Roger Dog, OHHHH Roger Dog!

As most of you know, we, well I have had Kaycee the pug for ever it seems. Going on at least 12 years soon to be 13!!! Can you believe THAT!  And shes a PUG !!!  Shes been my side kid, my best friend, my mentor on life lessons believe it or not, shes been there to cry with me, pick me up at my worst times, and laugh with me at my best. Shes see my darkest days, and sunniest of times.

When I was pregnant with Lanrick, man was Kaycee awesome, shes always been a pretty cool, laid back pug.  There were a few times she would sit up on my belly, her back legs kicked out at my hips, front legs and paws up at the top of my bells and when Landrick would kick, she would kick him back, funniest stuff ever! And of course, when we brought him home, she was super happy, protective and never left his side, or mine.  Shes always been motherly, a little bossy at times, and overall, a wonderful dog. 

Kaycee has always also, gotten along great with other dogs.  Even in in her old age, she's been great at dog parks, with other friends dogs, and when she doesn't want to play, she will just come and either sit by me, sit by the campfire, or run off and hide, or in her world, find the closest blanket to burrow in. :) Well, there once was a time, when Kaycee had another dog to play with and grow up with when she was a puppy, sadly, that ended and it was just her and I. My little 14 pound sidekick.  Then along came Jimmy and Meg. And then, due to tragedy, Meg went to live in the Chicago area after Jimmy's untimely passing in the car accident, so again, it was just Pugface and I.

Fast forward a few years, a wedding of chance faith of a faithful old friend and her brazilian husband, some Lambic Framboise, camping, and a few months later, I was in my own apartment with Kaycee dating Adam.  Shortly after that, found out we were expecting Landrick and the rest is history... or so you think....

Here is where Roger the Fluffy comes in.  After moving into the home that my mother and stepfather own as a second home that they do not use once my sister moved out as she moved to West Virginia, a woman I went to High school with was working in the Tuscon, AZ area on rescuing animals at a place called the dog patch.  The place is scary as hell, let me tell you.  Here is a reputable site that give you at least an idea of where Roger came from. 

Long story short, Roger was in ROUGH shape, he was basically left at he the Dog Patch for dead.  The girl had found him skinny as a rail, and pretty much knocking on deaths door, so she took him into the truck nursed him back to health, got him into a vet, plumped him up and he was adopted out to a family in AZ.  Well Low and behold, Roger was left for about 15 hours in a spring loaded door carrier type thing out in the Arizona heat and weather. We are very lucky that Eddie, the behaviorist that was working with my school mate and the woman and her family whom had adopted him, came over when he did to find him.  This is what he found and this was at the vets office right before he had to have surgery... needless to say, he never went back to that home again, thank god!

Now, here is the strange stuff comes into play... Roger came to us in November-ish 2010 I had a few issues, we shall say, with my girlfriend from AZ getting me his paperwork.  She was always " sending" it or " bringing it with her" or she " left in in her luggage" or the last one was" I sent it, not sure why you didn't get it"  So, I just had all his vaccines all redone, except the rabies since thats the only one I did have the paper on since he had to have that one to even fly on the plane to get here in the first place. Well, that left her and I on kinda  a bad note, I didn't want to have to do all that over with him again, and what not, but it wasn't fair that I should have had to pay out of pocket for shots that had already been done, or so I was told. Our agreement was that he was going to be a foster dog here, he was not going to be a permanent placement, well yea right Heather, LIKE THAT WAS A FAT CHANCE HE WAS LEAVING!  Wait till you see him, hes freaking ADORABLE! Over all hes a great dog, has total issues with ANY dog kennel or being confined to a crate, so he doesn't get left alone for long periods of time, which works out good as I am a stay at home mother as most of you know. :) As time went on, he grew on us and man does he have one attention needing personality. He ALWAYS wants to be in the center of it all!  Unless its my kitchen, then he knows better, cause then he will lay on the carpet and just wait for me to be done and so that, he knows not to get in my way when Im working away in the kitchen lol!  

So, This Eddie guy, He messaged me last year and here is the facebook thread from him.  I will let you be the judge of this.  I think I handled it with tact. * as most of you know, Im a pretty straight to the point, if you don't like what I have to say too darn bad I'm going to tell you how it is anyhow, kinda person*  Yea well clearly, he didn't get or understand the post from almost a year ago to the day, hes only a few day short of a full year!!!!    My feeling, you know Roger came here to Michigan, he has a family that loves him, please leave me alone.  I do not want anything to do with you at this point and time anymore, didnt last year, dont this year.  PLUS on top of that, when my girlfriend whom brought Roger dog to me, told me about this Eddie person, she told me a few things about him ( not sure if they are true or not, given her history with me, and her reputation on a few other select things) but I dont need a stalker, and honestly, after this, he's blocked.

• October 17, 2011
• 

  2:53am

  Eddie Vanture

  Hello. Do you still have Roger? Star quit speaking to me, but I still wanted to check on the pup. How are things going?

  
  

  Heather Hinman

  Well since star said numerous times that she sent me or packed in her luggage then forgot, Rogers vaccine records and got all snippy about things, she removed me from her friends list and blocked me. And that's fine. I got roger up to date on everything except his rabies cause I have proof that he at least had that from her . For doggie daycare and grooming though he needed a vaccine record up to date from a vet and she couldn't or wouldn't product it.
  

  As far as far as roger goes he's fine. He's loved, well taken care of, spoiled, and that's all I am going to say about him at this time.

  I hope things are well with you. You seem like a good person and a big animal lover.

  
  

  
  

  3:40am

  Eddie Vanture

  I'd much rather talk about Roger than Star. I got pretty close to him. And, I don't want to intrude, I just wanted to check in on him. Glad he's well, and I hope you (and yours) are doing well too. Last I heard, he was going after your other dog.
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Today-November 14th 2012
• 

  11:11pm

  Eddie Vanture

  How's Roger?

Heather Hinman

Eddie, 
It has been almost one year exactly since the last time that I talked to you and told you as far as Roger went he was fine. He was well loved, taken care of, spoiled and that was all I was going to say for him at that time. That still remains. Star has left some very bad tastes in a few peoples mouths about not only Roger, but a few other items here in Michigan as well as AZ, if that is even where she still is, I really do not care. I know you and Roger got close and you had a very big help is his rescue and I thank you for that, but I do feel that it is best you do not make contact me with me on him any longer. He is enjoying his life with his family and that is all that there is to be said about that. Please don't take this offensive, but I really don't wish to have anything to do with any part of the whole Arizona aspect of Roger at all. Just so you know he is fine, and for peace of mind, here attached is a photo of him being lazy napping, like always.
Best Regards, 
Heather

Now, I think personally, that was VERY nice of me to reiterate what I told him LAST year at this time.  This is a man that rescues and deals with hundreds of dogs a year.  Kinda glad hes so far away to be honest.  he gave me a really strange impression anyhow. :/  Do you think I am in the wrong for this because I do not. Here are a few photos of Roger over the past few years and where he came from at first, of course with Eddies help, which I have as you read, acknowledged and thanked him for, and how happy he seems to be, even though hes a little bit of a pain in my rear end sometimes, but honestly, what dog ISN'T :) he's Loyal, and loves us so thats all that matters, and we are the same back to him so its all good.

Above: Roger after the first "adopted" family left him in the Arizona heat without food or water for about 15 hours and he tried to chew his way through his kennel, before that, he was a resident of Tucson's Dog Patch, a very nasty filthy place were people dump animals to be left for dead :(

After a surgery, Roger had one took removed along with the wire door, and you can see under his chin the scare that healed very nicely. Now, almost three years later, its hardly there :)

he enjoys being lazy.....

When I am cooking dinner, or baking in the kitchen, he knows that hes normally going to be in my way, so this is his " spot" till Im done... he waits :)

If and when I have to go out of town, he and kaycee the pug always go with the favorite blanket to Krysten and Matts Digs to play with the BDFF Emmy ( best dog friend forever) 

Even when baby jase gets a timeout for being naughty, roger gets a time out for trying to steal baby jases food... so they spend them together. not that they learn anything, they just sit and "chat"

hes a Smart one!  he loves sitting in front of the fan in the summer time!

Roger also, love to hot my pillows when hes feeling EXTRA needy for attention, and play with my hair.

again, being lazy, keeping feet warm, its his thing. hes like a living slipper.

When I got this dog bed at Costco, he hasn't loved anything so much other than his tennis balls I dont think... 

When the older boys are being insane and wild on hot summer days, Jase and Roger like to kick it in the A/C with us on the couch and watch the crazy kids entertain us :) baby jase just loves Roger Dog.

And this would be Landrick trying to " love on his Roger" as he calls it, and Roger, could care less.  hes the most easy going dog I have ever met.

Bed hog. 

Landrick Bed hog, and protector every night.he will not leave that boys bed until I either ask him to go outside to go potty or till I tell him to go to my bed for bedtime. 

Last but not least, Roger, like kaycee, is NOT a morning dog! I know!!! How did I get lucky with THAT one?! he hates his close-ups in the early morning, hes affraid his bed head is too wild, ( most of the time, it is!!!! Have you seen his wild fur?!) 

Chewing gum, OHHHH Chewing GUM!

yea, so Landrick has never had chewing gum. WHY you ask, well I've been the one afraid to even give it to him.  I don't want my kid to choke on that! Call me over protective but I have seen waaaay too many kids even younger than him that have choked or gagged really bad on it, and its just not something that I would like to deal with.  SO, after a long awaited time, he had his first piece of gum... and here is how it went :) Over all pretty good. We got a good 10-15 minutes of chewing time, then he swallowed it even though I told him not to.  Thanks bubba!  LOL  He did have some fun with it though, so couldn't really ask for anything more! Oh and no dogs got it in their fur so it was a total win!

To Flu or not to Flu... SHOT, that is the question...

I will get straight to the point. Do you give your kids a flu shot? Do you yourself get a flu shot? Well, I haven't had one since the whole N1H1 ( swine flu) freak out a few years back.  We had our son get one as well, he was about one or just shy of that I believe... anyhow, he and I both had horrible reactions to it. In all seriousness, I have always had issues with them but this was BAD. My arm for about a good two or so weeks was beat red, swollen, and hot hot HOT to the touch! Plus, could barely move it... I know my  mother remembers this. Landrick instantly got sicker than a dog within a day or two and of course, I followed right along.  My husband however, he never gets sick, hes the lucky of of the three of us!

So for the past three years or so, we have kinda "chanced " it if  you will, on not getting them. ( except Adam, he has to thanks to the Army)  But this year, its been SO strange between weather and all sorts of odd illness things, I want to be as prepared as possible. You really can never be too prepared, at least that is what I always tell myself!  

Of course my doctor always asks, even when its NOT flu season (I swear!) if I want to get my shot, I always say the same thing, No, No and again, no.  Sometimes I think she tries to guilt me into it, I don't fall for it though.  So what do you all think? Flu shot or no Flu shot?  I'm still leaning towards no and thinking of going some homeopathic ways or routes this year just for added immunity protection. Landrick and I are both already on a Vitamin D-1000 IUs daily plus our normal multivitamin  but looking into Elderberries, I read tons of good info on them and the way they can fight off the flu.  Check out this awesome homemade recipe here, and here and check out here about prevention, use and other common ailments that Elderberries can be used for!

Thoughts friends? 

New favorite canning recipe!

So, most of you have seen my facebook page, and have asked for some of those awesome apple butter recipes, well here is one to get you started!  Keep checking back for new ones as I try them :)

Salted Caramel Apple Pear Butter

makes four pints; however, I used small 4oz jars :)

• 3-4 pounds apples- Used like, 6-8 apples
• 3-4 pounds pears- again, used about 9 pears and make sure they are ripe :)
• 1/4 cup water
• 6 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 cups dark brown sugar( note: this is where the color and flavor come in!) 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste [or extract - or a spent vanilla bean pod]- I used extract
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

1. Peel, core and Place all ingredients into a large slow cooker [6-8 quarts]. Toss all together gently. Turn the slow cooker on low and cover. Walk away for 6 hours.
2. Now return to the slow cooker. Using an immersion blender or potato masher, puree the fruit mixture until smooth.
3. Prop the lid partially ajar using a wooden spoon or chopstick. Keep the slow cooker on low. Let cook for 8-12 to  hours. Stir occasionally.
4. Around eight hours in the second cycle, return, stir and check the taste and consistency. [You can adjust the salt, sugar, and add any spices if you'd like then.] I like to let the fruit butter get very dark and cooked down, but you can adjust to your liking. My final product cooked about 14 hours.- You may do longer if desired.
5. Store in the refrigerator for 2-4 weeks or water bath process. Ladle the butter in to hot, sanitized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Here is the catch up....

OK, so a while back I said, Ohh yes I will be blogging more, well I hated the way the blog looked and no lie, its taken me THIS long to fix it, scrap everything and basically start over!  Sorry about that friends, but get ready for some fast catching up!!!

First order of business, I will keep it short and sweet, or as short as I can!!!  Promise!  Landrick has appointments coming up and YES I will keep you all updated via Facebook and the Blog here :)

1- Infectious Disease at Helen Devos Childrens Hospital.  They will be looking at a number of things such as, his fatigue, why he always has such chronic and recurring infections, the sinus cavity issues and a few other select things.  I am just REALLY hoping that if they need blood, its not a lot and its fast... thats such a traumatic event for us!  Yikes!

2- University of Michigan Motts Children's Hospital- Here we are going back to see our Gastrointestinal doctor(s) again,  to see if there is a major reflux thing going on because of the Chronic ( and I mean BAAAD) coughing spells Landrick keeps having, that 50% of the time, his inhalers don't work.  One of the doctors at his pediatrician's office suggested that it be looked into again, because of the fact he has been on so many different meds/ inhalers, so we will try again.  Actually, one of my friends, whom knows a little history that I have shared with her suggested something called VCD.  I have never heard of it, but when you read it, it all makes a 100% sense of the issues Landrick is having! Like seriously people, you have not even mentioned this, well I am about to!  You can read more about it here...

3- We have 5 months and 29 days till ADAM IS FINALLY DONE AT FORT DRUM!!! But whos counting right... Who wants to start celebrating early?!  I mean serious, this has been by far, the roughest, and one of the worst installations to work with, and yet, its our first one!!!  I can not wait for April 17th when he reports to Fort Meade for his new MOS training!  SO very exciting, yet he will be in that training for about 3 months, AND somewhere in that training is when he will be given new orders for ALL OF US, Dogs included, to be stationed somewhere together.  We literally just have to make it through winter and we are golden! My votes based on where there are doctors and people who can help with Landricks little and big quirks are the following: Fort Carson- Colorado, Hawaii-Fort Shafter, Fort Campbell-Kentucky, Fort Lewis-Washington State, Fort Belvoir-Virginia, and IF we have to go far far away, Germany or Italy.  Im not asking for much am I...?! LOL

4- Whos ready for the holidays?!  Adam and I chatted on the phone and MAN does he ever have some leave days saved :)  December 19(ish) to January 4th ( ish) he will be coming home for the holidays.  I'm not going to lie, every time we try and set something up for friends and family to visit, or even a night out on the town for just the two of us, no one is ever around, or they blow us off.  I will be totally honest here, if you want to see us or Adam, you can make the effort. Last year when I did, ONE person showed up of the 20-some that said they would.  We had a good time, don't get me wrong, but seriously, you all want to know so bad when hes coming home, there ya go.  Thats a roundabout estimate of time.  Most will be spent with Landrick and I and some of our immediate family, but we always make time to get out and do stuff and invite you all, well its all up to you this time, you want to hang out, call and let us know in advance, like a day or two so we can plan if we need a sitter or not. We do have a kid ya know....

5- Last but certainly not least, Kaycee has had a few issues with her back, so we found out. She struggles day to day with walking and going up and down stairs, things of that nature.  Boy oh boy, do I love that girl.  her and I have been through some awesome times, bad times, and pretty great adventures.  We are just taking it one day at a time and seeing how things are going. She has good and bad days, just like any of us, but is sleeping more often than not and some days she doesn't eat as much as she normally should or does. 12 years that dogs been my very best friend.  Shes mouthy and she knows it, shows it, but also is one of the most kid loving, friendly and human like dogs I've even seen in my life. And I am thankful I have had so many wonderful years with her.  I think this next year is going to be a hard one.  I will be amazed if she makes it through our move. I know that is sad to think about, but I can't just bottle it up and not know what to do when "the" time comes.  It will at some point but for now, I think shes doing just fine with that she has.  Right this minute, shes laying on my fresh pile of laundry, so shes not that bad off....  *Cue the lint roller...*



And for your viewing pleasure... here are some fall photos from a few random things!  Enjoy!


ARTPRIZE!!!!

Our Awesome City... Going to miss this place! 

Checking out the art at the Gerald R. Ford Museum  

Gotta have our orange drink!

The person we hosted was so cool, Andy " Cosmo Joe" Watkins. make sure to google him!

Throwing "piggy bank monies" into the water fountains is awesome, you know it is!

No artprize year is ever complete without a trip through the Amway Grand Hotel...

Pardon the mess...

I'm working on this blog and another one so pardon the mess over the next few days ( or so i am hoping!) under construction. Lol!
In the mean time, here are SE random photos to enjoy!
:)

Laughing Sunday

So, I'm sitting on my lovely iPhone checking out Facebook when I come across the most amazing, my local Meijer ( cascade and 28th street for all you locals) had the best marketing idea to date. Don't even try to tell me that you don't love it, cause I do! LOL!
Pre made summer sipping blender drinks with liquor.

Day off from school and skintastic fun

So, today was Landricks appointment with his new dermatologist, and he was a riot!  HOLY MOSES!  Landrick as awesome, and so was the new doc!  Total 360 from the other office... Im still in shock.  I will try and keep this post short and sweet.  Landrick did great, showed the doc his belly, and legs, and arms. Diagnosis: Mollescum Contagiousm  or Mollescum for short.  Now, when you read about it, it sounds kinda scary, until you keep reading.  This is a very common issue with children ages 1-10... so all the times I have seen little kids with these bumps on the face, or head, or arms... yea this is I am sure, what it was.  Now, looking at the photos online is enough to scare the bejesus out of anyone! Landrick, thank goodness, does not have it as bad as what the photos online show.  He has three spots.  One on his tummy near the mid chest, one on his right rib-cage, and one in the arm pit area. His are the size of pin heads, but he did have one on his chest about a month back that was just growing and was pretty painful and red.  It did pop, of course back then we didn't know what it was, I thought at first it was a little pimple like thing.. .nope.  It was this.  We have a special gel that we will be getting tmrw from the pharmacy to put on it for the next 10-12 weeks, however, due to the fact that what it does, is it dries the spots up and attacks the virus so that it goes away, since they can break open easier, Landrick can not swim ( or takes baths with his cousins if he goes to spend the night) in pools or public areas as a precaution  for two reasons: 1- he could spread it and 2- if his is gone, and someone else has the virus untreated, and his are healing, he could get it, again!  And that is the last thing that I want is to deal with this again.  Once his treatment is done, and the spots are healed over, he is good to go, so that should be JUST in time for summer!  :) With as small as his spots are ( more pinhead size) his dermatologist thinks that chance are we wont have to do the whole 10-12 weeks.  As long as no fluid is in the spots and they become flush with the skin and are healed over, he is ok.  We have to do the gel for three days on, four days off, each week and just see how it goes.  If it takes the whole 12 weeks then it does.  The biggest thing is we dont want him itching and being grumpy when it gets bad :(

Speaking of itchy, the most common skim ailment that adults and kids alike, myself included seem to be increasing these days, is atopic dermatitis, or Eczema 

Eczema  is term for a group of medical conditions that cause the skin to become inflamed or irritated. The most common type of eczema is known as atopic dermatitis, or atopic eczema. Atopic refers to a group of diseases with an often inherited tendency to develop other allergic conditions, such as asthma and hay fever.Eczema affects about 10% to 20% of infants and about 3% of adults and children in the U.S. Most infants who develop the condition outgrow it by their tenth birthday, while some people continue to experience symptoms on and off throughout life. With proper treatment, the disease can be controlled in the majority of sufferers

SO.... with that said... Yup, Landrick, my lovely Landrick.. you have your momma's skin ( and asthma)... sorry kiddo :/  Now, since hes young, and I am, well... old I guess, they did give him a steroid topical cream similar to mine, just not nearly as strong. ( mines one of the strongest out there!)  We need to use it as needed after bath time as well as keep his skim moisturized, so its going to be stocking up on more Cetaphil products and trying out some of the sample over the counter sunscreens for this summer. Hoping for no more ordering prescription sunscreen!

Well, thats all for our wonderful Thursday shenanigans. :) Was not too bad if I do say so myself! he got to ditch school cause hes still feeling kinda crud like from being sick, but the good news is we got pizza for dinner :)

-Heather

Rocpehin and Pamprin: We needed both in our house today!

Well, whats new.. Hmm Landrick is sick.  He went Sunday night to spend the night with his cousin, JJ aka- Jaiden and My sister called me saying he was being naughty... so talked to him and he was ok the rest of the night.  Then when she brought him back home Monday morning, she reported he was being naughty and yelling at her AGAIN!  Well, he went to school and by the time he got home, he couldn't breath very well, was coughing extremely hard, and sounded awful! On top of that was a little more than just "moody".  This kid needed a Pamprin and a therapist, cause whatever was going on, I couldn't even LOOK at him without getting the stink eye :(  Got his asthma meds in him, some Jr. Advil, and he went to bed SUPER early, on his own mind you and in his bed.... he slept a good 12 hours ( not like him, not that long anyhow).  When he woke up today he sounded even worse... goodness gracious! Really?  Called his amazing doctor, got him in and wouldn't you know.. kids got ANOTHER... Sinus Infection, Severe Ear Infection and Upper Respiratory Infection.  He was so good, until we had to talk medications... that was a whole other ball game.

Thanks to the doctor from his first Dermatology appointment( I will save that story for another day...egh!) hes been SO freaked out by going to the doctors, after I, and his dad, have worked SO hard at instilling trust with him to his doctors... he got SO upset.  We tried to give him the choice today, do you want medicine to take every day in a cup or do you want to get a shot in the leg.... well of course he didn't want either, I don't blame him! Stuff by mouth tastes horrible and well, getting a Rocephin  shot, is not fun at all.  He was just a hot mess, so to make things better for him faster, and to keep me from going cray-cray( aka- crazy) We decided holding him on the table for less than a minute would be best, of course he screamed, and then I had to try and calm him down.  That process takes at least 30 minutes if not longer when we have to have "the shot." So, now I have an even more upset, cranky and still moody kiddo that cant walk.  Since its given in a muscle or through IV, his upper left thigh is a nice, hot, Hematoma mess :(   Its almost 11pm, hes finally fallen sleep on the couch, and the swelling in his legs gone down a little bit.  He really hasn't had a huge appetite but that's pretty common.  And since he doesn't have a voice and his throat does hurt, I'm not surprised in the least bit that all hes wanted was his good ole' peanut butter sandwich and "snacks" today.

Here is to hoping that tomorrow morning is a bit better and smoother. We have his new dermatologist that we are going to see in the early afternoon and then right back home. Another day of rest is in order, mostly cause I say so and I don't want him to over do it :)  I think the skin docs visit will be exciting enough for us!

Good Night All!
-Heather

Reporting home, Potty training magic, and owners of a 4 year old

Ok- So I promised that I would be blogging more.. yea that kinda has been put on the back burner, till now anyhow!  :) SO much has happened in such a short time, where to start... where to start... LOL

1-  Adams back "home"- aka, Fort Drum, NY.  His deployment is over, thank god above!  That was a rough year.  Not that this ones going to be any easier, as we are still in Michigan and he will be living in NY. He has a pretty nice place, but its a drive so... we applied for post housing.  The wait is INSANELY long.... but the list is at least moving. I would love to have Adam live on post, we might be able to move/ stay for at least 6 months in the mean time, like the summer till school starts again for Landrick.  And Adam would be able to sleep in for at least an extra hour each day and not drive but maybe 8 minutes over almost 30-40 depending on traffic on the roads and at the gates to get onto post... we shall see.

2-  Speaking of school, most of you know, this was landricks first year of preschool, and O.M.G!  How hes totally just BLOOMED into this chatty talking little man-child-character! He love his cars still, chats and talks to me, his "babies"/ stuffed animals, asks TONS of questions and recognizes a TON of stuff!  We are working on writing his name and the alphabet.  His teachers just love him.  They say that hes a great kid, and have not had any issues with him, that's always a plus as a parent to hear, to know that your kids not the naughty one :)

3- One HUGE hurdle that every parent(s) want as their child grows, is to POTTY TRAIN, POTTY TRAIN, POTTY TRAIN!!!!   We have struggled so much I feel with this... basically till dad got home from deployment and came back to Michigan ( and yes, it did snow while he was here LOL) Landrick was SO terrified of underwear... Yes UNDERWEAR!  He did NOT want to put those on for whatever reason! My sister saw first hand how that went over... and she was like HOLY COW! LOL  Yea, so when dad got here, there was some crying, some being defiant, but all of a sudden... BOOM! He like, woke up one day and it was like he was saying" haha- Ive known all along how to go potty, see...!"  He went pee pee AND put big boy undies on within two days, but not only that... he went poop too! On the potty... can ya believe it?!?!?  This is a kid that we have tried to do this on and off with zero success for almost two years!  Peeing is one thing, but to pee AND learn how to poop on the potty just over night, totally unheard of right?!  I am still in shock, and dad put his pull-up/diaper things in the closet JUST IN-CASE.. I mean yea, ya never know but POOP AND PEE!  It was like a miracle! a- its going to save us so much money just not having to buy diapers or pull-ups but, b- so much better, less mess, less trash, and less hassle!

If I have learned ANYTHING with raising Landrick, its that every parent obviously has their own opinions, and its up to you if you listen to them.  I'm here to tell you, when everyone puts their "two-cents" in and says things like " oh start them early, or they never will understand" or, my favorite " trust me, I've done this 5-6-7 times, the earlier the better."   Its not about how early you start them... its about how YOU as a parent teach them and there is no right OR wrong way to potty train.  You can try everything the books and you-tube videos tell you, but when it comes down to it, Do the 3-P's:  be pepersistent, have patience, and practice! When they are ready, they will clearly let you know... cause I'm still in shock and its been two whole weeks, and NO ACCIDENTS!  I know, insane right?!?!?! :)  I will tell you, I have never been so proud of him!  Now, a few things that we started while trying this potty thing while dad was home, and its very simple and pretty cheap, I went to Joann Fabrics and got the following items: 1- empty calendar block chart; 1- package of character stickers; one package of dumdum suckers ( Landrick loves suckers!)   Sun-Sat should be already marked out on the chart, if not, mark it.  Then, whatever day you start mark it with a 1 then next block, 2 etc... till all the blocks are marked out in order for about 30 days. Each time that Landrick went potty on the potty, he got one sticker ( Captain America, Transformer or Toy Story cause those are his favs.) and then he got to pick out ONE sucker... ALWAYS make sure you stick to your guns with ONE sucker/candy/treat.   This was perfect for him, we hung it on the wall in the dinning room at his eye level.  Our dinning room is kinda between the bathroom and living-room so it was the perfect spot.  And that was all there was to that. SO glad this chapter is over and we can move onto other things :)

4- Roger and Kaycee the pug are doing great as always, still being lazy, still being crazy and still being... well, dogs. :)

There is more, I just can't think right now, and its after 2am... so I am going to call it a night, but in the mean time, enjoy these pics!

-Heather
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@MommaChronicles

 

Waiting for Adam, He didn't know I was coming to NY!

SURPRISE!!! 

Oh Roger and Kaycee... Yes you are hiding, cause you know 

your in trouble....

My Pirate King!

JJ ( Jaiden) and Landrick being Iron Man and Captain America....

These boys LOVE each other!

Things I love, things to remind me of who my friends are, 

and what I support and who I am.

Landrick and his cousin JJ( Jaiden ) and baby Jase

 at Landricks Birthday Bowling Party!

Oh my, We are the proud owners of a 4 Year Old!  :)

Just being awesome in general...

YES, we teach our kid how to play

Corn hole at a very young age!  he loves it!

His idea of "yard work"

After a long day outside with Mom and Dad, nothing beats 

a cold drink and your best pal, Roger dog.