HE GOT THE GUITAR!!!!!!!!!

Just a pic of Max Jammin

Yes folks, the moment I have been waiting for. Max earned his guitar!!! He is doing so good! I am so proud of the efforts he has made to go on the potty. I know its hard to drastically change something that you do in your life. (I have done it ya know, and not just with potty training).

One of his favorite places to pee is outside thanks to my sister. I know cool huh? I gotta admit, I am kinda jealous. I wish I could pull over on the side of the freeway and feel totally comfortably peeing in the breeze. But for the sake of my fellow travelers I choose to hover in a dirty truck stop bathroom.
We aren't out of the woods yet though, while he does recognize when he needs to go and gets himself up onto the potty, sometimes he forgets to man the plumbing and we get puddles on the floor. No big deal though, cuz grown men make puddles all the time. He still wears a diaper to bed, but the other day it was dry!!

So we are getting there folks!

Easter in Montana!

We've been back now for a little while, and I haven't done my post yet. Not that anyone is dying to read it but you know Journal purposes right? We decided that we like to travel at night (when safe) with the boys. It makes it a nice peaceful drive. They sleep and it gives Matthew and I a chance to have a nice relaxing visit. I wish we could do it more often! Anyway, here are some pictures that say it a lot better than I would.

We found some awesome bunny ears at Smiths (grocery store, not a friend that we stole them from). I thought it would be fun to put them on Sam, cuz I thought he would make a really cute little chubby bunny. Of course when Max got a look at them he wanted to wear them too. So here are my two little Easter bunnies!

Max and Janie (his only cousin that is even remotely close to his age in my family)at the East Missoula Easter Egg Hunt. It was crazy! I think parents coach their kids for months on getting the "good" prizes! Moms and dads may as well have brought their own Easter baskets! Never the less, they had an awesome time.

This first pic was taken before the hunt began. They love each other! Yes they do fight sometimes, but at the end of the day its all love.
I Can't believe that I didn't get any parents in this picture! It was so cute, because they countdown and blow this horn then all the kids are off like bandits to get their eggs and candy. Notice how quick Janie was! I walked out and went with Max just to make sure that he understood what was going on. I mean, its not like it was much of a hunt, all the stuff is just laying out in the grass as you can see. I was funny cause, when his basket started to fill up with goodies he said "ok I think I am done now" even though there was tons of stuff left out there. I guess he isn't overly greedy.
Max and Janie going over their loot. Jane was all over the place! She got TONS of stuff! Atta girl! The beautiful girl in the bug shades is my good buddy and niece (Janies sister) Kayla.



Then it was off to the Carousel in Missoula for Max's cousins birthday. What a fun time! I thought maybe he would be kinda scared, he's never been on anything like that before. This is his sweet Grandma Melodee.



Ah, an adventurous ride in Papas motor home! Max didn't know quite what to make of this. He definitely has never been in a motor home before. We drove up to Polson, Montana to see Flathead Lake and get some lunch at Lynn's Drive in.

This is my dad. We have always called his sunglasses his birth control glasses, cuz lets face it, they are pretty ugly. They are kinda like aviators, but not quite. Don't worry, they come in night vision too! All joking aside, my dad has awesome driving abilities due to his extensive experience as a trucker. He was actually trying to get me to drive this mammoth. No way was I going to attempt to maneuver this 45 foot long beast! I told him to forget it!

Papa and Max throwing rocks into Flathead River. I have so many memories here!

My happy little baby boy. The marks under his mouth are from his Binky. It is fading now though thanks to Lansinoh!

Back to the Carousel! It was so much fun the first time we thought we would bring the whole gang. This group is comprised of a couple of my nieces, a nephew, my sister, and my cousins daughter. This day was nearly perfect.

The troops taking a break from the carousel for sum yummy Little Cesar's Pizza. This pic was taken shortly after we found Alex. See the story goes like this...Stacey, (my sister in the green) who is a great mom (by the way) and I decided to take the kids to the carousel. You would think that wouldn't add up to a dangerous situation, especially considering the fact that so many of the kids are teenagers. Anyway the park connected to the carousel was super super super busy, and so was the carousel, and in the confusion of getting everybody safely from the park into the carousel we lost Alex my 6 year ol nephew. Thank goodness for his good instincts. He just sat under the play structure and waited. It was sooooo sad and scary. Poor guy was so scared! Fortunately it wasn't anything that a little pizza, capri sun, and pony rides couldn't fix. OH and hugs of course.



Just a fun pic of Sam and I at the park

I refer to this hat fondly as his Colonel Klink hat (you know, from Hogans Heros). His hat was a bit small and so it looked a little like an army helmet. Funny, It was plenty big for Max when he was this age. Could it be because Sam weighs a hunky 16 pounds? I always forget this and think, oh Max wore this when he was Sams age, it should work great. hahaha

Well that pretty much does it for my trip to Montana. I was real and it was fun. OH and it was real fun. Someday I hope to live there soon!

Spring is Finally Here

Well, for the last couple of days spring really has arrived. I hear the weather is gonna take another nose dive, but I am not discouraged. I have all the evidence that I need that spring really is here whether the weather knows it or not. Just take a look at my pic. Don't worry, the bird is not dead. No my friends it is very much alive. This bird along with another is answering the call of nature to bring forth seed. And believe me it must have been an important call cuz those birds were busy for quite some time. I normally don't make it my business to follow animals around while they are having private moments, but I was there first. I was playing outside with my neighbor from the cellar (haha) when I heard a rucous. I turned around and saw these birds flapping and flailing and falling to the ground. At first I wasn't sure what was going on. I have never seen a public display of affection quite like that. (at least from animals that don't like humans all that well, and flee the scene when you are close by) I mean they were literally 4 feet away. Luckily the boys could have cared less, although I think an answer like "they're dancing" would probably satisfy a 3 year old a 19 month old and a 4 month old. The latter two probably wouldn't even ask.
Anyway the moral of the story really is that spring is here! Don't worry about the next couple of days where the temp will take a bit of a dip! Oh and if you hear nature calling, make sure she has the right number.

Mother of the Year Will Have to Wait for Another Year

I know, you are all shocked that I am out of the running for Mother of the Year this Year, but I have my sights set high for next year.
You are probably all wondering what? What could that awesome mother have done to rip herself away from a title that she was so near winning. Well I'll tell you the whole story. Don't worry, its short.
The weather today was so awesome, especially since it has bee pretty lame and cold lately. So naturally I took the boys outside for the afternoon. This wasn't quite where it took a bad turn, just keep reading. The shade was a bit chilly so I tried to keep Sam partway in the sun.. DUH! I didn't put a hat on him, and no sunscreen. So, now the poor little fella has a sun burn. Not quite one of those firsts that are celebrated. So now every time I look at his sweet little cherry red face and head, I feel soooo bad.
Moral of the Story? Keep your pale faced kid out of the sun! Seems obvious? Well, it is. I just screwed up.

Price Matching is NOT for the Faint of Heart

So I was doing my civic duty, no not voting...But close, I was price matching all the awesome ads at Walmart. I did everything right. I wrote down everything so I wasn't shuffling through my ads, I grouped all the items together on the conveyor belt, went late at night to not annoy other shoppers, and warned the Checker that I was one of those obnoxious people that did price match. Well, she huffed and she puffed (no exaggeration I promise). She paused in ringing up my items and began to tell me that she hadn't been trained in price matching. And over and over she talked about how she couldn't believe it!
I apologized, and she just said, "why would you apologize, you are just saving money".
Then I was thinking, yeah you are right, but if you understand why I would price match why are you being such a hag about it?
The whole time I was just wondering if this woman could be for real, but then she really got her panties in a bind and said and I quote "oh, that's it.. I am going home!"
I assured her that it wasn't a huge deal, and began to point out all the things that I did right by leaving the items till the end, and not to mention the fact that there weren't more than a few items..But she wasn't having it. She said...."Doesn't matter how many items you have when I haven't been trained to do that."
Don't worry though, I stood my ground and didn't back down. You would have done the same for super duper ground beef that was only $1.39/lb, not to mention the mango's that were 4 for $1!
Some manager guy came and helped, but he never acknowledged the fact that she was a little crazy. He just talked about how the night people don't do all the same stuff that the day people do, and how not many people come in at night to price match. But I know that I wasn't the only mom that shops late sometimes. I mean lets face it, its not always fun to take two kids shopping. For one, the only carts that really accommodate a really young family is Costco, Walmart thinks they are doing everyone a favor with those carts that have the seats near the handle, but the isles are way too narrow, and the store is way to full of fellow suckers.
Anyway, I too a week or two off from price matching, but never fear, I am back with a vengeance with NO apologies! Take that aunery Walmart Lady!

Potty-Training Blues

So, with Max turning three we figured that he was past due for some serious potty-training. Things have gone pretty well, probably cuz we are using pull-ups so when he does have an accident its not all over the floor. Gross! But he does occassionally unintentionally pee on the bathroom floor in front of the toilet. Luckily neither Matthew or I have stepped in a puddle yet. The worst part of it all has been the poop accidents. We decided that whenever Max goes #2 in his pants that he would get a cool shower. Keep in mind this is not an all body experience for him. The water barely at a drizzle is only put on the affected area for no more than a minute or so, till his bottom is clean. No water gets on his belly face arms hair head whatever. Now I know what some of you are thinking.....its not the nicest thing in the world, but we tried everything else under the sun. We tried ignoring it and just not making a big deal about it, and only rewarding when he was successful on the potty. We tried taking things away a.k.a, tv, movies, or precious burp rags. But at the end of the day, the only thing that helped him to go on the potty consistently was the looming threat of a cold shower. Its not pretty, but it seems to be getting results.
There are other incentives to going potty on the potty, we all get sno-cones when we do #2's, and the big one is when Max doesn't have any accidents for 14 days, he gets a guitar. Something he has been dreaming about. No, really he has been dreaming about it. I realized this one morning when he came to me and asked me for his guitar (which he doesn't have).
So, I welcome comments on successful potty training attempts!