Potty training fake outs

I can't believe it but we've started potty training... Or something like that.

I guess Lil' J was feeling left out every time I or her daddy used the bathroom so she wanted to start trying too.

I'd take her to use the potty when she'd wake up during the day, before baths and bedtime, and after nap time. Sure enough, those were some of the times she's normally "gotta go" so it was easy to get all excited and cheer for her when she did her deed.

We've been at this a couple months now she's not 100% out of diapers, and I'm feeling a bit responsible.

See, my smart little girl quickly realized that when she says she has to go "pee pee" or "poo poo" we will drop everything we're doing (usually something she finds boring) and go on a very fun and entertaining run to the nearest bathroom.
This is exactly what happened when we went to the local springs for some swimming. It happened three times. I jumped off our beach spot, and ran all the way around to the restrooms with a toddler swinging at my hip. ...Mind you I despise public restrooms.

It's gotten to the point where I'm purposely slow or distracting when she asks to go to the restroom when we're out and about. I know I need to get over my phobia but I'm not sure how.

I'm not much better at home to be honest. If I'm curled up and comfortable on the couch she may stand up and ask to go to the potty and I gripe and groan, taking my sweet time to get her there.

Am I terrible or what?

I'm not gonna lie, I was excited for her to turn two and learn to potty train at school so I can skip the hard part. Some friends of ours said they had her daughter in "big girl panties" in a matter of weeks. "Just bring her underwear, we'll take care of it," they told her. And they did.

Just a few more months until she moves up to that class, after summer break. Until then, I think I'll get her a step stool. She's started to attempt to climb up and take her diaper off herself. As a matter of fact, the other day she kicked me out of the bathroom and told me to "No Mommy! Go watch Elmo!" Just like I tell her when I'm busy using the restroom, making something to eat, what have you.

That pretty much broke my heart. Just goes to show I need to watch what I say.
I'm hoping not to go all crazy about the potty training and let it happen as she feels like learning, which seems like now. I just wish she'd stop faking me out because mama doesn't like the little boy who cries wolf.

Yet, I guess for now I'll just hafta play along until we are both fully trained.

Spending quality time with my girl this summer-- #GladWildlife

When it comes to quality vs quantity I'd probably say most of the time I'd choose quantity. As a kid I never cared how big my birthday or Christmas gifts were, I just wanted a lot. I loved seeing a big pile of gifts strung around my bedroom.

As I've gotten older and more mature I've started to realize how much more quality means to me. I've especially had to live by this with my daughter since I'm away from her during the week at work.

Even now, more than a year and a half after returning to work post-maternity leave, I still have moments of envy, or wonder when I compare my situation to stay at home moms. So I remind myself, it's about quality, not quantity. At least for me (thought it would be nice to have both).

I love summertime. Even though it's bloody hot in Texas, there are so many fun things to do when school is out for all of the big kids. Every weekend and most evenings before the sun sets, I'm trying to jam-pack a schedule I think she'll enjoy.

This weekend of mine we went to the zoo with our good friends, had a mother-daughter dinner out and browsed a half-price book store.

I wasn't snapping away as much as I normally am during these types of occasions but I was making a conscious effort to just enjoy it for once. I caught myself on more than one occasion wondering what happened to my little baby, and marveling at how fun my little girl has become.

Now that she's older there are so many more ways we can have fun. I browse my favorite sites for free fun things to do in Austin, stalk Groupon (and sites of that sort) for deals, and search Pinterest for summertime activities to do with my toddler.

I'm co-hosting a Twitter Party with Glad and SocialMoms on Thursday, June 21, 2012.  Where we'll be talking about summertime activities with kids and more! Please make sure you follow @SocialMoms, @BabyMakingMama and @GladWildLife before the party! We'll be tweeting under the hashtag #GladWildlife and giving away twenty $20 Amazon gift cards randomly to people participating. You can find everything you need to know, and RSVP on the Social Moms site.

Hope to see you there and discuss fun things we can do with our kids this summer!I'll bring my list, you bring yours! 

An end to a fun weekend

Do you know that torn feeling you get  when you've been having so much fun with your kid and you don't even want to make them go to bed? That was me all weekend.

I've had a busy last three and a half days off work and I'm dreading going back.
24/7 with my girl has been exhaustively fun.

There's been:
Countless potty psyche-outs.
More than a dozen storybooks read.
Singing.
Dancing. 
At least five homemade cheese quesadillas.
Three restaurant dates.
Two trips to different splash pools.
A couple nights out on the town.
A train ride.
A new obsession with her giant bouncy ball.
And a trip to the zoo.

And summer has just begun.
What do you love doing for fun with your kiddos? Let me know and share tomorrow night during the Glad twitter party hosted by me and Social Moms. I want to make the most out of this summer, and come up with creative things to do with her. Who knows, maybe next summer I'll have TWO to wrangle.

Side note: At one of the splash pads she was acting really strange. Overly excited, screaming and jumping with glee. All fine until she took her swim shoes off and started drinking the pool water out of them.

No, I didn't yell at her to stop, I took photos to document her strangeness. But as you can see from the progression of this photo, she decided it wasn't the best idea on her own, and didn't do it again.

Live and learn.

That'll teach her!

Another side note: Like her pink tutu swimsuit? She picked it out herself.

My natural hair nightmare

Mommy, why isn't my hair straight like yours?

It's a question I'm dreading my daughter asking, and words I hope I never have to hear her utter. Yet I fear if she had the vocabulary, she may have asked me this very question this week. 

We sat playing in her bedroom, I pulled out a brush from a box full of hair things in her closet and she reached for it. 

Mudpie Dress from BNB Boutique

"Mine!!" she yelled at me. I brushed it through my hair a few times and waited until she said please before handing it over. Even then I was still reluctant because it had already taken me way too long to part her pigtails and get them to stay in their cute bouncy form (it was a struggle keeping her still). 

Naturally, she took the brush to her hair and pulled through it. Yes, messing up my work but also getting it snagged in her beautiful curls. 

I watched the confusion and frustration wave over her face and helped her free her hair. 

She tried it again. Perhaps thinking she did it wrong the first time. Yet again her curls were snagged. 

This time she got a new idea. She turned the brush toward me and brushed straight through my hair. She didn't struggle or need to tug, and she seemed pleased at her accomplishment. I, on the other hand felt guilty. 

I've never chemically straightened my hair. It's still naturally very, very curly. But because I'm on TV and quite honestly, because it's all I've really known and been easier for me to manage, I've kept it in "straight mode" with monthly trips to the salon. 

As I sat in my daughter's bedroom, watching her brush my hair with ease, after a struggle with her own, I couldn't help but think about what I'm going to do when I'm faced with that question. 

I don't want her to think straight hair is prettier, or that I'm embarrassed by my curls. 

My mother has a relaxer and I do remember watching my mom wash and style her own hair without the tangle and fuss mine used to give her. I'd get excited for the special occasions when she'd take me to the salon so I could take my hair out of twits and wear it pressed. Is it hypocritical that I don't want my daughter to feel that way? 

I straddle a fence when it comes to my hair. Since I've never had a relaxer there's no real transition "back to natural" all I'd have to do is wash it and skip the blow drying. But I rarely wear it in it's naturally curly state.

Someday, when it's feasible, I'd like to show off my curls  like my daughter's so she can witness where she gets her locks. 

Hopefully that someday will be before she can ask me that dreaded question.

Pre-Baby Blog: I used to be funny

I came across my old blog last night. A blog I wrote for years before starting this one. This was back when people I actually know still read my blog.

Now, I'm not saying this to brag but... I used to be dang FUNNY. Seriously. I don't know what happened to me. It's like being a mom has made me all serious and mushy.I couldn't stop laughing as I read my old posts about adopting Snoop and my baby hamster, taking Snoop to puppy class etc etc. I actually can't tell if I was serious or not. But considering the fact that even now (and I hope that you know this) I have a very sarcastic and silly side (so don't take me too seriously) I think I was kinda kidding. I hope.

I need to flex my funny. All that research about pregnancy/birth/breastfeeding/everything about kids has turned me into a snooze fest. ... Ok well convincing my husband to have another baby was a little funny but people took me way too seriously.

Anyway. Here's a blast from the past and a few thoughts from my pre(human)-baby days. As you can see, even then I was as loving mother.

February 29, 2008

This was a very sad week for our family. Trouble died. It was a little over a month since we got him. We’re still waiting for autopsy reports to know exactly how he died, but I think it was from a brain hemorrhage. Why?… Well, every morning Snoop and I go into the room where we keep Trouble. When I turn on the light he wakes up and starts running around his cage like crazy. Snoop and I like to sit and watch him while we’re getting ready in the morning. Well, one morning I thought it would be fun to open his cage door and see if he would try to climb out. He did, and subsequently fell about 50 hamster feet from his cage, hitting his head on the linoleum bathroom floor. I thought he was a goner right then and there… I was shocked and scared for him. I felt so bad. Snoop and I stared at him for a moment before he got up and ran for the door… Under the door and out of sight.

“Lost again,” was my first thought. But this time I had Snoop on my side to help with the chase. I didn’t see Trouble anywhere, but after a moment Snoop took off towards the living room and I knew he’d spotted our friend. It was a challenge trying to catch Trouble but not let Snoop eat him at the same time. Side note: I’ve put Trouble in his pink ball before and let Snoop chase him but Trouble isn’t fast enough in his ball, and he got banged around a little before I realized it probably wasn’t a good idea to let them play like that. Anyway… Trouble hid under the couch for a moment before he took off for the master bedroom. Snoop tore down the hall after him. After a game of dog and hamster we caught Trouble and put him back in his cage without any apparent injuries.
A couple days later Trouble was still ok. Still climbing all over his cage when we’d go look at him in the morning. Then one morning… Two days ago when we went in and turned on the light there was no movement from his cage. I could see him… (he wasn’t buried under the pink fluff he normally would sleep under.) I looked closely to see if he was breathing. It looked like he was. I opened his cage… (Something which never failed to wake him up)… he didn’t move. I poked him… Still nothing. Trouble died! Snoop kept looking in the cage. He was probably as sad and confused as I was not to see his furry friend running around that bright cage. I text messaged Trouble's daddy to let him know the sad news. He called me a few minutes later to see how I was doing. I didn’t cry… Not until my husband told me to throw him away! I wanted to bury him. He took care of it, I couldn’t do it, it was too sad. That was today.

I’m thinking of getting some mice to replace Trouble… Well, replace is the wrong word. No little pet could replace Trouble. Snoop and I went to Petsmart today to look at other critters, but nothing jumped out at us. I think we all have some healing to do before we add any other members to our family again. Our friends and family have all been very supportive in our loss. My husband’s mom told me hamsters are like fish… And that it wasn’t my fault. My friend Gina said the same thing happened to her when she was little… Except it was with her dog, and he died cause she didn’t give him enough water. Thanks to that little story and loosing Trouble, I’ve been paranoid about Snoop and have given him as many treats and as much water as he wants. I know many of you have come to love Trouble as much as we have through our blog, and we thank you for your condolences.

On a happy note… Snoop has been with us for a little over two weeks now! He’s excelling in his puppy class, and learning lots of advanced tricks. He knows how to sit, shake, lay down, and the other day I taught him how to play dead when I say “bang” and aim my finger at him like a gun. We’re still working on crawl and bow, and we’re hoping after another few months we can begin training for some dog dancing competitions. He’s getting so big! And he is basically totally housebroken now. He’ll go to the door when he has to go to the bathroom, we may teach him how to ring a bell when he has to go, but I’m still undecided on that.

His ears stick up all the way now, and they are huge! Everyone who meets him falls in love with him, and he’s very friendly and loving. I love going to get him out of his kennel in the morning and hearing his tail whack against his cage cause he’s so excited to see me! We also love going for rides, he likes sitting in the front passenger seat next to me and listing to music. We’re all having a blast together.

Newborn Photography Video: What I'm Makin' Monday

As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, I'm tackling a new business venture and starting a side photography and videography business. I don't think everyone quite understood what I meant when I said I wanted to do video and how it can be even more powerful than photos.

Sure, it's fun to hang your photo on the wall, but it's even cooler to have a special DVD that shows the entire story behind the photo.

You can see the photos from this session on my photography website but I wanted to share this video today.

I just got word from a homebirthing mama I've been meeting with, that she just had her baby so I'm going to be heading over to shoot their first moments together as a family today.

I learned a lot from this first shoot with Tara, who is actually my personal photographer. So it was fun to return the favor for her and her son. I consider this more of a "mommy and me" shoot than a newborn shoot since daddy wasn't there but my hope is to do all sorts of variety of these with families of all ages and sizes! And of course, I hope to make the next even better. Let me know what you think!(edited to add: The song is Hourglass by Mindy Gledhill. My plans for the next one are to add that to the credits and their names at the beginning of the video as well)
Little Liam and Tara from Jennifer Borget on Vimeo.

Just because I'm pissed off I'm not pregnant yet doesn't mean I'm [blank].

Just because I'm pissed off I'm not pregnant yet doesn't mean I'm ungrateful for the one I already have.

It doesn't mean I don't know it'll happen in God's time. 

Just because I'm annoyed at my reproductive system doesn't mean I think I'm infertile (ok, I'll admit, Google and an Oprah episode about early menopause did get me going for a minute but it's because I'm a hypochondriac, and it was only for a minute!!)

I may whine about being unsuccessful thus far but that's not to imply that I feel like I deserve it more than anyone else, or that I'm oblivious to people who have been trying for much longer. 

It doesn't mean my expectations are too high (ok, wait, maybe they are a little).

Just because I want another baby SO badly doesn't mean I don't know that there's only a 20% chance of getting knocked up any given month. Even if you're jumping your husband every-other day. Go figure.

Just because I'm a little sad and disappointed, doesn't mean I'm stressing about getting pregnant.

Neither does that fact that I'm adding 40 ovulation predictor tests to my collection of pregnancy test. 

Nor my recent purchase of this.

It just means I'm excited, anxious, and a control freak. 

... And maybe a little taboo, because people don't normally share this kind of thing on the internet when they're this early on in the process.

It means I may get sad a couple days a month (I'm allowing myself only that much... Then I'll buy something shiny, treasure my girl, and feel better again).

These are my emotions and this is my space. I'm not going to feel bad for saying how I truly feel.


Note: No one said anything to spark this post, it's just a matter of knowing what may be said as I embark on this part of my journey. Just wanted to do a little pre-disclosure.