I’ve been inspired. (Thanks ladies!) Also, I’d like to have Liliana potty trained as soon as possible because she keeps getting a rash on the small of her back from her diapers. She can only wear the Walmart-brand diapers as it is, because every other brand gives her a full-on all-over diaper rash. Lately though, the rash has been present more often than not. This morning, I took Liliana’s night diaper off and brought out the potty.

Me: Liliana, do you want to go pee on the potty?
Liliana: No!

I then told her that if she went pee on the potty, I’d give her some chocolate. (I’m all about the bribery.) I put her on the potty in front of Handy Manny with a sippy cup of milk and a bowl of goldfish.

After 10 minutes she peed! On the floor.

I went off to print a potty training chart. A Dora potty training chart. She was so enamored by her new potty training chart that she ripped it right off the wall. “DORA!”

I didn’t read any books. I didn’t read any articles online (besides the potty training adventures of friends). I just pulled out the potty, showed her the bribe, and hoped for the best. I don’t remember potty training with Kaylie. I was in full-time school, and she spent her days at daycare. She was doing great, except she was still pooping in her underwear.

I was talking to my mom one day and she said how much she missed Kaylie and would love to have her for a little while. (We were living in Saskatchewan, my mom was in BC.) My brother was getting married November 20th that year (2004), so we decided that Kaylie would go home with her after the wedding, and I’d come to get her when I came home for Christmas.

Hardest month of my life. I am NEVER going to do that again. Kaylie was fine. My mom was fine having her. I was not fine not having her. But, she came back and never pooped in her underwear again. So, I guess it was worth it.

Our day today started out with an accident. No worries, I know she’s got to learn the sensation. But, when she finally PEED IN THE POTTY, she hardly noticed. She was stoked about getting a sticker and a piece of chocolate though (and kept asking, “more cockalit?”) And then she peed on the floor 3 minutes later.

Here’s how it went:
7:20am – no more diaper
7:40am – accident
8:25am – PEE IN THE POTTY
8:28am – accident
8:44am – accident
8:51am – accident
9:02am – accident
9:15am – accident, diaper goes on

“On no! A pee on a floor!”

She didn’t get it. She didn’t understand what was happening until after it happened. She didn’t even notice when she DID pee in the potty. I don’t think she’s ready.

I gave up. It’s frustrating mostly because I can’t do it every day. I’m gone nine hours a day, and for most of the morning, Kaylie watches Liliana so that Noah can sleep. This is going to be a long process, I can tell already.

We’ll try again next weekend.

Filed under: Liliana
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On the drive out to camp last weekend, I asked Noah when, during the year, sports were at their low point. I learned that, really, sports don’t have a low point. He went on to tell me when this sport started and then this sport overlapped with that sport and then this one started and overlapped with the other two and then this other one started its preseason …

If you are a sports widow, you are a sports widow ALL YEAR LONG. He did say, though, that right now there is only baseball. (There is also CFL, but he doesn’t really pay any attention to it*. Don’t tell any of our hardcore-Rider-fan neighbors.) I then asked him if he thought he could go a whole week without internet or TV. He gave me a look that was somewhere between disgust and Are you completely off your rocker?

Then he totally shocked me and said, “Let’s do it this week. Starting now.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. Now? You mean right this second? We’d be away the whole weekend, so that would be two days down where we couldn’t access those medias even if we had wanted to. So, reluctantly, I agreed to my own idea.

We ended up having to access a bit of internet throughout the week (we do our banking online), but we both avoided posting anything anywhere. No blog, no Facebook, no Twitter. For me, that is a HUGE accomplishment. I usually like to put my virtual foot in my virtual mouth many times throughout the day.

Going without TV was easy for me. It’s summer, so many of the shows I watch are on hiatus. And, even if it wasn’t the summer, I don’t watch live TV anymore anyway. I love my DVR. I could easy go without TV for a week at any time as long as I have my DVR.

The interweb is another story. I have a slight addiction. I started to freak out a little bit. What if something exciting happens and I miss it? What if people think I abandoned them? What if they wonder why I’m not commenting on their posts? I DIDN’T EVEN GET TO WARN ANYONE!

Then came another thought. What if they don’t miss me? What if they don’t even notice I’m gone?

I know that two of you did. You two are my very favorite two. Just so you know. And for the rest of you, even though you didn’t miss me, I still missed you.

*You know how some people claim that they are a woman trapped in a man’s body, or vice versa? Well my husband claims that he is an American trapped in a Canadian’s body. He isn’t a fan of any Canadian teams (except the Blue Jays) and doesn’t pay any attention to the CFL. Here in Regina, you could pretty much get stoned for saying something like that, so we tell people that IF we had to pick a CFL team to be our favorite, the Riders would be it. Keeps the rocks away from our windows.

Filed under: Noah, me, this post has no point
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It’s a good thing the weather predictors are so predictably wrong. There were thunder showers scheduled to descend upon Regina from noon until 5pm on Canada Day, and not a drop fell from the sky.

The girls and I headed to Wascana park after lunch for the Canada Day Celebration.

We hit up one of the (many) ice cream stands pretty soon after we arrived. I played my Mean Mom card and gave Liliana a plain waffle cone. Before you call social services on me for being so cruel, you should know that (a) Liliana isn’t a huge fan of cold things (except freezies), (b) she eats her ice cream cone upside down, and (c) because of the latter, it’s too messy. I’d rather she had her own plain cone and I just give her bites of my cone. She didn’t end up wanting any, and was perfectly content with her non-ice cream waffle cone.

We sat by the lake while we ate our cones. Liliana loved looking at the water and wasn’t a fan of me turning the Chariot around to take a photo.

I’m too much like my dad. (And I’m not complaining about that.) I hate crowds. I hate walking through them, I hate being surrounded by them. They make me feel claustrophobic. We took the long way around more than once to avoid the congested areas. Even after being there for only 20 minutes, we retreated to the lakeside.

Moments after the above photo was taken, Kaylie took a little plunge into the lake. She only got the left side of her pants wet, but it still kind of sucked. There are many many many many ducks/geese/swans/creatures that live in the lake, and Kaylie just happened to fall in some green poop. Fortunately, I’d packed baby wipes. I didn’t exactly pack them for her, but she ended up using them and Liliana didn’t end up needing them.

Kaylie really wanted to have her face painted, but we’d checked the face painting line earlier, and it was at least 100 people long. No joke. We decided to check back later. When “later” came, it was even longer. We were not into standing in a line for ever and ever, so we did stuff that didn’t have a line, like checking out the fire truck.

Liliana was stoked. She was standing there with a look on her face like, “Am I REALLY allowed to be in here?” She climbed up on the seat all by herself.

She came out of the truck fine, but started freaking out when she realized we were walking away from the fire truck. Right after she settled down, she tripped and cut up her knee a bit. Ah, but what a fun 10 minutes that was. Poor kid.

We walked around for another hour or so, and the last place we visited was the mini donut booth. The girls are BIG FANS. (As am I.)

Evidenced by the above photo, Liliana has a mouth full of mini donut.

Kaylie the Patriot.

Trying to get a photo of Liliana LOOKING AT THE CAMERA is a NEAR IMPOSSIBLE FEAT.

Noah had dropped us off on his way do to a bit of groceries, but he was going to sleep the afternoon away (which was alright, since he worked the night away) so we walked home. It was only just over 2k to get home, so it wasn’t so bad. Kaylie was tired though, and I let her go in the Chariot with Liliana. It’s supposed to be a 60lb limit (I think together they’re 80-90lbs), but I didn’t feel like listening to the whining and I figured the exercise would be good for me.

I was drowning in sweat again when we finally got home. I’d gone for a 5k run earlier that morning for my first drowning-in-sweat moment of the day. I laid on the couch when we got home and zoned out to Little Einsteins. When I got up half an hour later to make dinner, I could hardly move.

*~*~*~*

We’re heading out in a couple minutes to spend the weekend at the lake with Noah’s parents – and we also get to see his grandma. The van is already loaded up and ready to go. We’re pretty pumped, as we haven’t seen a lake IN A YEAR.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Filed under: Kaylie, Liliana, family
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Hey Liliana! Look at the camera, not at the TV!

That’s right, we’re patriotic. Or I was at Old Navy and happened to see tees for $5 and couldn’t resist. Both girls are growing out of everything so fast that I had to do it. They love to be all matchy-poo.

Along with today being Canada Day, today also marks One Year since we moved to Saskatchewan. We didn’t actually arrive in Regina until July 2nd, but July 1st of last year we spent with my in-laws in Saskatoon. I can’t believe it’s been a whole year already. We’ve had so many changes that it’s just flown right by. Kaylie went to her third school in three years, Noah’s on his second job, and I’m on my fourth. I really don’t like job hopping, but every time it was a necessity. Either way, it’s made the year go by all that much faster.

July also marks some other fun/important dates to our family:

• This weekend, all four of us are heading to camp. The same one we went to last year.
• July 12 marks Noah’s Grandma’s birthday.
• July 19 marks both five years since Noah and I started dating, and four years since the day he proposed. (Also, it was my due date with Kaylie 8 years ago.)
• July 21 marks 26 years of life for Noah.
• July 22 marks 18 years of life for my sister, Erica.
• July 25 marks 5 years of blogging for me. What the deuce?
• July 26 marks 8 years of life for Kaylie.

I’d do the token I Love Canada post, but (a) I’m too lazy, and (b) others are doing a much better job.

We’re heading out to celebrate Canada Day Regina-style (as long as the forecasted thunder showers hold off). If you are Canadian, I hope you have a fantastic Canada Day! If not, Happy Wednesday!

And also? Watch my new favorite Canadian (beer) commercial, link courtesy of the Redneck Mommy.

Filed under: family, life
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Since I’ve been the absentee blogger lately, I have a bit to catch up on. Bear with me? I’m adding headings today because (a) I’m feeling extra nerdy and (b) you can skip the stuff you don’t want to read. I’m feeling extra nice today too apparently.

Also, the photos really have nothing to do with the post. Just for your FYI*.

That stuff that I was going to post last week and then forgot to
Before we get to the main event(s), you wanna play a game with me? Yes? Alrightythen. Let’s play “How Many People Can You Fit In A Mailroom?” It’s really quite fun. First, you listen while a voice comes on the intercom saying that there is a tornado drill and everyone in the building has to go down to the mailroom. And no one is to use the elevators. Next, you join with the herd of other people descending. If you’re on my floor, you descend five sets of stairs to get to the basement.

When you’re there, you determine just how little personal space is actually socially acceptable. And you make awkward small talk with 200 (or so) (who knows) of your closest friends (aka people you’ve never seen before because they don’t work on your floor). Or you pick apart people’s outfits and wonder if they’re picking apart yours. Or you just stand there silently hoping beyond hope that the drill will be over soon. When you finally see people filing out of the mailroom, you join the herds again. This time, though, you’re ascending five sets of stairs. That’s ten stair cases. Five floors of pure torture.

You finally get back to your desk and your heart is racing and your legs are tingling. You need water. It’s a good thing there’s a bottle of room-temperature water on your desk, because everyone likes some good room-temperature water.

Do you want to play this game with me yet?

It actually wasn’t so bad. I was having a good day. I’d had a productive morning, and then I’d had a great lunch with Kami. Do you want to see a photo of us together? So do I. Kami forgot her camera, and I forgot to use the camera that I had with me. I’m smart like that. I was happy to finally meet her, and had a great time chatting with her. Next time, though, there will be a photo. And, in September, there’ll be a photo of us getting first place in the Queen City Marathon. Right? Right? Right.

I’ve been blessed this past year to meet, in real life, many of the ladies that I’ve “met” online. Sounds creepy, doesn’t it? To anyone who is not a blogger, it sounds completely insane. Why would you want to do something like that? Aren’t you worried about who that person really is? Or that they’re a serial killer or something? Everyone I’ve met, though, has had some sort of real life connection. Someone I know in real life knows them in real life. Oh wait, except Amy and Laurie I think. But they each had newborns when I met them, and we all know that a serial killer doesn’t bring a newborn with them, right? Glad we’ve got that covered.

I like to run. I run for fun in the hot, hot sun.
The running thing is going surprisingly well. It’s been three weeks now (I think) and I’m pretty sure this is the longest I’ve ever stuck with something that requires me to be physically active. I’m still enjoying it. I think that the fact that I’ve got people counting on me gives me more incentive to get out there. Thanks Kami! The only struggle I’ve found is trying to fit at least three runs into a week. Since Noah leaves for work only an hour after I get home, I either have to go right when I get home from work or early in the morning. Or I have to make sure to run on Noah’s days off.

It’s tough sometimes, especially when I’ve been running up and down the stairs at work all day, but I love it. It feels good to be outside and it feels good to lay on the couch in a puddle of my own sweat afterward. You’re welcome for that visual.

Stinky Monday
My alarm didn’t go off this morning. You want to know why? I didn’t set it. Genius I am. Liliana woke me up at 7:25am when she started knocking on her door. I work at 8. Thirty five minutes is not enough time to add a shower to my morning equation, so I went without. I realized as I was finding a parking spot that I didn’t put on any deodorant. Whoops! Luckily, the washroom on my floor had some not-so-stinky body spray. I hate body spray, but this one was actually alright.

I needed to save my colleagues some smelliness, right? I also forgot to brush my teeth. Seriously, not a good morning. I keep gum in my desk drawer though, so I made it through the day. Barely.

The part where I go all Angry-Mom
Okay I lied, I’m going to talk about the photos a little bit. Kind of. It was only about 18 degrees Celsius out, and after about an hour in the pool Liliana’s lips started to turn blue. I told both girls that it was time to get out. Kaylie was okay with it, Liliana started freaking out. She screamed and threw herself on the ground. I had to catch her, because she almost smacked her head on the cement.

She continued to scream while Kaylie and I gathered up all the toys and towels, and screamed all the way to the door of our apartment. Normally I could handle something like this, as the tantrums aren’t exactly new. But, there were some co-eds in the pool who stared at us THE ENTIRE TIME. Throughout the ENTIRE ORDEAL. They wouldn’t take their eyes off of the screaming child. I wasn’t doing anything about her screaming besides carrying her in such a way as to protect my face from being head-butted and protecting her face from hitting the cement, like she would have done had I put her down.

I wanted to tell them to MIND THEIR OWN FREAKIN’ BUSINESS. Toddlers tantrum. I haven’t met one that doesn’t. Had they NEVER SEEN A TANTRUMING TODDLER BEFORE? I seriously almost lost it on them. By the time we got in the door of our apartment, I turned back to see them STILL WATCHING US. We got in our door and I completely lost it. Liliana was still screaming and not even close to letting up. I was intensely annoyed at the stupid co-eds and their stupid gawking at the screaming child.

I put Liliana in her bed to calm down (normal routine) and told Kaylie to take a book or two into my bedroom to read. I ran a bath for the girls, bathed Liliana WHILE SHE WAS STILL SCREAMING, put her to bed, set Kaylie up in the bath, and went to calm down on the couch. I was fuming. Liliana was still screaming.

Yes, I have anger issues. Why do you ask?

The part about Michael Jackson stealing Farrah Fawcett’s thunder
Because not enough people are writing about it. Seriously. I haven’t seen any Michael Jackson stories in the news at all. Hence the sarcasm.

I’ll keep it short. I promise.

I’ve never really paid much attention to Michael Jackson. I know his songs when I hear them, but I do not own any and never really planned to. I think he’s incredibly talented, but I just never buy music. Noah’s the music buyer, and I don’t even think he has a Michael Jackson CD. Maybe it has to do with the fact that Thriller came out the year before Noah and I were even born?

The day he died, I watched “Life with Michael Jackson” on youtube – a documentary done by some British guy. I gained some empathy for MJ. What I got from the documentary was that he just wanted to be loved. Bottom line. He was a very hurting man who just wanted someone to love him. I know it’s not what the British guy was going for, but in listening to MJ talk, I just felt bad for him. I didn’t know all that stuff about his incredibly crappy childhood, and I just ended up feeling sad. It seems as though he wanted children, especially his, to know that they were loved, after what he went through as a child. Obviously, he made some very unwise decisions in that area, and I don’t know the truth to the allegations.

He seemed to have a twisted sense of reality, and did not appear to have the maturity of a 50-year-old (or almost, at that point) man.

Do I think his death is a tragedy? Yes. I think it’s a tragedy that someone would have to endure that much (emotional and physical) pain for so long, and to think that the only way to deal with it is through surgeries and drug abuse. I think it’s a tragedy when someone thinks that they have absolutely no hope.

MJ’s ex-wife, Lisa Marie Presley, wrote on her MySpace blog (stop laughing that I read it) about a conversation that she had with him about her father’s death. “At some point he paused, he stared at me very intensely and he stated with an almost calm certainty, ‘I am afraid that I am going to end up like him, the way he did.’” I know that the jury is still out on his autopsy results, but I think that quote was a wee bit of foreshadowing.

The irony of the day was that Farrah Fawcett had died only hours earlier. The media coverage was hours and hours about Michael Jackson, and then once in a while they’d mention something about Farrah. I wasn’t a fan of her either (nothing against her, I’ve just never seen Charlie’s Angels), but he kind of stole her thunder.

The bright spot of the day? I’m sure Jon & Kate are thrilled that the spotlight is off them.

*I gave someone a redundancy award for saying that once.

Filed under: Kaylie, Liliana, angry mom, bad mothering, fitness, friends
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