Have Some FUN!

The other day I was totally exhausted and it was past lunch time. Grant and I were driving along, and I totally didn't feel like going home to make a lunch before putting him down for his nap. I remembered about this great place some of my mommy friends had told me about.  I'm a little embarrassed to admit...it was a McDonalds. (I guess I should just come out and say it...I take my child to McDonalds. Not all the time...but once in a while. He loves Chicken Nuggets and I love McChickens.) This is not just any McDonalds though. This is the coolest one I have ever seen...actually I take that back...I went to the world's largest McDonalds one time in Florida. That one was pretty awesome, but this one is actually within driving distance.

This Micky D's is a child's play land. I know they all have play areas, but this one is really cool! There is an entire indoor area for eating that includes the play area. So you can go there even when it's cold outside! It has a basketball hoop, fun climbing structures, computer games, and the best part is this little toddler area. The toddler area has musical instrument toys. For example, the slide is an organ, and as the child slides down it makes the organ sound. Grant loved dancing along with the electric guitar.

I know that McDonalds is not the best place for a mom to take her child for lunch, but when you are pregnant and tired, it is such a good idea...especially this fun place! Check it out!

"Healthy" Mac 'n Cheese

 How can you make THIS healthy?

 Use THIS instead of milk and butter.

I don't know if it is actually healthier...the "cheese mix" seems to be the kind of sketchy part to me. But I read about the idea in my parenting magazine. It said to make the Mac 'n Cheese using the directions on the box, except use sweet potato baby food and 4 tablespoons of plain Greek yogurt mixed with the cheese mix instead of milk and butter.

I tried it out. The result...it was good. And Grant didn't notice a single difference. Even asked for a second helping!

What do you think? Can it actually be that much healthier?

Potty Training Failure

I'm not sure who's failure it is when you try to potty train your child and it doesn't quite work. I really thought that Grant was ready.  Or was I just ready for him to be ready? I read a book about potty training called Pottywise. It gave a list of "signs of readiness". He met most of them...not all...but most. And he seems to be pretty intelligent, so I thought it would go okay.

We started out by taking him to the store to buy his "big boy underwear". He was beyond excited and loved laying them all out.

The next morning we started out by walking through the potty process with a stuffed frog named Tad. Pottywise suggested that having a prop for your child to teach how to use the toilet would encourage them to do it. Part of the process is giving treats when either the prop or your child "go" in the toilet. Grant caught on right away that when Tad "went", Grant got candy. He kept asking for Tad to go potty. I told you he was intelligent. So, while we waited for Grant to use the potty for the first time himself, I started making some oatmeal for breakfast. It was while I was waiting for the milk to boil that I discovered that Grant had had his first accident in his undies. I took him back to the bathroom to clean up and sit on the potty. A little too late I remembered my milk waiting to boil. It was all over the stove! But I didn't have time to clean it up because I had to get back to Grant in the bathroom. We put on a new pair of underwear, and I went back to getting breakfast ready. Before I could really get anything done...such as clean up the mess I had just made or even get another breakfast made...he peed again. Back to the bathroom. I decided that after 4 accidents in 2 hours, with no sign of a desire to even try going in the potty, but wanting Tad to go all the time it was time to quit for the day. I felt so defeated and frustrated. Two hours of constantly checking for wet undies and cleaning up messes is very stressful...not to mention my kitchen was a disaster! When Paul got home that night he could tell that I had had a frustrating day, and being the wonderful man that he is, told me to go get myself a coffee and relax for a while. I was peacefully sipping my Decaf Salted Caramel Mocha Frappuccino when I got a text from Paul...Guess What?!

Twice!! He peed in the potty twice for Daddy! (sorry for the nudie picture)

We tried again the next day, but he didn't really want to do it, and I didn't want to push. He wanted to keep his diaper on and he kept asking for Daddy. Maybe this will have to be a job for Daddy.

So...long story...potty training is on hold for now. Any advice or suggestions?!

Five Years!!!

Paul and I finally got to celebrate our 5th anniversary. I was in Costa Rica and he was backpacking on our actual anniversary. We were gone so much in July that we decided to wait until September to take our annual trip. Thankfully, Gammy and Poppop were more than happy to watch Grant for us for the night. We wanted to go back to the bed and breakfast in Yachats where we spent our wedding night, but unfortunately it has closed down. Instead we stayed at a beautiful B&B right on the ocean. The Sea Quest was so relaxing with beautiful views of the ocean. We spent an equal amount of time roaming the beach, tide pools, and coastal town stores and sitting in comfy chairs reading with the sound of the ocean in the background. It was perfect!

Chugga-chugga Choo-choo!!

Medford has the greatest FREE kids attraction! The Train Park! Tons of volunteers give their time to building, maintaining, and operating these cool train replicas that kids (and adults) can ride on. The whole place is packed...of course...it's free! And Grant loves it so much! A new thing they have there this year is a Thomas track just for kids. I was a little scared to let Grant go on it since I couldn't go with him. But he didn't care at all that he was going by himself! Watching him ride off was a little unnerving, but he did great and wanted to go again as soon as he got off! Here are some pictures from the day. We went with Grandma and Poppin, and everyone had a great time!

Riding on the "big" train (sorry you can't even see the train!)

 Going to ride Thomas!

 

 He rode with this boy two times. When I asked him if he liked riding Thomas by himself, he said he didn't...he rode with "that boy"

Riding away from Mom and Dad...

 

Checking out the huge model train track with Poppin

Going inside the real trains

 

 Alright...so right after I wrote this I wondered if I had already done a post about the train park. Sure enough...last year I did one and titled it the same thing! If you want to go back and see our trip to the train park last year click here :) It's fun to see the difference in Grant.