BOOT CAMP!!!

So today I woke up w/ a little stinker in my bed who was pinching my face. ;) It was raining and it looked gloomy outside and I knew I wasn't going anywhere today, soooo I decided to break out the big boy undies.. I didn't think he could have much left in him b/c the 1st diaper of the day seriously weighed about 3 lbs!!!

@ 8:35 I put big boy underwear on him. Every 15-20 minutes I took him to the potty. He ate his cereal, drank his milk and played in undies. He went to the potty a few times, mostly drizzled. He will do ANYTHING for 2 M&M's. One time he did actually say he had to TT and I didn't think anything would come out so I let him go by himself, then he told me "M&M mommy!" I told him, you only get M&M if you TT in the potty. He grabbed my hand and took to the FULL potty of TT!!! YAY!!

We ate lunch, drank juice and I let him play for while. I was getting things ready for nap and he said he wanted some juice. So I gave him his juice cup and as it was going in, it was also running down his LEG :( BUMMER!! So @ 1:19 he had a accident. One accident is not bad for the 1st half day. I hope he gets it soon. I know if they are not ready it will be a battle. We have prayed about it and I am seriously asking for patience during this time. EVERY mom goes through it, I am not the 1st and won't be the last and it's not a HUGE deal if he is the last one in his class that is not potty trained. Someone has to be. It gives the teachers something to talk about b/c I KNOW teachers talk about kids. Anyway. He is laying down for a nap now. I did put a diaper on him, but again there can't be much in him b/c the carpet caught most of it!

Here are some pics from today. I took them on my phone so the quality is not the best. But u get the picture!

So today I woke up w/ a little stinker in my bed who was pinching my face. ;) It was raining and it looked gloomy outside and I knew I wasn't going anywhere today, soooo I decided to break out the big boy undies.. I didn't think he could have much left in him b/c the diaper seriously weighed about 3 lbs!!!

@ 8:35 I put big boy underwear on him. Every 15-20 minutes I took him to the potty. He ate his cereal, drank his milk. He went to the potty a few times, mostly drizzled. He will do ANYTHING for 2 M&M's. One time he did actually say he had to TT and I didn't think anything would come out so I let him go by himself, then he told me "M&M mommy!" I told him, you only get M&M if you TT in the potty. He grabbed my hand and took to the FULL potty of TT!!! YAY!!

We ate lunch, drank juice and I let him play for while. I was getting things ready for nap and he said he wanted some juice. So I gave him his juice cup and as it was going in it was also running down his LEG :( BUMMER!! So @ 1:19 he had a accident. One accident is not bad for the 1st half day. I feel pretty good about it. I hope he gets it. He is laying down for a nap now. I did put a diaper on him, but again there can't be much in him b/c the carpet caught most of it!

Here are some pics from today. I took them on my phone so the quality is not the best. But u get the picture!

sugar high

last week my mom did a gingerbread house w/ GB. He really seemed to enjoy it, so I decided we would do one.So yesterday it had been sitting on the counter for a couple of days and finally I cracked open the box. It was fun! I must say it's harder than it looks. The roof kept wanting to slide off the sides. Gus Brown was more interested in eating the candy OF COURSE! Mom had told me that he would put one on the house then eat one but I don't think ONE piece made it on the house b4 he ate half of the bag of sprees. We had a good time, that's all that matters.

my cool dude!

we took GB down to morris avenue for a photo session w/ Andy Wilbanks. He has taken all (this year and last year) of our "family photo shoots." He is great! He's a friend and just so happens to be a great and AFFORDABLE photographer. Here are some pictures, i really wanted to post every single one of them but I stopped myself. They really are ALL good. Just so happens as we were about to "lose" GB to the session, a blue motorcycle pulled up to go to the Peanut Depot. We walked over there to get a closer look, of course on GB's request, and the sweet man let us get on the motorcycle and take pictures. He was very nice. Thank u man who rides a motorcycle a wanted peanuts just @ the right time. Also there were trains coming and going the whole time, hints the points and the "OH look mommy face"

btw- You will more than likely see these again .... Christmas cards!

ENJOY!

thankful

oh let the festivities begin!!!!! Tonight I had my 2nd thanksgiving FEAST of the season and it's only the 17th. :) Monday I went to a referring dentist office for thanksgiving lunch, even though I was not working I didn't want to miss it, so I met the girls for lunch @ Dr. Calvert's. His office is in Roebuck, so I just went down the road. YUMMY!!! Tonight we had bunko @ Sally's (hello SALLY, u need a BLOG, I know you are reading this) and it was FINE. I tell u FINE. We had turkey and dressing, mac n' cheese, cranberry sauce, corn casserole/fluff (I don't know exactly what it's called but it had butter and it was YUMMY) lima beans, sweet potato casserole, and HOMEMADE apple pie. SALLY SALLY SALLY.. Oh my it was sooo good. I have not been eating a HUGE portion lately, but tonight I had TWO HUGE helpings of EVERYTHING. Not to mention she had a "tablescape" that would put Sandra Lee to SHAME!! We ate on her FINE china (Sally I hope u were not up too late hand washing those.) I wore a dress out there b/c I KNEW I would eat too much, thankgoodness for elastic.

Everyone seems to be doing "I'm thankful for...." on their blogs and facebooks. I think it's great, u know it's the normal, family, friends, health, jobs, kids and this and that. But we all know u are thankful for those, like what else are you thankful for. For me I am thankful for all the "normal" but I am also thankful for mother's day out. Sure call me a bad mom, tell me I am sending my kid to let someone else teach, tell me I need to be with him not some lady u don't know. Honestly, I am a darn good mom FOR sending my son to mother's day out. Not only has he learned so much since he has been, he knows his ABC's (not all of them and they are not that clear, BUT he can sing his little heart.) He sings songs, plays well with others (MOST OF THE TIME) and is learning to share. I know it's expensive but that is something I am willing to sacrifice. And to be honest, I am a better mom for it. I am able to get so much done without him under me, I know some of u say, I don't need mother's day out I want my kid @ home with me and I can get stuff done with my kid @ home, well good for you.. I CAN'T. I want to go potty alone, I want to fold clothes without having to fold the same shirt 6 times. ;) Don't get me wrong I LOVE my kid being around me but I also LOVE that he loves his class and friends. It's kinda like absence makes the heart grow fonder. I truly believe that. I can't wait to get GB from school and he RUNS to see me every time I pick him up.. makes me smile thinking about it now. Sorry kinda got on a little soap box there :)

So long story short, I am thankful for food, elastic and mother's day out :)

HOT DOG HOT DOG!!!

Gus Brown LOVES Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. However, he doesn't call it Mickey Mouse, he calls it HOT DOG!!!! It's b/c throughout the whole show they sing the "hot dog song" kinda goes something like this. Hot Dog Hot Dog Hot Diggity Dog.... so that's what GB says when he wants to watch Mickey Mouse. It's really funny b/c #1 he YELLS it and #2 he can't say all that so it's like "hot dog hot dog da di da di dog!" Disney on Ice came to town this weekend. I had been seeing the commercials but I knew GB would not sit still nor did I want to have to take out a small loan to attend. I know the days are coming that he will ask to go to something but for now he is still to young. BUT I got on facebook and everyone was taking their kids and they said that they all loved it. Seriously, update status were..... going to see Disney on Ice, Just got back from Disney on Ice and my kids loved it, You should of seen my kid's face when they found out we were going to disney on ice. I felt left out??? PEER PRESSURE??? Wanting to feel cool??? Wonder if Disney on Ice paid those people to put that on there so they would get more people to buy tickets??? Whatever it was it worked =) I called friday night and got tickets. I called my mom, dad and sister WHILE on the phone w/ the ticketmaster guy, you know he had to love that. It was kinda a spur of the moment thing and I wanted to make sure if they wanted to go w/ us we could all sit together. We like to do fun stuff w/ everyone (even though Alicia's hubs, John Evan, passed on the disney on ice show.) So I got for us tickets for the saturday @ 11 show. The ticket guy told me they ONLY had these seats available, upper level on the front row. Which I was kinda bummed about @ 1st (b/c there were TONS of lower level seats empty when we got there) but it really worked out b/c GB was able to look down on everything and then he was able to stand at the bar. He didn't move the 1st hour. He loved seeing "hot dog" and when he went in for the other act to come out he would say "where's hot dog?" I think maybe he thought it was ONLY a Hot Dog show! I will say they did 100 years of Disney, so they showed several movies. GB really like the characters but he wasn't into the people dresses up as things, even though he would copy their movements. If the skater raised their arms Gb would copy them. It was really funny. I told Adam he's going to be a traveling ice skater. He didn't think that was funny :( One movie no one in the family saw, MULAN?!?!!??!? It was the LONGEST act of course, I have to say I kinda lost interest myself. Gus Brown really enjoyed himself I think. We all had fun watching him. He clapped, danced, sang and smiled the WHOLE time. It was worth every penny, well that mom and dad spend :) We had a great time.

Again thank goodness GB can't ask for anything b/c let me give some prices of this stuff

a snowcone in a souvenir cup was $12 (that was made probably 3 hours b4 we got there)

a spinny light thing $28 (that when u get in the car it will break)

The food was not crazy expensive, but still kinda pricey, but expected.

Here are some pictures of the day! It was a FUN day! I know he won't remember but I will remember the face he had the whole time.

GB ready to see HOT DOG!!!!

he's got his ticket and he is READY!

GB waving @ the people!
clapping and dancing w/ the Toy soldier from Toy Story
ninny, pop, lala and GB

he loved the NEMO scene!
PASSED OUT!!!!

it's about time

It's about time, GB is FINALLY in his toddler bed. Everyone asked me "Why is he still in his baby bed?", my response was he is a GREAT sleeper. He doesn't try to climb out of his bed so why do it until I HAVE to. Well last week I ate those words. 3 mornings in a row I found him riding the rail like a cowboy =) He would call me and say "mommy mommy. hurt me!" I spanked him and told him if he fell it would hurt him. So that was he way of telling me I'm on the rail! Adam and GB put together his big boy bed. I thought maybe if Gus Brown helped him and they talked it up, GB won't be so hesitate to go to bed. Seriously, I didn't want to rock the boat, we put him down and he is OUT for about 10-11 hours. I am SPOILED! So after the bed was put together it was nap time. I was at work so I didn't get to put him down the 1st time but no big deal, I have done 10 times since then. Adam laid GB down. He said he got up 1 time and came to the top of the stairs and said "HEY DADDY!" Adam told him to get back in bed and he did. attempt #1 - success. That night Adam had to go to work and I just knew GB would work me for another "tiss and dug..aka-kiss and hug" and this and that, u how we used to do when we went to bed. He didn't, straight to sleep! attempt #2- success. Tuesday after school he is always worn out but doesn't want to give it up, you know how that goes. I just knew he would pass out after a fun day @ school. NO WAY. This kid got up 4 times out of bed. U know I am firm believer in spanking! I told him not to get up again and if he did I would spank him. I went downstairs to put laundry in and unload the dishwasher and the next thing I know someone is handing me a cup to up!!!!! =) That little booger cracks me up! Anyway after a couple spankings on tuesday's naptime, bedtime is now a success. Morning time is a little different now though. I used to listen to him in the monitor talk, sing his ABC's and sing songs when he woke up but all that is done in MY BED now!! He gets up RUNS to my bed. Wouldn't change it for anything! OH. let me tell u about his sweet little prayer the other night. Every night Adam and I say prayers with GB (some nights both of us are not here, but if we both here we both want to pray with him) but the other night I asked him if he wanted to pray and he said "uh huh!" So we bowed our heads and put our hands together.. it was silent for a few seconds and I opened one eye and said GB u talk to Jesus tonight. Gus Brown smiled and said "mommy daddy mommy daddy ninny pop, AMEN!" it was the sweetest thing. I got a little tear. It was sweet, he really does have a sweet spirit even though sometime I have to get in check, but hey we all need a little discipline every now and then.

this is a picture I took from my cell phone so it's not that great. But u get the idea!

BEWARE

Beware it's my blog and I can complain if I want to, read at your own risk.

I miss my hubs! I don't mind the working nights that's his job he gets paid to do that. It's when he should be at home sleeping or being with us that he is doing other "obligations." I guess it's the protector (mother) in me that wants to call all these people and say PLEASE don't ask my hubs to do any more activities. He needs to sleep and when he is not sleeping he needs to be at home with his family. He only really has 24 hours in a work week that is doesn't see Evans Meats, again not complaining about the work, he gets paid for that. Too many people depend on Adam to pick up the broken pieces @ the last minute, b/c he is dependable, don't get me wrong I am VERY thankful he is a dependable person but at the same time, those people seem to get abused. I feel that he is abused, b/c he can't say NO. People tell him I'm in a bind and the rest is story!!! Adam is a better person than me, I guess that is why people ask him to do stuff and not me, b/c they know I would say no! Adam says people flake out and so people call him.... well I say to that, maybe you should start being flaky and people will quit asking you. I know I am complaining (it's my blog) BUT I see him worn out, I see him falling asleep in mid conversation, I say him just drained, I see him struggling to keep his eyes open past 7pm.... no one else sees that, no one else sees that he worked 15 hours in the last 24 hours to provide for his family. No one sees that today he got to sleep for 4 hours today and then had to wake up to go to the church only to have to wait for an hour b/c people were late, then to turn around and go to work until tomorrow @ noon. I don't know why but it just hit me, I am guess I am at a breaking point. I want to call people and tell them to leave my husband alone. We got a letter in the mail asking him to do something the other day and I tore it up. He doesn't have time for ANYTHING else. The church called and asked Adam why have we not heard from you about this and Adam asked me about it and I said yeah u got it but I tore it up. your plate is FULL!!!! Adam is a good man, a provider, a leader of the house, a GREAT father and obviously has a servants heart. I should be thankful. There are some hubs out there who are scum of the earth, that don't help @ home, that don't help with bath, that only cause problems instead of helping resolve them. I know all these things but it doesn't make it any easier. When I ask Adam how he does it, work, go here and go there, do this and do that, he says he doesn't know. I know it's God giving him strength b/c he is faithful to HIM. Gus Brown and I pray every night that Adam is working to protect him to and from work, give him strength that can only from God, to give him energy, to keep him alert and focused, to not make mistakes b/c he is tired. I know God is watching over Adam @ night. I know God will reward Adam for all his hard work. I can see it, I have seen it. It's just during the valley when it's the hardest. That just means we are about to be on top of the mountain. I know Adam's strength comes from the Lord, and I am sooo thankful for that.

"For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do no fear, I will help you." Isaiah 41:13