A Sammy Update

Since the weather has been frightful (and about to get worse) Sam and I have stayed home all week long. He doesn't seem to mind and it makes it easier for the potty training. I can say with great confidence that he is all pee potty trained (except for nighttime). He has been able to keep his undies dry all week long. It was so much easier than I was expecting. I guess when he was ready he was really ready.

The only issue is pooping in the toilet. We have yet to accomplish this. I remember Ella not wanting to right away, but it wasn't a long term issue. After checking online and reading other stories it sounds like this is a very common issue. Potty training seems to have 2 phases. Phase one done, phase two in progress. I just hope it's something that will get figured out sooner rather than later.

As far as his new sleeping arrangements they have been great too. He has yet to get out of bed. This morning he hollered for me like usual while he was still in bed. When I went in there he was just laying down waiting for me. He doesn't get out at night even though last night it was nearly 10 before he fell asleep. Nap times have been great too. I thought maybe he would stop napping, but that's not the case. Such a good boy!!!

We're supposed to get about another foot or so of snow tonight and tomorrow. Then it's supposed to get really, really, really cold!! It seems like the end of January, but it's only mid-December. I'm glad we have a lot to keep us busy because it's going to be a long winter. I can't wait for spring. The snow is pretty though. Very pretty when I can sit on the couch with my knitting/crocheting by the fireplace and look outside at the pretty snow. : )

(Can you tell I'm trying to post more often? We'll see how long this lasts.)

TV/Movie Pet Peeve

I'm not one of those people that watches movies and tv and tries to find things that are wrong, but there is one thing that I always notice and drives me crazy.

When a character is holding a cup of coffee (or other beverage) and the cup is actually empty. You can tell by the way the person holds the cup or pretends to pour the coffee. What really gets me though is when they set that cup down and it makes a distinctive empty sound. It's so obvious!

I was just watching House and noticed it a few times. It's just one of those things....

So there you have it, one of my pet peeves. Does anyone else notice this same thing?

O Christmas Tree

On Saturday we went off to cut down the Christmas tree and bring it home. Since we received nearly a foot of snow Friday through Saturday morning it made for an interesting tree find. We knew approximately where our tree was, but with all the snow covering the trees it was harder to find our tag on our tree.

Within a short amount of time we did find our tree though. The kids had fun playing in the snow. Sam had a hard time walking in the deep snow.







Ella helped Zan cut down the tree.



The kids also got to see Santa! They were very excited to see him and tell him what they wanted for Christmas.



We got the tree up Saturday afternoon. It's the perfect tree! It came to about 3 inches shy of our ceiling. And we have 9 foot ceilings! On Sunday I went to put the lights on the tree but most of them weren't working. Zan ran off to Target to get all new lights for the tree. By the time he got back it was getting late, so I put up the lights Sunday night and we decorated the tree Monday evening. For some reason decorating the tree is a multi-day event this year.

I pulled out all the ornaments for the kids to decorate and just let them decorate how they wanted.











Sam really likes the horn ornament and tells us that it work when he blows in it and makes a loud noise.



Here is how the tree looked after the kids were done decorating it...



And here it is after the kids went to bed and I finished it up...





Ella is super excited for Christmas. Sam is too, but Ella keeps asking how many days until Santa comes.

In other news I did end up taking the crib rails off Sam's crib and turned it into the toddler bed. He loves it and hasn't gotten out of bed at all. He even took a great nap yesterday. He did starting hollering for Zan at 1:30 this morning. I went in and he wanted daddy to sing him a song. Apparently my song worked just fine and he went back to sleep. :)

He's also been wearing big boy undies for a few days. I've been talking to him about potty training for quite some time now, but he wanted nothing to do with it. Then the other day he said he wanted to go potty on the toilet. We haven't looked back since and he's been doing great with only a couple accidents. Lots of accomplishments in the past week for him.

I'm getting anxious to start baking Christmas cookies. Unfortunately I know that if I start now I'll eat so many that I'll just have to make more. All in all not a horrible idea, but it's best to wait...for now. I think I'll start some next week. I need something to do. It's been so cold outside we've just been staying in and keeping busy. They said Sunday and Monday were only supposed to be like 4 degrees for a high?!?! The long winter continues...

Sleeping Arrangements

Just before Ella turned two she started standing on the railing of her crib, holding onto the posts, and would jump off. She'd end up on the other side of the room. After this happened twice we took the rails off her crib and turned it into the toddler bed.

When Sam was born I was really hoping that he would stay in his crib longer than Ella did. Hopefully closer to three. Well that three year mark passed about two months ago and he doesn't want to have a different bed.

When I tell him that he could have a big boy bed like Ella has he says no and starts crying. He LOVES his crib!! He never tries to climb out and rarely even stands up in it. He goes to sleep really well and sleeps all night. He takes naps almost every day too. I know that I shouldn't complain, but he's getting pretty heavy to be lifting in and out of the crib. Getting a little big too.

This morning I asked him if it would be okay to take off the rails so he could get in and out himself. He looked at me skeptically. I explained that it would be the same bed, but without the rails. He sort of said yes, but when asked again he said no. I'll ask again later.....

He managed to finish all his medication without getting any hives. So as of now has no allergic reaction to amoxicillin. We'll find out for sure next time he gets it.

It's so cold here!!! We're just staying inside today. I don't even want to go to the mailbox to get the mail. I suck it up and get through winter, but when it's only the end of November/beginning of December and it's as cold as the coldest days in January I start to complain. I have a bad feeling it's going to be a long, cold winter.

Post Thanksgiving Fog

We had a very nice Thanksgiving. It was low key and nice to be home instead of out of town. The best part was I had an entire pumpkin pie leftover to enjoy over the weekend. Yum!!

It's really hard getting back into the swing of things though. I got out all the Christmas decorations today and it's starting to look more festive around here. We'll go cut down our tree this weekend. Then let the fun begin.

We're all healthy again too! Sam and I are still finishing up our medication, but we're feeling well. Since this is Sam's first time taking antibiotics I'm on the lookout for an allergic reaction. Ella is allergic to amoxicillin and broke out in hives just before she finished her first prescription. Sam only has a day left and I think I might see some spots on his belly starting to form. We'll see in the morning.

I've finished most all my Christmas shopping but I still have many things that I need to finish up before the holidays, so I'm going to try to get them crossed off my list as quickly as I can.

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Thanksgiving!!

Shutterfly's Holiday Card Promotion

If you know me well you know that I plan my holiday cards very far in advance. Pretty much once I've done one year I start thinking of what I'm going to do next year. Sometimes I come up with a great idea and other years it's more traditional.

Last year we went with Shutterfly cards. I've used other card sites before, but they were either really expensive or the quality was crappy. I was really impressed with the cards I got from Shutterfly last year and I'm planning on using them again.

Here's what our card was last year...

I love the brown cards. There's just something about them. I've already been looking through their great selection and know that I'm going to have a hard time deciding on which one I'm going to use.

I love this card...



Then you have to decide if you have enough photos to fill the card.

This card has similar colors with only one photo...



I have a couple ideas floating around in my head for this year's card. They look great in my head and Shutterfly definitely has a card to go. Too many to choose from in fact.

Another favorite gift I usually make for family members is a calendar with photos of the family. Shutterfly has a great selection of different types of calendars for everyone on your list.

Shutterfly has a great offer for bloggers. You can receive 50 free cards. Go here to fill out the promotion forms.

What Goes Around...

...comes around....again.

Yesterday morning I woke up with the very slightest "tinge" in my throat. By last night it was super painful. Very reminiscent of my bout with strep earlier in the month. As a matter of fact, it was exactly like that.

I got absolutely no sleep Saturday night because it just hurt so bad and the pain relievers just weren't cutting it. Sunday morning I headed (read...slid) my way over to Target. (We had freezing rain during the night and the roads were just ice.)

Turns out I had strep...again! During the night while I was awake I figured that there were probably one or two culprits running around my house reinfecting me. After I got back from Target with my new medication I dragged my entire family back there to be checked. Sure enough both kids had strep. Neither showed any real symptoms of being sick. Other than me getting sick within a week of finishing my last medication.

Zan got medication for a sinus infection that would also help him if he had strep. So everyone in our household is on medication. Except the dog, but I think he has an ear infection.... : |

The good news is that everyone will be healthy for Thanksgiving and I shouldn't get sick from the same thing again.

I baked turkey sugar cookies for Zan's work tomorrow. Their having a potluck tomorrow which I made buffalo wings for, but since it's his birthday I thought I'd send him with cookies too. Don't worry I was very careful to keep all germs away! :) At least I'm not coughing or sneezing. I actually feel fine other than a sore throat.