Category Archives: Kids

Update on Life

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Oliver started Pre-School this past week. He loved it!

However he did have a “run-in” with his teacher’s aide. They had playground time the first day and she took them to the small one instead of the bigger one (the small one is probably for like a 1-2 yr old) and so he told me he asked her if they could play on the big one & she said “you’re not big enough” (Oliver’s words) and so he asked me if I could talk to her the next time I saw her & I said I would ask but if she said no then that is that & he can’t complain about it again…He then said “Well I have an idea…” I asked him what that was & he said “We could throw her in THE LIONS DEN!!!” :0)

He also had a hard time understanding that we leave school supplies at school & not every day do you use everything. After his second day he said he really liked it and said “I want to go everyday!!!” So that made me feel good!

Another funny story yesterday while he was napping I heard him sleep talking/yelling (b/c it is so loud) saying “I Know, I know!” I thought hmm I wonder if that is what he did at school!

Gia is feeling very left out & cries when we drop him off & cries when we pick him up because she wants to go to school & play with the kitchen. However, it was so nice just having Gia home yesterday for a few hours!! I forgot how easy one kid is!!!

An update on me. Not much is different. Last week I took myself off bed rest being full-term and also went off of my medicine. I am still having contractions but nothing regular enough to give reason to have the baby. Yesterday during the day until now I have been having a lot of contractions, hard ones…So I am hoping it is leading to something and not just the way it is going to be until Tuesday!!

That is what is going on here, I hope all is well in your neighborhood!

Good Behavior Chart

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Well the time is here! Oliver completed his good behavior chart. It was a great success in our house & we are already starting a new one!

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How we did it was there were 40 slots that needed filled & each day he has an opportunity to fill 2 slots. He has a chance from the time he gets up until the time he takes a nap (during nap also) and then the second chance is from after nap until bedtime (including bedtime, he draws the picture in the morning if successful). He also gets 3 warnings for each opportunity, if he gets 3 X’s then he doesn’t get to draw a picture. He gets an X for (being mean, whinny, bossy, mouthy & etc.) if he doesn’t something horrible like scream at me (which has happened) he gets an automatic 3 X’s. {Aprox. 20 days took him 1 month}

So for his reward we went to Cony’s where he picked a BLUE ice cream cone (we never let him get cones…you will see why!) and then when we were there he added sprinkles to it also. His flavor Cotton Candy Ice Cream with Cotton Candy Sprinkles. Gia just got a child sized dish & it was PINK of course :0)

He is already planning his next trip to Cony’s for a successful chart, this time he says he is going to get a CHOCOLATE cone :0)

I strongly suggest this if you have any sort of behavior issue or problem in your house. It was worked great & he is already talking about the next time he gets his chart full!

Gia’s Birthday (the actual day)

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Gia’s birthday was Thursday, June 6. To make it special since we had already had a birthday party with family I decided to schedule a play date for that day. So we had a small play date & cooked out cheeseburgers, chips & fruit and then we sang Happy Birthday and ate Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars.

It was so fun for her to feel a little “extra” special! Two friends brought gifts which made it a little more fun for her!

She opened her presents from us after her nap & had fun playing dress up for a little bit.

That night was VBS so that was like a party by itself! After VBS we headed to Culver’s with Nana & Papa. Then we came home & went to bed!!

Enjoy the pictures! Check back soon for a post on Strawberry Shortcake!!! Mmmm…

Strawberry Picking

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I told Dusty that this year I wanted to go pick strawberries with the kids.

1. Because I never have
2. I thought they would love it
3. Nothing beats fresh strawberries

So, he told me where I could go & I looked up their website (Sat. or Sun.) and they said check back in a few weeks…Well this morning I got on facebook & saw a friend of mine had taken her kids there! I checked their page & turns out they just opened yesterday! So prepped the kids to go strawberry picking!

We got to Schaer’s around 10:30 had to wait 5-10 min. for the tractor to come pick us up & then we were dropped off in the field to pick on our designated row, and NOT any of the ones around us…Are you laughing thinking “yeah right” well they actually did pretty good! I had to remind them, a lot, but they caught on.

Oliver did a great job picking! He probably picked 1/4 of the strawberries, Gia def. ate WAY more than she picked and pretty much all she did was eat :0)

I got around 16 lbs. of strawberries & paid about $26 ($1.59/lb) So what did I do with that many??
– Froze 2 bags
– Lots of Fresh (Strawberry Shortcake perhaps? I have the best recipe if you want it!)
– Lots of Freezer Jam! YUMMM….
– And I sold 4 1/2 lbs to Nana :0)

Well worth the time & money! Enjoy the pictures!

Gia’s 2nd Birthday Party

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Well one of these days there will be a post that isn’t about Gia…I promise…I do have a son, a husband & a life that has as of recently has been consumed by my little girl.

She loves Dora (and a lot of other things, but I thought this would be easiest) so I got online one day & ordered: plates, napkins, cupcake rings & some dangly-things (there are pictures, I just don’t know their name) then I got on Etsy & got some invites done & felt so much relief when within a few days everything was at my house & pretty much done!  I did have to go and gets cups, silverware & some pink plates still but no big deal!

The day of her party Dusty took the kids to the Glen Oak Park & then to the Zoo & McDonalds so I could get the house cleaned & cupcakes baked.  It was great!  They had a blast and I got a lot done & Dusty got to enjoy his vacation day.

I was hoping the weather would be nice & we could sit outside & my “new” patio furniture & have a cookout.  The weather slightly co-operated :0)  We had it really simple but delicious we had: Brats, veggie tray, watermelon, chips & pork & beans.  And then Lemon cupcakes with a raspberry buttercream for dessert!  Yumm!!!

Gia did SO great!!!  She greeted everyone at the door with a big (and LOUD!) HI! was pleasant the whole evening, loved opening her presents & visiting with everyone (she didn’t have any preferences which was nice!) and then when it was time for people to leave she said “THANK YOU! BYE! SEE-YA!” 

Here are some pictures of our evening!

Gia’s Big Girl Room

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So her big girl room is all done! YAY! She has been doing great in her bed! At this point she still waits for us to come and get her in the morning & after her nap.

My inspiration for the bedroom came from the curtains. I had made them for her before she was born & just thought they were kind of “whimsical” I loved that they were girly but not cheesy. So I painted her room a pinkish/peachy color & I love it! It is so fresh!

My next idea was that I wanted it “soft” and slightly rustic to go against the pink. So we added my old college bed (Love the wood frame) and the mirror & “coat rack”.

After that I decided to just pull some of the colors that were in the curtain out and onto the bed which is why it is that yellowish/green color, same with the blue pillow.

Anyways, hope you like it, I had fun doing it but I am SO glad it is done!!!

Gia’s Potty Training Experience

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Gia showed a lot of interest in being potty trained which is why I did it so early. Oliver didn’t get potty trained until he was about 2 3/4 & it was a breeze! I started in the morning and by noon he was done!!! So Gia has been more difficult for me even though she has done great! I try not to compare the two but it is nearly impossible…

Anyways, the main sign she showed was that she always wanted to sit on the potty whenever anyone wanted to. She never actually went but always got the biggest smile and then would say “I DONE!” after about 3 seconds :0) So I told myself after vacation I would potty train her. The first week back from vacation we said bye bye to the Paci!!! And week 2 (this past week) we said hello to the big girl potty…this week (week 3) she is moving to a big girl bed!!! YIKES!!!

Here is what our days looked like, I am recording this for those of you who want to potty train & like to look at what options are out there, I am also doing it so I can refer back when it is time to potty train the little boy in my belly!!

So, Sunday night I moved the coffee table to the side of my rug & laid out blankets all over my nice wool rug, got a towel placed it on the wood floor (to catch drips..) and put the potty right in front of the t.v. I also added a nice little “table” (upside down box) next to it to hold a few books & LOTS of sippy cups of juice! And she basically sat there and watched movies, of course she got up and ran around but it would be right back to “Gia sit on the potty”

****WARNING!!!!!**** Stop Reading here if you do not want to know about her poop & pee schedule!!!!

Here is what the days looked like (Day 1 not recorded)

Day 2: She pretty much stayed in front of the tv most of the day so within 3 ft. of her potty pretty much all day.
7:15ish – woke up
8:45 – pee
9:15 – pee
11:00 – pee
11:30 – pee & poop on the floor!!! YUCK!!!! (she then walked in it..) Very discouraged mommy!
12:25 – pee
1:40 – pee & poop
1:55-3:35 – Nap (little pee in diaper)
4:15 – pee
6:15 – pee
7:45 – pee

Day 3: I gave her a little more freedom but the potty was still in the living room. This was the first day we ventured outside :0)
7:30 – up (little pee in diaper)
8:00 – pee (went by herself! as in I didn’t tell her to sit on the potty she just did)
9:25 – pee & poop
10:30 – pee
11:10 – poop
12:50 – pee
1:15-3:15 – Nap (Diaper VERY full of pee…)
6:30 – pee (alone!)
7:50 – pee (alone)

Day 4: Potty chair still out in the living room but she was allowed to play in the play room & go freely around the house.
7: 35 – Up (little pee in diaper)
8:00 – Pee
8:45 – Poop (alone)
9:55 – Pee (alone)
10:30 – Pee (she had a reminder that when she needed to go she needed to sit on the potty)
11:30 – pee (alone)
11:55 – pee (alone)
1:15-3 – Nap (little pee in diaper)
3:50 – poop (alone)
5:50 – pee (alone)
7:05 – pee (alone)

Day 5: Potty chair moved to the bathroom
7:30 – up (pee in diaper)
8:40 – pee (while eating breakfast had an a LITTLE accident on her chair)
9:20 – pee (alone)
10:25 – poop (alone)
12:30 – pee (told to sit on the potty, pulled her panties down, walked away & came back she had them back on and was peeing…on the potty but non the less :0)
1:20-3:15 – Nap (pee in diaper)
6:10 – pee (on floor but finished in the potty)
7:30 – pee (on big potty before taking a tubby)

Day 6: Saturday – she did pretty well, she started to get more stubborn

Day 7: Sunday, 1st day out!!!! We went to church and she was reminded every 20 min. but never went not even an accident! We left at noon (I wasn’t feeling well) came home & within 5 min. of being home ran to the potty & peed A TON!!!! Later that day we went to Nana & Papa’s where she peed her pants & then later pooped her pants..Sigh..

Day 8: Monday (Memorial Day) she was doing fine & then pooped in her pants (note remove pants when at home!) She did fine the rest of the day until we were in her room & I was sweeping the floors, she was in her closet (its a walk in & has her toys in it) and couldn’t get out & I couldn’t hear her & she pooped on the floor again :0( She was so sad & ashamed…She is learning though!

Overall it has been a good experience, exhausting!!! but good…I was homebound Sunday – Saturday (except 3 hours on thursday) I wanted to die!!! I feel like I was literally going insane! I was in a permanent stage of grouchieness!!!

Anyways thanks for reading, & I’ll be posting more about vacation & Gia’s big girl room reveal (she goes to her big girl bed tomorrow!)

Vacation – Sea World

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When we initially talked about going on vacation I said I wanted a beach and Dusty googled all the Sea World’s in North America. We narrowed our to vacation to either Texas or Florida. Due to cost & distance we chose Florida. Isn’t that pretty cute though, we just had to go to Sea World! :0)

So for Dusty’s birthday present I said okay let’s go! It was about an hour away from where we were staying, not bad! We headed out at around 9ish got gas & a starbucks & arrived around 10:30. I was really excited that we were going during an off time so it wouldn’t be so crazy. Spring Break was over & School wasn’t out for the summer yet. It was a beautiful day, trying at times but overall a great memory! We left at 7, when the park closed & the kids slept VERY well that night!

Here are lots of pictures :0)