The New Computer That Wasn't

Well, our exciting new computer adventure has turned into a royal headache. After receiving our new computer, setting it up, and transferring all of our files over to it, we discovered that, in addition to having the storage hard drive set up incorrectly, it had a faulty cooling fan. After HOURS on the phone will Dell tech support and some bad communication on their end, we discovered that a replacement computer was en route. Hoping that the new tower would solve our computer issues and we could get on with the business of actually USING the new computer, we anxiously awaited the replacement computer. After spending more hours scrubbing our data off the faulty computer and uninstalling our software, I wasn't really looking forwarding to setting up a new computer … again. The replacement computer arrived and we booted it up, only to discover that it had Windows Vista installed as the operating system, in spite of the fact that we had ordered and paid for a Windows XP installation. To add insult to injury, we also found that the storage hard drive had been incorrectly set up AGAIN.

To make a long and aggravating story short, after a few more hours with Dell tech support (and being transferred from one department to another and back again … several times), it seems that, oops, they goofed up with the storage drive installation again (which was fixable), but that they had neglected to inform us that all replacement PCs were shipped with Windows Vista, regardless of the fact that we didn't order and didn't WANT Vista (I told them that they had also neglected to tell us that they were shipping us a replacement computer at all – I only found out that they had when I called tech support back to check on the status of the issue). Since they could not or would not fix the operating system issue, we had the option of sucking it up and dealing with Vista (ugh) or sending the whole system back. Since I was beyond disgusted with Dell at this point, we opted to pack everything up and send it back.

So, Dell has lost a long-standing customer today and I've lost hours and hours of my precious "free" time. The only positive thing I can say about this experience is that they didn't give us much hassle about returning the computer and they paid for the return shipping (although we've yet to see our refund). That is the last computer I'll ever buy from Dell. Now it's time to start computer shopping (again)!

Going Strong

After our weekend of amazing potty success, Monday didn't get off to such a great start. After being accident free all weekend, Monday was an oops-filled day. Molly started off with a double whammy – she both peed and pooped in her beloved Elmo underwear. As soon as I discovered the accident, Molly started saying, "Oh dear, oh dear! What are we gonna DO?" Although I wasn't too keen on cleaning up some dirty underwear, her commentary had me laughing out loud. While I was getting Molly cleaned up, Max was apparently having difficulties of his own. I came downstairs to find him standing in the corner with a mournful look on his face and some wet drawers. He was really bummed out that all of his "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" undies were now dirty and he had to make do with dinosaur underwear.

They both made it through the afternoon without mishap. Right before dinner, Molly was playing in the office while I was checking email. I heard the unfortunate sound of water hitting the Pergo, followed by another "Oh, dear!!" Molly was standing in the middle of the office with a lovely yellow puddle growing under her feet. When I went to grab her, she started to move and ended up slipping and sliding in the pee (it was like one of those cartoons where the character starts running and doesn't actually go anywhere). I managed to get a hold of her before she fell and, to her great embarrassment, carried her to the laundry room, stood her in the laundry sink, stripped off her "yucky" (as she called them) undies, and washed her off before putting her in clean clothes.

But, although the week got off to a rocky start, both kids have been doing great all week. Molly did have one other minor accident, but, to her credit, she told me she had to pee and I didn't believe her. She was eating dinner and had just gone on the potty before we started eating, so I didn't think she had to go and was waiting until she finished her meal. Max still won't poop in the potty, but Molly merrily poops and pees on both the little potty and the potty insert on the big toilet – you just have to make sure you plunk her on the potty often enough. Max seems to be able to hold it really well, but so far doesn't want to pee on the big potty or poop anywhere but his diaper. Potty training two kids at once is exhausting (and messy), but I think we really might be diaper free by the end of the summer.

Potty Time!

Although Molly has been doing a great job on the potty over the last few weeks, Max was still showing zero interest in going on the potty himself (although he was more than happy to cheer Molly on). We haven't wanted to force the issue and have been waiting for him to show signs that he's ready for potty training, but we were starting to run out of time before the preschool potty training deadline. So, on Saturday morning, while Molly and Dad were napping, Max and I made a trip out to Target to pick out some cool, new "big boy" underwear.

Once we worked out way back to the baby section, Max immediately spotted the Curious George girls' underwear and declared that he wanted Curious George undies, but, unfortunately, they were out of the boys' version. So, he was given a choice between Thomas the Train, Elmo, and Mickey Mouse briefs. After much hemming and hawing, he declared that he wanted the "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" underwear, which I thought was funny because I don't think he's ever even watched that show (we might have flipped past it a couple of times). I picked out some Elmo undies for Molly and she was also lucky enough to get some Curious George panties. I let Max pick out some animal crackers for himself and Molly, I grabbed a couple other things that were on the list, and we headed on home (after swinging by the coffee shop to pick up a cappuccino treat for Mama).

Once we got home, the Weekend of No Diapers officially began. Molly woke up shortly after we got home and was THRILLED with her Elmo undies. She happily put on a pair and proudly showed them off about every five minutes. Max was also pleased with his "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" briefs and seemed to take the "you can't pee or poop in your Mickey Mouse underwear" lecture to heart. I put some protective covers on the couch and let the kids loose. Every hour or so I declared that it was "potty time" – I'd set the timer on the stove for 3-5 minutes and M&M both had to go sit on the potty. They had to sit there until they peed or until the timer went off. Molly would sit down, pee, and be on her way in about 30 seconds. Max, on the other hand, would sit out his allotted potty time and then go on his merry way. As the afternoon wore on, you could tell that he had to pee. He'd sit there and hold his crotch, but vehemently deny that he had to go potty. We played and went to the park and goofed around and ate dinner, but Max didn't pee. When it was just about bedtime and Max was literally hopping around, I took him into the downstairs bathroom with me, sat him on the potty, and waited. We sat and sat and sat and sat until, finally, he started peeing. He peed and peed and peed and peed ... and he was sooo pleased with himself. We ran out to show Molly and Daddy his accomplishment. We cheered and danced and sang and had a "potty party," complete with "birthday cake" (half a ding dong with a candle stuck in it). Max went to bed a very proud and happy little boy.

On Sunday, it was the same thing – no diapers except for naptime and bedtime. Molly did great – pooping and peeing in the potty like a champ. Once again, Max held it. He peed while he was napping, but other than that he kept his undies dry all day. Once again, we were getting ready for bed and trying a last-ditch round of "potty time" – and he actually peed. It was time for Dad to go to work, so we ran into the bedroom, woke him up, and Max showed him his "big pee"! We flushed it and cleaned up and when we got back to the potty in the bedroom, Max said he wanted to go potty again (he NEVER asks to sit on the potty). So he sat down, concentrated, strained, and finally peed. And peed some more. And then some more. For the first time ever he was peeing on demand – it was like a lightbulb finally went off for him. We had to have another potty party before bed and Max was over the moon. We were hoping that he'd finally had the breakthrough that we'd been waiting for for the last year.

It looks like we're on the right track – today he peed on the potty three times and he does it faster every time. Yay, Max! Maybe we won't need to buy stock in diapers after all!

Drive In!

As you might imagine, with two kids under the age of four, Dad and I don't get out very often. We probably only see a couple of movies a year in the theaters and usually regret going. It's always a little disappointing to spend a small fortune on movie tickets, only to spend the majority of the film struggling to hear the movie over the cell phones, loud conversations, and inane comments (not to mention the inevitable seat kicking). These days we just wait for movies to come out on DVD, Netflix them, and enjoy them in the comfort of our own home. But, since a nearby sports arena puts up a drive-in theater every summer, we thought we'd check it out this weekend.

Both Dad and I have fond memories of going to the drive in as kids. I remember seeing Star Wars for the first time at the drive in (which, of course, was a pivotal moment in the life of every aspiring geek of my generation ;). My parents have us put on our pjs, bring our sleeping bags and pillows, and we'd put down the back seats and get comfy in the back of the car. We would always make up a bunch of popcorn – remember that this was back when making popcorn at home involved heating some oil in a cast iron pan, pouring in the popcorn kernels, throwing a lid on it, and laboriously shaking the whole thing back and forth on the stove until the popcorn had finished popping. We'd put real melted butter on it, some salt, and transport it all in a brown paper grocery bag – it was the best! My sister and I would usually stay awake for the first movie and fall asleep during the second film.

Since neither Max nor Molly has even been to the theater, I guess this counts as their official first movie. We opted to see "Wall-E" and "The Incredible Hulk" – we thought both M&M would enjoy "Wall-E" and assumed that they would be asleep before the "The Incredible Hulk" started (since it wasn't really a movie I wanted them to watch). We gave the kids their baths, put them in their pjs, and packed lots of snacks and drinks. We told M&M we were going for a ride to see a "big TV" and they were VERY excited (especially Max). We got to the drive in early, hoping to get a good spot, but not really thinking about the fact that we would then have to keep M&M entertained until the movies started. We fed them snacks, let them climb around the car, and took them for a walk around the lot (until the mosquitoes drove us back to the car). We were obviously total drive in rookies, since most of the people there brought collapsible chairs, coolers, toys, etc. and really set up camp. The people in the car next to us even brought their puppy in a little portable kennel (to Max and Molly's great delight).

Right before the movie started, we brought them up front with us and let them sit on our laps (which resulted in them turning on the hazards, setting off the panic alarm, and hitting a bunch of other buttons before we got things under control ;). When the movie began, both kids were amazed by the "big TV." There was a short animated clip before "Wall-E" started, which the little kids LOVED. Max was laughing and squealing and clapping all the way through it. They enjoyed "Wall-E" – Max was intrigued by the "little robot" and the cockroaches. ;) It was a little "old" for them, however, and near the end of the movie both kids started getting crabby and fidgety (not surprising, considering it was already about four hours past their normal bedtimes). Max ended up climbing into the back seat and messing around back there for a while. After "Wall-E" ended and they started asking to watch it again, we told them they could watch more big TV, but they had to go sit in their car seats. They happily let us buckle them into their seats – both kids were sawing logs before the opening credits for "The Incredible Hulk" were finished.

Molly did wake up about a half an hour before the movie ended and decided not to go back to sleep. Dad and I managed to block her view of the screen for the rest of the movie, which didn't make her very happy. When the movie was over and the credit were rolling, Molly announced that she was hungry and she wanted to eat (this was after she consumed a good-sized dinner and huge quantities of snacks). We asked her what she wanted to eat and she thought a minute before answering, "Ummmm, hot dogs ... bananas ... cheeps (chips) ... cookies!" I guess now we know what Molly's ideal meal is! As we were driving home, Molly started waving and saying, "Bye bye, big TV. Bye bye!" We carried them home, plunked them in bed, and they went right to sleep. Although Max slept in until 8:30 the following morning, Molly was up with the sun and cranky as all get out. Thankfully, she took a nice nap, although it will probably take both kids a couple of days to catch up on their sleep. All in all, I think it was a successful outing – we might have to do it again soon!

Note: Unfortunately, this post sports a bunch of random photos, since I neglected to bring my camera to the drive in. :(

New Computer

After a year of hemming and hawing (and laziness and procrastination), Dad and I finally got around to ordering the new computer that we've been meaning to buy for the last year. We originally planned to buy the computer as soon as we finished remodeling the office ... well, the office was finished LAST August, but we're only just getting around to the computer part. Since Dad got the last new computer, this time it was Mama's turn – it's hard to beat a fast processor, nice graphics card, loads of hard drive space, and a really nice 24" LCD widescreen monitor. But, getting all the data transferred and everything up and running properly is proving to be a royal pain in the hiney.

Once we got everything up and running, we discovered that, although the extra hard drive was physically inside the computer, it wasn't operable. After a couple of hours with Dell tech support, the issue was resolved (they screwed up the configuration). We then noticed that the computer was having some fan/overheating issues whenever it came out of standby or hibernate mode. After another few hours with tech support, it seems that problem is less easy to fix. And then, of course, there were the calibration issues with the awesome new monitor – so far it is really awesome, but it's not displaying colors correctly (the out of the box setting on the monitor were ghastly). After trying a slew of software calibration options, we've determined that we need to use a hardware calibrator.

So, with a color-challenged monitor and a semi-functional computer, no pictures have been processed, no blogs have been posted, and we've generally fallen off the face of the planet for several weeks. Since Dell is shipping us a new tower (I won't even bore you with all the grumbling about all the time I wasted transferring files and installing software on the defective tower), I hope we'll back in action soon!

The Fourth of What?

We had another low-key Fourth of July this year. Since M&M have never been to a big fireworks display, we thought about taking them a couple of times. Of course, both times were days when they both decided not to take afternoon naps and we figured it would be meltdown city if we tried to keep them up several hours past their bedtime. We didn't even light off any sparklers, so we'll have to have some make-up pyrotechnics next year.

We had a nice, relaxing, lazy weekend and actually got some much-needed house reorganizing done. We've finally finished baby proofing the living room and office, so M&M now have the full run of the first floor (minus the laundry room and first floor bath). They're overjoyed with their new found freedom and ability to spread their toys out over a much greater area. :P

We did at least manage to don some cute, patriotic outfits and rustle up some American grub -- you can't beat grilled hamburgers and homemade French fries! We made Max and Molly some tiny little hamburgers, which they scarfed down, and they went nuts over the French fries. We don't eat out often and neither of the kids have ever had a Happy Meal – I think Max has had a French fry or two here and there, but I'm not sure Molly has ever even tasted one. They made up for lost time – wolfing down their fries and begging for more. I didn't get around to making the traditional Fourth of July apple pie, so Max and I made brownies instead! Oh well -- there's always next year. ;) Happy Fourth of July!