no pees

I get frustrated by cleaning up a nearly four year's bed more than two nights in a row. It's really irritating to spend money on pull ups and diapers when you find them used, on the floor near his bed before he even falls asleep. (he takes them off because they are already yucky and wet) Or when your husband forgets to put them on and sends little boy to bed in regular underwear. Everything this morning was completely soaked. Little boy reeked of urine from head to toe and was shivering from being wet most of the night.

And I am reminded by other adoptive moms that it could be worse. WAY worse. Thanks for the reality check.

what's new with us...

The kids have no school tomorrow or Monday, so C.'s class is having a "friendship celebration" today. She wanted to go shopping for some Valentine cards, but I found a cute idea in the Family Fun Magazine for hand made cards. She loved the idea and we spent several quality hours together making 30 cards for her classmates and teachers.

We have had a cold work it's way through the crew, but nothing too bad thankfully. E. got the worst of it, and got a yucky sore under his nose. (doesn't he look so sad?) L. missed school yesterday because of a sore throat and headache.

The swing kit arrived last week and the boys have been LOVING it! It has been great to sooth senses, burn energy and help my sanity. Also, the weather here has been great (believe it or not). Last week we had sunshine, temps in the 50's and no rain/snow. So we went outside to play for several days in a row. The kids helped Daddy do some yard work while the little guys pulled the wagon around, played in the sand box, and ran in the grass.

K. had her seventh birthday the other day! She is such a sweet, beautiful little girl. We celebrated with ice cream cake from Baskin-Robbins, and spent the day together. She got to spend the night at Grandpa and Grandma's house the night before.

S. went potty in the potty chair a few times the other day! This may be the start of something... sorry, no picture to go with this one!

Pee Pee

E. is fully potty trained, but we are working on staying dry during bedtime.  He is 3 years and 4 months old.  Lately I have been putting a diaper or pull up on him at night, to keep bedding dry.  Last night J. put the boys to bed and decided to have E. sleep in his big boy underwear.  He woke up, changed his wet pants by himself and started to play.  We went to his room to grab some clothes and noticed a huge puddle of urine on a bean bag chair in their room.  We questioned E.  He acted out the whole thing very clearly, showing us how he pulled his pants down and went "pssss" on the bean bag.  He got in BIG trouble.  He was asked where he should go pee pee.  He replied "in de toilet".  This is in fact the third time he has urinated in his room on purpose.  I am not very happy and am not quite sure how to discipline.  Even negative attention is attention, if this is why he is choosing to do this.  The bathroom is a quick few steps down the hall so I don't think it's that he couldn't make it there.  I think that part of the problem may be that at the o. the boys would urinate wherever they chose to outside.  Maybe.  Or maybe he is just doing this to be naughty?  I don't know.  Hoping he will not do this on our camping trip this weekend! Now, off to do some laundry, pack and clean up pee pee. 

Almost Friday!

More rashes on another child!  Is it from E. or the dog?  That is the million dollar question. Our long haired chihuahua has a spot on his chest that I noticed the other day, the day after I noticed several spots on my daughter, C.  C. and Jackson the chihuahua are best friends and often sleep together. We immediately made a doctor appointment and it seemed like deja vu.  He was just as stumped as he was about E.'s rash.  He took a skin scraping and in the meantime prescribed some cream.  It seems like it may be working, for now.  And poor Jackson's been spending a lot more time in his kennel until his skin clears up.

While I was at the doctor (I had to bring all my kids with me) I mentioned my suspicion of E. having some sort of sensory problem.  The doc was kind enough to listen to me even though we were there for another issue.  He wrote a prescription for an evaluation and therapy, and recommended a woman who specializes in this sort of thing.  I called this woman's office and found that they have a waiting list 2 to 5 months long!  I think I may look around a bit more.

The kids have been having a great time at VBS and today they had a hot dog feed for parents and kids afterward.  E. and S. were their charming selves, you would have never even known that moments before we left the house, E. had been whining nonstop for about 30 minutes.  The speech therapist was here and E. was upset about something, but didn't want to share what he was upset about.  He also had a somewhat difficult day yesterday and and even more challenging night.  This is unusual as he is normally a pretty good sleeper (at night).  He was up for what seemed like every hour crying and whining in his bed.  He can turn it on and off like a light switch, and we tried everything possible to be sure he was comforted and happy.  It was just like he was bored with sleeping and was trying to keep himself and us, awake.  He HAD to be exhausted from no nap yesterday and a pretty busy day.   He has been acting this way before bed nearly every night, but usually once he's asleep he stays asleep all night.

Today I was determined to get him and S. to nap, so I had E. go to the potty before laying him down.  I also gave them both some warm milk.  Then I laid them down in their beds.  All was quiet until I checked on the banging noise I heard from their room.  E. was sitting up, banging on his headboard, with a horrible smell coming from his rear.  He had pooped and peed in his pants, just 10 minutes after he had the opportunity to use the bathroom.  I felt like he did it on purpose to spite me!  I prayed for patience and grace as I cleaned him all up and put him back to bed.  He had a great 2 hour nap after that.  And he will be going to bed with a diaper on for a while.

I can't wait for J. (hubby's) days off, coming Saturday!  We don't have many plans, but for some  reason, things just go so smoother while he's home. And E. really listens to him.  

Potty Training

This picture is of E. at the orphanage.  Thankfully they had introduced him to the potty!

Now that we are back to our routine after our trip, we've been working on potty training E.  He is doing pretty well, with a few messes here and there.  He is also learning quite the potty vocabulary...it's hilarious!  He now says "got pee pee" or "poo poo butt".  It's amazing how kids learn things from hearing others (like 3 children) say them.  We've been using cloth training pants and have found that this is the best way (although messier) since he will still go in Pullups and the like.  And since it's Earth day, I must add that this is the more "earth friendly" way to go.  It's not too bad to toss the undies in the wash with the cloth diapers from S.