Maybe We're Rewarding Them Too Much

The scene: Dinner tonight, N and J eating at the table, using spoons with incredible ease to scoop up their applesauce.

Me: "Wow! You guys are using the potty everyday, you wear big boy underwear AND you use spoons to eat! Do you know what that means?"

N: "What?"

Me: "It means you are big boys!"

N: "And do you know what big boys mean?"

Me: "What?"

N: "Candy."

Cape Fear

N has been in a very dictatorial mood as of late. His "conversations" with us are along the lines of, "I AM GOING TO GO TO THE PARK AND YOU ARE GOING TO STAY HOME AND NOT GO TO WORK!"

In other words, N likes to tell us his version of reality and then dare us to contradict him. He especially likes to control the space-time continuum: "TODAY IS NOT TUESDAY! TODAY IS FRIDAY! I AM GOING TO MARK OFF TODAY AND THEN IT WILL BE THE WEEKEND AND THEN WE WILL GO TO GRANDPA'S HOUSE!"

The best technique we have found in dealing with his commands is to just smile and nod. And never show fear.

Happy Valentine's Day

I'm not sure what's in store for this evening but my dear hubby has planned something and has actually managed to keep it a surprise. It might be a first for him, after nearly ten years of marriage.

Last week, I asked him for a hint. The only thing he would say was, "ARE YOU READY FOR MONSTER JAM??? RIGHT NOW???"

I told him I was definitely not ready.

Little Doogies?

The other morning, the boys asked for "hexagon crackers" for their breakfast (and before anyone judges me, are crackers really any worse than cereal for breakfast?). I search high and low for hexagons in my kitchen, having no idea what they were talking about.

I finally located the oyster crackers we had had with dinner the night before (I made chili). I had never noticed, but they were indeed hexagon-shaped. Not pentagons or octagons - hexagons: six sides.

I told B this story, expecting him to express some sort of proud-dad sentiments. Instead, he voiced my exact thoughts by saying: "Are they geniuses or just geeks?"

Notes on Potty Training

It's hard to believe that just one month ago (or less), I believed we would never reach a day when the boys would not need diapers. As I brought a pack of Huggies upstairs last night, I realized that we would probably not buy any more diapers. We will buy some overnight pull-ups but not diapers.

That seems amazing to me.

And, as per my usual, kind of sad.

There have been a few accidents of course. That's okay. I can deal with that. Just this morning, for instance, I found myself wiping up a puddle in the middle of my hallway. But to be fair, it was only a partial accident and J finished up on the potty. I think he was just busy.

Another day, he called out to me urgently, "Mommy?! Am I wearing a diaper or underwear?!?" I told him he was wearing underwear so he hightailed it to the bathroom. I guess if it had been a diaper, he wouldn't have bothered(?). Not sure...

I believe the boys are finally ready to be called "potty-trained". We can be reasonably sure that taking them out in public in underwear won't result in disaster. We might have to make a mad dash to find a restroom in the most unlikely of places (grocery store, Best Buy, god forbid Mickey-Ds) but we probably won't have to mop up a puddle (or worse). And that's progress.

Potty Tales

The scene: The big bathroom (we call it the "big" bathroom, but it's actually tiny - just a little bit "bigger" than our other very tiny bathroom).

The players: J and Mommy

Action: J has just gone poop in the potty (!!). Mommy is doing something she never once imagined she would ever do for a person who could stand on their own two legs - she is wiping someone else's butt.

J: Mommy, look! My poop is shaped like a "J"! Just like me!

(And you know what, it really did look like a J.)