Potty Training

I'm pretty sure this is the most frustrating thing I have done in awhile.

Andrew and I have been potty training Jackson since Monday.  It is now Thursday, so it has been three full days.  The update.  Jackson is wearing underwear only.  He's been pretty successfully at going pee pee in the potty and telling us that he needs to go.  On going poop, we aren't making a lot of head way right now.  He's sneaky and keeps going in his underwear.  Andrew and I are doing our best to stay positive.  I realize it will take longer than a few days knowing are stubborn, strong willed child.

On a good note, Jackson is staying dry during his nap and all through the night!

With that said, I'm still wanting to pull my hair out most of the time.  As easy as it would be to keep him in diapers, I know it is time for him to be out of them.  Perseverance and patience are definitely needed, so please pray for us.

Whew! That was Tiring!

You seriously underestimate how tired your parents were on Christmas Day until you actually have kids of your own.  Then, you truly realize how exhausting of a holiday it is!

Christmas in our household was nice, if not exhausting.  We attended Christmas Eve Mass at our parish the evening before.  Everyone looked very nice dressed in our Christmas church clothes.  Unfortunately, we didn't have time to take a picture after Mass because the kids were starving and tired.  After a quick meal and bathes, we only put the kids down a little later than normal.  Andrew and I were pretty happy about it.

Until, we were woken up at 6:30am by a toddler who was starving and wanted to play.  And, our Christmas day began.

After coffee and breakfast (because Andrew and I weren't about to function without coffee), we opened presents.  The kids were really good.  Jackson opened all of his presents this year with little assistance.  The unwrapping didn't take too long, but it was long enough where a second pot of coffee was needed by both parents.

The rest of our day was spent playing the kids and their new toys.  I made a nice dinner which Andrew claims would feed an entire battalion!  I like cooking, and I tend to cook for more people than present.  So, we have a lot of leftovers.  At least they're good!  I cooked a Christmas Pasta using Italian sausage, ground pork, ground sirloin, and ground lamb.  It was good!

We ended our day with very tired children who pretty much collapsed in bed.  Andrew and I pretty much did the same thing a little later.  It was a great Christmas day!

This picture captures the chaos of our morning.

It's Christmas Time!

I cannot believe Christmas is on Sunday!  I feel like it has snuck up on me this year.  All my shopping is done and most has been done for at least a month, but that's not what I'm talking about.

I'm talking about the feeling of warmth and family which inevitably wraps itself around me has finally arrived.  I think it is the simple fact I have spent the last week with my own family all being at home without work or school hanging over our heads.  Yes, Andrew still checks his work email and does things, but his head and heart are here at home.  We won't be spending Christmas with any extended family this year, but I have my own family that more than makes up for it.  My children are healthy and growing at a crazy high rate.  I think I have bought more food within the last two weeks than I have in the last month!  I'm very content and happy.  It's nice.

So seeing at it is so close to Christmas time, I thought I would share a couple of photos.  The first is the family picture we used for our Christmas card this year.  It was the very last picture taken.  I'm not sure how Andrew and I got both boys to look and smile at the camera.  It's a miracle!

The second is a picture of our Christmas tree.  I've only had about half a dozen ornaments break this year.  Cullen keeps taking them off.  Jackson then grabs them out of Cullen's hands, brings them to me, and tells me Cullen took it off.  And the tattle telling has already started.  The boys have only managed to try to unwrap one present under the tree.  I was able to stop it before any real damage was done.  Although, they do enjoy stacking the presents like their blocks.

A Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Graduation Pictures

Here are some pictures from Andrew's MBA Graduation. The first one was taken on Friday at the Hooding Ceremony.

The ones below were taken right after Andrew's Commencement on Saturday down in San Marcos.

Andrew and his parents.

This picture somewhat captures the wrangling of the children.

Andrew and I very happy his degree is officially over!

Outing to the Park

Andrew came up with a great idea this morning.  We were going to take the boys to the park for a walk and bring Jackson's tricycle and the Radio Flyer wagon for Cullen.  The park has a nice long trail through the majority of it.  We thought it would be great for take the 1/4 mile loop around which goes by the AAA Baseball Stadium.  So, we packed up the boys, the tricycle and wagon.  Off we went.

In theory, it was a wonderful idea.  However, Jackson did not want to tricycle around the trail.  He tricycled about 100 yards before he turned around and headed back to the playground.  Jackson decided he would rather run around on the playground than bike.


Andrew and I did try to coax him into biking, but he had his mind made up.  Really, what can you do?  Its not like he wanted to go play in the street.  In the end, we all went back to the playground to let the boys play.

Jackson and Cullen had a great time running around the playground, sliding down slides, and swinging.























On the other hand, Andrew and I had packed and planned for a walk.  Which meant us expending energy towing children around.  In general, moving not standing around.  Hence, we did not wear especially heavy clothes (although we did bundle the boys up).  We got a little cold after standing outside about 30 minutes.  We stayed a little longer, then headed home with two worn out children.

In the end, the outing to the park wasn't what we had planned, but it turned out to be fun nonetheless.  Although next time, Andrew and I will be sure wear layers in case plans unexpectedly change.

The pictures are just snapshots I was able to take of the boys.

Doesn't Andrew look a little cold?

I Like This!

This is always one of the sexiest things I get to see.  Andrew vacuuming.  The only thing to trump this would be a picture of him cleaning the bathrooms.  It's the simple things that make me happy!

Andrew Graduated with His MBA!

It has been a long time coming, but it is finally official.  Andrew graduated with his MBA from Texas State University!  He and I are absolutely ecstatic about this!  It has been a two kids and 2 1/2 years in the making, but it is done.

Andrew and I went to the McCoy College of Business's Hooding Ceremony Friday night.  Just the two of us were able to go because Andrew's parents came into town and watched the kids.  The McCoy College of Business did a nice job.  I didn't have one of these when I graduated, so I really wanted Andrew to attend.  I was able to say hello to a couple of professors I knew and a guy I graduated with as well.  After the hooding ceremony, Andrew and I had a nice dinner together.  I cannot express how wonderful it was to be able to go out to dinner with my husband by ourselves.  It so rarely happens that we definitely enjoyed ourselves.

Today, Saturday, was the official graduation ceremony.  Andrew's parents were there and of course, Jackson and Cullen were present.  I do have to say my kids were very good.  I was able to let Jackson run around Sewell Park before the ceremony to run off some extra energy.  The well planned idea of putting Cars 2 on an iPod enabled me to get through most of the ceremony without a fuss.  Cullen was good as well.  Andrew's parents left right after the ceremony.

By the time Andrew, myself, and the kids left, it was lunch time.  We decided to do the smart thing and find a McDonald's with a play place.  I have never been more thankful for an indoor fast food play place in my life!  Jackson and Cullen were able to run around and burn off all the energy they stored while sitting for the graduation ceremony.  After that, we headed home.

It turned out to be a good day for all of us.  I have no pictures to show for it currently because Andrew's dad took all of them.  Its hard to take pictures when constantly having to tote a kid around.  I'm sure pictures will be coming soon!

It was a long 2 1/2 years, and I've never been more thankful to have my husband back!  We both made sacrifices in order for him to complete his MBA.  He gave up family time, and I took the burden of raising the kids.  It was well worth it!  I'm so happy for him!

Congratulations on your MBA Andrew!  I love you!

Coloring on the Wall

It finally happened.  I knew it was inevitable, but you always hold out hope it won't happen.

I had to remove crayon from the wall.

Funny enough, it was not who I expected it to be.  Cullen was the culprit.  I purposely avoid giving Cullen crayons because A) He is 13 months old and B) They always end up in his mouth.

How did he end up with the crayons in order to color on the wall?  Jackson opened the container I had them in and gave them to him.  Yep, Jackson is already falling into the role of instigator, but he at least he came clean when I asked him how Cullen got into the crayons.  He said, "I opened it up for him."  Really, its impossible to get mad when Jackson just tells me what I want to know.

After using my last Mr. Clean sponge, all crayon was off the wall.  No damage done.

Craziness!

It has been slightly crazy around my house lately.  I haven't had time to write because of baking, kids, shopping, and wrapping presents.  Here is a quick taste of my craziness...

1)  There are no Christmas tree ornaments on the bottom two feet of my tree.  This is because of little hands ripping ornaments and then hurdling them across the room like a baseball.  Or pulling them apart until they are so mangled I can't fix them.  Fortunately all broken ornaments have been plastic balls that can easily be replaced.  If they mess with any of my Hallmark ornaments, they might experience Mommy's wrath.

2)  We've been cooped up in the house for a few days too long because of the weather lately.  Its been cold, misty, rainy, or a combination of the previous.  The kids have been running around like banshees.  Jackson has been trying to constantly tackle something, whether it be a piece of furniture, Cullen or me.

3)  I am done all Christmas shopping except for my husband and the boys.  The packages got mailed off today.  I'm quite proud of myself!  Now for coming up with an idea on what to get Andrew.  You think being married to him it would get easier but no.  It just gets harder every year.

4)  Thibie got sick twice last week which meant two trips to the vet.  She keeps eating food she's not supposed to eat.  She has horrible food allergies.  Luckily, I have an awesome vet, and we were in and out.  Now to get Thibie to stop taking the boys' food.  Mea is not innocent in this either.  I swear they are like the caped crusaders when left by themselves.

5)  Cullen has been teething molars (which still haven't broken through).  He's been cranky to say the least.

6)  And to end on a funny note, I was playing with Jackson and chasing him around the house.  I was pulling a  Risky Business and sliding on the wood floor.  After doing this several times, I underestimated how fast I was going.  I slammed into the floor and totally ate it!  No injuries other than a bruised ego, but I couldn't stop laughing at myself to get up off the floor.  Jackson ran to me and asked me if I was all right.  Isn't he sweet?!  After I pried myself up off the floor, we went back at it.

To another crazy week in my household!

What is jamming my printer?

A coaster.  It was put inside the printer.  Not inside the scanner part, but literally inside the printer.

I discovered this after trying to print out coloring pages for the boys.  The error message of jammed cartridge came up.  After I opened up the printer I found out why, said coaster.  I only have one guess who actually did this, a toddler who will not be named since I have no hard evidence.  Yet another fun experience of the game "I can fit (insert item) into (insert odd place)."

They're sharing... kinda

We have been trying to teach Jackson the concept of sharing.  He's 2, so this concept was completely foreign to him up until we started to teach him about it.  Everything used to be (and sometimes still is) mine.

Jackson has actually been doing well with sharing.  At preschool, he is the ideal student who shares, participates, and is the teacher's helper.  I'm still wondering when this kid will make an appearance in my house.

At home, we're still working on sharing his toys and understanding not all toys are his.  As odd as it may seem, Cullen does have his own toys.  Not all things are Jackson's.

Of course, there is one thing he excels at sharing with Cullen, food.  Yes, I know this sounds odd, but it is true.  Jackson always tries to share his food with Cullen if Cullen happens to be eating something else.  He'll bring Cullen whatever he has from his own plate and put it on the high chair tray.  And if I leave a box of crackers or generally anything on the kitchen table, Jackson makes sure Cullen has plenty to eat.  He even picks up whatever Cullen spills and puts it back either on the high chair tray or in Cullen's snack trap.  It is very sweet to watch.

Now don't confuse this with Jackson not eating whatever he was given.  He devours everything.  What happens is he'll give Cullen some of his food, but then insist I give him more.  So yeah, my grocery bill is not going down any time soon.

I'm positive the sharing of food phase will be fleeting.  As I'm writing this, Jackson just finished his snack, then stole the rest of Cullen's snack because he wasn't eating it.  He proclaimed Cullen's snack trap Jackson's, then handed me the empty one.  As I just said, it's fleeting.

Food is a precious commodity in my house.  If you're not eating it, watch out because more than likely a little hand or two will steal it from you!

Gross!

After breakfast yesterday morning, the family was decorating the Christmas tree.  It had been up for a week, so it was probably time to decorate it.  Jackson and Cullen are being oh so helpful by pulling apart ornaments or deciding they are balls and throwing them across the room.

At some point during this process, Jackson walks up to me with his finger held out.  He says, "Mommy, yucky!"  I see this grayish round thing on his finger about the size of a dime.  I thought it was dirt he had found until I picked it up.

It was a booger he had picked!  Gross!

He handed me his booger, then was trying to wiped his finger on my pants.  I stopped him at that point.  Andrew was standing right next to me and started laughing when he realized Jackson had just handed me his booger.

I had to dispose of a booger that was bigger than my son's nose and wash my hands.

And to think, this is only the start of my boys' being completely gross.

The Pictures are Finally Up!

The Final Product

The pictures we took while on vacation in Ireland are finally up!  It was a process, but we have success!

Andrew and I went to Ireland at the end of June.  Two months after we came back, I finally had the photos printed.  A month later, I had all of them framed.  This is now the beginning of September.  After they were all framed, it took another two months to get all the pictures hung.

Jackson being very helpful with his own hammer.

The picture hanging ended up being a process for several reasons.

1)  Andrew didn't have the right size drill bit, so a trip to Home Depot was in order.

2) Andrew had to map out the picture framing arrangement since we did not have a template to go off.  He took the mapping out seriously since he made a blueprint with dimensions and all.


3) Jackson and Cullen were determined to help.  Jackson brought out his plastic hammer and was climbing up the step stool every time Andrew got off.  Cullen also climbed the step stool.  Constantly moving the kids out of the way took a toll after awhile.

4) Andrew was hammering in a nail when a rather large picture frame decided to fall on top of another.  This caused a domino effect on all the other frames already up on the wall.  Luckily, nothing broke.

5) Andrew's measurements somehow got off causing several extra holes to be put in the wall.

In the end, all of the framed photos are now securely hanging on the wall.  I am extremely happy to finally have my dining room table back. Yeah!

My Son's Obsession with Football

Specifically college football.

Jackson in his ready stance

It seems Jackson has become obsessed with sports at an early age, especially football.  This really isn't a surprise to me at all.  All boys seem to fall in love with sports.  I just didn't expect it to happen at the ripe old age of 2.

How am I sure about this?  Jackson learned the word football.  Yes.  Andrew and I were flat out shocked when we finally figured this out a couple of weekends ago.  When searching the guide on our TV for something to watch, he pointed to it and said, "College Football." when it came up on the screen.  At first we thought it was a fluke or he might have heard one of us say something.  It took a few times, but he actually recognizes the word football on the TV guide and on paper.  Jackson saw a game was being played last night on ESPN and got upset when I didn't put it on it.  I was nowhere near selecting the game, but he saw it and wanted to watch football.  Crazy!  I'll only mention the tackling and clothes lining of his brother that he has picked up.

The sports obsession has started and will not end any time soon.  At least he's learned to yell, "Geaux Tigers! Touchdown!" at an early age!