Another Legoland visit

Believe or not this morning I was bored. I had no intentions of braving any kind of heat today but at 2 pm when I realized my son was not going to take his nap(he had gotten up late) I said to heck with it. I packed up the kids and off to Legoland we went. It's always fun and it doesn't seem as though my son would ever get bored. He wanted to play in the water sprinklers again so I took a chance. You'd think I'd learn by now.I'm sure that feels great on his bottom. Just look at his face!
It also appears that we are in need of some "Crack Spackle". Ha! Not sure if I spelled that right.

When he was all done with the water, it was off to slide. I didn't even bother to try to get a picture since he was running around like a madman. But today I decided to put LaLa on the ground to explore. She chose to show off her extreme flexibility.
And even tried to stand up on her own.

When we got home everyone was tired. It was 7:30 pm when I put them both to bed. I think I got maybe 30 minutes before the crying started. Yes he does not feel well. Maybe it's something in the water? I gave him his medicine in an effort not to have a repeat of his last episode. Alyssa is fussy also which is unheard of for her really. She's such a quiet one. I nursed her a few minutes ago and I'm waiting to see if that works. She feels a bit warm, so I'm only hoping I won't have 2 sick kids on my hands tonight.
Daddy got stuck in the furnace, AKA Campo and just called to say he has now left. He won't be home until morning. 2 hours to drive back and another 2 to service his equipment. Apparently there are mechanical problems that just can't wait until tomorrow. This sucks!!

More Potty tales

I am really trying to stick with this.

He is without clothing as we speak. No Pull-Ups this morning and no accidents. We've been in the bathroom, in and out for the past 1 1/2 hours. Each session I make him sit there for 20 minutes. I know that sounds harsh but I saw him run and hide and make that familiar I-need-to-go-#2 face. So I grabbed him quickly and placed him on the toilet. He no longer wishes to use his potty. He wants the big boy toilet. He has not gone #2 yet! How long can he hold this? Wouldn't his tummy start to ache? I am so determined to get him to do this today. He has #1 all figured out so we need to graduate to the next step but I am so tired and need a nap and I know as soon as I put him in his room for his nap he will go. Which is no huge deal except that he takes the Pull-up off and causes a mess. YUCK!!


Someone suggested that I give him some privacy. So we attempt this in daddy's bathroom, yes daddy's bathroom. Since the bathroom counter is empty and he has no lotions or anything. I figured he couldn't get into much trouble. Well I told him go sit on the toilet and he does. He asks me to close the door. I let him stay in there for little while and entered. There was water everywhere and it wasn't from the sink or the shower. All on his head and the floor. That wet nose and upper lip is not from a runny nose. The mats were soaked and so was the toilet seat! Turns out he had taken an almost empty bottle of his bath soap, and filled it with toilet water. He probably gave himself a bath which explains all the mess and the wet face. Well atleast he smells good. I don't think you can see the mess very well but he was quite happy with himself.


Someone....Anyone...I need help! He just brought the potty in the living room. He has found some candy/tic-tacs. I told him he can't have it unless he goes poop in the potty. He says okay and here he is. I'm waiting!

More DMV stories

I wish I had a picture for this one. I had to stop by my favorite place, DMV, again yesterday oh wait that would be the day before yesterday. It's amazing how many strange people and strange stories you hear while waiting. So I got my number and sat down. Meanwhile I was paying very close attention to the goings-on at the window for the seniors or those with disabilities.

Nearby, I saw an older gentleman, probably around 80 - 85 no kidding, with an oxygen tank. He was talking to a lady next to him. I later came to find out she was not with him, just assisting. On the speaker, the woman calls for I005, he immediately stands up and looks at his ticket. I hear the lady say NO that's not you. She said I005. He says YES. She says no, you are J0005. Okay this more than caught my attention and several other people's also. As a matter of fact the whole section where I sat focused on this man. I am guessing we were all thinking the same thing. That this man is actually going to be driving on the same streets and we are!

Well he sat down and finally his number was called. He jumped up again. The lady had to confirm it with him several times as I also learned he is hard of hearing. Wait it gets worse! He walks up to the counter/desk and sits down. His hands are shaking really bad too. I'm thinking it's probably Parkinson's Disease. I hear the lady ask him about the oxygen tank. It is hard not to be nosey because he was talking so loudly that people across the room could have heard. I try to read the wall posters and still heard him say something about asthma and his lungs. Okay...

So he had to re-take the eye exam. This is the part that got me. Here it goes:

Teller : Read the first line.

He reads it but throws in some numbers and kept changing his choices of letters. Now there are no numbers on this vision test

Teller : Read line 3

He reads it and again does the same thing.

Teller : Read line 5

There is silence. I looked around my little section and everyone is looking at this gentleman.

Teller : Read line 5

Silence again

Teller : Sir line 5, can you see anything?

Man : I see a lot of things but no line 5

WHAT!!!...everyone in my section had a really worried and surprised look on their faces as we all sat there and watched each other with raised eyebrows.

She then tells him to read line 1. Yes again. He reads it with many errors.

And then finally, she writes something down

Teller : Sir, you need to take this to your eye doctor.

This man should definitely not be driving.

Our Wild Animal Park trip

I had seen this upon entering the Zoo and the show that was displayed was beautiful.

It wasn't moving at the time and I was shocked to see it was alive
It danced and .....
shook like a real tree
My son's jaws dropped and his mouth remained open for most of the show
They really wowed the audience

I had also seen this in the background. It was motionless
Until.......................
She too was alive
I felt so stupid, it was no statue
Evening Grooming session

Quiet Kitty
Baby ducklings
The cool flamingos. They smelled really bad too.
Some were just sleeping
Posing for the shot
WOW!!!
Resting after a long day
It seems as though the animals get a bit frisky at night!
I think I got some good shots for a novice anyways

A hot but successful Morning

It's 93 degrees today and only 12:30. Needless to say we are staying inside, AGAIN! Well atleast until evening. Thank goodness for Central Air. We're taking our first trip to Nighttime Zoo. Never been there at night.

Our morning is going great so far. No Pull-ups since he got up a couple hours ago and no accidents. He's been to the potty 4 times. We're trying for #2 today. The only catch is I'll have to keep an eye on him all the time. I mean I can't let him out my sight not for one second. So wish us luck.


We've spent the morning counting his new snack and I've finally tricked him into eating raisins for the 1st time. Yep...they're Chocolate covered. He doesn't even like chocolate so this is new. Actually he'll eat chocolate chip cookies so that's not entirely correct.

Well daddy is opening the door as we speak, this is such a surprise so I'll leave it here.

How exciting!

I got 8 1/2 hours sleep lastnight. Yes, only a mommies gets excited over sleep! I can't remember the last time that happened. I got up naturally as they say. It's very quiet now. The kids are still asleep and the husband went surfing.

Well my son has a song he's been saying for the past couple of weeks which makes me feel kind of bad It goes something like this,

"no no no no noooooooo....no no noooooo...no no no no nooooooo..."

I wonder where he got that from? I remember trying to refrain from using that work too often when he started getting into everything/trouble. I used to say don't do that but I just said to hell with it.

Yesterday, I was nice enough to give big Chris some "me" time. So I packed up the kids and made 2 store runs. First to Henry's then to Walmart. For the first time I let him push the "shopper in training" cart. He looked so proud of himself. I didn't have much to get so all the produce went in his cart. My heels are still sore from the damage he made from not looking where he was going but it went well.

Off to Walmart, and that was great too until we left the store and we were about 3 feet from the vehicle. Then all hell broke loose.
I first heard a very quiet whining then suddenly he threw himself on the ground and started kicking and screaming which ofcourse scared his baby sister and she sounded off too. I spent a couple seconds trying to decided who to load in the car first, groceries, Alyssa or this crying monster. Afterall I didn't want some car to mow him down yet I decided to put Alyssa in first. Then I tended to him. I spoke calmly at first until I put him in the carseat and he went to a level 5 tantrum. He was kicking and screaming and clawing at me. I didn't and still don't understand what brought this on. Maybe he just didn't want to go home! I got kicked in the stomach several times and scratched on the arm. Thankfully I was out of his head's way because he was quickly turning it from side to side. You should have seen this. I was struggling to hold him in the seat. He's very strong. All I had to do was to get those straps buckled and he could kick and scream as he liked. It took me a long time to accomplish this but when I was through, he took his pint sized water bottle that was in his car seat's cup holder and threw it at me. Yes..it did hit me and I would take no more of this abuse.

I grind my teeth and gave him my mean look and said, "You are in so much trouble."

I ran and threw the groceries in the front, left the cart to the side and jumped in.

I was so mad. I raised my voice at him.

Me : What got into you?

The crying stops at once and there was complete Silence. Even Alyssa was quiet.

Me : Are you nuts? I am disappointed with your behaviour. You never, never throw things at mommy. You don't kick and you don't hit.

Silence

Me : Straight to bed when you get home. No snacks, no TV, straight to bed.

Silence

Me : I thought you were a big boy (he loves it when I tell him he's a big boy and I figured he'd understand this) but big boys don't behave that way. You know when you scream like that you scare Alyssa. I don't want to hear a peep from you.He turns and looks at his sister. She was looking at him too. Her face was red and very messy with all the tears and the runny nose, from crying.

This was the most quiet trip I had ever made. He didn't sing to the music, not a peep. I turned to look at him several times when I hit a stop light and it seemed as though he avoided all eye contact purposely.

We get home and I tell him to go knock on the door and let daddy let you in. He walks away quietly. Poor thing. I am such a mean mommy I thought but he must be disciplined. Since daddy's a push over.

We get home and stays away from me. He was struggling to take off his socks, which I think are a little snug on his large feet and he didn't want me to help him. Oh well, he will live.

I told daddy of my parking lot drama and how I raised my voice at him. His response? Well he needs discipline. I didn't feel so bad then because sometimes he tells me I'm mean. I think he is finally understanding why we have to be tough sometimes. He's been coming home early recently and spending more time with the kids. He's seeing first hand how our son can get sometimes and knows that it is not okay to just let him have his way. Thanks goodness for that.

Now I'm convinced he is getting better

Finally, last night I only had to make one trip to his room. It wasn't due to illness, but because he was wet. He told me so. So I changed him at he slept until his usual wake up time. Meanwhile I was so waiting on those screams that I could not sleep. No biggie, I'll sleep tonight or this morning.


I think it is safe to say that we are binky free! He has not asked for it for days. I wonder how he'll react if he sees a baby with one. Hopefully he won't have a binky relapse.



He was very obedient today, for the most part. Every few weeks I see improvement. He's talking a lot more too which is great! But sometimes he starts calling off a lot of words just because he knows them. It's particularly annoying at dinner or lunch time when he starts naming off many foods. Sometimes I make what he "requested" only to give it to him and hear "NO!" Oh well.

I took him to the park today since we've been locked up in here. He was so happy and I'm so very tired. Still need my cup of tea and have to make lunch for the man to go to work with then hopefully I can catch up on my much needed sleep.

Memory Lane

I was just looking through some old albums and found some photos of my son when he was younger. They do grow so fast. Where did the time go?February 2th, 2004 - Today you were born
February 24th, 2004March 31st, 2004 - Your very first real smileApril 23rd, 2004
July 12th, 2004
October 29th, 2004
December 15th, 2004
Christmas 2004January 19th, 2005
February 9th, 2005April 18th, 2005
May 5th, 2005 - Oh what a mess you madeNovember 3rd, 2005
Christmas 2005
January 26th, 2006

February 16th, 2006
March 28th, 2006
April 26th, 2006
Father's Day 2006

Will this ever end?

Every night I think he is getting better only to experience the same sleepless nights that I have been having since Sunday. I got 2 1/2 hours sleep today, a brief nap yesterday and maybe 30 minutes on Monday. Other than that I haven't been sleeping. Don't get me wrong I am a night owl but I usually go to bed around 3 or maybe 4 am but since Sunday, no sleep. He is still getting up every 1 1/2 to 2 hours and it is easier for me to just stay up. I can't sleep because I am just waiting for him to get up screaming. This really sucks.

In other news, one of my fishes died today. I had her since she was about 1 1/2 inches long. She was fully mature and had been laying eggs very often yet her belly never seemed to get smaller. She started losing her color a few days ago and had stopped eating. The male fish, featured above, which I had mentioned in a way earlier post was her abusive mate who beat her up as he pleased. Not sure what she died from, maybe she just had enough and could take no more. I tried to take a picture of her when she was removed from the tank but my husband quickly disposed of the thing in the trash and took it outside.

Sorry about the messy glass on the tank. It's hard to keep the stupid thing clean when my son loves to scare the fish by hitting and swatting the glass.

So far so good

Thanks again everyone. He was still doing great when I put him to bed. I know his throat is sore as he really gives me a face when he swallows. Also, he's been drooling for days because he won't swallow his saliva. I guess it's just too painful. I was told to take him to the doctor if the throat issue doesn't clear up soon to have them check him for strep. So i'll have to monitor that.

I wonder why my entries are so choppy now. My titles aren't showing on my end. Is anyone else seeing this or having the same problem. Maybe I messed up the template!

Thank You everyone.....

for your well wishes and keeping us in your thoughts. Well after another rough night of Christopher waking up crying every 1 1/2 - 2 hours, he is miraculously in good health today. No fever, atleast for now. He had a little sweating going too lastnight so maybe he sweat the bug out. He's been back to his normal self, making a mess and all that good stuff. I hope this continues as he always seems to regress at night. Strange. We'll see. I am off to try to take a nap before Alyssa gets up.

I'm such a sucker!

So you know those mailing labels that those causes send out to you without your approval? Well I finally gave in and made a donation to March Of Dimes. I think the word got out to all the rest of them because now I am being bombarded with address labels from St. Jude, some Veterans one and I can't recall the trail of them. I wish they knew I didn't work! I always feel so badly when I get these mailings. Oh the sad stories that they include. They really work some psychology on you. Now I have labels to last me a life time. What ever shall I do with them all. I have no bills to pay, none that I can think of anyway.

On another note, my son improved for a short while this morning. Another shocker, daddy was off of work today(this rarely happens). He took him to the park after I ran my errands, so that I could have some quiet time since it was Alyssa's nap time. Afterall I did not sleep last night. He said he played at the park but you could tell he wasn't feeling well. His fever was down to 100.9 this morning. He took his nap but once again got up screaming about 1 hr into it. When I took his temperature he was back up to 102. I have such a headache. I worried whole day and night. Now I'm up and can't sleep.

To top it off, I had to make a run to everyone's favorite place, the DMV. I got there early, for me anyway, at 9:30 am. On my way to the door, people were hanging around outside like it was the local bar only their facial expressions were those of anger. I walk in and a man makes an announcement to the few of us that were in line.

"I'm sorry", he said, "but our computers are down statewide." WHAT? STATEWIDE? Of all days that this could have happened it happened today. He suggested to us all that we go have some breakfast and coffee and come back in about 1 or 2 hours. I'm not kidding. Just like that. I still decided to give it a try and walked up to the clerk and asked her if I can atleast pay my fees. "NO" she said. "Nothing, we can't do a thing! We cannot even distribute numbers" She said this to me as though it were all my fault! "The computers are down" O..K..A..Y.. so I left. I called my husband because I was so upset. Who wants to go back to the DMV? But I had to. I came home, pulled up their site to where they show you the current wait times and refreshed the page every time I passed byt the computer, to see if anything had changed. Turns out it didn't take that long and they were back up and running in less than an hour. Nice way to spend the morning huh? Stupid DMV

My baby is sick!

How long does it take for one to catch a cold/flu and have a fever? Well you saw how happy my son looked in the last entry which was earlier today. He's had a runny nose for days. We've all been sick so maybe all this water triggered it! We got home about 5:45 pm and about 1 hour later he had a fever. Not too bad but he was obviously not feeling very well. He wanted to sleep on my lap and have me hold him. Poor baby. What a way to end a wonderful day.

Oh what a Meyerific Day

We spent our father's day at Legoland. We're regulars there, my son and I, we go there atleast once a week but Christopher was so excited you'd swear it was his first visit. I apologize for the quality of this video. Strange but it doesn't look like this at all when it plays on Quick Time on my end. Who knows!

Happy Father's Day My Love

Even though I never made it to the mall to buy your present on time, we love you honey and we're so happy to have you as a Husband and Father.

You didn't know it yet, but you would discover what it really is to love. Everytime you look at me, just think, you helped create this miracle. I'm a part of you and I love you.

You never believed everyone when they said you'd have a special bond with your daughter. You're now learning how true that really is. I'm your little girl and I love you daddy.

My Chef in Training

I just had to share this. Daddy is cooking as we speak and someone wanted to help. As evil and troublesome as he's been for the past couple days he's still the cutest boy I know!

3 Days without the binky and we're still breathing

I must admit I am very surprised that this is going so well. He is taking his nap as we speak and still there has been no mention of the pacifier. I don't want to speak too quickly or give myself bad luck but I really think this is it! Now if only I could break him from the bottle. Yes, he still has one. Am I a slacker mom? Well in my defense let me explain.

I need him to drink his milk daily. However he will not drink it in a cup like he does his juice and water. He doesn't ask for the bottle or anything but he needs to drink milk. So what am I to do? Every so often I try to see if he will accept the milk in a cup but it never fails. He takes his first sip and next thing you know the cup goes flying across the room. He has the sense though in his anger, to only throw it if it's in his sippy cup. He doesn't do this when I try give him in his regular opened top cup. Ain't that something?

Okay so I am on a new mission. Next week Monday, I am going start to try to get him off this bottle. The funny thing is, the nipple is no more. Well it's there, but the hole that was bitten in it allows more milk to flow through than if he were using a straw so I don't know what that is about. The top is completely gone.

So wish me luck.

So Strange

Last night into the wee hours of the morning, I was doing laundry. I was piling the towels into the dryer and couldn't help wondering. Isn't it funny that we wash and dry our towels only to get wet again? But what else can you do? Can't dry yourself with a wet towel.



Anyways, I am so tired today. I feel as though I've been screaming for 2 days straight and my husband said that's because I have. How sad. It's Christopher again. Although we haven't had anymore accidents recently, he's become quite the little devil. I think it's because he has been sick for a few days and this potty training business. It's really taking a toll on me. Yesterday morning he cried and whined for what seemed like the whole morning. He cried when he needed to use the potty, he cried when I gave him his milk, he cried and cried and cried! The boy who is always so kind and loving to his baby sister was hitting and pushing her. Doing all sorts of things to make her cry also. When she would cry, he'd stop. I guess he needed company with his nasty mood. Afterall we as adults sometimes do it!

So I had to take one of those emergency get-it-together breaks immediately and ran into the bathroom where I cried too. Yesterday was tough! The only other time I remembered feeling like this was when he was just born. One night he was very gassy and wouldn't stop crying. All I could do was hold him and I cried that night and told myself, if this is what it's going to be like I can't do it!

The Binky is DEAD and the clerk should be flogged!!!

At 2 1/4 yrs old my son still loved his pacifier. When he had turned 2, I vowed to get rid of the nasty thing. I was having great success in weaning him off it when daddy happend to be home for a few days and let him have the thing for the whole day. So all my efforts were for nothing. I read many articles about the pros and cons of the binky at his age but all in all what I gathered was that they will give it up on their own. But I was determined to help him do that sooner. The stupid thing was always getting lost and I was so tired getting on hands and knees looking everywhere for it.

So yesterday we headed to Walmart to get the kids some medicine. Everyone has been sick with the exception of my husband. With Christopher I believe he has a a combination of things going on. I suffer badly with allergies and sinuses. The only time I am free of this crap is when I am pregnant. Hmmm....maybe I need to work on that! Anywho, he has the itchy eyes going on along with a nasty cough and a runny nose. So I went to get them both some medicine. I have to tell you about my Walmart experience.

I walked back and forth the same 3 aisles several times looking for the Tylenol Cold or Flu whatever it's called. I only spotted pain relievers and other cold medicines for older kids, age 6 and up. There was another lost soul doing the same as I. I had hoped he wouldn't think I was following him. We walked and walked like 2 fools then I suddenly gave in and asked an associate for some assistance. This is what pissed me off.

Me : I am looking for the Tylenol Cold or Flu or something that will help with my son's runny nose and coughing. I only see the ones for older kids, have they moved?
(She walks with me to the same aisle I was searching in and looks on the shelf)

Her : Well I we don't have anything for cold, flu and cough.

Me : I gave her a very nasty look, took a deep breath and said politely, I know, that is not what I said. I said cold or flu or anything that will help with his cold. He has a cough too.

Ladies and Gentleman. A lot of time has passed and my kids are getting antsy. I might add she walked very slowly and took quite sometime looking through the shelf before telling me this.

She then picks up a piece of paper, which I had noticed were on all the shelves where the medicine should be. I swear she is moving in slow motion. Then she holds the paper out to me and said nothing.

So before grabbing the paper I asked her, do I need to take this to someone, the counter?
It was after 8 pm by the way.

Her : (After a looooong pause). No! You can no longer purchase these things over the counter and then something or the other, blah..blah..blah...I had tuned out and it took all in me not to call this woman a bad name out loud and tell her where she could go with her mumbo jumbo.

Why the hell didn't she tell me this when I first saw her and asked her for help? Geez....then I heard,

Her : You can only get this when the pharmacy is opened. They're doing that everywhere now.

I see. Well thank you for wasting my time lady, I thought to myself

Me : Oh, I see. Thank you.

I strayed again. Back to my original reason for this post. My son had grabbed his pacifier from the car. I had made an exception on my watch because he was sick but this is usually not allowed. There is no pacifier in the store.

We get back to the car and I unpack the other few items that I didn't even go for and put them in the car.

By the way, has anyone ever gone in Walmart and walked out with only the things they said they would get? Not me.

Everyone's ready and I hear him say, "fier"(that's what he calls the pacifier)

I said where is it? He points outside the car. He had dropped it somewhere and I was not about to go back in there.

I explained to him, that the "fier" is "all gone", "no more" because you lost it in the store. I am sorry I told him, it's all gone. he understands "all gone" very well. So he starts to throw a real nasty fit. He scares Alyssa and she is screaming. I simply turned up the volume and ignore everyone. Andre Rieu's Tuscany was playing. We all love him, even my daughter and Christopher sometimes sings!

We get home and I give him what is left of the Tylenol Cold that I had and put him to bed. I was so scared for him because I've heard of the horror stories of breaking a toddler off a binky. But there we lay on his bed and he asked for it only once and I told him again, the "fier" is all gone honey. No more. And that was it. I stayed there until he fell asleep. Actually I fell asleep also but there was no fuss and no more mention of the thing.

Last night he slept without his pacifier for the first time in I don't know how long. Tonight he didn't even ask for it neither did he for the whole day.

I wonder if this is the end of the "fier" or if he will suddenly start having withdrawals.

Seafood Surprise

My husband felt pretty bad about me having some extra tough days lately and instead of going to a restaurant which was the original plan he decided to be my chef. I'll tell you what he cooked first. It was great. He made me sit down and
brought me the food. The first plate consisted of some huge shrimp and mushrooms sauted in white sauce, over linguini. Second plate he brought - 2 legs, 2 claws of King Crab...and shortly after, the lobster tail. He even opened it for me. So I had a wonderful dinner. Ok so this is what led up to this.

I will start with Saturday night's troubles. I decided to give the kids their bath separately since I had to give Christopher a haircut. I didn't want them both in the hair that would wash off him so separate it is. I finished bathing her, dressed her and left her with daddy in the living room. I get Christopher and start on the hair. He actually enjoys this and all the while we count. It does not take long. Daddy was sitting on the sofa. I was hearing Alyssa. She was coming towards us. I started really rushing because I didn't want her crawling around in all that hair ont he floor. It really itches and she already had a bath. My lazy, ahem, my husband is still on the sofa. I dust off my hands, pick her up and put her back in the living room in front of daddy. I was almost finished when I heard her again. She is so fast and when I turned around not only had she gotten to a little of the hair but she had spit up in it and was cleaning the floor with it. It was a mess. My dear husband has not moved yet! Until he hears me use foul words. They were not directed to anyone in particular but they just slipped out. I am not supposed to do this around my echo, my son. I was angry because he knew what I was doing and yet he didn't think to help me. His job was to keep the baby in the living room away from the kitchen. Geez....I wonder about him sometimes.

So Alyssa needs to wiped off but he takes her, NOW he takes her, and I rush Christopher in the bathroom. He has already started itching. I wash off the hair and let him have a little bubbles in the tub. He loves bubbles. It's a very short bath though because I have to go clean up Alyssa. I know daddy would do a half-assed job. And he did. Plus it was time for her to go to bed.

So I clean her up again and change the clothes and she is off to bed. Lucky her. I finished up with Christopher and get him in bed also. We're talking as we usually do and I tell him mommy's tired so no stories tonight.(I didn't have a nap whole day) He says, 'tired' and I say yes, I'm sorry. He hugs me and gives me a kiss without me even asking. So I tell him I'll stay there with him for a little while and he says okay. Well I got up at 12:10am. and felt a little better. So I made a cup of Jasmin tea, you must try it, the aroma alone will make you relaxed and happy, and I went to bed.

Stories from the Potty

Why can't I post a picture for the past couple of days? It's so annoying! Anyway, I've learned something about this whole accidental floor pooping business that has been going on with Christopher. It turns out he isn't actually pooping on the floor. This came as a relief but what is really happening is that he poops in the Pull-Up and the poopy Pull-Up MUST come off immediately when he does it. So he takes it off and puts it on the floor. Sometimes it falls out of the Pull-Up, sometimes it doesn't. So my main task now is to actually get him to poop on the potty. This parenting is tough!

Ok I've resorted to uploading my photos to a host site and it works. Just giving me more work to do!

Coupon Bliss

I have to brag about something. I haven't always been but since I've grown wiser I have enjoyed the simple pleasure of saving on groceries via coupons. I mean...isn't it great. My husband never understood why I would return from hitting up several groceries all excited and smiling. You'd swear I'd won the lottery. My runs used to include Ralphs, Albertosns, sometimes Stater Bros then Vons. But Vons, no more, since they eliminated their double coupon policy....damn them. Let me share a secret which some of you may already practice.

Now you have to monitor the sales papers for the store. Clip those coupons from the Sunday papers and sit and wait like a preditor in the bushes. You may not hit the jackpot this week or the next but it's coming. You will dance the day you read through the store circular at Ralphs where their "double coupons everyday" policy is still in effect, and discover that the coupon you've been holding on to for weeks matches the sale items. I do. I am not exaggerating. There are times I walk in there, my cart is stacked with all sale items, mind you, the initial bill totals around $70+ and when it's all said and done, not only is the bill down to under $20.00 but you've also gotten several items "FREE"! What can be better than free I ask you?

Okay back to the story, today my husband had an assignment. I slipped for a bit and both kids were down to their last diaper. I couldn't work a miracle on this one, I have before. His instructions were to get the Pampers Cruisers, I normally don't use them, but we had a $3.00 off coupon plus the Mega Pack was on sale. She is in size 4. Get the Huggies Pull-ups size 3T-4T, we had a $2.00 coupon. Do the calculations to find out if it would be cheaper to get the Jumbo as opposed to the Mega on this one because sometimes the price is a bit screwy! Get me some cans of evaporated milk for my tea addiction, get some Strawberry waffles for the boy and something else I can't recall but those were the important things. Oh get Coffeemate creamer for the coffee. We have a $1 coupon for that.

He calls me from the store and tells me that the Huggies Pull-ups are not on sale but there is a "save instantly" coupon on the package. Can I use both? I tell him no that is not allowed, but play stupid when you get up to the cashier and just hand your coupons to her. After she scans the groceries, tell her she has forgotten to take of the "save instantly" coupon on the package and see how it goes. I know this because they never ever peel off those coupons and she will be too lazy to check what she has already scanned.

He comes back home and is really really excited. You're not going to believe this he says. I handed her all the coupons and she took them all off. Then I did what you said and she took that coupon off too. His beers were on sale so he was pretty happy about that. The evporated milk was also on sale. The Coffeemate brand creamer was not. He decided, on his own, to save the coupon and get the International Delight brand which was $3.00 each but he handed the Coffeemate coupon to the lady anyways and she took the $1.00 off. He was pretty bummed about the waffles because they weren't on sale but we'll live.

I'm so proud of the man. I trained him well and there are still more tricks of the trade that I will share with him. I rock!

He'll Kill Me when he gets older

for sharing his private moments. I'm hiding my face for him ahead of time! By the way, I just love this picture. (excuse the garbage in the background) Chris and I were fooling around and playing and I was so happy, laughing like a kid and hiding from the camera. I think I won because this is what he got of me and I believe I look darn good.....hahaha (Notice the foot-I told you he was pale!)

Anyway, when I put Christopher down for his nap today, he was fully clad and very tired. I checked on him about 5 minutes later. Pants were on the floor, Pull-up was next to the pants on the floor and he was covered with his blanket. Now I have a blanket on his bed but it's for no other reason than for show. He never ever uses a blanket. Yet today he was covered. I walked in and asked him if he was okay and removed the blanket, only to find him naked from the waist down ofcourse. Legs opened and his lovey was apparently provide some kind of pleasure because he was rubbing it's tail on his penis. He looks at me and smiles. I tell him, sweetie I need you to sleep with atleast this on okay. He says okay and I put on the Pull-Up and cover him. He stays that way for his nap because when I checked on him a few minutes later he was asleep with it still on.

Just to update : We've had no accidents for the past couple of days. I've discovered what's going on with the stripping. If he goes peepee in his pull-up, just once, it has to come off right away. Well the problem is my son drinks a lot of water. I mean a lot. So I guess I need to make more trips to the potty with him and maybe this will improve!

Someone's got daddy wrapped around their little finger

So ever since my husband and daughter "bonded" on Mother's Day (yes it took him extremely long) he's become much more involved with her. For some unknown reason, he had appeared to be afraid of our little girl. Here is how our conversations went:

Me : I want to go shopping
Chris : When are you going? You're going to leave when she's sleeping right?
Me : Uh, okay
Chris : How long will you be gone
Me : I don't know, it depends
Chris : You'll be back before she gets up right?
Me : I'll try
Chris : What if she starts crying?
Me : Go get her
Chris : What should I do?

Okay that's enough. This is our second child but for some reason, he's become clueless to the needs of our daughter. I've told him time and time again, first she is a baby, second she is a girl. It's the same with Christopher. Just do what you did! It doesn't matter that she is not a boy!

I make it to the store and I'm having "me-time" It never fails.
Ring!......It's my phone
I take a deep breath and I see who's calling

Me : Hello
Chris : (frantic)She's crying and I don't know what to do!

There goes the shopping.

Anyway, I went off on a tangent here. All I wanted to share with you is that daddy has a new favorite line. He plays with Alyssa very often and now she smiles at daddy all the time. It's so touching.

You know what he tells her all the time?

Alyssa : (smiling and babbling) Ahh....ba....ba...bbbbb
Daddy : Are you talking to me? Yes...anything you want forever.
Translation (your shopping days will be over soon mom, get it while you can before we're broke!)

Hey, he's never told our son this!

I almost cried yesterday when I heard him.

The stripper?

OK so Tuesday night, on one of my patrols to his room, I opened the door and saw him completely naked and humping his lovey. Hmmmm.....he used to hump his lovey when he much younger but never with his clothes off. The visit before this one, he was just naked from the waist down. Sitting on the bed pulling his penis. When he saw me he always just smiles. No pictures of this one. It's just too private a moment. Atleast he's not doing this in public!

I just want to cry......and I think I will

This entry is a bit out of order but tonight when I put Christopher to bed, I heard him playing for a little bit. I have to check on him often. So on the first check, he was just playing, I turned off the light and told him no more play it's bedtime. "Okay, Alright", he says. 30 minutes later, I peep in. He does not see me. He is naked, fully naked this time. And if that wasn't disturbing enough, he is humping his lovey, Spot the cow. Poor cow. I ask him what is he doing and he looks at me and smiles. Then he says, "Potty?" So we go to the potty. He goes peepee and we're off to bed again. I dress him and he says night night. I'll have to check on him soon just to make sure he didn't get up and had some ideas.

So we had no more accidents before nap time but we did have shortly after. Chris came home from work and was relaxing on the sofa. Little Chris was playing with his Buzz-lightyear ride-on. I think that is what they call it! I was on the computer ofcourse! I can see him most of the times and when I couldn't I was listening. He was riding the thing up and down the hallway and mostly playing right next to me. Then after maybe what seemed like a minute. I hear Chris say, "look at him" very calmly I might add. I turn around and saw my son bringing the potty in the dining room area which is right next to the computer. He has no pants on. From the front all looks clean. He places the potty right next to me and as he turns to sit down on the seat I see his dirty butt. (By the way, he went peepee in the potty). I could have cried. Not Again, I thought. How does he get undressed so quickly and do his nasty business. I run to his room but there is no mess. Just the poopy discarded pull-up on the floor. Nothing escaped on the carpet though, thankfully.
As I go to pick up the Pull-Up, I am shouting to let chris know to get the boy before he starts sitting anywhere. I hear him say, "he's on the couch." He hasn't moved yet mind you. I tell him he is dirty don't let him sit down anywhere. I am in the living room and Christopher is running wild after climbing on the recliner and jumping off it. When he sees me, it becomes a game of chase. He thinks I am playing as I am running after him to catch him. Geez....I get him and haul him to tub where I basically hosed him off. There were no bubbles or play in the tub today. Mommy was just too upset. All the while I am rinsing him he is saying YUCK! Smart boy huh.

Finally Chris gets up after all this and says, "what are we going to do about this?" If I said what I was thinking we would have had an argument and we don't ever argue. Not since we were dating maybe 8 yrs ago. So I held my tongue until I could speak calmly.

I said "what do you mean we, you mean me?"
Then I added, "you've never cleaned up this mess"
"I'll clean it up", he says.
And me being a smartass, "Then I'll leave it for you to clean when you get home then?"

I think I was being a bit unfair, because he is working during the day when all this mess happens. It's not his fault. I felt bad and cracked some corny joke to get things back on track. It worked. I'm a genius, didn't I tell you?

I'll have to get him something this week to show him how much I appreciate him. I still feel rotten for taking a stab at him like that. We never say mean/hurtful things to each other. And I guess he felt kind of bad that he is not here during the day because tonight he asked me if we wanted to go somewhere tomorrow as a family, you know. He wanted to take off work.(I'll have none of this) I told him no and we'll be okay. Poor guy. Aren't I the rotten wife?

What to do...What to do?

I am so losing patience with all this potty training business. Today I caught him in the act of undressing. I now have to check on him constantly when I put him down for a nap. So after story-time, (we did this for the 1st time today and to my surpise Christopher enjoyed it and did not have us banned from the library) on the 10 minute drive home, he said he was tired. Since story time was only 20 minutes I had planned on driving straight to Legoland but not so today.

We get home, he got his snack and it's off to bed. I closed the door and listened for strange noises. Nothing. I gave him 10 minutes and slowly opened the door. There he was in the middle of his room, hands on the side of the Pull-ups trying to unfastened it. He did not see me and I said, "Hey, what are you doing?" it was pretty funny because he was startled and he jumped and smiled. He had pooped in the Pull-up and I thought atleast I caught him this time. After a change of clothes I left him again. This time I gave him 20 minutes and returned. I was not as lucky this time and saw him on his bed, naked from the waist down, Pull-Up discarded on the floor(it was dry and clean) and 2 small pieces of poop on the carpet. I know this is disgusting. I cursed in my head as now I must becareful not to utter dirty words in front of him(He has become my echo). Cleaned up the mess and now I am sitting here and waiting for 20 minutes to check on him again. Wish me luck!