A Few Firsts

Bradley hit a couple of major milestones recently that I wanted to quickly stop and mention, in the middle of working on case briefs for my Torts class on a Saturday night.  Don't feel too badly for me.  Last night I got to go downtown and join the masses of Blue and see Kentucky play Vanderbilt in the SEC tournament...  On second thought, yes, feel sorry for me!

Big news number one:  Little Man is FINALLY potty trained at night, as in almost 5 years of buying diapers and pull-ups is at last OVER.  I was getting concerned and yes, admittedly frustrated, at the hassle and expense of buying pull-ups, but like many other kid milestones, there was nothing to do to speed up the process but sit back and wait for his body to make the connection on his own, and it came in its own sweet precious time.  I am thrilled!

Second piece of exciting news:  Bradley had his first-ever T-ball practice today.  It was both well-organized and chaotic at the same time.  Many dads were on the field running drills with the kids (Alligator - Skate Board- Throw it to First; get B to show you that one in person if you have the opportunity- it's adorable), meanwhile the head coach did batting practice with each kid one at a time.  Opposite of soccer, I can proudly say that Bradley was one of the better players on the field and he really seemed to get it.  And boy, does that kid have an arm!  Long term, I'm still thinking pitcher or quarterback.  So maybe t-ball will end up being a sport better suited to his abilities and interests.  As a sports fan myself, I am excited to begin the ritual of spring baseball and support my little guy on the field.  And who knows?  Maybe I will make some mommy friends of my own during this venture.

Swing! Batter Batter Swing!

When they weren't fielding a ball, they were playing in the dirt

Alright, peeps, back to the grind I go.

Gallery Night: Preschool Style

Last night Bradley's school held an Art Exhibit night.  All of the classes worked on various art projects to display, some modeled after famous artists' works.

4A's art inspired by Kandinsky

The artist and his work (B's is the middle one, bottom row)

The preschool was hopping on a Friday night - a far cry from his previous daycare's lame attempt at nighttime events.  These parents and kids actually showed up!  Bradley had fun running around with his friends, and I had trouble keeping up with him through the throngs of people.

Caught playing with a friend

Diarama made by B and a few friends

And of course, what gallery night would be complete without cheese and crackers, and a little sparkling grape juice?  They really know how to host an event!

Bradley's class made objects out of clay as one of their projects

He's been in a bat phase for a while

This cracked me up

Painting with Salt

Bradley was channeling the minimalists' with his art - less is more!  Some of his classmates' sheets were filled with color, but this little one just has not patience for art.  When he was younger, I thought it was just a matter of maturity.  Now I've come to accept that it's just boys being boys, so when it comes to him drawing me a picture, or sitting down to attempt an art project with him, I'll take what I can get.

Repti-conned into Going

Saturday I took Bradley to this really cool, interactive, hands on, totally geared for kids reptile exhibit at the Factory.  No wait.  No I didn't.  That's what I thought I was taking Bradley to.

The Living Social deal I got the week before touted this Repticon exhibit as being a family event, and then later last week, an email was sent out saying Williamson County school employees were allowed in free to take their families to this family-friendly event.  Okay, so I'm not a WCS employee myself, but I am related to one.  And kids under 5 get in free, so Repticon, here we came!

The first thing I noticed when entering Jamison Hall in the factory, a place many brides and grooms hold their wedding receptions in (my sister included), was the overwhelming reptile stench.  I could not have told you what this smelled like before Saturday, but you walked into the place and this odor just knocked you back a second- not so gross that you'd want to breathe through your mouth, but enough to cause you pause and say "ohhh, so that's what a room full of reptiles smells like."

And then we stepped inside.  At 5 minutes till 12, we timed our entrance to the exhibit to make the 12 o'clock "show."  I was envisioning a goofy guy in a lab coat, or dressed like a zookeeper, a stage, and bleachers, where the emcee would show a group of fascinated kids different kinds of frogs, snakes, spiders, and teach the kids fun facts about the animals and at the end I would get some great photo ops of Bradley petting a snake which I would then show to my mother who is terrified of snakes, and snicker.

But instead I walked willingly into my mother's worst nightmare.  Let me just toot my own horn and say that I am good mom.  Because I took one look at the first table we came to, with one clear circular container after another, stacked on top of one another, with a live snakes in them, all of them moving around and hissing, because, well, they're alive, probably 30 on each table, and I didn't turn around and leave.  

I took a deep breath, and thought, okay, I can do this.  They're just snakes.  And we pushed through the people to find the "show" that would be starting soon.  When we found it, I realized this whole thing was a gross misunderstanding.  The interactive show was about chameleons, 4 of them to be specific, and Bradley was able to touch exactly one of them.  This was not an educational show for the kiddies.  This was a sales pitch to get you to buy a chameleon.  In fact the whole exhibit was a haven for reptile buyers and sellers; crazy reptile lovers with piercings, tattoos, and wearing black t-shirts.  People were buying snakes right and left.  Not me.  The guy trying to sell us chameleons ignored the fact that most of his audience was under 12 (hey, at least I was not the only fool in Franklin who thought this was a great Saturday activity for her child) and did his best to yell over the noise in the large open room in the little area where a few rows of chairs were set up, because he was too lazy to wear his head mike, while he educated us on how to keep a chameleon's tank humid.  

After the sales demonstration, I took Bradley firmly by the hand and led him through the exhibit hall.  "If we're here, we might as well see some snakes," I thought to myself.  We saw tank after tank of giant snakes (think Nagini), every kind of lizard, tarantula, giant cockroach, tiny frogs, all sizes of scorpions, and container after container of snakes.  I had a small humanitarian moment and felt sorry for the animals confined in such small containers, and then I started over-thinking things and watching them writhe and twist, and the longer we were in there, the more freaked out I got.  I envisioned Snakes on a Plane, but instead saw tables tipping over with snakes slithering all over the floor, and people panicking and running everywhere.  I held Bradley's hand tightly as he was mildly interested in looking at the different animals and asked to touch a few snakes.  And yes I let him, but it was not quite the cheery photo op I had hoped for.  Instead I never let go of his hand, calculating how fast I could whip him towards me if the snake he was petting decided to lunge at us.  It was all I could do to see a furry tarantula leg poking out of a small clear container, and silently curse the day my mother let me see Arachnophobia in the movie theater.

But I was a good sport, and we managed to stay in Jamison Hall a good 30 or 40 minutes when I was able to tell Bradley happily, that it was time to go.  And go we did, where we promptly scrubbed our hands with soap and water when we got home, and I tried to shake the willies for the rest of the day.  

A Special Mother's Day

I woke up on Mother's Day feeling like I hadn't slept a wink.  An early morning visitor who tossed and turned in bed with me for an hour left me groggy as I crawled out of bed on Sunday morning, and prepared the nebulizer for my congested little boy.  This, I thought, is what being a mother is all about!

When I picked Bradley up from church (don't worry, he wasn't contagious or running a fever!) I was treated to a homemade card and a picture with his hand prints- treasures I will keep forever.  When we walked into the house after church, we were greeted by a spread of quesadillas, guacamole, pico de gallo, 2 kinds of beans, rice, and chips, compliments of Chef Laura.  My sweet sis even made me my own special vegetarian quesadilla because let's face it folks- if it ain't a greasy McDonald's cheeseburger, I'm just saying NO to meat.

My home made picture B made at church this past Wednesday night

Me and My Little Angel on Mother's Day

 After we all ate way too much, the moms opened their presents.  Laura and I got mom a deluxe size of her favorite Bare Minerals makeup, and a brand new coffee maker with a built in grinder.  Everyone in my family drinks coffee, and yet we continue to use a cheapo coffee maker that spills every time you pour from the pot, and a broken coffee grinder that you have to stick a knife in to get the grinder to work.  Both were extremely ghetto.  We decided that a new and improved coffee maker was long overdue.

 I got a homemade card from Bradley, along with a refridgerator magnet with his picture on it that he made at daycare, and my first-ever Tervis Tumbler.  I was very excited to take this baby to work today and sip water all day with the worry-free, no-sweat cup.  Mom told me that at the store, they had several different kinds of Tervis Tumblers, and that Bradley really wanted to buy me a Toy Story cup, but she convinced him to get one that I would like... so he chose the Kentucky one.

Super excited about my Tervis Tumbler- how have I made it this long without one?!

 The best gift I received was a paper that Bradley answered all about me at daycare.  I laughed reading every answer with his perceptions of his mom.  Some favorite answers of mine:

• I think my mom is 58 years old.
• I think my mom weighs 40 pounds.
• When my mom grows up she wants to be a real princess.
• My mom wears a size high heel shoe.
• My mom's favorite color is purple.  (Clearly I have not bombarded him with enough pink, so I'll have to remedy that!

Roses from a special guy, delivered on Sunday morning

 Another gift I received was a drawing of me and Bradley taken from a picture.  At first glance, I thought it looked like my mom with Bradley.  Apparently at first glance, Bradley thought the same thing!!!  I guess I must just look really old, which explains the jowells on this drawing, and explains why Bradley thinks I am 58 years old.

The inspiration for the drawing

I made Snapfish cards this year, and nearly had a panick attack when they didn't come until Saturday's mail!  I made one card for mom from Bradley, and then Laura and I went in together and created one that said "Our favorite things about our mom," on the front, where we proceeded to list some serious (how she takes up fiercely for those she loves), but mostly funny (how she exaggerates everything... her elastic waistband pants... how she mixes up phrases) reasons why we love Mama B.  She laughed; she cried; it was better than Cats.

After the lunch settled, we enjoyed chocolate ganoche cake and strawberry shortcake for lunch, and had an all-around nice afternoon together despite the gloomy rainy weather.

Finally, a picture with all the Moms and Moms-to-Be on Mother's Day...

That's right- all of the Bradley women are mothers... Laura Lee is expecting a baby this October!  Congrats to Laura and George, Happy Mother's Day to my amazing mom, and happy first Mother's Day to my beautiful sister!  Being a mom is the best/hardest job in the world, and I'm thankful I am so close (both literally & figuratively) to my mom and sister as she begins this journey as a mom, too.

Heavy Hearted

The old heart is heavy tonight, my friends.  Tomorrow I'm taking Bradley to spend Thanksgiving with his dad.  It will be the first holiday that I'm away from B, and the first time I'll know the feeling of my empty house without him here in it with me.  I keep starting and stopping so many other sentences in my head, so instead I think I'll just leave it at that.  If you think of us tomorrow, please pray for us.  Pray that Bradley has a good weekend, pray for safe travel for all of us each way, and pray that I would rest in the peace that it is God who ultimately protects my child, and not me as a parent, and that He has our lives in His hands.

Such are the realities of divorced families, and living with the consequences of our choices.   

The end of the Honeybadger Era

At the start of soccer season, it seemed like a chore getting up and to the soccer field every Saturday morning.  I was a little bummed I'd have to miss going to Zumba for a few months, too.  But after this morning's last game, as I was saying bye to all the parents and kids I've gotten to know, it will seem weird not having this Saturday morning ritual to attend anymore.

Bradley definitely progressed as the season went on, and I know our playing "keep away" running down the hall with his plush indoor socer ball had something to do with that.  Don't misunderstand me, he never did score a goal, and his favorite part of the game is the snack at the end, but that's okay with this mama.

Team Honeybadgers

The self-imposed Goalie

warming up, kicking a goal



Stretching before the game



Coach Lindsey getting B ready for the kick-off

Throwing it in

Goalie!



Action shot

Check out my freckles



The tunnel at the end of each game



Snack time





A store story

Fall is here.  The countdown to Halloween is on, and Bradley is going to be Superman for Halloween this year.  He couldn't be more proud to put on that costume!  And it's not the cheapie-cheap kind either- this one has real "muscles" on it aka it's 3 times as expensive.  I didn't care how much I paid for the costume the moment I saw him try it on when we got home, and his face lit up!

On that note, Bradley went on a nap strike last Sunday afternoon, so I took him with me to run some errands (getting the costume was one of them), and I warned myself before we left that taking an over-tired preschooler on a multiple store shopping excursion was possibly a recipe for disaster, so I prioritized and ran the important errands first.  You know what?  We had an absolute blast!  Or at least I did, anyways.  Sure, it took me longer to get through the stores because he stops to look (and touch) everything, but to quote one of our favorite bedtime books, Llama Llama Mad at Mama, "I think shopping's boring too, but at least I'm here with you."

I'll tell you another thing- shopping with a child is automatic spend-control!  You can't browse too long in the purse section of TJ Maxx before being urged to move on to something else.  Having Bradley with me kept me on track, preventing me from shopping for items that weren't on our list!

He was well-behaved, and he only knocked down one display at the Gap!  Yeah, I ventured in there because I had a coupon, but decided quickly that this was not a good idea, nor was it a priority today.
Knock down a sign and make a racket?  Time to go- see?  That's automatic spend-control!  I think I'm onto something here, and I'll be taking Bradley with me on all some of my shopping trips from now on!  (Hey, a girl's gotta fall into the Gap flying solo every now and then...)

First soccer practice

So here we are finally... day one of what I anticipate the rest of my life looking like- embracing the role of soccer mom, taking B to practices and games for his various sporting activities!  While it's true, I love sports, I of course will let him explore as many different activities as possible and allow him to choose things that interest him. 

 About a month ago, I was clueless as to what a 3 year old playing soccer would entail.  I thought Bradley could wear tennis shoes.  Now I am educated and a few dollars poorer, as I have sought the advice from the other trailblazing soccer moms who've come before me, and we are now the proud owners of: 

• a size 3 soccer ball (does the size of the ball purposely coordinate with the age of the players?  I have no idea.)
• shin guards (to be worn UNDER the socks- don't laugh- I had to ask!)
• long soccer socks.  B now has a favorite color- orange, so he chose bright orange socks.  I decided his desire to have his favorite color socks far outweighed my hesitance that orange wouldn't really "go" with much.
• Soccer cleats, size 8.  Most kids soccer cleats I found start at size 10.  After a long search we found these, and now I'll be taking them back and hopefully getting a size 9.  After complaining about them during practice today, B played the last few minutes sans cleats.

But how adorable is he, all ready to go to his first soccer practice today? 

Practice wasn't a total fail, but it certainly wasn't what I'd envisioned either.  My cautious child is going to take a while to warm up to these new people, and this new routine.  While Coach Lindsay introduced herself to the boys, and did some basic drills and instruction, B stood hesitantly by my side.  Here, the team is doing jumping jacks while Bradley watched from afar.

• 

Not interested...

We're getting closer...

He was hot.  He was tired.  He wanted to go.  All these excuses I dismissed.  No way were we giving up after 5 minutes!  I finally had to put the camera down and walk B over to where everyone was and do my best to encourage him to participate, which he finally did (in his socks there at the end)!  So it ended on a high note.  I really do think he'll like playing soccer, but after seeing how this first practice went today, I can only imagine what chaos the first game next Saturday will ensue!

Our after-practice thoughts (and no, he's not sunburned, his face just gets that pink from being hot.)

3 year stats

Now that Bradley's been three for almost a month, I figured it was time to catch up and post on his 3 year check-up!  We LOVE our pediatrician Dr. Gordon Davis, and Nurse Karen.  And it seems we have been there enough that when they call Bradley's name to go back, he runs down the hall and gets on the scale without being asked!  He also has favorite books in the doctor waiting room.  So here are the 3 year stats and an update on Bradley:

• All tests run were normal
• No shots needed at this check-up
• Strep test was negative (I asked them to do a re-check on this because I thought Bradley might be a carrier for strep since he's had it several times this year- negative result means he's not a carrier)
• Weight:  34.5 pounds (78% percentile)
• Height 36.8 inches (34% percentile)- hence we have a short, stocky boy
• Dr. Davis always marvels at how socially advanced Bradley is, and told me that he will be the kind of kid to make friends easily and be a natural leader- what parent doesn't love to hear this?
• Not to worry about the picky eating, but continue to give him a daily multi-vitamin
• Praise him for the successful pottying attempts and give him small rewards, and not to criticize the accidents or failed attempts
• Not to worry about the short attention span or the temper-tantrums
• Favorite foods at 3 years:  cinnamon raisin toast, chicken fingers, yougurt, turkey, goldfish, ice cream sandwiches, suckers
• Least favorite food:  any vegetable
• Favorite show to watch on TV:  Tom & Jerry
• Favorite movie:  Sleeping Beauty
• Favorite books:  Goldilocks & the Three Bears, Buzby the Misbehavin' Bee, the volcano chapter of a book on animals and nature.
• Favorite toy:  None.  He likes to be entertained, and play chase, although he will throw a football, kick a soccer ball back and forth, or hit a baseball for a few precious minutes before moving on to his next activity

I have heard other parents say that behavior-wise, three is worse than two so we are bracing ourselves, but I am happy to report that Bradley is now potty trained!   Praise the Lord, I do not have to buy another box of diapers ever again!  Instead, he got to pick out some new big boy undies this week- he could choose between Cars and Superheros, so he chose the Superheros.

The Poopy Party

Sorry, we're potty training... it's inevitable that poop is going to the topic of conversation every now and then.

For a long time now (over a year) we've been potty training Bradley.  He has done fairly well going #1 on the potty, but would never, ever attempt to go #2.  So mom bribed him with the promise of a stick horse if he would poop on his potty.  After a while had passed and that bribe didn't seem to be working, I upped the ante.  If you go poop on the potty, I promised, we'll go to Chuck E Cheese.  (We went there for the first and only time months ago with my friend Rachel and her son Mason, and Bradley has talked about it ever since).

Memorial Day weekend was PT boot camp I decided.  I put B in his big boy underwear all day except for diapers at nap time and bedtime, I set my phone alarm, and made him try to go every 30 minutes.  Bradley was not a fan of this method.  However, after this weekend, and wearing underwear at daycare that following week, I am now happy to report that B is wearing his big boy underwear every day now (except for the nap/bed times) and hasn't had one wet accident.  He is great about suddenly telling me when he needs to go potty.  He is very close to being fully potty trained and not needing the diapers when he sleeps.  However, the illusive #2 has become a problem.

Since Memorial Day weekend, when we went exclusively to big boy underwear, Bradley refuses to go #2- AT ALL!  He holds it for days at a time.  He waited and went in his diaper one morning first thing.  Then several more days went by.  Finally, the day after his birthday, on Wednesday, June 8th, after lacing his apple juice with Karo syrup, Bradley finally pooped on his big boy potty.  He was at home with mom when it happened, so I got a picture text at work that morning of the end result.  I have never been so excited to view feces!

To celebrate, he got his stick horse right away, and then we all went to Chuck E Cheese the next night for our aptly-named Poopy Party.

"Bullseye," Bradley's new stick horse

Bradley's still holding it in for several days, but I am happy to report he went #2 again on his potty tonight, so hopefully I have bought my last box of diapers!

Happy 3rd Birthday

Bradley is officially 3 years old today.  Time flies, and all that other cliche stuff.  We had a Toy Story themed birthday party for him last night, and didn't get him to bed til 10 o'clock, so I didn't even think about trying to go through pictures or get a blog done last night.  Tonight after putting him to bed, I had high hopes for myself, and for the waning DivaDomain.  Alas, editing and organizing said birthday party photos took up my entire evening, and now I am spent!! 

There just are not enough hours in the day.  So the party will have to be recapped later.  Here are a few shots from today, because if I don't at least get something posted now, I fear I never will!

Carrying on my family's tradition of putting a present on Bradley's bed to open first thing in the morning on his birthday- this was a set of 3 dinosaur puzzles.

 Eating leftover birthday cake and ice cream in his birthday t-shirt I ordered from Etsy.

 Bradley & Grandma B

 Bradley & mommy

 The new bedding I got for B from Target.  He's also wearing new pjs from Aunt Conley...

 ... and proudly displaying the pillow that Ya-ya (Sandy) made for him

 Putting a band-aid on Buzz Lightyear's boo-boo.  We're all about the boo-boos these days.  It's a hot topic for conversation, and many a boo-boo, both genuine and fictitious, have been doctored up with a brightly colored band-aid. 

We go for his 3 year check up tomorrow, so I will post the official stats soon.  Happy birthday, B!  Becoming a mom 3 years ago has changed me, and made me a better person.  Having you was the most unexpected blessing I have ever been given, and even though I'm 30 and still don't know what career path suits me best, I know one thing:  being a mom is the best job I never knew I wanted. 

Terrible Twosdays: Blue Steele

At this age, it's so easy to teach Bradley to say anything.  He's both a parot and a sponge.  He will repeat whatever you tell him to, and repeat it back to you at a later date when you think there's no way he'll remember.  I've taken advantage of that, and taught him two Bible verses.  I've also taught him things to amuse myself, such as who the coach of the Kentucky Wildcats is, and this, his model face:

You Zoolander fans might recognize this as Blue Steele.  We're still working on Magnum.  It's not quite ready for a public appearance yet.

Mother's Day Revelation

It's like a light bulb went off today.  Something I head my mom telling me for years finally clicked.  I went to pick up Bradley from his classroom at church this morning, and outside in the hallway was a little flower pot with his name, and his finger print flower designs on it.  Once inside the room, I was presented with a homemade card, too.  My heart melted.  This, I thought, was all I wanted for Mother's Day; a homemade gift, not anything of monetary value, nothing that came from a store, but something personal from Bradley to me, something representative of his age and stage of life;  that's what I wanted for Mother's Day, only I didn't know it til now, and now my day is complete.

Suddenly I made a mental check list of what Laura and I had gotten for mom this year, and scanned back through the memories of past Mother's days when we were kids and would make mom crafts, or cards, or coupon books.  This year's gifts seemed trivial.  I asked my mom, suddenly understanding.  You'd rather have homemade gifts every year wouldn't you?  It was more a statement than a question, because at long last, being a mother myself, I finally understood.  With her affirmative answer, I realized I will probably never outgrow that simple desire of preferring a homemade gift to a bought one.  It doesn't matter how old Bradley gets. 

It's kind of like going out to eat when you're a kid and watching as the adults fight over who gets to pay the bill.  You think to yourself, when I grow up, I'm never going to argue about that.  If someone else wants to pay the bill, I'll let them!  But then you grow up and your perspective changes.  So now I really, really get it.  The best gifts aren't ones that cost a lot of money; they aren't even items hand-picked by you and put on a wish list; they are ones handcrafted with love, and time, and all that is one of a kind and personal.

So for this year, sorry mom, but I promise I'll do better next year!

Terrible Twosdays: We STILL don't like to potty

Continuing the trend of Terrible Twosdays, I offer up an update on potty training. I started hardcore potty training with Bradley in July of last year, and we are still going strong, but still in diapers. I never dreamed it would take this long! At first I put up an Elmo potty chart. The potty chart lists Monday-Sunday, with two weeks on the chart. Whoever potty trained their child in two weeks, is what I want to know?! I quickly learned this was going to take much longer than that. Every time he went on the potty, Bradley got a sticker on his chart. We used that chart until January. Two weeks, my @ss!

Then, in January, I bought a Toy Story 3 calendar. Most days Bradley gets one sticker per day, but on a really good day he'll get 3. He has big boy underwear that I put on him on the weekends, but most of the time, that ends up with me being scatter brained and forgetting he has them on, and him forgetting to tell me he has to go potty, and winds up with wet pants, and a change of clothes. And don't even get me started on going #2 on the potty, because this strong-willed child absolutely refuses to go poop on the potty. Refuses. I've tried bribing. So far it has not worked. One day last week he even went into the bathroom to poop in his diaper. So maybe we are getting close. I have no idea.

I saw this quote from another mom on a baby message board that I log onto frequently. We were all lamenting the woes of potty training.
My mom always said there are three things you can't "make" a child do:
1. You can't make them eat.
2. You can't make them smile.
3. You can't make them pee or poop.
I'd like to meet that mom and shake her hand because she is one smart lady. It's a good reminder for me in my lessons of insanity as I am constantly trying to make Bradley do all of the above. So for now, we are using a hybrid of diapers, pull-ups, and underwear, and I am just trying to rest easy knowing that Bradley will absolutely not wear diapers to his first day of kindergarten, so any time between now and then to give up the diapers completely is fine by me.

Terrible Twosdays

In an effort to blog more consistently, I am toying with the idea of themed blogging days of the week, so I thought I'd give it a shot starting today  Terrible Twosdays suggests that these posts will provide a brief update on the life and anecdotes of my favorite two year old.

Yesterday you would have thought the world was ending.  Bradley got his first splinter.  I came into the scene mid-trauma from my yoga class, wherein mom & dad had already tried pulling the splinter out with tweezers, numbing it with ice and baby Oragel, and finally putting a little bit of Elmer's glue on the splinter site.  (Someone on the internet suggested this.)  After dinner, it was my happy task to gently peel the Elmer's glue off and see if the splinter came out with it.  I bribed Bradley with watching cartoons after dinner while I gathered my supplies- my "special tweezers" and a rubbing alcohol pad to sterilize the special tweezers.

I sat the little guy on my lap in hopes that he would obliviously watch cartoons while I examined the offending finger.  No such luck.  The child screamed and writhed in my arms as if I had just told him he could never see Buzz Lightyear again.  I called in the reinforcements, and even with mom helping to restrain Bradley, or dad trying to distract him, Bradley was jerking so much that I couldn't even look at his finger!  Finally after several tries, I went in for the kill, and ripped the Elmer's glue patch off his finger.  This remedy did not prove successful.  Off came the glue, but the splinter remained a fixture in the finger. My next idea was to give him a bath, so off to the bathroom we went, but not without a fight!  In all his distractions with me poking and prodding, he never got to watch cartoons!  The problem was, it was getting late, and we had already spent so much time trying to get him to calm down and be still so we could pull the dried glue off that there was no time for TV.  The tantrum that ensued was not about the splinter now, but the lack of TV.

Once this storm had blown over, it was bath time.  I was betting that a nice warm tub of soapy water would soften his skin and loosen the splinter.  After getting out and drying him off with his towel, I sat B in my lap and went back to work with my "special tweezers."  (For future reference, I thought calling them 'special' would intrigue him enough to distract him, and let me do what I needed to do, but kids are smarter than you give them credit for.)  Special or not, he was not about to let me anywhere near his sore finger with those tweezers. Reinforcements were called in again. 

This time after carefully timing my attempts with the tweezers to the rhythm of his jerks, in one swift motion I grabbed and pulled, and knew instantly that it was a success!  Upon calming down (finally) Bradley was able to see the tiny splinter that had been stuck in his index finger, and all was right with the world!

Operation Three Amigos

Lately Bradley has been an extremely restless sleeper.  He's waking up several times a night, and in the process, waking up everybody else in the house too.  It was this restlessness that prompted Operation Three Amigos.

Ever since Christmas, Bradley has been inseparable from Buzz Lightyear, Woody, and Jessie, or I have fondly begun to refer to them, the Three Amigos.  These action figures are not your typical cuddly stuffed animals that you'd want to snuggle with in bed- except that Bradley has insisted on sleeping with them ever since he got them.  Convinced that these hard plastic toys were contributing to the sleep problems of my son, I did what any sensible parent would do... I hid them!!!

When we're getting ready for bed at night, I sneak Buzz, Woody, and Jessie into Bradley's stuffed animal bin, and bury them, so they're out of sight, out of mind.  And guess what?  Coincidence or not, it's worked!  Bradley's been sleeping better, and he hasn't even noticed that the Three Amigos are mysteriously absent from his bed.

Confession:  okay, so once in the middle of the night this week he woke up hollering for Buzz and Woody.  In an effort to get Bradley to be quiet and go back to bed, I did fish the cowboy and the space ranger out of the toy bin rather quickly- flung them onto the bed is probably more like it- and this sleep-deprived mama went right back to bed.  But for the most part, Operation Three Amigos has been wildly successful!

Purse pouting

I recall back in my early twenties I acquired a growing purse collection.  I would actually change purses daily to match the season and my outfit.  Those days are long gone!  When Bradley came along, gone were the days of buying and carrying new bags.  I kept the same purse for months at a time, and added a diaper bag to tote.  I told myself it wasn't forever- that soon Bradley would be out of diapers, and I wouldn't have to haul an extra bag wherever I went.  But just like that sneaky half-truth they tell you about drinking alcohol when you're pregnant ("it's just for 9 months!"  Well, NO, it's not... not if you plan on nursing for a year!), the elusive promise of ditching the diaper bag is a bunch of crap.  I'm just trying to prepare you future moms, and tell it like it is, because after the days of the diaper bag, you are still hauling in sippy cups, toddler-sized silverware to restaurants (do any restaurants provide this?  I've yet to find any that do), plus toys, books, games, snacks- anything to keep your little one occupied while you shop, eat, run errands, or what have you.  And you can just forget about clutches or any bag without a strap big enough to sling over your shoulder.  When you're carrying a kid, and all their stuff, you need all hands on deck.  And on deck ain't on that stylish clutch purse!

Wanted: one hot mama

You know how singletons are always lamenting about where he/she is supposed to find Mr./Miss Right if they didn't meet them in college?  It's like all of a sudden you graduate, and your opposite sex population that you come in contact with on a regular basis suddenly becomes limited.  You don't want to meet a person in a bar because that never works out (been there, done that, on more than one occasion), and you certainly don't want to make the mistake of dipping the pen into the company ink (Again, this one sounds all too familiar), so where the heck are you supposed to meet your future soul mate?

Well I'm dealing with a similar issue.

In Florida, I was privileged to be a stay-at-home mom.  The best thing about being a SAHM, next to the obvious fact that you get to be with your child all day, is all the other stay-at-home mom friends you come to know.  Us moms would get together on a regular basis for play dates, Kindermusik class, work-out groups, and coffees, permitting us to sit and talk while the youngsters would play together.  In Florida, I had an abundant supply of mom friends, many who had kids Bradley's age, or others who had older ones that I could bounce developmental questions off of.  But now relocated, and working full time, I have no idea how to go about finding friends for myself and Bradley!

Don't get me wrong- I love spending time with my family and my friends who don't have children, but every now and then it would be great to be able to hang out with someone who understands what I'm going through as a parent, while Bradley gets to work on his social skills with a little play mate simultaneously, too.

Where can these elusive moms be found?  Do I stalk other moms at the park on Saturday morning, sliding up to them by the monkey bars, ask them  if they come here often, and offer to buy them a coffee?  Am I supposed to subject myself to the McDonald's play place and wait for a fellow mom to McInclude me?  Do I turn to (gasp!) internet searching for them?  What's a full-time working, full-time mom to do?  I know there have got to be fellow hot mamas out there just dying to be my friend- I just need to figure out how to find them.

Time Out!

I can now say with confidence that we are in the throws of the Terrible Twos. (Please, Lord, let this be just a phase!)
Everything is a battle these days. The simplest request turns into a twenty minute challenge. We've been implementing time outs more stringently to try and curb the blatant disregard for following directions. Yesterday we caught Bradley putting his toys in time out, as is evident by the Fisher Price man who Bradley sat in a chair, and faced against the wall. Let's hope this role play means he's getting the message!!

Terrible Twos & Old Navy Blues

I was THAT mom yesterday- the one with the toddler throwing a fit in the store, apologizing to the sales lady, trying to calm my child down, and trying to hurry up the sales transaction to get the heck out of there!

In Bradley's defense, it was wayyy past his nap time and I had drug him on several errands yesterday, and am surprised he did as well as he did. Could this be our first taste of the terrible twos?? Our last stop was Old Navy (it was supposed to be Target but we didn't made it that far, alas). Bradley spotted a bin of balls at the front of Old Navy, and proceeded to take and carry around a football all over the store. Whatever keeps him a happy shopper, I thought! By the time we were ready to check out though, my son was not so eager to part with that ball. And he let everybody in that store know it, and embarrassed the heck out of me! I hung my head in shame and left the store as quickly as possible.

I am so sorry for ever judging another parent who's been in the same situation, because as much as you try and reason with your tyke, as much as you threaten quietly, count aloud, and shhh them, your child is their own person, and it's impossible to control them!