Sticky Fingers

NO, this post isn't about Caleb playing the syrup or glue.  In fact, it isn't about Caleb at all.

This post is about an anonymous person who apparently has little or no sense of proper ethics.  You see, I was checking our bank account online this morning.  Fortunately for us, this is a habit of mine.  What I came across when I looked at our transactions was not a pretty sight!  In 5 days, someone had debited our account in excess of $400!  

If you ask me, the person probably isn't that bright though.  They didn't buy gas or clothes or food, which would be almost untraceable; they paid bills, or at least that's what it seems like.  The largest charge was for $370 on an insurance policy.  I would think that would be pretty traceable!  They also paid for phone service and made two other small transactions.  

Of course, I'm filing a fraud claim and we'll be reimbursed for what's already been taken, but we had to cancel Jadie's debit card, which will take a while to replace.  Annoying!

The ironic part?  Jadie uses his debit card far less than I use mine.  I would think that my card would run the higher risk of being stolen.  And even though the charges originate from his card number, the actual card is still in his wallet!

Owning a Home...

Isn't all it's cracked up to be!

Yes, it is wonderful to have a space to call your own.  Yes, it is nice to think about being able to sell your house for a profit years down the road.  Yes, it can be fun to dream about home improvements and design upgrades.  But it is not fun to spend big bucks on something absolutely necessary that isn't aesthetically pleasing or even readily visible.

What the heck am I talking about?

Monday night Jadie discovered a section of our roof was drooping near the eave of the house by the chimney.  He stood on a chair for further examination.  After lifting the shingles and feeling underneath them, he discovered that the decking was completely rotted out!  The only thing keeping water out of our attic is a thin layer of shingles!  

Last night he busted out the ladder for a more thorough inspection.  He discovered that all of the decking around the chimney is rotten and that there is no metal flashing where the shingles meet the chimney.  Is this why the decking is rotten?  Because of water being allowed to seep between the shingles and the chimney, with no way of escape?  Could this be the source of our problem?  If so, is it the fault of the roofer who installed our new roof only 4 years ago?  If so, can we hold him responsible?  If so, do we want to go to the trouble?

Great!  How much is this gonna cost us?  We'll find out soon enough.  I have 3 companies coming out for a free estimate and a handyman friend of a friend that I'll be calling to come out also.

This one's from a few weeks ago, but so precious!

Daughters Do Demolition

Kristin and I spent all day yesterday destroying Mom's master bathroom!  Just kidding...we did do some demo work, scraping off wall paper, prying off panelling, and scraping off popcorn ceiling gunk.  We also took off cabinet doors to be cleaned.  Right before closing time, Kristin and I rushed to Home Depot to pick paint colors for the walls and cabinets (which we've worked hard to convince mom to let us paint).  

Unfortunately, demolition is all that we were able to accomplish during this quick trip, but we plan to return next month to plaster the walls with texture and paint the walls and cabinets.  We will also retexture the ceiling with a sand texture.

I don't know what's wrong with me.  I had my camera and everything, but I neglected to take any pictures!  Maybe I'll remember to take one before we start repairing our damage...

One Sentence

Following Melanie's example from Tuesday, I have one sentence to sum up my son's warped understanding of how to relieve himself.

My son watered someone else's carpet!

Under the Big Top

Just pictures for you today...

We went to see the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus last night.  They're in town through Saturday.

Crazy Rope Climbing and Tumbling Lady

Elephants, Caleb's Favorite

They hold each other's tails!

A Different Crazy Lady Who Hangs And Swings From Hoops 

The Clowns

More Clowns

Am I Lame Or What?

I thought I'd tell you about my most recent source of random happiness...

Caleb and I went to the store late last night because our mornings have been pretty full this week and our afternoons are reserved for nap times.

Anyhow, we were at the store.

Caleb LOVES the buddy buck ball machine at HEB.  The last two times, he didn't capture any balls at all.  It's similar to the crane machines where you try to pick up a ball with a prize inside.  At HEB, the balls have stickers inside with numbers on them.  You collect the stickers and save up for a prize.  I thought the machine would let you try until you captured a ball.  Apparently, there is a machine at each entrance.  The one we usually go to (on the produce side) has a finger-like claw and you are only allowed a set amount of time to play.  That might be one try or three.  It's a bummer when Caleb doesn't get anything.  

Last night, we went out of our way to go to the pharmacy entrance to try out the other machine.  It has a scoop-like claw and allows you to play until you win something.  Much better!  As an added bonus, he caught two balls!

You Might Find This Amusing...

Amusing for you, that is...NOT so amusing for me.

The boxer briefs did the trick during playtime this morning.  No wetting or the other.  But he also did not go on the potty either.  Until right before naptime.  He did sit down and take care of business before laying down.

Because I could detect a great deal of movement, I checked on him after about 45 minutes.  He had taken off all of his clothing and thrown it in a pile in the corner by the closet.  I encouraged him to tinkle in the potty, which he did nicely.  I proceeded to put him back in his clothes, only to find them wet.  Great.  He must have already gotten them wet before he took them off.  And of course, they would have been uncomfortable, which is why he'd taken them off in the first place.  Alright.  New clothes and back into bed.

After about 15 minutes, I heard the little guy shuffling around again.  I opened the door to his room again.  He had taken off his shorts and underwear and was proud to show off his BIG business in the potty (which I had put in his room incase he needed to get up to use it during nap time).  Great news, right?  Well, I also discovered that he had decided to water several areas in his bedroom.  Twice on the carpet and once on the rug.  Nice.  Clothes back on and back to bed!

Finally, I decided to lay on the floor beside his bed to try to get him to actually go to sleep.  After about 45 minutes of him not sleeping, he leaned over the edge of the bed and said, "Tee-tee, potty."  I told him to go do it.  So, out of bed again and shorts and underwear off again.  Amazingly he could not go.  I checked the bed.  SOAKING wet!  

I surrender!  Tomorrow it'll either be diaper all day or at least for nap time!

To recap, here's a list of all the places I got to clean urine from:

• Pile of clothes in the corner
  
• Carpet
  
• Rug
  
• Carpet
  
• Bed
  
• Potty

Boxers or Briefs?

How about boxer briefs?  In a size 2T, they are the cutest little pair of undies I've ever seen!

Granana has been gently nudging me toward a faster pace in potty training.  She has been very sensitive to my wishes, but always makes sure it is a topic of conversation each time she visits.  She was the one to introduce the potty chair into our home.  She was the first to buy Caleb big boy underwear.  

During our MOPS mom dinner on Saturday night, I brought up the question, "How in the world and when in the world do I really buckle down and begin trying to get Caleb to use the potty?"  All four of us at dinner have at least one boy, and two of the other moms have boys that are recently potty trained.  Their consensus was that I should put him in regular underwear (not diapers, Pull-ups, or even training pants) because once he's wet or dirty in those, it's going to be uncomfortable for him.  That had seemed to be a motivator for their children.

I have been asking Caleb for months to use the potty and he is capable and occasionally willing.  But he NEVER initiates the process.  Today I'm going to try the big boy underwear to see if it motivates him at all.

This Past Weekend

No, the creative title juices are not flowing today.

Mom came to town on Friday to look at a house.  She's not sure when or if she'll be ready to move.  She's eligible for retirement in November and says she wouldn't move from her house any sooner than January, but she's also pretty comfortable waiting another year, or two, or three before she retires and hopefully heads to Central Texas.  She's considering the state of the economy as well as the difficulty of going through things at the house.  She stuck around all weekend, which we always LOVE!!!

Friday night, she baked some yummy chocolate chip cookies while I made fajitas.  Since Kristin was working, Jadie, Caleb, Mom, and I enjoyed dinner together.  After dinner, we watched one of my all-time favorites, 8 Seconds, with Luke Perry and Steven Baldwin.  If you haven't seen it and you like cowboys, you're missing out!

Saturday morning, Jadie went off to play a round of golf with friends.  Mom and I dropped Caleb off with Jadie's mom so we could enjoy lunch by ourselves.  That was a nice treat!  

Saturday evening Jadie and I had a family baby shower/potluck dinner to attend.  Afterwards, Jadie kept Caleb while I enjoyed a nice cold Dr Pepper with some friends from my MOPS group.  

Mom spent the evening and Sunday morning with Kristin.  I'm sure that was a nice treat for them considering I am usually there with Caleb.  

Sunday morning, Chris and Melanie went to church with us.  We enjoyed their company and hope they felt right at home.  After church, we stuck around for a potluck lunch with our Sunday school class.  Boy, did I put a lot of brown sugar in my green beans!

After church, Jadie went off to play another round of golf, so it felt like a weekday to me.

That about wraps up the weekend!

It Was A Fluke

As I hoped and prayed, Caleb was not trying to make any permanent changes to his behavior.  A good night's rest on Monday night straightened things out.

We have pretty much stuck around the house this week with the exception of a trip to Temple to have lunch with Jadie on Monday and an almost all day visit with Aunt Kristin on Tuesday.  Caleb even managed to work in a nap in Kristin's bed.  Unfortunately, Kristin and I still had to pretend to sleep on the floor next to him to get him to fall asleep.

This afternoon, I simply put him in bed and told him I loved him and closed the door.  I heard him protesting for a little while and then playing a little after that.  I'm pretty sure he ended up konking out on the floor, but he's been out for a good two hours now.  

Changing subjects drastically...I have been feeling a little lonely today.  I think that's what it is.  It's not that I haven't talked to anyone.  It's that several (and what feels like most) of my mom friends have been talking about full time work outside of the home.  This has caused me to question what I want to be doing.  By no means to I question my decision to stay home up to this point, it's just that I entertain the idea of doing something else.  Really, I'm thinking out loud here, using you all as a sounding block.  I think there are other factors that come into play here too.  

• Over the last two years, I have been involved in MOPS, which has given me a nice outlet and kept me in contact with other moms who "just stay at home."  Our playdates this summer have been nice, but there aren't as many moms who participate and part of the reason is due to work.  
  
• Also, there are the seemingly frequent comments from my dear sweet husband.  Things like, "When you go back to work..."  or "If you were working, we could afford..."  I know he's not pushing me to work tomorrow, but the comments sure can wear on a girl.  You know, he may say it twice, but it replays in my head a hundred times.
  
• There is also the fact that life at home can at times seem redundant.  Wake up.  Fix and devour breakfast.  Go watch Caleb play outside for an hour.  Come inside and read to Caleb.  Fix and devour lunch.  Put Caleb down for a nap.  Sometimes fall asleep myself in the process.  Wake up.  Watch a movie with Caleb.  Welcome Jadie home.  Fix dinner.  And somewhere in the I have the pleasure of doing laundry, washing dishes, and grocery shopping.  I know, I've really oversimplified things, but sometimes this is how it feels.  
  

Maybe it's the fact that it's usually just me and the kiddo.  Maybe I need to set up several encounters with other human beings throughout the week.  Maybe it's that I don't really have a personal outlet that I'm obsessed with right now.  Like scrapbooking, or cross-stitching, or yodeling, or purse-making, or whatever.  Maybe it's just that I started my period yesterday (aren't you glad I threw that in there?).  Who knows?

My Worst Nightmare

Who kidnapped my child and replaced him with this whiny, screaming 2 1/2 year old???  I'm gonna get you!

Yeah, actually, it was me.  I did it.  Well, Jadie and I did it.  After church yesterday we went to Jadie's grandma's house for a family dinner/get-together.  We thought it was for lunch.  She says that she told us to eat something first and that we would be eating later in the afternoon.  There was a major gap in communication.  Apparently our definitions of "lunch after church" are very different.  Oh well, what are you gonna do?  We took a quick trip to grab something to tide us over until the 4:00 lunch she'd planned.  Anyhow, I'm way off subject now.  Back to how I arrived at the nightmare behavior I experienced today.  

Since we were at Grandma's ALL day long (until 8:30 pm) and Caleb had plenty of cousins to play with, he did not have his nap.  His behavior was amicable the entire time.  Needless to say, playing with 4 boy cousins meant that he had spent some time outside and had gotten plenty sweaty and dirty.  And since he'd played hard all day and not had a nap at all, he fell asleep on the way home.  No big deal.  Except that he was dirty and sweaty.  Since I'm so logical, I woke him by putting him in the bathtub for a quick scrub down.  He FREAKED!!!  We finally got him calmed down and asleep around 9:45 pm.

This morning he woke at 5:15 am and I had to go sleep on his floor to get in a few more hours of shut-eye (he fell back to sleep too).  We got up (for real this time) at 8:30 am and he seemed to be doing well.  And that was the last of my sweet little Caleb.  

After breakfast, every request, every instruction for the rest of the day was met with opposition and defiance, not to mention, screaming and tears.  Including the much needed nap time.  Tears and screaming ensued at 2:30 pm and continued until I warmed a cup of milk (which he downed in 2 minutes flat) and he zonked out at 4:00 pm.  Finally, some peace and quiet.  I woke him up for dinner at 6:00 pm.  I should have prepared myself for more wailing and flailing.  He did not eat dinner.  An hour and a half later, he opted for endless graham crackers instead.  At this point, I let it go.  

I expect to see the REAL deal again in the morning.  I don't know if I can do it again tomorrow.  It's getting so hard to formulate every instruction into two choices.  For example:  "Come sit at the table for dinner."  After he whines no and begins to pout, I say, "Do you want to come sit at the table for dinner, or lay here on the floor in your room crying by yourself?"  GRRRRRRR!!!!!

Not-So Extreme Home Makeover

We purchased grass and 2 crape myrtles for the 2nd half of the back yard on Saturday.  We completed the left side of our upper section last summer.  This summer, we will finish the job.  I took a before picture on Saturday morning, but haven't taken the after picture yet.  When I do, I'll post both.  Until then, you'll be sitting pretty on pins and needles (I'm sure of it).

PawPaw

Please pray for my PawPaw as he is in the hospital undergoing some tests.  I know this sounds unusual and maybe a little silly, but he's had the hiccups for over a week now.  Apparently, hiccups can be caused by irritation and so they're trying to figure out if it's from something he's eaten or if there's a growth or something else.  Prayers are appreciated!

Decoding the Simple Language of My Toddler

This morning, while I was drying my hair in preparation for an outing to the local Children's Museum, Caleb came into the bathroom saying, "Mommy, shoot me!"  Can you guess what he was really trying to say???

He wanted me to help him shoot his basketball.

Other funny language development moments from recent days:

• Caleb heard another little boy saying "Awesome!"  as he configured the water path in the boat floating table at the museum.  Caleb began repeating "Awesome!" every two seconds from then on.
  
• Yesterday on the way home from McAllister's Jadie and I were talking about how something was annoying.  Our little parrot chimed in from the back seat.  "Noying, noying!"
  
• I know there are more...I'll add them later if I think of them.
  

Charlie Bit My Finger

I realize that this has been on YouTube for a year now, but I've never seen it.  And I just keep watching it over and over again.  I can't stop laughing!

Fully Clothed

I've decided that now may not yet be the time to try the naked strategy for potty training.  It really gets me that he peed on the blanket yesterday.  When I looked back to him, he was actually holding himself.  This tells me that he knew he needed to pee and opted for the blanket rather than the potty.  Not cool.  

Besides, naked toddler means no clothes.  And that means I don't get to enjoy the cute toddler clothes.  And Caleb loves to pick out his shirt every morning.  This has become a fun part of the routine for him.

Maybe we'll try again in a few weeks...