Kitchen Table Talk With My 2 & 3 Year Old Boys....

CAUTION: This is what happens when you're blunt with your kids....err uh I mean, your boys. But duh, right?

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What age is it that kids realize that girls and boys are different?  My boys are on the brink of this age-dreading discovery.
This past summer, we took a family vacation to SeaWorld in San Antonio with some friends and their 3 kids. We had a ton of fun (that made me super tired for the entirety of August) but their newly-turned 3 year old boy left a lasting gift with my boys before they left. The word boobies.

Of course, when I first heard their youngest son say it, I laughed and then asked my friends where he got that from. I don't think I got a real answer, just more about how he's the defiant one of their brood.
Well, since the weekend of July 4th, that's all I hear my little guys talk about. We gave them the stipulation that they could only say that word AT HOME. And boy do they wear it out!

They use it in all kinds of ridiculous contexts....just to bother us. (They know they're bothering us because of our "Hey hey hey!!!" reactions. For example, they say, "Your name is Reid Boobies!" "You have boobies ears." "You have a boobies plate." "1-2-3-4-5-6-boobies-8-9-10! ---> W.T.F.

This is not every day but it is.....every other day. {blank stare}
A few weeks ago, the kitchen table talk was about boobies, butts and penises.
How do they know all of this stuff? We told them of course! But since they're boys, they wouldn't be normal if they weren't obnoxious, I guess.

We usually just stay silent, glance at each other and stuff our faces when they talk like that....and try not to burst out laughing.
Because laughing is like putting gasoline on a fire and getting upset would be unfair.
We've never really done the baby talk kind of thing, probably because our brain isn't that creative. We're engineers. (When I pledged my sorority in college, my lack of quick creativity really was shameful. Ugh.) When we bathe them we have them wash and dry their own private part and tell them that no one should touch it besides them.

On a separate occasion when I was out shopping with my kids, they needed to potty and I took them to the big handicap stall. I used the restroom after they did, my youngest tried to sneak a glance while I was peeing and said, "Mommy, that your penis?" Me: Uh, no honey. Mommy doesn't have a penis, only men do. Women have private areas. Now turn back around so I can wipe."
I can't have my baby walking around thinking everyone has a penis!

The night the kitchen table talk made me and my husband stuff our faces in silence, all we heard was, "Mommy has boobies but no penis just a butt." Then they went around the table and said whether each of us had "boobies" or "nippos."

Needless to say, my husband almost choked on his food. I just put my head down so that they didn't smell my shock, discomfort and laughter. I mean my kids are brutal to us because shock, discomfort and laughter fuels them.
I can't wait until the love affair with this word is over....but I won't be holding my breath for that to happen anytime soon.

Do you have any similar stories from your kids or kids that you know?

Low-Key Birthday

My husband celebrated his birthday this past weekend. We didn't do much but have dinner at Houlihan's. Our boys came down with fevers Saturday afternoon and we didn't want to leave them. They haven't been sick in forever so newly returned colds and fevers tend to wake them up and sometimes keep them up in the middle of the night. Next weekend, we'll go out and have some more fun after hours.
We hung out and watched some college football , gave my hub special meals and enjoyed chocolate cupcakes. Then we topped the evening off with dinner at Houlihan's. The original plan was to play a Par 3 golf course as a family and then maybe the pumpkin patch since the weather is still warm....but its hard to pull the hubby away from football sometimes. Especially when our typically losing-prone teams are kicking some butt and actually winning.
Next weekend we'll hit the course and I'm excited because my swing is 100 times better since I last played 5 years ago. That's what the range and the proper club can do I guess. I gotta be able to keep up with my guys. Mine little swings are crazy good, so I gotta have them think mommy's a beast too!

Jack + Malbec. That's how we roll.

Scallops and risotto.

Pot roast sliders.

S'mores fondue pot.

Hey! Open your eyes! And swallow those carrots little brother!

Peace! Wait...we can't see my oldest's eyes.

Take 2.
Fevers don't hold them down, especially when they're mild.
Yep, those carrots are still in there.

The pot roast sliders were scrumptious and my hub's scallops were perfectly cooked. I'm not a fan of lemon risotto but his dish was tasty. Our dessert was ah-mazing. Its the second time I had it and mu hub's first time. He really enjoyed it and even though the portion looked rather small, it was just the right amount for us.
I definitely recommend these plates if you haven't had them......espeeeeecially that fondue pot! You won't be disappointed.

What's your favorite menu item at your favorite restaurant?

Camera Dump: SeaWorld, Mini Golf, and more

Even though summer is over, I'm glad the weather here doesn't reflect it yet. I like being able to still dress 'summery.' Although I like fall clothes, my legs always seem to become dry and eventually itchy when I wear pants (except for my stretchy/leggings type of pants) so I'm still digging the shorts weather.

Anyway, we had such a busy and fun-filled summer that I figured it was time to unload my camera phone. I really am going to work on actually taking my camera around with us more often. Initially we were researching a DSLR to buy but I think I'm going to start using what I have and gradually work my way up to a camera with more capabilities.

We vacationed with some friends who also have boys ranging in ages of 2.5 and newly-turned 5 and 6 year olds but I didn't feel like including the one picture we all took together. I didn't like my pose.

Shamu was absolutely AWESOME!



 

After being splashed by Shamu and looking like we had jumped in the pool fully clothed, we moved pretty far back, as seen in the bottom picture. It was still an awesome show! I highly recommend!

The middle picture on the right: How did that squirrel get up there and how is he going to get down?!?

Not included are pictures of me having fun in SeaWorld or any of our go-carting pictures.
We had soooooo much fun racing go-carts with our boys coaching as passengers but unfortunately my husband's phone slipped out of his pocket while we were racing and it was stolen.
He went back to look for it literally 5 minutes after we had gotten finished with our round. Hundreds of pictures and videos gone. He hadn't saved anything to the cloud and hadn't yet downloaded the "Find My Phone" app.
Don't make the same mistake!!!!!

We, of course had to visit San Antonio's downtown Riverwalk in the evening and it was beautiful. My husband had some really nice pictures on his phone. {sad face} The top picture is of our boat ride on the Riverwalk. We had dinner at a restaurant called Mi Tierra. I am a really picky eater when it comes to tacos. (My husband thinks tacos from anywhere are good.) But MI TIERRA has the best tacos in the world! My mouth is watering just thinking about it. In the entryway of the restaurant, where normally a seating area is, there was a bakery that sold authentic Mexican desserts. And that huge space was packed. I almost thought it was a bakery, but the ambiance definitely said restaurant. Its a local favorite, even for the San Antonio Spurs players.
The bottom picture is of the State Capitol in Austin, TX. We love stopping through Austin! It's such a cute, artsy town. We had some yummy burgers and shakes at a local favorite called, Hopdoddy Burger Bar. We were too busy enjoying the ambiance, décor and food for pictures, but the next time you're in San Antonio or Austin, check out those restaurants.

Miniature golf is always all about the celebration dance.
Miniature bowling is fun too but doesn't get a celebration dance.

Me and my mom. A red lip always does the trick for me.

This year was my sorority's 100-year celebration, and my line sisters and I were also celebrating our 10-year anniversary since first pledging. I love these girls so much and being in DC was pretty awesome! (DC is great in general too). I wish I were more active in my community like I used to be but I'm still navigating my life as a wife AND mom. During my blog break, I self-reflected on my hobbies and my passion and it does involve helping my community in some way. Now I just have to figure out how to do that with my current day job as a SAHM.
Some of these ladies have lived in Japan, Brazil, gotten master's in the UK, are successful fundraisers for non-profits and more. I'm so proud to know them!
Ten years after I pledged, my mom pledged. It was pretty random and I'm so happy for her. She'll be retiring this year but with our sorority, she'll still be doing plenty of work. She loves to mentor youth living in at-risk environments and she's pretty well-known in that particular demographic where she lives. I'm sure she'll continue that form of work within our sorority. So we all were are part of 'painting the town red' that weekend!
Now if only she would've pledged 10 years ago or more, so I could've asked for money during those college days, haha. {straight face}


Have you done a camera dump lately?

Weekend Birthday Pictures - Food & Family

So as I told you here, my 30th birthday was this past weekend and instead of 'painting the town red,' I spent time with and consciously appreciated being with my family.
I only got fed up with constant whining for maybe 5 minutes. Yay!
I was so excited to see them have fun during our day of no schedules.
Which included skipping church and letting Thomas & Friends babysit the boys while we took a nap. Hey, they like to get up between 6:30-7:30am even on the weekends so that nap was much appreciated!
I guess that means that 'schedules' create a bit of stress..............well, maybe it has more to do with always being behind schedule that creates some of my everyday stresses.
Annnnnnnyyyywaaaaaaayy, check out some family-food-filled pictures below.

Saturday, I found a new stylist, got my hair straightened and had a 1/2 inch trimmed off. Waahhh! At least it was a cute style.

I looked pretty darn cute and of course didn't take a picture. We were late to the sitter's house and then to dinner. Ugh. One day I'll get these outfit posts together. Anyway we had theeee most delicious sushi. We pigged out, ordering 5 rolls and spending a LOT of money. Oh well, we had a great time though. If you're in Dallas, go to RA Sushi and get the Viva Las Vegas roll (shown in the picture). We ordered it twice!

Say cheese!

Wake up Sleepy Head!!!

Yep, the front exterior is a gas station. Chef Pointe is near Fort Worth, TX.

#Foodie

The appetizer on the right is SO delicious! They are 3-cheese mushrooms drenched in a buttery, scampi sauce. They are 'smack somebody's mama' delicious!

I'm pretty lucky to have tiny humans that actually stay in their chair.
By the way, my oldest is usually a photobomber and makes the face he has in the picture on the right allllll the time, unless you use your stern voice. This time we coordinated a 'silly face' picture though.
Luckily my youngest doesn't do that yet, but I'm sure he will next year.

How was your weekend?

Potty Success! (With Tips)

During the Thanksgiving holiday, a miracle happened. My 3-year old (then he was a month shy of turning 3) all of a sudden decided to tell us each time he needed to pee-pee and poo-poo in the potty.

With most things in life, its easier to understand something once you go through it....so I now understand what other parents mean when they say, "They'll do it when they're ready."
That's a frustrating idea but I now see it as thoughtful preparation of situations we may encounter as parents.

I started potty-training him, rather inconsistently, a few weeks after his 2nd birthday and more consistently when he was 2.5 years old. I didn't wait until he was ready to start his potty-training but he didn't become fully [daytime] trained until he was ready.

I'm proud and relieved and so is our budget!
I wasn't sure how to feel about throwing empty/non-soiled pull-ups but I know its better than them being soiled. What's most important is that I'm glad to not be smelling and cleaning 3-year old crap. Now, its two months later and he's even night-time potty-trained! Completely on his own. Except for when he's sick, I think.
{I still want to put a pull-up on him for my security but that's kind of synonymous with a 2-3 year old with a pacifier. Its not needed, but there for security. My husband is the one who encouraged me to take them off.}

I'm not sure if my 2-year old will pick it up faster since he's been watching his older brother or if he'll make the process all his own and drag his feet. He's the headstrong and controlling one of our brood.....at least he was with eating so its quite possible he will be with pottying too.
Hey, at least I'm mentally prepared.



Tips:
-Give lots of praise and encouragement with each trip to the potty
-Bribe! Bribe! Bribe with a treat that is only given with each potty success: I gave 2 fruit snack gummies for pee and 4-5 for poo
-Entice with the bribe by giving a taste everyday, so they know what to work for
-Eat their treat everytime YOU go (this undoubtedly makes them upset when they're in the mood of resisting potty-training....but I always laughed to myself, mean I know)
-Find a peer of theirs that they really like that is or was recently potty-trained and let your kid watch them potty (that's if your kid is the only child or oldest child)
-Remind them about that treat all throughout the day. Dangle it.


The absolute only time my boys get fruit snacks is when they use the potty correctly. Their part-time 'school' uses mini marshmallows. Use anything that you know they would like that they have never had before. Another favorite of mine (when I'm out of fruit snacks) is dried cranberries.
I have the kind of 3-year old that remembers EVERYTHING so even if he goes in the middle of the night, he reminds me of his fruit snacks in the morning.

I sure, hope this helps someone! I sure was looking for some information or tips like this last year.

Quick Trip to Austin

Last weekend we accompanied my husband to Austin, TX. He and a few of his co-workers went to represent his company at an minority engineering conference career fair.
During the day the boys and I hung out with one of his co-worker's wife. We've hung out before so we had a good time, shopping, feeding the boys ice cream and getting lost.
Austin is a nice and smaller city. The people were much friendlier and inviting than in Fort Worth and the whole city seemed to have an artsy vibe to it. How cool is that?!
It reminded me of my college town but bigger.
After visiting, I wish we would've moved there instead of DFW......but I'll try not to be too much of a sour grape.
Austin is also known for their food trucks and they had a lot more trucks in one centralized location than the Fort Worth food park.....so we indulged. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of my food nor all of the trucks.
One inebriated woman in her mid-30's was actually dancing with my oldest while we waited in line to try the late night popular pizza spot.
Too bad he didn't realize she was dancing with him!

There were 12-15 trucks lined up in a checkered manner. These were the two trucks I ate at. My hubs and our co-worker friends had food from several different trucks but the lines were long and there was not time for pictures. The "Coat & Thai" truck was pretty tasty which it should've been for a 20-minute wait. I'm assuming their name had to do with their expensive tasting thai cuisine fit for 'coat & tie' dining. These food trucks had a decent portion size for their prices compared to my food truck experience in Fort Worth.
The cupcakes were so suprisingly delicious! We all got cupcakes and our boys shared a few bites of mine and my husband's. They were moist, yet dense and not too sweet. Gosh they were good!
My mouth is watering for more as I type this. Fort Worth is definitely missing a dessert truck.

My boys had a good time dancing to the music coming from the sub sandwiches bus. They didn't have a line the whole time we were there. I think their prices may have been too high for their food.
The 2 pictures on the far right are of my oldest LAYING in the dirty gravel rocks. Could it have been the cupcakes or the music? I don't know. Boys just love dirt. At this point, we beat the long line to the cupcake truck so they weren't in anyone's way.





What did you do this past weekend?

NaBloPoMo - The Modified Happy Plate

I know that most toddlers are picky eaters, but it took me awhile to actually realize it because my oldest was and still is the best eater in the world [to us].
My youngest, on the other hand, is the typical 'picky eating toddler' statistic. He drives me and my husband absolutely insane.
If he could live solely off of oatmeal, applesauce, bananas, yogurt, pb&j's and his beloved graham crackers, he would. (Now that I think about it......he may. Just kidding.)
Every night, there is some kind of "issue' with him hoarding chewed-up food in his mouth for 30 minutes and the night's particular dinner juices seeping out of his barely closed lips.
Yuck.
My oldest usually eats all of his dinner, but with so much attention constantly going to his brother at dinnertime, we started rewarding with fruit snacks.
Sidenote: We usually only reserve fruit snacks as potty-training rewards.

Dinner a couple of nights ago was no different. My youngest refused to eat his food and instead pushed the food around (and onto the table) with his Elmo fork.
With a little coaxing encouragement, my oldest ate all of his food and said, "I made a happy plate. I want fruit snacks peeease."
While he ate his fruit snacks at the table, my youngest whined, "Fruit snaaaaaaaacks." We explained to him that if he makes a happy plate like his big brother, he could then have fruit snacks too.
He pointed to the small empty spot on his plate and said, "A happy plate!"

The arrows shows my youngest's 'happy plate.' My oldest's plate is on the right.

My husband pointed to the food and asked, "What about this?"
I chuckled.
With my head down of course.

My husband tried to feed him again and my youngest once again leaned over his booster seat's arm rest while saying, in distress, "Noooooooowww."

We ignored him and he proceeded to 'outsmart' the situation by putting his spinach on his daddy's plate!
We acted like we didn't see what he was doing, just so we could watch his mind at work.
Once he got all of his spinach onto his daddy's plate and said, "Eat the food."

Yes, he had the audacity to pose for the camera. I guess he was proud.

We got up, shook our head and held our laughs.
No fruit snacks were given for that 'happy plate.'


On another note, I was a picky eater as a toddler and child so I'm sure this is just nature's payback. Please remember, what you did as a kid will re-materialize in your children.


This post is apart of BlogHer and YeahWrite's November NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month).

Trunk of Treating

Note: Snap picture before you get to 3.

For some reason this year, I can't wait until Halloween is over. It seems like its lasting forever, even though its been the same for the past two years (costume 'parade' and trick or treating at  preschool then trick or treating later in the evening).
Maybe the abrupt weather change has me not really in the mood for Halloween festivities over the span of 4 days. Yep, its the weather.

Anyway, this past Saturday we took our boys to Trunk of Treating at their 'preschool.' I had never heard of this until we moved to Texas a couple of years ago but its a safe and fun alternative to trick or treating. Instead of going door to door, we went from car trunk to car trunk playing simple games and getting 2 pieces of candy.

We need to teach them how to pick better candy before Tuesday.....like Snickers, Twix, Whoppers and M&M's. They kept picking Sweet Tarts, and foil wrapped chocolate.
Don't worry, this time I stepped in and pointed their little hands in the right direction. (bleh)
When we got home, we let them eat 2 pieces. My youngest scarfed it down (of course) and my oldest surprisingly did too.
Darn it. I at least wanted to keep him brainwashed desiring fruit and fruit snacks forever.

My oldest decided to drop his weight while I was trying to balance on a pumpkin.



My youngest just couldn't put the candy down.

You know how hard it is to get toddlers to look at the camera if you're not holding it.

What did you do this past weekend? Are you ready for Halloween to be over like me or are you excited to go trick or treating and guide your kids to pick out the good candy?

10 Things I Say To My Kids That You Probably Don't Say To Yours

1)"Hey no more vegetables for you, me and daddy want some."

Not sure how common that one is.
My oldest (2.5 year old) is a pretty good eater most days and sometimes he asks to eat the veggies off
of our plates too. Meanwhile, we're forcing my youngest (1.5 year old) to eat his veggies.

2)"Have you lost your mind?!?"

I say this maybe every other day when I'm in pure shock of what I see happening. Usually when my boys are standing on their kiddie table throwing toys clear across the room while I'm trying to eat lunch or empty the dishwasher.

I also say this when my youngest gets ahold of lotion bottles....that his brother gave to him <----interestingly enough, his face is always spotless.

3)"We don't eat our boogers! We wipe them on our shirt!"

After my 2.5 year old's second week of school, he would say to us, "Look, a booger." Then he would pop it in his mouth and cheese. He was reminded that mommy and daddy don't walk around eating boogers.
Hey, its not like he's going to run and find a kleenex and it was all I could think of at the time so now I roll with it to be consistent.

4)"He's not allowed to have cake or cookies."

Anytime we go to picnics or parties, I tell whoever is offering cake that my youngest "can't have any because he doesn't eat meat or vegetables."
I usually get a weird look and a response like, "not even a little bit?"
Me: "No."
I've given in once and my youngest devoured said dessert, yet still won't [willingly] eat meat or vegetables. Just last night he 'ate' the tiny amount of salmon, rice and asparagus put in front of him and hoarded the food in his mouth. Full-jawed with food juice seeping out of his lips. (Yuck.)
He didn't swallow his food until we put a spoonful of sherbert in his mouth.
And before you think "of course he wouldn't eat salmon," he won't eat hot dogs, grilled/baked/fried chicken, Chic Fil-A chicken, tacos, chili, burgers, quesadillas.....NOTHING! I can't burn him out on pb&j's and grilled cheeses because that's what he eats for lunch!
If he had his way, he'd live on peanut butter, bananas, yogurt and graham crackers.

5)"If you boo boo in your underwear again, you're cleaning it up, not me."

I tried this [old school] tactic on my oldest in efforts to strongly encourage him to boo boo on the potty. I think I used this method maybe 3-4 times before I abandoned it. My mom said after 1 time of having to clean his own boo boo, my brother was potty-trained.
Well, screw that, I've paid my fare for the "he'll do it when he's ready" train.
This seat is comfortable too.

6) "Eat the cookie." "Eat the candy."

Actually I don't say this, my husband does and it always makes me chuckle. My oldest doesn't have a big sweet tooth. He'll ask for desserts and after 2 or 3 bites, he's "all done."
I like to say he prefers the "sugars of the earth." If I ate like him, I'd have my 6-pack by now.
(His non-fresh fruit desserts are fruit snacks, dried cranberries, yogurt and vanilla ice cream.)

7)"Get your hand out of your butt."

I'm saying this allllll the time. Apparently I need to let them go 'cowboy' more often so their privates can see freedom every now and then.
I just hate accidents on the carpet. I don't mind their beds, but when they leave the bed, underwear and diapers it is.

8) "You're going to be my height by the age of 8!"

I'm 4'11" tall. My husband is 6'1" and his family members are 6'1" or taller. Right now, my 2.5 year old comes to the bottom of my ribs. I'm pretty sure that most moms aren't saying that!
{secretly jealous of you tall chicas}
Not to mention, he says weekly, "Mommy yittle and daddy big." I laugh and say you're right, thanks.
Naturally, I have a big personality and tall friends. In heels most of them are 6' + some.
So glad our party picture days are over so I no longer look like I'm breastfeeding.....hahaha.

9) "Stop poking your finger in my deodorant!"

Seriously, why must I say this at all?!? My youngest is curious in the worst way.

10) "I think you need anger management for toddlers."

My youngest's first response is to hit. Its not a hard hit but that's not the point. When he gets sad or upset with his brother, he will penguin-walk or penguin-run around the house and hit him.
No, not take the toy back or tell mommy or daddy....just straight up hit him. Then the back and forth hitting takes place. Sometimes its funny because they'll hug and say sorry to each other before "I come over there." I always turn my head to laugh.
Luckily, he doesn't do that to other kids, but we're still working on it.





Today I'm linking up with Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop.

Pants. Too Little, Too Late

Time really flies.

Kids grow so fast.

Matter of fact, the growth of babies, toddlers and kids physically prove just how fast time really passes.

(Pants) Too little, too late.

 

Just 4 to 5 months ago, these pants were too long and too big around the waist. I thought, foolishly I suppose, that now they would fit perfectly.

To my surprise they were a tad tighter and a little higher than I prefer and expected.

Basically, his little brother has a brand new pair of 'old' jeans.

I don't even think these are classified as hand-me-downs, since they were barely worn.

The pants aren't too bad from afar. Cute forced smiles & a lucky snap.

My oldest's pants are too small and short and my youngest's pants are too long.

By now, you probably know that my husband and I had our boys, unintentionally, 1 year (12.5 months) apart.

I made it a point to say unintentionally, because it wasn't something we initially rejoiced about.

It just wasn't in our plan.

And that's when you learn to really believe in the idea that God creates our paths.....

.....though that took me a while as well. That's for another post at another time.

Anyway, after we embraced our new and unexpected plan (basically when he was born because that's when it got real), I thought well at least they were born in the same season. Winter.

But since life likes to make things a little more 'fun,' they don't have the same body type. My oldest has long legs and a shorter torso and my youngest has shorter legs with a longer torso. 

Of course by the time they are ages 4 and 5, their bodies will probably be a little more even but until then my youngest may be in baggy bottoms (shorts and pants). 

The good thing about kids growing so fast is that most of their clothes are in good-to-great condition.

Don't worry, we still buy new clothes for him.....thanks to his different body type. {wink}

Now, I'm not going to lie, I was hoping the weather would stay summer-like a bit longer. That was the whole point of moving to Texas...oh and my husband's job.

If the weather was still hot, I could have kept my boys in shorts and t-shirts for another month.

But the weather changed so quickly that I was unprepared.

Unprepared. That's almost considered foul language.

But sometimes, that's me. I'm sure it doesn't help that I'm not a perpertual shopper.

 

I immediately bought 4 pairs of jeans, 1 pair of cargo pants and 1 pair of jogging pants for my oldest and a nicely fitted pair of jeans for my youngest.

I had already bought shirts that I caught on sale a month ago.

Do you find it hard to buy clothes in the right-estimated size for the upcoming season? Have you ever been unprepared for the new season, especially with up-and-down temperatures?

Potty Training Woes - Yes I Have Boys, How'd You Know?

My 20-month old, second born son will NOT by any means use the potty. He thinks the potty is just a fun thing to say and then sit on. He refuses to actually do any bathroom rituals ON the potty though.

He copies EVERYthing his older brother (by 12.5 months) does. I always reiterate their age difference to emphasize just how trying the two of them can be. They are either arguing over toys or teaming up throwing all of the pillow cushions off of the couch. Both which are annoying and funny.

When I say he copies everything, that inludes what my oldest says, how he says it and all of his mannerisms. So can anybody tell me why he won't copy him when using the potty?!? I guess that would be "too much like right." (That saying always makes me chuckle.)

He's a very head-strong child. I used to somewhat wonder what that meant.
Luckily he's not walking around angrily screaming, "No." Instead he smiles his big, cheeky grin and politely sings "nooooww" while simultaneously shaking his head.
On the inside, I chuckle and on the outside I shake my head in frustration, and finish it up with a long sigh.
Annnnnndddd he still craps [pebbles] in the tub, always making us run new bath water. Not cool.

See--that's the smile. And I love my 2.5yo leaning in with that new face pose, lol. 

Speaking of pottying----> my 2.5 year old has successfully #2'ed on the potty for a week straight (yay!!!)......and then regressed (ohhh). But hey, progress is progress, no matter how small.

Finally after 3-6 months of pee training, I had a thought of "Hmmm....he should be doing this standing up." Duh, you say. I know. Seems like such an obvious thing but I was so focused on training him to sit down so that he's ready for #1 and #2.
Of course he learned to pee while standing with my hubs but I'm always off-duty at those times so I never paid attention, ha ha. Now we are much more consistent, but he's definitely more reluctant to #2.

I'm just chasing my tail over here.

Any tips for potty-training boys or just head-strong tots that you can share? I'd love to hear them! Hope you all had a good weekend, it rained cats and dogs here all weekend.




*I'm mingling with mommy Julie over at The Naptime Review.

Tasty Tuesday: Food Truck Park

 

A few weekends ago, my hubby and I tried out some food at the food truck park in Fort Worth. I've realized that my dream job would be to be a food critic buuuuutttttt, that time has passed so instead I will just really enjoy food.

I've never been to a food truck park but I was pretty disappointed with how expensive the food was relative to the portion sizes. For example, we got tacos and flautas. They were the same size but the flautas (with steak) cost $3.25 each and the chicken tacos cost $5.25 each. I was completely confused about that but I got over my confusion as soon as I took a bite. The food was delicious. My husband and I both went back for more flautas!

We arrived at the food park in the late afternoon/early evening timeframe so I think we missed a couple of trucks that we had really wanted to try. We'll just have to go back when there are more trucks. There was a sausage truck, taco truck, grilled cheese truck, pizza truck and wine and beer truck.

We got a grilled cheese sandwich with mozzarella cheese and spinach for our boys to eat but they had too much fun making friends with strangers to eat. It was $3.00-$4.00 so I'm not sure how likely it is that we'll get another one. We'll spend that money on the dessert truck! Yum!

He was doing an 'I can't be still' food dance.

My little vegetarian didn't even take ONE bite of the sandwich.

The blurriness can be attributed to my second glass of wine, I think.

Be prepared to spend some money for small portions at your local food truck park.
*Word to the wise: 'Don't go on a completely empty stomach.'
Our food truck park experience turned us into fans and regular patrons. For some reason, I am slightly addicted to food trucks and there are tons all over DFW so eventually I'll have enough of my share of food truck food.

Have you ever been to a Food Truck park? What did you think about your experience?

Natural Solutions for Medicine (for Toddlers and Adults)

My current immune building solutions:

I add 1/2 a packet into my each boy's cup of gatorade every day.

Colloidal Silver-1 tbsp added to our oatmeal at the first onset of cold symptoms.

I bought this at Vitamin Shoppe for $30+. I went here to find out more about it before I decided to purchase it. Either its been a big help or we've been lucky enough with the additional vitamin C.
Go to your local farmers market or Vitamin Shoppe and see what is recommended for immune building health. And don't forget to share the info. when you do!

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I've never been the kind to research alternative solutions but becoming a stay at home mom has given me time to research a variety of concerns regarding my toddlers' health and development. Recently, I was provided a family chiropractor name in my area. My youngest has had far too many ear infections within the past year. Typically there is a suggested amount (by most pediatricians) and once that amount is reached or surpassed, ear tube surgery is highly recommended. This also means that he had been on and off anitbiotics, like amoxycillin, for the past year. I am not a big anitibiotic(s) fan.

The chiropractor and ENT doctor (Ear Nose Throat) gave me the same [flat ear canal] "shpeel" but the chiropractor gave an explanation of why and how to remedy it without surgery having similar successful cases. The ENT only gave ear tube surgery as a successful solution.

The chiropractor explained that there are several joints under his ears that are pulled tightly for whatever reason (possibly because of the twists and turns of birth), causing the ear canal to be flat. Most kids that have repeated ear infections have flat ear canals, along with always having fluid in their ear(s) sitting there waiting to get infected at the first sign of a cold.
No fun.

She then used a light and non-invasive instrument to loosen the joints under his ears. This has had to be done every other day so we spent a lot of time going to the chiropractor for this 5 min treatment last week. The earlier (age-wise) that this is done, the faster the joints will be corrected back into the correct alignment for proper fluid drainage in his ears.

She also recommended visiting her for any future ear infections, instead of going to the pediatrician and getting the subscribed antibiotics.

So far, her track record is that no child has ever needed ear tube surgery once she has worked on the joints under their ears.

If you have a similar problem, check out your local family chiropractor and find out some alternative solutions that satisfy any of your health concerns.

My Little Honeybadger...

My 18 month old son is a honey badger. "He doesn't give a ----, he just takes what he wants." My husband and I had the audacity to fall asleep at the same time AFTER we took him out of his crib for naptime. What the heck were we thinking?!? Well, during that time, we left my 2.5 year old's lunch on the counter, thinking he'll be up maybe 20 mins later. I'm a power-napper so I thought I would catch a little nap. Unfortunately my husband did the same thing. Our youngest didn't want to eat his lunch when my husband gave it to him and instead let him "go play." Well in that 20 min timeframe when we both fell asleep, my youngest took my oldest boy's lunch off the plate and threw everywhere in the living room.......just for the hell of it.

My husband was shocked that he could reach up on the counter and that he took the food off of the plate without causing the plate to fall. I was more shocked at the nerve he had to bring the food into the living room in the first place!!!!

Now I understand what people mean when they say "Every child you have is different." My oldest son would have NEVER done anything like this!!!!! One is cautious (though still toes the line) and the other one completely throws caution to the wind.....because there are several more stories just like this. Sheesh.

'Preschool' Program Gone Wrong

I know he isn't a performer. I mean, he's never been that kid that when you say giddily, "Drew sing" or "Do your dance," he ALWAYS leaves you hanging. That is usually in front of family or friends....because he needs his 'warm up to you' period. This period can last from 10 minutes to an hour.
Oddly enough, its in his personality because if he is doing a silly dance in front of one parent and then the other (me or my hubs) walks in and we tell him to do it again, he'll frown and fall to the floor. Obviously he doesn't need to warm up to his parents.....so its just his personality to not "perform" for people's adoration or amusement.


Uh oh.

Well there were 100+ people in the audience and there was no possible way for him to warm up to that. Each 'preschool' class was to perform a song. My son's class was the youngest class so their song was just two and a half minutes long and they had to stay seated while singing it instead of standing like the older 2's, 3's and 4 year old classes. (Probably in fear of them walking/running off the little stage crying). As the music starts and his chapel "jam" starts to come on, he freaks out and does this.....

My new screen saver.

My husband and I were completely stunned but stricken with laughter too. I'm not going to lie, it was the funniest thing ever! These aren't all of the kids on the stage, but this was all I chose to fit in my lens. He frowned, made his eyes really big and rolled back slowly into the above position. As I think about it right now, all I can do is shake my head and say "That boy......"





He sat up, looked at us, frowned said "No" and rolled back again. Hey, at least his legs weren't in a V this time. And we kept laughing.....my husband was a lot more than me. I was beginning to gesture as well as say "No no no!"





Get me outta here! And stop looking at me!

Now I know that this frown means, and I may be saying "Oh {expletive}" later. Meanwhile......



Chillin' and completely unaware.

 Of course when we got back home, he sang the song perfectly. Now if he tries that again next year......I will NOT be laughing! He actually fell back like that three times, the third time having his friend next to him join him. Then he started stomping his feet and all of his classmates started stomping with him. And all of this [funny-toddler] foolery took place in two and a half minutes.

Thank goodness we got it all of tape.