post-sickness blues

yesterday after i took my turn vomiting (yes!) & then fell into this semi-sleep stupor i started to day dream about eating that piece of toast. isn't that lame & pathetic? so sad. there comes a day soon after having the flu when a person really wants to *eat*. last night was wes' night. sunday was amelia's night. i'm not sure when addy's night will come b/c she just doesn't really want to eat at all anymore. i'm thinking tonight or maybe tomorrow around noon i'll be feeling that way. until then, i just want a thick piece of buttered toast & a cream-based soup. that's all. & b/c i'm slow & haven't made gf bread yet, i can't indulge in my dream. and i just had gf cooking disaster #3: i tried to make a creamy soup base for the not-so-yum-anymore chicken rice soup i made the other day (after several days of eating nothing but this, you understand my desire to eat something different?). it turned into this pile of rice flour, but i dumped a bowl of soup on it anyway & ate it (b/c i'm that hungry).

but i don't think i'm the only one with the post-flu blues b/c we've all been sick now & we all seem to be a bit grumpy & pissy with each other. amelia continues to just be plain rotten to her sister & adeline also continues to be plain rotten back. i understand the frustration this way: adeline knows hitting is wrong, so when amelia hits her & she wants to hit her back...but she won't = frustrating. so she comes to us with that whiny fake-cry, saying, baby hit me, wahh waahhh. around 5:30 last night wes & i both agreed that we are so ready for adeline to just wallop her sister a hard one so maybe amelia will learn her lesson the hard way.

so, that's really what i was going to blog about: hitting & pooping on the potty (preschool-style)

1) adeline wasn't a hitter & apparently still isn't b/c she will not hit her sister back (she will push her, but that's it). yes, this is a good thing but much of our parenting style is letting natural consequences take their toll. you know, if you sit at the bottom of a slide, there's a very good chance another kid will rocket down on top of you, which hurts, but lesson learned. (gah, unless the other kid's parent is standing there being all concerned saying 'wait for that child to move before you slide' which just frustrates me to no end.)

since adeline is refusing to take part in the sibling hitting matches--come on!--we're not quite sure what else to do. we've put amelia in time-outs (for 1 minute?) but i don't think she quite understands the time out yet. we have not tried hitting her back ourselves--although i must admit today i was so close to trying after adeline was crying between my legs for the 10th time in 10 minutes & then amelia walks over with a cardboard block in her hand & bangs it on addy's head again. right in front of me. then starts laughing.

seriously, what to do? she's 17 months old! i've tried to focus on her good behavior & reward her for it...but it doesn't seem to make a difference. any thoughts that have worked for you & your hitting toddler?


2) adeline pooped on the toilet! this is amazing, fantastic, etc. about two weeks ago i decided to just forget trying to get her to crap on the crapper...i gave her back control over her pull-ups (we had been storing them on a top shelf in a closet & giving them to her only after she tried to poo on the toilet first). but it was becoming too much of a battle between us & i could tell it was seeping into everything. adeline was just becoming an emotional wreck constantly.

so i gave up trying & we went back to cleaning a near-big-girl butt a few times a day. a butt that is prone to diarrhea *sigh* anyway, today just after returning from picking adeline up, i was upstairs changing amelia's poopy diaper (the 3rd one today, also diarrhea...my girls have it in for their parents) & adeline shouts 'I DID IT!' & then goes on to tell me that she peed in the potty. i was like 'well, that's just wonderful' b/c she's been pee-potty trained for quite awhile now. then she tells me that the poop feels bad on her butt. i jumped around & shouted: DID YOU POOP IN THE POTTY?! & ran downstairs to check. there it was, sunk to the bottom of the toilet. i've never seen such a beautiful site before.

so i started singing GO ADDY, YOU POO-PIED, GO ADDY. & her & amelia were dancing to our poop song. addy then asks if she can have a poop party & i was like 'of course!' it was wonderful. then she craps in a pull up 2 hours later, but still, progress has been started.

i need more money

i know, 2nd post of the day...it better be good, is that what you're thinking?

well, the title is not coming from me. it is a direct quote from *adeline*! somehow over the past month she has caught onto money & that things cost money. & she then put it all together: she has a piggy bank that we put money in, she wants some things that cost money...thus, she gets to buy things with her money!

her main objectives? to buy a ball, a big big big ball, as she says. & also a barbie. b/c mia has one; yes, the one adeline picked out for mia for the christmas exchange (so we somehow started this whole barbie thing in a way, eh?).

& today after bowling i had a $1.50 left & pulled it out of my pocket at home. adeline nabbed it quickly but i put it up b/c amelia was around. & just now, after we have been on *the great puzzle piece search #56* (only this time we are missing about 6 pieces total...we've been slacking, yes). so we have been looking high & low in the downstairs for these missing puzzle pieces & adeline again stumbles on the change from bowling. she asks me to count the money with her, & i do.

her answer? NEED MORE MONEY, MOMMY!!!!!!

so i guess we need to start thinking about our approach to the whole money-talk. are we forcing a savings & tithe? i really had anticipated the sex talk coming before this! i am much more prepared for that talk than money...9 months of sex ed to middle & high school students will do that to a person, but money? nope. i may just pass this talk off to wes.

but seriously, kids start asking for more money at age 3 these days? you know, when i was a kid, all we wanted was ten cents--or 50 cents if we were pushing our luck--to hide our bikes down to hank's gas station in nankin to get some candy. you know, after we hiked that mile or 4 uphill. (really, it was just a 2 minute bike ride b/c we were slow & also b/c we had to walk our bike across state route 302). anyway, i'm still in shock about her understanding money. this is for sure wes' deal b/c i had to use my phone calculator today to add the total for the 2 games this morning (for anyone who also needs a calculator for everything, $1.75 + $1.75 = $3.50, leaving $1.50 in change from a $5 bill. yup, needed a calculator for that bad boy)...

i forgot!

this is totally blog worthy: adeline is finally asking the 'WHY?!' question for everything. i have been waiting for nearly 18 months to get these questions & every time she asks i just smile & try my best to answer. so far my favorites:
me: you need to wipe your vulva after you pee, adeline. (why, mom, why?)

me: you need to get your coat on. (why?) wes: it's very cold outside, you need your coat, adeline. (why?) wes explained why the weather turns cold & she seemed very pleased with his answer.

me: if you don't want to listen to your song we can listen to a song mommy likes. (why, mom?)

nearly every comment is followed by a very serious *why* question from addy. i am plain giddy about it.