Monday, Monday

Our schedule has been getting busier and busier as each day passes. Last week, I looked at the calendar and was happy to see that we were virtually free every day. Now, I look at the calendar, and see that today is our only day to get stuff done around the house since every other day has filled up. How does this happen?! Since today is the only day I have to get laundry and other odds and ends completed, I've been hard at work (in my jammies, still) while the kids play and the dogs run around my feet. As I'm taking a minute to kick my feet up, I realized a few funny facts about today.

1. Potty-Training With Hannah is NOT Going to be an Easy Situation. I thought that we could try some undies on Hannah today since we were going to be home anyways. As usual, she's the first to tell me that "we go potty in the toilet" and she completely understands the concept of it all. HOWEVER, three pairs of wet undies later, I just had to put her back in a pull-up and throw my hands up for the moment. I think I'll have to stock up on Calgon before her potty-training is complete---I'm losing my mind!

2. Invisible Fence for Dogs is a Brilliant Invention. Jack has been on Invisible Fence in our yard for over three years, so it's only natural that we wanted Zippy to be out there with it, too. After a shocking (literally) training session with Zippy (he surprised us by running out of the house before we could take him out on a leash. Let's just say, he jumped a good foot in the air when he hit the fence line, and will NOT go near it again. He's a quick-learner, alright!), we can now open the door and let both dogs run free in the yard without worry. I'm pretty sure this is helping with Zippy's potty training and obedience since he wants to spend all his time rolling the grass with Jack, now.

3. Caleb Will Never Cease to Surprise Me. Caleb has been going through a few funny phases lately, but one of the more interesting ones is his wanting to cut with a scissors ALL THE TIME. We came home from a wedding on Saturday evening to find that he cut shapes out of a tag from a new stuffed animal while we were gone. No biggie, but it gave me a great idea. This morning, when he was asking what he could cut, I pulled my People magazine out of the recycling bin and said, "Have at it!" Caleb was thrilled and had a blast cutting the heads of celebrities out of the pages and cutting up almost every ad. I think I've found a new way to "recycle" our old magazines! :)

His other phase is digging through the junk drawer when we're not paying attention. This is something I'm trying to get him to stop doing but I've found that I've relaxed on many things that I once would scold him for. For example, yesterday, he pulled out a package of dinosaur temporary tattoos. He promptly ran into the bathroom and applied three of them on his arms and legs. I pretty much could have cared less---it's summer, so no reason for his legs to be free of tattoos and all it's really costing me is the energy to dry a towel afterwards. So, today, when he wanted more tattoos, I told him that was fine. Out of the bathroom he comes, with a big grin on his face. Two new dinosaurs were on his arm and there was a nice big purple dinosaur ON THE FRONT OF HIS SHIRT. Apparently, Caleb thought that if you can put temporary tattoos on skin, why not put one on your shirt, too? I explained to him that we'll have to throw that particular shirt away now but he came right back at me with his 4-year old "lawyer logic". "But, Mom! It's a gunky shirt! I can keep it for painting now!" *sigh* Again, I must be either losing my mind or getting more relaxed because I decided that I didn't much care for the shirt anyways and he could wreck it all he wants. (For the record, the tattoos on the shirt led to another brilliant idea by Caleb: Tattoos on his bare chest. He now officially has tattoos everywhere!)

4. I Will Probably Go Into Preterm Labor If I Keep Chasing Zippy Around Like I Do. Well, the title of that one pretty much sums it up! In between loads of laundry and making sure the kids aren't destroying the house, I've been running and coaxing Zippy to drop whatever he has in his mouth. A stuffed animal, a sock...even a chip-clip from the kitchen (which is now in the dishwasher). If anyone wants to "boot camp" my puppy, you're more than welcome to!