Less Diapers

Kyle is still successfully using the toilet to pee.  I am not sure if he is pooping in the toilet but he is still using a diaper to go number 2.  Other than that, we put him in diaper at night at bedtime.  Now we're using about 3 diapers or less a day. 

We have left the house while he was wearing underwear but it was for about 20 minutes or so.  We haven't tried taking him out while wearing underwear for very long. 

I just bought a new box of diapers, I hope this will be the last box ever with him!  

Using the toilet

For the majority of the day, Kyle has been using the toilet to go pee.  For the last few days, I have been having him wear regular boys underwear.  I bought these several months ago, maybe even a year ago.  At first, he wouldn't put them on, or he would put them on and then quickly take them off.  Fast forward to now, he likes putting them on and wearing them for a little bit.  A few times, he would put them on and pee just a enough to take them off and put on another pair.  And then put on diapers. 

Today, is completely different.  He did pee a little bit in two pairs of underwear.  Then he put on a diaper.  Then I told him to get his underwear.  He's been wearing underwear since this morning and going pee by himself.  He recognizes the urge to go and runs to the toilet. 

We even went for a walk today and he was wearing underwear. 

Hopefully we won't have to buy diapers anymore...  I hope to have him potty trained by the time school starts. 

First Day of College

Shannon starts college today. He had a phone appointment with someone from the college, they walked him through some of the basics, what to expect, and what he would need to study.

My MIL and I went to Walmart today. We did some grocery shopping and bought a few other things. I bought Kyle a cute "summer" set that had a sleeveless shirt and shorts. Of course, I choose the blue one since that is Shannon's favorite color and he likes seeing his boy in blue.

I picked up some "easy ups" trainer pants to use for potty training. For the last few days, I've been showing Kyle how to pull down his pants and have him sit on his potty. I made it fun and silly and gave him kisses and clapped for him. He loves his potty and it also doubles as a step stool, so we use it so he can brush his teeth in the bathroom.

I also bought Shannon a desk top calendar for his desk. He wanted it to keep track of his school assignments and when they are due.

My MIL had to get a choke collar for the dog, doggy treats, and a few cans of cat food.

All in all, we had fun. We kept forgetting things so we had to go back and forth to different aisles.

Tonight I made brownies, courtesy of Duncan Hines. Yum! I also made Arizona Green Tea, but I haven't had a chance to try it.

Three Days in a Row

Today is the fourth day of potty training and the third day in a row that Kyle went pee and poo in the potty! We seem to have a routine already. I only have him training for about 2 hours just before noon. He seems to understand that he goes pee and poo in the potty because he gets up after he’s done his business. I give him praise right after. Since he is running around naked, I keep him on the potty or near it all the time. He understands “go sit on the potty.”

Shannon had a three day weekend this week and he goes back to work tomorrow. A few nights ago, an employee was robbed at gun point while waiting for their ride to pick them up! I am curious to see what type of rumors and/or talk is going around the property and if they’ve reconsidered having in-house security.

We also found out that our friends are getting a divorce. It’s really sad because they just had their second child in April. I guess they are still living together, but they sleep in separate rooms and only talk if it’s regarding the kids. Their oldest son is only a few weeks younger than Kyle. They live in Las Vegas now. She wants to go back to where her family lives and she wants full custody of the kids. But I keep telling Shannon that he needs to talk to a lawyer!

Potty Training Beginus

I decided to start potty training yesterday. The day before, a friend on cafemom had posted a journal about teaching her 19 month old in only a few weeks. She then emailed me an ebook about how to potty train in 3 days. I read the ebook for ideas and that method is hardcore. I am not aiming for 3 days. Since I know my son, I wanted to start off slow. So yesterday I started off with taking off his diaper and letting him run around naked from the waist down. At first he did not like it and wanted his diaper back on. So then I put him in plastic underwear and he ended up having an accident in those. Then later he ended up having an accident on the carpet (lucky me). During this whole time without a diaper, I kept asking him to sit on the potty. About an hour later, I put his diaper back on and just got him used to sitting on the potty and made it fun for him. He would run to one side of the room and then run back and sit on the potty and keep doing that.

This afternoon, I took off his diaper and let him run around naked from the waist down. This time he loved it. He didn’t mind being naked today. I asked him to sit on the potty a few times and then he ended up just sitting there and not moving much except to sit up every once in awhile. Well, about 45 minutes after taking off his diaper, he got up from his potty and I saw he went pee and poo IN THE POTTY! I don’t even know if he went in the potty because he was already sitting there or if he understood what he had to do. Either way, I was so proud of him.

I can’t believe I forgot

I almost forgot to pay our rent for this month! I was reminding myself as the first of the month got closer. We didn’t pay rent until July 2nd. Thankfully they give us until the 5th of each month before it’s considered late.

Shannon has split days off this week. Tomorrow he is off so I did my cleaning today instead of tomorrow. His manager is still out of town. She doesn’t return until next Tuesday. So Shannon’s been running the department with the help of his division manager for the last 2 weeks. He also did the schedule for both weeks.

There are a lot more changes going on at his work. They are cutting hours like crazy! When they cut hours like they are, they are also cutting key positions, so some of the duties those people were doing aren’t getting done because everyone else is trying to do their work as well as do the work of 3 other people. They also sent several people home in the middle of a banquet, so the people that stayed ended up having to do twice the work. The people that went home, also lost out on their hours. The cut backs don’t make sense, and they also end up costing more in the end. They are also putting more strain on the supervisors and the employees that do end up staying.

As far as ordering the supplies they need, they only order what they need for the week and if they run out, they either go out and buy it at the store, or they work around it. This method ends up costing more because you have to send an employee off property in the company van, and buy the products you need. Their methods don’t make sense to the employees, supervisors and even me and I don’t even work there.

I’ve been taking a 10 in 1 liquid vitamin for the past few weeks and finally I had Shannon start taking it. On the first day, he noticed the benefits and he loves it. So I remind him to take his vitamin before he goes to work. Since his job is making some odd moves with cutting hours and putting strain on him and everyone else, I figured he could use the vitamin during this time. I joined a home business and their product is the 10 in 1 liquid vitamin. It is delivered to us every month.

We’re still waiting for Kyle’s potty! Kyle seems so ready to learn too. He’s always interested in our potty and it seems he’s ready to sit down on it.

I steam cleaned our carpets last weekend as well. I ran out of the manufacturers brand of recommended formula so I made a solution from Shaklee products and it worked fine. I actually think it worked out better. There was no chemical smells during and after the cleaning.

New Microwave

This is Shannon’s first full weekend with two days off in a row. He really needed this time off because his boss will be gone for another week. He’s getting a little overtime throughout the week, which will be good on the paycheck.

Shannon went to Walmart today to buy a new microwave. Ours broke a few days ago. I don’t know how old it was since we got it from my in-laws. He decided to buy the microwave today since we weren’t sure if it would fit in the car since we were planning on buying our normal amount of groceries. I am so glad we have a microwave again. It made me realize how much we use it. He also bought some frozen pizzas that we had for dinner today.

Since we bought a potty, Shannon picked up some pull-ups. We’re still waiting for the potty to be delivered to the store so we can pick it up.

I finally saw the movie Brokeback Mountain today. I recorded it last night. It was a VERY long 3 hour movie. It reminded me of the movie Castaway (which I also hated) because there wasn’t much dialogue or much going on in the movie. Shannon didn’t want to watch it because of the “gay cowboy” scenes. LOL Plus it had a few flashbacks which confused me at first, I guess I am used to the show Lost when they play music when there’s a flashback. It also seemed like the movie skipped dialogues or scenes, but that could be because I saw the cable tv version.

Missing the Greens (it’s not what you think)

Since I had to leave my plants behind when we moved to the East Coast, I was really missing having so many plants to take care of. I only have two types of plants and I wanted more! I bought solid green spider plants from a lady on eBay. I found the lady I originally purchased from in 2005, and she was still selling plants. This time, I bought 20 rooted babies! I only paid a penny (plus shipping). I just got them today! I have them sitting in water for now. Once they get a little bigger, I plan on potting them up.

We bought a potty for Kyle! We chose our second choice of potty, instead of the first choice. Mainly because it’s only one piece and I didn’t want to deal with all the attachments and contraptions that come with it. Hopefully Kyle will like it! All of the parent reviews were positive for this product too. We’re still waiting for it to be delivered to the store so we can pick it up. Kyle is already showing interest too. He’s taken notice to (our) potty and wants to see how it all works and how we use it.

Kyle still isn’t sleeping as long as he used to, he usually gets up in the early morning. He doesn’t take naps anymore either and hasn’t for several months. Plus he’s having more tantrums that are more frequent. It’s a little difficult because he doesn’t talk and can’t tell us what he wants or needs.

I am still taking him on a walk everyday. We have to go mid-morning time because after 12pm, it’s even hotter and the humidity is horrendous. Thunderstorms are a weekly occurrence, which is funny because our area is on water restrictions!

Time for a Potty

Shannon still has split days off and has for a few weeks now. The rumors and talk of layoffs still loom over the property! It sounds like they are going to let employees go through attrition. There are employees taking a leave or going on vacation and they don’t plan on re-hiring them when they return. They are also cutting back hours as much as possible, which makes some employees wonder if they need to find another job. Thankfully Shannon’s hours are affected, especially as an hourly manager.

We finally bought a potty for Kyle! I decided to get a different one from the original one I wanted. This potty that we bought is simple and just one piece. Hopefully this potty training journey won’t be too hectic. Ha ha!

Kyle has been fighting bed time for the last few days. He doesn’t go to sleep until 10pm or later! This gives me less time at night to do anything for myself, such as RELAX!

I won an auction on eBay for 20 solid green spider plants. I bought spider plants from this person in 2005 and they arrived healthy. Unfortunately I left my plants behind when we moved to the East Coast. The only plant that survived the trip was my jade plant. Since we have settled in to our new place, I have been wanting new plants! So I bought 20 spider plant babies for only a penny (plus shipping). I didn’t expect to win the auction so I am not even prepared, I don’t have containers or potting soil!

I applied for a secret shopping position with a company that does business with my husband’s workplace. The representative suggested to my husband, that I apply for this position since they are always looking for secret shoppers. So I sent in my resume yesterday.

Potty Training!

My husband and I have talked about buying a potty for our son soon. We are holding off for a while longer due to a few reasons, including our son. He just turned 2, and I originally wanted to wait until he could talk. For now, I am just waiting for cues from him. That seems to be the best way to go.

I have no idea what to do or how to start with potty training and luckily I had several moms tell me on what they did, which really helps. It will help me to come to my own conclusion on what would be best for us. I was looking at getting the reusable pullups for cost reasons. There were moms who said go for it since it will save you money. On the other hand, there were moms who said just buy the disposable pullups for the convenience. It will have to depend on what our financial situation is at the time. Hopefully my husband will find employment soon as well.

I looked at the different potties and the first one I clicked on is the one I want to get. It comes with a little step stool for my son to use at the sink. The potty itself has another step stool as the base of the potty and can be removed. The seat itself can also be used on the big potty when he’s ready. So it “grows” with my son. I knew that I didn’t want a potty that makes sounds and music. That’s not my thing.