ABC Gum + No Diapers + Buffet = Disaster Night

we are finally back from vegas! we had a great great great great time. except this one night when we went out to the buffet at mandalay bay...

from the title of my post, in case you don't know, ABC Gum means: Already Been Chewed Gum.

gross. i know lily. anyway, we were sitting at our booth, which had a planter of fake plants in it right behind us. when lily had finished her meal, she was just playing around in the thing. she wasn't really messing with any of the fake plants, just occassionally picking up a rock or something. i saw this blue rock she was holding and didn't think too much of it. until we all had finished eating and realized the 'rock' was actually an old piece of gum, and she had stretxched it out, and tried to make a necklace out of it. which is how she got gum on her neck and in her hair:

no one was more amused than my bro-in-law, james. he took tons of pics. lily was not amused. especially when we tried to get the gum off of her skin. james googled it when we got home, and one website recommended we get a warm wash cloth and rub her neck, and to also chew another piece of gum and try to get the old gum to stick to the new gum. so i was a rubbing, chris was a chewing, lily was a screaming, and everyone was a laughing.

but that was the end of the meal. before the meal even began, i took lily to the bathroom cause she had to potty. good girl! (this was pre-gum fiasco.) topher was dead-asleep with chris and james, or so i thought. he hadn't napped that day (or for the greater portion of our vegas week-and-a-half) so he passed out in the car on our way to the buffet. but when i got to our table, james showed me this beautiful picture:

sure it looks like a happy father and son hanging out together. only the son's pants are wet with urine, which you can't really see in the pic. and the dad's pants are urine-stained too. which you CAN see in the pic.
being the mom of two nearly-potty-trained kids, my diaper bag is not very big these days. i carry around a spare Pull-Up, an empty plastic bag, and spare undies and pants for lily and topher.
but for some reason, i had used my new, little diaper bag to go out earlier that day, so i took all my kid-essential things out of the bag, and only had my wallet and camera. lotta good those things were going to do for me. jeehon, for some other odd reason, had no diaper bag with her. but she did have an extra diaper and set of clothes in her car. so james went out to their car to retrieve the very big items (Sungu, though only 9 months older than toph, wears lots of 3T and 4T stuff. toph still wear lots of 18-24month stuff) for his nephew.
though we had a really rough start and end to the night (oh yeah, sungu crapped his pants when we were leaving the restaurant, but he was wearing a diaper, only we had no more clean diapers to put on him.) the middle part was expensive, yet delicious.

Poop to Vegas

it's been a week and two days since my last poop-related incident. so here's our newest one.

we left for vegas on friday morning. the whole fam- chris, lily, topher and myself in our minivan, jeehon, james, and sungu in theirs. we were on our way to vegas for our 3rd annual family trip in vegas. YES. three years straight of being in las vegas. which is surprisingly a lot family-friendlier than you think. BUT, we are putting an end to these trips to vegas cause, well, it's been three years. we just don't need to come here anymore! seen it all, done it all. (at least, especially after chris and i go to see the lion king tonight!)

so, we left at about 10:30am. the van was packed, the portable dvd players were in position, snacks, drinks, and portable potty were all readily available. yes, chris brings the potty with him whenever he goes out with the kids now. it's really eased his mind with longer drives, especially with topher. he continues to wow us with his potty training abilities. but truth be told, the kid stil can't go more than two days without an accident. oh well. he'll probably really smarten up when he turns two next month.

i give my hubby some serious props for being a hard-core potty-training dad! topher is always in undies when he is with his dad. and so he was in undies on our way up to vegas. this was ok with me cause i had just ordered waterproof car seat covers by Nomie Baby (i will write a real review later. heads up: did NOT like em.) it did it's job, protecting topher's car seat from his pee, but otherwise, i am not fond of my purchase.

on to the poop- we had already pulled over once to let everyone pee on the potty. except only topher peed- even though he had already peed in his pants. it was kinda too cold for lily, with the wind tunneling through the van as she tried to relax enough to let the urine flow. it didn't happen, but she also didn't have an accident for the whole ride, so whatev. needless to say, we had to stop again about an hour later though. something was starting to really smell foul, and we suspected our littlest watson. fortunately after the whole soiling-his-car-seat-undies-and-pants incident from the previous hour, i put a Pull-Up on him. Great move. GREAT move.

we pulled over to the side of the road. chris focused his attention on the lilster, and i had my sights set on mr. poopy pants. how convenient for you chris! topher had a turd in his trousers (that just sounds like a great sentence. but the turd was really in his diaper.) and so i cleaned that up. lily had a seriously monstrous pee. and then topher said he still had to poo. so he sat on the potty and dropped a steamer. good job son! chris is usually really good about how he disposes of the kids' waste product. when he is out with them, he usually tries to stop in a neighborhood, and then dump the potty remnants into thos waste buckets for when you are getting rid of your dog's poops that you have scooped. but we were in a hurry, so 'someone' actually dumped the dump on the road beside our car. 'someone else' was not very happy about the decision, but the deed had already been done, so what could you do?

we strapped the kids back into their seats. gave everyone high fives for a job well-done, and proceeded to drive away. as we started driving merrily along the highway, chris said he was pretty sure we had rolled over topher's poop. and that's what you get for not listening to your wife, or 'someone else', who had originally advised to throw the turd out on the passenger side of the car, not the drivers' side. and that's our poopy tale on our way up to our wonderful family vacation.

Zoo!

we went to the zoo again today, and it was so perfect! for those in toronto- you might not want to read this part- but it was about 24 degrees celsius (75ish for you americans) and we were out in t-shirts, flip flops, and shorts. sometimes i want it to be colder, and most of the time i try to keep my mouth shut and enjoy the amazingness that is 'winter' in arizona!

all the animals were out and about, saying 'hi' to the kids, eating their food, etc. only the cheetahs didn't get the memo that my kids were going to be at the zoo today, so they slept through the whole thing. punks. but these chimps were sitting right by the glass, loving each other, staring into each other's eyes, and eating the bugs off of each other's heads. that's true love. so sweet and pure. and kinda gross. but still beautiful.

a terrible family shot- but a family shot nonetheless! some guy actually grabbed my camera and told us to say cheese. it was shockingly quite nice of him as he saw me trying to get a bunch of random shots of the kids and the chimps, chris and the chimps, chris and the kids and the chimps. here we have us, and i don't think you can see the chimps. but my hair looks like crap, so whatev.

is lily a daddy's girl? or is chris lily's slave/putty in her hands?

our kids LOVE the carousel.

topher on the carousel. this may be gross to you- for his face to be smooshed on a bar that lots of dirty kids' hands have been on. but it doesn't phaze me cause earlier he was licking the fence where the flamingos were at. yikes.

lily, excited to be on the carousel, but even more excited to have daddy's hand to hold. and yes, chris is putty in lily's hands.

Happy, and Cheap Valentine

chris and i had our cheapest, and greatest valentines weekend!

we had relatively cheap babysitting for our date on saturday night. the high school fundraiser would have allowed us to pay $10 for 4 hours of baby sitting for the two kids. fortunately for the high school kids, chris was in a generous mood so he gave more than that.

we proceeded to black angus for our 'romantic dinner'. of course, it was all-star weekend, so we actually sat next to each other in a booth, and watched steve nash win the skills competition (yeah steve!), channing frye make a strong attempt in the 3-pointer competition (paul pierce was a little too awesome though), and we left in time for the boring dunk competition (which used to be my favorite part of all-star weekend. i will not watch this event EVER AGAIN if nate robinson is in it. you're short, and you can dunk. great. let's move on!!!!!) dinner was only cheap cause 1.we had an awesome coupon 2.we had an even more awesome gift card 3.it wasn't actually valentines day!

when we left the restaurant it was already 9ish. we dropped the kids off at 6:45, and we had to get them by 10:30. it was too late to watch a movie, but it was WAY too early to go get the kids. so we went to target! i had already gotten the kids a card with a chocolate lip stuck to the front. $.99 each. but we ended up getting them some Dora & Diego chocolates too. (dora and diego are the kids bestest friends right now. look for them to show up on some birthday cupcakes next month!!!) we still spent a ton less money this year on the kids than we did last year, and last year they REALLY didn't have any idea what valentines day was.

even though chris hate shopping, he was a GREAT sport about walking around target. we ended up getting him a running 'belt' that holds water, his mp3 player (oh yeah, we also got him new ear phones that are more 'runner friendly'), and has a pocket for his 'Gu'. he is becoming a seriously hard core runner. it's gross and amazing all at the same time. i got a pair of clearance slippers for the house. and we bought some batteries. cause you can NEVER have too many/enough batteries when you have two toddlers.

we ended up picking the kids up at about 10, which was good cause they were still awake and running around! they love hanging out at church, which is great news for us, cause they are there a lot. we had a great date and were happy with our new purchases and low-key 'sexy-for-people-with-kids' date.

the next day, valentines day, i made blintzes- chris' favorite breakfast meal. topher stole every single berry off of my plate, and his dad's too. then we went to church. took naps when we got home. then went to barb's house to hang out with some of her friends who had come for a visit from oregon. when we got home we had some chocolate-dipped strawberries and relaxed after a weekend full of activity. we are all about having valentines day being a day that is super-family friendly, so that the kids don't ever feel sad or ostracized from this made-up holiday.

i have been 'alone' for about 24 out of my 29 valentines days (yeah, that guy i 'on and off' dated for 7 years managed to never spend a valentines day together!), and though being 'alone' never actually depressed me, valentines day just wasn't really something that i ever looked forward to. we want the kids to look forward to the day as another time to get showered with love, family-fun times, and some treats too!

one of the 'treats' that chris and i are constantly working on is having the healthiest marriage we can! we don't date as often as we would like, but valentines day does give us an extra excuse to carve out some time for one another and to get a cheap date in, either the day before or after the 14th. though never on! it doesn't matter if cards or presents are involved, it really is the thought and effort that goes into the whole thing. and chris' effort went into hanging out at target for over an hour, and having a great time all the while!

wowed by a four year old

today the high school kids at church put on a fundraiser to allow parents to drop off their kids so they could go on a day date, or a night date. they had tons of people sign up and needed help watching the kids. so i signed up to get a date, and to give dates. i just got home a little while ago so i need to make this fast, before 1. my kids wake up from their naps 2. i forget the amazing conversation i had with a 4 year old while i waited to wipe her butt.

so i hung out in the nursery today, but the 4 year olds classroom needed an extra helper for 5 minutes. so i volunteered. i wasn't in that classroom for more than 3 minutes when a little girl was talking about how she wasn't able to wipe her own bum and that she needed her mom to help her, and so she was wondering out loud when her mom might come back. not for another hour and a half, at least. but i told her i could help her and she was delighted. as were the other volunteers who were too young to take kids to the bathroom. super.

so i go to the bathroom with this little girl. she plops on the toilet and begins to talk:
"i cannot wipe my own bum. my mom always has to help me. except when she is taking a nap. maybe i will be able to wipe my own bum when i am five. or ten. you know when i am sick with a cold, or a feber (fever, i think she meant), or a stomach ache, i have really icky poos. but do you know what helps you get better when you are sick?"

"what?" i ask her. and am amazed that she is allowing me to speak. also please note that this little girl is german and has the faintest little german accent. it's so cute i want to throw up on her. and her poop is starting to get stinky so i really want to throw up on her. fortunately i am a professional mom, and poops don't get me the way they get guys when they have to deal with other people's 9read: their own off-spring's)poos, even though they (the dads) have the dirtiest poos of all. look i have diahrea mouth just like the 4 year old!

back to her question, which was 'do you know what can fix you if you are sick?'
"God can fix you." she says proudly. wow! that's awesome. this girl really knows what's going on.

"do you know what else can fix you? soup." again- wow!...

she continues: "my mom has a book of soup. it tells her what to put in it. there are other things in there. recipes. i don't like them. except for the one for pizza, and spagedi, and french fries. i have a friend, heather, and he (yes, she said 'he') and he just eats them up! he loves french fries. they are really good, ya? (think german people!)

"did you know I have 4 panty hose and 1 pair of stockings at home?"

"no." i honestly answer her, i really did not know that.

"i come to church every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday." (this is probably how she knows God and soup heals all ailments at such a young age.)

i ask her if she is part of the mom's group that meets on Tuesdays.

"no. i am not allowed to be a part of that my mum says. i have to go to the classrooms. that's a pretty bush," she says, noticing the fake TREE that is in the corner of the bathroom. (let's keep this pure people!)

we get interrupted by another little kid who needs to use the bathroom, and i did not lock the door.

"you should have locked the door," she tells me. not at all embarrassed that someone walked in on her on the can. i apologize.

"like, you should lock the door now." i've just been scolded by a 4 year old who has her skirt around her ankles.

"so, how do they have a bush growing inside? wow. i am noticing some glitter on your shoes. (there's no glitter on my running shoes, but i thank her all the same.) i love glitter. (she is wearing VERY glittery shoes) but i am missing some glitter right here (she points to the toes of the shoes that truly have no glitter left on em.) i had tennis shoes when i was 3 years old (she puts up 3 fingers for emphasis), but i grew out of them you know. i have some leotards at home. wow, i really like that bush."

finally she stops to breathe.

"are you all done with your poops?" i finally manage to ask. we've been in there for almost five minutes.

"yes!" i didn't know she was capable of one word answers.

"do you want to try to wipe your own bum?" i ask her. hopeful.

"no, you do it. you know, always always always sometimes my mum has to wipe my bum. and sometimes my dad does it. i can't wipe my bum by myself. i can't wait till my hair grows and is not in my face any more. i am tired of my hair in my face all the time."

wow. i have now wiped her tush. and i have looked in the toilet to see the biggest bowel movement come out of a child. seriously, there is the largest family of deuces sunk to the bottom of the toilet. (of course there were skid marks at the bottom of the toilet after we flushed.)this kid really had a lot of stuff to unload! physcially and verbally.

we wash our hands and exit.

wow. that is the most information i have ever received in a five minute period.

Small Business: Chris Fleck, Plumber Extraordinaire

i feel kinda bad cause i have tons of pics of my other small business friends that i am plugging today. i unfortunately do not have any pics of chris fleck. the man who saved us million$$$$$... ok. thousand$$$.

two weeks ago we had an issue with one of our rental houses. apparently the cold water wasn't really working. so chris (mine) got to calling some plumbers. he called a company that he had heard advertised on the radio. they said it would cost $40 for someone to come out and look at the issue. just to LOOK. 'ok' we said.

so the guy comes out and Looks. then he calls us and tells us something happened with our water softner, and it blew pellets through the pipes and we had to replace everything. for $2,800. yikes. and then the guy said we owed him $70. we said 'no'. his company quoted us $40, so we paid them $40. don't know what the extra $30 was about. still don't. and now i don't care.

then barb suggested we call this guy- chris fleck. he used to be the superintendant of plumbing for Pulte Homes, one of the major housing developers in arizona. but of course they lost a ton of money, and chris (the plumber) lost his job with them. but he has since been doing his own thing. which was great for us.

chris (the plumber) came, assessed, and fixed everything. for $800. the other guys said it would cost an extra $2,000. i don't know what that's about. still don't. and i don't care. maybe it was for the advertising that chris (mine) heard on the radio. the only advertising for chris fleck you ever hear may be here on my blog. he doesn't have a website. but you can find him on www.linkedin.com.

i never met the guy. but i know he is a hard working, honest man, trying to raise his daughters. if you need a plumber, call chris (the plumber. not my chris. he can't help you. unless you want your sink to get tazered or something.)

Small Business: Jenny Bishop Photography

meet Jenny Bishop. she is 3 weeks away from being a 100% full-time photographer!!!!
for now she is doing her due-diligence wrapping up her job at ASU. i don't remember what she does there, mostly cause it doesn't matter because that was not her calling! photography is!

Jenny is a severely talented photographer. her photos are all very crisp, clean, professional, yet occasionally whimsical, and always tons of fun. she does senior shoots, families, weddings, maternity, newborn, you name it, she will shoot it. (with her camera.) my personal faves are probably her wedding pics and her newborn shoots. whenever i see a cute bucket or basket, i want to put a baby in it and have Jenny photograph it. the thing i love most about her wedding shots are the unexpected pics that she takes. she often hangs the bride's gown and takes a picture of it hanging in a tree, or window. or she'll take pictures of shoes, whether the bride's or the ring bearer's. just little things that make a wedding album truly special to the bride and groom.

here are some of my favorite shots from her website (which you can find a link on the side of my blog):


one of my many faves of jenny's newborn pics!


a great wedding pic!


this is a great shot jenny got from the serious men, in what seemed to be a pretty fun and beautiful wedding.

anyway, i encourage you to give her a shout. she is now up in scottsdale, but is not afraid to drive. especially since this photography thing is her full-time gig :)