Fall Fun

The kids and I took advantage of this nice fall weather and had some fun this week.

First we played in the leaves. We don't have many leaves in our yard, so we asked the neighbor if we could play in her leaves.

Then we went to a local lake, fed the ducks and had a picnic lunch.


Take advantage of this fall and play outside with your kids.

She Is So My Daughter

We are working on this potty training thing with Princess. She is doing great with pee. I have been rewarding her with candy and a sticker for her sticker chart after she goes.

Well since Halloween, WE have been eating A LOT of candy! Today I decided that the kids and I will only have 3 pieces total today.

Princess pees on the potty for the 3rd time today:

Princess: I peed 3 times today. I get 3 stickers and 3 pieces of candy.
Me: No. You can have 3 stickers and 1 piece of candy.
Princess: Why?
Me: We've been eating too much candy.
Princess: I know the fun way. We can switch. I will have 1 sticker and 3 pieces of candy.

Hmm? Wonder where she gets her smarts?

The Beloved Pacifier

We started telling Princess a couple months ago that when she turned 4, she was going to throw her pacifier away in the trash. So on her 4th birthday, I told her no more pacifier. I said, "when you are ready to throw it away, let me know and we will do it."

Quiet time came and she wanted her pacifier. I told her "No, you are a big girl. You don't need it." She would cry off and on for it. During her quiet time, I was chatting with Classic Mama on Facebook. I told her what was going on. She suggested going to Build A Bear and putting it in a bear for Princess. What a great idea! When Dave got home, I told him. He also liked the idea. As soon as we ate supper, we were off to the Build A Bear store. Princess picked out Hello Kitty to put her pacifier inside. Princess seemed a little sad, but was okay about the whole thing. I almost cried though, but knew I had to be strong for her.

THEN BEDTIME CAME :( oH mY wORD! Crying, Screaming, Reaching for the door, tossing herself all over the bed. WOW! I laid in bed praying and singing with her during this whole time. She did this for about 45 minutes and then just "passed out"....for about 3 hours, then it started again! I think I was up with her 3-4 times that night. (Dave was up with Little Guy each time too.)

The next night was better. She cried for her pacifier for a couple of minutes and then once or twice in the middle of the night, but that was it.

The next night she asked for her pacifier, but no crying.

She seemed depressed for about a week. I finally took her out just the 2 of us and spent some time doing what she wanted. I made the time all about her and that seemed to do the trick. She is her happy little self again. Once in a while, she will ask for her pacifier with a smile on her face.

Free $15 Gift Card from Kodak Gallery

Kodak Gallery is having a "Million Thanks Giveaway". They are giving away $15 gift cards or 40% off during 3 different promotions. Here is a breakdown of the offers:


~1 FREE gift of $15 good towards the Kodak Gallery website (fulfilled as a digital code) per person limit.
~If/once the $15 gift codes are exhausted in each phase, 40% off gift codes will be given away.
~If you are the recipient of a 40% off gift code, you may come back to the promotion during the next phase to receive a $15 gift code.
~Visitors must register for the promotion and opt-in to receive future information from the Kodak Gallery in accordance with our privacy policy to be eligible for the FREE gift and/or discount code.
~300,000 $15 gift codes will be given away over the course of the promotion. Please see the breakdown to see how many $15 digital codes will be given away per promotion phase.
~Kodak Gallery is also giving away other gifts through other offers, totaling 1 million gifts.
PHASE DATES ARE AS FOLLOWS:
Phase 1 (Oct 20 - Oct 28):Minimum 100,000 $15 Gift Codes will be given away
Phase 2 (Oct 29 - Nov 5):Minimum 100,000 $15 Gift Codes will be given away
Phase 3 (Nov 6 – Nov 13):Minimum 100,000 $15 Gift Codes will be given away
Must be eligible for the promotion according to eligibility within the Official Rules.

I have already used mine. You do have to pay for shipping.

Dora and the Bumble Bee

Dora isn't a big fan of getting her picture taken.

I am not a big fan of Halloween, but I also don't oppose Trick or Treating. I don't really talk to the kids about Trick or Treating until the day of. So on the day of, I just look at their dress-up clothes and ask them what they want to wear. They put it on and we go. There is no hype about it.

I think Princess has been Dora for 2 or 3 years now. And Little Guy has been a bee for 2 years. (The bee costume is size 12-18 months, so this will probably be the last year for it.) When they are adults and looking at their photo albums, they will probably question why they were Dora and a bumble bee for 5 years.

Anyhow, we went out last night for Trick or Treating. My Bumble Bee said some cute things that I wanted to write down.

1. This one lady was giving out baggies of candy. I would say there were probably 7 little candy bars inside of one baggie. She handed one to my little bumble bee. He says, "I don't want that. I want a lollipop!"

2. Another lady had a tray of candy. Little Guy picks one little Tootsie Roll. The lady says, "take some more". Little Guy just holds up his Tootsie Roll and says, "Where's Grammy? I have a Footsie Roll for Grammy!"

3. At one house, a lady was holding a whole big bowl of candy. Little Guy is combing through all of the candy. I say, "Okay Buddy, pick one." He says, "I'm looking for candy."

All he wanted the entire night was lollipops and "Footsie" rolls. It was so cute and funny.

Favorites

On Princess' 4th birthday, I asked her what her favorites are. Here is her list:

Place to eat: McDonald's and Chick Fil A
Ice cream: Peanut Butter Cup
Movie: Strawberry Shortcake movie
Book: Thanksgiving Blues Clues
Song: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Food: French Fries
TV show: Franklin the Turtle
Season: Fall
Color: Purple and Pink
Holiday: Easter
Snack: Teddy Bear Graham Crackers

It will be interesting to ask her this list next year.

Makes THIS Mama Proud...

Can you see what this bag says at the top of this bag? You read it right. CVS.

Princess went her daddy the other day and asked, "How do you spell CVS? Does it have an 'O' in it?" I'm not sure who actually wrote it on the bag, but it was all her idea.

My 4-year-old is already beginning her great addiction to CVS. I LOVE IT!

Princess Turns 4!

Today is Princess' 4th birthday!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PRINCESS!!!