Sharing is Nice

So sometimes when I have had a not-so-stellar day, my favorite thing to do is listen to loud music the entire way home and then take it allllll out on Fred the minute I walk in the door.

Isn't he a lucky little ducky?

Seckman Sing-a-long

Elliot sat on his potty Saturday. I use the word "sat" carefully because there is a lot of fidgeting involved like he was uncomfortable. He has all but given up on his Spidey potty seat so I about jumped out of my socks when we were at Target today and were cruising the potty aisle.

And - let me tell you - we came home and no sooner had plopped it in the bathroom when Mr. Big Boy toddled in there, undressed himself and pottied!

(To the tune of Simon and Garfunkel's Sounds of Silence)
ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ahem

Hello Potty, my new friend,
I've come to sit on you again....

Interwebs, tubes and nets - meet our new best friend, Froggy Friend Potty - we call him Froggy Potty for short.

I know, I know, don't get my hopes up. But this is progress.

PRO-GRESS.

And the Battle Rages On

I love Elliot to pieces - all the way from his adorable new facial expression to his constant stubbornness. Most days.

The battle du jour at chez Seckman is potty training. Elliot wants nothing to do with it - won't step into the bathroom unless its for a bath, won't even touch the big boy underwear and adamantly refuses if the idea of pottying is even suggested. We even bought him Thomas the Train stickers - he acts all stickers are sooo for 1 year olds, guys.

Did I mention that's only at home?

At daycare he toddles over to the bathroom, drops his drawers and tinkles. Multiple times every single day. He gets teeny tiny stickers and is SO PROUD of them. Shows them to his classmates, shows them to the security guards and inevitably wears one home on his shirt proudly announcing to anyone that asks "Go potty!"

And I applaud this and praise this. And then - geez, Mom - I nonchalantly say "hey, we should try to potty at home too!" with a big, Mom-ish grin. I am met with a cold stare and a very solemn "No. No potty." Game over; I just put a screeching halt on his good time.

So what to do?

Fred took Elliot in for his 30 month appointment and asked his fabulous doctor about it. She suggested a sticker chart. And pointing out other kids his age that don't wear diapers. What I think she doesn't know (or wasn't told, perhaps?) was that our kid has the coolest stickers in town AND DOESN'T CARE and has underwear with firetrucks AND DOESN'T CARE.

So, again, what to do?

She says not to push him. It's the ONE thing they have 100% control over and it is a battle that the parents will never, ever win. He'll come around, she assures us. Riiight, I think, when he's in like 3rd grade - and you bet your bippee I'll be shoving him into those 2T firetruck undies!

What it boils down to is this: the boy can pee and poop whenever, wherever and however he wants. Should I provoke his stubborn side and start pushing potty training on him? Sure, if I want him pooping in potted plants and peeing on the cat.

I know what you're thinking and no - even though I don't like her, I don't wish for someone to tinkle on her.

WM: Sunday, July 19, 2009

I don't know what happened and how it became Wednesday night - but it is... so I better get cracking on our Weekend Moment.

It's the weekend Elliot didn't even know he was waiting for... Thomas the Train and Sir Topham Hatt were going to be in Fremont and we had tickets to ride! He should have had a great time - yelling, clapping and even dancing. He should have been trying to hang out the window and touch the dinga-dings (Railroad Crossings). He should have been blown away by the tent full of Thomas goodies for purchase. He should have at least cracked a smile. Once.

Turns out our little one was sick. He was diagnosed with Croup Saturday morning and was not himself on Sunday. After Thomas, a brief rebound at lunch and then a long nap he woke up in more pain than I have seen him in a long time. About 2 hours later the Urgent Care doc confirms my suspicions - raging ear infection.

So what, in here, is my Weekend Moment? Well. Err... I don't exactly know. Sadly, my favorite part of the weekend was when he was sick and cuddling to me closer than he has in a long time. He is, you know, 2 1/2 now and has many, many important things to tend to.

Appealing to a Higher Power

We have tickets with the Medwick's to see Thomas and Sir Topham Hatt this coming Sunday.

I - foolishly - thought that today would be an okay amount of time to tell Elliot without him driving me too batty asking to go.

A: Hey Elliot. Do you like Thomas?
E: Yes. Choo-choooo! Dinga-dinga-dinga!
A: Do you want to see Thomas?
E: (Looks, inquisitively.)
A: We're going to ride Thomas and see Sir Topham Hatt on Sunday.
E: I see Toppahatt today!
A: No, three days.
E: Today!
A: No, three days.
E: (In a humph, I will not be defeated way) Me wan talk to Daddy.

Brilliance Spews Forth

Tonight I was cooking dinner. Out of nowhere, Elliot appears.
E: Mommy, I go bye-bye. Go doctor and car wash. Bye!

Sitting at the table, Fred and I can hear him coming down the hall.
E: Watch out peoples here da firetwuk! Shoot da water - eeooo eeooo. Oh no fire person here comes da water in da water hose! I shoot da fire person!

Two minutes ago he pops up on the couch.
E: Mommy, me is stinky feet. Baff? Bubble Baff?

If you knew how bad his feet can smell, you'd completely understand why this is the end of this blog post as I simply must get those nasty feet into a tub of hot water and industrial soap and a brillo pad.

Ted & Vance -- oh, and Susanna too

I have this friend "Ted" who is obsessed with "Vance" who is somewhat-famous so it makes it pretty easy to follow Vance's every move. Ted is married to "Susanna" who stands by Ted but is concerned it is turning into an obsession.

Vance tweets. Ted reads every single one.
Vance is being video taped. Ted watches every second.
Vance has a clothing line. Ted wears it.
Vance has an exercise clothing line. Ted wears it.
Vance races motorcycles. Ted rode for 32 miles.

Everything Vance does, Ted knows. And relays on to Susanna.
Susanna wonders if Ted is going to leave her follow Vance around.

Now if you replace Ted with Fred, Susanna with Anna and Vance with Lance Armstrong - you have just spent a day in our house.


** Thank you, Eagle Eyes Judy for catching my typo! **

WM: Saturday, July 11, 2009

Elliot is his name; naughty is his game.

For about the 100th time since getting up from his nap, I tossed Elliot into time out around 6:15 p.m. (Btw - I tossed him because time out is in his crib.)

At about 6:15:25 he was running down the hallway.

Whaaaa? I think I stared in disbelief for a minute at him and had to be reminded by Fred to not laugh. Seriously, it took him 25 seconds to climb up out of his crib and come bounding down the hall.

I just don't have any idea where he gets this fine, I'll show you attitude. But it was that look on his face that created this Weekend Moment. That one-second-flash of 'yeah, mom, go ahead and try it again.' I broke into a fit of laughter and had to leave the room.

Open for Business!

For the last few months I've been creating inventory for an Etsy shop I've been wanting to open. Mike Medwick (good friend, co-worker, husband of a good friend and dad to Elliot's good friend) designed my banner and avatar and away I went.

Well - the day is finally here and I am up and running... and open for business. Check it out!

At this point, I only have a few items for sale but hope to continue sewing more and more - if you have suggestions for something just let me know. OH - and if you want to actually follow my work, check out my other blog. I hope for this to be a place for ideas, works in progress and other side projects or just stories relating to projects.

I hope you like it - I'm pretty pleased.

Doing some Math...

What do you get when you put a toddler in a swim diaper, throw him in the pool and add in a dad that has the incessant need to play rough, including delivering body slams (fake, mind you)?

Poo all down your shirt.

Ha ha, Daddy. It seems that swim diapers aren't meant to hold poo and when you have a man-child that refuses to tell you when he goes poo the water gets in and turns it to liquid poo. When you, dear father, flip him upside down over your head - well, I don't think I need to elaborate any further, do I?

Back Seat Driving

We were headed into work and work (what Elliot now calls his school, where he works with Ms. Haley and Nate M.) and I let Elliot bring his bananas and cereal in the car because we were running late.

I was cruising into downtown where the stop-and-start begins.

A: (Quick stop, thinking JEEZ!!)
E: Mommy! Stop it!
A: Huh?
E: Stop it!
A: Stop what? Stop Stopping?
E: Yeah.
E: Ceeweeal fall on fwor!
A: Oooh, sorry.
E: Stop it!
A: So this next light I should just run?
E: Yeah. No ceeweeal on fwor!

A Heavy Dose of Support

I was just cruising through Google Analytics to see what my site's looking like and was excited to see that there were 868 visitors, 110 of which were unique, to my blog in the last 30 days!

I told this to Katy, my current BFF. Her response?

(Insert eye roll.) Well, they could be spammers.

WM: Friday, July 3, 2009

My weekend moment is not funny (yet), was not filmed (dang) and happened on Friday but it's mine, none the less.

I was riding a lovely horse named Winston who has a crush on Bree. Enter Crawford - the other man. Winston seemed to have an issue with Crawford giving Bree "the eye."

Long story short, I got thrown from Winston in a fit of jealousy. I got a foot caught in a stirrup on the way down (sprained ankle) and landed straight on my head (sore neck) and then scraped along the ground (numerous bumps, bruises and massive scratches).

Not stepped on and wearing a helmet; I'm alive to tell the tale.

WM: Sunday, June 28, 2009

Fred's post was going to be my Weekend Moment.

Fred is a born and raised Cubs fan so it's only natural that he would drop everything and run to Target to buy him a bat and ball after confidently asking to watch baseball with Daddy and yelling Go Cubs.

Not sure, though, what position this future 5'5" guy is going to play.

Making Daddy Proud