Lottie Dottie, She Likes to Potty

This summer, when Charlotte was 18-19 months, she expressed interest in trying out the potty. I felt like maybe it was a little early, but since she was interested, we gave it a go. She went a few times, had a couple small accidents, but I didn't push for it at all.

I was enormously pregnant with Lena at the time and everyone thought that two kids in diapers would be so much work, but actually, it's probably a lot easier than having to rush off with one to the can at a moments notice.

Over the past several months, Charlotte has completely ignored her little potty chair, and I haven't bothered. We had a couple of trips planned and honestly, it was easier for me if she stayed in diapers. Gross, I know.

But lately, she's been wanting to try again, and I'm thinking this is our window. I can't give up now. 

I read the 3 day potty training bootcamp a few months ago and we sort of follow it, but I can't commit to saying no diapers ever again. We will work on naps and night time once she seems to have day times figured out. Over the course of three days, there has only been one accident, and I am so proud of her.

During this time, there is a ridiculous amount of bribing, tv, kid's songs, dancing, and phone calls to dad to tell him the big news. 

I really have no idea how long this whole thing is supposed to take, but I think we're in it to win it now. I've noticed she's been a little more emotional over all. Who knew that diapers provided a sense of security? She definitely gets nervous before going, so I mostly just stay chill and say "you can do it." while blogging or something. 

In other non-bodily function news, Charlotte has been referring to herself as Lottie and I love it. I always loved it as a nickname since I saw the movie A Little Princess and her character was so cute. While we were in Florida, we half jokingly started calling her that, and it's starting to stick. 

She's at a really fun age right now, and her speech is improving a ton so it's funny to hear some of the things she comes up with. She sometimes protests when I pick out a certain outfit and then when I let her choose something, it ends up looking something like this:

And it horrifies me. Other times, she prefers to wear an oversized Elmo shirt or the shirt we got on vacation that has a fat ol' manatee on it. Fortunately most of the time she doesn't put up a fight at all and getting dressed is not a battle yet. Hair combing is, and when she wakes up, her hair is a huge tangled, matted mess.

It's next to impossible to comb through this without water and detangler, which leaves her hair really flat and gross looking. Suggestions are appreciated. It takes several minutes to brush through it.

Do you remember picking out your own clothes?

I remember being in 2nd grade and sneaking my sister's black and white striped leggings to school with one of her  plaid sweaters and changing once I got there. She was 5 years older than me and so cool, but would never let me borrow her clothes, so I snuck 'em! (Are you just finding this out now, Steph?)

This Is Mah Jam

Like I mentioned in a previous post, I started a new workout. It's been going moderately well, meaning I haven't lost any limbs or peed in front of everyone yet.
Here are my complaints:
I jumped right into a class without having worked out like this in a couple of years. We basically do the all the same thing, except at this point I cannot always keep up or lift the same weight as some of the others. This results in me trying to figure out 1) if I can lift the prescribed weight and 2) if I can figure out how to change it. answers: probably not.
Forcing me to listen to Nickelback and Kid Rock. I know lots of people who like Kid Rock. But I just can't. I can't. And Nickelback? I think I actually heard someone excitedly say "yes! it sounds like you have the whole album!" I almost shouted right out loud. On top of that, the work out was 50s, 40s, 30s, 20s, & 10s of 10 different moves. It was like I was in actual hell. If I need to do 150 of anything, I'd rather listen to Chopin or Beethoven.

I simply cannot be inspired while listening to songs that make me lose hope for humanity.
I wonder if it would be rude to pop in some headphones and just listen to my own jamz. Or maybe we could theme days for music. That would actually be really exciting for me.
Last night I found myself searching for once popular songs and their music videos. I was mostly stuck in 1998-99 and was feeling nostalgic and also cracking up at how ridiculous it all was.
If each work out could be a musical surprise, I think it could be a lot of fun. Like if Bubba Sparxxx Miss New Booty was played, I think I could crack out a few extra mountain climbers.

"keep up the good work" ~Bubba Sparxxx

I'm not claiming I have great taste in music. But I will say that I do turn into a girl at a bar when I hear my favorite song come on. I don't squeal and run off mid-conversation so I can dance, but I sorta nod to myself in acknowledgement of my jam. 

What kind of music pumps you up for a good work out? I'm a rap and r&b type of girl with some bubblegum pop and indie randomness thrown in there too.

Senseless

This might sound weird.

Earlier this week after I climbed into bed, I felt like something was off. I laid there doing my mental checks: doors locked, lights off, Darby's downstairs (for now), kids are sleeping (for now). It was funny that I was able to figure it out, but what it was is that I've had no sense of smell for days. This cold has stayed for the long haul right in my face.
 I felt off because there's actually a lot your nose can tell you. Are my scentsy warmers still on? Does the baby need a clean diaper?
Do I personally smell like I could use a shower?

What I realized is that I miss the smell of Lena. Sure, it's likely that she smells like spit up and poop, but I guess I'll never know. While it certainly isn't that big of a deal that I haven't been able to smell (or taste!!) in 7 days, it's actually really starting to take it's toll. Dramatic? Probably. But it's not like you expected anything different from me. I love to snuggle that little baby and it's just not right that I can't enjoy that nice stinky baby smell.
Last night Lena was up a BUNCH (her routine was off, and she went to bed about an hour later than normal) and then with her lingering cough causing her to occasionally barf, I got up each time to check on her. She'd take her pacifier and go to sleep for another hour. But she was up every 90 minutes between 12-6. At 6, I fed her and changed her diaper, and she was totally sleeping in her own dukie for probably most of the night. If I could have smelled it, I would have changed her, say...6 hours before that.
As much as I don't want to smell that, It'd sure my my job a lot easier.

This whole loss of taste in addition to smell is pretty crappy too. I mean, what is food WITHOUT TASTE?!
Sustenance? Bah. I eat food 'cuz it's good, y'all. I've been trying to use it as an excuse to eat healthier because it's not like I can even tell what I'm eating, but I thought maybe there were secret healing properties in pizza and breadsticks. And since I couldn't taste after my first serving, I thought, maybe I just need LOTS more and then I'll be able to taste. It didn't work. Alcohol is also not holding the key to my health.

7 days without taste. I've added hot sauce, taken apple cider vinegar (made me barf. still couldn't taste), drank hot tea with lemon and honey, taken a bite of a lime. It doesn't matter. I have dead taste buds.

If you know what I can do to get my taste and smell back, please help. I'm afraid I've been ruined.
(bonus points if you said that like Stewie)

Being Sick's the Worst

I currently have two sick kiddos.
It's been so rare that Charlotte has been sick for more than a couple of days, and now that Lena is in on it, it's double trouble.

I noticed Charlotte had a  teensy cough last week, and then a fever the next day, and it's continued to spiral down. Lena joined in a couple days later, and the coughing absolutely breaks my heart.
I took Lena to the doctor today for her 6 month appointment/sick kid combo visit, and she's got bronchiolitis which may or may not be caused by RSV. This basically means there's nothing to do but wait. Unless it gets worse, then there's breathing treatments, but so far, no need.

Thankfully they're both sleeping decent (a LOT) but all that means for me is that I'm spying on them to make sure they're still breathing.

On top of all this, now I'm getting sick too. It's interesting how my perception of being sick has changed since having kids.
When I was working before I had babies, if I felt the onset of a cold, I'd be like "bummer." but I'd still go to work (unless it was really bad), infect others, work out, stay out late on the weekends, sleep it off, let the cold get real bad because my lack of rest, and then I'd take a day or two to get it together and hopefully I'd be better. I don't too often get sick so this wasn't a big issue.
Now that I have kids, the moment that I get the throat tickle, or the tingly nose sensation, I'm like "OH MY GOSH THIS BETTER NOT BE HAPPENING NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO".
Disclaimer: this is not me being a martyr. I have sought reinforcements a time or two when ill.
But there is no calling in sick. All of the things? They still must get done. Because otherwise there will be lots of diapers dragging on the ground from their weight. That's really the main thing. I'll let the house suffer. We'll get take out for dinner.
The other issue is really hoping that your kids don't get sick too. In this case, it's had the opposite effect. I got sick from the kids, who got sick from church nursery. Which is basically another whole can of worms that I probably shouldn't get into.

Everyone has been so helpful with remedies and tips for taking care of the little ones who can't take a slew of drugs to alleviate their ailments. So far, my favorite has been the apple cider vinegar, cayenne, honey, and ginger concoction that I would never in a billion years give to my kid, and ohmygosh it tasted so so so bad, but it worked on me. But know this: do not take it on an empty stomach. hurl!

Do you have any home remedies you swear by?  Not just for kids or colds, but for anything.
We used to be told that burnt toast would prevent a hangover. It didn't.

Attempts at Getting Fit

After seeing pictures from our family vacation, I realized it was high time I lose those last few(ish) pounds of baby weight. Going to the gym and running 2 slow miles a few times a week just wasn't cutting it.
So I talked with a few friends that I used to work out with back before I had kids and now am back in the game.

and omg.
I'm sore.

I don't know if this group class has a name for what we're doing, but it's basically intervals of evil.
And while I'm quite out of shape, I remembered how to do a few of the moves and I didn't die.

I did almost do this a couple times though.

Today, however, was my second time and I almost cried. Not because of pain or being a big wuss, but because I kept telling myself that if I can have a baby, I can do these reverse curls. But the problem is, I can't because I had a baby. I had NO idea that my abs were completely gone. And the cycle continues.

Today the trainer asked me If I've used an ab roller before and as I picked it up so I could be all "uh yeah. fer sher" the whole thing fell apart and rolled across the floor. And then when I actually went to use the stupid thing, I thought I must have been doing it wrong because it had never been that hard for me in my entire life.
And she actually said "it's okay. you just had a baby." 1) I would never expect a hard ass type trainer to ever have sympathy for someone who had a baby. I mean, people have babies all the time and need to get back into shape. 2) when does the just run out?

I think the first 3 months everyone says "oh don't worry, you just had a baby!" but anytime after that, no one cares anymore. You're just fat after that. and tired.
I think my just ran out, but if that trainer wants to give me a teensy break on reverse curls, I'll let her.

I'd probably learn to work out if someone put peanut butter or cheese by the weight machines too.

I'm signed up for the rest of the month and my plan is to continue. It's tough because the times are less than ideal and need to arrange for childcare each time, but it's worth it to me. I need the accountability because otherwise I work out for 5 minutes and say "well, that had to do something." 

what's the most sore you've been from a workout?

Once I pulled my groin bear crawling while pushing a weight across the floor and people thought I was in a serious car accident the next few days.

Family Vacation to Manasota Key

Whew!
We made it home this weekend after a fantastic family vacation.
It feels like forever ago that we left and were dealing with the BS of flight delays, missing connections, and early morning takeoff.
But once we arrived we were in full on vacation mode. We met my in laws at an amazing beach house in southern Florida and though it can be tough vacationing with little ones, we had lots of help and Charlotte had a built in playmate with her same-age cousin.

She's such a copycat, and he's such a leader. They played hard every day. 

The weather was mostly great, with 3 out of our 5 days being next to perfect. There was a red tide advisory and it produced a pretty annoying cough. I had heard of it before but wasn't familiar with what it actually was.

A little scared of the water, but Charlotte coaxed him in. 

We spent the nice days on the beach just steps out of the door. The beach along the water was loaded with shells and sharks teeth, but we had a nice sandy spot where a new deck was going to be built. So the kids had a spot to play without getting washed away into the sea.

Excited about just about everything

On the less nice days, we lounged around just like we would at home, but it was better because we weren't at home. And I would eat lots of things like dip, and drink things like lime-a-ritas.

We captured one of Lena's finer moments.

My little beach baby

Lena did so, so well the first few nights. Slept completely through the night 12-13 hours. It was amazing. I of course couldn't sleep because I was obsessively checking on her. Then she went back to normal, and then worse than normal, which is really hard when you have a screaming-in-their-sleep baby sharing a room with you. And you can't take her out of the room because there's 10 other people sleeping somewhere. So in that respect, it was good to get back home and into our own spaces. 

Coming back home from a busy trip with lots of people has been tough on the girls (and ME.) It's been a rough week to say the least. I don't know if they're adjusting, sick, being babies and toddlers, or what. But yesterday there wasn't a moment except for the 30 minute nap overlap that at least one kid wasn't crying. 

By the time we got home I felt like I didn't need a vacation in a while, and we live to plan our next trip. But after all this needless whining and protesting, I'm ready to leave again. alone.

But overall, a beach vacation was totally manageable with the two kiddos and I'd definitely do it again. Just not for a little while. :)

Where is the best beach you've ever visited?