Potty Training Flop

With the new baby on the way, Austin and I have been dabbling in the idea of Potty-Training Brady. Last week,we decided THIS would be the weekend to try it. We canNOT have TWO children in diapers.... and now was as good of time as any, before I get too big to bed down and "clean things up".

For the past few weeks, maybe even months, Brady has been going "pee pee" in his Elmo potty when Mom & Dad go in the "Big Potty". And by saying "going pee pee," I mean Brady would sit on his Elmo potty and give him High 5's, but never really go. Well, yesterday we went out and bought two additional potties, Pull Up diapers for when we were away from home, big boy underwear, and a stock of marsh mellows as rewards for going in the potty. We were ready. Set. Now time to go.

Or not...

This morning we woke up with the mindset that we were going to potty train him. After his morning milk, we sat him on the potty, gave him books to read, and eventually my iPhone to play games on and.... WA LA.... HE PEED!!

We were so excited!! Yes, some of the pee dribbled down onto his socks and underwear, but that was our own fault for not pointing his "parts" in the down position. Austin gave him his marsh mellow and we cheered for him. What did Brady do? He threw his marsh mellow into the potty.... with his pee. (Apparently we don't give him enough marsh mellows to know that they are food!) So, we gave him another. This one he ate, and loved. Then he realized he threw a "perfectly good" marsh mellow into his potty.... What would ANY kid do? Open up the potty and pull out the marsh mellow... and.... eat it. As I was screaming in disgust and Austin was running over to save the urine soaked marsh mellow from Brady's salivating mouth, it was too late. Gone.

Well, we tried to get past this event and started cleaning up. Unfortunately, with the little toddler potties we still have to clean out the potty, and any spillage from not pointing things in the downward direction during the pee. As Brady watched his parents clean.... he decided to stand in the kitchen and finish his pee on the kitchen rug, and he cried because he was getting himself dirty.

I tried getting Brady to come back to his room so I could clean him up (again), he ran around the house, covered his urine, running in every direction AWAY from me. I finally caught him, cleaned him up.... and put a diaper back on him. Yes, you heard it right folks, a diaper. It wasn't even 10am before I had given up on the potty training challenge. I realize now that is is going to be, by far, the hardest part in my parenting career up until this point, and I am not ready for it.

Movin' on Up!

One thing that is great about daycare is all the artwork Brady brings home. I love getting his latest "project" he's been working on & seeing how much is artwork improves from day to day, week to week, and month to month. These are some of Brady's creations when he was in his Infant 2 room. As you can see, he is quite talented.

How many children do you know that can make their own Rail-Road Crossing sign? I bet not many.
Red Barn? Just amazes me how he even left off paint where the windows and door should me. That is talent people, talent!!
This is my absolute favorite. When they handed me this one, I about fell over backwards. A robot? Seriously, kid? He is a genius. Obviously daycare is teaching him WAY MORE than Austin & I are.... He's even drawn the heart & little electricity thing.... Genius people! Genius!

Well, the thing is, he recently "moved up" in daycare classes. I have not been as happy with their curriculum. I think it must be more learning, less time for art. This disappoints me that Brady does not have as much time to make the beautiful things he was making previously. Here are just a few examples of what he's been bringing home lately....



I think it's a little obvious what is going on here.... These teachers in his new classroom do not know how to teach the arts..... at all. So disappointed.....

Brady's Little Chompers

In August, Brady "moved up" in daycare. This was a much needed change for him, because just about everyday we'd pick him up he'd have an "incident report" for biting other kids. The "bully" of the classroom got it the worst... I think Brady must have been making up for all the times the bully went after him. His teachers would tell us stories of Brady biting poor Elijah, being sent to time-out, and then when Elijah would walk by him, Brady would stand up and push him. I am not happy to say that Brady had become the new bully of the classroom, but his teachers assured us that it was because he was bored in his classroom & needed more stimulation. Apparently Brady had favorite books and toys, and if anyone touched them he'd attack.

Well, thank goodness he moved up to the "older" class. These kids weren't going to let him get away with him picking on them.... Well, except for one, kinda. Brady's "identical cousin," Jack started daycare the same time the Brady moved up and Aunt Molly insisted they be in the same class... I bet she regret that soon after. Molly would call me and say that JACK would be getting "incident reports" for biting.... but only after another kid would bite him.... And guess who it was that did all the initial biting? Yep.... Thanks, Brady.....

You'd never expect them to fight, would you?


Well, now it had now been months since Brady's last daycare bite (Cross your fingers!!) and Molly now just automatically assumes that Brady is the kid behind each bite. This is how the last conversation when between her & the daycare teacher after Jack's most recent bite mark.


Teacher: "Jack did get bit today, right on the tip of his nose."

Molly: "Oh no, by who? By BRADY?"

Teacher: (laughter) "No Molly, by a mosquito!"


Poor Brady has such a bad rap now...

Maybe he deserves the bad rap though.... almost a month ago Brady & I were at a baby shower for one of my good friends at work. Everyone brought their children & it was so fun to see them all interact. We had just started going to "playgroups" with people from work too, and its been so much fun. Well, Brady changed that quickly. One of the little boys, almost 1 year old, grabbed Brady's book (that was right in front of him).... I was watching Andrea open all her gifts & was not watching Brady.... but apparently I should have been.... he went right up to the little boy and bit his wrist so hard..... he immediately started crying.... I thought I was going to also! Brady immediately got put in time-out. It was the most embarrassing thing that may have happened to me thus far regarding Brady. Those bite marks probably stayed for a good 20 minutes, and I am sure he had a bruise the next day, though his momma assures me he was okay. But, since then, we've been kicked out of our playgroup..... oh sure, they say they, "haven't had any since", but come on? Everyone is afraid of Brady's little chompers!!

I will say, Brady (knock on wood) doesn't bite anymore.... well, at least not others. Now when he gets real frustrated and wants to bite, he bites himself. Yep, you heard it here first, folks. My son still gets sent home "incident reports," but now for biting himself. I'm not sure which one is better?

Just a little White Lie....

Today I spent the day with my mom. We had a day planned of going out to lunch & then going to see the new Harry Potter film. We were both excited, but, running late. We decided to eat at our favorite bagel shop for lunch, since they are much quicker than any restaurant.... Little did we know it would set us back much further than any "sit down" restaurant.

You see, we had just ordered and we were waiting for our bagel sandwiches to be ready. Mom was standing in front of a table, leaning forward & looking at an article that was framed on the wall. After she was done she backed up, and all the sudden tables and chairs went a-flying. It was quite bizarre really. We laughed about it a little, but then looked down. Mom's big toe had been completely sliced off on the top, and was bleeding like crazy. Apparently she had her toe underneath part of the leg of the table and it acted like a razor blade to her skin.

Well, we quickly left the shop, leaving our bagels behind (along with a few grossed-out customers), and went to the "doc-in-the box". We had just gone to the ER a few weeks ago with Brady to get stitches, and knew that they.... well, take a while. We figured this would be faster. We were wrong. Very wrong.

While waiting in the waiting room, mom had me send pictures of her toe to our family members so she could get a little sympathy. As you probably know, we have quite a big family... so she was getting very upset when nobody was responding to her very disgusting picture. She would even say, "Well what about Meghan? Meghan hasn't responded?" or "I can't believe Dad and Molly are in meetings and don't even care about me. I could be dead for all they know". As she continued to talk about how much her family didn't love her, she continued to take pictures of her toe, with "grosser" angles, to have me send again.

After we had seen the doctor over 2 hours later, we decided a different approach. I texted all my siblings, and my father, with this text:

"Does anyone know Mom's blood type? She needs a blood transfusion but is passed out and can't tell them"

Then the calls and texts came pouring in....

Molly: (She called, I ignored it, I was laughing too hard)
"Tell me if your joking"

Me: "Can't talk, in the middle of surgery"

Molly: "I am in an effing meeting. Tell me right effing now if your joking"

Me: "joking!"

Molly: "Not funny, at all"

Mom and I were cracking up in the exam room. We were literally crying with laughter, but it wasn't until people really started texting us her blood type that we really got rolling. Our personal favorite was short and sweet from Meghan...

"I believe it is O Positive"

(A minute or so later)

"Sure hope I'm right!"

(another couple of minutes)

"Is Dad available?!?"

That's when we thought we'd come clean. So, we missed Harry Potter, our lunch, and our afternoon, but we sure did have a good time.... for me, it was literally at everyone else's expense. Thanks guys! ;)

Make it or Break It....

As some of you remember from an earlier blog, I sometimes get... "carried away" with certain things... While I was pregnant with Brady, it was FarmVille... then I went through recovery... a hard, long, recovery... saying goodbye to FarmVille freed up so much time of mine, I didn't know what to do... Then I had Brady... and I became busy...

Recently we put the little guy into daycare full time. Not because I don't like to spend time with the little guy, but because my schedule is too erratic to be put in daycare part-time. Well.... this has cleared up a lot of time in my schedule recently.... Unfortunately... that does not always mean good things...

I was walking through Barnes and Nobles a couple months ago and saw a sign for "Secret Life of an American Teenager".... promoting the new season.... and what did I think? "Oh, that must be a good show!".... So.... you see.... I started to watch it... and watch it... and watch it... It was disgusting... just like FarmVille all over again.... Except it had one thing that FarmVille did not... an ending... Well... at least on Netflix.... I am now a devoted follower every Monday night... and I cannot get enought of Ricky, Amy, Ben, Adrian, and Grace... they have become my friends.... at least one day a week....



But who would fill the void the other days of the week? Well, once I told people that I liked Secret Life, everyone told me that I should start watching Make it or Break it... also an ABC Family favorite... Of course I would not start watching this show... that is NOT what I needed in my life...

But... I gave in... and I am now in another addiction. Now I spend my days off work with my new besties, Kaylie, Payson, and Emily... too bad that Lauren just won't go away. The thing is... my friends now need help.... their future is at jeopardy... you see, I still have 4 episodes left until I am "caught up," but the show is at risk for a 3rd season.... Why anyone would cancel this show is beyond me... I've even got Austin hooked on the show...



Well... Our only hope is Make it or Break it winning a Teen Choice Award... So, what was the first thing I did? Get on the website and vote for my shows... What was the response? FAIL..... I got a message saying I did not meet the "age requirements" to vote... What?!? BURN....

Well, I am still going to have a TCA party... and I may or may not be 17 when I get on the website to vote.... and I suggest you all do the same...

What Goes Up, Must Come Down

When I was younger, I remember how upset I would get when I would be on the same plane with a child.... especially a child right behind me. I remember, vividly, thinking, "Why doesn't this mother control her child? Can't she see that her daughter is ACTIVELY kicking my chair?" I would think the mother just saw me as a "free pass" for her child to kick my seat since I was young... but if I was an adult she would "control" her child a bit more... How rude she was.....

I think my beliefs were a bit ignorant at the time...

Let me explain a bit to all you folks out there flying on the same plane with a child... First, I want to apologize on behalf of all of us with kids. Yep, sucks to be you, you have to endure a 1-3 hour plan ride with a crying, kicking kid. But that's the thing, after that, you're done.

My last flight (from South Carolina to Texas) was awful. We had an amazing time on vacation for a week... spending the mornings on the beach and the afternoons at the pool... Lots of family, lots of good times... but this will mess up a child's schedule... really, lots of things can mess up a child's schedule....

Let me reminisce a bit more.... When Brady was just 6 weeks old I flew from Nebraska to Texas with him. It was great. Everyone smiled at us and EVERYONE helped us. I would just look at something and at least 2 people would ask me for help... everyone was so sweet. Somewhere between then and now peoples attitudes have changed drastically.

Let's start my trip from the beginning... Once we finally GET to the airport, (obviously running behind because NOTHING quite goes as planned when traveling with a child...) Today we were running a bit behind because Brady decided to sleep until 9am, and we needed to leave the hotel at 9:30... there was NO WAY I was going to wake up my child any EARLIER than he wanted on a day I was going to be traveling with him the whole day.....

We return the rental car, check in, and just have to get through security....

Did you know that when going through security a 15 month old child also has to take off his shoes? Yep... so in the middle of undressing myself for security, I am also trying to hold my child, and undress him, while also breaking down the stroller. Then I have to try and put this stroller up on the security belt while everyone watched me, while still holding Brady. Do you know how many people offered to help? Not one.

Finally, we get through security, oh, but wait, they have to do testing on Brady's milk, which may have some sort of deadly chemical in it... and while they are testing it Brady is screaming for his milk.... the milk I was trying to hide from him and give him on the plane to calm him down.... So much for that idea... had to give Brady the "chemical free" milk right after this.... glad to know it's safe...

After going through boarding, I once again have to break down the stroller to gate check it.... and once again, no help. Why don't I just set Brady down to do all these things you ask? Because he is 15 months old... he's mobile, very mobile.

I finally sit down with Brady on my lap, I pull out the books, crackers, and toys that I have brought to entertain him for the flight. I am excited that he is being so good, eating his crackers and letting me read to him.... Then.... the flight attendant says over the intercom that we will not be able to take off for another HOUR due to weather delays...

So, all my treats, books, and toys were not going to last. Before we even took off Brady was squirming and crying and doing everything he could to get down so he could play.... Could I really blame him? However, this does not make anything better.... I was obviously struggling. The plane finally took off.... Brady started kicking the lady's chair ahead of me, I grabbed his legs and repositioned and repositioned but all he wanted to do was kick that chair. By this time I had the worst headache ever and I was almost in tears... Whenever I tried to move Brady's feet so he couldn't kick he would scream on the top of his lungs and starting thrashing around (and consequently hitting the guy next to me...) To me, I had one choice, continue this or let him kick the chair.... I gave up. I let him kick the chair, only for about a minute.... until the lady sitting there turned around, looked right at me, and glared. It was just what I needed to break down into tears. It was my 16-year-old self glaring right at me... but in a 60-year old woman's body... It was awful.

I spent the next 45 minutes holding my son's legs down so he would not kick her chair, kick the man beside me (or his hot coffee on his tray-table), while he screamed, and screamed, and screamed. I hope your happy lady.... Now not only is your plane ride miserable, but everyone around us has the same awful experience... Well, except for me... because I am the one who has it easy... the one that is just sitting back relaxing and not "controlling" my child, right?

Hair Today, More Tomorrow

So, many of you know that my child was born without hair. There is no facts to spruce up to make pretty.... the kid was born bald.... super bald.... I still have not seen a baby at my new job that has as little hair as Brady did when he was born.



I knew that Brady would be bald before he was born. It has been a long-standing joke that I didn't get MY first haircut until I was 5 years old... and my uncle used to call me Uncle Fester. Neither of these facts I am proud of, but they are just that, facts.




Austin once took Brady to the doctor and, kid-you-not, somebody asked him, "Oh! Do you shave your kid's head too?" (the person had their child with them as well, just about the same age as Brady). He seemed somewhat confused when Austin said no. Seriously? Who shaves there kid's head this young? Brady's been begging for hair since he was 4 months old.... even asking us for a custom toupee made from his daddy's hair.... and while we were at it... maybe hook him up with a little 'stach...



Well... Recently there has been some major differences in Brady's hair department... and I am tired of people not recognizing it. I want people to quit telling me that my 15 month old son doesn't have any hair.... or ask us if we shave his head, or tell us that we "better make sure we have some sunscreen on that melon", or anything similar... And people won't NEED to tell me that... because I am proud to announce, Brady has HAIR!!!