Bouncin Bonkers

This is a new business that opened near our house. Monday-Thursdays they have open bouncing. So here's the boys trying out for the first time.

Still Handing Out Bribes

Ben is still being bribed to poop in the potty. Today was a good day so of course he asked for cake. I got wise though… and made cupcakes. So now I've got the rest of them in the freezer. Now I can have them on demand (any day Ben is successful) and won't have the temptation of eating an entire cake. Neil at this point is just reaping the rewards of Ben's behavior.








Ben also got four quarters from Brian. He's pretty hilarious about his money. As soon a Brian got home from work Ben ran to the door with his hand out. No hello, no hug, just where's my cash Pops. He also scammed me out of my change at Aldi and the quarter for the shopping cart. For those of you that haven't been to an Aldi, think Costco without the membership, you have to have a quarter to unchain a shopping cart, when you re-chain it you get your quarter back. As long as you don't have Ben with you. Ben's piggy was very oink-oink happy today.

Pillow-Palooza

So we've been looking for new ways to burn off the boys energy now that we can't spend the evening at the pool or the playground. Always fun is the indoor race track. This consists of a lively game of chase around the house. The track run through the kitchen, past the family room, down the hall, through the living room and back to the kitchen. We've even had timed races.

Tonight we had pillow-palooza which is all the pillows from the family room and the living room, ten in all. Jumping and wrestling are the highlights followed closely by knocking over the stack before it's done being built. This is when I'm proud of finding those pillows for $4/ea. at Target.

Just to mix things up we took a trip to Lowe's. Where yes, I bought paint, and I'll post pics of Neil's room once the decor is complete. Since the race car shopping cart was broken (shouldn't they be able to fix that at the hardware store?) we let the boys indulge in some lawn tractor riding. Ben went for the deluxe model with the canopy. Neil like his grandma prefers a convertible.

Movie Night

We recently discovered that we have a theater by us that has $1.50 shows. Since you can't beat the price, we decided it was time to see how the boys would like going to the movies. We chose Ice Age 3, a PG movie with dinosaurs that was about 90 minutes long. It was a pretty cool outing. They even have booster seats with cup holders for the kids. The boys ate an enormous amount of popcorn and sat very well. Ben was the first to want/need to leave. He informed Brian he had to go potty and after two attempts in the public restroom they decided they had to head home. Neil and I continued watching the rest of the movie. Finally with about 15 minutes left Neil decided he'd had enough and wanted to go too. And why not, he was out of popcorn and had already spilled what was left of his water. Luckily Brian and Ben were just returning from the trip home and we were all able to head home. Our next movie will probably be once Ben decides he can go potty in public restrooms.

Gallery 1673

A new and upcoming artist is on the scene at Gallery 1673. Ben Roden will be exhibiting his first show in the gallery's lower level. Currently his preferred medium is non-toxic paints, his tool of choice truck tires. He's considering a silent auction for his original work, but be aware the reserve is expected to be quite high.

Dog-Dog I & II

I think most kids have a special stuff animal that they like to sleep with. The thing is most people don't remember them once they're adults. Neither Brian or I can remember ours. Even though I do remember having a rather tattered looking teddy – was he my first friend – I'm not sure. So I'm recording the boys friends so they can remember.

This is Ben with his special friend Dog-Dog (formerly known as Sparky). Neil is also showing his special friend who's name is also Dog-Dog (the original).

Potty Training Update

Ben has been doing really well. No pee-pee accidents for quite awhile now. Earlier this week I reported on the Ben or Blue poop incident. Well, I'm elated to report Ben pooped in the potty today all on his own. No prompting from me or the potty watch. Brian will run the train in his bedroom for him today and if he keeps up with the pooping in the potty he will get another cake. Hey, I can afford to have another cake in the house since I'm down 3 pounds from the food poisoning I had earlier this week.

Ben & Neil enjoying the train reward.