Still A Shoe Lover

She's totally a girly girl..and I'm taking full responsibility. I love shoes, headbands, earrings, watches, makeup...all the girly things. And so does Lilah. She always has. She loves to get my shoes and attempt tromping around in them. She'll also find my bras, watches, purses, and begs often to put some lip gloss on her. It doesn't get much girlier than that.

Mama and Daddy Update

I know I mostly write about Lilah on here and thought I might as well put a little posting about what's going on with us. It's nothing too exciting, but maybe one of you followers will want to know something other than potty training and Lilah's new words and phrases. ;)
Lance is working at CamWest still...and is now super busy. I got spoiled for awhile and he got home earlier in the evenings and his days were a little slower. Now we're back to him getting home at 6:15 and stressful "crazy" days. He has gotten to do some fun things - going to a Rainiers game that Mike was umping, golfing, and spending his time with us on the weekends.
I spend a lot of my time doing my favorite "hobby" if that's what you call it: working out. I take a lot of bootcamp/circuit training classes at the gym, go to Fly Fitness for the same types of fusion classes (ie: cycling and ugi ball; interval training) and have been doing some barre classes. I occasionally plan workouts with other moms outside with our strollers, but it's hard when the day's high is 45 degrees. UGH! I do speech therapy a day a week and every other Saturday with a few boys. It's a rewarding little job and I'm so thankful that I can do something that I get to make my own schedule and work when I want to.
Other than that, we spend a lot of time with our family and together. My favorite nights are getting take-out and sitting with Lance on the couch watching a movie. It's funny how different your life changes and your priorities once you have a child. I get out sometimes too - seeing my college girlfriends for happy hour, working out with Dana, having a "date night" with Jiji.
There's the quick and dirty update...the next 50 posts will probably be all about Lilah.

Sweet Girl

I'm making up for not adding to my blog for a few weeks, so I have all these things in my head.
First of all, I know I am clearly biased but not only do I have a pretty little girl (which she gets told often by us and others), but more importantly she's a good girl. I tell strangers that a lot when they comment how cute she is. I say, "and she's a good girl too".
We pray a lot for people and before our meals she always tells me and Lance who she wants to pray for. The other day on the way to meet Julie and Samson for coffee she said, "Pay...Jiji?" Translated: pray for Jiji. So, she clasped her hands and we prayed in the car.
I posted later that day that my daughter is definitely not potty trained, but I'd take her peeing in her diaper still and asking to pray for people over peeing in the potty. ;)

Back to the Drawing Board

To make a long story short, we're back to diapers after Lilah's nap. I'm struggling with this idea because of feeling like a failure, but in my heart I know that Lilah's just not ready. I know potty training is hard, but not this hard. She has not caught on and just has accident after accident after accident. I'm not going to try another method or give it a few more days. The girl is just not fully ready, and apparently I'm not either since I've been pretty emotional since yesterday. So....give us a few more months and we'll attempt it again (minus the whole party). I will call it more of a boot camp training this time around.

In One Word: H-A-R-D

Potty training is hard. I didn't realize at all (even with everyone telling me to just be patient and don't get frustrated) how hard it would be. Lilah barely took a nap and then when she woke up she didn't do what the book told me she was going to do. Ugh! :) She was already so crabby and tired from barely sleeping, and then she fully refused to put on the panties.
So, what did I do...cry. It clearly solves everything. So, then we were both crying. Wonderful mama. Great.
I sat on our rocking chair and thought and cried and then pulled it together. I tried numerous times to get her into her big girl panties and no matter what I did, she refused. And I didn't want to make it a negative thing, so I didn't force them on her.
I honestly am so tired I forget exactly what I did to get her to put on her big girl panties, except for the fact that I took off my pants, showed her my panties and sat on the toilet.
The rest of the day (like 3 1/2 hours) consisted of no breathing, not much eating (for me), just being by Lilah's side. I had a few moments of wanting to cry so badly and told myself to pull it together and suck it up. Lilah had tons of accidents, and mostly didn't care too much. That worried me because I wanted her to be sad that she peed in her pretty panties. Not so much.
The good thing is that her last few pee-pees were on the potty and she seems to be starting to get it. I'm just hoping to get some rest and buck up for tomorrow. I know it's such a minor thing in life so I just have to roll with the punches and calm down.
I only have a few pics I can post on here because of weirdos who may see my mostly naked toddler. Darn! Those are the best ones too. Hopefully I have enough energy tomorrow to post the updates for day #2!

Cleanse: Day 4

I'm hangin' in there. After today, who knows. I think I need a glass of wine right now. But, I'm not. I'm too busy actually. And I still need a shower!
My headache hangs around a little, but it's better and I feel alright. Not super spectacular like I was hoping.
On a positive note, I did create a yummy and easy meal that I thought I would share. A lot of protein, veggies, so good for you and delicious....vegan or not!

Mexican Quinoa and Veggies
* this is my own little made up concoction, so you can do whatever amounts suit you
Quinoa (cooked - I cooked mine in about 1 part quinoa, 1 1/2 parts water for about 30 minutes)
Beans (I used black and garbanzo, but any would be yummy)
Salsa
Cilantro - chopped (I like a lot)
~1/4 of a lime squeezed on top

I cooked some veggies (zucchini, red pepper, broccoli, and onion - but you can do anything) with garlic and Braggs (in the healthfood aisle, similar to soy sauce) and a little olive oil. I just sauteed everything together and it was super good.

Ahhhhhh....

Well, our morning was mostly successful and mostly exhausting. We woke up to Emma, our peeing doll friend. Once Lilah finally figured out the "process" for taking Emma go use the potty (she potties, we wipe her, we flush the pee and wipes, she gets her big girl panties back on, she gets a sticker on her potty chart, and Emma washes her hands), it worked pretty nicely. And, we ran to the bathroom when Emma had an accident (ie: I took a sponge to her bottom or put baby prunes in her panties). We played ALL morning - Play Doh, read books, watched dvds, danced, and did a lot of drawing. Lilah got to eat all of Emma's special treats after Emma used the potty. It was a win win situation for Lilah - she was still peeing and pooping in her diaper and she got all the treats. This afternoon will be a different story - Lilah's turn (as she says). ;)
However, our party unfortunately ended (before her nap) on a sour note. She had a huge meltdown when, after Emma's last pee on the potty, she couldn't put her big girl panties on without my help. That and the fact that the last little treat were cat cookies and she only got two little cookies. So....that resulted in poor Emma in her party hat, with balloons, blowers and noisemakers celebrating with just me. I whooped and hollered, while Lilah cried in her highchair (see photo below). Then...to top it all off...she cried for over an hour before settling down and actually going to sleep. Oh boy...sure hope that little girl gets her sleep before the afternoon starts. We have tons of work left to do today, and the hardest part - peeing HERSELF in that potty!!!
Please enjoy the part prep pictures and morning part of our party below. :)