Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Potty Training

It is with some measure of anxiety and intrepidation that I have been thinking about potty training my dear unsuspecting boy. Actually, I have been thinking about it since we bought his potty seat in December, but I allowed myself to be "convinced" by more experienced moms that it was really too soon to start for one reason or another. When the morning sickness and exhaustion hit in March, I decided to wait till I was in my second trimester and had a little more life in me.

But now, the dear boy is not as compliant as he was about 6 months ago, so I'm wondering... Did I wait too long? I'm anticipating a battle, but I think I can use his loathing of all types of stickiness to my advantage!! (Even while this child is eating french fries, he is fussing about his fingers being "sticky" at every bite.)

I've had it in my head that I would begin this craziness in June, since the weather was warmer and since we didn't have much travel planned for that month. He is about 28 months now, and is talking up a storm and is much more aware of his body processes. So today I picked up three books on potty training from the library. The one I'm reading first is called "Toilet training in less than a day". I mean, if that was possible, why futz around with the other two books? I can't say I hold out much hope for this method, but I give the authors credit for their optimism. According to them, in their studies this method worked within 2 1/2 HOURS for children over 26 months!! Whaaa-aat?!! Anyone out there think this is realistic?

Personally, I had considered switching to cloth diapers for this phase, initially and then move quickly to cloth trainers. We've already tried the Pull-ups that are supposed to help the child learn when he was wet. These things just don't work. So I'm thinking the way to go, until my books tell me otherwise, is the "shock and awe method" of switching to cloth one day and letting the boy get the feel for what we're trying to accomplish. :)

I have also recently read of a product called "PODS discreet strips" which can supposedly be attached like a mini-pad in a child's underpants to absorb and neutralize accidents. They also give a cool wet sensation to the child. The claim is that the child is potty-trained by the time you get to the end of the box... Sounds nice, doesn't it?

Monday, May 29, 2006

Family Traditions

Just got back from a weekend at my sister's. It was a combination of my niece's 3rd birthday, our Dad's birthday and our Annual Family Christmas Exchange. Yes... we are a bit out of season. I won't say whether we're early for this year or late for last year. That will be our little family secret.

Now, you may be wondering just why it is that our celebration is so untimely.... I think that we are often wondering the same thing. It's complicated.... Dad is a snowbird and is often way out of the area at that "Most Wonderful Time of the Year". This year, one of my sisters was "great with child" during the aforementioned wonderful time, and so travel was out of the question, naturally. The rest of us? Well, we do have lives too, ya know!

But May is nice. We don't usually do anything for Memorial Day anyway, so it actually worked out well. :)

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

The latest news

The back has been slowly improving over the last week or so and I'm sooooo thankful. I barely notice any pain these days, which is nothing sort of miraculous to my mind. I know a lot of people have been praying for me, so if you were one of them, Thanks!! The last time my back was in that kind of shape it took months to recover and only with the constant wearing of a back brace. Let me tell ya, in my current state that would NOT have been pretty!!

The other update, now that I feel safe in letting the cat out of the bag, is that we are expecting a new addition to the family in November. I have taken to calling him (or her) Tater for the time being. So this, in short, helps to explain the back pain and also my dread at what the future held if things did not improve.

As for the pregnancy, I am in the lovely stage where my regular clothes no longer really fit comfortabley and the pregnancy clothes in the closet just remind me how much further I still have to go. Yeah!! I call this the warm-up stage, because that's pretty much all I can wear: warm up pants and t-shirts. Very sexy.

Monday, May 15, 2006

Survivor

Don't know if you've been following the latest round of Survivor Panama.... I have, to an almost embarassing degree. Well, last night I subjected my poor husband to the three hour finale. Keep in mind the man hasn't seen a single episode leading up to the finale. You can imagine how thrilled he was!! :) (Actually, he kind of seemed to get into it.)

It's very hard for me to watch these kinds of shows and not get all emotionally entangled in the political process, the mind-games, the physical challenges. At the beginning of the season, I don't know these people and I don't much care about them, but at some point, I become invested. I want certain people out!! Shane and Courtney for example! I want certain people to win.... Cirie or Terry, even when I realize the deck may be stacked against them.

Last night... what an upset!! Who would've thought Danielle would win the immunity challenge? Who would've thought she'd take Aras with her? Who would have thought Aras would win the whole deal?!! I tell you what.... I was NOT happy. If ever anyone probably deserved to win it was Terry. Like him or not, I've never seen anyone else Outwit, Outplay and Outlast anyone like he did. Too bad when he lost the immunity idol he failed to win the only immunity challenge he needed to win.

Monday, May 08, 2006

A Tender Heart for My Aching Back

About 15 years ago, as I crossed my legs at the table of my college cafeteria, my back suddenly "went out" with out any warning. The pain was so great that all I could do was rest all my weight on my elbows at the table while friends went for help and a car. What the heck happened?!!

It was a pivotal moment in my life when I realized how quickly my health could leave me. The recovery from that episode was long and at times excruciating. If you've ever had REAL back pain, it's something you will never forget. You can't do anything without pain if your back doesn't work right.... Walking, sitting, sleeping, sneezing, even laughing!

Although the initial pain dissipated over a course of 6 months, I became accustomed to living with a nagging sort of pain for several years after that. Thankfully, one day I realized that the pain was gone. Sure now and again there were revisitations of some pain, but those have been nowhere near as intense.

I had lived with the concern though, that pregnancy would cause the pain to reappear. By God's grace, my back actually fared quite well during my last pregnancy, and actually seemed a little better than usual. Go figure.

But today, we had an awful scare, as I had been doing a craft on the floor with Ian and had gotten up and felt the familiar sciatic nerve pinch. No biggie. I've had it before. It comes. It goes. But today, it escalated rapidly, and like 15 years ago, completely without warning. As I tried to find a comfortable (read: less painful) position, I ended up on the floor, lying on my back and in tears. Not so much for the pain, but for the fear that the old enemy had returned, as I had long feared it would.

Steve grabbed an icepack and a blanket and helped me get comfortable on the floor, and tried to encourage Ian to let me rest. Poor Ian! He was very concerned at seeing Mommy in tears. He patted my chest as if to say, "there, there". "I help", he said, and he grabbed a damp washcloth off our crafting table and wiped my face. Then he grabbed his sippy cup with orange kool-aid in it and tried to give me a drink!! :) Too bad he has a cold, and he was jamming it between my lips, pursed in defense of the cold germs!

But it's the thought that counts, and his thoughts were all very kind. Unfortunately, the irony of the situation, and the weirdness of it (to be on the receiving end of a toddler's attempts at compassion) made me giggle a bit, which made my back hurt and made me cry in pain. It was a vicious circle. The more Ian tried to help, the more tickled I became, and the more pain I was ultimately in. But I will always treasure his care and concern, and thank God for his tender heart.

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Winnie the Pooh and Jesus

Recently, Ian began attending a "real" sunday school class--one that is not only dedicated to playing for the full hour he is there. He actually makes things and colors pictures about some Bible passage that (I assume) has been read to the class.

It's interesting to me that the coloring sheets they give him also come with stickers or some other "crafty" thing for him to add. When he gets home and we put up the picture, inevitably he tries to remove the stickers, because he likes repositioning stickers all around the house and his body until they are no longer sticky. Post-it note makers take note: Repositionable stickers would be a toddler goldmine!

Resurrection of Pooh and Jesus

Well, the last few weeks Ian has also gotten the idea that he can add his own stickers to his Sunday school papers. Why not? One day as a reward he got a couple of Elmo stickers. I put them on his shirt and he removed them and added them to the picture of Jesus healing the lady with an issue of blood!! I gotta say that freaked me out for just a second.

After Easter, he got a couple of Pooh stickers and added them to his picture about Jesus' resurrection! So here's Winnie the Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore, floating in the air, next to Jesus... It's just wrong!! But I have to admit that it makes me smile...