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!