Happy Halloween

We had a lovely Halloween. I don't like Halloween. I wish it would go away. But my kids love it, so I endure it. I am thrilled when it's over though. I didn't even take any pictures of their costumes. It was a busy, busy day, and I just didn't care that much. Our ward had a trunk or treat, and then it rained so we went to Dave's parent's house and enjoyed some good food and company.

Isaac was a Ninja (handmedown), Dawson was a cowboy (scrounged up from stuff we had), G. Jesse was Nemo (Henry's costume from last year), and Henry was Indiana Jones/Batman/Cowboy (I thought only girls meshed multiple characters together like FairyPrincessBalerina. Yep I was one of those once.) But Henry just couldn't decide, no matter how many times I told him that Batman didn't wear cowboy boots or hats. Dave dressed up as a BYU fan (scary costume!) and I didn't dress up (unless you count Desperate Housewife, jk.) I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

I had a big day in other areas, so I barely even focused on Halloween yesterday, which is okay. I didn't even eat one piece of candy.

Dawson's best line of the night came at the beginning of the trunk or treat when a couple asked him if he wanted some candy and he said, "No, I don't have any money." I love that kid. He might be the sweetest 4 year old I have ever met. He really is, I'm so grateful for his sweet nature. He got the hang of free candy pretty quickly though, and had a great time.

This picture at the end is not what you might think it is. It IS a garbage can. It DOES have candy wrappers in it, but it ALSO has uneaten candy of all varieties (including SNICKERS). Why? Mean mom? Fears of obese children?

NO! I'm not that mean. My 6 year old, Isaac decided to throw out his candy. Didn't feel like it was healthy to keep eating candy, says it gave him a headache. I have a 6 year old with incredible self control. I can't quite believe it. The icing on the cake? I fished them out of the garbage and ate them myself, and I didn't even have to steal them when he wasn't looking.



To my friends outside of Utah- Happy Halloween, hope it's a great day!
To those of us who are done with Halloween.......Phew, it's over! On to my favorite Holidays!!!!!!

Pins and Needles

I'm on pins and needles right now. We're working on something pretty big. For us anyway. It'll be big for sure. It could just be a lot of work. It could be awesome. It could be not that great. It's taking every ounce of courage we have. Which leaves me no courage to share it with you right now. Sorry. But that is where my mind is instead of my blog (explaining the lack of posts). No I'm not pregnant. (Thank heavens, or I wouldn't be able to do anything else) And hopefully, I will be up to sharing more in a week or two. Stay posted, and pray for us. Thanks!

ps I do miss my dad if you were wondering

Henry George

This little guy is having a birthday tomorrow. The world's sweetest baby has changed a lot in the last 3 years. He is still quite charming, and FULLLLLLLLLL of personality, but kind of sassy. The last two mornings I had to wake him up to go somewhere. He came out of him room and just chewed me out! "Don't you EVER wake me up again. You WAKE ME UP MOMMY! That's not nice. Don't do it again!" The next morning when I woke him up again he came out just indignant. "You wake me up AGAIN??????!!!!!! Mom! You wake me up AGAIN????!!!!"

He thinks he owns the place, and in some ways he does. I NEVER know what to expect from him. More on him tomorrow I guess.

Family Pictures

Our wonderful friend Gena came over and took some family pictures for us in the field behind us. We got some pretty awesome pictures. More to come.

USU vs BYU

Let's kick their trash Aggies.

3 years and Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday dear Aimee. It would be 36. Sometimes I spend a few minutes pretending like she's here and I go through in my mind giving her a gift and chatting with her for her birthday. I give her a hug and then hand her a present. The room is quiet with anticipation as she unwraps it carefully. A tiny gasp as she sees what it is and she's so excited. "I love it Erica!" she says and we both smile at each other. "Happy Birthday!" I say, "Thanks for being the best big sister ever." Then we tease each other with some inside jokes, and I tell her all the funny things about my boys.

• Today, right as I stepped out of the shower (always a little nerve wracking to shower and have no clue what your boys are up to), my boys ran in and asked if I knew the "two guys." "Are they at our house?" I ask. "Yes." they say. I comb through my brain trying to figure out who the two guys are. Missionaries? I RUSH to get dressed "You know the one guy with the glasses?" Do I? "Are they INSIDE our house?" "Yeah, I took the one guy to my room." "The guys are in your room?" I start getting panicky.
  
  The whole conversation was about LEGO guys. One with glasses. At our house. Inside our house. In Dawson's room. Not creepy anymore when I know it's LEGO guys.

Then Aimee and I laugh together about my crazy adventures with little boys. And she tells me she just wants one girl. And I tell her that someone better have some girls in this family, because it doesn't seem to be me!

Then we walk into the other room where there is a fantastic dinner there prepared by my dad. And the dinner table is overflowing with plates and folding chairs. And we eat until we're stuffed but somehow make room for cheesecake afterward.

Then I drive my kids home without a care in the world (This is a daydream of course). I'm not worried about my mom or siblings.

When I come to I realize that nothing like this will happen in this lifetime. But I realize that there are wonderful things in our future still, even without those three family members. And I just can't wait to have my mom move up here so I won't worry about her as much... in just three weeks. (Sorry to Mindy, whose brother is moving out of his house to let my mom move in)

Yesterday was the 3 year mark of Jessica's passing. Wow.

A couple recently told us that all 5 of their children are married. They had planned their whole life to say a certain thing to them all when they had finally all gathered together in the Temple. "No empty chairs." When they got there, he was so happy he couldn't even say it through his tears. His wife had to say it.

To be honest, I thought it was kind of a goofy thing to plan to say. But the more I thought about it, the more I loved it. If we gather the Biada family together now, we can all fit at the table. We may even need a folding chair or two. But it's not that overflowing, squished together, turn your shoulders to the side before you scoot in kind of full. Sometimes, it will feel like there are lots of empty chairs even when the table is full. "No empty chairs in the eternities." seems so much more crucial when you get a little taste of what it would be like through this experience on Earth. It's not good. It's just not. It is sad. It feels unfair sometimes. But at least it's only temporary. And because of that I pray with all my heart that there are no empty chairs in the eternities. I pray that each of my siblings, and all of my children, and all of my loved ones make the choice to be worthy and sealed in the temple. And then when we get to the other side we can gather together for birthdays and family parties at an overflowing table again and make up for lost time.

Potty training boys

Negative x Negative = Positive

Now apply that formula to two bed wetters getting married and multiplying and replenishing the Earth, and so far, it seems that 3/3 potty trained children are night trained right away. That HAS to be genetic. It can't be our awesome potty training skills because, well we don't have awesome potty training skills. But how do they have early night-training genes, when their parents were both bed wetters? It must be like math. I think I wet the bed until I was 5 or maybe even 6. Dave...... I can't write his age on here, he was too old to admit on here.

A little potty training recap for those who don't remember.

Isaac: My first time. I tried potty training him and suddenly understood how child abusers felt. I was so angry with him, I wanted to beat him. Watching your child hide behind something so they can poop in their underwear makes you pretty mad. If they know enough to hide, they know enough to go in the potty! (Just to let you know, I didn't beat him) I was sure it was linked to his gender and when I found out Henry was a boy (I was pregnant at the time) I cried and cried thinking that I would have to potty train 3 boys. I flew out to Maine for my grandmother's funeral, and Dave potty trained him in one day. He was a little over 3 years old at the time. He was instantly night trained, and after a week he slept in underwear.

Dawson: A few months shy of 3. I had just given birth to the fourth boy who sent me on a tailspin. I was so overwhelmed, and having 3 kids in diapers? Yikes. So I started putting him in underwear. A few hours a day. I think I let him have 2 accidents per day and then gave up and put on a diaper. Within a week or two he was trained. Again, he was night trained immediately.


Potty training Henry. Oh boy. If you've seen Henry with a naked bum..... Cancel that. If you HAVEN'T seen Henry with a naked bum in the last month I would be surprised. A lady from Holland once told me that was how they potty trained their kids in her country. So I tried it. Of course I couldn't take him places like that, so he just got a few hours most days with a naked bum. He had NO accidents like that, so I would start thinking we were there, but he treated underpants like diapers. Yeah, we lost a few pairs of underpants to the unfortunate numero dos. I just threw those away. Yesterday he spent the entire day in underwear and had no accidents, and when I put him to bed he refused a diaper. (For those who know Henry, you know how hard it is to argue with him. He is SO strong willed) So I figured it was worth a try. Since Isaac and Dawson did so well I thought there was a good chance. He woke up dry this morning. He came and laid in bed with me, and then after a few minutes, he got up and went potty. I'm so proud! He is a month away from being 3. But I don't dare declare that he is potty trained. He's Henry, he throws curve balls frequently.

Some friends told us a few years back, that boys shouldn't potty train until they are 3. That they have more accidents if they potty train earlier. And my boys have all potty trained around that age and never really had accidents after that.

Wish me luck! And dryness.