Toilet Training

Oh, toilet training--what a truly love-hate relationship we have!

I started naked toilet training a couple days ago, and it is going well. Today I am going to put some training underwear on him (not pull-ups, but padded underwear) and see how he does and how he reacts when they get wet. And yes, we call it "pee," "poop," and "toilet." The word "potty" will not be used. Right now his reward is being able to help Mommy flush the toilet, and he seems content with that; he has never been scared of the flush. I tried doing a high-five or a bump-it, but he didn't seem to care.

By the middle of the first day, he was able to try to pee and succeed at least a drop if not a squirt. Yesterday he started peeing in his toilet without coaxing from me (though not all the time), and then he would take the bucket part to the big toilet and dump it out. I had to retake that job, though, because he would get too excited about dumping it and I would end up with pee all over my floor and toilet. This morning, we had our first successful poop in the toilet. He had this concerned look on his face and was grunting, but he wasn't peeing so I didn't worry about it. Then he hopped down from the chair, ran over and sat on his toilet, and made. He looked at it and said, "Oooooh," but I told him it was okay. He looked at it again and then gave me a really big grin. It seems like we're doing fairly well! My goal is to have him mostly independent with the toilet use by the time baby #2 comes along, meaning I have about four months.

To Do

Today I made myself a schedule of household chores. I wrote down everything that I want to do, and then decided how often I wanted to do them. Then I took my planner, and wrote all the chores down, trying to spread them out in such a way that I would not get overwhelmed next time I open my planner. I feel good about it, though I know I will not be able to do all of it immediately.

I also put as a goal that I want to learn German (basics, anyway) within the next couple months, that way when my baby is due, I will have less trouble talking to the nursing staff and my doctor. I realized while I was studying for my certification exam that the only way I will get things like this done when I am wanting to is if I set a schedule and stick to it (despite that schedules never work any other time for me). So I also took some time, looked at how my beginner's German book is set up, and wrote down my goals of when to have each chapter done.

Now, I am feeling rather good about myself in that I am starting to take control of how and when things are happening. I also feel like I am finally getting the swing of things, which is a relief!

Trivial Epiphany

Thanks to genetics and upbringing, I am a movie fan. I love learning about the actors and seeing what other movies they have done. Giddiness attacks me when I realize one of my favorite actors is in a movie I loved as a child, or when I actually recognize a cartoon character's voice. Whenever I wonder about anyone or anything in this realm, I delve into imdb.com, amongst other places, and do lots of research.

This morning I had a revelation--if I spent near as much time, energy, and/or passion into getting to know God...wow, what a place I would be in!

Swearing

I do not swear, at least not by society's standards because they aren't certain words. There is a running joke, though, between my husband and myself that I get so frustrated that it's going to make me swear. He laughs and comments on how that would be the day. What he does not realize, though, is that I truly do just want to go off on people sometimes, and in those times I actually do not know what to say. If I actually did go off, I believe vulgarities are what would come out, since that is the only way I have ever heard someone go off.

Lately, I have been reading the Lord of the Rings series. In these situations, I find myself feeling much like Frodo does when enemies are near. There is a pulling within him to do something, usually to put on the ring, which he comes to realize is not his wanting, but the power of the enemy within him trying to sway his actions and his judgement. Many years ago I broke and started swearing (ah, middle school), but only at a friend's house so as not to get caught. I stopped when I realized I almost went off on my mother once, and I am pretty sure that would have been the end of me. I resist now, knowing that it would do me no good. I have found that swearing brings forth anger, and not just in me. Those who swear explicitly tend to be much more forceful and easily infuriated. I already have enough issues with staying at peace; I do not need to add this to it.