Meet Charlotte

This is Charlotte. Charlotte found us on Thursday morning while Elliott, Beth and I were on a walk. I was pushing Beth in the stroller while trying to keep Elliott from crashing into a bike on the trail when I heard a distinct MEOW. Suddenly, she came bounding out of the rocks and through the poison oak as if we were the saviors she had been waiting for. Apparently, we were.

I scooped her up and looked about for any other kittens or mama. It seemed as if she was the only one so rather than leave her there for the coyotes or hawks, I tucked her in my shirt, fleas and all, and maneuvered the stroller with one hand nearly 1 mile back home.

As you can see, her face is a little scuffed up. My guess is since we were along part of the bike trail where the road goes alongside, someone tossed her out rather than do their obligation to take care of her or find her a home. Turns out she is about 4 weeks old. She weighs about 1 pound and is as cute as the day is long.

The vet checked her out, killed the fleas (marvelous stuff the meds they have these days) and checked out her split lip. In a day, she has migrated from being bottle fed to lapping up kitten formula and kitten kibble. She has also maneuvered herself safely into our hearts.

Being that Thursday -- the day she came bounding out of the bushes towards us -- would have been my brother Barry's 51st birthday, she has a little special meaning for us. ...Gosh, there are a lot of things that have special meaning for us.

Welcome home, Charlotte. We love you already!

Rounding the Corner -- Potty-wise

Oh, thank Heavens! We are finally getting somewhere! It all started like this (which the parenting experts will most certainly admonish me for)...

On Thursday afternoon, I put Beth in underwear after her nap and spent the next 1 hour diligently asking her to sit on the potty. In fact, I put her on the potty three times. On the third time, she complained and said "no potty" with such vigor that I let her get up. She walked 10 feet over to the sliding glass door, turned and looked at me (right in the middle of my hands being dug into hamburger meat) and started to pee on the floor.

My first inclination was to throw raw hamburger meat at her but instead I ranted and stomped my feet while I washed the goo from my hands, then I ran over and grabbed her while the 2 cups of urine spilled onto a 10 foot swath between the door and the potty. Then I got mad.

Now, I know they tell you not to get mad a kid learning to potty but this was IT. Not only was she peeing on the floor but she was laughing about it. I went over to her potty jar (which is collecting coins for successful pottys so she can buy an adorable Elmo toy) and snatched a quarter out of it. "This is mine!" I said and dropped it into my pocket with great flourish. Then I took her out to the deck and hosed her off with the water from the faucet (which if it were me would have ticked me off but she thought that part was pretty fun).

I must have made an impression because she has asked to use the potty nearly every time since that little incident. Whew! At first I thought I had damaged her forever but now I think she got the point. And, if you know the women in my family...well, subtlety doesn't always cut it.

Potty Training In My Dreams...

You know you are obsessing over something when it pops up in your dreams. Let me set the scene...

We have two prolific cherry trees and I have been trying (now the third time) to get sweet cherry jam to jell so that I can preserve some of nature's bounty. Elliott, Mike and I have picked probably 3 lugs of cherries off our two trees. Well, that might be an exaggeration but they really are loaded!

With my third batch last night, I boiled the darn thing for 30 minutes, got it to the 220 degree stage, added more pectin, sterilized more jars (like I have time for THIS!). The darn stuff hasn't "set" yet again.

Anyway, somehow that combined with potty training "stewed" its way into my dreams last night. I can't recall all of it but somehow I was helping out in Elliott's first grade class by filing little vials with...can you guess what? PEE! The problem was that I had wet my pants and I couldn't fine enough of it so I think I was in the basement wringing out my shorts and trying to fill little tiny vials with...

Boy, am I messed up or what?

No, Five Things!

While getting into the car the other day, both kids were nit picking at me and at each other about Heaven-knows-what. Beth was asking for a toy while I was trying to buckle her in without pinching her skin. Elliott was poking her and rattling on about something. In general, it was a nicely chaotic moment trying to get somewhere by some specific time.

Beth kept saying, "Mommy, Mommy, get my toy!" I replied something like "Hold your horses, my hands can only do ONE thing right now!" Wonder what her reply was?

"No Mommy. FIVE things!"

arrggg! ...can you see the little exasperation mark above my comic-character face...Good thing she is cute and comes with a get-out-of-jail-FREE-for-the-rest-of-your-life card!

Spring Photos: Easter, Bubbles, more

Yes, they really do get along this well. I cannot imagine it is possible to have a better big brother than Elliott. His patience is herculean(he often chides me for my IMpatience). He shares everything and is adept at helping Beth put on shoes, sit on the potty and wash her hands.

Speaking of potty...This has been the longest potty training program I've ever encountered! Beth seems to be doing well for a few days and then, wham! A day like today hits. It is 9:00 at night and I am washing 4 sets of underpants and various clothes that have been soaked with more urine that one would expect a 26 pound child could produce!

My mother keeps reminding me that she won't go to Kindergarten in diapers so just take it easy. Elliott eventually figured it out in his third year but I don't recall such a long time between "awareness" and successfully staying dry. Beth still has yet to ask to use the potty. Only the power of suggestion (sitting her on the potty) gets the intended results.

No matter...We'll get there sometime in 2009 (please??)

Happy Mother's day to all our special family and friends. I just received a call from a young lady who used to babysit for us. She wanted to wish me Happy Mother's day. It reminded me that Motherhood comes in many forms and there are wonderful ways to nurther a child. What an honor to contribute to the happiness and development of the little ones around us.

Beth Playing in the Sun

Just a cute photo of Beth playing with Elliott's cars and one of Elliott...

Baseball season has started right as the weather has turned glorious. Beth is no closer to being potty trained but it is tough to be put-out by this. We are having too much fun learning about her assertive nature (although she looks angelic here). Trust me, she has the attitude of a badger.

Not Much Progress -- Potty-wise

I realize it has been a while since I last posted something. Truth is that I love this little video so much that I have been reluctant to post something ahead of it. And, there has been little progress on the potty front.

We get sporadic cooperation when it comes to the potty but mostly we encounter real objection. Given Beth's contrarian nature, we aren't pushing it. Daddy managed to get a "number 2" from her last weekend (to my complete amazement).

Her argument against the big-girl, small-girl thing has gotten more sophisticated. It tends to go something like this:

MOM: "Don't you want to be a BIG girl and use the potty?"
BETH: "No, I'm small. Elliott is BIG "(her emphasis)
MOM: "Don't you want a dry diaper. Wet diapers are icky."
BETH: "No, I like wet diaper. It's warm..."

Okay experts. How do I deal with that logic?