To Do...no more

I got SOO much done today and I feel GREAT!! I cooked 2 dozen eggs, one pound of ground sausage, a package of sausage links, and a package of bacon. I grated more than a pound of cheese, mixed them all together in a bowl (the links were for quick consumption) and made 15 breakfast burritos, bagged and froze them for later.
I also installed a broom handle holder (5 clips), glued Chelsea's ribbon back on her headband, glued the foam back on our mop, picked a few weeds, dug up our buried/broken sprinkler head (the kids buried it...I still need to fix it), sprayed the whole back yard with weed killer, sprayed the back side of the house with ground kill and other parts of the rock landscaping with ground kill where weeds were growing. Then I came in, washed up and put up some cute removable decorations in the kids play room.
WOW!! What a day!

Progress

Logan has been doing really well with his potty training. He has had an accident each day, but he is waking up from naps dry and last night he woke up dry and stayed dry through breakfast. I did not take him to the potty, but I think he went potty when he woke up because I heard bathroom noises before I got up. He was awake and Chelsea wasn't awake yet, so it wasn't her. He had an accident later and had to wear Chelsea's panties because his other underwear was still drying. He didn't like that much. He knows that once he is dry he gets to wear Lightning McQueen underwear and he really wants them. I think I need to get him some generic pull-ups though. His Cars Huggies might be diluting the effect. It is definitely exhausting taking him so frequently. Today, Chelsea decided to pitch in. I was laying down for a bit and when I come out Chelsea says, "I took Logan potty because he needed to go." She even told me she could reach the potty candy and give it to him. I thought it was really cute. Although I do not plan to lean on her, it is good to see that we are all getting the hang of it.

Also, we are getting rid of our sandbox. I bagged up almost all the sand yesterday and "converted" our sandbox into an outside toy box. Which actually means I took off the rotted bottom and moved it out of the way. Then in the afternoon the kids played outside in the sprinklers and helped pick up trash and pull weeds. I practically flooded our back yard. The ground was already a little soft from the recent rain. The extra water made quick work of it and I am very grateful for that. I did get a sunburn on my neck, so today I'm going to protect myself a little better out there.

Logan is potty training

Yesterday, Logan was squirming in his chair during breakfast. After asking him to put his foot down and sit still, he said, "I need to go potty." He went potty, all by himself.
Chelsea yelled, "Logan, what's taking you so long?"
"I'm going poo poo and pee pee," he replies.
I went in to check on him and he did great. As he was finishing up and washing his hands, I said, "let's go get you a new diaper."
To which he replies, "I want underwear."
I jumped on it. "Ok" and we started potty training. He has been doing well. Only one accident yesterday. He stayed dry through naps and then I didn't take him to the potty quickly enough and he had an accident and then he was dry the rest of the day. He didn't stay dry through the night, but so far no accidents today. We are very hopeful!!

The evolution of a meal

So, I notice that my kids are repeatedly asking for snacks and I think, "Ok. This means they're hungry. It's about time. I should probably fix something." I tell the kids no more snacks, mommy is going to make some food. Internal monologue ensues:

Ok. What can I give them? We're out of bread. We're out of jelly. No sandwiches. We have bologna, but I don't really want to give them meat, cheese and crackers. They've already had some crackers as a snack. I don't want to give them cereal; they've had it a little too much recently (breakfast and lunch yesterday, and breakfast today) our milk is still defrosting, already using powdered milk...just don't want to do cereal. No chicken nuggets. What can I use up? We have 3 hamburger patties left. Let's go with that. 

I turn on the stove. Put on the iron skillet and the burgers. We don't have any buns, so what can I do with this? Maybe I can make it into a Salisbury steak or something. I remember a scene from kitchen nightmares, "don't you guys flavor anything. [...] do you taste this?" So I throw some salt and pepper on the patties. 

Still thinking. How am I going to get my kids to eat this? They won't eat it as a patty. They barely eat it with the buns. I don't have gravy mix or mashed potatoes and I'm going to use the red potatoes for tomorrow. Flip. More salt and pepper. Besides, that's too much effort and would dirty too many dishes for a "quick" lunch. I get out three plates.

Still thinking. I start to cut it up, so it is more ground beef and less in patty form. It'll be easier for Zach and probably Logan. Maybe I can do it like a meat loaf. I have spaghetti sauce. I add some onion powder, chili powder, celery seeds (my new favorite seasoning) and oregano. Mmm smells pretty good. This pan doesn't have any edges, so I can't really fill it up with sauces and chunky ingredients and I don't want to get out a different pan and transfer it. 

Um now that it is all ground up, Logan won't be able to eat it on a plate, so I get out the bowls instead. The meat is done, so I put it in the bowl. Now it looks really pathetic. Uhm, well maybe I can add a vegetable. 

Chelsea, do you want corn, green beans or carrots? "Carrots." Ok. Oh, we don't have as many as I thought. Kids get out the table, chairs, spoons. I put Zach in his chair. Get out the carrots and aah, ketchup. Kids love ketchup. I know. We'll have hamburger in a bowl. We'll add ketchup and relish and cheese. That's looking better, but not quite complete. You know what?! We have a head of lettuce that needs to be used maybe I can make it a hamburger salad. 

I get it out the lettuce and clean it. AHA!! I can "stuff" the leaves. The kids are all sitting, looking at their bowls and spoons and starting to eat, but still looking curious. I get out another bowl, put some lettuce leaves in it. Sit down and wrap a little one for Zach. He has a hard time biting it off, but still likes it.

I start to put some meat in a leaf for myself. "I want to make one," says Chelsea. I help her and finish making my own. Logan decides to try too. 

SUCCESS!!! We eat bun-less hamburger lettuce wraps for lunch. 

Crazy couple of days

YESTERDAY Logan had a Pediatrician appointment yesterday morning at 9:30. Thankfully my friend Julie and I arranged a babysitting exchange, so she watched Chelsea and Zach. That made it much easier and gave Logan and I some nice alone time. Logan has been very tired lately and not had much of an appetite. After the appointment, we went to the lab and Logan had his blood drawn for some tests. He was a trooper. He didn't budge at all for the first attempt (the vein was easy to find and went in easily and then collapsed). For the second, only a short whimper. That took until about 11:30. I took him to the store for a treat. Then I picked up Chelsea and Zach and went home. I was expecting a friend to come over at 1 for a sewing project, so I scurried to get the boys fed and down for a nap. She forgot...okay, so we rescheduled. The rest of the day was pretty good. By the evening, I was POOP-E_D and cranky.  ...not so happy for me and unfortunately not so happy for the kids.

TODAY I had two visiting teaching appointments at 9 (not a big deal, that's pretty typical). I was having a rough slow morning so David stayed with me to help me out. THANK YOU. I dropped David off at school at about 8:30, and headed to the appointment. I should mention that the appointments were in student housing and to drive through the gate I have to be buzzed in through a call box (like the one David and I had at our second apartment home in Woodcreek). I got there and the box was broken, so I drove around and parked at the school and walked to the housing (the farthest building from the lot) and was late. SORRY. That pushed the time on the appointments back, so we were late for the second appointment. SORRY. When we were finished and walked back to the car I was late for 10:30 preschool. SORRY AGAIN. During preschool Logan walks in front of a swing with Chelsea on it, gets knocked to the ground and a gash on his eye. We stop the bleeding and put a bandage on it. Julie watches Chelsea and Zach while I take Logan to the urgent care. THANK YOU JULIE!!! Logan gets stitched up, I pick up Chelsea and Zach and make it home by about 2. I can't wait to see what happens the rest of today and tomorrow.