Tahitian Vanilla....

With our weekend trip to Kansas City to hang out with Mimi and Papa Pickering, our potty training success was derailed. Quite frankly running around someone else's house naked from the waist down made me a little uncomfortable. No silly, I wasn't running around my inlaws house naked from the waist down, Kal was - or would have if I would have allowed it. For some reason the only way we have success with our potty training efforts is if he is naked from the waist down. If I put a diaper, underwear, pullup, ANYTHING against his "pean" (think bean but with a "p") he just pees on it. Just a thought for those out there with more experience at this than i have (which is NONE!).... 1. Is he ready to potty train?! 2.Does potty training some kids just require this alternative method?! Hmmm.... anyway, we're back in the business of bodily functions learning which made our trip to walmart this morning all the more interesting.

Because I have recently (as in this morning) begun a weight loss challenge with my mom, Koko, and Kiki (aka my sister and brother) I needed to get a scale- believe it or not, I haven't owned one in more than 6 years. I chose to ignore the ebs and flows of my weight loss after I successfully fit into my wedding dress. There have been some ebs but I am currently trapped in an ongoing, bigger by the day, FLOW! So, my sister and I decided to do this weight loss challenge to keep ourselves, and each other, MOTIVATED! Therefore, I set out on a journey to walmart with the following items on my list: scale, card for Kiki's birthday, and a card/gift card for my nephew Ryan's birthday. We got to the store and I spent 15 minutes trying to locate the scales (which by the way are in the hardware section) or a sales associate who would point me in the right direction. With no success, I made a pit stop in the card aisle. Now, I know that its not normal to park your buggy and sit down on the floor to read, laugh at, re-read, and finally choose your card but due to my current FLOW i'm exhausted (all the time!). So, I took my place on the floor and began to read cards. Kalvin, meanwhile, was running up and down the aisle. I noticed that he kept looking over his shoulder at his bottom and that people walking by us couldn't help but pull a "sour face". Unfortunately, they were looking at me and shaking their heads. I couldn't understand what the faces were about until Kalvin came and stood by me.... then I knew. He had taken a VERY stinky, musty smelling poop in his pants! I can't believe that people thought that I was responsible for the smell that he was so depserately trying to escape by running away from it! With watering eyes, it really was that bad, I grabbed my wallet and headed across the aisle to the air fresheners (I know, quick thinking right?!) With only one thing checked off of my list and nothing to clean him up with, I wasn't about to leave the store- especially without my scale!- so I hosed his shorts down with Tahitian Vanilla Room Deodorizer. Believe it or not, this really did help! I quickly returned to my cart in the card aisle grabbed the second card that I needed and found a store associate at the paint counter. Much to my relief, as the smell was beginning to seep through again, the scales are located in hardware- just 2 aisles from where we were. So, I got my scale and headed for the checkout counter. I honestly don't know which was worse, the smell of his undesirable load or the smell of that musty, stagnant poop competing with the smell of tahitian vanilla (what is this kid eating anyway?!) Sales Associate Barb couldn't get us through her checkout lane fast enough (and she didn't even attempt to hide her disgust). Needless to say, there was no small talk with Barb - and there was no one waiting in line behind us either (not the typical walmart experience). Moral of the story? Well, I don't think there is one. Just know, in a dire emergency room deodorizer will do the trick but if you wait more than 5 minutes you will pay for it dearly!

A New Appreciation

I felt the need to call my sister today and offer admiration for her position in life. You see, she has 2 small boys AND a husband. Where am I going with this you ask? Kalvin is quickly mastering the art of pottying and he has since informed me that he will no longer be sitting down to pee. "Big boys pee like this mommy!" The scene plays out like this: Kalvin stands NEAR the potty and takes aim. Without fail his "water pressure" is always off a bit from what he expects and by the time he figures out the correct distance/pressure ratio his stream is diminishing into a dribble that ends up on the seat, floor, or running down his legs. The result is a magnitude of pee on the floor, walls, seat, well.... anywhere but in the potty; and, if we're lucky, a couple of drops find their way into the bowl. I wait until we've done the potty express routine (see our previous blog) and he's busy eating his peppermint candy, then I go back into the bathroom with my hazmat suit for a clean up/restoration attempt. I don't attempt the cleanup in front of him, or make an issue of the over/under/sideways/upside-down spray for two reasons: 1. I'm proud of the progress he's making and pray that aim and pressure control will come with experience (although seeing the bathrooms of some men- ahem, i'm not holding my breath) and 2. because he is so proud of himself (and he should be!) that he is blind to the urine that has landed anywhere but where it is supposed to!

Chugga Chugga Peee-Peee!

Armed with a wealth of knowledge (gotta love google) and our potty training necessities, I sat my little guy down and explained to him what was going to happen next. You see, I think it is every kids dream to get to run around the house all naked and free....today, I made my little guy's dreams come true. Of all the things I read about potty training, and the fact that we went through 6 pair of underwear in an hour and a half (who pees that much.. Really?!), I resorted to the method of letting your little one run wild around the house in their primate suit (uh, I mean birthday suit). The theory is that anything restrictive feels diaperish to them and will lead to a more difficult transition into Underpants Junction. As with most things I take what I like from an idea and scrap the rest (in this case the having to be naked below the waist for 3 months following the initial 3 day extravaganza). At first I was a Nervous Nellie - chasing him about in hopes of avoiding bodily fluids (or solids) finding their way onto my carpet. After a while I got out the puppy spray, read the instructions again, and relaxed. Afterall, I was getting really tired from chasing him about (and he was really nervous and on edge). I decided to wait and see what happened and clean it up if/when it happened - you know, in order to avoid him returning to the same spot and soiling the carpet at a later time! Well, I waited and waited and it never happened. My little man is a pro and caught on immediately! He loved having the authority to march outside (I thought that he should have a few choices on where to go in order to encourage him and keep it interesting) and let loose. In fact, he began getting creative with his spray- seriously, I didn't think that would happen for another year or two (this coming from the person who doesn't have the goods to be able to relate to the temptation he must have been feeling!) After we got rid of the underwear and freed him up-he only had two accidents today! The first was when his bowels let loose and he pooped on the sidewalk and the second was when I put underwear on him and sent him off to football practice with his dad!

*Just a side note to any of you who have not yet taken on the challenge of potty training a child and may do so in the future.* While researching (via google) how to potty train you child I saw time and time again how important it was to have a grandious reaction to their success. Based on that advice I went a little overboard and came up with a song/dance/march to perform with him each time he had hit on the potty. The routine looked a little like this: "ALLLLL ABOARD THE PEE-PEE TRAIN!!!!" Excitedly waving ones arms up and down and high stepping/running around the house- through the hallway, into the dining room, around the table, into the kitchen, through the living room, pass the entryway, and into the hallway again (and over and over and over again) all while clapping, jazzercizing, and chanting "Chugga Chugga Pee-Pee, Chugga Chugga Pee! Kalvin is a big boy, yes he is indeed! Kalvin used the potty, he's a big boy now! Chugga Chugga Pee-Pee, Chugga Chugga Pee!!!

Don't get me wrong this is an excellent workout (I've already lost 5 pounds) and a great way to achieve your target heart rate but it is entirely too fun for the little ones! My little guy loved it so much, and is sooo smart, that he would use the potty and only let a little bit of his pee dribble out (it took me a while to catch on).... therefore, as soon as we'd finish the routine he'd run back to the potty and do it again (of course expecting to perform the routine again)... and so on and so forth. In fact, before bed last night we made 36 rounds around the house and he emptied his bladder in 6 calculated movements!

So.... how is the image of a crazy, slightly overweight, exhausted, sweating and out of breath momma going to help you? The moral of my story is to think about how many times each day you will be doing this happy dance and PLAN ACCORDINGLY! Had I realized that we would take our victory laps every 30 minutes (and sometimes more) throughout the day I would have kept it a little more low key (nix the jazzercise bit) and limited it to one time around the house (instead of 6!)

Once Upon A Potty....

Well, the first 2 days of potty training have drawn to a very successful, yet EXHAUSTING, close. Those of you who know me won't find it hard to believe that I may have gone a little overboard with my overzealousnous for encouragement and positive reinforcement! While I am proving to be the potty training guru.... hmmm, maybe the potty dancer/singer/entertainer *certainly not the potty WHISPERER*.... I must let you in on a little secret. Ready? Ok. Well, between YOU AND ME, I'm going to be honest for just one minute.... I had absolutely no intention of potty training my one and only now or any time in the future. Judge as you will but this is one aspect of motherhood that I did not look forward to, plan for, anticipate, etc, etc, etc. In fact, it just so happened to work out (or so I thought) that I am back in school and Kalvin is in the loving hands of his teachers at the early childhood center on campus. You see, I saw the connection between my having to take 19 hours this fall (and therefore his almost daily attendance to the center) and his coming of age... he will be THREE in July as a very fortunate coincidence. The way I saw it, he'd have plenty of time, help, encouragement, and inspiration to learn the art of using the potty under the watchful eye of his teachers and fellow potty goers(leaving me free and clear of this particular duty). I know, I know... this is AWFUL! I thought so too. You see Kalvin woke up this week and declared that would no longer be a member of the Dapper clan. In fact, he cried at the mention of putting on a dapper (known to most of us as DIAPER). Therefore, I had absolutely no choice but to go to the store and buy all of the *necessary* items for teaching my wee man to take care of business like the big boy that he is. These items included (but were not limited to): a few books (our favorite is "The Potty Train - Chugga Chugga Poooo-Pooo!"), a Potty Watch (google it), a potty chair, a seat to put on the big potty so that he wouldn't get baptised in his own holy water, and an enormous amount of soft peppermint candies (bribery always works- Right?) So, with the necessary items on board OUR potty express, and a few internet searches (on how the heck to potty train your child) under my belt, we set out on our new journey of leaving the Dappers at the Depot and climbing aboard the potty train to Underpants Junction!

Blog what?!

Uh Oh..... I knew that it had been a LONG time since I blogged last but I had no idea that it had been OVER a month!! Hmmm, so..... REWIND (as best I can remember)..... We spent Mother's day in Kansas City with the Pickerings. While we were there we celebrated Mother's Day, Kelsey's Birthday, and Baby Henley's dedication. It was a fun and very busy weekend :) I finished my first year (at SIUE anyway) with a 4.0. Incase you can't tell, I'm VERY proud of myself (pat.. pat..) It was a challenge to maintain the grades but it was worth it because on June 4th I was informed that I had been admitted into the Early Childhood Partnership - not an easy feat :o
Kelsey was in a car accident that rendered my beloved Honda a total loss. Seeing as she was only worth about 600 dollars it didn't take much to deem her a totaled vehicle. It was a sad day for me, having to say goodbye to the old girl :( It seems like only yesterday I was dressed in my Sunday's best as I perched on the hood of the shiny new car. Why would I do that you ask? Well OF COURSE because I was having my photo taken with my new wheels at the industrial park in Salem, Ohio... oh the good old days! No matter how silly it seems now, and I'm sure to some that was clear then, my Daddy entertained the idea and went along with my grandiose plan, thanks for always letting me be me Daddy! Ahhh.... MEMORIES- I could get lost in them all afternoon! Anyway, we've replaced Barbara (aka Barbie) with another shiny (for now anyways) girl... a used (new only to us) Cadillac STS. Don't worry, I won't be perching on the hood of this vehicle for a photo op... my Dad isn't here to take them and I fear my hubby wouldn't be able to for worrying about the dent I was about to put in the hood :)
Aside from the new vehicle and another school year under my belt, Kelsey has finished his 2nd school year at EHS. We're now spending time relaxing, playing, vacationing (Outer Banks North Carolina last week and Colorado in a few weeks) and potty training.... that's an entirely new post that is coming soon (honestly... SOON!)

Great American Past-Time!

Kelsey was offered free tickets to a Cardinals game on Sunday so after church (and a much loved Sunday afternoon nap) - we piled into the car and headed downtown. We had a great time but I must admit that Kalvin was not all that interested in the game itself. Rather, his attention was torn between the little girl sitting to his left and little girl wearing a bag on her head that was standing behind him. It was nearly impossible to draw his attention from these girls and I had my first "mommy moment of realization" that his attempts to make eye contact with these girls were taking presidence over my requests for a "Look at mommy and say monkeys!" picture opportunity. Ugh... seriously?! I can't say that I didn't expect this to happen in like, 20'something years, but not a minute before then! I was bummed. Luckily, after these little hussies had been swept away by their daddys at the conclusion of the game, I was able to get a couple of "Hurry up and take the picture Mom!" photos of my little ladies' man!

Oh and by the way, just incase you haven't been to a ball game recently, it is important that you know what you are getting into. Not only was I unaware that a hotdog cost 4.75 and a small soda costs 5.25 but apparently I should have read up on the game in "Baseball for Dummies" before I graced the stadium with my presence. We hadn't been there long when a batter sent the ball soaring, the crowd errupted and stood, and when Kelsey sat down with Kalvin I excitedly shouted "Look Kal, a homerun... can you say home_run?!" Kelsey smiled and informed me that we had not just witnessed a homerun but rather a double that cleared the bases- whatever that means! I'd be lying if I denied that I heard all of the snickers around me. The man infront of me actually turned around- to see what this bimbo looked like- and when he accidently made eye contact with me he offered a sympathetic smile and quickly looked away as he couldn't hold back his laughter.
Of course, if you know me you know that I had an excuse for this indiscretion! I reported, very loudly- to ensure that the men around me could hear over their chuckling, that I hadn't seen what had actually happened because everyone had stood; and because it wasn't baseball etiquette- LIKE I EVEN KNOW!- I had remained in my seat. This did not serve to clear up the issue, looking back it didn't even make sense, so I did like any other girl would do... I changed the subject!

Losing what? Where?

I'm losing my mind! It's official.... I can't recall anything that I'm studying for my finals and I'm losing everything, literally EVERYTHING! The most devastating loss came in the way of my MIA camera. For those of you who know me, you know that I use it daily to capture moments of dear little boy doing anything and everything from learning to ride his bike to peeing on our Christmas tree (that's another story for another time!). Unfortunately, I have lost the camera.... I think for good :( Usually when I loose something I find it within the next day or two. When I was making lunch the other day I finally found the milk in the cereal cabinet and when I almost resorted to Jessica Simpson's method of using a dirty shirt to wipe my teeth clean, I found my toothbrush on the fireplace mantel!) This time, it doesn't seem that the camera will be found. Here's how it went down... we were visiting Mimi and Papa Pickering last weekend and when we got there I set the camera on the coffee table while I changed ANOTHER :) poopy diaper. Only 10 minutes later the camera was nowhere to be found... even with 3 other sets of eyes helping me look.... it seemingly disappeared off of the face of the earth! UGH! Why am I shouting (via all capital letters) words like EVERYTHING, ANOTHER, and UGH, you see.... its because I'm losing my mind. Don't worry, have no fear, I'll do my best not to misplace anything important such as my debit card (for the 7th time in 10 days) or my son (for the.... just kidding, that hasn't happened yet THIS week)! This too shall pass, I hope! In the mean time, I'm going to do my best to get through finals next week, say a prayer for me. YEAH!!! I'm almost done with my 1st year back to school..... SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER da da da da, da da da da, da da da daaa (those are my air drums, duh!)

Oh, it goes without saying that our blog won't have new pictures for now. BUT... if anyone has a camera that they'd love to donate to our cause, I'll do my best (that's reassuring right?!) to hang on to it!

It's Not MY Fault!

Seriously?! My TWO YEAR OLD little boy used this phrase not only for the first time tonight, but in a very appropriate context! For the life of me I cannot figure out where he heard this, let alone how to use it. Here's how it went down -

Mommy (trying to get Kalvin to stop chasing the dogs with his truck) says: "Kalvin, puleeease listen to what I am saying to you. You have not listened to me all day!"

Daddy (sensing that it has indeed been a LONG day and that Mommy is about to lose her cool) offers a discerning look in an attempt to encourage Kalvin to take heed to Mommy's request.

Kalvin: exasperated that this conversation is even taking place, appeals to his Daddy with, "Its not MY fault!" Realizing that daddy has turned away from him (to hide his laughter), he attempts to convince me with, "Mommy, its NOT my fault!"

Although I was extremely frustrated, it was a struggle (to say the least) to keep a straight face! Where in the world had my son heard this; more importantly, how (in his 2-year-old mind and with his recently discovered linguistics) had he conceived to use this so appropriately?!

Children never cease to amaze me, and my son is absolutely no exception!! His brilliant little mind is always working and his personality continues to evolve. There are SO MANY beautiful and unique facets that work together to make up his personality; I'm sure we will continue to be amazed, confused, and moved to laughter!

Hello! Ok, so it has been nearly a year since I've blogged and I have recently been inspired and encouraged (via her blog) by a mommy aquaintance of mine to blog the events of our family's lives. Apparently, you can have your blog published into a book at the end of the year. What a great idea! It's a scrapbook of sorts, without having to drag out all of my supplies and make yet another mess :) Because there's no way I can go back to the last blog and fill in from there (a LOT has happened over the past 11 months; life with a 2 year old is always changing, exciting, and there is never a dull moment!), I'll start present day. My goal is to blog twice a week in hopes of a beautiful year-end book that I can publish so that Kalvin will have it to look back on when he's 30, 50, 80, and 110. I don't know about you, but I think it would be really cool to know what my favorite activity was at any given age, what I liked to eat, and what was going on in the lives of my family. He may not fully appreciate it like I would, and that's ok, but at least it will be there if he does take after me in his zeal for the little things in life!

We are currently a family of 5, Kelsey(almost 32), Myself(just 28), Kalvin(2, eek- almost 3), Harper(9), and Macie Grace(almost 1). We live in a beautiful little house on 20+ acres and we have a great time taking hikes to look for animals, tracks, skat, and anything else that might catch the eye of our little guy! I would have to say along with the wildlife, and the room to run, one of Kal's favorite things about living here is the long driveway. With no one to blame but ourselves, we can not leave or return home without taking him out of his carseat, letting him climb into the front seat and either drive on our laps or open the sunroof and stick his head out for the journey down the driveway. I keep telling myself that not every kid has a driveway long enough to do this and that there are a lot worse things he could insist on doing. Just think of it... I'll be able to sit calmly in the passenger seat as he drives for the first time because he's already had so much experience, YEAH RIGHT!

Kalvin learned to use the pedals on his tricycle in February and, as promised, we provided him with a big boy bike. It may be used and borrowed but to Kalvin it is everything he's ever wanted and more! (I know that it won't last forever and I've heard that kids get more expensive as they get older, but for now, we have a brilliant convenience on our side. Kalvin is, so far, very easy to please and he literally loves the box that something comes in as much, sometimes more, than the novelty item itself). For months, he had covetously chased after bigger boys on these bikes during tot time at the Y. All these months of running after this bike and low and behold he was now sitting on it! Unfortunately, using these pedals proved to be a challenge and although he would climb on it and we would push him around - he never really rode it until today. ButTODAY HE DID IT!!! And... as any proud mom would do, I chased behind him with the video camera clapping and cheering him on! This only lasted a few minutes because he abruptly stopped his bike, turned around, and told me "No take me picture more!". I have to give myself some credit and tell you that although I was not done documenting this new accomplishment, I wisely chose to stave off an impending meltdown (when he's done being photographed, he's really done) and I put the camera into my pocket. Luckily, my vigilant efforts were rewarded with a couple of wonderful photographs and a few cute videos too :)

I'm sure that you can't tell, but I must say that I am SO PROUD of my big boy! I'm also delighted that we've just unleashed a whole new outdoor activity. When it is nice, over 40 degrees,under 100 degrees, and not pouring rain, we are outside. We eat breakfast, lunch, and sometimes dinner outside! Kalvin lives to be outside enjoying the fresh air and nature itself and there is little on earth that can deter him from doing so. Needless to say, another new activity will provide a little room to mix it up.