Holy Molars! Teething, Potty Training, and Going Back to Work

This picture pretty much sums up our weekend. What happened to my sweet, smiley, lovable baby?? When was she replaced with this inconsolable, drooling, screaming mess? My text to my sister early this morning simply said: Send help. I think she has been possessed by the devil.

I have been largely absent from Steemit for the last few weeks and have really struggled to find any time to post, read the content of others, or comment. Since returning to work, I've been scrambling to find enough time to take care of the responsibilities at home and spend quality time with the kids. This year, I vowed to take better care of myself and spend as much time after working playing with the kids as possible, since we no longer have visits scheduled daily. It has been so amazing to go pick up both kids from preschool and daycare and come home each day to play and unwind.

In order to have that chunk of free time after work, I have to work pretty hard at other times to carve out and protect that precious time with them. Each morning, I wake up at 4:00 to workout and get all of us ready to be out of the door slightly before 7:00. On the weekends, I use every second of nap time to clean the house, do laundry, mow the lawn, and whatever else needs to be done. On Sundays, I spend three hours cooking for the entire week: 5 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 15 snacks, and 3-4 supper choices. While it is exhausting, I have found that doing this hard work pays dividends during the week. In the mornings, I can have lunch packed and breakfast served in under 15 minutes. Prep for dinner only takes about 15 minutes as well, which means that I have all that glorious time between the time we get home and the time I need to get supper on the table for play time with the kids. We are slowly starting to get into a groove.

I'm not sure why I thought it was a brilliant idea to start potty training the Little Man the week I went back to work. Timing was never my thing, I guess. I had tried a few times earlier to get the Little Man interested, and he just wasn't having it. With all of the chaos in his life, I felt it was the one thing he could control, and so I let him control it. We had two beautiful weeks after the judge's decision before I went back to work. Dropping the gauntlet on the potty issue right away didn't seem very sporting of me. I wanted to give him a little time to get used to the stability of his new situation, which he grabbed onto and quickly became the happiest little dude you've ever met. It has been so amazing to see his anxiety and unhappiness erased and so quickly replaced with joy. He moves to the three-year-old room in preschool soon, so I knew that I would need to get him moving on the potty train quickly. We started last Saturday, holed ourselves up in the house, and went for it. Saturday was really rough and by the end, I was totally worn out. Nobody ever tells you how tiring potty training is! Sunday was so much better, and we were both excited that he was catching on quickly. By Tuesday, we were accident-free, and by Thursday, he was completely in control. I'm sure we have a few hurdles left to clear, as I'm nervous about leaving the house without him being in a diaper, and it definitely takes more work and vigilance on my part. He is so proud of his new skill and his big-boy underwear. We definitely do a happy dance every time he is successful!

This weekend was exhausting for a whole different reason...those dang molars. Seriously, what in the world??? It's awful to feel so helpless. I have literally tried absolutely everything I can think of to ease her pain and stop the screaming. Parents of Steemit, if you know some hidden gem of a trick, I'm begging you to share it in the comments below! I will forever be indebted to you if you can return my sweetheart of a girl (although she has always had that monstrous scream...now she just uses it freely all day, every day!) and save my poor ears and my sanity.

I'm trying so hard to carry the positive attitude I have at home with me when I go to work, and it's so hard when my heart is at home and I work in a negative culture. It kind of breaks your positivity down after a while. It has been a really rough start to the school year; so rough, in fact, I am afraid that it's a bad sign of what's to come the rest of the year. I've never had such hard situations to deal with right off the bat, and when you work so hard and always feel like that work is never good enough, it's so hard to have a desire to come back. The only thing that gets me through the day is seeing the pictures of my two loves and knowing that I work so hard to support them, even if that work is undervalued and unappreciated.

All in all, we are figuring things out. I don't mind working so hard and having no time to myself, because it means that my heart is full and we are finally moving forward. I wouldn't change our schedule or our lives (except maybe my job!) for anything. I love every second I can get, even if that means I'm sitting in front of a potty chair or holding a slobbering, screaming beast of a baby. There are so many great moments beyond, and I can't wait to make memories with these two.

Now, goodnight, Steemit! I must go to bed now if I am to wake up at 4:00 in the morning. Hopefully, the Little Man has run out of his room for the last time tonight. The little smarty has already learned that the phrase, "I need to go potty!" can postpone bedtime for that much longer.

(Photos courtesy of pixabay.com; GIF courtesy of giphy.com)