Wow!

So a few exciting things have happened lately. First of all, Dom is officially potty trained and now has learned how to use "accidents" to manipulate mom! It's fascinating and I'm not sure how to deal with it. Basically, if he says he has to go potty and I don't jump up and run to the potty he will just go into the bathroom and poop/pee his pants! UGH!! He has been super mom clingy lately and the potty has been the perfect opportunity to take every second of my time he can.

Jaydin started Level 4 in gymnastics yesterday and I am KICKING MYSELF for not bringing my camera. Seriously... he did a back hand spring all by himself yesterday. He also did EVERTHING that they asked him to without any help. The coach was ecstatic and talking about level 5. Apparently the boys in the class he is in are all competition boys. Competitions start in like a month and these boys have been working like crazy for 5 or 6 months to get ready. She actually said that if he wants to compete he can.... I'm not sure where to go with that. He does want to compete... it's just more money and honestly, it might not be fair to the other boys who have been working so hard for so long. We'll see.

Damon has been becoming a kinder, sweeter, more respectful kid. He LOVES scouts and TaeKwonDo and really wants to do gymnastics as well... it's so much for them. Another undecided moment.

Colton is finally feeling like he will get teeth soon. I am not super excited for this because I nurse him and I don't want to get bit. He also is starting to army crawl towards objects. I will record it when I get the opportunity.

Darin is working. I feel like he's kind of drifting and maybe depressed. Don't know what to do for that.

I joined a weight loss competition. I'm so excited to finally be working towards a goal and while most would assume that goal would be a certain amount of lbs or something my goal is to FINISH WHAT I START! It's a 6 month competition and win or lose, I am determined to stick to this for 6 months. I do have a blog for this journey (it's required by the competition) but remember, it's a weight loss blog. There are some horrible before pics and things of the such there so... please don't visit it unless you are REALLY interested in watching my progression. www.thinformyboys.blogspot.com .

Hope everyone is doing fantastic! :o) Kari

Life in general

So.. everything has been crazy but Christmas break was really not too bad. Damon and Jaydin were happy and for the most part kind to eachother. Dominic is pretty much officially potty trained although he did have an issue yesterday while playing in someone elses house. Hopefully we don't have any more of those.

Damon and Jaydin got snowboards for Christmas and we were able to go up to the elementary school and Darin showed them how to snowboard. We had a lot of fun playing in the snow with Justin and Jessica and their kids! Everyone LOVED tubing and sledding. I attempted to snowboard but lets just say it: I'M A CHICKEN! The worst part is that once I'm on my but I'm too fat to get up. Seriously I cannot physically stand while I'm strapped to the board so I sit on my butt flapping around like a beached whale or something! UGH!!!

Here are some pics from our snow fun!

We also had the opportunity to go to Colorado for New Years. We had a lot of fun relaxing with Darin's brother Les & Fam. Our kids had lots of fun playing with their kids and we spent a lot of time just relaxing, enjoying good company and great food! ;o) We went to Chuck-E-Cheese and a dairy farm while we were there but I never had my camera with me so... these pics are ones I got when we were just hanging around the house. It's obvious that my children and Les' children LOVE eachother!

I still need to post Christmas stuff but have felt like a slacker so I hope you will bare with me and my slacker ways! :o)

Dominic's fortune!

Okay, so I promise to be over this potty training kick soon. Dom is doing "pretty good" but does not seem to understand how to control the urge when his rear sphincter says PUSH!! Needless to say, he is pooping his pants. He does pee on the potty almost always though. He also immediately says.. I'm poopy... GROSS! after he poops so at least isn't running around the house squishing it everywhere as he plays. In light of the current events in his life, I thought it was very appropriate when he cracked open HIS fortune cookie on Wednesday night. IT read:

Be patient - think, listen and heed signs for personal gain. :o)

Life is beautiful and I am so proud of my little guy for his quick progress!

And the fun continues.

So potty training day 2 was not nearly as breezy as day one. Dom peed his pants more times than he didn't and by the end of the day... I was EXHAUSTED! I did however, heed the words of my mom-in-law who said that once you start potty training boys, you can't stop. I put the diapers away where he can't find them and persevered! I think the whole day was a tester to see if I was going to give in and even though it was a rough one... I WON!!

Day 3 has been wonderful with only one half accident where he proclaimed his need to go to the bathroom when he realized that he was going. The timer is awesome and, although he sometimes throws fits when the song goes off, he sits on the potty and pees EVERY TIME.

So here's to tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that. Hopefully it can continue to go smoothly even with the boys and Darin home. Either way... I'm in it to win it! :o)

Potty time!

So... we have been trying to figure out the potty training thing. You might think that I should be a pro at this by now... but to be honest, I've never REALLY potty trained any of my boys. Damon was older than 3 when he potty trained and it was really thanks to my mom-in-law watching him a few days in a row while I worked that he ended up potty trained. Jaydin was also past 3 and the daycare promised to get it done if I brought lots of pairs of underpants and pants with him. Well, Dominic shows LOTS of signs of being ready. He wakes up dry in the morning and the other day he told me he was poopy, proceeded to push.. then said "never mind, I just fart!" That's when I knew I just needed to buck up and get 'er done! So we started out with a "potty train"! I bought this train and some big boy underpants and just displayed them on the piano. Any time he asked we would talk about the potty train and how he could earn it from going potty on the pot. He showed some intrigue and so... I sort of "tried" the other day with underpants and he did OKAY! My mom-in-law swears by the timer. She used it with all 7 of her boys. I am horrible at the timer! Ugh!

So... I was talking to my mom and she told me I should go to kid-to-kid and get the "potty time watch." I was a little confused but my mom said it's a timer that they wear as a watch that goes off to remind them it's time to go potty. This sounded like a grand idea so I stopped in and picked one up. I have also heard people say to let the kid run around in just their underwear so you aren't fighting pants to get on the potty. I promise that normally Dominic is dressed! Running around without clothes is a very RARE occurrence in my world! :o)
Here is Dom displaying his potty watch. I actually decided to watch the timer and record it going off so everyone can see what it does. Basically, you can set it to go off every 30, 60 or 90 minutes. When time is up, a song plays and lights flash. It then resets itself and voila... it continues to go off at intervals as programmed!

So he sits on the toilet and doesn't fight me and goes PEE!! YAY!! Unfortunately we missed the poopy by a minute or two but maybe... he will figure out the joys of pooping on the potty! The only downer I've found so far with the watch is that the stupid face comes off way too easily. Dom doesn't like wearing it all the time but carries it around when he's not wearing it. I think I will take this one back and get a new one and hopefully we can get one where the face stays on! Otherwise... so far... I think it's worth the 10 bucks!

Bad mom award!

So today I got my "bad mom award" from some lady who caught me in my evil ways. Damon was finishing up at Tae Kwon Do and I ran inside to ask the instructor something leaving Jaydin in the car with Colton and Dom. It was cold outside so the car was running. Jaydin decided to sit in the front seat to be near the heater and "the queen of the universe" saw him. I have never met this woman before but she exited the restaraunt next to the tae kwon do place and happened to be parked next to my car.

She looked at Jaydin (who had rolled down a window cause he could) and asked him where his mother was. He told her I was in Tae Kwon Do and in she walks with all her glory! (The kids have been in the car alone for approximately 3 minutes at this point!) The tae kwon do place is set up in such a way that parents can observe and talk quietly without interrupting the class but as the woman walks in she looks in at the instructor and very abruptly yells, "Excuse me, but who is driving the red car with the 2 babies and the small child in it that is RUNNING?!?!?" I very politely and incredibly embarrassed like, raise my little hand from my spot right next to the door. As I walk outside I very quietly say something like "my son is 8 years old" to which she begins yelling at me again! "I don't care how old he is, you have two babies in the car!!

AND YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH ME?!?!?!?!?."

(She says this last sentence as she stands with her hand on your chest as if she wants me to punch her or something!) At the same time her husband is yelling something about how my son nearly drove away with my car and killed my babies. I look up at her and say very firmly and borderline sweetly. "No, I don't have a problem with you! Thank you so much!" And I get in the car with my boys as she and her husband drive off with their heroes badge!

So this is to you "Queen of the Universe"

THANK YOU!!!!

You rescued my children from sure destruction and put me in my place. I hope that the tale you tell of your triumph resonates to all you know and that I punched you are spit in your face. And that you think of how you should have called the cops on my white trash ass!

Honestly, you were right! I shouldn't have left the car running and I shouldn't trust Jaydin to not drive the car. I probably shouldn't have even run in (I never would have if Jaydin had not been in the car!). But I promise that very few people will learn lessons from a "Know-it-all" like you! Maybe taking a more polite approach will actually help people see the error of their ways. Luckily for you I will take my "BAD MOM AWARD" and wear it with pride. Because I, of all people, know how obnoxious it is when people are so busy being butt hurt that they can't see their own fault!!! I did have another lesson resonate while you were strutting your stuff: Being a bitch makes you really ugly! And if you are trying to embarrass others while being a HAG, people just see you for what you are, A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BITCH, and instead of being outraged by the outrageous situation, they are outraged by YOU!!

Dr. Karilynn Prescribes you Ativan or Whiskey, whichever you choose! Take one or two tabs (or shots) PRN any time you think you know everything or want to scream at total strangers instead of communicating like a rational human being. Either way, you know what happens when you assume? ;o)

Snowboard fun!

So since my boys are pretty much guaranteed to grow up in Utah, we've been talking about snowboards a lot lately. Darin picked one up from his friend the other day and he has another one he bought from his cousin last year. We had some fun with the boys and the snowboard... here are a couple of pics of the boys on Darin's old (my) board. Can't wait for Christmas! This is the first time in a LONG time I'm actually hoping for snow! ;o)

Damon and Jaydin think they are SUPER FLY! And what blog of mine would be complete without a Dom video? Here is Dom and his daddy... "scapin'" in the living room!