Fridays on this space are dedicated to sharing what keeps me going... A moment, a photo, an event or a memory that stands out against whatever might have gone wrong or felt dark in the last seven days.
How do girlfriends just know? How do they know when you've had a bad week and you need an extra special something to pick you up? I have no idea, but there is magic involved, I'm sure of it. My dearest girlfriend, Carmen was just the angel I needed when a gift package from Chicago arrived at exactly the right time.
This week I decided to tackle potty training with Addie and it has definitely been harder than I thought. Partly because I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing and partly because my belly is so flippin' big that maneuvering around and sitting forEVER in an average sized bathroom has seemed like nothing short of torture.
But in reality I do know a little something about what I'm doing. I have tried several different strategies and they appear to be working--Addie has been peeing on the potty rather successfully. She had one accident on days two and three and got those tinkles in the right spot 3 or 4 times each day. Awesome!
However, on Wednesday (day two) I wasn't sure what success was supposed to look like and that one accident that took place on our back porch felt like agonizing defeat. Before we changed her out of her pee pants, my bug tripped and fell, skinning both of her knees. When I picked her up to comfort her, I ended up with pee all over me. (This was about two hours after I had finally managed to take a shower.)
With a bloody, tear and pee stained girl, Daddy swooped in and took her to get the mail. He comes up with some strange distractions for her at odd moments, but I tell you they seem to work every time. Her tears went away and they trotted off together, leaving me alone and free to fall completely apart.
A few minutes later, along comes Addie--rounding the corner into the backyard, still with her bright red knees and her pee pants, but smiling and holding a package. Oh thank God!!! I knew exactly who it was from and couldn't wait to discover the contents of our gift.
Beautiful handprinted cloth napkins for me and a t-shirt for my girl with the most adorable application of an ice cream cone on the front. Not to mention a CD perfectly created for the two of us. I wiped the tears from my face and quickly shifted from feeling sorry for myself to being ever so grateful for my thoughtful and talented Carmen.
Addie got swept up in the excitement as well and immediately began to pretend licking the ice cream cone on her new shirt, shouting her new favorite phrase, "I love it!!!" Oh Addie, me too!
A shower later, she and I were clean again and nearly good as new. Thanks to our magically timed surprise, we recovered from the rough patch rather nicely and settled into a calm and relaxing evening with Daddy.
So thank you, Carmen! It wasn't just the gifts, but knowing that those treasures came from your creative fingertips that kept me going this week. As always, you know exactly what will make me smile and as it turns out, you've got quite a knack for Addie's tastes as well! Love to you, my Ya-Ya!!!
Little Miss. wearing her brand new shirt and searching for clips of Ratatouille on Mommy's iPhone.
And here she is, bearing the battle wounds of summer, watching said Ratatouille clips and waiting for those pesky pee pee's to come on out!
I would love it if you joined me in sharing what keeps you going! Leave a comment to let me know you're participating and each week, I will include a list of everyone who is playing along.
**A very special thanks to my ever faithfuls--my honorary Mother-in-Law Mary and my sweet papa for sharing a slice of your weeks. Love and hugs to you both!
7 comments:
The last picture of Addie if FABULOUS!!! Fingers in mouth, boo-boos on knees, bum on potty...all while watching a movie on the iphone! Love it!
I'm pretty sure she is doing amazingly. Only one accident a day in just the first few days. I would say that's a huge success! I remember my friend Allie would put the potty in the living room and let her kids watch a show while waiting to pee. I thought it was hilarious...but it worked. She also let the kids run around naked while training. I will definitely call you when it's our turn!
As far as my week goes...my highlight would have been yesterday morning. Omar declared that he would go to the grocery (and other errands) finstead of me...aaaaaand...he was going to take Sadie. Seriously? Really? He brought her home for her nap, which gave me a total of 4 kidless hours. I most definitely needed that alone time and actually got to sit on the deck to work on a bible study.
What got me through? The trips around the island that distracted me from the realities of medical school.
And my friend's TVs.
The thing that got me through this week was my vacation to Cancun! I ate breakfast at a beach-side restaurant, built sand castles at the beach, went scuba diving, deep sea fishing, and swimming in the hotel pool... and did all of it within the four walls of my classroom. :-) We kicked off summer school with a "vacation" theme that culminated in a delightful imaginary trip to Mexico. Even though it was all pretend, it was more than enough fun to keep me laughing and smiling all week long!
This week the thing that got me through was the LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!!! There are perks to being a teacher on the last day. My class got me a "summer vacation"-reusable picnic tablecloth, 6 lanterns, 4 tumblers, a pitcher, a huge bucket of strawberry margarita mix, and a beautiful serving tray that held two giftscards-one for Target, one for the scrapbook store. I was pumped! Add in all the little gifts...and it was a nice end to the week!
I had the rare and unexpected pleasure of some "girl" time. My sister Donna and niece Leslie came to E-ville to do a little shopping for Leslie's soon-to-be-born little girl. I was able to meet up with them for a little shoppin', pedicures all around, lots of chatting and dinner out. Delightful!
Good ones, ladies! As always, love and long tight hugs to you all...
I know it's Tuesday of the following week but it seems I am so busy lately that I do not have a chance to check out your blog as regularly as I used to. My week was busy with work, church, family and planning for Vacation Bible School. Probably the highlight of the week was getting to see my beautiful niece graduate from high school. When she walked across the stage, I almost cried when I had a thought of her as a toddler and how precious she was then. She grew up so fast--it seems like just yesterday I was watching and waiting to see her take her first steps and speak her first words. Hug your family and say "I love you" as often as you can--time is so fleeting.
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