When I Try to Talk on the Phone...

...This is what happens:


(FYI, JJ calls McKenna Paca. When we first brought her home from the hospital he couldn't say McKenna, it would just come out, "Paca." So it has stuck. Also, McKenna is doing her happy pterodactyl impression.)

Now for an update on the potty situation:

I was so worn out and fed up over the whole thing last Friday that I decided to give up and put him in Pull-ups. But after about a day of that I realized that he really was getting close to getting the number 1 down. It would be a huge waste to do all of that work and then to just give up.

So.

I've decided that the best course of action is just to give up on the number 2's. I haven't brought it up in almost a week. He still talks about his big boy bike every now and then, but he has never been on it. He knows that when he poops he can ride it. For a while I was torn about how much pressure I should put on him to go. One mom in my neighborhood told me that she sat her child down on the potty and made her stay there until she pooped. FOR 2 HOURS (!!!) I can see that approach working if it is just a battle of wills, but for JJ it really is an anxiety issue.

He is really and truly terrified of going poop on the potty. Or in his words, "The poops are scared." I hope that one day his desire to ride a cool, new bike outweighs his fear, but for now we're letting it go.

I think we are all a lot happier and calmer about this new approach. Just today we spent the whole morning at the Children's Museum, and we never had an accident. He is starting to get the hang of it. Now I'm going to start stretching the times between potty trips. Right now it is every 20-30 minutes. Tomorrow I'm going to shoot for every 35-40 minutes. I know we will have accidents again, but I also think it's the only way to learn.

My Newest Weapon

In my never-ending quest to get my child to poop on the potty, I've tried all sorts of things. Charts, stickers, treats, candy, praise, pleading, begging.... the list goes on and on.

Here is my newest weapon:



JJ got this exact bike, and it is all shiny and new waiting to be enjoyed. But this is a special bike: The only little boys who can ride it, are little boys who go poop in the potty.

This morning when JJ came down and saw it in our living room, he was so excited and wanted to try it. When we explained the rules though, his face fell and he was SO SAD. Then he just turned around and went to lay on the couch, totally dejected. I feel like such a mean mom!

My pediatrician told me that when they were potty training his little boy they had a big trip to Disneyland planned. He told his son that if he wasn't using the potty by then, they would just leave him home. (I thought I was mean!) The son was potty trained the next day.

This bike is the last thing I'm going to try. If it doesn't work, I'm giving up and JJ can wear diapers to college. I seriously can't deal with this any more.

Secretly, I don't think it will work.

Mama Went Shoppin'

Tonight as I was doing the dinner dishes James called me on his way home from work. He told me that my Sunday shoes looked like crap and that when he got home he would take care of the kids and put them to bed so that I could go shopping.

BLESS HIM.



I was so excited to go shopping without that big, cumbersome double stroller. I'm sure the other shoppers wondered what my deal was when they saw the stupid grin on my face as I effortlessly went up and down the escalator. Going in and out of dressing rooms was wonderful too. Usually I have to make like a 12 point turn to get in and out of them. (All the while bumping into walls and leaving a trail of raisins and goldfish crackers as I go.)

Here's what I got



The brown shoes look like they're wearing naughty lingerie and I like that.