Heroes?

Anyone else a Heroes fan? Anyone else watch this season with a "what the..." look on their face the whole time? I used to be excited to watch and love every minute of it. Now, just thinking about watching it makes me tired. With every show there is another twist that leaves you guessing. A good factor I suppose, but not only am I guessing about what will happen next, I'm trying to figure out how the new plot fits with the old plot or if it even matters because the future changed due to the new plot. Good grief.

Just some quick updates: Eric has a blue mohawk and the Rays are scraping by in the World Series. My mom is convinced it's because she dyed his hair the wrong shade of blue. Elliot is up and down with potty training. One day he is dry, the next day we don't have enough underware to keep up with his accidents - or lazies as we've been calling them. I start at Gymboree on 11/10. I was called last week and promoted to the management team - gotta love a promotion before the work even starts! Here's to living up to their expectations and earning benefits.

*Cheers*

Baby Expo - Please come!

I am participating in a Baby Expo November 15th. The expo is focused on home based businesses, so it will be rather small - but you will find all your favorite business there to do all your holiday (and personal) shopping at once. Or, if you've been looking to make some extra cash, but don't know which home based business to pick, we will all be there for you to compare and choose! It is completely free and held at a church in Chico. So make a day of it and drive down to Chico and visit the mall, Toys R Us, and the Expo. If you are interested in any of the Baby Splendor products, I'll be offering many of them at a discount that day only, and offering $20 off the starter kit (which is only $99 anyway) that day as well if you want to join my team. So please come support me and, of course, have a fun day out!

Directions to the expo here

This FREE event will be fun for the whole family. Bring a few friends and:

• Explore the many vendor booths from all your favorite Home Based businesses.
• Start your holiday shopping early, and get it done all in one place.
• Sign up to host a party and earn free or discounted products from your favorite businesses.
• View all the opportunities for starting your own home based business to earn extra cash!
• Enter to win raffle prizes from our vendor sponsors.

Just a moment for excitement... my birthday present this year was tickets to the Russian Ballet Nutcracker performing here in Redding. Not only is it a super fun childhood memory, but Eric is going with me! Eric! That's love baby.

Smarter than he looks

So I know that I've been posting about potty training a lot, but that is pretty much my world right now... Today, Elliot connected that everytime he goes potty in the toilet, he gets a treat. So today, we had two incidents of Elliot going potty just long enough for the sensors on the toilet to recognize he'd gone and play his reward music, and him getting a treat. Then he's sit back down and go a bit more for more treats, and then again and again and again... I figure as long as he's connecting that is where he is supposed to go, I'll give him the treats. And according to Eric, it's pretty hard for a boy to stop going once he's started, so I figure it a whole other skill he's learning! :) It's just so funny to watch him run back and forth from the bathroom to the kitchen over and over again.

Also, he's started to show some signs of being like me. (It's about time since he looks nothing like me!) When we are eating, if he spills anything on the table, he wants a napkin so he can clean it up. Then he cleans his hands and gives the napkin back. And yesterday I got the vacuum at and he got so excited, squeeling and clapping that I was going to vacuum. He stood next to me and pushed the vacuum around for a bit. I love it! If he has anything of mine, I'd love for it to be my cleaning! Yahoo!

Financial Peace University

I'd like to give a shout-out to Dave Ramsey. Because of his class we are going through, Eric and I don't have to move in with my parents this month! Can I get a "Woop! Woop!"?

Eric and I are beyond tight with money and probably living outside our means, but we're not sure what else we can turn off or sell to make ends meet. I've always been the "nerd" as Dave would say it. I love spread sheets, walking into Office Depot makes me very excited, and I've even read a book and highlighted the points I liked with a pen and a ruler to make sure all the lines were straight. (The ruler thing was before I had a child or a spouse - thank God He didn't create us to be alone!) All this to say, budgeting wasn't a new concept for me... but budgeting when I'm not the only one with a debit card is hard! I kept making a budget, showing it Eric, he'd smile, say: "good job", and then want to eat at In 'n Out after our grocery shopping. :)

Financial Peace University has taught us together so we can be on the same page, using the same language, and heading in the same direction for the same goal. This weekend Eric and I had planned on approaching my parents about living with them. Today, in preparation, we did some of Dave's homework and sat down to map out all the money we needed to spend this month before it was spent. And, ladies and gentlemen, I'm proud to say that (for the month of October) you can still find us on Bechelli Ln. (Crosses off "Painful converstaion with parents" from To-Do list.) Does anyone else have an uncontrollable smile on their face right now?

In conclusion, I'd like to tell the world four things:
A. First of all, no matter how tight things get, you should always tithe. God is more than faithful. I'm constantly surprised by people who don't know this in their heart and in their actions.
B. Second, if you'd like to have a similar uncontrollable smile, we meet at my place and you are welcome to join. Contact me for more information.
C. Third, I have to confess that, at times, I've thought Dave Ramsey was a bit full of himself. But today I saw his methods work and realized he has a right to be proud. I formally appologize.
D. And finally, Pop Secret Home Style popcorn is by far, the best microwave popcorn ever and the perfect late-night blogging companion.

Potties and Prizes

Elliot has been potty training. Which will be great in the long run. Right now it is very casual and laid back. Or at least it was.... Yesterday Elliot told me he needed to go, so we rushed into the bathroom and took his shorts and diaper off and placed him on the potty and waited. And waited and waited and waited. While waiting he learned that if he sucks his stomach in while leaning back, he can, er, change where he is, ah, "pointing". Doing my best to navigate the world of boyhood, I try to get him to sit up and such so he is "pointing" back into the toilet. Yeah right, now it's a game. So he leans back, sucks in his tummy, and pees on the floor. Crap! So I push his "pointer" back where it needs to be, only to scare the pee back up inside. Great. So I clean up the floor, figure we've got some more waiting to do because I know he had to go more, but I scared it away. Well I don't know about you, but keeping a toddler on a potty chair isn't the easiest thing to do, especially if he thinks he's done his job! So after he's told me he's "ahl dun" about 10 times, I let him get up. Now I'm faced with a decision. He gets to flush the toilet after we dump his potty chair contents in it and then he gets two jelly beans when he goes potty. Well he went potty alright, but on the floor! So since there is nothing to dump, I decide to not let him flush the toilet or give him jelly beans b/c he didn't actually go in the chair - he went on the floor - and he did it on purpose! Half feeling guiltly and half feeling like a consistant parent, I take him to his changing table where he promtly pees all over me. Classic. I guess I will wait for his to say "ahl dun" 15 times next time. :)