Potty Training: Do or Do!! Day Two

Tyler was exhausted after another successful day of potty training. He has not had one "on purpose" yet. He's actually tired because I'm afraid to put him down for a nap thinking he may wet his bed (I know...no faith.) It didn't help either the fact he woke up (and woke me up) 3 times last night to tell me he needed to go potty. (He actually went 2 out of the 3 times.)

When he woke up in the morning his pull-up was dry.

He's so ready to be out of diapers.

We hung out at home today just to be safe with the potty training. I seem to get a lot done when we can't get out of the house. Today I cleaned out the kitchen cabinets and used my Hoover Wet/Dry Vaccuum on the hard floors.

I also spotted two deer in my backyard. I managed to scare them away before my southern neighbors took them out for trespassing. j/k.

I also was home to recieve a free can of paint from Glidden. One of my favorite blogs I follow (www.wantnot.net) posted about a free paint offering. I took them up on the offer and I think we have enough paint to do the basement bathroom. Matt's excited because now he has a free weekend project.

For dinner we had Spicy Rice and Bean Cakes with a Cranberry Cucumber Salad.

The rice and bean cakes were excellent although they crumbled up a bit. The kids even liked them and Lauren ate two R & B cakes herself. They had some spice too them but it was very subtle. I'm a big fan of spice so next time I will probably add more adobo sauce and possibly another chipotle pepper.

The recipe is below.

Spicy Rice and Bean Cakes

from Better Homes and Garden's "Eat Well, Lose Weight" cookbook

Ingredients:

nonstick cooking spray

1 med. red sweet pepper, seeded and finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 15-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 1/2 c. cooked brown rice

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 T. snipped fresh cilantro

1 canned chipotle chile pepper in adobo sauce, finely chopped

1 t. adobo sauce from canned chipotle chile peppers in adobo sauce

1/2 t. ground cumin

4 t. olive oil

1/4 c. light dairy sour cream

Directions:

1. Coat an unheated large nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat over medium-high heat. Add sweet pepper and garlic; cook and stir until crisp-tender. Transfer to a large bowl and cool slightly.

2. Place black beans in a food processor; cover and process until smooth. Transfer to bowl with sweet pepper mixture. Stir in cooked brown rice, egg, 2 T. cilantro, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, and cumin; mix well. With wet hands, shape mixture evenly into eight patties, each about 1/2 inch thick.

3. In the same skillet heat 2 t. olive oil over medium heat. Add half of the bean patties. Cook for 8 to 10 min. or until browned and heated through, carefully turning once halfway through cooking. Remove from skillet and keep warm. Repeat with remaining 2 t. oil and remaining bean patties. Serve bean patties with sour cream. If desired, garnish with additional snipped cilantro. Makes 4 servings.

Potty Training: Do or Do! update

Tyler woke up at 7am. I took off his diaper and put on big boy (Thomas the Train) underpants. He sat on the potty every 30 minutes and attempted to go. At 12pm I got Tyler a sippy cup of water to speed things along. Finally!!! Tyler did it!!
At 2:55 EST my little boy went "tee tee" on the big boy potty. We did the potty dance, we did the whole celebration. Tyler got to pick out a special Race Car sticker to put on his frayed (it's been up for months) potty chart. It was Awesome. (I'm very thankful this positive outcome came before any negative outcomes...aka "on-purposes.")

Here he is pointing to his first ever Potty Chart Sticker. About 2 hours later (at 5pm to be exact) Tyler went again!! He just may be a natural.

Here he is pointing to his 2nd ever Potty Chart Sticker. you just have to love the 3 year old smiles


I told him that we could go out for some ice-cream to celebrate. He told me he would rather have some birthday cake. How could I say no? I called Matt up right away (he was on his way home) and told him to stop at the grocery store and buy our sweet boy a darn birthday cake.

He enjoyed every bite.... and he even shared with Lauren....
While I was typing this post the 30-minute timer went off and we had Tyler sit on the pot. The super smart, super big boy went potty again. So not pictured is the 3rd Potty Chart Sticker my big boy put up.

Yay Tyler!!

Turkey-Sweet Pepper Paninis

It was another yummy dinner for us tonight. These were pretty easy and would be even easier on a panini grill or even a George Foreman. The kids ate them and so did Matt and I. This is a plus in my book.

Turkey-Sweet Pepper Paninis
from Better Home and Garden's "Eat Well, Lose Weight" cookbook

Ingredients
4, 6-inch whole wheat hoagie rolls, split
10 oz thinly sliced deli turkey
1/2 c. fresh basil leaves or baby spinach *I used 1/4c. basil leaves & 1/4 c. baby spinach
1/2 c. bottled roasted red peppers, drained and cut into strips
1 t. black pepper
1/4 c. crumbled goat cheese

Directions
1. To assemble the sandwiches, lightly coat outsides of hoagie rolls with nonstick cooking spray. Turn roll bottoms coated sides down; divide turkey among roll bottoms. Top each with some basil and roasted red peppers. Sprinkle with pepper. Turn roll tops coated sides down; spread each with goat cheese. Place on sandwiches, cheese sides down.
2. Coat an unheated grill pan with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat over low to medium-low heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Add sandwiches in batches if necessary. Place a heavy skillet on sandwiches. Cook over medium-low heat for 7-10 min. or until bottoms are toasted. Carefully remove top skillet, which may be hot. Turn sandwiches and top again with the skillet. Cook for 7-10 min. more or until rolls are toasted and cheese melts. Makes 4 servings.

Matt and I had our paninis with a spinach, corn and goat cheese salad on the side.

the kids' dishes...with canned pears

They both made happy plates.

Potty Training: Do or Do!

Dr. Jackson said that Tyler IS old enough to use the bathroom and his lack of interest is HIS OWN choice. I'm not one to let my children choose anything. I run a complete Autocracy in my home. That being said I told Tyler that after Uncle Brian left he would no longer wear diapers because the Dr. declared him a "big boy" at his last check-up.

As of this morning all diapers have been removed from sight. Cleaners and Towels have been brought out to the counter for Tyler to help clean up any "on-purposes." And his bedroom has been prepared for periods of "rest time" following any "on-purpose." If he chooses to go potty in his underwear then that just means he is tired and needs to rest in his bedroom for awhile (after helping to clean up the "on-purpose" of course.)

So far at 12 noon today we are 0 for 0. He's sat on the toilet every 30 minutes but has yet to go. I'm thinking I won't be leaving the house during the day anytime soon.

Weekly Menu

featuring the Eat Well, Lose Weight BHG cookbook

Tuesday: Penne with Chicken and Broccoli** & bizkits
Wednesday: Turkey Sweet Pepper Panini & salad
Thursday: Spicy Rice and Bean cakes & Cranberry-Cucumber Salad
Friday: bunko!! frozen pizza for Matt and the kids
Saturday: Chicken Cacciatore & bizkits (need to make more of these)
Sunday: Greek Pork Tenderloin with Red Pepper Sauce & cous cous

**yesterday I made the Penne with Chicken and Broccoli for Brian before he left to catch his 5 hour flight home.

This was very easy to make and tasted delicious too. Uncle Brian said, "I could eat this everyday."

DESTINation Vacation

We actually stayed in neighboring Miramar Beach on Florida's panhandle but Destin sounded better in the title. We took a mini-vacation for 4 nights over the 4th of July.

We had a very relaxing time enjoying the warm breezes and warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Our view from the condo

One evening we went to Dewey Destin for dinner. While waiting in line to order we enjoyed the sunset over the bay.

One afternoon we took a break from the beach and visited Baytowne Wharf .
This is a little golf/resort community with lots of shops, restaurants and bike trails.

(and tree houses)

Tyler isn't cooperating for the photo-op

taking it easy

and finally back to the beach.

We bought a couple boogie boards so the kids could "surf."

We enjoyed the 4th of July fireworks from our balcony. The whole coast line was filled with fireworks. We had a great view.

We let the kids stay up until they crashed.

and then it was back to the beach.

the view of our condo from the beach.

We stayed at the Majestic Sun.

Finally it was time to head home.

And the next day it was time for Uncle Brian to fly all the way back to his home in Oregon.

We miss him already.

Summer Fun

We are loving these Summer Days!

Monday, Kylie came over to play. Technically, she's Lauren's friend but Tyler has just as much fun with her as Lauren does. I'm very thankful the three of them play so well together. I have yet to break up a fight or insist they include Tyler in their play.

the Three Musketeers

or more age appropriate...the Three Mouse-keteers

On Tuesday, we made the 30-minute trek into Atlanta to have lunch with Matt. I incorporated this lunch trip into my weekly Trader Joe's visit. We ate at the Mellow Mushroom which is in the same parking lot as T.Joe. Lunch was tasty. I had a whole Greek Salad and everyone else shared a large Pepperoni Pizza. Tyler was so cool...so cool he needed to wear his sunglasses in the restaurant.

He was So Cool! he needed to wear his sunglasses while he napped the whole way home.

This week is a pantry challenge week for us. We're leaving for Destin, Florida on Thursday so I didn't want to buy a bunch of food to just sit in the fridge. Wednesday evening I found a recipe to incorporate ingredients I already had. Hence we had Tomato Egg Curry from my Fresh Indian cookbook. (I'm very happy I included that link because, in doing so, I found out my cookbook is going for as much as $80 on Amazon.com. I bought it on sale for $5.00 at Williams Sonoma. YAY!) Send me ten bucks and I'll give you the recipe to our very delicious Tomato Egg Curry dinner. (wink)

And seriously how could I resist including this picture of Brian, the big Oregon State Graduate!! napping with Cat Baby on the sofa. I guess I shouldn't be surpried since I'm sure all OSU students still have their security blankets. (oh, snap)

Today, Wednesday, Lauren and Tyler had their annual Dr. visits. Dr. Jackson said both kids are doing just fine and that they are the most talented, well-developed, beautiful and smartest kids he's ever seen. (Well he only stated the "just fine" part but I could see in his eyes he meant the rest of it.) Lauren is in the 75% for height and 50% for weight. (long and lean...what every girl wants right?!) Tyler is in the 75% for height and 75% for weight. Watch out Lauren, Doc said it won't be long before he outweighs her. Lauren was the only one to get a shot today. (and she only got one because I elected to give her the Hep-A vaccine...which isn't required, only recommended.) My thoughts...which y'all may argue with...are "better safe than sorry."

This afternoon Lea (pronounced LAY-a) came over to play. First thing, she went upstairs and changed into one of Lauren's outfits. Seriously, I shop at Target and ENJOY hand me downs...I'm not sure what the draw is to Lauren's clothes. But Lea chose a most beautiful outfit and the kids headed outside to play in the sprinklers.

We can water on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays (until they declare a drought again...which I'm sure is soon since we haven't seen a drop of rain in weeks.)
After awhile the kiddos got tired of getting wet so instead of coming inside they grabbed some umbrellas to keep them dry.
Finally they wore themselves out and came inside. ...(the girls) changed into PJs.... and they all had a snack.

It was another Fun Summer Day. Tomorrow after breakfast we'll head down to Destin, Florida for 4 days in a (nearly) beach side condo. I can't wait.