We had a fun, busy weekend. Friday night we packed up the truck and took Emily to see Finding Dory at the drive in. She went to her first drive in last summer, but she didn't really care about it and was asleep about 15 minutes in.
I felt like we were packing for a road trip. We put an air mattress in the bed of the truck, brought pillows and blankets, we brought a cooler with drinks, brought some snacks and picked up McDonald's on the way for dinner. We also had to stop and buy a radio, since our truck's back window doesn't open, we wanted to make sure we would be able to hear the audio. We also had to bring her potty. Despite putting her in a pull up and her jammies, she often still wants to pee in the potty. Who knew the drive in required so much stuff?
The people next to us were even more prepared. This obviously wasn't their first rodeo. They had chairs in the bed of their truck (which probably would have been more comfy for me and Ryan), homemade wooden steps to get into the bed (I made it in, but the jump was not very graceful) and a big speaker on a stand for the audio. We took notes.
However we did think to bring a mosquito candle. There are three screens at this drive in, two are out in the open and one is back in some wooded area. This time we were at one of the open ones, so I don't know if we were just in a less mosquito infested area, or if the candle worked. But last year sucked. The truck we had at the time had a cap instead of the easily removable hard cover so sitting in the bed wasn't a good option, so we took the Equinox. We underestimated the roominess of the cargo area so it wasn't that comfortable to hang out in, and the bugs were eating us alive. Plus it was very hot still, so we turned the car around and sat in inside with the air on. More comfortable, but not the drive in experience I was hoping for.
But this year was so much better....despite being very hot that day, by the time we got there at 8:30 the weather was very comfortable and within an hour we needed sweatshirts. The bugs were almost non-existent and the air mattress was mostly comfortable. Em had a great time running around the truck bed and just being up and out at that night of night and eating snacks. Once the movie started she excitedly said Nemo and Dory a few times, but this was all too new and fun to sit and really pay attention to the movie. But it is a good way to go see movies since there is no way she is ready to go to a theater. About ten minutes till the end she finally settled down in my lap and then fell asleep, so we had a nice easy bed time when we got home, just carried her in and put her to bed.
I'm excited that Frozen 2 is set to come out in 2018; she'll be 4 by then and I think ready for her first movie theater movie. Hopefully she still likes Frozen by then. We plan to take her to the drive in again for The Secret Life of Pets when that comes out. Even if she doesn't pay much attention to this one either, I am excited for this one. I could have waited till Dory came out on DVD...Finding Nemo has never been my favorite movie.
Saturday morning we met my best friend and her boys at the park so they could play. It was nice because the kids went off to play and we could actually sit and have a conversation, unlike when we go out to eat or to the mall. I love that Emily has all these big brother type friends to play with her and make sure she is ok. Last week we went to one of Ryan's 5Ks and they had a bounce house, so our friend's son who is 10 I believe, took her in and made sure she didn't get trampled by any of the big kids. Most all of our friends have boys, so she'll have a lot of big brothers to look out for her over the years.
I got to check out the splash pad too, it's right next door to the playground. I was going to take her the day before, but I had never been, and again wasn't sure if there would be a lot of bigger kids running around. But it was pretty deserted when we first got there, and even when people showed up, they were mostly younger kids and they weren't too rowdy and crazy. Gotta make sure things are ok for my tiny princess. We had packed lunches and ate at the park too, it was a nice afternoon. The kids got filthy though! Not sure why that playground was any dirtier than others, but they had dirt all over the hands, arms, legs, faces....plus it didn't help that it was sticking to their sunscreen. As I was cleaning Em's hands she was concerned that it would take her polish off her nails. My sweet little girly girl.
After that we just went home and took a nap. I should have gotten stuff done while Em napped, but I was so tired and it was hot out so I laid down in my bed with the fan blowing on me, and of course I fell asleep. I need to get on a better sleep schedule, and get more done during the week so I can relax on the weekends without feeling guilty. Especially now that I am working too. I try to only work on weeknights, so I can feel like I have a real break on the weekends. Working from home, I am always tempted to log on and check my emails, but that will inevitably lead me to working all hours of the day and on weekends. I purposefully keep myself logged out of my work email on my computer when I am not working, and I haven't linked it to my phone so I won't be tempted to take care of things as they come in. I should maybe start working more on Wednesdays though while Em is at her Nana's, and maybe some during her nap too. Then I wouldn't have to work so much at night after she goes to bed.
When she got up, we took her out in the yard to swim, and we blew up those water balloons that you attach to the hose and blow up like 50 at a time. They were pretty cool and most all of them blew up like they were supposed to. So we were all throwing water balloons at each other and every time Ryan would pop one over Em's head she would scream and yell like she was mad and then she would laugh. Today we didn't do much, just relaxed, and then watched a couple hours of Shark Week. I had intended to go out and either get the shark week Slurpee from 7/11 or the ice cream from Cold Stone...but I didn't shower today, and my acid reflux was bad last night and made me throw up, so today I had puke face. I did not want to leave the house looking like that. I wish I could be like normal people and throw up and not look crazy afterward. Or not throw up at all, that would be nice too.
I guess I am going to have to move up Em's night training a little. I still have half a pack of pull ups left and I was going to start once we used those up, but last night, today at nap and tonight she took her diaper off. Last night and this afternoon I went in and put it back on so she wouldn't pee all over herself, but it of course woke her up and then she cried it out for a while before she would go back to sleep. I'll probably regret it in the morning, but so far I've decided not to go in tonight. She'll likely take it back off during the night anyway, and I'll have woken her up for no reason.
I ordered her new dresser today. I think this week I will get her furniture moved around. The place where the current dresser is, is not where the new one is going. So I want to get her crib and everything else moved to their spots so when the new dresser comes in we're ready for it. There is also a lot of other re-arranging I have to do. Once I move the crib, there will suddenly be all this new stuff she can reach like pictures on the wall, small things on a shelf, so I've got to figure out where to move those items to. The new dresser comes fully assembled, which is awesome, but I'm a little worried about getting it through the bedroom door. But, I suppose the doorway is no smaller than most, and other people seem to get it in ok.
I'm off to go study up on how the heck to get this kid to be night potty trained.
Sunday, June 26, 2016
Sunday, June 19, 2016
Big girl bedroom
In preparation for releasing my little beast from her cage, I've started round two of baby proofing Emily's room. It was baby proofed when she became mobile, but once she's let loose in there and can get up and get into mischief while I am sleeping, it needs a baby proofing upgrade. I've never been super happy with her dresser/changing table. I loved it when I ordered it, but the price being right at the time doesn't make for quality furniture that lasts.
The back of the furniture is just a thick piece of cardboard essentially, so the blankets in the cabinet part have made the back pop off and bow out when the blankets get shoved in there to the back. The drawers and cabinet door are crooked and the drawers don't close all the way. I've put together a lot of furniture over the years and nothing ever turned out as poor as this piece did.
The belt on the changing pad has scratched the top of the dresser all up. I was looking forward to getting rid of the changing pad soon so I would have more surface area to put stuff on, but the table top looks horrible with all the scratches. The other day I was trying to put those sticky baby locks on. The second I tried to open the drawer with any force at all, the lock popped off and took a layer of veneer off the dresser. I wish I had paid a bit more to get better quality at the time, since now we have to buy something better, on top of the money we wasted on this one. But when you're planning for a baby, you have so much stuff to buy, so it's tempting to go cheap on some things, only to regret it later. My stepmom told me the other day that her and my dad and my inlaws were planning on buying all of the nursery furniture for us. They even went out to dinner to talk about it, but they said I went ahead and bought it all before they could. First of all, I waited quite a while to buy it, just in case anyone wanted to go in with others to get it. And secondly, I would have accepted reimbursement! So I jokingly told her she can buy me the new dresser :)
So anyway, a few people told me they were really happy with their babies r us furniture. I was excited to look there because I feel like so many traditional furniture stores have pieces that just look too grandma-ish.. Too old for a little girl's room. I immediately found a dresser I love and it got a lot of great reviews. This piece isn't cutesy at all, it just looks more age appropriate, but will still look great when she is a teenager too.
Since we've decided to spend more money for better quality, I was tempted to get the set I saw at Macy's a while back. The bed and chest and nightstand are all white and they are very "little girl, princessy". I know she'd love it now, but it's not really a set that would grow with her. I highly doubt she would still like it once she is like 15.
So then I was thinking, we're spending money to get a better dresser, so we should probably get her a better bed too. The metal canopy I had picked out is only about $100 or a little more. I guess it could, but for that price it likely won't last for years and years. So I started looking for a bed too, but the price for the bed and the dresser is a bit overwhelming, so we decided to just convert her crib into a full size bed.
I didn't want to at first, because we still need to buy the rails, but just buying the rails to convert it is way cheaper than buying a brand new bed and we'll have to get her box springs and a mattress no matter what bed we choose. We already know the crib is good quality and it looks great with her other furniture. I also didn't want to use it because it's a full size bed, and I didn't really want her in such a big bed. But, all it really means is she has more room to roll before falling out of bed. Isn't really a bad thing I guess (and we'll have a safety rail). It's not like a big bed is going to swallow her whole.
I had a twin bed up until I was like 18 or 19 because I took over my brother's bigger room once he moved out and finally had room for a bigger bed. I remember my first night sleeping in the double bed, I had so much room! And it was nice that when I moved out a few years later, I was able to take my bed with me. There was no way I was going to move out and take a twin bed. So my parents ended up having to buy me that new bed. But with Em starting out in a full size, maybe that will mean we won't have to get her a new bed ever, and she can even use this one even as an adult. It would be kind of cool to just one day when she's much older to say by the way, did you know this headboard and foot board was your crib? But watch, my entire plan will collapse when she one day claims she needs a queen or a king.
Well she can buy that on her dime. Besides, the full bed is barely going to fit in her room, no way will anything bigger. Pottery Barn has a room planner where you can choose the size of the room and put in all the furniture so you can decide where to put things before you start moving furniture. It will be a little tight, but I think everything is going to fit ok. We'll have to take the glider out though, no room for that. But once she has her big girl bed, I'll be able to climb in bed with her and read her stories, so we won't really need the glider in there anyway.
I just bought her a new pack of pull ups for naps and night time. So I think when we run out of those we'll take the front panel off her crib to make it into a toddler bed and work on night training. Once she is doing well with that, then we'll convert it into the full bed. I know I should enjoy this last month or so of her being behind bars....bed time will not be easy once the bars come down. But I'm so excited to move her on to the next stage. It is a little sad, but not like I thought it would be. When she was a baby I couldn't imagine getting rid of the crib, but that's cause she was a baby and still needed it. She's a big girl now and it just seems right for her to be moving on to the next stage. Besides I think she will love it. She sleeps in a big bed at Nana's now for nap, and whenever she gets on our bed she stretches out and looks so comfy. On to bigger and better things.
The back of the furniture is just a thick piece of cardboard essentially, so the blankets in the cabinet part have made the back pop off and bow out when the blankets get shoved in there to the back. The drawers and cabinet door are crooked and the drawers don't close all the way. I've put together a lot of furniture over the years and nothing ever turned out as poor as this piece did.
The belt on the changing pad has scratched the top of the dresser all up. I was looking forward to getting rid of the changing pad soon so I would have more surface area to put stuff on, but the table top looks horrible with all the scratches. The other day I was trying to put those sticky baby locks on. The second I tried to open the drawer with any force at all, the lock popped off and took a layer of veneer off the dresser. I wish I had paid a bit more to get better quality at the time, since now we have to buy something better, on top of the money we wasted on this one. But when you're planning for a baby, you have so much stuff to buy, so it's tempting to go cheap on some things, only to regret it later. My stepmom told me the other day that her and my dad and my inlaws were planning on buying all of the nursery furniture for us. They even went out to dinner to talk about it, but they said I went ahead and bought it all before they could. First of all, I waited quite a while to buy it, just in case anyone wanted to go in with others to get it. And secondly, I would have accepted reimbursement! So I jokingly told her she can buy me the new dresser :)
So anyway, a few people told me they were really happy with their babies r us furniture. I was excited to look there because I feel like so many traditional furniture stores have pieces that just look too grandma-ish.. Too old for a little girl's room. I immediately found a dresser I love and it got a lot of great reviews. This piece isn't cutesy at all, it just looks more age appropriate, but will still look great when she is a teenager too.
Since we've decided to spend more money for better quality, I was tempted to get the set I saw at Macy's a while back. The bed and chest and nightstand are all white and they are very "little girl, princessy". I know she'd love it now, but it's not really a set that would grow with her. I highly doubt she would still like it once she is like 15.
So then I was thinking, we're spending money to get a better dresser, so we should probably get her a better bed too. The metal canopy I had picked out is only about $100 or a little more. I guess it could, but for that price it likely won't last for years and years. So I started looking for a bed too, but the price for the bed and the dresser is a bit overwhelming, so we decided to just convert her crib into a full size bed.
I didn't want to at first, because we still need to buy the rails, but just buying the rails to convert it is way cheaper than buying a brand new bed and we'll have to get her box springs and a mattress no matter what bed we choose. We already know the crib is good quality and it looks great with her other furniture. I also didn't want to use it because it's a full size bed, and I didn't really want her in such a big bed. But, all it really means is she has more room to roll before falling out of bed. Isn't really a bad thing I guess (and we'll have a safety rail). It's not like a big bed is going to swallow her whole.
I had a twin bed up until I was like 18 or 19 because I took over my brother's bigger room once he moved out and finally had room for a bigger bed. I remember my first night sleeping in the double bed, I had so much room! And it was nice that when I moved out a few years later, I was able to take my bed with me. There was no way I was going to move out and take a twin bed. So my parents ended up having to buy me that new bed. But with Em starting out in a full size, maybe that will mean we won't have to get her a new bed ever, and she can even use this one even as an adult. It would be kind of cool to just one day when she's much older to say by the way, did you know this headboard and foot board was your crib? But watch, my entire plan will collapse when she one day claims she needs a queen or a king.
Well she can buy that on her dime. Besides, the full bed is barely going to fit in her room, no way will anything bigger. Pottery Barn has a room planner where you can choose the size of the room and put in all the furniture so you can decide where to put things before you start moving furniture. It will be a little tight, but I think everything is going to fit ok. We'll have to take the glider out though, no room for that. But once she has her big girl bed, I'll be able to climb in bed with her and read her stories, so we won't really need the glider in there anyway.
I just bought her a new pack of pull ups for naps and night time. So I think when we run out of those we'll take the front panel off her crib to make it into a toddler bed and work on night training. Once she is doing well with that, then we'll convert it into the full bed. I know I should enjoy this last month or so of her being behind bars....bed time will not be easy once the bars come down. But I'm so excited to move her on to the next stage. It is a little sad, but not like I thought it would be. When she was a baby I couldn't imagine getting rid of the crib, but that's cause she was a baby and still needed it. She's a big girl now and it just seems right for her to be moving on to the next stage. Besides I think she will love it. She sleeps in a big bed at Nana's now for nap, and whenever she gets on our bed she stretches out and looks so comfy. On to bigger and better things.
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Florida Tragedy
I have a million things to do right now, but I just have to get this off my chest. I am absolutely sickened and heartbroken for the parents who just lost their child to an alligator attack at a Disney resort. I was in tears last night reading about it, and it's all I have thought about today.
Of course you read horrible stuff happening to children day in and day out, and they are all tragedies and at the heart of it, despite what happened and how it happened, the child suffers an unimaginable injury or death. But for some reason, this story really got me. I think because the child is also 2, like Emily, and because we were just at a Disney resort a few months ago. But I cannot stop thinking about it and my heart is torn up for the parents.
As a parent you fear illnesses, accidents, drowning, car accident, abuse, etc. You try your best to safeguard them against any possible thing you can think of. To this day I won't let my daughter sleep without her ceiling fan on because I read having air circulating while they sleep helps guard against SIDS....she's TWO, she's been out of the SIDS danger zone for well over a year now, but even in the winter I just cannot sleep at night if I don't have her fan on. We keep the house at a good temperature and she is always dressed appropriately, and now she can get up and reach the light switch to turn it off if she were to get too cold, but I cannot bring myself to not turn it on when I put her to bed.
Rationally speaking, I guess this story isn't much different than losing a child to an illness, a car accident, or something else. The result is the same. Heartbroken parents who will never ever get over this, and a child that lost their life. But there is just something about the fact that it was such a freak accident, and the fact that they were supposed to be on a wonderful vacation, having a great time on the beach for family movie night and the unthinkable happens just tears me up. In an instant their child is not only gone, but there was nothing they could do. I know at this point there is no hope, because where on earth could he be if he were somehow still alive....but I keep holding on to the tiniest shred of hope that I will check the news and find that he has been found alive. But I know that won't be the case. I have since read that his body has been recovered, and it is intact. This of course does not bring him back, and it does not alleviate the parents' pain, but thank God they can at least lay their sweet boy to rest, and hopefully be somewhat comforted knowing that he likely drown and that it was hopefully quick and he did not suffer too much.
As a loss parent, I know all too well that you blame yourself for your child's loss. I know there was literally nothing I could have done to save Kayla, and nothing I should have even known to have done. But it's impossible to not feel the guilt, thinking I still should have been able to do something. So surely these parents will always second guess themselves....maybe movie night was a decision they made on a whim, so they'll always blame themselves for going instead of just going to bed, or for being near the water, or not watching him as closely.
But according to everything I read, they were right there with him, the mother was even holding his hand, and the father tried to wrestle with the gator to free his son. Being that I am afraid of most every animal/fish/amphibian on this planet, I would not have had my feet in the water nor let Emily do so. But this was Disney world, they weren't taking a stroll through the Everglades. Whose to even say that is why the gator attacked? Do people honestly think if the child had not been in the water, and had been say 4 feet off shore, that the gator would have left him alone? Maybe he would have, but I don't think it's possible to say it definitely wouldn't have attacked. Gators have legs, they can run very fast. And let's not forget, NOTHING like this has ever happened on Disney property in the 45 years they have been in business. And they might be in business another 100 years and it may never happen again. Yes Florida has alligators, yes you need to be cautious of them, but I don't think anyone was sitting on that beach during family movie, thinking of an escape plan should an alligator attack...or thinking that an alligator could even be in those waters. Who knows how long that gator was stalking that boy. They lie in wait, perfectly still until they strike. It was a freak accident, and likely nothing the parents did or didn't do would have created a different outcome.
During our time in Florida I was even hoping to see one (from a distance of course). As we rode the bus each day from the resort to the parks, I'd watch along the roadside near the woods/swamps, and the night we went out in the boat to watch the fireworks, our tour guide even shined his light on one on the banks, and I was disappointed that I couldn't really see it. While on the Disney train at the Magic Kingdom, I was excited that I was pretty sure I saw the telltale bumps of a gator sticking out of the water, partially submerged. To be clear, this was on the other side of the tracks, from the park as we circled the park on the train. So there was a river or stream, a small berm, the railroad tracks, and then the park. If that was indeed a gator I saw, that was about 20 yards maybe, from the edge of the park. Twenty yards from the edge of the MAGIC KINGDOM. Does anybody walking around the Magic Kingdom think about the fact that there are likely gators on the outskirts, just 20 yards away? Maybe, maybe not, but I sure as hell can guarantee that nobody is worried about being attacked by one while walking around the park.
Had that happened, had the boy been attacked and dragged away while in the park, would anyone be blaming the parents? Like I said, no I likely would not have gotten too close to the waters edge on that beach because I am scared of everything, but if I were sitting 20 feet from the beach, watching a movie with a slew of other people, on a Disney resort, I am certain I would not be thinking about the possibility of a gator coming out of the water and snatching a small child.
We stayed at The Art of Imagination, and our room was quite a walk from the main part of the resort. There was a lot of vegetation around, and not always a lot of people depending on what time it was. There was a lagoon not far from our rooms, maybe a quarter mile, maybe less, I don't know I am not good with estimating distance. But it is very possible that an alligator could have been lurking somewhere near our room. People find them on their doorsteps and in their pools, so why couldn't one be hanging around behind a bush, a stone's throw away from our room? Hell, I would venture to guess it isn't even impossible for one to show up in the resort's swimming pool. It's probably not likely since I would assume the gates are locked at night, and workers are cleaning around the pool, testing the water, etc before guests are allowed in each morning. But things slip through cracks, people make mistakes, gates get left open. The pool near our room was pretty big, but it wasn't even the biggest pool there. I think it is possible for a gator to be at the bottom of one end, and go unnoticed by a worker at the other end.
Despite the fact that I am afraid of everything, was a gator being in the pool something I worried about when I took my daughter swimming? No, not at all. It wasn't even a thought in my head. At someone's home pool in Florida? Yeah, I would probably think about it. When I first met my husband, I was planning on eventually moving to Florida with him because he had a job lined up to build gator cages around peoples' pools. But a pool at a Disney World Resort? Nope, not at all. This family wasn't near a swamp, they weren't vacationing in the Everglades. They were enjoying an evening as a family, watching a movie and their baby was ripped away from them by a dangerous, wild animal on a Disney Resort. It makes me sick that anyone can even begin to blame the parents.
Letting your child play in traffic? Yes, bad parent. Leaving your two year old home alone? Yes, bad parent. Not putting your child in a car seat while driving? Yes, bad parent. Letting your child walk in the water of a man-made lagoon on a Disney resort? No, not a bad parent. Not even a little bit. There is no way they could have foreseen this, or even imagined this would happen in their wildest dreams. It was a freak accident, and it could have happened had the child been completely out of the water, four feet off short, or even walking down the lit path of the resort somewhat near the lagoon. These parents are experiencing the worst pain of the entire lives, and these assholes judging them, and acting like it was deserved because they decided they weren't watching their kid well enough are heartless. Would they say this to a family member, or even a neighbor? Would they say this to an acquaintance....sorry your kid died, I'm heartbroken for you, but you really shouldn't have been in the water?
Saying this will not bring the kid back, nor will it save anyone else because this was such a remote, freak thing it will likely never even happen again. I can only hope and pray that the child's death was quick and he didn't suffer too much. As for the parents, I cannot say I hope they find comfort or peace, because they won't. It's impossible. They will mourn their sweet boy for the rest of their lives, and they will re-live this nightmare every single day. I honest to God have no idea how they will go on, or even breathe again. Losing a child is the most horrible thing that can happen to someone, but seeing it happen, seeing this monster rip your baby from you, knowing your child's last moments on earth were filled with fear and pain....my heart hurts for them, and I am so angry for them. I don't know them, before yesterday I did not know this family existed. But today I wish I could somehow take away their pain, or comfort them in some way. I can only hope that they can feel some of the love and support from complete strangers all over the world, and know that their pain is our pain, and that we are grieving with them, and thinking of them and their beautiful baby boy and their daughter.
Of course you read horrible stuff happening to children day in and day out, and they are all tragedies and at the heart of it, despite what happened and how it happened, the child suffers an unimaginable injury or death. But for some reason, this story really got me. I think because the child is also 2, like Emily, and because we were just at a Disney resort a few months ago. But I cannot stop thinking about it and my heart is torn up for the parents.
As a parent you fear illnesses, accidents, drowning, car accident, abuse, etc. You try your best to safeguard them against any possible thing you can think of. To this day I won't let my daughter sleep without her ceiling fan on because I read having air circulating while they sleep helps guard against SIDS....she's TWO, she's been out of the SIDS danger zone for well over a year now, but even in the winter I just cannot sleep at night if I don't have her fan on. We keep the house at a good temperature and she is always dressed appropriately, and now she can get up and reach the light switch to turn it off if she were to get too cold, but I cannot bring myself to not turn it on when I put her to bed.
Rationally speaking, I guess this story isn't much different than losing a child to an illness, a car accident, or something else. The result is the same. Heartbroken parents who will never ever get over this, and a child that lost their life. But there is just something about the fact that it was such a freak accident, and the fact that they were supposed to be on a wonderful vacation, having a great time on the beach for family movie night and the unthinkable happens just tears me up. In an instant their child is not only gone, but there was nothing they could do. I know at this point there is no hope, because where on earth could he be if he were somehow still alive....but I keep holding on to the tiniest shred of hope that I will check the news and find that he has been found alive. But I know that won't be the case. I have since read that his body has been recovered, and it is intact. This of course does not bring him back, and it does not alleviate the parents' pain, but thank God they can at least lay their sweet boy to rest, and hopefully be somewhat comforted knowing that he likely drown and that it was hopefully quick and he did not suffer too much.
As a loss parent, I know all too well that you blame yourself for your child's loss. I know there was literally nothing I could have done to save Kayla, and nothing I should have even known to have done. But it's impossible to not feel the guilt, thinking I still should have been able to do something. So surely these parents will always second guess themselves....maybe movie night was a decision they made on a whim, so they'll always blame themselves for going instead of just going to bed, or for being near the water, or not watching him as closely.
But according to everything I read, they were right there with him, the mother was even holding his hand, and the father tried to wrestle with the gator to free his son. Being that I am afraid of most every animal/fish/amphibian on this planet, I would not have had my feet in the water nor let Emily do so. But this was Disney world, they weren't taking a stroll through the Everglades. Whose to even say that is why the gator attacked? Do people honestly think if the child had not been in the water, and had been say 4 feet off shore, that the gator would have left him alone? Maybe he would have, but I don't think it's possible to say it definitely wouldn't have attacked. Gators have legs, they can run very fast. And let's not forget, NOTHING like this has ever happened on Disney property in the 45 years they have been in business. And they might be in business another 100 years and it may never happen again. Yes Florida has alligators, yes you need to be cautious of them, but I don't think anyone was sitting on that beach during family movie, thinking of an escape plan should an alligator attack...or thinking that an alligator could even be in those waters. Who knows how long that gator was stalking that boy. They lie in wait, perfectly still until they strike. It was a freak accident, and likely nothing the parents did or didn't do would have created a different outcome.
During our time in Florida I was even hoping to see one (from a distance of course). As we rode the bus each day from the resort to the parks, I'd watch along the roadside near the woods/swamps, and the night we went out in the boat to watch the fireworks, our tour guide even shined his light on one on the banks, and I was disappointed that I couldn't really see it. While on the Disney train at the Magic Kingdom, I was excited that I was pretty sure I saw the telltale bumps of a gator sticking out of the water, partially submerged. To be clear, this was on the other side of the tracks, from the park as we circled the park on the train. So there was a river or stream, a small berm, the railroad tracks, and then the park. If that was indeed a gator I saw, that was about 20 yards maybe, from the edge of the park. Twenty yards from the edge of the MAGIC KINGDOM. Does anybody walking around the Magic Kingdom think about the fact that there are likely gators on the outskirts, just 20 yards away? Maybe, maybe not, but I sure as hell can guarantee that nobody is worried about being attacked by one while walking around the park.
Had that happened, had the boy been attacked and dragged away while in the park, would anyone be blaming the parents? Like I said, no I likely would not have gotten too close to the waters edge on that beach because I am scared of everything, but if I were sitting 20 feet from the beach, watching a movie with a slew of other people, on a Disney resort, I am certain I would not be thinking about the possibility of a gator coming out of the water and snatching a small child.
We stayed at The Art of Imagination, and our room was quite a walk from the main part of the resort. There was a lot of vegetation around, and not always a lot of people depending on what time it was. There was a lagoon not far from our rooms, maybe a quarter mile, maybe less, I don't know I am not good with estimating distance. But it is very possible that an alligator could have been lurking somewhere near our room. People find them on their doorsteps and in their pools, so why couldn't one be hanging around behind a bush, a stone's throw away from our room? Hell, I would venture to guess it isn't even impossible for one to show up in the resort's swimming pool. It's probably not likely since I would assume the gates are locked at night, and workers are cleaning around the pool, testing the water, etc before guests are allowed in each morning. But things slip through cracks, people make mistakes, gates get left open. The pool near our room was pretty big, but it wasn't even the biggest pool there. I think it is possible for a gator to be at the bottom of one end, and go unnoticed by a worker at the other end.
Despite the fact that I am afraid of everything, was a gator being in the pool something I worried about when I took my daughter swimming? No, not at all. It wasn't even a thought in my head. At someone's home pool in Florida? Yeah, I would probably think about it. When I first met my husband, I was planning on eventually moving to Florida with him because he had a job lined up to build gator cages around peoples' pools. But a pool at a Disney World Resort? Nope, not at all. This family wasn't near a swamp, they weren't vacationing in the Everglades. They were enjoying an evening as a family, watching a movie and their baby was ripped away from them by a dangerous, wild animal on a Disney Resort. It makes me sick that anyone can even begin to blame the parents.
Letting your child play in traffic? Yes, bad parent. Leaving your two year old home alone? Yes, bad parent. Not putting your child in a car seat while driving? Yes, bad parent. Letting your child walk in the water of a man-made lagoon on a Disney resort? No, not a bad parent. Not even a little bit. There is no way they could have foreseen this, or even imagined this would happen in their wildest dreams. It was a freak accident, and it could have happened had the child been completely out of the water, four feet off short, or even walking down the lit path of the resort somewhat near the lagoon. These parents are experiencing the worst pain of the entire lives, and these assholes judging them, and acting like it was deserved because they decided they weren't watching their kid well enough are heartless. Would they say this to a family member, or even a neighbor? Would they say this to an acquaintance....sorry your kid died, I'm heartbroken for you, but you really shouldn't have been in the water?
Saying this will not bring the kid back, nor will it save anyone else because this was such a remote, freak thing it will likely never even happen again. I can only hope and pray that the child's death was quick and he didn't suffer too much. As for the parents, I cannot say I hope they find comfort or peace, because they won't. It's impossible. They will mourn their sweet boy for the rest of their lives, and they will re-live this nightmare every single day. I honest to God have no idea how they will go on, or even breathe again. Losing a child is the most horrible thing that can happen to someone, but seeing it happen, seeing this monster rip your baby from you, knowing your child's last moments on earth were filled with fear and pain....my heart hurts for them, and I am so angry for them. I don't know them, before yesterday I did not know this family existed. But today I wish I could somehow take away their pain, or comfort them in some way. I can only hope that they can feel some of the love and support from complete strangers all over the world, and know that their pain is our pain, and that we are grieving with them, and thinking of them and their beautiful baby boy and their daughter.
Monday, June 6, 2016
Poop, and the F word
Well, we've been so busy lately I haven't had time to update. So going in the potty is still going great. We made it to 10 days straight with no accident, which I think is pretty good. I think it was right after we walked to and from the grocery store. It's about a 30 minute walk each way, but I needed to go for a walk and grocery shop so I figured I'd combine the two. So we walked there, did about 15-20 minutes of shopping and then walked home. As soon as we got home I let her play in the backyard while I put groceries away. When I was done I went out to find a big wet spot on the concrete. I don't know if she was calling to me that she had to go and I didn't hear her, or if she was just too excited to be outside. Oh well.
When we went up north a week ago, she had a couple accidents, but I think they coincided with pooping. Aside from the one time she pooped at Nana's house (I think she sat down to pee and just coincidentally had to poop as well) and once when she begged to get her diaper off to poop, she has been having a hard time telling me she has to poop, and just goes in her pants. I'm not sure if pooping on the potty still freaks her out, or if she has to go too bad before she can tell me or what...but I think issues with pooping in the potty are pretty common for new potty users.
The one day we were getting ready to go for a bike ride, and it had already taken forever because I had to assemble the bike trailer, hook it up to the bike, and air up all the tires. I was just about ready to put her in the trailer when she said pee pee. Our yard is completely private, so I figured eh, this one time can't hurt, so I went to pull down her pants so she could pee outside....and I stuck my hand in poop! She doesn't tell me she has to poop, she says pee pee, and as in this case, it's usually once she has already went.
So I had her walk quickly through the deck (since the dog was out on the deck) to get in the house to clean her up. When she poops her pants she complains that there are "balls" (poop balls, haha) in her pants. So we get to the bathroom, but the poop ball that was hanging out of her pants was gone. Great, I figured it dropped off in the house somewhere, but I couldn't find it. Yep, it fell off outside, the dog ate it. ACK! As if eating her own poop isn't bad enough, she has to eat the baby's poop too. Dogs are vile creatures. So we get her all cleaned up and off we go. It was a good ride, our first of the season, and she will actually wear her helmet now. Except, once I put the netting up over her on the trailer, her helmet is right against the netting so she has troubles lifting her head against it. So the entire ride she had to look down at her feet. Not very enjoyable.
So for the second lap around the neighborhood I took her helmet off. Our city has no laws about helmets, she's in the trailer, I am very diligent about looking for traffic, we ride on the sidewalk, and even if my bike fell over, the trailer stays upright, so I am not too worried about it. Maybe next time I won't put the netting up at all, it shouldn't be that windy for her, and I would like her to get used to having to wear it all the time.
On our way up north last weekend I wasn't sure about what to do about the potty for the drive. It's a 3.5 hour drive, and I was fine with stopping so she could potty, but she often falls asleep for most of it and I was worried about her wetting her seat in her sleep. So I just put a pull up on her, but she never went in it. She didn't sleep that much, and when we stopped for food I had her try to potty and she did! She amazes me every day. You just don't know how much I was dreading potty training and I am so happy she is doing so well. I got a fold-able potty seat from Amazon to use when we're out in public. She often has trouble going on commercial toilets because they're so big, she's afraid she'll fall in. But this thing is great, it folds up to about 5X5 inches, and comes in a rubber bag. It fits right in my diaper bag so we always have it. Best purchase ever.
I think we made a break through with poop today. The good news is, without even telling me she had to, she went to the potty and pooped all on her own. The bad news is, when she came to me needing help putting her underwear back on, I didn't realize she had pooped so I sat her poopy butt on my bare knee. Yuck. But, what's a little poop on your knee while you're eating lunch, compared to your kid pooping in the potty all on her own! I was very excited. And, I guess it was better that I had shorts on instead of getting poop on my pants.
Another unseen perk of being potty trained....without the bulk of a diaper, last summer's shorts still fit her. She has several pairs of 12 month shorts, and they still fit her perfectly now that she wears underwear. Win win!
Lately I have noticed she has been getting a little lazy with her speech. She has a huge vocabulary, and she says many words crystal clear, and she is starting to link two words together, but she isn't speaking in sentences yet, and quite often will just say one word to tell me what she wants. Like she'll say milk, or night night, or ath (bath). So I am trying to get her to add to that some, like mommy milk please, or take an ath. Whenever I am eating something she wants, she comes up to me with her mouth open and says ahhhh. It's so cute, like a baby bird, but with her vocabulary she really should be speaking more in sentences, so I've taught her to say bite please. She sometimes forgets from one day to the next, but if I remind her once, she will usually say it for each bite she comes to me for after that.
I know some kids aren't even speaking very much at this age, but still, I know she can speak in more complete sentences, so there isn't any reason why she can't if I just encourage her more. What is cute and isn't a problem at 2, can easily turn into a big problem at 3 and 4. Speaking of speaking, she has become rather fond of the word fuck and fucking lately. We tried to just ignore it, but in her toddler wisdom, she still somehow knows it is a naughty word, and therefore enjoys saying it. The other day I forgot we were watching American Pie on HBO and would therefore have cuss words. She perfectly imitated the one kid by throwing her arms up in the air and repeating "fuckers"!
I am trying really hard to not say bad words, but I know I am not succeeding all the time, but her daddy is really bad. We'll continue to try to keep her from hearing cuss words, but today I decided to start time-out for saying it. I firmly believe that while we should limit how much she hears the words, she also needs to learn that some words are not appropriate for her to say, and just because she hears an adult say them, doesn't mean she gets to. So the first time-out was short, just to get her attention that saying the word will result in time-out. When she said it a little while later, I put her back in time- out. She kept asking for a kiss (little stinker) but I kept saying no, not until after time-out. Finally she made it to 30 seconds without interruption.
I really don't get how kids learn so quickly how to manipulate. I've noticed she claims she has to pee pee whenever I make her do something she doesn't want to do, and she knows I cannot not believe her, because one of these times she will really have to go, and not just crying pee. But tonight, she mistakenly claimed she had to pee pee the second I put her in time-out for the second time. It was a gamble, but I decided to call her bluff. Man, we really need to forget about Trump, Clinton, and Sanders and just elect a toddler as president. They're slick, conniving and play dirty, all the qualities of a president right?
Ever since we were up north her sleep schedule has been all messed up. Unless I have to get up for something specific, I just let her wake me up. Well the past week or so we've been sleeping till 9:30 or later; today we didn't get up until 11:30! But she's been going to bed late each night too, I put her down at 8 like usual but she often doesn't fall asleep until 10 or 11. When we were up north, we stayed up late most nights and some of the days she didn't get a nap, but she was still waking up at normal time, so I guess she is trying to catch up on sleep. I don't have to leave the house till 11 tomorrow, but I'll try to get us up at 8 just to try to get back on schedule.
So when she gets up so late, I don't put her down for nap at 1, and like today I was going to just keep her up all day so she could go to sleep at the usual time. But today around 5pm she crawled up in my lap, leaned back, put her hands behind her head and fell asleep. I cannot say I minded though, I love when she snuggles with me. She slept on me last week too, and she fell asleep on my dad when we were up north, but he had to go do something so he put her in my arms and we got to snuggle for 2 hours. I miss my daily naps with her.
Work is still going great, I haven't had to commute in a couple weeks, it's been nice. But tomorrow I have to go to this mandatory training class. I was kind of annoyed about it, because it deals with clinical stuff, and I do not do any of that, so why do I have to go? But the main reason I don't want to go is it's a 3 hour class, and there is no prior registration, so you have to get there super early to hopefully be one of the first 50 to get in. This sucks, but I have a pretty wide open schedule, I don't have to work at any certain time and it's pretty easy for me to get a sitter. But this is still a pain in the butt for me, so I cannot imagine for someone who has time constraints, to set aside time to have to go to this, not knowing if they'll be able to get in or not. I don't see why they can't do registration, but tell people who could not get in the class to show up anyway in case one of the registered doesn't show. Then they shouldn't have to deal with running classes for less than 50 people. Hopefully being there an hour before hand is enough time to be one of the 50. But the silver lining is, I discovered this place is right down the road from our favorite sushi restaurant, so I'm going to get carry out for dinner. Hmmm, and we were just talking today about cutting down on our restaurant expenses. Oh well, I just cannot be 50 yards away and not get food from there.
Then Thursday my boss wants me to come to her house so I can meet the other new girl. I kind of don't want to, but I have a doctor appt that morning anyway that I need a sitter for so I can talk with my doctor in peace. So at least it will be worth the while to get a sitter since my stepmom can just watch her all afternoon too while I'm at work. My boss also said I can go up to 15 hours some weeks if I feel like I have too much work to do. Since I will be spending 7.5 hours this week commuting and at class, I will definitely need to take advantage of working up to 15 to get the rest of my work done. It's always nice to have a bigger paycheck!
When we went up north a week ago, she had a couple accidents, but I think they coincided with pooping. Aside from the one time she pooped at Nana's house (I think she sat down to pee and just coincidentally had to poop as well) and once when she begged to get her diaper off to poop, she has been having a hard time telling me she has to poop, and just goes in her pants. I'm not sure if pooping on the potty still freaks her out, or if she has to go too bad before she can tell me or what...but I think issues with pooping in the potty are pretty common for new potty users.
The one day we were getting ready to go for a bike ride, and it had already taken forever because I had to assemble the bike trailer, hook it up to the bike, and air up all the tires. I was just about ready to put her in the trailer when she said pee pee. Our yard is completely private, so I figured eh, this one time can't hurt, so I went to pull down her pants so she could pee outside....and I stuck my hand in poop! She doesn't tell me she has to poop, she says pee pee, and as in this case, it's usually once she has already went.
So I had her walk quickly through the deck (since the dog was out on the deck) to get in the house to clean her up. When she poops her pants she complains that there are "balls" (poop balls, haha) in her pants. So we get to the bathroom, but the poop ball that was hanging out of her pants was gone. Great, I figured it dropped off in the house somewhere, but I couldn't find it. Yep, it fell off outside, the dog ate it. ACK! As if eating her own poop isn't bad enough, she has to eat the baby's poop too. Dogs are vile creatures. So we get her all cleaned up and off we go. It was a good ride, our first of the season, and she will actually wear her helmet now. Except, once I put the netting up over her on the trailer, her helmet is right against the netting so she has troubles lifting her head against it. So the entire ride she had to look down at her feet. Not very enjoyable.
So for the second lap around the neighborhood I took her helmet off. Our city has no laws about helmets, she's in the trailer, I am very diligent about looking for traffic, we ride on the sidewalk, and even if my bike fell over, the trailer stays upright, so I am not too worried about it. Maybe next time I won't put the netting up at all, it shouldn't be that windy for her, and I would like her to get used to having to wear it all the time.
On our way up north last weekend I wasn't sure about what to do about the potty for the drive. It's a 3.5 hour drive, and I was fine with stopping so she could potty, but she often falls asleep for most of it and I was worried about her wetting her seat in her sleep. So I just put a pull up on her, but she never went in it. She didn't sleep that much, and when we stopped for food I had her try to potty and she did! She amazes me every day. You just don't know how much I was dreading potty training and I am so happy she is doing so well. I got a fold-able potty seat from Amazon to use when we're out in public. She often has trouble going on commercial toilets because they're so big, she's afraid she'll fall in. But this thing is great, it folds up to about 5X5 inches, and comes in a rubber bag. It fits right in my diaper bag so we always have it. Best purchase ever.
I think we made a break through with poop today. The good news is, without even telling me she had to, she went to the potty and pooped all on her own. The bad news is, when she came to me needing help putting her underwear back on, I didn't realize she had pooped so I sat her poopy butt on my bare knee. Yuck. But, what's a little poop on your knee while you're eating lunch, compared to your kid pooping in the potty all on her own! I was very excited. And, I guess it was better that I had shorts on instead of getting poop on my pants.
Another unseen perk of being potty trained....without the bulk of a diaper, last summer's shorts still fit her. She has several pairs of 12 month shorts, and they still fit her perfectly now that she wears underwear. Win win!
Lately I have noticed she has been getting a little lazy with her speech. She has a huge vocabulary, and she says many words crystal clear, and she is starting to link two words together, but she isn't speaking in sentences yet, and quite often will just say one word to tell me what she wants. Like she'll say milk, or night night, or ath (bath). So I am trying to get her to add to that some, like mommy milk please, or take an ath. Whenever I am eating something she wants, she comes up to me with her mouth open and says ahhhh. It's so cute, like a baby bird, but with her vocabulary she really should be speaking more in sentences, so I've taught her to say bite please. She sometimes forgets from one day to the next, but if I remind her once, she will usually say it for each bite she comes to me for after that.
I know some kids aren't even speaking very much at this age, but still, I know she can speak in more complete sentences, so there isn't any reason why she can't if I just encourage her more. What is cute and isn't a problem at 2, can easily turn into a big problem at 3 and 4. Speaking of speaking, she has become rather fond of the word fuck and fucking lately. We tried to just ignore it, but in her toddler wisdom, she still somehow knows it is a naughty word, and therefore enjoys saying it. The other day I forgot we were watching American Pie on HBO and would therefore have cuss words. She perfectly imitated the one kid by throwing her arms up in the air and repeating "fuckers"!
I am trying really hard to not say bad words, but I know I am not succeeding all the time, but her daddy is really bad. We'll continue to try to keep her from hearing cuss words, but today I decided to start time-out for saying it. I firmly believe that while we should limit how much she hears the words, she also needs to learn that some words are not appropriate for her to say, and just because she hears an adult say them, doesn't mean she gets to. So the first time-out was short, just to get her attention that saying the word will result in time-out. When she said it a little while later, I put her back in time- out. She kept asking for a kiss (little stinker) but I kept saying no, not until after time-out. Finally she made it to 30 seconds without interruption.
I really don't get how kids learn so quickly how to manipulate. I've noticed she claims she has to pee pee whenever I make her do something she doesn't want to do, and she knows I cannot not believe her, because one of these times she will really have to go, and not just crying pee. But tonight, she mistakenly claimed she had to pee pee the second I put her in time-out for the second time. It was a gamble, but I decided to call her bluff. Man, we really need to forget about Trump, Clinton, and Sanders and just elect a toddler as president. They're slick, conniving and play dirty, all the qualities of a president right?
Ever since we were up north her sleep schedule has been all messed up. Unless I have to get up for something specific, I just let her wake me up. Well the past week or so we've been sleeping till 9:30 or later; today we didn't get up until 11:30! But she's been going to bed late each night too, I put her down at 8 like usual but she often doesn't fall asleep until 10 or 11. When we were up north, we stayed up late most nights and some of the days she didn't get a nap, but she was still waking up at normal time, so I guess she is trying to catch up on sleep. I don't have to leave the house till 11 tomorrow, but I'll try to get us up at 8 just to try to get back on schedule.
So when she gets up so late, I don't put her down for nap at 1, and like today I was going to just keep her up all day so she could go to sleep at the usual time. But today around 5pm she crawled up in my lap, leaned back, put her hands behind her head and fell asleep. I cannot say I minded though, I love when she snuggles with me. She slept on me last week too, and she fell asleep on my dad when we were up north, but he had to go do something so he put her in my arms and we got to snuggle for 2 hours. I miss my daily naps with her.
Work is still going great, I haven't had to commute in a couple weeks, it's been nice. But tomorrow I have to go to this mandatory training class. I was kind of annoyed about it, because it deals with clinical stuff, and I do not do any of that, so why do I have to go? But the main reason I don't want to go is it's a 3 hour class, and there is no prior registration, so you have to get there super early to hopefully be one of the first 50 to get in. This sucks, but I have a pretty wide open schedule, I don't have to work at any certain time and it's pretty easy for me to get a sitter. But this is still a pain in the butt for me, so I cannot imagine for someone who has time constraints, to set aside time to have to go to this, not knowing if they'll be able to get in or not. I don't see why they can't do registration, but tell people who could not get in the class to show up anyway in case one of the registered doesn't show. Then they shouldn't have to deal with running classes for less than 50 people. Hopefully being there an hour before hand is enough time to be one of the 50. But the silver lining is, I discovered this place is right down the road from our favorite sushi restaurant, so I'm going to get carry out for dinner. Hmmm, and we were just talking today about cutting down on our restaurant expenses. Oh well, I just cannot be 50 yards away and not get food from there.
Then Thursday my boss wants me to come to her house so I can meet the other new girl. I kind of don't want to, but I have a doctor appt that morning anyway that I need a sitter for so I can talk with my doctor in peace. So at least it will be worth the while to get a sitter since my stepmom can just watch her all afternoon too while I'm at work. My boss also said I can go up to 15 hours some weeks if I feel like I have too much work to do. Since I will be spending 7.5 hours this week commuting and at class, I will definitely need to take advantage of working up to 15 to get the rest of my work done. It's always nice to have a bigger paycheck!
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