The Joys of Potty Training

For the past 6 days, my days have been timed out in 20 minute intervals.  My goal is to try to get at least one thing done before the timer goes off, and I need to take Kaitlyn to the potty.  If I don't hear the timer go off, I hear Zachary yelling at me "Mommy!!!! Pee Pee Time!!!"   I am amazed at how long it takes me to do anything.  My major questions these past days are......Why, oh why, is dinner ready 5 minutes before potty time?  Why does she pee on the floor 3 minutes before the timer goes off?  And why does her Grandma have to step in the poop as Kaitlyn is standing there saying "POO POO!!! POO POO!!"?  (and of course this is 2 minutes after I took her to the potty). 

Okay, so why am I doing this now?  I have been seeing the signs that Kaitlyn has been ready to start potty training.  So why not start when we are home for several days because I am trying to complete long list of  cleaning projects and get ready for Thanksgiving?  Hahahah, the silly mommy logic!   

How cute is this? 

She likes to sit sideways for some reason. 

Zachary keeping Kaitlyn company.

 I honestly wasn't too eager to start potty training since she just turned 18 months, but she had other ideas. I finally went to the store to buy panties 2 days into training.  She is doing great!  I'm surprised  at how fast she is getting into the routine.  We have experienced some unfortunate and memorable accidents, but all I can do is laugh, though I'm not sure if it's a laugh out of humor or insanity. 

Even though I am on the a bit frazzled through all this, I am soooo very proud of my little lady. 

Being Thankful

I have seen different ideas on helping preschoolers with the concept of being thankful.  We have been doing many crafts, but this was a keeper of a craft that we will be doing year after year.  I made different color leaves and we each picked a color.  Each leaf has something that we each are thankful for.  I love that

Zachary helped with Kaitlyn's leaves and he did really good on coming up with what they each are thankful for.  We did this in one night, but next year it will be a month long project.  I like the idea of each of us doing one leaf per night.  It not only helps the kids to learn about being thankful, but it also helps me to be more thankful for all my blessing too.

Here are the other crafts we did to prepare for Thanksgiving.  All were so much fun, I'm not sure what would be my favorite.



This was a fun center piece to make and Zachary is so proud that he made a decoration for the Thanksgiving table



I love any craft using hand prints.  I did this last year, and had to do it again.

this was a good craft that includes some good cutting practice.  It turned out so cute.

Halloween Celebrations

This past week is blur, oh but what fun we all had celebrating Halloween, though we got a bit burnt out by the end.

It started with a fun pumpkin painting play date. What fun we had with all our friends.

Then our Tuesday class had a Halloween parade and fun snack time. What I learned in school today was that tons of sugar before nap time doesn’t bode well for sleep.

Wednesday was a big day at our house as we hosted our preschool co-op. Amazing how we tried to keep it small, but with 6 preschoolers and 6 toddlers, all of a sudden, it is quite a group. The kids did great and it was so much fun to see their inquisitive little faces. And what could be more fun, than to go to school with all your best friends? Zachary was soooo excited, he could hardly stand himself.

Thursday was another fun play date with some craft time.  (Sorry, no photos for this day)

And Friday turned out to be a wonderful family day at Irvine Regional Park’s pumpkin patch. The day started out by Zachary having a fit that he wasn’t seeing his friends today and that he didn’t want to spend it with his family. (Boy didn’t know that started so soon!) But once we got there, we all had such a fun day. Days like this are what makes me so very grateful for my life. These kids are what makes the struggles of life worth it. One thing that made the day so special and fun was that both kids experienced their first pony ride.

Saturday was finally a stay at home day that was oh so needed!! The day didn’t turn out as it was planned. But in the end, it was a much needed day of rest. (Again no photos.)

And now we finally made it to Halloween!!!!!  We started the day off with carving pumpkins.

Zachary could hardly wait until we could go out trick or treating. He didn’t think it was ever going to get dark outside so we could go. Kaitlyn really didn’t care for the whole thing. All she wanted to do was eat the candy as she went. When she discovered that wasn’t going to happen, she complained the rest of the way.

It was really such a fun week.  Now Zachary asks to go Trick or Treating every day.

Slowing Down

This past week I feel like I am going in more directions than normal. My “to do list” seems to be endless these days and with two small ones in constant tow, I make little progress if any. My biggest frustration is my office area. I’m the kind of person that must be organized and know where every little thing is at a moment’s notice. I use to be quite good at organization. Now, I clean up a little and then turn around to find it messier than before I started. I have been on a mission to get my clutter cleaned up.

Well……it isn’t going so good! I had to put the cleaning aside to start Halloween projects, lessons, and costumes. In the midst of doing several things at once, I looked around my disastrous office and had to laugh. I am truly losing the fight for organization. It amazes me I can be creative in such a mess, but I am. I am so far behind in all my many projects, taking the time out to clean, seems pointless when I see my end result. What do you think?

Okay, this really isn’t what I wanted to post about. In my frustration to organize my life and make progress on my lists, I gave in to my preschooler’s call to play with him. And I’m glad I did! Some special memories were created along with some perspective. We made some play dough and paints and headed outside together. What a marvelous time was had by all. I get all warm and fuzzy when I watch my kids having fun together. This was one of those times.

Another wonderful development that is happening is that both kids are starting to enjoy coloring. This gave me a few moments to fix Kaitlyn’s Halloween costume. Something I had to do while she was awake so I could make sure it fit right. Zachary was feeling a bit left out, so once Kaitlyn was down for a nap; Zachary got to try on his costume. Here is a little preview….

I admit that I have a hard time slowing down, keeping my perfectionism at bay, and relaxing. But this week, I was able to do two out of those three things and am better for it. And I wouldn’t have these beautiful pictures and memories if I hadn’t slowed down.

A Firehouse Birthday Party

Today we went to a fun birthday party.  And what is more fun than a tour of a firehouse and then a pizza party?  We all had fun!  Zachary has started, just recently, being so protective of Kaitlyn when we are out of the house.  He will hold her hand and keep her safe when he thinks she is in danger.  It is so heart warming to witness.



He is actually thrilled to be sitting in a Fire Truck. 



Kaitlyn was thrilled to sit in the Fire Truck\

Both kids got to hop up and sit in the passenger seat of a fire truck.  I was surprised at how thrilled Kaitlyn was.  It is so hard to get her to smile sometimes, but not today, she was in heaven.  Zachary on the other hand, hasn't wanted to smile for the camera, even when he is having a blast.  Oh...the challenges of a Mommy!!

 A fun part of the tour was the to see all the gear they have to wear to fight a fire.  This was an attempt to let the kids see who is inside all that equipment and not to be afraid of them.  Zachary was very excited and thrilled by it all, until he was able to go up and give the fireman a "high five".  Kaitlyn wasn't too thrilled either to talk to him either.

After a fun tour, we headed over to a local pizza place and helped Zaiden finish celebrating his 3rd birthday. 

Zachary couldn't stop talking about all the fun he had all the way home, and all evening.  At the end of the day, I always ask him what his favorite part of the day was.  His response today was sitting in the fire truck.  He also added that was also Kaitlyn's favorite part of the day too.

Thank you Zaiden for inviting us share your special day.

50 random things about Kathy

My blog has been 99% about my kids, as it is easier for me to talk about them than myself. But some friends have posted this on their blogs and has inspired me to do the same. Hmmm....this was way harder than I thought, 

1. I love chocolate and rarely find a dessert that is too rich

2. Haven’t had cable or any TV except for dvds going on 3 years and am surprised how I don’t miss it

3. Have a cell phone mostly for emergency purposes and I don’t know how to text. Only turn it on when I am away from my children.

4. I suffered from Didaskaleinophobia as a child and have worked hard to get over it.

5. I love the rain and snow.

6. I love to travel and the farthest I traveled was India. Want to return to Africa and Greece.

7. Am a stress eater

8. Having children was the best decision I ever made in my entire life.

9. Deciding to have children was the scariest decision I have ever made

10. My mom is my best friend

11. My first car was a Fiat Spider and I bought it without knowing how to drive a stick shift. I loved that car!

12. I have a hard time throwing memorabilia away.

13. I have struggled with my weight since puberty.

14. I am not athletically minded in any way. I don’t like to watch sports, participate in sports, or talk about sports.

15. I’m a perfectionist and hate it

16. I have never smoked…cigarettes or anything else.

17. When I was little I wanted to be an actress. That is until I went to an acting class and discovered I was too uptight and guarded.

18. I played the flute in school and quit because my teacher kept calling me Vickie (my sister). He thought that was funny, I failed to see the humor.

19. Am very introverted and guarded. One of the things I hate the most about myself.

20. Felt that I was a very patient person until I had children

21. My favorite color is lavender

22. I never left the house without makeup on, I had kids, and now it rarely finds my face

23. I hate having repair people fix things in my house; I would prefer to do it myself.

24. I am left handed and slightly ambidextrous. One reason I am not athletic, I could never figure out which hand to use.

25. I am the youngest in my family. I have a brother (7 years older) and a sister (5 years older)

26. My friends were always older than me (usually by 10 years or more) until I had children.

27. My favorite movie as a child was Grease. Don’t have one anymore.

28. I use to read constantly. Now I can’t seem to enjoy it. I now enjoy books on tape.

29. Never really like talking on the phone, but spent all my working years at a job where I was on the phone 8 hours a day.

30. Both my Father and Grandfather passed way when I was 16 years old.

31. I use to ballroom and country western dance in my 20’s. I miss it, and would like to take lessons someday in the future.

32. Hate going to get my hair done, so I do it myself, and yes, it looks like it.

33. I have never had a manicure or pedicure

34. Love getting the mail. Guess there is always hope that something exciting will come, which it never does.

35. I have always lived with cats. I use to be a foster and took care of over 70 kittens. I only adopted 1.

36. I have depression and have to be careful to not have it disrupt my life too much

37. I love cuddling under blankets in bed.

38. Christmas in my favorite holiday

39. Was scared of anyone dressed up in costumes until I worked for Disneyland and saw the characters backstage without their heads on.

40. Worked for Disneyland for 15 years in their travel company

41. Like being in control of things, but hate making decisions. Not a good combo.

42. Would prefer to be the driver than a passenger

43. Tend to cope better with routine but finds it hard to keep with children

44. Seem to start many projects but never completes them

45. My greatest joys come from spending time with my children

46. I have always had long hair and have colored it since I was in my early teens. Mostly blond but I did go red a couple of times

47. I find being around water very calming. My vacations were usually taken near the ocean and I miss my waterfall running in my backyard.

48. I miss getting massages and going to my acupuncturist. Both help to give me a sense of inner calm.

49. When I get stressed, I like to retreat to my home and become antisocial.

50. I have a poor sense of taste and smell. Makes me a picky eater since I like things according to texture

Another Hair Cut

 No, I wont be blogging about each and every new hair cut.   But for a long time now, I have felt that is was due time for Zachary to have a shorter hair cut.  Each and every time I go to cut off his hair, I just can't.  Last time I did get it shorter, but today we went short!

While I was cutting, Zachary kept saying, "NO!!! I love my hair!!"  Then when he finally saw himself in the mirror, his response was "I don't look like myself, I look like a stranger".  And yes he doesn't look like my baby any longer.  Not sure if I like it either, but who knows, only time will tell.

 

Zachary loved this picture. 

Since he was having such a hard time, I promised him a candy kiss if he sat still. 

He is showing off his kiss.