Snoopy, Doggy Dogg

Another successful night, or so I think. 

I put the Biscuit to bed on time (dinner, bath, read 2 books, bed), turn off the light in his room with a 1...2...3... "light's out Biscuit" - "night, night" - "love you" - "see you in the morning."

I steal off to the den to enjoy some time to myself, my mommy duties done for the evening. I turn the baby monitor on (yes, the Biscuit's 2+, but for some reason I continue to listen in on the monitor just in case he throws up or something) only to hear the sound of silence (ode to Simon & Garfunkel). Ahhhhh, "Sweet." I say to myself: He's out. 30 minutes later, it begins. What begins? you ask. Have a listen to the music behind this link on YouTube and you'll begin to hear my night's torment.

You see, last Christmas, one of the Biscuit's beloved Aunts gave him the cutest Snoopy plush animal. It was love at first sight for the Biscuit. When you press Snoopy's hand, Snoopy not only plays the Peanuts theme song, he also lights up and blinks Christmas tree-like lights on his shirt. The Biscuit decided that Snoopy just wasn't the right name for the treasure. Instead, he called him Doggy Dogg.

Doggy Dogg is currently 1 of 9 friends (in order of importance: Ooh Ahh, Meow, Doggy Dogg, Pooh, Mr. Pug, Max--yes, that's Max the bunny of Max & Ruby, Zebra, Bear, and Froggy-the newest addition) who move about the house wherever the Biscuit goes and they all (naturally) sleep in the Biscuit's bed with him every night. The Biscuit loves to hear Doggy Dogg and, I can only imagine how "cool" the lights must look in the dimly lit room.

Doggy Dogg plays for exactly 10 seconds with each press. The Biscuit continued to press the button until he fell asleep... 11 minutes. 66 times!!! Thankfully, the Sound of Silence came back to me eventually.

But you all know how you hear a song and it gets stuck in your head all day long? Let's just say I had some weird dreams last night.

Feet First

The Biscuit has fat feet. Bless his heart, he inherited his grandpa's wide feet (grandpa is a EEE) and it makes shoe shopping quite miserable. Where some toddlers may be blessed with a plethora of shoes to choose from each day, the Biscuit has 2 pairs: New Balance tennis shoes and black Crocs (well, you all know me, ain't no way I'm paying $30 for Crocs... the Biscuit has "Krocs").

We are always on the lookout for new XX (extra wide) shoes for the Biscuit. I have my eBay alerts running constantly, but these rare gems don't pop up often. The Biscuit's Starenka (grandma) has aided me in my search for months. She hit the jackpot 1 Saturday and uncovered a Stride Rite outlet at a nearby mall and picked up a cute pair of brown, suede tennis shoes for the Biscuit in the next size.

Now, I know what you're thinking... Stride Rite? Those aren't cheap. No, they aren't, but I can't walk into Wal-Mart and pick up a pair of shoes either, so I have to buy what fits and Stride Rite is excellent and has so many choices in XX size. The pair ran around $20 at the outlet store, which is not as bad as some of their shoes (at $40-$50 on average).

As cute and practical as these new shoes were, the Biscuit didn't want to wear them. Every morning when it was "shoe time" I would try to put the new shoes on him only to find rejection and a bit of a fit if I pushed too hard. I was determined to get the new pair of shoes into the 2-shoe rotation (which had been dominated by the Krocs all summer) so I came up with a plan.

Since we have a shoe spot--a consistent place where the Biscuit's shoes are always placed each day--I took the new shoes out of their hidden location in the closet and put them in the shoe spot. After about a week of dust gathering on the new shoes, magic happened 1 morning. When it was shoe time, I asked the Biscuit which shoes he wanted to wear today and, to my surprise, he ran and got the new shoes "These ones!" A victory smile consumed my face.

As with most things with the Biscuit, he came around in his own time. In the end, I was pleased I figured out a way to "win" with de-feet.

Why I Now Hate Bunnies

Bunny rabbits are soooooo cute. For most of my life I have loved cute, furry little bunny rabbits; truly I have. When I was a little girl, living in the glorious foothills of the Ozarks in the middle of "nowhere town" (my address was actually Route 2 or something like that) my brothers and I stumbled upon an abandoned bunny (abandoned being a nice way of explaining that my cat, Isis, stole the bunny from its momma and we saved it from sure death). As kids do, I tried to heal the bunny's wounds with alcohol and by trying to make a cotton ball stick to the open wound (cotton ball = kidthink for replacement of bunny fur). In the end, the bunny lived (I suppose) and wandered back to its hutch. From that day forward, I always had a soft spot for the bunny... until now.

Enter the devil bunnies, better known to all toddler parents as:

Max and Ruby. Ruby and Max.

Basic plot, Ruby tries to do something, Max foils it (and ends up saving the day in the end). Somehow, this low graphic, simple plot, simple theme song amazes my child. When asked what he wants to watch on TV his response is always the same: Max & Ruby. And no matter how many times he hears the theme song (the worst theme song in the history of) he always squeals with delight "Max and Ruby!"

Please know that my child truly does not watch much TV (1 hour or less a day) but 75% of that TV time is dedicated to our bunny pals. I, frankly, am quite tired of watching Max & Ruby but I do have 1 request of Nick Jr. "For the love of Pete, please make a new episode." If I must watch this, at least give me a new story to watch.

I long for the day when we hop beyond our bunny friends. What does this obsession say about the Biscuit I wonder?

Biscuit, Butter & Mosquitos

Last week, the Biscuit came home after what seemed to be an exciting 2-day stay with his starenka and grandpa. I heard stories of fun dinners, endless stories read, walking around the garden outside, and picking tomatoes. All seemed harmless enough.

The Biscuit seemed a bit groggy, not really a surprise, it had been an exciting visit for him. Then, I saw them... 2 huge cherry tomato-sized welts on his legs and OMG, why is his ear abnormally large?

Summer is here, friends. As if the heat and humidity wasn't enough... here come the mosquitoes.

It seems the Biscuit has inherited his Mommy's wacky reaction to bug bites. A terrible reaction, known in the highfalutin medical community as: skeeter syndrome. No, that is not my comical, country-folk accent coming out. That is truly the name for the syndrome. Followthatdog has a nice article, which (incidentally) led me to the official name for the syndrome.

What to do before they bite? Avoid bananas. Maybe it's an old wives tale, but the Biscuit did (incidentally) have a slew of bananas the day before. Use a non-toxic, non-DEET containing bug spray. Cutter and Off actually have DEET-free options available now and there's always the old standard: Avon's Skin So Soft (Avon also offers a bug-spray now that includes SSS). Don't go out at dusk.

What to do after they bite? Sadly, no super treatments. TLC, ibuprofen, cortisone, and maybe some ice (the Biscuit won't allow the ice). Got a suggestion for a natural remedy for a toddler? Please share.

Need some skeeter humor, read Jaim's skeeter post. Got your own skeeter story about your little one? I'd love to hear it.

The Longest Potty Training EVER

Oh, loyal readers. After a 3-month hiatus I am, perhaps, back in the saddle again. Much has happened in 3 months, but I will be true to blog form and keep it short, sweet, and single-topic (yeah right). Well, I will do my best.

Sadly (for me), I am still potty training the Biscuit. He's about 50/50 (in the potty/in the pull-up) right now. I've taken the stance of a low-pressure potty training approach. So, how did I get him this far?

1. As noted before, the Biscuit picked out his own potty (to get him excited).
2. I read Bye Bye Diaper as much as the Biscuit can stand it.
3. I created a Potty Chart that I proudly hung on the back of the bathroom door where the potty is.
4. Success = an Elmo sticker on the potty chart for each sucessful potty (2 for poop).
5. On the weekends, we step up from the pull-up and wear big-boy underwear and try to go potty every 45 minutes.
6. We do the potty dance whenever we are successful.
7. I thank the Biscuit for trying if he sits for a while and can't potty and tell him that I know it is frustrating.

As with all things, I know he's smart and he "gets it." When he's ready to go full time potty, he'll let me know.

It's Potty Time!

Well folks, I am on the eve of potty training with the Biscuit. Oh I can just smell it (or not smell it anymore I should say) -- no more stinky diaper pails. I think my diaper pail is pretty good at keeping the smells in, but as the Biscuit's digestive system develops, it becomes harder and harder to keep the smell in the pail. I dread flipping the lid to dump the diaper each time.

Okay, so I suppose I must fess up a bit. Yes, I really do believe in green living and nothing would make me happier than to stop using disposable diapers. I truly love the little 'g' diapers and I personally think I would be happier as a baby with a cloth diaper on, but daycare + "green" diapers do not mix. I use Pampers (I prefer Baby Dry, but can't find them in size 6 so I'm forced to use Cruisers). Frankly, if I ever end up with another baby who is a girl (which sadly it looks like I never will), I absolutely will use chlorine-free, recycled diapers (I'll blog on the reasons why we need to pay special attention to our developing baby girls in another blog) but for now, it is what it is and my filling up the landfills with diapers days are numbered!

The Biscuit has been showing more and more signs of potty-readiness lately. He can almost get his pants down on his own, he tells me when he's pottying, he's interested in the potty, and he often wakes up with a dry diaper. So, I decided it was time for the Biscuit to pick out his throne.

Many moons ago, when I initially thought he was "ready" for potty training (yes, a bit anxious I know), I bought him a seat to lay on top of our potty seat. This time, I went for the more accessible, on the floor potty. The Biscuit and I went shopping, he picked out the royal potty, and he held on to it the whole time we were in the store.

When we got the potty home, the Biscuit and I set it up in the bathroom, he pulled his pants down (I took off his diaper), and he sat on his new throne. The prince then proceeded to look down for about 5 seconds and Eureka: pee pee in the potty! My boy is a natural.

We both did the pee pee dance while the "royal potty" played the pee pee dance music. A suggestion to all: put a washable rug under the potty. Pee pee guards are just useless. Diaper days are numbered.

If only I knew what in the heck to do next.

Moving to a New House, Part 3

During one of the first nights that the Biscuit spent in the new house, he had a little bit of trouble sleeping through the night. I couldn't figure out why he kept waking up, but ended up in his room on a few occasions quieting him back to sleep.

The next morning, I went in to wake him and did our usual morning routine. When I asked the Biscuit if he had a good night's sleep (as I ask every morning), he replied, "No!" I was a bit shocked by this answer, since he usually promptly responds "yes, Mommy." I asked him why and he pointed in the direction of his closet door saying, "what's that?"

I took the Biscuit over to the closet door and he kept pointing upward. Finally, I realized that he was pointing at the doorstop near the upper hinge on the door. I lifted him up and said, "Did that scare you?" and the Biscuit replied, "touch it" so I let him touch it.

Since then, whenever he sees a doorstop he points to it saying "scared you." Now, it truly was cute to hear him say it, and I let him continue for a few days before correcting him with the actual word for the object. He still prefers to call it "scared you."

Makes me wonder, though, if a doorstop scared him and kept him up half the night, how in the world will we ever deal with monsters under the bed.

Moving to a New House, Part 2

I had enough sense to measure the windows in the Biscuit's room prior to our move so that we could purchase blinds for his window and have it ready to install on day 1. I assumed that the blinds would be enough to block out the light so that the Biscuit could get a good night's sleep.

As pleased as I am to have a home with a front door that faces East, that also means that the morning sun shines very brightly in the Biscuit's bedroom and the wonderfully large window, even covered with a blind, still lets in much too much light for an easy escape to "Sleepy's House." The first couple of nights I opted to let it go, expecting that the Biscuit would get used to the light. He didn't (and I don't blame him frankly. I like it dark when I go to sleep too.).

I threw a quilt over the window to rectify the situation (yes, I know it's tacky, but I was losing sleep and was desperate). I finally purchased curtains to cover the window (in addition to the existing blinds). I opted not to get the blackout curtains, since the blinds + curtains did a fairly good job of blacking out the light. The Biscuit was grateful and went to sleep very quickly the first night the light was blacked out.

So far, everything else in the Biscuit's room has not caused a problem. Well... I guess there is one more thing that "stopped" him in his tracks and caused a "scary" situation to occur; but I'll save that for next time.

Moving to a New House, Part 1

As promised, we're back in the bloggin' business again. My many apologies for the delay in posting. The move to the new house was quite consuming, but I have lots to share from the experience.

Fortunately for us, we moved within the same general vicinity of our old house. I expected that the Biscuit would really only be forced to adapt to a new house with a new bedroom. One of the big changes that a typical move might involve, such as a new school/daycare, was not something we had to prepare the Biscuit for.

I started talking to the Biscuit about "moving to the new house" about 2 weeks before the actual move took place. He was already starting to get a bit fussy and unsettled (which showed in his sporadic, middle of the night wakings) when he started noticing that I was packing things up, the environment of the house was somewhat more stressful than usual, etc. I made 2 visits to the new house with the Biscuit prior to the actual move date.

It's amazing what simple pleasures children find in new things. The Biscuit was absolutely enamored with the doorbell at the new house. Each time we went for a visit, his main objective was to ring the doorbell. His teachers at school even picked up on the excitement about the doorbell and helped us to reinforce that positive association. It is always a great idea to keep the teachers in the loop on life changes.

The 1 thing that I knew I wanted to make sure of was that the Biscuit's room looked fairly similar (in positioning of furniture) to his old room. Unfortunately, the "will of the gods" stepped in to mess up my perfect plan to trick the Biscuit into thinking this was the "same ol' thing" just a different house.

As always seems to happen with in-town moves, we filled up our U-Haul truck before we had everything packed inside. We were then forced to make several moves with other cars and trucks to get the rest of our belongings to the new house. In one of the final trips, the glorious winds of fate stepped in and wrecked my perfect moving plans. As a tractor trailer passed by the truck, the beautiful crib that my son had spent the last 2 years of his life in took flight and caught 15 feet of air before coming crashing down into a rocky ditch on the side of the road. It was torn to shreds.

I had previously made plans for the Biscuit to spend the first 2 nights of our move at my mother's house so he wouldn't have to try and rest in the chaos. This gave me an extra day to figure out what to do about a new bed. It was a challenging decision because he is almost old enough for a toddler bed, but still isn't potty trained. I opted to purchase another crib that was similar to the old one, saving the additional change in beds for a later date (there is such a thing as too much change).

Much to my surprise, the Biscuit didn't seem to be bothered by the new bed. I didn't try to deceive him and, instead, told him outright that he had a new bed in his new house. He was excited about his new bed. Whew!

I can happily report that the Biscuit's first night sleeping in the new house went quite well. Once he was down for the count, he slept right on through the night. So tips so far are:

• Introduce the concept of the new house before the move
• Use positive tone and voice to talk about the new house and moving
• Minimize stress (if you can)
• Be aware that sleeping habits may be affected
• Make caretakers/teachers aware of the move so they can use positive language too
• Find something positive/reward that your toddler can associate with the move (e.g., ringing the doorbell)
• Adapt to the unexpected (e.g., shattered cribs)
• Give your toddler credit for being adaptable

Please share your tips too. More to come...

Is It More than a Rash?

The Biscuit had not been feeling well over the Easter holiday. He had a bit of a cold the week before and then a fever (101F, 102F or so) for a few days going into the holiday weekend (we can't seem to have a holiday where he doesn't have a fever). As sometimes happens when he's not feeling 100%, his eating slowed a bit. For the most part, he had stopped eating solid foods, but was still drinking plenty of fluids. Then came the rash.

After his bath, I noticed that his arms and legs were covered with tiny little pinkish bumps. The rash didn't seem to bother him (no itching) but it certainly bothered me. I gave the Biscuit some extra allergy medicine and put him to bed. I had a date with GOOGLE.

After a few calls to parents of other toddlers and my own parents (with no luck) I found a few possibilities from my friend GOOGLE. The 2 most probable culprits: Roseola or hand, foot, and mouth disease. I prayed for the first, because HFM just sounded gross.

In the morning, the Biscuit was feeling great. No fever, no cold, rash was fading, but a few of the rash bumps seemed to have burst--so off to the doctor we went. While in the waiting room, the Biscuit's best friend, Adam, from daycare is carried in by his grandma. "Does Biscuit have an upset tummy too?" she asked. "No." I replied, "but we'll have to compare diagnoses later."

My doctor said that we had a case of a viral rash (roseola) that often follows an infection. The Biscuit had the remnants of a trailing ear infection. So we left. We later found out that Adam had HFM. Yikes. I then remembered that the Biscuit had refused one of his favorite treats: Mandarin oranges after putting 1 or 2 in his mouth and saying "Ouch!" It should have been a tell-tale sign for me that there was a sore somewhere in his throat (that was unable to be seen by the naked eye).

Well, as gross as it sounds, there's not much to do for HFM but keep up the Ibuprofen and offer lots of liquids. The Biscuit has since made it through and is back to his hearty appetite.