Baz, being all of two years and 6 days, has just gone 24 hours in dry underwear. We’ve hit the end of using diapers regularly, if not completely! All my diapering duty for two children done in under 4 years… oh hell yeah!
Q decided she was done with diapering at about the same age. I know part of this must be my luck in receiving two super awesome kiddos. Combine that with cloth diapers, elimination communication, honest dialogue about toileting and a small forfeit of privacy in the bathroom ourselves, and it’s a winning combination. Oh, and he likes the bright colored underwear we got him, so that probably helps too.
So yeah, Go Baz! Now to find some Maurice Sendak underoos…

People labor hard to gain contentment

Though success is very far from sure;

But how can they be happy if they do not labor,

Those whose joy is in the work itself?

And since I never have enough of pleasure,

Honey on the razor’s edge,

How could I have enough of merit,

Fruits of which are happiness and peace?

The elephant, tormented by the noonday sun,

Will dive into the waters of a lake,

And likewise I must plunge into this work

That I might bring it to completion.

If impaired by weakness or fatigue,

I’ll lay it aside, the better to resume.

And I will leave tasks comleted,

Anticipating thus the work to come.

…

The lichen hanging in the trees watfs to and fro

Stirred by every breath of the wind;

Likewise, all I do will be acheived,

Enlivened by the movements of a joyful heart.

Bodhicharyavatara of Shantideva, pt IIV, 64-67 & 75; as translated by the Padmakara Translation Group

My daughter has taken to play acting “Oh come to my arms my beamish boy!” with her brother. Then she exclaims “Oh, frabjous day! Callou, callay!” Guess what one of her top requests for me to recite is?

I just walked into the other room and she’s babbling… then I realize what dialogue she’s trying to reconstruct .

“Who?”

“Me who”

“That’s what I want to know!”

“Yes, I have it with me…”

I’m cracking up to internally, but trying not to distract her…

Her favorite bedtime read though focuses on a girl who dies (because her parent’s won’t buy her a pony she wants.) She’s picking up the part of the little girl pretty quickly. Expect us on tour soon!

As a parent, the rate balloons accrue in my house has skyrocketed. Once they stop floating the kiddos tend to lose interest, and I had been using scissors to deflate them prior to tossing in the bin. No more!

1) Gather balloons that are to be disposed of.

2) Find the biggest butcher knife you can.

3) When no one else is in the kitchen, toss the balloons in the air and wield knife appropriately.

[Insert disclaimer here]

When shaving a cat, use tranquilizers.