Bye, Bye Bottles

Ryan is almost 17 months old, so I felt it was time to get rid of his bottles and go straight to sippy cups. He’s been using the cups since he was about 6 months old and he’s pretty much always liked them. When he turned one, I planned on disposing of the bottles, but I never really got around to it. I guess my baby is growing up.

The fact Ryan’s growing up, must be why I held on to those bottles for so long. It’s one of the few things he’s been using since birth. I was also afraid to take them away because I didn’t want him to be upset. Once again, Ryan surprised me.

Saturday I recycled his bottles while he was taking his afternoon nap. I knew I needed to go cold turkey with the bottles, otherwise I would give in if he wanted one. Doing this reminds me of when I wanted to wean him off his pacifier. I didn’t want him to be one of those kids sucking on his pacifier, yet running around the house like a big boy. When he was 9 or 10 months old, I gave it to him when he went to bed and then just never gave it back in the morning. Of course, there were a couple times when I thought I could sure use that pacifier, but I didn’t give in. I was determined.

Which brings us to Monday. Today. Ryan hasn’t even noticed the bottles are gone. It’s been 3 days. I think I was attached to them more than him! What does that tell you about us, as mothers? We do things out of comfort, because we think that’s what they want. We don’t want to upset our children, so we do what we think they want from us. But, so be it. After all, we gave birth to these beautiful little creatures!

Bye, bye bottles!

Published in:  on February 8, 2010 at 8:55 pm Leave a Comment
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Time to Ditch the Diapers?

I’ve been doing some research on potty training. I read some forums written by moms and  articles written by doctors and women claiming to be professional potty trainers. Ryan is only 16.5 months old, but many parents say it can be done.

I posted an answer to a mom’s question on a forum and I also asked her if you can really train a child under 2 years old to use the potty. Wow, some moms really bit my head off! This prompted my further research. These potty trainers listed the cognitive, emotional, motor and physiological readiness skills to help you know if your child is at the right age to be trained. Other websites claim you can potty train your child in 3 days! This wouldn’t be to perfection of course, but pretty much all the way.

Ryan shows many of the signs they discuss, but I guess I’m a little nervous because I’m afraid of failure. I need to really be committed to doing this, otherwise Ryan won’t be successful. I don’t want him to get frustrated and take months and months to become trained. That doesn’t sound like fun to me.

I would love some feedback about any successes and failures that you’ve had potty training your toddler, especially if it’s a boy, but all comments are appreciated! I’d also love to hear your thoughts if you’re considering potty training your child in the near future. Please include the age of your child, as this will help me get a better idea of where you’re coming from. Thanks for your help!

Published in:  on February 6, 2010 at 10:42 pm Comments (8)
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Wanted by the Law

That’s what my husband said to me when he found out I ran a red light. He told me I was wanted by the law. Of course this confused me a first because I’m such a good girl. What could I have possibly done to be wanted by the law?

Well, he sure let me have it when he sent me a copy of my red light violation photos, via email. Since I look so good in this photo, I thought I’d share it with all of you. I know you are dying to see some photos of my expensive mistake.

There are three more photos, but they are from a distance which makes it difficult to tell which car is mine, unless you know what you’re looking for.

Published in:  on February 5, 2010 at 10:43 pm Comments (3)
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Thanks Again to the Corona PD

I would definitely classify myself as a “good girl.” So when I do something stupid, it makes me feel like a horrible person. The good thing is that I didn’t have to get pulled over by a cop with my step-daughter in the car when I took her to see the movie The Spy Next Door. She would probably think it’s cool though. Last weekend I took her to see the movie and apparently I ran a red light turning into the shopping center.

Man, that’s going to be one expensive movie. I’m glad she thought it was one of the best movies she’s seen. Ever.

So instead of getting pulled over by the wonderful Corona Police Department,  it was one of those traffic lights that takes your picture when you run a red light. They send you the picture in the mail so you can verify it is really you driving the car. To make matters worse, you can even go online to www.PhotoNotice.com to see a video of yourself making your stupid mistake. Lovely. Thanks for making me feel worse Corona PD. Of course I hurried to the website to see myself in action. Committing my crime. There it was, bright as the day. I was in the left-turn lane and the light turned yellow, but before I passed the white line…oops!…the light had already turned red. Yes, clearly I made a big boo-boo.

Traffic school here I come. At least I’ve only had one ticket in my life, so this only makes number two for me, not twenty-two. Something to feel good about, I guess. Today I was going to ask Todd if we can hire a cleaning lady again, but I will probably have to wait on that one. Looks like I’ll have to keep cleaning to help pay off that traffic violation. Bummer.

By the way, don’t go running off to www.PhotoNotice.com to try and view my violation video. Unfortunately, you need some important information to help you log on. Important information which I’m not willing to share. Thanks Corona PD. Hopefully I don’t see you anytime soon.

Published in:  on February 2, 2010 at 12:16 pm Comments (3)
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