Potty Training Update

Well.  Let me preface by saying that I had grand intentions of reading and implementing all of the advice that you guys gave me.  I figured I'd get through our busy July and start it up August.

Then last Thursday, Caly looked at me and said, "I want to wear big girl underoos." 

When Caly wants something, Caly generally gets something.  There's not a whole lot you can do to deter her.  So I told her that if she did, she needed to use the potty and not go in her pants.

I figured that I'd be doing a LOT more laundry than I had in the past and maybe the accidents would help teach her how her body worked. 

Yeah.  That's not exactly how it went.

Since last Thursday, she has had ONE accident.  One.  And, (for those interested), has successfully deposited both bodily functions into the proper receptacle. 


So yes, I now have TWO potty trained kids.  For the second, I can't even take the credit.  I hope she always uses that single-mindedness for good.  Because it's a little scary how determined she can be.

(Oh, and even better... she has completely shunned the Pull-Ups in any realm and insists on underwear for naps.  And?  She stays dry.  Night time won't be for awhile, but hey, this is GOLD).

So, thanks everyone for your well-intentioned advice!  I can't say I'm sad I didn't get to use it. 

(I'll store it for the next kiddo... I can't imagine I'll get this lucky again :)

Hold It!

My kids are fantastic little travelers. As long as I make her go before we leave, I can usually get a few hours out of Lex before we have to stop for a potty break. 

So, I'm not exactly in practice of knowing what to do when a kid starts saying, "Momma?  I have to go potty..."

I peered at her in the rearview mirror.  "Ok... we'll be there in a few minutes.  Can you hold it?"

She wiggled around for a second before she started shrieking,  "I CAN'T!!  I CAN'T HOLD IT!  MOMMA!"

I looked frantically for a place to stop so the kid wouldn't pee all over the back seat.  "Just hold it for a second, please, Lex!  Just one more second!"

"MOMMA!!!  I CAN"T!!  I can't hold it!  I can't REACH!?"

Wha--?

"Um, what do you mean, you can't reach?"

She threw me a completely withering look, "Momma...  the buckle is in the way."

Literal, always literal.

I Heart Faces - Over My Head

Genelle and Anne have gotten me interested in this site for their weekly photo contest, (turns out, the site is pretty darn cool aside from that, anyway).

So, here's my entry for this week's challenge:  "Over My Head"

I've got some time this week, so expect regular blogging to commence!

Americana

Snowballs...

Silly faces...

And so excited to see the fireworks that Mama was the one having to keep up.

(Poor Sayer... he was on me... no pictures of him. Cobbler's kids or something like that...)

*this was for you, Robin :)

Summer

Oh gracious... I need to stop apologizing for my lack of blogging then promising that I'll blog more frequently.  Because really, people...  it's summer.  And in the summer, we're doing a lot of this:

And some of this

And this too

So...  I'll blog when I can... and when I'm not?  I'll be having fun with the kidlets.  Because it's summer.  :)

A Sticky Situation

Shaun worked a bit late yesterday and I felt that as a result, I deserved a delicious, indulgent fountain Dr. Pepper. 

(Oh Dr. Pepper, I'm trying to quit you...  well, my extra 10 pounds are... but you're just so dang good).

Anyway, I couldn't justify hauling all three kids out solely for a drive thru run, so I decided to hit the post office and the library as well.  At the post office, I got weirdly brave and went in without the stroller to save myself a bit of time.  Carrying Sayer, I led the girls in hand-in-hand.  Bean carried my package and C, a letter.  God apparently wanted to smile at me as there was absolutely no line and we were in and out in minutes. 

I packed them back into the car and headed toward the library, buoyant with confidence. 

I mean, really, I had just hauled three kids on an errand, no stroller, no tears, no whining, no drama.  Hot stuff, yes, that was me. 

So, we got to the library and after considering the success and ease of the earlier stroller-less outing, I decided to have another go. 

I carried all 24 pounds of Mr. Meatball in one arm and led the girls by the other hand.  This time Bean carried the library bag.  The empty library bag. 

And all in all, the library went well.  Then I realized that I had to pick up Meatball in one arm and 154 pounds of library books in the now VERY full library bag in the other.  And somehow I needed to manage to make sure that my daredevil second born wouldn't go skipping off across the parking lot.  Also, all the while, I needed to try to hurry my dawdling first born from her flower smelling tendencies. 

It was like herding cats.  Sayer continually took my sunglasses off and tried to smash them back on my face, complicating the whole line of sight thing.  C insisted in walking the curb instead of on the sidewalk.  And with every warning to please get back on the sidewalk, she dipped her toe onto the asphalt below and grinned at me, daring me to make a move to grab her. 

Somehow, we made it to the car unscathed. 

As I was lifting Sayer into his seat, I noticed a piece of the fruit leather that I had handed him after the post office to quiet his squawking when he noticed the girls had one and he didn't.  (Oh yes, that stage has finally started and it's de-LIGHT-ful.  Or not). 

I grabbed it and flung it over my shoulder. 

Now, I live on a dirt road.  When I get the kids out of the car and notice some remnant of snack in their seats, I toss it out onto the gravel or grass.  Squirrel food, you know? 

Except...  I wasn't in my driveway.  I was parked next to another car. 

I heard a weird THWACK sound and slowly turned my head around.  The renegade fruit leather was neatly stuck to the side window of a honkin' white sedan parked next to my Swagger Wagon.

I cast a furtive glance around the parking lot and noticed a older woman headed towards me with her keys in hand.  With my back smashed up against the sticky window, I swiped my hand back and forth, trying to find the stupid fruit leather.  With each motion, the muttered words under my breath grew a bit more furtive and a lot more colorful.  After 67 unsuccessful sweeping motions, I finally smacked it to the ground and then rubbed my shirt on the window to get the last of the residue.

From the safety of my front seat, I scrutinized the window.  Satisfied that all evidence of the trespassing fruit leather had been removed, we hightailed it for home.

I'm still not sure whether that car belonged to the woman walking towards us... we escaped a bit too quickly.  If it was and she happened to catch sight of my frantic actions, the only thing we left behind was a good story for the woman to tell about the frazzled looking mom in a blue van doing a weird bear tree shimmy.

Elaboration

Last night on Twitter, I solicited advice for three separate, almost completely unrelated things.

monsterchew:  I need advice on 3 things: potty training, baby allergies, and hardwood vs laminate flooring. And... go!

So here now, my elaborations on why I'm seeking said advice.


1.  Potty Training - My sweet, headstrong little 2 year old decided a few months ago that she would use the potty like her sister.  Delighted by the copious offerings of M&Ms for the minor doings and bigger treats for the... erm, larger ones.  She had no qualms with doing either.  Granted, she often didn't remember to ask to go and I wasn't in a place at that point to embrace her interest, so I just indulged her when she asked and changed diapers when she didn't.  


A week ago, I decided that since summer was upon us, we'd shed diapers, (as she is often wont to do anyway), and I'd actively encourage the pottying habits.  She did GREAT for a few days and then, not so much.  OK, I know, when they balk, don't force, etc.  I got that.  


But here's the kicker.  She does NOT want a diaper.  But she also won't use the bathroom.  Think that equals a mess?  No.  She HOLDS it.  Record time?  4 hours.  She's just barely over 2.  Yeah.  At the end of those 4 hours, she was pleading for a diaper and yet refusing to put it on.  So I tried the potty again.  She went,  (I don't think she could help it), and was dually rewarded with treats, songs, fanfare... and seemed to be super excited about it.  But after that?  Refusal, again.  


I am trying my darndest to not traumatize the poor kid from all future bathroom experiences, but it ain't looking good.  Combine that with the fact that while she will sit on the potty, (and she does that a lot...  sit sit siiiiit), she wants me there.  Which means Sayer comes in. And soon, my whole clan is crammed in my tiny bathroom.  It's not fun.  (And we've tried the mini potty in the other room... no dice). 


Help?


2.  Baby Allergies - Sayer is now 11 months and has spent approximately 8 of them completely congested.  During the winter months, the docs chalked his congestion up to several consecutive colds.  And with two older sisters often bringing germs home, this didn't surprise me.  But as spring came, he stayed congested even when the girls were not.  No other symptoms but a thick runny nose, mostly in the morning,  throat congestion, especially at night, and coughing phlem, again, particularly at night.  The latter really disrupts sleep in a huge way.  And I'm tired.  But you can't really sleep coach/train a kid who is coughing up a lung several times in the middle of the night.


So yes, allergies?  I sincerely doubt it's food related, as we've eliminated trigger foods with no results.  Environmental?  Can babies get them?  The only reprieve we've recently had was during a trip to TX.  Dogs?  


I've got a call into the pediatrician to see about allergy testing.  We'll see.  What do they do for kids that little?


3.  Laminate vs.Wood Flooring - We're really looking to replace the awful carpet in our main room and hallway.  It's old, stained, ugly, and quite realistically, probably nastified and maybe contributing to Sayer's allergy issue.  


So the question:  Laminate?  Which we had in our old house and I liked it ok, but it streaked like mad when cleaned, which I HATED.  Or wood?  I love the natural, deep look of hardwoods and really would lean that way if given the choice...  SO really, my question is more about the cost difference...  is real wood worth it?  Engineered?  Solid?  Which is better?  Types of wood?  Or are there some die hard laminate fans out there willing to try selling me the other way?


Whichever way we go, it's what will probably be here for the rest of our time, so...  looking to chose wisely :)


So yes, internets...  answer me these riddles three.  And I will pay you in...  hmmm... more wacky pictures of our little family.  And maybe some regular blogging.  *gasp*  Yes, really!