[ oh ikea! ]

sooooooo... my boys, 2 & 4,  LOVE going to ikea! not sure how long this will last but it can be very handy although i took them to the liberty science museum the other day & they were VERY disappointed when we drove straight past... mmmmm maybe they like it a bit too much.

we arrive just in time for a meatball lunch! YEAH!!! got to say love their meatballs & the gravy ~ but what is their obsession with those lingonberries!! just looked them up ~ full of vitamin c, that's good.

so i'm trying to manoeuvre 2 very excited boys, a shopping cart & one of those tray carts with our food on around to an empty table ~ how tricky it is that all of these are wanting to go in different directions, 'luckily' my toes are managing to control some of the deviation...

i'd just got everyone settled, things shared out & cut up, when nearly potty trained flynn, 2, makes the 'i'm doing a poo face'!!! no no no no no!! flynn you can't do poo you don't have a diaper [nappy] on. his response was 'i done it!' 

expecting to feel a 'hard ball' through his trousers (he hadn't been for a couple of days) i retracted a moist hand... i look down & a thick lumpy 'gravy' was running out of the bottom of his trousers forming a delightfully large puddle on the floor. 

there was a very 'stuffily clean' family of four at the table next to us & i hear the mother asking what is that? i was about to answer using every word i knew for it (keeping a smile of course), but the question wasn't directed at me!

flynn won't go on the toilet when we are out so i bring a plastic potty with me, so i grab that bag & pull out the roll of kitchen towels & clorox spray anywhere. (i LOVE that stuff!! it's a god send!!)*

i literally use the whole roll wiping this mess up & squeeze what i can out of the bottom of his trousers so i'm hoping i won't leave a trail to the bathroom..

all the ikea staff disappeared (can i blame them!! i think i would have got the first flight over to sweden to go lingonberry picking if i could!) i did do a really good job cleaning it up though ~ even if i do say so myself. finally i spot this lady & explain to her that i need to take my boys to the bathroom could she please not clear our food, ok... so i do my best slow talking & hand signs i can to try & bridge the language barrier!

i whisk flynn up, butt in the air & rush into the bathroom ~ gave him a 'pack of wipes' bath! change his clothes & give them both big hugs & kisses. oscar was a very good helper after i explained to him maybe 10 times that yes it stinks, every ones does, & it's not helping that you keep pointing that out...

we go back to the restaurant to happily find our food was still there... the very nice lady had covered it all with napkins...

got to say those meatballs are good cold too!! we finished eating & i suddenly realized why she'd covered the food... there were a couple of big buzzy yukky flies bombing around... probably signalled by my sons 'gravy'!!!

exhausted (me that is!) ~ the boys want to go in the ball pit... great i think, i'm going to test out a mattress for 20 minutes!! or minimum a couch!!!

had to wait 20 minutes to sign them in & the 'stuffy mother' was in front of me in line... i'm surprised she stayed!!)  (& i think i bumped into her at least 8 times around the store!)

off they went ~ i take a lovely deep breath & walk round to the couches... when loud speakers go off in stores oscar always says the ceiling is talking!! well the ceiling was asking me to return to the ball pit... flynn was waiting by the door... didn't want to stay. off we went back to the couches & there it is again... the ceiling asking me to go back... oscar didn't want to stay either, oh well!

my boys love to turn all the lamps off in the lighting section ~ oh the fun you can have! but ikea ALWAYS has to have the last laugh! it ran out of frozen yogurts while we were in line! we'll be back!! (hopefully without gravy!!)

[ where's the potty! ]

sooooooo... my little man flynn who will be three in august is going wee wee on the potty!!! i'm so proud of him & i have to admit a bit sad because it means he's growing up! don't get me wrong i don't want a 40 year old in diapers (i actually have a bit of a phobia about men dressed up as babies!) or someone that wants 'bitty'!! [ please see video below if you are unfamiliar with little britain sketch! ]
but... yes he's growing up fast!

the easter bunny brought him batman underwear, which were a bit big, but that's the way to go, makes for much easier pulling up & down.

pooping is not as easy to master in the pot!

the other day we were in borders bookstore café & flynn was all comfy in a leather armchair... when suddenly i hear, 'mum i've done a wee wee...' i look over to see flynn kneeling in a puddle of pee! excellent! ~ well at least the chairs are leather!

luckily i've brought spare shorts with me so i clean flynn & furniture.


later on we go to the park & meet up with the boy's pal, paul. all of a sudden the boys are all shouting poo. i go over & flynn has pooped, but because he is 'commando' it fell out of his shorts & rolled in the wood mulch resembling a 'chocolate flaked truffle'!!

my older son, oscar 4, got a present for pooping in the potty, so we promised (bribery is not a nice word!) the same to flynn.

the boys have had their eye on a batman station since christmas... & are like moths to a light every time we are in a store that sells them.

oscar got really frustrated with flynn one day & shouted 'will you go poopy in the potty so we can get it!' flynn shouts back 'ALRIGHT!' sits down on the pot & performed BIG!!

we were all jumping up & down cheering!!! poo party!!

so true to our word ~ the next day we trundle off to the toy store to get the batman station. oscar wanted to go straight to it & make the purchase. flynn had other ideas & wanted to have a ride on the snoopy firetruck & take his time!!

we eventually get over there & flynn is so excited he pee's himself in the aisle!! i clean him up & mop as much as i can, but there's only so much a small pack of tissues can absorb. i stop someone who works there, explain my son has had a 'spillage' & ask for kitchen towel. she returns with some paper towel & a mop. she asks me what it is & my nose grows as i say juice... (well it kinda is!!) but i do feel slightly guilty as she wants me to hand over the wet paper towels!!

we get home & the boys are sooooooo excited!! we remove all the packaging (which wasn't too bad for a change!!) see (i can't get in my package)

anyway the boys are happily playing when i hear oscar shouting that's poo!!! oh no!! i enter the room to find oscar is indeed right!! that is poo!! all down flynn's legs, in his shoes & on the floor!!

i have a chat with flynn... asking if he knows why he got the batman station. he says yes... but... i tell him he has to do it in the potty every time!! he says why 'will i get another present??!!!' ok... someone is missing the point!

[ sunscreen SPF ]

sooooooo... i always kept a bottle of kids sunscreen in my car & i was shocked when i found this out the other day. when your bottle of sunscreen gets hot it can cause the ultraviolet absorbing chemicals like avobenzone and oxybenzone to degrade right in the bottle. crazy i thought, as these products are meant to be used in hot weather...

when you use a degraded sunscreen, you are not getting the SPF indicated on the bottle and in some cases might as well be applying a thick moisturizer.

the ideal temperature to keep SPF products is no hotter than 77 °F (25°C), your car can get up to 120° (50°C).

also they have a shelf life of around 3 years ~ so I'm thinking it's time to have a sunscreen clear out! all those bottles i hang onto because lets face it they're not cheap

i thought this was a great idea ~ to store it in the cooler when you go to the beach/picnic etc, that will stop it breaking down & feel refreshing.

personally I think the lotion is far more effective than the spray which I hate breathing in!  (obviously I don't do this intentionally!) & apparently if you do use the spray it is less effective if you rub it in.

be good to skin...

[ oscar questions ]

sooooooo... it's still early!!

 oscar, my 4 year old, has just said... mum you know radios in spanish are called...

(wow i'm thinking i don't know what it is!! this boy is a genius!)

... then he tells me it's 'walkie talkies!' ~ ok!

his next question:

mum what do police stations in texas look like...?? do they have cactus?

mum whats a rodeo!

...wheres my coffee!!!

mum is an umbrella a force field?

mum does everyone wear underwear?

no darling... (how am i going to answer this one...!) some people don't have enough money to buy underwear & some people just choose not to.

does spiderman wear underwear?

yes

does wonder woman wear underwear?

yes

does wolverine wear underwear?

yes

does ironman wear underwear?

yes

mum hulk smash's underwear is made of purple dots

really?

do giants wear underwear?

yes

mum does dr doom wear underwear?

i hope so ~ listen oscar, superheroes in general wear underwear.

mum because spiderman is in general thats why he wears underwear isn't it?

yes sweetheart!