Looking for Recipes...

I am in search of a nut free granola type bar, that my kids will eat!!  Please forward them my way if you have any!!!

Thanks!

Spending Freeze

Due to the upcoming trip to Orlando (within 2 months of the previous one), my husband imposed a "no-spending" rule on us!!!  Well, I decided to take the challenge.  No dinners out, no buying clothes, and the worst, no visits to Starbucks (really, is that even sane!!!).  I am onto Day 5, and I haven't spent a dime, other than on groceries, and even them, no extras, only the stuff we need! 

At first, I wasn't sure I liked the whole idea, but now, I have embraced it.  It has lead us to eat a little healthier, as we have 3 days a week where we go from activity to activity, right around the lunch and supper hours.  We used to just do a McDonald's drive thru, but this week, I have made sandwiches, and packed everyone a little lunch.  The kids love it (they don't realize they are missing out on McD's).  The only downside, I have to make more lunches!!!  At least the younger 3 aren't as picky, and will eat just about anything. 

Speaking of that, Cob is growing up a bit.  He will now eat sandwiches with lettuce, cucumber, cheese and sandwich meat.  This is a huge improvement over just jam, or just cheese!!!!  A small break through, but I will take it!  He is also getting a bigger appetite.  He gets Hot Lunches at school on Fridays, and we have to preorder.  I was filling out the form, asking him what he would like, (we got every week except one--chicken noodle soup!, another big improvement over the every other week we previously did!), and he informed me that 1 piece of pizza was not enough. 

I sometime struggle with the fact that my first born is quickly approaching age 7!!!!  Where does time go???  And to make matters worse, my boys love to discuss what they are going to do when they are teenagers.  The latest was blow stuff up!!!!  Really though, why do they need to focus on getting older, when all Mom wants is to freeze time........

Back to Florida

Yes, we are spoiled!!!  When we were down in Feburary, we went and looked at some 1 bedroom apartments/condos, to invest in as long term rentals.  When we got home, we put in offers on 6.  To date, 4 have been accepted.  So, lucky for us, we are headed back down to Orlando in early April to sign off on these properties, open some bank accounts, etc.  Since we needed to go for business, we decided to add an extra few days, take the kids, and make some use out of our Disney passes.  I LOVE Disney!!!!  This time, we are probably renting a townhouse, with a small pool in the backyard vs a single family home.  Our kids love the pool.  I like the convenience of having it right out the back door, rather than having to walk down to a community pool.  And, I don't mind cooking meals.  I know I'm on vacation, but I really don't enjoy sitting in a restaurant, listening to the kids whine that they didn't really want this, and my husband saying, "Eat it!  We are not wasting it!!!".  All in all, the townhouse or villa leads to a much more relaxed vacation. 

Potty Training Catch Up

So, the potty trained was delayed a bit, we have finally "officially" started!  Goob has been using the potty at least once a day for the last month, but yesterday, when we were out, he announced he needed to pee.  So, off to the bathroom we went, and wouldn't ya know, he actually went pee!!!  I think this is the first time he has actually peed on the potty!!!!  Hurray!!!!  When we got home, he went naked, waist down, and yes, the potty is parked in our living room, but we had a good day of using the potty.  First thing this morning, he got up, and wanted to pee.  It was a tiny amount, and his diaper was already wet, but he showed interest.  Shortly after, he wanted to poop, and so he did!  So, I guess the time has come for me to sink some time into this venture, and pull out the underwear!  I'll keep my fingers crossed!!!

Update on the Potty!!

Of course, Goob timed it perfectly!!!  Just when we were on vacation, and on the go, he decides he would like to use the potty.  In an effort not to deter him, we took him whenever the opportunity presented itself.  We usually got one poop per day, and sometimes a pee.  We are not having much success with the pee yet, but getting there with the poop. 
Maybe because it was a novelty, and a chance to get out to the cursed carseat, Goob used the potty several times on the airplane ride to Orlando.  Yeah for cramped spaces, and learning to use the toilet.  He also managed to check out a few of the bathrooms at several of Orlando's tourist destinations--Disney World, Sea World, and Univeral Studios.
Now that we are back home, and back to our hectic schedule, we are using pullups rather than diapers.  We are pretty busy until mid March, so I think the slated, "no diapers, only underwear" weekend will be March 12th-14th!!!  We'll see how it goes!!