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March 8, 2008
potty chair naughty chair
Current mood:blessed
I suppose some day Lily will hate that I tell on her for these things...but they are so darn funny now that I can't help myself...I bought Lily a potty chair...it even makes flushing sounds when you move the handle...Lily begged to sit on it and go potty so we gave it a whirl...she basically ran around the house without any pants on for an hour and then decided that she had to go right as I was nursing Michael and couldnt help her...so she peed all over herself and the tile floor...I felt really bad about this because she bawled her eyes out...it broke her heart to not only miss out on going in the toilet but to pee all over herself when she had done her part in telling me...that was the topper...well the next time she told me I made sure I was able to help her (not to mention that we didn't let her run around without a diaper on anymore) and she went on her own in the potty chair...the kid is amazing! At the time she was just 14 months and believe me this was not me pushing her to do this...she gets an enormous kick out of telling us she needs to or has gone potty...she still doesn't talk so she makes this ehh?! sound, grins and grabs her belly...then when we ask if she has or needs to go potty she makes the same sound and runs to the potty chair...endless delight in flushing the chair to hear the "good job" "all done" "way to go" followed by the running flushing sound...good times...smart as a whip this girl...in the car today she was pointing at something and making her woof woof sound to indicate a doggie...we had no idea what she was pointing at or wanted let alone what was dog like in the car...while we were waiting in the parking lot for Doreen (my mother in law) I figured it out...while at a garage sale earlier in the day she had been given a juice box...on the box is a picture of Cliffered the big red DOG...she wanted some juice...she was thirsty and since she doesn't use real words she tried to tell us the only way she could...I felt like a dunce for not getting it sooner but I was awfully proud of her efforts...she drank the whole thing and when we got home what did we hear?! Eeeehhh?! Did you go potty? Ehhhh! Do you need a diaper change? Ehhhh! Life is good. How did I ever get through a day without kids to make it?! My kids rock my socks off...I cannot imagine my life without them.

April 10, 2008
Lily and I have a dance thing...if we hear music we bop our heads...if we happen to be standing we bop and move the feet (usually in a slight stepping movement) and usually throw in a butt squat/swivel...if the music is particularly good we bop, step, swivel, squat and turn in circles...the best though is when she wants to be held while I dance...now if you know me you know I can't actually dance...so I just jive out to the tune while holding her...she usually clings to me like a tiny monkey baby...one arm around my neck the other flapping to the music...we do dips, we do quick turns, we jump...and she squeezes me tight...I feel like a good mom when we dance...I feel like I've done something right (other than teach her how to really dance)...I feel like she loves me as much as she can in that moment...all this silliness payed off too...we were at her play group this week and at the end every kid gets to sing their favorite song...she chose twinkle twinkle and danced her heart out in front of everyone...at the end everyone claps (I'm not sure why but the kids love it) and she so thought they were clapping for her...she just broke out in more dance moves and smiles and clapped for herself...I never would have had the guts to do that even at her age...I'm so proud of her tenaciousness...she's the me I want to be...well mostly...I'm pretty much over my diaper phase...I'd be such a loser without my kids...they rock.

May 21, 2008
Jason is deployed again and this last month of his deployment his mother who had been kind enough to live with me and the kids to help out while he was away had to leave...so I left for my parents house in Las Vegas...I decided to make it a two day drive, stopping in Prescott AZ where my cousin and her kids live...that way I reasoned it would only be two shorter days in the car...I left Tucson at 6pm thinking it was close enough to Lily's bed time that she would just crash out in the car and sleep the whole way..what I didn't plan for was rush hour traffic...driving into the setting sun for an hour and major road construction...by the time I got to Phoenix I was a wreck...oh and the kids screamed the whole way...while on the road I got a call from my cousin letting me know that her son most likely had come down with the chicken pox...not a huge deal really but almost funny because almost every time we have gotten together her kids have gotten mine sick...so this was just an added stresser even though the chicken pox aren't really a big deal...I pull over at a rest stop trying to decide what to do...turn around and say forget it...continue to Anna's and hope that Lily doesn't get sick (or more sick than she should with chicken pox) drive on through Phoenix and go to Las Vegas all in one night....I finally decided to just stick to the plan and go to Prescott...the rest of the drive was still pretty bad...both kids screamed for most of it and there was road construction on most of it making things frustrating...there was one plus though...it was pitch black out and suddenly I had bright head lights in my back window blinding me...this person was right on my bumper and stayed there for several minutes...all the while I'm saying "go around and get off my ass!" They finally zoom around me and I realize it was two guys on two motorcycles...they zoom off in front of me whizzing by a cop...who then pulled them over! So the next day was pretty smooth till I got on the road...my directions had me continuing on a road that just ended with a drop off...so I had to figure out a new way to get out of town...I figure that out and some how I end up taking a wrong turn on the highway and get on the wrong highway not noticing till I am almost to Flagstaff (only an added 2 hours at least) There had been road construction right off the bat and I think I must have messed up then...or it could be that there are three roads all labeled the same thing on the map and I just picked the wrong one...dumb...anyway...the kids were not much better this time and since I was going the wrong way I ended up going through these small towns that are built right on the road so you're going like 15 miles an hour all the way through while dodging tourists and other motorist...you get out of those and end up on this scary twisty high road in the middle of a mountain...I thought I was going to drive right over the edge...and the kids screaming didn't help my driving anyway...I could have cried when I realized I had gone the wrong way...I should have been half way but really had just begun and I was already done emotionally...stopping to go to the bathroom was interesting...I had to strap Michael to me in the front pack and do the kiddie leash for Lily so I could walk all three of us into the biggest stall I could find...if I hadn't taken the wrong road I wouldn't have had to go...then as a final topper my parents have this new house that I had never driven to and it's a good 45 min. longer to get there from AZ than the old one...all the roads to the new place are new and not all of them have signs up yet...I took a left hand turn right into opposing traffic and never would have known except cars driving the "wrong way" started to come at me...I was terrified! I thought I was going to get us all killed...thankfully there was another left hand turn lane that I pulled into and flipped a U-ie in...ahhhh! But we got here...only by the grace of God! All this to say I'm not looking forward to the drive home...there is a pay off though...when we get home Jason will be like five days away from being there too!
Can't wait for the kids to be excited for a road trip!