Family Update

My latest thing to listen to in my minivan is Shania Twain. I love my minivan (2005 Toyota Sienna XLE Limted AWD). I switched up my workout routine from straight boot camp to a mix of spinning, core strengthening, and boot camp. Straight boot camp is too much on my knees and I'm taking Glucosamine to add cushion to my knees.

I love to sniff Carson's sweet baby neck. I sniff him a lot and he likes me cuddling on him. He eats solids like a pro, but we mostly just nurse still. I love to nurse him. He is so good-natured and happy. Athena likes to hold his hand when we're in the car and he usually lets her. I love to watch how he is growing up with her. He has never known life without his big sister. I can tell that he loves her, and Athena loves him back.

Athena is very independent lately. When she gets hurt I would typically hold her, kiss it better, rub her owie gently, but now she is often annoyed by a soft touch and she yanks herself away and says, "No! Don't touch me!" because she's frustrated with herself. And sometimes I miss my cuddle-bug, but it's really fun to watch her grow into a kid. She's one tough chick. She is a tom-boy for sure. She is mostly very obedient. She can get pretty whiny though. She plays well with others, but when she's at home she often whines, yells, and gets overprotective about her toys. She plays very well with children she perceives as older than her. Some kids her same age she perceives as 'younger' and she will boss them around. But she will allow other kids who have higher confidence levels to rule the roost. It's interesting to watch how she acts and reacts differently based on her moods. I think she's moody, like her mother :) She's definitely still evolving. Who knows what she will be like next month.

She likes to hold a lot of small toys lately, and she will ask for help going up and down the stairs because her hands are so full. She gets frustrated when she can't do it by herself. She is usually holding some small toy in the car on the way to anywhere. She also holds toys on the potty. She engages in imaginative play. She'll take two toys who typically have eyes at least, and she'll have them talk to each other. It often goes something like this:
"Oh hi, I'm Athena."
"Oh hi, I'm mommy."
"You don't det yost, you be safe okay?" (you don't get lost...)
"You doe to sweep in your yiddow bed."
...
"mommy, mommy help!! I'm scared!"
"Don't be scared. You hode me." (hold me)
It goes on and she'll say various things, but that's the typical flavor of it.

We have very tall corn in our backyard and very chubby earwigs inside the house, which creeps me out. I will definitely put some bug poison around the perimeter of the house soon. I did it last year and no problems, but I didn't do it this year, and I keep finding those creepy earwigs in the house. Ihh! I just get the shivers thinking about 'em!



I still do a lot of editing and I really enjoy it. I have worked with six authors so far and I plan to put each one of their books on my bookshelf. I don't plan to stop editing any time soon. I just really enjoy it. I think I may take up web design though in addition. Perhaps in the winter when I have no more yard work I'll get into web design; I don't have any time for it as of now. I'd also like to learn Spanish, but that dream is a little further away. Every few months I come up with a new thing I want to be when I "grow up." Right now I'm thinking about practicing some facet of law, but I am likely to change my mind again. I would like to go back to school someday to develop a lucrative trade, but as of now I can't see myself stopping at two babies. I don't know how many kids I'll have, but I do know that I never want to live without a sweet baby to squeeze, sniff up, and hug. I just really love having a baby in the house. I just love sniffing up that Carson-babe. If you could sell happiness in a bottle it would be his scent.

Conrad plays soccer, and plays with us in the backyard and garden. He mostly spends his time working though, bringing home the money, making it all possible. I told him tonight, "Conrad I love you. You're the perfect husband; you're hot, you make me laugh, you are a great daddy, and you make good money. Thanks for being awesome."

Potty Training Woes

Tonight I watched three kids, in edition to my own two, pictured there on the left. Ages 7 months, 2 years, 2 years, 5 years, and 7 years. 2,2, and 5 are all potty training. 7 should be fully trained but she still misses the boat half the time. She did do well at my house today though, and she was extremely helpful with the little children. Most of the evening was an effort to stay ahead of everyone's bowel movements. I put them each on the toilet every hour on the hour; seems like I'd have my bases covered, but it was a losing battle. We had three defecations and four urinations all out-of-potty. As the sole cleaner-upper my hands smell like poop; which is, great. While I had one kid on the potty, the 5-year old, who knows better, was hiding behind the corn in the backyard, pooping. When I came downstairs from helping one clean up poop another one was standing at the foot of the stairs with her underwear around her ankles, soaked. All of these children were set on the potty 15 minutes prior to their voiding in various parts of my backyard and house. My own 2-year old has been good at getting right on the toilet, but with all her peers pooping and peeing on themselves today she just let herself go. And, I can't control everyone's bowels. In my frustration I had an imaginary conversation with myself, "the next person to poop on herself will have to sit at the table, and stare at her poop, on a plate, two inches from her nose. And there she will stay for three minutes, because two is not enough; and I hope you cry about it. Because then maybe you will begin to realize that poop is gross to handle, and that maybe I don't want to handle your poop."

As I watch these children, my own 2-year old included, there seems to be a sighting-to-existence ratio in effect. The more the poop is visibly acknowledged, the more it very much exists, in all it's disgusting glory. The 5-year old seems to believe that if the poop remains a hidden bulge in her underpants, where she can not see it, that it does not exist. Well, I'm not giving my 2-year old the chance to grow into that false belief. I will give her an appropriate amount of time to figure out her bowel control, but once she's capable of controlling her bowels there is no way that pooping in her pants will ever be acceptable. I will come up with creative punishments if I have to.

Aside from handling everyone's waste tonight it has actually been quite fun. We played with toys inside, played on swings outside, had a kid-friendly dinner- I was a short order cook tonight- and we made chocolate chip cookies. Then we jammied-up and brushed-up and settled down for a movie. After a while I put my own kids in bed and here I am, blogging about my day.

So, poop- it's exciting.