Nap Negotiations

This week has been a pretty peaceful so far for some strange reason.  I know, I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop, which I'm sure it will, but for now I'll talk about last week.  

I was working out one day last week in my bedroom with my step.  I have a couple DVDs that use the step and when the girls, particularly Lana, see that I'm using it, they decide to make use of it too.  This makes it difficult to do a workout, specifically using the step, when someone else is walking or laying on it.  The Denise Austin DVD I was following doesn't use the step the entire time, so when Lana came back and started playing on it I let her go.  

It was getting close to her nap time so I told her,  "Five more minutes until nap, Lana."

"K," she said.

She started to walk back and forth on the step yelling, "Wash me Mommy!  Wash me!"

"I see you Lana," I told her.  Then she proceeded to count to three and half jump half step off the end of the step.  She got up and started walking on it again, yelled for me to watch her again only this time she said, "One mo time, den nap!"

"Okay!" I said.  She wasn't going to get an argument from me.  She "jumped" off the side again and I said,  "Okay, time for nap."  

At this point the reality of what she promised me sunk in, and she ran from my room screaming, "NOOOOOOO!  NO NAP!!"

Wait a minute-isn't this what we JUST negotiated?  Apparently, she didn't want to hold up her end of the bargain.  The mommy mafia had to come out and enforce the deal.  I paused my workout DVD and chased her down the hall.  I scooped her up and she proceeded to kick and scream, which I prayed wouldn't wake Georgia, who was in her room sleeping 20 feet away.  I dumped her in her crib and she cried and whined about not wanting to nap, even though she had agreed to take one not 5 minutes before.  I do not understand why there is no reasoning with a two year old.

She eventually calmed down and layed  down to sleep.  I left and went back to finish my workout with the annoyingly perky Denise, who was just informing me it was time to use my step again.  I got it back to myself just in time.

A Birthday Story

Today is my youngest daughter's first birthday.  If it weren't for her, I'm not sure I would have started this blog.  Although having two kids can be hectic, three kids all under the age of four is blog worthy.  Not to mention how it prompts the expression from EVERY person at the grocery store, "Wow you've got your hands full."  Thanks-I had NO idea!  I'm really going to start making people pay  me a dollar when they say that so I can pay for the girls' college education.  Anyway-I thought since it was little GG's birthday, I'd give you a little back story about how she came to be, since she wasn't exactly, um, planned.  

When Andy and I talked about having kids, his idea was to just have one while I wanted four. (What the hell was I smoking?)  We compromised and decided that our final destination would be two, mostly because I believe every child should have at least one sibling.  After having  Sonya, who was NOT an easy infant, two was definitely enough and I was sure I was crazy for ever wanting four.  Toward the end of my pregnancy with Lana we were trying to figure out what to do for birth control after she was born.  I was thinking we would just do something final like I would get my tubes tied if I had another C-Section, or a big V for Andy if I didn't.  However, Andy mentioned that maybe we should have a third, and I wasn't opposed to the idea.  I didn't want to go back on the Progesterone only pill that you have to take when breastfeeding.  I hated it when I took it with Sonya.  It totally screwed up my period and made me breakout and I just generally didn't like it.  I thought we would  go ahead and use condoms and in the meantime I would figure out my ovulation cycle so we could avoid ANY contact during my fertile time.  At least until we decided whether we wanted another baby and when it would be.  We were figuring at least a year or more if at all.  Yes, I know most woman do not ovulate or get their period when they breastfeed.  I am not most women.  

I was sure I had it all worked out.  Positive I knew when I was and wasn't ovulating. However,  the pregnancy test I took at the end of October 2007, told me "HAHA! YOU WERE SOOO WRONG!"  When that second pink line popped up on the pee stick I almost fell off the toilet.  I immediately drank more water to pee 10 minutes later and try again.  It had to be wrong.  It wasn't.  

Sonya wasn't yet 3 and Lana was only 7 months old.  I heard about these women who got pregnant when their baby was only months old.  I always said how crazy they were and how much that sucked and here I was one of THOSE women.  I called my sister, Beth (who was pregnant at the time too), hysterical.  I'm pretty sure she thought I was joking at first, but she soon realized I wasn't.  She calmed me down some, but I was pretty freaked out at the whole situation.  How in the HELL was I going to take care of three kids so close in age???  Then I called Andy to tell him and all he could say was "Well that's not very good."  YA THINK?!  

We were both in a bit of shock that evening.  I also had to tell my best friend, Melissa that Sonya and I wouldn't be in her wedding in June. She was getting married in Rhode Island and  I would be 37 weeks pregnant at that point and unable to fly.  It was a bit of a hard time to say the least.  I felt sad and guilty that I wasn't more excited for this little baby like I was for the other two.  It was very stressful for a couple months.  Everyone I called to tell the news had the same reaction, "WHAT?!"  Followed by a tentative, "Congratulations."  I would tell them how worried I was and admitted that I didn't know how I was going to do it.  Every friend and family member said the same thing to me,  

"If anyone can do it, Kristi, you can." 

 Now I don't know if they said this to be nice because what they were really thinking was, "You are SOOO screwed!  Better you than me lady!"  Or if they really meant it.  Either way, the more I heard it, the more I believed it and the better I felt.  

There were still some bumps along the way.  Like when I told my youngest sister, Megan, I was pregnant and due June 30th.  Ironically, she was pregnant too and due the same day.  Which was great, except we both needed my mom at the same time. She in Milwaukee and me in Los Angeles.  My mom lives in Florida.  In the end, it all worked out.  Megan had Lucy on the 23rd of June, so my mom was here with me right after, and in time to help with the girls before and during me having Georgia.  I was sad to miss Melissa's wedding too, but I knew it was for a good reason. 

When Sonya and Lana were born I had to be induced due to low amniotic fluid.  I was starting to go through the same thing with Georgia, but they hadn't induced me yet as of the 27th of June last year.  I was so done being pregnant, so I decided to try and walk her out.  I took my mom and the girls to the LA Zoo and we walked around that hilly Zoo for a good 3 hours.  That night I went into labor all on my own.  I should have known then I had my easy, cooperative baby.  Labor lasted a while, but with the epidural, who cares!  I pushed for about 10 minutes, didn't even need an episiotomy and out came Georgia Taylor Dadekian  into the world at 2:05pm  on June 28th, in Los Angeles, CA.  She looked a bit like Sonya did when she was born, with very little hair.  She did have one of my dimples, which the other girls do not, so I was excited about that.  From the start she was easygoing and happy.  This, this is what I needed more than anything.  

Like I said, Sonya was a difficult infant, but as baby she was okay.  She's a really smart child though, so she can be a bit hard to deal with at times.  Lana...well Lana is Lana.  She is fiery and loving all at the same time.  She's my Jekyll and Hyde.  You never know what you're going to get with her and although I love her so much, some days she's exhausting.  But Georgia...well if you ever listen to Ray Charles song, "Georgia On My Mind" her disposition is the way that song makes me feel.  Sweet, happy, and calm.  Now that's not to say she doesn't have her bad days, but they're so few and far between.  She is going to be the balancing force in our family.  The anchor we will need, to deal with all these other crazy personalities under the same roof.  She was not in any way planned, but she was in every way  needed.  I don't ever regret at all that I accidentally got pregnant with her, and in fact I am thankful for her.  She is my sweet Georgia Peach, my little GG-O, Geester, G-Money.  I love her as much as I love her sisters and I am so happy that this day-this 28th of June is a special day in our life.  Happy First Birthday Georgia!  Thanks for coming into our lives. Here's to many many more to come!

Skyrockets in Flight...

Hello all!  I'm back!  Sorry about the light posting the past couple weeks, but I had to get through the craziness of all the grandparents being here at once, while celebrating my third child's baptism and birthday.  I'm sure you understand.  Even though it was a bit hectic it was good.  My mom was the last to leave this morning.  She stayed a few extra days to hang out with us and we had a good time.  I do have a story for you from a couple weeks ago.  It was something that happened before the birthday invasion, but I didn't have a chance to tell you about.

Andy likes to make mix CDs off the ITunes songs we have in stock.  From time to time he'll make a new one for me to put in the car and listen to with the kids.  His taste in music is vast, much like mine.  The latest CD he made is mostly '70's music.  The first time we listened to it was back at the beginning of March and it's been in my car CD rotation since, so the girls have gotten familiar with the songs.  One particular tune they know well and like to sing along to, is Afternoon Delight.

A couple weeks ago we had a scheduled play date with Sonya's best friend from school, Liza.  The two younger girls were napping and Sonya was anxiously awaiting her friend's arrival.  I had to go to the bathroom before they got there.  I wanted to keep Sonya occupied, without turning on the TV, so I told her to sit on the bench seat at the front window and watch for Liza.  She immediately hopped up on the seat and stared out the window waiting.  I made my escape to the bathroom.  I was in there no more than two minutes when I heard Sonya sorta yelling/singing.  I listened and heard,

"AAAAAA...."

Then she trailed off and I couldn't hear the rest of what she was singing.  I finished up in the bathroom and snuck into the hallway so I could get a better listen.

"AAAAAfternoon deeeliiiiggtt!  Skyrockets in flight!! Afternoon delight!  OOOOOO AAAAAFFTERNOON DELIGHT!!"  She sang. 

I stood in the hallway and listened to her singing her heart out, totally off key, and unaware anyone was listening.  If she knew I was there it would have been over.  So I just stood there and tried hard to muffle my giggles.  She was belting out that song with so much enthusiasm you would have thought Simon, Paula and Randy were in my living room.  There was my daughter, singing every word to a song about getting some nookie in the middle of the day.  Of course she's totally ignorant to what the song is about, but damn, it's funny to hear a 4 year old sing it.  

I walked out into the living room, when there was a break in her performance and asked what she had been singing, she just shrugged her shoulders a bit embarrassed and mumbled, "Nothing."

"Were  you singing Afternoon Delight?" I asked her.

"Yeah," she said.

"Well, it was very nice," I told her.

"Thanks," she said shyly.  

It was, perhaps, not the best rendition of the song, but hey she's only 4.  There's plenty of time before Simon crushes her American Idol dreams.  So for now I'll hide in the hallway and listen to what I think is the best rendition of that famous '70's hit.  

Daddy's Girl

This past weekend was Georgia's birthday party.  Although her birthday isn't until next weekend we had to do it this Saturday in order for my in-laws to be able to attend.  My parents were here as well.  My father, unfortunately, had to leave early on Father's Day Sunday to be back at work for Monday.  

My Dad-the guy who flies 6 hours across the country to spend only 2 full days with his daughter and her family.  My Dad has always been a great father and some of who I am today came from him.  Physically, I have my Dad's dimples.  My love for all things science fiction, especially Star Trek movies, are all Dad.  I remember when I was about 5 or 6 years old and the first Start Trek movie came out. Beth was about 3 at the time, so Dad was taking JUST ME to the movie.  I remember taunting my sister about that, but she could have cared less at that age.  He took  me, because my mother will only willingly go see predictable romantic comedies.  Yes, The Proposal is so on her summer movie list.  I don't know if she's even seen any of the Star Wars films.  The horror!  I believe my Dad is also the reason I picked a guy who is also a fantastic father to my three girls.

Dad has always been supportive of everything I've wanted to do in my life.  He's always pushed me to do my best and if my mom isn't crazy about something I wanted to do, he was there to help smooth the transition for both of us.  He's always been proud of me no matter what.  Even though we don't agree on the same politics anymore, I know he's happy that at least I vote.  When I started doing this blog a few weeks ago, he was one of the first to read it and the first to become a "follower".  He's even brought things up that I've written about so I know he reads it all the time.  Over the weekend we were getting ready for the party and I finally decided it was time for me to stop getting the house ready and get myself showered and dressed.  I was in the bathroom, actually having some peace for once.  I figured with 5 other adults in the house I had to be able to get some private time in.   I heard my Dad walk into my room.  I think he was putting something back there, because my room becomes the dumping ground for things we don't have space for (or don't want destroyed), when we have a bunch of people in the house.  Through the closed bathroom door I heard him say, 

"You back here pooping in peace, Kris?"

"I was until you came back," I called out.  Then he laughed that familiar laugh I've known my whole life and walked out of the room.  

Thanks for always supporting me Dad.  Thanks for always helping me and thanks for being the best Daddy a girl could ask for.  Happy (belated) Father's day.  

Timeout

I know, I know, I've been slacking on my writing, but there's good reason for that.  My in-laws are here and I'm trying to get things ready for Georgia's first birthday party on Saturday.  My parents arrive late tonight.  Let the fun begin!!  I do have a quick little story to hold you over until I can breath again.  I recently wrote about G  pulling down  the TP in my bathroom.  Well that fun game was played again today, but not by Georgia, and NOT under supervision.

This afternoon I was trying to make the birthday cake for Saturday.  It wasn't going so well, because I kept getting interrupted.  Each of the girls has been sick over the past week.  Georgia came down with it yesterday, and she's been unusually cranky due to the fever.  Lana was sick too, but it was gone by this morning, yet the crankiness continued.  Really no surprise there.  I wanted to get the kids out of the house and outside to play, and was encouraging my in-laws and husband to help me with that.  Finally, I got them all out of my kitchen, but Lana was just in a mood.  She kept whining and crying about one thing or another and I was, of course, the only person she wanted.  It was taking me forever to mix the ingredients of the stupid cake.  I finally had to put her in time out, because she was just out of control. 

 For those of you who don't know, Lana's time out is her booster seat in the bathroom off our kitchen.  I strap her in the chair and put it in the bathroom for 2 minutes.  I don't really know why this ended up being the time out place for her, it just did and it works, somehow.  At least until she figures out how to unbuckle herself.  

This is where I placed her today after about the third breakdown outside.  I thought if I gave her a timeout it would "reset" her and she'd be in a better mood.  (Have I met Lana?)  She was sitting in timeout crying.  About a minute ticked off the microwave clock and I realized she was quiet.  She is pretty good about calming herself down, however, so I figured that's just what she did.  After the beep on the microwave I walked into the bathroom expecting to find a more subdued Lana.  Instead I found a mountain of toilet paper and Lana holding onto a piece she had just torn off, and was about to add to her stash on the floor.  I guess I left the chair just a little too close to where the roll hangs.  She gave me a devilish smile and giggled when she saw me standing there.  I couldn't do anything but laugh back at her.  I got her out of the chair and gathered up the TP and sent her outside.  She was back in the chair about five minutes later, at the hands of her father this time, but I forgot to tell him to move her away from the roll.  Sure enough two minutes and another mound of paper later, there she sat.  Andy wasn't as amused as I was, but she managed to escape another time out.  I mean how could you really get mad at that?  She found her own entertainment during timeout.  Ingenious!  I will, however, be moving her chair to the other side of the bathroom from now on.  If nothing else, to make sure a roll in there lasts at least until the end of the day.  

Sick Day

As you all know by now, I rarely have time to myself right now with 3 kids. Contrary to what it may seem, I've come to accept that.  However, I will never  get over the fact that when I get sick taking care of 3 kids just plain sucks.  There is no calling into work and telling them you're not coming in.  There's no sitting on the couch all day with a cup of hot tea and the remote control.  No, when you have 3 kids you have to still work no matter what.  Luckily, I got sick over the weekend, so Andy was there to help, but there are times when I still have to "work".  Especially with Lana, because she is all about Mommy right now.  Even worse, poor Sonya got sick on Sunday with a fever.  So with two of us down, it was not exactly a fun weekend.

I started to feel the familiar scratchy throat and exhaustion somewhere around Saturday afternoon.  It just got worse from there.  I started on the Zicam, which I still can't decide whether works or not.  Then I felt achy so I took some Tylenol.  Not really much of a fever, thank goodness.  By the end of the day I was in full sick mode and Andy ordered me to go to bed by 9:30.  I complied.  Unfortunately, in the middle of the night Sonya woke up with a fever.  It wasn't too high at that point.  Sunday I felt like complete crap and Andy got up with the kids.  They were surprisingly good.  Usually Lana whines for me when Andy walks in to get her up, but Sunday she decided to cut us a break and went with him willingly.  I went back to sleep and didn't hear anything until a little after 8.  I got up walked into the living room and there they all were, Sonya and Lana watching TV, Andy and Georgia passed out on the couch.  It was too cute. 

 I put Georgia in bed and Andy went to get us some breakfast.  The day pretty much consisted of me just trying to get through it.  Andy was a big help and did the kitchen clean ups, which happen about 50 times a day.  I still changed diapers and got everyone dressed.  I myself got changed from my pajamas to my "daytime" pajamas.  That pretty much means I went from a PJ bottom and t-shirt to a yoga pants bottom and t-shirt.  I was a vision of beauty, let me tell you.  The best part of the day was the 2 hours of peace that we did get.  ALL of the girls slept at the same time.  This is a phenomenon that never happens anymore.  Sonya usually doesn't take naps, but when she's sick she does, and for a moment I was sorry she wasn't sick more often.  It would have been some great quality with my husband if I hadn't passed out myself from being sick. Eventually, they all did wake up and Sonya declared, 

"I feel MUCH better." 

Yeah, nice try Miss 102 degree fever.  I guess she was trying to think positively so she could go outside to play.  Only a few more hours and I could put them all back to bed for the night.  We managed to get through the rest of the day.  Me doing the bare minimum, Andy picking up the slack and the pizza for dinner.  No way in hell I was cooking.  Finally we got them all in bed for the night and me resting on the couch.  I was actually feeling better and decided that this go around the Zicam was working.  Well, that and the super extra strength Motrin I still had leftover from having Georgia last year.  I was ordered to bed early again, but I was up on and off through the night with Sonya and her fever, so it didn't help much getting to bed early.  On a good note, her fever was down this morning.  On a bad note, she did still have it and therefore missed her first day of summer school.  Great.  Just when I thought I'd get a bit of my sanity back. 

I am feeling better, but still not 100% which sucks even more because my in-laws come today.  I hate being sick when company is around.   So I'm just doing my best to adopt Sonya's positive thinking and say I'm feeling MUCH better, but mostly I'm just counting the hours until every one's bedtime...including my own. 

Seriously?

The other day I was flipping through the most recent issue of "Parenting" magazine and there in the back was a list of 10 things I shouldn't feel guilty about not sharing with my kids.  What do you know? Number 2 on the list was sharing private potty time.  I should not feel guilty about not sharing that with them.  Well that's all fine and good "Parenting" magazine, just as soon as you tell me how NOT to share that time with them.  Oh I guess I could get my nanny to keep them out of there so I can be alone.  Oh wait-I don't have a nanny!  I totally forget about that all the time.  

A Morning in the Life

This morning was one of those mornings were I did nothing in peace.  Most days, at least one of my activities is done without the interruption of a child running around wanting something, but today was not most days.  No, today, potty time, working out and showering were all shared.   

When I went to the bathroom this morning, Sonya was having her own potty time, but not in peace because Lana was with her.  Georgia was napping.  I took a chance and hoped for the best, but I wasn't in there one minute when Lana wondered in. She tried to flip through the book that was currently in my hands.  When I told her to stop it she went for the "People" magazine on the floor and pointed out Kate in a bikini (of Jon and Kate).  

"Is Mommy," she said.  

"Nope, not mommy," I told her.  Mommy doesn't have money to get her body back in a bikini  like Kate does.  There's also the fact that I wouldn't be crazy enough to have THAT many kids.  Then from the other bathroom I hear Sonya yelling that she's done.  This means that I need to come in and check to make sure she wiped thoroughly.  Trust me when I say this is a necessary job.  I told her to come to me instead and she did.  Now, I had two of them with me and I decided I needed to be done.  I shooed them out, but Lana of course wanted to "fush" first so I let her.  On to working out!  This should go more smoothly.  

Lana went down for a nap, Sonya wanted to play computer games and so far no word from Georgia.  The problem is I never know how long she'll nap.  Sometimes she takes a good nap in the mornings and sometimes not.  It depends on how loud it is in the house.  She did well this morning, but eventually she had to get up. Luckily, I was through a good portion of my workout.  I paused my DVD and got her out of her crib. I put her on the floor of my room with some toys and continued my workout.  I got to the sit-up portion and Georgia thought this meant I was there on the ground to play with her.  Soon she was trying to crawl on me and laying her head on me, which really is too cute for words, but not so conducive to doing sit ups.  I decided to end the work out there-who needs sit ups and stretching anyway?

 I had to shower before I took Sonya to gymnastics.  I didn't want to smell of sweat around the other moms.  This meant G would be following me to the bathroom.  I mean it was only fair since she missed out on the fun with her sisters earlier in there.  I started to shower and she hung out at the entrance of the shower.  Soon she was reaching in trying to grab at the bubbles I was making with my soap.  She was babbling away and giggling.  At one point she almost fell completely in, but I managed to move her back.  I was repeating the word "bubble" to her as she tried to grab them.  Then she looked up at me with her one tooth grin and said, 

"Babu."

In that moment I melted.  In that moment I remembered why I wanted to be a mom.  Maybe it's because she's my last one and she's about to turn one at the end of this month.  Maybe it's because I know this will be the last time I can teach my baby a word and have her repeat it back so cute I want to cry. Perhaps it's because I just get sentimental about these things, but in that moment I decided I loved being a mom today.  I loved that I was interrupted when I was trying to go to the bathroom and that I couldn't finish my sit ups.  I loved it, because even if there are days I want to tear my hair out, and days I call my sister, Beth, to ask her when we're buying that one way ticket to Hawaii,  I do realize they're only going to be this little once. I know in a flash it'll be over.  In a flash they'll be on their way to careers, marriage and maybe kids of their own.  I'm sure I'll be harassing them to give me grand kids, just like my mom did, if only to have a small piece of this time again.  A time where some days I'm actually happy to not poop in peace.  

A Time Honored Tradition

This morning I opted to take Georgia into the bathroom with me.  The two older girls were playing in the living room.  Taking her with me was a better choice, otherwise I would have to wonder what the screaming in the living room was about.  This way I knew if there was screaming it was only Sonya harassing Lana, and not Sonya trying to carry the 11 month old baby across the hard wood floor.  

I gathered up a few toys and her sippy cup and placed her on the ground.  She seemed content because she was hanging out with me.  She looked at her toys and decided she'd seen all those things before.  It was time for something new.  She hit my leg a few times, before she looked up and noticed that interesting roll of something on the wall.  Then she wondered if she could reach that magnificent looking thing.  She reached up and yes, yes she could get a piece of it and what do you know!  It pulled down and and kept going!  Was there no end to this fun new toy?!  

I watched her do this, because she looked fascinated and I couldn't bear to ruin her fun.  At some point all babies discover the toilet paper roll.  Most of the time it's when you aren't looking and you walk in to find the floor of the bathroom covered in toilet paper and the roll swinging empty on the holder.   I had such a picture hanging in my bathroom right after college.  It was NOT a piece of art and Andy hated it, but I just thought it was too damn cute with the baby in the diaper covered in all that toilet paper.  Once we moved in together, that picture found it's way to a new home via a garage sale, but I still remember how cute it was.  I couldn't wait until one day when I had my own kids to do such silly things.  What a stupid childless person I was!  I missed the part of the picture where the mother walked in to the bathroom after cleaning up the kitchen and folding the last load of laundry to find yet another mess to clean up.  Not to mention the waste of paper.  However, I was there to monitor this particular situation and make sure it didn't get out of hand. 

Georgia had a good time pulling it down and ripping into pieces.  I did cut her off when she tried to eat it though.  I mean I have to draw the line somewhere.  Eventually, bathroom time was over and I gathered up what she had pulled down and took it away from her.  She looked at me, stuck out her bottom lip and started to cry.  I had apparently,  took away her most favored possession.  We have three kids worth of  toys in this house, but she cries when I take away the toilet paper.  I picked her up, walked out of the bathroom and she forgot about being upset.   The damage has been done though.  She's been introduced to the fun with toilet paper, so I'm sure I'll walk into the bathroom one day to that scene that was in the picture I once had.  

And don't worry, environmentalists, I didn't let the toilet paper she did pull down go to waste.  

Potty Training

I've mentioned before, we are somewhat starting to potty train Lana. I've learned after going through it would Sonya, that it's actually quite a long process.  It took about a year from getting the potty seat to being fully trained for Sonya.   We got the potty seat out around 18 months and let her get used to it being around.  She would use it when she felt like it and get a jellybean when she peed in there.  Sometimes  we would make suggestions when to use it, like before bathtime.  About 2 months before her 3rd birthday, Sonya was wearing "big girl" underwear. She did still have accidents from time to time, but the diapers were over.  

With Lana we've been doing something similar, but the fact that her sister uses the potty makes her want to use it more and it's been a bit easier.  Sometimes, out of nowhere she'll yell "I have to pee-pee!!!" with as much urgency as someone would yell, "FIRE!" She takes off her pants, rips off her diaper and runs to her potty stool.  There are times she does pee and I find her diaper on the floor completely dry, but sometimes she has already peed in the diaper and misses her opportunity.  Still, she seems to be getting an idea of it, so that's good.  However, she will NOT poop in the potty.  We know when she's about to go, because she'll usually go to her room and close the door.  When I try to talk to her she yells at me to get out and leave her alone. I've tried to suggest to her, as she heads to her room with the newspaper tucked under her arm, to go in the potty.  I've even offered her a cookie at 9am if she would poop in the potty.  But alas, she refuses.  Sonya was the same way.  Pee - no problem, but please don't make her poop in that terrible potty!  Oh the horror!  

Yesterday morning I was having my own private potty time.  Andy was home, so I figured I'd get some peace, but no go.  Lana comes back looking for me.

"Mama?  Whair aw you?"  She asks.

"I'm in here," I reply.

"Le me in," She says. 

"Who is it?" I ask, knowing full well, but wanting to hear her say her name.

"It LALA!" She says.  I love that she calls herself that, it's so damn cute!  So I open the door and let her come in. 

"Whacha  donin?" She asks.

"What does it look like I'm doing," I ask her.

"Going pee-pee," she says.

I tell her she's right and she decides to hang out in there with me for the duration.  I manage to ignore her for the most part and continue my article in "People", on Jon and Kate. Yes again! (Let me save you the time and money, it tells you NOTHING so don't bother.  Why do I keep wanting to buy those stupid magazines??)  Now for those of you out there without kids, I know you're wondering why I let her stay.  Trust me, it's not worth the fight, first of all and second of all when you are trying to potty train it's good to have them see you going on a potty yourself.  So she hung out in there with her blankie and purses. Once I was done she of course wanted to flush the toilet.  She looked in the potty before flushing.

"Mommy pee-pee and poop,"she said to me.  

"Yes and where does mommy put her poop?" I ask her trying to make the point that we don't all go in our pants.

"In the potty," she replied.

"That's right!  Lana puts her poop in her diaper, but where should Lana put her poop?"  I asked expecting to get the same answer.  Without even missing a beat she yelled out,

"In the bathtub!"

Like I said before, that one should be potty trained aaany day now.

Shower Sharing

I'm so sorry to disappoint some of you yesterday and not post.  Thanks for always checking!  It's been a crazy couple days, but I'll start with a story from yesterday first.  

I was a bit busy yesterday, because I was preparing for a night out.  With adults.  And adult conversation.  Talking about adult things. And drinking adult drinks, which, let's be honest, is my favorite part.  I could hardly contain my excitement!  For those of you who don't know, my husband works at a movie advertising company.  He is a sound editor.   That basically means he creates sounds effects for the trailers you see at the theater and commercials for the movies you see on TV.  He also puts together commercials that will air on the radio.  He does a damn good job and if you see the GI Joe trailer, all those sound effects in there, that's my guy!  Anyway-the movie advertising business has a couple award ceremonies every year, believe or not.  Last night was the Golden Trailer Awards.  The place he works for had an extra ticket and he snagged it for me, because he knows I desperately need the adult conversation.  I too used to work in the movie advertising business in another life,  meaning before Sonya was born.  I was sure there would be people there I knew and I was looking forward to socializing even though the award part would be a tad on the boring side.  I mean this ain't no Oscars.  Still, free food and drinks so I wasn't complaining? 

 I don't go out very often and rarely during the week, but when I do, it's sometimes more of a pain to get everything ready.  It also means I have to put off my shower until the end of the day. This means I will for sure be interrupted since there are no more naps to be had.  I decided to shower around 4pm so I would have enough time to do my hair, makeup, get the kids fed, bathed etc.  I like them to be as "bed ready" as possible for Melinda.  (I should mention Melinda here, because without her I would NEVER have adult time out.  I'm so serious about that.  She is the best, and because she's a good friend she works for food.  Literally.  So I have to say a big huge THANK YOU for being such a great friend and babysitter Miss Melinda. And now, back to the story...)   Usually when I shower with the girls around, I put Curious George on in my bedroom. This way, they hang out in there and I can keep an eye on them when I'm showering.  We have a big open shower, with just a wall, no door, so I can see in to the bedroom from the shower.  It's a walk in type of shower (since it has no door), which makes it easy for the kids to well, walk into.  I get in the shower while Sonya and Lana are taken over by George.  Georgia on the other hand is just hanging out on the floor playing with her toys and sees me in the shower.  She decides to drag her little body into the bathroom because apparently she has a few things to say.  She sits there for a while "talking", which consists of "blablamamadadaGA!"  and points around.  Then she sees the bubbles that are being made in the floor of the shower from the soap, and I mean, come on-how FUN are bubbles!  So she drags herself closer and starts to try to climb IN the shower.  

"Noooo, Georgia" I tell her gently.  Lana, upon hearing this, walks in and says, "What GG do Mommy?"  

"She's trying to get in the shower," I tell her.  At this point Lana takes it upon herself to scold Georgia, "NO GG! NO!  That na nice!!" Georgia looks at her with a, "yeah whatever", look.  I tell Lana it's no big deal and not to worry about it and  she leaves.   A couple minutes later Georgia is trying to get in again and again I tell her no.  Lana comes back, asks me the same question and gives Georgia the same reprimand.  This went on for the rest of my shower.  I think Lana may have told Georgia "no" about four or five times, but Georgia managed to stay out of the shower and stay dry, which meant less work for me.  Thanks Lana!  I did get myself and the kids ready and left close enough to "on time".  And yes, yes I did have a great time talking with adult friends and having adult conversations-oh and let's not forget about all the free adult drinks.  

Faster Than a Crawling Baby

Most babies hit the crawling milestone between 6-9 months of age.  My girls are different in that they took ALOT longer to hit that milestone and when they did, well I'm not sure "crawling" is exactly the right word to use.  At least, not in the sense of moving on ones hands and knees.  Georgia has been no exception.  

Sonya was about 9 1/2 months when she finally started to crawl and I was freaking out that it took her so long.  However,  the crawl she did end up doing was more of a strange monkey like movement.  She had one leg tucked underneath her  and the other leg out to the side.  She would use her hands to propel her along, The good thing was that if she wanted to hold something and crawl at the same time it was easy to move with just one hand to help her. Andy and I thought that was probably a smarter way.  Plus, no strain on the knees!  Perhaps my kid was a genius after all!  Lana was about 11 months when she "crawled", and she was getting physical therapy at the time.  She crawled the exact same way as Sonya, but with the opposite leg tucked under.  Very weird how that happened.  The thing was, they both ended up moving really fast with that makeshift crawl.  So now we come to Georgia. On May 28th she turned 11 months and up until then she really wasn't moving much.  She would move from one place to another, but not very fast.  I couldn't figure out how she was doing it, until I watched her one day.  Basically, what she did was see a toy she wanted while she was sitting. To get to it she would split her legs then put them behind her and end up on her tummy stretched out to reach the toy.  It reminded me of  Tawny Kitaen's limber moves in the  Whitesnake video  "Here I Go Again".  You may remember that one where she's on the hood of her father's BMW doing splits for all the neighborhood boys.  Yeah, that's what Georgia was doing.  It's got me a little worried.  Anyway-about a week ago she figured out how to use her arms to drag the rest of her body behind her.  So now she's moving everywhere and let me tell you, the "drag the body" crawl is getting quite fast.  

Today I went to the bathroom, just to pee mind you.  No problem, 30 seconds to a  minute max.  Sonya was at school, Lana and Georgia were playing in the living room.  I went to the bathroom nearest the living room off the kitchen to keep an eye on them. In that time Georgia realized I wasn't going to get to her right away and dragged her little body 10 feet to the cat's food bowl.  She's been after that food for four days now.  By the time I caught her she was sitting upright with a fist full of cat food ready to chow down.  

"GEORGIA, NO!" I yelled.  

I startled her and she immediately dropped the food on the floor.  She looked like she might cry, but instead went for a piece of dropped food.  I told her no again while leaving the bathroom and ran to  get rid of the cat food in her hand.  She wasn't happy about me taking away her treat.  I washed her hands and gave her a graham cracker instead. 

 

"This will taste better, " I said handing it to her.  I sat her back on the ground and she happily munched on the cracker.  I turned to go to the kitchen and when I looked back to check on her, there she was doing the Tawny Kitaen to the floor and making her way back to the food.  I finally put the food up on the counter, which the cat is never happy about.

The worst part about all of this?  For the past two weeks I haven't gotten that damn Whitesnake song out of my head.  

Working Out With Paints

I know that the main point of this blog is to give you stories of how I am interrupted in the bathroom every day.  However, every once in a great while, my kids do give me a break in that area.  Today was one of those days.  Yay!  I do not want to disappoint my audience though, all three of you, so I thought I'd tell you about the two other things I try to do every day I can't get through without a kid crisis.  One is showering, the other is working out.  This story is about me trying to work out or at least trying to get through what should be a half hour work out in under an hour.  

I've always been a excercise person.  Well, ever since after college when I realized I couldn't eat whatever I wanted anymore without doing some sort of physical activity.  I am actually one of those people who enjoys working out, most of the time.  I did it through all three of my pregnancies and I tried to pick it up as soon as I could after each of the girls was born.  It's not always easy to find the time though, and it got harder after each baby.  I try to do it when one or two of them are down for naps so I only have to find something for Sonya to do, but lately Lana has been awake too.  So they will usually color or sometimes watch TV, (most likely Mickey).  I will go to my bedroom and do a workout DVD while they do something in the living room.  Then at some point I have to stop to break up a fight, or make another party hat, or change a diaper.  So as I said, a half hour work out can turn into an hour.  Sure I could get up early and do it before they wake up, and I do try to do this when I can, but it doesn't always work.  First of all I have to be up by 5:30am  in order to get anything in before G wakes up at 6:15.  Now 5:30am is nothing to some people. My parents, for example, are up, worked out, showered, had breakfast and ready to take on the world by that time.  They did not pass on that crazy morning gene to me, however.  So on more than one occasion I will hit the "off" button when the alarm wakes me up at that unGodly hour.  Hence I have to work out mid morning with interruptions.  

One morning, last week, Georgia was down for her nap, and Sonya and Lana were doing some painting.  I had bought some 'window paints' the day before and they were supposed to paint something on wax paper, let it dry then peel it off and stick it on window surfaces.  It was washable paint, or at least that's what I had been informed of when I bought them.  The girls were happily working away at the table and Lana was strapped in so I figured all was good.  (Apparently I never learn. ) I went off to let Bob from 'The Biggest Loser' kick my ass into shape for the day.  After about 10 minutes, Sonya got bored and wanted to watch something.  I stopped the DVD and went to help her.  Then I went back to the ass kicking.  It was about another 10 minutes or so when I heard Lana yell.

"Mommy I dooonnnee!  I get dooowwn!"

 

I stopped the DVD once again and went to get her down.  When I saw her I realized I wasn't getting back to my DVD for a while.  She had blue paint all over her hands and up her arms.  At some point she turned the window paints into finger paints and it was all over her and the table.   "No biggie, " I  thought "it's washable right?"  I think someone needs to define that word, because to me it means you can get it off by just running water over it.  Maybe a bit of soap.  I guess washable to the girl in the store meant something else.  I washed Lana's hands and arms about 3 times before giving up and deciding that she was just going to be part smurf the rest of the day.  The table managed to clean up okay and thankfully I had a bib on her so nothing got on her clothes.  The bib wasn't so lucky, however, but most of our bibs look terrible at this point, so no big deal there.  I sent her in with her sister to watch some TV and put the paints away.  It was about 20 minutes before I finally got back to my workout.  I know Bob wondered where I had gone all that time, but I promised him that tomorrow I would channel my parents and be up my 5:30am.  

Determination

Sonya is the kind of kid who gets an idea in her head about something and there's no letting it go. There was the time she wanted to build a birdhouse.  She wouldn't stop talking about it and don't you know that week at Target there were birdhouses to paint.  On sale.  How could I say no? Then there was the time I had to say no. It was near Lana's birthday.  She and her friend Liza from school decided they were going to have a party on Friday afternoon in our backyard.  She told me all about it on the way home from school and how we would have a stage and chairs set up for people to watch the show.  What was this show-you ask.  Apparently, it was going to be Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck performing.  Now you might be thinking "how cute" or "what a great imagination".  Those were my first thoughts.  Until she continued to talk about it and I realized she so wasn't kidding about this.  I finally informed her that there wasn't going to be a party on Friday afternoon with a stage, and chairs, and Minnie, and Daisy.  She argued with me for about 5 minutes and once she realized I so wasn't kidding, she proceeded to have a meltdown.  A meltdown that lasted about a week.  Well maybe 2 hours, but it felt like a week.  So when Sonya decides she's going to do something you either let her do it or deal with the consequences.

This morning she decided she was going to make party hats for everyone!  This was something she saw on her new favorite show "Special Agent Oso".  After watching the episode before breakfast she talked about how she was going to make party hats for herself, her sisters, and even mom and dad!  It's all she could talk about at breakfast.  It's all she wanted to do after breakfast.  Finally, I told her to get out her paper and crayons and have at it.  Only problem is she didn't really know what she was doing.  She knew she needed to cut out a circle, so I told her to draw one and cut it out.  I'd be back to help her in about 5 minutes.  Why do I ever think that will work?  After about 3 minutes I hear her walking down the hallway and make her way to the bathroom holding a circle-ish piece of construction paper she had cut.  

"What do you want me to do with this?" I ask

"You're supposed to fold it and make it a hat," she explained.  I tried, but having not seen the episode and not being so great at making my own party hats, I had no idea what to do.  

"Sonya-I'm not sure what to do here," I told her handing it back.  Well THIS is not what she wanted to her, and she proceeded to lay on the floor whining "nooooo" at me.  I tried to tell her to go back to the living room and I'd be there in a minute to help.  She whined some more and I told her to knock it off.  

"Where did you see how to make this?" I asked. She told me about the show and I told her I'd come watch it in a minute and we'd figure it out (thank goodness for DVRs). This satisfied her enough to leave.  

When I got to the living room she was still unhappy but eager to see me.  I found the episode and the part she was talking about.  It was actually easy once I saw it and I did it right away.  You would have thought I gave the child a bag filled with candy, she was so happy.   I then had to make 2 more-one for each of her sisters.  Apparently she had forgotten about mine and her fathers, but that's okay.  At least this time I didn't have to cancel a party with the Disney characters.