What we've been up to

Happy Thursday everyone. I am so excited that it is almost the weekend. I am especially excited because my dad is in GR for some meetings and he will be staying here Saturday night. Can't wait to see you Papa John!

We just got back from getting groceries and Tyson's dentist appointment. He did SO great. He really was just so funny. As we were walking in to the office he told me "I am not going to be shy at the dentist", which struck me as funny. He was rather talkative, asking what the dentists name was, sitting up to look over the tray of dental tools every time the hygienist took the spin brush out of his mouth, telling about how he plays dentist... I am glad that he thinks the dentist is such a cool place to be.

We recently watched the movie Ice Age, which both kids really enjoyed. Tyson picked up the phrase "Bon Appetite", but his pronunciation is a bit different. Take a listen:

Jori likes to play pretend. Last night she was being a puppy and carrying her jammies around in her mouth. Check out those cheeks!

Tyson had a field trip on Monday to DJ's pizza. This is the first field trip I have gone on with him and I loved being able to see him in action. Everyone in the class made a small pizza. It was delicious. We even saved a piece for daddy to have for dinner.

Not too much else is happening. I am ready for winter to be over, but as long as it is going to be cold, I hope we have snow. Then it is at least pretty to look at!

New Week

It's Tuesday afternoon. I am still in my pjs and the kids are all bathed and in clean jammies. It's just one of those days. Ok, most weeks have a few of "those days". Oh well. It is sunny here in Michigan, but still so cold. I am eagerly looking forward to Thursday when the temp is supposed to be in the high 20's or low 30's. I figure then, even with the windchill, Tyson and Jori can be outside for a while without risk of frostbite! They definitely could use the fresh air.

Potty training is still not going anywhere, although we had to buy a different brand of diapers last night and Jori said "I no like these diapers". So today she is back in a pull-up. I know, the inconsistency is probably just making things harder, but at this point, I don't care that she's not potty trained so whatever.

Tyson has developed a huge love of words. He loves to spell words on his "computer" and one of his favorite things is spelling words with his daddy at bedtime. Dentist and tornado are two of the words he can sound out. I am trying to encourage him to love reading as well. I wrote him a little story, which had the word 'snot' in it. That really got his interest. He is all boy.

We have been spending lots and lots of time at home. I don't want to be out driving on the yucky roads or going out in the cold, so a trip to the mall or McDonald's is really not that appealing to me. I am going to have to suck it up and just go, because it is only January. There is still a lot of winter left.

Potty Training-it's not for the faint of heart

It's that time again. Time to get on the potty train. Yes, we've "been there, done that" with Tyson, but there's a new trainee in town and her name is Jori "stubborn as the dickens" Fey. Before we started "training", Jori had already gone on the potty several times, by her own choosing. #1 and #2. I thought that moving from diapers to pull-ups would only make it easier for her to go on her own, and I have been proven wrong.

Jori was so excited to get princess pull-ups. We got the kind that have little flowers on them that disappear when they get wet. She DID NOT want those flowers to disappear, so we were all on the same page. However, now, two weeks later, I am thinking of going back to diapers. For starters, diapers and less expensive and our little potty training star, who stayed dry the first week, has now been making flowers disappear left and right. And the whole #2 thing, something she had been doing on the potty pre-training is like a joke. She refuses to poop on the potty and will wait three days before going. I've been sticking her in a diaper just to make sure she doesn't end up having bowel issues like her poor brother had before we went to Africa.

I have also come to the conclusion that when the potty trainer (me) becomes more trained than the trainee (my stubborn daughter) that something is terribly wrong. Yes, she stayed dry, but this is only because I make her go to the bathroom. If I ask her "do you need to go potty?" her most common response is "no, i already goed yesterday". Sorry to burst your bubble, but peeing is not a once daily occurrence for most "normal" people. Never once has she said "I need to go potty" and taken herself to the bathroom.

So I think I am giving up. I figure she'll catch on someday so why worry about it now?

Update on Mama Cathrine

My parents forwarded us an email from Mark Harding yesterday. He included an update on how things are going at MC's place. There is some good news, in that the local grocery store, Spar, has been providing large quantities of chicken pieces that the Hardings have been passing on to MC's. This is a huge blessing as meat is something they very rarely or never had because of the expense and, before receiving their fridge/freezer, they had no sanitary way of storing it.

This is the not so good news that Mark wrote:

"I got an SOS from MC this morning to say that they were flooded during last night's storm and all their bedding is wet. I am going over to see what can be done. Their land is very flat and gets waterlogged very easily so all those buildings need to be raised at least one brick's height above ground level where they are at the moment."

I know that problems with flooding are something that many of you from the midwest and northwest can relate to. Those of you that have recently experienced having water in your homes know how frustrating and time consuming it is to deal with such a problem.

We are thankful that there are people like the Hardings who are willing to help MC, even though we know that they are extremely busy with running TYB. Please keep them all in your prayers as they work on this latest problem.

Hello New Year, Good-bye Cat!

Happy New Year everyone. I wonder how long it will take for me to remember to write 2009 on my checks? I think I was still writing 2007 into February of '08.

So, the cat. Last year, Tyson received a grey cat from Papa John and Grandma Willie. This was not a living animal (please, don't EVER give my kids a living thing as a gift!), but rather a "treasure" from our local thrift store, Love, INC. The cat was named Fluffy Pants, in honor of Papa's childhood pet. Fluffy Pants was one of those electronic cats that meowed, moved it's head and tail, purred, and even hissed if you got too rough with her.

Tyson LOVED Fluffy. He used to sleep with her and carry her around all day, talking to her, feeding her... Our family didn't mind Fluffy, but most of our guests were not so fond of the little beast. Sometimes Tyson would forget to turn Fluffy off, so she would startle the unsuspecting visitor by moving when they walked past her. I know Grandma Karen is not a fan of Fluffy Pants!

Well, several months ago, Fluffy broke her neck. I really do not know who would do such a thing to poor, defenseless Fluffy, but instead of being able to turn her head from side to side, Fluffy's noggin now hung at an odd angle. This did not change Tyson's love for Fluffy, but more people began commenting on the "ugly" cat that he played with. Then Fluffy's batteries started to give out. So now she sometimes waved her tail and purred and sometimes sounded like she needed to see a Vet, ASAP! Then one day her batteries died. Tyson still carried Fluffy around, and only asked for new batteries a couple times.

Then we went to Africa. Fluffy did not take the journey with us. When we got home, Fluffy Pants was pulled out of the toy box, and then she never moved from her spot by Daddy's chair. Day after day, I looked at that bedraggled, matted cat and wondered what I should do. Tyson seemed to have forgotten all about his faithful friend. He had moved on to a stuffed dog named "Barfy" and never looked back. So one day in early December, I picked Fluffy up, put her in a plastic bag, and stuck her in the laundry room. Tyson never noticed she was gone.

Well, today, three weeks later, Tyson asked for Fluffy. Last night he saw his friend Avery's new electronic cat, so I am sure that is what sparked his memory. Well, what was this mother to do?? Fluffy was still sitting on top of my dryer, as I hadn't had the heart to toss her yet. However, she really has seen better days. If it was just the batteries, I'd have probably never even taken her away, but the broken neck really is kind of pathetic. So, I told Tyson I wasn't sure what happened and after a few more rounds of asking for Fluffy, he let it go.

Then, about an hour ago, while Tyson and Darin were off filling the vending machines, I threw Fluffy in our garbage can. I know! I feel so mean, but I also felt like I needed to just grow-up and toss the broken cat in the trash. Did I do the right thing?