I've Been Shot!!!

That's right -- I went today and had my shots! I feel like a new puppy! "Has she had her shots already? She sure has!" Seriously, I went this morning and had the first of my Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B series for my mission trip. Honestly, it was so exciting because it was like the next step on my way to Mexico. The Hepatitis B burned pretty bad and my arm was sore for a little while. I thought I was just imagining it, but the friend that is going with me said hers was sore too - she went today also. I have to have one more Hep B in March and then I will get another Hep A and another Hep B in September after returning from Mexico. So far so good - my arm hasn't swelled up to cantaloupe size or anything like that!

My Writing Class

A few people have asked about my writing class and I am proud to report that as of tonight I have finished Lesson 2 and made a 100% on the quiz. Lesson 2 was all about diving into your inner self (?). Not sure about that one, but it was kind of interesting. It has been a few weeks since I have worked on this so it was fun to get back into it! I think part of what was holding me up was that several of the writing activities had to be done after you had sat and thought about something for several minutes. Well, my uninterrupted minutes of "think" time are few and far between and to be honest, I'm not patient enough to think about one thing for that long. It makes me antsy!!!

I Don't Have Gas

Hahaha! Sorry, I was just laughing b/c I know at least two people who will think of the wrong kind of gas when they read that title! Do ya'll know that gas is $3.07 a gallon??? That is insane! Seriously, I spent six hours in my car today running, literally running, from one location to the next. Do you know how much gas you use in six hours??? Insane!
Anyway, that has been my day. I have been to the bank, two doctors appointments, the jewlers, a consignment shop, Shannon's house (2x), and I still have to go to the pharmacy and to the grocery store for a couple of things. Thank the good Lord for cell phones!!! I have made countless appointments and arrangements from my cell phone today. Dentist appointments and checkups for the kids, after school arrangements - you name it! Busy, busy day.
Also found out today that our campout for next weekend has been cancelled due to lack of interest. I guess we were among the only ones who thought it sounded like fun - does that reflect badly on us?
We are having "company" again next weekend. My in-laws are stopping in for a few days. It seems that they think our house is peaceful!!! I hope they still think that way after they leave. Sometimes the noise in my house is enough to make me curl up into the fetal position! For those who know me well, you know that my head does actually explode if I have to listen to too much noise for extended periods of time!
Okay, well, more work to be done. I'm off to the next chore!

The Great Influences of Television

So today Tyler and I were over at Shannon's house babysitting Ryland. He was sleeping so Tyler was playing and I was watching him play and reading a book. All of the sudden he looks up at me and says, "Mama, does this shirt make me look trampy?"!!! Huh!!! Come again??? So, of course, I asked again, and he said the same thing AGAIN!!! I almost lost it. I said, Tyler, where in the world did you hear that from? To which he replies, "Hannah Montana". Thank you Mylie Cyrus - now my three year old wants to know if his shirt makes him look trampy. Eeesh!

Well....

There is not too much exciting going on around our house this week - we are kind of boring people when you get right down to it! It is so cold here today and the wind is whipping! It messed up my "do" when I went out and I just hate that!

Seriously, there is nothing of any significance to report. I worked Monday and Wednesday this week, the potty training is still somewhat of a disaster, I was gone last night so I didn't get a chance for Yahtzee revenge on Craig (maybe tonight!). I got my deposit and forms turned in for my trip to Mexico AND I got my passport so I'm feeling like it is very official at this point! I'm still so excited; I can't wait to get over there and see how the Lord is going to use us.Next thing on my list is immunizations - how fun! Me and needles do not get along very well, but I have a friend who is going to India next month and she assures me that they were not too bad. Any volunteers to drive me home after I pass out???

We found out that Craig is going out of town to school this month; only for a week though, so we should be okay with that. I'll tell you a secret though - I hate when he is gone and he hates to be gone! But, I'm thankful it is only for one week; usually it is for two.

The Biggest Loser

No, it is not a weight loss competition, it is a Yahtzee competition! Okay, maybe competition is too strong of a word since I apparently am no competition for my husband. You know, he is so annoying to play Yahtzee with - now, wait, don't get me wrong - I love the quality of the time that we are spending together, I just don't like to lose. Over and over and over again! You have to really know Craig. I mean he is like this with everything - he picks something up and it magically turns to gold in his hands. Well, it is no different with Yahtzee. He beat me so incredibly bad last night that I had bad dreams!!! My dad has blessed me with this incredible ability to add quickly. I got the brains and Craig got the luck! So, about mid way through the game last night I stopped adding his dice for him! It was a small pleasure after being beat so bad! And get this, after he rolled the perfect game, every spot on the entire sheet filled, SIX yahtzees, the whole nine yards - he wants me to add his sheet for him. Um, NO WAY!!! So he was forced to add it himself and when I got up this morning he had the two sheets sitting on the table with the scores highlighted. Wasn't that sweet. He wanted to remind me first thing in the morning that I'm a big loser. Thanks babe! I love you!

Our Saturday

Aahhh! Today was just one of those days that makes you go "aaahhhhh", in a good way. We have spent the entire day around the house doing little clean up projects. Craig worked with the computers all morning trying to get all of the stuff off of the old one and onto the new one. Then he took several things to the attic. I ironed all morning - whew, it's a good thing my momma wasn't here to see how much ironing that I had to do! I got all of the laundry done and Craig and I got pictures hung in Tyler's room. I also got some closets straightened up and lots of attic stuff packed up. A very productive day overall! I think I succeeded in making Tyler's life absolutely miserable. That is my goal now - how miserable can I make him in order to make him poop on the potty!!! Today I decided that whenever he went in his pants that I would just make him sit on the potty until I was good and ready to go in and get him cleaned up. He did NOT like that. Then I made him sit in time out and hold his pullups. He didn't like that either! So, we will stick with this for awhile and see if it makes him miserable enough to go in the toilet - what a stubborn little thing he is!!! He gets that from his dad! Speaking of his dad - Craig and I have been in a Yahtzee faze. We have been out of the sheets for awhile and just got some at WalMart the other night. I have decided that he cheats and I'm not playing with him any more!!! Okay, he doesn't really cheat, but if there were ever a person who should gamble and play the lottery all the time - it would be Craig. He is the luckiest person out there. It makes me so mad! He beat me bad tonight!!! I don't like to lose!

Scary

Well, Kayla gave us a major scare tonight. We were about halfway through with dinner when I looked over at her and she had this horrible look on her face. She told me that her stomach was hurting really bad. So I told her to go lay down on the couch which she did. That started about an hour and a half long session of excruciating stomach pain. I put her in the bath thinking that maybe soaking would help her feel better. When that didn't help I got out the heating pad and the Tylenol. When that didn't help I went to get myself ready to take her to the ER. She was crying because she was in so much pain and it was right below her belly button and was matching up to the symptoms of appendicitis. Now, let me tell you - I learned a long time ago not to jump the gun with my kids when they don't feel good. But I was ready to go to the ER with her tonight. Anyway, she finally got calmed down. I gave her a dose of Pepto for good measure and she seems to be fine now. I hope she stays that way through the night - she scared me half to death!!!

Grammy & Papa

A Day at the Park

The weather was beautiful while my parents were here! We were able to get out and go to the park with the kids and enjoy a couple of hours of sunshine! The kids loved it! It has been awhile since we have been able to go to the park.

Picture Day

This was Kayla's outfit for her school pictures on Valentine's Day. Isn't she a cutie?

Brace Yourself

Okay, brace yourself - it is about poop...

So, I haven't really posted about poop in awhile, because there just really has not been any good news to share. Tyler has been doing horrible. I think God is using this situation to humble me - I never thought I would have a 4 year old who wasn't fully potty trained. However, I do have one small bit of good news to report. He went to school today and kept clean pants all day!!! Yeah Tyler. That is huge for us because he has not been doing well this past week at all. We are going to keep trying. Everyone assures me that there are no kindergarteners out there who are pooping their pants. Hehehe, maybe if Tyler is still doing this when he starts kindergarten we can make headlines or something. Maybe Dateline will, like, come to my house and interview us about what we are doing wrong! MAYBE...the NANNY will make a free visit to our house out of the sheer goodness of her heart. I wonder if I would look good on Dr. Phil. I mean, can't you just see Dr. Phil sitting on the edge of his chair with that smile on his face.." So you say you've tried everything, well, we are going to examine that more, right after this." Then they break for, like, a urinary incontinence commercial or something. Come on, you know the ones - The pill with the cure may cause internal bleeding, nose bleeds, swelling of the hands and feet and severe abdominal cramping. No thanks, I will just keep running to the bathroom! Okay, I'm rambling! The point is that he did good today and hopefully I will not have to appear on Dateline or Dr. Phil.

Bad Habits

I think my ebaying habits are rubbing off on my children. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Last night I was getting Tyler ready for bed and noticed his pajamas were getting very small. I said, "Tyler, I think these PJ's are getting way too small, I think it is about time we got rid of them." To which he replies, "Maybe we could put them online.". He is three and loves ebay as much as I do! Put them online indeed!!!

Yuck

Today has been a yuck day. Do you all have those? One of those days where your issues seem bigger than any answers you have? I tried to find something fun to post about today, but just couldn't seem to come up with anything - it has just been yuck! Yuck mood, yuck weather, yuck, yuck, yuck! Fun, huh? Oh well, I guess we are all entitled to one every now and then. Kayla called home this afternoon and said she was sick. It was an hour before school was to be out and I made her stick it out. She only had a stomach ache, no fever, no other issues. I think she is fine. Tyler is doing absolutely horrible with his poop training. Please - I am open to any and all suggestions. My parents gave me a few this past weekend and I am working on those, but other than that I think I have tried everything. However, if anyone out there thinks they have a magic fix, PLEASE TELL ME!!! We went to Craig's basketball game tonight. It was the last game before the playoffs begin next week. He caught some guys shoulder upside his jaw and now can't put his back teeth together. Not fun! They did win by a landslide though!

I have lots of pictures to post, but we have gotten a new computer and I am still trying to figure it all out, plus we haven't transferred our pictures over yet. Hopefully we will get to that this weekend.

I'm keeping Kayla out of school tomorrow morning to go to a conference at our church about creation and dinosaurs. I hope it will be good!

I guess that is all I know for now. I promise to try to be in a better mood tomorrow and post something wildly entertaining!!!

Catching Up

It has been several days since I posted - we have been busy! I had unexpected "company" this weekend. My mom called on Wednesday night and wanted to know what we had planned for the weekend, which was nothing. So they got here late Friday night and just left this morning. We had a really good time and talked a lot. It was a beautiful day here on Saturday. We started out at Kayla's basketball game - she did great, by the way. She played fine with no crying or fear or anything! Yea Kayla! Then we came home, had some lunch, and took the kids to the park. After that I took my Mom to Hamricks for some shopping. One of these days, I'm going to do a post just for the dressing room workers at Hamricks - boy are they special. Sunday was church and more shopping. Yesterday my dad played golf and mom and I just kind of hung around. Kayla went to a friends house early in the day to spend the afternoon and night. Last night my dad and I went to Craig's basketball game. It was a fun weekend!
Today starts a new potty training technique that I pray will work - more on that later. But let me just say that if this doesn't work I'm either going to have to tie him to the toilet or start taking him outside and hosing him off with the water hose!:o) We will be spending our winter break hanging around the house working on this as well as trying to get a start on some spring cleaning! I love spring cleaning, you know, when the weather is just starting to get nice and the doors and windows are open. I love cleaning out closets, mostly because it produces tons of wonderful items for ebay! So we will begin work on that today! And no, I'm not coming to any of ya'll's houses when I'm done with mine. It will probably take me until summer to finish my spring cleaning!

Interesting Breakfast Conversations

This morning at breakfast these were some of the things that were heard:

"Mama, have you have flown on a magic carpet?" (Tyler)

"Uh-oh, I have to go pee AGAIN!"(Um, Tyler)

"Mama, have you ever eaten all of your cereal and drank all of your milk and then felt like you were going to puke?"(Kayla)

We need to work on table etiquette I think!

Ever Had One of Those Days???

Eeeesh! I think that if tomorrow is going to be like today was that I will just stay in bed! Now I know that today is Valentine's Day and we'll talk about that later. The day actually started last night with a very painful trip to Target. You see, today was picture day at Kayla's school and she needed a new outfit because obviously her every day clothes are not good enough for picture day! Well, I did a stupid thing and bought her a white sweater. Yep, I bought my 8 year old who has many "accidents" a white sweater to wear to school. Hello, do I need my head examined. Aside from the fact that I bought her a white sweater I also spent a small fortune on this outfit. Well, then I just went completely out of control. After I had consented to buying said outfit I then proceeded to lay down the law about what would happen if she carelessly spilled half of her lunch down the front of her - it has been known to happen. So, after she leaves for school today, I start feeling like pond scum. I mean, I am the parent, why didn't I insist on the much darker orange sweater? Sure enough she comes walking up the walk from school with her bottom lip dragging in the dust and I'm thinking, "uh-oh, here we go". Sure enough she comes in with brown and red PAINT from art class on her new white sweater and she is devastated. She wore a smock and still got paint on it. Well, I had to apologize for putting so much pressure on it. I mean, I am a grown adult and I couldn't paint without getting something on it! So, I solved that issue. Now onto the next -- Tyler had a horrible poopy day and lost all of his toys AGAIN! So, when he finally went, he got to choose one toy - guess what he picked? A fireman hat. Um, do you know how many things you can do with a fireman hat before you are bored stiff??? Not many. So about 30 seconds after he picked the hat, he is bored. So he has been in my armpit crack all day. For some reason he thinks that the louder he talks the more attention he will get. So today has been a very LOUD day!
Ahh, but in the midst of it, we have Valentine's Day! Craig never ceases to make it a special day and today was no exception. We actually celebrated with a date night this past Friday. Tonight I got the new Lori Wick book and we went to dinner with the kids. Okay, enough of my theatrics - I'm going to read my book. Hope everyone had a good day with their sweetie!

Something Sweet About Boys

So, Tyler and I were in the middle of a bathroom moment today and I must admit that I was a little frustrated because he had gone in his pants AND the toilet(I guess I should be thankful that some of it got in the toilet!). Anyway, he looks down and puts his little finger on my big toe and says, "mama, your nails look pretty." Let me tell ya'll - I have not had a pedicure at home or at a salon in months. The last color that I had put on is about half grown out and it looks sort of like I have an orange french manicure, but in his eyes, my nails looked pretty. How sweet is that!

Nothing Much to Report

Well, we are in the middle of just everyday life around here this week with nothing much to talk about. It is a dreary overcast day here today and I have been working on a quote for some embroidery business all morning and have spent the afternoon talking to a friend and working on my writing class. I made a 100% on my first quiz by the way! Yea! My second lesson is a bit more involved and is taking some time as there is a lot of writing involved but it is all good stuff. Craig will be coming home to paint in Tyler's room tonight, so the kids will probably be bunking together for a couple of nights. My father-in-law actually painted two coats on the walls while they were here at Christmas, but the paint was really thin and did not cover well, so it is going to need another coat or two. That's a good thing anyway, because as soon as Ron got it painted and we got stuff moved back in there Tyler drew on the newly painted walls, his new John Deere comforter and his bed post with a black dry erase marker. Lovely, huh? It's not that noticeable on the comforter and it actually wiped right off of the bed post, but the wall is another matter entirely. I'm anxious to get it done and be done with one more room in our house. Next comes the kitchen or the bathroom, we haven't quite decided which.

Trying Something New

I bet ya'll thought this was going to be about poopy training, didn't you??? Nope - that is going better, but not well, and therefore, I refuse to do any talking about poop right now!

Nope, this is all about Lisa branching out and trying something new! I signed up for an online creative writing course this weekend. I'm going back to school! Okay, it's not that structured of a class; basically I have about 6 months to complete 6 lessons. My first lesson is to write about bubbles! BUBBLES!!! Write down everything that comes to mind when you think about bubbles. Wow, think of the possibilities - children, cleaning, outside, spring, bath time, relaxation, great big mess!!! The list is endless... I'll keep you posted on that one. This is an area of my life that I think I have always been a little afraid to explore. I love to write, but I'm always scared that people will think my stuff is boring, stupid, ridiculous, or any other number of adjectives that I could come up with. Craig has been encouraging me to pursue this for a long time. So I am going for it!

Sold to the Highest Bidder

Okay, well, I have a new favorite place to sell stuff. I listed our table on craigslist.com last night and it sold this afternoon. Whoohooo! For those of you who don't know about it, it is a local list of items for sale or items that people are looking for in your area. It is pretty cool - great for big items like furniture and such!Check it out: http://augusta.craigslist.org/

Anybody need a table?

Craig and I have gotten a new dining room table and chairs so now we have our old table and six chairs for sale if anybody is interested or if you know anyone who is interested. It is solid oak and was custom built for us when we got married along with the rest of our furniture - well, most of it anyway. Anyway it is approx 52x52 and has two leaves that come with it as well as 6 chairs which are in very good condition. Asking price is $250 OBO.

I've Been Tagged

Well, I have been tagged by Abbie, and I'm new at this so bear with me!

Here are five things no one knows about me and five places I want to visit in the US and five places I want to visit outside the US.

1. I am NOT Superwoman, my house is definitely NOT always clean, and, yes, I do yell at my children(does that count as 1 thing or 3?)

2. I used to suffer from severe anxiety attacks and am so thankful to have been set free from those!

3. I'm scared of the dark! I keep a nightlight in my hallway and in my bathroom and when Craig and I go out of town we always leave a light on. If we don't, I wake up completely disoriented and it freaks me out, then I begin to freak other people out!

4. I like to look at people's socks and shoes during prayer time at church:)-it's true -- I have trouble closing my eyes during prayer - isn't that terrible!

5. I'm addicted to my computer and finding endless good deals!

5 Places in the US I want to visit:
1. Oregon
2. Hawaii
3. Reynolds Plantation on Lake Oconee
4. Colorado
5. I really want to go to Graceland(okay, I'm kidding, I couldn't come up with a 5th place)

5 Places outside the US I want to visit:
1. Switzerland
2. Italy
3. Australia
4. Paris, France(Hello, who doesn't want to go to Paris)
5. Japan(I lived there as a kid, but I would love to go back)

Kayla' First Concert

"It almost blasted my ear drums out, but I had fun anyway". Those were Kayla's words to sum up her first concert! We went to a local Christian concert last night - just me, Craig, and Kayla - and boy was it loud. It made me realize that, well, I'm getting old! I found myself holding my head a couple of times because I honestly was scared that it was going to fall off!!! Kayla insisted there were speakers under all of the chairs that blasted the music out and made you and the floor both vibrate! Really, I mean you should be very afraid, when a young band comes to stage and says, and I quote: "Tomorrow morning when you wake up and your neck hurts and your voice is gone, let it be because you head banged and rocked out on this next song". Excuse me??? Well, my neck and shoulders are killing me this morning but not because I head-banged, but because I was tense the whole night over being afraid that I was going to have a seizure over the flashing strobe lights! Yikes! For a few minutes there I was transported back in time to the Guns-n-Roses "Welcome to the Jungle" video on MTV! I'm sure that their lyrics were Christ centered but I couldn't tell you for sure because I couldn't understand any of the words. All I could think was, if my mother was here her eyebrows would be all the way up to her hairline(love u mom!).

Okay, it was fun to watch Kayla and there were two bands there that were excellent! We had a great time with Kayla. She was pulling my arm to take her home when we first walked in because it was dark and LOUD, but once we got settled she settled down as well, and before the night was over, she was head banging with the rest of the crowd.

If anybody calls me today and I don't answer it is because I cannot hear the telephone over the ringing in my ears!

Scary!

Okay, so some of you know that I am kind of an ebay freak! I love ebay! I love to buy on ebay, but I think I like to sell on ebay more. So, the past couple of weeks I have sold quite a few things. Well, I sold a large selection of my clothes a couple of weeks ago. The person that I sold them to was kind enough to send me a lovely email thanking me for them and then proceeding to tell me how she thought each of them would fit. Okay, I thought, she is REALLY excited about these clothes. So, time moves on and I think no more about it, except that maybe I have gained another ebay follower who will list me on her favorites and check my auctions regularly. Or maybe not - today I received another email from this faceless ebay name and BAM, all of the sudden, she has a face! Yes, that's right - she emailed me pictures of herself in my old clothes!!!! I almost fell off of my computer chair! I think I might be on the verge of acquiring an ebay stalker! There was a reason that I got rid of those clothes - so that I didn't have to look at them anymore and then, BAM, there they are. That was just plain scary. Anybody had anything like this happen to them before???

Tyler Update

Tyler went to school today because he did so well yesterday with his poopy training issues. He made it all the way through the day with no dirty pants!!! Yea! I was so thrilled. He did end up having an accident before we left for church tonight, and I use the word accident very lightly! So he is back to no toys again. This seems to be very effective so we will keep at it. Goodness gracious - what will I blog about when we are done with this adventure?

A Very Good Day

Good news!!! Today is the first day that Tyler has worn clean pants all day long! He has gone in the potty every time! Yea! And most of the time he has gone in and gone by himself without even telling me. I only had to get onto him one time, because I thougth he was going to go in his pants. Wow, are we making progress! I'm scared to get excited! I have decided that he is going to go back to school tomorrow. Usually he waits until he is outside to have his "accident"(hahaha), but today he played outside for quite awhile and was just fine. WhooHooo! I guess my Smokey the Bear Drill Seargant hat worked!

Gross!

So I was just dusting my living room and it seems that one of my children(I'll let you guess which one) felt the need to stuff part of their banana peel in between the VCR and the entertainment center. How disgusting is that! It was all dried up and crunchy - I think I could have scented it and made some nice potpurri!

Parent Teacher Conference

I met with Kayla's teacher this morning for our annual conference! It seems we only get one a year because we have a well behaved child. We figure we will get to know Tyler's teachers very well! Anyway, Kayla's teacher had only good things to say for the most part. She is reading at about a 6th grade level and doing math on a 4th grade level. She has not earned quite as many AR points this quarter b/c she is reading bigger books, but now she has a little girl in her class who is beating her and she hates that. I imagine she will hit the reading this week. Her teacher also said that she is a great motivator for some of the other kids who struggle a little bit and she often pairs her up with one of them to help them. She also mentioned that she has a great sense of humor - I had to laugh over that! The only negatives that she came up with is that sometimes she gets in a hurry and fails to fully read what she is supposed to do and the other thing was that sometimes she is overly silly! I guess if that is the worst that she does, I'm perfectly happy! She is a great girl!

Kayla's Valentine's Day Box

Kayla's teacher requested that they decorate a box and bring it in with their Valentine cards. We had a very fun time decorating this over the weekend.

Bottom of the box

Side View

End View

Other side view!

How??

Can somebody please tell me how this adorably cute little boy can cause his mother such intense frustration!!!!! AAAHHH!!!! I may going screaming up and down the road in front of my house! Yes, you guessed it - he pooped at school today AGAIN!!! I don't get it. I just do NOT get it. I think it is time to bring out the big guns. Tomorrow I will put on my Smokey the Bear Drill Seargant hat and we will begin Poopy Training Boot Camp. Maybe I will make him do pushups and jumping jacks every time he poops in his pants. Okay, I'm kidding! Maybe! Well, it does appear that I am settling in for another long week at home. I figure if I keep him home tomorrow from Bible Study and Wednesday from school and on Thursday as well, maybe by Friday we will have some progress. Maybe??? Somebody give me some hope here! At least today he made it until he got to the playground. His sweet teacher is trying so hard to work with him - bless her soul! Well, last week I was completely lazy around the house because I'm not used to having that many days in a row at home. Maybe this week since I got my laziness out I will be able to be ultra productive. Work with me please - I am TRYING to find a bright side to all of this. Oh, and also, my sweet brother's birthday present is going to be late because I was on my way to post office to mail in when the school called. Okay, it was probably going to be a day late anyway since I was just getting around to mailing it, but now it's going to be really late. Sorry Brian! Just know that it will be worth it when you get it! Hahaha! Are you scared? You should be!

Tyler the Opopus!

Weekend Recap

Ahh, we made it through a very stressful weekend! Yea! Didn't do much - it was Craig's weekend to work, so I was a single parent for much of the weekend. Saturday was an extremely stressful day with the kids, but we finally turned it around in the afternoon! Kayla and I made a Valentine's Day box for her to take to school to put her cards in - this is the first year that a teacher has requested that, but we had a very fun time! I will have to post a picture of it so you can all see it - she did a great job(and so did I!). Today was a restful day; I spent most of the afternoon reading, although I did do some laundry and some ironing. I'm sure that my mother is in shock right now - she knows how much I hate to iron and I do mean HATE - it is one of the few things in life that I absolutely detest. Give me a dirty toilet over ironing any day!

Okay, so you knew that I couldn't end without talking about poop, right? One day we are going to be past this subject and I know you will miss it! Well, Tyler is doing better. He currently has two toys that he has earned back. However, I must tell you that today was a big day for us because he made it through both church services today without going in his pants! Yea Tyler! He has had a few accidents, but I think he is doing better. He is headed back to school tomorrow so I hope he will do well because I really don't relish the thought of keeping him home another week when I am paying for him to go to K3. It's like throwing money down the toilet! Hahaha! You knew it was coming didn't you.

Oh, one more thing - Craig and I are taking Kayla to her first concert this week! I can't wait - it should be a lot of fun. Also, we have decided that we are going to a Christian "camp" for parents and kids for the weekend in March. We have found somebody who will keep Tyler for us for the weekend and I'm definitely looking forward to that. I'm praying that it will give us some parenting help for the age that she is at and also for the next couple of years. More to come on that!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Something Magical About Fridays

I know somebody has been praying for us today! Tyler has done his business in the potty twice today and is on his way for the third time! Hallelujah! Oh, I pray that this lasts. He has earned two of his toys back today and is really wanting to go outside and play with his sister, so that is why he is in there now. I think that has been hardest for him is not being able to go outside and play. I'm so proud of him. I'm sticking to my guns for a few more days and I'm going to make sure that he has this down!

Days 2, 3, and the starting of 4

Oh my goodness!!!! How many days will this go on? I thought we were finally getting somewhere with Tyler yesterday when he actually went on the potty of his own freewill yesterday morning. No such luck! This morning he is back to stubborn Tyler. He has told me that he has no desire to be a big boy, he likes poop in his pants, he likes not being able to go to school, he likes spankings, he doesn't like M&M's or new toys! So, what is our goal for Day 4? Well, the goal is that Mom is going to get just as stubborn as Tyler is and probably even a little more so. It is 8:30 in the morning and I have just gotten all of Tyler's toys in his room, closed and locked the door! He will get one toy every time he decides he wants to go on the potty. If he goes in his pants, then that toy gets taken away. So, here we sit, no toys, no television, no books, no activities, aahhhh!!!! I may lose my mind before the day is over. Shannon - I wish I had your ability to tune stuff out. He has decided that since he doesn't have any toys that he will be a kitty cat. So he is meowing all over the house! Pray for me today please that God will give me strength and joy just enough for today even while in the midst of all of this. We will get through this and when we do I will have TWO potty trained children!!!