Potty training, smotty training!!

I have heard it said many a time that potty training girls is much easier than potty training boys. And by hearing the stories, and reading the blogs of friends who have girls much younger than Jackson who are potty trained I am beginning to think that little tid bit of information is true!!  And if that is the case, SHOULD we (or rather, I) decided on a #3 I am already putting in an order for a little girl...(although, there is a trade off isn't there? Then I would be dealing with the hair doing, and the drama that comes from little girls, and the endless fights over wardrobe and all of that fun stuff. Hmm, there are still things to be considered on that matter I guess.)  Anyway, we have been working on potty training with Jackson for a long time, and when I say long time, I mean LONG TIME!!  Although, I guess it doesn't help to have a baby brother AND a big move in the process of said training!  However, I am happy to say that we have come to a point in our "training" (by the way, I have come to hate that word) that Jackson does a pretty good job. We rarely have any accidents, and he will go pretty much all day with no help at all, for which I am truly happy! But, there is one part of the day that he refuses to go, and without being too graphic or gory, lets just say it is the part of the day that I wish he would go in the potty the most!!  He REFUSES, to go at this time.....I even put him on the potty the other day, and he was screaming and kicking. I didn't want to scar the child, so I let him down put him in a diaper and WALLA...okay, I will end that story right there! Just as I have come to the realization that Charlie will wake up every three hours for the rest of his life, I have also come to the realization that Jackson will forever be half potty trained!  Ah, my life!!!!    

And we are mobile! Sort of.

Just a side note: I am sure you will see Charlie's red little cheeks! That is another battle we are losing.  The poor little guy has eczema and his cheeks are always red and irritated.  

And I am sure you are wondering if my voice could get any more high pitched and annoying, and I assure you, it can!! 

Charlie VS. Sleep

There is a battle going on in our home and I have to say, the good guy is losing!!  The battle is between Charlie and SLEEP! As a mom, it is interesting to note the differences between child #1 and child #2.  Child #1 (who, in this case, is Jackson) was such a melancholy, content child!  He would lay on the floor or in his bouncy chair for hours watching me cook, do laundry, or clean.  He would coo and giggle and entertain himself.  And if you put him in the swing, look out, he was asleep in 2 minutes and would sleep for hours, then wake up, eat, play, and sleep all night!  So naturally, with such a good #1 there was never any question about whether or not there would be a #2. And so, we come to Charlie (#2).  Now, this is not to say that Charlie is not a good baby, because he is, as long as he has proper attention.  Most of the time that attention has to come from mom, and a good part of the time it can come from Jackson (which is why it is helpful to have a #1.  Although "helpful" isn't a word I would use ALL the time with big brother, but he tries and that is what is important!)  Matt is quite offended that he really can't soothe him at all, and HELLO, keep him AWAY from Grampa (that's Bob!)!  Anyway, you put Charlie on the floor and watch out, he'll be screaming at cha, you put him in his bouncy chair, you can bet he'll throw a fit, and as soon as he is in that swing he is squirming his way down so that his feet hang over the edge and his whole life flashes before your eyes as you picture him flying out and landing on his head...but what is worse than all of that, the thing that prompted this post, is that he does not sleep at night. We have tried EVERYTHING to get this kid to sleep.  I fill his belly right before going to bed, we keep him up till nine so that I can at least get a good three hours in before he wakes up screaming! And we have let him scream it out (which is a horrible horrible thing for a mother and father to do to a five month old. Yeah, lets just say that one didn't happen too often after the guilt that came while listening to him through the monitor just cry and cry....oh my heart was broken) So, I guess I have just come to accept the fact that he will be up every three hours for the rest of his life!  He doesn't have to eat at those times, mind you, he just wakes up, screams (unless you are quick with a binky) and goes back to sleep.  But then of course, I am awake for two hours until my eyelids start to feel heavy and are on their way to closing for good, and thats when it starts all over!  I can't tell you what Jackson thinks of having a zombie for a mom..... but as for me, I can honestly say that there just may be reservations about having #3!!  

A whole new chapter!

I guess I should post about the recent goings on in our little family.  About two or three months ago Matt interviewed with a law firm that he really wanted to work for.  After waiting a couple of days, the guy called Matt and said they had decided not to fill the position, but that he would keep Matt's resume on his desk should any openings come up.  Well, a month later, he called and said, "Hey, we have an opening in Tucson." Matt told him he would talk to me about it and hung up, then immediately started laughing.  He then told me they had offered him a job in Tucson, after which I started laughing!  Tucson, YEAH RIGHT!!!!!!  However, the more Matt talked about this job, the more it sounded like we couldn't turn it down.  That weekend we hopped in the car and drove the hour and a half to Tucson, and let me just say I was NOT impressed!  I immediately thought I could not live in the middle of the desert. (Literally! This place is full of cactus and dirt!) However, despite my reservations about the landscape, we both felt really strongly that this is where we needed to be.  So, to make an even longer story short, Matt accepted the job. They gave us a month, so Matt gave his two weeks at the county, we packed up, said our good byes, and here we are in lovely Tucson!  And I have to say, I just LOVE it!!   We were able to find a house for the same price it would cost to rent an apartment so we went for it!  And I cannot tell you how much Jackson loves having space to run around in.  We live in a beautiful area and I have already grown to love the cacti and the dirt! Not to mention when we look out our windows we have a beautiful view of the mountains (yes I said mountains!)  So, that is where we are right now!  Life is good and we feel so blessed.