Monthly Archives: April 2006

Funnies

I had heard some of these before but not all of them. I wanted to share. (I got these from a weekly newsletter sent out at church)
Ever Wonder Why?

Why does the sun lighten our hair but darken our skin?

Why don’t you ever see the headline “Psychic Wins Lottery?”

Why is “abbreviated” such a long word?

Why is it that doctors call what they do “practice?”

Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor and dish washing liquid made with real lemons?

Why is the man who invests all your money called a “broker?”

Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called “rush hour?”

Why isn’t there mouse flavored cat food?

Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?

You know that indestrictible black box that is used on airplanes? Why don’t they make the whole plane out of that stuff?

Why are they called “apartments” when they are all stuck together?

If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?

If flying is so fafe, why do they call part of the airport “terminals?”

Why don’t sheep shrink when it rains?
It suddenly dawned on me that I sound like a curious 3 year old!! Why, Mommy, Why? At least this time you don’t have to think of the answers!!

Discouraged

I am a little discouraged with Ph’s potty training. He does not care if he is wet!! Both AM and P cried when they wet their underwear, which let me know exactly when they went. This helped me know how often to send them to the potty. Phillip started out great this morning! He made it several hours with no accident. He even woke up dry!! But he has now wet his underwear twice and did not care either time!! He just walks around until I notice that his pants are wet!! He doesn’t go much at a time, so there are not usually puddles to clean up. I am thankful for that!I know what you are thinking. He has not even been training for a week, and he woke up dry and made it several hours without an accident. Be thankful for that! That is probably true! I am so glad you gave me such wonderful advice!! Good thing I can read your mind, huh? 🙂
Seriously, though, if anybody has suggestions other than the one above, I would be glad to hear (or read) it!!

Creativity

As I type, AM and P are splashing around in water outside. But not in a pool! Uncle N put plastic in the back of his truck and filled it up with water. So they are swimming in a truck pool!! Isn’t uncle N creative? I must admit that never in my life have I ever imagined my children swimming in the back of a truck!!! But there they are splashing around and having a blast!!!

Stay tuned to hear of their bungee jumping from the chimney!! Just kidding!! But they might really be able to swing like Tarzan. The vines are already provided (hanging out our chimney)! 🙂

    — Delivered by Feed43 service

Potty Training

Ph is officially potty training. So far today has been good. He really does not seem to know when he needs to go yet, but he knows when he has gone, and he knows what he is supposed to do when he sits down on the potty. He is definitely learning, but when it comes to recognizing the urge to go, I am the one trained so far. I send him regularly, and he has only had one accident in his underwear today. Eventually he will learn to tell me when he goes instead of me sending him and hoping he has to go. He works with me some, though. When I send him, he goes, even if it is just a tiny bit!

This is all better than when we tried about a week ago. I set the timer for 45 minutes, so I wouldn’t forget to send him to the potty. Guess what? He went three times in that time period, once in the potty and twice in his underwear! I don’t think he knows how to empty his bladder. That is why I am now sending him every 20 minutes or so. He’ll get the hang of it!!

I am not pushing him too much. I don’t want him to know how bad I want him potty trained! I am pushing just a little, though, by reminding him that the diaper rashes will be history when he starts going in the potty (he is getting awful rashes!). This way maybe he will think it was his idea to go potty!

Speaking of potty training, P has decided that the age of 4 is too big to have accidents. He even said once that he didn’t want to go in the little potty because, “I’m four now!!” I did not argue!! Now the little potty can be mainly for Ph, and P can be the “big boy” example for Ph!!

    — Delivered by Feed43 service

Mom vs. Dad

Phillip must be in that stage of toddlerhood when he favors his dad. He begs to go when Daddy leaves, but when Mommy leaves, he is content to blow kisses from the front door as I drive away (I must admit that this is kind of a blessing)! Also, for several days in a row, sometimes more than one time each day he has declared that, “Daddy is good and Mommy is bad.” I must admit that this is hard to hear (even though I know he does not mean it), but I just brush it off and say “Daddy and Mommy are both good.” If he makes the same declaration a second time, I just change the subject!! I know that this is just a phase (I hope?) and will soon pass! At least I still get those precious kisses thrown at me from the door!!

    — Delivered by Feed43 service

Exercise

We have finally discovered a form of physical activity that the whole family can participate in!! I have wanted this for a long time, and it has finally happened!! Rollerblading!!! Here’s how it works. Luke pushes the double stroller with B and Ph in it and P holding on to the side. Yes, he is able to skate doing this!! (Amazing, huh?) AM follows a good distance behind L because she can’t go quite as fast, and I skate along behind AM zig-zagging and skating in circles (anything to make up for going a little slower).

P has impressed us. At the beginning, one of us would skate ahead so the other could stay with the stroller at a much slower pace because P’s skates kept getting tangled up together or with the stroller. He really had no control at all. By the end of the first day, he was able to hold on to the stroller and keep his legs straight while L pushed the stroller at almost full speed. He even showed off some by skating on one foot!!

The best news of all is that we all love it! We don’t have to drag the kids out when they’d rather be doing something else because, so far, they are itching to go. Roller blading like this is great because I get to spend time with the family, but I also get that much needed time to myself at the same time. That sounds impossible, but it is true because I am mostly skating by myself behind AM (time alone). She isn’t talking much because she is concentrating on her new skill. I can skate up and talk to her anytime I want. Plus L would let AM and me catch up occasionally, so I could converse with him too (time with the family)!

We skate on a walking track with trees and rock on each side. At this time of year there are also small waterfalls and trickles of water that add to the whole experience. While rollerblading along with my family and looking at the things around me, I have a great opportunity to praise God for his beauty. So here is a fun exercise that includes family time, exercise, alone time, and praising God. What more could you ask for in an exercise?!!

    — Delivered by Feed43 service

The Dollar General Experience

Yesterday I went to Dollar General to get one item (M-30 for grease stains). I could not find it in the automotive section so I went to the checkout and asked a girl who did not seem to be busy. She went to the back to get it, not sending me because she wasn’t sure where it was. This particular DG had 2 registers. I was standing at a register that was closed. When the girl came back and handed me the M-30, I thanked her and pushed the stroller around by the door to get to the other register. So far, I was impressed with her customer service skills.

As soon as I got to the register, the girl who had helped me said to the person in front of me, “Come around to the other register. That one is about to close.” Then she told me the same thing. So I began to make my way to the other register, this time going around through the store rather than by the door because a customer was coming in the door at that moment. The problem was that the first aisle I could have cut through had a big cart sitting there (full of stuff left there by an employee). The next cut through aisle had the same thing. This was a problem because I was pushing a double stroller with 2 kids tagging along, too. From here, I noticed a woman with a cart loaded down getting in line, along with 2 or 3 people getting in line behind her. So I went back to the other register, thinking surely they can ring up one item, especially since I was in this line before they closed it. I must admit that I was slightly irritated at the whole situation.

When I got to the register, the girl asked if she should ring me up. The woman who had been so helpful before very rudely said, “No, go clock out. Never mind you don’t clock out, do you?” So the girl left the register without a word to me. I put the M-30 on the counter and began to leave the store, determined to find M-30 elsewhere. As I was walking out of the store, I got a little burst of boldness. I approached the woman, with her line of customers, and told her that her aisles from one register to the other were blocked and that I had been sent on a wild goose chase because I left a closed register only to end up at a register that was closing. She offered to ring me up immediately, but I refused because I wanted her to realize that good customer service is important, and the lack of it can cost you business.

And the really neat thing about this is that I went to another store and found a similar product for a cheaper price!

I was not confident that I had made the right move in leaving the store. I was afraid I would not find M-30 anywhere else, and I needed it because P had gotten motor oil all over a new shirt. I wondered if I had hurt myself more than anything until I found a similar product at a better price. I wonder, though, what you think? Was I just was wasting my time by leaving?

    — Delivered by Feed43 service

A Time to Scream

We went roller blading this evening and thoroughly enjoyed it! The weather was perfect!! As we were skating back on the track at dusk, I decided to skate beside AM and talk to her instead of having her skate halfway between L and me. As we were skating along, I noticed a stick on the path and decided to try kicking it with my skate. This was very exciting for me because I figured I would fall flat on my backside, but I didn’t. I kept skating, quite proud of myself (even though I totally missed the stick).

As I turned back from seeing if I had hit the stick, AM screamed. I was really wondering why my kicking a stick was such a big deal!! Then I looked down and was suddenly glad that I had skated with AM!! I was looking into the face of a snake (do snakes have faces?). It has its head raised and its teeth bared, ready for attack if necessary. I guess it was not very happy about me kicking a stick that was ONLY ABOUT A FOOT AWAY from it!! I had not seen it because I was focused on the stick, so I had already skated past the snake (very close to it, I might add – I’m glad I didn’t fall on it!). I was also quite impressed at how fast AM stopped without falling down (she was close enough that if she had fallen, she might have been bitten).

The snake was now between AM and me, so I sent AM back toward L. N, who was skating with us today, took a stick and kind of guided it off the path. He did not know what kind it was (the snake, not the stick!!). Afterwards, AM was very careful and kept her eyes open (she was even watchful in the yard after we got home).

We have been talking to AM about screaming about small stuff! Needless to say, I did not lecture her on screaming this particular day. I actually told her that she had good reason for it. It might have been better if she actually yelled “snake!!” so we would know what was wrong, but this was her first time to see a snake other than in a cage at the zoo. I’m not sure I would have done more than scream and I’ve seen snakes before!! (of course we’re both girls, and girls tend to scream a lot 🙂

It is interesting to note that AM was concerned that the snake would slither over to her and bite her. I said, “Oh, don’t worry; snakes can’t move that fast.” When the snake got off the paved path and into the grass, I saw how wrong I was! I couldn’t believe how fast it went!! It was practically hopping! I guess AM and I both got our snake lesson for the day! Hopefully we won’t have another for quite a while!

    — Delivered by Feed43 service