Potty Training Woes?

I feel so dumb even posting this on here...I have potty trained 2 kids and surely have it figured out enough to potty the train the third, right? Maybe not in time for him to go to 2 year old preschool on Wednesday though....have I mentioned that I am a mom that enjoys some time ALL ALONE???

Zachary Thomas...my third born child and baby. He came into our life as a big surprise and has ended up being a huge blessing to our family. I had a complete hysterectomy 7 months after he was born and considered him a sweet gift before I ended years of pain. Knowing he is the last has made me baby him A LOT longer than I babied the other 2. 3 days before Grace turned 2 she was a big sister to Drew and 19 months after Drew was born he was a big brother to Zach. I ran out of time to baby the other 2. All this makes some milestones difficult to accomplish with Zach. He still sleeps in a crib...and pretty much refuses his new bed in his new room with his older brother. He still has a paci and I make no apologies for that. He demands a lot and I often give in to him so that I can be effective with G & D.

He flat out refuses the whole potty deal. I am totally cool with this fact...I didn't potty train Drew until right around the time he turned 3 and it was a painless quick process. But, the school the boys are going this year - requires kids to be potty trained...even the 2 year olds!!!! I am frustrated that I missed this minor detail when I enrolled him ( a detail that is published NOWHERE) but am trying desperately to determine how to proceed. A friend suggessted a book that promises to potty train in one day...hmmm....not sure that is humanly possible for us. At any rate, I want to be a good mom to Zach. I need to buck up and break bad habits that I and I alone have established with him. He needs school...he needs someone other than me in his life and I am trying real hard to make this work. So, I am soliciting advice from anyone that might have some ideas. Shoot me an email if you have any ideas! :-)

All About Claire...

Abby and Claire

Hopefully this is not too inappropriate but my sister just called. She sounded devastated and I was worried when she told me to sit down. My oldest neice it turns out entered full throttle puberty this morning with the arrival for the first time of her monthly friend. Need I say anymore? How is it that I have a neice old enough for that??? At first, I said no way she is WAY TOO young and then I calculated her age versus my age when that occurred for me and I realized she is right on track. WOW - I remember the day she and her brother (they are twins) were born like it was seriously yesterday...and it was February 1996!!

I was sick and Sarah was in Savannah having the twins. I could not go with my parents the day they were born because I had a fever and they were preemies and well, you just don't do that to a new mom. I was devastated to say the least. My mom and I drove down the following weekend in time for Claire to be released fromt he hospital. She was my baby. I tried REALLY hard not to favor one so early on, but I was smitten by her. I still am. I think she is one of the coolest kids ever and I am so proud that she is my neice. I only wish she lived closer so that we could hang out more. She is artistic, athletic, and FLAT GORGEOUS! She spent time with us this summer when Sarah was down for the party and she was amazing with my kids and I could have kept her all summer! So here's to ClaireBear (what my kids call her and me too)...we love you!

Summer Recap...

We had an AWESOME summer! First and most importantly we moved into our house that we have been planning and working on for nearly a year. We spent the majority of the summer settling in. Don't get me wrong, there is A LOT to do but on the surface we are settled. My sister came down not once but twice this summer and we had a blast. Her first trip was planned around our grand housewarming party and I am sure I would have never been ready for the party had she not somehow flown down the Thursday before! We threw a bash at the new Casa and it was a so much fun. We hired a band, thanks to Big-Swig for a fabulous night of music even if it was an early night! Our quaint town of Smyrna, GA closes shop at 10pm if anyone calls and complains. So, around 10:16 a very nice officer showed up in our backyard to let us know we were done. He apologized for having to shut us down but he had to do it...we still had a great time.

Laurie and Amy after a lot of dancing!!

Sarah and Amy

KT and Amy

my sweet husband keeping the beverages open...

the very end of the night...souvenir tshirt and all

After the party, I began to focus on the last 2 trips of the summer. A work trip to Vegas for Tim and I and our surprise trip to Disney. The trip to Vegas was actually for me and it was kind of cool as it was a conference for ticket brokers. In case any of you have missed that teeny weeny detail of my life, tickets are what I do from home so that I can be at home. It has been a very successful business for us. So what started as a way to earn a few bucks on the side on eBay has turned into a full time business for us on multiple networks. Check it out sometime...Amy's Tickets. Who'd have ever thought?? Anyway, we went to the Ticket Summit at the Venetian in Vegas and had a REALLY good time. 3 nights at a nice Vegas hotel, good food, good shows, and some successful blackjack playing and I was energized for the rest of the summer.

We took some day trips to Rome to visit with Laurie and the girls but we mostly stayed home enjoying our new house. It was a great summer and I am looking forward to a great fall! Especially cooler weather and some football...

Growing Pains...

I am finding that the older my kids get, the more I want to keep them young. Grace just seems so big this week and so grown up. She has only been to school 2 days thus far(she was already home sick today AAAGGHH) but she already seems bigger to me. Not in the physical sense, but her mind. While she was up last night sick as a dog, she was asking us the funniest questions. We were watching the Democratic Convention recaps and she was asking tons of questions about the president, etc. She knew who our current president is and where he lives. I am sitting there going how in the world do you know he lives in DC? I am certain we have never had those lessons....



I was talking to my mom tonight while I was out alone (nothing too exciting just to Publix) and I was complaining about this new phase in our life. The phase that will last a whole lot longer than the preschool years and I told her I didn't like it. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy time alone. I have always appreciated time away. I enjoy my kids getting to go somewhere like school without me. I need that time away...they need that time away. However, it was so simple before we were in real school. She encouraged me to embrace this new phase and look for the new joys that are sure to come. I know this to be true but sometimes in the mud it is hard to see clearly. The truth is my kids are growing up and not that 6, 4, and 2 are ancient by any stretch but we are cruising through and Grace will never be home in the mornings with us unless it is a break from school. Then Drew will head on to full time school and then Zach...then I fall apart?! No, I am assured by many that have gone before me that I will survive just fine. So I am resigned to enjoy the chaos of today because it will only be a different kind of chaos tomorrow.

First Day of School Part 1

Today was Grace's first day of prefirst at the Heiskell School in Buckhead. She attended kindergarten here last year and with her late August birthday we decided prefirst was a great option for her. She is a small peanut and we are looking forward to this school year. The big deal about today is that it is the first day of a FULL school day. Her hours are 8:00-3:05 and that is a LONG time for my baby to be away...the day began REALLY early...

Grace came down at 2:45 am complaining that her covers were off her bed. She seemed wide awake so Tim went to lay with her as we were really wanting her to get rested before her big day. Well, she was still talking Tim's ear off well after 3:30 am. She did not get back to sleep for a long time and was back up at 7am when her alarm went off. She was eager to get ready and she was thrilled that this day was finally here! She and Tim left at 7:39 and I promptly went back to bed until 9:30 when the phone rang!!!

The boys and I had a slow day and I was anxious to pick her up. We left too early to pick her up and sat in the carpool line for 20 minutes...a mistake I will not make again! She got in the car with a huge smile on her face and chatted our ears off all the way home! I am not sure where she gets the chattiness! ;-)

Birthday Surprises...

Grace and Drew have birthdays that are 3 days apart...3 days shy of 2 years apart. Drew was born 104 weeks and 9 minutes after Grace was born and so their birthdays thus far have been grouped together. Tim and I had this brainstorm about 7 months ago that we would go to Disney for their birthday. I had the idea to keep it a secret...until we left for the trip. So last Saturday at 6:23 am we rolled out of our driveway with sleepy kids and a rented minivan loaded with our stuff for the big trip. I was beside myself with excitement and the kids were just plain confused! A few hours into the trip we revealed our destination and it was cute to listen to them chatter about what all we would do once we were there, etc.

It was a great week. We stayed at Ft. Wilderness and for those of you with kids debating this trip...I can't tell you how awesome this place is. It is a campground but they have these precious cabins and it is a Disney Resort so you get ALL the Disney perks (after you pay for them). You take a boat over to the Magic King(dom)...Zach called in Magic King all week thus we have renamed the park! :-)

We were in for the next surprise...Tropical Storm Fay was headed our way and in all my secretive planning, I truly had NO CLUE! How moronic is that? We spent our last 2 days in blue ponchos but our spirits were not dampened. The parks were less crowded and we had a blast rain and all. I will spare all the details but both kids had a great birthday and I now have a 6, 4 and 2 year old! WOW, the time continues to FLY!

the very first ride...

mommy and her boys!

Drew's birthday dinner with Mickey

Happy Birthday Grace!

Splash Mountain...front row!