rachel's continued ramblings

i totally love the random stuff layla comes up with. today as i was reading a book to her before her nap, she stops me in the middle of a page and says, "i want to be a butterfly." it's not like it was in any way related, we were reading the little engine that could. so i stop and we talk about it for a minute and she continues to tell me that she wants all the rest of us to be butterflies too. so i ask her what we would do if we were butterflies, thinking she would say something about flying, or looking for flowers, but no, she says, "we'll paint!" okay... then she says that she wants grandpa to be a butterfly too, and then we'll be butterflies in a tree... a brown tree. sure, why not? after that, she was done with the butterfly thought and i finished the book. the great thing about it is that she's totally serious! wouldn't it be great to be able to come up with stuff like that, and not have that stupid grown-up filter in your head t...

well, i think that layla has FINALLY decided that pooping is okay! for almost a week now, she has been pooping regularly with no major fuss! it's almost like she's a normal child!! she'll actually say the words, 'i want to go poop' and when you take her she won't say, NONONONO and scream and cry and dance around, she'll sit on the potty and go!!! not only that, she's gone at a restaurant and at a friend's house! i cannot express what a relief this is!!!!!!!!!!! whoo hoo! and i swear, this will be my last blog about poop!

first of all, i'm happy to report that we have officially 'won' the rights to assemble at tully's between aprox. 9:50 and 10:35am on sunday mornings. the last few times we've been there and the 'cranky old lady' was there, she packed up and left as soon as we arrived. woo hoo! i feel like i'm in some 1950's high school gang and we've established our 'turf'. at any rate, life is much more pleasant when you can enjoy your heathen coffee without the fear of being yelled at if your children happen to be acting like children. next, micah's potty usage is going well, but has taken an unexpected turn. last night (and by last night i mean the night i'm currently in, since it isn't yet 6am and we've been awake for an hour and a half or more), he apparently decided that he wanted to use the potty in the night. not really what i had planned. of course i could be overthinking this and just assuming erroneously that that's what he ...

so layla has had some minor impovement since my last rant. she did finally poop that day, and in the potty, which is always ideal. yesterday she actually pooped twice, which is totally unheard of for her! she's been eating a lot of dried fruit lately. maybe in increase in frequency will help her get over her issues more quickly. that would be best for everyone involved. layla's pottying issues, along with those of many other toddlers and preschoolers i've encountered over the years, have gotten me thinking about the whole potty training process in general. i have a tendency to think of things anthropologically, and when encountering a typical problem in the natural, universal flow of life, i begin to wonder how the rest of the world does it. i've always been one to question the status quo, especially when 'the way we've always done it' doesn't seem to be all that effective. or at least it's leaving something to be desired. over a year ago, i stumbled...