Last week I attended a “Potty Training Basics” seminar hosted by Bump Club Chicago. It was a solid class - they covered the important facts, told us what not to do and gave helpful pointers when hitting a rough spot in the process.
Little B just turned 19 months and I want to get rid of diapers before the end of the summer. I know it may seem a little aggressive, especially for a boy, but the instructor told us that the closer they get to age two, the more they associate diapers with “elimination” (yes, that is the terminology) and the more difficult it becomes. That was all I needed to hear to get motivated for what may be the toughest part of parenting yet…
We are taking the slow and steady approach which includes setting aside a window of time (for us, right before his evening bath) to allow him to run around naked. When I see him getting ready to go, I rush him to the potty so he gets the idea. We bought an Elmo book about the potty, put his stuffed animals on to show him how they go and even bought him a “Cars” themed one, hoping it would excite him…um, not exactly.
He likes to close the lid and sit on top. Or “flush” to hear the car exhaust noise. But no, there has been no substance to hit the potty this week (sorry, TMI). He has, however, gone both #1 and #2 on my parents’ living room rug, which provided quite a bit of entertainment, but not so fun to clean up (again, gross, apologies).
We’ll continue this course at home for a few more weeks. Fingers crossed it sinks in. If not, we move onto the “boot camp” approach where we don’t leave home for a few days so that there is quite a bit of “practice.” God help me…
Filed under parenting potty training toddlers Bump Club Chicago
Summer anyone? Cut offs, a slouchy tee, studded sandals and a Celine bag. I’m on board!
(Source: what-do-i-wear, via jaclynpaige)
Hump Day Happiness: lots of fun in the Arizona sun with my little man! Pool time, splash pads and wagon rides…someone is not going to want to go home!
Filed under sun vacation toddlers
Recent parenting victories and failures…
Little B absolutely loves his new art class, so I thought we would do an at home art project with paint today to practice…except that he used his belly as the canvas more than the paper…(Regardless of the mess, I claim this as a victory! Points for creativity!)
Although, we did have an incident in art class last week when he accidentally glued his right eye shut for a few minutes, lashes and all (big fail)
Another new favorite activity is dancing. He heard “Gangnam Style” and went crazy (victory!)
On the other hand, a not so fun activity that he has picked up is shoving objects up his nose (stickers, crackers, whatever). I had to retrieve a Wheat Thin the other day…(ugh, fail)
But he has been asking for double cucumbers at dinner! Vegetable win!
We’ve been learning how to count. He’s definitely got “one” down, but makes up another word for both two and three that I can’t quite make out just yet. We’ll get there…(patience, mom)
His favorite phrase lately is “get out of the way!” No really. When we’re cruising down Damen, Milwaukee, the Edens, the Ike, doesn’t matter. He’s yelling it at people, cars, dogs, cats, you name it. He even has a hand motion where he swats everyone away. Aggressive? Maybe, but I’ll consider it a victory until he offends someone…
Filed under toddlers parenting
When we started seriously considering building a home, so many people advised me not to and steered me in the opposite direction.
“Don’t do it! I know of too many people divorcing after building a home together.” I heard (amongst other things)…
Hmm…interesting feedback. I guess if you weren’t secure in your marriage or didn’t know how to compromise, this home building things would be a horrific process and detrimental to a family.
What’s funny is that I wasn’t the one that wanted to build a home. I actually wanted to buy an existing home and tweak it to our liking. My husband is different. He likes everything new. He likes tailoring things. He is all about projects (he is a consultant after all…and a good one).
He was trying to appease me and look at established homes, but I could tell his heart wasn’t in it. Then a lot became available in a great school district, not to far from the quaint downtown of the burb we will soon call home. We drove past it numerous times. We watched the neighbors (creepy, I know) and evaluated who had swing sets and kids close to Little B’s age. We got plans from our builder, analyzed for hours and finally decided to go for it.
It’s only the beginning, of course, but thus far, we’ve made some major decisions and some minor decisions…some with minimal disagreement and some with discussions lasting weeks. I got the uber fancy refrigerator that I was dying for and he gets to finish the basement. Like I said, minor details in the grand scheme of things, but we’re on the right path and haven’t killed each other yet. Now, if we could only get a certain gas company to go and pick up their meter so that the bulldozing can begin, we’d be in business.
Stay tuned, my friends…
Filed under building a home suburbs
It has been a week…
Between the Boston tragedy, feeling like garbage, snow in late April and an overscheduled/traveling husband, this past week seemed to drag on. To remedy a less than stellar few days, Mr. B and I had a fun date night last night. Just the two of us, having a real meal that I didn’t have to make or pick up at Whole Foods. I even wore (these delicious) heels for the first time in weeks. A perfect weekend pick me up.
Today was just as nice; an early morning class with Little B, sunshine, booked flights to Arizona next week (!!!!) and now a family dinner just the three of us (where dessert will most definitely be involved). I have a feeling next week is going to be a good one…
Hope you had a great weekend!
Filed under weekend Spring shoes heels Saint Laurent Paris
This week…
Really into:
- Little Market Brasserie (skip out on the ceviche, but definitely go for the scallops and the deviled eggs - delicious!)
- Rose and blush-colored denim
- Some super fun baby play dates: one with our favorite “Canadians” (baking cookies and playing ping pong) and another with a certain right wing Blackhawks player’s daughter (she’s tough - must be hereditary)
- These amazing metal trunk tables for our future family room. Slightly rounded edges = good for kids, right?
Not so into:
- Being on a waiting list for our first choice pre-school (in the burbs, mind you). Let the games begin!
- Waking up everyday to rain…need sun (and motivation) ASAP (a last minute trip to AZ may be necessary)
Filed under weekly opinion colored denim Little Market Brasserie Restoration Hardware home decor
Spring wardrobe update: tees
While t-shirts may be the unofficial top for the SAHM (seen weekdays and weekends…everywhere), it certainly doesn’t mean that they need to appear sloppy and unkempt. I hesitated wearing them when I decided to stay home because I felt like they were a slippery slope to wearing pajamas all day, but it couldn’t be farther from the truth! As it turns out, they are both functional (for trips to the park and making messy lunches) and fashionable (to throw on for a last minute lunch at Fred’s).
Check out the latest tees of the season (some of my favorites shown here) boasting fun colors and patterns. Perfect with a pair of fitted jeans, relaxed shorts or a bold skirt. Keeping the peanut butter and jelly off of them in public is another story…
[images via Net-a-Porter, Piperlime and J Crew]
Filed under fashion t-shirts Equipment Mary Katrantzou J Crew Moschino Cheap and Chic SAHM
