Behavior Progress

So a few days ago I asked for help regarding behavior in toddlers. I also went to the library and picked up a few books to help along the way and read a TON of articles online. So many articles were about baby-ing the kids and not doing this or that but a book I picked up was called ScreamFree Parenting. I haven't read much in it but it is talking about stepping away from the situation and focusing on yourself as a parent as opposed to baby-ing the kids. I like that approach so hopefully the book will be helpful insight. And something that I saw from an online article was to make a list of the rules or things that your child shouldn't be doing and if they break a rule then you take them over to the list so they can see the infraction. So I promptly made a list and Leo decided to put it on the fridge. It is a list of 13 rules that he knows and knows he should follow. We have been working on improving his behavior and he does not like it when I tell him we have to go look at the list. And of course he's a little smart aleck sometimes because if I tell him he shouldn't be doing something he asks me if it's on the list. We are leaving to go out of town today and will be gone through Monday and we are taking our list with us. Hopefully this list will make it through the trip and he will stay well-behaved!

One thing he has done that has proven my little baby is growing up is he has gone 3 nights in a row without going to the bathroom in his underwear. We had been keeping him in pull-ups overnight because one time when we tried just underwear it definitely backfired. But he hadn't been going overnight either so when our pack of pull-ups ran out we decided to try again. So three nights later we are accident free through the night! Big boy!

Random Thoughts Tuesday: You know...

It's Tuesday. Random up...

You know you're leading a healthier lifestyle when you make mac and cheese for your little one and you don't even sneak a bite. Not even when you are putting the leftovers away!

You know your problems are minute when you hear from a co-worker that another co-worker's husband passed away. Very weird conversation to have, especially because he was only in his 40's.

You know you're on vacation when you don't force your kid down for a nap and let him take one at 5 and sleep until 7. Not too big of a deal when he doesn't have to be at school the next morning!

You also know you're on vacation when you don't care about money. We're not even going on a "real" vacation and I'm like, meh, we'll manage somehow!

You know you're a cool mom when you are super excited about going to a cooking class with my little one tomorrow!

You also know you're a good mom when, even though your kid hasn't been on their best behavior while their cousin is visiting, you let your little one play outside for awhile even though naptime did not occur. (Let me tell you...this one backfired because apparently naptime is a must-have in the heat because the tiredness made playtime last about 30 minutes before major meltdown occured. Which led to the above when naptime came at 5!)

There's my random and I'm sticking to it. To see more random head over to www.theunmom.com. See what's happening over there!

HELP!

This weekend has gone by ridiculously fast but it seems as if it is dragging on because I have been on the go constantly. One thing that has made it exponentially worse is that my little monkey has decided that this is the week he wants to be the worst of the worst. So I'm asking my bloggy friends for HELP because I need some advice. He will not listen to a single thing I say and if he does listen he does the exact opposite of what I say. And he's decided that he also wants to pick back up his habit of hitting/headbutting/doing whatever he can to abuse us. All I want to do is spank and yell because I am at my wits end but I obviously know that doesn't work. So any advice I will be open to. I know there are tons of you out there that have kids or grandkids and I just need some advice! Please and thank you!

Random Thoughts Friday!

So I usually take part in Random Thoughts Tuesday but I have been having a lot of random thoughts floating through my head and since my VACATION starts today I have a little time to let them out!

Why is it that I keep seeing VERY large men riding motorcycles or mopeds? So random! I think they just need to buy cars because they look like they are going to either break the bike or fall off because they don't fit very well on it.

Can you believe it's been 10 years since Jared lost all that weight from eating Subway? Well it has been. And I heard a Subway commercial today that told me that pepperoni is the new bacon. I'm sorry, but that will NEVER happen. Bacon is amazing, and as much as I love pepperoni it could never take the place of bacon. I also tried out their breakfast sandwich. It was the double bacon, egg and cheese on an english muffin. Aside from the double bacon being 2 slices of bacon it was pretty good. It seemed like it was missing something flavor-wise, but pretty darn good!

Sorry for more fast-food talk but I took the monkey to Burger King on Wednesday because I had only a small window between picking him up and getting somewhere else. I'm a so-so fan of Burger King but because monkey saw it being built he is obsessed with it. I don't even know if he likes it that much but he always wants to go there. Anywho...a family walked in behind us and as we were waiting for our food they ordered. And do you know what they ordered? They ordered tacos. At Burger King. First, I didn't even know Burger King sold tacos, but they sat down at a table near us and I saw it. I couldn't figure out what kind of meat was in it, but seriously?! You go to BURGER King and order a taco. Why not go to TACO Bell and order a taco? Or TACO Tico. So weird!

Tomorrow is wedding time and I am getting so excited! I am on vacation today to go do wedding stuff with my soon-to-be sister-in-law. We are getting ready to go get our nails done and then I am her slave for the day doing whatever she needs help with! So excited! And then tomorrow is the BIG DAY! I will post pictures soon, but I may be MIA for a few! Have a happy weekend!

RTT

This weeks Random Thoughts are back again. And I'm going all bullet points on you people because it helps me keep my random not so random!

• Ants have decided to overrun our home. We get one area cleaned up but they decide to have their little ant party somewhere else. I'm getting fed up and I don't know what to do with them. Apparently everyone I've talked to have had some problem with ants around here.
• Little man was really sick on Sunday. Like temps getting up to 105 sick. I was really concerned. Then Monday morning he woke up with a temp of like 101. I dropped him off at my moms so I could go to work to tie up a few loose ends that I didn't get finished on Friday. When I picked up him at 9:30 he was better. Like jumping on my back, running around like a maniac better. I don't know what my mom gave him but I was very relieved that I wasn't going to have to take him to the doctor!
• Anytime a baby is seen on TV Leo wants to show everyone and talks about how cute it is. So I have been asking him if he wants mommy and daddy to have a baby and his answer is usually no. Well this weekend his answer was yes. He wanted a baby brother. So now he's on board too. Now all we have to do is talk dear hubby into it! :)
• This week was going to be a short work week anyways because I start my vacation Friday, but esepcially since I missed most of today it's an even shorter week! I am so excited!
• Yay! My brothers wedding is in less than a week! I am so excited for them!

Enough random from me. Go check out Keely and all the other randoms out there. www.theunmom.com

Sick Day

Since I stayed home most of the day with Leo we have been trying to relax as much as possible so he can recuperate from the sickies. So I put on Disney and Pixar short films were on. I love Pixar movies, but some of those shorts are really weird. And a little creepy. There was one with a baby chasing a toy soldier that played music. And the baby was super creepy looking. And then there was one with rats. I think it was from one of their movies but they were doing a short with the same characters. Gross. Not a big fan of rats! But the Cars ones and Toy Story ones were really cute! And it was almost 2 hours, so it gave some good background when Leo was cutting his paper and having a picnic with me! Thank goodness I didn't have to watch Max and Ruby and some of the other random cartoons on Nick Jr. all day!

Father's Day Spin

So I'm getting a jump on my Father's Day spin because I have an opportunity! My sweet boy woke us up this morning about 5:30 crying that he was sick. So my dear husband got up with him and took him to the bathroom. He couldn't go but he was burning up. I got up to see what was going on and I got Leo some 7-Up. He couldn't go to the bathroom but he definitely didn't feel good and he was burning up so I was rocking him when he ran back to the bathroom to throw up. So all day we have been dealing with a sick boy. Poor little thing has been running a temp of close to 103. Yikes! So the hubby has taken his fatherly duties quite seriously today and has been laying with Leo all day. I'm sure the rest is much needed but the love showed between daddy and son all day has made my heart melt.

So, while this has been a pretty rambly post and one about just my monkey being sick I will leave you with a few quotes my son has made this week that makes me know he's his dad's son!

Me: Leo, what do you want for dinner tonight?

Leo: FOOD.

A few days later:

The scene: We are sitting at a stoplight behind a truck on the way home from daycare.

Leo: MOM. GO.

Me: Baby, we can't go. There is a car in front of us.

Leo: Mom, it's a truck.

Like I've mentioned before my family is full of sarcasm and smart-alecness. Apparently these are genes that can be passed down because Leo has picked them up!

And if I haven't expressed it enough...Happy Father's Day to the best dad in the world!

Head over to www.spriteskeeper.com to check out other Father's Day spins!

Filthiest Place on Earth

Or at least in my house is the bathroom. I hate cleaning the bathroom. I know I've complained about cleaning up before but seriously, I hate cleaning the bathroom. I think it's the fact that the things we do in there are very dirty. I don't even want to be in there for those reasons let alone in there to clean up from said reasons.

So on my day off today (Wednesday) that was my job. To clean the bathroom. And the thing about my bathroom is that the tub drain always seems to have a problem draining. So after awhile the tub stops draining quickly so the soap scum builds up very easily which makes it even more gross. So this morning after I tanned I stopped at the store to pick up drain cleaner and to re-stock my bathroom cleaning supplies. I then went home and got to work. Scrubbed the toilet, sink and then on to the tub. I even grabbed a magic eraser for the bathroom. Works like magic! Then cleaned the mirror and the floor and then washed the sheets and towels. I know sheets are from the bedroom but they wash well with towels! So now my bathroom is sparkling clean!

But it really got me thinking...why am I the one always cleaning the bathroom? And why does it seem like I always ONLY hear of women cleaning the bathroom. Now my dear hubby does help a lot around the house (when he feels like it) and will do his own laundry and will do the dishes (when I leave them there long enough to annoy him) but he NEVER cleans the bathroom. Ever. Since we've moved into our house 6 years ago I swear he has cleaned the bathroom once. Maybe twice. And I'm not even exagerrating. I'm the one that always has to do it. I don't know what it is, but I bet it has something to do with the men are doing way more disgusting things in there than women do so they definitely don't want to clean it! I know that's filthy but probably the truth.

And my other thought was that I really wish I had enough money to outsource housecleaning. I read in my parenting magazing that there are enough hours in the day to do everything we need to do and that housework shouldn't be a priority. If you have enough money to outsource it you should it said. And if you don't then the little piddly stuff like picking up your kids toys is not worth your time because it's just going to get messy again. I won't lie. I've used that idea before. Just like making your bed. Why waste the time making it when you are just going to unmake it at the end of the day. So I'm not the only one with that mind-set. But my hubby definitely wouldn't go for that idea so I guess I will still be tidying up at the end of the day!

L-O-V-E

This weeks Spin Cycle was mystery spin. I hadn't participated in a while so I figured a mystery spin would give me enough intrigue to start back up. So I sent my email over to Jen and she sent me one back to blog about LOVE. I have blogged many times over about my love of my family and how they are what keeps me around so this blog about love is going to be about things I love right this minute!

Seriously...how summer are root beer floats? I love root beer floats and wish we had an A&W here in town. There is one where my in-laws live and believe me...we will be hitting it up when we go there for vacation in a few weeks!

Again, America's Pasttime centers around baseball and my favorite team is the Kansas City Royals. They aren't doing so hot this year, but hopefully they can at least keep on pace and go out at .500 this year!

Maxi dresses are super cute and I really want one. But I'm not sure how it would look on my extremely short/stumpy body. But a girl can dream!

This show is awesome! It's on Mondays on Fox and it is really good. I read a review that said it wasn't believable, but I really enjoy it even if I have to suspend reality for awhile!

And finally...grilling. The above steak and veggies look delicious but we normally grill hamburgers and chicken. But grilling after a day at work just makes the night a little better! Ahhh summer!

So that is what I am loving right this minute. To see other mystery spins check out http://www.spriteskeeper.com/.

RTT: When Happy Thoughts Just Aren't Enough

Well this weekend was fantastic. And by fantastic I mean completely unfantastic!

I participated in a garage sale. And while the company was nice the traffic was not. We didn't sell much and I made $80. And yes, while that was $80 more than I had to start with I wish I would have made more.

My car was finally fixed and it should be fixed for good but we'll see. My little Ford Escort, which Ford no longer makes, decided to go kapoot because of one silly part. The part that is obsolete because they no longer make my car. So my dear hubby, my dad and 2 of his buddies had to figure out how to fix it. And while I appreciate all their hard work and 2+hours of labor I hope it stays fixed. I really hope they knew what they were doing! Because if not...I will have to get a new car. And my budget does not like the sound of that. But what can you do?!

A few good things happened this weekend! Music Theater started in Wichita and the first show was Gypsy. It was pretty good. I kind of felt bad for the character Gypsy because seriously...whose mother willingly puts their child into the stripper busines.

Another good thing that happened was my car go fixed! Even though I complained about it before I'm really happy because my baby car gets good gas mileage, it's paid off and I like it! So yay!

And finally...my little heathen was horrible this weekend! He decided this weekend that everything was a gun and he needed to shoot us as much as possible and then everytime he thought about super heroes and even Buzz Lightyear (which was a lot since Toy Story and then Toy Story 2 both played on ABC Family last night) he decided that we were the bad guys and we needed to be attacked. I know that he's just being a little boy but dang...he's strong! So I need some strength to deal with a little boy!

More Random can be found over at www.theunmom.com. I'm sure some people's are more upbeat than mine! Happy randomizing!

Reason for Everything

So isn't there something that says there is a reason for everything? Well about 2 months ago we had a message pop up on our 3 year old $2000+ television that we had just paid off before the interest free financing ended that said the projection lamp was nearing the end of it's life and we needed to replace it. The lamp that is supposed to last longer and of course the warranty we bought ran out after 2 years. Yeah, that TV. Well yesterday the lamp finally decided to give in to it's horrible whim to go out. You know what else happened this weekend? My garage sale. The one that I made $80 at? Yeah, well when dear hubby looked on EBAY for a projection lamp and it costs $81 you know that everything happens for a reason. So hopefully the lamp does the trick and we will have our TV up and running again in no time. Until then we will be watching TV on our baby TV and wishing we had our gigantic one to watch. Oh well. What can you do?

Insomnia

I never have insomnia. I am the best sleeper ever. I hardly ever wake up in the middle of the night unless some hooligan is trying to sneak into my bed. And not the good kind, like my hubby, the miniature version of him that makes it near impossible for any of the above alluded to activities to occur. But I digress...last night I had insomnia. I'm not really sure if one night of not sleeping well is considered that but I'm annoyed none the less. I went to bed around 11 knowing that I would have to get up early anyways, and by early I mean 4:45 to get ready for work and then run over to the garage sale to set up. So when I woke up because I had to pee at 2:30 I didn't think much of it. But apparently my brain did because I couldn't get back to sleep. I had garage sale induced insomnia. I was thinking about how I was going to get the solid wood table from the truck to the sale site. I was thinking about my prices. Were they too much? Did I get everything marked? And if not, was I going to have time before I had to head to work? Was there anything else I could sneak in there? And then my stomach started to churn because that's what happens. I get nervous stomach. And honestly, is a garage sale something to get worked up about? No. So as I was laying in bed listening to Gulla Gulla Islans, and then Little Bill I decided to just get up. That was about 3:15. And I took a shower. Then I checked facebook. Then I caught up on my google reader. And now I'm posting this. Seriously...I still have 15 minutes before my alarm was originally supposed to go off. But at least now I won't feel so rushed. But my 8:30-4 work shift is not looking so appealing. I wish I would have just taken the day off even though the garage sale wasn't supposed to start today and then when the executive decision WAS made that they were having it today I could have helped all day and then it wouldn't be a huge deal. I could go nap with the host's baby! :) So yeah, if this post is rambly I'm sorry. I'm going on about 3 hours of sleep! Hope you have an awesome Friday!

Wedding Weekend Pictures!

Starting off with my cute kid!




Riding on the carousel at my work picnic!


Me and the beautiful bride!

My bestie from high school...who we can pick up right where we left off whenever we see each other!

Windblown but gorgeous if I do say so myself!

Love this girl!

Random ramblings from my weekend

This weekend I went to Kansas City for my friends wedding. It was in a strip mall. Then we walked inside and it was beautiful. Don't judge a book by it's cover. I'm just saying.

I tried on the dress I was supposed to be wearing to aforementioned wedding the night before the wedding. Good thing I did because it was too big (yay!). It was almost 10 at night. Not much open at that hour. So the day of the wedding I hit the mall with my friend and she helped me pick out a dress. It was a teal number with some ruffles. On sale. Amazing! And a medium. Even better!

The hubby and his manager were assigned a new bank branch to run along with their branch they currently run. He started working at said branch today (Monday) and was supposed to get off work at 6:15 and it is currently 7:55 and he is not home. As much as we knew it was going to be a huge undertaking I was hoping it wouldn't start as soon as he got there.

I really want to see the movie NINE. My mom and sister-in-law do too. Maybe I should plan a movie night, buy some wine and invite them over. Yes, I need my blog to talk out my plans before I actually do it. Don't judge.

While at the abovementioned wedding I was talking to one of my friends from high school who reads this blog. She kept talking about how I wanted to get prego soon. I didn't realize I talked about it all that much on here but maybe so. If I do and I creep people out I'm sorry. I do have higher aspirations in life than popping out babies. That's just what consumes my mind as of now.

I just bribed my child with a swiss cake roll so I could finish blogging in peace before his bedtime. I don't know if that makes me a bad mom or an awesome blogger. Discuss amongst yourselves!

And while you are doing that head over to see Keely and her randomness over at www.theunmom.com

Garage Sale Edition

I'm going to tell you about a few items we've found that are going in the garage sale pile that made me crazy about buying said items.

Books: "Really Fernandez?" That was the thought I had when I loaded all my books into a pile, including a few text books that I kept that I thought I might use. I only kept a few, my Jen Lancaster books, Harry Potter (in hardback no less), my Key trilogy by Nora Roberts and of course To Kill A Mockingbird. I don't even want to think about how much money I've wasted but I really enjoy to read. Lately because of lack of funds I have been checking out books from the library on a more regular basis. And it lets me take the monkey and he can pick out a book or a movie and feel like a big boy! Also, how many of your books do you read more than once? I have learned that most of the chic lit that I was buying I was reading only once and then putting on the shelf to collect dust.

Decorations: I'm not much of a decorator, but through the years I have acquired some decorations. So when I was cleaning out the hall closet I figured I needed to get rid of some of it. I kept most of my Halloween and all of my Christmas decorations, but the fall and Easter and just random go between decorations are all but gone. No need for them. We don't even have tables or shelves to put them on, so why waste room trying to store them. I am not going to be on the show Hoarders anytime soon!

In the closet I also found a few games that we don't play. We have never played, because the cellophane is still on it. So we obviously don't need that. It's a game called Rehab. We got it when we worked at Sam Goody over 5 years ago and haven't played it 1 single time. Waste money much?!

Kitchen: Pots and pans that we have duplicates of or items that we don't need. Gone. I found 2 microwave omelet makers. I don't think I've ever made an omelet since I've moved out of my parent's house, let alone in the microwave. I also got rid of some really nice stemware (they're for martinis which we don't drink) and a metal bucket with a shaker. All for sale.

Leo's room: I know I've already said that I've gotten rid of a lot of clothes and I got rid of some of his toys awhile back but I found more toys and stuffed animals that were hidden away in a toy chest. Gone. I also found some pillows and blankets and bedding that have been hidden for a long time so we obviously don't need them!


I am not a very sentimental person, so not much of anything in the pile made me sad. The monkey's stuff that I am getting rid of is stuff that I know that he doesn't need, so it doesn't really bother me. I feel very organized, getting everything taken care of. I'm also (hopefully) going to get a little cash out of all of this, but even if not, when the sale is finished, what is left is going to the good will. I'm doing my pre-nesting, nesting. Getting things taken care of so that way if we have a baby there will be less to get rid of then. And if that doesn't happen, then we will just have a cleaner house! haha! And if anyone wants any of the above mentioned and live in the Wichita, KS area leave a comment and I'll let you know when and where the garage sale is going to be and you can come buy my crap. Errr I mean really awesome stuff!

3 day weekends make 4 day work weeks...who knew?

So, this week has been incredibly busy seeing that the weekend was so long leaving the same amount of work to get done in less time. Work has been incredibly hectic and I have been a bad blogger because I am also trying to get stuff taken care of at home because I have a busy couple of weeks coming up.

Tuesday I took my little monkey to the zoo to see his brothers and sisters (hehe!) and my mom joined us. We have a membership to the zoo so I figured we need to get as much use out of it as we can. We had so much fun even though it was SO hot. And we even hit up a few areas that we miss because I always forget about them and the way we circle around it's always towards the end and then I'm just ready to go. But so much fun!

Wednesday I had to open the branch so I got off work at 1. So I got on my to-do horse and started working harder than when I was at work. Well after I hit the tanning salon. What? A girl's gotta get her tan on before I blind people with my bridesmaids dress! But after that I got down to business. I cleaned out the monkey's room of some of his old clothes and blankets and got a huge tote and one garbage sack full of stuff to put in the garage sale. I also cleaned out and organized our hall closet. Then I had to pick up Leo from daycare. After we got home I cleaned out the refrigerator, cleaned the kitchen, mopped the floor and cooked dinner. Boy was I tired at the end of the day!

And then yesterday and today I am working open to close shifts (9:30-8) at the branch and then Saturday I am hitting the road for a girl's weekend. It is also my birthday tomorrow. I am goingto Kansas City because my old roommate is getting married and I am staying with a few friends and then we are supposed to be going to brunch Sunday and then I will head back to make it back in time for our work picnic. It is at a small amusement park-type that also has miniature golf. We will get free admission and food, so I couldn't pass up on taking the little one. It will be his first time there and I think he will have so much fun! So that is my plan for the rest of the weekend.

Next week is equally as busy because I have no early days so I will have to spend my evenings continuing to get ready for the garage sale the weekend of the 12th and then in 3 weeks is my brother's wedding. I am SO excited! So busy, busy, busy but definitely worth it! I hope everyone else has a good weekend!

RTT: Long weekend edition

So this weekend was Memorial Day weekend (duh.) and I was off all weekend. What a welcome escape from all the crap I've been dealing with at work and at home. So we did a whole lot of nothing and it was awesome.

Saturday night we went to the sister-in-laws house for a BBQ. It was super delicious. The b-i-l had this fantastic rub for the chicken he cooked and oh my goodness. It was amazing, but it gave me killer heartburn. It was like I was pregnant, but not. Awful.

We also went to the drive-in and saw Shrek 4 and Iron Man 2. They were both pretty good but not as good I was hoping for. It was kind of difficult for me to get into Iron Man because the sound wasn't fabulous because the people in the car next to us took both speakers. Apparently they didn't get the drive-in etiquette book at the entrance. It will definitely be a movie I'll get and watch it with subtitles.

Sunday it poured in the evening and we were going to my brother's for a BBQ. We ended up going and we had burgers and they were good. I brought popsicles for the kiddos and holy crap. My niece got so messy with hers. We plopped the kids in the bath together. It was so funny.

Today we haven't done much of anything. I slept in until 10 and the monkey slept in until after 11 when I finally woke him up. He then came out, watched an episode of Dora and fell back asleep. I'm just waiting for the sickness to kick in because he has NEVER slept in like that unless he's sick or when he was a baby. But he hasn't been ill at all today so maybe he was just trying to catch up on sleep.

So that was my weekend. It was nice to have a long weekend and now the upcoming week will be short for work. And then next weekend I am hitting up Kansas City for a girls weekend and my friend/old roommate's wedding! It will be so fun and I am looking forward to it. Well everything except the drive to and from because I am doing it by myself. Lame!

To see other random check out www.theunmom.com. Lots of random there. Move along.