he has said this twice in the last 10 minutes. both times, he's gone right into the bathroom with his pants down around his ankles. no success yet, but i think it's going to happen soon. i do think he's pretty much gotten the idea of what needs to happen when he feels the urge. now, if he could only act on it.
last night was a kid-less night for mommy and daddy. we had tickets to go see cabaret up in seattle. we had dinner in downtown seattle prior to the show. while we were waiting outside for our table, a huge police motorcade came down the street. and by huge, i mean an entire block was nothing but police motorcycles. then, a smaller motorcade with secret service men looking out the windows for people shooting with something other than a camera or cell phone. at the back was a van with some tibeten monks in it (from what i could tell through the darkened windows), including the Dalai Lama, who is in town this weekend for the Seeds of Compassion tour. i got a picture of the front of the motorcade. very cool. somethign to sort of cross off of my bucket list.
as i was typing the last bit, owen said, "pee potty" again, but this time with a sad voice. he had gone in his underwear. i comforted him and told him it was ok and praised him for knowing when he had to go and telling me when he had to go. then i told him he just needs to sit long enough to go and we'll be all potty trained and be a real big boy!
4.13.2008
4.10.2008
trying something
so owen is generally able to stay dry at daycare, with the exception of nap time. i'm putting him in real underwear at home in the evenings and taking him potty at least once an hour. today is the first day doing this. we'll see how it works. i think we're really close to be being potty trained. if we can get through most of the weekend with him in underwear and dry/clean, i may try sending him to daycare next week in underwear and ask them just to put him in pull-ups at nap time.
7:00 p.m. so far, o has done beautifully. ten minutes ago, i told him to go potty. he went into the bathroom, did the whole bit, minus actually going potty, and came back out. he is capable of getting his pants/underwear (or pull-ups) up and down, manipulating the potty, etc. on his own. that's one more big step toward being fully potty trained.
7:00 p.m. so far, o has done beautifully. ten minutes ago, i told him to go potty. he went into the bathroom, did the whole bit, minus actually going potty, and came back out. he is capable of getting his pants/underwear (or pull-ups) up and down, manipulating the potty, etc. on his own. that's one more big step toward being fully potty trained.
4.05.2008
Spring Break
it's almost over, but it's been great. last weekend my mom was here. we had a good time. i tried on bridesmaid dresses for my sister's wedding in september. when i told jeff that i am going to be my sister's matron of honor, he said, "aren't you a little young to be a matron?" i had to explain that matron vs. maid had nothing to do with age and everything to do with marital status. so cute!
monday was spent getting my Box ready to go out the door for national boards. (check out my other blog here to read about that process.) tuesday was spent relaxing, wednesday held two appointments for me, thursday was another appointment and the zoo with friends. it was a gorgeous day. perfect zoo-going weather. on our way out of the zoo, my friend rob called to tell me that his wife, one of my best friends, had their baby that afternoon. carlie was five days late, but she is beautiful. see pictures at this link. peter, carlie's big brother, is good buddies with owen. he'll probably be coming over on wednesday mornings for a couple of hours this summer while mommy and baby sister go to mommy group at the hospital. owen and i went to see carlie and katie yesterday after his one-year check-up for his ear tubes - left one is no longer functioning, right one still is, but is well on its way out. both are still in, though the left one is really tipped, which is completely normal. we go back in in october for one more follow-up. things are looking good in that arena at this point. owen made his mommy so proud yesterday. one of the receptionists gave him a sticker as i was filling out a card to remind me to call in 6 months. immediately, and without prompting, he said, "thanks!" as he took the sticker from her. yay!!!!! i have a polite little boy! he was so good about using his manners yesterday.
once we got back from the hospital and seeing katie, rob, peter and carlie, our family went to seattle for the day. owen did beautifully, as usual. he fell asleep in the car on the way home, so we took the lo-o-o-ong way home. turned a 25 minute drive into close to 90 minutes. he got a good nap so it was worth it.
today we are having breakfast with a friend of mine from college. i haven't seen her since i was first pregnant with jacob. that makes it close to four years ago. wow. we'll get out the door in a little over an hour. o's still sleeping, which is fine. he had noodles with pasta sauce last night for dinner. first time for plain noodles with sauce at home. :-) slowly but surely we are getting past those food issues. at least we have a standard fare we can get him at restaurants.
yesterday, owen sang through the entire "monkey dance" song - and he did it perfectly! he is also very good at singing his abc's. i tried to get the monkey dance on video, but he was done and distracted by the time i got the video camera plugged in. oh, and his new favorite word is "ok". yesterday afternoon it was, "monkey? ok!" and he'd sing. ("monkey dance" is from the wiggles. gotta love those guys!)
monday was spent getting my Box ready to go out the door for national boards. (check out my other blog here to read about that process.) tuesday was spent relaxing, wednesday held two appointments for me, thursday was another appointment and the zoo with friends. it was a gorgeous day. perfect zoo-going weather. on our way out of the zoo, my friend rob called to tell me that his wife, one of my best friends, had their baby that afternoon. carlie was five days late, but she is beautiful. see pictures at this link. peter, carlie's big brother, is good buddies with owen. he'll probably be coming over on wednesday mornings for a couple of hours this summer while mommy and baby sister go to mommy group at the hospital. owen and i went to see carlie and katie yesterday after his one-year check-up for his ear tubes - left one is no longer functioning, right one still is, but is well on its way out. both are still in, though the left one is really tipped, which is completely normal. we go back in in october for one more follow-up. things are looking good in that arena at this point. owen made his mommy so proud yesterday. one of the receptionists gave him a sticker as i was filling out a card to remind me to call in 6 months. immediately, and without prompting, he said, "thanks!" as he took the sticker from her. yay!!!!! i have a polite little boy! he was so good about using his manners yesterday.
once we got back from the hospital and seeing katie, rob, peter and carlie, our family went to seattle for the day. owen did beautifully, as usual. he fell asleep in the car on the way home, so we took the lo-o-o-ong way home. turned a 25 minute drive into close to 90 minutes. he got a good nap so it was worth it.
today we are having breakfast with a friend of mine from college. i haven't seen her since i was first pregnant with jacob. that makes it close to four years ago. wow. we'll get out the door in a little over an hour. o's still sleeping, which is fine. he had noodles with pasta sauce last night for dinner. first time for plain noodles with sauce at home. :-) slowly but surely we are getting past those food issues. at least we have a standard fare we can get him at restaurants.
yesterday, owen sang through the entire "monkey dance" song - and he did it perfectly! he is also very good at singing his abc's. i tried to get the monkey dance on video, but he was done and distracted by the time i got the video camera plugged in. oh, and his new favorite word is "ok". yesterday afternoon it was, "monkey? ok!" and he'd sing. ("monkey dance" is from the wiggles. gotta love those guys!)
3.23.2008
a request
i had to get a new cell phone yesterday. that also means i had to get a new number. my old phone ceased working and the least expensive way to replace it was to add a third line to our plan for the next few months (till september), get a free phone, and then cancel one of the lines. i guess there's no way to cancel a newer line, we have to cancel the oldest line. that means my old cell phone number will be the one to go. repairing the phone would have cost $55 (plus taxes, I'm guessing). adding the third line is less than $10/month. sad, no?
anyway, if you read this and i haven't already called you to tell you my new number, would you either call or e-mail me. the old number still works, there's a message saying my new cell number. i need to get important numbers into my new phone. we can't transfer them at the store because my old phone won't turn on for us to do that. highly frustrating.
thanks!
anyway, if you read this and i haven't already called you to tell you my new number, would you either call or e-mail me. the old number still works, there's a message saying my new cell number. i need to get important numbers into my new phone. we can't transfer them at the store because my old phone won't turn on for us to do that. highly frustrating.
thanks!
3.22.2008
3.21.2008
Pop Go the Wiggles - Live!
tonight was the night. we went to the wiggles concert. owen loved it! he was transfixed half the time and dancing the other half. we ended up being just six rows from the stage (thank you, uncle scott!) the only thing missing was our friends, katie, rob and peter. peter won't miss out completely, though ;-) pictures are downloading to my computer as i type. i'll get them posted in a minute.
those guys have such fun in their work. anthony (the blue wiggle) must be near 40 and he is really about 6 at heart. he and captain feathersword play off of eachother so much. it's hilarious to watch.
the other funny thing to watch was all of the parents have fun right along with their kids. the wiggles make sure to put things into their programs specifically for the parents. tonight it was a bit from the song "my sharona" and they also made some beatles references. i don't know if enjoying the wiggles is a guilty pleasure or not. i don't even care!
i thought ahead before we left and put the latest wiggles dvd in the diaper bag and a sharpie in my pocket. the plan was to see if i could get one of the wiggles to sign the cover at the end of the concert. mission accomplished. murray (red wiggle, owen's favorite, i think) did. it says, "hi owen! murray w." how very cool.
those guys have such fun in their work. anthony (the blue wiggle) must be near 40 and he is really about 6 at heart. he and captain feathersword play off of eachother so much. it's hilarious to watch.
the other funny thing to watch was all of the parents have fun right along with their kids. the wiggles make sure to put things into their programs specifically for the parents. tonight it was a bit from the song "my sharona" and they also made some beatles references. i don't know if enjoying the wiggles is a guilty pleasure or not. i don't even care!
i thought ahead before we left and put the latest wiggles dvd in the diaper bag and a sharpie in my pocket. the plan was to see if i could get one of the wiggles to sign the cover at the end of the concert. mission accomplished. murray (red wiggle, owen's favorite, i think) did. it says, "hi owen! murray w." how very cool.
Terrible Twos
they are officially here. it's tantrum city in our house. at least it's age appropriate. i know that owen is frustrated and that makes him angry. "no" is also his most frequent word. he loves to say it, but hates to hear it. i still can't lift him per my doctor's orders from my back injury a couple of weeks ago. makes this time very difficult. last night was interesting, though. he wanted to play with his fridge dj (leapfrog) during story time. i wouldn't let him and took it away. he pitched a good fit. screaming, tears, the whole nine yards. i responded by going to the rocking chair in his room and starting to read books aloud. he eventually stopped having his fit and came over, climbed in my lap, and listened while i read. then we went to his bed, where he told me to sit down by signing "sit" and pointing to his pillow. we read one more story and then i tucked him in.
he's at daycare while i'm at home working on my boards (last release day). tonight the three of us are going to see the wiggles. i wonder how long it's going to take owen to realize who we're seeing once we get there and he sees the stage.
he's at daycare while i'm at home working on my boards (last release day). tonight the three of us are going to see the wiggles. i wonder how long it's going to take owen to realize who we're seeing once we get there and he sees the stage.
3.16.2008
PBR picture
PBR is Pro Bull Riders. we go every year. it was owen's first time going. here's the bug at the pbr last night. he had such a good time. i asked him when we were leaving if he had fun and he said, "Fun!" He was turning heads everywhere we went, too. Everyone thought he was so cute. He certainly knows how and when to turn on the charm, doesn't he? and yes, that's is his own hat.
it was a late night for all of us. the bull riding didn't start until 8:00, but mr. o did so well. he didn't get scared when there were flames and fireworks and loud bangs. once, he turned his head away because the flames shooting from the prop bulls' nostrils was really bright, but he was never scared. :-)
3.15.2008
great progress!
Well, I think we've crossed that final hurdle in potty training. Owen is now going potty consistently at day care. Yesterday, he was dry all day except for at nap time. That I can deal with. He even woke up dry this a.m. pretty impressive for not quite 2-1/2. i'm so ready to be done with diapers and pull-ups during the day. we'll take night time as it comes. i'm not so worried about that. it's a whole different set of skills.
my 4th and 5th graders at school are presentign their musicals this week. they've been working on writing musicals based on original folk or fairy tales. i invited the superintendent and the school board last-minuted (friday morning). our sup is coming on monday morning, and the school board is going to try to come as well. they are interviewing for a new sup (the current one is interim and is on the short list). it will be great exposure for my music program, and for the program at my school.
we have tickets to PBR tonight (pro bull riders). owen loves watching bull riding. i think it's the fact that it's fast-paced. next friday night is wiggles. i'm so excited about that!
my 4th and 5th graders at school are presentign their musicals this week. they've been working on writing musicals based on original folk or fairy tales. i invited the superintendent and the school board last-minuted (friday morning). our sup is coming on monday morning, and the school board is going to try to come as well. they are interviewing for a new sup (the current one is interim and is on the short list). it will be great exposure for my music program, and for the program at my school.
we have tickets to PBR tonight (pro bull riders). owen loves watching bull riding. i think it's the fact that it's fast-paced. next friday night is wiggles. i'm so excited about that!
3.08.2008
bad week for mommy
let me just say that having owen is such a blessing. he takes my mind off of the icky week i've had. and oh, what a week it was...
tuesday was a meeting for my national boards. as i'm walking out the door, i slip and fall on an UNMARKED wet floor (as in recently mopped). i managed to twist my left ankle, bruise both knees really good (so good my md requested x-rays of both just to make sure that everything is ok), jammed my right wrist on the floor and the shock from that went through my arm and into my back which is now covered in sprains. i also managed to shatter my water bottle (plastic nalgene-type) which just added more water to the floor, which the custodian just pushed around with the mop to make the floor even more wet. yes, i got the paperwork going the next morning. yes, i went to my doctor on friday afternoon. and yes, the district will be paying for my related medical care for a while. i have two prescriptions for meds, one for massage therapy once a week for four weeks, and directions not to lift, push, or pull anything over 15 lbs. for the next two weeks. yeah. uh huh...
then, once i finally managed to get headed out the door, i realized i didn't have my keys. i knew i had them when i got there because, well, i GOT there. we scoured the place, including going through trash cans, but had no luck. i had to call jeffy, who came to get me. luckily we have an extra set of car keys at home and i had an extra house key in a bag at school.
that was tuesday. i had a program on wednesday afternoon and thursday evening. that went extremely well. it was very well-received. the biggest disappointment was that i was missing almost my entire back row of kids and two kids who were missing had recorder parts to play.
friday was a waiver day and i took a half-day to go to the doctor. the nice thing about that was the fact that i didn't have to do sub plans. all i had to do was put in my absence. jeffy had a doctor's appt 45 minutes after mine. x-rays were ordered for him to check for a bone spur on his heel. we went to the x-ray place together. do we know how to have fun on a friday afternoon or what?
but wait! it gets better (or worse, depending on your pov)! my car has been being persnickety for about the last year. used to be the go-gear wouldn't catch initially when i stopped at a light or stop sign. if i pushed the gas pedal in a little more, i'd have a screeching jump start and things would be ok until i stopped again. i started using just drive instead of overdrive. that fixed for a while, but thursday or friday it started doing that after i turned the car on. i could push the gas pedal clear to the floor and keep it there and nothing would happen. it was scary and frustrating. we took it to a repair shop that is right up the street and they said it was likely the transmission. (also that the transmissions in the car i have were notoriously bad so that was a relief...it wasn't me!) we had the option of rebuilding the transmission or not doing anything and getting a new car. unfortunately, the latter isn't finacially possible right now. we're rebuilding the transmission, which will take until wednesday or thursday. so now, i'm driving a chevy tahoe. it's really big, but i'm getting used to it.
now, i want you to think (or read) back to what my restrictions are for my back. do you see a slight potential issue here with a certain short person getting into a very tall car? i think i'm going to try to teach him to climb up on the runner boards and then into the truck. that'll help my back quite a bit.
tonight at the rental car place, owen was impressing quite a few people. a gentleman in front of us heard owen counting (as he was bouncing and watching himself in the mirrored window) and asked me if he was counting. i said he was and that he can count to 20 and backwards from 10. the gentleman replied that owen in a very intellegent little boy, especially for not quite 2-1/2. then, owen was playing a little while we were getting the car rental taken care of. he'd go to a chair, climb up in it, sit for a second, tell me that the chair was black (chair! black!) then he'd come back to me and start all over again. THEN, he noticed a little girl, probably 6 or 7 years old, and started flirting with her. she was flirting back. this caused one of the employees to laugh. i think it may have made her day. she took such delight in watching owen and the little girl. i'm so glad that owen knows how to behave when we're out in public. never once did i have to go chasing after him today. it was rather nice, actually. i guess he was finding enough to entertain himself so he wasn't getting bored and playing his own games. he also made us proud at dinner tonight, too. i love that he's getting better at staying near us when we're out and about. that shows that he is growing up, which is what he should be doing.
this morning was so funny with owen. it was about 6:30, he had been up since 5:30 (ugh!) and i was still in bed. he comes in to try to wake me up. one of the things i hear is, "time (to get) up!" then he gets right in my face and says, "wake up!" i didn't open my eyes until he kissed me on the lips. the little bugger knows the best way to wake up mommy! granted, i use that technique on him as well. what a sweet little boy we have. like i said at the start of this post, what a blessing he is in our lives.
tuesday was a meeting for my national boards. as i'm walking out the door, i slip and fall on an UNMARKED wet floor (as in recently mopped). i managed to twist my left ankle, bruise both knees really good (so good my md requested x-rays of both just to make sure that everything is ok), jammed my right wrist on the floor and the shock from that went through my arm and into my back which is now covered in sprains. i also managed to shatter my water bottle (plastic nalgene-type) which just added more water to the floor, which the custodian just pushed around with the mop to make the floor even more wet. yes, i got the paperwork going the next morning. yes, i went to my doctor on friday afternoon. and yes, the district will be paying for my related medical care for a while. i have two prescriptions for meds, one for massage therapy once a week for four weeks, and directions not to lift, push, or pull anything over 15 lbs. for the next two weeks. yeah. uh huh...
then, once i finally managed to get headed out the door, i realized i didn't have my keys. i knew i had them when i got there because, well, i GOT there. we scoured the place, including going through trash cans, but had no luck. i had to call jeffy, who came to get me. luckily we have an extra set of car keys at home and i had an extra house key in a bag at school.
that was tuesday. i had a program on wednesday afternoon and thursday evening. that went extremely well. it was very well-received. the biggest disappointment was that i was missing almost my entire back row of kids and two kids who were missing had recorder parts to play.
friday was a waiver day and i took a half-day to go to the doctor. the nice thing about that was the fact that i didn't have to do sub plans. all i had to do was put in my absence. jeffy had a doctor's appt 45 minutes after mine. x-rays were ordered for him to check for a bone spur on his heel. we went to the x-ray place together. do we know how to have fun on a friday afternoon or what?
but wait! it gets better (or worse, depending on your pov)! my car has been being persnickety for about the last year. used to be the go-gear wouldn't catch initially when i stopped at a light or stop sign. if i pushed the gas pedal in a little more, i'd have a screeching jump start and things would be ok until i stopped again. i started using just drive instead of overdrive. that fixed for a while, but thursday or friday it started doing that after i turned the car on. i could push the gas pedal clear to the floor and keep it there and nothing would happen. it was scary and frustrating. we took it to a repair shop that is right up the street and they said it was likely the transmission. (also that the transmissions in the car i have were notoriously bad so that was a relief...it wasn't me!) we had the option of rebuilding the transmission or not doing anything and getting a new car. unfortunately, the latter isn't finacially possible right now. we're rebuilding the transmission, which will take until wednesday or thursday. so now, i'm driving a chevy tahoe. it's really big, but i'm getting used to it.
now, i want you to think (or read) back to what my restrictions are for my back. do you see a slight potential issue here with a certain short person getting into a very tall car? i think i'm going to try to teach him to climb up on the runner boards and then into the truck. that'll help my back quite a bit.
tonight at the rental car place, owen was impressing quite a few people. a gentleman in front of us heard owen counting (as he was bouncing and watching himself in the mirrored window) and asked me if he was counting. i said he was and that he can count to 20 and backwards from 10. the gentleman replied that owen in a very intellegent little boy, especially for not quite 2-1/2. then, owen was playing a little while we were getting the car rental taken care of. he'd go to a chair, climb up in it, sit for a second, tell me that the chair was black (chair! black!) then he'd come back to me and start all over again. THEN, he noticed a little girl, probably 6 or 7 years old, and started flirting with her. she was flirting back. this caused one of the employees to laugh. i think it may have made her day. she took such delight in watching owen and the little girl. i'm so glad that owen knows how to behave when we're out in public. never once did i have to go chasing after him today. it was rather nice, actually. i guess he was finding enough to entertain himself so he wasn't getting bored and playing his own games. he also made us proud at dinner tonight, too. i love that he's getting better at staying near us when we're out and about. that shows that he is growing up, which is what he should be doing.
this morning was so funny with owen. it was about 6:30, he had been up since 5:30 (ugh!) and i was still in bed. he comes in to try to wake me up. one of the things i hear is, "time (to get) up!" then he gets right in my face and says, "wake up!" i didn't open my eyes until he kissed me on the lips. the little bugger knows the best way to wake up mommy! granted, i use that technique on him as well. what a sweet little boy we have. like i said at the start of this post, what a blessing he is in our lives.
3.02.2008
a-b-c-d
that's what we heard coming from his room at about 6:30 this morning. how fun for him to wake up singing. now he's singing and dancing along with "annie oo" on his leap frog fridge dj. he loves that thing! it's what he woke up with yesterday morning. he loves singing along with that song. he'll dance while he's singing. it's great fun to watch.
3.01.2008
the news
i got the ok from my little sis last night. her boyfriend proposed yesterday. she accepted. i'm so excited for both of them. marcus is a wonderful man. it's such an honor to have him as a part of our family now. happy tears are falling. her ring is absolutely GORGEOUS. as matron of honor, i'll have to take care of the bacelorette party, so i've started thinking some. dunno what we'll do yet, or even when it'll be. they don't have a date just yet.
2.29.2008
HP:HBP
gotta love the internet. i just learned when the next harry potter movie is coming out. november 21 of this year. fabulous!!!!! i find it very hard to believe, however, that voldemort will not be in this one as an adult. there are two younger versions listed in the cast, one is played by ralph fiennes' nephew, hero. i guess we know what jeffy and i will be doing that night, huh?
i am getting jeffy to the theater (not the movie theater, a proper theater) in april. we're going to go see cabaret. we got gift certs from my mother for christmas a couple of years ago and so now we're using them (they're good for three years). i'm getting jeffy to go by telling him that there will be scantily-women on the stage. my m-i-l and s-i-l have season tickets to this theater so we're going the same night that they are. the plan is to meet for dinner up there and then go see the show. we're in the balcony, they're on the floor, but that's o.k.
i have some really exciting news to share, but i'll have to wait until i get the ok to share it from the person it's about. i'm over the moon with excitement!!!!!!
o's latest funny thing is closing doors or leaving the room and saying, "bye mommy! love you!" he did that quite a bit on saturday when was on the couch. the front door was open (screen closed and locked) and he'd act like he was walking out the door, closing it behind him and everything! he even tries it when i'm trying to get us out the door in the morning. it's a great little game, except when we're running late like we were this morning.
he's also starting to sing along with songs on his fridge dj (leap frog). it's great fun to listen to. he'll get bits here and there. he's having a blast. i've discovered that he'll fixate on one particular song for a little bit and then move on to another. pretty typical for kids his age, actually. this afternoon, he echoed the ABC song and matched nearly every pitch. he's got a good ear for such a little guy. of course, being a musician, i notice these things. ;-)
this morning was really funny. owen managed to take care of all of the little pottying bits (short of taking off his diaper and turning on the faucet to rince out the potty bucket) all by himself. that included getting his pull-up on and almost pulled up. he also asked me for fishes this a.m. while i was getting my lunch and breakfast ready. i told him no, but he found a bowl, got out the goldfish, and helped himself to a couple of handfulls. then he put the box (big, milk carton type) back in the cabinet and sat down in the middle of the kitchen floor to enjoy his work. what an amazing kid. blows my mind!
i am getting jeffy to the theater (not the movie theater, a proper theater) in april. we're going to go see cabaret. we got gift certs from my mother for christmas a couple of years ago and so now we're using them (they're good for three years). i'm getting jeffy to go by telling him that there will be scantily-women on the stage. my m-i-l and s-i-l have season tickets to this theater so we're going the same night that they are. the plan is to meet for dinner up there and then go see the show. we're in the balcony, they're on the floor, but that's o.k.
i have some really exciting news to share, but i'll have to wait until i get the ok to share it from the person it's about. i'm over the moon with excitement!!!!!!
o's latest funny thing is closing doors or leaving the room and saying, "bye mommy! love you!" he did that quite a bit on saturday when was on the couch. the front door was open (screen closed and locked) and he'd act like he was walking out the door, closing it behind him and everything! he even tries it when i'm trying to get us out the door in the morning. it's a great little game, except when we're running late like we were this morning.
he's also starting to sing along with songs on his fridge dj (leap frog). it's great fun to listen to. he'll get bits here and there. he's having a blast. i've discovered that he'll fixate on one particular song for a little bit and then move on to another. pretty typical for kids his age, actually. this afternoon, he echoed the ABC song and matched nearly every pitch. he's got a good ear for such a little guy. of course, being a musician, i notice these things. ;-)
this morning was really funny. owen managed to take care of all of the little pottying bits (short of taking off his diaper and turning on the faucet to rince out the potty bucket) all by himself. that included getting his pull-up on and almost pulled up. he also asked me for fishes this a.m. while i was getting my lunch and breakfast ready. i told him no, but he found a bowl, got out the goldfish, and helped himself to a couple of handfulls. then he put the box (big, milk carton type) back in the cabinet and sat down in the middle of the kitchen floor to enjoy his work. what an amazing kid. blows my mind!
2.27.2008
another step
owen took a big step in potty training today. as he was sititng on the potty this a.m. (and had been for longer than usual), i asked o if he was done. "nope!" was his reply. when he finally stood up a couple of minutes later (after putting on his own pull-up with minimal help in guiding the first foot into the correct hole) i noticed that not only had he peed in the potty...but he had pooped too!!!!! guess he wasn't lying about not being finished! yay owen!!!! now, if only he would start going at day care....
as for me, i'm feeling much better now. i went to work yesterday and did just fine. still a bit sleepy in the evening, and not a full appetite yet, but doing sooooo much better. actually feeling human!!!!
2.25.2008
sick mama
i am finally feeling like myself again for the first time in about four days. this weekend i got home on friday and immediately got into my jammies. i stayed in my jammies and on the couch until this morning when i got up to (try) to go to work with the exception of about 4 hours on saturday. igot up this a.m. to see if work would be an option and quickly decided that it wouldn't be. i had a minor fever (just over 100) and was really woozy. i took owen to day care (thank god for that!) then went into school to do sub plans for the sub i didn't think i'd get (and didn't get). it's been a third day in a row on the couch.
i jsut picked owen up from day care and he's now watching elmo's world on dvd. gotta love sesame street! this dvd even has some older clips on it. very cool!!!!
i jsut picked owen up from day care and he's now watching elmo's world on dvd. gotta love sesame street! this dvd even has some older clips on it. very cool!!!!
2.18.2008
flashback
to when my sister was owen's age. she is about 2-1/2 years younger than me. my parents were converting the nurwsery into her big girl room so she stayed in my room in her crib for a night or two. that was a long and frustrating night for everyone but michele. it was fun for her. she spent a good deal of time doing one of two things: turning the light on and off in rapid succession, and throwing her beloved "raggy" out of the crib then crying "raggy! raggy! raggy!" so that i would have to get up and get the doll for her. that game got old really quickly.
well, tonight (and past nights, actually), owen has requested his teddy after i tuck him in, then immediately throws teddy out of bed and fusses for him again. it was just tonight that i made the connection. the funny thing is that owen has the ability to get out of bed and get the teddy on his own. another change is that unlike when i was 4 or 5, i won't play the game but once. now teddy just stays on the floor or on the far side of his bed. lesson learned, huh?
well, tonight (and past nights, actually), owen has requested his teddy after i tuck him in, then immediately throws teddy out of bed and fusses for him again. it was just tonight that i made the connection. the funny thing is that owen has the ability to get out of bed and get the teddy on his own. another change is that unlike when i was 4 or 5, i won't play the game but once. now teddy just stays on the floor or on the far side of his bed. lesson learned, huh?
a step forward
i think we may have figured out how to get owen to go potty someplace other than home. turn him around on the potty. we are three for three with that method in the last three days. all we have to do is take off one shoe, then slip that leg through his pant leg and out of the pull-up, then put him on the potty facing the back and he goes as easily as he does on his own potty at home. i'm definately going to tell day care about that tomorrow. i hope this works!!!! now all we'll have to do is to get him to realize that he needs to stay dry and only go pee in the potty. oh, and that buggery pooping thing, too...
today was a family field trip to cabela's. there is a new one open about 30 minutes south of here so we went. owen loved the animals, particularly the fish. he kept telling me, "look! fishies!" it was a riot and enjoyed emensely by the people around us in the aquarium. he also liked looking at the stuffed animals (and by stuffed, i'm not talking plush...) on display. we found several animals from one of his favorite books (baby bear, baby bear, what do you see?). he also liked trumpeting at the elephant and roaring at the lion and the bears. and my favorite part of cabela's was the chili - it's beanless!!!!! that means i can eat it!!!!! if i had known that, i would have had chili on my buffalo brat at lunch in addition to the shredded cheese. highly yummy!
i saw the funniest things at cabela's, mostly being the girly camo in the kid's section (ruffles on the hems, dresses, bows at various places). i also loved the camo onesies. my thought on that was that any poop or whatever that gets on the clothing won't show up! lol.
today was a family field trip to cabela's. there is a new one open about 30 minutes south of here so we went. owen loved the animals, particularly the fish. he kept telling me, "look! fishies!" it was a riot and enjoyed emensely by the people around us in the aquarium. he also liked looking at the stuffed animals (and by stuffed, i'm not talking plush...) on display. we found several animals from one of his favorite books (baby bear, baby bear, what do you see?). he also liked trumpeting at the elephant and roaring at the lion and the bears. and my favorite part of cabela's was the chili - it's beanless!!!!! that means i can eat it!!!!! if i had known that, i would have had chili on my buffalo brat at lunch in addition to the shredded cheese. highly yummy!
i saw the funniest things at cabela's, mostly being the girly camo in the kid's section (ruffles on the hems, dresses, bows at various places). i also loved the camo onesies. my thought on that was that any poop or whatever that gets on the clothing won't show up! lol.
2.15.2008
An understanding
it's a four-day weekend (yip, yippee yippito...) and owen has really shown me some great understanding. this morning, he was working at his pegboard when i tossed the last piece to him. he then grabbed a couple of pieces and threw them (hard) at me. i told him, "no!" he did it again. then i told him if he did it a third time, he'd go into time-out. he picked up the pieces and put them away. i rewarded him with a big hug and a thank-you for minding so well. then while he was eating lunch, he started eating his apple sauce with his hands, spoon just laying there. i told him that if he didn't use his spoon, i'd take the applesauce away. he got that too and immediately began using his spoon. what a smart boy! oh, and when i went in to get him this morning, he looked at me, said, "hey, mommy! potty?" know i don't know if that means he knows we go potty first thing in the a.m. or that he had to go potty or that he had just gone potty. or all three. (he had just gone potty and his diaper leaked...sheets are currently in the drier.)
still not going potty at day care. it's rather frustrating. any advice from a post-potty training parent on what to do? i'm thinking reverse psychology right now. he won't go anywhere but home, unless he has his own potty to go on.
colors are mastered. he'll constantly tell me what color things are. m's especially. :-) and he just counted down (quickly) from 10-1. i'm ablsolutely amazed at this kid.
still not going potty at day care. it's rather frustrating. any advice from a post-potty training parent on what to do? i'm thinking reverse psychology right now. he won't go anywhere but home, unless he has his own potty to go on.
colors are mastered. he'll constantly tell me what color things are. m's especially. :-) and he just counted down (quickly) from 10-1. i'm ablsolutely amazed at this kid.
2.09.2008
tag
so my friend kelly, who i know from an e-mail forum i'm on, has tagged me. here are the rules to this game of tag:
Link to the person that tagged you.
Post the rules on your blog. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
Check out Kelly's blog here. Now I'm supposed to post six non-important things/habits/quirks about myself so here goes!
1. I have to eat my M&Ms in rainbow order, with brown before red.
2. I love learning languages. To date I have studied, either formally or informally, Spanish, French, German, and American Sign Language. I also love watching my own child's language acquisition.
3. Teaching middle schooler is my biggest challenge this year.
4. I'm learning to make the knitted slippers that my grandmother used to make.
5. I play my great-grandfather's violin.
6. I've been to 32 states, two continents, and seven foreign countries. I hope to travel to all 50 states with my family over the years and return to Europe.
So now it's my turn to tag people! Let's see here. I'll tag...
Katie
Michele
Erin
Suzanne
(I'm supposed to tag six people, but I don't visit that many blogs so I'm stopping at four.)
Let the game of tag continue!
Link to the person that tagged you.
Post the rules on your blog. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
Check out Kelly's blog here. Now I'm supposed to post six non-important things/habits/quirks about myself so here goes!
1. I have to eat my M&Ms in rainbow order, with brown before red.
2. I love learning languages. To date I have studied, either formally or informally, Spanish, French, German, and American Sign Language. I also love watching my own child's language acquisition.
3. Teaching middle schooler is my biggest challenge this year.
4. I'm learning to make the knitted slippers that my grandmother used to make.
5. I play my great-grandfather's violin.
6. I've been to 32 states, two continents, and seven foreign countries. I hope to travel to all 50 states with my family over the years and return to Europe.
So now it's my turn to tag people! Let's see here. I'll tag...
Katie
Michele
Erin
Suzanne
(I'm supposed to tag six people, but I don't visit that many blogs so I'm stopping at four.)
Let the game of tag continue!
such a big boy!
o is sitting at the table right now eating his lunch (pbj and apples, with milk in a regular cup so far) and he is sitting there not in his booster. he's able to reach things just fine. i can't believe how big he's getting and how fast! (he just said, "eatin' apples!")
munchkin boy did somethign this morning he doesn't usually do - took a mid-morning nap. he was so stinkin' tired that he didn't know what he wanted and he was picking things up just so he could throw them across the room. i very calmly picked him up, told him he need some time to cool down in his room, put him on his bed and told him he could do what he wanted in his room (play, read, nap, etc.) and then i walked out, shutting the door behind me. he cried pretty hard (and boy, was it a tired cry...) for about 10 minutes, but then as i was getting ready to jump into the shower, it got quiet and i knew he was asleep. i let him nap for about an hour or an hour and a half. i'm not sure if he'll nap this afternoon, we'll play that one by ear. i was able to take the opportunity to get some previewing done of materials i finally received this week from the district (it's only the beginning of second semester!) for my middle school class. yes, you read that right, i was teaching middle school - my least-comfortable age - with no materials. i'm more than slightly frustrated that the request i put in last september or october took until january to be ordered.
potty training continues. no success yet at day care, but he did go potty at jeff's sister's house last sunday during the superbowl. we brought our own potty with us. it worked.
munchkin boy did somethign this morning he doesn't usually do - took a mid-morning nap. he was so stinkin' tired that he didn't know what he wanted and he was picking things up just so he could throw them across the room. i very calmly picked him up, told him he need some time to cool down in his room, put him on his bed and told him he could do what he wanted in his room (play, read, nap, etc.) and then i walked out, shutting the door behind me. he cried pretty hard (and boy, was it a tired cry...) for about 10 minutes, but then as i was getting ready to jump into the shower, it got quiet and i knew he was asleep. i let him nap for about an hour or an hour and a half. i'm not sure if he'll nap this afternoon, we'll play that one by ear. i was able to take the opportunity to get some previewing done of materials i finally received this week from the district (it's only the beginning of second semester!) for my middle school class. yes, you read that right, i was teaching middle school - my least-comfortable age - with no materials. i'm more than slightly frustrated that the request i put in last september or october took until january to be ordered.
potty training continues. no success yet at day care, but he did go potty at jeff's sister's house last sunday during the superbowl. we brought our own potty with us. it worked.
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