Thank you, Meri

A number of years ago our good friend Meri (or as the kids know her, "Auntie Meri" - which is to differentiate her from "Cousin Meri") bought us a lovely and handy gift - an electric ice cream maker. We have admittedly not used it as often as we would like. Last summer we had every intention of making ice cream and somehow the day-to-day of life got in the way and it never happened. But, we have our dear Meri to thank for the ability to make ice cream on a whim (as long as we have the salt, cream, ice and sugar on hand). And so, yesterday we turned that whim into reality. I sent Rick on an errand to get salt and cream - we already had plenty of sugar and ice and even fresh, sweet strawberries from the farm.

Mixing the ingredients.



Dad explaining the process.


Getting the ice cream maker put together.


Fast forward a few hours later and we had some fabulous homemade dessert.


Thumbs up from Eldest girl!


Middle girls gives it an "almost" thumbs up. This ice cream connoisseur states that the ice cream tasted good but was a "bit too grainy" for her tastes. (We are not exactly sure what made the ice cream a bit 'icy' but we are guessing it was the water content of the very ripe, juicy strawberries...?)


Another positive review from Youngest girl who seemed to think it was good to the very last drop.



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Speaking of Youngest Girl - I was looking at her picture from the trip to the farm and realizing that she could use a bit of a trim. I figured she'd also enjoy having her hair a bit shorter in the heat and humidity. After her bath this morning I took my scissors to her fine, straight locks and this was the result....



It's mostly even - and I didn't even have to use a bowl on her head as a guide.

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In other news on Youngest girl, she has been wearing big girl underwear the last two days. With a modicum of success, I might add. We have had a couple of small accidents and a few tears about not being a "big girl" yet. But, I took my cue from a Today Show segment on a woman who has become known as the Potty Whisperer for her Booty Camp successes (and the fact that she has potty trained her own six kids). The basic concept behind her Booty Camp is to make it the child's responsibility to go on the potty when his/her body says it is time to go. So, I don't ask her if she needs to go, I just give her that "job" to do and make it her responsibility to know when to go. Amazingly enough it seems to be working! (And part of the reason it is working so well is because she really is "ready" on so many levels...she's just been stubborn and I haven't wanted to deal with a fight. This new perspective on potty training removes me as the enforcer which is why I think it works so well for her at this stage of the game.)

Last night she did not even want to change to a diaper at bedtime (great!) but we did wake up in the middle of the night to clean up an accident (not so great, but all part of the process). I think she had been resisting the potty use too much yesterday and thus had the overnight accident and then I put her in a diaper for the rest of the night. Under normal circumstances she has lately been waking up with a dry diaper in the morning but refusing all requests to try using the potty. So, my hope is that once we get the daytime potty use down pat the nighttime use will follow suit pretty quickly. This morning she initially resisted the underwear again. I just reminded her about her new "job" and did not really give her a choice in whether or not to wear underwear. But I did give her a choice of which ones to wear. So, she picked out the pair she wanted and even showed them off to dad once she had them on. I've been giving her plenty of fluids today and she has actually held her pee for quite a long time. I made a couple of references to her 'job' but she has refused all suggestions until recently. After two big cups of milk and one of juice I think it was finally wearing her down. She decided to give it a try and actually peed right away. So far it's been an accident-free day and we are well into the afternoon hours! I might be able to celebrate a diaper-free home soon!

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Or perhaps I'm being too optimistic. As I was writing this post my dearest little one was...ahem...busy in the other room. Just now she walked into the living room with a new pair of underwear in hand and said "I want this pair of underwear." Since she had just peed on the potty a few minutes before I asked for clarification.

"Are you wet?", I asked.

No response.

And then evasion tactic, "I want this pair of underwear."

So, I asked again, this time more clearly "Are you wet? Did you pee in your underwear?"

"No. I have a poop," she answered.

Lovely.

So, we cleaned up her poop and we went over the rules of her new job again. This time making it very clear that proper placement of both pee AND poop fall within her job description.

I have to point out that she actually told me she had a poop. This is a step in the right direction. She never tells me when she poops in her diaper - to the point of outright lying about it when it is quite clear to the entire room, and perhaps the entire house, that there is toxic waste somewhere in the vicinity. She also did not hold it in which seemed like it might become an issue yesterday when it seemed she needed to poop and she was having a bit of a freak-out about the potty. She did not, in fact, poop yesterday aside from a few small pellets. So, she was overdue and I am thankful she is not a 'holder' which can lead to all kinds of bathroom neuroses that I'd like to avoid, thank you very much.

I'm attempting to remain positive here. Work with me people.