Welcome to the ramblings of my mind and the passions of my heart. Who am I? I am a child of God, a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a teacher and a constant learner... often the hard way.
So, we started renovating our second level of our house at the end of February this year, in preparation for the coming of Miss Kalena Jane. If you're curious about what we did to our house, you can check it out here: Old House, New Feel.
It has been fun to watch the rooms transform, but this endeavour has proven to be rather, well... unending! It's not that the transformation has required a whole lot of time/work, but rather that life has gotten in the way of a total completion. Farm life, in the summer especially, takes priority over renos.
Anyway, enough excuses. Let me walk you through my room...
This is what this corner looked like 7 months ago when we tore down the existing built in, not-very-functional, 100 year-old closet. I wish that I had taken a picture of that old closet beforehand, but alas, I did not have the foresight.
The following is a picture of our completed Ikea PAX wardrobe with sliding doors. It is really a very functional space. I LOVE that is goes from the floor to ceiling, although I am very fortunate that it actually fits. I did not do my due diligence when purchasing said wardrobe and measure the height of the room. Thankfully, it fit with literally millimetres to spare, but we had to install it upright rather than on the floor like the instructions recommended. Notice that there is a little more of a gap on the right side? You gotta love 100-year old engineering. :)
This wardrobe is Mitch's space. The right side has shelves...
And the left side has two hanging rods, which the tall wardrobe has plenty of space to accomodate. :)
This pic is almost 7 months old and I posted it in my old blog post, but I put it up here so you can see the continued transformation for yourself :) I was/am happy with how clean this space feels. I love this duvet cover/pillow combo that I picked up from Quilts Etc. and I am a fan of the floating wall shelf. The bamboo blinds, I picked up from Pier 1 Imports like 7 years ago and they're okay. My intention has always been to "accessorize" these walls, but to keep the same "clean" feel.
Here's what I came up with... I welcome criticism. I know that not everyone is a fan of wall decals, but this tree w/birds caught my eye, and the more I look at it in my room, the more I like it. The decal came up on the Steal Network one day (If you don't subscribe to their daily deals, I would recommend it! ... Or save your wallet and don't...) from a company called Sissy Little. They have some cute decals for kids walls, too.
I had originally planned on putting one larger picture on this wall, but as time passed and I had nothing on the wall to look at, I changed my expectations. I am happy with the outcome. Props to Umbrella Photography who took the pics for us. (I realize that you can't fully appreciate them with the glare on the glass)
In the heat of the summer, my father-in-law installed this ceiling fan for us, and it is f.a.n.t.a.s.t.i.c. I'm a fan of the fan. It makes living in an old house with no air conditioning bearable on those +30 summer nights.
So... now to the unfinished part. It's really not so bad. It's MY wardrobe. You may notice it's lacking some doors. Or, rather, they're not mounted. (They're not actually blue, it's just a protective plastic layer)
HELP!!! I can't find the instructions for installing these doors anywhere!!! This is a PAX wardrobe from Ikea. I think the doors are called PAX Fardal??? Any chance there's someone else out there with this wardrobe who still HAS the instructions? I searched the Ikea website and could not find any instruction manuals.
And you thought I could get all of my clothes into that wardrobe... Nope. :) I use these shelves/ canvas drawers in this corner as well. This is actually an old pic, too. We haven't done anything to change this corner. Other than remove the baby bassinet, of course. :) Lena actually only slept in the bassinet a night or two after we got home from the hospital. We ended up moving her straight into her crib. It's only about 8 steps from our bed and our rooms are only separated by a curtain.
That's it! I welcome any feedback on the space. I've never considered myself overly talented in the decorating department, but I'm happy with our room.
It is hard to believe that my sweet Kalena Jane is six months old already!!! The time has slipped by so quickly and I can't believe how big she is getting. I've been having a difficult time keeping up with my baby book, so I think a blog post is in order; in honor of my precious baby girl.
She had her 6 month check up today and I feel so thankful that I have healthy children. The Dr even said she is "perfect" and that she "is the healthiest person I've seen today." Now, I guess she could have had several very sick patients, which would taint the comment, but I'm going to take it as a positive piece of encouragement. Kalena Jane, at 6 months, weighs 18 lbs 14 oz, and is a little more than 28 inches long. She is in the 87th percentile for weight and the 98th for height.
Lena's latest tricks and accomplishments:
1. She babbles often.
2. She likes to shriek occasionally. (she and Jett shriek back and forth at each other)
3. She grabs my face (fairly aggressively) and gives big open-mouthed kisses.
4. She grabs at anything and everything within reach.
5. She eats solid food: Usually oat cereal with apple sauce for breakfast, sweet potatoes for dinner.
6. She can cover the entire floor by rolling and scooting backwards.
7. She goes up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth... I think she could crawl any day.
8. She sits very well on her own for long periods of time.
9. She LOVES to watch her brother, Jett, and play with his toys.
It has been a long week in the Schultz home and as I have felt a blog post coming on, several possible titles came to mind.
1. The Week I Lost My Sanity
2. Poop is a Problem
3. Readiness Schmeddiness
4. Three Days, 36 Pairs of Underwear
5. Love My Boy, Hate the Poop
6. Fail: Potty Training Attempt #1
I knew that we had very little planned for last week, so I committed myself to spending some close one on one time with my boy to see if this 3 day potty training program could work for us. On Monday morning, J and I had a talk about being a big boy and what that all involved. He agreed with me that a big boy should use the potty instead of diapers. We ceremoniously threw all of our size 5 Pampers out the back door of the house (I later gathered them and stowed them away for Kalena one day) and put on a pair of big boy undies. Yay!
For three full days, Jett wore only undies and when he didn't make it to the potty, we dealt with the ramifications. It didn't take very long for my strong-minded son to get annoyed/frustrated with me continually asking him if he was dry, or reminding him to let me know when he feels he has to go to the potty. He started ignoring me, which drove me nuts. Sometimes he would have an accident after what seemed like only a minute after I had checked in with him. I tried throwing potty training paraphernalia at J, hoping that he would feel inspired.
Here are a few of his favourites:
There were several occasions where Jett did pee on the potty, and we celebrated each seeming success with gushing words of praise and potty treats. There were far more accidents than successful landings, however, and my frustration level grew as the hours crept by. Not once did we have a positive poop on the potty experience. I stuck pretty close to my busy boy, trying to read his signs and guess as to when he needed to use the bathroom. I did guess right sometimes, but often Jett would tell me, "Mom, I am peeing," right as he was in the process. I would rush, grab him and fly to the bathroom as fast as we could. I would tell him to stop peeing and often he could stop himself and at least finish the job on the potty. It was usually too late for his undies, though. Poor Kalena. I often would quickly set her down on the floor to rush and attend to her brother. It's difficult to be constantly closely analyzing your child when you have a second child to attend to!
Some of you may be wondering at this point, "Where is Mitch during this process?" Well, this may have been a good time to choose to potty train because we had no plans to be away from home, but it is also the harvest season and there are several farm tasks that pull my husband away. I felt bad that Jett couldn't go for many rides on the combines and trucks those days. He was a little too much of a wild card.
By the morning of the 3rd day, I felt myself resigning to the reality that we had likely failed the three day potty training course. Yet, for a large portion of that day, Jett did remarkably well. For the first time, he actually came to me and told me he had to pee; all on his own initiative! We hurried to the bathroom, sat his tookus on his potty, and he peed almost immediately. After a messy #2 accident, though, things went downhill again. The 3rd day came and went and I'm afraid that we were not one of the program's success stories.
I struggle with feeling extremely frustrated and disappointed because I truly believe that Jett is capable of being potty trained. I know that many of you are thinking the obvious, "He just wasn't ready." You're right, but it wasn't because he doesn't exhibit several of the typical ready "signs". He is a little more than 28 months, almost 2 1/2 years old. He communicates VERY effectively. In fact, he is exceptionally articulate and often talks non-stop. He plays well independently, is able to follow instructions/complete tasks, has very regular bowel movements, desires independence and to be viewed as a "big boy." I believe he is capable, he just hasn't decided that he wants it bad enough. In short, I cannot make this decision for him; he won't let me.
Here are our biggest potty training obstacles:
1. Busy, Busy, Busy
If you've met my son, you can attest to the fact that Jett is a very busy boy. He plays from sun up to sun set, often at a fast pace that is difficult to keep up with! He is often very focussed as he plays with his tractors, trucks, etc. to "farm" land, dig holes and build roads. I really think he is too busy focussing on his play to be bothered with thinking about what his body is telling him. He often doesn't stop to acknowledge the feeling that he has to go to the bathroom. He realizes when he's in the process of peeing, but it's a little too late...
These are two of Jett's favourite activities that keep him so busy.
2. J is mega-hydrated
The boy drinks more fluids than the daily average intake of most adults! The Potty training program suggests giving your child extra juice or something they like to drink as a way of ensuring more learning opportunities. Not needed in our case. We have had more learning opportunities than we needed. You turn your back for a few seconds and the boy pees!
3. Stubborn and fiercely independent
One of the most common phrases I hear lately is, "I do it by self!!!" Jett likes to do almost everything independently. I think he considers himself quite grown up. Why this hasn't translated into his potty skills, I sure wish I knew why. It didn't take long for him to get fed up with me asking him about being dry, following him around and asking him if he needed to go to the potty. He started ignoring me, and I wondered if he was sometimes choosing to not tell me when he had to go to the bathroom out of spite. It is VERY difficult to discipline a bad attitude and stay positive about the whole potty experience at the same time...
4. Ultra regular
This 4th obstacle may be the worst one... I have heard several mothers talk about how their child only has a bm (bowel movement) every 2-3 days. My Jetty averages 3-4 bm's each and every day. This could be in correlation with obstacle number 2, I don't know. If J was willing to try pooping on the potty, his regularity could be a blessing; providing opportunities to learn and succeed. When he refuses, however, it just causes a lot of frustration and disgusting messes to clean up. Remember, I DID leave him strictly in undies for three days... enough said.
When I knew that Jett must be close to having to go to the bathroom, we would try little methods to bring him to that point such as tickling, putting his hands in water, and racing around the house. During one of our racing sessions, we were doing our customary laps from the couch in the living room to the oven in the kitchen to see if we could bring about some potty action. A few times, Jett stopped and sat on the potty, only to come to the conclusion that "the pee wasn't ready yet." So, we kept racing. "On your mark, de-set, GO!" :) Anyway, on lap number 40 something, I paused to change Kalena's diaper. She was my running partner in this whole event. I had only been away from the race for less than a minute, but J had made a pit stop in the bathroom, and I was hoping for some success. He then yelled out, "Mommy! The poop is EVERYWHERE!" He was right. It was. :(
It is difficult for the teacher in me not to think of a term we referred to many times in College, preparing to teach children: Intrinsic motivation. The Wikipedia definition of Intrinsic Motivation is this: "Intrinsic motivation refers to motivation that is driven by an interest or enjoyment in the task itself, and exists within the individual rather than relying on any external pressure." THIS, my little Jett does not have; at least not for using the potty. He isn't even motivated by the potty treats as much as I thought he might be. So, even my attempt to EXtrinsically motivate him have been in vain!
(You can tell by the length of his hair, that I took this pic a while ago... when the potty was a novelty, not an expectation)
So... what now. I persevered for the full three days and stuck close to my undies-wearing toddler even though I had a feeling in my gut that grew as time passed that we weren't going to come out of this process "trained". If I had thought that Jett was on the verge of a major breakthrough, I would have continued for a few more painstakingly frustrating days. But I don't believe we were anywhere near the "verge". I backed off, and we were all much happier that day. We won't wear regular diapers anymore, it's pull ups from here on in, and undies during choice times at home.
Jett has to decide for himself that he wants to use the potty. <<Insert: Deep sigh>>
Jett did get to go for a few "rides" while wearing his undies... During this particular ride, I received an urgent phone call from my hubby to come and bring him new undies/clean clothes. When I got to the field, Jett was buck naked from the waist down, riding on the jump seat of the combine. :)
Here's one last funny little anecdote from our week, Mitch and I have been unsure of how to refer to Jett's male parts. This week as he spent more time naked than usual, I bit the bullet and called it what it is, a penis. Jett however, started referring to it as a "peanut". You may think that's funny, cute and all, but I realized it may be a source of confusion when J came with me to get Kalena out of her crib and I greeted her, "Good morning, peanut!" Ummm...
