Things that are keeping me up at night

I thought I'd take a page from my sister and make a Top Ten Tuesday list today. Except there won't be ten items. And they aren't in any particular order.

1. My baby, who seems to find it particularly appropriate to sleep all day and then begin kickboxing around 10 pm.

2. Worrying about how we're going to pay for two kids in daycare when I start nursing school next year.

3. My bladder -- see number 1.

4. Wondering if T's fear of pooping in the toilet is going to get better -- ever.

5. Hoping I actually get into nursing school in a year.

6. Worrying about what we're going to do if I go into labor in the middle of the night and we can't reach our friends who have offered to watch T.

7. Wondering if I'm going to have another 36 week baby. Hoping I'm not.

8. Freaking out that I'm just over 2 weeks from 36 weeks.

9. Being hot. Even though we're still sleeping with the window air unit set at 67 F.

More redecorating fun

We finally got the lovely Neena-made curtains hung in T's big boy room. We also went through all his toys, and reorganized to make room for his clothes. We got a couple of under the bed storage bins and hamper as well.
How cute is he? I heart the frog hamper. It matches the frogs in the quilt as well.

"It makes the whole room look like a fun house"

This lamp is one my holdovers from college life. I don't remember buying it, but I know that's made at least 4 moves with me. It was a cheap lamp, so I wasn't heartbroken when T started banging the end table into it repeatedly when he was learning to walk. We finally decided to replace it today, with an $8.50 special from Target (since we'll likely have another toddler banging into it in a year or two). As we were removing it from its home, Ry said, "There's just nothing that makes this right. It makes the whole room look like a fun house. I don't know what struck me, but I laughed for 20 minutes.
Here's the old lamp next to his new, strikingly similar cousin.
As I was putting the lamp together, I actually glanced at the instruction pamphlet. Keep in mind that this lamp cost us $8.50. Following is the actual copy on the first page of the booklet: "CONGRATULATIONS! You've purchased a fine lighting item from Target. We have designed our lighting with you, the Target guest in mind. Our clear, easy to follow, step-by-step instructions will guide you through the project from start to finish. Feel confident that this will be a fun and rewarding project. The final product will be a quality piece of lighting that will go together smoothly and give years of enjoyment." I'll tell you, I felt rewarded when I finished screwing my lamp together. Best $8.50 I've spent in a while.

Space bags to the rescue!

We actually purchased the infomercial Space Bags several weeks ago. Between visitors and traveling, we hadn't had a chance to try them out until today. As it turns out, I'm pretty impressed. This is a bag of blankets and comforters. As you can see, it's about as tall as T.
And now it's much more wee. I would say it compressed by about 50%. We also compressed two boxes of T's clothes into one. Of course, it remains to be seen if the bags stay vacu-packed or if they re-expand. For the time being, I'm a fan.

Awkward

Yesterday T had day 3 of his new preschool. He did really well and digs Mrs. B, his teacher. He kept talking about going to Mrs. B's house all day.

I met one of the other moms for the first time yesterday. I was helping to tidy up, so wasn't looking at her as she asked "Mumble mumble mumble, do?" "I'm sorry," I said, "What did you ask?" Her eyes got the size of saucers as she cleared her throat and asked, "Um, how many children do you have?" It was at this moment that I realized she must have asked me when I was due and when I asked her to repeat the question assumed that I wasn't actually pregnant. Ooops. "Oh," I said, "Just T, and this one is due November 12." "I thought you were pregnant!" she said. Yeah, at this point there's no denying it. I felt bad for not hearing her though. I've had those moments when you feel like your heart just dropped into your stomach.

Bonus anecdote: T was playing outside yesterday when he slipped off the patio and scraped his leg. Ry told me he scraped the crap out of it. Then T came over to tell me to look at his leg, which was scraped the crap.

Making the move

Now that T is mostly potty trained, we're facing the next big adjustment: the big boy bed. We purchased his bed and decorated the new room months ago. Anyone who has met my child can probably understand my assumption that he would start climbing out of his crib pretty early, thereby necessitating a move to the big boy bed. At two and a half, he is still happily crib sleeping. We're T-minus 7 weeks (or less) to having a new baby that will be needing said crib fairly soon after he's born.

We could, of course, just move him. Having him in the crib is so very very convenient. He'll happily play with his menagerie of animals for 30+ minutes in the morning, giving me a few extra minutes to doze. Somehow, I don't think that will happen once he's not confined. I also don't want to move him right before the baby moves in and make him feel like he's being displaced. I know he's old enough. Most of his same-age playmates have been in toddler or twin beds for months now. How long does it take a toddler to get used to a new bed? I'm all about making this move at the last ... possible ... moment. I just don't know when that will be.

Vacation in short

I've been avoiding blogging because I know I owe you all a vacation blog post. There are approximately 300 pictures to go through from our trip and trying to find just the right ones to illustrate our great time is difficult, but here goes:

We'll pick things up the day after Busch Gardens, since you all know what a great (educational) experience we had there. We had beautiful weather, so got to spend a fair amount of time at the on-ground pool. T had a great time being tossed around by Ry and my Dad.

We went to Colonial Williamsburg, which was mostly a disappointment for me. I think I expected more people in costume doing things. Instead, it seemed like any quiet little eastern town. There were a few highlights though. We stopped into a really old church and found this memorial. The Tucker brothers came over from England a long time ago (you'd have to ask my Dad or sister for actual dates). One brother went north and one went south. We are descended from the northern line. This memorial is for someone from the southern line, and so are my great .... relatives. Pretty cool, actually. It was amusing to me that the side reads "Mrs. Tucker." I guess when you got married you stopped having a first name ... or identity. Bah.

Here's one of the few costumed people we ran into. He is a silver smith and was drawing silver to make bracelets and rings. Dad and Ry got to use his drawing contraption. T was fascinated by the whole process. It was really the only thing at CW he was remotely interested in.

This is Shirley Plantation. It was built in the early 1700s and the 11th generation of the family still lives there. While it was really interesting, I think I need to save these kinds of stops for when I'm sans-child or they're much older. You live and learn, I guess.

We also visited the Virginia Beach Aquarium. It is by far the best kids aquarium we've been to. Everything is at kid-height and there are lots of touching exhibits. They were undergoing some renovations, but we still had a good time.

Just T inside an aquarium. Cause he's cute.

We also celebrated T's 2 and a half birthday, complete with half a cake. He gets so excited about singing the birthday song.

Cause they're cute.

Day two at Busch Gardens. We still had a great time, but T was a bit more reserved. It was our last day in VA, and I think we were all a bit tired from all the activity. We're watching a live Elmo and Friends show.

Ry and my Dad got to ride some of the big-boy rides this day as well. I know you can't see them, but they were dangling over a vertical drop that seemed impossibly high. They went 3 times. I was jealous.

And Dad and T on the climbing treehouse.

We had a really fun trip. I'm so glad we were able to spend the week with my Dad and Laurel. This marks our last long-distance trip before Baby Version T.2 comes in November.

The Poopy Story

We had a great week in Virginia. T was his YaYa's boy all week. Any time he needed to hold a hand, he wanted YaYa's. Any time he went on a a ride, he wanted to sit next to YaYa. I have a point, stay with me.

We also spent the week working on pooping on the potty (well, Ry and I have mastered it, T is still a work in progress). While he hasn't had an accident this week, pooping was a 30-plus minute ordeal every morning. T would cry like we were beating him because he didn't want to poo. Finally he'd get too bored/sad to sit on the toilet anymore and poop.

Thursday after the morning poo we were in the car when YaYa told the following story (illustrated with his magnadoodle): Here's T. He's sad because he has to poopy. Here's his sad face. But then, he makes a happy face and poos. Here's his happy face. T is happy because he pooped in the potty!

Friday morning, Ry told T the Poopy Story, and less than 10 minutes later, he pooped on the toilet. He made his sad face, complete with a few dramatic "Boo Hoo"s. Then he made a happy face and went about his business. This morning, the whole process took less than 5 minutes. And tonight, he went on his own, with no prompting, just before bed. Success!!! We had a one-accident week, and now, T is unafraid to poo on the toilet. Now we just have to work on underwear overnight, and we'll have a completely potty trained toddler. Hooray!!!

We are eternally grateful to YaYa.

It's happened

For two and a half years, we have managed to keep T from learning any dirty words. Today, that all changed. And here's how it happened:

My Dad and YaYa took T on the Katapult ride at Busch Gardens this afternoon. In this shot, you can hear my Dad say "Holy Crap!"

And now T says "Holy Crap!"

Dad and YaYa "Hahahahahahahaha."

T "Holy Crap!"

Dad, "Sorry Jube!" YaYa, "Hahahahahah."

T, giggling, "Holy Crap!"

Dad and Yaya, "Hahahahaha."

And folks, this is how my son learned his first (semi) bad word. At least it wasn't my fault.

A trip to VA in numbers

9:30 - Target departure time

10:00 - Actual departure time

1 - Number of flights canceled for our loved ones

5 - Number of hours the trip would take if we didn't stop

7.5 - Number of hours it took us

0 - Number of accidents for the day

1 - Number of screaming fits in a public restroom

1 - Number of poops on the potty!

8:00 - T's bedtime

8:45 - Time he got to bed tonight

All in all, a successful day.

Cringing and laughing

Sometimes at the same time. My OB said what?

This too shall pass

I've decided that my mantra for a while is going to be "this too shall pass." T continues to have issues with pooing on the toilet. He is also occasionally having pee accidents. I have to keep reminding myself that we're less than 2 weeks into this adventure and he's doing really well. It's frustrating to me because he knows what he's supposed to do, just doesn't always do it. This morning when I went to get T out of bed he told me he wasn't ready to get up yet. I told him to let me know when he was ready and went back downstairs to putter. Ten minutes later he yelled down that he was ready to get up. As soon as I walked into the room he informed me that he pooed in his underwear. Why?!

This too shall pass.

This too shall pass.

This too shall pass.

Update: He just pooped in his bed during naptime. I even ran upstairs as soon as I heard make a noise. Just flat out refusing to poo in the toilet.

Small accomplishments

I spent last and this week applying to my first choice nursing program. It's more complicated now that I have to get transcripts from high school and 3 colleges. I have also been tracking down references. It's been nice to catch up with people, but I always hate to feel like I'm imposing. The good news is that I'm down to one reference and payment of the application fee. Ahhhh.

I've also finished the material for the first exam of my telecourse. The course is a joke. It's essentially a health class. I've covered all the material in much more detail in other classes. I'm not really sure why it's a requirement. On the bright side, it's an easy course to finish before I have the baby.

It's a new day (warning ... TMI)

Yesterday was by far the most frustrating I've had so far with potty training. T is basically completely potty trained for pee-pee, but somewhat afraid of BM on the toilet. I'm not sure why, but this is apparently a common problem (especially for boys). Most of what I'm reading suggests rewards (which we're trying) and patience. Many folks say that it takes months more to get BM in the toilet. I also noticed that he's less likely to poo if he's not wearing underwear, so we've been letting him run around bare-bummed when he's home. Two days ago I thought we jumped a big hurdle with a big BM. Sadly, yesterday we spent most of the day on the potty, as he would need to go (and even start to go) but then, eh, clam up once we sat on the potty. It's been over 48 hours now since he's pooed. If you've spent any time at all with my son, you know how ununsual that is. We have his first day of new preschool today. I guess I just have to get used to cleaning poop out of underwear for a while. Sigh.

The evolution of a project

We were looking for a fun weekend project for T and remembered that we picked up a few Home Depot kiddo projects at a fair about a year ago. Ry and T put together a memory box yesterday afternoon. T thought it was great fun using daddy's tools.
So today, I thought it would be fun for him to paint said memory box. It started off so well ...
I don't know why I thought paint would end with anything other than a bath.
So I called Ry upstairs to help me sop up the worst of the mess. When he came up, he said "Oy, vey!" The rest, as they say, is history.

Special Delivery!

This is the box my brandy-new food processor was delivered in. I am now the proud owner of an 11-cup Cuisinart food processor, courtesy of my mom and stepdad. Thanks guys! I'm a bit ashamed of how excited I was to receive this gift (guess I've really become a housewife now). I made a triple batch of pesto from our garden last night and am planning on a loaf of wheat bread today or Monday. The thing also slices and grinds every kind of vegetable, cheese, and nut. It's going to make my life so much easier when I start making baby food again.

Oh, and T had a blast playing in the packing peanuts. They pack down remarkably well when you have a 35-pound toddler mucking about in the box.

It's 2:30pm

And so far today:

• T has taken a shower
• And a bath ... because of an unfortunate poo incident
• He stubbed his toe, requiring a band aid
• Smashed his fingers in the refrigerator door
• And tripped over his shoes, tossing him headlong into the kitchen cabinets

It's been a tough day for the little man.