Super Pants~

We did it!

Trent is potty-trained by US before going to preschool next fall!  He beat his sister out on this accomplishment by about 3 months.  He has earned his super hero pants.

This did not come without some fabulously hysterical moments in the last two weeks.  The little guy just seemed ready.  And it helped that as the second child he was introduced to candy at a much earlier age, this ridiculously addicted.

You go pee, you get a candy.  Yay!!!!

We potty train with future streaking skills in this house.  Kids are naked from the waste down until they get it.  The steam vac and carpet cleaner bottle stays at the ready and go!

We have listened to our son yell, ''Moooooooom!  I want to be NAyyyyy-ked!  Naked!!!!  I need my shirt off!  Want to be Nayyy-ked!''

I firmly believe Trent need to be naked has more to do with the male genetic than streak potty training.  All men start young at this, so my husband tells me.

There are some moments that just make you think, OMG!  Trent sitting in the tub grabs his penis and says 'Whurrrrr!  Whuuuuuuur!'  Mommy, my pee pee like an elephant!''.  This as he plays with it like an elephant trunk.  The part of me that is WAY too conservative just cringes, but the mom in me is documenting it as a really cute moment.   That will turn him beet red in the future.

The first public accident is always fun....''Ms Willman?  Yes?  Trent tried to go to the bathroom and peed all over his pants.  We have him on the playground to keep him away from the other kids.''   Get to the kids area to find my kid covered in pee.  He didn't tuck things in properly and peed over the rim of the toilet.  The point is he tried on his own!

There is the suspected errant poop accident that turns into a sigh of relief.  You realize that your hippy child is naked.  You spot little brown pellets on your carpet trailing down the hall, then realize they are raisins.

Five minutes later it gets worse.....He just pulled down his pants and pooped in sisters Barbie pool.  Barbie has been dive bombed in her tropical oasis with Ken looking on.  She's never living this one down.  Trent commentary being, ''Mommy!  I poop in mermaid ocean!!!''  To his credit Barbie's pool is blue and bean shaped like a bedpan.

And now we enter the end of week three of potty training.  He's good 90% of the time, but that other 10% can be brutal.

The InBetween

These are the times you will look back on.  It is rare that you will remember the 'perfect' days, but rather that five minutes or less when your child opens the lens of the world a little wider.  

A little brother sister love on a Saturday morning.  I'm sure the hubby is happy he's sleeping through this one.  And now mommy will break for yet another cup of coffee.

 ''Buddy get off my part of the couch! Mommy he's touching me!!!'' ''Norwahhh! Stop it Norwahhhh. My pillow, my blanket, my cartoon. Stop!!!!!''  


Nothing like torturing your kids with a quest in southern California to find a recycling place.  And point out all the beautiful sites.

*listened to this dreamy thought from the back seat, ''Look it's Paris!'' Ummm, no no it's not. That is a ridiculously large powerline tower, if only we were in Paris instead. Maybe a little too much Gaspard and Lisa.

Getting so caught up in housework for ummm, the first time in a long time that this one happened.....

had a moment. OMGosh, the back door is open, Trent are you outside? Trent? Trent, buddy where are you! Proceed to me running in and out of the house.....giggle under my bed after being a mad woman for what seemed like eternity. Never been so relieved and wanting to throttle child at same time. Oh, those baby blues never looked so precious tearing up because mommy scared us. Never again buddy, OK?

Then your heart skips a beat out of pure joy.

''Norwah, don't cry, I sing you a song.  Don't cry, I sing you a song.  La la lah.''  My little man putting words to a made up melody of his own to cheer up sister.  

It doesn't really get better on most days.  All the fluffy edited pictures you take can not capture this, only your heart can.

Putting myself out there to be hurt is HARD.  I think anyone would agree.

I feel like I've walked through life the last two years or so in a bit of a blur.  Highs and lows. Resolutions and regret.  Love and loss.  Rights and wrongs.

Rights and wrongs and regret have been on my mind for a while now.  As mommies, I think we get caught up in our kids, our responsibilities and let important things slide.  Then slide a little more.  Until we are embarrassed to even admit our responsibility.

I've had bigger missteps in my life, but about three years ago I let someone go.  We were both busy being mommies, miles apart and time got limited for phone conversations.  And emails.  And then my phone died a watery death and the phone number was gone.

It was always on my list.  I would tell myself, just shoot an email to her, takes seconds.  Funny, how those seconds seemed too important at the time to STOP.  But then again, I am a seasoned procrastinator so the pushing off of things isn't a stranger to me.

That all changed this week.  I stopped procrastinating.  Sucked up my pride and wrote an email.  The email had the normal day to day stuff in it.  And the update on everything that's been going on with my health.  Not meant as a pity me, just an FYI.  I tried not to give the disease to much of a roll in the loss of communication, but it did play it's part.

The rest of it.  That was my doing, and I take responsibility for that.  We've both fought the same battles, she before I, and I was not there for a time.  An important time.  I understand that now that my closest friends have rallied to my side.  I am sorry.  So sorry.

With the email, I chose to face possible rejection.  I own it.  But I still wait, hoping for a response from a lost friend.