Putting myself out there

Well, I am finally taking some steps to get out of the house more.  I let myself get a little lazy and put things off until after the holidays, but this whole, “being in the house all day,”  thing is getting to me.  You can only take so many trips to the library and Target!  And it has been three months, and I haven’t met a single friend!

 The boys and I will be starting M.O.P.S. in a couple of weeks.  I had wanted to before, but there is only one group in Battle Creek, and they meet in the evenings, which is not ideal, and they don’t have daycare specifically for M.O.P.S.  Your kids can go to AWANA or some other program they have at the church, which is Baptist, so I wasn’t really in to that.   I’ve decided to drive to Richland.  I’ve heard good things about this group, so hopefully they are true.  And, I am applying to volunteer at the local domestic violence shelter, starting in February.  I hope to complete the training then, but daycare may prove to be an issue.  I would really like to get back into that field though.  Who knows, volunteering could lead to a job down the road.  The third thing I am doing is attempting to start my own moms group on meetup.com.  I have been searching for months and there isn’t a single moms group or playgroup in Battle Creek.  I joined the local “women’s group,” online, but it just doesn’t seem to be for me.  Most of the women are retired.  I figured I don’t have anything to lose but the $6.00 per month. They will be posting it in two days, so I guess we will see.  I’ll try not to take it personally if no one responds. 

So far, the chart seems to be working. Keeping my fingers crossed.  Caleb has already earned enough stars to play an extra computer game every day, and is well on his way to earning a new book of his choice.  He hasn’t had one accident since we started the chart.  And, he seems less angry about going to bed and going to the bathroom. 

I will end with this: THE QUINNOSAURUS IS NOT EXTINCT.  HE WAS JUST HIBERNATING FOR A VERY BRIEF PERIOD. 

New Game Plan, Is the Quinnosaur becoming extinct? and Misunderstood lyrics of the day

Okay, so after yesterday's debacle, I have decided to employ a new game plan to tackle Caleb's, shall we say, undesirable behavior.  I came up with the idea last night with much help from my blog posts and my Facebook friends.  (Thanks guys.)  I decided to make a sticker chart for Caleb, but not only for the potty.  We have been struggling with an array of issues, mostly treating me really crappy when he's mad at me.  So, he now has a sticker chart, on which he can earn stickers for doing things like going potty (obviously), brushing his teeth, listening to mom and dad, picking up his toys, putting his clothes on by himself, etc.  When he gets enough stickers, he can have rewards like, an extra TV show or computer game, a new book, working up to things like, lunch with mom or dad at a restaurant, and trips to Kalamazoo Bounceland or Chuck E Cheese.  I am uncertain how this is going to work right now.  We started it when he woke up from his nap ( which is when I finished the chart,) and he has earned three stars so far, two for going potty, and one for eating his dinner.  Somehow I was blessed with an abundance of patience today.   I don't know if he quite understands the whole concept yet, but I think he will get it with a little more repetition.  I will keep you posted.

August 2010

In other news, Quinn has been a delightful child lately.  He seems very happy and he is talking up a storm (finally)!  I made a list and his word list is now over 50.  Now, that doesn't mean you would understand all of them, but we do.  For example, he says "nk," for drink, and "pop eye," for potty.  But we know what he's talking about. :-)   I forgot how much fun kids are at this age, and I am eternally grateful for this tiny reprieve from the Quinnosaurus while I am dealing with the Calebopithicus!

One more funny thing that happened today.  Caleb has been running around singing "bam bam, baseball lam!"  For the life of me I couldn't figure out what he meant. Nothing on any of his favorite shows sounded anything like it.  So I just chalked it up to something he invented. Then we were in the car today listening to Nickelback's Rockstar, and he starts singing it again, then says, "See mom, it's from that song!"  I want a brand new house on an episode of Cribs, and a bathroom I can play baseball in..." Mystery solved. Duh...

Epic Potty Training FAIL

Okay, today has not been a good day.  I talked with Caleb this morning about both of us trying really hard to make it a good day.  We even “pinky swore,” that we would do our best.  Well, both of us failed.  Things were going fairly well for a few hours.  He and Quinn were watching an episode of Dino Dan on the computer in the dining room, and I was chopping vegetables in the kitchen for a crock pot dinner.  I went in and asked Caleb to go in and go potty, since it had been a while.  I paused the show and reminded him of our pinky swear.  He went in there with only a little whining, which is better than sometimes.  I followed him after I had paused the show on the computer to find him standing next to the sink in a giant puddle of pee!  WHAT????  He purposefully stood next to the sink and emptied his entire bladder.  So, that was how he broke his pinky swear.

I shamefully report that I completely lost it.  I yelled at him and made him clean it up.  I proceeded to stomp around the house and spout off about how upset I was and how he was in so much trouble.  Then I sent him to his room.

What is wrong with me?  What is wrong with him?  Why can’t he just go in the potty without all the drama?  Why do I have to take it so personally and let my anger take over?  At this point I am so exhausted by these antics, I just feel like putting him back in diapers and giving up!  It would be different if he were having true accidents.  These are not accidents. He can go for a whole week without an accident.  He definitely does this on purpose.  I know it’s probably my fault, but what do I do now?  I am at a complete loss.  We have been working on this for MONTHS and we just seem to be going backward!!!

Return from hiatus

I took a hiatus from blogging over the holidays.  We hosted three different dinners here, attended another one with Michael’s family and spent the night in St. Joseph for New Year‘s Eve.  Needless to say, we were busy.   I hadn’t realized how crazy busy I was until it was over, and I just wanted to lay on the couch for days.

I’ve always felt a little sadness after the holidays are over.  It’s such a let down.  You spend months preparing: shopping, baking cookies, planning meals, decorating, wrapping, etc., then it’s all over in a few days.  At least this year we spread the cheer out a little more than usual.  We were so lucky to have my brother and his fiancé here for two nights, one before and one after Christmas.  The boys loved having they “Uncle Phil,” here to play with them.

As usual, the boys got more toys, books and “stuff,” than we thought possible.  I keep forgetting that everyone buys gifts for them, even if we don’t exchange gifts.  They are the only kids on both sides of the family, so there ya go.  A few days after Christmas I secretly purged the playroom and toy boxes of :
 Baby toys
Junky toys from Happy Meals, etc.
Anything that makes annoying noises or tends to go off without warning

We still have a plethora of toys.  And Caleb’s birthday is only two weeks away!  (to those of you who may be coming to his party, think “books.”)

In other news, we may have finally gotten over the last potty training impediment!  Caleb had a really rough time right around Christmas.  He was having multiple accidents daily and just basically not going potty at all.  I had finally had enough and had a mini-breakdown over it on the day after Christmas.  I just felt like he was slapping me in the face every time he chose to poop in his pants instead of going to the bathroom.  I had a good cry, then had a little talk with him.  He could see how upset I was, and I think he decided to really try hard.  He managed an entire week without a single accident after that!  So, as promised, he got a fish on Monday.  His name is Goldie.  J

In another completely predictable move, we have again decided to “Get Healthy,” in the New Year.  So far, the kids and I have taken a few walks around the neighborhood and I’ve been preparing healthier snacks.  I really need to get my but in gear though, and start using my elliptical.  Baby steps.

Happy New Year!