From top to bottom

Ok, so really this is about head (more specifically the mouth area) to bottom (literally!). I had originally wanted to title this post "Flossing and Pooping", but didn't want to lose anyone before they even read the first sentence. And for those that don't say the words "peepee" and "poopoo" (or some other version in the same family) at least 20 times a day, then this post might not be for you.

For about 2 weeks now, Luke and I have been serious about moving beyond diapers and even pull-ups during the day. Honestly, he has shown interest several times before over the last year probably due to having a big sister and Mommy that he watches in the bathroom on a regular basis. Whenever we tried, he was interested in the novelty of it but that quickly wore off and frankly....I didn't have the energy to push it or waste money on pull-ups if he wasn't really ready.

And if one is honest, this whole transition into the "big boy" world is really more about mommies than them. First, the whole idea that they are no longer your baby has just too any entangled emotions to go into here-but you know what I mean. And second, we know who really does all the work when it comes to this endeavor.

So....2 weeks ago, I decided that Luke would start wearing just underwear on the days we were home (M/W/F/S/S). I was armed with a small potty, a stool for the big potty, new underwear (and a few hand-me-downs, thanks Kim!), candy, a cool Scooby Doo calendar chart I made on the computer, plenty of wipees, and a big bottle of carpet cleaner!

I think I might be the Potty Whisperer!

Luke is rocking at this thing. Yes, he has had accidents, but not as many as I imagined. After week 1, I even sent him to school in pull-ups and asked his teachers to join our party! That has proven successful as well. Then last Thursday as I was picking him up from school, he had that look, so we ran to the bathroom and he did IT! He continued to do IT on Friday-Monday. He is telling us when he needs to go and is even trying to make it there for IT, while sometimes not quite making it there for all of IT. I can totally deal with that! And who doesn't enjoy long, meaningful conversations with and free entertainment from your 3 year old (almost)while in the bathroom. Conversations and entertainment ranging from the cool trinket or gum that the Sleep Fairy brought him from the night before to his wonderment about the "pokey things" that he is rubbing on his chest as he sits naked on the toilet to how he can make his peepee to tricks to doing the famous naked "booty" dance and chanting "booty, booty, booty" after Mommy declares "you rock"!

While I still have him wearing pull-ups with underwear when we go out or he goes to school, we are consistent then too. I even let him go on a bike ride around the neighborhood the other day with only underwear on under his shorts. I figured if nothing else, we would have a lesson on "How to discreetly pee outside".

I feel our disposable underwear budget is on the verge of decreasing soon......at least for awhile IF I ever decide about you-know-what. I might even go get a pedicure AND a manicure without feeling guilty once that happens!!

The flossing thing is a whole other story related to our friends who have kids with cavities and how brushing/flossing/rinsing is this huge routine to them now. It is about my laziness with getting my kids to brush regularly, not even considering how I would get them to floss. So again, this is really about me and getting serious about something important.

The other day, I bought 2 packages of the cute kid's flossing sticks. Of course, the kids thought is was the coolest thing. They started off trying themselves, then let me finish the job. Now, I am determined to get on a schedule of brushing twice a day and flossing at least once a day.

Until next when who knows what bodily functions I may write about......

Stacey

ahhhhh-a little piece of heaven and more!

To me, naptime is really just a slice of heaven, however, today I added an extra helping of whipcream. Today, I actually put myself in the recline position with a pillow and a blanket for 30 minutes! THEN, after I got up, I ate a bowl of German Chocolate ice cream-which by the way was SO GOOD that I had serious thoughts of licking the bowl after savoring the last bite.

Since Luke came along, my personal nap schedule has pretty much been only a faint, yet fond, memory. I have been indulging in adult naptime for as long as I can remember. I.LOVE.NAPS! LONG.NAPS!! I remember coming home between classes in college (I lived a couple of miles away and lived at home all 4 years.) and indulging while the house was quiet. I loved napping at least once a day alongside Anysa when she was a baby. I mean who can resist with a sleeping baby and a quiet house...and at that time fewer responsibilities and fewer messes to be cleaning up.

These days, I am lucky if both of them nap at all without serious threats of unspeakable horrors (like mommy's head exploding!). At this point, we still manage to average 3-4 naps a week which allows me to try to make a dent in my day's responsibilities. Luke began fighting naps much earlier than Anysa ever did which can make the event of actually getting them to their rooms much harder. And I know many of you might be thinking, "seriously, you make your 5 year old take a nap?". And I say, "seriously, YES!" She is only in school 2 days a week, so on the other three days we are all home, yes that is my goal. She feels better, I feel better! And like her brother, for a LONG time, she was a not a great night sleeper so taking naps made perfect sense. For Luke, I am pretty sure his REM cycle is wacked out with his poor breathing, so he definately needs a nap, otherwise his little invisible friends Cranky, Whiney, and Mean will come for a visit. That makes for an undesirable playgroup!

So, all that to say, I am not sure what came over me today other than pure exhaustion (or maybe an unexplainable magnetic force field between me and the couch upon entering the living room to clean up), but it was SWEET, SWEET HEAVEN!

And just in case you are interested in weird random facts about people (which I of course always love to know because I am, well..., nosey!), I also got to indulge in another one of my favorite activities alone. Getting the mail from the mailbox, sitting on the floor to open it, hearing the sound of the envelopes as a tear them in a QUIET house (because it is...yes, naptime!), making stacks of good and junk mail, actually throwing away the junk mail and envelopes (because if I left it to my husband, there would be this irritating and disorganized mess of papers that resembled mail), and reading anything of interest that I get that day in SILENCE!

Stacey

Say it in pictures!

While this is about another contest, I thought I would have a little fun and show you some of the images I would love to store in this great prize! These are a few pics of Luke from November. All my most recent ones of him are on my phone and that is the problem-they are on my phone and I don't have a transfer device yet. Anysa's 5 year old pictures were taken 2 weeks ago.










Anyway, go sign up for the contest to win a 9" Phillips Digital Photo Frame worth $249.99! Go back over to www.5minutesformom.com to sign on. (And I am just as frustrated as you as to why I can't produce an actual link anymore, but it is driving me crazy!! Any advice?

Happy Friday!
Stacey

Heather's Day!

Today is Heather's Day!

Please go over to www.especiallyheather.com to read her story about her recent brain tumor diagnosis. She would love to read your comments of encouragement and know you are praying for her.

To read details about how to help Heather and her family, please go over to www.boomama.net. You can click on the link to donate as her family begins the long journey of doctors and treatments as they continue to care for their family.

Stacey

Does a pair beat a full house?

I don't really know and am therefore pondering the age ole' question of whether or not to have another child?

Have I just forgotten- the nausea of the 1st trimester, the expanding waistline, the pitocin-induced labor pains, the hormone-induced emotional roller coaster, the late nights or all-nighters, the mastitis, the thoughts of how I would manage 2 ( I felt pretty secure with 1), the saddness of going back to work even part-time, the anxiety of possibly having a child with problems requiring more than a band-aid, the fear of would we really be able to give them everything they needed or even worse, would we be able to provide them with all the love, security, and tools they needed to flourish as self-confident children of God?

Have I just been mesmerized by- the beautiful twins my friend Golda just had, the sweet and snuggly boy my friend Jennifer just had, all the others who are cute and pregnant, going through my kids' baby clothes as I organize my life, the mothers who seem to be handling more than 2 kids with relative ease (and if not, well at least they look good doing it-that is for you my dear R!), all the superstars who are having kids after 35?

Is it just a distant memory of what it is like- to have a flat stomach, to have perky breasts, to be able to stay up late and not wake up with dark circles under my eyes, to have skin without leftover pregnancy brown spots, to run to the mall or out with friends without pressing responsibilities at home, to not have to wear a girdle to hide all post-pregnancy lumpiness, to walk out of the house without having already sweated or been spilled on, or better yet to walk out of the house with just 1 cute little purse on my elbow, to actually take a picture without saying a thousand times "move over; no, look at me; don't cross your eyes; don't push your sister.", to not have young children sass me, to NOT feel so run down at the end of a day spent with my children that I just want to slit my wrist and pour the liquor straight into my veins?

Am I kidding myself? Have I not looked in the mirror lately? Do I think the Reader's Digest Winner Patrol is headed to my house next with that big bunch of balloons and a huge bouquet of roses and the BIG check to present to me while I am standing at the doorway with no make-up, no bra, and a leftover ponytail from the night before?

Am I feeling unfulfilled? Am I looking at the wrong thing to be fulfilled? Do I think I have anything left to give? Am I even cutting it as the mother of 2, much less even think I could manage more? What would this do to Anysa? I remember what it was like in the early years when being 7 years older than my sister was not good. Would Luke be forever traumatized as the middle child? Maybe I should interview my brother. Would this be what makes our marriage stronger or would it be the straw?

WHAT IF I HAVE TWINS!!!!!!!!
(what if i have twins?;))

Should I just be satisfied? Should I convince myself that I don't really still have that feeling that I want more children? Should I just try to make my current situation better? Should I pray about it more? Do I really want to know if God and I have the same answer?

I don't have much time left to decide, so again I ask, Does a pair beat a full house?

Stacey

For my husband since I know he is reading this!

"Why don't you just make me a list."

"A list of what?"

"A list of everything I need to fix about me and then you can start another one."

in my head:

"a yellow legal pad will do nicely, thank you!"

i figured you would enjoy being quoted in the blogosphere!

"Attention Wal-Mart customers,

we have just received a huge shipment of white tee-shirts and halter tops....however you will have to head over to the cold cuts and cold beer sections for the best selection as they are currently being modeled for your viewing pleasure." .

Well, this has happened every year since we moved here almost 4 years ago. And it drives me crazy every year! Since we live about 3 miles from the Texas Motor Speedway, it can't really be helped but I do try to be out of town on race weekends. The influx of people on our town, our roads, and most importantly on our local Wal-Marts is really hard to miss, what with all the trailers and overalls.

Like yesterday, I was making great time on the way to pick up my kids. It was even looking like I might be earlier this time instead of right on time or a few minutes late. And let me clarify...I.hate.to.be.late! It looks rude and makes me feel like people think I don't care. I do. I especially hate being late to pick the kids up, for several reasons. The kids can sense my anxiety, I feel bad that I have put other people behind with their schedule, and of course I get charged extra!

Well, anyway. So, I was making good time and had even passed the regular bottle-necked area with ease when all of a sudden-I had to not only stop but also saw this HUGE line of cars WAY ahead of me. And then, I knew! All my old race "friends" were back in town a good 1 week ahead of the actual race day (and if I am really lucky, we get to spend 2 weeks together because this is their definition of a vacation!) and had freakin' clogged up my road! And was going to make me LATE! As I got closer, I saw that it was actually the remains of a nasty wreck. But that didn't fool me because I knew the real cause.

All that to say, I really don't like race week. Too many people, too many vendors hanging out at the gas station parking lots, too many tool demonstrations at the Home Depot, and too many people buying up all the hot dogs at Wal-Mart. I mean, really, now what am I going to feed my kids for lunch!!

Stacey