Thursday, January 31, 2008

Potty Training 101



Potty training is in full swing at our house. So far we are doing well. I say "we" because potty training is a whole family effort. It's difficult to make a concious effort to remember others bowel movements. But, Andrew is doing better than I expected. We learned quickly the pull up method doesnt work for us. So we went cold turkey, the poor kid spent two days with no underwear, but its working! I think the candy corn treat is helping too.

The motivation for diaper freedom was sparked by our visits to area preschools. Can you beleive it, Andrew is already registering for preschool. Where has time gone? It seems like only yesterday when he joined us at the Detroit Airport.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Jamaica Mon'

We packed up kids the last week and headed to Jamaica. Six nights at the all inclusive resort, Beaches Boscobel was enough to push us through the remainder of the Ohio winter.
Rainbow outside our room

They had a fantastic children's program run by a group of certified nannies so the kids were very busy. The resort is also partners with Sesame Street so all the favorite characters are there to join in the fun.

We played at the water park, rode the banana boat, built sandcastles, ate a ton, and soaked up a ton of sun!
Sydney's first banana boat ride.

Andrew took home a scar to forever remind us of his trip to Jamaica. Our room had a deck that over looked the ocean. Andrew & Sydney were running in & out when he slipped on the tile and fell backwards onto the track the sliding glass door runs on. He appeared alright when I first scooped him up but soon there was a stream of blood running down his neck. I grabbed a wash cloth and applied some pressure and rushed him down to the concierge office. They paged the hotel nurse and helped me over to her office. She cleaned up the wound and determined we needed stitches. Uhhh! I was dreading the idea of a Jamaican ER. She reassured me with a "no problem mon", the doctor will come here to the hotel. Thank goodness! Within the hour Dr. Kumar arrived and gave Andrew a check up and decided to use medical glue to close the wound rather than stitches. Andrew was an excellent patient. He sat very quietly while he shaved his head, filled the big gap with glue and squeezed it shut until the glue dried. OUCH! Mommy was so proud of her brave little guy. By afternoon he was good as new and showed off his big boo boo to a surprised Matt who was golfing at the time.
Andrew at the scene of the accident

Andrew was restricted from getting the area wet or dirty for at least 24 hours. Hard to explain to a 2 year old on a beach vacation! But, we made the best of it.

Monday, January 07, 2008

Lavelle's Go Green

We have been recycling a good portion of our trash for years but this year my resolution was to be more green. This weekend I got Matt & Sydney to sit down and watch an episode of Oprah which was disturbing yet inspiring. The next morning we started. We have unplugged our kitchen appliances & cell phone charges when they are not in use. Changed out 20 of our most used light bulbs to the green energy saver ones. Amazing thing is, they are said to last 10 years. Just think, Sydney will be driving next time I have to climb up there to change the bulb. I'm anxious to see if we see a difference on our electric bill. I will be sure and let you all know.

My favorite is the 3 reusable grocery bags mother in law gave me. They are awesome. I grocery shop once a week and generally have at least 12 plastic bags to haul into the house. Now I fit a weeks worth in 3 bags.

How often do you run your dishwasher? We run ours about every other day if not everyday. Mainly because the top rack fills with cups before the bottom is full. So we simply implemented the one cup a day rule. Each of us picks a cup at breakfast and use it throughout the day. How come I didn't think of it before??? The kids get a kick out of choosing the cup of the day.

So, next time you throw something away. Think about this. Where is away????

Our family challenges you all to try go green. Even if its just one lightbulb. You can even comment on our blog and let us know what you did.

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Happy New Year

Boy the holidays just flew by. It seems like forever since I posted anything. We had a great Christmas, the kids were spoiled as usual. A few of Sydney's favorite gifts were her webkinz, horse riding video game, High School Musical DVD's, American Girl Doll, and Star Station. Andrew had the all "Cars" Christmas. He loves that movie and whatever goes with it. He has spent hours playing with all the diecast cars Angie got him. Matt is in love with his new IPod and I love my new laptop. But, I still have to purchase the Microsoft Office programs, so if anyone out there has some I can borrow please let me know.

For the second year we spend New Years Eve with the Peter & Eshler Families. We passed the time playing Wii and managed to stay awake till 1:00 AM.

Our resolutions:
Matt- not be lazy, exercise and eat better
Heather- be more green and learn Korean
Sydney- learn more about horses & read
Andrew- potty training (our resolution for him)