MERRY CHRISTMAS!

'Tis the season to be jolly :-)
Wishing everyone a holiday season filled with love, laughter, and prosperity!

WHO'S TRAINING WHO?

Ok so Khyri and I embarked on a journey Wednesday December 21st. We started potty training. Now I've said to my friend Dawn that I think potty training is the hardest thing a parent has to adjust to/learn. I can lose sleep waking up to nurse, I can change sheets from diaper blowouts or spit up, I can vacuum up thrown food over and over - but potty training!?!??! This joint had me scuuured.

I don't know what made me decide to jump right in and start the week before Christmas. I guess one night me and the Hubs were downstairs watching a movie and Khyri nicely announced to us that he had pooped. At that point - I knew he was ready.

Last weekend I stayed up reading everything I could get my hands on about potty training. There is a TON of information out there. I focused mostly on some tips that I received from my friend Danielle and also an ebook that I found online. It was good to arm myself with information, but I noticed that most of it was geared towards potty training girls - well no that's not true, the information just wasn't focused on potty training boys. They don't talk about how you should put the boys on the toilet. I've heard mixed reviews - some say face them forward, some face them backward so that its an easier transition to standing up. I figured I'd just starts and see what worked best for us - learn as we go right!?!? There wasn't any mention of teaching them how to aim in the bowl. A relative told me about using cheerios to help little boys aim. Besides missing little nuances of the training, all of my research was pretty conclusive in two areas - patience and consistency.

I decided that Khyri was going to enter potty training boot camp. The plan was to spend 4 days with him at home. No distractions. Just focus. First step - getting underwear.

The 3 day technique that I decided to use said I would probably need about 20 pairs of underwear. Monday afternoon my friend Jennifer and I went to Wally World to get some. I got 2 packs of the plain navy, gray, and white undies and then I let Khyri choose between Thomas the Train or Mickey Mouse for his 'special' pairs. He went with Mickey and we came home with a total of 27 pairs of underwear. I prepped each bathroom with toilet paper and potty seats. I made sure all of the step stools were in place. I was ready to go.

Khyri went to school on Tuesday; His last day in diapers *sigh*. Wednesday it began. When he woke up and came into the room around 8:30am I said "Khyri today is a big day, we aren't going to use diapers anymore. Let's throw this diapers in the trash (blasphemy - you never throw away cloth!) We are only going to wear underwear." He actually smiled and we high-fived! (I went back and got that diaper out the trash.. hmph) Sounds cool doesn't it!?? I used positive words and I tried to give him control "Khyri please tell mommy when you need to potty." "You let mommy know when you need to use the potty." I knew there would be a lot of accidents. I was prepared. I had already laid the Resolve out ready to scrub out any mishaps. There were clean underwear in each bathroom. I put the gate at the top of the stairs so everyone was trapped up top and the pee would be contained hahahaha.

The technique says the first day I was supposed to be focused on watching Khyri and his clues for when he needed to pee. So I watched. and watched. and watched. His first accident was at 10:48am. Nothing major. The ebook said when you see water pick him up and rush him to the potty. So I did. I scooped him up and plopped him on the potty seat. I felt accomplished. Not so bad. This might just be easier than I thought. wrong. The next 11 times, yes, 11 he was spraying left and right up and down all over. It was ridiculous. I jotted down a few of the times 12:14pm, 1:18pm, 2:01pm, 2:11pm, 2:25pm... my head started spinning. At one point I got on the floor and literally started crying. I was so overwhelmed. By the way I was breaking a BIG rule of potty train, never let them see you get frustrated. Whatever. I was boo hooing for all I was worth. It was quite cathartic. ahhahahaha. Of course Khyri breaks my somber mood by climbing on my back saying "Khyri's riding" over and over.. fool don't your see I'm crying!?!? arrrgggghhh.. ok regroup.

I decided to revamp the technique a bit. Let's back up - the ebook said that I needed to keep giving Khyri liquids non stop to make him go to the bathroom more. Well it was just too much for me. So instead, I went to liquid every hour. This meant that on the half hours he should need to pee. MUCH better technique. We went from peeing every 20 minutes to every hour or so. By 7 pm on day one I was beat. I seriously contemplated giving up and waiting a few more months, but I resigned to forge ahead and more through with day two. Khyri went to bed with a pull up on.

So Thursday came and I woke up with renewed interest and dedication. I didn't put  him in underwear
I just let him go commando. I could tell he was getting more control, but I was really frustrated by mid morning so I tweaked the technique again. All of the research says that you are not supposed to punish or chastise the toddler while trying to potty train. Well I decided to scrap that by rewarding for good behavior, but also reprimanding for bad behavior. If he made it to the potty I clapped, danced, and gave him an m&m. If he wet on the floor, I popped him on the leg and put him in the corner. I got to this point because he was holding his pee. If I saw him start a stream I would grab him and take him to the potty - but he would stop his stream and hold it. Then literally if I turned my eyes off him for 2 seconds he would pee on the floor. He knew what he was doing. It was time to get real serious. Now I am not big on hitting at all, but Khyri needed a wake up call. He is a very playful boy so everything is a game. Me giving him a stern talking to after he peed on the floor wasn't cutting it. I needed to step it up a notch. I made him stand in the corner for the entire time that I had to clean up his pee and then once I was finished I turned him around and told him again where to go pee and that it was not ok for him to pee on the floor. We hugged and I said "Let's try again". Tough Love at its best (Well my best hahaha)

I think day 2 was the turnaround day. Auntie Netta said the popping is probably what snapped him into gear - "Oh lord! she done lost her mind. I guess she isn't playing games anymore" hahaha. I don't know what it was exactly, but something definitely clicked with him. By the end of Day 2 when I asked Khyri "Where does pee pee go?" He would answer "In the potty".  At 4:58pm we had a major breakthrough. I scooped him up in enough time and got him to finish in the potty. We happened to be in the bathroom without the potty seat so I had to keep him standing up. Whooo hoooo! He still had his undies on though! (*side note* you'd never think it but peeing with the underwear on keeps the stream from going all the way to the back of the toilet seat. I actually kinda like him peeing through his undies ahahha wayyyy less cleanup!) Celebration time. Even Kielle was clapping. Progress! We had to work through our power struggle on Day 2 to get to Day 3 and it was worth it.

Day 3 came and I added one last modification. I switched up my language by saying "Remember Khyri pee pee in the potty only." This is similar language that I used during our 'crayon/marker exploration period hahaha. I always say "on paper only". I figured by using similar language he would be better at following directions. Oh and I also removed the potty seats. Apparently that was an issue for Khyri. Not only did he want to stand up and pee, but he didn't want to look at Dora, Cars, or Sesame Street. hahahha.  Now we were cooking with gas. I just kept saying periodically "Khyri remember pee pee in the potty only"

At 12:09pm Khyri and Kielle were playing with blocks on the floor and guess who jumps up says "uh oh" and runs into the bathroom up the stool looks at the toilet and pees! KHYRI! all by himself! I didn't even say "Khyri do you have to potty or Khyri please tell mommy when you need to potty" I guess he said - I got this boo! hahahahah. The undies were still up, but I was soooooo happy. We did a full out potty dance - I took it back old school the wop, the cabbage patch, and the snake. I was gettin' it! Khyri was jumping around too saying "Mommy's dancing, Mommy's dancing!" "That's right becuase Khyri went pee pee in the potty!"Three full days of lock  down I was seriously celebrating. Could there really be a light at the end of the tunnel? hahahahah. I followed the ebooks suggestion and pretended to call people and brag about Khyri on the toilet. He just kept saying "pee pee on potty only" looking at me like - if you would have just said that from the beginning we'd be well past this point by now.hahahahaha. The rest of the day he was just getting better and better. When he needed to potty he would go. At  night I put him in a pull up on top of his underwear. He woke up bone dry :-)

Today is day 4 and I'm feeling kinda cocky hahahha. We did have a slight mess up this morning when Khyri went to use the potty and Daddy was in the bathroom. Poor baby looked so confused. hahahah. I also noticed that he only likes the upstairs bathrooms. He doesn't take too kindly to the half bath downstairs. Maybe its too small of a space? I don't know. So we need to work on that. Day 3 and 4 progressed so well that I took a leap today and we all headed to Babies R Us. The books say to stay away from the house no more than 20 minutes. We stayed out 55. Khyri hadn't been out in 3 days and he LOVES to be outside. He needed a good bit of fresh air. I prepared for the outing with an extra pair of pants in tow and I put towels in his car seat (gotta protect the Cam at all times!). Extra precaution, but it wasn't needed. He did great. I did remind him when we got home to pee pee only in the potty and he did so about a half hour later.

We still need to work on pulling down the undies in time and we haven't embarked on poop yet - that's the final frontier. But I am so proud of Khyri. This is a big Big BIG step and he's doing well :-) He will be going back to daycare on Tuesday in undies only. We'll see how it goes in a different environment. These past 4 days of lock down have been full of lessons. I learned that Khyri doesn't like potty seats, likes to pee standing up and prefers not to tell people when he pees. So really.. who's training who?

IT TAKES A VILLAGE

We all know the African Proverb "It takes a village to raise a child." The hubby and I rely on an awesome bunch of Aunties, Uncles, and Godparents to help raise Kielle and Khyri. Without them we would be seriously lost - or crazy. Actually we'd be both: lost and crazy. I came across an article on Forbes.com that spoke to the importance of 'extended family', blood related or not, and during this time of thanks I thought I'd share. So as I search for "#1 Auntie" and "My Uncle is my sports hero" shirts I'm sending out a big THANK YOU to everyone who keeps the Mosley machine moving ;-)

Raising Children: The Role of Aunts and Uncles

My sister-in-law Barbara posted on Facebook, “I think Sofia yelling apple in front of an Apple store may have something to do with her auntie.” I immediately posted, “Uh, sorry about that?” Despite Sofia having two aunts, I knew I was the guilty party because I entertain my two-year-and-a-half-year-old niece by opening and closing my Macbook, making the apple logo light up and her laugh.

Considering I seem to inadvertently indoctrinated my niece into the Apple cult, it raises the question, what’s the role of aunts and uncles in the lives of their nieces and nephews?

Melanie Notkin is the author of the new book Savvy Auntie: The Ultimate Guide for Cool Aunts, Great-Aunts, Godmothers, and All Women Who Love Kids. She is also the founder of SavvyAuntie.com. In her book, Notkin describes how when she became an aunt, she went looking for a badge of honour to express her aunthood. She couldn’t find anything except a onesie that said, “If you think I’m cute, you should see my aunt.”


Her research led her to discover that while many aunts love, sacrifice for and adore their nieces and nephews they didn’t have the network that parenthood automatically granted.“Aunthood is a gift,” says Notkin in New York. “We don’t appreciate it in ourselves but no child ever suffered from too much love.” But how much influence do aunts and uncles have on their nieces and nephews’ lives?
Notkin says, “It depends on the aunt or uncle and part of that is because there’s no obligation of the aunt or uncle, unlike parenting; once you parent a child you have a legal obligation.” That doesn’t stop aunts and uncles from being involved in their nephews and nieces’ lives.

Dana Bentley is the aunt of two boys, Nigel, 16 and Ethan, six. While she and her husband Drew are childfree, she plays a role in her nephews’ lives. I’m not as close as I’d like to be, although I’m the only family member whom Nigel has friended so maybe it’s better than I think. Nigel has Asperger’s Syndrome, so it’s really hard to tell how he thinks of others. Ethan will actually listen to me when he’s being a hellcat.“Nigel has asked for advice on friends and parents, which is pretty cool.  Ethan is at an age where he seems to be judging people on what they will give him, mostly. His mom had to put a cat down during one of our visits there which was very sad, and Drew and I were the only people Ethan wanted to talk to about it. Which is also pretty cool, although I wish it had been better circumstances.”

 Uncles aren’t left out out of the equations.  Every time I see a friend of mine he’s more than happy to pull out his blackberry and show me pictures of his two-and-a-half-year-old niece and baby nephew. Of course, I take out my blackberry and show him pictures of my niece.“The more aunts and uncles the child has, the more influences a child has,” says Notkin. “If the uncle is a fantastic artist, the child may be inspired by that talent.”

Stephen Carver who works in media and public relations fully expects to influence his young nieces. “At this point in time it’s not obvious as they’re still so young but I hope to be an influence someday.  I’ll be the one who will pass along useless info they won’t get from their parents like pop culture stuff and the latest lifestyle trends.” One of the best things about auntie-dom is that you don’t have to be related. Liv Uhrig was happy to talk about the relationship she has with her best friend’s 16-year-old daughter.“We’re quite close but she is 16 so anyone 20 and older isn’t cool enough.  Her mom has been my best friend for almost ten years. We’re exceptionally close, which is really how Bri and I ended up being that close. It doesn’t matter that we’re not related by blood. I’ve seen her grow up, struggle and succeed. Caring about her like I do just came naturally.”

So while aunts and uncles happily involve themselves in their nieces and nephews’ lives, what about the parents and their relationship with the aunts and uncles in their lives? Stephanie Mackenzie-Smith is the mother of two young children and describes her brother as the “best uncle ever.”

“My brother is a 34-year-old confirmed bachelor and military officer – not necessarily the type of guy you imagine as the perfect uncle, but he is literally my daughter’s hero. My son is still a bit young but my daughter is very much influenced by her uncle. At school this year, Charlotte was asked to write a story about someone she felt was a hero. Of course, she picked her Uncle Colin. The fact that he is in the military has little to do with why she sees him as a hero. To her, he’s a hero because he gives the best hugs ever, swings her around by her feet and “plays crafts”". Notkin says that’s the best thing about being an aunt or an uncle. “A child doesn’t discriminate when it comes to love.”

As part of Notkin’s Savvy Auntie brand, Auntie’s Day was launched on July 26th, 2009. You can find out more at www.Auntiesday.com

MISSION POSSIBLE

I am on a mission. I have got to lose weight. Last Thursday, November 11th, I was out with Kielle strolling through Bed Bath and Beyond. We weren't looking at anything, just cruising along enjoying ourselves. I don't know what happened. Maybe there was a glitch in the matrix. Maybe I temporarily lost my female common sense. I have no clue. What I do know is that I made a horrible mistake...

I stepped on a scale.

Yup I did. Why you ask? I have NO idea! What was I thinking!?!? Who does that!?!? Who randomly walks into a store on a beautiful sunny day and steps on a scale - knowing that they haven't even thought about exercising or eating right? I mean really?!!? 

I immediately wanted to cut off my feet. It was like they were burning. Why is my body rebelling against me?!?! Why is this scale telling lies?!?! After staring at the numbers on the scale for a few minutes, I swung into action. Where is the saleswoman? Excuse me - I think this scale isn't calibrated right. Yes - I went there... looking back I knew good and well that scale was correct. I just couldn't face the truth.

I weigh 161 pounds.

The trip back to the car was the fastest  Kielle had ever experienced in her stroller. I was getting on the good foot for real! Its almost as if I thought I could immediately lose 4 or 5 pounds by sprinting to the car hahahahahha.  I still can't believe it. Now let me give some background. To be fair I was 198 pounds when I had Kielle 10 months ago. And to be honest, I have done absolutely nothing to lose the weight. Not only did I neglect to exercise, but I actually went full force the opposite way. I am a regular at Dairy Queen. It's the blizzards. I just can't resist them and I've been eating banana pudding from the restaurant  Folks at least once a week. All bad.

Time for some action. *cue Redman song here*

I have set a goal to lose 20 pounds by May 11th. 6 months exactly. I can do it. I've already started - and I'm all about the business! My goal is to do at least 2 hours of physical hours of activity a day. I know this may seem like a lot, but I think back to when I lived in the city and I walked all the time. It was no big deal to walk 15 or 20 minutes hauling grocery bags or pushing a shopping cart. Living down here where we drive everywhere I have lost those quick moments of daily exercise that add up to hours towards a healthy lifestyle. My 2 hour regimen can include gardening, mall walking, jogging, playing elephant with Khyri - anything that gets my heart rate up. The first week is always the hardest, but I'm pushing through. I've raked my front yard, walked the mall, jogged, and used exercise videos. My favorite video so far is Jillian Michaels' 30 day Shred. I've used this dvd before after Khyri so this is a good starting point for me this time around. I've just gotta stick with it.

In addition to adding exercise (physical activity) into my daily regimen, I'm paying attention to what I eat. I'm not gonna use the word diet because it scare me and turns me off, but I'll say I'm modifying my intake :-) My first step is to eat leaner meats. My homegirl Rima gave me a good tip that my meat portions should big no bigger than the palm of my hand. Not the whole hand, just the palm. I'm also cutting out high fructose corn syrup - well as much as I can.This is proving to be harder than I thought. That mess is in everything. It looks like I will be spending way more time in the grocery stores now reading nutrition labels. I think the easiest change for me will be increasing my water intake and lessening the amount of sodas I drink. I will miss my gingerale, but sacrifices need to be made.

Its day 6 and I'm feeling stronger and actually a little leaner. I'm not going to step on a scale until January 1st. I don't want to be obsessed with numbers. I much rather focus on changing my entire lifestyle. The holidays are going to be a challenge, but my thinking is that hopefully I will be well into modifying my intake that I won't veer too far off the path of weight loss success.

Day 6 is done.. onto Day 7.

Happy Halloween!

This was the first year that Khyri kind of understood the concept of Halloween. We didn't go trick or treating, but instead headed out to a few Halloween events and over to friend's houses. Since Halloween was on Monday this year so we got good wear out of the costumes... Friday, Saturday, and Monday! Speaking of costumes... drum roll...

Kielle was a ladybug

and Khyri was The Cat in The Hat!

We went to Daddy's job on Friday afternoon to trick or treat in the cubicles. They decorated the elevator banks - totally awesome! Of course Khyri was more fascinated with the daggone elevators and not the decorations. It was ok.. the was just the start of the Halloween weekend ;-) I guess we had to ramp up.  Khyri refused to keep his hat on his head. So people kept saying he was a dressed up penguin. LOL. I wanted a picture of himso badly in the hat. But what's the saying - good things come to those who wait! and wait I did...with a big fat pouty face. hmph. Kielle on the otherhand was unusually smiley and playful riding around with Daddy (she is such a daddy's girl already!)

On Saturday, we loaded up the kiddos and went to a community service event sponsored by my Sorority chapter. We headed to Fickett Elementary school to participate in a trunk or treat activity for the students. For those that are unfamiliar with Trunk or Treat, its when people decorate the trunks of their cars and children trick or treat in parking lots. We didn't know that our car was gonna be used in the event so we didn't decorate :-( but we will be ready for next year! I've already grabbed some of the sale decorations to use.

Kielle slept the whole time, while Khyri (with his hat!) helped hand out candy to the students

I don't think Khyri knew that he was handing out yummy candy. We don't do candy in our house so he's not really exposed to it. Candy to Khyri is a green grape hahaha. I snapped this picture of him trying to figure out what a 'Smartie" candy was. Thinking back, I don't think he had one piece of candy the whole weekend.

We got some well needed rest on Sunday and then on Monday night we headed out to see some friends. No holiday would be complete without Khyri getting to see Auntie Netta... so of course we headed over to her house ;-)

To commemorate our 2011 Halloween, we made ghost footprints and sent them to relatives. How much fun is that!!?!? crafts annnnddd costumes!

 

Well Halloween 2011 has come and gone. The costumes are all packed away except for...

Shopping at Publix - clearly a hat is needed!

THE HAT! Khyri is so attached to this hat now. He likes to wear it everywhere, and that's ok by me :0

FALL FAMILY FUN

 

I love fall. I absolutely do. The crisp cool weather, the trees turning color ... ahhh yes fall has arrived! Fall weather is the best time to get outdoors. Down here it is ridiculously hot until mid September, so I happily welcome weather in the high 60s (I know some of y'all still think that's hot! LOL). 

Our fall fun started off at Zoo Atlanta. Here's a tip fellow mommies : If you are looking for nice backdrops to take Halloween pictures and the like, go to Zoo Atlanta the Friday before the 'Boo at the Zoo' event. Most of the the decorations were already set up when we went. Photo Op!! haahha Khyri loved looking at the stinky elephant, but his absolute favorite animal was the giraffe. Altough the kiddos loved watching the animals, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to snap a few photos of Khy and Kielle on some of the Zoo Atlanta props.

 

 
We continued our fall fun with friends, animals  and pumpkins! (Apparently animals is a central theme this fall ahaha) We went to the Southern Belle Farms waaaaayyyy down in McDonough, GA to pet some goats, watch a couple of pig races and frolic among some pumpkins:

This farm was jam packed with fun stuff! They had a corn maze (which we didn't do. can you imagine the Mosleys getting trapped in the corn maze!?!?), hayrides, optional cotton picking (we opted out..too close for comfort hahaha) and the coolest thing - a corn cob shooting range! We paid one price and had access to everything they offered so you know I was happy. There's nothing worse than getting nickled and dimed when you go out... sheesh.

Kielle had a great time rolling around in the grass, while Khyri played on the some unique horse swings. There were 'country' attractions there too like the super long and steep slide made out of a drainage pipe.

Mommy and Kielle going down the slide

Whoa! Now that's a slide!

 After watching the pig races, we loaded up into the Moo Mobile. How cute is this!?!?hahahah

We capped off the day with a stroll through the pumpkin patch area. We picked out two small pumpkins to bring home, but of course we had to take a few photos with the bigger pumpkins too!

We had a great day. Needless to say after all of this fun everyone was all tuckered out :-)

CABBAGE PATCH FUN!

Ok so I have been meaning to post this for awhile. I had the pleasure of taking my cousin Bri to the Babyland General Hospital in Cleveland GA back in August. For those who don't see what the excitement is for visiting a hospital - let me say this is like no hospital you've ever seen... This is where Cabbage Patch Kids are born!

There is a lot of hype now for these ridiculously expensive American Girl dolls, but I'll take a good ole plastic head, yarn haired Cabbage Patch doll thank you very much!

We set out on the 2 and a half hour drive on country roads past the allowable outlet mall limits (you know how the outlet mall is the farthest out in the country you go!?! haha). The drive was long but oh so worth it! Sitting on top of a hill was beautiful Babyland General! It is filled with all types of Cabbage Patch Kids from preemies to toddlers. I didn't even know they made toddlers!

he highlight of the trip was we got to see one baby boy  delivered by the RPN (Registered Patch Nurse). So you know how all Cabbage Patch Kids have two first names - well they get them from  two kids who are in the audience at Babyland at the time of delivery. yup! When the stork finishes checking the cabbage heads to see who is ready to the deliver, the cabbage leaves open up and out comes a bouncing baby cabbage patch kid! The RPN does a quick physical and then asks for two first names from the audience. The boy that was delivered while we were there was Payton James. Hmmm Maybe I can get Kielle to shout my name one time... GASP! Can you imagine?!?! a Cabbage Patch Kid named Kahlillah :-) Here are some photos from our trip!

Kielle is sprouting from a head of cabbage!

Do you see how wide my smile is?!?!?! I had a BLAST!

CPK is trying hard to keep up with the new trends. They've got a styling station for the yarn hair.

Now THIS is a treehouse!

If they had this in an XL Kielle would have been a candy stripper this Halloween

They make the kids with teeth now!

I remember they had these when I got my cabbage pack kids. Why do they cost the same as real diapers?!?!

Super cute! Some are the size of the My Buddy and Kid Sister dolls... remember those?!?!

Boy or girl?!?! You have to open the present inside to see what color outfit you get! I LOVE this ;-)

My Cabbage Patch Kids Cherry Paulette with my own very own baby doll Kielle Elaine ;-)

Now Cherry Paulette is a little beat up, but if I would have kept her in pristine condition should would be worth about $700 bucks now. There is a museum at the facility and some of the earliest Cabbage Patch dolls are worth 5 to 8 thousand dollars. WOW! For more information on Babyland General and Cabbage Patch Kids check out http://www.cabbagepatchkids.com/

TIME TO 'MOMMY & DADDY' UP

There comes a time when a parent is forced to 'man up' or in our case 'mommy & daddy up'. It is imperative that Keith and I be the voices of our children if we think things are awry. This is easier said than done because Keith and I are both mild tempered. We're not fans of awkward situations or confrontation. Its just not where we excel as parents. But, sometimes you've gotta step out of your comfort zone and 'get buck'. On Friday October 7, 2011 Keith and I grew some major balls.

Here's the story:
Khyri goes to daycare three days a week Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Keith brings Khyri home from daycare on Wednesday in his shirt, and his shoes. What's missing?!?! That's right folks - PANTS! The boy came home in a diaper. *take a deep breath* I was LIVID. Of course I asked Keith what happened and he just answers "They said he had an accident at the school" *blank stare* Surely you asked for more information right Keith!?! Surely you think something is wrong here and that our son should not be in a diaper! Am I the only one upset about the situation? (because Khyri skipped into the house like he was in the poppy fields with Dorothy and friends. He was totally unphased) I am so angry I have to step outside and get myself together. I don't want the children to see me upset. Thoughts start going through my head Was Khyri embarrassed? How long was he in the diaper? WHY DIDN'T THEY CALL ME?

I jump on the phone and call the usual support team. I need to get some guidance and suggestions on how I need to approach this. My first reaction is to bust up in there and shut the whole place down... but that wouldn't result in anything but me going to jail and the kiddos being raised without a mommy. So let's explore some other options...First things first I need to get the entire story from the daycare. Keith doesn't ask questions - remember no confrontation, so I've only got bits of the story. If I'm going to raise hell I need to have the full story. So I take a deep breath.

Khyri is scheduled to go to school on Thursday, but I don't want to send him. I'm just not in the mood to deal with this mess  - again no confrontation. Of course the longer I put off goingin to talk, the more I am getting upset and frustrated. My emotions are snowballing - all rational thinking is slowly leaving the building ahahha. Keith decide that we are gonna go into the daycare and speak to the owners about our concerns on Friday. We didn't want to go during peak times (pick up and drop off) because we wanted the owner's full attention. So we went during naptime. Now let me interject here and say that the night before I was talking to Keith and he was being all calm. I told him straight up "Look when we go into that daycare I need you on the same page as me. We need to be equally upset. Don't try to make it look like I'm the irrational mom making a mountain out of a mole hill. We are team Mosley... don't be the weak link." I didn't know what to expect from him - but I had put him on notice. Come hard or don't come at all!

So on Friday me and the kiddos head to the daycare from the park and Keith leaves work early. We get there around 3:30pm. I pull up with a crying Kielle and I see Keith jump out of his car and head in. I get out and pull Kielle into the front seat to nurse her. Keith comes back out "You ready?!" What!?!? Wait a minute sir - are you ready to 'get buck'?? whoa.. I guess he said if we're gonna be on the same page then let's roll full steam. Dang! I wasn't ready. I didn't have my game face on yet. I'm still in playground mode. 'Mommy up" Kahlillah! I asked for 5 minutes to nurse Kielle. Do you know he went back in there and started the conversation without me! hahahaha Talk about irrational.. geesh. ahhaha. So finally me and the kiddos roll in and I sit down and start in on the owner. "I would like to discuss why Khyri came home in a diaper yesterday." I explained my dissatisfaction with how the situation was handled. Apparently Khyri had peed through his jeans and the teacher thought that leaving him in just a diaper was an acceptable solution. The owner said she wasn't aware of the situation until Keith walked into her office with Khyri to pay the bill (yes Keith proceeded to conduct business while his child was in a diaper - allllllll bad. but that's another discussion for a later day *sigh*). She supposedly went back and asked the teacher what happened. My main concern was that we did not receive a call. I told the owner that even though she does a background check for her staff, she does not know the backgrounds of all the other people that enter that daycare to pick up their children. Anybody could have been looking at my son in his underclothes. Anyone. You cannot tell me that there are no extra clothes in the daycare for accidents like this - no lost and found?... no nothing?!?!? Then the owner says "I don't know why she didn't use the extra clothes we have" What!?!? so you do have extra clothes?!?!?! You need to talk to ole girl STAT. Apparently she is not aware of your policy or procedures. Get her straight immediately.

I was very firm when talking to the owner. I didn't waver. As I was talking - literally in the middle of my sentence my husband, Keith Farren Mosley Jr., blurts out in his deep I'm not in the mood to play games right now voice, "We should have gotten a call!" Uhhhhh ok. I see you Keith! Throwing in some backup nice.. a little unexpected.. but nice.  ahhahaha At least we were on the same page. She definitely knew that we were both unhappy with the situation. The teacher wasn't there that day so we didn't get to speak to her. The owner said she was going to have a talk with the teacher "to hear her side". I don't know what side there is to hear. I mean look at the end result.. my baby came home in a daggone diaper. There's nothing else to discuss. Whatever... So we left the daycare feeling somewhat empowered. I definitely had my chest poked out a little. If anything, we made it clear that we are not sideline parents. We are very involved and not only expect the best for our child, but will call you out if you are not providing what we need.

So here we are today - Sunday and we have not heard from the daycare. I feel like we should have gotten a follow up call Friday afternoon. Remember - we still don't know exactly what happened. We only know that Khyri came out in a diaper. I don't know when he wet his pants. I don't know how the teacher came to the conclusion to leave him in a diaper. Where they trying to potty train him? Was his diaper on incorrectly? I don't know any of the actual events.

*sigh* So... now I gotta go back in there. I will send Khyri  this Tuesday and per the advice of my SororMommy friend Dawn I will reintroduce myself to the teacher and let her know that I am always available by cell phone. I will tell her that I want to be called whenever anything out of the ordinary happens with Khyri major or minor. I will also shoulder some of the blame for the situation by acknowledging that I did not pack an extra pair of pants (although that's why they have the emergency clothing stash... but whatever). Hopefully this will solve the situation. Either way, we are looking for a new school. I had planned on moving Khyri into a learning center in March, but now its really kicked up to January and if the finances are right- even earlier.

I was surprised at how Keith and I jumped into protector mode. We did good! Unfortunately I'm sure this is just the first of many times that we will have to be advocates and protectors of Khyri and Kielle. If the events of last week are any indication, I  know we're up to the challenge. Bring it - we're ready!

SCORE!

There are a few words that describe me to a tee : cheap, bargain, frugal, thrifty, budget, and my personal favorite - economical. I wear these words proudly. I looooooove finding a bargain. Over the past two years I have become addicted to consignment shopping.

Now before you have visions of little old me rummaging through tattered baskets and dusty sweaters, let me assure that this is not the bargain hunting of yore. I am an aficionado of children's consignment events. It's a fairly new business model where organizations or owners will hold consignment sales throughout the year.

My favorite consignment sales are thrown by the Cumberland Community Church Mothers Of Preschoolers (MOPS) group. You can check them out and learn more about the sales here. They organize a spring and a fall sale. In addition to keeping 70% of their profits, sellers have the option of donating unsold merchandise to charity at the end of the sale. Its the best of both worlds! I've sold in 3 sales so far.

Selling is fun, but boy oh boy is shopping THE BEST. You can really find some great deals at the events. Sometimes there are even items brand new with tags on! Usually I focus on clothing for Khyri and Kielle. This year though it all started with one toy that I wanted to get... and activity cube.

Way back in June I was crusing through the Red Dot Boutique aka Target and I came across this: *cue angel music in background*

THE ACTIVITY CUBE!!

I was absolutely positive that this was going to be the big gift that I got for Kielle this Christmas. It retails at Target for $59.99. Now me being thrifty, this was a big step for me to pay over $25.00 for a toy. But I kept looking at it every time I went into Target. I had to get this activity cube for my baby girl!

Fast forward to last weekend. I volunteered with the MOPS group to prepare for the upcoming consignment sale. I helped move furniture, stuffed goodie bags, and hung clothes on racks for the sale. It was during my volunteer shift that I spotted in the dimly lit corner not one but two of these activity cubes. I couldn't believe it! Sometime during my shift I managed to sneak away for a moment and get a peek at what the price was - $16! yup $16! So I set off home determined that on the first day of the sale I was going to get the cube.

The sale started at 5:30pm. I arrived at the church at 5:15pm. Dang. A line had already started forming. I was about number 7 in the line and since I was focused and knew exactly what I wanted I felt that I had a pretty good chance that I could get my cube. I mean seriously what are the chances that 2 out of the 6 people in front of me want activity cubes?!!? When the doors opened I struck in the room heading straight to the toy section on the right. At first I couldn't find the cubes. I started getting sad. I felt the tears starting to well up../ but then I located the perfect activity cube sitting under a shelf. I was so happy - no jubilant.. yes I was jubilant! Its not the exact same cube, but its close enough.. and dangit for 40 less dollars... yeah Kielle will still love it. So I grabbed my cube and stuck it in holding so I could continue shopping.

Finding clothes was a cinch because I had written a list on my cellphone of specific items I needed for Khyri and Kielle's wardrobe. Since Khyri has started going to school one extra day, we needed a few more long sleeve shirts and pants. So that was my main focus.

For awhile I was a little iffy about consignment shopping because I didn't know what condition the clothing would be. I am always pleasantly surprised at the good quality of the clothing I get. At this sale, I lucked up and bought mostly top tier name brand items - stuff that I definitely wouldn't have bought regularly. Here is a few of my great finds.

New With Tags (NWT) Gymboree sweater was $32.50 now $7.00!

Janie & Jack sweater vest and oxford shirt only $8!

$5 for this whole 3 piece outfit by Powder Bleu

Khyri is gonna be styling in this Baby GAP pullover - $4

Pretty in Pink Gorgeous in Green winter coat by Carters only $5!

And to think I thought my kids would never be able to wear Osh Kosh - $2!

Khyri's first Tommy Hilfiger shirt only $4

Summertime Style in Smartfit sandals retails for $19.99. I got them for $4!

I stuck to my list and got all the clothes we needed so I was happy. I even managed to squeeze in two puzzle games for Khyri and an additional stand up toy for Kielle. I was pretty happy with my haul. Now I just need to find places to hide the toys until Christmas. They both got a little taste - but they'll still be surprised in three months :-) Children... out of sight out of mind!

The complete haul!

My big consignment score included:

• 1 three piece girls outfit
• 1 long sleeve girls shirt
• 1 pair of girls jeans
• 1 girls winter coat
• 3 pairs of tights
• 2 pairs of boys jeans
• 1 pullover lightweight jacket
• 1 sweater vest
• 1 winter sweater
• 1 long sleeve boys shirt
• 2 long sleeve waffle knit layer shirts
• 4 oxford style shirts
• 2 pairs of boys shoes
• 2 puzzles
• 1 stand and play toy
• 1 ACTIVITY CUBE ;-)

There's nothing close to the exhilaration of finding a great deal! Saving money is awesome ahahah. I walked out of the consignment event Thursday having spent $100.50 for 25 items! And remember one of those items was the $16.00 activity cube. Not bad... not bad at all...