14 Days and Other Things

It's official.  We have made it to the other side.  This side is a beautiful place to be.  This side includes no diapers, only underwear.  After 5.5 years of diapers, we are done.  I can say this because it's been 14 days since the little guy wore a day time diaper and 2 nights since he wore a night time diaper.  The freedom is setting in.

Some of the awesome benefits of having NO kids in diapers:

• We will have more money 
• I will not need to carry as much stuff around (back-up underwear is lighter and smaller)
• I will  not have to clean stinky, mushy, poopy diapers anymore
• I will no longer be polluting mother earth with my kids disgusting diapers (I was really feeling guilty about that)
• My son's garbage can/room won't stink like stale pee diapers
• I can finally get rid of those nasty Diaper Genies 
• We will have more closet space as I will no longer be buying boxes of diapers at Costco

Question:

• Can I still carry around a diaper bag?  They fit a lot of stuff and come in really handy.  I have a secret obsession with diaper bags and don't think I'm ready to move on.

It is safe to say my little man has grown up a lot this summer.  First he was the "ring boy" at my brother's amazing wedding at the end of May (an awesome responsibility for any 3-year-old).  Next he moved from his toddler bed into a big boy twin bed (we now preface everything with "big boy").  More recently he quit his pacifier cold turkey.  And as of 2 weeks ago, the little man is diaper-free.  Wow!  I hate to say it, but my kid is growing up fast!

Sometimes I just want to document the amazing progress of my offspring on this blog because I'm afraid I will forget when all these milestones happened.  I am amazed at how much child-rearing related information I have already managed to blank out on, but I take a certain amount of comfort from the fact that I will always have this blog to look back on and remember the crazy ride that has been raising my children.

So that's it, consider all the little guy's "summer 2012" progress officially documented.

Steak, Margaritas and Poop

To eat: Six ounce Fillet Mignon (cooked medium) with blue cheese crust served with garlic mashed potatoes and a side salad.

To drink: Two margaritas and some water.

That is a pretty ideal meal in my world.  It is a meal I don't get at home.  And sadly, it is a meal I only get when my family and I venture out for dinner together every five or six months.  Last Saturday we decided we would take the chance and head out to the Outback for a family restaurant dinner.   

There are numerous reasons we never go out to eat with our kids, and they include:

• The babe's food allergies make it scary
• The little guy acts like an animal
• My husband and I barely get to look at each other, let alone talk
• I have to eat WAY too fast as any second the scene could dramatically change and we will be leaving with take out containers instead of enjoying our hot meal
• It costs a lot of cash and I don't find it a particularly relaxing experience.  Quite the opposite, I'd say.

We should have known it wasn't the best idea after we wasted half an hour trying to encourage the little guy to have a poop in the potty before we left.  He hadn't gone all day and I was in no mood to deal with a blow out in a public bathroom.  As such, we went back and forth with him, knowing it was a losing battle.  We were all pretty cranky by the time we decided to give up and get in the car.  We were also fed up with talking about poop.  As we headed out, I selfishly mentioned to my husband that I would be happy to stay home and save the money we were about to spend for a date night for him and I.  Apparently that wasn't fair to the kids (what a nice Papa they have).  

Sadly we had to make a pit stop at the park near the babe's school as we had left her jean jacket there the day before.  Jean jackets aren't cheap and I really wasn't ready to permanently part with it.  Sadly that meant dealing with DC traffic and the always stressful Connecticut Avenue, which added a nice chunk of drive time for us.

We made it to the restaurant in one piece and managed to dodge quite a few potentially nasty children losing it type scenarios (example: my daughter is so competitive she was getting upset when my husband beat her at the tick tack toe game on the children's menu).  Our food arrived and everyone seemed to be doing OK.  The little guy, who has become a terrible eater lately, managed to eat all his burger and start demanding "more burger" from our poor waiter.  The babe seemed more into her apple juice than her chicken.  And my husband and I managed to polish off everything put in front of us, although in a seriously rushed fashion (I am a slow eater and eating fast really irks me).

Then it was time to take my juice consuming daughter to the bathroom (the ride home is a trek). We settled into one of the two stalls and the babe proceeded to have a good pee.  When she didn't immediately finish up, my heart kinda sunk.  "Oh No.  She's not doing what I think she's doing, is she?" I panicked.  The babe is extremely comfortable doing her business pretty much anywhere....public or private bathroom doesn't seem to phase her (probably because she's five and all).  The line of people grew outside the door and I could tell the babe (and the person in the next stall) was in for a long session.  I tried to encourage her along in a positive way, realizing everyone is the bathroom was listening to me babble on like a loon.  After a few minutes I realized I couldn't chat anymore.  I needed her to focus, and I told her so.  I know you can't rush a pooping five-year-old, but man oh man, as people started leaving the bathroom out of annoyance, I also started to feel pretty annoyed.  And I knew the little guy and my husband were probably starting to feel the same way.

By the time we made it back, we had been gone for over 25 minutes, which is longer that we had taken to "enjoy" our meals.  The babe seemed pretty clueless about the whole situation but my husband and I automatically exchanged looks and discussed on our way to the car how we keep forgetting how stressed out we get going to restaurants with our kids.  

Now maybe us parents need to chill out a bit, or maybe our kids don't get enough practice in public eating establishments, or maybe we should move to Europe so our kids can see how well behaved all those kids are in public.  Regardless,  I am fine with another six month break before we try that again.  It just doesn't seem worth it to me, and if that makes me a negative, crotchety Mama, than so be it.  I can wait for my steak.       

Ready For Those Lightning McQueen Undies?

The little guy has been making some progress on the toilet training front.  He will use the facilities a number of times a day, and sometimes he will use them without being prompted by a concerned parent.

As we drove home from picking up the babe at preschool yesterday, the little guy announced he had to go potty.  He had not pooped all day and I had been waiting for a blow out.  I was so excited I almost lost track of the fact I was driving the car.

Luckily we were close to home and I managed to get him on the toilet in time.  He spent the next 15 minutes doing his business while the babe and I clapped every time we heard a fart or a poop hitting the water of the toilet bowl.  We are clappers around here. 

My husband, good man that he is, has been taking the little guy to the potty first thing in the morning to help him get used to this daily ritual.  This morning the little guy's diaper was pretty dry and my husband felt it was time to try out the underwear.  After they did their potty thing, my husband put the little guy into his Lightning McQueen underpants.  My husband was pretty psyched and was feeling as if we had turned some sort of potty training corner. 

He suggested we send the little guy to school in underpants.  While I appreciated my husband's enthusiasm, I did not want to put my son's teachers or a co-oping parent through the "accident" scenario.  I put my foot down and said that the little guy was just not ready.  I believe in my kid, but I have been down this potty training path before, and I am all too aware of the harsh realities of mastering bladder control.

So we agreed he could hang out in the underpants until it was time to leave for school.  As I was making the babe's lunch downstairs, I heard my husband call out, "honey, he peed on the comforter."  I am not into saying "I told you so," but come on now, honey, I told you so (and thanks for admitting you were wrong about that one)! 

As I write, my comforter cover is in the dryer and my comforter is in the washing machine.  I support progress.  But I don't support my son wearing underpants while hanging out in my bed.  So is the little guy ready for those fancy Lightning McQueen undies?  Not so much.  Not. So. Much.

What's In Your Bed?

There's been a lot of talk lately about bed bugs on the East Coast of North America.  It is a serious issue which is cause for concern, especially if you're a frequent traveller.  Luckily, I am not a frequent traveller, nor is my husband (I say that with a heavy heart as part of me would love to be a frequent traveller).  The concern around my house is not bed bugs, but child pee.  Yes.  Child pee.

When my husband and I were first engaged we decided to splurge on an awesome king size bed.  It is truly delicious and we love it.  Sadly, over the years, there have been many incidents where our little ones have spat up, peed, vomited, etc., etc. in our bed.  Because that's the kind of stuff that happens when you have little kids.

I had hoped we were mostly past that phase as I feel truly sorry for our beautiful bed which has been shown no mercy.  Yesterday I was reminded that we are most certainly not past that phase (silly me).  Yet again, my son, who climbs into our bed around 6 am every morning, managed to soak through his overnight diaper and leave a nice big pee spot in the middle of our mattress where we generally rest our weary heads.  He and his sister usually snuggle up and watch a 20 minute (educational) cartoon every morning while I throw myself together.  Most mornings I will change his diaper before he sits up to watch TV.  As you may have guessed, I did not do that yesterday.  I had given him a quick bum pat and decided he'd be OK for the 10 minutes it would take to throw my jeans on and brush my hair and teeth.  I came out of the bathroom to find him sitting clueless in a damp circle.

This is NOT what you want on a Monday morning after a 5 day (i.e. very, very long) weekend with your 4 person family.  So I stripped the sheets and grabbed a wet and soapy towel and tried to remedy the situation.  At this point I'm not sure what else I can do.  Our beautiful mattress has been abused for so many years, but as long as we have anyone in diapers or toilet training around this house, I suppose pee in my precious bed is a possibility I'm going to have to live with.  Not that I'm trying to make excuses.  I admit that I'm going to have to be more dedicated to the early morning diaper change.  I can't expect a sleep induced laissez-faire attitude to keep my mattress safe.  While pee isn't in the same ball park as bed bugs (thank goodness!), my mattress just can't take it anymore.

Poop Goes in the Potty

This is just a quick post to brag about the fact that my son did not poop in his diaper yesterday. That's right. He did not poop in his diaper.

After lunch he informed me that he had poop coming and we rushed to the potty. It was a grand success. And before bath time he informed me he had more poop coming and we rushed to the potty. Another awesome experience.

It was a big poop day, and the fact that it all went into the toilet was quite monumental. I think I like our no pressure potty training approach. It certainly is much less stressful than the alternative.

And in case you were wondering, today ended up being a non-poop day. So we will just have to wait and see what happens tomorrow.

Potty Talk

I am tired of my self analysis stint and am officially switching gears.  My Dad was right when he told me I always seem to want to be obsessing about something!

I'd like to talk about bathrooms.  Specifically, bathrooms and children.

I have become hyper aware of the fact that I probably sit on a lot of pee and poo fragments left on toilet seats by my daughter.  At 4.5 she has pretty much mastered the art of using the toilet when necessary.  In fact, earlier this week the babe and her new friend (a neighbor) decided to kick off their first play date with a rather prolonged trip to the bathroom.  The female inclination to head to the bathroom in groups apparently kicks in quite early. 

There do, however, appear to be some gaps in the clean up section of the babe's bathroom usage skills.

More than one time this week we have walked into a rather nasty situation in our bathrooms.  Little flecks of poop on the floor, chunks of poop stuck on toilet seats, and smushed looking poo all over the kiddie potty seat, which she claims she doesn't need.  I feel like I have been walking around with a container of Clorox wipes all week. 

You know that feeling you get when you stand up after using the toilet and realize you sat in wetness which has now transferred to the back of your legs?  That is fairly common around here.  I guess I just hadn't really spent much time thinking about what other disturbing things I could have been sitting on over the past few years.  I've decided it's time to get my head in the game and always assume the worst. I am not a germaphobe, but I think I am officially done with sitting in yuck. 

I am secretly grateful the little guy is still in diapers as I don't quite think I'm ready to face the challenges of potty training with him.  If I think things are gross right now, I'm sure I will be looking back at these times as the good 'oll days.  Before we venture down that path, I am going to work on toilet etiquette with the babe and try and get her squared away before we have to start all over again. 

Just For the Record

Since we're talking about monumental firsts, I just wanted to share that the babe almost mastered the art of tying shoe laces today and the little guy had his first poop on the potty.  And guess what?  These things were occurring simultaneously on different floors of our house this afternoon.  The babe and her Papa downstairs and the little guy and I upstairs.  How cool is that?

The babe and I got up early and hauled ourselves to the mall to go to a "shoe tying class."  I honestly thought this would teach both the babe and I some handy tips ( I had, after all, given up my coveted sleep in morning).  But it turns out those department store guys don't know much more than I do about teaching kids this tricky skill. 

What it did do is inspire the babe and help us take the training a few steps further at home.  As you may recall, the babe is easily frustrated and is not a fan of not "getting" things the first time she tries.  This means that we, her father and I, need to be insanely patient when tackling new projects with her.  And I am thrilled to announce that all the patience, and the tag team parental effort, brought us pretty darn close to solidifying this critical skill. I am sure a good nights sleep will help her internalize the magic of tying laces.

So while the babe and her Papa were working away in the living room, the little guy and I were just hanging out...and apparently he was busy having a big poop.  So I hauled him upstairs to change him.  Not to get too detailed, but before I slapped on the new diaper, I asked him if he was all done with his poops.  He said, "No.  Potty."  I didn't question his directions and carried him over to the potty. Within 30 seconds he had pushed out the last bit of remaining poop as if it was the most natural thing in the world.  Needless to say, I was pretty psyched.  I cleaned him up, we washed our hands and went back for that clean diaper.  The little guy was pretty thrilled to announce to his Papa what he had accomplished on his trip upstairs.  He kept hugging my husband and my heart melted.

Some days it seems like we're not really going anywhere or accomplishing anything.  Other days it seems like my munchkins' childhood is speeding by.  It's a good thing there's a bit of balance, though.  Because days like this make up for a lot of the crap.

Two Stories and Three Little Birds

One of today's stories is gross and made me smile.  The other story is sweet and made me smile.

I'll start with the gross one.

My husband has been working late a lot recently which has meant that I'm on bath/bed time duty solo.  I can usually handle it due to my nightly practice of working on regaining a positive attitude as I clean the kitchen after dinner chaos and the kids watch a little chill out TV. 

So last night was a solo night and I had the babe agree that she was going to be my "helper."  This usually means she will be less likely to compete with her brother for the title of most crazed and annoyingly behaved bath time kid.  As I was getting things ready, I realized that the little guy wasn't playing with his sister, as I had thought.  I went searching and quickly discovered that he was in our bedroom.  I ran in and found the bathroom door closed.  I opened it and found the toilet room door (or whatever people call it) closed.  I opened it.  Guess what I found?

My son standing proudly with the toilet cleaner brush up by his nose and mouth.  I don't want to know what this kid was doing with the toilet brush...I just want to pretend it didn't happen.  I dragged him to the sink and gave his hands and face a good wash while repeating to myself, "gross.....gross....gross."

I managed to get them both in the bath and things went fairly smoothly for about a minute until the little guy decided it was splashing time.  So I got them both washed up quickly and got the babe standing to do the big rinse off.  The little guy started whining and the babe looked at him and started singing, "Don't worry, about a thing."  Then I kicked in, "Cause every little thing, is gonna be alright."

She looked at me stunned.  As in, "how would my Mama know anything about this music?"  I asked her where she had heard the song.  "Miss Mary's room," she replied.  "Do you know that's Bob Marley, sweetie?" I asked.  She wasn't aware of the man who made this song famous, what he stood for, or what this song has meant to me in the past.  But I tell ya, I just thought it was so cool that my 4 year old daughter just whipped out some classic Bob Marley in an attempt to make her brother happy.

In honour of the wise man, and to put a spring in your step this Friday afternoon, I present Bob Marley's Three Little Birds:

Don't worry about a thing,

cause every little thing gonna be all right.
Singin: don't worry about a thing,
cause every little thing gonna be all right!

Rise up this mornin,
Smiled with the risin sun,
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin, (this is my message to you-ou-ou:)

Singin: don't worry bout a thing,
cause every little thing gonna be all right.
Singin: don't worry (don't worry) bout a thing,
cause every little thing gonna be all right!

Rise up this mornin,
Smiled with the risin sun,
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin, this is my message to you-ou-ou:

Singin: don't worry about a thing, worry about a thing, oh!
Every little thing gonna be all right. don't worry!
Singin: don't worry about a thing - I wont worry!
cause every little thing gonna be all right.

Singin: don't worry about a thing,
cause every little thing gonna be all right - I wont worry!
Singin: don't worry about a thing,
cause every little thing gonna be all right.
Singin: don't worry about a thing, oh no!
cause every little thing gonna be all right!  

More Potty Talk

I suppose I should be happy the babe goes pee and poop in the potty on her own.  A while back, I would have never believed we'd arrive at a place where she can walk upstairs by herself, go to the potty, wash her hands, and come back down to re-join the little guy and I.  But here we are.  The only problem with our arrangement is that the babe never flushes the toilet.  Good for for the environment, bad for me.

Pretty much every time I run upstairs to use the bathroom I am confronted with a yucky looking toilet bowl.  The babe tends to do quite a few smaller number twos throughout the day and will just leave them floating there. 

Again, I know I shouldn't complain, but given the fact that I rarely get to use the toilet alone, it would be nice to actually enter a bathroom with a toilet that "appears" to be clean.

In the grand scheme of things...this is not a big deal.  I know things are going to get a lost more disgusting (again) when it comes time to train the little guy.  But for now, I'd love to be able to just sit down on a clean toilet and do my business.  Ah, to dream.

Home

Today's message: if you're looking to buy or rent a new house, get one with a bathroom on the main floor.  We have been in our place for about a year and a half, and almost every day of that year and a half I have wished we had a bathroom on the main floor. 

I can not explain how often I hold it in because it is too much of a hassle to run upstairs with a child to use the facilities.  And I cannot tell you how many times the babe has interrupted dinner by announcing she has to go pee, really bad....RIGHT NOW.  The little guy and I then have to drop what we're doing (him eating, and me trying to keep up with the food production) and all get up the stairs safely so we can support the babe's important task. 

Potty training when there is no bathroom readily available is also an issue, and while we're generally in the clear with the babe, the little guy will be next in line and I hear boys are harder than girls.  I suppose I should start mentally preparing for it now to lighten the future mental load.

On another note, I also look forward to the day when we have kitchen cupboards that don't fall off.  Last week I tightened some screws on one of our cupboards because I noticed the door wasn't shutting properly.  I was so proud of myself for whipping out the screw driver and taking care of business myself.  Apparently I didn't really take care of business because this afternoon when I went to grab a plate, I ended up grabbing the whole door off the frame.  About 20 pounds of wood came crashing down on my shoulder, then my leg, and then the floor.  I am feeling pretty stiff and now have a big open concept cupboard.  I am just SO GRATEFUL the kids were not in the kitchen with me, because I don't even want to think of the damage it could have caused to their little bodies.  Yet another close call.

The contractor was here again today working on our plumbing issues and will apparently be here for another 5 hours tomorrow installing new faucets and some new thing a ma jig for the toilets upstairs (I wish he was installing a new bathroom on the main floor!).  I am sadly foreseeing an interrupted nap for the little guy, but am looking forward to being able to turn off taps properly and not having toilets running constantly.  While I recently wrote that naps are sacred, I have to add that conserving water is also sacred!

Advancement

Every time I think the babe is really advanced...she goes and pulls a whammy just to remind me that she is, after all, only 3 years old.

Today she walked toward me with dripping hands. I asked why her hands were wet (we were upstairs at the time). She replied that she had stuck her hands in the toilet, which, as you may have guessed, had not been flushed since the last time she had gone pee in it.

I didn't handle it to well. There were drip marks leading from the toilet and across the hall into her room. Yuck, yuck, yuck.

We also had a bit of a poop accident in the evening...of the "oops here it comes" runny variety. I am looking forward to moving beyond the pee pee, poo poo days, or as they say at the babe's school, urinate and defecate.

Enough of this nonsense...gotta get to bed as our big travel to Canada day starts in T-8 hours. Wish me luck!

The First Time

This has been a week of many first times.

On Monday the little guy crawled. Not only did he crawl, but he did it on a web video call with my parents! My father got to witness his grandson crawl for the first time. Smashing!

The little guy had been scootching around and doing the commando crawl for some time but to see him up on his knees and hands moving forward was an amazing thing. Watch out, because this kid is officially on the go.

Then on Tuesday night the little guy only woke once during the whole night to eat (in addition to a few pacifier plugs). We have been on a two times a night schedule for a very long time. We had also been on a wake up at 3:30am and scream until around 4:30am (when I gave in and fed him) schedule for a few nights which was getting pretty exhausting. Looking back I think it was linked to his "just about to crawl" stage of development.

Another crazy thing happened Tuesday night. The babe came in and told my husband she had to pee. So off they went to the toilet at 11:30pm. Amazing. My hubby has been telling her that if she needs to pee at night she can always come and get him and they can go to the potty together. Guess it is starting to sink in!

Then on Wednesday afternoon the babe went poop in the potty upstairs unprompted and unassisted for the first time. She had just had a "time out" and I had gone up to open the door and get back on track with her. She said she wanted to stay in her room looking at books, so I let her. I was in the living room with the little guy when the babe came down the stairs and said "I went poo poo." My heart sank as I thought about the very messy clean up job . Then she said "in the potty." My heart then lept, despite my confusion. She has never used the potty upstairs without our involvement. So up we went, and indeed there was a poop in the potty. I was thrilled. She was thrilled. It was a beautiful thing.

Fast forward to this morning. After a relatively peaceful night, I went in to get the little guy when I heard his whimpering cries in the monitor. I walked in and TA DA...he was sitting up in his crib. Wow. How did that happen? He has never sat up in his crib. I suppose we might want to move the crib down to its lowest setting now. Before I know it he will be standing in there. Then jumping. Then trying to climb out.

The firsts will continue to happen and I will continue to cherish them.

Many Many Things

I just sat down with my hot lunch. It's almost 2:30 pm. I took a bite of my egg and bagel and opened up the computer.

"Mommy...I went poopy in my diaper."

I suppose I should be happy we're doing so well with the pee pee in the potty that I shouldn't complain about the fact that poop time has been moved to nap time when the babe is in a diaper. She has managed 2 poops in the potty in the past week...which isn't so bad I suppose. But hot lunch and poopy diaper don't go hand in hand.

I'm going to go bullet point to cover as much as I can:

• My life now revolves around school. I am so excited about it. I am loving it. It's only been 4 days but I am so pro-preschool I can't even explain.
• I can't get my timing right. I show up early for drop off and then show up early for pick up. I am so paranoid about being branded a "late parent" that I allot a ridiculous amount of time to make the very short trip. Yet I always feel as though I am running late. I suppose I will get this down to a fine science with time.
• Last week I was having trouble sleeping. It was as if I was the one going to school. I would lie in bed at night with a kazillion school related thoughts running through my mind. I can't imagine how the babe feels as she's the one actually going to school for 3 hours a day!
• Every time the phone rings, I am afraid it's the school calling to say the babe has had an allergic reaction. It has made me quite jumpy. I have also been asking the babe what she had at snack time and she has not been giving me much of an answer. She has also been chowing down a massive lunch after getting home from school. So on Friday I spoke with the head teacher who admitted she had been reading all the labels and being extremely cautious. It sounds like there were days when there was nothing for the babe other than juice (which she's not even used to drinking). So I offered to pack a snack for her every day. It looked as though a large heavy weight was immediately lifted off the teacher's shoulders. She agreed that was a great idea. I feel better. Head teacher feels better. And hopefully the babe feels better.
• Every parent in my child's class now knows I am the one with the allergic kid. On the "back to school night" a week ago I informed everyone about the babe's allergies (after another parent brought up his daughter's nut allergy). We had quite a long discussion about birthday food for the class. I said I was happy to make something special for the babe to eat on those days. Another Mom mentioned a bakery that makes stuff to meet your allergy specifications. I informed everyone about my favorite "Cherrybrook Kitchen" mixes available at Whole Foods. Then someone suggested we just do fruit for birthdays. The head teacher finally indicated we should move on and a Mom sitting behind me made a unhappy snort noise indicating that she agreed. I think she felt the discussion was a waste of her time. For a second I felt like I was in high school (as in, not good). But some of the other Moms around me had already asked me a bunch of questions about how I'd discovered the babe's allergies, etc. So that had made me feel better about the amount of time we had spent discussing the issue. I'll admit we were all sitting on tiny wood chairs that were not designed for adult sized bottoms. It was also 8:15 pm. But I'm glad we talked it over...even though I'm not sure what the final decision was.
• The babe has made it through 4 days of school with only one pee pee accident. AWESOME! The teacher even admitted they dropped the ball and had taken her to the playground outside the school without taking her to the potty first. That'll do it.
• Germs. Little kids have lot of them. The babe had a snotty nose on Saturday and Sunday. The little guy got a snotty nose on Sunday and is still ill. We've had pretty rough nights with him the last 2 days. My husband felt off yesterday and is now complaining about a sore throat. I suppose we had better get used to the many diseases and yuckiness that we'll be exposed to now. I don't even want to talk about the swine flu.
• And lastly, I was so tired last Thursday I tried to open my front door with the "unlock" button on my car keys. It didn't work...but wouldn't it have been cool if it had?

PRESCHOOL!

I have been thinking about how I need to tell you all about our week....but there have been about a zillion other things I had to do. Our phone line is down right now so last night I composed a quick email to those of you who have been in touch. Here's what I shared:

_ _ _ _ _ _
Hi everyone,

Thanks for all the calls and love! Our phone lines are down completely now so we can't even get a dial tone. As such, I thought I'd send you a quick update.

The babe was very happy to be at school yesterday for the 1 hour orientation.

She was so happy at school that she threw a tantrum when it was time to go and screamed and scratched me. The head teacher took over seamlessly and calmed her down immediately. I was amazed at how good she was with the babe and felt very reassured that my feisty daughter was in good hands.

The babe was ready for school this morning and wanted to leave before we even had breakfast.We drove over and the little guy and I walked her to the building. A teacher watched the little guy while I brought the babe to her classroom. We opened the door and the babe walked in without saying good bye or looking back. I had to call her to come give me a hug. I told her I'd be back to pick her up at lunch time. And off she went! The little guy and I then went to the dermatologist to have my stitches removed (everything apparently looks good!).

At 12:15 pm the little guy and I picked the babe up but she wasn't quite as happy as when I'd left. The teacher said that she had worked very hard all morning but got a bit tired and upset close to lunch time. Apparently she was missing her Mama. I must admit that made me feel wanted! She quickly rebounded and proceeded to tell me about her day (although she didn't really remember any names, she seemed happy with the amount of activity!).

The most shocking thing was that the babe was still in the clothes and undies I had sent her to school in! NO accidents for the whole morning. She made it all the way home and proceeded to pee in her shorts on the front porch while I unlocked the door, but no accidents at school! And no accidents for the rest of the day at home either. That's some big progress! I will be sleeping better tonight.

All in all the last 2 days have been very intense but very exciting. It's a new phase of life for all of us and I think it will be a welcome change.

Again, thanks for all your love and support.

xo
Christine

Potty Update and School Countdown

The babe wore panties all day today....and only one accident. I'll admit we were the ones reminding her and bringing her to the potty, but only one accident ain't bad. Especially considering we were at a friend's place for brunch when it happened.

The babe got a fruit stick as a reward at the end of the day. She really loves those things and I have decided to use them strategically.

We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

Wednesday, the first day of school EVER, is coming pretty darn fast! And as much as I said I was ready for her to go, I am scared to let her out of my sight. I wonder if I would feel differently if she didn't have food allergies? I have coached her to say "no thank you, I have allergies" when offered food or drink. I have also explained (a million times) that all the kids will be using the potty at school. What more can I do? She's not even 3 years old...and things need to be kept in perspective. I just want her to be safe and healthy and supported. Hopefully I chose the right school to meet these objectives. Time will tell.

Our Last Week

I am supposed to be savoring this week. I am supposed to be enjoying it and appreciating this time with the babe. It our last week together full time. It has been 2 years and 9 months of being together most of the time. And frankly, I think we're both done with it. She's tired of me and yes, I will admit that I too am at times tired of her. Sadly, I am just counting down the days until she starts preschool on the 2nd.

I suppose I wouldn't be writing this if we hadn't just spent the past few hours of the morning bickering with each other. I try to be the mature one, as I am the mother, but it is pretty difficult at times. She just knows what buttons to push and how to get me going. It's one thing after another and I am pretty frazzled. I don't know how people home school children. They must have the patience of a saint.

I am really looking forward to 5 half days of preschool a week. It will give the little guy and I time alone and time to get errands done. It will be nice to be back to 1 kid for part of the week. I've decided that 2 at home full time is just not my cup of tea. It doesn't make me particularly happy a lot of the time, so the change is coming just in time.

As you know, I sometimes love being a stay-at-home Mom, but I also sometimes seriously dislike it and question whether I am cut out to do this.

My only concern, as you know, if the crazy unsuccessful potty training. Last night we did a few hours in panties with no accidents. The babe even pulled the portable potty in front of the TV so she could use it while watching Sesame Street (unassisted and unencouraged, I might add). But this morning I encountered some resistance to sitting on the potty despite the fact she wanted to wear her princess panties. Needless to say we didn't last too long without an accident. I think I may just try and do a few hours a day and see how we go until next week. But I am expecting to be called by the school to "discuss" the situation. I am praying she will be able to continue attending as we sort this out. I have experienced such an insane amount of stress over this potty training thing I am close to tears at time. Who would have thought it would come to this.

Montreal

The 23 day trip to Canada has been moving along at a rapid pace. Last Friday the kids and I arrived at my Mother in law's house in Montreal. My husband flew in from DC that night, and my sister in law and her husband and 2 kids had arrived the day before. Needless to say we have a full house. It has been amazing to watch the babe play with her cousin who is a few months younger than her.

The babe's cousin is potty trained. I thought this would help the babe get on the potty train. I thought the train would leave the station. I am now sadly losing count of how many times I have had to clean serious amounts of poop out of her panties and training panties. She just doesn't care. She will go pee on the potty when brought to the bathroom but never indicates that she wants to go. This makes for a lot of work and "remembering potty time" for the adults around here. Luckily it has become a family affair. But after the major poop out this morning, I think I am about to poop out. Maybe she just isn't ready and I'm wasting my time. I have no more patience. I have no more positive reinforcement. I am feeling pretty done. So for now, she's off at the park in her pull ups. We'll see if I have the guts and patience to put those darn panties on again. But September 2nd is getting pretty close at this point.

In other news, the fan saga continues. I arrived at my Mother in law's, had a seat in the living room, and found myself staring at exactly the same white oscillating fan with the haunting "Super" written across its front. The fan was kindly moved to the basement by my husband and replaced with a swing for the little guy. I'm not sure if all these folks who own this nightmare of a fan should be throwing them out, or if I just don't want to see them. I suppose that as long as I tell people about my experience with the "Super" fan, then I have done my part.

As you may have guessed, there hasn't been any time to be sitting at the computer blogging or even doing basic emails. Being in a house with 9 people is a constant whirl, not to mention the many folks dropping by for a visit. Next week should be a pretty big change going back to our slower pace in DC. But it will be nice to be back in my yummy bed. And it will also be nice to start thinking about moving on past this crazy summer into a hopefully more peaceful Autumn.

Potty Stories

I'll keep this one brief. Be warned that it's a little detailed if you're not interested in poop and pee pee.

While I was on my awesome one night get away with my sis and the little guy, my folks took a shot at potty training with the babe (it was my second night away from her ever!). It went well and they were thrilled. The use of gifts had indeed been a motivator. I was excited when I got back and hoped it would be different this time.

It wasn't.

Today, for the second time in my life, I cleaned poop out of my daughter's panties. But this time was a little more nasty. Once deposited in the grown up toilet, the poop managed to lodge itself and clog the whole thing. Right after having a go at plunging and attacking it with a metal coat hanger, I came out of the bathroom to find the babe standing in the living room peeing all over the floor. Nice.

So, we are obviously having some control issues here. She can do this whole thing when it suits her. She knows the deal. She can even recite the potty training books we have. But she just doesn't want to give in. The clock is ticking and September 2nd is around the corner.

Do schools send kids home if they aren't at the "80%" potty trained level they have requested? I guess I may be finding out.

Day 1

Today I had a first. I cleaned a very large poop out of my daughter's panties. Not diapers...panties, because today was Day 1 of "Project Panties."

The first half of the day was pretty miserable. We had three pee pee accidents and one poop accident by 11:30 am. That is a lot of accidents for half a day (especially as we were putting her on the potty every 30/45 minutes). The running dialogue in my head wasn't very positive and we were beginning to think we had rushed things.

After a long nap, the babe stepped it up. She woke with a dry diaper and didn't have any more accidents for the rest of the day. In fact, she let us know she had to pee during her shower and got plunked on the toilet naked and soaking wet. How awesome is that? The fact she told us she had to go is what is making me smile right now.

We'll see how things go tomorrow.

In other news, we had a lovely time at the Canadian Embassy for Canada Day on July 1st, and my husband and I celebrated 4 years of marriage on the 1st and 2nd (we had 2 separate ceremonies). We even ventured out to a local Japanese restaurant for some sushi (a friend from across the street baby sat for us). It's been an action packed week which has involved lots of potty talk and lots of celebrating our love talk. Right now, my night is about to involve some eating of the chocolate torte cake talk.

Summer 2009: Season of the Potty

Summer camp. Swimming in my back yard pool. Outdoor concerts/festivals and frosty drinks on patios.

Summer has meant different things to me at different phases of my life. This summer feels like the summer of the potty. I am counting down the days (4) until we go hardcore: no more diapers. I keep writing about this challenge, because that's what I'm finding it to be, a challenge.

I mentioned to a friend today that I may have to go on medication just to make it through this experience. I try to remain upbeat and positive, and I try not to freak out when the babe decides to do a big, stinky poop in her diaper, but it doesn't always work. I now officially hate the term "potty" and asking "do you need to go sit on the potty?" I asked my Mom about it, and she didn't remember potty training my sister or I. Perhaps it is something best forgotten once complete.

In other news, it seemed to be baby day in my facebook account: my lovely cousin just had a healthy (and huge) son, a high school friend also had a happy, healthy son, and an old friend just let me in on his wife's pregnancy. Much congratulations and love to you all. And good luck with the potty training!