This one is about food and friends, not poop

As much as I want it to be about poop, I will give you a one-post hiatus. Instead, I will talk about the adventure I had last night with co-workers.

I was invited to join my co-worker (Stacey), a former co-worker (Pam), and Steph, who is the art teacher at the middle school for a girls' weekend. Originally the plan was to eat dinner and drink margaritas in Minneapolis at a Mexican restaurant, Las Mujeres. We were going to spend the night in a hotel called Aloft. Then we were going to partake in early morning beautifying appointments at the Horst Salon and Aveda Esthetique (where Aveda stylists/aestheticians practice). Then we were going to have lunch and go home. Stacey found a great deal for the restaurant and hotel. The appointments wouldn't cost much since it's a beauty school (I was going to get highlights). I saved up some piano lesson money to use, which wasn't as much as I anticipated it being, so I was hoping I could get by without doing something. However, I didn't have to do that because it dwindled to substituting the Aveda Institute for Starbucks. Then it turned into no overnight; just dinner. All of this stemmed from Walker's Bill proposal. It was all fine by me because I had $42 in my pocket and dinner would be perfect for my budget. I'd even have some money left over.

On Friday, we met at Steph's house then made our way to Lake St. where Las Mujeres is. On my trusty place map, it looked like it was in/near Uptown. However, it was a mile from Uptown and in a sketchy neighborhood, so after convincing Stacey that her $3 coupon for $35 worth of food was NOT worth it, we went to Chino Latino instead.

If you've never been to Chino Latino, you should go. Expect to spend time there, and expect to share food. It's a family-style place. It was my second time there, the first time being Jess' bachelorette party.

We ordered drinks--margaritas for them, a delicious Honolulu Hummer ("banana-spiked rums blended with vanilla ice cream and served in a fresh young coconut") for me.

We ate fish tacos (I'm not a fish fan, but I hear they were good) and Belafonte's Banana Boat Chicken, which was "crunchy plantain-crusted chicken breast with a sweet-tart passionfruit sauce and sautéed peppers and onions." It was so good.

Then, of course, we also had dessert: a chocolate volcano cup ("molten dark chocolate cake erupting with kahlua whipped cream") and fried coconut ice cream.

Grand total: $137.00 for 4 people. YIKES. Yes--also expect to pay a lot. We decided that $42 was a perfect amount for each of us to pay. Perfect! :D

I was also able to come home and sleep in my bed with my cozy husband instead of a hotel bed with another woman whom I dare say would let me put my cold feet on her feet like Kevin does.

Potty Training Diaries: Day 4 (at daycare)

In short, Colin had an *okay* PTing day.
He had 2 poop accidents this morning and 1 this evening. But he also peed on the potty throughout the day, so all was not lost.

Sandy is in it for the long (hopefully not too long!) haul, I think.

I'm sorry I'm talking about poop so much. I promise I won't give any more daily updates and blog about more interesting things aside from feces.

The Potty Training Diaries: Day 3

This morning I woke up to call that school was 2 hrs late. About 2.5 hrs later, I got another call saying it was canceled! Great opportunity to get potty training day 3 under our belt!

The 3 Day Potty Training Method says that if it hasn't clicked on Day 1 or 2, it will most likely click on Day 3. So I was so happy to have school canceled today.

Colin woke up at 6:00 with a wet diaper. We watched a little bit of Curious George and then changed into underwear. He had two accidents this morning--one poop that occurred, of course, when I was out of the room getting ready for work (before the cancel call). I guess I didn't learn anything yesterday. The second happened while Colin was playing with water in a bowl. I filled up a bucket with some fresh snow too. He scooped all of the snow out of the bucket and into the bowl, then put the bucket on his head and I took a picture. He was more than likely peeing as this picture was taken because I had JUST checked his underwear and they were dry.
He napped same as usual and woke up dry again! When he woke up from his nap, he sat on the potty but nothing happened.

So I waited...and waited...and waited for him to say he had to go. We went outside to play for a good half hour, and his underwear were still dry when we came in! I was thinking...great! He's learning how to hold it now, and any minute now he'll let me know he has to go. Well, he didn't let me know and had an accident. I kind of felt a little defeated at that point, but told myself that 5 accidents in 3 days isn't bad at all. And accidents are all part of the process, so it's no biggie.

Tomorrow we *should* have school, so Colin is off to Sandy's. Hopefully having someone else pestering him about going to the potty will help out a little. And maybe he'll realize I'm serious, because I'm not sending diapers tomorrow.

The Potty Training Diaries: Day 2

Once again, Colin woke up with a soggy wet diaper. He didn't want to sit on the potty AT ALL this morning, but he did anyway and didn't go.

The morning went smoothly. He even told Kevin he had to poop and then he went on the potty. Right after lunch, I asked him if he had to go potty and he said no, but a minute later, I caught him peeing by the TV. His face was all taken aback and he didn't know what to do.

He napped same as yesterday--underwear only and I used a sheet saver. He woke up dry again, and peed on the potty when he woke up.

This afternoon he only had one accident, where he slipped out of sight for a minute while I was talking to Kevin. He had a guilty face when I saw him, so I whisked him away to the bathroom and pulled down his underwear. A poop fell on the floor and I didn't know it, and I stepped in it. That was real fun. But the rest of the day was great!

So...2 days in and 2 "real" accidents. Both happened when he was out of sight. Note to self: Don't let him out of sight.

Despite it being President's Day tomorrow, we have school. I'm kind of hoping the snow/blizzard we're getting leads to a snow day so we can continue the training tomorrow. I'm nervous to send him to daycare tomorrow, even though Sandy is ready for him.

The Potty Training Diaries: Preface/Day 1

PREFACE: Colin went pee on the potty at daycare on Wednesday and Thursday. I decided to run with it and potty train cold turkey style this weekend.

DAY 1
Colin woke up this morning at 5:30 and snuggled in bed with us until 7:00 (glorious!). As soon as he woke up, we went straight to the bathroom and took his (soaking wet) diaper off. He sat on the potty but didn't go. I put some underwear on him and away we went for the day!

I had a hair cut appointment this morning and Kevin was gone all day, but Kevin's mom came over for the half hour I was gone. After I got back, Colin and I collected all of the cloth diapers and put them in a garbage bag and put the bag out in the garage. We said good bye to the "baby diapers."

All day long I kept asking him if he had to go potty. Most of the times he said no, but when he said yes, we went. I also told him to tell me if he had to go, and one time he said "potty," so we went and he peed (awesome).

There was only one accident this morning, which happened while I was making some blue box Macaroni and Cheese. I yelled "NO!" to him because he was about an inch away from touching the hot burner on the stove and then he started crying because I scared (the piss out of) him. Then he started peeing. As soon as I saw, I scooped him up, put him on the potty, and he went more on there. And after earning some M&Ms, he forgot about the whole thing.

While he was eating lunch, I asked him if he had to go potty, and he said yes, so we went to the bathroom. He peed, sat for awhile longer listening to snowmobiles and airplanes that were outside, and wouldn't you know it, he pooped!

For naptime, I put one of the sheet savers we used long ago to protect the sheets from spit up in his crib and made sure he was laying on it. Of course, we also have a mattress protector, but one more waterproof barrier won't hurt. I made sure he went potty one last time before he took a nap. He woke up after a half hour calling my name, so I went in there and asked if he had to go potty. He said yes, so I put him on the potty. He forced himself to go. Then I rocked him for a minute to get him sleepy again and put him back down. He slept for another hour and a half (I had to wake him up) and woke up dry!

The afternoon was good too. He even said "poop," so we went to the potty and sure enough, he pooped! Later in the evening, I asked him if he had to go (he said no) and to tell me if he needed to go. 30 seconds later, he said he had to go so we went.

For night time, we're going to continue using our overnight disposables. We just bought a new box a few weeks ago and we're just getting into a sleep-through-the-night routine again. After working hard all day to stay dry, Colin deserves the chance to just relax. Hopefully with a little bit of time he'll catch on and start staying dry at night too.

Day 1: A success! I'm not counting the accident he had since I scared him into peeing.

My wordy thoughts on this whole Wisconsin Anti-Union Bill thing.

Take a bathroom break, get a glass of water, and possibly a meal before you start reading.

First and foremost, I hate politics. I just want everyone to get along. While that is not realistic, it's how I am. And politics is the epitome of not getting along. Two sides that were created to disagree with each other. Happy mediums made.

As you are probably aware to some extent, Scott Walker, the Governor of Wisconsin, wants to pass a bill that would help the state get out of its $3.6 billion debt. The bill includes making public employees (teachers, highway workers, correctional officers, UW system employees, etc.) pay 5% of their income toward retirement (as opposed to their employer paying all of it) and pay 12% towards their health insurance. These figures are in-line with other jobs. The bill also would do away with collective bargaining (unions). It's a big deal when you're in the midst. If passed, the bill will take effect on April 1st. The bill was supposed to be voted on today, but none of the Democrats showed up to vote. They're hiding somewhere. At school I'm bombarded with varying degrees of liberalness (I probably made that word up), and at home I get one degree of very-conservativeness. So here I am in the middle with arms being pulled in two separate directions. Join my co-workers in protest (especially over the loss of collective bargaining) or listen to my husband's "there's nothing you can do about it/it won't be as bad as you're hearing/etc." ???

Here are my random thoughts. You are entitled to your own thoughts and I'll still love you just the same.

1. Teachers have a sense of entitlement. I can't speak for every school district or employee. But...personally, in my school district, I get paid pretty well for only working 10 months out of the year (because honestly, I'm 95% checked out of work at the end of June, all of July, and the first half of August). We get a raise every year, guaranteed. Plus the school district puts in money for our retirement and we have good health insurance. These benefits are privileges, not rights. I went into teaching because of the JOB (and, I admit, the summers off. I'm not one that likes to be cooped up inside when it's nice outside), not because of the benefits. It just so happens the benefits that go along with the job are pretty darn good.

2. It wouldn't suck so bad if we didn't have all this debt! The money that will be "taken out" of my check will still be going towards stuff for ME. It's not like it won't be mine anymore. And Kevin says school districts may even allow you to keep the 5% in your check as opposed to putting it towards retirement.

3. Many districts have held "sick-outs" in which enough teachers call in sick that there aren't enough substitutes to cover and school is canceled. Our union encouraged us ("without encouraging us") to call in sick tomorrow. I will not call in sick, therefore, unless it's canceled, I will be at school. It's not the kids' fault that adults can't come to an agreement. They don't understand nor do they care. They just want to go to school and learn and be with their friends.

4. All week long we were told to wear red to show that we wanted to "stop" the bill. I wore red on Monday because it was Valentine's Day and made it a point to wear any color besides red the rest of the days.

5. All week long I heard talk of the bill and was told "You have to do this!" "You have to email your senator/representative!" (I did email my representative in support of his decision and got a great response back from him!) "Go to Madison!" "Go to the rally!" "Why aren't you going to the rally?" (Uh...because I have a husband and a little boy at home who I'd rather spend time with, thankyouverymuch) "Wear this sticker that says NO! on it" (I threw it away). One of my co-workers was told to forward some political email to her husband. She didn't want to, but my co-worker friend who is all involved in this practically MADE her do it, and WATCHED her until she pushed send. This co-worker and I just found out today that we're in the same boat politically. And if we were to stand up and say something that was against what the majority of the people at school would say, we'd be practically burned at the stake. At the very least, people would talk behind our backs as if we had 2 heads. I know this because another co-worker who fought in Iraq made it known that he supports the bill and now people are talking.

6. When the bill passes, unions can re-form under their own terms. A school district needs 97% involvement from their teachers in order to form a union. 3% of our staff population is about 4-5 people. If I decide not to join, people will know, and if I'm one of 4, people will be MAD. Do you know how much money I put towards the union that could be paying off our debt? Too much.

7. Something's gotta give. If Walker didn't choose this bill, he'd have to cut 6,000 jobs. I'd rather have to pay for some of my own retirement and health insurance than not have a job at all.

8. We get so angry about paying welfare. Well...isn't the health insurance/retirement benefits we get kind of like welfare? The taxpayers are paying for it.

9. For people who work in such selfless jobs, some are just being plain old selfish.

10. I just want to teach instead of dealing with all of this crap. I felt sick to my stomach all day being around it. Or maybe it was because I've been eating a whole lot of Valentine candy and a cupcake.

All of these thoughts being said, I'm still scared poopless about what the future holds.
My #1 fear is being in debt FOREVER when we were just getting rolling.
My #2 fear is not being able to afford FB2 (future baby #2).
My #3 fears are job-related: prep time, maternity leave, work hours, what will happen to my banked sick and personal days etc. etc.
My #4 fear is what if working conditions suck donkey and I hate teaching in general? Then what will I do to earn money? Although, I never pictured myself retiring as a teacher, so...

I also know that things always have a way of working out, and somehow we'll make it through. Sometimes HUGE change creates the BEST surprises. I stole this from Leah...(credit) with the utmost amount of hope and trust and optimism.
Brownie sundae if you made it this far. Thanks for listening. Come again!

Picture Ketchup ;)

Over the last few weeks, we've done some fun things and celebrated another birthday.

A few Saturdays ago, Kevin suggested we go to the MN Children's Museum. I'm all for an outing any day, so of course I said YES to it. There aren't many times when Kevin wants to trek it to a busy public place! We chose to go on a Sunday as soon as they opened at 9, hoping to avoid the post-church crowd. It worked! Colin got to explore the museum to his heart's content. He even got a long turn driving the bus.
My son as a masterpieceAnd playing in the water learning about hydraulics and whatnot:
The museum was running a special where the year long membership was $10 off, so we partook in the deal knowing we'd go enough to make it worth it. We were planning on getting a membership for Colin's birthday anyway. We left the museum at 11:00 just as it was getting busy.

It was wacky hair day at daycare. Speaking of masterpieces, check out this sweet faux-hawk!
80's style side view:In case you're wondering how I accomplished that feat, all I did was wash and condition his hair on Sunday night and put it up in the faux hawk and let it dry like that. The next morning it was still sticking up (although the back flattened out, obviously). I was pretty proud.

Last weekend, on Saturday, it was Rocket's 4th birthday. Hard to believe that our little pooch is off to preschool next year ;) We celebrated as we always do. Frosty Paws ice cream...
...and party hats
We've been making an effort to go to church more regularly. Colin has gotten a few compliments about how well-behaved he is at church. We've learned that we have to sit so we're surrounded by people so he has a lot to look at. If we sit in the back, he sees wide open spaces and doesn't want to sit with us. Today wasn't as great as previous Sundays, but he still did okay.

Also, want to know something that borders on miraculous? My former piano student's dad owed me $220 for lessons that went back to a year ago. I FINALLY got a check from him yesterday and it went straight to one of our debts. We'll be able to pay that one off this month (!!) and move on to paying off our Explorer. Hopefully we'll get a good amount of tax money back and be able to make a big payment on it. I really hope we can pay it off before summer. Then my summer school money will more than double our monthly payment to Family Means, which will be amazing.

The rest of the day will consist of finishing up nap time and then playing outside! It's 44* right now and the icicles hanging off the roof are dripping and disappearing :D

Um, excuse me!?!

Why hasn't anybody ever told me that I misspelled "beautiful" up on my banner? I am usually pretty conscious of spelling mistakes but this one has gone by the wayside for what? A year?!?! I just noticed it as I was re-designing my banner. I am so embarrassed.

It has taken forever for me to be motivated to get rid of the Christmas background. This time I opted for one that may have staying power. And I made a new banner. And I changed up the font and the colors. Liven it up in here a little bit. If you find the font annoying, please let me know by commenting so I can change it. I don't want to be the annoying font blog girl.

(pictures in banner taken by the talented Leah, of course)

"'Mout"

We don't really do a whole lot of time outs. There have been times when he has been throwing a tantrum or whatever and we sit him on the couch and say "time out," but I'd say the total number of times we've done that is about five. It gives him a chance to cool off and then tell us what he wants rather than have a tantrum.

Well, Colin's newest thing is giving himself a Time Out, or what he calls "Mout."

Sometimes when I'm wrestling him to change his diaper, I tell him he needs to lay still or he will get a time out. He looks at me, says "Mout" and sits in the glider chair for a few minutes. Sometimes he'll play a game where he gets out of his chair and then runs back to it, but *usually* after he sits there for a few minutes, he'll get out and be ready to get the diaper on again.

On Thursday when I picked him up from Sandy's, he didn't want to get his coat and boots on and just straight out told me "Mout." So he sat on her little bench while I talked to Sandy with my back towards him. Within a few minutes, he was ready to be cooperative and get ready.

I can only hope that as we approach the two-year mark that he'll give himself Time Outs. However, I do believe it's his little experiment at this point.

Today's Wish List

1. Margarita (Chi Chi's tequila rose version)
2. Massage
3. Tropical vacation for about 2 weeks (heck, I'd take tonight through Sunday!)
4. All the right answers

Numbers 1-3 combined in one so I can clear my head and get to number 4. Why?

I've said before I have the sweetest, albeit s p a c i e s t class this year. It's true. But now there's a wrench in it. Without going into too many details, it all revolves around one particular student (it's always just 1, isn't it?), named G. His home life is not ideal...parents together/not together/move out/move back in/etc. Currently, his mom moved out and he's separated from his twin sister. There's SO more to it than that, but you get the jist.

Which means.... he misses his sister. And when she wasn't at school today, he was not well-behaved.

Laundry list:
1. Didn't do ANY academic work. Instead he...
2. Drew a picture for his sister (perfectly okay option in my book) that said "I love you K-"
3. Ran away from me and other adults
4. Kicked another teacher
5. Talked and talked and talked trying to get attention from the class (they're so good at ignoring him, bless them)
6. Bullied other kids
7. etc.

And then there's my super sweet student C. I love that kid. And he's sensitive, and when G pushed him, he cried. Which only makes things worse you know. G knows he can get to C now. So I had a talk with C about not crying in front of G and instead to show him that he's tough by not responding to him.

These behaviors were very rare up until mom moved out. Now it's every day.

You want to love on him. He needs so much love right now, but he doesn't even respond to hugs, praise, or other good things. When you give him those things, that's when he starts the undesirable behaviors. He doesn't know what to do when someone is kind to him. Isn't that sad?

If only I could be whisked away to a tropical isle so I could relax on the beach in my bikini soaking up the sun's warm rays with my little family and a margarita in my hand.