We have now entered potty training hell.

Oh yes, that's right. Potty training hell. :(

We had an unfortunate poop incident on Saturday, and that was the last straw for me. I am not letting my girls wear diapers anymore! So, I packed the diapers up and put them on my high shelf in the closet. No more diapers. Brooklyn woke up totally dry this morning! Great! So, I put her on the potty and NOTHING. However, a few minutes later, she had a river in her plastic pants. Hannah did, too. Hey, at least they timed it together. (lol)

So, we've had WAY more accidents than successes today. :( I'd say we've had about 6 accidents each and one success each. (sigh) I am making myself stick to this, though. I DO NOT want to revert back to diapers.

Any suggestions are welcome. If you don't have any, just say a little prayer for me (and my kids - lol). I know that a week from now I'll be glad I did it, but right now, I am in the depths of potty training HELL.

My little biker babes

Hannah and Brooklyn are my little biker chicks! As most of you know, Greg is really into road biking. Well, one day after he went for a ride, Greg took his gear off in the living room. Hannah and Brooklyn decided to try it on for size. I think they have some true biking potential. Watch out, Lance Armstrong, the Stuart twins are in town!

On an unrelated matter, my digital camera seems to be on the fritz. Any suggestions on a compact, digital camera? As much as I have loved my 4 megapixel beauty (haha), it's starting to look a little ghetto with the masking tape holding the broken battery door closed. (lol) Plus, I went to look at what pics are on the camera, and it told me it cannot use the memory card anymore. Whatever! Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Baby lotion is not a conditioner!

So, do you ever hear your kids laughing and playing nicely together and it's music to your ears? I do, too. But, many times, especially when the laughter is extremely boisterous, I am afraid of what I will find them doing.

Well, tonight was one of those nights. Of course, it's a night where Greg is on one of his LONG bike rides, so I'm doing the single parent thing tonight. Anyway, I could hear the girls giggling so hard in the front room. At first I thought, "Oh, how cute. They're playing so nicely." Then, I got this sinking feeling that something was amiss. I went into the front room to find the girls with a pump bottle of baby lotion. Hannah was nicely rubbing lotion into her hands, while Brooklyn was nicely rubbing lotion through her hair. Why on earth she would rub lotion into her hair is a mystery to me. However, it must have been extremely funny because she sure was happy about it. Hey, at least her hair will be soft and manageable. (lol)

Riverdale 4th of July 5K

Well, Greg and I ran the Riverdale 5K again this year. This year, Greg ran it with me and he pushed the girls in the jogging stroller. My time in the Syracuse 5K was 30:13, so I really wanted to break the 30 minute mark for the Riverdale one.

Greg set his stopwatch so we would keep on pace. At first, his pace was killing me, but then I got into the groove. I ended up getting my personal best. I came in at 28:19! I was so excited!! Greg was a big help as he kept pushing me on. He's kind of like my drill sargeant. (lol)

After the 5K, we went to the Riverdale parade. Hannah and Brooklyn love parades. Well, I'm not sure whether it's the parades or the candy they really like. They work it, too. They'll wave and be all cute and charming to get some candy thrown their way. They already know how to get what they want. The hardest part is keeping them out of the road during the parade.

The night of the 3rd, we took the girls to the West Point fireworks. They absolutely loved it! At first, the noise was scaring Hannah a little because she would say, "Watch out!" The girls are getting pretty good at naming their colors correctly now, so they would yell out, "Red! Green! Blue! Yellow!" It was so cute. My favorite part is what they call fireworks, though. They call them "splashes." When they see the sparks, they say, "It's splashing." They think the fireworks look like they're splashing in the sky. Greg and I thought that was pretty clever. ;)

Don't leave the kids inside alone anymore!

On Tuesday, I decided to be a good wife and mow the lawn. Don't worry, I wasn't mowing in my bikini. That would be a little less than attractive.

So, I got the front all mowed and checked on the girls. They were fine, so I proceeded to mow the back. I got almost all the way done (I only had a couple strips left), and I couldn't get the mower started again. I must have flooded the engine or something. So, I decided to go inside.

As I got up to the back door, the girls were standing there. Hannah was fully clothed, but Brooklyn was totally naked. I hurried inside, thinking the worst. I asked her where her diaper was and she said, "I put it in the garbage." I go take a peek in the garbage, and, sure enough, there's her diaper. Okay, great. I don't see any wet spots on the floor near where they were playing. Perfect. So, I grab a new diaper and put it on her. Crisis averted, right? WRONG!

I walk into our front room where the girls have, of course, thrown all the couch cushions and pillows onto the floor. On the bare couch, I see what looks like a wet spot. As I move closer, I see that it's not wet. It's poop! From what I could gather, Brooklyn stripped down on the bare couch, took off her poopy diaper, sat down on the couch, and scooted off the edge while wiping her butt. Gross!! I guess Brooklyn thought she was being a big girl by "changing" her own diaper. (lol) So, I spent a while cleaning and disinfecting the couch. I guess I should just be happy it wasn't on the couch cushions.

Maybe that's a sign that I shouldn't be mowing the lawn. (hmmmm...)

Dog food-a-rama!

I swear, I shouldn't try to get things done outside. It usually ends in a mess of some sort.

So, I was outside yesterday morning weeding our veggie garden out back (which, by the way, is no small feat). I think I'm being a good wife and getting some "extra" things done. The girls were inside playing nicely. Great! Anyway, I get done and come back into the house through the garage. The dog's "room" in the laundry room. The first thing I saw as I walked in the laundry room was all the dog's food in the water dish. No biggie, it happens all the time. **As a side note, if you're not aware, dog food expands when it's in water. It's pretty gross.** However, when I walked into the kitchen, I had more mess to clean. The girls had taken the bag of dog food and were throwing it all over on the kitchen floor. Gaaaaah!! I walked in right as Brooklyn reached into the bag and threw a handful onto the wood floor. The pattering sound of dog food hitting the floor, along with the wonderful aroma of lamb meal and rice was such a joy to walk in to. Thanks, girls.

Now, the next time Greg empties out the central vac unit, he'll think I poured a bag of dog food inside. (LOL)

The girls' first movie!

Can you guess what movie it was? That's right. We took the girls to see "Horton Hears a Who." It was the first movie we have ever taken them to. It was a discount theater, so the tickets were only $2 each. We went with Jamie, Mandee, Avery and Haden. The girls had a good time. They were a little fidgety and noisy at times, but what kid that age isn't at the movies? They stayed in the theater the whole movie, which was just short of a miracle. But, we made it! Now that we know they can do it, we'll have to take them to see another movie soon. The new movie theater near where we live shows a 10 AM matinee for $1, so we'll have to take them to those sometimes.

Yesterday afternoon, the girls and I went over to Grandma and Grandpa Stuart's house to play in the kiddie pool and slip-n-slide. Miranda, Cameron, and Meghan were there. I think all the kids enjoyed playing outside in the water and sunshine. What a beautiful day it was. This weather may be hot, but with a little water, shade, and a cool drink, it's perfect. I want my kids to gain an appreciation for playing outside. I feel like kids these days don't play outside enough. I remember growing up that I loved playing outside, and would be outside all day and never wanted to go inside. I want my kids to be active and want to play outside a lot as well.

Tonight, we're taking the girls to my mom's work party at the Roy Aquatic Center. I'm excited to take the girls. They had a great time there last year, so I can only imagine what a blast they'll have this year. Plus, it's free, so that's just an added bonus. (Woo-hoo!)