Poops

There seems to be a prevalant theme going on in some of the mommy blogs where poop is a popular topic. I saw it here, and here. We too have our own potty training anecdotes here.

My approach to toddler pooping has been kind of wishy-washy lax lately. Being 8 months pregnant, my whole outlook on life these days has been about prevention of various things that require acrobatic movements on my part, like picking up stuff that falls down, wiping spills, or cleaning up pee puddles and poop piles.

Yet with it still being summer, and there being little carpeting in our home, those pants/diapers/pull-ups/underwear do stay off his cute little butt more often than not. Especially during his regular pooping time, which is usually mornings and evenings.

So yesterday, he wore nothing except a t-shirt until after lunch. But for some reason, he didn't poop. He peed four times though, twice in the potty on his own accord, and twice "on the grass like Rusty".

Then my mother came. And he wanted to put a diaper on. Into which he immediately pooped. Which was ok since he insisted that "Grosmami" change him. Fine by me!

Today, after his milk and before his breakfast, and with daddy home as well, we left that diaper off again. Every once in a while he would bring us a diaper or a pull-up (what IS the difference in those anyway other than price?), and we both said "sure, after you make poops in the potty or toilet you can have your pull-up on".

While slupring coffee, checking email, chatting, hubby and I aren't paying particular attention to what his happening with the toddler.

Suddenly we hear this little voice squeaking from the back hallway.

"I made pipi and poops in potty!".

We go see....and there it is!!

The expression on Benjamin's face was just priceless. He looked a mixture of disgusted, surprised and eventually, after mommy and daddy clapped and praised him, proud.

I'm not sure what went through his little mind when he saw that big brown pile of poops sitting in a pool of yellow pee.

Daddy showed him how to wipe his bum, and wash the hands (bonus as that would require more acrobatics on my part), and then Ben wanted a diaper on.

I debated whether we should keep the momentum going and offered him a Curious George underwear to put on, which seemed to make him happy. As long as it was the one with the firetruck on it. Of course.

He also mention that "Mrs. A" at school is going to be "so happy"...she had helped him pee on the toilet at school a few times prior to summer vacation, and since he's going back to her next week, I agreed that she would be very happy too!

So then he dragged the lego out, placed the big fluffy pillow on the floor, and invited me to come play with him.

How could I resist THAT temptation? What with all the peeing and pooping and even the pillow! What a sweet boy to remember the pillow for mommy!

Anyway, we play a while, and at one point I got up to prepare some breakfast. Suddenly he comes into the kitchen to announce that "there is a big wet mess on mat" and "we need towel to clean it up".

He peed all over Curious George, and left a wet spot on the mat.

See? If he wears anything on this bottom, and he doesn't understand that he can simply pull it down and sit on the potty and pee.

I didn't say much. I just explained that we don't pee on Curious George, that we pee in the potty like earlier today, and would he like to help clean it up.

Which he did.

Then he brought me a diaper and I figured he has had enough for a while, and put it on him. I don't want to push too far, or discourage him, or make it a chore or unpleasant. He's not even two-and-a-half yet...

For the rest of the day, everytime there was a diaper change, I would encourage him to go pee in the potty first and he always did.

Maybe a few more wet Curious Georges will finally flip that switch in his brain. Problem is, he's having trouble pulling his pull-ups or underwear, or any pants for that matter, up. That is, he knows how to pull them up in the front but gets whiny and lazy when he can't get it up from behind. He has shown little, if any interest, in dressing or undressing himself. Which is another thing that I'm encouraging him to do everytime we have a clothes change. I would think that goes hand in hand with the toilet training, at least the pants part.

So we'll see. If leaving the pants off for part of the day will keep things moving along, then all the better for me.

Would be nice to get rid of the daytime diapers prior to baby's arrival...

Mutant sunflower

There is something weird happening to one of my sunflowers...

End of summer ramblings

Yes. I'm here.

No. I'm not posting much.

I'm a post-neglector. A blog-neglector. A bad blogging-mommy.

I have no time.

I have lots to say though....so I'll keep this short.

Hubby went for first staff meeting today. New job officially starts after Labourday, which is on Monday.

Renovations are well under way and progressing at a rapid speed. This makes up for the lack of progress for the past three weeks...

Tot has been soooo good. He likes the guys with the tools...go figure. He's such a boy!

Pregnancy is starting to impede me in ways that I find a tad annoying. I can't move fast, I get winded fast, I have this freakshow going on in my belly whenever the babe stretches...it looks like she's still breech, but when she moves, or stretches, her head moves a lot slower now than it did even just a few short weeks ago. It's getting crowded in there...

Grandmother is coming with Rusty today...he's been staying at their house for a few days. Benjamin will love visiting with her, and Rusty will be nice and stressed surrounded by all the noise and debris from the construction...but, c'est la vie.

Joined Facebook. I have a love-hate relationship with that thing...

Later.

Chaos

In some ways it's amazing that while THIS is going on....




I can still make THAT for dinner...

We're on again!

Bang bang bang...

Smack smack smack...

Drill drill drill...

These are the sounds that are coming out of my basement...

Today, the stone mason showed up, without notice, to measure our crumbling front porch. Sign of things to come in terms of basement progress?

Today, the tot decides to not only nap, but has done so an hour prior to the normally scheduled naptime, and he is still napping several hours later. Goes to show that he DOES still need those naps. Darned kid.

Course, he and I were up for how many hours last night tossing and turning and whining and squirming? Can't remember...too tired.

Had a powernap myself and feel less tired than I did this morning.

Tomorrow is hubby's second interview.


Friday we leave for luxurious cottage in Haliburton for 4 days.








Bought a new air mattress for child to use at luxurious cottage today. Paid 50 cents because the rest was covered by money on Mastercard. LOVE Canadian Tire Mastercard!

No action on basement what.so.ever.

Almost 8 months pregnant. Getting a little fed up with that...

Oct. 15 c-section date still a go after panicky phonecall to OB to get explanation about my 3 possible due dates. Feel less panicky now.

Grandmother back at her home in Switzerland after two strokes. She is anxiously awaiting my mother's arrival in mid September.

Blah.

More progress

Basement tear-out on other side has begun. I helped, along with tot and hubby, to move some stuff around to facilitate the destruction.

Hopefully B will come by next week and continue while hubby is back at work (or away fishing...his annual trip that was planned a year ago). B's cushy city job doesn't make him tired or stressed, and he's done at 3, and his commute is something like 3 minutes, so that will keep things moving for us.

After a 2+ week "break" I am looking foward to the continuation down there. Getting fed up with living among boxes and crap piling up everywhere I look.

* * *

Toilet training is continuing but I've slacked a bit. If he's without pants, it's practically done. He feels it coming, runs upstairs or to the potty, and does his business. Although, the new habit now is to "go pipi in the grass like Rusty". Yesterday, he ran to the neighbour's yard and peed on her grass....

Pooping on the potty/toilet has ceased mainly because I'm not coherent enough in the morning to keep up with him. Couple of cuppas a little earlier may bring that back on track.

Of course, since he's completely changed his pooping schedule, that has become a little bit more difficult. Once in the morning and once at night was a great schedule for me to keep up to date on...now, three times prior to lunch?? It makes things a tad more challenging.

Of course, he's eating like he's starving. His appetite is HUGE! And he's eating things like cous cous salad, lentil salad, potatoes, chicken, knackwurst with mustard, kashi cereal, berries, yoghurt...definitely good eating habits!

* * *

Second interview for hubby is scheduled for Wed. He's unofficially been hired by the dean of the program, conditional on getting his class 1 instructor rating back (aviation stuff). He's held it before, let it lapse when he joined the airlines, and now needs to get it back since he's returning to the world of aviation academics.

He anticipates a month and a half of getting it, and the flight test, completed prior to being able to give notice at the airline.

His company superiors are ecstatic for him, they all gave him glowing references. Career move is about to begin...right at the same time as the impending birth of our second child.

* * *

My 90-year old grandmother in Europe is in the hospital. She's suffered two semi-mild strokes. My mom is supposed to visit her soon, she may go earlier than planned.

* * *

There is something wrong with our toddler's sleep schedule. Not only did he give up naps, which does not please me in the least, but quiet time that is supposed to replace the nap is rather noisy.

Despite the lack of napping, he doesn't go to bed until 10 pm.

Or insists on falling asleep in my bed, preferably with me in it.

Without naps, I am done closer to 7:30 pm than 9ish...so do I go to my bed with him in it and encourage him to fall asleep earlier? Or do I sit up and listen to the noise until he learns to go to bed at a decent time in his own bed?

He's done it before, but now, two weeks before school starts, may be a good time to re-introduce a more normal, child-friendly bedtime.

Must remain up later at night, and force quiet time to happen, to preserve my sanity.

Or else, I'll just check myself into the looney bin now and be done with it.

My child is amazing

Warning: some serious bragging about to take place!

I am amazed beyond belief these days.

After the potty training (pooping) has regressed and caused me to feel a little bit disappointed, he one morning decides, while playing bare-bottomed in his room, to simply walk to his potty and poop in it.

He has NEVER pooped anywhere except the diaper and accidentally on the floor once or twice.

Today, again, he's walking around with no pants on. In the midst of playing, he walks to the potty and pees in it.

Just. Like. That.

So - pressure is off. If he wants pants on, diapers on, they go on without question. If he doesn't ask, I don't push.

Maybe we're on our way....

THEN, today, he dumps his round box full of wodden blocks on the floor and plays for a while. He invites me to play, so I do for a bit.

After a while, I tell him that I have to go make supper and leave him to play on his own.

At some point, out of the corner of my eye I notice he's playing with some lego. In the remote corner of my still partially functioning brain, I think to myself "that'll require some crawling around later to clean up all the pieces", referring to not just the lego, but also the wooden blocks.

A few minutes later he comes to me and asks for help to attach some wheels to some contraption he made.

(Everything requires wheels in his world).

I go into his room, sit down on the mat with him, and notice the COMPLETE ABSENCE OF WOODEN BLOCKS.

He put all his blocks away into the correct container, placed the container onto its rightful spot on the shelf, and only then took out the blue bin with the lego.

Completely on his own accord. Just like the pooping the other day.

We had lots of hugs and happy happy today, what with the peeing and the putting stuff away on his own.

What a smart boy!

(Considering he didn't nap at all today for the third day in a row, this is nothing short of a minor miracle!)

Progress - I think

So things are moving along, somewhat:

• electrician and B are here to do the switches, RIGHT NOW
• c-section date booked (can change it if I change my mind) for Oct 15
• hubby's interview went well today, and if/when they want a second interview he'll know by friday. THAT'S THIS WEEK.
• new chick at bank who didn't know how to do our mortgage adjustment not only figured it out (had a snarky remark for her when she called, maybe that helped a bit), but she sent the documents in the mail to prevent us from having to trek up to timbuktoo to sign the papers, and we signed them and put them in the mail today
• my blood pressure is normal, and the baby's heart beat is still normal too
• received a copy of the magazine in the mail a couple of days ago with my first published article in it! It's weird to see your name in print like that...

Let's hope we can keep the momentum going...

Transition dilemma

So when exactly am I supposed to start the transition of going to bed earlier, what with the school year looming...uh, I mean, hovering?

He is such a night hawk. Naptime seems to affect bedtime. Naptime used to be from 1ish to 3ish - sigh.... the good old days. Somewhere along the line he switched the naptime to 2ish...and if I try to wake him up at 4, 4ish, 4:30, 4:30ish...well. Let's just say that he is usually awake at 5. Ish.

Unless I bribe him with smarties or chips.

Either of which we now have in the house on a regular basis.



So back to the dilemma: how am I supposed to stick a kid to bed at 8 pm when:
1) it's still light out
2) he can hear lots of outdoor noises, like ice cream trucks driving by blaring music at 8:30 pm
3) he slept three hours at naptime, which he obviously still needs at 29 months?

Some days he won't nap at all. I'm sure I've complained blogged about this before somewhere along the line.

It has crossed my mind to keep him up at naptime for a few days in a row to move the night time bed time up a bit...but then I have to deal with crankiness and accidents and at least one minor crisis in the pre-supper-bedtime hours and that does not appeal to me at all.

So the plan, at least for now, is to wake him a little earlier each day, and hope he will go to have his nap a little earlier each day, until September.

I'm new at this, I have no idea if it'll work.

Pipi on the toilet - progress

Pipi on the toilet with the potty seat on = success...sort of. Took the potty apart and placed the top part on the toilet for easier access.

He liked the potty the way it was, but seems to like the idea of stepping on a step to get on top of the toilet...not surprising given the monkey that he is.

He even went on there himself last night before bathtime; I walked by and there he was sitting and saying "I'm making pipi on toilet"...well. Progress I guess.

Pooping....uh, no.

He is asking for a diaper more now than ever....

Is this regressing? Perhaps. Perhaps not.

But the pride when he pees in the toilet....makes it worth it.

Cutting paper - homeschooling 101

What exactly is it with scissors and toddlers?

I specifically bought my two year old some safety scissors so he can learn to manipulate them at will.

He's left-handed. They are plastic and don't fit right. He uses both hands and guess what, the scissors don't really cut. Which is probably the whole point.

So yesterday, as we were waiting for one of the planned visitors to show up, I gave him a small pair of the real scissors, and a flyer from the recycle bin, and showed him how to cut paper.

Delivered a little lecture too:

These scissors are only available to you when mommy is here.
Scissors only cut THIS paper.
Do not walk/run/play with the scissors.

He took them into both hands, and after a couple of trial and errors, he managed to make a nice, clean cut into the flyer. Right through the model's face.

The pride in his face, and the little giggle that followed, was priceless!

We cut paper for half an hour.

Then we put the scissors in a safe spot and the bits of paper in the recycle bin.

Reno woes

The electrician didn't show.

The wife of the contractor/friend called me to specifically say that he called THEM to say "hey', I know it's been two weeks but I've been busy, we could head over to finish the switches tonight"...

The wife of the contractor told me that she laid a little guilt trip on him.

She said that we had been waiting patiently for two weeks and HEY THEY'VE GOT A BABY COMING IN LESS THAN TWO MONTHS.

I told her to tell her husband, our friend, to take the electrician over to our place at will, since that is the whole premise of why I gave him a key to the side door. She promised to pass the message on.

We had all kinds of visitors, some surprise, some planned, but no electrician.

We don't even care anymore. We are getting ready to tear out the other side. THEN, we'll need him to stay longer and do ALL of it at the same time.

I can't believe how fast this summer has gone by...

Pregnant brain?

I think I'm losing it with all this construction crap going on.

Why?

Because when I was alone the other day, I needed an extension cord so I could shred bank statements in comfort in front of the tv.

So I take the orange one hanging off this outlet near the furnace that looks like it ends nowhere.

Well. It did end somewhere.

I noticed today, as I put some stuff into the extra freezer down there, that the box of Eggos is all soggy.

And so is the fish.

And the other box of pizza.

I'm so pissed off at myself.

I unplugged the freezer to shred bank statements.

How idiotic is that?

I'm tired.

Pregnancy ramble

Went to hospital today for the glucose test.
Having had issues with low blood sugar for most of my adult life, I know I do not have gestational diabetes.
Must have the test anyway.
Drink the drink and sit for an hour.
Am soooo not impressed with the blood lab at hospital.
They got confused.
Mixed up names.
Forgot times.
Finally got blood taken after 1 hour wait (actually, it was more 1 hour 10 min because they confused me with someone else).
After displaying ALL my paperwork and ALL my various health and hospital cards numerous times, confusion about patient's name (me) still abounds.
Had to be extra alert, which isn't my thing after only one cup of coffee and a drink full of glucose, to make sure my name appeared on the blood vials.
Finally left blood lab.
Went to Tim's.
Had a coffee and a sugary doghnut.
Didn't enjoy it much.
Went back upstairs at prescribed time (1 hour later) to get Rhogam shot.
Sit and wait.
Pee.
Wait some more.
Hear the guy speak to the blood lab that "it's been 30, then 20 minutes, put a hussle on it".
Wait a little more.
Get up and start walking around.
Read useless advertisement.
Pee again, not because I really have to, although I always have to, just to kill some time.
Wait.
At almost lunchtime, we (hubby accompanied me) had been at that hospital for nearly 4 hours. Entire procedure (diabetes test and rhogam) should have taken less than 2 hours.
Finally get called.
Nurse comes in and asks why the long look.
Tell her we'd been here for 4 hours to get a 20 second shot.
She asks us about lunch.
We ask her what she recommends.
She recommends cool street with fantastic restaurants within walking distance to hospital.
She administers shot in my butt.
We leave.
Got to authentic Mexican Restaurant.
Eat fast, very good lunch.
Go shopping at MEC.
Go home.
Read a blog or two.
Listen to hubby rant about possible rain and help him get laundry inside.
Listen to hubby rant some more about mess in basement.
Send him out with the dog.
Feel like having a nice, cool, alcoholic drink that will lull me to sleep before toddler arrives back home from grandparents.
Have tall glass of soda water with lemon and ice instead.
Blog.
Blah.

Toddler lingo continued

At 28 months, his language skills are ever expanding. He's talking very well, has a big vocabulary, speaks more or less gramatically correct, babbles non-stop, and comes up with words and sentences that make us smile!

My do it - I want to do it.

I wanna wash his hands - I want to wash my hands.

I'm eating water-lemon - I'm eating watermelon.

Hush my dawing - "hush my darling", one of the lines in "the lion sleeps tonight".

This feet - when he puts his crocs on he asks if he puts the right foot in the right shoe. Most of the time he puts them on backwards although he's starting to figure it out.

Conbertible - convertible car, train, anything without a roof on it

I like popcorn - I like corn on the cob.

Pasghetti - Spaghetti.

I admit it

Ok.

As much as I hate to admit it out loud, there is one thing that I know I will miss tonight. And it is the nightly bedtime routine with my toddler.

Benjamin is sleeping at his grandparents' house tonight and tomorrow night.
Hubby is out of town overnight someplace in the northeastern USA.

Only Rusty is here keeping me company.

So tonight I will have no toddler to tend to.

Which is the strange part...I get to sit in front of the tv and eat dinner, watch a useless tv show, take as long as I want to finish eating, leave the dishes as long as I feel like it, have a leisurely shower at my convenience, go to bed as early or late as I wish, read any book or magazine whose target audience is not pint-sized or features trucks with big wheels, and eventually fall asleep without having to remember to carry the sleeping child lying next to me back to his own bed.

But I know that the bed will feel empty without Benjamin there. There is something about snuggling with my clean-smelling, Nuggi-suckling, Bello-clutching toddler boy at night time looking at books of his choice and listening to his never-ending babbling of ever-expanding knowledge about various construction equipment.

It will feel strange not feeling the little pudgy footsies touch the small of my back after I turn off the light and try to get my pregnant belly comfy wedged in between several pillows.

I will miss the feeling of a warm little hand reaching for mine so he can fall asleep holding my hand.

And I will miss the flood of relief when I return from carrying a 27 pound kid into his own bed at 11:30 pm-ish. (This fortunately does not happen every night, but it happens often enough that I can honestly say it is one of those catch-22, love-it/dislike-it situations.)

And tomorrow, I will miss hearing the little noises his chubby feet make when he tiptoes to my side of the bed at 7 (ok 6ish) in the morning. I especially will miss that part because he shows up with an armful of stuffed toys (Bello, Imposter Bello, Lamb and Baby Lamb), drops them on "his" side of the bed, walks over to my side, places Imposter Bello in my arms, walks back to the other side, and snuggles up against me until I wake up.

(Imposter Bello is "mommy's Bello", aka "stinky Bello". His Bello is "other Bello" or plain and simple Bello.)

I will miss all of the above.

But not so much that I won't enjoy the peace and quiet tonight will bring. Maybe I won't even do the dishes tonight. I know I'll regret it in the morning but I have no kid to tend to then either.

I'm just too tired tonight to care.

So....good night.

I'm all alone

Just sitting here. Thinking about how silent the house is. Although I'm surrounded by silent clutter...every single thing that we had in the basement, save a few items in the still-standing cedar closets, are now in my livingroom. Or at my parents' place. Or at the storage which is mostly full now. But mostly in my livingroom.

There is a single bed in the livingroom where the couch used to be.

The couch is next to the desk where I had my laptop.

The laptop is now on the coffee table because the desktop computer from downstairs is on the desk.

There is a huge bin of stuff that needs to be sorted and brought to the storage in front of the desk. Stuff like winter boots, photo frames, odds and ends we can't/won't get rid of now are in it. I can't move the bin because it's too heavy, and hubby hasn't moved it because I keep telling him I have to sort through it first. I haven't. Sorted. It. Yet.

There is an extra bookshelf in the livingroom housing the goldfish we didn't want but had to accept as a pet for our 2-year old. Guess who cares for the fish?

Then, there is still all the other stuff that actually belongs in the livingroom, like the huge Billy bookcases filled with books, the tv and associated technology, the fan to help circulate airconditioned air that doesn't reach this room very well due to inefficiently placed furnace ducts, the brand-spanking-new shredder which he insisted on getting but only used once since its purchase, and two chairs which I prefer not to have in this room but are here anyway.

The plans I have for this room.

Ideally, this room will be emptied completely so I can repaint it, reshine the hardwood floor, and then redecorate it as our main dining area. I already have a fantastic table picked out that I want to situate in front of the bay window.

Of course this is going to get done before the baby is born. We have about two months left...

Ha.

Child-less

Mom is kidnapping my baby tomorrow. For 2 nights.

It's going to be strange. But I have plans....the floors desperately need mopping. Will I do it when he's gone?

That is the ultimate question. Oh...the plans I have.

But I will miss him. I am endlessly entertained by this toddler, and with him gone for that long, and hubby out of town, I don't know what I'm going to do.

Which is why I say I should take advantage of all these absences and mop.the.floors.

Too hot to do anything

Really. Getting a few cherry tomatos from the garden with the tot in tow, carrying his little basket, was enough to send me back inside. And I like summer! But I can't bear it today...been up since 3 am. The baby is a ferocious kicker and had no intensions of slowing down it seems. Sign of things to come??

Good thing my toddler is a good kid...

* * *

So I harvested my second zucchini. Two the size of bats. Ok, I thought, we'll have some zucchini cake. Make them into little muffins so we can enjoy them from the freezer in the months to come. Except...my little swiss recipe asked for 300 g of shredded zucchini. 300 g is the approximately equivalent of about a cup or so. Got a lotta zucchini left now...

* * *

The basement is stalled. Electrician hasn't come. Furnace guys haven't come. We're heading into a long weekend...hubby has been playing with his new heavy-duty shredder. His plan is to lighten the useless paper in the 4-drawer file cabinet in the basement to ease its move while we tear out the other side down there...currently he's napping. So much for that. He's got one more day off before going back to work...don't see much progress happening down there between now and then. Hm.