Is It Naptime Yet

Well we started potty training Eden today.

I had her in pull-ups for a couple of reasons:
1. She’s only used the toilet once.
2. I didn’t want to get too frustrated on the first day.

We made her sign to put her stickers on to keep track of how often she goes each day last night. We also put her first pull-up on last night.

Jon’s in charge of her for when she first wakes up, because he’s up and I’m not.

She had a wet pull-up. Oh well.

The day progressed and she sat on the toilet several times, but no pee or poop.

Then she ran up to me later in the morning.

“I went pee Mommy.”

It was in the pull-up, but I was happy that she recognized that she went pee.

Later in the day, I smelled a poopy diaper. I’m thinking  that part might take a while.

Then nap time and she awoke with a wet diaper.

The day appears to be getting more expensive as it progresses.

I think I changed another pull-up in the evening and then the moment of glory.

We were watching Dancing With the Stars and off Eden goes. Jon noticed it was too the bathroom and he heard the pee.

Yay!!

She was so happy to go pee in the toilet that she forgot to wipe, so we told her to wipe but she just stuck a piece of toilet paper in the toilet.  It was cute.

We were all cheering for her and all of us were in the bathroom for the first sticker.

I asked if she wanted to call and tell someone that she had gone in the toilet and she said Carolyn, so we called and left a message with her, and then called my parents , but left a message there too. (Where is everyone when you need them to be excited for you child?)
Carolyn called back shortly and was happy for our girl.

I’m going to continue to use pull-ups till she gets that poop goes in the toilet, unless it seems like she uses the pull-ups just because she can.

The day I think went much better because she was in pull-ups and  not just underwear because I hate cleaning up messes and it gets me stressed. I want to ease into this and give her, and myself, a little more confidence then I can deal with pee on my floor daily.

I think the first day ended well.

This week has been really busy, like I already blogged about.
In fact I was thinking of beginning to potty train Eden this week since Jon would be home but, since we had something to do every day except Friday, it was postponed.

Plus since we had something to do everyday but Friday the girls have been terrible, and I haven’t been the happiest mom.

It may sound weird but if they’re misbehaving I am usually grumpy and not wanting to give them attention, but sometimes they misbehave because attention, or time, is just what they need.

It’s kinda a vicious cycle.

They get attention or Mommy time and they’re fine -> They’re fine so Mommy finds things that need to be done and spends less time with them -> They get less time and start acting up -> Mommy gets mad that they’re acting up and wants to have alone time, or doesn’t have the energy to give them time because she’s too busy and they’re just acting up and she doesn’t want to reward bad behavior -> Mommy cools off and finally starts giving them more time and things get better, even if it took a day or two for her to be a happy mom again. -> All is well in the house and the girls get Mommy time. -> cycle begins again.

Thursday was just a bad day for me.

The girls started the day bickering. I got grumpy. We had a good class but right after we got home Eden got upset because she needed too eat her leftovers from the night before. I send her to timeout for not doing what I asked and afterwards she decides to take a nap and skip lunch. (She had woken up at 6:30 am and her allergies were bothering her this day. )
Lilah was okay during Eden’s nap, but I was already stressed because of  the chaotic house and feelings of being over whelmed, plus ornery children.

Lilah went outside and after Eden’s nap Eden joined her. They were playing fine but right before I was going to start dinner I go out and see that they’ve turned on the water. They’re muddy and Lilah’s shirt, which was mostly white, now had brown cuffs, since it was long sleeved. The shed got water in it, because that’s where the hose was, not on the grass, but running off onto our dirty, now muddy concrete and I lost it.

I was fed up with the back yard and water and swore that if they did it again they wouldn’t play outside for a week. Lilah’s feelings were hurt because she wasn’t listening and I pulled her into the house to clean her off. Eden gave Lilah hugs because I was too angry at them.

The backyard really gets to me because of how dirty the girls can get and how dirty our patio gets. The neighbor girls like to play back there with mine and about a week ago they had turned on the water and made a big mess.

Since the back yard is so crazy because of the sand box, in which it’s more of a dirt box and it just gets dirt onto our patio,  today we bought bricks to line it and play box sand to put in with the silt the girls now play with. We hope this will keep the dirt in the sandbox rather than our patio, and that the dirt will be less clingy to the girls and easier to dust off of clothing. ( If they play outside they have to change their clothes and get wiped down or given a bath because otherwise it gets everywhere. ) We also hope that it will make letting them play outside less of a stress on me.

Plus the neighbor girls have been coming over more regularly so my girls have been going through clothes and getting dirty on a regular basis and it’s just too much for this kinda neat freak mom when it comes to dirt, though I have plenty of dust in my house.

Things have just been weighing me down and that was my breaking point.

I’ve also realized that potty training was not the starting point to Lilah’s and mine battle of the wills. I was just potty training her at the age children begin being stubborn and hard to handle, or 2 1/2.  Eden has been this way half the week and it’s because she’s 2 1/2 nearly 3 and not because I’m potty training her and she’s stubborn, but just because she’s stubborn.

Writing about it brings back a lot of the stress I’ve felt, but I am doing better today and I’m going to start potty training Eden on Monday because we have little planned this week and I run out of diapers and will only have pull-ups.

Now I just have to get up at 6:30 am with her. 🙁
She did go potty in the toilet once on our trip. It was in the morning and since her diaper was dry I put her on the toilet. It’s kinda a hit and miss in the morning whether she has a dry diaper, but I’m hoping we can get some sort of recognition going since she  says she has to go potty but never does.

Wish me luck, but mostly wish me patience.

Today was my second week to teach Lilah’s class. Thankfully I’ll have the next four weeks off and hopefully I”ll be able to finish my drapes.

One of the girls in Lilah’s class is small and her pants never really fit her. It’s pretty typical to remind her to pull them up because you see a little bum crack.

Today was no different.

Her little bum kept peeking out and we constantly reminded her to pull up her pants. At one point the mom assisting me, who is not her mom, went to pull up her pants and underwear, since they seemed to be riding low, and she discovered the little girl was not wearing any underwear!!

It was too funny.

Later in the class they were crawling around being caterpillars for charades and she was full on mooning us. Luckily none of the other kids were behind her.

Then later in the class I had the kids playing with scarves for a butterfly song. They first just have the scarf on there back while they crawl around and then they jump up and run around flapping the scarf like wings later.

After one of the crawling session I noticed that the girls pants were just above her knees and the only thing keeping her descent was the scarf that hid her nakedness. She didn’t seem to notice too much either.

It really was too funny.

Sunday Jon was scanning pictures from his mother’s photo album. We’re trying to get them copied so we can distribute Cd’s throughout the family and have a copy of them.

Lilah’s looked through the album with Grandma  before and just last week we went through them before we brought them home.

Lilah noticed the picture of Jonathan’s uncle who was accidentally killed because of a fight while only in his 20’s. She asked if he was the one who was dead and then how he died. Jon told her about the fight and how alcohol was involved, though he couldn’t remember what party was drunk or if both of the men were. Lilah asked about alcohol and Jon described it as something that causes a person to make less rational choices, not bad, but not always good.

A few minutes later Eden starts singing alcohol, alcohol, alcohol. Then Lilah chimes in, partially because I told Eden she shouldn’t say it and Jon responded that it was just a funny word to her.

So then I had two girls singing alcohol, alcohol to the tune of Jingle Bells. (It’s what Elmo does at the end of Elmo’s world. Sing the word they were learning about to the tune of Jingle Bells.)

It was a little funny.

I just hope they don’t start singing that tune while at a friends house.

I swept and mopped my floors on Monday so they would be nice as I do a ton of things this week.

Well, it’s Thursday and they’re dirty!

I don’t understand why things can’t just stay clean for like a week before getting dirty again.

So, before I start making the center mixture for the 350 truffles I’m making, it sounds like a lot to everyone except my friend Amber who catered and made the cake for her sisters wedding recently, I have to do dishes, though I’ve done them at least three times this week, wipe off counters and sweep, though I think it was Monday that I last swept.

Then tonight I think we’re going to plant some plants in our front dirt spot. (You’ll understand why I call it a spot when I post pictures later.) We bought the plants Monday for FHE and I was so grumpy. Little girls running around playing in water fountains is not my idea of fun when in a public store. Plus I was tired and hadn’t had a nap.

I’m gonna try to be more laid back as they plant and get dirty tonight.

For now I’m gonna go clean, again, and cause myself some trouble as I begin my truffle making experiment on a large scale.

Saturday our ward did an Easter egg hunt.

Lilah had been dying to go since we’ve heard about it and was so excited.

They had the kids 2 and under go first, but their eggs were just tossed on the floor in the middle of a room. They did turn off the lights so they had to use the flashlights. Eden enjoyed it, but I kept thinking she was three, and not still two.

Then they had the 3-7 or so age go out into the building. Lilah actually was just hitting up the eggs that were left from the little kids in the middle of the floor, but I convinced her to go into the hall way. They each had a maximum number of eggs and I had to keep taking eggs out of Eden’s basket as she found more than her share during Lilah’s egg hunt.

They had ostrich eggs, that had been drained, hidden around the building and Britta’s dad found her one. At the end those who found the ostrich eggs got to choose a prize.

Their was also a pinata, but that was for the older kids to hit that may not have found a lot of eggs.

Waiting for the fun to begin.

Britta, Lilah, and Eden. Lilah totally reminds me of her cousin Katy because that is totally a stance and smile Katy gives.

Eden.

Showing off their baskets.

It was a crazy, but fun, night. I have too much Easter candy already, and we have one more egg hunt to go. I think I’ll reuse the candy.

The eggs we hide will probably contain some raisins and coins, like last years. The girls love raisins and coins.

When does the candy stop? I don’t have to ever buy candy because it seems like we always have some form the previous holiday.

Second part to our Easter fun.

Yesterday, or Tuesday, we had Sam and Britta over for lunch and making cookies. The girls had a blast and Eden was obsessed with the flour.

Cutting out cookies.

Eden loved playing in the flour container.

Britta was being bashful.

She called the egg cut out a rotten egg.

Frosting the cookies.

Britta liked a lot of frosting on her cookies.

Reaping their reward.

I had the girls wear their green shirts today.

Take one.

Take two.

Take three.

I’ve been at my BIL Rawlin’s house helping him organize and put up dry wall so I am exhausted and have basically been gone all day.

Day Light Savings is kicking my butt. I’m so tired all the time. I could really use a nap right now, but I’m afraid if I go to sleep I’m not going to wake up till Jon gets home and then I’ll have nothing made for dinner and the sink will still be full of dishes.

That’s Lilah’s new 2 dollar word. ( It’s just sounds so funny coming out of her mouth.)

“Jack doesn’t always cooperate” ( Jack is Andrea and Brien’s Jack Russel.)

“I’m being good and cooperating.”

We live in a very Spanish, Mexican, Latino, or whatever you want to call it, neighborhood it makes it easier at times to decline door to door solicitation but on the other hand it makes it harder to get to know you’re neighbors.

Our neighbors that are to the East of us have three little girls and the mother stays home. The oldest, I just learned, is in preschool 3 days a week, and missed entering kindergarten this year because her birthday is in October, and then the next two girls are 3 and 1.

Eden is in love with the neighbor girls. She wants to always say hi if she hears they’re outside or if they’re outside as we leave or come home. She’s said hello for a while but the wanting to socialize and talk to them for longer periods of time started  a couple weeks ago when the oldest was playing with her while Jon was outside doing whatever, Eden realized she found a friend and now wants to see her whenever she can.

The one delima is I had never spoken to the mom and didn’t know how much English the mother knew. Today I talked to her and she knows a little, but not much. She joked that I needed to learn Spanish and she needed to learn English. She will be taking a class soon at the community center she said, or at least that’s what I got, and she invited us to come use their pool if the girls ever wanted to come over. Though I think she may have meant swings, but they could have a small pool back there.

Anyways, I’m thinking I should try to learn some Spanish, so I can hopefully understand her a little more or help her find the English words. Also if the girls are going to play together a little they won’t be able to understand the other girls easily, and I should make an effort to help them.

I do feel happy that the barrier has been broken. We’ve always said hello and waved, but never really spoken.

It happened because I had our front door open to cooler air and Eden saw the girls outside. Unfortunately they were leaving, and not just playing, so by the time she got her sandals to me and on they were in the car. When they returned Eden and Lilah were both for going  outside and saying hello, so I talked to the mom, or Hortencia, and explain how my girls love to say hi. The oldest daughter invited the girls to play in her house but I declined, one because the mom hadn’t offered and I didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable and two because it was Eden’s nap time.
Lilah is set on us picking a time to play with the girls. She wants to play on their swings that she can see from our backyard.

It’s nice to get to know your neighbors a little more. Even if there wasn’t a language barrier I’d probably be shy and it just gave me a good excuse to not know them well.  Now, with friendly girls, they leave me little choice but to meet new people.

As I keep looking at this picture of the girls I keep thinking about this other picture of me as a child with my older brother Scott.

I was just over 2 when it was taken, or October 1985, but you can definitely see the family resemblance.

Here’s a closer look.

And just for fun here’s another picture of me as a kid taking a bath. I was just too cute.