Dare I say it .... ?

Just when I stopped thinking about it, and yelling about it, and bribing and threatening ... this stinker potty trained himself!!! Hip-Hip-Horray!!! Preschool here we come!!!

Not Wanting to Forget ....

Tonight I stood outside Tyler's door and listened to him trying to fall asleep. I stood (well sat after a while) for a good 20 minutes while he sang "tinkle, tinkle 'lil 'tar" and "now I know my a, b, c, d's ... yay!" I love that he is starting to leave babyhood behind and become more of a preschool aged child ... but, I am a little sad at the same time.

I have been heard saying how I can't wait for him to grow up ... to be more independent ... yet there is a part of me that yearns for another baby. (shh! don't tell anyone!) I said for 2 years that Maddie was our last baby, then along came Ty, so I don't say that anymore. ha-ha! I know that I can't do all that baby business again! Tyler really did me in. But I love him to pieces and never want to forget that first baby cry, that sweet baby smell, those nights rocking in the dark, the snuggling in my bed when Daddy is out-of-town or at work late.

Although we call him "the devil in disguise," he is a sweetheart as well. Stay little for just a little while longer Ty ...

Pathetic! AND Updates!

My children's first day of school (August 12th) came and went. Where was the blog you ask? Where are the pictures? Where the heck did Caryn go? Pathetic!!

After learning from a friend that my blog was "messed up," I checked it out for myself and sure enough, some "image removed" thing was all over the place. Ugh. So back to square one and now I am up and running again, ready to blog more consistently .... I think.

Josh had a very good start to his school year. He is in 1st grade with Mrs. Busi, and he is loving every minute of it ... well, maybe not the homework part!! It is a total fight almost every night, complete with kicking and screaming, which reminds me a lot of the terrible twos ... but I digress! It's not like the homework is hard, or that he can't do it. He just wants to play! And I DO let him play after school for about an hour or so - you know, to relax and unwind. I can totally understand how it is a big jump from kinder to 1st. 1/2 day vs. whole day, group/table work vs. individual work, and all that! But I seriously would rather walk over hot coals some days than do homework with my son. Hopefully it gets better. I am praying for a miracle here.

So since August 12th, Josh has turned 7 (September 1st), and we had a party for him at the Jump Zone (which Ryan missed because he was away with you-know-who) and we were able to spend his actual birthday with him at Disneyland, which was a lot of fun!! Josh also started playing AYSO soccer again (year 2) and he is ... well, let's just say that the coach and the parents get good kick out of Josh on the field. I love him to death, but just don't think he is cut out for soccer. We've had 3 games and he is improving, which is good! He was player of the week this week, for what, we are not sure. LOL

Maddie also started school on the 12th. She has Mrs. Morris (same teacher Josh had, yay!) and to my surprise, she went to school skipping and jumping and sooo very excited! Where were the tears? The "don't go Mommy" pleas? I was proud of her for her "mature behavior" but a little sad that she didn't fuss the way she did in PreSchool to stay home with Mommy. So I swallowed my disappointment (haha) and let her go - only the tears were from me and not her. She had a slow start ... very shy and sat by herself a lot until she made a few friends in her class. Kids are clicky even at a young age. Makes me so mad!

Maddie has finally settled into her kindergarten routine. Gets all her homework done the very first night, loves to bring home her book bridges book to read to us every night and takes her "jobs" as Mrs. Morris calls their classwork, very seriously. We have started Daisy Scouts and AYSO Soccer. She is a pretty good player - we were all shocked. =) Love you too Maddie-Girl!

And last but not least, little Ty. Home with Momma full-time still. Life for us is quiet and different during the day now with only 2 of us at home for 1/2 the day. We are getting more time to play together...and he is really starting to become very verbal. He makes his demands known, and is using his words more than crying to express his feelings now. Still working on saying bye-bye to the ba-ba and once and for all ditching the diapers. Thinking about potty training again makes me very tired!

So we are back to "normal" 10 months out of the year scheduling again. It is hectic and busy, but I love it. Never a dull moment. I promise to be more up-to-date on the blog. August and September just kicked my butt!

Trying to be good ...

This summer has been long .... already! And it's only July 2nd!! I feel like the last 3 weeks have crawled by. Thinking I was crafty, I have kept Maddie in ballet through the summer, and Josh in swim classes with Redlands Swim Team at the High School 4 days a week - til August 5th. I also signed up with my friend Amy for a Baby Boot Camp class. Maybe I was wrong!! Who knew that my kids would all of a sudden decide to sleep in late (til 9:30 on some mornings) and that I would have trouble getting out of the house for the 9am class! It is taking everything I have to get Josh to his classes at 3:30 (not a good time!), and Maddie to her ballet/tap lessons. Who knew that my kids would be at each other's throats (literally) all day long, complaining that there is nothing to do, it's too hot out, and when are we going here, when are we going there ... Also to top it all off, who knew Ryan would be gone almost everyday, leaving me to play single mom? I rarely complain when he works long days, just because I know we are getting bills paid off faster with the extra hours. But, with the kids home all day, it is really HARD!!

SOOO chaos in ensuing in the Malak house most days. I am lucky if I get anything done (ie, dishes, laundry, grocery shopping, cooking...you know, the normal stuff!). Between breaking up fights between Josh and Maddie, Maddie and Ty, Ty and Josh ... Ty and the dogs? Racing Ty to the potty, fixing legos for Josh, getting Maddie's latest art project started, getting someone a snack or a drink or a movie.... agh! Bedtime is starting to become a very treasured time for me!

It is very hard for me to be good. It is hard for me not to complain about my kids, to yell at them, to threaten or to punish (the timeout chair has many visitors everyday .... sometimes two at a time, so I had to invent the sister chair!). But I am only human. I love them with all my heart, and couldn't imagine life without them. I am very blessed that they are all healthy and happy; that we are a family.

It's the little things that happen everyday that I reflect upon at night when the house is quiet, the tv is silent, and the toys put away. I love to watch them when they sleep, so angelic, so sweet. I love to hear Josh singing along to Moose on Nick Jr. I love to watch Maddie playing with her baby dolls, sometimes repeating some of the things I say to Tyler to them. I love when Ty comes up to me and gives me a big hug and tells me "I wuv you Momma". My kids will only be little once ... I keep telling myself to cherish these moments ...

"To Pee .... or Not to Pee"

I have been consistently purchasing diapers from Costco since September 2003. When April of this year rolled around and Ty turned 2, all I could think about was, "When can I start potty training this kid?!" It is my new goal to be diaper-free by the end of the summer. My mother-in-law thinks he is ready, my mother says, don't force it. So what's a mom to do?

2 days of waking up in the morning "dry" and I decide, it's time. I dig out Josh's old McQueen and Elmo underwear and a few miscellaneous boxer briefs and I'm ready to go. 10 minutes later, he wets his pants - ON the leather couch. Rats!! I smile at my concerned looking Ty and assure him that mommy will clean it up (of course) and we get another pair of underwear, do a few drops on the potty and forge ahead.

This time, I set the kitchen timer for 15 minutes. Getting ready for lunch, he asks for a drink. I give him the teeniest bit of lemonade. I kid you not, 5 minutes later he is yelling "uh-oh!" as he pees on my kitchen floor. Again I smile and take him by the hand (as Maddie is yelling gross! from the dining room). Back to the potty, and another pair of underwear. This time I let him choose which ones he wanted. He chose the boxer briefs, "Josh" he said. Smart kid! He wants to look like his big brother.

The next few accidents were minor, both occurring outside while playing with Maddie. But now I have Maddie enlisted as his "guardian". She is constantly asking him in her "I am the mommy" voice, "do you have to go pee pee?" So cute!

Now don't think that this first day was filled with merely accidents (well, 75% of them were) but there were a handful of times he actually had dry underwear and went on the potty!! Those were times he got a reward of 5 M & M's (great bribe tool for Ty). Then there were the couple of instances he cried kicking and screaming, "no pee pee!" And I thought, maybe this is not the time ... However, when he woke up from his nap DRY in his pull-up, I thought, this is IT!!

So today is Saturday ... and when he woke me up with a full diaper (of #1 and #2) a small part of my thought again, I don't want to do this!! So I changed him and was preparing to let him choose his underwear, when he says to me, "Momma, pee!!" We ran to the potty and lo and behold, he went!!! And not a just a few dribbles, he went A LOT!! Hoo-ray!!

2 hours later, he has gone again, and is still in the same pair of underwear. I know that today won't go perfectly, and I am ready for the ups and downs of getting Ty out of diapers. (Think of how much money we will save!!) Independence is a good thing. I'm ready and I think he is too!!