Weekend at the cabin

We spent the last few days at the beautiful cabin! We had a few reasons for going up there. One was to have a nice weekend with the fam away from the heat and usual routines. The other was so that Amma Gramma (my mom-in-law) could "install" the quilts that she made for my parent's cabin. On a side note, Amma Gramma makes the prettiest quilts! She is quite talented and I always love to see what is on her current project wall at her house. Anyway, we started our trip Friday morning at 6am. Well, it was more like 6:30am. Until we get a vehicle that can hold more people than the 4 of us, we had to take 2 cars. Prince Charming was a good son and drove his mom's car. I drove the family truckster with the boys in back. We rocked out to some good tunes and were pretty hungry by the time we made it to the Payson airport. I did bring my camera along, but for some reason, I did not take many pictures. What was I thinking? We scarfed down some food and were lucky enough to get to see a plane taxi and take off! After eating, potty stops, and general lolly gagging, we made it back to the car for the remainder of our journey to the cabin. We made it to our destination around 10:30 and were greeted by my parents (Amee and Papa) and sis (Aunt J).

The boys went right to their toys and were immediately gobbled up by cabin life! After unpacking, so was I! The weather was perfect, the company was good, and I had the rest of the weekend to look forward to. After lunch at the club, Prince Charming and Dad went off to play a little golf. Apparently Prince Charming shot one of the best games of his life, 101. That includes hitting into the lake 4 times in a row, on the same hole of course. I brought a few projects to work on. While B rested and E napped, I got started on a stack of burp cloths that people have ordered for me. If I hadn't brought any projects, I would have spent my time sitting on the porch reading. Amma Gramma brought a few projects as well, so we kept each other busy.

The rest of our days were spent on morning walks, playing with dump trucks, playing on the playground, riding in the buggy, and working on various projects. I did manage to capture some video on the Flip at the playground. (I will post below.) The boys were having a blast on the zip line! My sister and I debated whether or not it could hold our weight. We decided not to test it out. After many turns, and some playing on the playground, E announced that he had to go to the bathroom. When asked if he had to poop, he said, "I did." Nice. So, off to the bathroom we went! Poop is fun when it is in underwear. Anyway, that was the only accident of the weekend! He even made it 4 and a half hours on the car ride! Sweet!

On our last evening at the cabin, we got to fly the RC airplane. Well, we watched Papa and Prince Charming fly it. There were a couple of good runs before Prince Charming flew it into a pine tree, about 40 feet up in the air! There were a few attempts at getting it down. Those involved throwing pine cones up to try to knock it out. That didn't work. Papa and Prince Charming did a little brainstorming and what ended up working was some twine tied to a wrench. Prince Charming got it down the next morning. YAY! That night we had the s'mores experience. B and E got their first taste of the delicious treat. B LOVED them and E wasn't too excited. He didn't like the sticky marshmallow. Boy did he miss out!

B has decided that any cold or rainy day warrants hot chocolate and s'mores. I think I might agree with him! Can you roast a marshmallow over the stove? That doesn't sound safe to me.

The weekend was fantastic. I really enjoyed getting out of town with my little family and I was very excited that Amma Gramma could join us. I hope the boys enjoy hanging out up there when they get older. B has told me that the cabin is his most favorite place. We will see if he still thinks so in 15 years.

We (more accurately Prince Charming and the boys) had an interesting lightning/thunder experience on the way home. We stopped in Payson for a potty break at a Safeway that has a Starbucks. Anyway, after pottying, Prince Charming took the boys to the car while I waited for my coffee treat to be made. Almost as soon as they were outside a HUGE thunder exploded overhead! When I finally made it in the car (slow barista) Prince Charming told me that he actually felt the electricity a split second before the thunder. He threw the boys in the car, climbed in himself, and buckled the boys from the front seat. He was certain that the next lightning bolt had his name on it! Thankfully the remainder of our didn't involve any more near death experiences. Only great tunes on the ipod.

Now we are home and getting back into the groove. B said to Prince Charming earlier today, "Start the Wii right now or you're fired!" Who is this bossy little boy and what has he done with my sweet B? I think it will take the week for him to get back into his role as 4 and a half year old boy. Hopefully he shakes the tyrant personality pretty quick. Now enjoy some video from the zip line.

It wasn't this easy last time!

Let's flash back to January 2007. We were at our parent's cabin to celebrate the new year. Since we were going to be there for 2 weeks, I decided that it was time to just bear down and potty train B, who was going to turn 3 in February. Of course, he was very resistant to the idea of underpants. He consistently peed on the carpet without a care in the world. When it was time to sit on the toilet, it was an all out screaming fest. Forget pooping! He saved that for his diaper during nap. After coming to the realization (thanks Amee) that he really only had to pee about every 3 hours, it was easier to take him. However, we weren't out of the woods. We left the cabin with moderate success. I took him to go pee at the right times, and he went. Most of the time. Pee pee power struggles were a major issue with this little dude. He just didn't want to stop whatever he was doing to use the bathroom. He even pooped on my living room floor because it was closer than the toilet. Great. Here we are in 2008. I have given up the bathroom power struggles with B. If he pees in his pants, it is his problem. He is definitely potty trained, he just has to remember to go.

Now it is E's turn. My head was spinning from all of the memories of training B. I mentioned a few posts ago that he had peed and pooped on Amma Gramma's floor. Well, I am glad to say that hasn't happened since! I am pretty well trained on getting E to the bathroom. There were a few incidents where he was pooping in his underwear. Once I figured out that if I put a little toy on the floor in the bathroom and sit him on the little potty, he will poop! YAY! Just the other day he actually told Prince Charming that he had to go! Woohoo! We are getting there. He is happy to go with me to the bathroom and as soon as we are at the toilet, he pees. Of course, he likes to sit on the toilet facing backwards. Whatever! He is getting the pee and poop in the right place! Now if he would only pull his own pants down. Oh, I also have to mention that this kid wakes up in the morning with dry diapers! This experience with E must be my reward for dealing with training B.

I know, I know. There is always time for regression. Please keep your fingers crossed for me! I am so excited that I might not have to buy size 6 diapers!

First day of school and quite the imagination!

Today was B's first day of his second year in preschool. He has been ready to go back since the day the school year ended. He has been talking about school and seeing his friend, Landon, for a couple of weeks now. Today was the day! He couldn't have been more excited! When we got there, he was able to take a peek at his new room before heading off to what I call the staging area (the place kids go when they are dropped off before the actual preschool program starts). He greeted his old teacher, and then he saw him. Landon! He ditched me like a bad habit. I tried to get him to wave goodbye. Nothing. At least the teacher said goodbye to me. When I picked him up, he fell into the same reporting routine:

Me: "How was your day?"
B: "Good."
Me: "What did you do today?
B: "Played with Landon."
Me: "Did you have a snack?"
B: "Yes. Graham crackers."
Me: "Did you color or draw today?"
B: "No, I played with playdough. Mrs. Carlson never had playdough in her room." (This was great because he told me what he actually did. Usually he just answers my questions.)
Me: "Did Mrs. Houlihan read any stories?"
B: "I can't remember."

I think that it was a great day, overall! Later in the afternoon, during his supposed "rest time," B came out of his room to show me his, "Gravity-take-awayer-super-power-giver-backer." I had to get a picture of it and actually write down the name of this "tool" so that I wouldn't forget it. Apparently, Landon and Jack (at school) gave him the tools he needed to build it. I wish I could have been a fly on that wall! Anyway, he immediately gave me a tutorial on how to use it. He was excited to show it to E this afternoon. E was scared. B was bummed that E lacked the enthusiasm that he had for his new contraption. He put it down and they moved on to more important things. Like trucks.

Sweet Husband

I am so lucky that Prince Charming chose ME to be his wife. I really married a sweet guy. The other morning he let me lay around in bed (for a little while at least) while he got up with the boys and made pancakes. When I was finally coaxed out of bed, I wandered into the kitchen and noticed the scent of cinnamon in the air. Just last week I started adding cinnamon to my coffee grounds, a tip that I got from my mother in law. Prince Charming commented that he didn't really like the addition, it was too "froo-froo" for him. When I asked if he put cinnamon in the coffee he said, "Yes. I thought you might like that." Awwww! Even though he doesn't really like it, he did it anyway because he knew it would make me smile. It is things like the cinnamon in the coffee that remind me that I married a great man. Prince Charming has never been big on gifts or flowers. He doesn't really like receiving gifts, so he isn't good at giving them. But it is the little things that he is REALLY good at.

Another milestone for E!

E has a big boy bed! After months of dragging my feet, I finally made it to a mattress store and ordered a bed for the youngest boy. He started to look a little large in his crib. Plus, he got a taste of what it is like to be in a big boy bed while he was at the cabin with my parents. I know this will be a smooth transition, as he is very excited about it. However, I have a feeling that bedtimes and wake ups are going to become exponentially more frustrating. With the crib, I put him in it and leave. He stays in it. In the morning, he waits for me to come and get him. I am expecting him to follow me out of his room when I put him to bed tonight. I am also expecting to see him in my room before 7am. B is going to have to teach him all about the 7am rule. Does he need a clock now, too? B moved into a big bed before he was 2. We kicked him out so that E could have the crib when he was born a few months later. The little B just stayed in his bed and waited for me to come to get him in the morning. It was so sweet. It wasn't until he was two and a half did he figure out that he could walk out of his room during nap time. I have a feeling that E will figure this out immediately. I am hoping that the thrill of being in a new bed will keep him in it for a while.

Follow up

I sent E to Amma Gramma's house in his new undies, which he was very excited about. In the course of the evening, he wet his pants and then pooped on her floor. I guess we have our work cut out for us!

Who is that in the big boy undies?

It's E!!! I finally made it over to Target with the boys to get new undies for E and bigger undies for B. E is new to the underwear world, so he was pretty excited. B suggested that we give E all of his old underwear and just get new ones for him. While I do appreciate his generosity, I had to explain that even though E wears his old clothes, undies are the only articles that aren't for sharing.

E had a dry diaper all day yesterday! He peed 4 times on his little potty. It is time to try out days without diapers. He seems pumped, so we shall see. I am already dreading the cleaning up of pee and (heaven forbid) poop in the undies. Yuck. It is a big task to learn how to put your pee in some place other than your diaper. Especially since you have been doing that for the past 2 years! E is up for the challenge of habit changing, so I guess I am too!