Playing Catch Up: First Day, Last Days, Birthdays and Big News (NOT PREGNANT)

It seems silly to start a post with a recap of Harry's first day of school when the last day of school happened two weeks ago. But. Harry started preschool! And now he's in summer school (which is basically a continuation of the school he started two weeks ago). I think it's safe to say that he is absolutely thrilled with his new student status. He pants in front of the door in the morning waiting for the bus and bounds outside when he sees it pull up. Another bonus? He and Leo get to ride to the same bus (they're attending summer school at the same location). I KNOW. Leo basically explodes every morning he's so thrilled.



Leo finished up fourth grade (meaning next year will be his last year in elementary school, did you hear my heart stopping?) with an end of year choral concert which Lucy and I were lucky enough to attend.



Ellie transformed from a Daisy into a Brownie (see above for the "Bridge" ceremony) and finished first grade. Didn't I just take a half day from work so I could bring her to the kindergarten orientation? GAH. Time, you are a sneaky, sneaky one.



Ellie also had her seventh birthday party (notice how I didn't say she turned seven-yet). That will come next month.



I finally got my act together and planned her party for before the end of the school year (well, technically it was the weekend of the last week of school). People in our town seem to just disappear on the summer weekends, making summer birthdays very sparsely attended.


As you can see the only problem with the party is there just weren't enough baked goods.



Ellie with her "beach" themed goodie bags (they held a shell bracelet, sunglasses, a mini-beach ball and of course, cookies). I tried really hard to not go all junky with the goodie bags. I HATE the crap that so often comes home from parties: trinkets that break before they even leave the car on the ride home, that I end up finding sprinkled all over the back of the mini van. Also, candy that no one needs (but we all need chocolate chip cookies, of course!).


Harry, (who apparently knows how to break dance-who knew?) made good use of his sunglasses.

For some reason I was very nervous about having a party at home (well, a party in general but an at-home one raises the stakes a bit). I wanted to make it very simple and of course it got more complicated than I set out for it to be, (there may have been some last minute ridiculous amounts of money spent at Oriental Trading) Let's just not talk about the "express mail" fees, ok? But all in all I'm very happy without how it went. It organically turned into a "mermaid" themed party when I randomly chose an Evite with a mermaid on it while Ellie was at school (I thought it befit a backyard pool party). (She "hand wrote" all of her invites but I wanted to follow-up with something a little more concrete). Ellie ran with the mermaid idea (she LOVED the Evite) and before we knew it I'd ordered mermaid plates, napkins and cups (as an aside I have to pause and extoll the virtues of the Target debit card (they aren't paying me to say this but they can if they'd like to)--anyway, free shipping on all Target items. Seriously the best.


Making their shell frame "craft." I thought this was cute and it went with our "beach/pool/mermaid" theme but I really bought it in case it rained and we were stuck inside.



The girls were semi-into it but it's hard for gluing tiny shells on frames to compete with pools and water sprayers and a playground and Cheeto balls (Ellie asks for these probably every time we see them at Costco and I always say no but for a birthday party? I finally said, YES).





The weather was A-MAZING which, when you're having a backyard "pool" party, that's really half the battle.

Did you know six and seven year old girls scream a lot? And when I say "scream" I mean "OMG THIS IS SO MUCH FUN I JUST HAVE TO SCREAM!!" screams.


Of course Spidey had to make an appearance.

At the end of the party, Ellie announced that it was "probably one of the best days of her life." So. Really can't argue with that one.


Speaking of birthdays, these two actually had their birthday, earlier this month.

Three.





This momentous occasion, this third birthday surviving another year with twins, really warrants its own post (which it will get, preferably before the fourth birthday) but I will interrupt this broadcast with some important breaking news. Lucy and Harry are officially potty trained. And say what you will, but I'm fairly certain that potty training twins will go down as one of my greatest life achievements. Let's just say it wasn't for the faint of heart!

Looooooong Holiday Weekend

I've been home with the kids since Thursday and I'm loving it. Am I loving it because I know there is an end in sight? Perhaps.

In any case, the first day of September it's like someone flipped a switch and it became fall. It's still warm, but the mornings and evenings are crisp, and there's a certain slant to the light.

The days dawn early (an uncharacteristically early 5:30 a.m. for Ellie on Thursday, it's like she KNEW I had the day off and wanted to make the most of the day). Mornings have been filled with Leo's favorite pasttime-runs to the store (stocking up on back-to-school lunches and supplies), Friday was Costco, Monday will be Target and Trader Joe's (can you stand the excitement?). After lunch signals the start of Ellie's long midday nap (which kind of "kills" the whole day, but, whatevs.) It's hard to keep Leo quiet while Ellie sleeps. I hate to let him watch too much TV but then again it is his "vacation" and I guess a little extra Diego never hurt anyone. He's also discovered new games. A new favorite is hanging out downstairs in the playroom with the lights off, with the flashlight. Ah, little boys.

Afternoons have been backyard playing and walks around the neighborhood. The BOB stroller holds both of them. It breaks my heart a little when Ellie asks to walk. I wish I could take my five and two-year old on an actual walk (that is, not in the stroller) around the 'hood but the truth is, Leo is too much of a flight risk. Ellie would be fine walking but if Ellie walks then Leo wants to walk and I can't handle both of them "free." If it was just him, fine. But Leo and Ellie and the dog? Not happening without a stroller. I know we'll get there, we'll get to the point where we don't need the stroller. I hope it's soon.

Oh and not to bury the lead but did I mention Ellie potty trained herself this weekend? No joke. It started completely by accident. I'm not pushing it, but she was walking around pantsless on Thursday and announced she had to potty (we keep a small potty in the living room-we're classy like that). She proceeded to potty about every fifteen minutes and stayed dry in between. I am stunned. I'm also terrified to leave the house for fear I'll have to take them both to the bathroom...

Well, it's not so bad--I did it this morning on an outing to Barnes & Noble. The key was having the single stroller (double was too big to fit through the bathroom door). I kept Leo in that while I took Ellie to do the deed. She starts the new daycare Tuesday, I guess the only thing to do is send her in panties and hope for the best. It still feels a little surreal (she's barely two). I also keep thinking about how "they" say don't try to potty train in the midst of big changes (like, um, say, a new daycare) but seriously, it was her idea! You just can't keep a good little girl down I guess.

Ellie's language continues to explode. She saw the almost full moon a few nights ago and now ask constantly "where the moon Mommy?" Nearly every question is answered with "yessss," with a definite emphasis on the "s." Oh and after every potty, comes the announcement "I go potty Mommy!" followed by the request for "chocolate raisin!"

Leo has also added a few new words to his vocabulary. How could I say no when this morning he told me he wanted to go to the "bookstore." Another new one: "help me." That one sure comes in handy. I have to be careful to not give into it too often-he can do so much more than he lets on.

I'm sad to see my Housewife of New Jersey stint coming to an end. Tuesday the kids will start the new daycare and I'll head back to work. Wednesday morning the little short bus will come to the house to get Leo, to take him to his first day of kindergarten. I expect some tears.

I'm betting Leo will cry too.

I Swore I Wouldn’t Go Here But…

I swore I wouldn’t get all potty training on you guys (so boring! Unless you’re doing it!) but I need some help. Ellie is showing a real interest in the potty again. She did this a few months ago but it didn’t go anywhere and I didn’t try too hard. But she suddenly hates wearing a diaper, putting it on her you’d swear I doused it in sulfuric acid or something. She’s ok once I get it on her but she loves not wearing it. Last night after dinner she was tugging at her diaper and I asked her if she had to go potty (well in our house it’s called a “Boppy”-Ellie’s word for it-don’t ask me). A few minutes later I heard Ellie saying “Uh oh, uh oh.” Upon inspection I saw that she had pooped ON the potty (the Fisher Price potty with the lid), that is, on the lid. By the way, why is there a lid on that potty? Really?

All this comes down to my question: I’ve heard from a few people to skip the Pull-ups altogether and go right to thick undies with a plastic cover over them. It’s said that they can’t feel when they’ve “gone” in the Pull-ups. I just don’t know. She seems so little but she also seems interested. I don’t want to miss a window if it’s there but I also don’t want to force it. I’ve also heard to potty train you’re supposed to like, stop your life for a weekend and not go anywhere and just potty potty potty.

Enough on that scintillating topic. I am boring even myself. But I’d love to hear any wisdom if you have some. And while I’m talking potty, I’m excited to report that Leo has started standing up to pee! A big day for our little man. As I type this I cringe to think of the time that he finds out I told the whole world about this day. I’m apologizing to your right now Leo, but I am so proud of you.

The Weekend of Violent and Just Plain Bad Haircuts

Why didn’t I leave well enough alone? Leo’s hair was not that long. Just a little shaggy. Certainly not long enough to warrant bloodshed.

I)
Erin called me from the car to inform me she was never doing it again. “It,” being taking Leo to the kid haircutting place at the mall. I can’t say that I blame her. It’s always been bad but this time, well this time apparently was the Worst Ever. I’m not sure what happens to Leo when placed in the hairdresser’s chair. This is even one of those “fun” places, where you get to sit in a car or a boat or a spaceship and watch the beloved Dora and suck on a lollypop as so called “distractions.” No matter to Leo, who undergoes some kind of primal flight or fight instinct when faced with scissors and a clipper and that plastic cape. And now, all 40 pounds of him is kicking and thrashing and well, kicking a poor woman in the nose, apparently, hard enough to draw a significant amount of blood, enough to require her to exit and another hairdresser to finish the job.

And it would be one thing if it was a good haircut. But it’s not. And of course I don’t blame anyone for that, how could it be good, considering what happened? We should consider ourselves lucky that it’s slightly even. It’s just, well, s-h-o-r-t. Let’s just say Leo could easily join the Marines and fit right in with the look he’s sporting today. Except he's not as stylish as a Marine. I know that it’s hair and it will grow. And I’m trying to cheer myself with the knowledge that with it being so short, he won't need another cut for a very long time.

II)
My own haircut experience was far less dramatic. I haven’t had mine cut by someone other than myself for at least a year. Every weekend I mean to and every weekend gets filled with all the other necessary “to-dos.” This weekend though, I couldn’t take it any more. Part of the problem is I’ve yet to find a place I really like. I went to one shop but they all spoke Spanish the whole time and I know it’s very Seinfeld of me but I felt paranoid, like they were talking about me or laughing at me. I do know a bit of Spanish but not enough to really know what they are saying, but sort of enough to be confused, if that makes sense. So I went back to a place just down the street that I swear was used as the inspiration for Steel Magnolia’s. I should have known better when I walked in and everyone had gray or white hair and they were getting it set in rollers or teased up with hairspray. I was the youngest person in there by thirty years, easy.

I walked out with a “mom bob.” Shorter than I’d like it but at least I didn’t give the woman who cut it a bloody nose in retaliation.

In other weekend news:

-It is still really cold here. I know I promised I wouldn’t harp on this but it’s just pretty remarkable. We are having a real winter. The snow from last week melted some but today it’s just bitter again and there is more snow on the way. I actually think my iPod froze this morning, and no I don't mean as in, had a computer glitch. I mean I think it was too cold for it too work. Really.
-Ellie is continuing to use the potty. She is so pleased with herself. She sits on it, gets a very thoughtful and serious look on her face and then jumps up, hands in the air a la Mary Lou Retton vault dismount, upon completion. Two nights in a row she used the little baby potty in the living room and for the first time ever, Leo used that one too (he always refused that one). Maybe Ellie will successfully potty train Leo, yet. I wonder when I should make the leap from diapers to training pants for Ellie.
-In Leo sleep news, Leo rules. Each night has been better and quieter. But Saturday night was just plain funny. After about an hour of silence from his room, I went to turn off his light (he tends to fall asleep with the light on). There was Leo, naked as the day he was born, sleeping in his familiar still-baby pose, tush in the air, legs tucked tightly underneath him. Nearby on the floor was a crumpled Pull-Up and pajama top and bottom. I was able to dress him without waking him, he actually snored through the redressing process. Oh how I wish I could sleep that soundly. He's still waking up too early for my taste but he's staying in his own bed during the night (so far at least) and for that I am happy. Just don't ask me what compelled the boy to try and sleep nudey on Saturday night.

Stream of Consciousness Check-In

Confession time. I'm a bit of a perfectionist blogger/writer (can't you tell from my usual stunning prose?). I normally write in a Word document, edit myself and then post. But lately I have been not posting at all and that troubles me, because I don't want to not post and so I am going to not really edit myself here (watch out) and just do a little check in to say we are alive. And to catch up a bit:

-Work has been crazy and busy and taxing and stressful.

-Adding to that stress is that Ellie is sick Again. I feel bad for her and I feel bad for me. I see why people have nannies/sitters at home. Not being able to go to work and having to stay home with her and miss work is feeling like a problem. This week was Not the week to miss a day. Big deadlines. Big stress. And I hate that I found myself mad at my own toddler for being sick. Ridiculous. And I find it ironic too that Leo was supposed to be Mr. Compromised Immune System and what has happened? Little Miss 46 Chromosomes has been the sickly one with never ending cold and mysterious viruses this fall/winter. Compared to her, Leo was a little healthy horse toddler. I won't even talk about the Exorcist style vomiting I was the lucky recipient of last night. Oops I just talked about it. The funniest part (if you can call vomiting funny) was that it happened at the kitchen table where Leo was eating his scrambled egg dinner. Ellie projectiled (sorry) and Leo just kept on eating his eggs as if nothing had happened. I guess when your four a little puke at the table is not such a big thing. He's probably seen it many times at school. At least I found some humor in the situation.

-Leo's sleep travails (and therefore ours) continue. He's still waking up between 5-6 a.m. every morning, but closer to the 5 side of it and sometimes a few minutes before 5 (which is r-e-a-l-l-y painful, even with buckets of coffee). I probably don't have to tell you how precious even ten more minutes of sleep is, but Leo is stubborn. Once he's up, he's up. There is no talking to him or convincing to just lay in our bed and watch some Noggin. To add to the travails, he's also waking up in the middle of the night and getting into bed with us. This is not OK but again with the risk of waking Ellie if we force him to stay in his bed (and cry) we've been putting up with it. At this point my feeling is we all just need to sleep-does it matter that much where it happens? Leo wakes up when Erin leaves at 5ish but he was doing that in his own bed too. Triple Ugh.

-It's cold here. Nine degrees last night said the car thermostat (wow!). I'm not going to complain about it because it's not that big of a deal. I mean it is January on the east coast so whatever. I do miss taking the kids outside and playing in the yard, taking walks. It's not going to last that long though. It does make me wonder how people can live in really cold places though. It's so limiting.

-Leo's in an obsessive phase. Ds? Or just annoying 4-year-old? He gets an idea in his head and will.not.drop.it. It's a little, ok A LOT maddening. The top request? Dora. Dora. Dora. It makes me want to throw that damn TV out the window. On the one hand, we need the 30 minute Dora watching here and there. It allows me a moment of peace, or the opportunity to do exciting things like unload the dishwasher, make dinner, tend to the laundry. On the other hand I don't know when he got so obsessed with watching TV. We don't let him watch that much but he just seems so focused on it. We'll be reading a book or doing Playdough and suddenly he will just think Dora, and start chanting Dora. I try to ignore it. I try to distract him. But it's hard.

-Most shocking event of the week? Ellie pooped on the potty! She is fascinated with the potty, she calls it "boppy." She crawls all over it, climbs on it and the other night when I was trying to get Leo to come into the bathroom to sit on the potty, Little Miss climbs up, sat down and did the business. I am not ready to be potty training two at once! I told the daycare people and they are going to start sitting her on the potty.

-I am trying to calm down and chill out about house duties. I just feel like we have so much clutter and everything is so disorganized and no matter what I do it's never organized enough. I feel like dumping half of our belongings in garbage bags bound for the Salvation Army. I guess it's an early spring cleaning thing. Or maybe it's just that the kids are walking mess makers. It doesn't hurt that I spend my days pouring over cleaning/organization stories at work.

OK, boring stream (hopefully not completely) stream over. So in short, we're alive. Puking. Whiney. Messy and disorganized. Cold. Trying not to watch so much Dora. But alive.

Out of Touch

I haven’t been writing much lately and I don’t know why. Actually I think I do know why. There just seems to be so much going on that I can’t find a single thread to boil down into a post. I know that shouldn’t stop me. I should just write lots of small entries. I don’t know, I just feel overwhelmed and when I feel that way I don’t write and then it just snowballs into silence.

So, a few updates.

-After a lot of hand wringing and analysis, we’ve decided to go ahead with the sedated ear procedure tomorrow. I sincerely appreciate all the comments in response to my question. I’m beyond nervous about it (think of us tomorrow at 6:45 a.m. EST if you’re up) but the pre-op nurse assured me it would be a quick procedure. It’s just been a while since we’ve had to do anything like this and it’s just, well, it’s always hard. Leo’s been having ear issues since he was tiny and he’s become downright traumatized when it comes to anyone touching his ears. As much as I am not a fan of general anesthesia it would be nice to not do anything to contribute to his terror of All Things Ear. Also, he squirms and carries on so much during ear exams that it’s not out of the question that some actual damage could be done. And, how great would it be if, while under anesthesia the doctor could really get in there and clean and get rid of the fluid and do whatever it takes to help our guy hear better? Come on, language!

-Leo’s parent-teacher conference was last Wednesday. It went well. He is meeting and exceeding all of his goals and he is on track to “graduate” to the next grade (primary) in the fall. He’ll go from being with three and four year olds to a class of kids that ranges from five to nine! That should be a pretty big change for him. We also discussed our goal (mine and Erin’s) of having Leo begin kindergarten at age six in district, most likely with a one-to-one aide. No one looked at me like I had three heads when I brought it up so hopefully it’s an actual possibility for the 2010-2011 school year.

Leo’s teacher described him as being like a “sponge,” that he loves to learn and that she has had to be quite creative with his goals because he is mastering them so quickly. So I can’t complain about that. I even wondered if maybe he might be getting a little bored in this class? But he’s not ready to move up yet (he actually can’t since he’s not five) so we’ll just hope that he can continue to get what he can out of this class and really master the skills he needs to move up. We also talked about Leo’s behavior (he is mostly very well behaved at school and has only recently started exhibiting some problems with transitions, throwing tantrums when he doesn’t want to do something) and we all agreed that it is directly related to his frustration with language. Since that continues to be his greatest delay, I asked for and got an additional private speech session. Who knows if throwing more therapy his way will help, but I’m pretty sure it won’t hurt. And it’s somehow satisfying to get additional services.

-I haven’t talked about potty training for a while because A) I know that it’s pretty boring to anyone but the parent doing the potty training and B) I didn’t want to jinx it. Let’s just say that Leo is consistently performing. He still does not tell us when he has to go but apparently that is a long way off. So for now the onus is on us to get off our butts and take him every two hours like we’re supposed to. Easier said than done! Never thought I’d say it but diapers are almost easier.

-The attacks against Ellie seem to have mellowed slightly. This may be in part because Ellie has developed a high pitched shriek that I liken to something you might see on a National Geographic special, when a smaller animal is at risk of being attacked by a larger one that smaller one might emit this decibel to frighten the attacker away. Mostly, Leo laughs when Ellie does this. But it also stops him directly in his tracks. Of course there was this morning when a sweet pat turned into a hug which then turned into a full on, push Ellie backwards so that she lands on her head. Oh well. Baby steps.

-This might be the most boring post ever, but I feel at least slightly up to date now.

There are Skittles in My Bathroom Vanity Drawer

Yesterday was Day #1 of Operation Potty Train Leo (or as his school calls it, "toilet train"). I guess Potty sounds too babyish to them? Whatever. I have never been a big fan of the word toilet. I'm going to call it potty.

And the aforementioned Skittles, which I have set aside as a potty bribe? No interest. Nada. Leo might be the only four-year old in existence who doesn't like candy. I mean seriously, he just doesn't care for it or show any interest at all (I know, can you believe I am whining about this?). I also made a poster with a place for stickers for when he performs on the potty. It's bright and colorful and lots of fun! Yeah. Also seems to hold no curiousity in that.

Right now it's just a struggle to get him on the potty. Books seems to help. I dug up an old book that I remembered we had: Too Big For Diapers, which deals with Ernie from Sesame Street and his experience with potty-er-toilet training. That made this morning's session a bit less torturous.

Right now the pattern seems to be, sit on the potty and then pee in pants about five minutes later.

It's also hard because the school's instructions are to take him to the potty/toilet the second you get home. Let me tell you about last night: me loaded down with backpack, two lunch boxes, my purse, a 24-pound Ellie, trying to get Leo into the house. Then deposit Ellie in crib for the five minutes that Leo will need to sit on the potty. He cries. She cries. And I am sweating to death because it's 90 degrees outside and the house has been closed up all day. And I really need to get dinner started.

I know what you're thinking. It's only been one day. We'll get there. I am just thinking about how long Leo's "stages" have taken (in other words, how long it has taken for him to master a skill). Six months. A year? Is that how long it will take? I mean, I'm fine with that (like I have a choice). I'm just you know, wondering. It's going to take a lot of patience and I am mustering it, I really am.

I also need to buy a LOT more underwear.

Plugging Along

The vacations are over. Fall is in the air. Well to be honest, it’s humid as all get out in New York City today and I am Over it. But I’ve checked out the ten day forecast and there is a cooling, dare I say fall trend in the air. Also, the mosquitoes ate the crap out of me over the weekend, which tells me that they are freaking out and trying to begin foraging for the fall, for the impending chill. So there is hope.

I love fall. I really do. In some ways it feels like New Year to me. New beginnings, opportunities, possibilities, chances to start over, make good changes. And the weather is so much nicer than it is in January.

A few goings on to note:

-Leo starts back to school (no more full-time daycare) tomorrow. The little yellow bus will start coming for him again. And we will take our annual First Day of School Stand By the Tree Out Front Photo.

-Ellie started in the Big Kid (aka toddler room) yesterday. I know I am silly but I was sort of emotional about it. I went to put her food away and forgot that she no longer has a little shelf in the cabinet. Her name tag was gone. Of course I know that she's ready for this. She’s not a baby anymore (newsflash!). Leo was a baby for so much longer it seemed (I guess because he didn’t walk until he was two). This whole Ellie-baby thing went by so so fast for me. She reportedly had a great first day as a Big(ger) Kid. She took a nap on a cot. She played on the playground where she drove a small car and enjoyed pushing the push toys around. That’s my girl. She was also out of her mind with exhaustion by the time I picked her up at 6:30. That’s what going down to one nap does to a little one who is used to two (they are going to let her take two today).

-Operation Potty Train Leo is starting up in force tomorrow. Wish us all luck.

I leave you with two photos from the weekend. Our babysitter/dog sitter/friend MaryAnn brought over new puppy, Angie. Leo was in love (pay no mind to the blue lip liner lips—he’d just had a rather messy Popsicle experience.)


And, the biker chick.

I hope everyone else’s Fall/Back to School transitions are going smoothly and happily.

Typos, Spills and an End to the Mystery of "What's Leo Singing?"

I found a few funny typos in re-reading my last post. I wrote dog “bowel” instead of dog bowl (what can I say, I have poop on my mind). But even spell check wouldn’t catch that one.

Speaking of that lovely subject, I missed the great “window” last night. After dinner I like to let Leo and Ellie play for a few minutes in the living room before starting the bedtime regime. It looks like that has to end, as that is Prime Potty Time. Makes me sad because this is really the only time of the day (except the hurried morning) during the week that I get to hang out with my kids. By the time I get them upstairs Ellis is whiney and I have to rush through Leo’s books because she is desperate to go to sleep.

This morning started out with a bang. I don’t know what possessed him to do so but Leo decided to reach for an open package (my fault, totally) of Capellini pasta from the pantry cupboard. You know where this is going. Capellini went everywhere. The look on Leo’s face was priceless when that pasta hit the floor. I made him help me clean it up. I thought about taking a picture (it would have made a good one) but I was in the middle of making breakfasts and lunches.

We finally played the CD that Leo’s school sent home last week. I don’t think I mentioned this but in the past few weeks we had noticed Leo singing some kind of song (we couldn’t understand the words) and doing some hand gestures/signing along with this song. I had a feeling it had something to do with the program that he performed in for the graduation. Well when I played the CD last night in the car on the way home from daycare I figured it out! It’s a song about the days of the week and Leo knows ALL the words (in sign language). His eyes lit up when he heard the music come on the stereo in the car and he proceeded to do the whole song for me. It was wonderful! Again, here he goes having this whole separate life away from me, learning songs and signs. I love it. One of the songs is hilarious, though it’s not supposed to be. It sounds straight out of the seventies and suspiciously like Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer from that old "Saturday Night Live" skit where they performed as the Culp Family (the singing middle school teachers). In fact, it’s stuck in my head as I type this: “Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you really really ready?”

In Ellie food news, she’s doing great “off” the jars. She loves soy chicken nuggets and soy meatballs, as well as soy bologna and cheese on her wheat pita. We’re not vegetarian (although I was raised one for a good while and I went on to be one for fourteen years-I’m still not a huge meat eater and don’t cook it much) but for some reason I don’t like the idea of giving meat to babies. Leo has had it but he’s not a huge fan. I think he would live on applesauce, waffles and scrambled eggs, if given the choice.

Wacky Weather, Potty Excitement and A Helpful Leo

I cannot get over the weather so far in New York City this summer. It seems like it has rained and/or thunderstormed nearly every day for a month. I just went to the bank and it was sunny, warm, dry and comfortable. Downright San Diego-esque. Thirty minutes later there was a black cloud settled over my building (I will try not to take this personally). The pounding rain ensued and now, poof-it is clear again. And now the sky is swimming pool blue. Weird! The upshot: I haven't hard to water the yard much this year. Yeah. But we won't talk about what this weather does to a frizzy haired girl's self-esteem.

A few things:

-Last night Leo pooped on the potty! This is huge. He has never so much as peed and last night, well, all I can say is Wow. I never wanted to to be the mom who talked in detail about scatalogical matters but I do want to mention this. I tried something new: I gave him a book. I don't know what made me think of this but it just came to me. We read a whole Dora bedtime book and by the end, well, we had success. His teacher recommended we put him on the potty at consistent times during the day. This is so hard to do when you have no bathroom on the main floor and an 11-month old who is going through a clingy phase (truthfully, I don't think she's exceptionally clingy, I think she is just 11-months old and at daycare all day. By the end of her day she wants her Mommy dammit!). But I can't whine about the inconveniences of potty training. I have to just do it. As I've said before, Leo's teacher thinks he's ready. I think I am worried about how long it is going to take. I worry about the logistics of it all.

-More Leo news: He has become suddenly helpful. I am not complaining. He loves to put the tray on Ellie's high chair (he pays no mind to her little arms and hands so I have to closely supervise this one). And here's a new one: This morning he rushed to my side as I refilled the dog's water bowl. He put his hands on the handle of the teapot I was using, so that he was helping to pour. When we were done he clapped for himself. He is also great about picking things up when I drop them (which is a lot, especially when I am holding a 23-pound pork chop, I mean, baby girl, in my arms). The second Ellie drops her cup Leo is at her side with the retrieved cup. He's also great about handing me a diaper/wipes/miscellaneous supplies. Sometimes it takes a few seconds/minutes for him to find what I am asking for, but when he does get it, is he ever proud. As am I.

He also enjoys helping me put clothes in the washer and dryer. But not as much as he loves pushing the buttons on the washer and dryer.

He's on a one-week break from school this week so he's attending the day care full-time. I know he has a good time there and it's a much more relaxed atmosphere but I'm looking forward to him getting back to his regular program and his therapies. I think at the daycare they let him do his own thing just a little too much. Not that there's anything wrong with that. In small doses.

Gulp.

Today when I dropped Leo off his teacher asked me if I had a few minutes to talk. Why do I have such a fear of authority? Is it some sort of guilt complex my mother instilled in me? At least I knew they couldn’t be kicking Leo out of school (that’s always my fear, that the daycare will say they can’t handle him. But he attends a private preschool that specializes an almost exclusive DS population. The daycare is for aftercare since his preschool ends at 3pm and I work until 6pm). Well it turns out, she thinks he’s ready for potty training! And she was thinking the upcoming spring break would be a great time to do it. Apparently there is a “window” and he’s at it. Great so since I am not a SAHM and I can’t just take a week off to potty train him, does that mean he won’t ever get potty trained? Of course I know the answer to that question, but it still brings up all sort of guilt and questions, like is it possible to have a special needs kid and to work full-time? I forgot to mention yesterday at the adult DS panel, all the young people talked about how their parents drove them to their respective jobs. I then thought about how it’s possible that Leo will need a babysitter well up until adulthood. How are we going to swing that? Anyway, the good news, he is “cognitively” (according to the teacher) ready to potty train. But how about mom? Is she ready? Do I have a choice?