Life's Little Lessons: Just when we think they got it

Well we are back from vacation. We took a trip with my family to Perdido Key and had a wonderful time...although I am still recouping. I always seem to get in this down and out mood after vacations...I think because we are constantly doing things to keep busy on vacation and when I get home its back to the norm. Jackson loved the beach...he really could have stayed playing in the sand and pool the whole time. Avie on the other had didn't care much for the beach. I think the wind bothered her...but she did like the pool when it was warm. My mom and Joel taught her how to stick out her tongue...and now she does it all the time, and expects me to make a bunch of "hoora" when she does it:) Another new thing she has started doing is smacking her lips...she likes the sound it makes...drives me nuts. She also has good control of grasping things and putting them strait into her mouth. She can actually play with a few toys now.

Let's move on to Jackson now, since he has been my headache for the past few weeks. I guess I am starting to experience what they call the "terrible twos" although I never imagined it would be a teenager shoved in a two year old body. He has started back talking me lately...which has turned his rear into a permanent shade of pink! I feel like all I do is spank all day. We were also doing so good with the potty training, but I made the mistake of putting pull ups on him while we were on vacation. I new we would be traveling for long periods of time and it would be hard to stop so many times. Soooo we have been retraining for the past few days and I feel like I am back at day 1. After the second day and numerous accidents I finally decided to let him run naked for the rest of the day not to mention I had no clean underwear for him. He is usually great with poohing on the potty and always tells me when he has to go....well not this day. I observed him straining in the middle of the floor and looked at him with a stern eye and told him he better go get on the potty if he needed to pooh. He did run to the potty only to tell me that "it's not ready yet mommy", so I made sure to tell him to come get on the potty when he was ready. Mean while the door bell rang and it was some young lady doing a survey. Trying to hide my naked child that was crawling under my legs to take a look...I apologized...there was no hiding this child....told her we were potty training...she gave me some weird looks and continued quickly with her 4 question survey about air pollution. Upon completion of the survey I go to pick Jack up and notice that I have brown streaks on the couch and pillows. Disgusted I carry him to the bathroom while trying to dodge turds on the floor. I sit Jack on the toilet and tell him not to move while I go clean up the mess. I can hear him rehearsing his lines..."I not going get a spanking mommy"..."Oh yes you are" I yell to him. "But momma you my best friend" he says. Its hard to believe that they can come up with "excuses" at this age! Or maybe its just because he's a male!

Brandon finally makes it home....late...but home. He notices that I am exhausted and had a rough day. We both sit on the couch while he eats dinner and he gets up to put down the blinds that are up. He pauses then looks at me and says..."do you have any idea how a turd got on the window ceil?" I just busted out laughing! "I guess I missed one," I said. Then I got to thinking about the surveyor that came by earlier that day...a mental picture popped in my head of Jack's bare butt in front of the window and a turd...that lady was probably thinking...potty training...lady you have a long way to go!