Time to Buckle Down...

Well, we've had two weeks of family visiting and now they are all gone.  It was lots of fun.  The kids always love having family around to play with and entertain.  Kids are amazing...they never forget anyone no matter how little they may see them in a year's time.  They know who goes with who and were most of them live.  They are smart little creatures!  They had a blast going to Aquatica twice, swimming a ton, playing at parks, driving their new cars...you name it, they loved it!  Now that the family is gone and the fun is over (not that we won't be having more fun!)...it's time to buckle down!!  We're going to get this potty training knocked out and the night time sleep issues too.  It's going to take a lot of motivation, patience, consistency & energy from both Greg and I.  Not to mention lack of sleep.  I'm dreading that.  Most nights are interrupted anyway, but now it will be more until we can get all this figured out.  We've been trying some new things and I've been reading Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems.  The latest technique we've been trying is "talking to Blue" on the phone.  I got this idea from my friend Rachel.  (thanks!)  Landon and Sadie both love Blues Clues.  Whenever they use the potty and actually "go," they get to call Blue on mommy's cell phone.  We normally have to send Blue (a.k.a. Daddy) a text message first to make sure he's not busy!  The hard part is if he IS busy, then who knows when they will actually get to talk to him.  For example, Sadie peed this morning around 8, but I knew Greg started a conference call at 8.  At 9 I sent him a text.  It was hard making up reasons why Blue can't talk for that hour!  When Blue calls,  the kids just love it!!  Their faces light up and I'm cracking up!  Blue not too hard to imitate..."ba bow!!"  It's hilarious!!  It seems to be working more for Sadie, which is actually surprising cause Landon REALLY loves Blue!!  He's watching right now and drawing the clues on his doodle pad with Joe.  Just since last night Sadie has peed 3 times and pooped once...and all on her own!  She is telling me she has to go...I'm not asking her!!  I'm so pumped about this!!  It's just 9 days til their b-day.  It would be great to have her knocked out by then.  We also reward in other ways.  Each time they go, they get a sticker for their chart.  If they do #1, they get one m&m.  If they do #2, they get 2 m&m's.  Since the "talking to Blue" idea has been motivating for the potty, we're also trying it for night time.  If they sleep all night in their own bed, then they get to call Blue.  Landon has slept the past two nights.  Sadie has slept in her bed all night only once since I think May!!  She normally ends up on our bedroom floor.  She has a spot with blankets and pillows.  I know I know...we've got to stop that!!  It's going to be hard, cause it's so easy to just let her lay there.  She will sleep the rest of the night without waking up.  While family was visiting we moved her bed into our room for a few nights.  Crazy how she didn't wake up once those nights!!  So I realize this isn't the most intriguing or thought-provoking blog post, but hey...I'm a mom and this is what's on my mind.  Maybe this will help keep me accountable to stay focused and "buckle down!"  

It's going to continue to be an exciting week or so.  Next Tuesday our good friends from KY are coming down for vacation.  They will be staying in The Villages which is less than a half hour north of us.  They have a 2 year old boy.  I think we've seen him once or twice since being born.  They are coming over for dinner on Tuesday.  I'm so excited!  Also, my b-day is the 18th (the big 34!), Landon & Sadie's the 20th, and our 7 year anniversary on the 21st.  An extremely busy and exciting month!!  I'll keep you all posted on the potty training progress!