We caught a mouse!

All I have to say is I'm so glad that Cster did everything dead mouse related. I didn't even have to see it. Yuck!

What Color Are You?

Lsters new favorite game. It involves giving you a choice of 2 or more items (of different colors) and asking "What color are you?" and then handing you the appropriate item.

We have to his amusement then all taken turns throwing the item (throwing stuff being his other favorite game). He then runs frantically to retrieve all the thrown items.

A couple of important points to note:
1. Lster almost picks blue. Don't pick blue. Its just easier that way.
2. You may pick blue if there are more than one blue items in your options.

To Do List

I have not been one to write To Do Lists. I use to laugh in college when my roommates wrote out lists for everything. They would put shower on their list just so they felt good about crossing something off. That being said today I wrote a To Do List.

Every once in awhile when there is just so much to do I cave and write it down. It all started when I had a child and I couldn't go to the store and get the 5 things I needed without writing them down. I would end up with 7 things in my grocery bag with only 2 of them being what I originally needed. So I started writing grocery lists.

For the past week I've woken up and said "I will pay bills today". And every night I have gone to bed and not paid bills. I'm not just sitting in bed eating chocolate, yesterday I completely reorganized the kitchen and both kids rooms as well as did 4 loads of laundry. I just didn't do the bills. I remembered the last time I had this dilemna and remembered that the day I wrote it down as part of a list I did it that day. So today I tried it. I wrote "pay bills" along with a bunch of other stuff I really wanted done.

And I did it!!! It totally worked. I didn't do everything on my list (organizing beats out bills which beats out bathrooms) but I did the bills. So I think once a month (around bill paying time) I'm going to write a to do list and hope that the pattern sticks.

Surprise Party

Mster told me today she knows what kind of birthday party she wants (for her bday in July!). A surprize party. My parents tried to get more info out of her when they talked to her today but she was very tightlipped and finally said "I don't know much about my party because its a surprize).

And I was told today that I hadn't blogged that we were having a boy. There are just too many electronic ways of communicating that I forget to post info everywhere. Its a boy, still currently called "Loki". Mster told me today he was sick and hungry. So she went downstairs and made him a snack. Tortilla chips, gold fish, animal crackers, almonds, raisins and apple chips (dried apples) in a bowl. She then told me to eat it. I took a few bites and said it was too close to dinner. She asked if the food had gotten through the tube to Loki yet. I'm thinking that he didn't like it all that much cause all I want to eat is meat and fruit.

Future Ambitions

I was emptying in the dishwasher with Mster. She asked me what the spinning thing was at the bottom. I told her it spun really fast when the dishwasher was on so that the water would spray to all the dishes.

Mster: "Wow. That's what I want to be when I grow up."

I WIN!!!

Tonight I went to dinner at our Church with a bunch of other woman. We had to bring out purses. I just knew they would end up playing a game of "do you have ??? in your purse?" so I had planned on bringing my big bag and filling it with junk so I could win.

In reality...

I have the smallest purse known to man. Its a wallet with a strap. I love it. I hate the idea of carrying around a big bag full of stuff. I keep diapers and wipes in my car and if I know I'm going to be far from my car I use the big bag. The big bag still being smaller than the average purse size.

So...things didn't work out like I planned and I completely forgot my purse plan and only had my regular wallet with a strap purse. Turns out I still won. I won smallest in weight (7.6 ounces) and smallest in size. I also had 2 of the items that they called out.

For those Canadians out there reading my purse is the MEC wallet. I've had it for years and years and its still in perfect condition. I love MEC. Oh and my "big bag" is also MEC. I've also had it for years and years and its still in perfect condition.

Goodbye Hair

I've been thinking about doing an A-Line bob on my hair for awhile now. My ends were seriously wrecked and so much so that a little trim was not going to do it. I was over at a friends house yesterday and was asking her about hairdressers. Her reply, "An a-line bob? I can do that."

And so she did. Right there and then. And I walked away with significantly less hair than when I arrived. It was awesome.

What is not awesome is that Mster wants a haircut just like it. Hmm...I don't think we're ready to chop off her locks or be a mommy-daughter match. :)

Also humorous is that another friend told me she wanted her daughter to have the same haircut. So with her daughter and my haircutting friend's 2 daughters who are sporting the bob I will match a significant portion of the 4-5 year old girls in my church. Uh...

Too Close and Diapers

Lster looked up to me at 10:30 on Tuesday morning and asked for his diapers. I said "Okay" and he's been peeing freely as he plays ever since. I guess we'll try again later.

Mster has this need to touch me all the time. Right now I'm sitting on the couch and she's slamming her body as close to my side as possible. I can barely move my left arm. This is normal for her. She is always on me, holding my hand, asking to get picked up (which never happens, she's 4 1/2), sitting on my lap. Its endless. When I am eating she pulls up a chair right by my side (touching) and eats while being my left hip. Its too close.

Day 2

Yesterday I became a big mess of parental disarray ready to curl up in a ball and hide until Cster came home (which at that time I wasn't even sure when that would be). I finally decided for the sanity of all involved I decided to take a break at about 2:30pm. I put on a diaper (well, I didn't put on a diaper, I put a diaper on Lser). I called my best friend and lamented on how hard parenting is and woe is me. Then I hung up and let my kids watch tv. And then I gave Lser a super long time out (for non-potty related incidents) and then I threw them outside to ride bikes against the most horrendous wind. And then I made pancakes and sent them to bed.

This morning, I am much more refreshed. I am much more ready to face the potty training task. I'm not sure what will happen at 2:30 again but until then I'm ready to forge forward. Its snowing. Its cold. Its windy and we'll be inside cheering Lster.

Potty Training

This past weekend Lster stopped what he was doing and looked down for a few seconds. I asked him if we was peeing. He gave me a BIG grin and said "I'm peeing!"

That was enough for me to say its time to start the mountain climbing obstacle of being a diaper free household (for 5 months). I talked about it during the weekend with him and this morning made a big deal about going out to get new big boy underwear. Mster and Lster talked it over and Lster became VERY adament and excited for his "dora" underwear. I've heard of kids picking the opposite sex underwear but wasn't sure how well that would go over here.

Thankfully the boy underwear was at toddler eye level and the girl underwear was at adult eye level. Lster picked Diego and Sports. He also picked out a sugar filled sport drink and his treat (for when the magical moment occurred)

We headed home and he immediately took off his pants and put on the underwear. He did not like the feel of the Diego underwear and proceeded to take them off. We tried the sports ones (which were a little smaller). He then proceeded to try on every single pair we bought. The problem was that Lster likes to dress himself. Actually that is not the problem. The problem is that Lster does not have the coordination to dress himself and yet insists on doing EVERYTHING himself. So he would try on a pair, put both feet in one hole, not like the feel of it and insist on trying another one. Then he would put them on backwards, not like th feel of it and insist on trying another one. Then he would put the right feel in the right holes but not be able to pull them up right so certain body parts were hanging out and the elastic was all twisted , not like the feel of it and insists on trying another one. It was fun!!

I finally decided he should just go naked. I made him sit on the potty for 1/2 an hour chugging his sport drink. I read story after story and then he begged to get off. I was done too so we moved onto another room where he proceeded to have an accident 5 minutes later.

Since then he's had 2 other accident. Both times he knew what was going on and told me about it. Both times I took him and put him on the toilet right after. He even finished one of the times. Then he begged to watch Dora so I told him if he sat on his little potty he could watch Dora. Then his bum started to hurt (I mean you sit on the toilet for 2 hours, there's going to be some redness) and I let him get up. He got up for a minute but then sat right back down. Seconds later he peed, on the carpet, while sitting on the potty. (I guess we'll work on aiming this afternoon).

But I think this is progress. He sat down to go. I remember Mster having 6 accidents the first day of potty training. I have a carpet cleaner and I'll do a big clean this afternoon and dump in the bath before he goes to bed.

I'm not sure its going to happen but I'm ready to try full force today and tomorrow and we'll see about the next day.

Fire Ants!

I have 4 girls playing at my house right now. One of them is Mster. For awhile they were yelling and screaming for me every 2 minutes. Apparently they felt the need to announce every red ant they saw. 4 girls can see a lot of ants.

I finally told them. "They are NOT fire ants. You will not get eaten. You will not burn. If you yell one more time you will all have to play inside. If you play outside, there will be ants. just step on them."

Deal of the Week!!

Friday has become my grocery run day. I figure out all my coupons on Thursday (because my grocery stores have their sales wed-tues) and make my rounds on Friday morning after I take Mster to preschool.

My find of the week was an unintential find. I went to Safeway and saw a big sign that said some cereal was 99cents a box. I did a double take and then proceeded to fill my grocery cart with boxes and boxes of cereal. We now have enough Corn Flakes and Life to last us at least 6 months.

(After being home a few hours I couldn't get the deal out of my head. I kept thinking I should have boughten more. So I called my neighbor, who's daughter was already coming over this afternoon, to see if she could take mine for 1/2 hour while I ran back to the store. She said yes and gave me a slew of coupons to share so I would get some boxes for her. The result was a bunch of the boxes were only 5o cents each)

Hey, there's an economic crisis going on. A girl has to be smart in her purchases.

And then there were 3

Lster loves his pacifiers. LOVES THEM. He does not get them during the day (unless I'm super unmotivated to take it from him) but he gets them at night. "Them?" you ask. There were 4. He had one in his mouth and cuddled with 3 each night and naptime.

I just noticed that one of his favorite ones (meaning one he often chooses to actually put in his mouth and not cuddle has a big old hole in it. Much to Lster chagrin I declared it garbage worthy. He decided he should dump it and he did it. I don't think I can express how attached he is to his pacifiers. I'm wondering when his loss will sink in. Probably at nighttime.

I'm so sick of the pacifier obsession that I often think that today is the last day and I'm throwing them all out but Cster calmly reminds me that Mster had to give up her night time pacifier on her 3rd birthday and so will Lster.

But today I decided I am spending no more money on them so if by "chance" any, or all, of his pacifiers get holes in them. Bye Bye Forever. I'm liking this idea. Bite away Lster.