Potty Training

I think potty training my son is the hardest thing I have ever done. It's harder than college and WAY harder than your first job.
We had tried training him before, but for a variety of reason, were unsuccessful. Being the laid back person that I am, I really don't care if he stays in diapers until he is 15 if he doesn't want to use the potty. But I decided that it might make other aspects of his life difficult. It's hard to go to the prom or play soccer if you have to stop and change your adult diapers every 10 mintutes. So I decided that IT MUST BE DONE!
My son had potty anxiety, which has made it difficult. With a variety of shameless bribes, he will now sit on it. Yesterday, he actually used the potty.
After much celebration (I didn't celebrate this much when Purdue won the Big Ten!) We put on the big boy underwear and took him to Toys R Us to pick out another bribe . . . I mean train!
He had never actually been to Toys R Us. I don't think it's a good idea to take small children into a store that has aisles and aisles of temptation right at their eye level and fingertips. This however, was a special occasion.
After picking out his train, I asked him if he wanted to help pick out a small toy for his sister. He really didn't want too. He wanted to go home and play with his new toy. However, he obliged me and we went to the girl aisles. We found her a little girl for her dollhouse.
I made a big deal about getting a present for his sister, because I'm trying to get him to be nicer to her. He picks on her constantly, pushing her down when he thinks I'm not looking and snatching her toys away from her, insisting that it's his turn.
Actually, I think he liked giving his sister her new toy. She sure liked getting a present from him. Her little eyes lit up when he handed her the bag and said, "I have a present for you, sister."
So in the end, It was more about sibling love than about the bribe. I think he learned two new things. One, it's good to use the potty before you wet your pants, and two, sisters aren't SO bad.

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood!

I saw this on CNN and just had to share. I loved Mr. Rogers as a kid. I don't know why. He just seemed so nice and loving:

By Mangesh Hattikudur

(Mental Floss) -- Here are 15 things everyone should know about Fred Rogers:

Every one of Mr. Roger's cardigan sweaters was hand-knitted by Fred Rogers' mother.

1. Even Koko the Gorilla loved him. Most people have heard of Koko, the Stanford-educated gorilla who could speak about 1000 words in American Sign Language, and understand about 2000 in English.

What most people don't know, however, is that Koko was an avid Mister Rogers' Neighborhood fan. As Esquire reported, when Fred Rogers took a trip out to meet Koko for his show, not only did she immediately wrap her arms around him and embrace him, she did what she'd always seen him do onscreen: she proceeded to take his shoes off!

2. He made thieves think twice. According to a TV Guide piece on him, Fred Rogers drove a plain old Impala for years. One day, however, the car was stolen from the street near the TV station. When Rogers filed a police report, the story was picked up by every newspaper, radio and media outlet around town.

Amazingly, within 48 hours the car was left in the exact spot where it was taken from, with an apology on the dashboard. It read, "If we'd known it was yours, we never would have taken it." Mental Floss: Memorable commencement speakers

3. He watched his figure to the pound. In covering Rogers' daily routine (waking up at 5 a.m.; praying for a few hours for all of his friends and family; studying; writing, making calls and reaching out to every fan who took the time to write him; going for a morning swim; getting on a scale; then really starting his day), writer Tom Junod explained that Mr. Rogers weighed in at exactly 143 pounds every day for the last 30 years of his life.

He didn't smoke, didn't drink, didn't eat the flesh of any animals, and was extremely disciplined in his daily routine. And while I'm not sure if any of that was because he'd mostly grown up a chubby, single child, Junod points out that Rogers found beauty in the number 143.

According to the piece, Rogers came "to see that number as a gift... because, as he says, "the number 143 means 'I love you.' It takes one letter to say 'I' and four letters to say 'love' and three letters to say 'you.' One hundred and forty-three."

4. He saved both public television and the VCR. Strange but true. When the government wanted to cut public television funds in 1969, the relatively unknown Mister Rogers went to Washington.

Almost straight out of a Frank Capra film, his 5-6 minute testimony on how TV had the potential to give kids hope and create more productive citizens was so simple but passionate that even the most gruff politicians were charmed. While the budget should have been cut, the funding instead jumped from $9 to $22 million.

Rogers also spoke to Congress, and swayed senators into voting to allow VCR's to record television shows from the home. It was a cantankerous debate at the time, but his argument was that recording a program like his allowed working parents to sit down with their children and watch shows as a family. Mental Floss: Forgotten kids shows sure to give you nightmares

5. He might have been the most tolerant American ever. Mister Rogers seems to have been almost exactly the same off-screen as he was onscreen. As an ordained Presbyterian minister, and a man of tremendous faith, Mister Rogers preached tolerance first.

Whenever he was asked to castigate non-Christians or gays for their differing beliefs, he would instead face them and say, with sincerity, "God loves you just the way you are." Often this provoked ire from fundamentalists.

6. He was genuinely curious about others. Mister Rogers was known as one of the toughest interviews because he'd often befriend reporters, asking them tons of questions, taking pictures of them, compiling an album for them at the end of their time together, and calling them after to check in on them and hear about their families. He wasn't concerned with himself, and genuinely loved hearing the life stories of others.

And it wasn't just with reporters. Once, on a fancy trip up to a PBS exec's house, he heard the limo driver was going to wait outside for 2 hours, so he insisted the driver come in and join them (which flustered the host).

On the way back, Rogers sat up front, and when he learned that they were passing the driver's home on the way, he asked if they could stop in to meet his family. According to the driver, it was one of the best nights of his life the house supposedly lit up when Rogers arrived, and he played jazz piano and bantered with them late into the night. Further, like with the reporters, Rogers sent him notes and kept in touch with the driver for the rest of his life.

7. He was color-blind. Literally. He couldn't see the color blue. Of course, he was also figuratively color-blind, as you probably guessed. As were his parents, who took in a black foster child when Rogers was growing up. Mental Floss: Praise for the blind genius who invented cruise control

8. He could make a subway car full of strangers sing. Once while rushing to a New York meeting, there were no cabs available, so Rogers and one of his colleagues hopped on the subway. Esquire reported that the car was filled with people, and they assumed they wouldn't be noticed.

But when the crowd spotted Rogers, they all simultaneously burst into song, chanting "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood." The result made Rogers smile wide.

9. He got into TV because he hated TV. The first time he turned one on, he saw people angrily throwing pies in each other's faces. He immediately vowed to use the medium for better than that. Over the years he covered topics as varied as why kids shouldn't be scared of a haircut, or the bathroom drain (because you won't fit!), to divorce and war.

10. He was an Ivy League dropout. Rogers moved from Dartmouth to Rollins College to pursue his studies in music.

11. He composed all the songs on the show, and over 200 tunes.

12. He was a perfectionist, and disliked ad libbing. He felt he owed it to children to make sure every word on his show was thought out.

13. Michael Keaton got his start on the show as an assistant. He helped puppeteer and operate the trolley.

14. Several characters on the show are named for his family. Queen Sara is named after Rogers' wife, and the postman Mr. McFeely is named for his maternal grandfather who always talked to him like an adult, and reminded young Fred that he made every day special just by being himself. Sound familiar? It was the same way Mister Rogers closed every show.

15. The sweaters. Every one of the cardigans he wore on the show had been hand-knit by his mother.

For more mental_floss articles, visit mentalfloss.com

Entire contents of this article copyright, Mental Floss LLC. All rights reserved.

Funny things kids say . . .

I was measuring my son's feet for new shoes with a measuring tape. He was hesitant at first, but then I measured MY feet and he was okay. He started asking me to measure his head, his arm, his hand. We were talking about how big his feet were. He then looked down and said, "I have a big wee wee. Can I measure my wee wee?"

Hahahahahahaha HA!

Funny things kids say . . .

My son went to bed last night at 5:30. He fell asleep with his regular clothes on, and even missed dinner. Then, he slept in a half an hour this morning. Sleeping in is a big deal for him, he wakes up on the dot 6 am every morning. We call him "Our little alarm clock". When he woke up, I said, "You slept and slept and slept little sleepyhead".
He then looked at me with a big smile on his face and said, "Mommy, I slept around."
Ha hahahahahhaha HA!

Why is it?

Why is it that just when you sit down the doorbell rings?
Or when you the kids finally get to sleep the phone rings?
Or when your in the bathroom and your kids decide its a good time to beat on each other?
Or when your trying to do bills and your sensitive child has a melt down?
Or when you are on hold, finally get a person and call waiting beeps?
Or you sit down to watch a movie and your kid pukes on the floor?

I guess my point is that my world is filled with constant interruptions. It seems like I'm always spinning in place. While writing this, I've been interrupted a dozen times. Sometimes, a little peace and quiet would be nice.

I play a little game with my kids called Hide and Sleep. They count, and mommy hides under the covers. It works for about 30 seconds!

No . . . I don't want it!

So finally, I've heard the dreaded words from my three year old. "No Mommy, I don't want it.". Lately, being the mother of two preschoolers has been very trying. It seems like nothing I do makes them happy. They are being very contrary lately.
Along with the contrariness, my son has been popping out with some very funny things. He fell out of bed the other day, and when I rushed in to see what shrieking was about, he lifted his tear stained face and said, "Mommy, I broke my arm! I need to go to the doctor. I NEED some TAPE!" He exclaimed.
Of course, I thoroughly examined his arm, but in the process he told me that he broke his other arm, both his legs, and then his knees. I told him I would give him some Mommy medicine and then he was all better.
I just throw my hands up in the air and exclaim, "Preschoolers!"

Take me to Taco Hell

I haven't' blogged much lately, due to the fact that I don't have any interesting things to say lately. HOWEVER . . .

Last night, on my way home from work, I got the mean mad munchies for some Taco Bell.

I try to avoid Taco Hell at all costs, but every now and again I have to have one. I feel some sort of calling for a greasy pile of meat slapped in a deep fried taco shell.

I have found memories of Taco Bell, going all the way back to High School. After working at Burger King every night, I would stop at Taco Bell on the way home and have two bean burritos. because it was the only place open. After staring at the back end of the grill all night, loading frozen chunks of beef and chicken into the grill master 5000, and then scrapping out the grease coated insides, I had no desire to eat a burger. The warm beans, wrapped in a warm burrito, eaten while hunkering down in the old maroon Ford Escort (it didn't have heat) kept me going on the long drive back to my home in West Point.

In college, we lived right behind the Taco Bell, in a shabby 4 bedroom apartment a bunch of us shared. Usually, after a night of frivolity, we would shamble over to que up in the incredibly long line of drunken students all after a late night fix of hot Mexican goodness. One of my favourite memories of that place was standing behind a really huge guy with a toilet plunger stuck on the top of his bald head. As he was tottering through the line, I really thought he was going to face plant it into the floor.

Fresh out of college, with my degree in hand, I started working in a large office building for evil masters. Just around the corner was a Taco Bell. My co-workers and I would scurry like little mice around the corner for our lunch break, and gossip about our witch of a boss, THE MS. SMARTT!! I used to get so pissed off at the Taco Bell, because it would take them 10 minutes to make your taco. There would be a group of pissed off people waiting at the end of the counter, sipping on Pepsi products, anger building as they were denied Taco refreshment. This is when I developed my trademark phrase, "How long does it take to make a fricking TACO!"

Apparently about 10 minutes.

So last night, when I got the Taco Bell munchies, it wasn't' just about fulfilling my need for hot meat in a roll, it must have been about reconnecting with my past. I mean, why else would I want to eat mystery meat at 11 pm?


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Here and Now Christmas

We had a very nice Christmas with family here in Kansas. There was a lovely layer of snow on the ground, making it quite festive. The kids got really spoiled this year, and I don’t even feel like I bought them all that much. Grandparents are great for spoiling.

As usual, we Millers are great at eating. For Christmas dinner, we served baked ham, homemade from scratch au gratin potatoes, garlic green beans, stuffed onions, and our traditional Christmas Jell-O. Scott really liked the Jell-O. Sasha really liked everything. I think she had 2nds on the ham. Scott ate peanut butter sandwiches.

I hope everyone had a nice holiday.

Here is a recipe I cooked at Christmas. My in-laws really seemed to enjoy it. We love it here at our house all year long. I usually add the chicken to it and make it the main dish.

Moroccan Tangine

1-cup chicken broth

1-tablespoon olive oil

1 can 14 oz diced tomatoes, undrained

2 onions chopped

2 carrots diced

1 zucchini sliced

2 stalks celery sliced

1 cup dried apricots, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1-teaspoon ground cinnamon

1-teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon ground red pepper

2 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

1-tablespoon cornstarch

1-tablespoon water

½ cup silvered almonds, toasted

First, brown carrots in pan with tablespoon of olive oil. Then add onions, celery, zuccuni and garlic. Add cumin, cinnamon, ginger, coriander, red pepper, and cilantro. Cook until veggies are soft. Add diced tomatoes and chicken broth. Bring to simmer. Combine cornstarch and water in small bowl until smooth. Stir cornstarch mixture into pan. Simmer for 15 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Add toasted almonds. Serve over white or brown rice.

***Recipe note: To make this a true Moroccan Chicken Tangine, brown 2-4 chicken breasts in pan before you brown the carrots. Remove from pan before you start browning the carrots, then cut into cubes or slices. Add back into pan when you add the cornstarch mixture and allow to simmer with the veggies.

Horrible (Un)Happy Meal

My son got this horrible toy in his happy meal. What is that monstrosity you ask? Why it's Wally the Waterbug, from the new (soon to be) hit movie Bee Movie. Now, I know that you think it looks like a cockroach, because that's what I thought he looked like.
It is pretty disgusting to open up your kids lunch and find a HUGE cockroach laying on his back, or seeing his think black legs protruding from under the hamburger. I actually gasped, before I realized that this was his toy.
Maybe they should put rubber snakes, or big nasty fake poisonous spiders in their meals. Or we could have food allergy toys. The toys would be big giant plastic peanuts, fake slices of bread, Styrofoam hunks of cheese, and happy wind up shellfish that talk.
So as I stared at what is most possibly the worst kids meal toy ever shipped from the shores of China, I started laughing. Uncontrollably. Then I turned around, handed it back to my son, and said, "Here you go honey, have fun playing with this cockroach."
The funny thing, he looked at it and started laughing to. Maybe there was happiness in that bag of bugs!