Coming Around Again

Denise is... starting her blog again.
Denise is... now the mommy of 3 kiddos.
Denise is... sorry she let this blog thing fade away.

Goodness - this getting out of the Facebook status updates of Denise is... will be harder than I thought!

Most of my readers know a lot about our life from the 1 - 2 sentences bytes provided courtesy of FB. And for a long time, I was fine with that. But I missed blogging. So - we're back. I am uncertain as to the frequency of posts but anything more than every 9 months is an improvement. Last time I blogged, Josiah was not yet 2 years old and potty training.

Oh - The blog has a new name - it just felt right to update it. We are now "Party of Five." As promised, kind words here for the helpful person who suggested the new name: Robin. My dear sister-in-law is lovely, charming, very smart, a great mommy, an adoring wife and all around great gal. I love her very much!

This is it for now but to tempt you to come back, here is what you'll soon see.

* One of my children has a "lucky charm" of sorts. It's responsible for all sorts of things.
* Another of my dear children has fully embraced his 2-ness and all that it entails.
* More and more pictures of sweet, sweet Rachel.
Until then...

Denise is... done blogging for the night.

COMING SOON!!!!

I'll be back REAL soon!!! Stay tuned...

Second Time Around - Potty Training!

I don't think there is a mommy in the great US of A who has much good to say about potty training. It's often maddening, frustrating, messy and time-consuming. Okay, maybe a few moms are just excellent with perfect children but many a mommy has found this milestone especially challenging.

Jon David went #2 in the potty around 21 or so months. We almost called the local paper to report it - we were THAT excited and THAT proud (okay, probably more so I was the one going nutso). I guess it should not have surprised me the next day when Jon David wanted nothing to do with that potty. Confused and disappointed, we decided not to push it and see when he would be ready to try again.


Fast forward about a year and my big boy was finally ready. In fact, as of this week, he has started to wear undies to bed and we are officially done with training pants in the night (or day, for that matter). VICTORY!


So, here along comes Josiah who finds the "pot pot" very interesting. In fact, one night last week when Daddy was watching them, he heard the dreaded words come from Jon David. "That's right, Siah - that's poo poo!" With lightening speed, Daddy ran and found Josiah getting a hands-on (literally) lesson in #2 from his big brother who had just finished his "business" on the pot.


Sensing that he was maybe ready and curious as to how it would go, I started to mentally prepare myself for round two of potty training. My smart mom found an article and sent it to me which basically states that the ideal window for training is 18 - 24 months of age. Turns out the author was a child development specialist whose stuff I have recently read and really like, John Rosemond.


So, today was THE day. Armed with new Elmo underwear and a good attitude, we started our day. The mantra from Mr. Rosemond kept running through my head: approach this like teaching Josiah how to use utensils. Over and over, I kept saying, "it's just like using a spoon!"


My goal for today: to get Josiah used to the sensation of being wet and for him to not like it. He had 3 "accidents" (and no actual "eliminations" in the potty) and each time he came to me soon after and let me know he needed help. Interesting, he started to look for the big pot pot and skipped the Elmo one. Hey - that's just fine with me since I can flush the regular toilet and not have to clean it like I would the Elmo one.


Towards the end of the night, the toilet was like a new toy for him. He kept wanting to get back on it. While I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing, we succeeded in avoiding a power struggle and him telling me when he was wet/dirty. I think this is not bad for Day One.


Having him tell me that he has to go to the bathroom feels like a LONG ways away. But, today was manageable and I think we can continue with this. I figure that when we are home and he is not in bed, he can wear his Elmo undies. We'll see where this leads us.


Stay tuned...

Bend it like Jon David

Things were looking a little rough and I had my reservations about what to expect at yesterday's first soccer game for Jon David. His team, the feared Jellyfish, were to meet for a 30-minute practice and a 15-minute game. So, when Jon David woke up late from his nap and was more than slightly cranky, I did not see a great afternoon in our future. He then announced that he did not want to go to the soccer game. Big surprise. Ugh!

I really wanted to focus on Jon during this big event - it was a totally new experience for him. So, I lined up a good friend to watch Josiah. At the last minute, I found out that her whole family (including the dog) had a stomach virus. So, baby brother would be joining us. This could be REALLY interesting!

Once we arrived, things looked somewhat promising. Jon David greeted his teacher and allowed her to put his orange jersey on him. So far, so good. He somewhat participated with the 30 minutes of practice. You know, 30 minutes is kind of a long time so I'm not surprised that he got bored. Yeah, two pictures capture this perfectly. Yes, his face is really in the soccer net.

The team was on another field.

So, now it's time for the BIG game verses the pesky Goldfish. At this point, Jon lays on my lap (what's left of it) and announces, "I'm tired!" Oh boy - so this child may not actually play in the game today, I thought. But then, I reached into my mommy bag of tricks and pulled out "Bribery." Well, bribery might be a bit strong of a word - I provided a much needed incentive. I just sweetly whispered into his ear that there would be a big surprise if he actually played in a game. My goal was sometime within the 10 games of this season (2 a week), that at some point, he'd actually choose to participate. I had no idea what the surprise would be and quickly thought of something that would be a win/win for the whole family - dinner at Moe's followed by ice cream.





So, this was a HUGE success for my boy. Really, it was. He's not always excited about change and new experiences. He's often VERY fond of his own plans and not so much of any plans that are contrary to his. He's never shown a great interest in soccer and tends to prefer building elaborate train tracks. So, this was all new for him and he really did well. We go again Wednesday and take on the Clams!

Opening Day 2009

If you are in our little family and it's Opening Day for baseball - you are THERE - no ifs, ands or buts about it. This is Jon's 4th opening day and the 3rd at the DBAP. His first was actually in the BIG leagues with the Washington Nationals. Si has made 2 so far (unless you count the time while in my belly). Here is 2007 and 2008.

Daddy likes to get to the park early. There is a real buzz of excitement in the air. And the DBAP is such a nice ballpark. But, this year, I had another idea. I felt like we used all up the boys' good behavior before the first pitch by an early arrival. This year, we had about 2 minutes to spare before first pitch.

The plan worked because we made it through 3 innings - a family record! Seriously, there have been years where we are there for about 4 pitches. Josiah probably had a few more innings in him if the hot dogs and popcorn kept coming. Jon Jon - well, not so much. After the thrill of sharing cotton candy with Mommy subsided, he was d-o-n-e, done. Still, we consider the night both a victory for the winning Bulls and our family.

As you see in the video, Josiah deposited his shoe at the Will Call booth. I guess he figured Daddy did not have enough money for the tickets and maybe his new shoe would cover the costs. Thankfully, with a little hoofing it from Daddy, boy and shoe were reunited.

One thing is for sure - baby girl better get with the program. This is a SPORTS family! We'll get her a little Durham Bulls cheerleader outfit! Yahooo!

PLAY BALL!

(special shout out to my sister for this video!)

Boys will be boys

I don't have a little girl so I'm not sure if this phenomen is a boy-thing or if girls also find this incredibly amusing. Potty humor. Yes, the more fart sounds one can make, the better. The more words that can incorporate the word "poop", the better the world would be - according to my big boy (and now my nephew, Mason).

It's actually been a bit of a problem that has improved with the promise of a washcloth and some soap meeting the mouth of a certain three-year-old whom I happened to give birth to. I forgot about this other trick until my smart sister-in-law reminded me - Listerine strips are also handy and equally unpleasant. Next time I'm in the grocery check-out lane, those convenient strips will be coming home with me. Thankfully, I've not had to use the soap method but I'm sure the day will come.

But, today we went to visit Mason and his baby sister, Ella Kate. We celebrated her 2nd birthday and had a great time. I heard loud giggles coming from Mason's big boy room and had to see. This is what I came upon...

"Mommy, I miss you!"

JD told me that when he used to go out of town, his dogs would poop on his bed as a punishment to him. It was their way of saying, "Take that, Daddy!" Well, we had our own version of that upon my return from a girls weekend. Oye!

My sweet sister-in-law invited me to join her and some friends at the Outer Banks this past weekend for some R&R and SCRAPBOOKING! I completed 24 pages - which is quite a lot!

It didn't help that our week started with Jon David catching pink eye on Monday. I thought we were in the clear until Josiah turned up with it Thursday night. And it's not just the pink eye, it's the accompanying cold that makes for a long weekend. Daddy did a great job taking care of two little boys with colds who missed their mommy. When I called home to check on everyone, all sounded well until Saturday night.

"Mommy, I miss you!" cried my big boy on the phone to me Saturday night. Tug, tug on my heart. I was then determined to get on the road early Sunday and make it home for naps. I made excellent time and was there for lunch. My big boy greeted me with a somewhat lackluster greeting. That should have been the sign that we were in for a humdinger of an afternoon. So, suffice it to say, he made his feelings about my absence known quite clearly.

We're slowing getting back to normal and the bad behavior maybe getting a little better (with the MAJOR exception of our mall outing to get haircuts for the boys - that's another post... ugh!).