Holy Crap It's October!

So yesterday, as I was being poked and prodded by the phlebotomist at the doctor's office for my glucose test, I looked at the calendar. I can't believe it's already October! Life is going pretty well for us. We're just spending a lot of time together as a family and preparing for this new little one to come into the world. As far as how I'm feeling, that depends on the day. Most days, I do okay, but I'm definitely having to take it easier than I used to. I have to stop myself from over doing it. I have just over six weeks until my due date and, although I'm ready to be done being pregnant, I know she's not ready yet to come out and we're not ready yet for her to come out. It seems like there is so much to do.

Another realization hit me yesterday. I'm going to be a mother of TWO! How crazy is that! My mom and I went shopping for some baby items and, of course, Ethan was with us. As we were walking out to the car, I suddenly realized that I won't have the convenience of carting just one kid around for much longer. I wonder how that is going to go. We'll see I guess.

As far as Ethan goes, he is LOVING preschool. He loves his teacher and he loves going. In fact, a couple of weeks ago, we had to keep him home because he was sick. He asked about going to school every half hour because he was "better now" until 8:00 p.m. that night! I'm glad he loves school. We're working with him on the parts he struggles with, mostly not getting too overwhelmed by being around that many kids. It's a totally new experience for him, but he's showing improvement every day.

Also, I think...knock wood...that Ethan is finally potty trained. I'm sure we'll still have accidents, most kids do, but so far so good. I ran out of Pull-Ups last Thursday and by the time we got home from the circus it was too late to go get some. He slept in underwear that night and hasn't looked back. I'm so happy for him. He's starting to get more confidence in himself. I credit that largely to school. It really has helped him be more independent and come out of his shell. He has had to rely on himself more and not wait for mommy and daddy to help him with everything. He hasn't had an accident for at least 5 days...not one. Pretty amazing stuff. I'm SO excited. I was not looking forward to the possibility of cleaning baby poop and cleaning Ethan poop at the same time.

My life is a simple life. I get up, take care of my home, take care of my family, work, and love my family and friends. I may not have an exciting life, and to be honest most times I prefer it that way, but I really do love my life. We don't have fancy cars or lots of money, but we get by. We have what we need and a lot of what we want. I'm really grateful for that. I'm glad I have the life I have.

What am I doing up?

Good question. These days my sleep patterns are weird, some nights I sleep without a problem. Others, your guess is as good as mine. Whether it's hormones, being sick, or Ethan, my sleep has been interesting as of late...complete with really weird dreams. I won't miss those when they're gone. You know the kind, you wake up and go, "What the heck?!"

Today was a pretty good day for us. Daylight Saving Time happened, which wasn't so great, but we made it to church, a little late, but we still made it. I taught the primary class I was substituting for. Later, Ethan and I went over to Josh and Elisa's house to hang out for a bit. I also needed to give her a CD I made of the pics of us at the concert. Ethan has been begging to see Abby too. We watched Wall-E over there and had yummy brownies and ice cream.

Here's the kicker to my day. Ethan didn't have an accident all day today! I'm so proud and excited. It's so funny, the Pull-Ups that he was holding on to for dear life have now become a nuisance for him. He still isn't waking up dry after naps and in the mornings so I have still been using them then. The last two nights, he hasn't wanted the Pull-Up. He says, "I need underwear." So for the last two nights, he has worn the Pull-Up over his underwear. I asked him if that was okay. He seemed all right with it. Too funny. I can't wait until they're gone all together and we don't have to worry about diapers (because that's what Pull-Ups are) anymore. That's $30 a box that can go to something else fun...like clothes for Mommy.

What A Great Day!

Today was truly one of those days that just went well. Debi invited us to go to a free movie today at the dollar theater her uncle owns in Sandy. It was so fun! We went to see Bolt, which I wasn't sure Ethan would be able to sit through, but he actually did really well. He enjoyed the movie and the free popcorn! Thanks Debi for a great time!

Ethan did so well with the potty thing today. I'm sure there will be good days and bad days until he finally gets it down, but today was definitely a good day. Basically, my strategy is still underwear all day, except naps and bed time, using the potty box as a reward for going, and asking him like every five seconds until he gets annoyed if he has to go potty. I'll wear him down eventually!

Oh, the other thing...I get to go see Rascal Flatts tomorrow night! I'm so excited. It's funny, it's kind of the week of concerts. The Celine concert that was supposed to be in November got rescheduled for this week so I get two concerts in one week. How cool is that! I'll update more on those later. It should be really fun tomorrow. I'm going with my sister-in-law, Elisa, and Jenny. Jenny is also bringing her daughter, Julia. Should be a really fun time.

Where Am I Now?

Well, not a whole lot is going on here. I think the Clomid is working. I've cleaned my house top to bottom over the last three days, always a sign of the ever present nesting instinct I get when I'm about to ovulate. I got my blood test results back and they pretty much confirmed that I've got PCOS. At least I know for sure what's going on and we can work on correcting it now.

We had a lot of fun this weekend. We got a new dresser and some nightstands at IKEA with our tax return. We actually have room in our dresser to store our clothing! Imagine that! I love that store! Dan and I also went out for Valentine's Day for the first time in like 4 years. He always has to work. We even went to a girl movie, "He's Just Not That Into You." It was really nice to get out and have time just to ourselves.

On the potty training front, I'm still fighting the war. I haven't surrendered yet. Ethan figured out the loophole in the whole Pull-Ups over the underwear thing and started to not care again. I just got fed up and decided to only do Pull-Ups at night and naps. That's it. He has been pretty good about going in the potty. Fingers crossed this isn't going to take too much longer.

Another good thing that his happening...I think, is me working on some of my control issues. Yes, I know that being the one to add up the numbers and send out checks after we get paid will not save the world, but it has been something that I have had to control for far too long. We're working together on it now instead of me just telling Dan how it is. That should be an adventure in and of itself. I am a control freak. Maybe now I'll just be one in recovery.

Adjustments

This week thus far has been full of adjustments. I started my cycle on Sunday so I went in on Tuesday for my blood draw and glucose test. I hate the glucose test! You have to fast and then drink this orange soda that basically is like drinking syrup. I made it to the doctor though, thanks to Dan. I got my blood taken and now we're waiting. I should have the results soon. The tested me for a few things, basically they want to see where I'm at with my hormones. I also started on Metformin on Tuesday. It's a diabetes drug that will help with PCOS symptoms and get my body to do what it's supposed to do. However, you have to work up to the full dose, gradually working it in because, as I found out the hard way, you'll get sick if you don't. It's bearable, but just barely. I talked to the nurse this morning and she gave me instructions on how to ramp up the dose and how quickly to do it. I think it will help.

Also, I'm a genius! I've been working on potty training Ethan for a long time. My big problem was that he just doesn't care if he sits in his own filth. Pull-Ups and diapers are too comfortable and underwear leaked everywhere when we tried it and made him feel bad because he made a mess on the floor. Solution? Put the underwear UNDER the Pull-Ups. That way he can feel when he has had an accident and start to care that he's wet/dirty, but I'm not scrubbing the floors/couches/rugs and washing clothing every five minutes. I think this may work. I'm hoping. Maybe some of you who are having similar troubles with potty training could try this and let me know how it works for you. So far so good here. Ethan has the boosted confidence of being a "big boy" by wearing underwear, but he's not getting upset and discouraged when he has an accident. I think that was the major hurdle for us. He didn't want to try because he didn't think he could do it. He just needs some confidence. I'll let you know how this latest approach works as the days roll on for us.

Finally, I'm excited to be basically over my cold! This ends the week plus quarantine. I can finally go out and have some fun again. Ethan and I are going to hang out with Jenny and the kids tomorrow. He has really missed them. I think it will be fun. I've missed hanging out with Jenny too! I'm just happy to be healthy again.

Potty Training Stuff

I decided to write a post on this again, because I'm starting with a new approach. Ethan is definitely not the potty boot camp kind where you do it in a short amount of time. We're still in Pull-Ups, but that's okay. He'll learn it eventually. I mean, I just started doing "Potty Time" yesterday and he's already come to me twice to tell me that there is poopy in his Pull-Up and we need to put it in the toilet and he already peed once yesterday. That's progress and we're both happy with it. It's important for us both to be relaxed and happy about this or it won't go well for either of us.

I called my pediatrician's office yesterday for some ideas, since Ethan is my first child and I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. They referred me to a doctor who specializes in child development. I left a message for him and he was gracious enough to call me back with some ideas. They seem to be working.

This is our plan so far:

1. Scheduled potty times throughout the day, about once an hour or so, or whenever he wants to go.

2. Putting the poopy in the toilet and flushing it down so he knows where it goes.

3. Using the potty box and getting a treat for trying to go.

4. Positive reinforcement. Positive correction for accidents by saying, "Uh oh, you got poopy and pee pee in your underwear, it goes in the toilet."

5. Doing all potty related stuff, like cleaning him up, etc., in the bathroom.

Anyway, I know a lot of moms out there stress about potty training their kids. These were just some ideas that I thought were good and they're working for us. I get the best of both worlds. I'm teaching Ethan to do something grown up, but I'm not cleaning up human waste every five minutes.

My mantra to myself is, "Don't worry. He'll get it eventually." I know he will, and we're both happier now that I'm comfortable with what I'm doing.

Progress???

Well, Ethan has made some progress on the potty training front I guess. We've figured out that every time he has to go No. 2, he goes upstairs and flushes the toilet, then, even after we have him sit on the potty, promptly goes in his diaper. Then, after his nap today, he was successful in escaping from said diaper and I went in to see that he had peed on the floor...I guess being aware of the bodily functions is progress???

Please say that it is...

Well, Thanks Alisa!

Alisa's suggestion of a potty box for Ethan has really been a hit with him. He's doing a lot better today and it's really helping with the incentive for him to actually sit on the potty. I have a hard time getting him to hold still sometimes but the potty box and singing songs with him to pass the time while he's on the potty really seem to be helping.

Ethan actually told me when he had to pee today! It was the best feeling! He looked at me and said, "Oh no! My poopy!" I asked if he had to go potty and we went up. After he relaxed a bit he actually went pee on the toilet. There was a little bit of pee in his diaper so I know he realized what was happening and stopped it! Amazing progress for only being at this for a few days. I guess we'll continue on this path. I think it's working okay. I still have him "try" about every half hour or hour. As long as the potty box is full, hopefully his bladder won't be.

Reporting from the trenches....

A Step Back

Well, I've taken just a little step back in the potty training thing. I was cleaning up pee and poop right and left and Ethan really wasn't sure what I wanted him to do. I don't know why I thought the "jump in with both feet" method would work for Ethan. He has always done things on his own time. Right now we're going with a suggestion from my niece, Alisa, who has a little boy a bit older than Ethan. She used a potty box. Basically you take a box and let the child decorate it with whatever they want. I let Ethan pick out some cute stickers at the store. You then fill the box with little trinkets and treats. I also let Ethan pick out what treats he wanted in the box. Ethan, and a lot of kids, do better, with most anything, when they feel their opinion matters. Whenever they "try" on the potty, they get one item from the box. If they "go" they get two. Eventually you wean them off of the treat for "trying" and just give a treat for "going." I think this may work. I don't know. The cleaning of the poop and pee and the stress it was causing was definitely not good for me or Ethan. I really hope this works...

Here's hoping...

BTW...the picture in this post was taken by Jenn. It's one of my favorites of Ethan.

Poop Doesn't Happen At Our House

Who knew bodily functions that aren't my own could be so stressful. Since Ethan turned three I've been trying to figure out how to start him on potty training. I've done some things, but have had no success. He just doesn't "get" how to go on the toilet yet. I know he's smart and he'll get it eventually. I'm just sick of the weird looks I get when my three-year-old-who-is-the-size-of-a-five-year-old has to go have his diaper changed. I just want to know how to explain this to him. I somehow feel like him not being potty trained is somehow a personal failure on my part. I know logically that's not true, but it's still frustrating.

Any ideas?