Potty Training 101

Got valium? OK, 6 changes later and we are still no closer than before. The issue seems to be Ben doesn't understand how to avoid using the bathroom in his pants. I keep asking him to tell me before he peepees. He says, OK. And then it happens again. I have tried bribery with stickers, new super-duper cool underwear and plain out talking about it. Nothing seems to be working. I am certain that at almost three and a half, he should be just about ready. Who knows. Am I doing something wrong? We go to the bathroom every 30 to 45 minutes. But I'm just not catching him in time.

Shouldn't there be an "easy" button for this?

Gayle

Weathering the storms and loving the Joy!

Updating...hmmmmm. I know I have been sort of slack on the blogging of late. Sorry. Today's version of family news is brought by "gentle" urging from a dear friend. Hope this helps with the DT's, Deb.

Let's seeeeeee...Ben is a wonderful bowl of sunshine. That pretty much sums it up. I'll write later when I have more to post. (snicker) Just kidding :o) Actually our lives have been cram-jam full of everyday excitement. Ben's progress into becoming a George is superb. He really is doing great at adjustment and life in general. He has a wonderful personality. Full of smiles, love and a great humor. In fact, he is so comfortable in his role in the George family that yesterday a lady even remarked on how much he is like me. She called him spoiled. That kind of stung a little.

The day unfolded as a very busy event of running from appt after appt and culminating in the last appt of the day, the vet.s office. We hit the ground running early in the morning for gymnastics. And the last stop was for my oldest labs' doctors visit. This was the first time Ben had been to the vet. We walk in the front and a "lady" and her two, quiet, sweet as angels, sons were sitting at her side. Her pit-bull proceeded to snarl and growl at my docile, cuddly as a bug, lab. So they wisked her and her ravaging dog and two sweetheart sons into a private room. Well, we went on with our business and appt. After everything was finished we come out of our room only to see HER standing at the front desk, paying her bill. When she saw us, she has her angelic sons take her snarling dog out to the car. Thank you! She then proceeded to strike up a conversation with me. I thanked her for removing her beast. She then started to ask me about Ben. She said, "He's an only child, right?" I said yes. Then she said, "He's SPOILED." I said, "Thank you, yes he is." I was floored. After I got out to my car and gained my composure I was floored again. What did she say about my son!?! And who the #@!% is she? Yes, he acted up a little while we were waiting. But good God, he had been cooped up in the car all day and had a very traumatic experience at the dentist office. Wait...am I just making excuses for him? He was acting up. But really. My angel....spoiled? At any rate, spoiled or not. If I had the quick wit of some I know, I would have been able to reply with something good like, "At least he's not a future poster child for America's most wanted". Or something like that. Oh well, in all seriousness, he's probably a "little" spoiled. But I wonder how many times I have passed judgement on someone else's child, not taking into account that I don't know the whole story. And instead of supporting my fellow sister and understanding she is probably doing the best she can at the moment, I have walked away, all high and mighty, thinking to myself, "if I ever have children, they will NEVER behave that way". Yeah, right!

Here are a few pics of Ben. He is growing right up in front of us. There are times I pick him up and realize how far down his feet are dangling. Then it strikes me just how fast he really is growing.

Oh...and did I tell you about Ben's dentist appt? Yesterday was his first "routine" vist. He has some decay. I expected that. After all, you can't suck on formula out of a bottle for almost three years and not have a little decay. After the checkup, the dentist, in his most sympathetic voice he could muster explained to me just how extensive his decay was. I was very diligent in listening until he got to the expense part....$5,500. WAIT....when I get back up from the floor, I want to hear that again. I'm not so sure I got it right the first time. Did you say Five Thousand, Five Hundred DOLLARS? US DOLLARS? WAIT...aren't these the same teeth he will start losing in about two years? Well that explains it. No wonder the boy is spoiled. If I spent 55 hundred dollars in a span of fifteen minutes, I'd be spoiled too!

God bless,
Gayle

P.S. I am home for the next four days. The mission...potty training. God, give me strength!