Potty Talk

Toddler is almost ready to potty train. As such, we have many discussions about poo poo and pee pee. Here are a few examples of these actual conversations.

"Mommy change diaper! Mommy change poo poo diaper!"

"Okay, come over here so I can change it and put a fresh one on. Oh my, this is a poo poo diaper!"

"I wanna see it! I wanna see it! I wanna see poo poo diaper!"

"Okay, I heard you. But be still so I can clean you up. There, now see it? It's a big poo poo."

"Yay poo poo diaper! I wanna flush it! I wanna flush it!"

"Okay, calm down. Let's go in the bathroom. There it goes, now you can flush it."

"Bye bye Peeya's poo poo! That was a BIG poo poo! Bye bye poo poo!"

This happens every single day. I must always show her what her body eliminated, rather it is urine or stool. She just wants to see (but then, don't we all take a little peek?). What gets bad is when she discusses my body habits in a public bathroom. We were in Target the other day when this very thing happenned.

"Mommy needs to go to the bathroom. Mommy's going POO POO!!!!"

"No, Priya, I'm not. Now please don't talk so loud. . . "

"OOOhhh, Mommie's going poo poo! Flush Mommie! Bye-bye Mommie's poo poo!!!"

I just cringe as we walk out.

When Little Bit gets a diaper change she has to see that too. And she likes to help clean her up. I don't think I'll let Little Bit know that little detail when they're older.

Toddler is also in a "everything must be clean" phase. If her bib gets dirty when she eats she insists I change it.

"BIIIIB! Mommy change Peeya's bib! It's durrrty! Hurry Mommy! Hurry!"

We may go through three bibs during one meal. She won't listen when I try to explain the purpose of the bib. It simply MUST be changed NOW.

It was a bit of a trying weekend. Her ears are both infected, again, and she was wheezing so bad we had to start steroids and breathing treatments. I'm really praying I don't get the "We need to think about tubes" talk from her pediatrician when we go in tomorrow. Ugghhh.

What I learned today

Today I learned how to fix my printer. All by myself.
I learned how to apply for a new medicare provider number, how to apply for malpractice insurance, how to hire a nurse, and how to arrange for a date with my husband. We're going to see Star Wars.

I still need to learn how to obtain private insurance credentials, how to work with electronic medical records, and how to get Little Bit to eat more solid food without throwing up all the time.

I've mastered how to choose the wrong paint for my wall (should have gone with eggshell finish), how to kill a plant, and how to nurture a sick Beta fish back to health. Okay, no nursing involved. I just fed it and it survived. But I did learn how to transfer it to another bowl without causing major stress to the poor thing.

I've learned how to hold an impromptu pool party involving three different pools and seven children without anyone drowning. Steep learning curve there.

I want to learn how to grow pretty fingernails and lose 15 pounds.

I'll soon learn what it's like to take Toddler to "Mommy and Me" gymnastics class. Wish me luck.

That's it. I start my new job on June 20th, officially. Private practice here I come!

Toddler in the garden. She loves her new garden gloves. Everything in pink. 

Little Bit really does smile. Just not for pictures. . . 

Toddler giving kisses. I don 

Toddler in her favorite chair.  

This is how Little Bit likes to eat. Hands waving in the air like mad. . .  

All is Not Lost. . .

Update. I may have found a new practice to join. I met a wonderful Nurse Practitioner today who owns her own practice and is looking to have a doc join on. She isn't asking me to buy in, just share overhead. I really like her because she strikes me as fair, honest and hardworking. She also isn't out to make a million dollars, but wants the business to work. My gut says this is a great opportunity and I wouldn't have to work for "Big Brother" anymore. I love the idea of having control. Less pay, certainly, but control. It's worth it.

Stay tuned.

The Terminator

So, as many of you in the family know, I was "terminated without cause" last week. It was all very sudden and a very hard pill to swallow. I have no idea why they decided to terminate my contract, but I guess this is what the corporate world is like. Mental note: doctors don't belong in the corporate world.
My patients are being told I have left the practice and will not be back. I feel like I've just abandoned them (which I have). I spent more than a year developing solid relationships with them and now it's over. No warning to either party. What they don't know is that this was not my choice. They probably think I was fired or just lost my mind and quit.
All of this leaves me with the question of what to do with my life now. Do I work? Do I stay home and be a full time Mom? Can I find a job which allows me to do both without losing my mind?

If anyone out there has the answer please let me know. I'll be here.

After a long weekend playing in the park and drinking warm formula (or cold beer), these guys are wiped out. You decide who had the formula. 

Happy Mother's Day!

You never realize how wonderful your mother is until you become a parent yourself. All those so called "grievences" you carried in your twenties disappear when you make your first seventeen mistakes raising your own daughter. You swear you're going to do "everything absolutely right" and have the happiest baby/toddler on the block. You buy age appropriate toys and make difficult decisions regarding solid food and potty training.

And then one Mother's Day you call your own mom and wish her a Happy Mother's Day and, although the conversation is a pleasant one, you realize she really doesn't have any idea how much she means to you. How do you put those feelings into words?

It finally hit me when I said to a friend the other day "I'm just like my Mom!"

Of course, I'm like her in tangible ways in that I have her smile and dark hair. I'm learning to sew (which she does quite well), would like to learn to quilt (another talent of hers), and wish my garden was half as pretty as hers. I drive a minivan (she spent years driving a real van), and I could spend an entire weekend reading a good novel. But when I made that statement I meant that I'm like her because I love my children more than anything in the world. Just as she loves hers.

I'm so blessed to have been raised by her. She was a thoughtful, kind, and imperfect Mom. I'm hoping I can do half as well raising my own children.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom. I love you more than you know.

Wild Kingdom

We had a great vacation. The weather was perfect, the rental house was wonderful and the girls really enjoyed themselves. We went to Sea World and Animal Kingdom. Husband's parents and brother came too and his mom cooked three meals for us. First, everyone gave her a hard time for bringing TONS of food along, but they sure shut up when they realized she had made yet another great meal. I wish I could cook like that.








Toddler loved swimming. That was the bomb in her mind. She doesn't understand that humans don't float. I will try to attach a picture if I get a chance. Little Bit relaxed in the baby floatie and took in some rays.





Later, Toddler made up a song about "Little Mommie." She sung this song to the tune of "Oh I Wish I was a Little Bar of Soap." It went something like this:

Oh Little Little Mommie!
Oh Little Little Mommie!
Oh Little Little Mommie!

over and over and over again. Clever, huh?

The only hard part of the trip occurred on the first day. I took the girls in for a quick well child visit to the pediatrician before we left and he announced that they both had ear infections. So before we got on the plane I doped them up with Motrin, Benadryl and an antiobiotic. Big mistake. Toddler almost crawled out of her skin she was so irritable. Benadryl does NOT work with her. And I should win some award for changing a dirty diaper in the airplane's lavoratory during turbulance. Man, I'm good. So there we were with fussy Toddler and sleeping Little Bit, a DVD player going and Teddy Grahams all over the floor on the airplane. Husband looked at me and said "We must be CRAZY!!!." At that point we didn't have much choice but to suck it up (seeing as how we were 30,000 feet up and hovering somewhere over southern Georgia). I could have used a one way bus ticket to Las Vegas at that point.

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Both girls are still having some fevers and a dry cough. Last night Little Bit threw up three times before going to bed. Thank you, child. I love the smell of vomit all over my shirt and your third pair of clean pajamas.