Game On!

Today is one of those days. One of those days in which every single thing you do as a parent seems to just blow up in your face. I know what I'm supposed to do. I know how I'm supposed to act. But I just don't want to. What I want to do is start throwing things and screaming. This is what my children do when they are really upset and I can understand now why it is so appealing!! But, alas, I'm the adult, the parent and I must (try) to keep my cool and deal with this frustration in other ways. I'm still trying to figure that one out too.

I've been talking to Luke about potty training for months now. We've bought the potty, the underwear, the pull-ups, all the prizes, redecorated the bathroom; even letting him help pick out the decor. All to no avail. He understands what it is he is supposed to do. He just refuses to do it. And this frustrates me to no end. Also, I must admit, I'm feeling some pressure to get this done by late August so he can go to pre-school. He must be *mostly* potty trained in order to go to school--meaning, absolutely no diapers. I'm sure we could get away with pull-ups, but Luke will not even let me near him to get one on--despite the fact that we have them in his favorite characters--Disney's Cars.

He was perfectly happy to run around sans any type of diaper, pull-up, or underwear at all this morning. Until he had to pee. Then he got all squirmy and started to pee on the kitchen floor. I ran him to the potty but he stopped peeing and just started flailing, back arching--until it was impossible for me to hold him in the bathroom any longer. So, I just sighed, cleaned up the mess and got him a diaper. Score one for Luke today.

Next up-snack time. Luke has never been a great eater. In previous posts, I've mentioned his food texture issue and while we've gotten over this, Luke does not want to eat fruits and veggies. He will eat most anything else--protein and carbs are not a problem. However, he's old enough now that I insist he eat what I give him or no snacks, milk, or dessert. I'm working on fruits first. My pedi told me that as long as he eats a nice variety of fruits, the veggies are no big deal right now. Sounds good to me. While Luke usually will eat bananas and apples, lately he's been refusing them. So, for the past couple of weeks, I've insisted he eat them BOTH before any other snack and it has worked great--until today. (My plan for the future weeks will be to add strawberries, blueberries, and oranges as they come into season.) Today, he ate a few pieces and decided that was it. So in the trash they went--despite warnings that there would be nothing else all day except for his main meals. The child doesn't care. He will go to bed "hungry" and doesn't throw a fit. That is, until 6 am the next morning when he wakes me up proclaiming he is "starving". Well, from now on, if he doesn't eat the fruit the day before, he will see it at breakfast and then again at lunch and then at dinner until he eats the darned fruit! My pedi has also assured me that kids will not "starve" themselves and that he will eat when he is ready. Okay, so game on. I mean, seriously, I've talked mentally ill people out of commiting suicide and yet I'm failing at getting my three year old to pee in the potty and eat sweet, sugar filled fruit! Luke may not be out of diapers in time for pre-school, but he will be eating fruit like a champ by the end of the summer--come hell or high water--and I'm ready for both!

Until then, I think I'll eat some chocolate and drink some red wine, as that is certainly a most grown-up way to deal with all these frustrations!! ;-)