Snowmageddon

 

If you are living under a rock in the mid-west then let me be the first to tell you, 

we are getting some snow soon....

A LOT OF SNOW..... 

The grocery store was insane.

The pharmacy parking lot was full.

The Fruit Stores parking lot was full. 

Milk was being purchased in illegal amounts. A sign went up saying 3 gallons per person. 

Reports say that we are under a BLIZZARD WARNING at Noon on Tuesday.....and all reports combined say we will get 12 - 24 inches before it is all over.  50MPH winds and oh, it's gonna be COLD.

Meetings are being canceled.  Emails are rampant with more cancellations!

I am ready...  I have lots of milk (I went to 2 stores!) I have crafts to do with the kids. I have snow clothes ready too. I have books to read, BLOGS to stalk people to call and email. Oh, and that volunteer job for J's Raffle.  

I am ready...Are you ready mid-westerners? 

Counting my blessings

 

Odd that a toilet seat would be photo of the day....But, well, this is about C and his time with toilet.  

I can report after 6 days of sheer HELL, C has gotten the hang of going tinkle in the potty. Poop will come, but just seeing him "doing the dance" and gettin the job done has raised my spirits (they were pretty low!)

While the potty was terrifying to my little guy, after the first time he has become friends with the toilet, and not complaining while sitting there.  He does not mind the constant "Do you have to potty?" questions.  I can leave the room knowing he will scream when he has to go.  

It is not over, I know that, but for now, I can say we are doing better than we were 4 days ago.  It is a long road, and the transformation of my little man has been amazing.  

The transformation of me has been less than glamorous.  When I announced to M that I needed a shower on Saturday.  J replied "Dad, she really does! I think she has been in those clothes for 3 days.  I think she was afraid to leave C"  Smart kid...he was totally right.  Terrified I had more slipcovers to wash, I never left C for 4 days.  So I never showered. I never took my normal mommy "ten minutes of quiet", I never did anything without him.  That was the best shower of my life (and I say that every summer after returning from our summer house after weeks of "river life"!

The war is not over, but a small  battle has been won.....I am feeling my guilt a little less today and I am beaming with proud vibes to my C.  As stubborn as he is, he is me, through and through.  I can only imagine what the years will bring if this took that long!

One step backwards = 100 steps backwards

OK, I am admitting it....C is not potty trained.  There is it out there.  

Here's the story. 

We (OK, I) tried when he was 3.5....He fought me every step of the way.  He screamed, he hit, he bit, he cried, he hit some more.  With advice from my mom and my dearest trusted mom friend (K) they told me to stop.  It was killing my patience, my heart and my soul.  We stopped.  I snuck him into preschool with the mantra each day "OK C, what do we not do at school?" he would respond "POOP OR PEE OR LEAK"....Happily he has not had an accident since week 1.  We moved on, knowing I was hiding this from all the people around me. 

When C turned 4 (and the weeks leading up to it) he announced to us (M & I) that when he was 4 he would use the potty.  Sunday came and went, and with exhaustion I did not push it. Monday came and school's mantra went on. When he got home, I did not put a pull up on him. We started to potty train.  4 accidents later, no success on the potty and a good bath, he went to bed saying "I will do it tomorrow".  Tuesday came and went, with one accident (and numerous times on the potty) until 4pm.  Then his bladder exploded on my couch (thank goodness for slip covers!)  Wednesday was accident city, all day long.  Countless loads of laundry, frustration beginning to take over and my brain simply fried.  Thursday came and I changed my plan. Instead of small rewards for sitting on the potty I announced "If you have an accident, I take something away".  First accident was his beloved kitty, then his blanky, then his new Lego's from his birthday, then all of his stuffed animals, then stories and cuddles at bedtime.  Today (Friday) he was told the same and now he sits in my kitchen with no TV privileges, no toy privileges, no snacks and no playing with J when he comes home.  

My spirit is strong with all of the challenges in my life, but this is breaking me bit, by bit, moment by moment. I feel like a failure, I feel like what I say does not register.  He is four years old and cannot (and will not) do it. I have sheltered him from play dates outside our home because he does not use the potty. I cannot let him  let others know what he cannot do.  I am embarrassed. I am ashamed. 

So as I type, he is sitting in my kitchen, humming and talking like there is nothing wrong. I am crying.  We cannot even celebrate one step forward because there have been none.  We have 100 steps backward and no steps ahead.  And one mommy who is having a hard time seeing a light at the end of the long tunnel I think I have created......

MIA

Where do the days go?  Oh that's right, I volunteer for too much and get overwhelmed in the final weeks.  THAT IS WHERE MY DAYS GO! 

J's school Raffle is in a few weeks. I am once again chairing it (my last year, I swear!) So right after C's party my living room became Raffle Central with gift baskets, prizes, ribbon, tissue paper etc. It is a mess.  I avoid that room at all costs.  But it is time to start knocking out things so I am not sleep deprived the week of the event. 

C came down with something in the middle of the night last night so he and I stayed in....And did what any normal OCD mom would do, organized something. I tackled "my side" of the storage room.  (Where I keep gifts, my crafting stuff, wrapping paper, ribbon and anything else I need to hide or conceal from the residents.) I tossed about 2 boxes worth of "junk".  Meaning if I moved into this house 4.5 years ago and have not TOUCHED IT, it was gone....That felt nice. I cleared up 3 shelves, labeled anything that needed with my new fun labels I got from iheartorganizing and loved it! It is now a place that I will happily walk into and not feel like I might kill myself going back there.  Between the holidays and C's party, it became a dumping ground!

In a moment of C resting and me playing online I found this blog that I adore! She style is more my style and slowly I am creating ideas for the house that are totally DIY and budget friendly. I may do it my own way, but at least the ball is rolling in the right direction!

Since C is sick, we have laid low, had some cuddles, gotten some chores done and rested.  That has been nice.  But it also means I am behind on my list. I see a long night ahead of me to catch up so I do not feel overwhelmed on Thursday.  I have such a routine and although I know I am a SAHM my choice, if my routine gets bumped it sends me into a tizzy. Does that happen to anyone else?

Over, so let the clean up begin

What a weekend!  The party was a lot of fun!  The kids LOVED it, C had a blast, the parents came for pizza and drinks while the kids played even longer...And you know it is a good night when we all look at our bottles of wine that were consumed (7 in total) then our watches and say "HOW DID IT GET TO BE 9:30pm!???"

I started with the mini prep tour in the last post but here is the rest....

 

 I made the banner with left over scrapbook paper and the LEGO font I know cherish so much!  I did not put C's name on it so I can re-use it for J and even M's birthday!

 

And what kids party is complete without a bar?  LOL  This was before the kids arrived, there was beer and white wine chilling in the kitchen! 

So the kids promptly arrived and played LEGO's until everyone was settled.  They all enjoyed creating and showing off to M and I!

 

They played well and M and I started whispering to guests that there were 2 buckets in the house that needed guesses for a prize.  The kids quickly ran about (one was upstairs and one was downstairs) to get guesses in!  The little ones who could not write got help from the bigger kids or M and I.

Then we split the kids into two teams and gave each team a bin of LEGOS. Each bin had the same amount of LEGOS in it (same shapes etc) and the teams had 10 minutes to build the tallest tower.  This was hard for the littler ones since the big kids "took over" but they held their own.

 

Here is one of the towers!  Pretty great eh? 

The kids played, and created amazingly well until pizza time and when the adults arrived.  Some had to bolt but more came for pizza and cake. 

Here it is....My creation!

Now, it is not perfect, but I did it myself and I am pretty proud of myself!  And it was REALLY YUMMY! (and  I am still dining on it for breakfast!) C loved it!  

Late into the night the kids that remained helped C rip into gifts....

 

C was really nice about letting the kids help him open!  I was very proud!

And this is what the basement looked like at 10:30 that night....

Over all, C had a great day, it was fun to plan and execute and everyone just enjoyed being together on a winter evening!  That is how I love to entertain!  No fuss, friends and fun.....

Simply perfect!

It's Party Time

Well, it is party day!  C has been non stop about it for days and he was most excited to wake up this morning to get this party started! Sadly, no one is arriving until 4pm!  

 

This is what my buffet looked like yesterday morning, more supplies came upstairs after this, but as you can see, it was getting a little crowded!

Last night I tackled the "cake"....Ok so many people chimed in on getting ROYAL BLUE frosting, but after 2 trips to different Michaels I gave up and used simple ol' food coloring. It was not as ROYAL as I would have liked but after using my little tube of blue and my neighbors (all at 8:00pm) this is as blue as I could get it....After awhile it was simply NOT changing colors.

 

 

So I gave up and just started creating.  I have a new respect for those of you who love to decorate cakes. This was NOT easy and took patience (which I do not have a lot of!)  The finished product is chillin the fridge until party time! (You'll have to wait and see!)

This morning M took the boys to run errands and pick up another request of dear C...>Balloons.  I asked him weeks ago and he showed no interest. Last night he chimed in that he wanted FIVE balloons...Off they went to Party City and I started "doing the decorating".  Here is what I got done without assistance!

 

The sign that greets our guests....A last minute idea from the birthday boy.  Thanks to urban fonts and having a LEGO font that was perfect! I once again cut each letter out.....We will hang this in the playroom after the party!

Then the goody bags and one game table....

 

The bags are filled with a LEGO bookmark that we made, a collectible LEGO man and LEGO candy.  Nothing crazy, because the LEGO men were not the usual cheap stuff you get from parties. I know my boys will love getting the guys!

 

This is one of the guess the LEGO's in the bucket games.  We have two. Again I used the LEGO font to make out the sheets for the kids.  FOr those who cannot write, we will help them.  My boys are dying to know how many...I will never tell....(23 and 19! HA!)

Between the party for kids starting at 4pm and the adults arriving at 5:30 for pizza and cake we will have a fun night with some of our close neighborhood friends.....I am actually looking forward to sitting down with a glass of wine shortly after the younger guests eat! :)

DEEP FREEZE

I woke up this morning to my favorite morning DJ"s and the weather report...It was not good.  Not good at all.  They happily spoke of the sun that would be coming out and then gave the current temperature.  It was  good, funny or uplifting.....Hell it was awful....It was 0, ZERO, NIL, Nothin, Not 1, but ZERO.....I wanted to stay in my warm bed, snuggled with my down comforter and listen to the music playing.  My kids had other ideas..Like school! 

It has been a busy day around here with school and dressing to go outside.  It is 5 now, and I think I might have seen a 7 earlier in the car, but nothing like 73 that my mom was bragging about via Skype this morning (thank mom, your a peach!) I have gathered all the decorations, favors, games for the party.  All sit on top of my buffet in the living room, except for one game that J is insisting he do himself (the planning, NOT the execution!).  Lego's have been scattered in every room that people will see (yep, even a bowl of Lego's in the bathroom! I am taking this theme to heart!)  The cake, although I had grand plans to whip out when C was at school will be saved until after bedtime. I need more time to work out a plan in my head.  Plus, I do not need assistance from the younger people residing here.  I need complete concentration on this.  I have consulted 3 people on blue frosting as well. I have no back up, except for plain ol white frosting.  I will get it done, but it could be a long night.

I have been watching some new BLOG's too and love IHeart Organizing!  it is a great site and she has amazing ideas and some free (and not free downloads!)  I have printed out many of her free ones today!  I have a slew of labels to place after the party is over!  I love it!  And I am always up for a new idea on keeping me organized!  

Once the party is over, I will post a lot of photo's of what we did for the decorations etc. and some of the party itself!  I have a feeling the little surprises I have tossed in will make C beyond thrilled to be having a LEGO party! Nothing will be posted until the BEARS GAME Sunday....We are a little obsessed with Sunday already and how we are going to keep C quiet during the entire game.  Luckily he will have presents to play with and open when he starts to bug daddy and I!  

GO BEARS! And happy weekend!