Since Parker's "so into" going to the potty, she has decided to help mommy train her sister. I think Annie would say "thanks, but no thanks."

Week before last, I was in a week-long training that resulted in my certification as an EEOC investigator. The training was held in Denver, but we had "classmates" from all over the country. Evidently, I was the only one in the room with a wonderful Southern accent.

One of the exercises we participated in was interviewing a witness as a class. The trainers had us take turns asking one question or giving one piece of information. When my turn came around, my duty was to "swear in" the witness. Since no language was provided, I came up with my own lingo. I instructed the witness to raise her right hand and repeat after me, "I do declare..." I guess the way I said it was extremely cute, because after those three words came out of my mouth, the whole class giggled. It didn't dawn on me why they were laughing at first, but I soon realized it was due to my awesome accent. I then said, "I know, I know," and I continued on. Life can be hard being such a cute Southerner. :)

and a pot full of pee! Warning: a potty training update follows.

My little Parkie-bear is progressing along with her training very nicely. She goes pee-pee on the potty about 4-5 times per day. (She'd probably do a lot more if Mommy were better at reminding her.) Whenever someone goes, we have a big celebration and the little girl gets a balloon. I thought it was a brilliant idea of Grandma's to do that, since I didn't like the idea of giving a sweet treat as a reward. Little Park has been going so much lately, though, we are having difficulty walking around in our living room because of all the balloons. For that fact, and for the paranoia I have of the choking hazards, I have decided to switch to Princess stickers. Hope she likes 'em. I plan to let her decorate her "throne" with them. :)

My good friend Amy (link to her blog in the side column) tagged me a while back to reveal six quirks about myself. So, here goes:

1. I am nearly ALWAYS barefoot if the temperature is over 70 degrees. It doesn't matter if I'm walking in the grass or on the sidewalk in front of my house. I get a little sad when I have to put on shoes when leaving the house.

2. If it's colder than 70 degrees, I almost ALWAYS wear athletic socks. Sometimes I'll wear slippers, but it's mostly athletic socks. I always wear shoes when I go outside, too.

3. I can say the alphabet backwards really, really fast.

4. Like Amy, I, too have to have perfect conditions before I can sleep. I build my "nest" every night, consisting of two pillows and one body pillow. This was a point of contention early in my marriage, but that's the resulting compromise. (I used to sleep with a six-pillow configuration, and my mom told me I've been building "nests" for many years.)

5. Don't tell anyone, but I'm only ticklish if someone is holding down one of my arms. I was more than a little miserable when Bill first figured this one out.

6. I have perfect "color memory." I can remember the exact color or shade when asked. This skill came in handy when I was little and my mom sewed a lot. She would have me look at a piece of fabric, and I would pick the exact shade of thread for her at the store. She never had to bring scraps.

I hereby tag my brother, one family member from family blog, my friend Roo, mama, Michelle, Susan, Uncle Ron, and any others who read this post. Ha, ha. :)