At the Movies...

Emma, Lily, Mima (grandma), and I went to see Wall.E this afternoon. Two thumbs up. Lily is not a "movie person" but that's ok, it's a kid's movie, what'd you expect? Lily stayed interested in the movie until the treats and drinks ran out. After that we went to the bathroom a couple times. I'm sure I missed some key parts of the movie, but I didn't seem to notice any continuity problems.

The other movie the we almost went to see was Kit Kittredge: An American Girl. I was a little dubious about that one. I'm sure that Lily would have wanted to leave from the get go. I guess Emma and I can watch that another time, it supposedly got good reviews. How much would I have to bribe Michael to go to that one?

What's The Point?

As soon as you have cleaned a room, it will get dirty. I swear the kid's bathroom was clean this morning. Emma took a shower tonight and I think that she created a mud bath with all the dirt she washed off. Argh!

My In-laws come in town tomorrow and we have been cleaning up a storm. I like to give the impression that my house is mostly clean. Not too clean, let's be realistic.

Cub Scout Camp

Jack has camp today and tomorrow. We had to go buy new shoes because he's been living in his Summer sandals and they weren't appropriate footwear for day camp. I don't know when Jack got so big, he's wearing a size three shoe. When did that happen?! I know Jack will have fun today, I wonder what time he will collapse into bed.

I am going to enjoy have Lily and Emma clean house with me. Should I call it slave labor or hire them to do the grunt work?

Too Much of A Good Thing

I put the last of the Otter Pops in the freezer yesterday. Summer can't be over, but I kinda feel like if you run out of Otter Pops, then it's time for school to start.

We're still a ways off from school starting, I *gasp* am going to have to buy another box. With all the neighbor kids and potty training, we've polished off an entire box. For the treat/entertainment value, they pay for themselves in spades.

Fashion 101

When choosing an outfit for the day, try to include as many colors as possible. Rely on pink as an accent, or just as the main focus, and make it as eye popping as you can. Ruffles make everything fancy. Hairstyle options are limitless with a tiara. Up, down, in your face, as long as the tiara is on straight.

Lily is starting to have opinions about her clothes. I say as long as it covers everything, I'm ok with Rainbow Brite.

One Giant Leap For Mankind

Lily has done wonders in the world of potty training. It's been a week now since Lily started wearing "big girl underwear". I was about to write a stellar review on the past week praising Lily on how brilliant she is at going on the toilet.

Well, as I was about to post, Lily announces; "Mom, I went poop in my underwear."

Two steps forward, one step back. We'll get there. Eventually.

I Love Craigslist

24 hours. That's all it took to sell our RAV4. Michael got a new truck a month ago and decided to not trade in the RAV. He figured that we could sell it for more than the dealership was offering for a trade in. I just didn't want to have the car sitting in the driveway.

The biggest obstacle was getting the title for the RAV. I thought that we had received it and with my crack filing skills had lost the title. As it turns out, we didn't have the title. One phone call and it's on it's way.

So, once we sorted the title issue out, Michael figures that it's safe to list the car on Craigslist. He had it posted yesterday afternoon and by night's end had several emails. This morning he got a call around 8 am and by 10am we'd sold the car. I still feel like something might go wrong, like it was too easy. Anyhow, we're down to two cars again.

Outlet Stores

I had a neighbor tell me about an outlet store that is about a half hour away. I knew there was an outlet mall, but I can't say that there are very many stores that make me want to drive very far to get to them. For some reason, a half hour seems like a long way to drive these days. I decided to hit several stores at once. Old Navy, Goodwill, and then the Gymboree outlet. ( No, the Old Navy was not an outlet, but how cool would that be!)

The kids are getting to the inevitable point in which their wardrobe of shorts and t-shirts were looking pretty ragged. I'm a fairly thrifty person and try to buy their clothes here and there, off the clearance racks, and in small quantities. Yesterday I bit the bullet and bought clothes for all of them. I think that if I were trying to shop for me it would have been torture. Both for them and for me. As it was, the kids got burnt out after store # 2. I was able to ply them with fast food and finish up the shopping with little fuss. It also helped that Gymboree had a "kid's area" that was playing cartoons. I almost had to drag my kids out of there.

So, the kids got some clothes. I didn't have to yell at them. We were all exhausted by the time we got home which meant that we had pizza for dinner.

Food for Summer

Foods that go with Summer; hot dogs, burgers, corn on the cob, cherries, ice cream, anything frozen.

Otter Pops are a little bit of Summer. Frozen, sticky, and flavors that may or may not match the color intended. We're well stocked for now, but I may actually need to buy another box before Summer ends. Lily has become slightly addicted in the potty training process. Whatever gets us to the end.

Training

We are in training mode at our house. Lily went a whole day in "big girl" panties. I didn't intend to start but apparently Lily knows how to "hold it" for a long time. She wanted to wear underwear in the morning and I figured that I would let her wear them for a little while until I got around to putting a diaper on. Well, three hours later I remembered that I hadn't put a diaper on and we were headed to Target. All through Target, I kept asking Lily, "Do you need to go potty?" , "Should we go to the bathroom?" Nope.Nope. Nope. To each question.

I know better then to believe a child when they say they don't have to go to the bathroom. Well, I figured that I would either be cleaning up a mess in her car seat or she could hold it until we got home. As soon as we walked in the garage door I had Lily go. SUCCESS! She managed to make it though a nap and not have an accident as well.

Does this bode well that I started this by forgetting to put a diaper on? As we are all aware, most potty training involves the parent remembering to put the child on the toilet. I'm going to have to wear a stop watch and have an alarm go off every couple hours to remind me. Oh well, the prize at the end of this is no more diapers. That's a pretty big motivator.

Let's hope Lily is motivated. Baby steps. Will she want to wear her big girl panties today?!

Family Portrait

Yesterday was Michael's company picnic. There were face painters and sketch artists, so we had our family portrait done. Maybe I should save it for our Christmas card?

Friday the 13th

Ok, so far nothing has happened. One of my neighbors went into labor yesterday and she did NOT want to have her baby on Friday the 13th. Here's hoping that the wee bairn made his debut before midnight.

When I was young (I'm thinking 8 or 9) I had a very memorable Friday the 13th. The entire day seemed "off". I was riding my bike and turned my head and ran into a parked car. One of my sisters (Lynn) got hit in the head with a hammer. I cannot fathom why she would be in a situation where that would happen, but it did. There was a really big thunderstorm and the wind blew the canoes off the carport. I'm sure other things happened, but with my swiss cheese memory, I've blocked those things out.

So, has anything ever happened to you that made Friday the 13th an unlucky or lucky day?

The Wind in The Willows

It's Thursday and I generally have "lazy" Thursdays. Well, not today. I needed a plan of action to wear my kids out. I wanted to go on a REALLY long bike ride, the kids didn't. We compromised.

Rough and Ready Park is about 2.5 miles away. We biked there and played for about an hour and a half. I don't think that we would have lasted that long if we hadn't moved to the less windy playground. When we first got to the park it was blustery, windy, and breezy all rolled into one. It was like being in the Santa Ana winds, but not as hot.

I went prepared with snacks and drinks. I wasn't prepared enough. How is it that kids can down a Capri Sun in about 2.5 seconds flat? Luckily it sufficed for the next hour, then I promised them a drink on the way home. Whoever designs parks needs to remember a bathroom and a water fountain.

That was a fun excursion, but now I have the rest of the day to whittle away. What to do, what to do?!

Short List

On my short list of things to do today;

1. Clean bathrooms
2. Change two flat bicycle tires

If I get those things done I'll be happy. Anything else is gravy.

I have sorta gotten used to the kids being home all day and it's getting better the more we figure out how to survive one day at a time. The kids are staying up later and sleeping in longer. Jack has always been my early riser and to have him sleep past eight a.m. is an very weird. There have been a few days that the kids sleep until 9 a.m.. That's fairly indulgent for our house. It does make for nice quiet morning for me. I'm actually able to "putter" around the house and start laundry, breakfast, and enjoy the silence that is sooo nice in the mornings. I don't mind waking up (at a reasonable hour), but don't make me have to participate in an actual conversation.

C is for Cookie

I found a recipe for a basic cookie dough a while ago and have been itching to make it. I would have made them sooner, but I kept forgetting to put vanilla pudding on my shopping list. I ended up freezing half the dough and taking lots to my neighbors. I'm thinking that this might be a good "Christmas" cookie.

Pudding Cookies

4 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

2 t. baking soda

1-1/2 c butter (3 sticks) softened

1-1/2 c. brown sugar, packed

1/2 c. white sugar

2 (3.4 oz.) pkgs. instant vanilla pudding

4 eggs, room temp

2 t. vanilla extract

4 c. of whatever add-ins you want to use like chocolate/butterscotch/peanut butter/white chocolate chips, candy bars, m&m's, nuts, andes mint chips, etc.

Yield @ 8 dozen

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together flour and baking soda in separate bowl and set aside; in a large bowl, cream butter, brown and white sugar. Beat in pudding mix until well blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. When smooth, slowly add in the flour mixture. This can take a little while, but make sure it's well incorporated into mix. Finally, add the "fillers". (you can divide the dough to have different types) Use a melon scoop to put small 1 inch cookies on wax paper. Bake 8-12 minutes.

Where the Wild Things Grow

I went into the basement today and saw what looks like a terrarium in the window well. I started laughing because that's sorta my gardening style. Leave things alone and see what survives. I'm surprised at how hearty these weeds are. Hopefully they are weeds and not a "controlled" substance.

Cheap Art

Art is not cheap, but I am. I needed to fill up a wall in my family room and I have been wanting to put up pictures of the kids. I printed the pictures from Wal-Mart and then found some clearanced palm frames at Target. Remove the fake palm, cut a matt, insert photo, instant art. *Imagine a painted wall. Hopefully the white frame and matts will not blend in so much.

Bad Habits

Admittedly, I have perpetuated a few bad habits in my children. The worst offender is Lily (being the "baby" in the family does have perks). She has been waking up in the middle of the night demanding apple juice in a sippy cup.

This morning at 4:04 AM she was in my face yelling for juice. Ugh. I did NOT need to be woken up like that. I tried to pacify her with water from a cup that I had on my nightstand. Nope, didn't work. Did I stand my ground at 4 am? Nope. I went and got the sippy cup. I caved and perpetuated the habit. My goal was to get back in bed and salvage any amount of sleep that I could get. It's good to have goals, right?

Single Parenting

Michael is off on another trip today. I need to put my "single parenting" hat back on and prepare myself for the rest of the week. These rare trips that Michael take remind me that I never want to be a single parent. I love my kids, but I need a partner in this roller coaster ride called Parenting. More like someone to tag team with. On those days (you know which ones) where I'm on the edge, it's nice to be able to say; "Tag, you're it."

Raindrops on Rooftops

Seriously. How can you resist a face like that?! I swear that Lily is getting by on looks lately, especially this morning. Last night I had to make a "quick" trip to the grocery store. When I came home she had ink up and down her arms. She had found a cow stamp and decided to tattoo herself. Guess I need to put the ink pads higher.

This morning, she noticed that the ink was still there (after several scrubbings and a shower). She heads to the bathroom to work on the ink some more. After a few minutes, I decided that I shouldn't trust her in the bathroom by herself. I catch her in the "I'm about to fill my diaper" moment. We've been making some progress in that department. If I catch her in time, she'll actually finish in the toilet. Yeah for her, yeah for me! But I digress...

She finishes her business and we have a "way to go" party. She says her bye-byes and flushes away. I pull up her pants, figuring that we'll get in the shower soon enough to not have to worry about another diaper for a while. Well, that's when Murphy's Law stepped in. When not wearing a diaper, a child will pee.

Lily was standing by the window in the office and I swear that I hear raindrops on a metal rooftop. Yup, she's standing over a vent in the floor and peeing. I swiveled around and picked her up so fast that the rain instantly stopped. She unsuccessfully tried sitting on the toilet again. I think she was too traumatized by the sprint to the bathroom.

Have I learned my lesson yet? Nope. We hop in the shower and get cleaned up. I tell Lily to go get a diaper and some clothes from her room. On the way back from her room, Lily informs me that she went pee on her carpet. Nice.

Would anyone like a two year old today? She's very cute, but will drive you crazy.