Scattered bits, pieces, and random thoughts

Hello everyone. Sorry about the long break from blogging. We had a great trip to Arkansas to visit family. I was sick for my sister's baby shower, so I didn't get many pictures. It was great to see my family. I just wish I had felt like talking to them. My sister Leslie will have her C-section tomorrow and baby Lyric will begin to change our lives!
Other than that, here is a brief summary of what is going on in our lives:
Amanda:
Potty training is going great. We are having occasional accidents, but Amanda actually woke up dry this morning! Yeah! She has adjusted well to preschool. All night tonight she kept telling me she missed Megan. (Megan is her teacher.)
Clara:
Clara is as cute as ever. She just loves attention and really wants people to make eye contact with her and smile. She will do whatever it takes to get it too. She will be the clown in the family. She used the potty this morning too!
James:
Completed the FE exam this past weekend and will find out in 12 weeks if he passed. He says he will not be surprised if he passed.
Me:
Not much is new with me, so here are some of the things I have been thinking about...
Our small group at church is studying 1 John. Last night we talked about obedience. (1Jn 2:3-5 And by this we know that we have known Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, I have known Him, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His Word, truly in this one the love of God is perfected. By this we know that we are in Him. ) James has been talking to Amanda about obeying in her heart. Tonight she was not listening to me, and I asked her if she was going to obey me. When she heard the word obey, she smiled at me and said "Yes mommy, me obey!" She was so enthusiastic in her obedience. I hope that I will obey God with the same enthusiasm, so that the love of God can be perfected in me.

Potty Training Help Requested

I am tired of potty training. It seems we are getting nowhere. We have been potty training Amanda for almost a year now. We have mostly been pretty laid back about it, but I am tired of spending a fortune on diapers and, as Amanda's teacher and the director of the preschool reminded me, she can't move up with the 3 yr olds until she is potty trained. Moving up to the next class will also save additional money. She loves sitting on the potty and will ask to "potty train." Somewhere in the process I think we have lost the training part of it. It is more like alone time with mommy when she gets to sit on the potty while I talk, sing, read books... I think she knows when she needs to go and I think she does ask to go to the potty at that point, but I don't think she knows how to relax and let it out. She knows the rest of the process all of the way through always washing her hands. I have tried everything. We are using the cloth training pants at home so she can feel being wet. I have even broken my own rule that food should never be used as a reward or a punishment. She now knows she will get a "treat" (an M&M) when she actually uses the potty, and two treats if she has a bowel movement. I don't know what else to do. Does anyone have any good tips or resources you can recommend???

Thanks!