Oh, wait...what was I supposed to do?

That is the phrase I hear from Melody about 30 seconds after I tell her to do something.  That is if she even remembers I told her to do something.

Distraction.  All. The. Time.

Yes, I know she's absolutely adorable.  (Who can resist this sweet face?)

But cuteness can only take you so far.

And now something has to be done.

Here's the backstory:
For a while (read: the majority of her life to date) Melody has struggled with transitions.  Even when the transitions were in her favor (such as going to play a game with Mommy) there was a brief (but painful to the ears) high pitched whining sound, sometimes followed by a hand-to-the-forehead swoon or something equally dramatic, large tears rolling down her face as she proclaimed something to the effect of, "But whyyyyy must I play with you, Mommy, oh why oh why!"
You get the idea.
I spent a considerable about of time working on this with her. We practiced appropriate responses, I learned that she works best with (multiple) warnings of the pending change, etc.
And low and behold our transitional outburts are now few and far between!

But...

it seems we've traded one issue in for another.

While Melody is now (mostly) happy to follow through with any command, she can only rememeber what it is she's supposed to do for about 2.5 seconds.  And forget multiple step directions.  She doesn't have a prayer there.

I know that we all have different parenting ideas as to what is a reasonable expectation, etc.  However, we believe it's reasonable to expect a 4.5 year old to follow through with simple tasks...such as flushing the toilet.  And taking off her clothes, putting in the hamper, and changing into her pajamas.  I frequently find the clothes on the floor while Melody is running around nekkid oblivious to the fact that there was a follow through necessary for the task at hand.

I would welcome any suggestions, tips, tricks, etc, that will help her to remember what it is she supposed to be doing.  Something that will encourage her and help her stay focused and on task.

Who am I kidding...I'm begging for suggestions! 

Seriously, if I leave the house one more time and realize that Melody has yet again forgotten her shoes, you might see me on the evening news.  I'm just sayin'.

it's the post you have all been waiting for...

Here's the concert recap:
The concert was a blast. Unfortunately, I don't have any stories for you. I failed to take into consideration that this is a PG blog and the stories *ahem* are not.

I do, however, have many pictures.

Here we are tailgating at the concert. This was before we got really crazy!

You know, people watching is one of the best aspects of concert going.

We got to see all kinds of crazy people in all kinds of crazy get ups. And not all are strangers. The guy in the hat is our friend Brent. And the hot chick in the next picture is his wife, Mari.

Now, OK, the guy in the spandex. Seriously. It was horrible to look at but we just couldn't stop staring. There was a line to get your picture made with this dude.

TIME TO ROCK-N-ROOLLL!!!!!!

The music rocked. Cheap Trick started off and got us going. Poison followed and they were seriously kickin' it. Def Leppard was just awesome.

As you can see we're now getting just slightly crazy. Alex snagged the hat from Brent and I'm not really sure what I'm doing other than just singing at the top of my lungs with the other thousands of people at Lakewood.

Mari and Alex were rock stars themselves dancing to Def Leppard. Here's one funny story I can share. Mari dressed the part which included extremely high, er, um, hooker shoes. On our way back to the van, she kept getting little rocks from the gravel parking lot stuck in them and kept stopping. Finally, Alex couldn't stand it any more and just picked up Mari, (who is probably about 3 inches taller than Alex and about 8 counting the shoes) and carried her fireman style all the way to the car!

We had such a great time the whole time, but I have to say that my favorite part of the concert was swaying back and forth like cheesy high schoolers dancing with the husband to Every Rose Has Its Thorn. Nothing like hearing Bret Michaels sing a romantic ballad while dancing with a sexy man. Alex said that his favorite part was dancing to Pour Some Sugar On Me. But I think that's just because I let him cop a feel or two.

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Now, in other news, our camera broke. I'm pretty sure it's a result of the camera being crushed in the pocket of Alex's jeans all night and/or being left on a blanket where whomever could have and probably did step on it.

Obviously with kids as cute as mine I can't be without a camera for took long. =P So, I am in the market for a new one.

Any advice? We had a P&S (Cannon PowerShot) and I'm not sure if I'm going to get another P&S or upgrade to a DSLR.

Do you have a camera you love? What kind of features should I be concerned with?

Thanks!

Answers, please

On August 10, Jack will be starting Kindergarten. Ever since we decided on a school and were accepted, questions kept popping into my mind. As we've gotten closer to the {cue scary music} first day of school I've become more stressed and frantic. Not just about Jack's school but life in general.

So, here are some of the things I've been wondering...

Do kindergartners have homework?

How can I find a carpool buddy?

How can I find a buddy?

Will Jack make a buddy?

Will being the youngest kid in the class be detrimental for Jack?

Do I have to get a specific brand of khaki pants for his uniform or will any khaki pants work?

Now that my hair has stopped falling out, how long until the little wispy pieces growing in are long enough so that I no longer look like an electrified Chia Pet?

If I take this picture and blow it up poster-size and tape it up over my bed, will my husband object?

I'm going to take the plunge

For a few months now, people (and by people I mean my mom) have been bugging me about when I'm going to potty train Melody.

I have decided to do it at the end of July. It will be a good time then. Jack is in camp for two weeks, has a week off, and then starts K-5 so we'll be home a lot.

I don't know why I am so nervous. I've already potty trained one child. Although he is a boy and he was already 3. Melody is a girl and will just be 2.5 at the end of July. I had one failed attempt with Jack at 2.5 and retrained at 3. I guess I'm just nervous about history repeating itself.

Also, I have concerns about public restrooms. One of the biggest benefits of a boy is that he can use the restroom without having to actually touch anything. And, in the event that there's no restroom but let's say a tree, we're still OK. I mean, I've even pulled over on the side of the interstate and opened the door and let Jack just hang over the edge. I won't have those luxuries with Melody.

So, does any one have any good tips on training a girl? What do I need to know when we leave the house? What do I need to have with me?

I'm ready to go from this











to this.

I just hope Melody is willing!

PSF - raise your hand if you think I'm being played

At her insistence, we moved Melody into a "big girl bed" a few weeks ago. The first week she was fine. She pretty much stayed in her bed, snug as a bug as we say. At bedtime this week she's been fine. Pretty much right to bed. Naptime, however, has been a different story.

Which makes me wonder: Does she get the idea of the big girl bed or not?

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

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In other news, my BFF Lauren had her baby today.
Many of you voted on what she was having. 62% of you voted girl and 38% voted boy. Check out her blog to see who was right!
**For the record, I voted BOY!**

built in toy

Here's a question for parents of boys (maybe girls too)...is the phrase "take your hands out of your pants?" a regular part of your vocabulary? Jack is so happy with his built in toy that he even dreams about it.

This phrase has actually become the tag-line at the end of most of my sentences, "Jack, what do you want for lunch? - take your hand out of your pants." Is this just a phase or is this a trend that will continue?