Katie's Last Day of Swimming Lessons

Katie's Swimming Lessons
Katie's last day of swimming lessons went real well. I asked RuthAnne what areas does she need work on and special attention. She said that I need to continue to work with Katie's humming. She still wants to open her mouth while swimming and especially going under water. As soon as I can get the swim belt, I'll be able to work with her reaching in the water. Katie didn't want to leave the pool yesterday. She acted as if she knew that it was her last day. She kept asking me if we were going to come back tomorrow (today). When I told her no that this was her last day, she got real sad.

Katie's Reward
When we finally left, she told me that she didn't want to go home. I asked her what did she want to do. We ended up going to Books-a-Million and I let her stay in her section. She had a blast being surrounded with books of all kinds. There are three chairs were the children's book section is located. I felt a little uncomfortable because the place wasn't packed with people and this young guy was sitting in one of the chair in the children's section. He was acting like he was reading this book, but I noticed him watching Katie. I made sure she was within viewing distance. I didn't want her to have to leave the children's section just because this guy seemed weird. I was hoping he would get up and leave. She was having trouble putting some books back where she found them, so he helped her put them up. I tried to think that maybe he was just trying to be helpful, but you never know in this day and time. I had her sit down in a chair and I sat with her, blocking his view of her. I finally convinced her that we would go to the Library and check out some books. Something told me that I didn't like the situation, we were in at the moment. Katie got all excited and was ready for the Library.

At the Library, I picked out some books that we've never read. We also picked up a couple of movies as well. I was excited to see "Pollyanna". I remembered seeing that movie when I was little. So, we got "Pollyanna" and a new "Miss Spider and the Sunny Patch Friends" movie. I wanted to check out "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis, but our Library had been remodeled and I couldn't find it right off the bat. Ugh! By that time, Katie was ready to go. Needless to say, I didn't get the book. We went down the back roads to go home. I couldn't get over the houses that were for sale not far from the school. Last night, I asked Doug if he knew of anything that was going on. Usually if you see lots of property up for sale, that means somethings going on. Something like road expansion or a new development. He thought that was strange, but he didn't know anything about it.

A Parents' Nightmare
Last night, we decided to go to Huntsville. I promised that if Katie listened to Mrs. Knight all week, then I would take her to the Disney Store. Doug dropped us off at Belk, while he went to Best Buy. On the way to the Disney Store, I stopped off at Gymboree. I knew they were having a good sale. On their sale rack, I got two long sleeve shirts and a pair of pink pants for $5.99 each. Katie needs a sun hat for this Summer and more importantly, for our beach trip. Tehe! I found two sun hats at Gymboree that I liked. Katie was in love with this white hat with a BIG pink bow. She kept walking around the store with this hat on her head. I wanted to wait on the hat because I knew the Disney store would probably have some hats that would match Katie's swimming suits (Minnie Mouse & Tinkerbell). We put our hats back and headed for Disney. Woo Hoo! Katie was so excited. I was floored when we finally got to the store. To our BIG disappointment, we found out that the Disney Store is going out of business. Ugh! What a sad day for the Masons! Of course, Katie couldn't understand what was going on. She couldn't understand where everything was at. I was so disappointed for Katie. In fact, I was disappointed all together how vacant the mall was on a Friday night.

I called up Doug and let him know about the store. He was still shopping at Best Buy. I asked him if he felt like going to Toys R Us for Katie. We agreed that as soon as he got through shopping, he would take us to Toys R Us. Katie and I went back to Gymboree and got a sun hat, barrettes and necklace. She still wanted the BIG white sun hat with the pink bow. In fact, while I was looking for another accessory to get 50% off, Katie put the hat up on the counter. The guy rang it up and put it in our bag. When Katie agreed on the necklace instead of a pair of sunglasses, I put it on the counter to be rang up. I noticed the white hat. I asked him, "what's this?" I didn't want this hat. He apologized and said that Katie put it up on the counter. He just assumed that I wanted to purchase it too. Guess what hat size Katie wears? I tried the 2T-5T on her, but it felt a little snug. I was afraid that it would give her a headache after a while. The next size up is 8 & up. It's a little big, but works fine. At Gymboree, I asked the guy what the problem was with the mall being so vacant. I asked him if was because of "Bridge Street"? He said that the mall began to go vacant long before the new plaza. He said he noticed it when Belk bought out Parisian. He said that they haven't been the same and how it would be great to get another big department store like Macy's to move in. He did say that nice days like today, most customers go to Bridge Street because it's outside. So sad!

We headed back to Belk and waited around for Doug's call. I wanted to check out the Children's Department, but Katie saw Libby Lu and began begging me to let her go. I didn't see any problem, us going into Libby Lu. I let her get out of her stroller and check everything out. Looking around, I thought this stuff is way too old for Katie right now. That is until I saw the Tutu. How cute! I showed it to Katie and she wanted to try it on. I figured it was too big, so I checked out the size and to my surprise it was a size 3. I couldn't get over it. By the time I had to tutu in my hand for Katie to try it on, she was interested in something else. I found some cute Styrofoam microphones. I showed them to Katie and she got so excited. She knew just what to do with it. There was music playing inside the store, so she started dancing and singing in her microphone. The microphone she had looked like it had been played with too much, so I convinced Katie to pick out another one that was in much better shape. She said she wanted it, so I let her pay for it with her own money. By the time we made it to the Children's Department at Belk, Doug called. He was waiting to pick us up.

We got to Toys R Us and I could notice Katie was getting hungry and tired. If we were going to Toys R Us, we had to go then before it got too dark because it is located on the bad side of town. As soon as we walked in the store, Katie began begging me to get her out of the cart. She wanted to walk and play with the toys. I gave her the listening and minding speech before I allowed her to get out of the cart. Doug was getting bored, so he went back to the car. Ugh! It was getting late and I couldn't get Katie away from the trains. I wanted to look at the swim shoes before we left the store and Katie was making it very hard for me to do that. She wouldn't hold on to the cart and she definitely was not going to sit in the cart without having a melt down. I was loosing my patience quickly. I finally put Katie back into the cart because she wasn't minding me. Melt down city! I didn't care who was watching, I wasn't having a little brat on my hands. I smacked her little leg and told her we were leaving. She calmed down a little, so I got to look at the swim shoes before we left. I grabbed the Little Mermaid sandals and headed for the check out. I think the shoes will work real good for Katie both on sand and water. What I really liked is they were 40% off the original price. I paid $7 for them. I'm slowly getting the things we need for our trip. I get really excited when I find good deals like Katie's $4 sun hat and $7 sandals. Tehe!

Doug wanted to eat Supper at either Cracker Barrel or Greenbrier BBQ. I was still trying to calm down after the episode Katie pulled at Toys R Us. I get so aggravated. She does so good at home and like this past week with the whole swimming lessons. Then, she pulls stuff like she did last night. Ugh! I just can't let her out in public, but I know I've got to or she won't learn. We ended up going to Cracker Barrel and she continued to push my buttons. She wanted to play with the lantern on the table and begged for me to let her go see the toys. I explained to her that she wouldn't be seeing any toys tonight because the way she acted at Toys R Us. Then, she announced that she had to go potty. I took her to the restroom and no sooner I got the potty ready for her to sit on it, she started crying and saying that she didn't have to go potty. Ugh! Serenity Now! We got washed up and went back to the table. It wasn't long before she said she had to go potty again. "You've got to be kidding me!" I busted her bubble by telling her "no". I was so ready to leave and go home. I kept smacking her little leg because she acted like an acrobat in the chair most of the time. I told Doug on the way home, our life as we know it is gone. I told him that we can't sit in a restaurant for next 10 years with her. He hopes that by the time she's 13 years old, we might be able to sit inside a restaurant again.

Looking for Solutions To A Toddler's Bad Attitude
Okay, I've noticed the past couple of months that Katie is changing. Yes, she's smart as a whip, but she has developed this attitude problem. She uses words like "now" and "I want" with a tone in her voice. BRAT! I'm trying to remind myself that she has learned this from me, other children and television. So, I have to curve this learning experience by the way I talk to her (saying please and thank you more often) and correct her every time she starts this bad attitude. Well as you can tell, it's been hard. Plus, I've been using excuses to cover it up. With Mom being in such bad shape these past few months, Katie's been passed around and there were times when I didn't see her for days. So much has been going on like Doug's birthday party and the Keyes families coming to AL, this has caused me to be lax with her. Letting her get away with murder, in other words. Since our life is pretty much back to normal, it's time to get a hold of this attitude problem. I've tried the naughty chair, switches, bribes and now the reward jar. I'm using this method from the "Supernanny" off of television. We'll see how it works. We started it this morning and Katie seems very excited.

The rules for the Reward Jar:

1. Every time she says "Please" or 'Thank You" without me reminding her to say these words, she gets a stone put in her jar.
2. Every time she goes to the potty (poo-poo or pee-pee), she gets a stone put in her jar.
3. If she helps Mom around the house without me reminding her or forcing her to clean up, she gets a stone put in her jar.
4. Anytime she does something nice and not bad, she gets a stone put in her jar.
5. If she's bad (talking back, saying "no"), she gets a warning and if she continues, a stone comes out of her jar and back in the bag.
6. If all the stones in the bag are in her jar, she will get to do something special. She could do something reasonable like: go to the park, visit the bounce house, go to the toy store, etc.

I'm trying not to make it too hard, so it can be encouraging for her. We started this morning around 9:00. It's 1:00 in the afternoon and she already has 7 stones in her jar. When she does remember to say "please," she gets excited and she tells me that she gets a rock put in her jar. I let her take the rock from the bag and put into her jar. I've only had to warn her about two different things. I really hope it works or we might have to resort to the belt. I'm hoping to get this problem corrected soon.

Katie's New Phrase
"Don't sas me boy, I know karate!" Okay, she can't say "karate" very well but I know what she's saying because she got this phrase from "Meet The Robinsons". She'll say it out of the blue and I have to fight off the smile or giggle because she does it so good. I just wish, right now, she would come up with a better saying. Especially now that we are working on her manners. Ugh!