Pee is a Part of My Life

Ahhhh motherhood. So many wonderful moments. Tiny hands cupping the breast while you nurse, going in at night to check on a sleeping baby, big hugs from little people, holding hands with sticky fingered toddlers and sharing a snack and a snuggle. And then it happens- you get peed on. Whether it was a boy diaper change that didn't happen quickly enough or a misaligned diaper getting peed on is jarring. Getting peed on while babywearing? Just plain old gross.

Yesterday I was off to the roasters for the day to work. My husband is just finishing up a stretch of several months where he was working nights. He is readjusting to daytime so I figured I'd bring one of the kids in with me for a short bit while he got up and got ready. The toddler insisted on "staying with Daddy" so the baby won the coffee trainee lottery. The timing was excellent. Naptime was afoot. I strapped her into her Ergo on my back and went about my business. Brewed coffee, scooped beans, filled web orders. Customers commented on how cute and peaceful she was.

Five minutes before my husband showed up my back felt warm.... and then I noticed a puddle on the floor. It was under me but I didn't make it. "Ga-ga- GA." Great. She woke herself up peeing on me. I wiped the floor up with a paper towel under the adorable Sanita clogs I had gotten on clearance (flash back to this post about pee on the post office floor), helped a few more customers and enlisted the help of my now present husband to remove the baby. He produced the only item of clothing he found in our cars that would fit me. A pair of his long underwear that he wore on nights he was on the mountain. They came up to my nipples. The clogs looked ridiculous so I switched to a pair of knit boot slippers my father in law sent me that I had in my car. I swear one of the Kardashian's may steal this rocking look:

On the good side of the battle of bodily fluids the toddler is doing quite well with potty training. She goes in cycles. Treats were getting too complicated (I'd forget them when we went out). Stickers were getting too messy. I refuse to scrape anymore Mater stickers off of various shoe soles and remove goo from items that have gone stickered through the wash. We're not motivated enough to stick to a chart nicely so I took the lazy/I love Sharpies approach. Smiley faces. Directly on the pullup (we were using cloth but she wasn't able to differentiate between her and the baby and kept getting angry about wearing "baby diapers"). This way she gets instant gratification, I get to see how many times she's used the pullup and Daddy can praise her when he sees the smilies. Plus a sharpie is lots easier to remember to bring! She gets a smiley face drawn on whenever she gets to the bathroom dry and goes in the potty.

Win, win. Less pee on me and more in the potty!

I Love Reading

I love to read. If there was a fragrance called "Library" I would be in line to buy it. I dream about having a card catalog in my house. When I was younger I devoured books, reading program champion here. I'd fill up the whole summer program reading sheet in one week. When I was a little older I read one of the mystery novels my mom had checked out. I was so quick with it that my mom decided I was just skimming not "reading" so she quizzed me. Problem was I remembered more than her and had to keep checking details.

Now my children also love to read. My son proudly signed his first library card days after turning four and being old enough to have his own. My middle child reads quietly to herself (or at times the dog).

In an effort to spend a little extra time with the toddler I let her stay up a little late tonight. Nostalgia washed over me as she cuddled up close. My mom used to pick out chapter books when I was growing up. Her, my sister and I read through James & the Giant Peach, The Borrowers, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH and so many more.

And then I started reading Mrs. Rumphius by Barbara Cooney. Suddenly I was sitting in the back of a Toyota station wagon driving through the White Mountains of New Hampshire. In the story Miss Rumphius makes the world a more beautiful place by spreading lupine seeds. On our annual family vacations areas of New Hampshire would be covered with them and my mom would always point out the window and bring up Miss Rumphius. What a wonderful concept- Making the world a more beautiful place!

Yasmina sat in rapt attention through the story. It's wordy and not standard toddler material. She pointed to the flowers and called them pretty. I cannot wait to see what beauty my little jasmine-flower namesake will bring to the world.


FYI- We read these books off of a website through Penguin Books  that offers free web based books to read. (You will need to register).