Thursday

So, Thursday was supposed to be the day. Adam wore underwear and sat on the toilet every 15 or so minutes. We didn't really have any progress in the morning, but I wasn't concerned yet. Then at 11 I diapered him and laid him down for a nap. At around 1 I laid Caleb down for a nap as well. At that point Adam had been sleeping 2 hours, which is a pretty long nap for him. Still, I thought there was a chance I might sneek in a few minutes of sleep myself. I got in bed, curled up, and didn't wake up for 3 hours. That's right folks, Adam took a 5 hour nap. When I woke up I had to go check on him to make sure he was still alive. He woke up when I went in his room so I got him up. My poor baby was burning up! He had a fever of like 102 degrees. I gave him tylenol and a bath and it climbed up to 103. I felt so bad for the poor little guy. The worst part was that Kyle and I had plans that we couldn't really cancel.
I got ready to go out and prepared the boys for their night with grandma and grandpa. Kyle got home and went to check something on the computer. Adam started whining so I sat down on the floor and held him. We were rocking, with his whining getting worse and suddenly Adam leaned his head slightly forward to burp. Only it wasn't a burp. It was about a quart of puke! Nasty stuff too. Curdled milk, red popsicle, barbeque chips, all digested for a perfect blend of regurgitation.
Being the good mom that I try to be, I held on to Adam, who was scared from what had just happened to him,(first time puker ya know) instead of throwing him off of me like I wanted to. My outfit was saturated, including my white shirt. It was my first time in years being able to wear this particular shirt on account of baby fat. Last night was the first time I felt good enough (read "skinny enough") to wear it. Kyle came to the rescue with towels. I ran to the laundry room and stripped to the skin while Kyle cleaned up. I felt bad leaving him with both boys while he was cleaning. There he was scrubbing barf while one son whined cause he didn't feel good, and the other clammored to get at the pink chunky stuff. But I couldn't keep the clothes on to help him. Not only that, we were now running late.
In the laundry room I threw everything that had been tainted into the washing machine and started running it. Eventually we got out of the house. I packed an extra set of pajamas in case there was a repeat at grandma and grandpa's house. Little did I know the repeat would happen before we ever reached them. That's right. All over the car. Car seat, blanket (my heat stopped working so they always have blankets on them in the car), some even leaked on to the seat, though I don't know how. We got to my parents' house, cleaned that mess up and got in our friends' car. I began frantically searching for my cell phone, in case there was an emergency (more of an emergency) that we needed to get the boys for. Can't find it. Can't find it. I give up and just figure I left it at home. When we get home later I go to change the laundry. There's my phone, still tucked nicely into my jeans. It's beautifully clean. If only I could turn it on....
Oh and potty training has been postponed indefinitely.

Potty Time!

So, tomorrow is a big day. It is the day I am potty training Adam. Oh sure, I have the little toilet seat. I have for a while. I even have Starbursts waiting for be awarded to Adam for any use of the toilet. Does he care? Has he ever cared? NOPE. Well, no more. Tomorrow we are putting on the underwear and not getting anymore diapers. We are hanging out by the toilet all day until it has been used. Then a diaper for bed. Friday we start all over again. He has until Monday to get it right. I figure four good days hanging out by the toilet should do. I am very optimistic. I have heard this method works and I look forward to success.We will see how I feel after washing 7 pairs of peed in underwear in the sink tomorrow. I imagine that my bravado will be replaced with a sick feeling of utter failure. I will update tomorrow with my progress... or despair.

Paramount Christmas Party

Paramount Equity, Kyle's company, had their annual Christmas party at Carver's Steakhouse, last night This is our table, our group of friends. From left to right: Sarah, Blair, Kyle, Christina, Andrea, Jordan. The three guys are the ones that work at Paramount. It was a really nice dinner and a lot of fun. The only bad part is that once again I forgot to get a picture of Hayes! ;) Me and my honey. Ain't he cute?

Adventures in Baking

Madison was bored. She had spent all day at school and now she wanted a snack. Sydney and I were there, having just returned from school ourselves. We tossed around the idea of different desserts. Should we make s’mores, brownies, or perhaps a nice strawberry angel cake? We racked out brains for the tastiest treats and decided on that beloved New York confection, the cheesecake. Pulling out all the stops, we found the easiest recipe possible. There were only 4 or 5 ingredients total. Madison got to work on the pie filling and I started the crust. Sydney “supervised.” I took out some graham crackers and placed them in a Ziploc bag for mess containment. Then I went to work with my rolling pin. Mashing and rolling, rolling and mashing, what once was cracker, soon became powder. I transferred the sandy looking concoction into a mixing bowl. A heap of sugar and some melted butter later, we had created magic. And by magic of course, I mean simple pie crust.
I poured the sludge into the pan, lined all the edges with delicious crusty crumbs, and then helped finish the filling portion. Catherine, Madison’s mom, came into the room. Being the food critic that she thinks she is, she pinched a small wedge of the crust right out of the pan. She placed it on her tongue and closed her mouth expecting sheer graham pleasure. We watched her face turn to horror and her mouth twist in agony. Gagging profusely, she leaned into the trash to expel the offending morsel. She turned to us, looking green. Trying very hard to be casual about it, she said, “You know, I think there’s too much salt in there.”
“Huh?” Madison looked perplexed. “There’s no salt in there. It’s just Graham crackers, sugar and butter.”
“Well,” Catherine replies, “You did something wrong.”
Sydney bravely decides to check the truth of the accusation. She got a small dollop of cheesecake filling, spread it on a little bit of crust, and opened her hatch. In went the snack, out came a scream.
“AHHHH! That is disgusting!” She ejected the abomination into the sink. “Ew, I’m running the disposal right now, so that even the sink doesn’t have to suffer!”
At this point, I was quite embarrassed. Where could I possibly have gone wrong? There were three measly ingredients. Really only two steps involved; mash, and mix. How did this happen?
Well, we dumped it out to start anew. Mashing and rolling, rolling and mashing. I felt déjà vu. Catherine, being the sweetheart she can be, got out the sugar.
I scrutinized the Tupperware container. “Where is the bag of sugar that we used before? I know there was some left and we should use that before we open a new thing.” What I had used before had been a large Ziploc bag.
Turning to the pantry, Catherine pulled out my original sugar container. She opened it, licked her pinky, and dabbed it into the white crystals. She rubbed her pinky all around her mouth and then on her front teeth. “Yup,” she declared, “that’s definitely salt.”
We had a pretty good laugh—for about an hour—about what an idiot I was. We finished preparing the untainted cheesecake and placed it in the fridge. After the appropriate 40 minutes had passed, we sliced and served it. We ate heartily, all the while laughing at what would have been if not for Catherine’s need to satisfy her palate. We probably would not have noticed the sodium level until we’d finished.
Sydney mused, “you know, that cheesecake would have been a crime against Betty Crocker, Duncan Hines and all the other beloved instant desserts.” The four of us looked at one another and burst into hysterics again.

Dishes

So, my kitchen is the process of being remodeled. It was so hideous... I wish I had before pictures so you could appreciate what had to happen. Anyway, all the cabinets are in. The only thing we don't have yet is a counter top. No counter top= no sink. This is just me in the bathroom... doing dishes. I thought it was kind of funny. I hope you enjoy it!

Wow

I'm so sad today. I just finished reading an article (this is the link, and everyone should read it http://www.ldsmag.com/ideas/081110hate.html) about the No on Prop 8 attack on the LA Temple. They show several pictures of people writing on the temple and the signs with lies scrawled across them. I nearly cried reading the story and reading the signs. It's amazing to me that we are being accused of hate when all we did was vote and yet people are being allowed to write on the temple and spread hate right outside our most sacred places of worship.

I Voted

Who knew a small, oval sticker could make a person feel such pride? I originally went to the wrong voting place. I had to call and find out where I was registered. I thought maybe I should just forget about it. I'm only one vote. It's not like I could possibly sway the outcome. But I sucked it up and did what I had to do. I'm very proud to say that I voted. I think it's the most American I've felt in 4 years. If you haven't already, go vote!