Pee Pee Dance!

I am both happy & sad to announce that Baby K has started (just occasionally) going pee pee in her potty!!

Of course I am Happy, and very proud that she is only 16 months old and definitely understand the concept. Can you blame her? Pee Pee = 2 pieces of Skittles candy or her choice!! or in Baby K's words "my tweet" (aka treat).

ahh the thoughts of not buying diapers soon is VERY exciting.


But on the other hand, it makes me sad. Sad that my little girl, is growing up SO fast!!

I am happy that all of our little techniques have been working and she is really excited to go in the potty. I have heard night mares from other moms of kids hating the potty and wanting no part of it.

So I decided to come up with my version of the best way to get your child comfortable with the potty.

1. Start young- get them comfortable with it around 15 months or earlier if you can.
2. Make it a "cool" potty and let them help pick it out or even decorate it with stickers once you get home.
3. Get a small basket for books to put next to it to allow the child to have something to do while he/she sits.
4. Decide on a treat for when they actually "go" in the potty. A few ideas are jelly beans, MnMs, skittles, etc.
5. Be sure to make a HUGE deal out of it when they go! clap to show how exciting, sing a song, give them a "great job!!" hug.
6. Sit them on the potty as soon as they wake up either in the morning or after their nap.
7. Once they seem to get the hang of it, switch to pull ups so they feel more like a big kid!

Good  luck!

Warning: Proceed with caution

OK so, I'm bombing big time on my new year's 'Wish list'.

Here it is January 17th and  I have only posted one post. :( sorry-- but its not like I have this huge fan base. I mean, its no fault of my own, I realize this. I really, really want to get this blog going and have a ton of followers that just can not making it thru the day with out reading my words of the day... but lets face it folks, I am FAR from that..

And I'm ok with that too, (well except for days like today when I just rant on and on about things that are ticking me off).

So, have you ever had one of those days that everything is just really irritating the heck out of you and you really have no idea why??

Yep, that's me. Today.

Maybe its the fact that I told my job that we are putting our house up for sale soon and moving to Raleigh, and I am perfectly fine if they want to find my replacement now, instead of when we get a contract on the house.  But they insist that they 'need' me there as long as possible. Now, don't get me wrong, this makes me feel really good. Makes me all warm and fuzzy that I am such a valued employee that they just don't want to let me go any sooner than needed. (Sorry for the hint of sarcasm, but I have loads of stuff to do to get ready for the move, and having the time to do it would have been awesome).

Maybe its the fact that the neighbor girl glares at me as I drive by like she is the devil, and no matter how many times I have waved to her, she continues to be a B*#%! and look right thru me.

Maybe its the fact that my sitter doesn't think its right that I want to claim child care on our taxes because we never had a 'discussion' about it. (WTH?)

Or maybe its because I have PMS?

Whatever the reason, I am clearly irritated today.

So, my apologies to anyone who reads this.. hope it makes your day seem brighter :)

Getting organized

Ok so I admit, I am learning this whole parenting thing, day by day. Now if you remember I am some what of a neat freak ( ok, not just "some what",  I AM  a neat freak). And as Baby K started to accumulate more than a handful of rattles and teething toys, and as she got older and got larger toys, I ran out to Target and bought us a cutesy leather storage box to hold her toys.

It was perfect! It fit all the toys neatly inside, and matched our living room. It blended in so well that once Baby K was in bed, you had no idea it was a toy box, or even that we had a kid in the house. Like I said, perfect!

Now those of you that know where this is going, you can stop smirking.. I'm learning day by day...

So, as she got older, actually once her first birthday came, this cutesy little box did NOT fit all of those toys! We had a filled box, and some over spill. But still,... it was neatly contained in its own corner.

I am proud that we do not spoil her with new toys weekly or monthly even. She occasionally will get something new. I am hoping this teaches her to appreciate what she has. 

Where was I? oh yes... the toys...

So then comes Christmas. 

OH MY GOSH.

Not only did we go visit family in Maryland and bring back a truck full of new toys, Baby K still had her gifts from 'Santa' once we got back. AND still received gifts in the mail from numerous out of town family ( Thank you :)).

Needless to say, our house has been looking like Toys R Us exploded.

Ask me how well this works with a neat freak of a mom.

Ok so I had to be the  Google Queen that I am and look online for some solutions to this chaois!

I found some really cool ones...

But in the end, this is what I decided on.....

I love it! She does too.. she plays in her room more and enjoys searching thru the bins looking for toys she hasn't seen in a while!


Now this Neat Freak of a Mom is feeling much better!

12 Wishes for 2012

Now most people call their "to do list" for the new year, New Year's Resolutions. I think this year i will call mine a wish list.

Because isn't that what we all end up saying anyway "I wish I would have kept that New Year's resolution"?

I figure, if I call it a wish list, its more realistic. A list of what I hope to accomplish in the year 2012.

1. Paint- Each room in the house needs a new coat of paint. My project for the next few months. Good bye prime time tv... my evenings will now consist of paint brush and blue tape!

2. Cook a new variety of meals. - I need some new ideas people! I'm getting bored.

3. Exercise more- winter has set in and the laziness has too! I need to walk or do something to keep that blood pumping.

4. Think positive- I've been working hard on this already. My hubby says thinking positive is the key to good results.

5. Clean out my closets- I REALLY need to do this and make some donations...

6. Dedicate more time to my Blog- I'm hoping to write a minimum of 4 post a week. ( hey this IS a wish list!)

7. Couponing- Imagine the money we can save if I just take the time to print the darn things!

8. Read more- I love to read, but lately by the time I get to reading, I too dang tired!

9. Date night-  I, well WE, need to set aside at least 2 nights a month for some "couple" time.

10. Relax a lil- see list above

11. Find a park nearby with swings for Baby K.

12. Continue to add to the savings account- we did well with this in 2011 and hope to keep it up


We have great things in store for 2012! keep your fingers crossed that all goes as planned :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Share your "wish list" link up below!

Remembering my Dad

With the holidays comes memories of my dad. Not just on holidays, but that's one of the times I miss him the most. (We lost him to a heart attack in 1992.)

Without giving up my true age, lets just say I was in my late teens when he died. I knew then that he was very proud to be my dad. I didn't get into much trouble, I was good in school, and I did as I was told (well mostly).

I think the day I missed him the most was my wedding day. I know he was there with me in spirit, no doubt. Maybe he was the one that kept me from tripping down the aisle..LOL!

When Baby K was born, I said a little prayer to him and told him to be her guardian angle and watch over her always. She smiled at me as I held her, so I think that meant he heard me :)

Seeing all of our family and not seeing some of those that are too stubborn to let the small stuff go, made me miss him. Seeing all the grandchildren that he never got to meet, and still a few that he did. I wondered how he would look letting them sit in his lap and reading them books or playing with all the new toys.

Family has meant more to me in the last 3 years than it ever has before. I hope my dad is smiling down on me from Heaven and is proud of the life I have today. I hope he sees Baby K and loves her just as I do, even if he can't be right here with her.

Please take the time to let the loved ones in your life know how much they mean to you.

Catching up

Wow, holidays have a way of spinning you around so fast you can't keep track of the days as they pass you by! For that, I apologize for being MIA. I feel the need to catch up...

Last week was a good week. Remember the annoying girl at work? ( I have shared, haven't I?) Well, anyways we had a meeting to straighten her, Oops I mean to straighten everything out with a few procedures around the office. The truth came out that she has been adding an additional step to the entire procedure just to make things easier on her end. The cat is out of the bag now and the boss ain't happy! I was pleased as pie. No words needed from this chica. I just smiled in glee. Its funny how things work out that way. Karma :)

The week ended with our drive to Maryland on Friday. After a complete panic attack of thinking we were not going to have room in the SUV for all the gifts, and suitcases, my hubby came to the rescue as usual and performed an out right miracle! There was no getting anything out of the back until we arrived there, but hey, he got it all to fit so that's what matters most!

Aside from staying up late 3 nights in a row and sleeping on an air mattress, we had the best time! Better than I actually expected, to be honest. I mean I have to admit I was a little upset at the fact that after driving 5 hours to my brothers house, he and his wife were going to her family's house all day on Christmas Eve and we basically had to fend for ourselves. All in all it worked out just fine. We got to spend some time with my mom's friends and had some awesome food!

Baby K got to spend some great quality time with her 2 cousins. They all had so much fun, and played so well together.

Baby K was so overwhelmed by all the gifts on Christmas. She was on over load for sure! Made me feel proud that we don't spoil her with new toys all the time. I am hoping this will teach her to appreciate and take care of her things.

We had a total of 15 people for Christmas dinner! My sis-n-law did an awesome time for her first family dinner!! I was impressed. It was all so yummy! Being together with family is what makes the holiday so special, we need to to that more often for sure.

Tuesday was back to reality, back to work. Now that my house is a wreck, I am ready for all the decorations and tree to come down so I can get things organized!!

Next week is Baby K's appointment for the EEG. I am a little nervous but expect they will find nothing out of the ordinary. She has been fine and showed no signs of any more seizures :)

I hope all of your Holidays were just as fun as ours!