Adventures in potty training

I lost count of how many nieces and nephews I have somewhere around the number 16. I'm sure I could figure it out with a little time and a calculator but then I'd have to wonder if I should include great nieces and nephews as well and this already has me going off subject!

Anyway, my siblings have a lot of kids. I grew up with most of them but I never bothered to pay much attention to what was required to raise them. I didn't learn how often to feed and burp them, how to teach them to count, or how to actually get them to fall asleep for any stretch of time. And now that we moved so far away from my family and the ever growing population of babies it seems to create, I'm kind of on my own to figure it out. I've been known to read a few books, to consult Dr. Google from time to time, but mostly I have to rely on ques from Owen to determine when he's ready for something. It's worked pretty well so far, but I think this little thing called potty training has us both stumped.

He's only 2 and a half and diapers are still very convenient for both of us so I'm not interested in rushing anything, but I also don't want to be that mom who sends her son to college in diapers! I don't know when to start pushing it or even how to approach it and while Owen shows occasional interest in the Fisher Price potty we set out for him a while ago, he doesn't seem all that ready to get down to potty business either.

He showed plenty of sudden interest yesterday afternoon though, when I caught him standing in front of the little potty, shorts down around his ankles, and frantically pulling at this diaper. When he spotted me, he started to panic and shouted, "Oh no, Mama! Poop! Poop!"

I must admit, I got a little excited at the sight of him, so afraid he may get poop in his diaper, desperately wanting to put that poop in the potty instead. I thought this was it. Potty training has begun and it was going to be a breeze! My little boy was ready and willing and this wait and see approach finally paid off. I could save a fortune on diapers. We could buy cute little Superman underwear. I would no longer have to cringe every time a friend talked about their toilet using child who is also months younger than Owen.

I helped Owen take off his diaper, he sat down on the potty, and I started going on and on about how exciting this was! He sat there quietly as I watched. His face turned a light shade of red and he made a few grunting sounds. After a minute or two he stood up, turned around, put his face only a few inches from the rim of the potty seat and shouted, "Woooaaaaaah Mama! Owen did it!! LOOK AT THAT POOP!!!! THAT'S A BIIIIIIIIG POOP!!! That's a LOT of poop!!"

My mind racing a mile a minute trying to figure out what kind of reward to give him, I prepared myself to view my son's very first non-diaper poo! Then I bent over to peek around his little head, and I saw right into the very EMPTY toilet bowl.

Moments later he did the exact same song and dance for pee.

I give him a million brownie points for the excellent imagination and impressive acting skills, but it looks like this potty training business still has us both baffled.

For richer and poorer

What's more exciting and frightening than having a child? Having two children. What's more exciting and frightening than having two children? Quitting your job to stay home and care for them. Today should have been my first day back to work after 10 weeks of maternity leave, instead Jon and I spent the better part of the last week and a half searching for alternate care for the boys. We had a sitter lined up since January but due to personal reasons she was no longer able to take them on. And in our search for a new care provider we learned that our friend was giving us a most generous discount. The cost of care elsewhere, even in-home providers, made it pointless for me to work. So I quit and started my new job as a stay at home mom or SAHM (I am incapable of typing that without thinking of dooce and Shit Ass Ho Motherfucker!).

While it is unnerving giving up nearly a third of our income I'm also super excited as this is something I've wanted to do since Owen was born but the loss of money was scary, preventing Jon and I from making such a drastic commitment. I guess you could say this was the kick in the pants we needed. I mean, if we're going to be broke, we might as well be broke while I stay home and enjoy the kids, right?

No, seriously, we are now broke. Extra money is a thing of the past. Somehow, in the span of a couple short weeks, we've become extremely poor and rich all at the same time. I have no money but I officially have everything I ever wanted in life.