Perspective

Now here's some glasses that will certainly change your perspective!

Potty Chronicles: Upping the Ante

We have some recent successes to report, thanks to an increased reward system. One emmet is still awarded for an attempt, while a deposit of any sort (wads of toilet paper not included) will get you a whole handful! Here's Osten helping himself to a handful (which you might be interested to know usually only amounts to about three m&m's).

After quite a long dry spell and on the advice of a dear friend--who really should consider writing a book on potty-training--we decided it was time to up the ante. Mommy bought some multi-pack Matchbox cars and airplanes, a tool box and a ball launcher in hopes of sparking a renewed interest in the potty. Sure enough, Osten is now two Matchbox multi-packs richer. Don't get too excited though, as it seems that we have two days later found ourselves at another crossroads, and alas, the Potty Chronicles continue!

Peek-a-Boo

Peek-a-boo . . .

I see you!

There's tongue-tied . . .

. . . and then there's pinning your own arm to your chest with your shirt! Lately the new thing in our house is putting on your shirt by yourself. It's an especially big deal to do sleeves without any help. However, some sleeves are easier than others. You wouldn't think a muscle shirt would present any unusual challenges, but they're actually quite tricky.

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues

They also get their big brother's Wyatt . . .

. . . and his hat and bed when he's not looking.

Yee-haw!!

Kilroy

Check it out . . . We had a Kilroy sighting in Osten's room over the weekend!

No pants . . . No problem!

Dean and Walt and their parents came to our house for dinner on Sunday. Dean had a good time on the trampoline, which is conveniently located in the middle of our family room for the time being . . . Sigh. One of these days, I'm certain that we will get everything put away. Meanwhile, the chaos seems to be a real crowd-pleaser with the kids.

Besides just enjoying their company, the best part of their visit was the dessert they brought with them. It was an Oreo-and-ice-cream cake, and it was just as good as it looks. We also discovered that even though it is mostly ice cream, you can serve it straight out of the trunk! (hee.hee.hee.)

The kids amused us after dinner and posed for some pictures. They must have had a really good time together because it sure didn't take much to convince them to pose for a group picture. Of course, three out of four of them are without pants, but that will only make the picture more fun to show them when they get older. No pants, no problem . . . at least for a couple more years!

Buckets of Fun

In a total rookie-mom move, I filled up a bucket of water for Osten and Hamilton when the bubbles they had been playing with failed to keep their interest. For a good five minutes, they took turns with the water gun, taking aim at the bushes and the house (except for one misfire that sprayed Ann and Wells just a little). Well, five minutes passes in a flash when boys are at play, and before Ann and I knew it, Osten and Hamilton were having buckets of fun!

They laughed; they squealed; and they were soaked from head-to-toe in no time.

But I have to say that they demonstrated remarkable teamwork as they filled and refilled that bucket.

Did I mention that they were soaked from head-to-toe (leather shoes and all)?? Sigh. But of course, neither of them were wearing crocs or bathing suits. That wouldn't have been nearly as much fun!

Holy Reindeer!

One of the perks of our new neighborhood (at least for now) is all of the deer or reindeer as Osten likes to call them. You never know when you might see one, so we are always on the lookout. Here's Marci keeping watch from the front porch.

So far, we've had better luck with sightings in the backyard.

Although we didn't catch them on camera, we saw three reindeer right out our kitchen window. Osten sat on the kitchen counter, and we watched two bucks and a doe feast on our neighbor's trees. Holy reindeer, it was a real treat!

Sip Slidin' Away . . .

Hey, which way is up on this thing?

Hmm . . . this end is pretty tasty.

Sweet sippy, I think I might be onto something.

Oh, yeah. Sip slidin' away . . .

Pirates, ho!

We went to a pirate birthday party on Saturday, and Osten had lots of fun getting all dressed up in the garb. (For once, it was nice for there to be some boyish dress-up clothes, since all they have at school are dresses and tutus!)

There was even a pirate ship . . .

and the kids all took a whack at the booty buried inside.

Here's our little pirate (sans pretty much most of his gear except his sash) waiting to get some pinata loot!

We're Baaaaaack . . .

. . . and wackier than ever! It was "Wacky Day" at school last Thursday, and Osten loved dressing the part. These are his favorite suspenders, which sadly did not make it through the day in one piece. After losing the back clip while on the playground, Osten began using his suspenders as a lasso and whipping them around in circles above his head. Consequently, said suspenders were confiscated in short shrift.

Come to find out, dressing wacky makes you feel kind of wacky! In a rare moment of camera cooperation, Osten posed for quite a few pictures. Mommy was in camera heaven!

Here is Osten with his favorite girl in his class, Emma Grace. Their teachers call them the old married couple because they have a real love-hate relationship. Wacky day seemed to agree with them, and here they are raiding the leftover snacks in the afternoon.

A Mommy-Daughter Duet

When I picked up the kids from school the other day, I arrived to find Marci fast asleep in the stroller after a nice walk outside. Apparently, she had spent most of the afternoon asleep and hadn't had a drop of her bottle since lunch.

She woke up as soon as I got her out of the stroller, and I could tell that the little missus was not going to be happy driving home on an empty stomach. Luckily, it only takes us about ten minutes now to get home, but I hated to make her wait . . . and so, we debuted our mommy-daughter drinking and driving duet! While I do the driving, Marci does the drinking. It's really quite efficient, and I'm not sure why it never occurred to me sooner.

Marci seemed to get a kick out of our new schtick. She spent more time popping the bottle in and out of her mouth than actually drinking, but she was amused all the way home.

Here she is with the classic two-handed hold which she has pretty much perfected!

The Potty Chronicles: An Epic

We're hitting the potty training again. This past Saturday morning, Osten came out of his room suited up and ready for action. Here he is ... clad in his favorite muscle shirt, his big boy underwear and plastic pants (for furniture protection more than style) and his rain boots (which are fun to wear and are good for pooling any potential puddles, if you know what I mean!) Oops - I almost forgot to mention his two Curious George bandaids, which are actually covering honest-to-goodness skinned knees. Anyway, when Osten came out of his room in this get-up, I just knew that today was going to be the day. Oh, it was a day alright, but not the one for which I was hoping! And so goes another entry in "The Potty Chronicles" which apparently is an epic in the making!

After at least a half dozen unsuccessful trips to the potty in rapid succession, Osten took matters into his own hands and tried to get things moving south.

Marci, who I swear is wise beyond her years, steered clear of the potty-training attempts and kept herself busy with one of her favorite hand-me-down toys. She is getting pretty good at standing and is close to being able to balance on her feet all by herself. She is also just about ready to crawl, but hasn't quite put herself in motion yet although she is able to scoot around the room on her bottom pretty well.

And here we have a completely-unnecessary-but-adamently-insisted-upon courtesy flush. After a nearly two-hour battle of wills and at least eight unsuccessful attempts on the potty, we had an accident in the living room. Thank God for plastic pants and rain boots and most especially for a new laundry room with a big utility sink!