This and That

• Today, while I was perusing something five feet away from Jane at Wal-Mart, she got my phone and three-way called my mom in Houston and my sister-in-law in Atlanta on speaker phone. I didn't even realize what was going on for a good two minutes (neither did they). When I finally picked up the phone, I said, "Who is this?" and one of them responded, "It's Mom and Meredith." We all cracked up. I don't even know how to make a three-way call, yet my one year old does. She also set my phone alarm yesterday.
• Noah's potty training is still a work in progress. Oh my gosh, y'all, it is so hard. I got so frustrated and felt some parenting failure yesterday. Nathan and I are trying to force the issue, so I put Noah in underwear for the day, even though we had errands to run. It was a good thing I packed two changes of clothes for him, because we needed both. Ugh. First, he peed at the gym--just a little bit, and it didn't make a big mess. So we went and sat on the potty and changed his clothes. Then, we made a deal at the grocery store. If he got through the whole store and was still dry, he could have a pack of the Veggie Tales fruit snacks that he was begging for. However, we were literally walking to check out when I noticed his pants were wet. Argh! When I asked him why he didn't tell me he needed to go so we could use the store potty, he said, "Because I didn't want to." And then, THEN, not five minutes after his last accident, he peed so much that he left a puddle in the checkout line. When I saw it happening, I ran over to him and said, "Noah! Oh no, Noah! Stop! Hold it in!" Did he hold it in? No. He let it alllll out. Here's my theory: He is completely capable of going to the potty when he needs to go. But he is being completely willful. This has become a battle of the wills. Fun times, I'm telling you.
  
• I counted, and as of today, we have about 75 tomatoes growing on our seven plants. Of course, 40 of them are on our one cherry tomato plant. Even so, I'm still pleased. We may be having lots of caprese salads and making/freezing lots of tomato sauce this summer. I also have plans to plant two more cherry tomato plant seedlings. One is my green & orange striped heirloom variety. I hope it grows well!
• So Janey Beth is a climber. The pediatrician said that of the children she sees who are climbers, the great majority are boys. Noah was not a climber, though. Jane climbs up on the dining room table daily now. Today, she climbed up there while wearing a sleep sack. She scares me!
  
• Noah loves the movie "How to Train Your Dragon," and the other day, as we were getting out of the car in a parking lot that was near a freeway, he stopped walking and said, "Mommy, I hear a dragon. . . . Oh, he went away. . . . Oh, I hear him again! He's coming back!" Cute. His imagination is blooming, and it's really fun to watch.
  
• The other day, Jane ate a whole slice of Papa John's pizza. Oh my.
• Various things on the floor at my house: 1.) Little boy underwear--several pairs. They end up everywhere. 2.) Toys, toys, toys. Noah has been dumping out baskets of toys and then walking away. 3.) The contents of a lavender dryer bag. I guess it's not a bad thing to have pieces of lavender in your carpet, but I do need to get over there and vacuum it up. 4.) Random, mate-less socks. If a sock drawer is not closed completely (ahem, Nathan), one of our cats, Livvy, will often get one sock and carry it with her around the house.