That's quite a request

My son told me today that if he goes poo-poo on the potty he gets a Christmas tree.

How am I supposed to respond to that?

The gift that keeps on giving(have I done this blog title before..feels familiar)

There is nothing like a large over sized box to keep your kids entertained for days!


So many uses.....try it upright



Try it on its side


Try it as a slide


And of course the king had to try it too


What actually came inside this box was an early birthday present that will be talked about and shown on a different day

It always brightens my day

...and hopefully it does the same for you

That's cute and gross all at the same time

So we have a case of the "pukies" going around in our house as of 5am this morning.

Knowing that,listen to the conversation that happened between Lilly and Drew not too long ago.

Lilly starts it with... "Uh oh Drew sick. Oh no. Drew sick."(she walks over closer to Drew and I speak up and say not that close Lilly) Getting Drew's attention, she says, "Lilly is hiccups."

Drew's response... "NO thank you Lilly. I don't like hiccups anymore. I spit up all the yukies from my tummy through my mouth. I push them out."

Lilly..."Uh oh. Drew sick. Drew eats brocowee"

How nice of Lilly to try to make Drew feel better if he knew she was struggling with hiccups. And the broccoli incident has stayed with us obviously.

Long over due potty training seminar..the joke is on me really

Well, where do I begin? We are almost now two weeks post potty training weekend and things are going rather well actually, thanks for asking. We have mostly great days. One child gets it, and the other child gets going number one on the potty(although there was breakthrough today and she went number two on the potty)

I highly recommend the book How to Potty Train your child in a day. At times, some of the author's ideas were a little much, but I like a plan, and boy does she give you that.

Before I proceed, please don't snicker or judge and think I am crazy for potty training like this. It was fun and tiring all at the same time.



So we decided on a beach/boardwalk themed potty party. Gender neutral and both the kids love the beach. The grand entrance to the bathroom....artist was my husband.




Inside the bathroom that morning was two presents waiting for them.


Do you like my attempt at hanging "seagulls" at the beach. Pathetic I know.



Ah and the goodies. What is potty training without the treats? My son of course preferred the M&M's and to be honest Lilly just wanted to drink the juice soda.


So once they opened their dolls, potty training began. The whole morning was teaching the doll to go potty. The doll got treats, special drinks, stickers on the potty charts, and much more. But of course the trick is to let Lilly and Drew get a taste of what the doll gets as well. Huge motivation factor for later in the afternoon.


It was all potty books, potty videos, potty talk. Of course the doll had accidents, and successes on the potty all morning. The dolls sat and watched the potty videos with Drew and Lilly as well. Do you like the shower curtain liner under the beach towels as the water proof accessory to keep the couch dry?


So after naps they then got to open up the BIG GIRL AND BOY underwear as their special present. Big surprise which ones they each chose to wear first.

Unfortunately these nemo underwear are no longer with us. You can guess why.




We went through this stack pretty quickly....


One of their favorite beach themed games we played was "Going on a shell hunt" We played this many times in between potty breaks.



But by the end of the day/weekend we were all suffering from a little cabin fever and just resorted to plain old fun which couldn't be that far of a run to the bathroom.



They were many accidents due to children flying upside down....oh well

Don't tell Drew your secrets

Well...we are officially at that age where if my kids see something or hear something...they will spill the beans. Note to self and warning to others about this little fact around Christmas time.

My dad had a birthday this past week and we wrapped his present and signed his card the day before we celebrated with my dad. We got him a pull cart so if he decided to walk and play nine holes, he doesn't have to carry his golf bag....now he can pull it.

My mom decided to get my dad a "care package" of sorts for an upcoming trip my dad is going on to Arizona and Utah....a photography trip. But what would a road trip be without beef jerky, gummie bears, chips, ritz crackers, and hand sanitizer?? Drew and Lilly witnessed to wrapping of this gift earlier in the day as well.

So as we finish dessert and head over to open presents, Drew yells, "Papa..come open up your golf cart!!" I start laughing and so does my mom. But right after that sentence Drew then says, "After that you can open up the snacks and soap Grandma got you Papa"

That really got us laughing.

Drew the botanist

So we were all out back the other day and I asked Drew to go water the tree in the corner.

His response, "Okay mama I water the hibiscus tree."

"What did you just call that tree Drew?"

"Hibiscus tree. And these are Gerber Daisy's and these are poppy's mama"


Clear as day when he said it. All correctly identified including the tree.
I laughed so hard at this conversation and the fact that his brain cells must multiply faster then mine these days.

Don't eat and read this blog post at the same time

I bet you thought this was going to be about poop and it is not.


This face can only mean one thing


A special present for mommy.

He pulled that bad boy out all by himself. Such a proud parent moment.

It has offically begun

I am really too exhausted to write anything about this topic right now.

It will have to wait until another day.

TA DA....

Our side yards are paved, yipeee! We are lucky to have some connections and have some very generous friends who helped in this entire process. Thanks Danny and Sarah!!

Space that was not usable now feels like an addition to our house. We are so happy.




This is a question that will most likely happen in a year or so from now:

"Mommy. Why isn't my hand print and foot print on the cement?"

"Because you freaked out Drew and thought the cement was going to swallow you like a large crocodile in the wild"

The real conversation at present time goes a little something like this:
"Drew..why isn't your hand print under your name like Lilly?"

"I cry mommy. I run away from Grandma.(my mom was the one here when it happened and we were on a plane)Grandma says she gives me 10 chocolate chips. I run away and cry and scream no"

That is what he told me.

My mom has supported those statements of Drew's as facts.

Where are the ear plugs now?

Is summer over?

I guess with September here, school starting, and the fall TV line up appearing on my television set.... then summer is over.


We took another little field trip to the SF zoo at the end of summer. The kids enjoyed it and all Drew wanted to do was find a grasshopper. Okay...the kid that hates bugs and never gets very close. But there was a insect zoo that we found and his bug request was granted. Lilly was just happy to see whatever animal was around.

Lilly happily helped Todd push the stroller.


They enjoyed watching the bears swim. This was the closest we got to any animal that day. I have heard I need to try the Oakland zoo and we will. With that said, the SF zoo is seeing very empty these days, so it was a treat to actually see the bears up close.


This is a very concerned look by Lilly when the train blew it's whistle.





The hit of the day for Drew was getting to make a regular penny into a special penny. We all know that machine that flattens out the penny and puts a print of your choice on it instead. "I hold my monies" Drew said all day.





We did ride the train, and I covered Lilly's ears when the whistle blew so she wouldn't jump off the moving train.


At the insect zoo they chose which creature to become. Drew not really center, but just pretend he is for better effect.





And then there was the wedding. The wedding that Todd got ordained online to perform for a close friend of his from college. Does the Pastor usually bust a move on the dance floor?



It was so fun for Todd and I to have some adult time. Here is a list of things I didn't do for three days while we on this little trip down to San Diego:

I didn't do dishes
I didn't change a diaper
I didn't get up in the middle of the night to console a child from a bad dream.
I didn't clean.

Things I did do:
Sleep in
Eat out every meal
Finish a glass of wine
Shop at an outlet mall that was sent from angels



The bride and groom- Misty and Eric


Todd performing the ceremony. He got many laughs and many snivels at the appropriate times.


Funny story about this picture. Notice how Todd was not in a tuxedo and standing on the very end. Eric did not ask him to wear a tuxedo. So the photographer kept asking Eric, "do you want this guy in the suit in this picture?" HA Todd was always on the end like a guest of the wedding creeping in the groomsmen pictures. We got a good laugh about this.






We were very happy to get home. We missed the kids. We missed our bed. Amen.