The Paranoid Mother

Monday was the first day at the new school. In our old school, the kids were literally chaperoned back and forth to the car, and everywhere within the school. As a paranoid Mom, I loved the security it gave me, but in retrospect, I see that it actually hindered their independence and decision making abilities. They were very apprehensive about getting to their classes on their own, and so we showed up early, and walked around the school to get familiar with it. Both kids were extremely nervous and I was doing my best not to project my own nervousness onto them. I'm pretty sure I failed. I showed them where to meet at the end of the day, and Emma said she was scared she would get lost. I comforted her, gave her my best smile, and left. As soon as I got out of the doors, I had a mini-panic attack. I drove straight to the AT&T store and bought them each a cell phone. My kids have been begging for phones forever and I SWORE I wouldn't give in until they were teenagers, but this wasn't for them; it was for me.  At 3:30 I parked where we agreed, and out came Landon. He was so excited to tell me all about his day. It was a great day, he loved his teacher, and he loved his new friends. We sat and talked for a few minutes, and I started to have buyer's remorse. Looks like the kids are going to be just fine. I decided not to mention the phones. I realized it had been about ten minutes and Emma still wasn't there. I figured she was probably talking to her teacher. Oh wait, her teacher just drove off. I sent Landon in to find her, but he came out empty handed. My panic set back in and boy was I wishing she had A CELL PHONE!!! Finally after another five minutes, she came out crying. She was totally lost and couldn't find any teachers or anyone to help her. She got in the car and I told her I had something that would make her feel better, and she would never be helpless again. I'm pretty sure this response says it all...

The First Day of School

Today was the first day of school. The kids have always worn uniforms, so it was fun for them to be able to pick out whatever they wanted wear today. I can't believe how grown up they look. Emma is starting 2nd grade and Landon is in the 4th grade. I'm so proud of them!

 

Cecret Lake

We took a nice hike to Cecret Lake. It was such a beautiful hike!

After the hike we had a yummy brunch at the Alta Lodge.

July 24th Celebration

The night of the 24th, we set off fireworks with our neighbors. This was Landon's first year that we let him light the fireworks himself, which was so nice to be able to just sit and watch the kids have fun (except for Olivia, she was asleep).

The Day of Needles

We found out Landon was allergic to dogs when he was about four years old, and suspected he was allergic to cats, grass, and certain trees. We decided to finally get him tested to see specifically what he was allergic to. He had to endure 14 pokes on his and it turns out he's allergic to basically everything. Definitely cats and dogs, but surprisingly horses. He was also severely allergic to grass.

He didn't complain at all about the pain, but wasn't exactly happy about it...

While we were already in the Dr. Office, we decided to have him look at some growths on Emma's chin.

She was having a good time entertaining us while waiting for the doctor. Once he came and told her he needed to use a needle on her chin, her smiles turned to tears. She is definitely afraid of needles!

After spending the day at the doctor, Olivia was obsessed with the whole process. I think she examined me at least ten times that night.

SQUIRREL!!!!

After watching the show "UP" I understand my dog a lot better...

Never More

Since about April, we've had birds making nests in every available crevice in our house. The worst has been the nest in the dryer vent, since it not only hindered my ability to dry my clothes, but also presented quite the fire hazard. There was so much hay in the vent, about five feet down. My neighbor told me about a fancy apparatus that he concocted to clean out his vent-a wire hanger.

So, I got a ladder with my fancy hanger tool and got out all of the hay. I can't believe how much there was!

 

The next stop was the rain gutters. It was a bit scary to get on top of a four-story roof, but I needed to clear whatever the birds had made there, since it was stopping the rain from draining. Landon decided he would take pictures just in case I fell, so he could submit it to America's Funniest Videos. I didn't tell him that if I fell, he would be more than likely be submitting the pictures to our Insurance Company instead.

After carefully scooting to the edge of the roof, I finally found out what the birds had made...

 Awe...widdle baby birds! So cute.

I felt bad that I took down the nest and considered helping to hatch these little fellas.

Instead I threw them in the garbage.

Yep, I'm a horrible person.

Stupid birds.

Mom vs. Child

I had only one month to potty train Olivia or she couldn't go to preschool. I have been trying for over six months, but she SCREAMS every time I put her on the potty. I bought a cute little princess potty that sings so she'd be less frightened.

Yeah, didn't make a difference.

She had no interest.

I decided the best way was to do a Potty Boot Camp. I told the kids we weren't going anywhere for an entire day and they would basically have to take care of themselves. Olivia was going to sit on the toilet all day until she peed.

Seriously, we sat like this for over six hours. I had the kids continue to bring me a Diet Coke and Olivia a sippy cup. After about five hours, she had to go SO bad, but still refused. She sat there for a full hour trying to get up every few seconds, and I literally held her down. I know it sounds severe, but I tried the 'Reward System' (bribes), 'Positive Reinforcement' and every trick out there for over six months. Olivia is one of a kind. She is very stubborn and the only way to get her to do something is to over-power her and beat her at her game (note to child services, I didn't say beat her). I knew that once she successfully went in the potty, she could see that it wasn't scary and we will have made a break-through. We just had to get her to go ONE TIME.

Finally after an hour of screaming (I have video, but it's inappropriate for public viewing, however I fully intend on using it as leverage when she's a teenager), she FINALLY went pee! She went from scared to being excited. I told her that when she went potty just one time, she would get a Dora Guitar. I let her off the potty, got her dressed, and gave her the reward.

 

I didn't want her to wear Pull-Ups, so we had to stay home for about a week to ensure we didn't have any accidents. She still cried every time I put her on there, but still went potty. It took about a week to finally stop crying each time.

It was one of the longest weeks of my life, but I am really proud of my little stubborn princess.

Fourth of July

My brother Gary and his cute wife asked us over for a barbecue and swimming for the fourth of July.

Mountain Climbing

It was a lovely July summer day, so we decided to take a drive and explore the Oquirrh Mountains a bit. It's only a few minutes from our house, and has the most amazing views.

 

After the long and hot drive, we came home and sat in the shade and cooled off with some popsicles. Well, technically it was frozen chocolate milk, but the kids didn't know that ;)