Only One to Go!

Our two-year-old is pOTty-tRaINeD.

(I think I hear a choir of angels singing.)

It took four tries . . . but once she got the concept,

she practically trained herself.

What happened is this:

When I did my WalMart shopping in December,

I decided that I wasn't going to buy her any more diapers.

I bought a bag of pull-ups instead.

And what do you know?

She was fine with the idea.

(I was dumbfounded.)

She loves wearing her big girl underwear.

She keeps them dry during naps and

her pull-ups dry at night.

Miracle of Miracles. Hallelujah!

It was December's major accomplishment

and I didn't have to do anything other than provide Smarties as a reward.

This means I only have one more child in diapers. It's sweet.

Maybe she'll be potty-trained by the end of the year, too.

Then I'll be all done with diapers.

The "DIAPER DADS" video on the sidebar is dedicated to

all of us MOMS who deal with diapers on a daily basis.

Birthday Spree

We had 3 bIRthdAyS this month.

Our oldest turned eleven.

(Isn't he handsome?)

Then our youngest turned one.

(She's in the middle of doing peek-a-boo in this photo.)
And Dad had his.

(He's closing in on 40. He's soooo old!)

I LOVE YOU ALL.

I'm so glad you're in my family.

Snowed In With My Ham Balls

We got the call during family prayer this morning.

No school. The temp is -18 degrees.

So, I'm stuck indoors with all six.

And they're all HAMS.

Camera pose #1. He can't give me a regular smile.
I said smile and this is what I get.

I guess these are forms of smiles. You think?

Why can't they just grin?

And they're not just hams . . . they're all CRAZY HAM BALLS.

Think of the fun I'll be having today.

VHS Movies

So, I already told you that I was having fun watching VHS movies

while appliquing my daughters' Christmas stockings.

I didn't tell you what movies I ended up watching. It was a bunch.

We have one TV in our family room in the basement. That's it.

Well, for Thanksgiving, we got out our old 19-inch TV,

so we'd have an extra place for kids to watch movies

while older kids and adults were playing the Wii in the basement

and PS3 game seats in the study.

Well, Thanksgiving went, but the little TV stayed.

So, I watched a lot more movies than I've ever done--

because of my Christmas stockings sewing project.

It was so convenient having it in the living room.

Anyway, enough of the narration. Here's a list of the movies:

Return to Me

While You Were Sleeping

Happiest Millionaire (Love "Bi Yum Pom Pom" and "Are We Dancing?")

The Music Man (ABC TV version with Kristen Chenoweth)

Calamity Jane (Doris Day)

The Road to Bali (Bob Hope and Bing Crosby--it was agony!)

Anastasia (One of my new favorites. The music is great.)

Pillow Talk, Move Over Darling, and It Happened to Jane (Doris Day)

White Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street, The Bishop's Wife, etc.

Kung Fu Panda

Follow Me, Boys

Sabrina (with Harrison Ford)

Emma (Another favorite--with Gwenyth Paltrow)

Yes, I feel like my brain is fried.

The movie watching has rendered me brain dead.

It'll probably take me a few weeks to recuperate.

BOOGER CATCHERS

Sounds DELICIOUS, doesn't it?

(You aren't snacking right now are you? You were? Hee hee.)

Well, did you know that burp rags make great booger catchers?

Yes, it's TRUE.

We've made it through flu season

(the last child vomited last night for the last time--I hope!)

and find our family right smack dab

in the middle of a full-blown COLD BUG.

That means runny noses, fevers, coughs, rash, etc.

My almost one-year-old knows how to bob and weave--dodging the kleenex.

(One of her many talents. She's hiding her talent under a bushel.)

But she hasn't caught on to the fact that her burp rag

(much softer and prettier) is doing the same thing.

So, words of wisdom to the moms of the world:

Don't throw away those old burp rags--

even if your children are out of diapers.

They are much kinder to your child nose than a tissue.

I know, I know. That was the news you've been waiting for.

Another Use for Burp Rags: BoOGer CatCheRs.

P.S. If you know how they work with adult noses, feel free to comment.

I haven't conducted that experiment yet.

Closing Out 2008