The Ballerina Mouse and Other Things

My philosophy for the day is "I'm tired of the whining and crying so we are just going to do it." So far I have found that we have had the same about of whining and crying, yet I get whatever needs to be done, done. Forget trying to rationalize. It is not the day for that. We are all on antibiotics right now, tired, and grumpy.

Things accomplished with the new philosophy.

1. Logan has his shirt on.
2. Kaley's eye drops are in.
3. Kaley is dressed.
4. Kaley's hair is up and out of her face.

Its the little things these days.

Of course, now that I type this they are playing together, being cute, and not fighting. Kaley has her lipstick and is putting it on and Logan is throwing a stuffed ballerina mouse around.

Potty Training for 3 years

Who would have thought that 3 years later I'd still be potty training???? Dylan was 2 years and 4 months when I thought, we need to do the real deal. I informed Greg that I needed a long weekend with 2 parents home to fully potty train Dylan. So on July 3, 2007 I put Dylan in big boy undies and let him tinkle on himself until it was complete. I still remember that God had blessed us with a rainy 4th of July. We were at a neighborhood party outside with light rain all day. Every time Dylan tinkled on himself, he would cry, but at least it wasn't a mess I had to clean up in front of the new neighbors. 3 days later he was potty trained. Yes, there were accidents, but all in all we were finished.

Now, who would of thought almost 3 years to the day I would be potty training again? And that doesn't even count the child I potty trained in between. Kaley has been telling me off and on she needs to potty, etc. Because of my Logan experience, I have decided the earlier you train the better.

I started Logan when he was about 3 because I was tired, had 3 kids, and thought that he would be ready when he was ready. Not so much. I actually ended up with a child who was in the "Terrific Threes" who was testing his independence and STUBBORN. What a great way to show your independence when you actually do have control over your body and could care less what runs down your legs, etc. It took MONTHS! I'll leave it at that.

****Oh my! This child just pooped in the potty while I sat on the couch typing this. *****

So anyway, we are on day 3 of hard core potty training with Kaley. The boys are in camp this week, Logan is in camp again next week, and then back to only Kaley the next so I decided that this was the time to potty train. Our parents potty trained us at like 18 months. Why can't we all do the same? You especially feel this way after child #1 and #2 training experiences. =)

I do have to preface this with the info that Kaley was already interested in the potty AND could go when we sat her on there almost immediately. That sentence was just in case I'm that grandmother that says things were so easy with my kid and I come back to this blog for proof. Maybe that will help Kaley or my DILs. I love you, MOM!

We went to buy undies on Tuesday. I thought we were going to come out with a pack of Dora panties, but Minnie won out. She was soooooo excited that I had to put them on in the Target parking lot after buying them. Next stop, Lowe's to pick up some tile. We went potty there and then picked up Logan at summer camp and Incorporated another potty stop. I thought I was super mom doing potty training on the go. She did great all day (with me telling her every 30 minutes to go). Of course, we still diaper at night.

Wednesday rolled around she decided to put my ego in place. In fact, we had 2 accidents back to back before 10:30am so I called it a day. She didn't even care about sitting in her car seat soaked. "Uh oh, Logan experience." Potty training really is about the parent.

This morning we've been back on track, but just before I started writing she was eating in her learning tower, the best investment EVER, and started crying like she had fallen down or something. I run over and there is a HUGE puddle. My first thought was "AWESOME! She doesn't like it!!!" Forget the fact that she is super upset, I have to clean it all up, and convince her that her Dora pants have to go in the wash because they are dirty now. It still rocks even with another accident 5 minutes later with a repeat of the Dora pant situation except you need to substitute Elmo in there . I told her to go sit on the potty to "finish it up" and what happens???? She sits reading books and poops in the potty!

I'm hoping by the end of 3 weeks will be done. Why am I so determined? This is my last time to do this. If I fail and she prolongs it for another year, so what? It might be a little waste of my time, but I'm not getting paid anyway. However, if I get her trained this month it would be no more diapers for me and I finished with the worst part of parenting to date.

I realized how much my parents actually loved me when I potty trained my child. You have to love that kid to deal with all the mess.

Dylan's First Day of Camp

Today was Dylan's first day of Twin Lakes YMCA camp. He was gone from 8am - 4pm and most of the activities are outdoor. He was at the pool for an hour, hiked, and went canoeing. Oh and there were 2 snacks. One of which was animal crackers. For lunch he had a ham and cheese sandwich, lemonade, a cookie, and mashed potatoes. Wow. He doesn't even like mashed potatoes at home, but he picks them out for lunch and reportedly eats them. I'll have to remember that. There was a t-ball friend there, but not in his group. And he played on the playground twice. Anyway, that's pretty much all I got out of him about what happened.

I didn't know what to expect from him after I picked him up. Meltdowns maybe? He totally surprised me and didn't even seem that tired. Let me take that back. When he came lugging his backpack, he looked exhausted. However, when I asked him about it, I was informed, "Mom, I wasn't tired, the backpack was just heavy."

When he wants to, Dylan has a eye for details and noticed that the rest of us were in our swimsuits. He wanted to go with us. So, we met Greg and went swimming after his EIGHT hour camp. I was so impressed that he deserved a post about it.

Today was strange for me. It was so easy and nice having two kids. Dylan is definitely a challenge right now because he likes to be constantly entertained and he can't ever be found silent around this house. In fact, Logan was the chatty one today because Dylan wasn't around. Less kids = less stress for sure, but I feel like I didn't even get to see Dylan much today or spend time with him. I also had some tears when he went to camp this morning. I can't imagine what its going to be a few in a months when he goes to Kindergarten.

Well, I'm off to bed feeling very proud of my D-rouni.

Toy Story Adventure

Last night the kids (all 3!!!) stayed with my parents. They took the kids to see Toy Story 3. Of course, Greg and I got to have a great date night, however, I lobbied to go see Toy Story 3 (at a different theater) so I would know what the kids were talking about. I love everything Disney so Greg lost the movie choice. Anyway, after seeing the super sad movie - I cried for over 30 minutes in the movie - we had a nice relaxing night and morning with out kids.

At every Disney store today from 11-2 they had a free Toy Story Adventure. The family went after lunch. The kids did a maze, searched for Jessie & Bullseye, played memory match with Toy Story characters, and then hunted for some of the other characters. They gave each kid a Toy Story bandanna, stickers, activity books, and coloring pages. I just LOVE Disney! They create such fun stuff. This was all free, of course.

Well, kind of. We went home with a Buzz and a Woody, the deal of the week. ha! I'm such a sucker! However, we did get a free reusable bag for spending over $30. Score!!!!

The Scrub Down

I'm waiting for the shower to finish "soaking." I just Tilex-ed it and it needs to sit for awhile. I hate cleaning the shower. Who in the world thought to make glass showers all the way around? Obviously, not someone with 3 kids and a life. Or maybe they just had a maid.

My goals lately have been to

1) Workout 3 times a week
2) Do something fun with the kids each day
3) Keep the laundry up to date (with out my Mom's help)
4) Try to keep the kitchen de-cluttered and the sink clean

As you see, the shower does not have a place on my priority list. In fact, it sits dead last. Greg and I had a little "tiff" about it this morning. Occasionally, over the last few weeks he has mentioned that it needs to be cleaned. I think that us being gone and the a/c set to a higher temp during our lake vacation really set it to nasty.

Anyway, Greg told me 5 times today that it needed to be cleaned and that was in the hour he was here getting ready for work. Needless to say that annoyed me, but, hey, the shower is getting a scrub down.

So that is the update here. The Tilex has set in. Now to scrub and then Comet the shower floor.

Sorry if this grossed you out, but I just wondered what was at the bottom of your list? Maybe I should make this #5 on mine.

The Youngest Mom in the Class?

Me by Dylan

HA HA HA! Yes, if you read below, note he knows my hair color AND eye color. Can you guess what his favorite color is???? When I first saw it in the line up, I thought, "THAT is Dylan's picture of me." Then on they back they had answers to questions by your kid and I was pretty sure he knew them so I doubted my first instinct. NEVER doubt your first instinct as a mother. ha!

So where did this come from?

We had a Mother's Tea in Dylan's class yesterday. Dylan served me a plate of food and a drink and we sat together. It was way cute! Ms. Klink really planned for this day. There was a guess the portrait of you by your child game, the sticky bubble gum song, a Mother's Day gift of a decorated plate, and some cute answers to questions by your kids. I'm really not describing it too well, but it was so special.

Best thing about the tea - Spending time with Dylan and him guessing the youngest age for his mom out of the whole class. Must be my super spirit. ha!

Anyway, here are Dylan's answers.

My Mother has brown eyes and dark brown hair. She is 25 years old.

My Mother is prettiest when she goes to scrapbooking.

When Mom has free time she likes to play with us.

Mom is really funny when she she is never funny.

I love when she cooks Ramen noodles(*insert laughing moms with funny stares here*), but I don't like chicken.

She likes me to help her clean up the house.

Spying on the Yard Next Door

Dylan and Logan are at Elijah's next door playing in the backyard. I opened my blinds to look in their yard as they sound like they are having too much fun. It was one of those watching your kids while they don't know it times which I love.

As I look out, Dylan is turning on the water hose which is connected to the sprinkler that Elijah is holding and pointing at Logan.

I open the door and ask, "Are ya'll supposed to have that thing out?"

Elijah, "No"
Logan just looks at me.
Dylan, "It was Elijah's idea."

Me - "It doesn't matter whose idea it was. Ms. Naiomi would be upset to know you were playing with it."


It made me crack up laughing! They are just too cute and when did I become such a mom????