Pee - it's everywhere you want to be

Our girl is just shy of her third birthday. We've been potty training for just over three months now, at home and at daycare.  Most of that time, she's been in pull ups.  She was doing really well for awhile, especially with pooping in the potty, but for the last month, she's seemingly lost interest in the potty all together.  I understand that playtime is the most important thing in the world to her right now. Interrupting that for any reason whatsoever is just crazy....but so is walking around in soiled underpants, at least in my opinion. 

Hoping it may help, I've switched her to the kind of training pants we used as toddlers - the Gerber kind with the built in pad with a plastic cover over them. Today is day three and the accidents are multiplying.  In fact, they've tripled today alone.  I'm not mad.  One of those accidents did happen on the already nasty love seat, but it's also our main seating in the living room.  I sprayed it heavily with Lysol this evening to get rid of the smell. Shortly thereafter, I recalled Power dorm on LSU's campus several years ago (now where East Campus Apartments are).  Apparently, they smelled like piss and Lysol all the time! 

There are many reasons why it will be wonderful to have a potty trained kid.  We can finally buy nicer seating for the living room.  I won't have to carry a diaper bag anymore.  She can go to Montessori school.  Her dad and I will get a small pay raise because we won't have to buy diapers anymore (she still wears overnight diapers,  not pullups).

What do you do when you really need to put your love seat out for the trash (its also been puked on, pooped on, had milk spilled on it) but dont want to ruin your upholstered living room chairs that are still in good shape, or the floor pillows, or even the rug? Cover everything in plastic like in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"? Sigh...

Fashionistas

My daughter and I get lots of compliments on our outfits,  so I wanted to share my favorite places to shop.  Dressing a girl is fun, and from what I hear, way more fun than dressing a boy. 

I have been raised to love a sale. That also means that sometimes I get sucked into buying something just because it's on sale,  and I don't really need it. I've also found that having the store apps on my phone and getting the store emails about deals or sales makes me want to shop more.  Lately, I've been trying to get better about that. I have adjusted my email settings and deleted the apps, which seems to help.

Generally speaking, I like the style of Gap, Old Navy, and Gymboree/Crazy 8 for my girl. Tea Collection is nice every now and then, but unless it's on clearance, I think it's too expensive.  Gap is usually reasonable at 50% off and Old Navy sales can make shopping there dirt cheap. Target's Cat and Jack line is inexpensive and cute, as is their Cherokee brand.  My final brand pick for little miss is Oshkosh Genuine Kids. The themes and styles are trendy and affordable even without a sale.

As a working mom,  I tend to prefer LOFT for my clothes because it's professional looking and most of it is machine washable.  Gap is hit or miss for my taste, as is Old Navy.  Banana is nice, but usually too expensive. I was reminded this weekend why I do most of my clothes shopping online nowadays - the stores are so crowded, and staff is either too involved or too aloof. That's why I love shopping on ThredUp. You can return things for free if something doesn't fit, and things are priced to sell.  Plus, you can try everything on at home!  Zulily is fun, too, but they don't do returns and it can take forever to get your stuff sometimes.  Locally, Style Encore isn't bad, but you have to have time to dig.

That's pretty much where we do our shopping. I don't mind second hand and I love sales.  Dressing myself and my girl is just another creative outlet for me, especially since I don't have time to really sit and craft anymore.  Happy shopping,  everyone!

The Hood

If you are a Facebook friend reading this, you already know the loathing I have for my neighborhood and its inhabitants.

Nine years ago this November, I was a single girl looking to get out of my parents house and make my own way in the world.  Little did I know that the market was going to crash and never pick back up.

The size and layout was great for someone like me.  Although, it didn't look like much from the outside, it met all of the dream first home requirements: it's near the water, I can ride my bike lots of places instead of driving, there's a small backyard, it's technically on a hill since the land goes up near the causeway bridge, and on clear days I can hear the church bells ring.  

Since then, I've gotten two roommates - my husband and our daughter.  Her stuff takes up just as much space as my stuff.  The hubs doesn't get much of his own, and it's hard for anyone to get any privacy (not that she wants any anyway, but I do).  There's a page in her baby book that says to put a picture of the house you lived in when you were born.  Here's a bland wood siding condo that's just as old as your parents - ugly and no thanks!

Why don't we move?  Well, we'd LOVE TO, but we each own property and both are in the same situation - the market sucks.  The red tape and stalling with the Port Marigny project is working my nerves because that would greatly help property values go up where we live.  Just this evening she and I were playing out in the parking lot with sidewalk chalk and blowing bubbles, where she falls all the time and scrapes her hands or knees.  The backyard is grassy, but there are so many mosquitoes because of the drainage ditch, the woods at Pre-Stress, and two neighbors who probably breed Zica spreading mosquitoes between their trash and unused boats in the yard.

Saying I hate living here is an understatement.  If I could think of a way besides insurance fraud to get rid of this condo and move, I'd never look back.  Our child deserves a full bedroom to herself and a nice fenced in yard to play in that we can get treated for mosquitoes.  We deserve a full sized kitchen and a bigger bathroom to share, as well as a break from the mental stress that living in such tight quarters with no privacy causes.

Of course, we could still get crappy neighbors, be stressed about something else, and still be practically forced to be part of the HOA regardless of where we live.  But having a "sanctuary" to retreat to would be a big step up from what we have now.  So, if you wonder why we don't invite you in or over, it's because it's impossible to keep remotely tidy with a toddler and no space.

Bag o' Fun

You know those moments - when you think to yourself, "Ugh, I just sounded like my mom/dad/parents!".  Last night I was trying to catch up with a friend on the phone who I hadn't talked to in months.  LP had diarrhea diaper number three, was actin' a fool/being a toddler, and I was tired. Once I finally was able to call friend back and have a mostly uninterrupted conversation with her, all I wanted was a bottle of wine (yes, a bottle) and to go to bed.

The hubs and I took a much needed vacation last week to Ojai, California.  Google it if you haven't heard of it (you probably haven't) - it's quite lovely.  Sunny skies all day everyday, low humidity, relaxing by the pool, quiet, loads of sweet, juicy citrus everywhere, we rode bikes everyday and everywhere....anyway, since we've been back all I've wanted to do is read, relax, and ride my bike.

I have a cute felted bag from Barnes and Noble that is being used as a holder for my relaxation activities, like brush tip markers, fine-line color pens, coloring books, an embroidery kit, some magazines, etc.  This morning, with the school and library closings, I was excited to get up and have some me time.  I only got as far as the first paragraph of this blog, but I still have hope for the rest of the day.  Coloring should be doable with LP around, and hopefully she naps later so I can read.

Anyway, my bag o'fun gives me hope that one day, sometime, I'll be able to have a moment to myself to restore and relax and pretend I'm still on vacation.

MYOB

We seem to have moved on from, "when are you due?"/"are you pregnant?" to "when are you going to have another one?". My first answer to this is, "it's not your business", but since that's rude to say (insert eye roll for the irony) let me spell it out for you...we're not going to. 

Why is the house a trainwreck? Why can't we just go to the store for the reason we went to store? Why can't we go out to eat without having to step outside with a screaming child? Why can't we just be alone for a bit? Because we have a toddler. 

Good for you if you have the patience to have more than one - we don't. You have probably secured a place in heaven for yourself.

Maybe it's because we're both first borns, but having constant unfinished projects laying around drives us nuts. I admire the daycare workers and school teachers because I don't know how they do it all day every day. I tried it for five years; it wasn't for me.  I feel like a failure on weekends and my days off because I get so frustrated with our daughter and need multiple mental breaks. I tell myself I should be able to handle this better and I'm actually a chicken because I went back to work and couldn't handle being a stay at home mom.  She's a typical toddler and well behaved the majority of the time, too!

Did I ever think I'd just have one? Of course not. I thought I'd have two or three, really.  At the end of college, when I first started to believe I'd be single forever, I was going to adopt five different kids from different backgrounds to ensure they grew up with love and respect for other cultures and races. Those were my idealist days.

It's no secret that I've dealt with anxiety in the past, that I have kidney issues (yes, I have a tumor, but it's benign), and a cyst on one of my fallopian tubes, or that I'm two weeks away from my 38th birthday (not exactly bounding with energy anymore). It's also not widely advertised that LP wasn't planned, but if you can do math, you can figure it out.  We also have outgrown our home, and desperately need to move, but can't at the moment.

That being said, if we had another surprise we'd be happy.  We wouldn't trade our girl for anything in the world.  She is awesome beyond words, and she'd likely love being a big sister. But that's not our plan, and I would greatly appreciate it if you would stop asking.

Get it Together Already!

That's what I tell myself on a pretty regular basis.  LP is almost two and a half, yet I still can't seem to grasp the art of packing a diaper bag - whether it's having enough diapers in reserve, refilling the wipes, having snacks or a drink or even an empty drinking vessel for her to fill with tap water.

She hates having her face wiped, her hair brushed, and her nails cut, but she'll copy me on everything else right down to the hand gesture or tune I mindlessly hum while I'm choosing which salsa to buy at the grocery.

The last month has been awkward because she refuses to sleep in her own room in her own bed.  At least, for the most part, she doesn't sleep in our bed, but she wants to be in our room in her old bassinet that she hangs out of. She's also been clingy, and asks to be held quite often, like she's insecure.

Everything we read says she's testing her independence, which is obvious in play and the majority of awake time; however, it's completely opposite during night time when we're trying to get her to bed. She also had been a great sleeper from two months old until about a month ago (she's 28 months now).  To be fair, she did have an ear infection, but now we've let her strong will wear us down and we're all sleep deprived.

Talking with other parents has helped ease my mind a bit, although, when we're in the trenches at home - aka during a tantrum or meltdown - it's hard to remember that we're not alone in this tumultuous adventure called parenthood.  To adapt a phrase from Almond Joy and Mounds: sometimes it makes you feel like you're nuts, sometimes it's fun.

Mardi Gras Dreams

I love Mardi Gras.  When I was a kid growing up in New Orleans, we'd go down to Canal on Mardi Gras Day and the entire family would costume.  My grandparents would get a dozen purple, green, and gold iced donuts from Lawrence's Bakery for breakfast and we'd eat on the parade route or in the parking lot where we parked the car.  I went to Endymion for as long as I can remember, every year, even after we moved across the lake.  My dad would load up my high school girl friends and I and drive us uptown to catch it, which seemed so scandalous to those who had grown up on the northshore.

The only time I would want to live in New Orleans again is carnival season.  The traffic and parking issues would seem less of a deterrent, if they'd exist at all, and enjoying the parades on a beautiful day like today would possibly be easier since all the prep and travel time would be minimized.  When I lived uptown in my twenties, I could walk 2 blocks to Napoleon or 5 blocks to St. Charles.  It was lovely.  

I miss being in a parade, too.  That emotion snuck up on me this year, actually.  When we have more space and I can make the time, I'd like to get back into the bustier beading and sashaying around the French Quarter with a fantastic group of women.  I've even got the visual for my future costume in my head. 

We've only been to one parade with our daughter this year - Abita Springs Push-Mow - which was perfect for her first true parade.  She's been to the dog parade in Mandeville the last two years, but it doesn't quite have the same pace as an all human parade.  She enjoyed it, but tuckered out before it was over.  

my Mardi Gras tree

My Mardi Gras dream would be to participate in Flyday again, attend parades like Nyx and Muses with girl friends - that happened with Nyx this year and was great - and go as a family to Little Rascals, MidCity, Okeanos, and Thoth.  When she's bigger, we can go catch the beginning of Endymion on Orleans and maybe even Tucks beforehand.  This year, I'm typing from my bed at home, sad because my husband goes to work in two hours for the rest of the day, and my daughter and I will be looking for things to do before and after naptime.  Sigh...