{silly}: our roommate

Today I feel like blogging about our roommate.  I don't know how many of you out there have roommates as married couples, but ours is super weird:

• She's unusually short, and hardly ever washes her hair.  
• She continually has the munchies, which leaves us wondering...
• She is constantly trying to climb all over my husband and kiss him ON THE MOUTH! My husband!  I have to keep an eye on her...
• We really struggle with her nudity habits.  We've told her over and over again that she's got to start wearing clothes...at least during the day but she often refuses.
• We're not completely sure what country she's native to but their language is so loud and doesn't seem to have a lot of a pattern to it.  Her English is ok, and I mean, she talks A LOT but wow.
• She always wants to tag along everywhere I go
• She still hasn't paid rent, is constantly eating our food-and will not go out and get a job no matter how many times I tell her it's time to...
• I get that she's an artist...but the murals on the walls have got to stop.  We are never going to get our deposit back...

Generally speaking roommates are difficult, but for some reason this particular one has a soft spot in my heart.  Even with her crazy hair and lack of help with the house keeping I think we'll let her stay ;)

{battles}: the potty.

I think I've hit a breaking point.  Paisley was once potty trained.  She really, really was.  She went potty during nap times, woke up dry most mornings (I've kept her in pull-ups just in case) and always told me if we were out at the store or such when she needed to go potty.  She even had no problem using public restrooms!  Lately every single time we leave the house, she pees her pants.  I ask her a million times before we leave if she needs to go, sit her on the potty before I dress her, and I even bribed her with a treat today if she would go before we left.  To no avail-she peed her pants, not once but twice.

Things are technically getting better actually...3 weeks ago she decided to stop going potty in her potty during naptimes and would just poop on the floor next to her potty.  So gross.  She would then use anything she could find to try and clean it up because it's "messy."  Thank heavens last week she decided to be potty trained during nap time again.  She also stopped waking up dry.  I swear she's not drinking more, she just doesn't seem to care or is peeing more in her sleep but it is a rare day that I walk in and she's dry.  She typically likes to take off her pull-up before I get a chance to get in with her-also because it's "messy!" Unfortunately once again she feels the need to try and clean up if it's messy and I feel like I'm doing a load of laundry a day between washing 4 pairs of pants and her sheets and blankets every single day to washing all of her clothes or blankets or stuffed animals that she uses to "clean up" with...argh!!

The at home stuff I can handle for the most part-it's super unpleasant and I would also like it to all be done, but the every single time I leave the house thing has got to stop.  I need help.  I'm honestly thinking about putting her back in diapers when we leave because it's gotten so bad.  If we spend the entire day at home she rarely has an accident.  Even if she's fully dressed, even if she's far away from the potty, even if she totally engrossed in what she's doing she will stop and go potty if we're at home.

As soon as we're at the park, or playing at someone's house is when she has an accident.  I ask her every 10 minutes if she needs to go, I take her even if she doesn't.  I take her when she says she needs to and she changes her mind.  Nothing works.  I need help!!  Any suggestions??

{funnies}: paisley

Lately Paisley has loved to make animal sounds and loves being asked "What does a cat say?  What does a cow say?  What does a dog say?" and she'll reply with the coordinating noise.  She recently figured out too that she can ask us as well and will follow me around saying "Say cow!  Say dinosaur!  Say piggy!"  Jon and I were sitting at dinner tonight and she was playing the sounds game and Jon said "What does a Mama say?"  She looked at Jon and said "Whyyy? (as in, that's all she hears Mama say all day!!).  It was REALLY funny.

{family pics}: for valentines

My dear friend Alecia was kind enough to take our family pictures.  It seems like we just had them done, but I look completely different as a brunette again and I have a bit of a belly now so I thought it would be fun to show it off ;)  Paisley was her busy self and refused to sit still for even a moment....she is SOO busy!!  We missed doing Christmas cards this year so I thought it would be fun to do cards for Valentines!

my dear, sweet monkey...

{big news}:

I've been debating whether or not to blog about this but I feel like it's easier to write it all down and send people here to read it than to tell the story over and over again...

I got a call yesterday from LDS social services explaining that my biological mother was trying to get a hold of me, and if I filled out some paperwork and turned it in, she would have my information and I would have hers.  I was quite overwhelmed getting off the phone with them-particularly because all I had to do was print off a couple of papers from my e-mail, sign them, and suddenly I would be given the information about this person that made me.  whoa.

So I did, and ran down to LDS services here to have them notarize and fax everything.  After waiting a couple of minutes, I was handed the paperwork-with a name, address and phone number.  holy cow.  Unfortunately I left my cell phone at home, and when I returned I had already missed a phone call.  So I put Paisley down for her nap, and called her back.

My first impression is that she has the most darling southern drawl.  I was born in Atlanta, Georgia and she still lives there-amongst most of my biological extended family.  I have siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins...and I was finally able to hear the stories of how I came to be, why I was put up for adoption, and how things are now.  super interesting.  I'm still just reviewing it all, and so grateful I started taking notes.  There is still so much to learn about and I have yet to see pictures!! (my biggest curiosity) So I'm sure I'll be updating here and such as this story unfolds...