This is kind of a big deal!!

Last night, Caleb earned his thirteenth dollar by going #2 on the potty. the deal is when he goes two days in a row or every other day, he gets a dollar. If he goes more than two days, he has to start over. This is a big motivator for him, yet it has taken about 6 months to earn $13 for him to buy this truck he's been wanting. We visit it every time we go to Walmart, just to remind him about it, and get him pumped up about pooping. Today we went for the big trip to buy THE truck! It was pretty fun!

First we had to empty his bank to get the dollars out. Carly helped us get the coins back in.


Then we hopped in the car, with $13 in a plastic bag, to get the truck.


At Walmart, and can you just see the excitement on this precious face??


And back in the car, a proud owner of a brand new Chick Hicks hauler truck (from the movie Cars).


Yes, I took photos of this event, and YES, I almost cried at the checkout line. I'm so proud of him, and he is getting so big! I can't explain it, but I choked back the tears with a huge smile on my face. Motherhood makes you spontaneously tear up, and I'm such a mess!!

He asked if he could sleep with his new truck at naptime. I let him park it on his dresser for the nap. He told me as he was laying down that he was going to get it as soon as he wakes up, and I heard him telling himself as I closed the door, "It's a really nice truck..."

I just love this kid!

So here's an update for his Christmas list: A Chick Hicks car to go inside his truck. $3.50 at Walmart. And maybe a Lightning McQueen car to race against him? I know he'd love both.

Christmas List

I've been requested to publish a list of ideas for Christmas, so here is what I came up with.

Caleb says he wants a "big police car" one that he can put a man inside. I'm thinking GI Joe size? I don't know where he comes up with such specific requests.. He also is into Thomas the train, and we have the Trackmaster sets. These are plastic, not wood, and are found at Target and Walmart. (Toys R Us only has the wooden sets) He has plenty of trains, but track sets and little extras might be fun. He also loves puzzles. He can do the 24 piece ones pretty easily, so anything higher than that will challenge him in a good way. He is wearing size 4T in clothes.

Carly needs a helmet! Something pink and cute will do the trick. She insists on trying to ride Caleb's tricycle, but he follows the helmet rule, so she should too. She is also getting a dollhouse, so accessories for that would be great. I'm not sure what size dolls would fit, something bigger than GIJoe (obviously that's for boys but I'm going off size here) and much smaller than Barbie. Furniture for those would be nice too. She also needs basic color long sleeve shirts for layering -- white, black, pink, cream, etc. She is in size 2T but can also wear 3T in Tshirts.

And always, books, music, and animals are big hits around here. I would love for each of them to have a good storybook Bible too.

For me, I've still got my eye on a stand mixer if anyone is feeling super-generous! I love clothes and accessories too. I could also use a punch bowl. I saw a neat one that is a cake platter and punch bowl in one. Greg likes money. He's a practical guy, what can I say?

Big Poppy's Ranch House

Last weekend we headed out west to my dad's land near Breckenridge, TX. While the trip out isn't what I'd call fun -- being in a car for 4 hours with two small children-- it was so worth it once we got there. I love being OUT - away from the city, away from the noise, away from neighbors (not that ours aren't awesome), away from everything. No cell phone reception. Kinda nice! We spent our time riding around in quiet carts looking for deer. Saw several, and one coyote. Mimi had a birthday cake surprise, Carly got quite muddy, Caleb went fishing, and there were mini kites and rubber-band helicopters. And Darts. It was a fun time! Can't wait to do it again sometime.

Oreks -- correct my spelling. These are white and brown cow-like deer from Africa. There are four of these guys, and they stick out like sores thumbs. This is the only picture I got of the landscape. It pretty much looks like this though, great hiding places for deer! (except the white ones, of course)


Carly collecting "my wocks"




It was quite chilly out there. Don't I look smashing in Camo?


Looking for deer


Mimi's Birthday Cake


I shot the rubber band helicopter onto the roof. Oops!


Riding in the carts near the house






Carly wanted to come down the hill "all by self"


Carly fell asleep during our last ride. So funny!


And one video of my funny kids!

Titles stump me every time.

Sometimes the past is a good way for Satan to get me down. He did it to me today, making me remember things that I hate about my former self. I've already given those years to God and have been utterly and completely forgiven but Satan likes to drag things back up and smack you in the face with an offhanded comment, or a little instance of deja vu that brings those memories back. A pity for him, because I've got the Word on my side to comfort me and speak Truth. And I recognize those subtle whispers in my head as foreign, unwelcome visitors. So get back and leave me alone.

So now that you all know about the voices in my head... (you probably suspected something funny about me anyway!)

I'll lighten it up with a bit of hilarity from Caleb today. At lunch, (PB&J as usual) Caleb put his head in his hands with elbows on the table, and I asked him what was wrong. (Imagine this in a hormonal 15-year-old girl voice) "NOTH-ing!" ...3 second pause... "I'm tired, I'm hungry, and I gotta pee!" I had to walk outside to keep from spitting Dr. Thunder out my nose. When I came back inside, I suggested he go relieve himself, then we'd have our lunch, and he could go take a nap, and all three problems would be fixed, "You silly Wompus!" (my silly little pet name for him) He says, "I'm not a silly wompus, I'm a Silly, Fluffy, Rotten Rompus!"

?

He's definitely got a creative side. He gets that from his daddy apparently. :)

On to other news, I went to Mistletoe and Magic yesterday for the first time in memory. Mom says I've been, but I didn't care enough to file it to permanent memory. It was fun and interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and didn't buy one thing. Got a few cute ideas to, um, try my hand at... and made some new friends. I am happy to report that although this event is supposed to kick-off the Christmas season, I haven't even felt one inkling of a pang to get down the Christmas decorations yet. I'm all about the Thanksgiving ham first. (That's right, HAM. We're having Thanksgiving at home this year, and da-gum-it I'm picking the menu.) Plus I'm hosting a baby shower here the week of Thanksgiving and want someone to see my few fall decorations.

One last thing: my Grandpa had a successful knee replacement surgery today, praise the Lord! That man is such a rock in my life, and I am so thankful for the incredible influence he's had over me and my little family. He is a spiritual giant, and the picture of humility. He has a really excellent wife too-- my Grandma-- and together these two are the cutest "old people" I've ever known. I'm constantly challenged and strengthened by them. I'm the most blessed person to have these people as my grandparents. I love you both!

'Tis that season again + Magic

The one where you go through a box of kleenex every few hours. Oh, you thought I was talking about the holidays? The only holiday I'm immediately looking forward to is a holiday from the coughing and sneezing. Can I schedule that in sometime soon?

The kids have been well so far, aside from a small cough last week, but Greg got hit with the allergy demon early this week, and I followed close behind. Blech! But that's not what I really want to talk about today.

What I realllllly want to share is my newfound love for the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Yesterday I pulled the package out of the laundry room after finding it behind another cleaning solution... forgotten I had it. I thought I'd try it on the crayon-marked entry wall. Poof!! Crayon marks gone. GONE I tell you. Without much effort behind it. Then I decided to try it on my kitchen countertops. You see, this house was built in 1985. It has the original formica countertops, which are on the list for future removal, but until then must do. It is the kind of texture that looks like a little like elephant skin (minus the hairs) except it is supposed to be off-white-ish. After 24 years, the little grooves in the elephant's skin have gathered quite a bit of crud, making the countertop look like a very dingy off-white-ish elephant. Until yesterday. Now I will say I have never tried to get the crud off before, becuase I figured after 24 years and at least three owners, it had been tried and abandoned as an impossible stain. Until yesterday. Without much effort at all, Mr. Clean macigally transformed my dingy countertops into the gleaming off-white-ish elephant skin formica they should be! No really, I'm telling you, it was AWESOME. So much that I made Greg stop what he was doing outside and come in to see. He was quite amazed. Not nearly as impressed as I was, but still thoroughly impressed. So, if you have never used the Magic Eraser, Run, don't walk, to your nearest store and but the twin pack.

I should totally do a commercial for Mr. Clean.

Trick or Treat Night

We took the kids to the Rices neighborhood for trick or treating on Halloween, and had lots of fun! I didn't get any good pictures of the actual event, except for the practice run at our neighbor's house, but did get some cute ones of the kiddos in their costumes! Behold:

The promised pictures!

Pumpkin Pictures and the pumpkin-carving party on Oct 30

Carly cheesing it up







Sorry folks, that's as good as it gets these days! Ha!

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Greg digging out the pumpkin guts. (I tried not to touch any of it! Ew!)


Caleb enjoyed digging in the guts


Me doing the detail work, with Carly "helping" me in the chair next to me.


Finished Products!


Nice, eh?


Family Picture


I just love the looks on both of their faces. Pure Joy!

Blessings

I'm feeling very blessed today! It's probably a nice side-effect of all those endorphins getting released from my new-found love of running. Either way, it just seems like everything is going well. I was almost afraid to write that, because of what they say about karma or whatever, but we hold to the Truth, so I'm not too worried about karma. I know the immediate future will hold some challenges, with us going through our first winter as seasonal business owners. But, and this is a big BUT, we know without a doubt this is God's plan for us. We're ready for it! Bring on the winter!

I am wearing a Tshirt today that has Jeremiah 29:11 written on it. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a HOPE and a FUTURE." We claim that as Truth. The Truth is good stuff. And it's a really cute shirt!

So what's so great about today? Nothing spectacular, really. Beautiful sunny weather after a day of gray and rain. Getting to eat breakfast as a family because Greg stayed home this morning. Lunch with a precious friend, which included a huge glass of sweet tea. Going for a run in the cool wind and surviving again. Using my new hair products. (I am realizing I have an obsession with my hair lately.) Getting to spend the afternoon with my sweet babies, and listen to them tell me all the important things happening in their lives, which includes talking about purple birds, Nemo, and blankies.

No, there isn't anything spectacular about these things. But these are my blessings, however small they are. I am favored by God! As His daughter, I am loved, and loved well by my Abba.

Whew! I've done four "sessions" of the couch-to 5K already! I repeated week one for an extra day today.. and I think I'm ready to move on to week two! I really underestimated myself. I even sprinted on the last 90-second interval. I can't really claim it was a true sprint, but I did run faster and harder. It hurt, but felt good at the same time! I'm afraid to even look at what's in week two... but I'm committed now!

Carly just interrupted my typing to tell me she needed to go potty. Seriously!? She is not even two years old, and she just pooped on the potty! This is not the first time she's used the potty, but it was the first time she came and told me she needed to. Wow. Then as I was cleaning the potty, she went into her room and peed on the floor while getting out a clean diaper. Oh well. She pooped!

Caleb has also been doing very well on the potty lately. He gets SO MUCH stuff when he goes, I don't know why he wouldn't beg to go every day. Right now he gets a dollar for going every day or every other day, a check on his chart, sticker, AND he gets to brag to daddy. He's collecting dollars to buy a certain truck at Walmart... he's up to $11 and his truck only costs $13! This is a fun game because it's teaching him the value of money and counting. These are two unintentional side effects of it. We just wanted him to go poop, but everything is a teachable moment I suppose. Today he "read" his book to me at naptime. It's a simple book about *what else* animals, and has a little one-liner fact about each one. He recited about 75% of them before I could. It got me thinking about teaching him to really read. I think he could, if I could find a good simple curriculum that will help me teach him. I'm the one who's clueless about it!

I've been noticing on my left sidebar someone from DC clicks my blog a lot... if you are reading, leave me a comment and let me know who you are! If you are the White House, nevermind. There's nothing "red flag" going on here. Unless talking about poop is grossly offending, ha ha!

I'm hoping to get some pumpkin patch pictures this weekend of the kiddos, but I've got to get Carly's outfit finished first! It's going to be WILD!! I love it so far. I'm using a vintage pattern from my Granny, somewhere from the 70s. Of course, there will be added ruffles. And I'm talking about ruffles, people. It will be smashing!

Couch to 5K

Well, faithful readers, you are hearing it here first. I am going to become a runner. I've been making ugly faces at my friends for years when they brag about their running 6 miles the other day, or they pass so-and-so on the running trail every day blah blah blah but all it really was was me being jealous that people do that, and actually enjoy it. That's right, I'm that shallow! And petty enough to say stupid things like, "Why would anyone run for fun?" So there you have it, I'm the petty jealous type!

SO, I had heard about this so-called running program that claims to be able to get your butt off the couch and into a 5K race in 9 weeks. Right. But at the same time I was silently mocking I felt a pull to be involved. (see earlier post about my addiction to being in the middle of everything all the time). And after my gluten tolerance test came back normal and I have no medical answers to why I am perpetually skinny despite my man-sized appetite, I figured if God gave me this body I might as well take delight in it and treat it well. That starts with getting in shape. Or at least able to climb a couple flights of stairs without breathing so hard it sounds like I've run three miles (or a 5K maybe?).

It's a pretty simple program, like baby steps for stupid people (which I consider myself at this point). My biggest hangup to starting was How to do this with my kids? I don't have a runnable -- yes I made that word up-- double stroller, so taking them with isn't an option. Today the problem solved itself. I took the kids on a walk down our street, with Carly in our lightweight single stroller, and Caleb pushing his Little Tykes fire truck. As I watched him running ahead of me, then stopping to wait for me to catch up, it dawned on me, "Why can't the boy run along beside me?" So that's exactly what ended up happening. I changed into my running shoes (why I even have running shoes is a mystery since before today I haven't run since, ahhhh, middle school maybe?) and off we went, jogging for 60 seconds, and then walking for 90 seconds, repeat for 20 minutes.

Let me just say this right now. That was the LONGEST 20 minutes of my LIFE thus far. Forget childbirth. Puh-lease. That was easy peasy compared to the stabbing pain in my side and my burning lungs after about half of this torture regimen. I'm going to have to take the remedial track of this program and give myself an extra week at the beginning. So I will officially start Week One next Monday. Check back with me around Thanksgiving and see if 1) I'm dead, or 2) I'm a running-obsessed freak planning a half-marathon in January.

I'm not saying I'm committed just yet, but given the fact that I didn't die on the side of the street today, and I have recovered enough to function like nothing torturous happened to me today, I think I will do it again.

If you'd like to run with me, leave me a comment and I'll set up an email accountability group. That will give me enough pressure that maybe I'll follow through.

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml