Legos and Kittens and Potties, oh my!

Jack has been saving money FOREVER. Ever since we informed him that he was old enough to work and buy his own things. No more asking and receiving, just plain, hard work and reward. OK, I'm not sure bringing in the mail every day counts as hard work, but it is a chore that I appreciate getting done and at 10 cents a day per chore, he works hard at it. At that rate, you can tell he really had to WORK for this. I think Legos are ridiculously expensive, but I suspect that isn't the point. He wanted this. He made a goal, he worked and worked and worked (huge thanks to Chris and Rhonda Elliott who hired him one day to do some work they really didn't need help with and then paid him $10 in silver dollar coins. It was just one of the kindest and best things to do and was a huge boost to his savings plan!). Today, we went and picked up his set. He is counting down the hours until we sit down and put the X-wing fighter together. I know, you're all excited that I get to do fun stuff like this.

We got a kitten! I have resisted the pleas around my house for a cat for years. If you scroll back in these posts to last fall, you will recall our failed few weeks with a very cute stray. But then Robbie came along and he is OBSESSED with cats. He LOVES them. There aren't enough cap letters in the alphabet to get that point across. So, for his birthday that is coming up, Jack suggested we get him a kitten. So when free, litter trained, 12-week-old kittens showed up on Freecycle, we went to look. I went to pick up a short-haired gray female. But Kit, as the kids named him, waltzed in looking for them as they looked for kittens and wouldn't leave them alone. I knew because Kit was seeking the kids' attention that he was the cat for us. We picked up his sister, who we call Daisy, for Aubrey. I wasn't wrong. They're great kittens (thus far, we are only four days in) and Kit is wildly tolerant of Robbie hauling him around. I probably don't need one more thing to take care of, but I think Kit and Daisy are pretty charming. The only member of the family who isn't thrilled is Jimmy. It isn't that he doesn't like the kittens; he does. They don't like him and giving them attention has ratcheted up his already needy-for-attention demeanor. I have a very hard time explaining to the dog that I have always been more a cat person than a dog person and I'm sorry that I like petting them better. Poor guy.

Finally, and I don't have a picture of this one, but Robbie pooped in the potty today. I can say that on this blog because, a) it's my quasi journal and b) you're my friends. I want to remember this in case it never happens again. After a long day that included a trip to Niagara Falls, the above trip to Toys R Us for the Great Lego Purchase, we came home for a quick bath. As I was getting the kids in their PJs (well, Robbie, the other two wrangle themselves) he was holding his oh you know, and acting like he had to go potty. So, I asked him. He enthusiastically said yes and we ran to the bathroom with Jack and Ellie hot on our tails. He sat there like the king of the world, did his business and then clapped for himself. Naturally, we joined in.

I swear if he potty trains himself he will become my favorite child.