By Gosh, I think we've got it!!!

A couple of months ago I wrote this post about my frustrations with Potty Training my 2 year old. Then a couple of weeks ago, I read and contributed to this forum about Stress-Free Potty Training on our MaineMoms.com Website. Well a couple people have been asking how it's been going. I'm here to tell you today that about a week ago, after telling my son that if he really didn't want to poop in the potty, that he could poop in his pants, but I begged him to tell me if he had to poop so I could put a pull-up on him so I didn't have to throw away another pair of underwear. That day, directly after lunch, my beautiful, adorable, awesome, brown eyed boy looked at me and said "Momma, I have to go poop on the potty." And he did it!

(Insert Applause Here)

Then he did it twice later that day. And I don't want to jinx us, but he hasn't had an accident since that day.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you very much! It gives me great joy to now say that I have potty trained my kid.

Memories of Soap Scum

They say when someone dies, they don't truly die, for they live on forever in our hearts and minds. Religion paints a rosy picture of a gated heaven opening up for a life in eternity. I want to believe that, but I kind of think it's all baloney. But I tell you one thing, our loved ones really do live on forever in the tiny quirks that made them who they were. For my mom, it was soap scum.

My mother loved to clean. She would be so excited to come to my apartment and make it spic and span. Oh, I was never proud of this, yea, I was an adult and my mother was still coming over and helping me clean my house... but seriously, who can resist? It was like having your best friend come over who liked to do maid service on the side for free.

But the one thing she always nagged me about during these cleaning trips was the soap scum in my bathtub. She would come to my apartment equipped with comet and a pair of gloves and head right to the bathroom. Then she'd get on her hands and knees next to my tub, grab my hand, and make me 'feel' the soap scum along the sides of the tub.

"Jenny, that's soap scum, you can't see it, but you can feel it, and it's gross." She would be absolutely appalled at me that I didn't (first)-- notice the scum, (and second)-- clean the scum. So she would proceed to scrub my tub and then she would take my hand again and have me physically 'feel' the difference. I always nodded and gave an appreciative grunt for her service, but after she left I could have still cared less about soap scum. But then two things happened in my life. For (one)-- she died. And for (two)-- I had a baby.

The baby finally caused me to care about the amount of soap scum in my tub. It started the first time I ever placed my daughter's precious little body into that same bathtub my own mother obsessed about. Like most mothers, I didn't want any impurities touching my daughter's skin. I finally noticed the soap scum, and I finally scrubbed the soap scum. I cleaned it because my own mother wasn't around anymore. She died eight weeks before my daughter was born. I, like my mother before me, became obsessed about the soap scum.

The point of all this is that tonight I got on my hands and knees in my apartment and scrubbed the soap scum off the tub and walls. My hands became pickled. The bleach stung my eyes. And the whole time I could hear my mother and almost feel her hand on my own. "Jenny, that is soap scum, you need to scrub it off."

I clean the soap scum for my daughter. I clean the soap scum for my mother. I clean the soap scum and I remember. Soap scum, now that's eternity.

The Moody Teenager

Just the other day my daughter and I were headed to the store, she was in such a happy, pleasant mood I couldn't help but point it out. I told her it's so nice when you smile and you are so happy! I asked her how a kid can go from being happy to sad to miserable and grumpy in 2.2 seconds. She laughed. I said, aha! You know, you do it. We laughed together. I told her that it was normal and I did the same thing when I was her age. Maybe now she could prevent it from happening in the future because she was aware of it...yeah right! Wishful thinking on my part:)

I know that as far as 13 year olds are concerned right now I have it made, other than the moodiness, she is a great kid. I guess it's good to communicate as much as possible with them and to remember that this is all normal and that she is no different than any other kid her age.

Here is a little snip it from and article I read recently...it was just nice to get the confirmation of what I already knew, in writing.

For most boys and girls, adolescence starts between the ages of 10 and 14 and continues until 19 or 21. The child becomes introspective again, often giving both himself/herself and his/her parents a rough time.
For the teenager, it is a time of concern about many things: acne, weight problems, menstruation, late development, early development, sexual arousal, school pressures, boredom, parental hassles, peer pressures and money problems.
It is a time of confused feelings, particularly in relationships with parents. Teenagers fight for independence yet fear too much freedom; they resent overprotection but need and want parental attention.
For parents, it is a challenge to keep a balanced view of their teenager's emotional roller coaster ride. As their children bounce back and forth between childhood and adulthood, parents often do not know what to expect. They must discipline when needed, yet understand their teenager's growing need for independent action.
Parents need to remember that life is stormy for all teenagers, that moodiness and changing interests are normal and that a certain amount of rebellion is not only usual but healthy.

Please feel free to comment and share your experiences too!