"I Got Paint"

That was M's explanation. 

On Sunday afternoon, while I was making lunch, M snuck into my bedroom and found my makeup, which was still sitting out from the morning.  The boys had watched me apply makeup a few times recently, having to sit at the dining table to get it accomplished while they ate breakfast.  They were fascinated with it!  I should have known it was just a matter of time. 

The pictures don't do his application much justice since most of the mascara was located behind his left ear:

N got some mascara, too, but I'm not sure who applied it

In other news, Hubs is traveling again this week, and Aunt L has come to hang out with me and the boys, thank goodness!  They've been behaving incredibly well for her, so we are all quite happy (read: they aren't behaving for me!).  M is fevering today, unfortunately, but says he's well enough to go outside and play at the playground when N gets up - it's a glorious 61 and sunny, so we are headed there very soon!  Hopefully whatever this is will pass quickly and no one else will catch it!

Cupcake making with Aunt L

Comfort...Food

The weather is blah, Hubs is traveling, they're still pooping in their pants, and the news all around  is depressing.  But we know that God is on His throne and reigns over all our troubles, and works things out for the good of those who love Him.  And a huge batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies helps, too.

M's Kitchenaid advertisement pose

Like the little red hen story - they only want to help eat

YUM

MORE YUM

Look to the cookie!

M - what a ham!

Smile?  I'm eating!

I'm feeling better already

Don't worry, Hubs, I'll save you a few.  Hurry home!

Zoo Fun

Our Zoo Membership expires in a few days so we've taken to the boys there twice this month to get the most out of it.  I only take the old Sony Handycam there so the photos aren't the greatest, but we sure do have fun!  Here are a few:

Checkin out the tortoises

Komodo Dragon!

Lunch with our buddy, S.  Don't they look like they're in school?!

M hams it up in the Beehive room

M is a worker bee!

Daddy, M, N and the penguins

M hamming it up again, pollinating this time.

N collecting "pollen"

For those of you who've never been to the MN zoo, you should know the "Beehive" is a recent addition, an indoor play area for kids ages 1-3, but most importantly, it has a kiddie sized potty.  A tiny little fully functioning potty that would kill a full sized adult to sit on, but perfect for the kids.  So now we make a "beeline" straight for the beehive when we go in and when we go out, hence all the photos in there.  Also, the boys actually LIKE to go to the potty in there!  So we go.  ("Regular" public restrooms with the auto-flush toilets still scare them to death.) 

We love the zoo and can't wait to go back, when Momma is a little less prego this summer and the boys hopefully (N) are a little less fond of running away from said slow Momma. 

Bright Spot

In an otherwise not-too-bright week (need I remind you of the rear-view-mirror-up-the-nose and innumerable potty accidents?). 

Unaided, M drew his initial on the easel! THEN, he posed for a photo - unbelievable!

He went on to add a "W," his middle initial, directly above it.  We were very impressed.  When asked to repeat the performance this morning, he drew...a mountain range.

But it's still progress!

And for the record, N can also make a few select letters on the easel.  A few weeks ago, he drew an "H" for the first time, then a "T."  While they are not his initials, they ARE necessary for actually spelling his name.

Remember when you count your blessings they always outnumber your tears. That's what we do.  Much love to you this weekend.

Forgive Me

For my absolute insanity yesterday. Obviously I need to get a grip. The day went from bad, when I posted, to worse throughout the evening and well into the night. Now that both boys are sleeping and all I hear is the incessant clock ticking, I'm feeling better and realizing that he will not be pooping his pants when I send him to school.

Your reassurance and suggestions are helpful. I think MO is right, that his sphincter muscles may not be developed yet. I think MW is right, that he's conditioned himself to poo in his nap diaper like Pavlov's dog's. And AK is right, it's just going to take more time than I want (or have).

It's probably not fair that he's a twin and M breezed through this potty training and he's struggling. This may be my first lesson in teaching twins. I've had "indivIidualization in education" pounded into my head quite thoroughly for 11 years now, but it takes a very personal situation to understand its importance at the cellular level. Obviously, my kids learn differently, despite their being twins. Clearly, my stressing out is not going to help N learn this new skill. Therefore, I need to relax and re-strategize. I'd start with a glass of wine, but since I can't do that, a chocolate pop-tart and a glass of milk will have to do.

Potty Help Please!

Disclaimer: this entry is full of poop.  Read on if you dare.

Tomorrow marks six weeks since we began Operation Potty Training.  Here's the good news: aside from sleep-times, I think M is 99% potty trained.  And he's really improving in that department, waking up dry from naps sometimes, so if he were the only one being potty trained, I'd be throwing a freaking parade in his honor and thinking that I was a potty training champion mommy.

However, I'm pulling my hair out.

N can mostly stay dry when it comes to pee, and he KNOWS he's supposed to poop in the potty.  But there is some sort of brain-bottom disconnect happening and I'm at my wit's end trying to help him.  Here's what happened again, for the third day in a row - and it's severely affecting naptime, the two hours of the day I get to either accomplish some kind of chore (like meals or laundry) and/or put my swelling feet up (I'm 30 weeks prego tomorrow and finally beginning to feel it), and since this is day three of pretty much no nap, I'm desperate, and calling on you moms who've gone before; HELP!

How do I get him to let it go on the potty?

I think he feels it coming - he either has a little smear and runs to the bathroom, or just "feels" it.  Then he pees and jumps up, thinking he's done.  Since he's been a naptime pooper for years now, I've been making him stay put before nap - for a LONG time.  Reading stories, the whole thing.  Today the boys and I were in there from 12:30-1:00, just trying to go poo. 

As soon as we gave up, washed up, got dressed and tucked in, M wanted to try again, therefore so did N. So I let them, because M does seem to be right - not only did he go, but he made it on the big potty!  Hooray!  Celebration, choosing of the poopy prize, tuck back in, all while N was supposed to continue trying.  But he was scootching around the bathroom like the potty was a car, rifling through the bathroom cupboards, and "driving" out toward the living room when I got back to him.

So I said he was done, slapped a diaper on him (he'd already had two small accidents prior to 12:30) and put him back to bed.  That was at 1:15, so he'd spend most of 45 minutes sitting there...plenty of time, I'd think to do the deed if it were about to happen (because it usually does around 1:00 or immediately following the closing of the naptime door).

He was getting out of bed and helping himself to the bathroom less than 10 minutes later, WITH A POOPY DIAPER. 

TODAY IS THE THIRD DAY IT'S HAPPENED LIKE THIS.

So, what do I do?

• I've been repeatedly asking him if he knows where poopy goes.  "In the potty" he says.

• He's seen M do this many times and receive a prize from the poopy prize jar.  (N has received 2, and one was totally cheating because he had an accident then made a bit more on the potty, but I did it to reinforce the concept of being rewarded.)
• We've downloaded new games on the ipad as an alternate prize, thinking the candies and stickers in the jar aren't cutting it, to no avail.
• I've been trying to convince myself that since he's actually trying, or saying he's trying, that's progress, but seriously, he's messing up three diapers a day doing this (because it's not coming all at once), nearly the amount he used before potty training, and when I say diaper, I include Pull Ups, too because that's what he wears out of the house - and those are NOT cheap.  

Everyone keeps telling me that poopy in the potty takes time, and I get that.  But what do I do in the meantime, while he's NOT napping and completely ruining our evenings because he's so cranky and tired?  How do I convince him if he'd just go on the potty, he could fall asleep for nap and we'll ALL BE SO MUCH HAPPIER?

Anxiously awaiting your wisdom.,
Buried in Poop

But It Was No Booger...

I'm becoming concerned that as a mother of all boys, my life for the next 15 or so years is going to be about gross bodily functions.  Maybe all moms feel this way, but the older the boys get, the more they amaze me with a different kind of gross than before.  And no, this is not a potty update.

I also used to think that my boys were just a little smarter than your average kid.

Apparently not.

Because this morning while I was getting ready for church and allowing them to watch PBS unattended, M came into my bathroom crying.  I assumed that he was upset about his brother taking a toy from him, which is usually the cause of such a scene.  It was a mylar balloon the other day. 

But now he can speak, and he was saying through his tears and sobs, "Booger!  Get the booger out!" while, of course, trying to fish it out himself.  We have lots of talks about using a tissue instead of your finger with him, but it's not quite getting through, so maybe that's where I should have known that they're not particularly advanced..  Teaching him to blow OUT instead of suck IN is also another challenge, likely why he's not quite enamored with tissues - because they don't work! 

Nevertheless, I attempted to remove said booger, and even took a peek up there because he seemed abnormally upset about this one (he usually takes care of them himself, his way).  I saw nothing, nothing came out, he just kept sniffing and calmed down.  So I took him to his room to get dressed, assuming the incident was over and the booger would come out when it was ready.

Midway through the choosing of the clothes and the dressing, the "booger" slid out. 

But it was no booger.

It was a tiny rear-view mirror, shown above next to an M&M for size comparison. 

A REAR VIEW MIRROR, did you catch that?!

I was able to remain calm, but firm, telling him that ABSOLUTELY NOTHING goes up your nose, this was a no-no, and he's lucky it came out on its own so that he didn't have to "go to the doctor and get a shot" (our typical threat).

I thought only other people's kids put things up their noses, and I thought it was only peas when they did.  This could have been awful, especially because I had NO IDEA it was even up there!  Yikes.

Investigating the car to which the rear view mirror belonged, I discovered BOTH mirrors are missing.  When asked where the other one is, M told me, "In the garbage," and while I don't actually see it there, I sure do hope it was put there at some point.  Because when they break stuff like that, I just say, "It goes in the garbage - there are some things mommy can't fix!"  Which may come back to bite me in the butt someday, but I'm willing to take my chances rather than try to glue those things back on.

Ugh.  Gross.  And little scary, mostly because I do not want to spend Sunday morning in Urgent Care and spending a fortune to get a rear view mirror removed from my toddler's nostril.