Potty Training Camp: Day 1

Well, I got Maddy out of bed this morning and I said,
"Maddy, NO.MORE.DIAPERS!"
Maddy, wiped her eyes, smiled at me and said,
"Okay, Mama."
So, we took her diaper off and the child has been running around, mostly bare bottomed for the better part of today.

What are the stats you ask?

Accidents 0
#1 in the potty 5
#2 in the potty 0
Near misses 0
False alarms 3
Bribes 0
Warnings from Mama to Maddy not to "peepee" on anything that is Mama's 1,087,754,467 (okay, maybe not that many!)

Crossing my fingers that Day Two goes just as well!

This out of the mouths of babes!

Maddy and Mommy headed home from the store -- only the two of us in the car. Picture this: it's completely dark outside and Maddy has on her pink sunglasses, her diva sequin bag draped on her arm which is securely holding her money (60 whole cents!)

Mommy: "Maddy, you're such a silly turkey!"

Maddy: "Why tank you mudder!"


*Want a $25 giftcard to Amazon.com? Well then go here.

Girls . . . play nice!

Every Tuesday and Thursday, the girls and I have been meeting with a playgroup. Our group consists of two girls Maddy's age and one little boy Baby Lulu's age. We do things like go to the park and have a picnic, gather at each other's house and just let the kids play and do crafts, head to the indoor bouncing center and let them jump til their heart's content . . . you know, fun two year old stuff.

So anyway, yesterday, we headed to one of the other children's house to play and do our "turkey" project. We (or shall I say I - the control freak) have decided that each Thursday, we'll do a kiddy craft. So, I printed out templates, etc and headed out the door with girls, armed to make turkeys in honor of Thanksgiving.

We arrived at our friend's home, unloaded my um-teen number of bags (seriously, with two in diapers it's like packing for a week long trip just to run to the store!), and greeted our friends at the door. Maddy ran inside and immediately hugged her friends. They headed back to the play room and began to choose the toy that each would play with. Now, let's inventory here . . . one grocery cart, one baby doll stroller, three 2 year old girls. Problem! And I bet you can guess what happened next . . .

"Mine!"
"Momma, so and so is not sharing!"

And then we see girls, yanking at other girl's toys and then all of three of them start crying.

I can't say I'm surprised. My mother-in-law warned me of this. She did a brief observation of 2 year olds back when she was in nursing school. She said she found that 2 year old children like to play independently. I believed what she had told me, but for some reason, I thought that we could MAKE them play together.

So, getting back to the 2 year old drama queens, we gave them all a good talking to and sent them on their separate ways. And you know what? They each played in a little corner all by their lonesome. And each was happy to do so. And the house was a much more peaceful play to be!

So, here are a few pictures to document our crafting fun! Our little turkeys making turkeys!

And the finished product . . .


The turkey is made from a plastic plate and construction paper. If you'll notice, the feathers are made by tracing the child's hand. Cute, huh!!

We explained Thanksgiving and that we should thank Jesus for everything that we have. Then we talked about turkeys . . . what sound do turkeys make? Gobble! Gobble! Gobble!

All in all, I think the playdate and craft time went very well. So, I leave you with this . . . what happens when you leave two, two year old girls alone for more than 30 seconds?

This . . .

Happy Belated Halloween!

Well, we had a great time Trick or Treating with the neighborhood children. Here are a few pictures of my unhappy Ladybug and my happy Minnie Mouse . . .

Daddy, Minnie and Ladybug

For these next shot, I used the "Night Scene" setting on my digital camera --- well, as you can see . . . it didn't work out so well! I guess it blurred any bit of light that was interferring with the picture?!?!? *Note to self . . . must take a photography class or something!


Mommy and the cutest Minnie Mouse EVER!


Cutest Minnie Mouse EVER and the unhappy Ladybug!


Notice the red eye, people! That's not from my poor photography skills -- it's the side effects of the gynormous amount of candy she had consumed that night! Seriously!!!

Pumpkin Hunting 2007

"Maddy, look at Mom!"


"Maddy, what are you doing down there?"




"This pumpkin is NOT for sale!"



Boy, we had fun! Mom's next task . . . carve the pumpkin! Wish me luck!

MINE'S!

Maddy: pointing . . . "Mama! Jeep!"

Me: "That's right Maddy, that's a Jeep."

Maddy: pointing at Jeep, "Daddy's!"

Me: "Yes Maddy, that's Daddy's Jeep."

Maddy: pointing at our Honda Pilot, "Mama! Car!"

Me: "That's right! Car!"

Maddy: pointing at the car, "Mine's!"

FYI: Nothing belongs to me anymore in or around the house. It's either Daddy's or "Mine's"!

This and that . . .

Well, I thought I'd update you all on a couple of happenings:

#1: Hubby is back from Germany safe and sound. Unfortunately, his work scheduled started the day of his return, so I've still got two more weeks until we meet again. To my hubby -- I miss you and love you!

#2: I visited my ex-father-in-law yesterday. I was surprised to walk through the door and see him there, standing, waiting to give me a hug. It was as if nothing had changed. He was feeling good -- no pain (he's on a high dose of morphine). He said Hospice came in and took care of everything. His wife, Virginia, said that she asked him why he was getting up this morning. He said, "Summer is coming over and I need to get ready for her visit." So, he got up, showered and shaved -- just for me! Virginia said that he had not been so active for a while. So, it certainly makes me feel good that he was looking forward to my visit. However, I hope that he didn't overdo it by getting up and moving around so much. We had a wonderful visit. We (my ex husband, his sister, Virginia & John) all sat around and talked for a couple of hours. I feel much better having seen him and spoken to him. I hope to get out there again to see him within the next few days.

#3: Baby Lulu is teething. She currently has 4 teeth breaking through the gum. After these four teeth make their appearance, she'll have six teeth - total.

I'll leave you with this . . .

Wordless Wednesday

Like Father, Like Daughter!

(This was a picture taken during our trip to the Pensacola Naval Aviation Museum)

For more Wordless Wednesday, go here.

Preschool . . . to attend or not to attend, that is the question!

Well, a few months ago, I enrolled Maddy1 in a preschool sponsored by my Grandmother's church. She is scheduled to start attending this fall - sometime in September. She'll be 2 years old September 10th. Originally, I enrolled her because my days were extremely tough. For those of you who don't know me, let me explain . . . my husband is a pilot who is gone from our home anywhere from 15 to 19 days out of the month - I have two children under the age of 2 - we have a beach condo rental that I manage (answer email inquiries, phone inquiries, collect deposits & rent, schedule cleanings, inventory items in the unit, bookkeeping, etc) - I attend college online --- life at home is tough. I find it hard to juggle everything all of the time. I guess a lot of that "hard to juggle" attitude is because I want to be the "best" at everything. My husband will attest . . . it's hard to give me constructive criticism without me feeling bad about the job that I'm doing. However, I understand this about myself and I'm working on it.

Anyway -- preschool. Yes, I enrolled her into preschool because I thought it would definitely make things easier at home. This preschool is certified by the State of Florida as far as making sure the children are kindergarten ready. So I thought that she could benefit from learning to play with other kids and learning skills that will help her begin real school. BUT . . . here's the kicker--- I now find myself wanting to cancel her enrollment and keep her at home with me and Baby Lulu. Am I being silly? It's just, she's start to communicate so well. I've finally found my groove with the two girls and we really enjoy playing. It's such a milestone to speak to Maddy1 and see that she completely understands what I'm saying to her. It's the neatest thing. Now, I'm not saying she can hold conversations yet. In fact, my cousins son, who is one month older than Maddy1, is already counting to ten in English and Spanish. I'm lucky if I get "1,2,3!" out of Maddy1. And there's the pressure. The pressure of feeling like maybe someone else might be able to teach her more?! Maybe I'm not doing enough. Should I be sitting with her on the floor making her learn? I don't know -- I don't want to get caught up in that game of whose kid knows more. I'm happy with who she is. I don't need her to speak Spanish. I'm confident that Maddy1 is very sharp. But, she does everything in her own time and in her own way. There's no forcing her into anything. She's independent - has been since day one. That trait will be so great for her as she grows older.

So, tell me this, am I depriving her of anything by not sending her to preschool? Is it ok that she doesn't know how to count to ten?