Rhyan's pre-school held a Harvest Day Parade for Halloween. It was the cutest little thing. They acted out The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Employees lined the streets on campus for the Parade. There was nice little crowd. I thought Rhyan would cry when he saw me. He just looked...and I'm standing there waving my arm off, blowing kisses. I went back to the class and took pictures. When I told him I'd see him later. The tears started flowing. I was so sad to leave my little cupcake.
Rhyan has fallen off the potty train :-( We've had two wets nights versus one dry night--(notice the gap in stickers) and the dry night was only because he woke up crying about his foot hurting and I put him on the pot. What is a weary, sleep-deprived mom to do? This is an issue as old as time..I know. But when it hits your house it's a headache. Especially since he's been dry at nights for nearly a month and a half. Suggestions and feedback from parents who have waded through the bedwetting river welcome!
Rhyan was successfully potty-trained on Sunday, September 10. I can count on one hand how many accidents he's had--that is until this weekend. He wet the bed three nights in a row! Oh, the agony. What is a mom to do? What in the world is going on? I've got the mid-night changing routine down to a tee. Extra pajamas and underwear next to the bed. Strip off the top two layers of the bed (fitted sheet and waterproof lining) and underneath is another sheet and lining so he can immediately go back to bed.
I'm a mom with a plan. So Monday morning, I decided to come up with a reward system. Dry night = treats. Rhyan LOVED the idea. I explained to him that when he wakes up dry, he gets to pick a sticker (star or happy face) and put it on the potty train chart. I can't explain the joy that flooded this little boy's soul. He sat in front of that chart Monday night and just gazed at it. This morning (Tuesday) he woke up dry! Oh, happy day. I did get up bleary-eyed and put him on the toilet at 3am...but whatever....that kid woke up dry. He was so happy to put a sticker on the chart. And even more excited when treat time came this afternoon. One day down. I'm believing for dry nights for the rest of his life!
Happiness is having someone to talk to:
Rhyan has been hanging out with these guys for the past two weeks.
For those of you who need an introduction they are: Tigger and Pooh in the back and Arthur and Elmo in the front.
They all walk and/or talk. Imagine them all going all that same time! Pandemonium. And Rhyan loves it that way.
Today is all about Rhyan's daddy. It's his 3*th (cough, cough) birthday. I think somebody is knocking on 40. But you wouldn't know it by looking at him :-) kickboxing has got my man looking GOOD!! 
We celebrated by going to Louise's Trattori. We love that place! When we got there they had a table open and available. How divine! 
After dinner, instead of partying the night away. We went to.....Wal Mart. I needed to pick up some AirBorne since my throat was feeling fuzzy--toddler germs. We are both getting so old :-( Sunday after dinner we had a small cake--mainly for the kids. And Rhyan thought it was his birthday! Poor kid nearly had a breakdown when I told him it was Daddy's birthday! Anyway, Christopher, here's to one fabulous year for you. I'm wishing you all the best that one person can stand! I love that man! He's such a hard worker, loves his kids to death, walks curbside when we're out, takes the trash out without having to be asked, picks his dirty clothes up off the floor, knows how to use the washing machine and dryer, buys me little cards just because, watches "Flavor of Love"with me and even dishes the dirt on the winner the next day! The man has skills! And best of all, he loves me even when I'm unloveable. What more could a girl ask for! Again, Happy Birthday Sweetie!!! EVERYONE-Please feel free to post a birthday greeting to him in the comments section!
On the toddler-front, today was Rhyan's first "official" picture day. I tried to coax him into practicing for the camera. He wanted none of it. Instead he gave me this lame "okay, enough of the camera stuff mommy" smile.
Rhyan has homework. He's 2 years old and he has homework. Unbelievable. Even more unbelievable is that he actually wants to do the homework. Every Monday, I get handed a bookl
et of work which is due on Friday.
By the time we get home Rhyan is requesting his homework. What kind of kid is this? So instead of starting dinner right away or having a moment to kick back, now I have to do homework. I thought I'd have a few years before all of this started. So there I am helping to trace upper and lowercase E's, guiding him to connect the dots and helping him count doggies and clown hats. I just hope this zeal for learning and this love of homework lasts through college!
We usually finish his homework by Tuesday, so that means that everyday until the next Monday he's asking for homework, so I've been making up homework for him--giving him letters to trace. Lately, I've been letting him paint his little heart out. Paint everywhere! Thankfully, it's washable....well we'll see if it is once I wash my white cargo pants that have black spots on them :-(
Rhyan is adjusting well to the new class. He still acts hesitat upon arrival, but when I go and check on him at recess, he's running, jumping and having a great time. The only other issue is his water intake. Turns out that the 3 year old teachers are STRICT about the kids drinking water. Needless to say, my kid is the one who protests drinking water all day every day. He protests and tries to get dramatic about juice....but he still drinks that water. I've been sending him to school with a water bottle that my mother in law bought for him a while back. Winnie the Pooh and Tigger just make drinking water a delight! We'll see how long this lasts!
Life was so much simpler when I was a stay-at-home mom. I was able to live in the moment at lot more easily. If Rhyan wanted to read a book, I figured the dishes could wait, the laundry wasn’t walking anywhere. We had time to stop and smell the flowers and watch the ants hiking on their way. Now I find myself pushing things along so we can stay on schedule and I fear my little one is resisting the rigid structure of our lives. Dinner at 6:30. Bathtime at 7:15. Storytime at 8pm. Lights out by 8:30. Sometimes he looks at me as if to say, ‘where is my mother? Who are you?’ It hit me last night when I was hustling him into pajamas and rushing him to pick out a book before bedtime. He wanted none of the regimen. Instead, he just wanted to dunk the basketball and football into the hoop. That’s it. In that simple moment, it hit me. Go with the flow. So I stopped with the pushing, put the book down and watched my little one dunk his heart out. Pure joy! For both he and I. Sure he was a little too amped up when it was time to tuck him in and by the time 10pm rolled around he was still making excuses to get out of the bed, but in that one moment, I let go and enjoyed what I’ll be longing for in a few years…some special one on one time with my favorite little guy.
Today was a milestone of sorts. Rhyan started his first day in the three year old class. We've been waiting, praying and pleading for this day. See..Rhyan couldn't move on with his classmates who started the class in July because he wasn't potty-trained. We offered stickers, treats, new pajamas..the list goes on. But it took the magic DVD to do the trick--Elmo's Potty Time. Just one afternoon with Elmo and Rhyan was a changed man. So he's now moved on--causing sadness for myself a nd his 2 year old teacher Mrs. H. When I transferred from being a stay at home mom to a working mom, she was right there to love my baby up. I'm forever grateful to her. So there we were last Friday, eyes wet with tears, mourning Rhyan's last day in the Trailblazing Two's class, while he's headed out the door, rolling backpack flying the wind. He did come back for a little pep talk from Mrs. H though.
On a brighter note, I made Daddy and Rhyan two happy boys, when I pushed everything aside on Saturday and brought little man to the gym. Oh the joy that flooded their souls. Since becoming a working mommy my visits to the gym had all but disappeared. But Rhyan picked up right where he left off--requesting his mini-sized gloves and teaching the class with daddy. CLASSIC!
