Vent

It is Day 2 of my I-Can't-Take-It-Anymore-I'm-Going-To-Potty-Train-You-If-It-Kills-Me adventure with my daughter who is 3 years old and knows perfectly well how to go potty and has the bodily control to go potty but who simply doesn't give a hoot about going potty. 

You put her in underwear, she goes in her pants. 

"Oops," she says. "Can I go watch tv now?"

You see what I'm dealing with.

Trust me, I've tried rewards, bribes, cold turkey, positive reinforcement, yelling, etc. She JUST DOESN'T CARE. But the fact of the matter is, we're going on vacation this summer, and there is a kids program at the resort, and I would love to be able to take both the kids to it so my husband and I can have some one-on-one time together, but they only accept kids who are potty trained. Therefore, I don't care what it takes or if she cares or not- she WILL be potty trained. My strategy this week is to just be consistent and do NOT, under ANY circumstances, give up. I don't care if I have to take her every hour on the hour, I will be vigilant and just make her do it. Maybe after a few weeks of it it'll be enough of a habit that she'll get it. Let's pray.

Anyway, so this morning I was checking my e-mail and Princess was in Big Brother's room playing, when she came in to see me. I smelled something funky. I felt her bottom. Definitely a lump. 

"Are you stinky?" 

"Yeah."

And off we marched to the bathroom to remove the soiled pull-up (I know, I know, so many of you are against pull-ups, but I've tried straight underwear and the results are the same- wet and poopy accidents whether I like it or not- so I use the pull-ups. I'm pregnant and I'm tired, and I just don't have the patience for the underwear. We're taking this in steps, people.). I got it off of her and used some flushable wipes to clean up the, uh, "residue". And so Princess promptly lost her balance (I'm pretty sure she was trying to reach for my contacts lens case on the bathroom counter- she's fascinated by my contacts) and knocked the package of wipes into the toilet (which, by the way, contained the soiled wipes and most of the contents of that pull-up). 

Luckily, the wipes package landed bottom-down in the toilet, and, being that it is encased in plastic, it floated. I quickly pulled it out and tossed it into the sink, where I washed it with soap and water. I (through gritted teeth) told Princess to sit on the potty until I was done. She did, feeling slightly ashamed about causing such a ruckus (at last! Remorse!!) and did so.

Well, I got her all cleaned up and on her way, then decided to take out the trash, since I had to remove the stinky pull-up anyway. I got a large garbage bag from downstairs and started in the master bathroom, then moved to the kids' bathroom and Princess's bedroom. As I was dumping the contents of her trash can- very heavy wet diapers- the side of the bag dropped down and everything tumbled out onto the floor. I sighed heavily, and reached down to start putting it all back in. I Lysol-ed the trash can (and my hands) and started to lift the bag back toward the door to go to the next room, when the weight of the bag was more than I expected and it got caught on part of Princess's dresser, tearing a large hole in the bottom.

I put the bag down, threw my hands up in the air and said, "SERIOUSLY? ARE YOU SERIOUS? CAN ANYTHING ELSE HAPPEN RIGHT NOW?? SERIOUSLY!!!!!!"

I finagled the bag into a position such that everything would not come spilling out and managed to wrangle it out to the trash can by the garage. Then I came in and washed my hands about 10 times.

It's just gonna be one of those days.

What's the Deal With Kids Getting Off the Bus?

Schools in our county had an early release yesterday, around 11:30am, and so in my runnings-around I nearly ran over a few spacey "children" wandering the streets. Why is that?Specifically, why is it that when children get off a school bus, they think that they own the road and don't have to follow any pedestrian safety laws? 

I kid you not, I nearly ran over at least 5 teens or pre-teens yesterday. Two of them were skateboarding in the middle of the street, and looked quite surprised to see that there was actually a CAR on the road behind them. A car? On the street? That's absurd! The other three were strolling down the right lane of a two-lane road with a double yellow line down the middle where the speed limit was 40mph. They glanced up as my car approached (as I was slamming on the brakes so as not to turn them into roadkill) and simply stared as I tried to decide if I should cross over into the oncoming traffic lane to avoid them or simply park until they'd meandered around my car. Heaven forbid they actually walk on the shoulder to let me pass.

Sorry, I just needed to get that rant out. I see it all the time out my window when the bus drops kids off too- they just stroll down the middle of the road without a care in the world, and cars follow behind them traveling 3mph waiting for them to get a clue and move to the shoulder. I just don't get it. Maybe we need more sidewalks. Or maybe they should teach kids this stuff in school. I don't know! I just hate dangerous stupidity!

K, done.

An Angel With a Limp

Last night I happened to stay up late to watch the ABC news hidden camera experiment, "What Would You Do?" where they set up candid camera situations to see how (or if) people would react to various scenes played out by actors. For last night's episode, they had an actress portray a nicely dressed woman walking down the street in a busy part of New Jersey, then suddenly collapsing onto the sidewalk. Every single time she did it, people stopped to check on her and call 911, usually within 6 seconds. 

Next, they decided to change the scene by having an actor play a homeless-looking man who did the same thing- stumbled and collapsed, then lay there not moving. Decidedly fewer people took action, and even when they did, the average response time was 3 minutes. 

Next, they changed it up by having the homeless man have a beer can in his hand when he collapsed. 88 people go by without stopping. Then a small, bent over black woman comes hobbling up on her cane and sees the man. She stops, and is unable to help except to politely say to passersby, "Excuse me, excuse me, could you please call an ambulance for this man?" She leans over and gently takes the beer can out of his can and throws it into the trash can. Over and over, she asks the people passing by to get help for the man, and twenty-six people go by, ignoring her. While she waits, she gives the man a name, she says, "I don't know your name so I'm just gonna call you Billy. Come on, Billy. Open your eyes." Finally, a woman passing by hears Linda's pleas and stops to dial 911 on her cell phone to call for help for the man. More people eventually stop to offer assistance.

After the cameras were revealed and the follow-up interviews were concluded, Linda Hamilton just quietly shuffled her way back down the street, away from the spotlight. What a kind, brave, wonderful soul she is. Watching her standing there, like a guardian angel over the man brought tears to my eyes. Even thinking about it today I get choked up. To see the story for yourself, along with other "social experiments" done on the show, click here.

May we all be a little bit more like Linda Hamilton, and see those around us as our brothers and sisters, children of the same God, and treat each other accordingly. May God bless you, Linda Hamilton.

Some Good Counsel for LDS

I just read this article, and I thought I'd pass it on. Read it, ponder it, pray about it, and decide how you will handle these things- The Publicity Dilemma

Eight Arms and Counting?

So I was watching tv last night and yet again they had more exciting tidbits about the woman who recently had octuplets, bringing her grand total of children up to 14. 

I will choose not to comment on her decision to do so.

However, what is the deal with the media calling her, "Octo-Mom?" Seriously, everytime they say it I envision this strange creature with eight arms and little babies crawling all about her. Okay, so maybe the babies part is true, but really- "Octo-Mom?" 

Maybe she could be like a superhero- Who is it? Could it be? Dah dah-dah-daaaah! It's OCTO-MOM!!

Okay, that's all. See, I told you this blog would be totally random.

Entertain Me

I have a confession to make. I like to be entertained. And because of that, I am generally not a good person to ask for recommendations for good movies or books, because I am notoriously non-critical. I think there are perhaps less than 10 movies I have ever seen in my lifetime that I didn't like. Off the top of my head I can think of two- Crazy/Beautiful (I remember I wrote in my journal after seeing this one that I thought it was Stupid/Dumb) and Beverly Hills Ninja. So, as you can see, my taste is expansive.

I am pretty much the same way with books- take the Twilight series, for instance. I had a lot of friends who said it was too juvenile for them, and that they got all rolly-eyed at the mushy smooshy stuff. I will admit, there was mushy smooshiness. But you know what? It was fun! I never picked up the book expecting to be reading a Pulitzer prize winner- I picked it up because I like to read and it looked like a good story. I was not disappointed- it was a good story. And I was entertained.

I think that a big part of it is that I am an empathetic person, especially to authors and movie makers, because they put their hard work and creativity into something for the sole purpose of entertaining their audience. Therefore, I want to be entertained, because I genuinely want them to succeed. Who cares if the science doesn't match up (trust me, you have no idea how annoying it was watching the movie Armageddon with a guy who works for NASA! Sorry John) and if there are a few inconsistencies in the story? As long as it's not completely inane (see first paragraph) or vulgar then I'm game. Because really, it's all just about entertainment.

You may think that I am contradicting myself because of my post about The Bachelor, but I disagree. You see, The Bachelor is a reality show. If it was strictly for entertainment, I would be all for it, however, this is actually how the guy is going to pick out his wife. And I just really think it's a dumb way to do it, so I'm going to bash it a little bit. (But I'm still going to watch it because it is, primarily, entertaining).

Don't get me wrong, I can be critical if I have to be. I once tore apart a book in a critical evaluation paper for school without knowing that my professor helped write it (luckily, he agreed with my crticisms). But it's just no fun. If something is put out there for my enjoyment, then gosh darn it, I want to enjoy it. Don't rain on my parade by picking apart my latest read or last night's date movie. Just entertain me.

Losing My Best Friends

I know I'm about 10 years behind the rest of the Mormon community, but I just finished the final book in the Work and the Glory series, and I have to say- I'm SAD! I feel like the Steeds have become a part of my extended family, and I am really going to miss them. I mean, it's been 9 loooong books since the beginning back in Palmyra, and I've come a long way with them! And now I'll never see them again! Not even once I die and go to heaven because they're not real! *sigh* Yes, it's pathetic.

I often feel that way when I finish a book, or especially a series of books. The books that really speak to me the most are the ones with strong characters, because I start to think of it not merely as a book or a story, but as a person, and I start to relate to them and have almost a sense of a relationship with them. Sometimes they irritate me and I get annoyed (I have been known to verbalize my emotions out loud at times) and other times I am so touched and moved by their story that I cry. I cried for Lydia and Melissa in the Work and the Glory when their babies died. I cried for Jessie several times. And I cried for all the Saints for the many trials they endured. But just like any of life's trials, they made me feel closer to them. And I'm just really going to miss them.

I have moved on now (really, I've left the Steeds for less than 24 hours and already moved on- for some reason I feel a little bit dirty about that...) to a book called Wild Swans. It is a nonfiction biographical story of 3 women of 3 generations (grandmother, mother, and daughter) in China starting in the early 1900s. I have always found the Chinese culture fascinating, so I am intrigued by this book. So far we have foot binding, war lords, and concubines. I think it will take me some time to get to know these women, but I look forward to taking this journey with them and expanding my world view in the process.

By the way, my son read his first 4 words all by himself today. He's been learning his letters and sounds in preschool and so I decided to just see if he could sound out a few simple words- cat, dog, pig, and rat. He did it!! He got a little frustrated on some of them, so I explained to him why it was so cool to read. I told him that when he learns to read he'll be able to learn about anything he wants to whenever he wants- he doesn't have to wait for someone else to read it to him, or wait to watch it on tv. I told him a little bit about the book I started reading and his eyes got all wide. Then he said, "Mommy, I'll be able to read DINOSAUR books!!" I smiled and said, "Yeah, any dinosaur book you want!!" He was pretty excited about that. Maybe someday soon he'll open a book and make a friend, just like his mom. ;-)