Eight

 We have two children, but eight car seats.  This fall there will be four cars in three different families transporting the girls.  It's just easier than moving car seats every day in the winter.  Especially a Radian.  Those suckers are HEAVY. And the Evenflo Triumphs.  We love them due to their easy adjustment straps, but they are SO. WIDE.

 

 

I had budgeted $300 for enough car seats for everyone and managed to score the (FOUR!) extra we needed for $95.  The first to expire will be December 2015, so I won't have to worry about restraining devices for a while.  Which nice, as it's not fun. 

Fighting off Colic

All during my pregnancy with Charlotte I was preparing myself for another "Samantha".  I planned on taking 8 weeks off, started the mspi diet at 38 weeks pregnant, bought a boba, another white noise maker, more swaddling blankets that we like, and I mentally prepared myself to just hold and sleep with my baby 24/7.

But secretly I was really hoping for that second baby everyone told me I was going to have.  You know, the "easy" one.

Anyway, the first week was great and I would have gotten a lot more sleep were I not watching her all day and night because of her silent gagging/turning blue trick she kept pulling.  I had to swallow my pride in the hospital and send her to the nursery for them to watch her so I could sleep. Luckily there was an amazing nurse who took care of my baby the way I would.  She could do the perfect swaddle and brought her to me while she was awake and rooting (instead of a screaming and frantic baby, which another nurse did, but I won't go there). 

My favorite nursery nurse Gretchen!

After leaving the hospital I got sick and was fighting off pneumonia while I was trying to get through severe (and horribly painful) engorgement. 

The second week (with the help of a happy side effect of some much needed pseudoephedrine) my engorgement was getting under control and I felt well enough to make it to MilkWorks for a mom's group.  While there I heard the leader and another woman describing symptoms that were describing Charlotte to a T- nursing every 30-60 minutes, fussy after eating, lots of gas, squirts in the diaper, grunting all the time and painful cries.  All symptoms of a food intolerance but also of oversupply. 

Oversupply.  Huh.  I hadn't thought of that. 

Since I was already on the MSPI diet, it was fairly easy to conclude that I probably had oversupply.  They gave me some information about block-feeding and I was off.  Within 24 hours there was such an improvement that I was able to say Charlotte was "easier" than Samantha at this point.  And then I started thinking about Samantha and my supply and realized that I probably had oversupply with Samantha.  And then the guilt tried to settle in. 

But I wouldn't let it!  Samantha is a fighter and uber resilient and there's a reason God gave her to us first.  She survived.  As much as I did know about babies and colic and mspi, there was a lot I didn't know too.  And that's ok.

Tee hee hee...you've got 2 minutes before I start fussing.  Make good use of it!

So, back to conquering oversupply.  After that was under control we still had the horrible scream/fuss fest that lasted 3-7 hours in the evenings.  Then I realized they coincided with the days that I had coffee in the afternoon to help me get through the rest of the day. 

Crap. 

Let's just say that was a hard cycle to break.

Ok so two weeks in and we've conquered the mspi diet, coffee detox, engorgement, oversupply and pinkeye.

Did I not mention the pinkeye?  Yeah, that was Samantha's gift to Charlotte.  The evening before her baptism.

Week three came and she was still having perpetual gagging/coughing fits and suffering through never ending bugger-infested sinuses .  Ever heard an infant try and clear their throat?   Have you seen Jurrasic Park?  Remember the velociraptors and the sound they make when they call each other?  Imagine that sound coming from your infant. Not fun.

At her two week appt the doctor suspected GERD and told us to keep her elavated after feedings and to just keep doing the nasal rinse and blue bulb sucker for her cold. 

Got it.  I became a blue-bulb expert with Samantha. It's like my sonic-screwdriver.  No nasal passage can stop me.

But after a week of constant nasal rinses and pulling gobs and gobs of snot out of my child I noticed her RANK breath and called the doctor again.  She said to bring Charlotte in.  After looking at her again and hearing all the symptoms were still the same (if not worse) she said she thinks it's all due to refulx.  That snot I keep sucking out?  Probably milk and acid from her stomach that is coming up and pretending to be snot after those gag/cough sessions. 

Lovely.  My poor baby.

We also tried the binky route.  We found one she'll take 20% of the time.

I did some internet research to see what the "natural" treatments for GERD were and we were already doing them (diet change, keeping her elavated, chiropractic care, no smoking, etc), so we decided to go the medication route. 

Which takes about 5 days to take effect.  Today is day four.  Yesterday was sleep-all-day-and-make-mom-and-dad-suspiciously-watch day.  Today is starting out somewhat the same but she's still coughing and gagging after she eats. And has horrible breath.

I'm just gonna lay here oh so quietly

and then jerk suddenly to make you come see what happened, only to have moved my hand in a slightly different position.

She even slept through her ever-moving and loud big sister holding her.

And mommy addressing birth announcements
(I'm determined to get these out this time around!)

Basically I typed all that to say "So, we'll see..."

Belly Take 2

I've finally reached a point in my pregnancy that I didn't have with Samantha.  

My shirts don't fit over my belly. Even the ones that I bought thinking, "Oh these are cute and will last me all pregnancy and I can even wear them afterwards!" 

Wrong.

Even the "real" maternity clothes don't cover everything (as in anyone shorter than my waist can see up my shirt to my belly).

Mind you, I'm not complaining.  I want two things most pregnant women don't: to go past my due-date (October 1st or later please!) and a baby that is a few pounds heavier than Samantha was.

Anyway, here are the belly shots.  I love Samantha leaning on my belly in the bare-belly shot!

30 weeks with C

30 weeks with S

30 weeks with C

39 weeks with S.

Notice the same size belly as above?!

I have no idea what I'm going to wear when school starts.  I REFUSE to buy new clothes to wear for 4-6 weeks!

Concrete

This summer's project is getting our front patio area under control.  It was previously covered with bricks and weeds.  Today, with the help of an awesome brother and friend and college student who pitched in and Super Man himself, it is finally done!  As this was our second scheduling (and almost was canceled due to some rain this morning) Jeremy wasn't able to attend.

brick area before

Brick area preped

Brick area now cement area- perfect dimensions for a kiddie pool and shaded most of the day to boot!

Samantha from 10am-3:30pm minus a quick lunch, coloring and book break.  Super Man asked, "Who is she talking to?" 

To the left is the front garden I did last summer, to the right is the weed patch.  Yes we did it 1/2 on the neighbor's property.  Yes we got his permission when we happened to catch him months ago.  No, he didn't care.  He also doesn't seem to care about his roof falling apart, his yard being taken over by seedlings and mushrooms or his concrete being ripped apart by random trees roots that he lets grow "for shade".  But I digress...

Weed patch prepped

Super Man working on the weed patch.  The perfect distance on all sides from buildings to be able to grill or have a fire-pit!

Jeremy missed the whole event as he's on a mission trip in Oklahoma.  The only "hitch" was that I needed to call a lock-smith to get me back in my car for my phone and keys. 

Don't ask.

Sad Day

Yesterday most definitely did not go as planned.  I had taken the day off due to a 4-day long head/ear ache but when I woke up in the morning I felt great.  Since I had spend 90 minutes the night before with a splitting headache planning for the sub, I decided to just use the day to get ahead on grading and planning.  We had our appointment to hear the heartbeat at 11:30.  I picked up Amanda and Jeremy but when our appt was to start, our midwife went off to catch a baby.  I told the nurse that I didn't want to leave until I heard the heartbeat so we waited another hour before they could get me in.  Being 12 weeks, when they couldn't immediately find the heartbeat, I was worried.  My fears from the past 3 weeks were coming true.  But I hadn't felt any pain nor had any bleeding, so that was my hope.  My midwife came back to do a quick ultrasound but couldn't find anything, but told us that she was not a tech and she wanted us to have a real sonographer do an ultrasound.  The other office just had a cancellation so they got us in right away. 

I think the most painful part was going through the ultrasound and not seeing a baby and the ultrasound tech using very vague language ("I see your uterus and I see things in it").  I knew she wasn't able to tell us anything but I also am not stupid.  I know what a 12 week ultrasound should look like, and I was not seeing it.  I know what the screen looks like when you search for a heartbeat, and it was flat.  All I wanted was for all the false hope to stop.  I'd much rather have good news after being distraught than be given false hope to only be devastated later.  But when the ultrasound tech finally said, "You doing ok?" I finally knew it was true.  We had lost our baby, even though my body was refusing to recognize it.  

Yesterday did not go as planned, that is true, but today the sun came up and we are closer as a family than we were yesterday.  This loss has healed a lot between Jeremy and myself and I have to remind myself that although time seems to be going at a snails pace now, it will have flown when I look back later.

When I woke up this morning there was a blanket of peace that was laying over our household.  Samantha miraculously slept through the night and we are all in much better spirits (although Sam is insisting that the baby is still growing, just in her tummy.)  I don't know how anyone gets through these tough times without a community that showers you with prayer.  We experienced it when Jeremy was sick this year and we are experiencing it now.  I have all the head knowledge, but I have a very hard time feeling God.  But during these moments I am given a glimpse of the ocean of His love and the comfort it can bring.
 

In the Know

Today (8/18) was quite an agonizing day.  The fifth in a row, to be exact.  Because for five days I've been testing and getting a big fat negative,* even though all signs were indicating the opposite.  So this morning I decided to splurge and get one of the early testing strips (First Response) and it told me what Jeremy claimed to have known for the past 3 days- we're expecting again!

This comes as a great relief and answer to prayers.  Relief because we weren't sure if we'd be able to conceive due to all of the complications Jeremy had.  Answer to prayers because I'll get four months at home with this one due to the "perfect" timing (end of April)!

I haven't told my students yet, any suggestions?  I was thinking a t-shirt with "baby on board" in Spanish, or playing hang man with them....but I'm open for any other suggestions!

Finally, I'm post dating this so that we will be a little further along when it becomes blog worthy, but I ask that if you are reading this that you do not say anything on facebook.  If you've been a loyal reader, you're "in the know" so please keep it in the blog-o-sphere :)


*I later tried the same test again and after talking with Jeremy in the bathroom for a few minutes I noticed that what I had thought was yet another negative was slowing showing up as a positive...Jeremy laughed hysterically at me saying, "Well if that wasn't God teaching you patience, I don't know what is!" as I looked in the trash to discover that every single thrown away pregnancy test from the past week had been positive...I guess for the dollar tree one's you really do need to wait the full 2 minutes...

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Today (9/2) has been frustrating to say the least.  If it's not Samantha using "the ladies" as handles to pull herself onto my lap that makes me writhe in pain and scare her, it's seeing her take a bite of a very ripe banana that makes me sprint to the bathroom and gag/dry heave in the sink.  Poor thing has no idea what's going on, only that Mommy is always "too tired" or "doesn't feel well".  We are waiting until late September to tell her and I know she'll be super excited!  With many of my friends having had babies recently I think she vaguely grasps the connection of babies growing and coming out of a mother.  We'll see how she handles the new one when he/she does finally arrive!

Sam being a goob.

Me standing up straight.  Which, sadly, takes a lot of focus for me.

_________________________________________________________________________________

9/10
So something new for me in the pregnancy experience- nausea.  Does that mean boy? 
Either way, I'm getting tired of it as it's only when I see/think of certain foods.  The one that has really bothered me recently is my adversion to coffee.  Seriously child?  I'm exhausted.  This was my one way to guarantee to make it through the day.  Anyway, I feel like I'm the worst mom ever these days, but I'm hoping Oct 10th I'll get my energey back (or there abouts).  That's when I "woke-up" while pregnant with Sam.  Maybe then I'll start folding laundry and packing my lunch the night before and remember to brush my child's teeth. 

Good News and Bad News

In regards to Jeremy's health, I think we're at a point where I can give an update that won't change as soon as I write it.  He was finally able to get in to see the doctors.  One visit was a phone call to the doc at home (he was on call) and he met Jer at the ER and rented* a room to fix Jeremy up and show him how to do it himself. So the good news is he's finally stable, able to go to work 3/4th time and is not in constant pain.  The bad news is this 6-8 week recovery period is looking more like 6-8 months.  The surgery was suppose to improve his quality of life.  He's currently at a much lower quality than before, which is very frustrating.  But at least there is an end in sight (we hope!)

*no charge

 

He's Home!

Only 10 days past the original plan...:)

One HECK of a week

-Jeremy's 5 day hospital stay is now on day 8 and it's looking like he has at least another 3 to go
-Lucy's discovered to be having seizures.  The reason we didn't know is because she's fully conscious during them...yeah, talk about a head trip (no pun intended)
-I was offered the full-time position (SQUEEE!!)
-The crack house next to my parents FINALLY went down.
-Amanda got a concussion at Prom

 Thank God Jeremy's parents have been in town this week!

Update

Wow, talk about a crazy 24 hrs.
Jer's surgery did not go quite as planned but he's doing well and is cured of his ulcerative colitis.
Turing the 12 hrs of waiting I was offered the full-time position at Pius (woohoo!).  Because it took Jer so long to "wake-up" I got to tell him the good news twice, as he'd forgotten the first time :).
Keep the prayers coming!  He's in a lot of pain and we still have a long road ahead of us.

Praying to be where I prayed to never return

So tomorrow is the big day.  I'll be interviewing for the full-time Spanish position at Pius.  Let me just say that when you pray for something- be prepared to get exactly what you ask for (or even better!)

In 2002 I graduated from High School, left my home-town and really did not want to return.  Maybe to raise kids, but only because my parents were there.  I was ready to move ON.

When I left Texas in 2006 I was so tired of the offensive drivers, the insanely hot summers and traveling 12+ hrs to see family (and my new baby sister).  I moved to Arkansas- MUCH closer-only an 8 hr drive- to live near my then boyfriend to see where things would take us.  After being a grocery checker, a nanny, then an ESL teacher I realized that I wanted to be the one thing I swore I didn't want to be- a Teacher.

We got married, blah-blah blah...

Two years of NTL and I was finally fully certified.  I could be a teacher and not be in school myself.  Twelve days after the birth of our daughter we took the 8 hr drive back to my home town.  I had just completed the most draining year of teaching and was. burnt. out.  I told Jeremy that if I were EVER to return to teaching that it would ONLY be for a private school- more specifically my own High School.  And, to be even MORE specific- I'd like to just teach Spanish.

Fast forward 1 year, we realized we could not, in fact, live on a Youth Minister's income with the massive amount of debt we had, so I had to return to work.  I applied for a Spanish position at my high school (not very common as they have a very low teacher turn around rate!)  Surely this was a sign.

But no, I didn't get it.

Fast forward another year and I applied yet again for a Spanish position (weird that this happened 2 years in a row-SURELY it was my time now).

But, no.  Only part-time.  Which was painfully hard on my ego, but it was what I needed to get out of the restaurant and my "foot in the door" to where I wanted to be.

Fast forward yet ANOTHER year and a long time teacher is retiring.  Three years in a row that they've hired a new Spanish teacher.  The odds are stacked in my favor, but I am NOT celebrating until I sign a contract this time.

Odd that I'm so eager to be full-time where I once was so ready to leave.  Odd that I am so eager to be teaching again, considering how burnt-out I was before.  Odd that I'm really excited to be working full-time, despite having to leave my baby with someone else during the day.

But what's even odder is the sequence of events that could not have been more delicately placed for us as a family.
1) Sam's insane health the first year of life (no WAY I'd have been able to do that while working)
2) The restaurant giving me the desire to "do something else"
3) Working part-time my first year back (Sam does not sleep anywhere but her bed- I've been able to bring her home every day to get her down for a nap)
4)  Sam will be old enough to go to full-time preschool in the fall- something she is VERY ready for

And so many other little things.  Like moving 4 times in 3 years.  And Jeremy's health.  And being there for friends.  All very much NOT possible had things gone MY way and I'd been able to teach the fall after Samantha was born.
Hindsight is 20/20.  All the ducks have been lining up exactly where they needed to be- and have stayed there despite my attempts to rearrange them.

My third interview with an old-time family friend, my own high-school counselor, math teacher and Spanish teacher is tomorrow at 8am.  Because if I can't be home with my babies, this is the next best thing.  Prayers, please!
____________________________________________________________

update:  It was a little "ho hum" as it was my third round with the same questions- although they did try and change it up a bit.  At the end I was told that they'd had some very impressive interviews with other candidates thus far and that they'll be making a decision over break and will offer the position to someone next week.

Planning

If we have no hiccups and manage to complete one project a month, we should have the house just like we'd like it by April 2013. Which is also when we'd like to have baby #2.
And, while we're at it, we hope to win the lottery by then too.

Here's to No More in at Least Four!

Remember this post?

Well, we couldn't help ourselves.

We close on the 28th!

This is move number 4 in 2.5 years.

In other news (as is evidenced in the picture), Sam boycots her naps about 1/2 the time now.

New Adventures in Employment

So a few weeks ago I spoke to the principal at the gradeschool where Jeremy works. She wanted me to work for them VERY part-time (1 period a day). The problem is, in order for me to get my provisional certificate, I have to be working at least half-time (3 periods a day).

Now, literally minutes before I had this wonderful offer (that I had to turn down) with the grade school, the Catholic High School called me for an interview for a full-time teaching position.

So I had that interview on Friday. Talk about deja vu. Same people and questions from last year when interviewed! I didn't think it went any better than last year, and since I didn't get the position last time, I didn't get my hopes up. I was told they'd call me by the following Friday.

On Tuesday I got a phone call from the High School and just missed it. The superintendent left a message. I immediately called back, but he was on the line. 30 minutes later he was still on the line! I left a message and an hour later still had not gotten a phone call. Just when I was about to freak out that I'd have to wait until the following day to know why he called he returned my call. Apparently they offered the position to another teacher, but she only wanted part-time. They offered me 2 periods a day. GROAN!

Suddenly my wicked math skills kicked in...1 + 2 =....Hey, I might have an idea!

So the good news is I will be DONE waitressing in August. AND back in the classroom with a foot in the door at my #1 choice of employment (the High School).

The bad news is that I'll STILL only be working part-time. Which is horribly frustrating financially. And this time I won't be home with my baby during the day. And will probably have to go back to waitressing next summer.

But I'm trying not to think about that right now...

Deal Chasing- Plans vs Reality

I have to document, if anything, so I can track my improvement later!
I was all excited for the deals this week.
Jeremy is quite picky about his hair products (no Shaklee for him), so you can imagine my excitement when there was an awesome deal for BOTH of his hair products. The plan was to get 18 bottles of hair gel, but after I cleaned the shelf out, they told me there were only 5 left in a store clear across town.

Darn you, other customers!!


So anyway, I ended up getting just this:

$18.23

The next day the plan was to get 30 boxes of cereal and lots more free milk, however, they didn't have the cereal I was looking for for the hubbs (Crispix), so I only got 10. The pretzels were a $1 each and the banana was to make up for a -.01 balance while doing my last transaction.

$9.63

So then we headed on over to Target, where I was planning on getting free cheese (notice a pattern here?). Turns out that, after loading 10 boxes of cereal in the cart and 8 bags of cheese Target told me (well, the guy standing in from of me told the lady who was also standing in front of me in a "if I don't look at her then she won't talk to me" sort of fashion) that they do not match 2-day-sales. Let me just say, I'm becoming less and less of a fan of Target. They are just so cranky when I pull out coupons or try to price match- like I'm a bottom feeder or something.

Anyway, moving on...

We then went to Super Saver- where I was planning on getting cheese for .45/bag and Crispix. Well, the cheese had their own coupons tapped to them and the store price matched the Crispix!! So I got 8 bags of cheese for .18/each and the cereal for .88/each.

$18.66

The final trip was the next day to the same previous store (don't ask) and I bought 2 boxes of girl scout cookies for $7 (yes, that is almost a tenth of our grocery budget, but I just can't help myself- there are two types that are dairy free! It's for the children!)

Jeremy put away the groceries before I had a chance to take a picture (not complaining!!):
8 bags of Kraft Cheese
1 box Raisin Brand Crunch

for $4.31

So this week's total thus far is $57.83.

This is BEFORE a $20 mail in rebate for the cereals (I didn't pay close enough attention and bought 4 boxes of the wrong size, so I "borrowed" a couple upc's from my mom's recycling...still one short, but I'll find it!)

Now, I know you critics out there are saying- yeah, but how much did she spend on gas?
To be honest- a lot. I could have done better. But I am getting better. And my baby loves riding in the carts, "helping" mommy and greeting every shopper we pass. And the free helicopter ride at one store. And the "cars" at the other. And the free juice at the tasting sections...

You get the idea!

Waiting for Baby

We've been in Ohio, waiting for this baby to arrive

And make this one a big sister

Unfortunately, God and him have a little joke going.

They even gave us an extra day with all the snow.




But, alas, our plans are not in The Plan, and we'll be saying goodbye tomorrow, sans baby.

TMI Day 3

Warning: this is a post about potty training! If talk of #1's and 2's bother you, or you think it's a silly thing to blog about, come back for another post.

1/12
8:00 diaper free

8:45-9, lots of potty dancing and positioning, but dry thus far.

9:30-9:35 lots of #1’s on the floor. Tantrum on the potty chair, but success in the end

9:35-12:15 lots of little #1’s on the floor. She has 10 oz of liquid in her and is NOT letting it go without a fight.

12:20 diaper on for a nap

1:00 woke up with a #2, but dry otherwise

I’m very frustrated at this point as I’m not getting washed/dressed/fed or any of the mounting laundry done, and nothing is getting put away. And my patience has run out.

2:35 she just gulped down 8 oz of water. I decide to give her her space. Within seconds I hear “Potty...(splash)...potty...(splash)” At least she knows what it’s called now, right?

2:48 #1 on my lap! I sit her on her the potty chair and say “No! we pee pee on the potty. Not on the floor.” To which she responds, “Mommy.” That’s right dear, or on mommy.

2:52 “Wa-wa (splash)” SERIOUSLY?! “PEE PEE ON THE POTTY!” I say ever so sweetly. To which she responds just as sweetly, “MORE (yogurt)!” I walk away, exasperated, to get the clean up stuff, come back and she stands up from the chair- and it’s full!!! “Wa-wa,” she tells me. “No sweety! That’s pee pee!” and I celebrate. She asks for more yogurt. I give her a cookie.

3:20 Showered and fully dressed (and diapered) baby. The diaper pile is just too high and stinks, I’ve got to return books to the library, and I’m pretty sure 3 more diaper free hours are not going to make an epiphany happen.

4:30 diaper hasn’t even been on for 30 minutes and it’s FULL. And leaking.

I don’t like failure. So, let’s just call this little experience chapter one; Introduction to Potty Training. We’ll continue the training at a later date...say, April or May?

In the mean time, underwear has a few other handy uses.

TMI Day 2

Warning: this is a post about potty training! If talk of #1's and 2's bother you, or you think it's a silly thing to blog about, come back for another post.

Ok, yes, this is a day late, but we couldn't find the camera cable. Better late then never!

1/11
6:15 Baby woke up with #2

8:00 Diaper free again

8:30 #1 on the floor- but she at least squatted this time!

8:45 the rest of previous #1 on the floor. This time mommy was a little firmer with the “Pee Pee on the potty” and baby actually sat on the potty for a minute, instead of protesting and immediately jumping off.

8:50 look over to see this
we read books while she did so for 10 minutes

9:05 while sitting on a pillow baby is reading a book and says “WAWA!!” within seconds, pointed to where she is sitting. Yes, that’s water on the pillow, thank you baby. Where is all this liquid coming from?!? A few dribbles did make it in the potty chair

*all pillows and blankets are removed from sitting level of baby*

9:10 took this picture


9:11 #1 soaks her leggings.

Obviously the extra liquids are working, but not sure I can keep this up all day

9:40 small #1 on the floor, but she finished on the potty chair!

10:00 wrapped up 15 minutes of reading books and playing while she sat on the potty

10:05 handed over to daddy so I could make breakfast

10:06 #1 on the floor

10:11 lifted leg and began to #1 on the floor. I’m beginning to think she thinks she’s a dog.

10:12 finished #1 on the potty chair

10:14 more #1 on the floor

10:20-10:41 lots of peeing on the floor, protesting and screaming. Early nap for baby!

11:31 baby wakes up Daddy takes over.

11:32 read books and drink milk

11:40 diaper off

1:00 mommy takes over again. lots of “CHEW!!!!” (Hold me!)

1:05 little #1 on the floor, but the rest made it on the potty! (with protesting)

1:30 baby came running to me yelling and then did a #1 on the floor. At least she’s anticipating it, right?

2:20 after pumping her full of water for an hour using this new favorite “cup” I knew she was holding it, caught the dribble and she made 90% in the potty chair! No complaining either! Just insisting on a cookie (she’d found a piece on the floor and wanted a whole one). I’m elated as I was considering giving up.

2:34 #1 on the floor. 2 steps forward, one step back

3:30 diaper on for a much needed 2nd nap. Note for other mom’s considering this- have some radio program on in the background as you will literally be following your child like they usually do you, and it’s as exciting as watching paint dry. And the moment you look away they will pee. They have a sensor. Also, do not even attempt any housework!

3:55 diaper free again (diaper was full)

4:45 shower with mommy. Within minutes I hear, “Mommy, Pee pee.” Since I was most certainly NOT peeing, you can guess who actually was. I told her it was ok and she continued playing happily.

6:30 diaper on for bedtime (note, baby did not actually go to sleep until 8, due to second nap. Will not be making the same mistake tomorrow!)

Adjustments for tomorrow:

Block off all rooms I am not in so as to avoid any run offs and maybe give me a little more visual freedom to look away. Proximity is key to catching it. I think.

TMI Day 1

Warning: this is a post about potty training! If talk of #1's and 2's bother you, or you think it's a silly thing to blog about, come back for another post.

I took three days off for this, and feel it's baby book worthy. So far it's been very comical, and is kind of what I was looking for when I was getting ready to start.

January 10th

8:30 Explanation in the shower went something like "No diaper today! Peepee on the potty!"

9:00 Diaper free

9:10 Squatting on the floor, scrambling of parents, protesting of baby, successful #2 in potty

9:15 Not so successful #2...in Sam’s words, it was, “Ucky.”

9:30 #1 on floor

9:55 First diaper-less fall to the ground. Mommy giggled as baby quickly stood up, grabbed her derriere and frowned “Ow!”

10:20 #1 on the floor- Sam insisted it was “Wa-wa”

11:50 Put diaper on for naptime

2:30 Growled at hubby for keeping Sam in a diaper after her nap while I was grocery shopping

5:00 #1 discovered a little too late, as most had been absorbed by socks

5:30 small #1 on the floor

5:45 the rest of previous #1 on the basement floor (at least she walked off the carpet to do it on the cement)

6:30 bedtime diaper

Adjustments for day 2:

• More liquids
• Salty foods to facilitate intake of said liquids
• More books and videos to encourage sitting on potty

T-5 Days

Then these babies go on the other end