Bathroom Overhaul

I have been ignoring the bathroom upstairs. There is a good reason why, it is a mess.  The wallpaper border is coming off and is very much outdated. I don't know why the light is missing the cover or why a hanger is hanging from the ceiling.

Even the shower curtain rod is rusting.  Seems like the shower curtain rod shouldn't rust. It is made to be in the shower, isn't it?

I am starting at the top and working my way down.  Today I stripped the border and removed the popcorn from the ceiling.

I also removed the wad of toilet paper that was stuck on the ceiling.

I had lots of "help" and made a huge mess.  The popcorn was easy to remove and the border was too. I just sprayed warm water on both and waited a few minutes to remove.

Tomorrow I plan on doing some repairs to the walls and sanding.  This is going to be a slow process since I have no spare time to do this project.

Anyone else doing home improvements that never seem to end?

:Potty Training in Relaxed Mode or Pee Happens

After many kids I have learned one thing about potty training, they do better when it is their idea.  I would rather have the child be potty trained than me trained to take the kid to the potty.

Benjamin is showing huge signs that he is getting ready.

He occasionally wants to wear panties.

Sometimes I find him sitting on the potty (he has a diaper on). He is getting real close. At this point he will push his diaper to the side and pee on the ground. That is a new one for me!

Problem I have is I am not ready for it.  At this point he is just as happy to play in the toilet as pee in it.  He refuses to use any children potties, he wants the real thing.  He also likes to play in the water and put entire rolls of toilet paper in there.

He is also very fast.  In the time I went to check on my mom he took his diaper off, peed on the bathroom floor, got in the sink to wash his feet and flooded the bathroom.

So right now we are doing it the relaxed way.  If we see him pulling at his diaper we take him to the potty using the appropriate words.  He will tell me after the fact, we are looking for some before the fact warning.

Anyone else in the middle of potty training?  How do you tell it is time to start?

Baby Kisses

Celebration

We celebrated Vaida turning one this weekend.  It is hard to believe that she is a year old already. The time just flies by and she is growing up so fast, too fast.  The baby year is gone and we now have a toddler.

 In true fashion for our family we procrastinated a bit and were making goodies up until the guests arrived.  They may have helped decorate a bit too.

We had a potato bar, which I would do again. (if anyone is interested in how we served 50 potatoes let me know) and several dips and chips.  We made a small cake for Vaida and had a bigger cake for guests.  Tasha also make some delicious pinapple cupcakes.

Everyone got plenty to eat.

Vaida loved being sung to, she knew that she was the center of attention.

Not sure how it happened but the cake exploded.  Once she got a taste of that chocolate she didn't hesitate to dig right in.

I love it when family and friends gather to celebrate.  So many blessings gather around the table.

I have a feeling that Vaida may be a little spoiled during holidays, she has a huge family that loves her.  Family members from both sides of the family, to include my ex and his wife, were all present. Many friends joined us.  My mom got up and joined us, Vaida is her only great grandchild.

There was a lot of love in the house Saturday.

I wonder what the next year will bring.  I am sure that it will be interesting.

You've Been Served

We are on the homestretch. We are pretty excited, Benjamin has been served. Now we wait for a GAL visit and a court date.

We are also exhausted.  Benjamin has given up taking naps.  He literally goes all day long.  These pictures were taken at 7 pm.  I have never had a little one give naps up at such a young age.

He is a happy camper but I feel like I need a nap! I think I am going to bed early tonight (maybe, I am painting my kitchen) I used to get stuff done during nap time.  Now I am cleaning up after Benjamin and trying to keep him safe from himself.  He is now opening the freezer and helping himself to food in there.  I caught him eating a frozen toaster strudel this morning.  He must have liked it that way, he ate most of it.  He also opens the dishwasher and stands on the door to get his favorite cups out.

Any suggestions for Christmas gifts for him? He loves his workbench and is often found playing with it.  I need stuff that will challenge him and engage him.  Most of the baby/toddler toys bore him. He is a very loving baby, one of his other favorite toys is a monkey and bottle.  He often feeds him a bottle and kisses on him.

Hmm, I have a video of him at Target kissing on the stuffed animals.  Since I am posting pictures anyways I might see if I can upload it.

How old are you?

Over the weekend we went to a birthday party at the skating rink. At one point they had races based on ages.  They announced a race for kids ages 7 and under. Emma raced up there to enter the race.

After the end of the race I asked her why she went up, she isn't 7 and under.  She looked surprised and then said, oh yea I'm 8.  No, I said, you are 9.  Total look of surprise on her face.  She knows that she is 9 at a certain level but inside she is 7.

I think that if someone walked up to her and asked her how old she was she would not say 9 unless she had time to think about it. It is as though she lost that time when she was moving from home to home. At this time the loss is about 2 years. I am sure that at one point she will catch up.  However, she lost an important part of her childhood. She lost those fun preschool years. Those important developmental years.  This was why I wanted her to repeat 2nd grade.  She is not emotionally with her peers.  Academically she is behind as well since she really doesn't apply herself.  Her inability to apply herself was a struggle last year and it continues to be a struggle with homeschooling. At least with homeschooling she is able to have more one on one time and can't get lost in the crowd.

So, bit by bit and day by day we work on growing up.  Growing with thestability and support of a family. Who knows, perhaps we will get to age 8 this year.

Christmas Shopping Yet?

Anyone ready for Christmas? I have so many kids to shop for that I have to start early.  Every year I say I am going to cut back and every year I struggle to do that.  I do think that I have cut back some, the sheer number of children that we have dictates that!

The other day I was in Target and saw this cute collection called Lori.  I picked up the camper, car and a few dolls.  I would have gotten the house but it was damaged and they only had one. As soon as I saw it I knew that it would be perfect for Larissa.  She still plays with dolls and such.  She and Emma play together real well.

I got home and looked online at Target and they don't have any of the Lori collection online.  I sneak peeked at Ebay and was shocked at the prices.  That house at Target costs $50, some Ebayers are selling it for almost $300.  It is a shame that I can't find an item because people are buying it to sell.

Today we went to Target to buy a birthday gift and Larissa saw the small display.  They had a dance studio, one car and the broken house left.  She loved it.  Wanted to know if she had enough in her allowance account to buy some of the dolls.  Mentioned that she wanted the house, but not the broken one.  Also, the car and dance studio.  I was happy that they didn't have any campers left, she doesn't know that they make one.  Now I just have to keep her out of Target.  I have Tasha and friends looking for one of the houses.  Hopefully I will find a house by Christmas.  If not, that is fine because I know she will love the camper.

Tonight I peeked at Anthony's computer.  He was looking at some kd shoes.  I asked him if he liked that pair and he said yes.  Well, that is a good thing because I had purchased him that exact pair.  I was worried that he might not like them. He is crazy for Nike so I imagine he will have some clothing under the Christmas tree.

Emma has mentioned that she wants the Elsa dress up costume complete with the wig.  They had that on sale a JCPenney's last week so I have that stashed to include the shoes and another costume.  She loves to dress up. Not sure what else she will get.  Those costume and accessories sure are expensive.

Of my younger kids that leaves Michelle and Benjamin.  Benjamin is easy.  So far he has a remote controlled car for toddlers and a bouncy horse.  Michelle is hard.  Once again I have no idea what to get her.  She doesn't play like the other girls do and when she tries it never ends well.  She does seem intent on collecting all the American Girl books so I probably will go look at her collection and add to it.  I did pick her up a bicycle as she needs one. I really don't like not knowing what will make her excited.  With the other kids I know their interests.  I know what will make them excited. I wish that Michelle could be herself and share that with us.

I have also started shopping for our adult kids.  I can't talk about that here since some of them read my blog!  Kassi has asked that Tasha and I help decorate her home and make it feel homey.  We have a lot of work ahead of us in that area.  She needs it but I dislike that you can't wrap that and put it under the tree.

Anyone else start their Christmas shopping?  Christmas is right around the corner and will be here quickly.