Just in case you don’t know the lyrics to this song, I’ll spare you the rest.
If I could figure out how to get music to play here, you’d be listening to some rendition of “Celebrate good times, come on!”
I awoke this morning to the sound of Speedy saying “poo poo”. He was in Princess room playing with her and daddyo and I were still in bed. Hearing this is never a good thing. Then I hear, “Mommeeee! I need to poo poo in da potty but there’s a roach in the way!”
What the heck?
I got up to see what all the fuss was about and there was a dead roach in the doorway to the bathroom. (ECK!) I helped him manuver around the offending roach and he sat on his little potty and pooped. YES! HE DID! HE POOPED! Not only did he know he needed to poop, but he held it until I got there to get him around the ugly roach.
And he has successfully pooped in the potty FIVE times this morning – and we’ve only been up for 3 hours. He does seem to have a bit of an upset stomach. *grin* but it’s working wonders for potty training.
So here is my advice: If you are trying to teach a little boy to poop on the potty, pray he gets diarrhea. 
I sat down at my desk about an hour ago to blog about how wonderful Speedy was at gymnastics today. And he truly was wonderful. No running away from teachers, sat in the circle the whole time for the beginning of class and only went to time out twice – for very short periods. He did really, really great. Naturally, I came here to gloat.
Not only did he do well at gymnastics, he also pooped on the potty today. He knew he had to go, he told me and we went. Woo Hoo!
As I was sitting here thinking about what a nice we’d had and how he’s been behaving so well, I noticed suddenly the overwhelming sound of quietness. I went to the den, where Speedy was watching Mighty Machines, and this is what I found:
What’s a mom to do? We were nearing the “witching hour” (the hour before dinner and daddy coming home) and I could have lost it. Instead, I just sighed and told him not to move while I ran to get the camera.
He’d asked for chocolate milk and I told him not before dinner. The joke was on me.
He was so proud of his accomplishment:
Oh, Speedy. You are SOOOO lucky you are soooo cute.
Speedy had his first “hottub” experience yesterday when we had friends over in the afternoon. After playing in the water outside, the kids were cold so we came in and put them in a warm bath. Besides warming them up, they were all contained in on small place and us mommies could sit and enjoy for a few minutes! I think the girls had fun and I know Speedy did.
Me:Why are we so lazy?
DaddyO: I don’t know, I think we’re both just really good at procrastinating. We could write a book on procrastination.
Me: We should do that. Let’s start on it tomorrow.
DaddyO: (laughing) that’s what I was going to suggest. See, we’re good at.
Me: My momma always told me to find one thing I’m good at and stick with it.
DaddyO: yeah, and mine always told me not to be a quitter.
Me: so I guess we’ll always be procrastinators, huh?
DaddyO: guess so. You know, when we’re retired I hope we’ll travel and stuff like so and so. They seem to have so much fun.
Me: I know. I’d like that, too, but they do an awful lot of hiking. We have to start now if we want to be in shape by the time we retire. (taking a bit of ice cream)
DaddyO: We need to do that, anyway. We’ve got to lose some weight and live healthier. (said as I’m passing him the spoon so he can have a bite of ice cream) We need to eat healthier
Me: (as I’m taking a bite of ice cream) I don’t think it’s as much about what we eat as it is how much we eat. (we both cracked up laughing)
DaddyO: well, I guess we’ll start watching what we eat tomorrow.
me: yeah, I guess so.
YES! We have poo poo in the potty again today!
Today was a pretty good day but I was exhausted by the time daddyO got home. It was bath time so I got the kids in and then asked if he would take over bathtime and bedtime while I took a hot bath. DaddyO is wonderful about helping out around the house and especially with the kids. He does a great job. But usually I’d feel guilty about leaving him with bath AND bedtime duty all alone. He gave me a very reluctant “yea, babe” so I thanked him and walked out. I stepped back in for something and he said, “where are you going?” DUH! You said you didn’t mind taking care of the kids so I could go and relax! I guess he didn’t think I’d take him up on it.
I’ve learned that every once in a while it’s okay to let him do it all for an evening. Just that extra 45 minutes gave me a nice breather and I was even done in time to take care of Speedy’s bedtime routine. And I was able to enjoy it. It’s not that I ever thought him incapable, it’s just that I’d feel guilty about having him do it when he’d been working all day. But heck, I work all day, too!
Did I mention we had poop IN THE POTTY today? And daddyO wasn’t even here.
Speedy was rather michevious today and got in trouble on a regular basis. Towards the end of the day after I had just fussed at him about something or other he said, “you love me when I have baaaaaaad behavior. you love me no matter what.” That’s right kid, I love you no matter what. For always.
If you don’t have the children’s book, “No matter what”, I highly recommend it. It’s a great tool in teaching preschoolers about unconditional love. Speedy is obviously getting the message.
Filed under: Speedy
On our way to Grammy’s house this morning I taugh Speedy a new song. If you grew up in church, you probably remember it as fondly as I do. “I’m so happy, so very happy, I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart. And I’m so happy, so very happy, I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart. And if the devil doesn’t like it he can sit on a tack – OUCH! sit on a tack – OUCH! – sit on a tack – OUCH! And if the devil doesn’t like it he can sit on a tack – OUCH! sit on a tack today. And I’m so happy…so very happy……”
Remember?
Well, Speedy thought this was the best song he’d ever heard. So we sang it together several times and he even added some of his own words:
Me: I’m so happy
Speedy: So very happy
Me: I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart. And I’m so happy
Speedy: So very happy
Me: I’ve got
Speedy: The lub Jesus in my heart
Me: and if the devil doesn’t like it
Speedy: HE CAN SIT ON A TACK – OUCH!
me: Sit on a tack
Speedy: OUCH! Sit on a tack
Princess: OWWWW!
Me: and if the devil doesn’t like it he can sit on a tack
Speedy: OUCH
Me: sit on a tack today …. cause I’m so happy
Speedy: so very happy
Me: I’ve got
Speedy: Jesus in my heart – AMEN!
Me: and I’m so happy
Speedy: so very happy
Me: I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart
Speedy: AMEN!
I was almost in tears as we were singing and he was throwing in his own amens from time to time. Even Princess joined in on the fun adding her “ouch!” at appropriate times.
Then, as we got closer to Grammy’s, I’m not sure how the conversation started but it ended up something like this:
Speedy:God will hurt me
Me: no, God takes care of you. You are very important to God and He wants you to be safe
Speedy: Where is God?
Me: Where is God, Speedy?
Speedy: He’s up in heaven luvin’ us
Me: That’s right…He’s in heaven and where else is He?
Speedy: He’s everywhere. He’s always with us.
Me: That’s right
Speedy: and God doesn’t have butt paste
Filed under: Child Advocates
I saw Stella this morning. After I went to a store to buy her bras and underwear – and had to ask an African American woman if I should buy black or white bras. That woman thought I was nuts but I’m glad I asked because I would have bought her white ones. Sorry, folks, I am pastey white and I just don’t know these things.
She was happy and thankful to get the undergarments and still very concerned about why she hasn’t been moved to a foster home. It broke my heart to tell her that there just aren’t any available right now. We also talked a little about her behavior and how she can avoid leaving the next foster home she’s in.
Please pray for Stella. Pray for AMAZING foster parents to take her in and really accept her into their family unconditionally.
So much of our married life has been filled with the despair of infertility, the hope of adoption and now the agony of parenting. Ironic, isn’t it?
I have no regrets about our choices. Hindsight is really 50-50 and I can see so many of the “whys” I asked before Speedy and Princess. I’m so grateful we never got pregnant. We are so blessed with Speedy and Princess. I know that God chose them for us and us for them. So I really get frustrated with myself when I start to resent some of the smaller things. I missed the first 22 months of Speedy’s life. I never got to have just one baby – I have no idea what it is like to the parent of one child. I missed a lot of alone time with him. I’m also missing alone time with Princess because she is such a good, easy natured baby, it seems that Speedy is the center of much of our activities. I feel like I’m missing out on a lot. When i do have time alone with her, I’m usually so tired that I can’t enjoy it as much as I should. I tend to take advantage of the fact that I can kind of “coast” for a while.
I get plenty of babysitter time but I use that mostly for work. Working part time is a huge blessing and I have no room to complain about it. But I do find myself stressing about it, even when I’m not working. For instance, right now I have a pile of stuff that needs to be done. I can’t do it when I’m here with the kids and when they go to sleep I’m too tired to even think about it.
But I wouldn’t trade my life for anything. I adore my kids. Even when other moms are giving me the evil eye as Speedy runs around at gymnastics, I love that kid. And I love his energy and his enthusiasm for life.
Speaking of gymnastics. Sigh. For the first 15 minutes Speedy sat on my lap or right next to me crying. He had just woken up from a too short nap and it wasn’t pretty. I went with him to his first station and coaxed him along a bit and he finally started warming up – but he wanted me right there with him. Keep in mind that as I am moving from station to station with him I’m also balancing Princess on my hip. He finally “woke up” enough that I could go and sit in a chair but he kept a close eye on me. Compared to last week, he was wonderful. He did fall off of something (something he wasn’t supposed to be on) and hurt himself a little and I’m hoping he learned a lesson in that. He did okay, ran off a few times and sat in time out once or twice. Once I put him there myself. We did leave a few minutes early because he wasn’t listening anymore at all and I was just done. I think next week will be better. (fingers crossed)
Maybe you’re wondering about k-man? You know, the friend of Speedy’s I invited to tag along because I knew they’d both get into mischief together? He was WONDERFUL. Listened very well, followed directions and had a blast. Showoff.
The thing is, Speedy has been really clingy these past few weeks and I’m guessing it has to do with all of the little changes in his life. Potty training, no more MDO for the summer, new Sunday School class, no more high chair, etc….. It’s almost as if he is so ready to be a “big boy” but is still trying to cling to toddlerhood. I’m hoping it is just a phase. I’m just trying to give him lots of reassurance and encouragement.
This is turning into more of a book than a post and I’m all over the place. So be it.
I try to be so sensitive to married people who don’t have children because you never know if it is something they are hoping for or struggling with. I also try to be sensitive to people who have just one child for the same reasons. I know now why no one ever told me “the real deal” with parenting. I just wouldn’t have been able to get it. Just like my friends with no kids can’t understand how there could possibly be days when I just don’t like my kids. Or how my friends with one child could every get that it is so much more difficult with two, especially when they are close together. Okay, so I can’t really compare having two to having just one, but I’m going with what other people have told me. It’s like when you have two children, especially when they are toddlers and/or preschoolers, you are in a secret club. You can say things to each other that you couldn’t say to anyone else. I wonder if that secret club exists for parents of three or more children as well? I’m guessing it does. My hats off to you moms of three or more. I don’t know how you do it. Feel free to drop off one of your kids at my house for the day – but I want the one who is easiest.
Filed under: parenting
“Children are a blessing from the Lord.” “Children are a blessing from the Lord.” “Children are a blessing from the Lord.” “Children are a blessing from the Lord.” “Children are a blessing from the Lord.” “Children are a blessing from the Lord.” “Children are a blessing from the Lord.”
Maybe if I say it often enough I’ll remember it when I need it most. Today was not a terrible day but I’m just feeling kinda “blah” about the whole parenting thing. This isn’t what I signed up for. Remember God? When I was begging you for children I had so many ideas of what motherhood would look like. Maybe you didn’t get my memo. Although I knew it wouldn’t all be fun and easy, I did expect a little more of the fun and maybe a tad more of the easy. I was going to create adorable crafts with my sweet, obedient children while teaching them some important lesson about faith. I was going to model Christ in my attitude each day, even through discipline. I was going to build self esteem by giving them little jobs and praising their efforts, even when their “helping hands” created more work for me.
What happened to the mom I was going to be?
Somewhere between my intiation into parenthood and now she packed her bags and headed for dodge. And I’m left with me. I don’t want to get up at 6:30 in the morning and welcome my preschooler to a new day. I want to lock him in his room so I can sleep for another hour or two. God forbid I should let him roam the house while I am asleep – the disaster that would ensue would not be worth another hour of sleep. Our compromise is for him to crawl into bed with me and watch cartoons while I doze a little longer. Who said using the TV as a babysitter was a bad thing? I know that couldn’t have possibly ever come out of my mouth!
The thing is, I just get tired. It’s hard to be a good mom when you’re tired, much less a perfect one. It’s hard to be creative when you’re frustrated. But I press on. I never would have imagined that parenting could be compared to war, but I know that there are days when I am in the midst of a mighty spiritual battle. What can I do but press on? At the end of the day when I get an unsolicited “I love you” from Speedy or a spur of the moment “hug” from Princess, all the craziness of the day melts away. Or at least most of it. 
I’ve never known a love so fierce and overwhelming and exhausting all at the same time. To feel the little arms around my neck and the sweet kisses on my cheeks…..I’d do it all over again. And I will. Starting bright and early tomorrow morning.
or not. Speedy has pooped again on the potty. I guess it is a guy thing and he’ll only do it for DaddyO. So today, I picked up turds off the floor yet again – but at least they were fallen turds and not intentional turds. If that makes any sense. Anyone else ready for the potty training phase of my life to be over? I know you’re tired of hearing about crap – I’m tired of picking it up.
Have I mentioned that Princess is in to EVERYTHING these days? She totally cracks me up when she shakes her head and says, “nooooo” to just about anything you ask her. I know it won’t be funny for long, but right now it is really cute. She loves playing in the water outside and holds her own with Speedy.
Tomorrow is another day at gymnastics. I couldn’t even bring myself to write about it last week because I was so mortified at Speedy’s behavior. My sweet, although often energetic, child was ALL OVER THE PLACE at gymnastics. They sit in a circle and warm up for the first 10 minutes or so and I stopped counting when Speedy jumped up and literally ran around the room until he was caught by a teacher four times. Do the math. At one point, there were three “assistant coaches” chasing him around the gym and as soon as they’d get close, he’d take off like a rocket. I sat in a corner in utter despair as I got the evil eye from the other parents. I can only imagine what they were thinking, “poor kid, he must not get any discipline at all at home” or “that kid needs a good spanking…” or even, “man, he is FAST.” LOL
They kept trying to redirect him and get him back in the circle but he thought it was much more fun to run around the gym and see how many of the different stations he could climb on before they caught him. Once they started working the different stations, he did a little better. Only had to sit in time out THREE times. (none of those three times were for his running around in the beginning) Did I mention the class is only 50 minutes long?
After class, we had a little talk and he went and apologized to his teachers for not listening. And I apologized, too. Profusely. And then I slinked out of there. What is my solution to this? I convinced a friend of mine who has a little boy we’ll call k-man to sign up, too. K-man and Speedy are two peas in a pod – they have about the same energy level and the same attention span so one of two things will happen. Speedy and K-man will sit next to each other and do well together or they’ll both be running around the room. Either way, it’s a win win situation for us – at least Speedy won’t be running by himself.
Last week, I finally stepped outside – I couldn’t even watch. It was difficult for me to watch him misbehave and not do anything about it. I could have stepped in and disciplined him myself, but I really don’t think it would have helped. I think he has to learn when he is other places that there are rules he has to follow. I can’t be with him 100% of the time to make him behave, at some point he’s got to control his on behavior. I know, he’s only three. But I think following simple rules in gymnastics class is as good a place to start as any. It’s a safe place for him to face consequences of not following the rules.
But hey, what the heck do I know? This kid’s instruction book got lost before he got to me.
At dinner Saturday night, daddy looked at Speedy and said, “what are you doing?” (as he watched Speedy do something with his food) And Speedy replied, “I’m just being like you, daddy.” Because he was mimicking exactly what Daddyo was doing at the time. Speedy has often done things like that but hearing him say the words really struck daddyo’s heart. He told me later that night as we were preparing our Sunday School lesson that he couldn’t help but think about Speedy’s words. He said, “you know, he wants to be just like me. That’s why I need to try to be just like my Father.” He went on to say how we should all be more childlike in our faith and in the way we try to imitate Christ in our daily lives.
Not to take away from the importance of this special moment for him, but this morning Speedy gave daddyo the best FAther’s Day present we could have asked for. He pooped! In the potty! With daddyo’s encouragement. That’s right. I’m thrilled that he went on the potty – but I have to admit I am also a tiny bit irritated that after all my prompting and encouraging and praising and reinforcing that it was daddyo who got him to do it. It’s like the stupid jelly jar you can never open. You twist and pry for an hour and then hand it to someone else who opens it with barely any effort at all and gets all the credit for opening the dang thing – nevermind the fact that you loosened it. ha ha ha I’m just thrilled that we had poop in the potty – TWICE today. We sang, we danced, we whooped, we hollered, we gave him presents, we told everyone. And he was quite proud of himself. I know we aren’t there yet, but we’re one step closer. Hooorah!
Like I said before, it was a great weekend. Happy Father’s Day to all of you dads out there – whether you are a dad because of biology, adoption or even just circumstance.
Friday night, my parents kept the kids so Daddy-o and I could go out and celebrate – our birthdays were on Saturday. For those of you who were not with us last year – yes, our birthdays are on the same day and yes, it sucks. More on that later. Daddy-o ended up working late which was fine because I went shopping for ……a bathing suit. UGH!
Believe it or not, bathing suit shopping this year was more fun than it ever has been before; but I do have a few complaints. First off, let me give a big shout out to Dillard’s for offering swim suits for fat girls that don’t look like something from your grandmother’s closet. For those of you who have been there, you know what I’m talking about here and for those of you who don’t, bite me. I was amazed at the variety of suits and was even more amazed that they were stylish. On top of that, I didn’t see any bikini’s in plus sizes which is just wrong. Clarification: selling bikini’s in plus sizes is just wrong. Afterall, “plus size bikini” is an oxymoron.
I did mind, however, having to hike all the way to the farthest corner of the store to find the “Dillard’s Woman” department. It’s like all the retailers get together and decide that since we wear plus sizes, we need the extra exercise of walking to the farthest corner of the freakin’ store. Now don’t you think if we wanted to exercise we wouldn’t be shopping in that department anyway? Someone should really clue the retailers in – if they’d all get together and combine all of their plus size departments into one store that is right next to the food court and an entrance, they’d sell a heck of a lot more clothes. “Oh yes, this is all I need for today. One extra large pair of pants, two extra extra large tops, a Big Mac, large fries and a Diet Coke.” I really might be on to something here.
Anyway, I actually found several suits I could tolerate and ended up having to choose between them. Normally, I buy the lesser of all the evils. The one I bought is one of those “miracle suits” but I’m not buying the “miracle” aspect of it. It’s not a miracle. They just size everything two sizes smaller than normal so once you get your fat butt stuffed into one, your sucked in so tight that you actually look thinner. Until your eyes find the edge of the suit. Then it’s just nasty. Now, if they could make one of those that covered my entire body…….but I’d surely suffocate. So I bought the stinkin’ miracle suit because it did look the best – ironically, I had to buy it a size larger than any of the other suits so I could wear it and breathe at the same time. Once you get the right size, the whole “miracle” concept is completely lost but I like the suit and that is all that matters.
As Daddyo and I are leaving for dinner, we stopped outside to talk with a neighbor and learned that there were going to be three garage sales on our street the next morning. Two of them had advertised in the papers and everything and the others had put signs up everywhere. The kids were with my parents and we had been trying to find a convenient time to have our own garage sale…..what choice did we have? Happy freakin’ birthday. The kids are both gone; the first time in a year and a half daddyo and I can sleep in together and we decide we should get up at the crack of dawn and pull crap out of our garage and try to sell it. I’d been looking forward to sleeping in all day. Sigh.
Five am and we’re setting things up on tables because “everyone knows that the serious buyers start coming by at 6am.” Or at least they used to. Seems that people around here don’t really get moving before 8:30 or so – we could have slept for another TWO HOURS. Oh well. For getting up at FIVE AM instead of sleeping in on our BIRTHDAY, we were rewarded with a whopping $200. I’m sorry. But I’d gladly pay you $200 to let me sleep in. At least we got rid of a lot of junk.
We really had a nice weekend.
Filed under: Child Advocates
Are you praying for Stella? Please continue to do so.
This is part of what is wrong with CPS and the almighty “system”. Stella is in a hospital and has been there for about 4 weeks now. She was transferred there so some behavioral issues could be addressed. Today, I finally got through to someone who is in charge of her care there and got a little more information about what is happening. (I’ve seen her twice in the hospital) She should have had an evaluation upon entering this facility and has already been technically released (but is still there because there is no place for her to go) and hasn’t been evaluated yet. Talking with the director today, I learned that they have NO INFORMATION about Stella’s history. This kid has a four inch thick case file filled with information that is CRUCIAL to anyone caring for her – especially a physician or therapist. They have gotten nothing.
One of the biggest benefits of having a child advocated on a case like this is simply information sharing. I can make sure the appropriate people get the information that will help them help Stella. I was able to share a small bit of information over the phone with this director and her response was, “wow, this is the first I’m hearing of this. We have to have this type of information if we’re going to help her. This totally changes the way we should be treating her.”
Four weeks. The facility she is in now is a place that you and I have nightmares about. It’s scary.
What’s even sadder is that there is no opening available for her right now. No foster home, no residential treatment center, not even a shelter with an opening for a teenage girl. We live in the fourth largest city in the US and not here or any of the surrounding counties have a place for her. She needs bras and underwear. One of the things on my list tomorrow is to pick up a few things for her. She gets a clothing voucher from the state every three months but it’s not much. And although she should be getting it any day now, even if she had it in her hands it would be useless. She can’t get to any stores from where she is.
All of her personal belongings fit into a suitcase or two. Everything she owns.
Pray for Stella.
And if you can – scratch that, if you are even just willing – look into becoming a child advocate. It is a nationwide program and there is a child waiting for someone like you to stand in the gap and advocate on their behalf.
Filed under: parenting
Those of you who know me IRL are going to get a real kick out of this. I’ve made a schedule. A REAL schedule for the entire day. My life is anything but organized and I’m hoping to change at least a part of that. See, part of the problem is that I need to be able to get a little work done during the day – even just 20 minutes in the morning and 20 more in the afternoon. That is mostly “real” work but also includes checking email, etc…. And everyone knows I could spend a little more time doing some chores around the house…
I’ve seen how both Speedy and Princess have come to expect bath time to happen right after dinner. Without even being told, Speedy will usually start taking off his clothes as soon as we get up from the table – I can’t even remember the last time he’s asked to play outside, or play anything for that matter, after dinner time. He just knows it is time for a bath.
Because of his high energy level, I think that adding a little more structure to his day will help him and I know that it will help me. I really think we’ll all be happier with a little more planning and a little less “flying by the seat of our pants.” No worries, I’m not going to be a schedule nazi (except at bedtime, that’s pretty much set in stone most days ).
Anyway, we went to a teacher supply store this morning to get some chore charts and potty charts and I found a really cool folder. It is meant for a substitute teacher but I’m using it for babysitters and even as a reminder for myself. On the front, it has a schedule for the kids for Mon – Fri and a little place at the bottom for ideas and stuff. Alright, I’m just going to lay it all out for you and maybe some of you will have some ideas for other activities to fill in at various times. Here is our schedule for a typical summer day:
7:30 – 8 Breakfast
8 – 8:30 Get dressed / brush teeth
8:30 – 9:30 Play outside (go for a walk, play in the water, swing, ride bikes, etc…)
9:30 – 10 snack and TV time
10 – 11 Playroom time
11 – 11:30 Arts/Crafts/Music (coloring, play doh, dancing, singing, instruments, painting, special crafts?….)
11:30 – 12 Lunch
12 – 12:30 Reading
12:30 – 2:30 nap time / quiet play time (puzzles in room, movie in room, small cars, shape sorter) This may not actually be 2 hours for Speedy
2:30 – 3 snack and TV time
3 – 4:30 Errands and/or play with friends
4:30 – 5:30 Playrom time
5:30 – 6 dinner
6 – 6:30 bathtime / brush teeth
6:30 – 7 talk about day, read books, say prayers, sing
7pm Lights Out!
I’m not sure about the rest time – Speedy is good for about one hour in his room by himself playing quietly so I may let him rest on the couch and watch a movie and then have him play in his room quietly for a bit, I don’t know exactly how that is going to work.
So this schedule is on the front of the folder but it has each day listed so I can add Gymnastics and Bible Study days when we’ll be out. On the bottom of the front, I have ideas listed for music, arts and rest time. It also has a place to add a sticky note for special events or additions.
Inside cover of folder:
Emergency numbers: Cell phones, grandparents and poison control
Bathroom: Potty training instructions for Speedy
Bathtime: instructions for bathing them – Speedy does it himself, how to get them out (Princess first, etc…)
Bedtime: Princess needs her bear and her pacifier; Speedy’s bedtime routine and what to do if he keeps getting out of bed, etc….
On the other inside of folder (which has a pocket for stickers and special instructions, by the way):
Rules: toys stay in playroom, Speedy should not reach for items on counter, etc… (things that wouldn’t be obvious to a babysitter)
Discipline: 1, 2, 3 then timeout chair, what to do if Speedy gets out of time out or throws a fit, etc…. (not that my child would EVER do that)
Special instructions for Princess: she may nap earlier in day, what she probably needs if she is fussy, etc….
The back of the folder:
Snack idea: 1/2 juice, 1/2 water – goldfish, cookies, string cheese, apples, dry cereal – where they usually sit for snack time, etc….
Meal time: examples of foods that should still be cut small for Princess – suggestions for dinner and lunch (in case I forget or didn’t plan to be gone that long)
Outside Play ideas: rules for swimming since we have a pool, what to do with the big dog if they play in back, etc….
and, most importantly, DIRECTIONS FOR THE REMOTE CONTROL and DVD player!
I know this is a lot of information but I guess that’s really the point. I put this together thinking it would be good for a sitter – especially for last minute things when I am in a rush to get out the door. Also, I’m terrible at writing things down for sitters and usually just rattle off a list of things I think they need to know before I leave. This way, it’s all in one place and it’s all there in case I forget or in case I end up being gone through bedtime when i hadn’t originally planned on it.
Keep in mind that while I am a stay at home mom, I do also work part time from home which requires a babysitter at least a few hours a week. I’ll have to redo the whole thing when summer is over, but by then a lot of the instructions will likely have changed anyway.
I think what I have is called a “Substitute Teacher Folder” if you are interested. With just a few adjustments, I think it will work well for babysitters. And daddies. It even sticks out a little wider on one side so I can file it. Hmmmm…if I actually had things filed I would really be organized.
I guess I had too much caffeine today because in addition to filling out this folder and coming up with the schedule, I also made a picture schedule for speedy. I printed small pictures (thanks to clipart) to represent each item on our schedule and I’ve got them in order on the wall by the TV. As we finish each activity, I’m going to have him take that one down so he can see right where we are and what is coming next. I’m hoping it will also serve as a reminder to visit the potty every time we take a picture down. We’ll see. Maybe every other time for those shorter activities.
Am I crazy? I know that structure is good for kids and I know most books suggest something like this but I’ve never known anyone to actually do it. Anyone? i’m just wondering how it works in real life. Obviously, things are going to happen and we won’t always color at 11am, but that’s a good thing. And it’s not like I’m going to say, “sorry, we can’t play at 11 because that’s when we sing and dance, can we make it 9:30 instead?”
Filed under: Day after day
I can hardly stand to read the news these days. If it’s not one horrific story unfolding, it’s another. I read these stories and can’t help but wonder where we, as a society, have gone wrong? When someone does something so wrong, is it because it was inevitabel for that person to become the monster we all dread? Or is he a once innocent product of the environment he grew up in? Are monstrous people a result of monstrous parenting? Or is it some combination of all of the above?
As a mother, I can’t help but wonder how I might be screwing my child up for life. I once heard someone say, “while I’m doing the absolute best job I can to parent my children, I’m also saving for the therapy they will inevitably need when they are older.” I pray that God’s Grace will supplement anything I may lack in the parenting department.
I’ve gotten completely off target now. What I wanted to write has more to do with headlines and less to do with parenting. Headlines are what catch our eye and invite us to read the rest of the stories, right? Good, Bad or indifferent, it is often the appeal of the headline that will determine whether or not we read any further.
Perusing the headlines in the grocery store checkout line, I thought of many titles for articles that could be written about my life, only one of which I’ll share with you now:
“Frantic Mother Scoops Poop”
That pretty much sums up my last week. But what about the overriding theme or the main selling point of life? What would be the headline of my life? While the stories unfolding day to day can be anything from hilarious to downright shameful, I hope the headline of my life doesn’t vary much. I know what I think my headline is and what it should be, but I wonder what others would say it is? How am I living day to day that reflects a life of faith?
More to come……..
Filed under: potty training
Speedy was doing so well with potty training and now it seems to have all gone to heck. He pooped on the floor again this morning but I wasn’t sure if he actually pooped on the floor or if he pooped in his pants and the turd just kinda rolled out. yes, I really had to contemplate that this morning. Not only that, but later today he climbed into Princess’ crib when she woke up from her nap and he pooped his underwear while he was in there. I looked up and he was doing the legs apart, “i’ve got crap in my pants” stance so i knew I was in trouble. He started to wiggle and I picked him up as best I could, trying not to initiate any “rolling out of the underwear” movement. It started out great but then we made it to the hallway and all of a sudden I kicked something. It rolled, but it just didn’t feel right. I looked down and sure enough….I was playing soccer with king sized turd.
I guess I should be thankful that he’s “laying eggs” instead of squirting pudding but I’m really tired of this CRAP! Anyone hungry yet? Eggs? Pudding? UGH. Poor Speedy even had several accidents with just pee today. It just wasn’t a good day for potty training.
Tomorrow will be better. We’ll be in the water a lot so who cares if he pees there, right? At least the water won’t be too cold.
Sigh.
In other news, Daddy-o has shingles. I thought that was an old person’s disease. Seriously. What does that mean? “Shingles” is just chicken pox in one location on your body that hurt like HELL. I’ve heard lots of pros and cons about whether or not to immunize kids for chicken pox – add to the PROS list that if they never get chicken pox then they’ll never get shingles when they are older. Anyway…
You know the rest.
Two accidents before 9am this morning and one incident of crapping on my carpet again. Neither of those tops the fact that I caught Speedy trying to use a drumstick as a rectal thermometer on Princess. Thank God his aim was WAAAAAAY off. I swear, I really do watch these kids.
More later. I’m tired.
I know many of you are anxiously awaiting news this morning on Speedy’s bowel movement. You’ll be happy to know that he did, technically, poop on the potty. With his diaper on. He sat on the potty for a long time and kept telling me that he “didn’t have any poop in his hiney”. I asked him if he could poop in a diaper and he immediately said yes. Finally, after tons of encouragement and positive reinforcement, I was just too pooped to care. So I put a diaper on him and told him he needed to sit on the potty in his diaper and poop. He produced his gift in less than 30 seconds.
I congratulated him on pooping on the potty in his diaper and again told him about all the goodies he’d get when he poops in the potty. And I also reminded him what would happen if he poops on my floor again. I promised to give him a diaper if he tells me he needs to poop again later today.
I’m at a loss on this one. We took Speedy and Princess to a MLB game and Speedy really had a good time. He even got to wear his big boy underwear. He’s had two days in a row with no accidents and is really doing well with the potty thing. In the mornings, I tell him to go to the playroom and poop so we can take his diaper off and put his big boy underwear on. And he does. Almost on command in the mornings. He absolutely refuses to go in the potty so I just let him go in his diaper.
Here’s where I’m at a loss. He knows we want him to poop in the potty. I have even told him he can tell me if he needs to go poop and I’ll get him a pull up or a diaper. However, this afternoon, he pooped in the playroom. ON THE FLOOR. That’s right. He pulled his shorts and underwear down, squatted down and crapped on my carpet. Stop laughing.
So he knew he had to poop and had enough time to drop his pants. The little potty was like 5 feet away from where he pooped. Why in the world didn’t he just poop on the potty? So I’m thinking now that he really knows and he really can control it most of the time. So do I put him in time out when he craps on my floor again? Okay, scratch that. I don’t care what you say, I’m putting him in time out if he poops ANYWHERE other than the potty or a diaper/pull up. We talked about it and he knows he will go to time out next time. I told him that from now on he’s going to put his poop in the potty like all the other big boys. He said okay. Ten bucks says he poops in his diaper again tomorrow.
Which is okay, I guess. But not on my carpet! UGH!
