The Potty-Training Solution for the Techno-Savvy Toddler?

So, we came back from Houston the other night, and out of the blue, Zachary asks me for an iPod. JUST BARELY FOUR YEARS OLD AND HE ALREADY WANTS AN iPOD! His older cousins (who are 7 and 8) have them, and for some reason, Zachary has now decided that he needs one, too. I guess I have now been officially welcomed into the world of "But, Mommmmm, Everyone Else Has One!" Sad day. I really thought I could make history or something by being the first parent to avoid this. Shucks!

Well, this request just happens to come at a time when I'm already feeling quite desperate to get Zachary potty-trained. I have made the mistake of carelessly throwing bribes to the wind for months now in the event that one might actually work as an incentive. (Yes, horrible parenting skills, I know.) Yet I STILL have had absolutely no luck so far with any of them. Let's see... I have tried bribing him with a bicycle. (In my self-defense, every kid needs to learn to ride a bike at some point and he's at the perfect age for starting that, too, right?) Unfortunately, Zachary hasn't much interest in bikes yet and I don't think he even remembers the offer. I have promised to take him to Inflatable Wonderland at the mall, and now EVERY SINGLE TIME we walk past it, he looks over and announces cheerfully, "That's where I go when I'm potty-trained!" and then he merrily goes on with his little life without giving any further thought to what he might do to actually BECOME potty-trained. I'm puzzled by this. I guess he thinks it is just magically going to happen. Well, let me just pull this magic wand out...

And now, because the words "maybe when you're potty-trained" come out much too quickly and without a whole lot of thought these days (shame on me), I have now foolishly gone and suggested that MAYBE he can get an iPod when that blessed day comes. Eek! I know I REALLY shouldn't have done this, because I'm not about to buy an iPod for a 4 year-old. I didn't exactly *promise* him one, but he hasn't forgotten about it and I don't think he's going to this time. Tonight, when I got back from running an errand, I was talking to Zachary about where I'd been and what I was doing there, etc., and he says, "Mommy, kneel down so I can tell you somefing." I kneeled down and he whispered in my ear, "Maybe I am potty-trained and you will get me an iPod tomorrow!"

I don't think I have anything to worry about for now, because it's still going to take awhile for this whole process to take place, but I still feel bad that I have unintentionally gotten his hopes up like this. How do I fix this mess I've gotten myself into? What is a mother to do?

Behold the iPooped!

Kung Fu Panda

I have been in Houston since last Thursday, hence the reason I have not been blogging as much as usual, but I thought I would do a quick post before I go home tonight.

Yesterday, I took Zachary and my 8 year-old nephew, Bryon, to see Kung Fu Panda. It was an act of charity, I thought, since you (don't actually) know how I love going to the movies. ;) I hadn't seen the previews for this one, therefore I had no reason to get excited about it. But what do you do when you are cooped up inside a house with 6 kids ages 8 and under BESIDES think about undergoing sterilization? You get out of the house as fast as you possibly can! Almost anything else could potentially be more exciting than sitting in a house full of kids with NO ELECTRICITY (read: NO A/C!) in Houston in the summertime. That's another story for another day, I guess. My poor mom suffered through that alone but at least I got 2 of the kids off her hands for a few hours. And today, I'm reciprocating by watching the boys and the 2 little girls so she can take my older nieces and grandma to see this movie which I gave rave reviews.

So, yeah, I loved Kung Fu Panda! I loved the animation, the story, the music, the characters...EVERYTHING! I know this may sound a little weird, but seeing this movie made me actually want to go visit China--such an interesting culture! The boys both enjoyed the movie as well, but there were some darker scenes that I thought might be a little scary for the younger age group. Overall, it was a great movie that I highly recommend.

My Husband's Hidden Talent

For anyone wondering if I was making up all that stuff about Chris liking to bake, I have to brag on him just a little bit. Chris is a man of many talents, but here is one that many people do not know about. He is the designated cake decorator in our family. I didn't know about this before we got married, so I like to think of it as a nice bonus. I am amazed at some of the things my husband can do that most guys don't typically do. In this case, it's a skill that many women can't do well (unless your name happens to be Alison and you happen to also be my neighbor, and then that's another story!) I would love to learn the fine art of cake decorating, but I will be the first to admit that I simply do not have any artistic ability whatsoever. Chris, on the other hand, just watched his mom decorate cakes over the years and picked it up just like that. Go figure!

Here is the (belated) birthday cake he made for Zachary yesterday so we could celebrate again with my sister who is visiting from Boston this week.



I was most impressed with the Elmo cake he made for Zachary's 2nd birthday:



And he asked me to add a shot of the monkey and giraffe cakes he made for Zachary's first birthday (we did a party with a jungle theme.)





I have to keep getting on Chris' case because he hasn't made one of his special cakes for Ashley, but to his defense, her birthday falls right before finals, and I guess those are kind of important. But, Chris, if you are reading this, I am helping her keep track and she knows you owe her big! ;)

Happy Mother's Day! (er... Father's Day!)

What exactly do you get the man who so thoughtfully (oh, and generously!) upgraded the family computer right in time for Mother's Day? Well, look no further!



HA HA HA HA HA. (It's going to be a little while before I can stop laughing.)

Actually, while you just THINK this was my version of payback, let me just say that it wasn't anything like that. Chris really does like to bake (when he has the time, of course) and had his eye on one of these not long ago. Since I got a sweet deal on this baby, I think he'll love it even more. Stay tuned!

Happy Father's Day to my talented and loving husband!

Chocoholics Anonymous, Here We Come!

You may remember an incident that happened a couple of months ago in which I caught Zachary in the act of filching hot fudge from the bottle with his finger. If only it was an isolated incident! Now we have TWO children who have been caught countless times consuming chocolate conspicuously from containers. Perhaps this pattern is beginning to pose a problem? (Aaaaaaagh! I know... Enough with the alliteration already!)

So, last week, I found Zachary seated at the kitchen table with one of his squiggly straws inserted into the hot fudge container, and he was just merrily sucking away like...like perhaps this was premeditated! Aside from his ingeniousness to use the straw on his second attempt, having previously learned his lesson the hard way while trying his original method of manual extraction, a squiggly straw wasn't exactly the most brilliant choice of tools. I didn't think to tell him that using a squiggly straw to suck hot fudge from the container was certainly doing the deed in a roundabout way. Personally, I would have opted for just a plain ol' straight straw, or I might have just skipped the straw altogether, but that's just me and I'm NOT the one here with a problem. He seemed to have been somewhat successful, as I do remember his face bearing plenty of hard evidence, but the fudge had only filled the straw halfway. I guess I saved him from several more minutes of some serious sucking!

This week, on Wednesday, the kids and I spent the afternoon swimming with Grandma at her neighborhood pool. Afterwards, we went back to the house and enjoyed some frozen yogurt. Then, she and I ventured back into the living room to visit some more. As I recall, Zachary was playing nearby while Ashley disappeared and later emerged as such:



The Hershey's syrup had been left on the counter, and leave it to Ashley to get her hands on that! After allowing her ample opportunity to ingest it for awhile longer while I snapped a few shots for the sake of sharing, I retrieved the bottle from her and set it aside and, apparently, forgot all about it. I didn't even realize it had been forgotten until the next day when my mom told me that my dad had found the bottle EMPTY in the other room and had asked about it. Suddenly, Mom solved the problem that had been puzzling me since the night before: Why was Zachary awake until ONE A.M.??? Now we know: Caffeine consumption from the chocolate syrup, of course!

Showtime!

Last Friday was Zachary's final day of gymnastics. His class performed their "show" so we could see the skills they have been working on over the past few months. Zachary has enjoyed making some new friends and has looked forward to Little Gym every week! I am glad that he has had the opportunity to try something new, and I have really seen him grow more confident in himself.

Zachary was too scared to go on the "big" balance beam in the fall, but he has gained courage and rose to the occasion last Friday. He also mastered the "table top" part of his floor exercise. And I don't think I even KNEW that he could hang upside down on the bars the way he did, but I think this is my favorite picture! After the show, each of the kids in the class received a gold medal. Zachary is our little champion, and we are so proud of him!

It was hard for Ashley to not be able to participate in gymnastics with her brother, as she got to see him having so much fun and all she could do was watch. The class for her age group requires parents to participate, and Zachary cannot be left to his own devices, that's for sure. :) I tried to make the time go by much easier for Ashley by taking her to the pet store nearby to look at the animals, and she did love that! Next year will be a fun year for Ashley, because she'll get to start participating in activities that she sees Zachary enjoying now. She seems very determined to have her day. Based on her agility and strength and the competitive spirit I have seen in her from such a young age, I look forward to watching Ashley have these opportunities, too. She's really going to show her big brother how it's done. Watch out, here she comes!

Identity Crisis

As I am sure you have probably noticed by now, I have changed my blog title AGAIN. I can't seem to find a blogging identity that seems to really fit, but this seems to be it for now. And, not to disappoint you or anything, but it may change again if I think of something else I like better. For now, though, Alphabet Soup seems to work for a few reasons.

Some people may not immediately realize that A & Z are my kids. We didn't intentionally choose their names so they could be a set of "bookends", but I liked the idea when a friend pointed that out to me. Now we just have to come up with 24 other names that start with all the other letters. JUST KIDDING. Even if we don't end up with more children, at least I've got the beginning and the end covered.

Another reason for the new title is this: When I was a junior in high school, there were four of us with the same oft-mispronounced last name: my brother, my sister, my dad's cousin's daughter, and I. Lo and behold, we all attended an awards assembly at the end of the year, and our last name was pronounced 4 different ways and probably by the same person. I distinctly remember telling my sister later, "When I get married, I want to marry a Smith or a Brown. *BUT, WATCH!* I will marry someone with a Polish last name." The Polish, I thought, were notorious for using just about every letter of the alphabet in their names. And the heavens heard me say that and shook with laughter. Sufficiently humbled, I finally met and married Chris almost 10 years later. I know, I should have hyphenated, shouldn't I?

Finally, with 2 young children at home (one of which is highly obsessed with letters and numbers and is now passing that along to the other), we hear A LOT of the ABC Song going on at our house. Zachary even does his own improv version that goes something like this:



So, yes, Alphabet Soup. For now.

Four *Wonderful* Years

A to Z

A- Attached or Single: Attached
B- Best friend: Always a true friend.
C- Cake or Pie: Pie
D- Day of choice: Friday
E- Essential item: Contact lenses, because I never leave home without them.
F- Favorite Color: I like bright colors...all of them.
G- Gummy bears or worms: Bears
H- Hometown: Austin, TX
I- Indulgence: Ice cream sundaes
J- January or July: July
K- Kids: Zachary (4) and Ashley (2)
L- Life is incomplete without: Family and Friends
M- Marriage Date: November 9, 2001
N- Number of siblings: 4
O- Oranges or Apples: A nice, ripe, juicy orange.
P- Phobias or fears: heights, losing someone I love.
Q- Quotes: "No other success can compensate for failure in the home." -David O. McKay
R- Reason to smile: A happy, healthy family.
S- Season of choice: Whichever one comes next. (So, if it's winter, I would rather it be spring. If it's summer, I'd rather it be fall, and so on.) Actually, I like all the seasons. Right now, I love that it's summer.
T- Tag 3 times: Heidi, Wendy, Alison, and anyone else who wants to do it.
U- Unknown fact about me: I have never broken a bone, unless you count the time I chipped the end off of my left elbow back in college. In any case, it's not there anymore and I have no idea where it went!
V- Very favorite store: I don't have one favorite. I shop a lot at Target/Super Target and H-E-B Plus, though, and I like those just fine.
W- Worst habit: Staying up late. Whether you agree that this is my worst habit of all time or not, I figure it's a good one to put on here, right? :)
X- X-ray or Ultrasound: Ultrasound
Y- Your favorite food: Blue Bell ice cream
Z- Zodiac Sign: Leo