Utah Mom Blog & Mommy Blogger | Life Elevated Mom

Potty Training Mayday. Again. Halp?

December 3, 2008 by Amber

Do you see this girl?

She. Is. Killing. Me.

For the most part, she has been delightful since she turned four last May. She captivates her audience with her creative stories, befriends everyone, is learning to write like a whiz and modifies her adverbs better than most adults.

Bottom line: she is smart.

So why does she not go on the #$&(#$ toilet?

From the above statement, you might think I am frustrated. And you might be correct. When she finally potty trained last February, we thought we were home-free. We were wrong. It started with a summer of travel and a few accidents occurred. We let them slide. After all, we were off schedule.

It has been four months since then and each month has grown progressively worse. The occasional accident has turned into regular accidents and the past two days? Poop accidents. And at this, I put my foot waaaaay down.

It’s different from the power struggle we once had because she now tries to hide the fact that she did it. I have heard explanations of a possible growth spurt or she gets too wrapped up in what she is doing and forgets. We have thought maybe she’s not getting enough attention so have made the effort to spend more one-on-one time with her.

The only thing that has worked (albeit temporarily) is taking away beloved toys for extended periods of time. I now hold the corner on the market of every stuffed animal she has ever owned. And do you know what? It feels like the only one who is feeling any pain from this whole thing is me because she is completely indifferent.

She had yet another poop incident tonight that we made her clean up. Jamie spent a long time talking to her about it and assured me they had an “understanding.” An hour later, she did it again. For the first time ever, I sent her to her room for the rest of the night, banning her from watching the Santa show on TV with us.

I am tearing my hair out over this.

Fortunately, I have a lot of spare.

But not a lot in the sanity department.

So, I welcome any advice, assurance and/or condolences you may have!!!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

The Secret of the Missing TomTom: REVEALED!

December 2, 2008 by Amber

If you missed the action, let me give you the full story. Jamie bought me a TomTom navigational device for my birthday a couple of years ago.

Because evidently he thinks I am directionally challenged.

And he would be correct.

We only used it to gain our bearings on road trips and kept it in the middle console of my Pilot. Prior to our trip to Boston in October, we went to grab it…and it was gone. We searched everywhere but found nothing. We didn’t really know when it went missing because it had been several months since we had last used it. I had a sneaking suspicion I had brought it in the house and forgotten where I stashed it.

My suspicion was wrong.

Last week, Jamie was home alone when a man came to the door. Jamie hesitated to open it, thinking it was a solicitor of some kind but did it anyway.

“Did you have a TomTom stolen?” the man asked.

Jamie asked affirmatively.

The man then went on to explain that he is an electrician who was working on some wiring problems at a seedy hotel a couple of miles from our house. And in the ceiling of one of the rooms, he discovered that someone had stashed our TomTom, along with an iPod FM module.

So, yes. The few people who guessed the seedy hotel are the winners! Our neighborhood is the closest development to this hotel so evidently these creeps had gone on a joy ride one night. The electrician was able to track us down because we had programmed our home address into the TomTom.

And for those of you who guessed “a” that I found it hidden underneath Cheese Nips in the middle console, SHAME ON YOU for doubting my intelligence.

Besides, I don’t even like Cheese Nips.

But in your defence, I am blonde….

So, let’s hear it: what have you had stolen? Was it ever recovered?

Filed Under: Uncategorized

I’ll Be Home for Christmas and Evidence I Am the Neglected Middle Child

December 1, 2008 by Amber

Christmas is not Christmas unless I am home in Canada. I am fine being away from The Motherland for every other season and holiday but there is something about being home for holidays. Actually, a lot of “somethings” that include a rousing game of bum darts and the Pollock rendition of 12 Days of Christmas.

We may not be politically correct but it’s never boring.

If I had my way, we would go home every Christmas but we alternate locations because I married a man who 1) has family here in Colorado and 2) stubbornly refuses to work for the airlines so I can fly for free.

I had been stressing about this Christmas. With the crummy economy and airline tickets that have been jacked up due to rising fuel costs, it was a very real possibility we would not be able to afford it even though it is our year to go home.

I shopped for tickets back in October and the cheapest I could come up with during peak travel times was $800 + taxes. Multiple that by four and it is equal to more than I make in a month. OK, a year.

I stumbled upon a site that compares all the prices from the leading travel sites and I was able to play around with dates and numbers. At first, I couldn’t get it for under $3,200. But I figured out how to save some money by having the kids and I depart one week earlier than my husband and we would then all fly back together.

The upside: We saved almost $1,000 and gosh darn it, we get to go home for the holidays!

The downsides: We still payed a fortune (more than I make in a decade) and won’t have much money left for presents. But the most dreadful thing of all: there are layovers both ways. And one of those “ways” will involve solo travel with The Children.

If you remember my travel travails of last summer (think bird in the windshield), you will wonder if my head is screwed on straight. It surely is, but it’s just facing the wrong direction.

Nonetheless, after weeks of agonizing about it, I was ecstatic to be going home. I called my mom that night.

“Guess what, Mom. We were able to save some money on airline tickets AND WE’RE COMING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!”

“Oh really? Is this your year to come?”

Filed Under: Canada, Family travel, holidays, Humor, travel

The one and only time you’ll see a Bud Light commercial on this good lil’ Mormon blog

November 25, 2008 by Amber

I promised I would include the answer to one of the most important multiple choice quizzes you will ever take. For those who missed it, our TomTom navigational device went missing. It was found several months later:

1) Right where I left it in the middle console, hidden underneath the Cheese Nips.
2) In a drawer in the house that I have been meaning to clean out for a year.
3) In a pumpkin. Because all roads lead back to The Great Pumpkin.
4) Stashed away in the ceiling of a nearby seedy hotel.

And the answer, my dear friends, is #4. All the sordid details to come.

============================================

Thank you for your sympathy regarding Jamie’s obsession with growing The Great Pumpkin 2009. Stephanie’s comment made me chortle:

“At least his passion involves little time and doesn’t take up much room. . . Oh, nevermind.”

Nevermind, indeed. And if you have ever wanted to hear a grown man GUFFAW, crank up your speakers and check this out. Whoever thought Bud Light would acknowledge the pumpkin ~~geeks~~ growers of the world?

After listening to this, I somehow feel like I’ve had one too many.

Pumpkins, that is.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

An Attitude of Gratitude–What Are You Grateful For?

November 24, 2008 by Amber

I’ll admit it: I’m not a huge fan of Thanksgiving. Out of all the holidays, it is the one that resonates the least with me. This is probably because it has become very little about gratitude and more about spending the day slaving in the kitchen, only to be rewarded by a football game I do not care about.

At least the pumpkin pie isn’t all bad.

With recent stressful events in my family’s life, it would be easy to throw a bit of a pity party. But this year, I decided Thanksgiving would be different. Or rather, that I would make a difference. Instead of just expressing gratitude, I vowed I would show gratitude. Two great companies made it very easy for me: World Discovery Box and Caring Corners’ Mrs. Goodbee Dollhouse.

I am often contacted about doing reviews and giveaways on Mile High Mamas. But the folks promoting the Mrs. Goodbee Dollhouse were different. They challenged me to anonymously give their interactive dollhouse to someone in need. And I did–to a family with several boys and one little girl. A family whose trials and difficult circumstances have humbled me and whose positive attitude through it all inspires me. I heard from a friend of a friend (must not blow my cover, of course) that Mrs. Goodbee’s Dollhouse has been a ray of sunshine in their little girl’s life.

Then, the Colorado-based owner of World Discovery Box contacted me about doing a giveaway on Mile High Mamas. And I just didn’t feel right about it. Don’t get me wrong–I thought this wooden chest of drawers filled with amazing natural items like fossils, shells, geodes and insects was genius. Epic, even. How many toys are on the market that create a family lifestyle and culture around discovery?

But I just felt like I needed to do more.

That “more” came to me as I was retrieving my daughter from preschool.

I remembered an article about Ralston House that I had read in the newspaper. This non-profit agency provides services for sexually, physically or emotionally abused children and their families. This safe haven is a place where they can share their stories and begin to heal. I would donate the box to them.

World Discovery Box’s owner John Skowland was thrilled with the idea and we contacted Ralston House.

John personally delivered the World Discovery Box from Durango and I got the tour of my life at the Ralston House. As I listened to the services and stories of the many battered children who are helped during this fragile time in their life, I was so moved.

What would be more appropriate by showing these precious children the world of The Discovery Box when so many of their worlds are crumbling?

And you know what? These simple gestures have made me that much more mindful of all that I have to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. Football games and all.

My challenge to you this Thanksgiving? Don’t just express your gratitude, show it. Whether it is extra time spent in meaningful activities with your children or if you are in a position to help someone in need.

Filed Under: Hadley

And so it Begins: The Great Pumpkin 2009

November 20, 2008 by Amber

You may think because I have not talked about pumpkins for a few weeks that pumpkin season is over. Au contraire, my friends. My husband received permission from our neighbor to grow The Great Pumpkin on the field behind our house. Now he is obsessed with building up the soil (one of the most important factors of growing a giant pumpkin). He has created such concoctions as mycorrhizal fungi, Neptune’s Fish & Seaweed, compost tea, molasses and fat-free milk.

Try having that in your refrigerator.

The other day, he announced he was going to run to the bank. A few minutes later, the kids and I decided to play in the backyard. As we walked out on the deck, Bode squealed, “Daddy, dere’s Daddy!”

I was about to explain to him that Daddy had gone to the bank when I looked over the fence to where he was pointing and there was my beloved husband obsessing over the soil.

“Bank, eh?” I queried.
“Well, after this one little detour,” he sheepishly confessed.

Like a moth to the flame, my friends.

Oh, and if you think your obsessions will not rub off on your children?

Think again.

Filed Under: Humor, Jamie, Marriage, pumpkins

Denver Mom Blog Multiple Choice Quiz

November 20, 2008 by Amber

Your TomTom navigational device goes missing from your car. It is found several months later:

1) Right where you left it in the middle console, hidden underneath the Cheese Nips.

2) In a drawer in the house that you have been meaning to clean out for a year.

3) In a pumpkin. Because all roads lead back to The Great Pumpkin.

4) Stashed away in the ceiling of a nearby seedy hotel.

The truth will be revealed next week. What is your guess?

Filed Under: Uncategorized

When Calling Poison Control is the Highlight of Your Week

November 18, 2008 by Amber

Last week was one of “those” weeks. After returning home from a fantastic trip to Keystone, we were bombarded with less-than-stellar news. From the continued uncertainty of Jamie’s great consulting gig to a bombshell my in-laws dropped on us that I can’t get into at this point.

Oh, and then there was our first call ever to Poison Control. I was honestly one of those mothers who thought it would never happen. We keep all our cleaning supplies behind child-proof doors and our prescription medicine is in child-proof containers.

So, just what happened?

Simple: the self-destructive world of modeling.

Haddie had her friend Alex over for a playdate. They were upstairs disassembling her room, trying on all her princesses dresses and playing fashion show. They would come downstairs, do a few twirls for me and then head back up to change their clothes.

I didn’t suspect anything until I put Haddie to bed four hours later. She had a cold last week and I gave her a Triaminic Thin Strip to help with her nighttime cough.

She looked at me sheepishly: “Alex and I ate some of those today.”

“Ate what?”

“The medicine.”

I raced into the bathroom and sure enough, there were numerous packets of used strips in the garbage. And I did what any mother would do when she was sure her daughter was near death: I dumped them out, counted how many they downed (eight), called Alex’s mom and then Poison Control. Oh, and I FREAKED OUT.

Fortunately, enough time had passed that if they would have overdosed it would have already happened.

Gee. What a comforting thought.

When I asked Haddie how they opened the packets (which I have trouble opening), Hadley explained that Alex had simply cut them open with some scissors.

And thus she shall be known as The Enabler.

We were lucky it turned out OK but it made me much more cautious about what we have in our medicine cabinet that she can access.

It also confirmed that models + drugs = bad news.

I had my own episode as a wee lassie when I ate a bottle of Flintstone vitamins. I was spared getting my stomach pumped but it was a lesson well learned.

One of my favorite medicine memories is of my friend Avril. When we were in ninth grade, we went on a class trip to Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. We had an extensive packing list and were instructed to bring a large first-aid kit.

One night when we were bored and hungry, Avril discovered some chocolate-covered tablets in her supplies. She read the label and dismissed it because she didn’t know what it meant. The word? Constipation. Those tasty chocolate-covered pills she ate? Some tasty candy called ex-lax®. Funniest thing? Her dad is a doctor.

She experienced first-hand the adverse effect of taking them.

And those white pants she was wearing the next day at that museum?

Think brown.

So make me feel better. What run-ins have you had with Poison Control?

Filed Under: Uncategorized

The day my daughter and I almost froze to death beside a hot tub

November 17, 2008 by Amber

OK, so maybe that title is a wee bit of an exaggeration. More like the day Haddie and I almost lost a few fingers as my two-year-old son Bode watched us as he played chess. Didn’t know a toddler could pass a pawn? Me neither.

A little bit of background: my family recently went to Keystone, which is of the few major resorts in Colorado I had yet to visit since moving here six years ago. I fell in love with the area and am already planning a return trip in January to ski and skate on their huge lake, which boasts the largest Zamboni-maintained outdoor skating rink in North America. And for this Canuck who grew up skating on frozen lakes and rivers, this will surely provide warm memories of my frozen nose hairs.

It was opening weekend for the resort but instead of hitting the slopes, we played in the village and dined at The Bighorn Steakhouse overlooking the lake. The food was delicious, the ambiance refined yet family-friendly and my children miraculously ate every last bite of their dinner. As for me, I am still trying to work off the 5,000 calories I consumed from the huge dessert platter.

We stayed at The Timbers, one of SummitCove’s more luxurious properties. Forget the gourmet kitchen and slope-side views–what really made this condo a winner was their on-site pack-and-play, children’s utensils and dishes, and humidifiers. It was my home away from home.

Or so I wish.

But where was I? Oh yes, back to how we almost froze to death. Our [much nicer] home away from home also included an indoor/outdoor pool, a hot tub with a waterfall and a fire pit. Saturday morning, the kids and I were banging away on the lobby’s grand piano and playing with the chess pieces when I noticed the fire pit outside was lit. And then I got a brilliant idea.

Or so I thought.

The kids and I would dash out there, pose for a picture and rush back in before you could say H-Y-P-O-T-H-E-R-M-I-A. Bode begged off our plan, preferring to stay inside and explore the intricacies of chess. So it was just Haddie and me.

We dashed, we posed and we ran back…to a locked patio door. And imagine my delight to discover my room key did not work. I was in a T-shirt, Haddie was barefoot, it was cold, my husband was blissfully tucked away in our room, we were in an enclosed courtyard and the building was a ghost town.

There was only Bode.

Have you ever tried to convince a 2-year-old to interrupt something he is engrossed in to help you? The strategy is completely different than with an older child. There is no threatening that you’ll take the car away. There are no bribes for new toys. There is just begging. And jumping jacks. And more begging.

And his reaction? He smiled. Even laughed. And then he turned back to his chess game.

This carried on for about 15 minutes. I was just about to hop into the hot tub to warm up when he finally grew tired of our cat-and-frozen-mouse game and waddled over to the door. He gave me one last devious smile and opened it.

I didn’t know whether to hug him or smack his insolent little bottom.

I went for the hug.

But have revoked all future driving privileges until he is 80.

(Originally published at Mile High Mamas).

Filed Under: Colorado, Family travel, Humor, outdoors, travel

The sad commentary on the only reason for clean-up time at our house

November 13, 2008 by Amber

Me: Haddie we need to pick up all your toys so we can vacuum.

Haddie: Why? Is someone coming over?

Sadly, she was correct.

Filed Under: Uncategorized