Blog A Day

I'm committed -- probably should be committed to a facility, but instead I'm committed to blogging every day for the next week. OK, maybe I'll skip a day over the weekend, but maybe not. I've just spent the last two nights while Tim was working reading my past blogs. I'm amazed at how much I used to write. And I refuse to believe that I don't have as much to talk about now!

So starting today I am going to blog every day ... about something ... something that is bothering me ... or inspiring me ... or intriguing me ... or entertaining me ...
(I'm currently trying to come up with some more participles ...)

For today I will only blog about my feelings of complete angst and irritation when it comes to potty-training a 3-year old boy.

Yes, my angel baby little boy is making me NUTS. (What?? You're surprised??) I've tried cold turkey about ... um, 15 times now ... and I'm either too much of a push-over or too lazy to keep him out of diapers. My uber-supportive friends have all given me great ideas via Facebook (which, BTW, I'm convinced has kept me from blogging ... not the suggestions from friends, but the constant status updates ... who needs to blog when I can update my status for all the world to see every 3.25 minutes???) on how to handle the potty situation.

"Lose the diapers."
"Cheerios in the potty will help him aim and make it a game."
"Make him wear the dirty underwear/diaper."
"Set a timer."
"Make a poster with stickers."
"Buy him a toy and tell him he can't have it until he uses the potty with no accidents for ___ days."

All fabulous ideas, by the way. And I have great friends for even allowing me to pick their brains.

But, let me be honest. I "lost" the diapers the first day (we atually finished a pack and I just didn't open the new one), and that worked until bed time. Then I wasn't ready to leave him in underwear. So I ripped open that new pack and now he knows they exist.

Why not put him in underwear at bed time? If he has an accident you can just change the sheet, you say?

If I must remind you that I just recently began having full nights of sleep, then you obviously haven't been keeping up with the blog for that long. I am not willing to turn a wonderful sleeper into a waking up sleeper.

Like a sign from GOD, I heard just what I needed when I talked to my BFF last week. (BTW, she is the most knowledgeable, wonderful, patient, calm person I know when it comes to potty-training little boys. Too bad she only has girls ...LOL) Anyhoodle, I called her to ask her what medication she recommends for me (since I'm obviously crazy ... and if my cat can have Prozac and good moods, why can't I???) if I decided to call the doc and ask for more drugs. Naturally, being the med-school-educated person she is, she asked me why I needed medication again. What is going on? Why am I so stressed? Why am I so tired? Etc ... And then I realized (well, she broke it to me gently) I'm NOT crazy. (Darn.) And I'm getting myself worked up over nothing. I mean, it's "something." We don't want Tanner in diapers when he's sixteen or anything, but I'm getting upset about something that is, ultimately, Tanner's decision. I'm putting all this pressure on Tanner and on myself to get him potty-trained now, and it's only creating more setbacks. He must be out of diapers when he goes to PreK in the Fall. That is all I need to worry about. And if the cold turkey isn't working now, we'll try it again in a few weeks/months. BFF recommended waiting until May and then really running full-force. (And if you're about to say something about consistency. keep it to yourself, please. I mean that with all the kindness I can muster in my delicate status.)

And I am OK with that. It's not the hassle of changing diapers that bothers me. I mean, I'm OVER fecal matter (I have been changing diapers for 5 1/2 years, after all), human or animal. I'm more bothered by the fact that Tanner knows how it all works. He knows how to use the potty -- he just chooses not to. I guess it's not really a battle you will understand until you are there.

That's where we are now. In diapers. Unmedicated, except the cat. (Side note: Why didn't I put her on Kitty Prozac before? She actually comes out and visits with the kids now. Like a real family pet!)

And my blog for day one is done.

Whew -- now I can update my FB status. ;0)