Potty Dance

Well there was a small celebration here at the Carr house tonight! After a trying day of Hailey running around with no pants we finally had a small success in the right direction! There was pee-pee on the potty jubilation! I'm not going to say we are in the clear by far, but I think the mental switch for mommy was finding out that Smarties weren't enticing enough for her to actually do the deed. I had an epiphany yesterday, my sister Lana and her daughter Carleigh were here for a visit yesterday and Lana had an extensive conversation with H about using the potty. I knew that she had all the physical concepts down, like what the potty was, what it was for, and what she would get if she used it. But to hear it from her own mouth I knew that she was probably more ready then I had realized. Today I put on a brave face, armed with Folex and a wet cloth we waited, and constantly asked if she needed to go. With no accidents before naptime, I decided to give it a second go after dinner. Unfortunately we had two accidents tonight but one big success (none of them poop... which I know will happen but we escaped the deuce today and believe you me that we will have our carpets cleaned when we are done!). I'll take it, because I now know that to get Hailey to go on the potty you just have to use a better bribe. Merry-Go-Rounds.... if nothing else our trip to the Calgary Zoo showed us that H does have a weakness, and when Smarties and stickers don't cut it we now have the big guns to bring out. Well I know that I won't be leaving the house for a few days, but it will be soooooo worth it when the ass-wiping stage is over! Yippee!!!! Lesson learned, here comes the Dr. Phil moment, you just have to figure out your child's currency to see results. I think the only challenge that we will have to face tonight is a very excited toddler who might not go to bed (the late night Smarties and the promise of working on more potty= merry-go-round) but in the long run it is worth it ;)

L

Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner....

Well maybe except my baby, being that Hailey would rather play for hours with dinosaurs, plastic frogs/lizards/snakes or any type of animal over a baby doll.

I had a friendly chat with another mommy on Friday at our friends BBQ party about this exact topic. We decided to go sans kiddo, even though the hosts have a kid. The last few parties haven't exactly been very child friendly, but appears they now have a few more friends with children and their house is less of a death trap. Funny thing actually happened, I had actually met a mom and little girl that were at the party in my mommy day to day. My first year with Hailey I must have tried every single mommy-baby program out there, and after a bit of chit-chat we finally figured out where we had crossed paths, that being baby salsa. The point of this is her little one came with her baby, and she had about three more to pick from in the reserve bag, and her mom said that they had so many at home she couldn't even wager a guess. I on the other hand know that we in fact have three. One went to grandma Hanna's house, one ran out of battery power so she got sentenced to the basement, and I just bagged up the last of the babies in my last purge of toys that are taking up too much valuable real estate. I'm not saying that this is a problem, by no means do I have any issue with H deciding that playing with dolls are lame at the moment, but I just think that it's interesting. I know that a lot of parents go the extra mile to make sure that their homes are "gender neutral" and go ape shit to try and make sure that they aren't "gender stereotyping" their kids at a really impressionable age. Maybe tomorrow will be different as H has an attention span of a goldfish but for now it's really kind of interesting to see what she prefers to play with on her own. I love that in one day we can go from painting her nails, putting on her princess dress (plus a tutu) all while having a tea party serving our special guest of honor...frogs and dinosaurs. I guess my point of tonight's blog is that if you spend all your time worrying about how your kids are going to turn out, you are going to miss out on some pretty kick ass tea parties and lizard parties (oh yeah we had one of those today!). I'm thinking that when Hailey is out doing god knows what when she is older, the fact that she didn't haul a baby doll around everywhere might actually make me feel better....

L

Epic Weekend

I don't think that anyone would disagree that the weather was just awesome here this weekend, and I hope that everyone got out and enjoyed a little bit of it. Personally I don't really like it when the heat gets hotter then 25, but being that today was the hottest of 2011and that it's August 21st, I think that I can handle it.

We did a lot of cool things this week, and I have to say that on Wednesday I took Hailey back to the park, and am happy to report it was so much better. I guess that Wed is the day to go if you have a toddler, because it's mom group day, and even though I'm not in one of the few groups that meet there it was nice that the little ones ruled the place, well that and pregnant ladies ;) Thursday I took Hailey to the Fringe, and even though it's a little beyond her this year, she certainly enjoyed the face painting (she wanted a chicken) and making a "robot" at the Kids Fringe. Oh and the mini doughnuts were delicious, totally made the trip worth it (time to get back on the health bandwagon!!!).

Friday we took a family day trip to the Calgary zoo, and all I have to say is.... It's freaking awesome. I mean if you like going to zoo's and watching wild animals locked up in confined spaces for your entertainment... I do have massive guilt when I walk through zoo's, but the Calgary facility is so much more accommodating to the animals, and if I had a choice of where I was going to be locked up it would definitely be there over the craptastic Valley zoo. I do know that they have breeding programs there that release some endangered species back into their natural environment, so at the very minimum they are trying to make a positive difference. Hailey had the best time, and bottom line that's why me made the effort. I really enjoyed watching her point and identify all the critters as she cruised around all day barely stopping for a second (and there is that much to see, it was an entire day of looking at stuff). It was such an awesome day, and it was a good thing that we went as a spur of the moment type of thing as I think we would have packed along two more grandma's, and Aunt and a cousin.... which wouldn't have been quite so fun for us.

The rest of the weekend (Mitch didn't go into the office at all! woohoo!) we got a lot of stuff done around the house, and a few of those projects done that you never seem to have time to do. Which is great considering that some of the leaves are starting to turn yellow already and there is nothing worse then knowing the snow is on it's way.

Oh and I am super happy to report that we officially have a big girl sleeping in her very own big girl bed! all the stuff I worried about for nothing... yeah take that mommy, I'm a big girl. Napping isn't totally cracked up to what it used to be, but I guess that's the way it's going to be. It will be nice to have control of my afternoons again, that 1:00 nap really is hard to work around when you want to plan something fun. Time to go and have a snuggle on the couch with my hubby.

L

Magic Beans

So for the past few months Mitch and I have been on a crazy low-carb no sugar diet. We both really like it and it has really worked for us. Our "goal" was to feel good on vacay to Vegas, and now that we are back is the true test to see if we can stick to the program. We did indulge in Vegas so transitioning back into a healthier lifestyle is hard, but ultimately I know we will get back on track, but we also have agreed to be a little more flexible then the Atkins program allows for. That being said I'm all for doing what works for you when it comes to weight loss. Everyone is different, and tempted by different delicious foods so if you have tried Jenny, Weight Watchers, Slim Fast, Nutirisystem, Simply Suppers, Atkins ext and you are rockin' it, high five, weight loss sucks but you are doing something about it instead of just complaining.

But the point of my blog today is something out there, something that I especially loathe, and it just keeps popping up. It's called Body By Vi. If you have had the luxury of staying completely oblivious to this weight loss system I'm sorry I'm going to be introducing you to this pathetic excuse of a weight loss/health management company. Let me start at the beginning, being involved in our financial company we are exposed to a number of "other business opportunities" most being get rich quick scams and the like. Our company is extremely diligent on what agents are allowed to be involved with outside businesses with WFG, essentially stating that you are NOT allowed to be involved with any other companies and any other at home business is forbidden. Which is good, I think it cheapens what anyone does if they flip open their wallet and 10 different business cards fall out, not to mention I'm pretty sure you don't want to get your financial advice from the same guy you buy your shampoo from. But where all of this started is one guy out east started to sell Body By Vi (BBV) on the side, and it wasn't because he needed the money either because the guy was pulling in over 200K a year with WFG. Head office found out and he was canned immediately. In no time flat he started to "recruit" with in our company and getting a lot more people in trouble, bringing a lot of other people down with him. That's not totally why I have a hate on for BBV, but it was a good start to get me to start tuning in to what was going on. I casually clicked on the website curious to see what everyone had their panties in a bunch about, and I was totally pissed to find out that they were selling vitamins and protien shakes at $250 a month to people desperate to make a change. Ouch! seriously? all the people that I did know that left our company to go sell shakes were very fit, good looking, outgoing people. So what did they know about losing weight and battling the bulge in the first place... nothing. It just made me want to Hulk smash everything in sight. Mitch and I often would comment that we were doing our own "90 day challenge" and it was free! just included busting your ass and being on a diet. Needless to say people didn't like us saying that, which also added to the hate on.

I did however let it go, but a funny thing happened today that made me just shake my head, I logged into facebook today to see that a "friend", old buddy of yours Chad (Clay), was 15 days into his very own 90 day BBV challenge. He had claimed that he had lost 10 pounds and was feeling great. Super happy for him, and I told him that. He promptly messaged me back to try and recruit me to the business as "it's going to be huge". I politely wrote him back that it's a conflict of interests to be involved with BBV and that I wish him continued success. Which was all fine, because that is totally up to Clay and his wife if that's what they are going to do. But what pissed me off was that after Clay and I had our conversation a bunch of old WFG'ers all of a sudden requested me as "friends". WTF? seriously?? I wasn't cool enough when you were working with me everyday to befriend, I certainly am not going to let you troll my real friends and let you try to sell your crap to people I care about. So I guess buyer beware, there isn't any magic beans to help you shed those unwanted pounds, because if there was I'm pretty sure I would know about it and tell everyone.

L

Playground Fun

Being that the weather has been exceptional I have made a valiant effort to try and get out and enjoy the sunshine while we still can. I remember last year being so pitiful that I think we only used Hailey's kiddie pool twice and her water table about the same, I couldn't even tell you how many times we made it to the park. Not only is the neighbourhood park here really great for every age of kid, it's super new and it actually has sand. We have been to a few this year that have woodchips or small pebbles (which aren't really ideal for a toddler that likes to play barefoot). Kids these day's don't even know how good they have it, I mean the parks that were around when I was a kid were just a notch better then a condemned house full of rotting wood, rusting metal or reused old tires that smelled like pee. The cool spinning chairs, zip lines, climbing structures, slides and the like are where it's at.

We went twice this week, H just loves going and playing with the older kids, it's hilarious watching her watch them and try and copy whatever they are doing. What isn't hilarious is that I think I'm the only parent there that is actually watching their kid. Hailey actually asked to leave on Tuesday when we went, which is crazy as I normally have to grab and go in hopes that we don't shed too many tears. The kids were totally nuts, and probably unsupervised, screaming, swearing, throwing sand, and ripping around there oblivious to anyone else. Yuck, H decided that playing in the sand would be a safer option, and for once I remembered to bring her bucket. Lots of little kids came up wanting to play, and I made it clear that we were up to share whatever we had, but all the mommies grabbed their kids away. At this point Hailey had had enough and I don't blame her. Today we went again, it was better as more kids were there with their families but it was still hard to avoid the crazies. But tonight there was a weird lone dude parked on a bench, clearly with no kids at the park giving out a very creepy "I'm totally watching your kids"vibe. WTF? do you call the cops when you see that? I don't know, but when he left I felt better. We had our bucket taken and all her digging tools left all around, and I'm totally up for sharing but respect people's things??! I'm hoping some of the very nice nannies I met earlier on in the summer will come back, but maybe they have been scared off too from the school kids taking over the joint, but for now I will continue to go back as long as Hailey wants to play. I guess she needs to learn how to deal with assholes eventually.

L

Taking the easy out

I have decided that I'm not going to be joining the summer blogging challenge, besides being late to the party, I took a look at my August calender and it looks like we are going to be just as busy as July, and I just don't want the fun to be taken out of blogging when I do have a second. But I am happy that it is happening because I actually have stuff to read when I log in on here! yay! I am going to try and make a better effort on here however as now that the glitchy stuff is "fixed" on my account it's not so discouraging.

We have had a very busy summer thus far and can't wait for the next few weeks, as there is still a lot to come. With the weather being better (and the mosquitoes not being so vicious) we have been able to enjoy some of what the city has to offer around here. Lots of fun at the playground, spray parks, bike rides, walks to grandma's house (yup she is officially that close to us now). Calgary Zoo is on the agenda, as well as the St.Albert farmer's market along with a petting zoo that's not too far from there, Jurassic Forest (which is a dinosaur park just North of the city) and plenty more of the same fun close to home until the summer is over.

Mitch and I are taking the big plunge this weekend and moving H to a "big girl bed" which will bring in a variety of new challenges to our day to day. No longer will she be locked in the crib, or baby jail as we like to call it and be free to destroy her room at all hours of the night. I'm thinking that will also be the end of her nap, as it already seems like most days she doesn't want to have one (which is so strange because when she does nap it's for 3 hours, guess it's all or nothing with her) which means it will be the end to my "free time" on the computer in the afternoon, another reason that the blog challenge isn't really right for me right now. Will be interesting here for the next few days that's forsure. Once the bed is off the agenda, potting training is right behind... and poof just like that we have a "big girl".

Well I should wrap this up, I have a few things that need to get done here before I leave for bookclub tonight! yay! Can't wait to talk about "Hunger Games", basically it's a series about kids killing kids, governed by the government for entertainment. The movie is due out in Dec for all those not too keen on reading.

L

Whoa.....

Ha! just when I was going to give up I managed to post a comment! yippee! WTF? The gremlins in my computer are definitely screwing with me..... hummm maybe it's time to get back to blogging! I have a bunch of stuff I have been thinking about for a while, like I said in my last post July was stupid busy. But I have used a lot of my afternoon time up trying to figure out what the heck was going on with this stupid thing, so time to go and catch up on my reading! yay!

L

Sometimes I just hate computers

So I have been struggling trying to figure out why I haven't been able to post comments onto other peoples blogs that I follow. It's been partially the reason I haven't been on here (well besides the month of July was totally nuts and we were crazy busy) as what's the point on reading someone's stuff if they don't know that I have read it... because isn't that the point? What is so frustrating is that one day it just stopped, and started booting me out to the log in page when I had typed something and hit the post key. I have left some comments via "anonymous" but I think that is pretty lame considering I used to have the ability to leave all the comments I wanted under my own profile before. So anyhoo I have been clicking all over the place and trying all sorts of things, unfortunately my abilities are limited and only know enough to get by on the best of days. So I think it's start a new blog, or continue with what I have... both don't seem that appealing to me. I am sorta interested in joining my brother's summer blogging challenge but I'm A) not sure how to get started in that and B) thinking if I can't leave comments then what is the point. The Help tab is totally useless, but it does seem like a few other people have had this same issue. If you are reading this and want to help I will give you my password, take a look around and let me know what you think... I'm getting pretty pissed and have no idea on how to fix it ;(

L