreciated and recognized...

We've lost one pair of panties so far: Dan accidentally flushed them down the toilet while rinsing them out. Luckily our industrial-style toilets can't be clogged. It's one of the wonderful things about our apartment.

Yesterday during her nap she said "kuh-kuh" in her sleep--I think she was having a nightmare about having an accident.

She did wake me up this morning with her panties in hand. "Panties?" she said, holding them up to me. I thought it was adorable, but I also inwardly groaned: another day of rinsing out panties...

I may be crazy, but I can't wait to get Violet out of diapers. We are attempting to use this second week of spring break for potty training. Has anyone out there tried potty training at 17 months? We have had a potty seat for a while, and Violet has sat on it many times--with usually nothing happening. She sometimes would tell me she needed a diaper change right before she went #2, so I figure she's reading some of her bodily cues correctly...hopefully!

Today we put her in some cotton panties and training panties over the top. We've had one success and one accident so far...I'll be sure to let you know if I've given up on it by tomorrow!

Yours truly invented this:



What makes it so green, you ask? Spinach! That's right--I put 2 cups of pureed spinach in my banana bread to get this festive color (none of that disgusting food coloring). I also added an avocado. The recipe needs a bit of tweaking, but I'm quite pleased with my experiment.

This is just one of the many things Chicago does to celebrate:



Isn't it great? We went downtown with our friends Chauncey & Tiffany on Saturday to view the greener than green waters. Cool, huh? Little did we know that St. Patrick's Day is pretty much the biggest holiday of the year here in Chicago...

1. First, sneak a pen while Mommy isn't looking. Sometimes there are pens on the shelf under the coffee table that Mommy forgot to put away.

2. Test the pen's ink on the sofa. Use lots of long strokes to get that ink flowing smoothly.

3. Take your pants off so you have plenty of drawing room for your tatt.

4. Draw at your leisure!

Dan has finals this week, so I'm sure it's going to be a long one for me as he spends all his days and most of his nights at the library. But the light at the end of the tunnel is spring break: two whole weeks of freedom from school! Actually, I'm sure Dan will be studying then too, but not much.

We are planning on spending at least three days in Indiana with my brother and sister-in-law. We are excited to meet the newest member of their family--Violet's first girl cousin. Hooray!

Today it got up to 60 degrees here, according to the internet. It felt more like 50 because of the wind, but hey--it was so much nicer than the 18 degree weather last week! We went to the park, the store, and a friend's house. Violet loves getting out of the house, because there is only so much of this I'll let her do:



(That's my girl watching TV...actually she isn't completely addicted yet--she usually gets bored after 20 minutes or so.)

She likes waking up at 6 am, and since we don't, we put her in front of the TV and try to catch a few more minutes of snooze time! What great parents we are, right? We like our sleep. But, thanks to this article, I don't feel so guilty...

Last year when Dan's brother Jake got home from his mission to Vancouver, he brought back a little Chinese dress for Violet. It finally fits her!

Sometimes I just get bored while Violet is napping (yeah, I should clean my house during that time but where's the fun in that?) and want to bake something fabulous, and so I browse the dessert section of allrecipes.com. Unfortunately, these desserts last our little family way too long (we just finished off the chocolate cake last night!). Last week I made this delectable delight:



We still have over half of the pan left (I made this on Thursday).

I used this recipe, but I used one carton of fresh strawberries instead of 2 bags of frozen. I needed another carton of strawberries. Next time.

P.S. It is Camille's and LuAnn's fault for talking about this dessert. I just HAD to try it :).

P.P.S. On the bright side of baking rich desserts, Dan has finally reached 140 lbs! Don't tell him I told you...he'll be embarrassed :)

Skip past the first week of February.

Week 2: Violet throws up once in the car after crying about the fact that I put her in her car seat. Oh, the horror. Also two times that week after crying about going to bed.

Week 3: Violet throws up one time in bed. Also week 3, Tuesday night: Violet throws up 19-ish times from stomach flu. So do I. So does Dan. Friday morning: Violet throws up in her car seat after crying. Good thing she has two coats, because I still haven't washed that one.

Week 4: Tuesday and Thursday I babysat a 5-month-old baby who turns out to have the stomach flu (this was Thursday). (I'm pretty sure everyone in the building has now had it, so we should all be safe for a while!) He throws up all over my kitchen floor, himself, and, of course, me. Great excuse to mop the floor though. That night, Violet throws up again in her bed. Not the stomach flu again?!!! No, just another crying-induced vomit episode.

Now that February is over, are we done with the vomit? Please oh please.

I was going to mention how February 2007 was also a vomit month, but then I remembered, oh yeah! So was March, April, and May 2007. Oh the joys of morning sickness!