Days of Our Lives

It's been a lot less soap-opera-esque here than the title suggests, but it's kinda catchy, no?

The weekend was full of peeing on floors, bribery involving M&Ms, painting with acrylics (thanks to Elizabeth for the suggestion), and some swimming.

All my children enjoying some cartoons.

If this kangaroo punches me again, I'll hit him back.

Also, I ran a whole 7.7 miles last week. Sixteen weeks and counting until my first half-marathon.

And, today Claire told me approximately 24 times that she had to pee on the potty. She might actually gain weight from all the M&Ms she's getting. She refuses to poo on the potty, but it's all in good time.

Shopping trip success!

I know it probably sounds like a simple thing: going to the commissary for our weekly grocery shopping. Add triple digit temperatures, and three children under the age of four, however, and voila! Potential craziness. But! We survived. No major incidents, no diaper malfunctions, no hysterical crying. There was even a lady we were following (so her children said) who used my children as an example for hers on how to behave! I had to wear Luke in the bjorn, and put the girls in the airplane cart. They didn't even fight much, which is more than I can say for most afternoons around here lately.

Luke is super crabby today; he has a cold and I don't know what all hurts him, but know he is sick because the rest of us have had it and his nose is runny. He slept for 12 hours last night, though, so maybe that will help him get over it soon. Last night was the first night that I didn't wake him up between 10-11pm to feed him one last time. I fed him at 8pm, and he didn't wake up until after 8am this morning.

He hates rice cereal. I have only given it to him about 3 times, but he purses his lips in a surprisingly effective effort to keep the spoon out of his mouth, and spits out most of what I get in there.

We are struggling with potty training. Claire starts school next week and is supposed to be potty-trained before she attends pre-school. Last week I took her to Target so she could pick out her own potty treats (she chose M&Ms and Midnight Milky Way bars), and she peed twice that day on the toilet! Since then: fail. She doesn't even want to try. And when you tell her she has to pee on the toilet at school she will tell you that she doesn't want to go. Tim put her in undies last night when he got home, and I think she peed in 2 pairs before bed. I keep waiting for time when we have less going on so that I can stay on top of the situation and put her on the toilet every 30 minutes, but that time never seems to happen.

Kate is 40% to a prize. I promised her a new toy when she could stay dry for 10 nights (not consecutive). I wish I knew how to help her over this hurdle. I know she is capable of staying dry, but it happens so rarely.

Running is going so slowly. I hyper-extended my knee slightly when Tim's family was here, and it still hurts. But it only hurts when I'm walking or standing - running doesn't seem to bother it. Running does bother my lungs, though - it is taking me a longer time than ever before to get back into shape. I am now up to 2 miles, and am hopeful that this weekend my "long run" will be closer to 3 miles than to two.

Random thoughts, and Hallelujah!

We hosted a squadron farewell at our house on Friday night. After going to bed after midnight, and waking up to Luke yelling (not crying or screaming, yelling! Because he could!) at an earlier hour than I would have liked, I let Claire eat some brownie for breakfast. This morning, I asked her what she wanted for her first meal of the day and she said, "I want chocolate cake."

Luke started sleeping through the night sometime last week! I'm still waking him to feed him between 10-11pm before I go to bed, but he'll sleep straight through until about 7am now. At least I think he's sleeping straight through...with all the fans on, I did manage to sleep through a thunderstorm last week. I am so much more well-rested now. And yet still mysteriously exhausted. Maybe it's the whole 3 young children thing.

I had milk on my oatmeal yesterday and I think Luke tolerated it. He was a bit fussy, but nothing more than normal. I might try some cheese with dinner, or ice cream later tonight! Oooh, living dangerously.

Our dishwasher has been making a high-pitched whining sound for several months. Its one-year warranty is due to expire next week, so I had a repairman come out today to fix it and it wouldn't make the noise. The repairman left 30 minutes ago. The cycle is still running and the whine is back. Awesome.

Kate is getting excited about her birthday. She's a September baby, so she has a ways to go, but she doesn't understand the time thing very well yet. She does, however, know the months between now and then: "May, June, Goliath and then September!"

It's been sizzling outside for the past week (109* today), so we've been getting plenty of pool time. Claire knows that she must have one thing on before going outside: "sunscream".

I am at a loss for the whole bed wetting thing. Kate has been potty-trained for months now, but still wets the bed at night. She had several dry nights a couple of months ago, so I know it's possible for her to make it through the night without wetting the bed. We limit what she drinks at dinner, and even wake her up before we go to bed for one last trip to the bathroom. I was determined not to go back to diapers at night, because she gets lazy, and because I don't want to confuse her. But I am tired of washing sheets every single day! I am pretty sure kids are either bed wetters or they're not, but I don't know how to get beyond bed wetting. If you have ideas for me, please comment.

Sporting a new look

Dora underwear on her head.

Giant bruise on her forehead.

Potty-training is going pretty well. Kate still does not tell me when she has to go, but if I put her on at the right times, we don't have accidents. We are not yet accident-free, but who is at this age?

Claire loves to say, "What is it?" She asks this question of everyone and everything.

Unpacking. Still a nightmare. But my friend Amie from Seattle came to visit over the weekend, so I had a good excuse to ignore the boxes stacked everywhere.

I bought sample cans of paints to test on various walls of the house. I painted patches on many, many walls, thinking I would just repaint over them with the white wall paint in the garage. Only problem is the white wall paint isn't white - it is the outside trim paint. Sweet. Do you know how many shades of white exist? Hint: it's a LOT.

Random stuff

We had poo today! Ooh, sorry to throw that one at you without warning, but Kate finally achieved this potty training milestone. We will see what tomorrow has in store. She rather enjoyed the coveted chocolate bar she got as the reward, although I am concerned that she will demand one every time in the future. Ah, well, better than diapers, right?

The girls got into my make-up today. There was a lot of lipstick, generally on the lips, and it was adorable. I would show you pictures, but Tim took the camera with him to Germany, and I have not yet figured out how to download pics from my phone.

Tim is TDY in Germany for five days. Who goes to Germany for five days? Or, two days, for that matter, as that's about how long he is actually going to be there.

The girls and I got to Skype with him tonight, which they thought was GREAT.

We are in the middle of a mild wind storm right now, which I love, but would love more if it included pounding rain and thunder. I miss the Arizona monsoons with a passion.

I also miss my Parents' Day Out program there. So So Much. There is nothing here like that! It's a tragedy. I did get us a membership today to the YMCA, which has free daycare while you are working out. It's a distant second. I mean, working out is great and all, but sometimes I just want to go have a coffee or go to the grocery store by myself! This will give me a great excuse to go work out, though, which I desperately need.

I had big plans to get tons of stuff done while Tim is gone, but am starting to realize that was probably a pipe dream. House maintenance takes Forever. But I did get 2 boxes of books unpacked today, which I considered to be a huge feat. Soon we will be left only with the Boxes That No One Wants To Open: files.

Claire is trying to jump. She has gotten close enough to doing it that she is slightly obsessed by it. But she can't quite figure it all out, so she runs really fast and then sort of leaps with one foot out in front.

Kate's new phrase: "my friend ___". Tonight it was, "...and then on Saturday my friend Daddy will come home and we'll eat yummy bresstess (breakfast)...". Also her friends: me, Claire, Starbuck, bunny and blanket.

Claire so wants to be like her big sister and sit on the potty. She tells me when she wants to sit down, but only once have we had luck. I have the feeling that this is a fleeting opportunity, but am unsure how to grab hold of it and never let go.

Day 4

We are potty training again. We have been potty training off and on for like 2 years now. Mostly off, by the way. I'm not that dedicated. But Kate is showing most of the 'signs' of being ready, so we are trying again. Also, I'm tired of changing diapers for 2 kids, and Kate is almost 3.

The first day was not so good. I think we had approximately 4 changes of underwear in a one hour period of time.

The second day was better, although we went to a First Friday event at Tim's squadron that afternoon, during which Kate wore a diaper.

Yesterday was also not so good. I questioned my ability to ascertain Kate's readiness, and my parenting skills in general. Kate spent the morning whining about how she didn't want to wear big girl underwear. Tim talked her down from the ledge (and me, as well, for that matter), and she ended up in undies for most of the day, with only one accident (I think). Yesterday afternoon I bought her some Dora and Tinkerbell underwear, which she loves. Bunny is wearing some Tink ones today, while Kate is sporting Dora. Another crowning achievement: Claire went pee on the potty yesterday for the first time. Oh, how wonderful it would be to have 2 children potty-trained this month! Ha.

My only major problem so far is that Kate will pee on the potty when I put her on it, but will not tell me when she has to go. When exactly is this skill acquired? Or, dear God, am I starting too soon? I HOPE NOT. Other minor problem: poo. But everyone says they have that problem, so I'm crossing that bridge when we have the pee part better mastered.

I re-ordered the book, Potty Power, which my friend Erika swears by, and am hopeful that when it shows up in my mailbox, we can use it as reinforcement. Until then, I will take any advice I can get.