Defeated by a Toddler

Yesterday's potty training didn't end on such a hot note. I admitted defeat for the day, crawled into bed and hoped today would go better.

It didn't.

And to be honest it didn't go anywhere, at all!

From the moment I asked Roo if she wanted to sit on the potty, she protested. I tried bribing with a lollipop, she said no. No matter what I did or said, she dug her heels in and said, "No."

As we got ready to go to a Halloween party, she grabbed a diaper and held it up for me.

Defeated.

My husband and I talked about it. I told him about my frustrations and Roo's lack of interest and we decided that she must not be ready. Sure, she's a little ready... but she's not ready ready.

So on went the training pants and she hasn't told me once that she went or wanted to go. I'm still asking her. I still attempted to get her on the potty before lunch, but she is thwarting me at every juncture.

So I will see what happens, maybe next week will be better or maybe next month. I'm going to keep trying and hoping that one day it'll all fall into pieces.

Day Four: Nothing to Report

Day four has been very ho-hum when it comes to potty training.

There hasn't been any drastic revelations or backslides.

We started the day great and even when we went to the park we were dry as a whistle... of course as she was sitting on her slide at home, she proudly announced she was going pee and pointed as it rolled to the foot of the slide.

And I'm happy with this.

Not about the peeing on the slide, as funny as it was, but everything. She's progressing still, she's catching on, I'm catching on... I think we'll crack this code soon.

Of course, the real test is tomorrow when we go out for a Halloween party at a neighboring town. It's a two hour event and I highly doubt there will be nice, comfy place for her to sit and potty if need be.

Side note: I never noticed the lack of appropriate kiddie bathrooms until this week!

I could stay home and not take a chance, but it's Halloween! And it's a party! With candy!! Besides, we've been cooped up in this house for too long and it's time to break free. And I'm thinking if she does have an accident, I can always comfort myself with some yummy candy.

Day Three: Bribery Will Get You EVERYWHERE!

Potty training continues in our household and while, yes, I was frustrated this morning when I woke up, the day got so much better.

Especially when my husband bribed my daughter to go pee in the potty... and she listened!

Then it happened again, I told her if she wanted a piece of the yummy pumpkin cake we had made together that she had to go pee pee on the potty... and she did!

We did have two accidents today, one totally being my fault, but today was so much better than the past two days.

Today has given me that spark of hope that this can be done!

It won't be done in two days, hell, it might not even be done at the end of the week or month. But we will get it done.

My daughter will be potty trained, even if I have to bribe her the whole way.

Day Two: Keep the Faith!

I have to confess, I felt frustrated last night with the whole potty training thing... and I know, I know, I've only been at it a day. But in my defense, I did what I said I wouldn't do and took Roo out and about yesterday, where we had two accidents.

And one of them was accompanied with her bouncing up and down singing, "I pee pee. I pee pee."

Yes, cute... very cute.

I was prepared for these accidents because I'd brought extra undies and extra clean clothes.

I wasn't frustrated at the accidents or my child, I think I was just frustrated because I wasn't getting the results I wanted and I know that I can't expect results in one days time. I mean, Roo didn't come home from the hospital and sleep the whole night through (that took over a year!). So I should know better than to expect my child to magically transform.

But the thing is, she does.

When she decides to do something, she just does it.

The frustration could also be because I'm pregnant and grumpy... and sleepy and fat... and hungry all the damn time.

But I had a talk with my hubby and told him I needed more encouragement that I was doing a good job and he gave me a great pep talk that cheered me up... he also bought me ice cream and that helped oodles and boodles.

So today has gone okay... two accidents (another one where she sang "I pee pee. I pee pee." while standing in the back of a truck and watching it puddle at her feet.

Yes, again, cute.

But we did have a stretch of two hours where she didn't pee and I see that as a success (especially when she was chugging water).

So I shall put away any frustration, lock it away in a box and save it for a rainy day when my hubby does something silly, like buy another 5 ton truck or brings home a stray motorcycle.

:)

Also, thank you everyone for your helpful tips when it comes to potty training. I am hunting down the Elmo video today on my errands!

Potty Training... Take Two!

This morning we started potty training, again.

As you know the first attempt at this didn't work out so well.

But lately with renewed interested, I decided to give it a try again especially because it is still my goal to have Roo out of diapers by the time Turtle makes her appearance.

This time around I just did what I thought was right. When she got up in the morning, I sat her on the potty and we had success. I did have to bribe her to wear her big-girl undies (lollipops work wonders with my child), but she's successfully worn them all morning.

Of course we did have accidents. Two to be precise and one was on my husband's pillow.

But it was only pee and cleaned up easily.

We had another success with a stinky and instead of rewarding her with a lollipop, I broke out the big guns and we had macaroni and cheese for lunch.

I'm still going to stick with the pull-ups while she naps and when she sleeps and while I know she's not "telling" me that she has to go potty, I still feel like we're doing so much better than we did last time.

I feel hope.

I feel that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and maybe, just maybe, I'll have a daughter that's potty training by the time her sister arrives.

Success!

Roo had expressed an interest in potty training this week and I, literally, jumped for joy.

She actually asked to sit on the potty, more than once!

And she actually went!

Three times!!

This gives me high hopes that we can continue with our plan of using next week to stay home and work on potty training.

The only problem we are encountering is that she hates the big girl underwear. Every time I ask if she wants to wear them or try to get them on her without her knowledge, she freaks.

I'm considering training pants, like Potty Patty ones or even the Gerber kind (anyone ever use them and have results?) and hoping if we use them we'll actually get somewhere.

Wish us luck!

Testing My Ability

This pregnancy hasn't been easy.

I've been thrown through some loops in this one, especially with the appendix thing.

And considering I got an infection in two of the incision scars from that operation, it was more than I can handle while being 21 weeks pregnant and fighting the urge to waddle everywhere.

On top of all of that, I received news this week that my baby had a cyst on her brain. Typically called a choroid plexus cyst.

With worrying over that, the fate of my child and dealing with infections this week has truly tested my ability.

I'm happy to say both baby and I have pulled through.

After genetic counseling (where they ask if my husband and I were related!) and an in-depth sonogram, we are happy to report that the baby is fine and that the cyst should dissipate in 4-6 weeks.

(This is the part of the post where you picture me sighing a HUGE sigh of relief).

But of course after all of this, I'm exhausted.

Even though the weight of all of this has been lifted, I feel like I've been run over by a truck and dragged about three miles.

But my baby is fine and that's all that matters.

Thank goodness for that.

Review: Growing Tree Toys

Having a little girl is such a treat to me. I've always dreamed of pink frills and girly toys that sparkle.



Of course, my little girl is all sugar and spice but she tends to be covered in dirt and holding a fistful of boy toys. But you know we've been working on that and thankfully (to me) the wonderful people over at Growing Tree Toys stepped in with a toy that makes this little tomboy tickled pink: My First Purse.



As soon as Roo saw the box, she dropped everything she clutched in her dirty little hands and oohhed and ahhed when I pulled out the prettiest (and tomboy friendly) purple and pink purse.



When I say tomboy friendly, I mean the purse is made of durable fabric that can withstand being dragged through the dirt while still being pretty.

From the Growing Tree Toy website: With the My First Purse Toy, kids can look like mommy with a fashionable purse full of all the essentials! My First Purse Toy is an exciting purse set, featuring a soft, colorful purple purse with pink flower, a cell phone, a wallet, a debit card, lipstick, keys, and a soft, unbreakable mirror. My First Purse Toy is perfect for an afternoon tea party, shopping at the grocery store, or going to dinner with family and friends!

The only downside Roo could find with this toy is that the cell phone doesn't make any noises or doesn't possess any flashing lights. Besides that, she loves the purse. She carries it with her everywhere.

You can purchase the My First Purse Toy directly from the Growing Tree Toys website.

Fall Cleaning

Suddenly I've realized just how many toys my daughter possesses.

And the number is staggering.

Seriously.

So I've decided to go on a toy strike. No more toys for Roo until Christmas! And I mean it. I take an oath not to cave when she bats her pretty eyes at me and asks for a tractor. Or when she demands in her cute little voice that she get two Hot Wheelz, I will not budge.

I will look at her adorableness and remind myself that she has tons of toys at home and bringing just one more tiny toy into the madness will drive me (and my husband) insane.

I think the best route for me to take is to go over all of her toys, inventory what we must keep, what we'll keep for the baby and toss what hasn't been touched in months.

When I say toss, I mean donate.

I can just do what the magazines say, put some away and rotate the stock when it gets boring.

Of course, the only problem with that is finding a decent stash area where she won't stumble upon them and demand I add them to the daily mix.

I can do it though, I am the adult in this relationship and adults aren't ruled by what a toddler demands... right?

Ha ha ha, how silly am I?

Just One of Those Days

Have you ever had a feeling that you knew the day wasn't going to be on your side?

That's me today.

One thing started it all and you just feel utterly exhausted and wiped the f out.

Maybe it's the pregnancy hormones or maybe it's the fact I was on my feet for over 12 hours yesterday.

Hell, it could be the fact that I have to clean the bathroom while Roo naps.

But it's just one of those days for me... help me cope.

Back Away Lemons!

I'm a fan of the saying: When life gives you lemons you make lemonade.

I try my dandiest to adhere to the saying because life will be easier in the long run if you are positive.

But I have to admit that sometimes lemonade tastes really bitter to me. And sometimes you want nothing more to do than chuck those lemons at people's heads.

Case in point: the dynamics of our household situation is about to change. Nobody is ridiculously happy about the situation but there's also nothing we can do about it.

In other words, I'm stuck with rotten lemons, I'm out of sugar and I just filled up on apple juice and have no taste for lemonade.

But I'm still stuck with these rotten lemons and my inner mojo is demanding I make something out of them. At least an ugly centerpiece or use them to make my kitchen sink clean.

So help me out here, how do you be positive when the situation is really negative?

Indian Summer

It's been damn hot these past few weeks in Florida.

While most are buried in snow, we've been frolicking in pools and at splash parks every day looking for relief.

Thankfully, Florida is surrounded by water and we have no shortage of it.

Wow, it's a girl.

Okay, I confess... when I was in the hospital last week I had the ultrasound guy take a peek at the baby's gender and convinced him it was a good idea to tell me what he saw.

He told me in his opinion that there was nothing between the legs.

Another confession is that I really wanted a boy.

My husband and I have always wanted a boy so when we got pregnant this time around, I had my fingers crossed while I worked my powers of persuasion in hopes I could sway the vote my way.

I was daydreaming about a little boy with blonde curls and Roo's nose, but the second the ultrasound guy told me that, everything disappeared and I thought to myself: A GIRL!!

Immediately, all those boy dreams disappeared and I could see myself with two beautiful blonde girls playing together.

I didn't want to voice my ultrasound dudes opinion until I had the proper confirmation from my doctor's ultrasound tech. And now that I can shout from the rooftops that this household is dominated by women, I'm so happy.

I can daydream about pink ribbons, pink tractors and all things pink.

Mr. Me is happy with this too, but he swears the next one will be a boy.

Review & Giveaway: My Little Pony

My daughter typically goes for the more... boyish toys. She loves Hot Wheelz and tractors. You can normally find her playing outside with rocks and getting dirty.

But (and there's always a but), she's recently discovered My Little Pony. And lucky me, was asked to review the brand spanking new My Little Pony DVD, Twinkle Wish Adventure (set to hit store shelves on October 13th).

Armed with her brand new My Little Pony, we sat down on a rainy day to review.

In the Twinkle Wish Adventures, the Pony's deal with a journey up a mountain, a lie and a dragon that stole the Twinkle Wish!

Roo loved the movie so much that as soon as it ended, she demanded we watch it again.

Which of course, we did.

And have done every day since!

Now for the goodies, the wonderful people at Hasbro have given me a second copy of Twinkle Wish Adventures to giveaway! All you need to do to enter is leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite My Little Pony is or was.

Contest ends on October 15th, 2009.

It's A...

GIRL!

I have a picture of the "shot" but it's quite a visual sight and I feel quite pervy posting it. :)

She has her Daddy's feet and nose... maybe she'll have my eyes?

Way Behind

Life sometimes just throws you a wrench and it messes everything up.

Case in point: having your appendix taken out and being forced to recover slowly from it.

Normally I am a do-it-all kinda gal. I do all the laundry, I cook and clean, I run the household. I rarely ask for help because I like doing all these things on my own. Sure, my husband is a huge help to me but I'd rather him come home from doing his thing to play with the baby, not shuffle laundry from one room to the next. That's how I like it and I don't mind it.

I get it from my Dad, he can't sit still to save his life.

So when I'm forced to sit still, I get cranky.

When I can't even bend down to pick up a discarded toy, it drives me bananas. The other day Roo dropped a Hot Wheelz on the floor and I was in bed and stared at it in the middle of the floor wishing I could hop up, snatch it off the floor and toss it in the toy box (She refused to pick it up and ran from the room when I voiced needing a little help). But nope, I was forced to sit in bed and listen to the damn toy taunt me because I couldn't do what I wanted.

It's slowly getting better. I can bend over a bit, I'm not in a lot of pain and I can shower all by myself... like a big girl!

I wasn't even this helpless after having my c-section.

But I'm trying to stay positive. It's been a full week, I'm off the pain meds and I can transfer laundry from the washer to the dryer (it's only one piece at a time, but damnit I can do it!).

Plus, the bandages (which look like big pieces of packing tape) are starting to come off and I'm so thankful for that because they are ITCHY.

So Woo Hoo for that, right? :)

I Just Don't Get It

Pardon me while I confess confusion here.

The medical field has come a long way... an extremely long way.

Doctors can cure cancer, mend broken bones, fix an ingrown toe nail, whatever. Doctors are amazing people.

So I must ask, why the hell can't they use a tape that doesn't leave your skin covered in icky black, sticky ickiness.

My arms are disgusting from that damn tape.

I've scrubbed the marks with alcohol, a rough washcloth, my nails... and nothing helps.

The blackness plagues me.

And all I can do is wait for it to evaporate one day way down the way.

Recovery

Recovery for me is going slow.


We had a set back and I was back in the hospital for a few hours on Wednesday, but we're back on track now and let me tell you, it sucks.


I can't even pick up my own child. And poor Mr. Me... he has to do everything.


I can't even bend over to pick up my purse, it's hard to get up... or down and if I attempt to walk anywhere, it's slow goings.


I cannot wait until I feel better.

And of course, no one can give me a straight answer because everyone heals differently.


So I say Blah.


And I give you a picture.




I've got three incisions and both arms are covered in bruises from IVs... but at least I can still smile. :)