Lofty Ambitions

I blame the designers on Project Runway for my current predicament. Watching that show over the last 2 months has given me the itch to do some sewing... My favorite designers Korto and Leanne make it look so darn easy and even FUN! This project has been anything but fun....

I've spent two whole days sewing Megan's dress and this is all I have to show for my efforts:
Yes, it's coming along, but I spent wasted 4 hours on Monday sewing the bodice and back pieces in all wrong. It wasn't until I put it on Megan Monday evening that I realized my mistake. So, I had to pick it all apart and start over again on Tuesday morning.... I still need to do the back closure, hem the sleeves and bottom and hand stitch some decorative trim all over it...

I haven't even started on the boys' tunics yet. I'm praying that they go smoothly and I won't do anything really stupid because I don't have any more time for costly mistakes!


On the exercise front, I do have better news. I've started working on "brick training" this week. (Brick Training is when you train for two events back to back as you would do them in the race.) Monday, I rode the bike for 45 minutes and then got on the treadmill. I managed to squeak out 2 miles before my knees screamed, "enough!" and Tuesday, I swam for 20 minutes and then got on the bike and rode for 30 minutes. The swim to bike transition isn't hard at all... maybe it's because you have a buffer zone in there where you spend time putting on your shoes. The bike to run transition is KILLER... so that will be my main focus over the next week. Today is my "off" day for training, so I'm going to spend 30 minutes with my Yoga DVD and then hit the sewing machine again.

It Really Works....

I believe in the "let your kid run around naked for a day or two" theory in potty training. I did it with Ian and now it's worked again with Brayden. Friday morning, we took off the diaper and used no pull ups. I started out the day letting him wear some of his new "big boy undies", but he soon had an accident in those. I explained how we want to keep our new undies clean and not go potty in them. Then I decided not to put anything on him after that. He had one more accident in the living room, but that was it! The rest of the day, he went in his potty chair all by himself. I didn't even have to remind him to do it. I did my part by pumping him with sugary kool-aid, so he would have to pee frequently and supplying great TV entertainment for his potty pleasure! He even did a #2 job in the potty by himself!

I don't recommend this if you have mostly carpet in the main living areas of your house. We don't. We have carpet in two rooms, both of which have locks on the door, so I closed and locked them for the day, just so he couldn't wander in and have an accident when I wasn't looking. Cleaning up accidents on the floor is no big deal and he even helped me with the clorox wipes to sanatize the floor after we'd wiped up th spill! I've heard this technique works as well if you spend the day running around in your backyard... another easy place for clean up. I only had to clean up two accidents. Since then, when I'm home, he's in undies and he goes in the potty. When I'm gone he's in a pull up or a diaper and he doesn't tell anyone he needs to go to the bathroom, so I definately need to stay home as much as I can over the next few days so we can perfect this!

p.s. He loves to wear those blue goggles... he thinks it makes him like Leo the blue ninja turtle....

Potty Training 501

After 3 kids and a dog, you'd think I'd be an expert by now... but sadly, no. We are just starting the potty training phase of life (again) with Brayden. The one and only consolation is this is the last time I have to go through this!!! (If I had more than one child left, I'd definately buy the above book!)

Just in the last couple days Brayden has been willing to sit on the potty and try to go. Still no success, but up until now, he wouldn't even make an effort. So today, I'm going to mop all floors, roll up the area rugs and see what we can accomplish. I don't believe in using Pull-Ups at home for training... they don't feel any different than diapers. Once we've had a successful go at the potty, we'll get the potty chair out in the family room, give him a cup full of juice and park it for the afternoon in front of a movie. If you have any tried and true potty training tips out there, please share them! I've been dreading this task for a very long time and can't wait to get it over with! Wish me luck!