First some updates...
Potty-training:
It seems the freezer incident foreshadowed a breakthrough for Charles. We tried him diaper free at camping and there was progress! The attractive young ladies suntanning on the beach may have disagreed though when C calmly dropped his pants and peed on the sand right in front of their towels. I expect most people would classify that as a potty training fail but I'll take what I can get.
The bad news is that Becca regressed all the way and is now back in diapers full-time. And also she still really, REALLY misses her piglet pants.
If you ever come across the matching pants for this shirt (like at a garage sale or whatever) I will pay ANY amount of money for them.
Potty-mouth:
Potty-training:
It seems the freezer incident foreshadowed a breakthrough for Charles. We tried him diaper free at camping and there was progress! The attractive young ladies suntanning on the beach may have disagreed though when C calmly dropped his pants and peed on the sand right in front of their towels. I expect most people would classify that as a potty training fail but I'll take what I can get.
The bad news is that Becca regressed all the way and is now back in diapers full-time. And also she still really, REALLY misses her piglet pants.
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| Still the biggest parenting fail of the year. |
Potty-mouth:
It’s been 3 weeks without an F-bomb. I claim parenting success!!
For this one, I would probably get a parenting fail because clearly that movie wasn't at all suitable for toddlers. I know that. I admit it. I'm just sooo tired of watching Wonder Pets.
The terror index:
On Monday, the TV was playing in the background when Jurassic Park III came on. I jumped to turn it off explaining that it was too scary. “No mama! PLEASE!!!! We wanna see the dinosaurs.” They proceeded to watch the entire film, laughing uproariously throughout and rewinding the spinosaurus and raptor attacks over and over again. You just can’t predict what small children will be scared of. T-Rex stepping on a guy’s back and biting his head off is the funniest thing they have ever seen. But Hindi Baa Baa Black Sheep sends them running for cover.
On Monday, the TV was playing in the background when Jurassic Park III came on. I jumped to turn it off explaining that it was too scary. “No mama! PLEASE!!!! We wanna see the dinosaurs.” They proceeded to watch the entire film, laughing uproariously throughout and rewinding the spinosaurus and raptor attacks over and over again. You just can’t predict what small children will be scared of. T-Rex stepping on a guy’s back and biting his head off is the funniest thing they have ever seen. But Hindi Baa Baa Black Sheep sends them running for cover.
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| Look at those teeth! How were they not afraid of that?! |
Now some new stuff:
I consider it "taking a break" whenever I get to go somewhere with only one toddler. When separated from their partner-in-crime, the twins are unusually subdued and almost compliant. This is why I agreed to take Charles with me to the campground shower house this past weekend while Becca stayed with daddy. And he was great. Waited patiently in line for 40 minutes and then sat quietly while I took a blissful 2 ½ minute shower (yes, that's how low my standards for bliss have fallen). He did start to get restless while I was drying my hair though. It was hot and crowded and loud from all the blow dryers. He asked if he could wait for me on the bench outside.
Me: “No, you have to stay with me. There’s a parking lot out there and the cars drive really fast. It’s too dangerous ” [seems I say those words a lot]
Charles: “But I will stay on the sidewalk….or on the grass. And I won’t go into the forest. And I won’t leave with anyone but you. And if someone tries to take me, I’ll scream really loud and run back here.”
I opened my mouth and then closed it again. He had already anticipated and countered all of my arguments. (Note to self: start saving money for law school.) So I let him wait alone outside for me (although I did sneak occasional peeks out the door to check up on him). He was so proud of himself and talked about it the whole way back to our campsite.
I was in the middle of writing this post yesterday when I first heard about the heart-wrenching story of little Kienan Hebert -- the 3-year old boy who police believe has been abducted, possibly right out of his own bedroom. It's every parent's nightmare and it makes me want to hold the twins very tight and never let either of them out of my sight again.
Recently, I've been reading the Free-range parenting blog and I do agree with the idea in principal that sheltering our kids too much might actually impair their development. And I understand the statistics too. Stranger abductions ARE very rare. So much so that each incident makes headline news right across North America. I know that my kids are FAR more likely to be injured or killed in a car accident, or from drowning, or in the playground etc. But in practice it's not that easy. I can't imagine anything worse than what Kienan's parents are going through right now. It makes me sick to think about it. I don't know if I ever will feel truly comfortable letting the twins walk to school by themselves or ride their bikes alone to the playground like I did when I was a kid. Or if I would let Charles wait by himself on that bench again.
Tonight I'm praying that little Kienan is found safe.
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(9/11/11) Edited to add:
I was crying big sloppy tears this morning when the news broke that Kienan was returned safe by his abductor. What a miracle! Just imagine the joy his dad felt to open that door and see his little boy on the couch holding his blankie. The world seems like a much brighter place today :-)
I was in the middle of writing this post yesterday when I first heard about the heart-wrenching story of little Kienan Hebert -- the 3-year old boy who police believe has been abducted, possibly right out of his own bedroom. It's every parent's nightmare and it makes me want to hold the twins very tight and never let either of them out of my sight again.
Recently, I've been reading the Free-range parenting blog and I do agree with the idea in principal that sheltering our kids too much might actually impair their development. And I understand the statistics too. Stranger abductions ARE very rare. So much so that each incident makes headline news right across North America. I know that my kids are FAR more likely to be injured or killed in a car accident, or from drowning, or in the playground etc. But in practice it's not that easy. I can't imagine anything worse than what Kienan's parents are going through right now. It makes me sick to think about it. I don't know if I ever will feel truly comfortable letting the twins walk to school by themselves or ride their bikes alone to the playground like I did when I was a kid. Or if I would let Charles wait by himself on that bench again.
Tonight I'm praying that little Kienan is found safe.
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(9/11/11) Edited to add:
I was crying big sloppy tears this morning when the news broke that Kienan was returned safe by his abductor. What a miracle! Just imagine the joy his dad felt to open that door and see his little boy on the couch holding his blankie. The world seems like a much brighter place today :-)
I am feeling the exact same way. Thinking about what I read in the news paper makes me feel queasy, worse is trying not to put myself in those parents foot steps. I can't imagine, it is just too horrible.
ReplyDeleteI was mowing our front lawn yesterday and Jude walked around the corner of the fence and I nearly lost it on him. How do you explain to a child why "he can't leave my sight" even in our front yard.
Too scary.