was quiet but nice. We went over to my mom's house for dinner. All my brothers are home, but no one else this year. We had our traditional snacky/hors d'ouerves dinner and chatted for awhile. Then Jeremy and I brought the kids home and tried to get them to bed while my brothers picked a game to play.
They came over with Texas Hold 'Em. It was fun to learn a new game. Of course, Rinnah didn't stay down long, but she played fairly happily in the swing while we played cards. It was nice to have people over and still be able to play with Ian in bed.
Tomorrow morning we'll go over there to open gifts and hopefully play some more games. It's a good thing we have a van now to 'travel' for the holidays...even just to go for the day we're going to bring over a crazy amount of stuff. I'm glad we don't have to travel far though, especially with the icy roads.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Fantastic trip at Wal-mart!
Today I got this. My original total was $155.69
After coupons, my total was $17.13! (typo on facebook, ignore) And $8.34 was tax!
1 Baby Alive doll
1 Clue game
3 packs of Play-doh
1 FurReal baby panda
1 Monopoly Town game
1 Mr Potato Head chef outfit
1 Mr Potato Head Spud Buds
8 TGIF frozen appetizers
12 Post-it page markers
12 pairs of toddler underwear
4 boxes of baking soda (2.5 pounds)
1 bottle of generic vapo-rub
2 packs of Pillsbury crescent rolls
1 trial size conditioner
3 packs Hefty Onezip bags (21 bags)
Ian will get some of the play-doh and the Mr. Potato Head things, but the doll, game, FurReal, and at least one play-doh I want to donate to Toys for Tots. I hope I haven't missed the deadline for donating.
I apologized to the people in line behind me since I knew it would take awhile, and we struck up a conversation about couponing. The lady was a former couponer but had given it up because she had trouble staying organized. She & her husband said I inspired them to start clipping coupons again! She was cheering for me too and was excited to see how low my total was. It was fun, and I hope these toys will make a better Christmas for some kids.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Potty training day 2
Turned out better than I thought it would.
Apparently he's only afraid of the toilet when he's tired, which includes the first 30 minutes or so after he wakes up. Then he's okay.
Mixed results again today. Far more pees on the floor, but he's getting the idea and he's trying. We sort of got a poop on the potty today. He started to poop, then came & got me, and shook it out on the toilet. Not a bad start, IMO.
We're giving up on the nighttime thing for now. He can just wear a diaper at night. Yes, we're copping out because we're tired and feel kind of guilty for that. But at least until he starts telling us he needs to go, rather than just realizing he started to pee, I think it's the best choice for all of our sanity.
So tomorrow we want to leave the house. And we were considering taking him with us. That will add a whole new dimension.
Apparently he's only afraid of the toilet when he's tired, which includes the first 30 minutes or so after he wakes up. Then he's okay.
Mixed results again today. Far more pees on the floor, but he's getting the idea and he's trying. We sort of got a poop on the potty today. He started to poop, then came & got me, and shook it out on the toilet. Not a bad start, IMO.
We're giving up on the nighttime thing for now. He can just wear a diaper at night. Yes, we're copping out because we're tired and feel kind of guilty for that. But at least until he starts telling us he needs to go, rather than just realizing he started to pee, I think it's the best choice for all of our sanity.
So tomorrow we want to leave the house. And we were considering taking him with us. That will add a whole new dimension.
Potty training-day 1
had mixed results.
All morning, he happily sat on the potty, although the only times he peed it was on the living room floor. At naptime, he peed on the floor to his room (better than the bed, right?) No biggie.
But when he woke up from his nap, I don't know what got into him. He was cranky because he hadn't slept quite as long as normal, and when I tried to put him on the potty it was like he had developed a sudden huge terrifying fear of the toilet. He screamed, flailed, and absolutely refused to sit on the potty. He wanted to be held. But he kept letting little squirts of pee loose. I did not want to hold him at that point, which made him madder. After an hour and a half of fussing and struggling, he suddenly decided he was ready to sit on the potty. Lo and behold, we got our first pee in the potty!! Granted, it was only a tiny amount, since he had been spurting all over the house, but still, major progress! We did the whole big hoopla, called Daddy upstairs from work, got the dog sticker he's been eying for weeks, the whole nine yards.
The rest of the afternoon went okay. Lots of sitting on the potty and lots of peeing on the floor. But when he's in the potty, he clearly has the idea of what he's trying to do now. He did get one really good pee in. I think it was actually a pretty good first day.
Then came nighttime.
Night has been more challenging lately because Rinnah will go down around 8-9pm, but then she's back up after half an hour and won't go to sleep until nearly midnight. She usually only gets up once and often sleeps until 9-10am. By herself that's great for a five month old, much better than Ian. But when Rinnah doesn't go down until midnight, Ian and Rinnah are each up once or twice, Rinnah eating once, and then we're all up at 7-it's taking it's toll. I went ahead with potty training anyway because I figure I've been tired since Ian was born; if I wait until I'm getting good sleep he'll be in college.
So, last night we decided to try the underwear. Ian's still back and forth between the crib and toddler bed, so the plan was to make up two sides of one mattress plus the other bed. We figured he could have two accidents in the toddler bed; after that we'd put him in a diaper in the crib. Good idea, but Ian wanted to sleep in the crib. Okay, fine.
Jeremy & I took turns with Rinnah until about 11:30, then I went to bed and he got her to sleep. At 12:15 Ian wakes up wet and completely hysterical. Won't sit on the potty, doesn't want to wear underwear OR a diaper, doesn't want new pj's, just wants to sit in my lap naked in a room that reeks of pee because I haven't been able to clear off the wet sheets yet. Needless to say, I am not excited about this plan. Eventually, with Jeremy's help, I got a diaper on him, and then Jeremy went back to bed. A few minutes later, Ian suddenly decided he was fine with putting on new pajama pants. But he still wouldn't lay back down. He has a bit of a cold, but it's not that bad. I think this was mostly confusion about waking up wet, plus he's normally a beast when he's tired. I spent an hour and a half with him, thought he was asleep, slipped into the hallway, and heard Rinnah awake. So I got her resettled, came back out, and Ian's awake again. I tried to help him, but I just reached a point where I told him Mommy had to go to sleep and thankfully, he settled down. Now it's 2:30 and I'm finally back in bed. At 3:20 Rinnah is up. She probably doesn't need to eat yet, but I'm not awake enough to process that idea until she's already half done eating. At 4am I had Jeremy rock her back to sleep. Then I had a dream that we had hired someone to get the kids for five hours a night and I didn't have to get up, only to realize it was only a dream and Ian was awake again. Not even sure what time that was, but it only took a few minutes to get him settled. Then at 7 it's time to get up. Ugh. I hate nights like that.
So this morning we got up, I mustered up some enthusiasm from somewhere, and got all excited for Ian to get on the potty and wear underwear again. But he was like he was after his nap. Completely and utterly refusing to even take off the diaper, let alone sit on the potty.
My current plan is to leave him in this diaper until he's ready to try again (provided he doesn't poop) and then go at the potty training again. I'm too exhausted to push him any harder than that. I know consistency is important, so I'm not quitting, but my goodness this would be easier on a few more hours of sleep. I think my kids are conspiring against me already.
All morning, he happily sat on the potty, although the only times he peed it was on the living room floor. At naptime, he peed on the floor to his room (better than the bed, right?) No biggie.
But when he woke up from his nap, I don't know what got into him. He was cranky because he hadn't slept quite as long as normal, and when I tried to put him on the potty it was like he had developed a sudden huge terrifying fear of the toilet. He screamed, flailed, and absolutely refused to sit on the potty. He wanted to be held. But he kept letting little squirts of pee loose. I did not want to hold him at that point, which made him madder. After an hour and a half of fussing and struggling, he suddenly decided he was ready to sit on the potty. Lo and behold, we got our first pee in the potty!! Granted, it was only a tiny amount, since he had been spurting all over the house, but still, major progress! We did the whole big hoopla, called Daddy upstairs from work, got the dog sticker he's been eying for weeks, the whole nine yards.
The rest of the afternoon went okay. Lots of sitting on the potty and lots of peeing on the floor. But when he's in the potty, he clearly has the idea of what he's trying to do now. He did get one really good pee in. I think it was actually a pretty good first day.
Then came nighttime.
Night has been more challenging lately because Rinnah will go down around 8-9pm, but then she's back up after half an hour and won't go to sleep until nearly midnight. She usually only gets up once and often sleeps until 9-10am. By herself that's great for a five month old, much better than Ian. But when Rinnah doesn't go down until midnight, Ian and Rinnah are each up once or twice, Rinnah eating once, and then we're all up at 7-it's taking it's toll. I went ahead with potty training anyway because I figure I've been tired since Ian was born; if I wait until I'm getting good sleep he'll be in college.
So, last night we decided to try the underwear. Ian's still back and forth between the crib and toddler bed, so the plan was to make up two sides of one mattress plus the other bed. We figured he could have two accidents in the toddler bed; after that we'd put him in a diaper in the crib. Good idea, but Ian wanted to sleep in the crib. Okay, fine.
Jeremy & I took turns with Rinnah until about 11:30, then I went to bed and he got her to sleep. At 12:15 Ian wakes up wet and completely hysterical. Won't sit on the potty, doesn't want to wear underwear OR a diaper, doesn't want new pj's, just wants to sit in my lap naked in a room that reeks of pee because I haven't been able to clear off the wet sheets yet. Needless to say, I am not excited about this plan. Eventually, with Jeremy's help, I got a diaper on him, and then Jeremy went back to bed. A few minutes later, Ian suddenly decided he was fine with putting on new pajama pants. But he still wouldn't lay back down. He has a bit of a cold, but it's not that bad. I think this was mostly confusion about waking up wet, plus he's normally a beast when he's tired. I spent an hour and a half with him, thought he was asleep, slipped into the hallway, and heard Rinnah awake. So I got her resettled, came back out, and Ian's awake again. I tried to help him, but I just reached a point where I told him Mommy had to go to sleep and thankfully, he settled down. Now it's 2:30 and I'm finally back in bed. At 3:20 Rinnah is up. She probably doesn't need to eat yet, but I'm not awake enough to process that idea until she's already half done eating. At 4am I had Jeremy rock her back to sleep. Then I had a dream that we had hired someone to get the kids for five hours a night and I didn't have to get up, only to realize it was only a dream and Ian was awake again. Not even sure what time that was, but it only took a few minutes to get him settled. Then at 7 it's time to get up. Ugh. I hate nights like that.
So this morning we got up, I mustered up some enthusiasm from somewhere, and got all excited for Ian to get on the potty and wear underwear again. But he was like he was after his nap. Completely and utterly refusing to even take off the diaper, let alone sit on the potty.
My current plan is to leave him in this diaper until he's ready to try again (provided he doesn't poop) and then go at the potty training again. I'm too exhausted to push him any harder than that. I know consistency is important, so I'm not quitting, but my goodness this would be easier on a few more hours of sleep. I think my kids are conspiring against me already.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Potty training
Well, here goes nothing.
I was all set to start yesterday. I've been making some freezer meals, we did the big trip to pick out underwear, and made sure all his pants are clean and ready to go.
But then Ian started coming down with a cold, and was up sniffling and hacking until 1am, then I was up with Rinnah at 5:45 to feed her and she never did go back to sleep. And then Ian woke up uber cranky. I tried to do the "You're a big kid now!" thing anyway. I took him to the potty and was all excited for him, but he said "no" and ran away. On 4 hours of sleep, I didn't have the patience or energy to fight him, so I gave up.
We tried again this morning, and thus far it's gone better. He likes the underwear and is wearing them proudly. We're setting a timer and he's sitting on the potty every 20 minutes. So far, nothing has happened on the potty, just one accident on the floor in the living room right after a potty stop. Hopefully this afternoon will get us off to a better start. I really think that if he could just go on the potty once and get the concept, we'd be well on our way.
I was all set to start yesterday. I've been making some freezer meals, we did the big trip to pick out underwear, and made sure all his pants are clean and ready to go.
But then Ian started coming down with a cold, and was up sniffling and hacking until 1am, then I was up with Rinnah at 5:45 to feed her and she never did go back to sleep. And then Ian woke up uber cranky. I tried to do the "You're a big kid now!" thing anyway. I took him to the potty and was all excited for him, but he said "no" and ran away. On 4 hours of sleep, I didn't have the patience or energy to fight him, so I gave up.
We tried again this morning, and thus far it's gone better. He likes the underwear and is wearing them proudly. We're setting a timer and he's sitting on the potty every 20 minutes. So far, nothing has happened on the potty, just one accident on the floor in the living room right after a potty stop. Hopefully this afternoon will get us off to a better start. I really think that if he could just go on the potty once and get the concept, we'd be well on our way.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Our first ER visit
Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. I'm kinda surprised we made it this long.
Tonight I was making dinner and of course Ian was trying to help me (Jeremy was out at Home Depot). He did fine until we were trying to clean up. We had used chicken broth and he grabbed one of the cans by the lid. I started to say, "No! Don't touch that." He went to yank his hand away and wound up slicing off at least half his fingertip. Still attached on one side, but a pretty deep cut. So I called Jeremy to come right home and thankfully my mom was able to come over and stay with Rinnah, who was sleeping at the time.
He did awesome. He calmed down within a few minutes and wasn't even crying. He did cry when they gave him the shots of Lidocaine, but I don't blame him. Those suckers burn, and there were four people holding him. During the stitches he didn't flinch. He actually was trying to watch. They said they have 10 year olds worse than him. They'd called in an extra nurse because they said normally stitching a two year old is pretty terrible, but we didn't need her. He sat perfectly still through the whole thing.
So four stitches later, he's doing great. They gave him a whole pile of stickers. He though he was just picking one, so that was very exciting. And he had a great time saying bye and waving to all the nurses and the other patients.
Tonight I was making dinner and of course Ian was trying to help me (Jeremy was out at Home Depot). He did fine until we were trying to clean up. We had used chicken broth and he grabbed one of the cans by the lid. I started to say, "No! Don't touch that." He went to yank his hand away and wound up slicing off at least half his fingertip. Still attached on one side, but a pretty deep cut. So I called Jeremy to come right home and thankfully my mom was able to come over and stay with Rinnah, who was sleeping at the time.
He did awesome. He calmed down within a few minutes and wasn't even crying. He did cry when they gave him the shots of Lidocaine, but I don't blame him. Those suckers burn, and there were four people holding him. During the stitches he didn't flinch. He actually was trying to watch. They said they have 10 year olds worse than him. They'd called in an extra nurse because they said normally stitching a two year old is pretty terrible, but we didn't need her. He sat perfectly still through the whole thing.
So four stitches later, he's doing great. They gave him a whole pile of stickers. He though he was just picking one, so that was very exciting. And he had a great time saying bye and waving to all the nurses and the other patients.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Walgreens
Woohoo! A great run at Walgreens today, even though they didn't have the best product for my deals. I still think this was pretty good:
5 12-packs of Sprite
5 fancy soap bars that I'm not allergic to ($4.49 each-ouch!)
2 packs paper plates
12 Lindt chocolate bars
4 Hershey chocolate bars
1 large roll Reynolds foil
3 tubes toothpaste
4 toothbrushes
2 air freshener candles
Pre-coupon total: $117.74
Coupons: $79.35
Register rewards: $23
Net total: $15.39
So that was cheaper than the original price of just the soap! I love it when Walgreens pays me to buy what I want, as long as I take a bunch of other products home with me too. :)
5 12-packs of Sprite
5 fancy soap bars that I'm not allergic to ($4.49 each-ouch!)
2 packs paper plates
12 Lindt chocolate bars
4 Hershey chocolate bars
1 large roll Reynolds foil
3 tubes toothpaste
4 toothbrushes
2 air freshener candles
Pre-coupon total: $117.74
Coupons: $79.35
Register rewards: $23
Net total: $15.39
So that was cheaper than the original price of just the soap! I love it when Walgreens pays me to buy what I want, as long as I take a bunch of other products home with me too. :)
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Peek-a-boo
That's the new game around here.
Ian plays with Rinnah. He hasn't quite got the words down yet, but he'll go up to her, cover his face with his hands, then pull them away with a big grin. She always laughs.
Today she was really cranky, in that just before sleep point, when Ian woke up from his nap. I laid her down to get Ian out of his crib and she just started wailing. Poor Ian was a bit groggy and not at his best either, but he was such a sweetheart. He came over and gave her a big hug. Then he said "iss", and gave her two kisses on her head. By this point she had stopped crying and was smiling at him. Then he played peek-a-boo with her until she started laughing before he went back to being grumpy and whiny himself. It was the sweetest thing! I love how he thought of her and took care of her even when he wasn't feeling his best.
They're playing together more and more. They each think the other is ten times more entertaining than either mom or dad, and it's so much fun to watch! I wish Ian were more cooperative about us catching these moments on video!
Ian plays with Rinnah. He hasn't quite got the words down yet, but he'll go up to her, cover his face with his hands, then pull them away with a big grin. She always laughs.
Today she was really cranky, in that just before sleep point, when Ian woke up from his nap. I laid her down to get Ian out of his crib and she just started wailing. Poor Ian was a bit groggy and not at his best either, but he was such a sweetheart. He came over and gave her a big hug. Then he said "iss", and gave her two kisses on her head. By this point she had stopped crying and was smiling at him. Then he played peek-a-boo with her until she started laughing before he went back to being grumpy and whiny himself. It was the sweetest thing! I love how he thought of her and took care of her even when he wasn't feeling his best.
They're playing together more and more. They each think the other is ten times more entertaining than either mom or dad, and it's so much fun to watch! I wish Ian were more cooperative about us catching these moments on video!
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