princess on her throne...

There are some milestones where everyone seems to have their own idea as to when it's supposed to happen. The one in question? Potty training. Some folks claim their child is potty trained before age 2, others say that they're child was 3 before it happened. While I'm not sure we're ready for full swing potty training, I figured it couldn't hurt to get a potty into the house awhile and take it from there.

Jamie and I took a trip to Target to look for a slide (you have no idea how hard it was to find a reasonably priced plastic slide contraption, but that's another story). While we're there, we pass the potties and figure we'd take a look. I wasn't prepared for the array of potties lined up on the shelf. Some were incredibly basic - pretty much a "pot to piss in". And others were terribly ridiculous. A potty that sings, cheers you on, has a face, etc? The grown-up toilet doesn't do that. Doesn't that result in a let down when she finally sits on the big potty and realizes that it won't clap for her when she goes? She'll end up on the singing potty for life.

We spot an adorable frog one that seemed reasonably priced. We put it on the floor in the middle of the aisle and tell her to "sit on the froggie." Our little Alexis loves to sit. Simply the act of sitting seems entertaining. Our living room has three chairs, and when she's bored of those, she'll sit on a step or what-have-you. So getting her to sit on the frog wasn't hard at all. Unfortunately, the frog wasn't practical. The eyeballs of the frog were sticking up in the front (to keep rogue tinkle in, I assume). Had there been one eye, it might have worked, but two eyes made it difficult for her to get her hiney over and on. Darn.

Then there's a red Baby Bjorn jobby. This brand makes the incredibly expensive baby carriers, and that pricing strategy seems to branch over into the potty world too. For $25, you get a beautiful red potty with a nice high back (for those times when you simply want to lounge.) "Sit on the red one." She slowly backs up her butt while looking behind her, plops on it, and looks quite comfortable. To make sure we were getting a proper comparison, we said, "now sit on the froggy." She obliges, getting up and trying her hardest to maneuver the eye balls. "Ok, back on the red one." Up on over and it's obvious it's the winner.

The whole time, the poor thing is sitting on the potties in the middle of the aisle and people are walking on by. Imagine if we were to start sitting on all of the toilets at Lowe's as we evaluated what to buy. People would look at us strangely. But with her, there were a few small smiles as folks looked down the aisle, then down at the little miss, and then went along their way.

We'll see when we get started. For now, it's in the bathroom and she'll come in when one of us is "going" and sit on it, hanging out until we're done. Last night, she got angry with me because I wouldn't let her bring the potty into the living room. Heaven forbid. At this point, it's just another cozy, ergonomic seat with a high back. All in good time...

check me out...

Pictures from our Easter weekend in Virginia. First - her in her "Easter dress." Second - sitting in her new antique (that's an oxymoron if I've ever heard one) rocking chair.

indecent exposure...

We spent Easter weekend in Virginia. Most of Jamie's family (on his mom's side) live from Virginia down (and have the accent to prove it). While I dreaded packing up all things baby for a simple two night trip, what I was more concerned with was the drive itself. There's no telling what 4 to 5 hours of driving will do to a 19 month old. Luckily, Jamie's mom came along, and having Grammy in the back to entertain is as close to a portable DVD player that we were going to get.

A key part of long drives with kids? Dry butts. The child is smooshed into a 5 point harness. There isn't much room for air in that thing, so any moisture doesn't have many places to go. There's the potential for leakage (and hopefully it's just pee leakage...but that's a whole different story.) Keep a soft little butt stuck to a wet diaper, and you can be setting yourself up for a miserable, red toosh-ed passenger. In both directions, we ended up having to change her shorts because some tinkle made its way out. Thank goodness for the Piddle Pad I bought.

During our trip home, we made a stop at Wendy's for a super healthy wholesome fast food meal. (As an aside, should you ever be driving from Virginia to PA, make sure you avoid this Wendy's. The cashier must have had some sort of bug up her ass and the food tasted a bit like ass.) I decide this is a perfect opportunity for a diaper change, so I grab the changing pad and head to the restroom. Wouldn't you know, they didn't have one of those plastic changing tables that just about everywhere has nowadays? Well, little girl, I guess a change in the car is in order.

I drop down my incredibly agile front seat, unfold her waterproof (yet snazzy) changing pad, bust open the diaper, and whoa - there's a nice big load of poop in there. I get to work scrubbing this thing clean. Once I'm satisfied that she's ready to be repackaged, I turn around to grab the diaper from Jamie, turn back to the child, and witness my little girl peeing. The pee pools on the plastic and she's laying in a nice puddle. Lovely.

I yell for Jamie to grab her, so he scoops up the girl and stands her on the pavement. There she is, pink sneakers, purple shirt, and a bare, dripping hiney. Incredibly attractive. I pick up the pad, assuming that I can simply lift it, dump it, and start over. Of course, being the uncoordinated woman that I am, I manage to fling the stream of pee all over the front seat. (Wouldn't you know, this was also the time that we had planned for me to take over driving...figured.) Being without a towel, it was time to figure out exactly what to do next. All the while, Alexis is standing there, dressed in only sneakers and a t-shirt, oblivious to the fact that she's half naked in a public place.

While I continue to sop up the pee (using a handful of Wendy's napkins that Jamie's mom had grabbed for me) in an attempt to make sure that my own shorts don't end up looking like hers, Jamie and his mom drop down the hatch of my Element and use it as a makeshift changing table. No pad for comfort - simply bare, dirty plastic. She still doesn't seem to care or notice the situation. She's just hanging out, surely enjoying the nice warm breeze. Clean, dry, and redressed, we get her back into her carseat, ready to continue, and finish, our trip. I ended up needing to sit on my mother-in-law's sweatshirt to stay dry - a much appreciated donation.

In the end, you always need to be prepared when traveling with kids (whether it's a half hour or 4 hours). Extra set of clothes, more diapers than you'd think you'd need, a snack, etc. Now I've realized that it also includes keeping a towel as well as an extra changing pad ready in your car. In addition to being prepared? Be ready to be flexible. You never know when and where an impromptu brainstorming session will be warranted.