A little of this and a little of that...

The potty training bribes are in full swing in able mabel land. The 2.5 year old Queen of the House is plenty ready to train...she's too stubborned and I'm too lazy. Makes for a bad combo. Today while we were at Target, I brought her over to the clearance section of toys and she picked this out. This doll will now reside on top of the fridge until those Princess undies stay dry for a few days. This, by far, is the best type of bribe I've used in potty training. Some "get it" faster than others and training becomes a breeze. I am determined to start (again) on Monday and give it a full week.


I dropped our oldest off at the ski hill today along with some friends and two chaperones. It's her first time on skis. Yikes! All the 4th graders in Colorado get a free ski pass so this is her year to shine! I ended up putting her into two hours of lessons this morning so she could learn a bit before she hits the slopes on her own. She was pretty excited and only a bit nervous (or so she said). I'm sure she'll be exhausted when she gets home. We'll try to get her out a few more times, at least, this year. What do you know though, I forgot to bring my camera. Another "first" missed. Bad Mom!

Remind me again why I let an 8 year old bake? She loves it and does a good job but, oh the mess!

• half bag of flour spilled down the heating vent,
• cinnamon and sugar covering her from head to toe,
• Baby Doll crawling thru it all,
• she mixed the batter on the stove which has a lip all the way around the edge to it's not very easy to clean up...

I knew it would be like this and I thought I would be fine with it, but now that's it's done, I feel like singing a different tune! I appreciate the effort and will continue to let her bake but I get weary of the mess, especially after a full day of cleaning yesterday.

On the bright side, I've reclaimed our basement. I can hear the basketball being dribbled, the hockey puck being shot, the cheerful voices of the kids playing "rough" to their heart's content. Our basement had become a "holding tank" for all things craft sale related, empty boxes, totes brought in from the garage, luggage, everything that didn't have a place elsewhere. What a disaster! I didn't let the kids play down there because it was so disorganized. It was one of my goals for January and lo and behold, I accomplished it! It was a project and a half, but it's done and it feels awesome! Now where are those Rollerblades?

Maybe I'll read a book for the rest of the day! ;) Dream on, right?!!?