Happy Birthday Alex!

On Saturday, Alex turned 38!  Wow, are we really that old?   ;)  We went to the BSU vs. Wyoming Basketball game and actually felt that old when we were watching the dancers, cheerleaders, and ball players.  They seriously looked like teenagers!  I swear it wasn't too long ago when we were the college students.  We had a really good time just hanging out together without any kids.  After the game we picked up our kids and went to his twin brother Lance's house to sing Happy Birthday.  Katie made a couple cakes and we brought some ice cream.  Of course the kids had a great time as usual playing with their cousins.  Anyway, Alex and I had a really nice weekend.  We hired a babysitter Friday night so we could go to dinner and a movie.  "Dinner" was still within his diet.  However he did get a "little" cheat on his birthday and had a piece of cake.  Good times!  I am hoping to get Alex some new clothes as a "late" birthday present.  I just want to wait until his diet is over and he is back to normal eating.

 

RE- Potty Training?

Is there such a thing as "re-potty training"?  Well my little Mycah will be turning 5 in one month. I kept thinking that her "bladder control problem" will just fix itself with age.  I kept telling myself that she will get it.  She will grow out of it.  Just give it some time.  Well, here we are, and she just isn't "getting it".  She was potty trained at 2 1/2 years old.  She knows how to go to the bathroom.  However, I have not been successful in training her at night.  She is still sleeping in a diaper.  She still wets in it.  I tried for a couple weeks to break this habit.  I stopped her from drinking anything past dinner.  I put her to bed in underwear.  I woke her up at 10pm (before I go to bed) and also at 2 or 3 am to take her to the bathroom.  Sometimes she would be wet already.  Other times she would wet sometime between 3 and 7 in the morning.  I would wash her bedding EVERY SINGLE DAY.  It just got so old, I gave up and went back to the diaper.  I even tried using cloth diapers to see if she would dislike the feeling of being wet.  Nothing worked.  During the day time, she has two to three "accidents" a day.  The thing is, she knows when she has to go.  But she doesn't realize it until she's already slightly peed in her underwear.  She rarely lets it all go.  I just keep thinking she'll figure it out.  The problem is that Kindergarten is coming up at the end of the summer.  I don't want to have the little kid that smells like pee.  So, what do I do?  Do I take her to the Dr.?  I talked to my Sister-in-Law Mitzi.  She uses a particular potty training method on her kids.  So I think I'm going to pick a couple days and see if I can help "re-train" her.  She needs to recognize that she needs to go.... before she lets some go.  What would you do?

Blog Fix

I feel like my blog needs a serious makeover.  Not quite sure what to do though.  I've noticed that I do so little blogging these days.  My blog lists on the side need serious updating.  I think I only look at maybe half of the links.  Also, the pictures.  Anyway, what do you do to keep your blog updated and organized?

Really Big Potato

Today I had to go to Walmart. (Dang that store, I just can't avoid it ;) )  Anyway, I just had Logan and Lexi with me and look what we saw!!  Holy Spud!  That is huge!  I didn't have my camera but I found this picture on a news website.  The truck driver gave the kids each a "spuddy buddy" toy.  Fun times.

In A Great Mood

I'm not sure what it is.  Maybe its cuz Alex has lost 14.3 pounds!  Or, its the fact that he is back to work ;)  Anyway, I know its easy to blog when you are having "trials".  But today, I am just grateful. I am grateful for my amazing little family.  I am learning everyday.  I feel so blessed to have a husband who gets me and my moods.  I don't know anyone else who could tolerate some of the things I put him through.  Anyway, today is a good day.  Not for any particular reason, its just good.

"Fat Guy In A Little Coat"

....."I'll MAKE IT FIT!".....  Well, that is EXACTLY how I have been feeling with this Upside-down House of ours.  I know I know.  I've probably blogged about this a million times already.  I've probably complained about it more than that.  I should also just be grateful that we Have a house and that we can afford it right??
A couple weeks ago I was thinking about how I will handle having teenagers in this small space and the stress began to be overwhelming.  I thought about the bedrooms.  They are TINY.  The biggest bed you can fit in each room is a twin.  I have FOUR kids.  This means Bunk Beds are the ONLY option.  Now as teenagers I will probably need to have the three girls together and Logan by himself.  I can't imagion Lexi and Logan trying to change their clothes in the same room or even have any privacy... which means the only option for the girls' room is a Tripple stack bunk bed.  Now the closet thing is already difficult.  I can't even begin to know what I will do when they are bigger!  Anyway, the list goes on.  Alex and I seem to always be in constant discussion about it.  The question is What To Do???  We can't sell it.  It would have to be a short sell.  Can we qualify?  Technically..."hardship" has to be proven...and outgrowing a house doesn't really count.  Not to mention, it dings your credit, and then you have to rent for several years.  With the current cost of rent, we would end up paying the same or more than what we do on our mortgage for the SAME size house (making it difficult to save for a down payment). 
Ok, there is a program that is supposed to help people who are upside-down on their mortgage get approved for refinance.  Our house doesn't qualify.  We are deeper in our house than what is allowed.  At this point we've just resolved to STAY and PAY.  Hopefully our income will get better over the years enough to pay it down, and save enough to buy another house and turn this into an income property.  Or we might be able to add on.  Anyway, wouldn't it just be nice if we could sell it straight across for what we owe, and just be able to buy a different house?  Whatever.  So here are some things I've don to combat the tinyness that we've outgrown.

Closet Doors??.....GONE!

It started in the Girls' room.  We have to fit the most "stuff" in there.  Removing the closet doors allowed for us to put in a little dresser at the end of the bunk bed.  There is a dresser in the closet and also one on an adjacent wall.

This worked so well in the Girls' room that I decided to do it with Logan's.  It is so much more functional!

Next Project:  Find a place to put the treadmill so it can be used.  However it CANNOT go in Logan's room. And it CANNOT go in the living room...(that is already our office, entertainment, and kitchen area).  I have really wanted to put it in our room, but there is NO WHERE for it to go.  When I was thinking about the kids closets I realized I could get the treadmill in one side of our Master Bedroom Closet if I were to take the doors off.  It would also require someone giving up their side of the closet.  Of course that had to be me.  First off, it was my idea.  Alex would rather just put it in the living room.  Talk about an eye sore!  Anyway, I don't really need a lot of hanging room as long I have the dresser and night stand.  So Yesterday I spent almost the entire day gutting everything and reorganizing space for the treadmill.  And here it is today!

Wallah!!! 

Question??  Would you hang some kind of curtain in that space or just leave it as is?

 

Worst Day Ever!

Ok, so maybe not the "worst" day....but really close.  Last week Logan, at age 2 3/4, decided it was time to start climbing out of his crib.  It was a really sad day for me.  I just knew from that point on that there would be NO WAY I will get this kid to take a nap anymore.  I also knew that in the wee hours of the night...when he wakes up...he will make his way to my room to wake his sleeping Mommy.  Oh the misery.  I know I should just feel lucky that he has been taking good naps up until this point, but it really was my ONLY part of the day to recoup and regain some sanity.  I mean, this kid is on "GO" around the clock.  He is mischievous.  He is stubborn and loud.  He puts a whole new meaning to the phrase, "learn patience".  Anyway, we pulled the top bunk off of the toddler bunk so that he could have a "big boy" bed closer to the floor.  Wish me luck.  If you have any suggestions on how to "reason" with a wild 2 year old so that he can have some quiet time, I am ALL EARS.

Oh Yes We Did

Journey to Better Health

Ok everyone, Alex's weight loss blog is up.  Go HERE!