Nico's new game

Random McRandomski

So, I just got back from a conference in Orlando. I drove through Tropical Storm Debby most of the way. I made the unfortunate mistake of taking adderall when things got hairy (so I cold stay alert and focused- and not accidentally drive into a sink hole). The result? Guess who is still wide awake at 1240 am? This girl!

Am glad to be back. Nico was especially snugly. Apparently, he hasn't exactly been a model citizen while I was gone. :( hopefully we can get him back on track. Speaking of which... He is almost to the age, I think when he can travel a little better. I am hoping that a year from now he will have progressed through the Age of Unreason.

So, I did a chopped down version of the Myers-Brigg personality test a couple of weeks ago. Apparently I have an INTJ personality type, which is actually quite rare.

Turns out that my my crushing self-doubt may be unfounded. Apparently, INTJs do well in Academia. So that is nice. Unfortunately, this does not help with one thing I am terrible at: networking. This particular conference was nice because since I don't know most of the big timers in health services research, I wasn't all weird. Like when I go to sociology or demography conferences, I am totally like Garth in Wayne's World: "we're not worthy, we're not worthy... We suck!"

The LeBron James of HS research could be sitting next to me and I wouldn't even know it. So that is nice. So I have decided to stop trying to act cool and just own the nerdiness. I have also decided that one can get far in life by being a narcisstic jerk and having no verbal filter. People will just assume I have Aspergers. Next step? Profit!

Potty training do far has been hit or miss... Mostly just dependent on Nico's mood. The good news is that he does seem to feel bad when he has an accident. I would much rather have that than to have him be like, "I just peed in my pants. And I don't care."

Chuck Taylors and Underpants!

What you say?  Is Nico running around the house in a pair of chuck taylors and underpants?  Yes.  Yes, he is.

So yesterday was kind of a beatdown with the potty training.  He didnt go on the potty at all at school and had two accidents... which I guess is good because it means that he is holding it.  During naptime (they put a diaper on him) he peed a gallon.  We got a new potty seat at Toys R Us yesterday and he sat on it and peed a gallon.  Again.  So really, he's just holding it.  His teachers say we'll give him two weeks with this to see if he "gets it" that its much better to just go than hold it all day.  Hopefully at the end of two weeks, he will be okay with the potty training.

And the really awesome news:  we are going to move to another daycare/preschool.  Since Nico is about to age out of FSU and because the Preschool there is like the infant and toddler center, we have decided to start looking for other options for daycare.  We found this place that is research based and everyone we know loves.  Its expensive and sort of out of the way.  But we did a tour there today.  And we love it.  Its run by this old hippie woman- who is all about taking things back a bit.  Not classrooms, they stay in groups and can go from playing outside, to the water deck, to making food, to reading, to blocks, to all kinds of awesome.  They also have a garden, a hamster, some fish and some birds.  Its pretty great.  We'll apply this week and see if he gets in before we give the word at FSU.  Its kinda sad  because we really adore Jenn, Sue, Dana and all Nico's teachers.  But this place is pretty awesome.  Hopefully when we go there with Nico to check it out, I can grab some photos.  Its off the hook!!

Getting on with it...

So.  Its time.  We are going cold turkey with the diapers.  Finally.  Turns out that SOMEBODY is really stubborn..  And his name rhymes with Rico.  I was talking to Sue at a birthday party last week and she said that another kid in Nico's class, his parents just decided to do it.  Made the break with the underwear and that was that.  The kid was not too much a fan- and for two weeks the kid acted like his underwear was a diaper.  And he still has accidents.  But for the most part, the kid is pretty much potty trained.

So Saturday afternoon, we just decided to do it.  Put Nico in underwear and just get on with it.  No big to-do.  No symbolic throwing the diapers away.  No big conversations about how he is a big boy.  He woke up from nap and I put him in a pair of underwear.  He fought me.  Don't get me wrong, he did not want to wear under wear.  We stayed on top of him and even with me asking him every five minutes he still managed to pee in his underwear (which says to me something about his maturity and emotional development).  So we weren't really successful during the day- meaning he didnt go on potty at all, we didnt think that him wearing underwear to bed would accomplish anything other than him waking up with pee all over him.  Oh, and he has been sleeping in our bed. And I wasnt trying to wake up with pee on me.  Please stop judging.  I know you are.  Zip it!

So we put him in a diaper at night and let him sleep in it.  Then Sunday started over again... with no success. Guess who doesnt like EVEN SITTING on the toilet.  We bribe him to sit there with jelly beans.  And when he goes pee on the potty, he gets a Rescue Bot (a transformer fireman).  Today, I went for a run and when I came back, I grabbed Nico (who was awake) and ran him outside to see the recycling truck come by.  Nico was in his underwear.  It was great.  Even better is that Dave told me that he woke Nico up and sat him on the toilet and he peed!!  WHOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOO! Can you believe it?  What a great day!!  Going to be a big boy peeing on the potty!!

Soccer star!

Check out new Nico video!!  Nico heading the ball!!

Before any of the grandmas wig out... trust me... I am a professional coach!  I got this!  

Nico really hates going to practice... he is usually good for about one hour.  Then, he has to go.  :(  Hopefully, he will grow out of this phase.  

In other news, there was a Tallahassee Groupon for the Georgia Veterans Park, which is apparently the location of a train line, that does short trip day trips in the middle georgia area.  So I bought three tickets.  As soon as BBUSC is over this summer, we are going to head up there and take Nico.  HE IS GOING TO FLIP OUT!!

Also, our excursion to pick blackberries is go for launch on Saturday!!  Apparently there are exactly two days in which we can pick blackberries (today (Wednesday) and Saturday).  So apparently, we also have to get our act together early and do it!  Looking forward to getting a couple of gallons of blackberries!!  Try not to be jealous!!

The Earth Fare Debacle

I took Nico to Earth Fare today. The trip was complete with a full-on, throw out on the floor meltdown.  Then there was the part where Nico didnt listen to me and bolted into the vestibule.  When the door closed behind him and it looked like he was headed to the street, I had to bust up the automatic sliding door to grab him.  I hope I got points from the innocent bystanders for hauling him out of the place.  I wasn't so much embarrassed as I was annoyed.

I know they all say, "Adore this time- he'll be grown and out of the house before you know it."  But seriously, I am ready for him to grow out of this phase of orneriness.

One of Nico's teachers seems to think that Nico is just like her oldest child (Reece), who I coincidentally, taught when I was a teacher in preschool.  I see a lot of the same patterns in Nico (very articulate for his age, fluctuating back and forth between being fiercely independent and horribly clingy, fluctuating between being really eager to please and extra ordinarily ornery).

Yay! Parenting!!

Lockdown=Over

So I have been on lockdown for the last two weeks.  At work, we were gearing up for this massive meeting with collaborators in Boston.  I had a minor miscommunication with my PI... where I thought we were going to discuss plans for said meeting at another meeting on June 1.  Turns out no.  He thought I would already have everything sorted.  So... I have been putting in max hours trying to get ready for this thing.  He's also not in Tallahassee fulltime.  So I also get to do a whole host of administrative tasks, which are, frankly, beneath my status as a PhD.  Yeah... I just said that.  Can you believe it?  I just said that.  I actually just used my PhD as a reason for being over qualified for something.  I dont care.  Sue me.  Call me an overeducated snot.  I dont care.  I am a Project Director, damn it!!  Not an administrative assistant.  Literally, in the last two weeks, I have been party to hundreds of email exchanges with my PI... most of which involve commands like, "change THIS word to THAT word."  So rather than doing the actual business of the grant, I spend a lot of my time doing stuff like that..

Can you tell I am at my limit?  Then Saturday we take Nico to a birthday party for one of his classmates.  We get there and this kid is clearly sick (snuggly+sleepy+ill tempered+ mom also saying that the kid is sick).  Seriously?  Really?  You're going to have a birthday party for your kid when he is sick?  Really?  Ok... Awesome.  So guess who had wicked horrible diarrhea on Sunday?

When we wake up on Monday Dave and I feel like have been hit by a truck.  Coincidentally, the first game of summer coed was Sunday... so I was really sore.  Like, like the sore you get when you give up 10 goals and still make a crap ton of saves.  I figure that if we take Nico to school, its only a matter of time before they kick him out.  So we keep him home...  I head into the office and have to pull over to puke on the way home.  I spend the rest of the day in varying forms of consciousness on the couch and the bed.  Dave felt better when he got lunch.  And guess who didnt want to nap?  His name rhymes with Rico.

Yeah... it was like that.  Luckily Dave was able to come home around 2-3 pm and hung out with Nico while I tried to sleep it off.  I woke up around 7 and had some soup and felt much better.  I did a little work into the evening and got to bed early so that I could give my presentation today.  So that was that.  It went off without a hitch.  We got good feedback, plus cool suggestions for adding to our data.  But the best part?  Its over.  I am very glad about this.... because it means I can go back to not staying up till 3-4 am and being stressed out.