Last Post of 2008

I started this blog in 2006 as a way to record memories for my children. A memory is only a memory if you can remember it. And let's face it, I don't exactly have a great memory. Heck, half the time someone tells me something, I forget it a few minutes later. Every year since, I have tried to double my posts. This year I succeeded tenfold. Go me!!

This is my last post of 2008 and the start of many more years to come! Have a wonderful and blessed new year!

I'm the mom!!

Only A MOM Can Appreciate! Don't forget to pause the music below before attempting to watch the video.

The Twins

Sarah and Zachary had their music concert at school about a week or so ago. They are in a special music group, this group is audition only. The Musical Mikes holiday program was wonderful. I didn't get any good shots of the whole group on stage (it's hard doing that with a cell phone camera hahaha), but I took a few good ones of Sarah and Zachary in front of the Christmas tree afterwards.


Zach and Sarah with their music teacher/choral director Mrs. Weisgerber (she used to be my teacher when I was their age, she looks great doesn't she?).


Yes, Sarah is slightly taller than Zach for the moment....




Zachary with his buddies (Caleb on the left is his best friend) being silly.

Bah Humbug!

Yes, I'm in a sour mood. I don't know why, but this year I just haven't been in the Christmassy mood. I didn't send out Christmas cards, because by the time, I thought about doing them it was too late. I didn't take pictures of the kids to put in the cards anyway. The tree just now got decorated. It was a naked tree for about a week. I didn't even put it up, Anthony did.

Let's not even mention the fact that I waited until the last minute to go shopping for presents (and I still haven't wrapped them). I just haven't been in the mood. I think the depression is back and I need my antidepressants upgraded to a higher dose. I have been so bah humbuggy for weeks. This whole year has just been awful. I have been late every single day for work. It's a wonder I still have a job. Everything is just a big mess.

And to top it all off, Rich had another MRI done, which revealed that he has more discs going bad in his back, including one where he already had surgery. I feel so bad for him, I can't even begin to imagine how much pain he must be in.

I'm really hoping that 2009 will be a much better year for me. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Nicholas

Nicholas' first grade program was this morning. The program was great and all the kids did a great job. I was very proud of Nicholas! He did all the motions and sang all the words to the songs. I think he was a wee bit nervous when it was his turn. But, at least he had a buddy doing the part with him so that helped. And best of all Nicholas looked so nice and handsome. He dressed up in his suit pants and a nice white shirt and a red clip-on tie. He looked adorable! I'm going to have to print out his picture and give it to Terri, since she gave him the suit. It was one her son outgrew.

Snow........

We thought we were getting a big snow storm through our area, it snowed all day, even sticking to the roads, caused some accidents, and enough to build a small snowman. But by midnight, it was all gone....it melted. And we haven't had snow since. I guess everyone else got it instead.


Of course I had to put Zach to work

Because someone had to do it

Sarah posing in front of our house

This is one of the trees in our yard

Another tree I thought looked pretty

Our Little Morning Adventure

It all started when Rich woke me up in time to finish getting Nicholas, Sarah and Zachary out the door to catch the bus. Amanda and Anthony already got up, dressed and caught their bus by themselves, they've been doing it for years. And Nathan was sleeping.

So, I wake up to find Zach helping Nicholas tie his shoes.....I should have known something was going to happen based on that, because those two fight like cats and dogs every morning. We're talking about throwing punches here.

While Zach and Nick were finishing, I braided Sarah's hair. Then, I gave Nicholas his little surprise (a Lunchable, which he's been begging for for years, but he's been doing so well with his reading homework, that I caved and bought one....). He was so thrilled.

I told them to get their backpacks and coats. And as they were putting their stuff together, the bus went down the road. By this time Nathan woke up. I was going to have to take the kids to school and now Nathan was going with us, because he didn't want to stay with Rich. I asked Zach to take the car seat out of Rich's car and put it in my van. While he ran out to do that, I had Sarah get Nathan dressed and ready. I ran off to throw some clothes on. Most of the time I don't care...and if they miss the bus, I just ran them to school while wearing my slippers and jammies. But today I wanted to grab a coffee, so I had to get dressed.

By the time we all got ready and ran outside, we had five minutes to get to the school before they were late. All the kids piled in, I buckled Nathan in his car seat. I climbed in behind the steering wheel and went to start the car and couldn't. The damn battery died. That has only happened twice before. Great!

I tell everybody to jump out and get in dad's car. I told Zach to run in and get Rich's car keys and I proceeded to take Nathan still strapped in his car seat and put him in the other car. Ten pound car seat plus and thirty pound kid - was heavy!

I finally managed to get all the kids to school 15 minutes late. And I really needed that coffee after all that. So I got my coffee and Nathan got his doughnut and we were both happy campers for the rest of the morning. See, I told you I should have taken Zachary and Nicholas working together as a bad sign, didn't I?

This is how I love to start my day....

Propz to Aunt Kristen!

I should have posted this a few weeks ago when it happened, but I was taking a little bloggy break (otherwise known as spending too much time on Facebook).

It all started with Nicholas taking a pair of scissors and chopping off his hair.....



Yeah, I was freaked too!!

Then, I tried to fix it. It started to look better than what he did to it, but Nicholas wouldn't sit still worth a crap, and the back of his head looked like steps. Momma wasn't doing a very good job, plus she was quickly running out of patience.....

Enter Aunt Kristen. My lovely, wonderful sister in law. Our family adores her! Actually, my kids love all of their aunts and uncles. And I have to admit, they have some pretty awesome aunts and uncles.





Zachary decided he would get his hair done next.


They look so cute, don't they? And it's even better in person....


Thanks so much Aunt Kristen, we LOVE you!!!

Holy Bedhead Batman

please excuse the chocolate face.....

Nathan's definations of the world around him

Nathan speaks very well and he pronounces words very clearly too....well, most of the time anyway.


Nicholas = Nickiss

Anthony = Anty

Zachary = Zachy

Amanda = Manda or Manna

Crackers = Cackers

Bananas = Nanas

Snow = no

Know = no

When he wants to say "I don't know" He will say "I no no"

I want, I need and mine are said several times daily.

Ask him if his name is Nathaniel and he'll tell you yes, but he likes Nathan better.

At least it wasn't the girls' panties

Last night as I was walking out to the car to get something out of it, I hear someone yelling from inside the house....

"Mommm, Nicholas is wearing Nathan's underwearrrrr!!"

You're a Rare Thing

The other night at work an older gentlemen told me I was a rare thing. When I asked him why, he said it's because not many families are really big these days. Most people have one or two, sometimes three, but there isn't many people at all who have six children. He said back in the day it was rare not having a big family, now its the opposite. He was very polite about it. He didn't ask me a million questions about my choices or make any strange comments like most people do. I took the "rare thing" as a compliment.

Most of the time, when Rich and I mention that we have six children and that they are all ours together, people are shocked and then ask a bunch of dumb questions that we've heard so many times that we started to say really stupid things in reply.

"Do you know what causes that?" ~ Duh, don't you? Your momma DID tell you the story about the birds and the bees, right? Or Uh, Yeah and we like it.

"You have your hands full" ~ No, our hands aren't full, but our hearts are.

"Better you than me." ~ I'm glad it was me too!!

"Don't you have a TV?" ~ What the heck does a TV have to do with anything?

I think that we are very lucky to have been blessed by God.

I don't honestly think I'm a rare thing. But my family certainly is rare, a rare treasure that I cherish dearly. I'm grateful God thought I was worthy of such a big family. I know I complain alot and it isn't exactly easy, but you know what - it was worth it!

what kind of blogger am I?

I found this cute little quiz thing when I was reading my friend Gin's blog. I thought it was neat, so I had to steal it from her.

Take the quiz by answering random questions and then it will spit out your results. Mine was:

You Are a Life Blogger!

Your blog is the story of your life - a living diary. If it happens, you blog it. And you make it as entertaining as possible. You may be guilty of over-sharing a bit on your blog, but you can't help it. Your life is truly an open book. Or in this case, an open blog!

What Kind of Blogger Are You?

So what do think? Is it fitting or what? If you decide to steal it from me, let me know because I'd like to see your results too.

Strained Lumbar

I'm not sure if I ever explained what I do as a certified nursing assistant (cna). I know I've complained about having to work and I also mentioned a few things here and there about work. But, I try not to talk about work too much, because you never know who may be reading this blog.

I do know that one day after complaining about how much laundry I had to do, someone at work asked me if I ever got all that laundry done. I didn't think anything much about it other than how did she know I was working on laundry, until I realized that I had blogged about it.

It's not that hard to find my blog. I have it posted on MySpace and Facebook, plus a few blog sites and such. But it was kind of weird thinking that someone I work with could be reading this. So I decided I wasn't going to post much about work anymore. I don't need the extra attention, if you know what I mean.

(((On a side tracked note: I also remember how weird it was when I had my weekly column in the local newspaper. I would write about things going on in my town, and I always added a little tidbit about myself or the kids. Basically, because SO many people are curious when you tell them you have six children. And I remember total strangers coming up to me and making comments about what I wrote))).

However I did want to touch on a few things we cna's do, to explain what the heck I'm talking about. Being a cna is a physical job. It's A LOT of walking, lifting, etc. We do all of the basic care of the elderly. In a nursing care facility, cna's bathe, feed, change, get residents (patients) out of bed, into bed, walk them, shower them, etc. Lots of people get hurt doing this job. It's definitely hard on your back.

I have had this job for over five years and I've never gotten hurt. Sure, I've had general aches and pains. I've bumped into beds and left bruises, I've been punched, hit, bitten, peed on and even spit on. I've even slid on the floor and fell on my knee and never reported it. I just chalked it up to stupid crap I've done, I mean I am pretty clumsy and uncoordinated.

But, Friday night as I was lifting someone into bed (with help), I felt pain I never felt before. I felt a popping, feeling. I told the girl I was working with that I thought I hurt myself. She in turn told me to fill out paperwork. I said I would, but ended up busy and left without thinking of it. Later when I got home, I realized that I really didn't feel well, my back hurt.

Long story (and this was way longer than I wanted it to be) short, after a trip to the hospital.....I strained my back. So, I have the next two days off, a prescription for muscle relaxers and Motrin. I was also told to use a heating pad.

So there you have it. It took five years, but at least I didn't do any major damage. A lumbar strain sounds so much better than a herniated disc. Especially after watching Rich go through all his back problems, you know? Now if only I can keep Nicholas and Nathan from jumping all over me for the next couple days, I'll be all right!

Teenagers - Anyone want some?

Seriously!

Whose idea was it to give them hormones and attitudes. Forget the acne and the greasy hair, its the attitudes and hormones that you need to worry about.

For over a year now, Amanda has gone into my bedroom and used things she shouldn't be using (almost a whole jar of Oil of Olay and $100 bottle of perfume), gotten into things she shouldn't be getting into (my jewelry box), and taken things that "belong" to her that I took off of her (like her cell phone, ipod and laptop), because she was being a brat.

The lack of respect is what is so aggravating to me!

In the first place, I never would of thought about doing that to my mother (my sister yeah - confession time: her Trixie Belden books, her 8 track player and sometimes, very rarely her make-up....DON'T KILL ME JODI hahahaha!!), but not my mother!

In the second place, what gives her the right to rifle through my things?

And lastly is the fact that I don't ask for much. Seriously, I don't. Rich just buys me things because he thinks I should have them.

Here is an example of a conversation we had that led him to buy the said $100 perfume:

Me to him: You smell yummy!
Him: Yummy?
Me: you know - good
Him: Oh, thanks!
Me: I want to smell yummy too (I generally just use soap, sometimes lotion is a luxury).
Him: why don't you buy yourself some perfume or something, if you want.
Me: No, I cant' do that. I don't want to spend money on something like that.
Him: Why?
Me: I don't know....

On my birthday last year, guess what my present was? Perfume. And not some crappy stuff you get at Walmart either. It was a bottle of Chanel Allure. Yeah, I was shocked too.

So I think that's what bothers me most about the whole thing with Amanda using my things. It's not so much the cost of it, it's the thought behind it. He really went out of his way to buy me something nice, something I never really even asked for. And then it gets wasted. And I feel horrible!

Does that seem so unreasonable?

And one more thing.....

What's the big deal about having a boyfriend? I had an inkling there was one, but she never told us about it. I found out yesterday in passing from Terri and then act like I knew. Because really, I didn't want to look or feel like an idiot for not knowing that my 15 year old daughter was dating a college freshman!!

So again, I ask....Anyone want some teenagers?

No More Poop!

What's that you say?

No more poop?

Nathan is potty trained?


WHY YES, IT'S TRUE!!!

It didn't take very long, once we started. We bribed him...ALOT with small toys and candy, but it worked. He was just peeing on the potty and then, it seemed as though poop episodes were getting fewer and farther between (and no...he didn't poop and hide it, like he did at the beginning...no, this time, he was actually pooping on the toilet). I'd say it took about two months with one or two small accidents before he was and is completely trained. He still wore the Pull Ups at night and he was sooo used to wearing them that he wanted to wear them all the time. I stopped buying them and that forced him to wear his cloth training pants.

A few nights ago, Rich and I went shopping for socks and undies for everybody and I picked up some little ones for Nathan. He is so in love with his new big boy underwear. LOL! It was hilarious the first night he had them. He kept changing into different ones. No sooner did he have on one pair than he turned around and had another pair on. He did that for about two days. It was funny watching him "model" all his new underwear.

I'm so stinkin' proud of him!! He did great!! And the best part of it all, is I, I mean we don't have to change any more poopy pants. Well...except for me, I still have to do when I'm at work. But hey, at least it's not all the time, right?

More Boo-Boos

I don't know what it is with this family and hitting our heads, but I really wish it would stop. This afternoon, I told Nicholas to take Nathan outside for a little bit so I could get some stuff done. After about five minutes, Nathan comes inside screaming. He had blood dripping down his face.

Apparently, he tripped and hit his head on the concrete steps out back. He had a small gap open. I asked Rich if he thought it might need stitches and he said he didn't think so. Amanda and I cleaned him up and put some ointment on his cut and a bandaid of course. He also got a heaping dose of Children's Motrin and other than saying he has a hole in his head, he's fine.

Just another thing to be thankful for today, I guess.

Oh, and by the way...he did it again a few days later. Same spot too. I was leaving for work and he ran up the stairs to tell me good bye when he tripped and fell and busted his head again. Seriously, wasn't once enough?

Be Thankful....

It's not so much the story but the underlying message.

~*~Blind Girl~*~

There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind.
She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend.
He was always there for her...

She told her boyfriend, 'If I could only see the world, I will marry you.'
One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her.
When the bandages came off, she was able to see everything, including her boyfriend.

He asked Her,'Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?'
The girl looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind.
The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her.
She hadn't expected that.

The thought of looking at them the rest of her life led her to refuse to marry him. Her boyfriend left in tears and days later wrote a note to her saying: 'Take good care of your eyes, my dear, for before they were yours, they were mine.'


This is how the human brain often works when our status changes. Only a very few remember what life was like before, and who was always by their side in the most painful situations.

Life Is a Gift

Today, before you say an unkind word - Think of someone who can't speak.
Before you complain about the taste of your food - Think of someone who has nothing to eat.
Before you complain about your husband or wife - Think of someone who's crying out to GOD for a companion.
Today before you complain about life - Think of someone who went too early to heaven.
Before whining about the distance you drive Think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet.
And when you are tired and complain about your job - Think of the unemployed, the disabled, and those who wish they had your job.
And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down - Put a smile on your face and think: you're alive and still around.

Happy Thanksgiving

I am thankful for a lot of things. I feel as though I have a wonderful life and that I have been truly blessed. I have six beautiful, healthy children, I have an amazing husband, who would give his right arm if he thought it would make me happy. I am thankful for zoloft haha! I know that's kind of ridiculous, but hey maybe that's why I've been feeling so blessed lately, eh?

I am thankful for the food we had to eat. I know that's so boring, but you know what, with the economy being what it is, we should all be grateful for the food we are eating.

I am thankful for so many more wonderful blessings, but if I continued doing this I would take up the whole page. God Bless everyone who reads this, may you all have a wonderful holiday season filled with joy and lots of love.

I Dream Of......Cabbage?!

The other night I made cabbage rolls (other wise known as pigs in the blankets for all of us "noreaster" people) for dinner. They were so delicious!

Anyway, Rich had this really weird, totally hilarious dream that same night. He told me all about it the next morning.

He said..."I had a dream that you (me...Char) were in the backyard picking out a baby from a cabbage patch......And I kept telling you that I didn't want anymore babies....I just wanted some more cabbage rolls."



I couldn't stop laughing

Sneezy, Grumpy, Sleepy

Last week while Nathan had a cold and didn't feel well he was ultra clingy. I had to work on a few of those days. Each time I left it was absolutely horrible. Nathan would scream and cry and beg me not to go. On one of these days as Amanda was watching him he climbed up on the couch to look out the window and watch for me to come home. As he was watching for me, he fell asleep. Amanda took this picture and sent it to me. Isn't it cute?

Halloween Pictures

I have been trying like hell to post these pics, but for whatever reason they just would not post. I'd get the blown up half pic like the one below of Nathan's shirt. It was so irritating! I finally figured it out but don't ask how because I'd never be able to explain it. So here is my bunch dressed up for Halloween....

Sarah the hippy girl and Zachary the vampire


Nicholas the pirate


Nathan the cowardly lion

Nathan with Amanda

Nathan with leftover face paint on his face

Nathan's Shirt

Rich and I took Nathan clothes shopping a few nights ago. He wasn't feeling well, but we had to take him because he needed new shoes. As we were walking through the clothes, we walked past this shirt and Nathan said "Can I please have that shirt Mommy?" in that sick little voice. How could I resist?



*For whatever reason the pic is not posting correctly (and I'm tired of trying to fix it), but you get the general idea of what the shirt looks like.*

Creepy Freaky Spiders!!

By now everyone knows what a phobia I have of spiders, right?

Ever since Halloween (mainly since we went trick or treating) Zachary and Nicholas have been hiding those little black plastic spider rings all over the house. And mostly, where they know I'll freak out if I see one. Apparently they think it's hilarious if they hide them in the laundry downstairs, under or sometimes in my shoes, in the shower drain....where it floats up out of the drain when the water starts to flow.

I suppose when I have a heart attack the next time one "jumps" out at me, that will be funny too. Boys....they really are rotten little devils, aren't they?

Birthday celebration times two

Sarah and Zachary just turned 11. Can you believe that? Where did the time go? I can still remember walking up and down the hallway at night with Sarah. She was the clingiest baby! Even as she got older she wanted to follow me everywhere. She truly was my little shadow. Once when she was about two years old, I went out to get the mail and I'll never forget the look on her face when I came back in. She was absolutely horrified that I left without her. She was screaming and crying so much that there wasn't any tears coming from her eyes. You know that dry cry kids do when they are really upset? That was her. And to this day, even at 11 years old, she still wants to tag along everywhere I go. I call her my girl Friday, she's my side kick.

With Sarah taking up so much of my attention when the twins were infants, Zachary quickly figured out that if he wanted any mommy time at all then he was going to have to do it while Sarah was sleeping. So, every single morning until he was around 2 years old, Zachary would get up at 1 o'clock in the morning like ...well...clockwork. He just wanted to be held. He didn't care if I fell asleep while I was holding him, he just wanted that snuggle time. He still craves my attention to this day. At odd moments during the day he will walk up to me and hug me. He will hug and hang on for what feels like hours. I think he's just trying to get that attention he was always content to let Sarah have while they were babies.

We really didn't do much this year for their birthday. In years past, I made huge deals out of those special days, but its hard now trying to plan those super parties, while working the afternoon shift and taking care of the kids. So it feels as though birthday celebrations have been dwindling down to being almost non-existent. This year was no different. I figured we would make a cake and get some ice cream and have a little family party (like we did for Nathan's birthday). But, I didn't have any plans set for a time or day.

On Sunday, Rich went to watch the Steelers game at some friends' house (Vince and Terri). Vince loves Halloween and acts just like a kid during this time. I thought he would get a kick out of seeing the kids in their costumes and since we were trick or treating that night it would help us out as far as getting everyone ready. Rich left first and we were going to tag along behind in my van. When we got there, Terri pulled me aside and said Rich wants me to run to the store and get a cake from the bakery, so I'll be back in a bit.

We ate dinner at their house and the kids got to show off their costumes. Vince got out the candy and let the kids have some. Then he also let the younger boys (Nicholas and Zachary) rough house with him. They rolled on the floor and wrestled. The boys love doing this, but Rich can't do it with them anymore. So, Vince was happy to oblige.

During halftime, we sang happy birthday to Sarah and Zach. We had a good laugh at the candle Terri put on the cake. It was the only one she had and it was something like over the hill, lol. Terri and I dished up the cake and ice cream. Sarah and Zachary opened their cards from Vince and Terri, they got 11 dollars each (since they are 11). While it wasn't a huge party, it was filled with our friends who love us. I realized while we were there, that we have know Terri and Vince since the twins were little babies. So it's cool that we celebrated with them.

Our little date at home....

The other day Rich and I were running errands together, when we passed this little pizza place and I said out loud "I often think about stopping there on the way home from work and getting a pizza for you and me to share when I get home."

Without giving it much thought in the days passing......

I came home from work one night and to my surprise Rich not only got a pizza to share. But he bought a movie that I've been dying to see (the newest Indiana Jones - since Harrison Ford is my secret lover....lol). I was taken aback by his thoughtfulness. I often take Rich for granted, usually yelling at him to help me more, or ignoring him when he asks me to do things, etc. but then he does these really sweet amazing things for me and I realize.....

What a wonderful man God has sent to me!

So anyway, we couldn't have our little date right away, because Nathan wasn't feeling well. It was about an hour after I got home that Nathan finally fell asleep. So we heated up the pizza and since it was too late to watch the movie, we watched a tv show that Rich dvr'd for us.

It might not have been a candlelit dinner for two at a fancy restaurant but it was a wonderful date night for both of us. I'll say it again, I'm a very lucky girl....

Can't they stay little - for alittle while longer?

Sarah has a boyfriend! Did I mention she is 10 - well, tomorrow she'll be 11. And another fascinating fact - she has started shaving her legs!

Where did my little girl go................

She came home from school all excited, saying I have a boyfriend. I was talking to Rich on the phone at the time and told him. He said that's it Sarah's grounded til she's 40. So funny! Daddies and their little girls!

Guess what Nicholas did?

Did that get your attention?

Are you thinking all these horrible things that 6 year old, almost 7 year olds get into?

Did he get a bad grade on his spelling test?

Did he get a 100% on a math test?

Did he pick a fight with one of his brothers?

Hmmmm, What could it be........


Drum Roll Please..............


He learned how to ride his bike without the training wheels!! That's right my little boy is moving up in the mobile world. A true bike rider! The wonderful part about it all is the fact that he did it without help. He asked his big brother to take the training wheels off one day, and he got on his bike and started riding it like he'd been doing all along.

Isn't my boy cool?!

For your viewing pleasure....

some new pictures

These were taken by my brother Jimmy and his wife Kristen. Kristen recently sent them to me in an e-mail so I'm posting them here.

Whoo hoo, Look at those muscles on Zach!

Nicholas pondering the meaning of life

(And yes, Kristen, I cropped my fat butt out of these LOL!)

Sarah taking a picture with my cell phone

Nicholas

My niece Paige

Another one of Zach

Throw some candy our way, please!

You really don't think I'm sharing this with anyone, do you?

Aunt Kristen, this is for you....

Remember your comment about taking pictures to blackmail Nathan in the buff? Well, these are older but I took them, because they were cute. You always have to get a few butt or nakey shots in when you have kids (I mean when they are babies, not older kids - I'm not a perv!). So I'm posting these for you.....

Have you tried these?

They are so addicting....Not as good as a real caramel apple, but the taste is pretty darn close.

Who hid the remote?

Everytime I go to work and come home the remote control is missing! Without fail....every.single.time.

We have six televisions in our house. Each of the kids rooms (they are doubled up in bedrooms; girls, boys, boys) has a tv, the familyroom has a tv, the living room has the big screen and Rich and I have a plasma tv that hangs on our sitting room wall. Most of the time, the kids end up in the living room watching the big screen.

When we first got the tv (about 4 years ago, when we moved into this house), it came with a super duper remote. That thing flipped opened and had controls for a dvd player, controls to change the screen (wide, movie, normal, etc.) and a lot of other cool features.

Of course the kids broke it and it costs $50 to replace.

Yeah that ain't happening!

So the remote to the tv is broken. However, we have cable. The living room has a cable box with all the channels (which is why the kids want to watch tv in there), and our tv has a dvr system (if you aren't up on your cable lingo - this system is wicked! You can record tv programs, and pause the tv program if you need a potty break and then come back and hit play and continue watching your show - right where you left off. No more missing things. The rest of the televisions in the house just have basic cable (2 - 70 channels or something like that).

The cable boxes in the living room and the master suite come with remotes. The living room remote is always missing - Always! I swear the kids hide it from each other, thinking that if they hold the remote, they can control the tv. It's insane! I went to work today with the remote sitting on top of the tv. And I came home and its gone....

I think from now on when I have to leave for work, I'm going to hide the remote! That way when I get home I'll know exactly where it is!!

Remote, remote, come out , come out where ever you are.........

Naked Nate

This new potty training gig started a new trend......streakin' naked around the house. Nathan doesn't want to wear clothes anymore....which I can kind of understand. Seeing as often as I have pee during the day, pulling your pants down all day long can cramp your style - potty style that is!

So the boy not only doesn't want to wear clothes, he doesn't want to wear underwear or pull-ups, except for the aforementioned pooping thing. So he streaks around the house nakey All.the.time!


It's a good thing we haven't replaced the carpet yet!

Potty Mouth!

I'm so tired of poop! I'm in the middle of potty training Nathan. It's going okay as far as peeing. But, the poop thing......just isn't happening.

I made the mistake of telling him that if he pooped in the potty he would get a special toy. Then he tricked me. He pooped in his pull-ups and scooped the poop out of the pants and stuck it in the toilet. It must not have been the runny kind of poop, because he didn't have anything on his hands. So seeing the poop, I ran to my bedroom to grab a prize (a small toy - cars, helicopters, etc). He followed me and knew where I hid them (get to that later). I made a huge deal out of the poop in the potty. Who wouldn't?

The next day he did it again, only this time he had poop all over his hands (I know, so disgusting!!!). I walked into the bathroom after I realized he was in there. Oh my God! Have you ever seen the Eddie Murphy movie called Daddy Day Care? There is a scene in it where one of the kids uses the bathroom and Eddie goes and checks on him and they don't show the poop, but you get the impression that it's all over the place.

Yeah, that's what my bathroom looked like. Poop......Everywhere!!!!

I cleaned it all up and had to explain to Nathan that he wasn't going to get a prize since he didn't actually poop in the potty. This went on the happen again and again and again, all week long! Finally, I explained to Nathan that he couldn't do that. That its gross and disgusting! That he wasn't going to get prizes for taking the poop out of his pants and putting it in the potty. That I'd rather he just poop in his pants and leave it there for me to clean up. That smearing poop all over the place because it's all over your hands is unacceptable. So he stopped. He continued to pee in the potty, but wouldn't poop in it. Okay, I'm fine with that. One step at a time, right? Once we get the pee down pat, we'll work on pooping on the potty.

Now onto the toy prizes.....

Remember me saying that Nathan saw me pull out the present? Well guess what that little bugger did?

Yep, he got them all out and opened them. Apparently, he did this while I was at work. Amanda was supposed to be babysitting the other kids, but she was too busy playing on her laptop. Nice job, Amanda!

So I'll just say again....I'm so tired of poop!!!

Whoever said the phrase "Terrible Twos" must not have been around when the child turned three!! In my book, two's aren't quite so bad. It's the "three's" that are killing me!!

I LOVE this song

Cinderella by Steven Curtis Chapman, he lost one of his children, a daughter not so long ago. It was a tragic accident. One of his older children was backing down the driveway and didn't see her until it was too late and she died. It's a beautiful song. It makes you realize that soon your children will be growing up. Don't take your children for granted. Don't take your life for granted. Cherish every minute of it, even when they are driving you absolutely mad and it's hard to say you love them. You never know when it will be too late to say I love you.

Nathanisms

I said "Nathan are you my baby?" Nathan said "Of course!"


Nathan (who is potty training) said "Come on mom" I said "Where to Nathan?" and he said "Come and see my pee."

My mom sent this one...

I've always wondered about this myself. Now I know.



The Silent Generation - people born before 1946.

The Baby Boomers - people born between 1946 and 1959.

Generation X - people born between 1960 and 1979.

Generation Y - people born between 1980 and 1995.

Why do we call the last one generation Y?

I did not know, but a caricaturist explains it eloquently below.










Learn something new!