Update

So I did really well getting back into blogging for a week - then I fell off the face of the planet again... oh well.

Updates:
Emmy seems to be doing well in school. She is finishing her 3rd week, likes her teacher, making new friends, everything is going well. Her teacher did mention to me last week briefly that they are looking at getting her help with her speech (which I knew was coming) but so far nothing else has happened with that. She still has trouble pronouncing her L's, K's, and G's.

Pooky is still potty training and doing fabulously. He has been dry now for 2 weeks straight, no accidents. He is wearing his new big boys all the time, except bedtime, and most mornings he wakes up dry as well. We are still working on the poo-poos. We had one success last week, then lots of not-successes. :) Still working on it, but I am very happy with how he is doing!

I am 24 weeks along now! Went in for my glucose test this morning. That orange drink is awful - it made me so nauseous... otherwise everything is great, Baby Gummy is moving and kicking like crazy now, and I still feel pretty good.

Beautiful weather this week... makes me wish fall would hurry up and stay. However, this is S.C. and we still have a few more weeks of the hot weather before it turns nice again.

We have been doing lots of work on our house over the past few weeks. Ray and I repainted our bedroom and bathroom 2 weeks ago, both of which still had the original builders flat paint from 3 years ago - and the rooms look awesome now! So happy to get some color on the walls! I will post some pictures soon... We are also working on the upstairs bonus room, which will soon be Emmy and Pooky's shared bedroom. Hopefully we can get most of that finished this weekend.

After 3 years of having an empty lot next door, we finally have a house being built there. The driveway and sidewalk were poured this morning, and the only reason I am even mentioning this is because Pooky has been so excited to watch the construction over the past several weeks. Then the cement mixer this morning - very exciting for my little boy who loves trucks and tractors!!!

Hooray for football season! Go Buckeyes! :) And hooray for a holiday weekend with no plans.... enjoy it everyone!

Potty Training, Take 2

I officially started potty training Pooky this week. We have had him try a couple of times over the past few months, nothing serious, and he refused to go anywhere near the potty. And after the horrible time I had training Emmy (took over a year), I was in no big hurry to train the boy.

This week, however, since Emmy has started school and it is just the two of us during the day, I decided to take advantage of the situation and see what we could do - and what do you know..... It is working! He is doing awesome! I didn't do Pull-ups this time, since they are just like a diaper - I went straight to big boy undies. The first day we had a couple of accidents, better the second day, then just 1 accident yesterday, He stayed dry all night, and has been dry all day so far (knock on wood). I am so proud of him! I know that we are not done yet, but so far, so good - and so far, it has been much easier than Emmy's training.

Go Pooky! You rock! :)

I Feel Annoyed Today....

Overall it was a good day today. We had fun at playgroup this morning. I got Taco Bell for dinner. The puppy didn't destroy anything too valuable today. I didn't kill said puppy today. However, I have a few annoyances to get off my chest...

1.) OK, so Emmy has been potty trained for well over a year, but I know I have mentioned the occasional accidents before - we are still having them and it is driving me bananas. She is 4 1/2 years old. She knows what to do. She will go for weeks without an accident, then all of a sudden start having them again - sometimes 2 or 3 times a day - for a couple of weeks, then be fine again. I don't get it. There is no obvious external reason I can see (nothing going on around here that is any different that usual). Her usual excuse is that she was too busy playing, and she waits too long. And she isn't completely wetting her pants, it is just a small bit, just enough to wet her undies and pants. Incredibly annoying. What do I do??? She starts Kindergarten in 5 months and I am so worried about what will happen if this is still going on by then. Any advice on this one??

2.) Speaking of potty training, I am nowhere near ready to start training Pooky - especially since we are still having the difficulties with his sister! He is now 2 years and 4 months and is not showing any interest whatsoever. So, my thinking - we will not do it yet. We may not do it for a long time. Maybe when he is 3? We'll see.... but here is my annoyance. It seems like everyone I know who has a little one around Pooky's age is already potty training. My good friend's little guy is only 22 months and is fully trained, no problems. I talked with 2 other moms this week who are training their little boys who are both younger than Pooky. Then they look at me like I am crazy when I say we are not even close.
I know that I am right here, I am not looking for reassurance. I am just venting that everyone in the world is potty training their 2 year olds (and some not-even-2-year-olds yet) and I don't even want to start thinking about it.
The diapers do not bother me. It means that I still have a baby. And as much as I would love another baby, I don't know yet if it will ever happen for us, so there is always a chance that Pooky will be my last baby - so even with the diapers, I am in no rush for him to get out of them.

3.) My 3rd annoyance is related to the 2nd - Pooky is still sleeping in his crib. With the rail all the way up. Like a baby. And he sleeps happily, and does not try to climb out. I sleep happy because he can't get out of bed 16 times a night like Emmy sometimes does. My annoyance is that someone actually said to me today, "Really? Pooky is still in his crib? We have had little Johnny in a toddler bed since he was 18 months old, and he is such a good sleeper..." blah, blah blah.
What is the rush? Why can't he sleep in his crib? I don't get it. Again, I know I am not in the wrong here, just venting.

I am in no hurry for my baby to grow up any faster that he already has....



And I think that Pooky agrees with me! ;)

Excuses From a 4 Year Old

Emmy has been potty trained for a while now, but maybe once a week she will still have a little trouble getting to the potty fast enough, resulting in wet spots on her pants. I am not happy when this happens, although she is getting better about it.

It happened today. When I asked her why her shorts were wet, she said:

"Well, I was upstairs drawing a hot dog. Then it (the peepee) came out way too fast. But, the rest is in the potty though."

Her excuses keep getting better and better....

So Proud of My Girl!

I had mentioned in my end of the year post
that Emmy was finally potty trained after nearly a year of trying. At that time, she was still wearing a Pull-up at night, but was fine during the day. Today, I am happy to announce that Emmy is 100% potty trained, even at night. We have had only 1 minor accident over the past several weeks, and she has not worn a Pull-up at night for 2 weeks now. Hooray for Emmy!!
I am so proud of my big girl!
Hopefully this will be the last potty training post for a LONG time. :)

What's New?

So I feel like I haven't really been updating much about all of those every day things that we do. Here we go:

Took both kids to the pediatrician this morning - Pook for his 9 month check-up, Emmy for her 3 year check-up. Fairly uneventful, both kids are healthy, growing fine and such. Emmy now weighs just over 30 pounds and Pook is 21 pounds, both about average. They are also a bit taller/longer than average. Blah, blah, nothing exciting.

Pooky is cruising all over the place. And he is constantly cranky. He will be climbing up my pant leg for me to pick him up, and 10 seconds later he is squirming to be put down. So I put him down on the floor, and he cries. I can't win. For the most part though he is still very smily and happy. He is also very ticklish.

Emmy is very-nearly potty-trained. After she turned 3, I told her that big 3 year old girls weren't allowed to go peepee and poopoo in diapers. It's the rule. I didn't make the rule, it's just how it is. Well, since then she is doing fairly well. We still have an accident occasionally, especially with the poopoo, but we are finally getting there. I found that putting her in Pull-ups is a bad idea. She is just in big girl panties now. YAY EMMY!

It is fricken hot outside. It has been 100 degrees or more for over a week now. I really can't wait for the cooler fall temperatures so that we can go outside and play.

I am training at work for my new manager role. It is going pretty well, and I am happy about making more money. Also, Ray got a raise at work! Hooray for more money!

Hmmmm..... I think that is it. Sorry for rambling and getting all random. Time for bed.

Pooped

Conversation from this afternoon:

(We had just gotten back from taking a walk, in which I had the joy of pulling both Emmy and Pook and his carseat in the wagon....)

Emmy: "Mommmeeeee, come play with me"

Me: "I need to sit here for a minute, sweetie, I am pooped from our walk"

Emmy: " Oh." (mumbles a bunch of unintelligible words). "You go poopoo in potty, not on the ground. You go in to the potty mama, so you go peepee."

I was very confused at first, and then I started laughing, since she obviously doesn't understand that "I'm pooped" means "I'm tired".

I like how she can tell me exactly where to go poopoo, but she won't do it herself....

I Give Up...

I am quitting potty training Emmy effective immediately. It has been a few weeks since I wrote anything about our potty training adventure, but we are still plugging away at it, every day, fighting Emmy to stop playing and go potty, cleaning up accidents, etc. She had been doing pretty well during the day, if I kept her naked from the waist down - she knew when she had to go, and if she didn't have a diaper or pull-up on, she would use the potty, several times a day. We had been doing pretty well, no major incidents for a week or so.
Until today.
I got out of the shower and asked Emmy if she needed to go, since it had been a while. Of course she said no, her usual answer, then she told me that I needed clean sheets on my bed. I warily asked her why, and she pointed to a big wet spot in the middle of my bed. Nice.
After a little chat about why we do not go peepee on the bed, or anywhere else, she gave me a hug, said that she was sorry. I walked out to the living room and found 2 more large spots on my carpet. She totally soaked her pink Sleeping Beauty chair, so much that it soaked all the way through to the carpet. The chair is ruined. I just used half a roll of paper towels soaking pee from my carpet.
It has been 3 1/2 months since we first started training, and I know that it takes time, but this is not working. Using incentives, like candy did not work either. I am out of ideas. I think that we need to quit for a while.
Ughhh. I needed to vent. I feel better now.
Good news, I have an interview tomorrow evening for a new job... I love my restaurant, but a lot of things are changing, we aren't very busy, and I don't make much money during the week, so I think that maybe it is time for a change. Wish me luck!

Self-Portrait Day, Plus a Few Other Things....

I have declared today self-portrait day! This is because I wanted Stevie to post a picture of her new haircut, so she had better do one too...... anyone else in???

And a few other things.... we put Pook in the Exersaucer over the weekend - he is still kinda small for it, but he liked it! Emmy is happy because she loves playing with that thing...
Emmy is doing okay with potty training. She still has good days and bad days, and usually still won't go #2 in the potty, but we are working on it...
Ray is out of town all week for work, which sucks. I hate being alone in the evenings. I went over to my parents' house last night for some company. I work tonight, and my friend Jeana and her daughter Wynne are coming over for a play-date tomorrow. Yay!
The weather is gorgeous. We spent most of the afternoon outside today. I got my car washed and vaccuumed. Emmy got bit by a fire ant and cried (beeeee......). Luke has been napping in his stroller most the afternoon, which is lovely, I was able to get a few things done.

A few more pictures....




Pooky in his Exersaucer














me and Pook - hooray for self-portrait day!














All 3 of us!

Don't They Know Better?

A few weeks ago, I parked next to a car at the grocery store, and noticed that there was an infant car seat strapped in the front seat. Then today, I saw a baby who couldn't be more that 4-5 months old facing forward instead of backwards (but at least he was in the backseat of the car!).
What is wrong with people? Everyone knows that all babies under age 1 or up to 20 pounds (I think that it's 20) should be in a rear-facing car seat, in the back seat of the car. This sort of thing is drilled into your head while you are pregnant and shortly after, along with things like never let the baby sleep on his stomach and don't smoke around your baby, right??
Well, that is just my rant for the day. Maybe there really are people out there who don't know these things, or they just choose not to follow the "rules".
Happy Friday everyone!

Oh, thanks for the advice and comments on my last potty training post. After coming to the conclusion that Emmy may take a few more months to be out of diapers, and deciding not to stress about it, she started using the potty again. We are on day 3 that she has stayed mostly dry, with just 1 accident this afternoon, and a couple during her naps. YAY!

Potty Drama

Oh, and she was doing so well.
The past 6-7 days have been horrible. Emmy has all of a sudden forgotten how to use the potty. She cries and yells when you make her go. She is having accidents several times a day. It doesn't matter if I put a diaper, pull-up, or big girl panties on her - she will just pee in it (or poo).
I thought that today would be better. We had a little "chat" about how big girls use the potty, blah, blah, blah. She went in the potty first thing this morning, then again an hour or so later. Then, 2 accidents. On my carpet. Big mess. Mommy not happy.

So, my question is, now what??? It has been almost 2 months since we first started. I know that it can take a while. But when do we just give up for a while and try again later?? HELP.....!

Ho-Hum Week

It's Friday again, and we had a pretty uneventful week. We had a playdate with Emmy's friend Wynne on Wednesday, and gymnastics yesterday morning, but that' s about it. A few things...

Emmy now refers to Pook as "my baby brother". She loves giving hugs, and telling me that he is her baby brother.
Last night, Emmy was playing with the phone, which she is not allowed to do. I asked her who she was calling, and she said "Caillou". (From her favorite cartoon on PBS). And she pronounces it "Hi-Fu". Cute.
I finally had a chance to do some scrapbooking, which I had been meaning to do for weeks. Emmy wanted to help - so I gave her some stickers, paper, crayons, and safety scissors, and she had a blast.
Pook is getting bigger every day. He smiles all the time, and loves to talk and coo. I started putting him to bed in his crib this week, instead of in the bassinet. He is now 3 months old... time is going by so quickly!
The Weight Watchers - not going so well anymore. I haven't gained any of the weight back, but I haven't lost any more either. Hopefully I can start doing better again...
And finally - Emmy is doing great with potty traning. We are still working on #2, but she has been consistently dry for many days now. YAY!
Have a great weekend everyone!

Hooray for #2!

Warning ~ This post is about poop.

The past couple of days, Emmy has started telling us when she needs to go potty - not all the time, but she has been doing great. I think that the only pull-ups that got "soiled" were when she pooped during her nap time. Other than that, she has been dry for several days.
Just about 20 minutes ago, Emmy stood up and said , "Me go poo-poo all by myself." (she always says this, she means pee-pee, but always says poo-poo).
She ran down the hallway, and I followed her and peeked around the corner where she couldn't see me. She squirmed her little bottom up on the big potty (she never liked using her little potty chair). And then she went. And she pooped! For the first time ever in her potty! YAY EMMY!!
I am so proud.... who ever thought that poop could be so exciting??

The Adventures in Potty-Training Continue...

So, I am a bit frustrated with this whole potty training thing. Emmy still will not tell me when she has to go, and of course if I ask her, she says "no". If I take her every hour or so, she will almost always go without much convincing, but if I don't take her, she will just go in her pull-up.
So today, I had her in regular panties, and she was wearing her new cowgirl boots that Ray's cousin Libby had sent her. Emmy was in the kitchen, and says to me, "My boots are wet!". I look up, and she is standing in a big puddle of her own pee, stamping her boots around. Gross. I had to strip her down and take her directly to the bath, while Luke was crying, and I was trying to get dinner ready.... ugh...
Now what? Should I be doing something different? How do I get her to tell me? We talk about it all the time, and I ask her all the time, but it isn't working.

On a different subject, Luke had his 2 month well-baby check-up yesterday. He is now 11 lbs 6 oz. Crazy big - although the doctor said he was about average. He got 4 shots, plus a new oral vaccine for Rotovirus. Poor kid. He has been a bit fussy since then. He has been doing great though - normally a lot less fussy, and he is sleeping really good at night - usually about 5-6 hours before waking to nurse. Yay!

Still on Weight Watchers. Still hungry.

Potty Training Update

Well, we are on day 2 of our big potty training adventure. And, we are slowly getting there, I think. Emmy knows how and when she needs to go. She is just choosing not to. She keeps asking me to put her diaper back on, because she would rather run around and play instead of sit on her potty. I am trying to be persistent and not give in, otherwise she will be wearing diapers until she is 12. She will usually go, when I make her try. M&M's are a nice reward too!
I am hoping that she will get used to the idea that diapers are gone. We'll see.....

A New Adventure....

Very soon, not quite yet, but soon, a new adventure begins.......


















Yes, it does look a bit scary. It is a potty chair (in case some of you childless people may not know).
I will keep you posted.....