Have I given you a potty training update lately?  Well my third and last baby is 2 3/4 and pretty much potty trained.  It took forever.  Now she is in panties.  Even at the store.  But when she’s watching Dora, she needs to wear the Dora pull-ups.  Not because they are Dora pull-ups, and not because she is watching Dora, per se, but because the tv is so incredibly encompassing that one looses all bladder control while so engaged.  So this afternoon, after bribing her to have her nap, we had to produce the said bribe: Dora.  And you know, it is educational.

When we brought the girls back upstairs to do chores, Megan had to use the potty.  Now here’s the kicker - if she has a dry pull-up AND pees on the potty, she earns herself a chocolate.  And not any chocolate (thanks to Daddy), little pellet-sized balls of Godiva goodness.  That tin came with surprisingly few potty treats.  ;)  But I have bad news.  I pulled the pull-up down her legs and got a glimpse of something rather dark in there.  I checked the legs - no streaks.  Surprisingly little odour too.  But maybe it just hadn’t made its way to my nose yet. Oh how I wish I had a picture to show you what was inside.  You’ll just have to read v e r y c a r e f u l l y: 2 black AA rechargeable batteries.  Go ahead.  Read it again.  I’ll wait.

Thinking this is just too funny for words, I haul it over to show Daddy in the living room.  Guess what he comes back with?

Is she still running?

I had the last laugh, I dumped said batteries in his lap. 

That’d get your attention, didn’t it?  :)  Actually the fact that I could go into a store with the onslaught that it is to my eyeballs and brain speaks volumes of my recovery.  Actually any volume = recovery for me.  When I reach the end of my proverbial rope, sounds, movements, lights, noices, sneezes- all of it - make me crazy.

For me - and it is quite personal - recovery time has been like this for the last 3 days:

sleep

eat

sleep

walk

sleep

art

sleep.

My gift from God aka Hubby has been at home the whole time watching the kids encouraging me to take my medication and making doctors appointments.  He has gotten the kids off to school, made meals, done laundry.  He has remained kind and energetic through it all.  Also last week he decided (well he decided over a month ago, but the time had come for him) to get lasik eye surgery.  For the first time since toddler-hood he can see his own hands without glasses.  I’m so happy for him.  So he has been doing all this while wearing TWO pairs of absolutely opaque sunglasses, and a bottle of tears attached to his front pocket.  Well, not quite attached, but it sounds good…

I’m afraid that I have no big revelation or insight to share from this little episode, I’m just happy to report that things are looking up. 

You know what I love besides retail therapy?

- I love the ocean waves lapping at the drift wood.

- I love the kites in the park that are so big there are men in what look like motorized tricycles zipping all over the place.

- I love the waves that the boats create.

- I love the sounds of the seagulls and the chatter of the water.

- I love the shorter days and darker nights.

- I love my fluffy pillow.

- I love being physically exhausted so my body just sinks into soft sleep.

- I love living in Canada.

- I love watching my babies sleep.  All three of them in one big room.  One snores softly.  One never ever sleeps with anything on top of her.  One sleeps so soundly she’s miss the morning if I didn’t wake her.

- I love living.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers, friends.  they have meant a lot to me.

I’m suffering again with what I refer to as ‘an episode’.  I had a medication reaction.  And I’m waiting for doctor’s appointments for the end of next week.  All is working itself out now, but I’m set back by months in my recovery.  I know that this won’t make sense to all of you, but I’m just sayin’ it’s hard right now.  And the miracle will be if I can stay out of the psych ward this coming weekend.  I call out to God, and I don’t hear much in response.  Except last night I called out, and Mike came home to watch the girls, and I survived until today.  He was there.

I don’t know what to learn or where to go from here.  Back to see my therapist and back to my knees.  When one is at the end of what can be done with medication and psychotherapy,  hope becomes distant.  I am no longer sure where God is going, or where my next step will land.  He is there.  And through your prayers and His goodness, I hope to be back next week with a story of survival.

Till then,

take care of yourselves, dear mommies,

There’s a meme over at Rocks in my Dryer just in time for Labor Day!  I don’t think I’ve ever done one of these before, and it’s about time - I am 2.75 years away from my last labour.  I prefer not to remember it, but I wonder what it would be like if I did?  So, for your reading pleasure… we go back to a day not so long ago…

How long were your labors?

Kid #1, 12 hrs
Kid #2, 2 hours
Kid #3, 2 months, 8 hours

My baby wanted to be babied pre-entrance.  She had our attention then.  And continues to grab it.

How did you know you were in labor?

Kid #1, Since every nerve was actively trying to find something painful, I awoke at 5 Am with the first teeeny weeeny little cramp.

Kid #2, the first cramp took us from 0 to 4 cm in 2 minutes flat.  Ow!

Kid #3, Was I NOT in labor with her?  Probably after my water broke and I got to take up residence in the labour & delivery ward …. maybe then I started think there might be an end to this pregnancy business.

Where did you deliver?

1 - Hospital where they had anesthesiologists (who had just gone off strike the day before, I think I was okay to deliver after that).

2 - I think I made it into the bed - its hard to remember.

3 - at the hospital - my second home.  In the room right next to the Christmas tree.

Drugs?

Shannon wrote, “Oh my STARS YES!”.  I kinda agree with her.

#1 - didn’t deliver until the anesthesiologist went back to work after the strike.

#2 - I believe I yelled something to the effect of, “I can’t have this baby!  I don’t have any drugs!”  The baby had a different plan.

#3 - I had a midwife who took a lot of convincing to let me have an epidural.  When she FINALLY went to call the anesthesiologist, just the dream of that angel-in-disguise relaxed me enough to pop out the baby into Daddy’s hands while midwife was still on the phone.  As I recall, I didn’t want to birth that one either.  These baby’s have always had a will of their own… darn it!

Who delivered?

As far as I’m concerned, I’m the ONLY one who deserves credit for the delivering of anything, anywhere, any time.

However there were some spectators:

#1 - the only one who really counted in my mind was the anesthesiologist.

#2 - my doula!  She was a gift from God.  She was the reason that we got to the hospital when we did or I wouldn’t have known it was time to go!  And then there were a slew of doctors that rescusitated and cared for my little one who didn’t do too well after that fast birth.  Apparently babies need a little squeezing to work out their lungs.  And *I* am a baby machine. 

#3 - my hubby - he was the catcher.  And me.  With this one I was so impatient, I reached down, grabbed its head and yanked. lol  I think that is my last one.

And the result of all this reminiscing?  I am truly D*O*N*E* having babies.  Finis!  Notta, nevah!  Uh uh. No way!  But you should do it, really you should.  It’s such a blessing. HAHA.  The birth - not so much a blessing - the babies?  yeah.  They’re worth it.

Hello ladies,

Remember a while back I had a giveaway and advertised it?  And there was a ton of traffic to my little neck of the woods?  Does Mommy Motivation undies ring a bell?  NOW you remember! 

So this giveaway is only for my faithful readers, whether this is your first time reading, or I’ve sucked you into my crazy world for days now.  Mommy or not.  Medicated or not. 

Leave a comment here to be entered into a draw for a mini-self care package.  I’ll put in a little hot beverage, something to pamper yourself with, a book, and maybe even some undies!

Remember ladies that with transitions (such as a new school year) come stress, so take extra good care of yourselves, because sometimes our little ones are feeling stressed too and require extra care. which is a problem if you just don’t have anything left to give.  So - this is such great home work - take a little extra time to pamper yourself.

And another thing - I know that we don’t always have time to read blogs every day, but if you read this by Friday you can enter! 

Hugs,