That kid…

I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that my son is that kid that teachers dread having in their class.  Aidan’s behavior this year has gotten way out of control.  I’ve lost count of how many referrals and suspensions he has had since he started kindergarten.  There is obviously more to this story but I am too tired and too upset to talk about it today.  Perhaps someday soon.  The only positive note to this story is that Aidan has an appointment with a Developmental Pediatrician next week.  I hope something productive comes out of that meeting.

Public restrooms

What is it about my boys that they love to go to public restrooms?  Not so much Aidan but Mark.  It is inevitable that no sooner than when we have been seated Mark needs to go and he needs to go bad.  It doesn’t matter that we made him go before we left the house he still needs to go.  What is even more annoying about all of this is that Mark can hold for hours when we are at home.  It gets so bad that we have to yell at him to go after we see him doing the dance and strangling his family jewels.  He always fights with us when ask him to go.  Then we go out to grab a bite to eat and he needs to go every 15 minutes. 

One day I got so frustrated with Mark.  I had already taken the boys to the public restroom, Mark first and then Aidan 15 minutes later.  I had just gotten back with Aidan and was starting to eat dinner when Mark wanted to go again.  Annoyed, I told him to go in his pants.  Guess what he did?  He went in his pants in the middle of the restaurant.  I was about ready to strangle the boy.  He can squeeze and wait at home for hours but he couldn’t give me 15 minutes to eat dinner.  UGH!  And of course, I did not have a change of clothes for him.  All I had was Caitlin’s extra Pull-Up and so that was what he ended up wearing in place of his pants and underwear.  Mark was lucky that we were in a crowded place cause there is no saying what I would have done to him at that moment in time.

I have no idea how to curb my boys pleasure of using public restrooms.  I’m just hoping that one day they will grow out of it.  For now, I go to dinner armed with a can of Lysol and a change of clothes for emergencies.

And I am still disgusted.

Privacy

A concerend college happened to come across my posts a while ago and called to advice me about them.  She had a point.  As frustrated as I may be with stuff that goes on I need to be careful about what I put out in cyberspace.  Not only could I be breaking some code of conduct, I could be giving some people ammunition against me.  Her caring thoughts were compounded by dear husband’s voice of reason as well.  However, I did not want to delete my posts as this is my way of documenting how I felt and each of these posts are a part of me.  So to stay safe and still be able to vent in cyberspace I have decided to put a password on those posts that could be detrimental later on.  I’ll gladly share the password with those I know and trust.  If you feel like you are one of those people just email me and I’ll send you the password.  The rest of you will have to be content with the other public posts.

Thanks for understanding.

At it again

Aidan’s at it again.  For the past three school days Aidan has come home with a note regarding his disruptive behavior and inability to follow directions…. and we are only in the second week of school!  I am annoyed to say the least.  You think by now he would have learned that this kind of behavior is unacceptable.  *SIGH*  So, for now, Aidan is banned from the computer.  I wonder how long he is going to go without the computer before he breaks down and starts shaping up?  🙁

Aidan flies

The end of summer is fast approaching.  I start back at work in two weeks and Aidan starts kindergarten in three weeks.  Aidan is making the most of the summer days he has left by not only becoming a swimming pro but also conquering his fear of jumping off a diving board.

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Click on image to view pictures and a video

Pitfalls of potty training

Caitlin decided she was ready to do her business in the potty in early February of this year.  Unfortunately because work was driving me insane Caitlin’s potty training took a back seat.  Then summer rolled around and both she and I had ample time on our hands.  It took a little while for her to get back in action but she was a fast learner and soon picked up where she left off.

Potty training this time around is not as annoying as it usually is.  My guess is it is partly due to the fact that I’m not pushing it.  After all Caitlin is not even two yet.  For her to be interested in doing anything in the potty is pretty amazing to me.  So we just go with the flow.  If she tells me she has to go “puppie” then I led her to the toilet otherwise I just let her do her own thing with the occasional reminding question asking her if she needs to go potty.  Whenever she has her accidents (and she has quite a few per day) I just remind her that she needs to do her business in the potty, clean her up, and go about my way.  It’s been a month since we started actively working on her potty training and she has had more successes than accidents.  Which leads me to her latest accomplishment and, to me, a pitfall in potty training:  going in a public restroom.

The family and I were in Target last Sunday when Caitlin started squatting and telling me she had “puppie.”  Assuming that she had gone in her diaper I led her to the restroom to clean her and put on a new diaper.  I laid her on the changing table, took down her shorts, opened up her diaper, and noticed nothing was in there.  There were no poops in her diaper!  That was when I realized that she was holding her poops till she went in the potty.  Afraid that she may let some poops out I frantically took off her shoes and pants, left everything on the changing table (including my purse), and ran to the closest toilet stand.  There wasn’t any toilet seat covers to lie down and I was not planning on putting Caitlin down in order to place some toilet paper on the seat.  I ended up placing Caitlin on the seat and holding on to her so she didn’t fall through.  And there she pooped – in the Target restroom.  I was disgusted and yet so proud that my little girl was getting so good at going in the potty.  I also realized that this won’t be the last of our expeditions to public restrooms.   I just need to figure out a plan of what I’m going to do the next time.  If anybody has some advice I’d love to hear it. 

This picture was taken in early February when Caitlin first started taking an interest with the potty.

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