Pointless Mom Stuff (so feel free to skip this post & come back tomorrow)

Congratulations are in order -- or not. Edyn used the potty last night! And she intended to use it. And she was happy she used it.

There were cheers and hugs and gummy bears to celebrate. (Dad's been hiding that contraband for weeks in anticipation. At least they are made with real fruit juice.) We also treated Edyn to own potty song. It's set to the tune of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow," if you want to use it for your own toiletting toddler:

You peed! You peed in the potty!
You peed! You peed in the potty!
You peed! You peed in the potty!
And Mommy's so proud of you.
And Mommy's so proud of you.
And Daddy is proud of you too!
You peed! You peed in the potty!
You peed! You peed in the potty!
You peed! You peed in the paaah-TEEEEEEE!
And Mommy's so proud of you.

For #2a, we replace "pee" with "poop". I know that rankles some people. I used to think that it was important to teach children the correct terms for their bodies and their bodily functions. And then I babysat for a family that believed it. I never had a problem with one of their kids saying they had to "urinate," but it never seemed right to have a three-year-old announce, "I have to go evacuate my bowel." Which the mother thought was accurate but nicer than the D-word. I still shudder every time I think of it.

I know, I know. It's my hang-up. And when my kids get older, I'll make sure they know the correct terms and how to use them. But for now, I want my kids to use cutesy terms for bodily functions, like "toot" for, er, breaking wind and "ulp" for vomiting.

Zooey knows the correct terms for his body parts, but in general, we've taught him to refer to the, er, nether regions as his "private parts." This is not only polite, it's a safety thing in this day and age. All children need to know that they have parts of their bodies that are theirs to keep private, except when mom or dad is helping them get clean or a doctor (with mom or dad present) is examining them. Of course, Zooey used to misunderstand and say "pirate parts" -- then scrunch up one eye and bellow, "ARRRRGH!"

So anyway, we're trying not to be too giddy about Edyn's success last night, and we haven't entertained the notion of only having one child in diapers again. Not for long, anyway. At least I haven't. My husband has been counting the days since Lola was born.

Part of me is looking forward to Edyn passing this milestone...and the other part of me remembers the landry, the set-backs, the let's-visit-every-public-restroom-in-the-world-no-matter-how-disgustingly-dirty phase, and I'm not so thrilled after all.

Kids. They grow up so darn fast.

--Sparki