We've been gearing up for the Christmas holiday in this house. Josh has the benefit (ha!) of being married to a self proclaimed Christmas freak! I love everything about it and I refuse to wait until after Thanksgiving to start the fun. Sooooo in the preparations, I have had to answer a few questions from the girls. The best of which came from Maria... "How can the reindeer fly if they don't have any wings?" The second came from Sophia..."Is it time to go to Christmastime NOOOOW?"
Oh and as an added bonus Maria tells me this "hold on Mommy. I gonna go get my costume so I can be ready for Christmas" She comes back wearing a jack-o-lantern headband and proclaims "Now I'm ready for Santa!" I think we have a little work to do before we are ready for the upcoming holiday season.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
So, I'm totally out of things to say because in case you've been living under a rock (or you aren't friends with me on facebook), and didn't know, we have all been battling the swine flu for the last 8 days and counting. But I feel that I've been a totally neglectful blogger, so I have to give you something. This was from Danifred. One of my favoritist bloggers on the block because she so real and also has a great sense of humor. I am nominating anyone else whose blog has been suffering lately. I say we all band together and blame the economy (never ourselves ;-) So the deal is you can only use one word to answer. So here goes.
1. Where is your cell phone? questionable
2. Your hair? messy
3. Your mother? difficult
4. Your father? asshole
5. Your favorite food? chocolate
6. Your dream last night? weird
7. Your favorite drink? water
8. Your dream/goal? peacefulness
9. What room are you in? living
10. Your hobby? scrapbooking
11. Your fear? loss
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? secure
13. Where were you last night? home
14. Something that you aren’t? thin
15. Muffins? chocolate
16. Wish list item? lottery
17. Where did you grow up? uniontown
18. Last thing you did? cleaned
19. What are you wearing? pajamas
20. Your TV? madagascar
21. Your pets? outside
22. Friends? supportive
23. Your life? stressfull
24. Your mood? irritable
25. Missing someone? nope
26. Vehicle? love
27. Something you’re not wearing? shoes
28. Your favorite store? TRU (lol yes, that is as pathetic as it sounds)
29. Your favorite color? blue
30. When was the last time you laughed? yesterday
31. Last time you cried? weeks
32. Your best friend? Versailles
33. One place that I go to over and over? walmart
34. One person who e-mails me regularly? step-dad
35. Favorite place to eat? SUNNY'S!!!!!!
1. Where is your cell phone? questionable
2. Your hair? messy
3. Your mother? difficult
4. Your father? asshole
5. Your favorite food? chocolate
6. Your dream last night? weird
7. Your favorite drink? water
8. Your dream/goal? peacefulness
9. What room are you in? living
10. Your hobby? scrapbooking
11. Your fear? loss
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? secure
13. Where were you last night? home
14. Something that you aren’t? thin
15. Muffins? chocolate
16. Wish list item? lottery
17. Where did you grow up? uniontown
18. Last thing you did? cleaned
19. What are you wearing? pajamas
20. Your TV? madagascar
21. Your pets? outside
22. Friends? supportive
23. Your life? stressfull
24. Your mood? irritable
25. Missing someone? nope
26. Vehicle? love
27. Something you’re not wearing? shoes
28. Your favorite store? TRU (lol yes, that is as pathetic as it sounds)
29. Your favorite color? blue
30. When was the last time you laughed? yesterday
31. Last time you cried? weeks
32. Your best friend? Versailles
33. One place that I go to over and over? walmart
34. One person who e-mails me regularly? step-dad
35. Favorite place to eat? SUNNY'S!!!!!!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
hearing is in the ear of the beholder...
....or something like that.
We've had a few frustrations over at the McDonald household due to a "promise" I made to Sophia. It's easy to get things mixed up in a 2 yr olds head.
I say....."You can't go to Preschool until you are potty trained"
She hears...."when I get potty trained, I will get to go to Preschool."
So these last couple weeks that she's been potty trained have been frustrating for the poor girl. I keep trying to bribe her (yes, I know!). I've been buying all these books to give to them for Christmas. So the last two days, I've given her one when we get back home. Pretty soon I'm gonna run out of books! lol. So I'm looking for something to get her into, that she will see as "school". A friend of mine suggested the Library. So, I'm definitely going to look into this! It'll be especially good for her, since she is such a little reader. (which reminds me, I'll have to post the video of her "reading" her favorite book that she has memorized.)
Poor Jackson, has been working on these teeth for.ev.er. I really wish, for everyones sake, he would get them already. Drool and tears everywhere. We're gonna need a raft pretty soon ;-) lol.
AFA Maria goes, she's spectacular! Joshs aunt and cousins were in this weekend to go to the "joke", and I was soooo happy they got to come over and visit beforehand, since the kids and I weren't going. So his youngest cousin, Hannah, was teaching the girls all this sign language. I can't even remember all of it, but she did and I guess she taught it to her class yesterday at school. I was so proud of her. :D I swear, they know what they are talking about when they say "their brains are like sponges"! They remember EVERYTHING. It's so amazing to see them learn something new. Even when they are little and first standing up for the first time, like Jack. It's so awesome to see the surprise on his face when he realized what he did. I just love, love, love it! :D
We've had a few frustrations over at the McDonald household due to a "promise" I made to Sophia. It's easy to get things mixed up in a 2 yr olds head.
I say....."You can't go to Preschool until you are potty trained"
She hears...."when I get potty trained, I will get to go to Preschool."
So these last couple weeks that she's been potty trained have been frustrating for the poor girl. I keep trying to bribe her (yes, I know!). I've been buying all these books to give to them for Christmas. So the last two days, I've given her one when we get back home. Pretty soon I'm gonna run out of books! lol. So I'm looking for something to get her into, that she will see as "school". A friend of mine suggested the Library. So, I'm definitely going to look into this! It'll be especially good for her, since she is such a little reader. (which reminds me, I'll have to post the video of her "reading" her favorite book that she has memorized.)
Poor Jackson, has been working on these teeth for.ev.er. I really wish, for everyones sake, he would get them already. Drool and tears everywhere. We're gonna need a raft pretty soon ;-) lol.
AFA Maria goes, she's spectacular! Joshs aunt and cousins were in this weekend to go to the "joke", and I was soooo happy they got to come over and visit beforehand, since the kids and I weren't going. So his youngest cousin, Hannah, was teaching the girls all this sign language. I can't even remember all of it, but she did and I guess she taught it to her class yesterday at school. I was so proud of her. :D I swear, they know what they are talking about when they say "their brains are like sponges"! They remember EVERYTHING. It's so amazing to see them learn something new. Even when they are little and first standing up for the first time, like Jack. It's so awesome to see the surprise on his face when he realized what he did. I just love, love, love it! :D
Thursday, October 29, 2009
happy birthday!
So Josh's birthday is in a couple days. And in light of this event, I'm going to share with you, the reasons we love you so very much....
- You play with the girls every night. When I look out the window and see you teaching something new to those girls who adore you so much, it melts my heart.
- The aforementioned "playtime" gives me some time to relax every night.
- You do the dishes every week, because you know I hate the handwashing.
- You compliment my cooking. And not just now that it's good, you did it when it was horrible...practically inedible. It tells me that you care about my feelings and I love it.
- You actually WANT to go Christmas shopping for the kids every year and you actually get mad if I do it all myself.
- (Jack) "You give me a bottle in the middle of the night when I'm hungry."
- You dance and sing and act silly with us.
- You and I love each other more and more every day, inspite of EVERYTHING that we've been through in the last 7 years.
- You tell me I'm beautiful when I'm in sweatpants and a t-shirt and havent showered in two days. I know you don't mean it, but I love that you say it anyway.
- (Maria) "you kick my ball way up in the sky and I catch it"
- We talk about our future together and what it will be like when we have 10 grandkids and we're sitting on our front porch rockers watching them play in the yard. I love that you get the same pleasure out of a simple life that I do.
- You know what I'm thinking before I say it.
- (Sophia) "you play train track in the basement with me"
- You cried when you heard "it won't be like this for long" for the first time. (and you will kill me for saying that!)
- (Renee) "You're the cheese to my macaroni".
Monday, October 26, 2009
the secret to potty training
I feel pretty confident sharing with you all the secret to potty training. Yes, folks, you heard right, I have the secret, after potty training two children. ;-) I know this may be hard for you to believe, but it's true. I don't know why all those pediatricians who write books never called me to ask about it, because I've been sitting at home for the last 4 1/2 years waiting. So here goes, the secret to potty training is....DON'T RUSH OR PUSH! Right around 18 months, we all start getting antsy about the amount of money we're spending on diapers or how disgusting it is to change a 2 yr olds poopy diaper (which makes no sense at all, b/c it isn't any MORE disgusting than changing a 2 month olds diaper). And we read the books and listen the Dr. who all say "any time you want to you can start potty training" and "MOST children are potty trained by age 2" (which I find to be total crap b/c I hardly know of any kids that were PT by age 2).
When it was Maria, I didn't worry as much because she was so delayed with everything else and mentally I didn't feel like she could even comprehend it. So yes, she wasn't PT until she was probably 3. And we worked on it FOR.EV.ER before that because she didn't "get it" ya know. She was spending half the day on there and if she went it was shear luck, not because she knew she had to. It was stupid. Why didn't I just wait until she was ready instead of forcing it because I was ready. Because once she was ready, it was the easiest thing ever. We took a break and went back to it and that time, she got it right away and it was fun and she felt good about herself, etc.
Which brings me to Sophia. We had tried this before with no luck. she would pee on the floor (yes, you heard right) while she was waiting to get her diaper changed. The girl COULDN'T hold it. So why on earth, did I (and everyone else) push her so hard to go on the potty? We did that for a week and I just said "no. I'm not doing this. I'm not going to spend weeks and weeks fighting with her over something so stupid" So, I just dropped it for a month. This time when I put panties on her last week...pure perfection! She came to me about a half an hour later and said "mommy, I think I need to go pee". And it's been like that ever since. I have never in my life heard of anyone having such an easy time. Yes, she's 2 1/2 (ok, more like she'll be 3 in two months...) and I've been berated by people about letting her wear diapers this long, but at the same time...THERE WERE NO FIGHTS! there was no frustration (from her OR us). It was not a struggle, it was just the natural progression of things. The way I look at it, I have enough things I need to fight with them over, I really don't want to add another. I mean, I don't advocate people waiting until the kid is in kindergarten or anything, I just think that you know your child and you know when they are able to understand certain things and I have a very hard time believing that that is at 18 months. In my opinion, it is the parents who are trained, not the child. It's like how my mom always asks Maria if she needs to go (like right after she eats, etc.). It's stupid. SHE knows if she needs to go, and SHE will tell YOU. I am not trained, she is! I can't ever remember asking Maria if she needed to go. And I have never once this week, asked Sophia if she needed to go. I have relied solely on her telling me and she hasn't had a single accident. Ok, I take that back. The very first day I forgot to put her diaper back on her for her nap and she couldn't get herself situated on the potty before she went a little bit. But otherwise, she's been golden! And I swear, I'm doing it this way for Jack too. If it's worked for 2 out of 2...it's gotta be right...right?
When it was Maria, I didn't worry as much because she was so delayed with everything else and mentally I didn't feel like she could even comprehend it. So yes, she wasn't PT until she was probably 3. And we worked on it FOR.EV.ER before that because she didn't "get it" ya know. She was spending half the day on there and if she went it was shear luck, not because she knew she had to. It was stupid. Why didn't I just wait until she was ready instead of forcing it because I was ready. Because once she was ready, it was the easiest thing ever. We took a break and went back to it and that time, she got it right away and it was fun and she felt good about herself, etc.
Which brings me to Sophia. We had tried this before with no luck. she would pee on the floor (yes, you heard right) while she was waiting to get her diaper changed. The girl COULDN'T hold it. So why on earth, did I (and everyone else) push her so hard to go on the potty? We did that for a week and I just said "no. I'm not doing this. I'm not going to spend weeks and weeks fighting with her over something so stupid" So, I just dropped it for a month. This time when I put panties on her last week...pure perfection! She came to me about a half an hour later and said "mommy, I think I need to go pee". And it's been like that ever since. I have never in my life heard of anyone having such an easy time. Yes, she's 2 1/2 (ok, more like she'll be 3 in two months...) and I've been berated by people about letting her wear diapers this long, but at the same time...THERE WERE NO FIGHTS! there was no frustration (from her OR us). It was not a struggle, it was just the natural progression of things. The way I look at it, I have enough things I need to fight with them over, I really don't want to add another. I mean, I don't advocate people waiting until the kid is in kindergarten or anything, I just think that you know your child and you know when they are able to understand certain things and I have a very hard time believing that that is at 18 months. In my opinion, it is the parents who are trained, not the child. It's like how my mom always asks Maria if she needs to go (like right after she eats, etc.). It's stupid. SHE knows if she needs to go, and SHE will tell YOU. I am not trained, she is! I can't ever remember asking Maria if she needed to go. And I have never once this week, asked Sophia if she needed to go. I have relied solely on her telling me and she hasn't had a single accident. Ok, I take that back. The very first day I forgot to put her diaper back on her for her nap and she couldn't get herself situated on the potty before she went a little bit. But otherwise, she's been golden! And I swear, I'm doing it this way for Jack too. If it's worked for 2 out of 2...it's gotta be right...right?
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
Is 12 days a sabbatical or a desertion?
Hey everyone! I know I've been awful lately. Mostly that is because all that is really on my mind lately is political corruption and government reform and I don't want to become one of THOSE bloggers who can only talk about one thing and that one thing usually gets people all hostile and pissy. Sooooo that has lead to some dead air (or keyboard....or screen?) on my part and I apologize. Another little bump in the road is that my camera...or my cord...or my computer is being a jackass lately and wont upload my pics. So I feel like I'm a little disconnected on that front.
Nevertheless, we've been doing pretty well in the McDonald household. Jack is EVERYWHERE which is awesome. He keeps himself entertained and is soooo much happier. I can't believe that he's (technically) 9 months old (yesterday). I can't even see that little 4 lb 7 oz baybee I delivered on that wonderfully, stressfully New Years Day. OooooKkkk that's enough of a trip down memory lane for now.
We've all been sick (some more than others) and we've all done our share of complaining (some more than others). But we got over it without any meds (woot woot!) and Maria only missed one day of school. It was on that day, that I fell in love with her preschool schedule being Mon, Tues, Wed, on and Thurs, Fri off. It was really nice that she had 4 days straight (well, 5) to just rest at home.
She's been doing really well with the preschool and she's picked up some WOOOOONDERFUL new phrases and a WOOOOOONDERFUL new attitude. Yah....it's been great having to say the phrase "I am your mother, you don't talk to me that way!" 156465435 times a day. :D My mom said to me today "maybe she just needs a little refresher course". I laughed out loud because it sounded like we were a mafia family talking about putting a hit out on a member that was getting out of line or "going off grid" as they say on TV.
Nevertheless, we've been doing pretty well in the McDonald household. Jack is EVERYWHERE which is awesome. He keeps himself entertained and is soooo much happier. I can't believe that he's (technically) 9 months old (yesterday). I can't even see that little 4 lb 7 oz baybee I delivered on that wonderfully, stressfully New Years Day. OooooKkkk that's enough of a trip down memory lane for now.
We've all been sick (some more than others) and we've all done our share of complaining (some more than others). But we got over it without any meds (woot woot!) and Maria only missed one day of school. It was on that day, that I fell in love with her preschool schedule being Mon, Tues, Wed, on and Thurs, Fri off. It was really nice that she had 4 days straight (well, 5) to just rest at home.
She's been doing really well with the preschool and she's picked up some WOOOOONDERFUL new phrases and a WOOOOOONDERFUL new attitude. Yah....it's been great having to say the phrase "I am your mother, you don't talk to me that way!" 156465435 times a day. :D My mom said to me today "maybe she just needs a little refresher course". I laughed out loud because it sounded like we were a mafia family talking about putting a hit out on a member that was getting out of line or "going off grid" as they say on TV.
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