Forth of July this year was spent with Buzz Lightyear.  Having an animated child really has its benefits.  Last week when I saw that for a small mortgage payment I could purchase a set of life-like Buzz wings, I took Target up on their offer!

Jahred presented Axel with the flight pack just prior to a B-day party on Saturday.  As if on stage, Axel snapped into character immediately and without hesitation, he knew exactly how to operate his first pair of electronically retractable wings.  With over a 3ft wing span, hallways are a challenge, stairs are interesting, but any small ledge/rock/book to leap from is thrilling!  The box clearly states "not a flying toy", but says nothing about bounding, soaring, becoming a playground idol, or claiming to be the REAL Buzz Lightyear.

Perhaps the highlight of the weekend were the public flights with wings in full extension, lights blaring and hands reaching for the sky.  He made several passes through the crowds in Hudson as he watched his first "Fires", not really his first...just the first he could possibly remember.

I love this picture taken without flash on Grandpas lap.  It's so very vintage Atlantic City.  In complete awe, Axel took in all the Fireworks had to offer and then some.

...ok, I know this last photo looks like a professional fireworks photo, but I really did take it.  This is the raw image, no digital alterations!  Huh, I guess I even impress myself a bit.

From conception on, I have focused on having a creative child.  Most of our day is spent with the guitar (accompanied by full-contact egg shaking and rhythm sticking), reading (not always the words exactly on the page), creating snowmen from playdough, and/or watering our "gordon" (garden).  In-between times are often spent with crayon (the most sophisticated/washable art medium in the house).

Although I have NEVER stressed to color in the lines, and we mostly use blank paper, this child has somehow gotten the idea that one must stay inside the "box".  Perhaps part of our genetic code starts with following guidelines, and results in color contest winning.  I remember my brother actually winning a coloring contest (although I'm pretty sure I colored his page). It must have looked awesome for a 4 year old (the true artist being 8).  He won a gigantic gift basket from the local Hallmark store and I was so completely jealous that right then and there I quit letting other people put their name on my work.  Truly, thanks to the coloring contest, I never cheated in school.  Someone receiving a brilliant gift basket (or an A+) by way of me...I dont think so.

Upon completion of Axels latest coloring endeavor, I wondered if he may some day win a coloring contest.  From random scribbles in multiple colors to unprovoked concentrated scribbling in classic solids.  Although I prefer to see a child using his inner genius and not following lame sketches in dollar store art books, inner genius won't be posted in the window of the local Hallmark, they want their bunnies crayoned to perfection.

So ok, the kid wants to stay in the lines?!  Can I at least push for expansive, unrefined use of color?

For as long as I can remember, "Robin Williams" has been the answer to my celebrity dreams. "Which celebrity would you like to have lunch with?" . . . "Which celebrity would you like to marry?" . . . "Who is your favorite actor alive or dead?"  Even before I could understand his inappropriate humor, I knew Robin was the guy for me.

Since Mr. Williams was unavailable on the day of my wedding, I married Jahred instead.  Now more careful of what I wish for, I don't get to be Robins wife, but I do believe I can sympathize with his mother.  Axel is comedically frustrating in every way.  He misbehaves, he wanders off, he does the most inappropriately funny things.  Although I can't pinpoint his future career exactly, it must be in the field of comedy, circus or one of those shows where people eat gross things, survive in the wilderness, whisperer of animals, or perhaps he will live with me forever and DRIVE ME NUTS.

Just to give you a little glimpse of what I'm dealing with . . . for every ONE of these:

 . . . I get about SEVEN of these:

Now you know.

Growing up as the oldest cousin on one side and an older cousin on the other side of my family, I spent many years being lead around by a tiny vice grip known as a toddler, under the command of "show you somethin'."

Come to find out, it's just as annoying with your own children.  At least 25 times a day, I am pushed, pulled or verbally coaxed into another room for a glimpse at "somethin'" I probably could have lived without.  How do all children eventually do this?  Once in a while however, it pays off.

This morning, while enjoying an organic Pop-Tart (ignore the oxymoron) and taking a breather, "MOM, SHOW YOU SOMETHIN'" came on the radar.  Within seconds Axel feet were clomping and I was helplessly being delivered to the living room.  Upon arrival, Axel proudly announced "Doctor Oggars (Oscar)!!!!!"  This clever little man had convinced the dog to dress in the Vet costume and to my shock, his floppy velvet ears were pulled back to reveal an actual stethoscope.  WOW, truly this kid can get his way even with the dog (who doesn't look incredibly thrilled).

Lesson learned, "show you somethin'" . . . sometimes it's really something!

As Axel explores his new town, he has discovered 2 things:
 - pine branches make great brooms
 - dandelions are "BEAUTY"

Yesterday we found a park with possibly the last "old-school" metal slide.  I see metal slides as a right-of-passage through childhood.  There's just something about that hot metal on your thighs.  It makes you hold them up, slide only on your clothing and thus zoom out of control down the slide. You can pick up a few problem solving skills from a metal slide.  I'm glad Axel got to experience one yesterday (and don't worry, since he's only 2, I checked the surface temp to avoid any serious burns)!

If you haven't sniffed a Dandelion lately, it has whole different meaning when your little guy asks you "smells good right mom?"  Suddenly it's the best smell in the world!

The toughest part is when you realize that until the closing on your house, you are in total limbo.  You are now living in someone else's house, not wanting to do any work to the house, and eventually you even stop cleaning.  I have spent the last few weeks purging of furtniture on Craigs List and sorting storage stuff from aparment essentials.  It's really hard to determine the 10 bins of stuff that will a) fit in the cramped living quarters and b) actually be needed.  As a person who loves to throw, I find myself wanting to just dump it all and start over; if we ever do get to that next "permanent" location.

So...instead of making tough decisions or boxing up a house full of baby firsts and memories, I have resorted to knitting and guitar sing alongs.

Axel has resorted to taking advantage of my knitting concentration, and has fallen in LOVE with jelly beans or as he calls them "birthday beans".  I caught him on the kitchen chair (which is a bar height chair) eating just the black beans ("they're hot mommy").

Knitting has brought peace like it always promises to do and even though winter is another 9 months away, 2 color wool hats are on my mind.  I found this AWESOME pattern, modeled after the US Olympic hats by Polo.  Since the Olympic hats were selling online for over $400, I decided to knit them for under $10.  Here is a link to the pattern.  CLICK HERE

* If you do wish to try this hat, I will warn you of a couple things.  It makes a HUGE hat if you follow the directions exactly.  I would use smaller needles (4's and 5's) and would possibly take out a couple of the solid white rows.  Also, make sure to tie-in often (if you are a 2 stranded knitter you know what I mean).  Watch the charts closely, they are a little off towards the bottom.

Below are pictures of my first olympic hat.  In my own classic style I stitched a name on the inside.  I am not revealing the name in the photos so as not to ruin the birthday surprise!!

Also this week I decided to put an end to YEARS of brainstorming.  I have always been wondering what to do with the bibs from the countless running races Jahred and I have done.  I snagged a couple of his running bibs from his childhood room wall, and a wallet is what I came up with!  I plan to give it to him for fathers day (completely a safe announcement since he wouldn't read my blog if I paid him).

Well, enough procrastinating.  With 2 weeks until apartment access, I have to collect myself, my crap and my family for one of the final steps in our "5 year plan".

Oh wow, I had no idea my week would turn out this way.

May I be so vein as to say, "my kid is soooo smart", actually smarter than I?!  Ok, so on Monday, I thought perhaps we would succeed at this potty training thing; but I had no idea that just like getting pregnant, it would turn out to be that experiment in Organic Chemistry that actually worked for ONCE!

Seriously, Axel may not be the most graceful, he is known to swear like a sailor (or maybe his mother), and when it comes to sleeping in his own bed, he sucks.  Going on the potty, this kid gets.

It's all business with this boy.  After a rough 2 days, we now have 3 dry naps and 2 days with only 1 accident (which was actually my fault).  It's like his 23 month old brain is just like "simple...what else you got Mom?"

The routine goes like this:
Axel - "potty" - does a little dance
Me - "Oh, ok, lets go." - bring him to the potty with book, shut door (upon his strict request)
Axel - "Oh wow." - leaves bathroom
Me - "Awesome.  High five." - flush the evidence

5 days of homebound nudity has really paid off and we may just be over the hump.  Don't get me wrong, we still need to master peeing in public toilets and leaving the house for more than an hour, but really, wow.

Today Axel and I ventured out on a solo mission in "undens" (his word for underwear).  After the captivity that was this week, the fridge was looking like a forgotten land.  We traveled to Cub and made it through the entire store loop.  I even took a HUGE gamble, doubling back for some forgotten items.  I carefully remembered to NOT place the food under where he was sitting, just in case.

When we approached the checkout however, things weren't looking so positive.  On a Friday morning, let me tell you how many lanes are open at your local Cub foods, ONE.  One lane and the daunting self-checkout.  I KNEW I couldn't do it myself while also keeping an eye on Axels bum, I chose the 1 open lane.

Unfortunately we found ourselves behind Grandma who had NO idea we were potty training and apparently had ALL day to do her shopping.  She had the clerk paging through the ad looking for a mysterious SALE on black olives.  "THEY'RE LIKE 75 CENTS A CAN...MOVE ALONG."  She was completely oblivious to my broken record of "keep your pants dry" growing louder with each passing minute.

After barely surviving that woman, the clerk looked at me and said, "Can you hang on a minute?"

"Um, NO, this kid is about to piss ALL OVER."

Not seeing the death look I was bestowing onto her, she turned around and proceeded to talk to a co-worker about sending a Birthday card around for Bill in the stock room.  Necessary??? **

No thanks to the lane 4 clerk, Axel made it though the store dry.  I lost a few years from my life, but all's well that ends well right?

Don't forget to sign up for my Potty GIVEAWAY in the previous post!  You don't even need to have experience in potty training, you only need to be potty trained yourself...just sign up for goodness sake!

**Just for the record, I don't expect every citizen of this country to bow down to me and my child; I just now have a better understanding of people in a hurry.  They aren't always trying to be rude, they may be on the verge of public defecation!

After showing intense readiness, we have decided to potty train Axel.  Here is my situation.

He carries potty around the house saying "poopy" and "potty".  He wants to put his own pants off and on.  He has an extensive vocabulary and is aware when he is "going" in his pants.

This all lead me to believe that he was ready to go on the potty.  What am I, nuts?

Starting on Monday, I committed to poop, pee and a little potty purchased from once-upon-a-child.  I know millions of babies and mommies are going through this very same process, but really...how isolated can you get?  I haven't left the house in 3 days, and I have seen few signs of improvement.

After much consideration we are using the complete nudity method, ditching the diapers entirely (except during sleepy time) and using a disappointed face when pee hits the floor.

Monday: 1 poop on potty, 1 pee on potty, rest were on the floor
Tuesday: 2 poops on potty, 4 pees on potty, rest were on the floor
Wednesday: so far, 2 pees on the potty, several pees on the floor.

Not sure if I should be encouraged with a 100% success rate for poopy?  I'm grasping for any signs of encouragement.

So, in my head, I'm saying "just quit", try again later.  In my heart, I know he can do it.  HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE to get to the point where you are having more than a 50% overall success rate?  I am pretty much banking on a week of pure torture and some improvement after that?

In order to pull some insight from you all, I am offering a giveaway!  Simply reply to this blog with your best potty training insight, and you'll get a chance to WIN an AWESOME Spring Nesting Box!

HELP!  I'm counting on you!  The giveaway will run through Sunday, January 17th.

Life for me is about moments registering hot OR cold.  The danger about hot OR cold is that warm AND cool, variations of the original, can mean vastly different experiences.

It wasn't until I became a mother that I started having hot and cold, warm and cool moments in rapid succession.

For example, yesterday, started beautifully, sun shining, a little leaf raking, lots of snacks...and then Axel learned something new.  Yesterday, my son figured out how to gag.  SICK right?  Like many before him, and hopefully to get it out of his system before the testy teenage years, Axel figured out that by cramming your hands in your mouth, you do something really strange.

Ok, I try not to react to shocking things.  Falls, minor scraps, toys mid flight down the stairs, little can get a reaction from me.  Growing up around boys, I learned quickly that a reaction is what they are searching for.  But, sitting in the living room, out of exciting things to do by 10am, and your toddler starts to gag and laugh at himself...AAHHHHHH.  Definitely a cold/reactive moment!

Thinking that Axel's "learning 1 thing new every day" will be gaging himself, I immediately thrust myself into action with coloring, stickers, even finger paints didn't stop the thrill of gagging.  A hot moment certainly.

Among the many things no one tells you, is that a toddler may learn something new everyday, but during sleep, God erases some of the terrible things.  By the time Axel had woken up from his nap, the gagging had stopped, and we could continue on with normalcy, and thankfully, boredom.

Later in the evening, I decided that Axel and I would go to the grocery store and pick out the candy for our average 300 trick-or-treaters.  Seeing as we only went for 1 thing, I made a potentially cool decision as a mother to let him push the kid carts for the first time.  

Stopping in front of every customers cart, Axel made direct eye contact with every SINGLE person we passed and greeted with a "hi" AND a "bye bye".  Not 1 person shopping at 6pm last night got away without noticing that Axel had reached a milestone.  Ultimate freedom.  I'm sure he warmed a few hearts in produce and definitely in the candy aisle.

Today, I started out cold.  A COLD...I thought I had kicked it a week ago, but it is revisiting for round 2.  Desperately trying to pour on the heat all day, I have shivered my way to now.

There is however a little warm to my day...I decided on the pattern I will use for Axel's 2009 Christmas sweater!  

My first knitting pattern book, 8 years ago maybe, featured a dreamy little sweater that I planned to knit for my baby "some day".  Paging through the book, I found the sweater with a tiny red post-it-note.  I had conveniently placed the sticker inside the book, so no one would know of my silly baby dreams...and I had forgotten all about it.  While my friends were off at some bar in college, I must have been paging through the patterns (I tend to read them like a novel, suspense and all)...and destiny has it that I will knit that very sweater for my very first and very special boy this year!

Definitely warm.