Short and Sweet

What to do tonight. Laundry? Dishes? Diapers? Catch up on TIVO? Read a book? If only there was enough time to do several of those. The kitchen's a wreck, but Evan said he's cleaning it, so really I should ignore it. I do have diapers to put in the dryer, and another load on the bed that need folded... and a load of kids clothes that need sorted and folded. I have a bunch of stuff on TIVO but I don't know if my attention span would allow me to finish any show... but maybe if I have to do laundry, I can fold on the couch and watch the shows at the same time, and kill two things on the list.

Ardyn did not want to go to bed, or more accurately, she did not want me to stop reading books. Today I read her "llama llama mad at mamma" which is one of MY favorite books, and she wanted me to read it again tonight, after I already read her book for the night. It was hard to decline. We got a few new books today, one of them being Michael Recycle. I LOVE this book. It even holds Ardyn 's attention, the pictures are really neat and it rhymes. I am a sucker for a rhyming book. A few of my other favorites, off the top of my head, include I Ain't Gonna Paint No More, and books by David Shannon. (We have Oh David, Oops, Pirates Don't Change Diapers, David Gets in Trouble, and Good Boy Fergus.) But really we have so many books here that I can't keep track of them all, and I can't even REMEMBER them all. But that's not a bad thing. Ardyn is constantly reading, and whenever I make her bed I have to separate all the covers and pull the books out from between them because she reads in bed all the time. I love that she loves to read. I love to read. It's the best pastime she could have!

Today we also got a HUGE Sticker book. It's full of stickers from Toddler TV on Nickelodean. Dora, Diego, Blues Clues, Backyardigans, etc. It was a $12 book, and I wasn't thrilled because I thought she needed to be much older to appreciate it, but then Evan said "Well, I thought it would be a good thing to have on hand for rewards... like when she is good, or when she uses the potty" and I was like "OH YEAH!" and so we got it. And Miraculously, tonight we had our first poop on the big potty! She was in the bathtub, and so was Marek, and she squatted down and accidentally pooped! I whisked them both out of the tub and put her right on the potty and she sat there and pooped, and let me wipe her, and then flushed. She did really well and so we gave her a sticker. LOL. I was thinking tonight that I should make her a chart for stickers, because we are having a hard time remembering if we brushed teeth or took vitamins, etc.... because Evan and I are both doing stuff with both kids. if we had a sticker chart, then she could get a sticker when she takes her vitamins, and a sticker when she brushes her teeth, and then Evan and I would know that we got those things done, and wouldn't duplicate them. And I think she would enjoy it. Assuming that she can grasp the concept, and I feel that she can. I found a free online chore chart generator, that I think I will use for now. I have some BIG paper that I can hand-make one that will last longer, but at this time I can't see myself accomplishing that, so I will just go with this for now. http://www.dltk-cards.com/chart/ and chartjungle.com

I figure to start out, we will have Brushing teeth, Taking Vitamins, Feeding her Fish, Using the Potty, and Cleaning up Toys before Bed. She does all these things now, (except using the potty, which I would like to start at least once a day) and so the chart should help us be more consistent and give her a reward. Chart Jungle has some cool Potty Training Charts.... http://www.chartjungle.com/toddler.html

Well, so far I haven't accomplished anything and I need to go to bed soon, so it's time to get out of here!