Our Family

Our Family
"These are the children God has graciously given to me. (us)" - Genesis 33:5

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Johnny the Fish

We have a new addition to our family...no not Brit, although we'd love it if she could move in! :) Nope, I'm talking about the little bright red beta swimming around in the tank behind Brit.

His name, (finally...it only took all night for Josh to choose a name) is Johnny the Fish and he is Joshua's birthday present from Brit. Josh will be 6 years old on July 4th and she thought a fish would be the perfect gift for our on-the-go guy. It is! He even said a prayer for his fish tonight as he went to bed. He is very concerned that Johnny didn't eat his fishy supper this evening, so I'm sure first thing in the morning we will be taking care of dear Johnny's needs before anyone else.

Why a week early? Well, we are going to a family party this coming weekend and were afraid that Josh would be more upset leaving his newly acquired fish if he received it the day before we go away. Now, he'll have a whole week with him and hopefully, we won't have any problems with Josh being overly concerned about the welfare of his fish.

Thanks Brit. Joshua was truly surprised and so excited to take care of his new little friend!

Saturday, June 25, 2011

I'm A Big Kid Now!

Our Rebekah has achieved another milestone. She is very excited because for the past 7 nights she has kept her diaper dry through the night. So, tonight she gets to wear her panties to bed.

Potty training, in this house, has been one of the biggest hurdles for every one of the kids. As a matter of fact, if I had to choose only one thing about parenting that I detest more than anything, it would have to be potty training. Out of the three that have been or are going through the process of training...Rebekah was probably the easiest, but it was definitely a case of her deciding it was time to use the potty, not me. I have read, and tried almost every trick, and taken every ones advice, using the most outrageous ideas only to have them fail miserably. I do think it is a matter of the child themselves being ready, not only physically but mentally AND emotionally.

Take Joshua for instance: tonight is the very first time he has successfully pooped on the potty. He will be 6 years old in a week. He has, just within this last week, finally potty trained at home throughout the day for pee, but poop has been a struggle for a very long time. It would be very exciting to have 3 of the 6 out of diapers...and the twins are showing some interest too. Yippeee!

Friday, June 24, 2011

What's In A Name?

Hubby and I were chatting, and have come to the conclusion that neither one of us feel that the title of our blog really suites our family anymore. We most definitely have Celiac, and it does affect our lives every single day, but it's not as life altering as it once was. Eating gluten free is like breathing...we don't even think twice about it. Don't get me wrong, we have our moments, (especially when we leave the comfort of our home), when we wish we could just be free of our dietary constraints. For the most part though, we've learned how to cope in those moments and move on. We have a lot more resources at our finger tips than we did five years ago when we started on this journey. Besides, we've come to a place in our diet where even if we were told we could go back to eating gluten, we wouldn't. Simply because we've found that most of the gluten foods really aren't that great for us to begin with!

So, for those of you who know us well enough...we are looking for suggestions. :) We'd like to continue our journey, it's just taking a new direction.

This Is What 5 Minutes in the Bathroom Can Lead To...



Yes, it's a heck of way to get back into bloggin', but I think it shows you the reason why I simply haven't had the time. My 6 little monkeys keep me more than busy. And they are always finding new ways to surprise me.

Take a guess at which two little troublemakers decided to take a black sharpie to the computer desk, floor, and carpet...

Any suggestions on how to remove permanent black ink?



Thursday, June 23, 2011

Coming Soon...

...all new posts with pix and stories of wild adventures in the lives of the Ouellette family. Stay tuned...