mellymell: (he told me to burn things)
I swear I had already posted this! Anyway, in the interest of clearing out the backlog...

I was having a rough day with Jonah yesterday two Friday's ago. He was increasingly defiant and suddenly, after several weeks of cooperating with potty training, had decided that he was going to revert to being a baby and consciously avoid using the potty. I went over the myriad of other things that go along with being a "big boy" versus the limitations of being a baby.

Nope. He's cool with that. Well, some of it.

Seeing the downsides to his choice to go backwards in life as I was trying to get him to help clean up his room, he pondered for a minute.

"No, I wanna be a baby while you're cleaning up [my toys]. Then when you're done, I'll be a big boy again so I can play."

On the outside, I wanna yell, "GO TO TIME OUT!" (But I didn't, I just kept working different angles until I found something to which he'd agree.)

On the inside, I'm saying, "way to try to logic your way out of that one, son." Also, "damn it, this kid is going to keep me on my toes."

His teacher relayed a similar story on Wednesday. He wasn't wanting to get on his mat for nap time and she typically counts down from 5 when she needs them to do something and they're resistant. She said he just stood there and she had gotten to 3, then 2 and she asked him why he wasn't moving. He told her, "I'm waiting for you to get to 1". She said she laughed and remarked to me that the thought processes behind that are pretty advanced. At home we count to 3. Generally at 2, he'll start doing what you're asking him to do (the consequence of reaching 3 is usually time out), but he'll often yell 4 at me as he does.

He knows his boundaries and pushes them right to their limits. It's nerve wracking for his parents and care givers, but he knows exactly what he's doing. It's the same as him going right to the edge of the driveway without placing so much as a toe in the street. That's a physical boundary that he toes quite deliberately (and literally).

By the end of the day we had a small victory and his excitement for the rewards of potty training were renewed. It seems we're back on track for now, but it's only a matter of time before his impulsive nature kicks in and he decides he doesn't care about the rewards anymore. Like I said, always on my toes. I have to constantly come up with new ways to keep him interested.
mellymell: (Default)
A lengthy, photo heavy entry on our trip to Asheville is festering in the browser on my laptop, but there's other stuff going on... mostly gardening.

Today, we had to bid farewell to our largest tree. I noticed while I was out in the yard with Jonah on Monday that it was leaning considerably. We've been keeping an eye on it for a couple of seasons; watching it lose large branches & develop holes between the roots & the soil. A guy came out to look at it yesterday morning & suggested we get it cut out as soon as possible. The tree had three leads that met on about a 2 or 3 foot tall trunk. The lead that aimed directly at our neighbours' house had developed a crack all the way through the trunk to the ground. I'm honestly not sure what was still holding it up. Once we accepted his bid, he called up his climber to come out & help him tie it off to one of the other two leads, which were still sturdy & healthy, so it wouldn't fall on our neighbours' house overnight before they could get back out this morning. Now there's a huge hole in the yard & I don't just mean the one in the ground. The whole yard is changed it seems. We're going to go out this weekend & find the biggest maple we can get to replace it.

On the plus side, while they were out here, we had them cut out the burning bush which was way too big of a shrub to be where it was (I had to severely prune it twice each spring), as well as the two holly stumps that WILL NOT DIE! Both of those had been cut out before we bought the house. Both stumps kept sprouting up from the roots. One was in the front garden where I wrestled with its roots every spring & fall as I was planting. I'm very glad to have those all gone! I also just realized that was the last of the landscaping that was done before we got our hands on this place. All prior foundation plantings are now gone. I can now finish putting in the rest of the 8 flats of pansies I started planting last weekend, unobstructed by stupid holly roots.

Also, we just now have the first tomatillos on our plant. Lots of them! Hope they finish before frost.

Other than that:
I'm wrestling with fabric options for my bridesmaid dress (wants vs budget vs fabric snobbery) as I begin putting together my mockup.

Jonah's potty tra ining is still going well with slow but frequent improvement.

We've got one more "free" weekend before we pretty much have stuff every weekend until the end of the year.

We finally have another soccer game this weekend. We missed 2 weeks ago & last weekend was a bye. I'm sure Jonah has missed it.

Jonah's teacher asked me about my jewelry yesterday which sent me scrambling to renew expired listings after handing her a business card. I'm utterly embarrassed by how much I've neglected that stuff. I've got a ton of stuff that needs to be photographed & listed. A ton of stuff that I made almost a year ago & never listed. Yes, it's despicable. My last entry on my jewelry blog was freaking lamp pulls! Maybe I can squeak out an hour or two per week to devote to this. Agggh! Too much stuff, no time!

I'm just not even going to think about writing again until after the new year. Okay, one quick thing: it's important that my romance is just something to get readers emotionally invested in the characters & that it doesn't become the focus of the story. A romance is not a plot! I refuse to even open my document for fear of getting sucked in (or seeing how bad it is after some distance). After talking to some people about it at Dragon*Con, I realize just how many questions are still unanswered. I've only scratched the surface here. Huge project is ENORMOUS! I think my next big question to answer will be "why is there a war & how does that all fit in?" I've got to stop filing these away under "answer eventually" & start picking them off one by one until the blanks are filled.

I suppose I'll stop rambling & relax some tonight. The weather is absolutely gorgeous lately, if not a little chilly for my tastes at night. Having the windows open during the day has been nice, except for today when I was inundated by the smell of two stroke engines. Maybe I'll get the Asheville post fished up tomorrow.

Posted via LjBeetle
mellymell: (Default)
There's a lot going on right now, as evidenced by my lack of posting here, I think. I've been active over on my costuming journal, mostly in preparation for Dragon*Con. But other than that, I just can't seem to squeeze out enough time to write up a post. I start and then I don't ever get around to finishing it. So, maybe I'll compartmentalize and the most important stuff will get up here and the rest, well... who knows.

Lots of stuff going on with Jonah right now, so I'll start there. )
mellymell: (Default)
Jonah peed in the potty tonight! Three times! And he kept a pair of underwear dry from the time Chris got done with his first potty time shortly after he got home from work to the time he went to bed tonight. HOORAY!
mellymell: (Default)
I can't help but sometimes feel like pointing in a mirror and yelling, "UR DOIN IT WRONG!" But, I'm at a loss for any other way to go about things sometimes.

Last night, Jimi had his front paws propped up on my lap while he was getting some attention. Jonah comes over and points to his exposed wang and asks, "what's that mommy?"

*sigh*

Without even pausing, I just say, "that's Jimi's penis, Jonah. Just like you have. That's what Jimi uses to go peepee, just like you do."

To which he replies, "Oh, Jimi's penis."

To which I mentally facepalm at hearing my 3-year-old son say the word penis clearly and confidently. It was all I could do to keep from bursting out in laughter, really. Then immediately following said hypothetical laughter with a distressed look to the heavens to ask, "what have I done?!"

He then asks, "where's Sunflower's penis?" Of course, I had to explain that she didn't have one because she's a girl and girls have a different part for going peepee. He proceeded to then expertly show off his knowledge of the proper places for each of the species under our roof to do their business. . .

"Mogwai goes peepee in the litter box. That's his potty. Jimi and Sunflower go peepee outside in the yard. Mommy and Daddy go peepee in the potty."

Then I ask Jonah where he goes and he claims, a little excitedly, "in my little potty." I had to correct him that he was still going peepee in diapers, but that we want him to pee in his "little potty" and it's something he's going to have to learn very soon. We talked about trying it this weekend. There's a technique where you just tell the kid, "no more diapers" and put them in underwear. They learn pretty quickly that they don't like being wet or dirty without a diaper. Unfortunately, this morning brings a setback to that plan.

I had every intention of beginning the diaper free weekend today, since there's no school due to this pathetic excuse for snow accumulation today. But it appears he's developed an allergy or intolerance of some sort to mango. The past several times he's had mango juice in any form, he's had, well let's just say tummy troubles. . . messy ones. The gas this morning woke him up an hour or so early and had him periodically crying. Then once that passed he fell back to sleep watching The Empire Strikes Back. ;) I'm kind of afraid to say, "no more diapers" and put him in underwear with something like this going on.

*shakes fist* Curses foiled again!

But anyway, about that whole, "my kid will know the proper words for things and other parents will hate me" thing. Well, he's well on his way to being that kid in Kindergarten Cop. You know the one. And neither of his parents are gynecologists as an excuse.

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mellymell

May 2011

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