I've Been Lost...

...without Lost. And I'm so excited that it is back on tonight. I have it Tivo'd right now, and I'm really looking forward to watching it after Reagan goes to bed.

I did not Tivo last night's episode since it was last season's finale. But then I talked to my sister today, and she said it was like Pop Up Video and had tons of tidbit information through out the show. So~~I watched it online today. This is the first time that I have watched an entire show on the computer, and I was impressed.

Now I don't have to be bummed if a storm messes up our satellite. I can always watch the show on my laptop. I will never be Lost again.

Not My Blog

I'm taking this idea from Becky. This is not my post, but I am posting it. So this does fulfill my Blog365 requirements.

I was turned onto this website from my super friend, Tina...she has it listed in her blog roll. I was immediately hooked the very first time I visited the website. I think the pictures are amazing. I love the titles and captions she gives to each picture. And I thoroughly enjoy reading her posts.

Here is just one of her Daily Chuck's...

(photo by Heather Armstrong)

You should go and visit Dooce's website. Her pictures are wonderful, and I look forward everyday to seeing what she decided share with the world.

Sleeping with Slash

I mentioned that we got Guitar Hero III on Saturday. This is David's new favorite game. I am horrible at it. I can't even imagine being able to complete one song~~I am that bad. David assures me that he was just as bad when he first started playing (we got the game for my little brother for Christmas, and David played a few times with him). Um, yeah. I don't think my two hands will ever be able to do two totally different things while my eyes are trying to read those two different things on the tv screen.

Last night we did our (late) nightly Wii ritual. David is working. My lame replacements of tv shows (due to writers strike) have all been watched off of Tivo, so I do the Fitness Test on Wii Sports. This gets David up off of the sofa for a little work break so he can do his Fitness Test. Most of the time this leads into a tennis game for him. This all happens at about 1am.

Well, tennis has been replaced with Guitar Hero. At THREE am, after having watched David rock out to three songs~~one of which was Barracuda and is now stuck in my head~~I decide to go to bed. When I crawl into bed I hear David say, "Oooh! A guitar challenge!!". I fell asleep to the sounds of the Wii guitar strumming...

This morning David said he was totally rocking it out. "I even kicked my leg!".

Oh. Um, that's great, Honey.

He went to bed at 4am after his concert. I don't think Slash is feeling up to playing tonight, though. He's too exhausted.

Movie Monday~~Dinner Guests

A tiny bit of back story. During dinner tonight, Reagan looked over at the counter and said, "That is an in-sell-a-toe-lor"...or something like that. And we had no idea what he was saying. There is nothing on the counter that could be anything remotely like what he had said. We finally asked, "What is it next to?" and he said, "The black cup." Well, next to the black cup was one of his straw cups~~just like the one you see in the video~~and some scotch tape. So we assumed he was naming his cups...I quickly picked up the camera because the names he was making up were outrageous.

Obviously we were laughing harder than he was. I think I was laughing more at how funny David thought the whole thing was. Here is some more video. Even the corn dogs got to get in on the action.

I am going to try and post a video every Monday for what will now be "Movie Monday". I started last week with this one. This is to give my brain a break from trying to write something witty/interesting/informing every stinkin' day of this year!

Hard Earned Cash

I know that I have mentioned it before...especially before Christmas...but David and I have done a horrible thing in that we bought Reagan lots of toys. For no good reason. And this has spoiled him a bit. I don't believe that he's a brat or anything, but he certainly doesn't appreciate the things that he has. Don't get me wrong...he LOVES his stuff, and he plays with most of it. But he always. ALWAYS. asks for new things. On a daily (or hourly) basis.

So we had put a stop to our rotten behavior.

Until we started potty training.

Every time Reagan reached a big milestone we would go and get a new toy. He usually only wants a $3.50 new Cars car, so it hasn't been that big of a deal. He got something new for the first time he peed on the potty. The first time he peed without throwing a fit on the potty. The first time he did something on the potty while we were out somewhere. The first time he pooped. (the only time for that matter) And that has been it. He'll get something else if he regularly poops on the potty. And he's working towards a real fish tank when he's totally trained.

He does get the idea that he's getting a new toy because of his successes on the potty. However, whenever he picks out something new he sees another new thing that he starts "needing". So we took a friend's advice. Reagan now earns a dime at night if he does his chore--which is clean up his toys in the living room before we go to bed. If he doesn't clean them up or help us, then he doesn't get his dime. We told him that he is now earning money so he can buy his own toys.

Well, tonight we emptied his piggy bank to count how much he has. And he had enough to go out and get something.

I'm not sure if he fully understands that it was his money that paid for his toy, but I think that will eventually become clear.

I hope this all works. I need to get a part time job just to fund his toy addiction.

Bee You Tee Full Day

Our day:

• My dad spent the night with us. Before he left we all went to McDonald's for breakfast. This was a bit of treat for Reagan since he had never had breakfast there before. However, he was upset that he didn't get a toy with his pancakes. Whatever...he decided the fact that Grandaddy sat in the backseat with him there and back was better than a toy!!!
• It was 70 degrees here today. David, Reagan and I spent some time outside playing soccer, t-ball, and golf. Well, I played golf. With Reagan's clubs. He watched from the back porch.
• David's mom came over to hang out with Reagan while I was here. This way he would see that Tita just doesn't come over when I leave. They had a great time. So did I.
• I played Rayman 2 on Wii while Reagan napped and David worked in the living room. I'm getting pretty good at game playing, now. Not great...but much better than I was last week. I highly recommend this game just because it is incredibly silly. And it is tons of fun.
• FREE DINNER!! We had a gift card. Can't beat free.
• David finally found Guitar Hero 3. I'm a bit surprised that he didn't connect that sucker while I was putting Reagan to bed. Instead, he's working.
• I'm having a glass of wine, and I'm getting ready to watch (can't believe I'm confessing this) the Miss America Pageant. I watched the Miss America realty show on TLC for the past month, and now I'm really interested in who wins.

Hopefully I'll come up with something interesting to blog about tomorrow.

I've Got Nothin'

I'm sure I'll have several of these types of posts in 2008, but I do not want to let Blog365 down. I really have nothing of importance, of interest, or humorous to blog about.

I will say that there was no more "yuckiness" last night or today. Just a super-low grade fever.

I will also say, "Thank God for warmer temperatures." I think it is supposed to be in the upper 60's tomorrow. I am so sick of this cold, wet, cloudy weather.

That's all I've got. Nothing else. No need to comment. :)

The Waiting Game

Reagan got physically sick about one hour ago while we were getting ready for bed. He had said his tummy hurt about an hour before that. Other than that one hour he has been normal all day long. (How can things come up so quickly??) He is running a fever, too.

When I picked him up from school on Tuesday his teacher said they had to combine the two classes (of his age group) because a little girl in the other class got sick about 20 minutes before the end of school. I didn't think much of it until I also saw his teacher yesterday at the library. She asked if Reagan had shown any signs of getting sick, and I said "no". Her daughter who is in the class with the other little girl had not shown any signs either.

So now I'm wondering if he has the same little bug that the sick little girl had.

And now I'm waiting.

Waiting to see if Reagan gets sick any more tonight.

Waiting to see how long this bug, if it is a bug, lasts.

Waiting to see if I get sick...I was in the splash zone.

Waiting to see if anyone we have come into contact with since Tuesday afternoon gets sick. (Sorry to all of you who we've seen.)

The unknown isn't always fun and exciting.

We are very fortunate in the area of icky-sickness. The ONLY other time Reagan had a tummy bug was when he was four months old.

A Day Off

Thank you Jen and Em for posting this. I needed a no-brainer today.

Tomorrow: is Thursday. Reagan goes to school, and I clean the house.

Feeling: a bit excited about sending out my resume tomorrow.

Happy because: I have a wonderful family, and we have so much fun together.

Today I: went to the library with Reagan and then got his hair cut.

Laundry: is in the process of being washed and dried, but I haven't put anything away yet. I still have 2 to 3 more loads to go.

Something I know: How hard David works to take care of us.

Currently reading: False Impression by Jeffrey Archer

Wanting: David to be able to go to bed at a normal time for an entire week.

Favorite gadget: I'm sure you all know...our new Wii!!!!!!

Thankful that: I'm really thankful for everything...what God has provided, my family, the ability to stay home, all circumstances that happen (good and bad), and mostly the little guy in my life.

Wondering why: my dogs eat cat poop

Feel free to copy and paste...it's going around.

Missing Something?

I woke up without something this morning. I don't know where I put it, but it surely isn't with me today. I've lost my...

Patience. My patience with Reagan. And I'm totally aware of it, so you'd think that I'd be able to control my behavior and attitude when reacting to his. Yeah, not so much.

R: I want that green car on the box with the dirt track toy (which Santa brought him).

M: It doesn't come with a green car. It was just a picture. It only comes with Dirt Track McQueen.

R: I want the green car with it.

M: There is no green car. It was just a picture.

R: I want the green car. It comes with it.

M: (voice slightly raised) No. It doesn't come with it. It was just a picture.

R: It does come with it.

At this point I'm very close to shaking some reason into him so I leave the room.

This happened with several other conversations today. I just had to reason with him. Because he wasn't accepting anything that I was saying. But guess what? You can't reason with a 3 year old.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To those of you who wondered how David felt about me posting that video of him yesterday~~he did enjoy it. He is able to laugh at himself, and I believe that he isn't the teeniest embarrassed at the fact that everyone in the entire internet world is able to see him box.

To those of you who requested a video of me boxing~~I may just have to allow that. The reason being is that I full out box. I mean, I'm doing punches, upper cuts, dodging left and right, ducking down, etc...almost everything but kicking. It is like my Billy Blanks Tae Bo workout. Doesn't everyone Wii like that???

Macho, Macho Man!

I've got to be a macho man... ~~The Village People...you've gotta love 'em.

He's amazing. He's handsome. He's smart. He's an awesome husband. He's a wonderful father. He's loving. He's strong. He's witty. He's funny. He's athletic. He's a hard worker. He excels in most activities.

He's NOT a macho boxer...

Playing Wii Boxing. In the first round. I really should have recorded him in the final round!

Wii Would Like to Play

Yes!!!

We have a Wii!!!

Both my mom and my sister called me this morning while we were getting ready for church to tell me that Circuit City had Wii's. They open at 10.

Church starts at 10. What to do, what to do...

Lucky for us our church is currently meeting at a movie theater which just happens to be right next door to a Circuit City. Wahoo!! So we got to Circuit City at 9:50. I was number 6 in line. We were told that they had 9 Wii's. When the doors opened the employees walked us back to the warehouse doors where we waited in line to receive our Wii one at a time.

We were only 15 minutes late for church~~we just missed the singing.

David says that I need to ask God for forgiveness for being late to church for a Wii. But he is just as excited as I am. :)

David is in the process of setting it right now. I can't wait!

Home Alone

David took Reagan to Home Depot a bit ago, and I have been cleaning the living room and kitchen and such. I love having this alone time~~even if I am doing chores.

Reagan is in a phase to where he is extremely attached to me. I find it very odd that at this age (3 and almost 4 months) that he can be this way. David and I believe that it is because he is with me all the time. But what are we supposed to do? David gets home at 7ish from work We eat dinner. We play. We go to bed. So I can leave Reagan in that short chunk of time.

Because of David's new job he is leaving the house earlier. Sometimes Reagan is awake before he leaves. Sometimes he isn't. David used to get Reagan up one day during the work week and on Saturday. But lately (for a couple of months now) Reagan freaks out if David goes into his bedroom to get him up. He screams at David saying, "I want Mommy!". He finally gets over it, but it is a pain in the butt for David to have to deal with that.

Back to being home alone. Right before they left Reagan screamed and cried and yelled because I wasn't going to Home Depot. He wanted to stay home. I decided that maybe he was hungry so the boys had a sandwich...then all was well.

David and I are going out tonight. Tita (David's mom~~short for Abuelita) will be coming over here. They have a good time and all, but I hate for him to be even the tiniest bit upset just because I'm not here.

I would think that at almost 3 1/2 he would be over this Mommy attachment, but he doesn't seem to be. David and I always, always, always talk about how we need to go out on dates more often, but it never seems to happen. I think that if we did Reagan would be so miserable without me.

The boys are home and are now riding bikes outside. I think I will go join them. I missed them. :)

Wii Quest

I was told earlier this week at Toys R Us to "check back on Friday" for a Wii. So Reagan and I got dressed quickly this morning, and wii were camped outside the front doors 5 minutes before they opened. I was so excited. My search was over. David and I were going to be bowling and boxing and playing tennis into the wii (ha!) hours of the night.

The doors finally unlocked. Wii raced to the electronic room. Wii looked around and waited for someone to help us. I asked if they had any Wii's. Nope. They didn't! I asked when I should check back again. The sales guy didn't know..."sometime next week". Ugh!

Luckily Best Buy is in the same shopping center. So Reagan and I raced over to Best Buy only to find out that they didn't have any Wii's either.

Oh, man! When will wii ever get our Wii??? I guess wii'll just have to settle for a game of Scene It tonight.

A Story in Pictures~~Bedtime

Bath time/Splash time Drying off (with a silly grin)
In his Polar Bear Jammies Got to take care of the pearly whites
Story time...Tonight's choice was Little Quack's Bedtime because "it is green like my new car, TJ."

Kellyology

(Yippee!!! An easy post for today. I love these~~I espcially love reading everybody else's response.)

Let others know a little bit more about yourself; repost this with your name and "ology" at the end. No tagging, but let me know if you're going to do it, I'd like to read!!

MOUTHOLOGY
Q. What is your salad dressing of choice?
A. Balsamic Anything

Q. What is your favorite fast food restaurant?
A. Taco Bell

Q. What is your favorite sit down restaurant?
A. Hula Hut

Q. On average, what size tip do you leave at a restaurant?
A. 15-20%

Q. What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of?
A. Crescent Rolls

Q. What are your pizza toppings of choice?
A. Canadian Bacon

Q. What do you like to put on your toast?
A. Butter and honey

TECHNOLOGY
Q. What is your wallpaper on your computer?
A. An orange Gerbera Daisy

Q. How many televisions are in your house?
A. Three

BIOLOGY
Q. Are you right-handed or left-handed?
A. Right

Q. Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
A. A baby

Q. When was the last time you had a cavity?
A. A long, long time ago. Over 15 years, I think.

Q. What is the last heavy item you lifted?
A. David's hard top for his Jeep. Man-oh-man is that thing heavy!

Q. Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
A. No.

BULLCRAPOLOGY
Q. If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
A. No

Q. If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
A. I like my name.

Q. What color do you think looks best on you?
A. Dark red

Q. Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake?
A. I'm sure I did as a kid, but I don't remember.

Q. Have you ever saved someone’s life?
A. Not that I know of.

Q. Has someone ever saved yours?
A. Not that I know of.

DAREOLOGY
Q. Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100?
A. Yes.

Q. Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000?
A. No.

Q. Would you never blog again for $50,000?
A. Yes

Q. Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000?
A. No.

Q. Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?
A. Yes.

Q. Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000?
A. No way.

DUMBOLOGY
Q. What is in your left pocket?
A. I don't have any pockets. And I rarely put anything in my left pocket.

Q. Is Napoleon Dynamite actually a good movie?
A. Never seen it. David and I tried to watch it, but we couldn't get past the first 10 minutes.

Q. Do you have hardwood or carpet in your house?
A. hardwood.

Q. Do you sit or stand in the shower?
A. Stand

Q. Would you live with roommates?
A. Never again.

Q. How many pairs of flip flops do you own?
A. 4

Q. Last time you had a run-in with the cops?
A. November 1999

Q. Who is number 1 on your Top 8?
A. I don't have a Top 8. Should I?

LASTOLOGY
Q: Last Friend you talked to?
A: Sheryl and Michelle (they were together)

Q: Last person who called you?
A: Colleen

Q: Last person you hugged?
A: Reagan

Q: Last person to stick their foot in your face?
A: Reagan. He likes to play nose to nose, cheek to cheek, foot to face, etc.

FAVORITOLOGY
Q: Number?
A: 3

Q: Season?
A: Spring

CURRENTOLOGY
Q: Missing someone?
A: David. I like it when he's home.

Q: Mood?
A: Content

Q: Listening to?
A: Cars. The movie. And cars crashing around on the living room floor.

Q: Watching?
A: Nothing~~I'm in the kitchen.

Q: Worrying about?
A: Does Reagan watch Cars too much?

RANDOMOLOGY
Q: First place you went this morning?
A: I let the dogs go outside, and then I went to Reagan's room to get him up.

Q: What can you not wait to do?
A: I can't wait to get a Wii!!! But I don't know how I'm going to do it. I have to be at the stores that sell it right when they open. But I have a lovely kiddo who does not wake up at the crack of dawn. Ugh.

Q: What's the last movie you saw in a theater?
A: The Pursuit of Happyness with Will Smith (over a year ago)

Q: Do you smile often?
A: Yes

Q: Are you a friendly person?
A: Yes

A Lover. Not a Fighter.

**I am about to do a super no-no. But this is my blog. And this blog is a diary, in a way. So I am writing my thoughts. And yes, with a blog 'private' thoughts are available to many people. Even strangers. So I'm begging you to think back to when you may have had similar 'private' thoughts before you decide that I am some kind of evil woman.**

I got some (more) proof today that my son is really a good kid. I knew this before, but as a parent I always question if I'm doing enough to make him a "good" human being...you know, with discipline and teachable moments and such. I know that I could do more, and everyday I am working on it. At this point I think David and I are doing a great job, and we are in the process of correcting some of our past mistakes. What I'm mostly talking about today is that inside Reagan is a very sweet and good kid. Yes, he does make mistakes and has to sit on his naughty mat. But what three year old doesn't??

While we were at "By Panda" today, Reagan and I sat next to a mom and her 2 children. 'Brother' was barely 4, and 'Sister' was 2. 'Mom' commented to me while her kids were playing that my son was very good. I don't know why she immediately thought this. We just sat down right after they did. And Reagan started eating. Brother had been asked to eat, but he decided to go play instead. Sister was eating a bit. We did the standard "how old is he/she" talk. And after Reagan was finished with most of his meal he went to play on the playscape. He always comes back for a few pit stops to finish his fruit and drink.

At some point Mom asked me if Reagan was in school or Mother's Day Out, and I told her that he was in Mother's Day Out. She asked if I liked it and where did he go. I told her where and that I absolutely love the program.

Meanwhile, Reagan came back to me whining a bit that his hand hurt. Brother had hit him. But at the same time Brother kept asking Reagan to go and play with him. Reagan went back to play.

Mom told me that Brother and Sister were in a program, but she pulled them out last month because "it was a long drive." We talked about how different schools group kids differently, and she was saying that it was hard on her son because he just turned 4 but he's big for his age. And the teachers expect him to act older than he is. She said, "He's just all boy!"

Reagan came back to me looking sad. He said that Brother was pushing him.

Reagan decided to eat some more and stay with me. He wanted me to go into the play area with him.

Mom then told me, (I promise!!! Exact words!!) "The teachers at his old school started to tell me that other kids were scared of my son. I am paying them. They should watch him better."

Um, ok. My kid is scared of your son, too.

While I was cleaning up our table so that I could go into the play area with him, Reagan went back in to play with Sister. Not 30 seconds later he came out crying. Brother was following him. Reagan said that Brother kept hitting him. Brother was telling me the same thing. Mom didn't say anything else to me.

I felt really badly for her if she was embarrassed. But I do think should have said something to me.

I have been there. Reagan used to hit when he was angry. But we worked on it, and now he doesn't hit anymore. Brother wasn't hitting because he was angry, though. He was hitting and pushing because that is how he was playing.

On the way home Reagan was telling me, "That boy kept hitting me. The girl was nice."

I was never upset with the mom or the boy. All children are different. What today showed me was that Reagan is growing into a nice person. He has always been nice. But I am proud of the behavior that he showed today. He could have hit back. But he didn't. He could have pushed back. But he didn't.

Now, I don't want him to grow up being a wimp. But he had a hitting background. So for him to not hit~~this is a great thing!

Dr. Feel Good

Reagan and I took a trip to the doctor's office after I noticed his belly and back were covered in a rash. His fever had gone down to 99 to 100, but the rash made me a bit nervous.

He has strep throat. No biggie...because he is still acting like he is a-ok. I'm glad it is something that can be treated with antibiotics because that usually makes him feel tons better by the next day.

Reagan didn't have a single potty accident today! Even though he didn't do absolutely anything until I put him on the potty tonight at about 8:30, I'm still going to count today as an accident-free day! I'm sure tomorrow he'll be all back to normal. (And yes, he's drinking enough fluids. :) I'm sure his body is just hanging onto 'stuff'.)

What I'm so worried about are the two friends we saw yesterday. I am just praying that those 2 little guys don't get sick because of Reagan.

I'm off to go and play "flashlight chase" with the kiddo right now. Fun times!!

Hot Tamale

Reagan still has a fever. And not just some little itty bitty fever. We're talking 103.4 when he's not on Motrin. And he's a bit stuffy. But that's it! This has happened before, but in the past he's usually had the stuffiness before the fever. This fever thing just showed up while we were at the park yesterday with no warning and other symptoms.

The good news is that I think he is beginning to handle not feeling 100% better then he used to. Before now if he had a tiny bit of a cold he was cranky and miserable and all of us were just unhappy. But it seems with his past few colds that they haven't been slowing him down too much. Unless, of course, he feels really crappy. I think it is just another sign of him growing up.

Tonight is bath night. And bath nights are my nights to get him ready for bed, and then David lays down with him. Tonight he said, without any mention of what night it was, "Can Daddy take a bath with me and Mommy lay down with me?" Of course! He's got this taking turns thing down.

Speaking of taking turns, he played with his friend Jack today. He and Jack are such good friends to each other. They were taking turns for everything it seemed! Again...they are growing up. And they're growing up to be good kids.

**I won the Scene It game last night. There is a rematch in about 45 minutes. And still no Wii.

Bickering and Squabbling

I don't have much time to write right now because David and I are getting ready to play a game.

Santa brought me Scene It? Squabble Edition for Christmas. And I really love it. It is a game that tests you knowledge on girly or manly movies, music, and pop culture. Very fun.

We're still looking to buy a Wii, and after reading this I am just about getting impatient! I want one so badly!!

Just a few updates and info:
~~The potty training is going ok. Reagan has success with tinkling in the potty everyday, but not every time. And he has told us several times when he needs to use the potty. So we're getting closer everyday to being fully trained.
~~He is running a fever right now. It is between 101 and 102.4 with no other symptoms really. He sounds like he could have a stuffy head, but it isn't totally convincing. And he acts just fine--except he didn't eat dinner. I hate it when he's sick. We're supposed to have a play date tomorrow with his very good friend Jack. So I hope he wakes up feeling well.
~~We just played the flashlight game for the first time. He sleeps with 2 small flashlights. And we played "chase" with the lights on the ceiling. I told him to try and catch my light totally thinking it might take a few minutes for him to catch on to the game and/or actually be able to follow my light. Nope!!! He followed perfectly, and he has no problem catching me! What a fun, cheap game.

Alrighty! Off for quality time with my husband. I'm going to kick his butt in this game. (He won last time, but I beat him badly the 2 times before that.)

The Consistency of Oatmeal

Although I am nowhere near as intelligent as my husband (computer nerd~~but a cute one) nor my sister (super business woman), I consider myself a pretty smart person. I'm not a brainiac or anything, but I'm no dummy, either.

That seems to be changing. I think I can hear my brain swishing all around in my head. It is turning to mush. The reason?? Cars. The movie. Disney and Pixar are rotting my brain.

As I stated here, we watch the movie quite a bit. And as I also said there, we do limit the amount of time the tv is on. So when Reagan is around and finally gets to watch some tv, it is Cars.

It is a very cute movie. It has a good message. It is funny. It has something for everyone, young and old, to enjoy. But those statements only apply to the first 27 times you've watched it.

Because I have seen it so many times, I have had to come up with ways to keep my brain stimulated so it doesn't start dripping out of my ears. So thank goodness for IMDb and Wikipedia. Through these two sites I have learned tons of useless information. For example:

• The Wilhelm Scream was used in at least 123 movies, including most Disney Pixar films (and all of the Star Wars movies). I also learned what the Wilhelm Scream is.
• I have learned many things about Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, and Darrell Waltrip~~all race car drivers.
• I have watched one of Richard Petty's three bad car crashes on You Tube and compared it with the crash that The King has in Cars. Yes, they are the same.
• Emeryville is where Pixar is located, and is referenced in the movie.
• I have researched Hidden Mickey's and found them in the movie.
• A113 means something to Pixar and is in every single one of their films.
• Pixar references past and future movies in their films.

And really, the list can go on and on.

David and I also stumbled across a documentary on tv about Dale Earnhardt that was very interesting. And I wouldn't have cared anything about it before doing my online research. That documentary led to more internet searching about Dale and his son.

The sad thing is that now I want to search IMDb for every single movie we watch. I love the "trivia" section that is listed for all the films.

And now I'm also listening for the Wilhelm Scream.

Meet Smem

This isn't the greatest video. You might need to turn up your speakers.

Reagan was outside playing with his new Moon Sand (another post in itself) from his Great Granny Betty. I was right inside the door watching him because it was a bit chilly. He was talking to himself. Then he started talking to and about a new friend. So I quickly grabbed the camera. This is what I got:

Reagan: Smem. Smem's a nice boy. He's not a boy. He's a girl. He's not on your pants. He doesn't like your pants dirty . He doesn't like your pants all dirty. Smem doesn't like all your pants.

Me: Who?

Reagan: Smem is not liking your pants.

Me: Smem?

Reagan: Smem waked up and put his pants on. Then one day Smem brought a shovel for him. Then one day he got a shovel for him!

He kept talking to and about Smem, but the camera was full so I had to stop recording.

I wonder if Smem knows Chotty, Kalli, and Windslow?

As of today (one week after this video was taken), Smem was on Cash's (a friend from school) big boy underwear today.

Um, ok. Whatever you say, Sweetie.

The Party's Over

What a HUGE improvement from yesterday to today.

• Potty Training. Reagan had a very successful potty experience before lunch this afternoon. There was absolutely no mess. And very little crying~~compared to last night. We were both so proud! He had one accident while we were out after lunch, and he had another super successful try tonight after dinner~~with NO crying.
• No treadmill today. Reagan didn't want to go to the gym today. So I decided that we would exercise at the park. I did "arms" by pushing him high and fast on the swing. And we chased around the playground. I then rested on the slide while he played in the mulch with a car. And it was a gorgeous day outside.
• David's new job. David actually got to have breakfast and coffee with us this morning. That was nice. He still got home late, but he did tell me this morning that he was going to be home at 7pm (his normal time). However, he just was in a conversation that made him lose track of time. No big deal. Reagan and I were having such a good day that it didn't matter too much that he was late. And we had a wonderful dinner when he got home.
• The house. No progress on the house. I didn't even swiffer. I took a nap instead. I think I needed the nap. And I can tackle the house while Reagan is at school tomorrow.

Reagan is getting ready for bed with David right now. It is my turn to lay down with him tonight...one of my absolute favorite things to do. This was a good day.

Pity Party for One, Please

I'm beat. I didn't even do anything today that makes it understandable for me to feel like I do. I just feel exhausted. My body aches, and I just feel blah.

I can make up reasons, though. I don't mean that I'm pretending that I did these things. But this is what may be leading to the exhaustion, although it just doesn't make sense that these activities (if you even want to call them that) would tire me so much.

• Potty training. That is mentally and physically wearing me out.
• The treadmill. I did walk today at the gym. But only for 30 minutes at a fat burning pace (meaning my heart rate wasn't up to the roof). And I did the arc trainer for 15 minutes. I thought that the workout would make me feel better and more energized. Today, not so much.
• David's new job. Starting a new job is always hard in the beginning. But I'm being selfish about it. HE'S the one working all the freaking time right now, but here I am (at my pity party) resenting his new employer. David has been leaving the house about 30 to 45 minutes earlier and getting home about 30 minutes later than his previous job. And as soon as Reagan goes to bed (at about 10:30), David has to hop back onto his laptop and work until 2 or 3am. He did this on the weekend, too. I feel for him. But the selfish part of me misses our couple time in the evenings. And I'm all "poopy" about it. He says he's happy there, so I am happy, too. (But if these hours don't get better soon, I will no longer be happy.)
• The house. Our house was B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L and spotless on Christmas Eve. Ever since then I just can't seem to keep each room clean. The office looks like a tornado ripped through a computer parts warehouse and scattered boxes, hard drives, chips, gizmos, and thing-a-ma-bobs all about. Our office is also (mostly) a guest room. Hope no one just shows up on our doorstep needing a place to stay. Our bedroom is being over run with laundry. Our kitchen is the house's catch-all. And it has caught about everything that has passed through it. And our living room still has new toys from Christmas in it. Because they are "new" they are played with often. So they are hanging out in the living room for a bit longer. Nothing is really dirty, but the rooms are getting to be a bit cluttered. And I just miss December 24th when everything was in its own place~~even if it was just for about 3 hours. And this makes me tired just thinking about tackling this project.

I think I'm going to peel myself up off of this chair at the pity table and watch the Biggest Loser. That is such an inspiring show, and maybe it will make me feel better about everything and motivate me to (1) become a super potty trainer, (2) go to the gym again tomorrow, (3) get over myself and be a better wife, and (4) hire a maid.

Just kidding about the maid. I will get back to my cleaning schedule tomorrow. Wednesday is 'swiffer-the-house-day'.

We're going back, back, back to school again!

(The title comes from the movie Grease 2.)

Two weeks at home seems like an entire summer vacation. Reagan goes back to Mother's Day Out tomorrow, and I think we are both equally excited about it. He is looking forward to seeing all of his friends~~Cash with whom he crashes cars with; Blake who eats dirt; Madison who has stinky poop; Makenzie who is Madison's twin (I wonder about her poop); Ella the granddaughter of someone famous; and Jizelle who Reagan calls "gazelle". (I'm sure Blake and Madison are happy that this is what Reagan pictures when he talks about them.)

I'm looking forward to my 4 hours of alone time tomorrow. I'm actually eager to go the gym. Yes, I did just say that. I'm looking forward to the potty training stress relief that the treadmill is going to bring me.

On a somewhat related note, I saw a brand-spankin' new baby this afternoon. She was doing the hungry cry. And for about 1 minute I thought, "Oh, I sure do miss that. (not the cry) Maybe we should have another one." And then I quickly thought of all of my friends that have 2+ kids. I admire them so much. They are all doing a wonderful job raising happy and healthy families of 4+. But I must really know myself, because I just don't think I could do it. I don't think Reagan is hard or "too much to handle". But I do believe that 2 would be hard and too much for me.

Our family is perfect right now. (Except for the schnauzer and shih tzu who like to snack from the litter box.)

Was that too much information? I have lost some judgement here since my brain is slowly oozing from ears due to Potty Boot Camp this evening...

The Problem and The Solution

Reagan loves the movie Cars. Really loves it. I think we watch it at least 7 times a week. And before any judgement occurs, it is rarely watched in its entirety unless it is Saturday or Sunday. And if it is watched, it is the only thing that is watched on that day. (Um, most of the time.)

As much as Reagan loves the movie, it comes second to playing with and reenacting the movie with his own Cars. This must run in the family because David seems to enjoy doing this, too. (I'm the smart one behind the camera.)

Part of this play involves playing chase. Observe:

The piece you just watched is called "The Problem". If you are 3 your bones are very "mushy" for a lack of a better word (very scientific, I know...please remember I've been home away from teaching for 3 years), and your mushy bones can go around and around and around and around a chair while crawling on your knees. However, if your are 33 your bones have lost their mush-factor. David often complains (under his breath) that this racing hurts his knees.

A little background info: David has 1/2 a kneecap in one knee due to a mountain biking injury, and he has recently diagnosed himself with a torn meniscus in the other knee. He frequently becomes Dr. David when it comes to his body...Megan knows this well.

Ah. But however cute and dorky my Dr. Husband is, he is very smart and resourceful. Please observe the following film I have titled "The Solution":

This is just one of the reasons I married him...and I'm not talking about just his cleverness. There are lots of giggles going on in this house!

Potty Progress

I really wasn't going to devote another post to our potty training until we had some serious news to shout from the rooftops, but alas--I have nothing else to blog about today since my life is totally consumed with tinkle and poop (our vocabulary in this house).

Last night Reagan got some tinkle in the potty! Most of it was in his big boy underwear, but some did make into the potty. We called my mom (Grandmother) and told her all about it. A few minutes later Reagan did it again! More tinkle in the potty. We were very, very proud of him.

Today I was looking forward to DAY 3 of our boot camp, as this seemed to be the magic day for Em's daughter (and another Mommy Nerd's daughter) months ago. According to these two moms Day 3 was still messy, but it may have been the last seriously messy day. And I thought between me and David being home it wouldn't be so bad.

Well, we promised Reagan a toy for tinkling on the potty, so we went to get that. (That is a whole 'nother blog in itself.) After that we went to drop something off at David's parent's house. We took the potty so we could play there for a bit. Then they invited us to lunch, so we went. We were gone from our house for about 3 hours...I felt like the DAY 3 was wasted since we were out and about. (I had also somehow taken the extra underwear out of my bag, so after Reagan had an accident he had to wear a Pull Up. Ugh!!!)

Here's the good news. Although we still had several accidents this evening after nap, Reagan POOPED on the potty this evening!!!! I won't go into detail, but he did not ask to sit and then poop. But poop made it into the potty!! We were all totally excited.

One of us (the one that is about 3 feet tall) was mostly excited because he got to spray the air freshener.

Tomorrow will be a challenge because, again, we won't be at home all day. We are going to go to church and then to lunch. But after talking to David about my "Em Pep Talk", I have accepted that there is no "wrong" or "right" way to potty train. We have taken bits of advice from friends and books and made our own system~~and not just to potty training. We have done this to our whole parenting system. So our "right" way is to stay home in underwear as much as we can. And when we have to go out he will wear underwear with a pull up over it. And we will continue to go to the potty while we're out and about every 1/2 hour to 1 hour. And it may take more than 3 days to fully train him, but we have accepted that this is our life for now.

And I'm good with it. :)

He Knows if You've Been Bad or Good...

Abby must have been a good girl this year.

Santa Claus came to our house sometime before I went to bed. I had just poured myself a glass of wine, and I was getting ready to watch A Christmas Story before I went to bed. (This was at about 12:30am...after our Christmas Eve celebration with David's family.)

When I walked into the living room I saw Abby sitting just like this picture with her nose to a bag of rawhide chews that Santa left for her and Elton. I promise that I am not exaggerating with I tell you she sat like that for the entire two hours that I watched the movie. Every once in a while she would lay down, but she'd pop right back up again with her nose just on the edge of the hearth.

David was worried that she'd warp the wood floor with her drool.

We had two very happy dogs the next morning when we finally opened the goody bag from Santa.

Christmas Images

Opening gifts on Christmas Eve at our house with the Babbitt family.

Making cookies with Daddy for Santa. I hope Santa likes colored sprinkles!











Setting out the cookies and milk for Santa. Reagan also wanted to leave an apple for Rudolph, an orange for Dancer, and carrots for the other reindeer.









Christmas on the 28th with the Grimes family at my dad's house. What is better than bubble wrap???

We hope your holiday was as wonderful as ours!

Help Wanted: Successful Potty-Training Mom

I'm taking Em's advice. Reagan has been in real underwear all day today, and we're not going back. We're in it for the long haul. Oh gosh. What have I gotten myself into?

I have been getting wonderful tidbits of advice, and I want to follow all of them. But I feel like this day and half of Kelly Type Training has already done the damage of Reagan resenting the potty.

Examples:
1. Give him one M&M for sitting on the potty and more or a bigger prize for doing something on it. (We actually have M&M treats through out most days. What else is there to give?? I'm thinking 1/2 a mini cupcake or something.)

2. Set a timer for every hour and put Reagan on the potty. (We've just constantly been asking, "Do you need to tinkle? Do you feel like you need to poop?" Every answer is "no".)

3. Use the big potty. (He HATES the big potty. Ok, so use a little potty. We have one, but it is entirely too small. We can't afford an extra potty. I think I just need to stick to the little potty until he has a few successes and then graduate to the big potty.)

4. Wear a pull up over his underwear if we need to run a quick errand. (I will definitely do this. This way we're not going back on the only underwear idea.)

I wish I could hire someone that is an expert at this so they can do all this work. :) I can pay you in mac and cheese.

Going Against My Beliefs

No Wii yet. I'll be sure to let you all know.

For all of Reagan's life I have said over and over that I would NOT put him in Pull Ups. And I have said that I just want Reagan to be 100% ready to potty train so that it doesn't take a month of training~~just a day or so. And I have said that it doesn't matter to me when he is trained~~he won't be wearing a diaper when he graduates from high school.

And I still want all those things.

But something, I don't know what it was, changed my mind yesterday.

I'm ready for him to be trained. Or at least in the process of training. I think he's the only kid in his Mother's Day Out class that isn't in a Pull Up or in real underwear. And I'm really ok with that.

However, there are times when it gets to me that he's in a diaper. Like at church. He is in the toddler class at church because he's still in a diaper. I've been told that he can be in the very, very early stages of training to move up to the 3 year old class. And we walk by the 3 year old class and they are doing such fun age appropriate things. Where as in the toddler class they mostly just play with big toys (like a kitchen or ride-on things). And who wouldn't want to give that up, right? But as a mother I want him learning in Sunday school and doing more challenging things.

And he's by far the oldest kid in his Sunday school class. I jokingly tell him to help his teachers with the babies.

David said last night that he thinks Reagan is lazy. (His words, not mine.) I'm quietly agreeing with him. I think that Reagan IS 100% physically and mentally ready. He is just choosing not to sit on the potty.

So today he was in a Pull Up. (Oh my gosh!!!! Something I would never put him in.) He had a choice between a Pull Up and regular underwear. He decided on the Pull Up, and I went with it. He sat on the potty once~~nothing happened. I don't know if he tinkled in his Pull Up, but he did poop in it. It was time for a nap, so I put him in a diaper for the nap. I told him that he'd only wear a diaper when he sleeps.

So things are changing at our house. Today we officially started potty training. Who knows? I may be able to dedicate all 365 of these posts (new challenge--post EVERY STINKIN' DAY in 2008) to potty training. But please pray that maybe it will only take 3...or maybe 15...or even 30.

Pictures of the holidays coming soon.

Happy New Year!

In response to Emily's post...

My 3 year old made it, too! Although I'm not sure if he quite understood what was happening. He just had to kiss his mommy for some odd reason in the middle of playing~~and say "Happy New Year".

We had a wonderful evening! We spent the early part of it with our playgroup buddies. The kids played upstairs (very nicely with each other) while the adults played Wii downstairs. Then we were off to another set of friends for about an hour.

Happy New Year to you all! I hope all your wishes come true in 2008.

And we're off to buy a Wii tomorrow...