The plagues continue...

First it was lice: shampooing, combing, laundry, combing, laundry, combing.... Then, colds: coughs, runny noses, trash cans overflowing with used kleenex. Now it's gastrointestinal yuck: well, we'll just say it's comin' out both ends. When will it end? We haven't had a break from it. And I got it every single time! It used to be that I didn't get sick when the others did and I could take care of them. But not this time! The house gets to be such a mess and then when the plague is over I almost get it all cleaned up and then BAM. We get hit again. I THOUGHT MOM WASN'T ALLOWED TO GET SICK???

Head Lice or Potty Training

It's a tough call. Which one is worse: head lice on half of the family or potty training? I despise them both. Horrid, horrible processes to inflict upon a mother. I was dabbling in potty training with my youngest (only because he kept pulling his diaper off) but not now with this horrendous plague infesting our house. I even got it...and let Kyle cut my hair to make the process easier since I have very thick hair. I almost couldn't get the comb to work on my hair because of how thick my hair is. Speaking of which, the comb I ordered and received yesterday was the best $15 (including shipping) that I ever spent. The cheapo plastic combs that come with the kits in the stores are useless, comparatively. Here's a link to what I got: http://www.headlice.org/licemeister/index.htm

Amazing product! It doesn't solve all my problems, though. It doesn't do the mountains of laundry that have resulted from this. Or help my neck stop from hurting from bending over inspecting the kids' heads or combing my own head.

Potty training, well, I have yet to discover a miracle product to help me there. If it weren't for potty training, I might have more kids!

On a more postive note, this has been a learning experience for me. As much as I hate the lice and the potty training, it has been a reminder to me of what a blessing it is to me to be a mom. I would rather deal with all of this than not have my beautiful children in my life!

Do it right the first time!

Kyle and I are tackling our first major home improvement project together: painting the living room. I am new to painting and learning alot. But, I did a lot of research by watching Trading Spaces and Designed to Sell. :) This house is 45 years old and needs a lot of loving. Someone, years ago, put up a wallpaper border in the living room. The next person painted OVER the border. But didn't cover the edges, so the edge was very visible, and didn't prime, so the flowers were showing through, too. Hmph. WE got the pleasure of ripping off the wallpaper and today we finished spraying and peeling off the paper and adhesive underneath. It wasn't that big a deal. Why don't people just do things right the first time? It saves a lot of time and hassle. Like when I make my son redo his homework because he sped through it and the handwriting is huge and messy. Do it right the first time, or fix it when you realize there is a problem!

Soapbox over. Back to work.

"No" DOES mean "Yes" in our house

When our baby Jonathan says it, that is. He is 19 months old and learning to talk more every day. He knows how to say "No". He hears it all the time! But then he started saying no everytime we asked him a yes or no question. Do you want milk? NO, he states emphatically. Put the milk away and he screams! Um, you said no silly.

Finally, after months of trying to change his ways, we have made one step forward.
Me: Do you want milk?
Him: NO!
Me: Do you mean yes?
Him: Yeah! (while shaking head up and down vigorously and a huge grin on his face.)

So, it takes asking twice, but we finally get the answer he means to give. It really does work, because if you ask him if he wants to go to bed? He says no. BOTH times!

Check this out! Who knew?

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 11 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?