Pronounced "FEE"

Backstory:

Squeaker and I were doing some "Preschool" work. I had him write letters, tell me the sound, and then we thought of words that started with that letter. So, we came to "f". He starts making the "ffff.." sound, then pops out with "Fee". I said, there is no such thing as a "fee" as I didn't think he knew what "fee" actually meant and was just making sounds. I was right. BUT, the clever little boy says, "yah... a fee is a bug". So, I asked if he meant "flea"... no, he really meant "fee" for "real live" (as he likes to say). So I proceeded to ask about this so called "fee". He went into great detail. Then after a few other letters, I said we were done and he asked if he could draw a "fee" for me. Please see below. He wrote the word "fee" by sounding it out.... "ff uh ee" FUE. Okay then! Just because I can't see them, doesn't mean they don't exist, right?

FUE: "A bug that loves to live in haunted houses. If you hold them and shake them all around, they will "puff" and make your hands all black. The arms are tentacles to grab you, kick you, or bite you."

No More!

We have had quite a month so far and although it is a short month, we still have one whole week left!

The whole dang family has been sick for like 3 weeks. Seems like Little Lady has been sick for like 5 weeks and Little Man may have gone through it twice. Anyhow, we are at the tail end... I hope... and are recovering. I am going to get a new can of lysol and a few rags, and wipe everything off and kill all germs.

Despite illnesses, we have made some big changes around here over the past few weeks:

No More Diapers (almost)
Little Man is FINALLY potty trained at night. FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY! Yeah! We, of course, bribed him. I told him that on Jan 1, we were starting. He had a month or so to prepare mentally. Then on 1/1, we did it cold turkey. It took several days initially to get the idea. Our deal was, if he can go 14 days without a wet bed, we'd have a BIG prize for him. I asked him for suggestions on a "BIG" prize. He immediately (and enthusiastically) says, "a bouncy ball!" We encourage him to think "bigger" because who would really want to get out of a cozy, warm bed every night to go pee for a... bouncy ball??? So, he thought that Disneyland was a good idea and also watching all the Star Wars movies (that we told him he could watch when he was 12). So, eventually, we landed on Star Wars (and our wallets were quite happy with his decision!)

Anyhow, it only took 1 month to get 14 days in a row. Unbelievable. He was amazing. Obviously, he was ready and my doctor's "age 9-12 for maturity" comment was not accurate in this case. He was simply l.a.z.y. And, I am glad. We are on movie 5 of 6 with 6 to be watched today. I can't wait. Little Man is a little less enthused as he watches mostly through the other side of a blanket or from across the room.

No More Sounds
We have been using sound machines in the kids rooms since birth. We are finally tired of having to worry about bringing the sound machines with us on all our travels and sleepovers. So, we decided since we weren't sleeping due to coughing (see above re: illnesses) AND there was no school for a week... we'd go cold turkey on this one too. No problems. Yea!!!

No More Cable
Unrelated to kids (sorta) we decided that we really don't watch a lot of tv. I mean, we have a few shows we enjoy watching and those are mostly on the local channels. We never got into the pay channels, aside from "someone's" addiction to ESPN. We did a little research and decided that in order to watch just local channels, we'd need a digital converter and an antenna. I solicited recommendations on a digital converter. Everyone I talked to tried to sell me a T.V. instead. Okay, so finally after someone (not me) got a bonus at work, we/he decided that we might as well invest in a nicer tv. Not that there was anything wrong with our 10+ year old sharp crt tv. It was doing surprisingly well, all things considered. We found a great sale on a highly rated digital t.v.... one that fit in our tiny little room and still was (and IS) awesome. So, I also bought an antenna. It works quite well. We signed up for a free trial to netflix and so far, all is good. It has been only 1 week, but it is great. My computer hooks right up to the tv for any online shows (i.e., disney, nick, etc) but eventually we'd like to get a dedicated computer for that so as to not wear out my fancy computer. As for now, we are cable free!

Girly

My girly-girl daughter loves:

necklaces

purses

dolls

babies

bows

dresses

tights

shoes

chapstick

lotion

and her latest addition... earrings!

Sneaky Busy Month

February always sneaks up on me. I don't know if it is that I am finally relaxing after the holidays that I just don't pay attention... or what?! Anyway, apparently it is February. I am glad it is, too... lots going on!

1. My BEFRI's* birthday is in Feb and I think I might get to a quick visit with her (and her hubby) this month (see #3 below)
2. T-ball starts! Little Man is a little anxious because he isn't sure he can hit the ball off the tee. He is all about hitting, throwing, and (working on) catching, but the tee... oh dear. he gets very nervous. He 90% of the time will hit the tee vs the ball. We tell him "practice, practice, practice" but we'll see how it goes. :)
3. We are going on a trip sans kids. Holy Cow! This is the first time we have left all three. Wait, we haven't been away from our kids, together, since July 2006. We went overnight for our anniversary while my in-laws watched LM. We lived in VA at the time and it was hot, humid, and I was pregnant. We walked around a cool part of Richmond, but I was cranky, hot, tired, and pregnant. Oh, and I was tired and pregnant. Sounds like a blast, eh?  Sooooo, I am really looking forward to this trip. We are headed up to San Francisco for 2 nights. I can hardly wait! Oh, and as mentioned earlier, we will hopefully get a quick visit in with our friends.
4. Jake's bday is in February. I love birthdays!
5. Valentine's day is in February! Enough said.
6. I have a dentist appt, eye doctor appt, haircut, and have scheduled several other needed appointments for my children. Not all great and exciting things in this one, but... I am going to feel SO productive at the end of this month. THAT is a good thing.

Man, I am tired just writing all this!

*Did you have those heart necklaces when you were in middle school...? One side said "BE FRI" and the other said "ST ENDS"... maybe I was the only one?