Pre School

Today as I reread my intent at the top of my blog I realize how far I have gotten away from my original objective. so....for that I am sorry........but hey, there is a lot of stuff on my mind. Most of it my husband doesn't want to hear about (puts him right to sleep) so I use my blog occasionally to vent....so...thank you. Now onto a purposeful post in line with my original blogging intentions.........Preschool......Luke is turning 3 in early September...we need a preschool. Choices are many...but we have decided to send Luke to a Montessori School. It's not too pricey...although we maintain the attitude that money spent on a child's education is a true investment in their future. So today was Luke's preview at his new school. Only Luke couldn't make it. He was up about twice an hour from 11:30 pm throwing up...poor thing..later this morning he got the runs, so by 11:30 am Luke was throwing up in a bucket while he was sitting on the potty. He acts fine....but he cannot keep food down(crackers, toast and the like...yes we are trying the BRAT diet...)I talked with the pharmacists who gave me pedialyte, pepto for kids(same exact stuff as in tums just way more expensive), and Gatorade. He is sleeping now and when I just checked in on him his bucket was empty...no projectiles since 1:30.... I am thankful that it is Saturday..I am reminded how difficult it would be to take time off from work to stay home with him....That really stinks!!! Why should that be hard..I am a Mother and my child needs me...it shouldn't be so hard!!! Okay I think that fits my blog obligation...now I am off to find a payperpost to add to my blog....hey Ineed the $$$$$ I got preschool to pay for.

Working Moms Schedule

Up by 6:30am . Today I was wide awake bright and early so I got up at 5:00am. I shower and get dressed right away. Mine and the kids clothes are laid out the night before. (ideally) Then I go downstairs turn on the teapot and start up the computer. I unload the dishwasher and the dryer while I wait for the water to boil. I mix my cappuccino in the hot water and while it sets/cools down I make pancakes (every am.....they go in the microwave...much easier) for the boys and get their drinks ready. By now it is about 10 of seven, yes I CAN really move that fast in the morning. It beats the alternative of getting up earlier! I take my cappuccino into the living room and sit and sip in the quiet for ten minutes then I go upstairs and get Will up. Now, this is key to our success, Will gets out of bed when I coax him with "mommy will make your bed if you get right up and get dressed". He will try to get downstairs to breakfast without getting dressed...that will lead to disaster! So Will gets dressed while I make his bed then he goes down to eat...SUCCESS! I either slip back into the living room, eat with Will or do my hair during this time. By 7:30 if Luke hasn't already come downstairs I get him up. Luke eats breakfast right away and I get him dressed, washed, & teeth brushed in the kitchen right after. Will is usually done eating by the time Luke arrives at the table. So Will is off to wash up and brush his teeth! There is no TV in the am. The boys would watch a movie when they were all ready to go...but the usually ended in a struggle when it was time for us to head out the door...so we don't do that anymore. Lunches were made the night before so I only add the ice pack to each of them and I double check that everyone has what they need. Let Mali back in, I let her out and feed her somewhere during the am routine. By 7:45 we are all ready to get in the car, we pick up our carpool kid and we are off to Luke's school for 8:00 am arrival and then to work/Will's school by 8:15.

Much ado About Nothing........

Today has been one of those days. Well...another one of those days. You see it's spring, but it's snowing................ and freezing rain...... and cold.....and....vacation! So we have been cooped up in the house all day. No one wants to play outside, no one wants to do a craft and no one certainly wants to do any chores! So what do we do? Well since noon we pretty much pester each other! Will and Luke that is. So my strategies for dealing with pestering boys this afternoon included...


1. Hour long bath...for each of the kids ...not me(I can only wish) This ate up 2 hours. Works great for separating the kids.

2. Snack time.....4 times today. Usually only 2 times a day but desperate times call for desperate measures. Besides I secretly cut there usual snack in half so they didn't get any more food. That consumed another hour total (4-15 minute sanity breaks), instead of the usual 1/2 an hour.

3. The ever faithful movie. I pulled one out from the way , way, back. Listened to their complaints when they saw my choice. Once it was playing they were totally engrossed. Time spent 1.5 hours. Yeah!!

4. The not-so-popular quiet time. Luke napped from noon-1:30. From 1-1:30 was Mommy quiet time. AKA On the love seat with a magazine and knitting. Will was on the other love seat with a magazine. The only rule is to be...QUIET!!!!

Okay so 5 hours of manageable time, I made it!!!! There were the in between instances of bickering , crying and yes, (I am human) an occasional shout from MOM...but we made it . Tomorrow is another day....

Amazing

I am still amazed. My kids constantly amaze me. Take this morning for example, Luke is winy. I check his head for a temperature. I always want to think that my child must be sick if he is misbehaving. Sure enough he felt warm and had a runny nose. So he is a 40 pound 2 year old so I give him a teaspoon of Motrin COLD. As he takes his medicine (all by himself from the little cup -AMAZING!) I check his temp with the ear thermometer (he lets me -AMAZING) Sure enough he has NO temp. Too late... he already swallowed the medicine. About 2 hours pass, Luke has had snack and watched a Blues Clues video for the second or third time while I get some office work done -AMAZING! I notice that the house is quiet, no video, no rustling in the playroom...just quiet-AMAZING. I check the time it's 11:30 am I go upstairs to see what Luke has gotten in to, guessing probably my make-up. Well I find Little Luke curled up in his bed sound asleep, covers on , and house shoes neatly at the bedside. UTTERLY AMAZING! I didn't know Motrin DID THAT!

All On His Own Accord

An unusual occurrence happens at my house a couple times a night. Once in the late evening and once in the middle of the night . At 9:30pm-ish and at 2:00am-ish to be more precise. I hear footsteps in the dark......., then a pop....., dropping water..., flush.., slam....., footsteps and then the crinkle of a crib mattress in a toddler bed. It amazes me every time. Luke (2.5) gets out of his bed, opens his door, walks past my open door, past his brothers open door, goes into the bathroom(does not turn on the light) does his business and returns to bed!! Okay...this seems weird to me. I have 3 other children....none of them did this. Will still won't get up in the middle of the night. He will hold it and sprint to the bathroom at daybreak. Shane and Brittni would cry (scream sometimes) for Mom to come and get them and escort them to and from the bathroom.

I still wonder how kids can be so very different . I know we, as parents, grow and change. I am a very different Mother than I was 17 years ago. Of course I have learned a lot of valuable lessons. Mostly through trial and error. But still........

So twice a night, on most nights, I awake from a perfectly golden slumber and smile, and yes, I lay awake and wonder what the future holds for my independent little guy.

MISSION:Potty Training STATUS: Complete

I think we did it! Like(2) has gone 10 days without any accidents. I have made this announcement before and on the same day Luke peed his pants. However, it is with utmost confidence that I make this claim. How you ask? Well, it began a year ago in March 2006 Luke was 18 months old. I had just read an amazing article in Parents Magazine about potty training infants! I thought it seemed a bit extreme , but I like crazy and Luke wasn't quite an infant . Luke could walk and talk and he would follow us all into the bathroom to inquire on our doings. So, I took off his diaper introduced him to the potty chair.We (yes, my husband had a role in this-you MUST work as a team to be successful) didn't push Luke we let him take control of sitting and standing and peeing and pooing -many times it landed next to the potty. He wore underwear during the day and pull-ups for nap and overnight. There were lots of accidents. We told Luke "we don't pee or poo in our Big Boy underwear," and said no more. When he used the potty (with undies down), just as a chair or to go poo or pee, we gave him a reward. That enticed him to sit on the potty more. We had to be really patient...I mean really, really patient. No matter how frustrated we got WE DID NOT PUT HIM IN A DIAPER! IT HAS TAKEN A YEAR, BUT WE HAVE NOT PURCHASED DIAPERS FOR 12 MONTHS! A package of pull-ups would typically last a month. We figured we saved well over$400.00!! And seriously -there were a lot of accidents. When Luke used the potty successfully all day long we started to take the pull-ups away. This was the longest part of potty training. For months he only had occasional accidents in his pull-ups. We took nap time pull-ups way first. When Luke could make it through nap time dry then we gave him a week or so before we took his bedtime pull-ups away. Some days he would be totally dry in the morning other days he would be soaking wet. Then we did it, we used the last pull-up and vowed to buy no more -no matter what happened. So, sometimes Luke peed in his underwear at bedtime. We changed his bedding, sanitized his crib mattress, and told him he could get a big boy bed when he did not pee in his underwear. Gradually over about 3 months he had less in less accidents in bed and he has been dry for 10 consecutive days, YEAH!!!!
It can be done.. but YOU need to be committed. Happy Training:)