You Gotta Love 'Em!

Is it back to school yet?!?! The boys are driving me crazy and I'm exhausted but what else is new right? This heat isn't helping either. I had to go and open my big mouth and say, "Wow, we haven't needed our ACs yet this summer, I bet we won't even have to put them in!" Two days later, BAM! heat wave. Freakin' figures. ACs are in and everyone is cooler and less cranky - hallelujah! It's been a busy summer. Cal did Portsmouth rec sports - soccer and whiffle ball - along with a pirate camp and one other. Most recently we've tried to coerce him that it would be a good thing to learn to ride his bike without training wheels. This has become a MAJOR project. I thought he'd get rallied up once his friend across the street could do it but when I asked him if that made him excited to try I was met with a shrug and a "kind of". Errrrr...it's frustrating. I know he'd have fun if he'd just put in some effort and really try! I've even tried bribing with popsicles (if he practiced riding without training wheels) and a new bike (if he learned to ride real well on two wheels with the one he has. Nope, nothing, nada...



Since it's my main mission of the summer to have Ben be potty trained so that I can FINALLY get a break in September, I took to starting a week and a half ago when Cal was at camp. First let me just say that on day 1 I felt like a common criminal as I sweetly sat Ben down at the table and said, "Do you want a juice box?!" Juices boxes are practically FORBIDDEN in our house so of course he wanted one and sucked it down in three seconds flat just like I knew he would. I felt slimy having an alterior motive for allowing it. Then of course, I let him have another one. Poor kid didn't know what hit him...soon he had to pee every 10 mins! It worked like a charm though. By the 2nd afternoon he knew when he had to go and how to hold it until he got there. Perfect! Pooping on the potty went a little slower...I think he was holding it. So one day I decided to let him have as many dried apricots as he wanted. Apricots are a wildly popular treat in my household. The kids LOVE them but I usually don't let them have more than 2 or 3 on any given day otherwise they're pooping like crazy! So I figured we'd have no problems if he ate 5 or 6 or 7...8...yup! That worked too! He hasn't been as regular as normal but he's getting used to the idea of sitting on the potty and going. He even went while the babysitter was here! Poor girl! They made her save it to show me...too funny!

Mostly though potty training was exhausting in the beginning because we'd have many "false alarms". Ben would tell me he needed to go at the most inopportune times like when I was nursing Seth or in the middle of cutting raw chicken for dinner, etc etc...naturally I'd drop what I was doing and help him get to the potty only for him NOT to go. Maddening. And even more frustrating to have to keep your cool when you just want to scream! Don't want to shoot myself in the foot and discourage the little bugger though. We had a hell of a day Monday I think it was. The boys wanted to play in the sandbox. Fine, whatever, I know we have the god forsaken thing so I let them play in it and it wouldn't be so bad if Ben didn't pour it on his head and roll around in it so that it sticks to every last inch of his skin and clothing. To make matters worse he came in twice to pee and didn't need to. Tracked sand EVERYWHERE. Finally I got smart and put the little potty in the mudroom...got pee all over the mudroom when he forgot to aim...made more of a mess. My energy was depleting fast so I said, "screw it" and didn't throw them in the bath before naptime. I don't know what I was thinking...sand all over their sheets. More laundry. I spent the entire naptime sweeping sand and wiping up pee. After naptime I allowed them to play in the front with the hose. They decided to make mud pies! I'm glad they had fun because I had a pound of dirt and sand in my bathtub by the time the was day done!

To make matters worse Seth has decided to largely REFUSE to eat any more baby food. This wouldn't be so bad except for a few minor details. First, it takes him 8 minutes to chew a grain of rice! Just what a mother-of-three needs, something that takes LONGER! I used to be able to just pop open a container, spoon it into his mouth in 5 mins, and be done with it. Now I have to take extra time to chop, cut, shred, mash, cook, whatever it is he's eating for that meal. Secondly, the child is already tiny. It was semi-comforting to at least KNOW how much baby food I was giving him and that I was covering all the nutritional bases (relatively speaking). Now I have no idea how much he actually eats since a lot of it ends up on the floor or in his chair. Plus it takes at least 40 mins to get any significant amount of food in his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. It's making me crazy! Especially since I'm worried that he's not getting enough to eat and I know they'll be hounding me at his next checkup.

Other than that things are running smoothly...we've discovered Seth LOVES the pool. I've found a way to bring all three of them that's relatively stress-free. Now if only it wouldn't rain 15 mins after we get there every time! The older boys are having more fun and getting better in the water now that we go more often so that's great to see. Ben used to just "play" from the sidelines, throwing in toys for other kids to get, and barely getting his feet wet. Now he'll go right in the baby pool and even on the second stair of the big pool without fear.

Construction in on schedule and our new room should be done in a week or so. We've had to scramble to get certain things done and it's ALWAYS a challenge to get that "perfect" furniture but we'll keep searching.

I just finished up with my trainer and think that it was worthwhile but I didn't end up as crazily transformed as I hoped. I guess you always have higher, unreal expectations. Now I have to join Gold's and do it myself - blah! No one to tell me what to do next, bring me my dumbbells, set out a mat for my comfort, change the music, spot me...what AM I going to do?!?? Self-motivation...it's a killer. My next venture, if I can find the time, is to start my own little LLC. I've been working, SLOWLY but surely, on producing a children's toy! I've been trying to go about it the right way - business plan, expert advice, advertising/marketing, patent...etc...who knows if it'll ever take off or not but it's been fun learning about this stuff and trying to make it happen! Right now I am talking with a company in North Carolina to see if they will take on the project and produce it in their factories! I'll let you know when I make some progress!! In the meantime, if anyone knows of a graphic artist/designer who would be willing to help me out with a logo and website - let me know!!