Potty Training Stinks

I can't take it anymore. I am at an all time loss with my little Dylan. We started potty training him back in February and needless to say we have had no luck. We did have about two days of success back in May when we were in Columbus. Before we left my girlfriend had a potty party for her little girl at Chuck E. Cheese and when Dylan went he kept asking if he could have a party like Sophie once he went number 2 on the potty. Of course I said yes and he didn't forget. We had only been in Ohio for about a week when he went on his new potty. We were so excited! The first thing out of Dylan's mouth was we get to go to Chuck E. Cheese. Tommy was traveling and we were bored in the hotel room. I thought this would be a perfect day to go. So, we got him a cake and off we went. I am laughing so hard right now b/c we had just met one of the players wives, Sue and their daughter Mary-Grace and we invited them to go with us. She must of thought I was such a wacko. Thankfully, she didn't think I was too crazy because we became inseparable! It was a fun day but that was the end of Dylan going on his Elmo potty. I'm thinking you just got a $50 potty party and that's it. Yup! I guess I should have waited a few more days but I assumed it finally clicked.

Tyler was fully potty trained just a few months after he turned two and it was so easy. When I started potty training Dylan I assumed I would have the same experience. I was definitely wrong. You see I have a "hider" on my hands and I think they may be the worse kind. Not to mention he could careless if you changed him all day. Like in the picture you think he would have wanted to get out of his wet clothes. Nope, not Dylan he would have just played all day like that if you let him. Oh, I forgot to mention the other day I walked into the playroom and he decided to take matters into his own hands. There were about twenty wipes all over the floor and he was trying to clean himself up! Let's just say there was a big mess! I have tried to be patient and trust me I have tried everything. From leaving him in undies all day, to bribing him with all kinds of goodies, went to the bookstore read up on all the tricks, made him a chart, bought him a new Elmo potty the list goes on and on. I know this will pass and Dylan will be potty trained eventually. I just needed to vent and I am sure when I wake up tomorrow I will be ready to start again(hopefully with a lot of patience)but today I'm over it!!

it's a good thing he is so stinkin cute because I think I would have shipped him off somewhere by now if they could guarantee they would send him back home potty trained!

Happy Happy Birthday Luke

our little nephew Luke had his BIG second birthday yesterday. Let me tell you it was quite the bash. Between the huge water slide, the pool, playground and bounce house lets just say nobody was bored. The kids had a blast on the water slide. It was definitely a hit. I'll tell you what they have a new invention for everything. They didn't have cool stuff like this when we were little. It was amazing. Thankfully, there were no injuries considering some of the big kids were doing front flips down the slide. It was a great time!

The boys giving me a heart attack. Look closely Tyler is as high as the house! I guess boys will be boys!

Cutie pie Riley!

Luke and all the grand children's favorite Mema!

Another great party this week! Great job Vento's we had such a good time!
FYI: My children do own other clothing besides their swimsuits. I promise its just been so HOT it seems like everything we do or picture I take is outside in their suits!

Other then the birthday party yesterday the boys and I have been pretty boring. It is so hot that we really just either swim or stay inside. I am going to try and do a few fun things this week. We might hit up pump it up or the zoo(depending on the weather). We booked our tickets to go see Tommy. We are going to be gone the 7th-21st and it can't come soon enough. We are really looking forward to this trip considering it will be our last for the season. Tommy said that the boys will love the stadium in Albuquerque. It has a playground in the outfield so at least we won't be bored during the games! Well, hope everyone is having a great weekend and staying cool!

Toothpaste Really Works

on getting marker off a wood table. I just bought the boys a table for our family room so they could have a place to have their lunch and do their crafts. Before I placed the markers and crayons on the table I went through them and made sure they were all WASHABLE! Everything has been wiping off great until the other day. I wiped and wiped and wiped and the big green marks would not come off (and there were a ton). Most of them being on Dylan's side. I was so mad and couldn't think of how this got on there. So, the only thing I can think of is the wood craft projects from the craft store that came with three small markers. Great activity but I guess I will have to put a tablecloth down the next time we do one of these. I googled how to get marker off and got so many ideas hairspray, germ-x, oops, toothpaste, etc. I thought I would try the toothpaste first. I took an old toothbrush and put a little toothpaste on it and I couldn't believe what I saw. All the spots are gone and it didn't take the finish off the table! So, for all you mommies that haven't introduced your little ones to markers or for those of you that are fortunate enough to not have any accidents yet, when you do break out the good old toothpaste! It works wonders. Here is a pic of the table looking brand new again! Perfecto!!

Happy Birthday Sophie and Charlie

today we went to the Atlantis park to celebrate Sophie and Charlie's 5th and 3rd birthday. We had a great time. It was the first day in a long time that it wasn't 1,000 degrees so it was actually nice to be outside. Julie (Sophie and Charlie's mom) and I met through a mutual friend last year and we became instant friends. Believe it or not the majority of my girlfriends here have husband's that travel a lot. Julie's husband is a pilot. On the night's that their husbands are traveling we usually get together. It is a really nice support system. Love these girls and don't know what I would do without you all! Especially with the way our last couple season's have gone sometimes Tommy and I will go a month without seeing each other. It's not our ideal situation but we try to make the best of it! Here is a picture of Dylan and birthday girl Charlie, so cute!!

Tyler loved the party hats!!

Here is Sophie, Dylan, Kylie and Tyler rocking their party hats and enjoying some pizza!

great party Keefe's the boys had so much fun!!

Summer Fun

when I was growing up summers were laid back with days at the beach, going to our friends homes that had pools, story time at the library and a visit to the zoo. It seems like these days we are so quick to sign our children up for every activity that summer has to offer. And I will have to say I was a victim to that at the beginning of the summer. I was thinking ok they will go to this VBS when we get home from Ohio and that week camp and this karate camp and before I knew it summer was over and between traveling and camps the boys would never be home. I am not saying an activity here and there is going to hurt them but I just think sometimes the less we do the better. And at the ages the boys are at I think they really enjoy just being home. So, that is what we have been doing. We have actually become pretty boring! I am starting to feel like we are turning into our hermit crabs. I am use to being on the go but this has been great for all of us. We have been swimming everyday, using our slip-n-slide and riding our bikes. Tyler can make it around our 2 mile circle now, which is pretty cool. I push Dylan in the stroller and Tyler rides and I can get a little exercise. The boys have also been enjoying playing with our neighbor Julian and their cousins Luke and Riley. Here is a picture of the boys with their cousins!
And here are a few more of Tyler and Dylan on the slip-n-slide. My brother was launching them down the slide like rockets.



They had a blast! Well, not much longer before we go back to shuffling school schedules and T-ball so we are just going to continue to enjoy our summer at HOME...while we are here!

Thank you Jenn

from the bottom of my heart for the most amazing keepsake that I will cherish forever. When UPS showed up at my door I was thinking what did I order and what is Tommy going to say when he arrives and I have another decoration for the house. I looked at the box and it said "Deb Murphy" on it and I immediately knew it was from my best friend Jenn! There are only a few people that call me Deb and she happens to be one of them. I think she may have started it! I couldn't wait to open it and when I saw the pictures of the boys on what they call a storyboard I was so excited. When she was here in February for spring training she took some amazing pictures of the boys and we have been discussing different things we could do with the pics. This was a complete surprise and it looks amazing in our home. It is a thank you for a favor Tommy did when he was transitioning to his new team and was home for the day. You will have to go to her blog reesiepieciepoo the link is below to read the story of Tommy's day with the McPherson's truck. It is pretty funny especially if you know Tommy's luck! Also, check out all the other unbelievable pictures she has taken. She doesn't know it but I have already booked her for the boys birthdays in September and for my next pregnancy whenever that happens!! Friends are such an important part of our lives and I will have to say the friends that I have met through baseball are priceless. I have made friendships that will last a lifetime and I am so blessed to have you Jenn in my life. Thank you again you are so thoughtful!

Day two at the beach

we went back to the beach this morning...prepared! We had such a great time yesterday that we decided to do this again instead of the zoo or water park. The boys are at the perfect age for the beach. No more throwing sand, sand in the mouth, tons of gear and heart palpitations when they get near the water because they have no fear. They seem to know their boundaries and we can actually sit and watch them play. It is truly very relaxing and Tommy still can't get over how many fish are around the rocks. My mom met us up there for a little while which was really nice. The boys love their Mema so they were so excited to have her there!

Tommy and I were able to go out and snorkel together! It was pretty cool. I was a little apprehensive out there but I tried not to think about the big shark that could eat us! Well, this pretty much concludes our time with Tommy. He flies out tomorrow morning for New Orleans! We did sneak in a date night yesterday and today we are just finishing off the day with Tommy's ten loads of laundry and dinner at home!! Oh, we got home and saw on CNN a photographer captured pictures of a shark jumping out of the ocean behind a surfer in New Samerno Beach only 2 hours north of us. Tommy said he is going to bring a knife with him next time! HaHa, I think I will stick to the shore with the kids!!

Fun in the Sun

We had a blast at the beach today. The weather was absolutely perfect. A few years ago they added a ton of rock down a huge stretch of the beach due to the aftermath from the hurricanes. The erosion was really bad in fact we just started going back to this beach because there wasn't anywhere to sit until just recently they were able to add tons of sand. Anyhow, the fish that are around these rocks are incredible and today the water was very clear and we could see them perfect. Everyone had their snorkels, except us. We came a little unprepared. There were three girls sitting behind us and when they came in from snorkeling Tommy convinced me to go ask them if we could borrow one of their masks. So, here is Tommy looking cute in his bright purple mask the girls were nice enough to let him borrow.

After that we had a lady come up to us offering us a few more masks(which was so sweet) but we are now starting to look like the people from up north that have never been to the beach or maybe Tommy's baseball farmers tan was giving them that impression. I'm not sure! The lady next to us confirmed my thinking when she asked us where we were from. We live literally 5 minutes from the beach! It was pretty funny but the boys were excited and saw so many fish. I couldn't believe that Tyler wasn't scared. Dylan was a little disappointed because the masks were too big for his face. Here is Dylan out in the ocean with Tommy looking for fish.

And here is Tyler getting ready to have his turn.

We ended up leaving with a free mask from the girls because they said they had extras and traded Tommy his purple for orange and offered to babysit for us if we ever needed a babysitter. It was a great day! We are heading to Target to load up on some snorkeling gear so we can head back tomorrow morning....prepared!

I have officially....

jumped on the blogging bandwagon! I tried the whole family web-site thing, but it was just too much for me to keep up with. So, hopefully this will be a much easier way to keep you all updated on our crazy life. For those of you that don't know we are now with the Florida Marlins!! Tommy had the option to opt out of his contract with the Washington Nationals as of July 1st and with the help from our wonderful friends, the McPherson's and lots of praying Tommy felt that this team would be better for his career. So, the boys, my sister-in-law and I flew to Columbus, Ohio on Saturday(not knowing that this would be taking place) to find ourselves packing up Monday night and driving straight through to Florida on Tuesday. Thankfully, Tommy was able to drive with us and spend a day at home before flying out on Thursday to Albuquerque, NM!! Whew!! It has been a whirlwind these past couple weeks. The good news is that Tommy will be flying home from the 15-18 for the All-star break, which is such a relief because I am not ready to pack up again! This lifestyle can be so challenging and I have learned how important it is for us to put our trust in the Lord. He has the perfect plan for our family and sometimes it may take turns and twists that we don't quite understand, but we will just continue to trust and pray!So, we have two more months left of this crazy season and then back to a little normalcy.

The boys on the other hand are doing wonderful and are at such fun ages. They are truly the best travelers and this has hands down been the easiest season with them. They can sleep anywhere, know the airport routine better then I do, do wonderful in hotels, adapt so quickly to the different schedules between being home and with Tommy, and the best part is they love it! They were asking me all day today when we were going to go to daddy's baseball game again. They are the best of friends and do everything together. They are very into catching frogs these days. It grossed me out in the beginning but now I find myself helping them and buying frog food! They also love to play with their friends, pretend to be teenage mutant ninja turtles(yes they are still around) and swim, swim, swim! Tyler starts VPK this year, which will be a whole other blog because I have been very emotional about him going to school 5 days a week. It just freaks me out and makes me realize how fast they are growing up!! Dylan will be starting a morning program at Tyler's old school so for a portion of our mornings we will have a very quiet house! Hopefully, Dylan will be potty trained by January so he can join Tyler at his school! I will keep you posted on how that goes!

I promise that not all my blogs will be this long. I just have been really bad about keeping up with everyone so please forgive me it has been a little hectic. But we are truly blessed with such wonderful family and friends and you ALL are so very special to our family! We love you all and hope you enjoy following and hearing about our lives!