Making Raspberry Lemonade

Blake's first day

2014-08-21T23:25:00.001-04:00

Blake had his first day if preschool today and he was super excited. Although I think most if the excitement came from him getting to wear his new (2nd) pair of construction shoes. He outgrew his old ones and miraculously we found another pair at an outlet store. He went right in like he owned the place. He returned to the same classroom and teacher so he knew the drill. They let the parents come in the classroom so he was used to saying goodbye at the door. He put his book bag in his old cubby so we had to find his new one and then he took his things out of his book bag, put them in the basket and hugged Joseph and I goodbye. None of the other parents had left yet so we helped him find his seat. He was a little confused that he needed to sit in a new seat but found his picture sat down and kissed us goodbye. I was so proud of him!!!!

Rough Day

2014-08-20T11:49:00.001-04:00

Today has been a bit of a rough day. The boys seem to have turned a deaf ear to anything I have to say and I have run out of patience. They are certainly pushing all the wrong buttons. I'm already completely stressed because I am hiring some new tutors and don't even have my handbook ready. I am doing a new study skills program and I get super stressed when I am doing a new program. I'm so concerned that I'll not be prepared or the student won't like it or that I will seem scattered. It always ends up going well, usually better than I even expected. I'm really good at knowing what to do while in the process of doing and and make up amazing plans and strategies as I go, but not feeling prepared is very stressful for me, as is the unknown. Then on top of it all, Jim is picking up an extra class and the school just keeps expecting more and more from its teachers with no compensation either financial or in the way of additional support. So he has been extremely stressed, not only with school but his family is having a lot of struggles as well, which really worries him, AND his chest has been hurting him so he thinks he's going to have a heart attack even though it's clearly stress. Then to top it all off, he was supposed to pick up some paperwork for Blake from the doctors and fill out something to take a little off my plate for the summer, and I find out yesterday, on my way to the meeting where I need these things that he didn't do them! It would be one thing if this was a first but it's not. I come to expect it and that's why I'm in charge of everything in our lives except laundry, the trash, and half the cleaning. Luckily he's been much much better at helping with/making dinners. I think what bothered me so much about it was he did an amazing job helping with the house and the kids this summer and even helped with a few business calls. And we had a major discussion about what i needed help with, and he agreed to help, like he was going to register at the new church we're going to, but I did it, just like a few other things I don't even remember. He always gets so upset with me because I'm always second guessing him or questioning him and not just leaving him alone to do what needs done. BUT THIS IS WHY!!!! I completely let him take over these two tasks, I've done EVERYTHiNG else to get the boys ready for school, filling out forms, paying fees, going to meetings. And he was in charge of these two things. So I didn't check in, didn't hassle him about them and come to find out, the day I have the meeting to turn them in, that they haven't been done. So not only do I have to now do them, but make an extra trip back to the doctors and back to the school to do what should have been done. But when I get upset about it, I'm in the wrong because it was a stressful day and he now has an extra class to plan for and this and that, now. Now, not when this was supposed to be done, not when there wasn't extra work to do, not when he was a building over from the doctors office. But since I found out NOW it is unacceptable that I'm upset because there's so much else to do and worry about. I already have a hard time getting over things. And I absolutely realize this is a fault in me, and something that is MY problem, but I can't just be expected to swallow my feelings of hurt, disappointment and stress because that's even worse for me. So here I vent. Not even mentioning that yesterday was Joseph's first day if kindergarten which is emotional anyway! So this morning was rough. The boys weren't being good listeners and I wasn't being good at reacting. Hopefully this afternoon and this evening will be better.

New School Year

2014-08-19T23:00:00.000-04:00

Today was Joseph's first day of Kindergarten and I wanted to make it extra special so I made him eggs and sausage for breakfast. We have Blake's preschool meet the teacher (and luckily he for the same one from last year!) and then Joseph rode the bus to school. He was so excited we stood outside 30 minutes before the bus was supposed to arrive. Jim came home from his workday to see him off. The bus was very late and we were worried that it wasn't coming, but it came. Then Blake and I drive to Horizon to see Joseph get off the bus, but as were waiting Blake insists he has to pee. The teachers even said on our curriculum night that no parents would be allowed in, however since Joseph wasn't even there yet, they were ok with it. When I went up to the principal she asked which teacher Blake had. I had to explain he was only 3. So we missed Joseph coming off the bus, but we got to see him stand in line with his class and go in. Then Blake and I had a little adventure and went to office max, old navy, brothers, and target. He got a blue kitty and I got the boys some sand dough. I also bought cookie mix so I could have cookies and milk for Joj when he got home. Then when Jim came home him and the boys did the ice bucket challenge.

Bar145 - Grandview

2014-01-21T21:33:00.002-05:00

Besides being rather hard to locate, Bar145 was an excellent Restaurant Week choice for book club this month. I ordered the lobster mac-and-cheese, and little, unseen chunks of lobster this was NOT! Instead the mac-and-cheese imbedded large succulent hunks of lobster meat. It had a modern, trendy atmosphere, and absorb the noise, so that we didn't have to yell at each other across the table. The drink menu was abundant and they had cider on tap! I would definitely go back, especially on a Wed $5 martini night (1/2 off the normal prices) or Thurs which is Kids Eat Free night.
http://www.bar145columbus.com/

Introducing Out and About

2014-01-21T20:25:00.001-05:00

It has been awhile since I have last posted, but I'm thinking of starting back up on my blog again. My current inspiration is recording all the cool places I visit with my friends and family. I also want to keep track of all the places I'm dying to visit.

Hard to Accept

2013-03-28T14:04:00.001-04:00

This week has been especially challenging. I think my expectations have created some of that. This week is my husband's spring break (he's a teacher) as well as my oldest son's (age 4), (from preschool) and my students (that I tutor). Therefore the only obligation we have had this week has been to take my youngest to his preschool (age 2), (his spring break is of course next week). My sister-in-law is due with her first baby on Easter. My husband wanted to visit his parents (who live two hours away) and I wanted to be close to home in case nephew was born. Which led to me getting a boy-free weekend, starting on Friday evening (after I tutored for the last time before my break) to Sunday evening. IT WAS WONDERFUL! I went to the mall, twice, did my taxes, in peace, and had a nice dinner with my brother, sister-in-law, and mom. I thought I would really miss the kids, but it was nice to be kid-free.
Insert GUILT.
I felt so bad that I didn't entirely miss the boys, that I thought surely I must be a terrible mother. I know how often I have judged (in my head) other parents who leave their kids at the drop of a hat to go to dinner, take a weekend away, or go on vacation. I thought that, for me, it would be so agonizing to be away from my kids for that long, that I would never be able to enjoy myself. However, I found myself thinking how nice it was to not have a diaper bag with me (everywhere I went I thought I was leaving something behind), how nice it was to eat a dinner out in public, without screaming, crying, fighting kids, how nice it was to go shopping and not have worry about wandering little ones, taking them to the potty, them tearing down a display, how nice it was to hear that I didn't have to deal with the youngest not sleeping through the night and then not having to take him to Urgent Care to get his ear checked just because he had yet another cold. It was just so...nice! Then that's where the guilt starts. I love my kids more than anything in the world, so how could I be enjoying this time away from them?

Despite my enjoyment of a kid-free weekend, I was excited to hear the garage door go up on Sunday and ran out to greet my boys. However, this bliss did not last. After about 10 minutes the boys started fighting, the youngest started clinging and I started yelling. I thought surely my non-kid calm would get me through the night.

Then starts the week. I had great plans of hubby/daddy enjoying his time coming along for the ride, as he got to experience our everyday of taking youngest to preschool and having two hours with oldest to hang out. The boys are sooo much better when they are alone. When it was just my oldest, we thought we were the greatest parents EVER and that this parent thing was not nearly as bad as everyone said it was. My oldest was a pretty calm, easy going little guy. We could take him to restaurants and stores with little to no problems. Insert sibling and all hell breaks loose. You are suddenly put in situations with an infant/toddler that you otherwise would not be in, were there just one of them. Waiting for older brother while he takes a gymnastics class or a preschool class at the Y in which you cannot leave (not state certified or some nonsense) and young toddler refuses to stay in the Child Watch. At first I thought youngest was just a handful, but I realized I was putting him in situations that oldest never was put in, so it was hard to compare. Besides, oldest went to a babysitter while I worked, whereas, youngest has only had me. Also, oldest never had a tormenter, toy taker, tattler, and instigator, that youngest also has had to deal with. But whatever the reason, I now have two, sometimes, out of control boys to deal with on a daily...hourly...minutely basis. So with hubby/daddy along for the ride, it would essentially be like one on one since there were two of us, right? If only. Monday we decided to keep youngest home from his preschool because he had a cold all weekend and decided to wake up at 5 am that morning. I have very little motivation to get moving on anything less than 8 hours of sleep, so the snotty nose and hoarse cough were enough for me to stay in bed, while hubby/daddy got up with the boys. It is now Thursday and I honestly do not remember how the rest of that day went.

Day Two of Spring Break. It started out great. We got youngest to school, went to the library with oldest and then to a coffee shop to look at books while we waited for youngest to be done. We came home got some lunch and then I had to trek to my hometown 45 minutes away to get my taxes done cheaper than I could in the big city. Well, the saying goes you get what you pay for...I was quoted about $600 to do my taxes here in the big city, and while I didn't get a direct quote for hometown place, it was almost guaranteed to be under $200. It is $130 to them all on my own through Turbo Tax so I thought this was surely a deal. Long story, short, he refused to help me and I wasted my time going there. My grandma does taxes as well, but since I started my business I had some questions for "a professional" but she could still help me with the actual taxes and filing, so I headed there instead. However, it ended up taking the rest of the afternoon into evening, so by the time I call home to let the boys know I'm on my way, they are in official meltdown mode. Between, trying to make dinner and taking care of the boys, hubby/daddy was spent and the boys didn't sound much better (from what I can hear in the background). I rush home to a late dinner and tantrums from all members of the family.

Day Three. The morning and afternoon go pretty smooth. We take youngest to preschool, and cute little guy (age 2) comes over for me to watch for a couple hours. Youngest is still in school and oldest and cute little guy hit it off great. Youngest gets home, and the fits start. Youngest is having a hard time understanding that cute little guy is going to be playing with his toys. After being "stuck" at home and inside, because of stupid Ohio winter in spring, I want to get out of the house. We don't really have anything planned for dinner so I suggest going out to eat. Hubby/Daddy thinks this is not a great idea and perhaps we should order and bring home. By 4 I am READY to be out of the house, and while hubby/daddy is trying to re-caulk our tub (and throwing his own fits) I'm determined we are going out to eat. So I leave with the boys and tell hubby/daddy to meet us there while I get the table and the boys settled. A new Olive Garden opened up two minutes from our house AND I had a gift card so what better option do we have. I left at 4:30 so that the new restaurant would be devoid of a rush and only old people would be there that would think the boys were oh- so-cute. Dadddy/Hubby arrives right after I order and the bread sticks and salad had just been served and the boys were being fantastic. I was like of course they are. But of course that does not last and as soon as the food is brought out youngest decides he wants to climb under the table. Unable to catch him he resurfaces with his backhoe that we didn't even realize he had in the first place. However, he is still not subdued so daddy takes him on a little walk. This only helps long enough for us to scarf down our meal and for daddy to leave with youngest (thank goodness we drove separate) and oldest YELLING, "I want Daddy" because he is now stuck with me. Of course before leaving youngest manages to get under the table again and comes back up with yet another toy we didn't realize he dropped (could we have avoided this whole scene?). Much to my disappointment I had to admit that hubby/daddy was right. So my big plans for going to Dave and Busters after dinner are now foiled and I'm left to return blinds to Wal-Mart (which is another story in itself).

4. Youngest (and Mommy) have terrible nights sleeping, so we decided to keep youngest home yet again because now his nose is a faucet and his cough is worse. Instead hubby/daddy takes him to the doctor to find out, yes indeed he has another ear infection. When youngest gets home he is a BEAR to deal with. He refuses to let me out of his sight and is crying and screaming when I am not carrying his 35 pound little (ok, big) self around. At one point in the day, oldest and youngest simultaneously melt down and I don't know how much more I can take. I mean honestly, I feel like 75% of my time with the boys is breaking up fights, saying no, and yelling. How do so many people do this and get through it? I mean I am a well-educated person, with a husband for help and support, only two children, and a background in child behavior, what the hell am I doing wrong? I feel like my nerves are frayed and I see no break in the future. Then I get really hard on myself because I do have all of the above and I feel like I'm drowning. How do other people do it? I see families out with well-behaved children, and while I always knew that would be me, because I knew what I was doing and I was so naively awesome, that now I'm scrambling to make sense of it all.

I think parenting has become something more than it ever has before, because as a society we have more time and money and effort to put into it. I could almost guarantee (without finding the facts right now) that at-home parenting is increasing tremendously because people can afford it (or can't afford not to) and are investing more of their efforts into parenting because they have that to invest. Most people in society are not going on survival mode, we are not sharing one-bedroom houses with our extended family and splitting peas for a meal, we have excess to some extent so we have time to focus on our children. However, I think this focus has become somewhat of an obsession. Everywhere you look there is parenting advice, the next newest parenting trend and no matter how much this may be "helpful" it is overwhelming and causing us to question our own parenting. I am starting a business and part of that is parenting classes, but I often feel how in the world can I stand there and educate parents on child development and behavior techniques when I feel like I am failing myself. But I guess that's just it. I'm not alone. I never intended my classes to be a typical lecture class, but rather a community support group, if you will. While I do have the "book knowledge" on how to raise a child and deal with behaviors, putting that into practice is a whole other issue. When I first started writing this, my youngest was upstairs taking a nap (screaming in his crib) and I was furious, frustrated, sad, and overwhelmed. However, I am finishing this at midnight in the peace and quiet of children slumbering and I feel better, more hopeful, and yes I am doing a good job as a parent, there are just going to be some bumps along the way. The good thing is that you forget them soon enough, so soon that by midnight you are planning a trip to visit the Easter bunny in the morning and have expectations for a pleasant trip out to the mall where you will take lovely pictures of your two angels smiling on the Easter bunnies lap (insert picture of kids screaming?).

Memories: Precious Pictures

2013-01-27T23:08:00.001-05:00

Memories: Precious Pictures: Christmastime.

Bottle of Joy

2012-08-20T20:39:00.000-04:00

I wish there was a way to bottle up all the sweet times I have with the boys and pull them out when they are driving me nuts. I just put baby Blake-a-do to bed, who is not quite a baby anymore. After laying him down once for him to protest after 5 minutes, I went back up to console the tired little guy. Rocking with him was so sweet and fun. We rubbed noses and smiled and laughed. He persistently tried to stick his finger in my mouth and found it funny when I would "bite" it. I know I need to cherish these times. My oldest, now 4 has already outgrown rocking before bed. And as I sit with my "baby" I know I will miss these days. Right now it seems they will always be here and my frustrations will always be little temper tantrums when the boys don't get their way. But I know that the temper tantrums will give way to arguments about staying up late and why pulling your brother along on a skateboard while you are biking is not only a terrible idea, it's very dangerous. I know I will still have sweet times with my boys, but they just won't be the same. So whenever I can I try to make mental notes of these times in my brain and bottle them up so I have them forever. I would especially like to pull these times out of my mind when the boys are being particularly rotten. It's so hard being a parent and dealing with adult stress and not throwing a temper tantrum yourself, to then have your 20 month old not only pulling all the cereals out of the cupboards but dumping them all over the floor too and then screaming when you pick him up to take him into the other room, while your 4 year old is in the other room screaming and crying because Thomas keeps falling off the track because he is trying to get 10 trains around the track at once. It is these times that I really need to pull out my bottles of joy so I can remind myself to stay calm, not yell, and remember there are sweet little things somewhere in there.

Happy Mother's Day

2012-05-13T11:49:00.003-04:00

This was an email sent at my husband's school by his principal. I couldn't think of a better way to put it!

"Dear Staff,

This weekend is Mother's Day. I'm convinced that this is one of those days that our viewpoint changes drastically depending on what stage of life we are in. When we are little, we make our mothers homemade cards or pick dandelion bouquets and give them to our mothers, not realizing that the day is much more special to them than to us.

When we are married with no children, but busy with life, we may call or even visit, send flowers or a card, but we certainly don't spend as much time with our mothers as we should on that day because it seems that we will have them forever. When we are young mothers we look forward to Mother's Day and just love it, because we now have learned what our mothers always knew, that we are among those most blessed in the world. We look at tiny babies or young children with such wonder and cannot believe how much we love them in our hearts. And when are children are grown and our own mothers are no longer alive, we just hope that our children never become too busy for us on Mother's Day or never live so far away that we can't be with them.

It's the circle of life.

I hope all of you in some way are able to cherish some small part of Mother's Day. If you are still lucky enough to have your own Mother in your life, I hope you are able to enjoy a phone call, or a brunch with her. If you are still lucky enough to have a small child or grandchild fall asleep on your chest with his/her small fingers wrapped in yours, then I hope you take that nap with them. And if you still have a child in your house, I leave you with the best advice ever given to me-- pull up a chair and watch your child sleep, no matter how old. If your children are grown, I hope you get a phone call, a Mother's Day card or even enjoy a brunch or dinner out with them.

If you are a husband and a father, then certainly I hope you make the day special for your wife, because this day is not just a commercial day to sell cards, it is truly a chance for a mother to hear from others how special it is to be a mother, though she already know it every time she stares into the eyes of her child, no matter how old the child is.

Have a terrific Mother's Day weekend!"

New Endeavors

2012-05-09T20:06:00.001-04:00

I feel like finally things are on the right track! I have been tutoring students online through http://www.elitetutorsonline.com/ and have had success in finding some local students. This summer looks quite busy with clients! Also, I am doing a training for camp counselors on behavior management at my local rec center and I am starting parenting classes in the fall in collaboration with a local pediatrician. Not only that, but I have found someone to collaborate with on my business Celebrations with Kristy which will soon be called Paper Salutations. I am SOO excited that things are finally going the way I always hoped they would. It's amazing that hard work does pay off, you just don't always know when or how, but it does. I have wanted to start my own business since I was 10 and it looks like that just might happen!!! Please check out my NEW website at www.tutoringcommunity.com!

Sleepless nights...for 15 months!

2012-03-08T11:48:00.001-05:00

Hurdle number 2, that we are not even close to jumping over...sleeping through the night. My husband and I have not had a full night's sleep until before Blake was born (he'll be 15 months on the 16th). There was a small time frame, while I was pregnant, that Joseph slept through the night. But as soon as little brother entered the world, we have had 5, and I mean 5 full nights of sleep and 2 of those were because the boys spent the night at my mom's house. Again, we have tried EVERYTHING! Letting him cry it out, going to him, sleeping with him, letting him sleep with us, shutting the door, giving him prizes for not waking us up, slowly creeping out of the room, moving further and further out of the room each night (Ferber method). Our current remedy, suggested to us from our doctor, has actually helped until the last couple of nights. This only involves about one waking in the night. The plan is to let Joseph come in and sleep on our floor (pile of blankets). The deal is he can come in as long as he does not wake us up. I thought there was no way this would work, but the first few nights were great (but of course these nights Blake got up in the middle of the night, so we were still without a full night sleep). However, recently, Joseph still manages to wake us up. And oddly enough, it's not when he comes in to the room. I have actually been awake when he first comes in and he quietly goes to his blanket pile and lays down. No it's sometime after that that he wakes up, "Mom, cover me." "Dad, there are monsters." "I can't find G (his little lovey)." Once we figure this out, I will be sure to post what we did!!!!

How not to potty train your child

2012-03-07T22:33:00.001-05:00

Joseph, FINALLY, started peeing on the potty. As part of the celebration, Daddy brought home balloons. Note the sweatpants. There is nothing worse than taking off peed on jeans, besides the fact that they have not only a button, but a zipper. Granted Joseph looked like a little ragamuffin that week, but we had easy down pants!

Potty training has BY FAR, been THE most difficult parenting hurdle thus far. And we are still not over that hurdle. Being trained in child behavior I thought that this would be a no-brainer, we would have him trained in one day at exactly 2 1/2. And my mommy confession, pre-kids I would look at kids over 3 and wonder what the parents were waiting for to train their little ones. Now I know. We tried EVERYTHING! He was sat on the potty every 15 minutes all day, would not pee on the potty, he was given M&M's every time he sat on the toilet, he got a matchbox car if he peed, he wore pull-ups, he only wore Big Boys, he refused to go naked, he was even given the ultimate of ultimate potty prizes, the Misty Island Shake-Shake Bridge with a motorized Thomas, just for peeing on the potty!!!! (He was so resistant to sitting on the potty, that I thought maybe he was scared so I figure if he could just do it once, just once, then he would have it done.) So he pees once that day and not at all the next. Conclusion, I was wrong, he is just a stubborn little thing. Of course, most things we referred to (pediatrician included) said just let it happen on its own. I would not be pushing it at all, heck diapers are super easy, you don't have to worry about finding the disgusting public bathroom, you don't have to pull over after 5 minutes of driving because, even though we tried to pee before we left, we just didn't have to go. No, I would willingly allow him to wear diapers until he is good and ready, were it not for the fact that I paid for Joseph to start a little preschool program at the zoo and the number one requirement was: Your child must be potty trained. NO PULL-UPS! It starts in 3 weeks. I think, we have the potty part down, finally, as Joseph has put it, "I got peeing down, Mom. I just poop in my pull-up." Today I told him no pull-ups, if he has to poop, he has to go on the toilet. And what happens today, the little stinker doesn't poop. So we're still working on that one!

What we have learned first hand, what not to do:

Don't worry about how old they are. (Joseph is now 3 1/2, birthday in July) That was my biggest obstacle. I was determined to not have a 3 year old in diapers so I pushed it. And Joseph pushed back. So who cares if Mom at the park trained her child in one day the day they turned two. Good for her. That is not all children and may not be yours, so don't lose sleep over it. They'll let you know, they'll tell you they have gone, when they go in their diaper, they will show interest and talk about it. Don't be surprised if they start to show interest and then lose it. We started with Joseph a little before 2 1/2 (right before Blake was born) and it seemed to be going ok. Then once Blake was born we both had to put it on hold. Neither of us were ready to tackle it. But then the problem became, I want to do what Blake is doing. If Blake had his socks off, Joseph took his socks off, if Blake was putting a toy in his mouth, Joseph was putting a toy in his mouth, if Blake was wearing a diaper...you get the point.
As much as you don't want to hear it you do have to wait until they are ready...and YOU are ready. It has been really difficult for me not to get upset when I know he knows how to use the potty and just refuses to do it. I have to really look at how I am acting about it. If I don't make a big deal about it, it is a much better day. So not only do you need to wait until he is ready, you have to be ready, and it might not be when you think. If you find yourself getting really frustrated, take a break, come back to it later that day, the next day, or maybe the weekend when you may have more help because Dad/Mom/Grandma can help.
Don't tell him every 15 minutes to use it. If you wait until they are ready then they will go when they need to. On the days that I pestered him about going, he didn't make it once to the toilet. When I didn't even mention it, he would tell me he had to go and went every time. Now this is more of a beginning thing. I do have to remind him now because he gets so into playing and he knows how to hold it now, that he will misjudge. I always make him go before we leave the house. I made the mistake of not asking him after we had been out for an hour and he pees on the floor at the Chick-fil-a play area. Was I mortified!
I was told to have him clean up the mess if he does go. The thought is, he is so wrapped up in what he is doing that he just doesn't get to the bathroom, so if he has to clean it up when he goes, he is still having to stop what he is doing. Only do this if you are willing and have time for whining and "Mommy help me." When he would have to undress himself I would just have to walk out of the room, otherwise he would put on a whole production about how he can't do it. If I leave and say I have to get the wipes (and take my time) I come back and he is undressed. The same with putting clothes back on, if I leave to throw the wipes out and the bag of wet clothes in the basement, he is dressed, sometimes with backwards pants and underwear but dressed. And I don't fix it unless it is bothering him, then I will help him, because he did it the first time. However, I have made the mistake of standing over him and he just whines and complains and I just get frustrated and yell. This is not what you want to do.
It's ok to try rewards. It really helps in the beginning if you have a less than motivated tyke. He just weens himself off the rewards. Now only once in awhile will he ask for a sticker or a chocolate. At Christmas time, invest in some advent calendars with chocolate in them. I found some really cheap after Christmas and they work great! He's not getting too much chocolate and it is hanging outside the bathroom door (which is in our family room) so it is a constant reminder for him. Sometimes he'll see it and just want some chocolate and so will go to the bathroom. Granted this isn't what every mom will want to hear, but it works for us.
When he starts to do it consistently make a HUGE deal about it. He got balloons and got to go to Chuck E. Cheese. Not all at once, but the first 3 days he peed with few accidents he got balloons. Then after about a week and a half he got Chuck E. Cheese.
Our biggest dilemma was the public toilet. He had only used his little portable potty, so I figured it would take forever for him to go when we were out. For awhile he would wear pull-ups still when we were out, but one day we were at Target and I was stocking up on potty prizes and he really wanted one of the things I was going to get so he wanted to pee, right then and there. So we went to the big potty for the first time! He tried and couldn't go, but I was so impressed and ever since then he never thought it was a big deal to go when we were out. (He did get a consolation prize, but not the one he wanted because he didn't pee.)
It's ok to incorporate a general behavior sticker chart with the potty chart. He earns stickers for sharing, helping his brother, good listening, and pottying. This helps to make pottying seem like something you just do rather than completely focusing on it. But he still gets rewarded for doing it since it is a new skill.
If you can find a method to potty train in a day, by all means try it, but don't be discouraged if it doesn't work. It's a learning process for both of you. All both of you know is diapers. We'll see how kid #2 goes!

1st Pirate Birthday Party

2012-02-19T23:19:00.000-05:00

For my little guys first birthday I decided to go with a pirate theme. My inspiration for this was the fact that a long time ago before little guy was even born I had bought some super cute pirate invitations (as soon as I find one I will post a pic) and had been dying to use them. Therefore, Pirate 1st Birthday.

I found pirate hats at Party City for $3 each.

I had bought two different table cloths, one the red, white and black and the other the pirate map. I didn't realize when I bought them that there on the map one there was only print on the sides and the middle was white. And the black, red and white only had the black on the sides and the middle was red and white. So I cut them up and taped the red and white one to the middle of the pirate map one. It ended up making it even cuter!

I used the extra table cloth to bring the room together by wrapping the trashcan and putting it on the cabinet doors.

I used Hersey's Toffee and Almond chocolates since they looked like gold treasure chests and found really cheap gold coins (it was right after Christmas and I found the gold coins on clearance at Michael's of all places).

I made stickers and magnets as party favors. I actually sell these on my website celebrationswithkristy.blogspot.com

I ended up having two birthday celebrations for little guy that day. For the first party I made yellow cupcakes with chocolate icing with gold sprinkles and pirate flag toppers.

I think balloons are an instant and cheap way to make it an instant party! At Party City I got 6 regular balloons and 1 Mylar balloon for $8!

I love adding a personalized banner for any party! They are made out of a sturdy vinyl material and I re-purpose them as a craft mat for the kids. I sell these for $18.

I couldn't resist the pirate balloon weight for $1.99

And there's the cutie birthday boy himself!! Ready to make a mess with his first cupcake!

For party 2 of the day I bought the cake. This cake was from Giant Eagle. I was very impressed with it!

Spinach turkey club wrap using a Foreman Grill

2012-02-02T19:30:00.002-05:00

Super easy lunch (and healthy)!
The ingredients are:
*Spinach/veggie wrap
*Turkey
*Shredded cheddar cheese
*Spinach
*Bacon bits
*Ranch dressing or Mayo
Step 1: Put the ingredients in the wrap and turn on your Foreman Grill

Step 2: Fold the wrap and put it on the Foreman Grill for about 3-5 minutes (it's done when the lines are brown)

Step 3: Enjoy!

Gingerbread cookies

2012-02-02T12:03:00.000-05:00

Joseph (3) helped me to decorate gingerbread men on Christmas day. New tradition?

Hot tamale!

2012-02-02T11:57:00.005-05:00

My pumpkins

2012-02-02T11:47:00.000-05:00

I love carving pumpkins.

Cards I've Made

2012-02-01T11:53:00.001-05:00

These are super easy to make. They sell card stock kits with matching envelopes. I just glued ribbon on and stamped or wrote on the front and then hid the ribbon on the back by gluing on an index card.

This picture ALWAYS makes me laugh!

2012-02-01T11:10:00.000-05:00

At first glance this just looks like a cute picture of a little boy going down the slide. However, if you look closer you will see the "Uh-oh" expression on Daddy's face. Joseph was sliding with Daddy and Daddy didn't quite have a hold of him. Now this slide was one of those rare slides that are super fast and you don't have to scoot your way to the bottom. Joseph, being timid as he is, wanted to go down the slide with somebody. Daddy was not the best choice I guess. Joseph is weeing down the slide and little does he know he's about to have an unpleasant surprise. As Joseph gets to the bottom of this slide he doesn't stop he keeps going, airborn, and lands a few feet away, on his back. Of course this scares him and he cries and I am laughing so hard I'm about to pee my pants.

Mom's 50th Birthday Party

2012-02-01T11:01:00.000-05:00

I found really cheap candle holders so I used them as vases. I arranged the flowers myself. I strung lights around the tents and between so that at night we had lights. It worked out great and gave the party a soft glow.

I made this banner. I'm starting a new business where I sell invitations, banners, and all sorts of fun print products. Check out celebrationswithkristy.blogspot.com for more information.

We used a project that we borrowed to play Just Dance on the Wii. The garage was our "screen" We also hooked up some microphones and made a dance/karaoke party since Just Dance puts the words on the bottom of the screen!

Cars theme Birthday

2012-01-30T21:55:00.001-05:00

This was for Joseph's 3rd Birthday. He loves Cars so that was the theme. I made the cake and used chocolate and green dyed icing. I bought the little cars from Target which then become a present. I used some Cars toys he already had to to decorate the table. I always buy balloons because they are cheap and kids LOVE them!

Cute kid/baby pictures

2012-01-30T15:45:00.005-05:00

New Year's Eve 2011

Cute! 2011

First Birthday cake 2012

Mr. Ham 2011

Cheese 2011

Joseph August 2008

Joseph July 2008

Joseph December 2008

Joseph November 2008

Joseph's Baptism, as soon as the deacon walked over, Joseph had a huge smile for him Oct 2008

Joseph's First Halloween 2008

Two cool dudes July 2011

Joseph's 3rd Birthday July 2011

Ice cream store July 2011

4th of July 2011

Blake feeding himself yogurt 2011

Christmas fun 2011

Pumpkin patch 2011

Darby Creek 2011

Vacation baby 2011

Too cool for school 2011

Joseph and Blake with Santa 2011

Blake helping to pick out a Christmas tree with Nina and Pawpaw 2011

Crazy Ride Home

2011-11-29T21:45:00.001-05:00

This Thanksgiving was a particularly busy one this year. On Thursday we went to my paternal grandparents house for lunch and for dinner we went to my step-paternal grandpa's (that would be my step-dad's dad) house for dinner. On Friday, I went and got my hair highlighted, something I haven't done for three years. Then we went to my uncle's house for Thanksgiving dinner with my mom (the joys of divorced parents!). Saturday morning we woke up early to go to my in-laws house (I don't like the word in-laws, I feel like it has a bad connotation, I happen to like my in-laws). The drive there was great. Both boys slept and it was nice and peaceful. However, Sunday afternoon turned out to be a different story. We left Anne and Frank's (my in-laws) house around 2:45. It was a wet, chilly, rainy, cloudy, yucky day. Jim decides to not stop at Sheetz to get gas before we get on the highway, rather he waits until we pass the highway to try to find one. At first it doesn't look like there is one on this side of the highway so he goes to turn around right before I spot a Speedway. So he pulls into a parking lot to go back out the same way. We should have seen this as sign. Once we are on the highway, he realizes that he left the gas flap (whatever the little gas door is called) open, so we have to stop at the next exit for him to close it. Again, getting back on the highway, we enter a traffic jam. While in the traffic jam (that is actually moving decently, so a traffic backup we'll say) we see a small dog on the side of the highway!
Me: Jim there's a DOG on the highway!!!!
Jim: What am I supposed to do?!
Me: PULL OVER!
Jim proceeds to pull over, not quite wanting to. I hop out of the car and head towards the dog. The dog heads toward the middle of the high way. I follow dog into middle of highway. Cars stop for dog and women following dog. He had his back to me so I just had to pick him up, arms extended, saying please don't bite me, please don't bite me. Traffic resumes. If you knew me, you would know that I'm not a huge dog person. There are very few dogs that I actually like. I used to like dogs when I was little, but I kind of feel like that's just what you're supposed to do when you are little. Like dogs. As I have grown-up, my feelings towards dogs has developed into more of a tolerance than a love for them. So I'm holding this little Chihuahua (how it should be spelled: chiwawa) looking thing, praying it doesn't bit me, hoping it doesn't have rabies, fleas, or some rare unknown dangerous stray dog disease. I walk back to our car, which is now not very close. In the cold wet rain. OK so I rescued the dog from its fate as road kill, but now what? Jim suggests a blanket from our trunk. Back out into the rain. Again, getting back on the highway, now with a stinky, wet, shivering, skin and bones, poor little dog on my lap. In my head, a huge debate on whether I suggest keeping this little furbag. After a few more miles of stopping and going, Jim is fed up and decides that perhaps taking Route 42 would be a better idea. He of course tells me this after about wrecking us because he is looking on the map he pulled up on his phone.
Jim: I think if I take this road and that road, I think that road turns into Route 42.
Me: Whatever you think.
Off the highway. Now we turn down a couple roads and who should awake, but Blake, screaming his head off. I try to use my GPS on my phone, but it decides it doesn't want to keep service. So now I have a stressed out husband, screaming baby, and stinky dog in the car. And we are lost. In the few seconds the GPS was working it said to turn in a 1/4 mile, I know we have gone over a 1/4 mile.
Me: Just pull in somewhere until the GPS starts working so we know which way to go and we are not driving in the wrong direction.
Jim: Well I don't know which way to turn.
Me: Yeah that's why you're stopping to see where we need to go.
GPS decides to work and we turn around. Luckily we had barely missed our turn. We do as the GPS tells us, and turn right. However, the GPS is trying to get us back to 71 not rte 42.
Jim: I think we need to go the other way.
Me: Then go the other way.
Jim: This is taking us to the highway.
Me: Then go the other way.
Jim: Well we're further down the road so we should be past the traffic jam, right?
Me: I doubt it.
Come to highway. Parking lot.
Jim: I think, I'll go the other way.
Me:
Again, heading home now on a route instead of a highway. As we approach the light we have now come at from a third direction, we have to stop a little ways away because everyone else has decided to skip the highway. A small road intersects right before the light, a car is at this road trying to turn left. Jim inches forward so this car can get out and turn left. CRASH! BOOM! SCREECH! Turn around to find car we just inched forward to let out, has hit a car driving in the left lane (there were two lanes a straight lane: right lane, and a turn lane: left lane). Luckily, the guy behind us gets out of his car to check on the people. Glad I didn't have to be a hero twice in one day because I don't know what I would have done with dog and screaming kid and already stressed out husband. (Big boy Joseph was sound asleep). The rest of the trip just escalated in stress, Blake wouldn't stop crying and we continuously got behind someone going 15 under the speed limit. At one point the GPS was increasing projected arrival time home. After Blake cryed for a good hour we decide to stop and Jim goes into Wendy's to feed him. At this point Joseph finally wakes up.
Me: Joseph
Joseph: Uhhh...(normal wake-up grumps)
Me: Joseph look what's on Mommy's lap
Joseph: Opens one eye
Me: Do you see what I have
Joseph: Both eyes wide open. Almost a whisper, A doggie!
Me: Yeah it's a doggie. Do you know where I got it?
Joseph: (after a pause) No, I don't.
Me: He was on the road and about to get hit and I picked him up.
Joseph: Is he coming home?
Me: Yep
Joseph: Can we keep him?
Now how in the world does this three year old know to ask, can we keep him? We don't talk about getting a dog, or a cat, or any pet. How does he know how to ask in the sweetest voice possible, can we keep him? Luckily, while trying to figure out what to do with the little furball, I called my dad who is willing to take him. However, we have to keep him overnight until he is able to come pick him up on Monday. So luckily when asked this sweet little question I was prepared.
Me: We're going to take him home tonight, but Grandpa will be keeping him at his house and we can go visit him and he can come visit us.
Joseph: Oh
Jim comes back with a much quieter Blake and we are on the road again. However, the quiet is only temporary. Finally, after 4 extremely long hours, we make it home. Four hours, for a normally 2 hour trip.

Halloween

2011-11-02T11:59:00.001-04:00

What a great Halloween!

Not winning best day ever award

2011-10-13T15:07:00.003-04:00

I was feeding e her bowl of rice cereal mixed w carrots and green beans when blake decides to pound on the bowl!