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!!!