The one where my hands are busy

Warning: These are all phone quality photos. Due to my hands being fairly busy at this time (either in sticky wall paper goo or making sure my son is making it to the potty on-time). This is as good as it gets

will probably get for awhile.

So, Ree, PaPa, Nana and PawPaw came down to the lake this past weekend! Dad was going to hunt with the guys on Saturday, and my mom (even though it was her birthday weekend) was going to help watch Burke and also help with the house. (What else says "Happy Birthday" like cleaning someone else's house?) ... We did make time for cupcakes.

Saturday morning, Shireen watched Burke (renovating just got a lot harder with a one year old involved), mom started on the wall paper in the living area, while I cleaned the kitchen (proud to say that one is checked off and covered in plastic!) The room is ready for paint whenever we get to this step!

And probably the biggest accomplishment of the weekend... Mom, Shireen, and I got three BIG walls completely rid of wallpaper, while the rest awaits us this coming weekend. We finally figured out the best method (for this particular paper) was to peel off the first layer dry, and then to use a steamer to peel the second layer off, and follow with a good ole' sponge washing to get the rest of the glue off. The steamer is the key! We also used a spray bottle with warm water and Dawn soap, and it also helped a lot in combination with the steamer. 

You know what else? My mom is going on Friday to start on the rest of the paper... by herself.

True love people.

The men folk did help a little this weekend. :) They took out the glass that separated the kitchen from the dining (I'll get a photo to show you soon.), hauled out some furniture we decided needed to be kicked to the curb, and disassembled, moved, cleaned, and reassembled bunk beds that Shireen and Billy are letting Burke use for his room! We had just planned on taking one of the beds, but we are planning for a lot of cousin fun in our future. Might as well have a place for them to sleep!

I also decided that this week would be the week to potty train Burke. He has been showing signs of readiness for awhile, and I didn't know if there was some kind of "window" or something. Would he get tired of telling me he had to go "poo poo" if I wasn't doing anything about it? 

So we squeezed in WAY to many outings between Monday at 9:00am and Tuesday at 3:00pm, in preparation for a long week for this momma at home!

We had breakfast with the Chickfila cow. (Side note: we were supposed to come in our PJ's, but had a lot of errands to run (including some pictures), so overalls it was!

Love that excited face!

 He LOVED the cow. He wanted him (or is it a she? I'm not sure if the Chick-fil-a cow has a gender.) to pick him up. I found out quickly that was out of the question, when all he/she could do is flap his/her arms.

Anyway, he actually sat through three books before he started standing up and pointing at the pictures (in which I had to grab him to other kids could see.)

 This was Monday after his nap. I was making a new busy bag for him and left the container of foam shapes on the table.) 

Somehow I don't believe he's sorry.

  If you follow me on instagram, you saw the picture below on Tuesday. It tells a lot about our day.

*Balloon: Special treat at Publix that morning.

*Potty Elmo: Thought it would be a fun addition to the potty training bootcamp since he loves his Rock&Roll Elmo so much. In actuality, he could care less about him.

*The potty in the living room: I wanted a quick option for him if he had to go right then. Turns out he only likes to sit in it (with his feet in the bowl) and watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. The real potty is where it all goes down (or it's supposed to.)
*Juice and snacks: his "special" cup from Chucky Cheese filled with apple juice (the direct call to go potty) and snack awaits him by his throne. Got to keep him hydrated and full of fiber! :)

*Naked child: You will find him in this state for at least two more days. It has been recommended to me that he not have any clothes on (at least his bottom half) while in training for numerous reason that I will not state here because most of you could care less. WHICH means, we have not, or will not leave the house until Friday.

I may go crazy.

Here's the stats: Tuesday- two accidents. Wednesday-one accident. 

I think he's doing really good. However, I think he can hold it and wait to go in his diaper (which I only put on him at nap time and to sleep at night). I guess that's a good thing? At least it's not on the floor. I'm eager to see how this whole thing pans out! Crossing my fingers it works!