Blog Fodder

We've started potty training. I finally decided that he's ready so I have to make myself ready. Yesterday was day 1 and it went well.

He went sans diaper. I had B sit on the potty at regular intervals. He got a smiley on his chart for trying and a sticker & jellybean for pee-pee. He had no accidents.

He had no number 2 either. He didn't go at all yesterday.

This morning, we've continued the routine and everything was going fine. I set a timer so we didn't forget to sit on the potty. But then B came running into the room yelling, "Uh-oh, uh-oh!" He held out his hands and handed me poop. OMG, I didn't sign up for this part of motherhood.

There were a few good points to this story.

• I didn't vomit.
• It was solid poop.
• He was standing when he went, so no smashed poop.
  
• He wasn't on carpet so no poop in carpet.
  
• Everything cleaned up easily.
  

I just hope that is the worst of my potty-training experience. I can hope, can't I???

DH just laughed at me as I scrubbed my hands for the millionth time. His only comment was "At least this is good blog fodder and, for the blog's sake, I'm glad you didn't take pictures."

How to fold a shirt by J

First, lay your shirt out flat.


Fold the bottom up to the top.


Fold the sleeves on top of the folded shirt.




Fold the shirt sides in so they meet at the center.




Fold the top down to the bottom edge.


And you're done!

Here are J's shirts neatly folded in his drawer.

chores

We've been working on chores around our house this summer. I've been trying to get the kids to understand that chores are part of being in a family. I do chores, they do chores. I'm not asking much, clean the table, put away laundry. The way they react, you would think I was asking them to do the impossible.

Last night I asked J to put his clothes in the drawer. I even got them out of the basket and put them in stacks of like clothes. He got mad and knocked over the pile of shirts. I told him that he would have to fold the shirts before he put them in the drawer and left the room.

I returned a few minutes later expecting to find him on the floor crying because I am such a "mean, mean, mean mommy." Instead I found him happily folding away. And then he told me that I've been holding it wrong. He showed me how he folded his shirts and I decided that from now on, he can fold all the shirts in the house. I even called DH to watch him fold.

I asked him more than once how he learned to fold his shirts. He says he just made it up. I wonder if the MIL showed him how to fold a shirt or if he watched someone in a store. I find it hard to believe that a 5 year old figured out how to do this. No matter what he's got a career ahead of him at the Gap or Banana Republic or some other store with nicely folded clothes.

J wants it on the blog. His wish is granted.

All is safe in the world

with these two crime fighters to protect us

Father's Day in Pictures

Sitting by the pool.


Drinking a cold beverage or two with the family.


After some Tiger watching with Dad, the boys played Tiger outside.




Hazards of mothering boys, it isn't always sap on the vines you want to cut out.





*** eta I'm messing with photo size. Sorry for the out of sync photos.

Luby's

DH & #2 BIL have always claimed that there are certain idiosyncrasies that all my sisters and I have. Whenever they come across one, they say "it's one of those Holland girl things." I'm sure they have a long list of common traits we hold. Tonight it was a dislike of cafeterias.

DH & #2 BIL have been discussing going to Luby's for dinner for a long time. Both insist how great it would be. All kinds of food to choose from, the kids eat free on Saturdays, it is like a food paradise. #2 sister and I have told them that we don't like to eat at cafeterias. I don't know my sister's complaints, but I have issues with the troughs of precooked food sitting under heat lamps and sneeze guards. It reminds me of being in college. Memories of picking up a plate with unappetizing food slopped on it and then carrying the tray to a table in a huge horribly decorated room, ugh. I don't need to relive it.

Tonight DH suggested that we go to Luby's for dinner. I didn't have a suggestion to counter it so I said fine. DH would never get rid of this Luby's obsession unless I let us eat there. So off we went.

We walked in with the kids and immediately a strange aroma hit me. It smelled like old fish and bad broccoli. I wanted to hold my nose and/or run out the door. I looked at the food as we walked to the end of the line and decided that the rolls looked edible.

I looked up at DH and he says, "Well, we could go to Franki's." I was incredulous. Not wanting to be the one who said no to Luby's, I replied that we were already there and we should probably stay. He insisted we go.

Oh, how I laughed. I was on the phone with my sister before we were out of the parking lot. At least now we have DH on our side when #2 BIL suggests Luby's for dinner. He's finally becoming like "one of those Holland girls."

New prayers

Please pray for the repose of the soul of Dr. Ingram. He passed away this morning.

It's hard to express what an outstanding man he was. He was kind and generous and fun to be around. He always welcomed us and made us a part of the family.

My heart breaks for Michelle. I can't comprehend just how much she and her family will miss their father.

So please pray for the Ingram family, for comfort and solace and peace.

Prayers needed

My friend Michelle's father had a massive heart attack this morning. I went to the hospital to sit with her for a little while. There's not much I can actually do but I sat with her. We talked about our kids & her upcoming vacation & the time she spent with her father in the past weeks. She was very strong. She knows that it is touch and go and that it is in God's hands.

It was hard to see him like that, on a respirator, intubated. When I got there he was in a bit of distress because he was having trouble while coughing. The nurse helped him and gave him a pain killer and he went back to sleep.

I said a rosary for him on my way to the hospital. (Probably not the best thing to do while driving. I missed my exit because I was praying and not paying attention.) I sent out a note to my prayer chain asking for more prayers. I brought her some magazines. I gave her hugs. That's all I can do. I wish I could do more.

Seeing Michelle's dad made me think of my own father. We're not on bad terms but we're distant. He's uninvolved. I feel bad because I gave up. There's only so many unreturned phone calls one can take. Or so I thought. I guess I'd rather call, invite him to be more involved in our lives and be ignored, then to one day see my father struggling to live and think that I gave up on him.

Please, say some prayers/thoughts/good wishes for Michelle's dad and mom and the rest of her family. They could really use the strength, support and comfort right now.

Back to real life

We spent the weekend at Great Wolf Lodge with the ILs. The water park was fun for all ages. Anna really enjoyed the magicquest game but the number of children running through the hotel got to be too much for me (the designated MQ helper. DH took the same stand he has with Webkinz, he had nothing to do with it!) The kids had a fantabulous time and MIL spoiled all of us. I totally forgot that I brought a camera so no pictures at all.

We took a break on Saturday afternoon and went to tball & indoor soccer games. We stopped by the house to pick up waters for the games. I am so glad that we did because my old work buddy David had called. He was unexpectedly in town. If we hadn't stopped we wouldn't have gotten his message until late Sunday and we would have missed him entirely.

Instead he and his wife met up for a drink at Great Wolf and then we met them for dinner last night. It was so good to see them both and we talked for way too long. My mother, who came to sit for my very tired children, called Sister #2 to call DH cell phone to tell us to come home. It was after 9 and we had been gone for over 3 hours. She was done.

David managed to stick his foot in his mouth twice. He and his wife were discussing water skiing and whether or not he would be able to pull her nephew this summer. Vicki said, "Well, you can pull me." David replied, "I guess I can get my sister up on skis and she's pretty good sized too!" The whole table started laughing as Vicki started exclaiming, "What do you mean, 'Too!'"

Then he started telling the other couple who was at dinner about when we started working together. He told his friend Janie "Sarah is mensa smart, but she hides it well." Janie's husband started laughing and asked him what was easier, discussing his wife's weight or the fact that I come across as less than intelligent. Poor David. He was beet red. At least we all had a good laugh.

Progress Pictures

Here is the bed. I've about 1/3 done. But the other 2/3s aren't and have bushes in back so it isn't as much work.

Right corner done:

Middle:

Left corner:



Here's knitting. I'm 32 of ~44 repeats done. It's growing.

Progress

I've made a little more progress gardening. I've spent an hour the past two nights digging weeds, mulching and watering. The boys are "helping", which means I have to work around little bodies & shovels so I avoid whacking them in the head. I'm learning, it has only happened twice. We made a trip to the home improvement store for more mulch & herbs. (DH's definition of herbs is jalepeno plants, 7 jalepeno plants! I'm not sending him to buy plants any more.) I bought parsley, basil and, for the homemade salsa & pico I'll be making, some cilantro. I have learned that my "2 hours a night will finish it in a week" theory is a bunch of bunk. Who knows how long it will take and its only getting hotter.

I've made a little bit of progress in knitting. I need to take a new picture. Maybe tomorrow. I'm excited because I'm taking my first knitting class tomorrow night. It is a Lizard Ridge class at a yarn store close to downtown. I doubt I'll ever make the whole blanket but I'm excited to learn the short row technique. I've tried once before and fudged my way through. It will be nice to learn for real.

I made it through another day without killing the kids. 11 more weeks of summer to go.

Day Two

It is the second day of summer break. All the children are home with me. DH conveniently had work. (Yes, he is making money but secretly, I think he's doing it to get out of the house.)

They are already bored and wanting things to do. (Toilet cleaning doesn't seem appealing for some reason.)

Luckily basketball camp & swim lessons start next week.

I hope I can stay sane for the rest of this week.

the Weekend

Friday night: Pool Party. Nice time. I didn't have to swim.

Saturday:
Dance Recital. A did very well. This is her kitty cat costume for the ballet dance.


Indoor Soccer. A did fine. Its been awhile since she played so was a little rusty. The score was 20-something to 7. Better than the first game she missed which was 20-something to 1.

T-ball game. Way too darn hot. It was in the mid 90s. J did well. He got a couple of force outs at 3rd base and he scored 2 runs.

Suite at the Rangers game. This was the "Don't bring your brother-in-law to the school fund raiser because you end up spending a lot of money on a night at the ballpark" event. It was a fun evening, an interesting mix of people. There was a fireworks show at the end. I think everyone had a good time.

Sunday:
Church. Nursery is closed for the summer so this was B's first time to church since Easter. He did well. Except for DH taking him out of church after communion. I don't want to start that habit.

Gardening. DH took A&J to a birthday party at Texas Stadium. I had the afternoon for digging in the dirt. I let the bed go last year until basically today. I spent most of my 4 hours digging grass and weeds out of the bed. I planted a couple of rocks for stepping stones. I got the 7 jalepeno plants 3 of six tomato plants in the ground and mulched everything. The heat finally got to me. Here's a pic.



P.S. Click the jalepeno plant and see it big!