Potty Training Resumed

After being offered a little potty by a friend of mine in our playgroup, I decided to resume potty training in the hopes that it wouldn't end quite so dramatically as it did last time. I'm happy to say that Ella ROCKED it! She went all on her own all day long. The only caveat is that she had to be naked almost the entire time, because it seemed to feel like business as usual when I had her wearing underpants (plus she loves any excuse to be "nuuuuude! I want to be nuuuuude!"). I have been resisting getting the separate little potty and have thus far been trying to get her to use the regular toilet with a potty seat, but it hasn't been consistent because she can't get onto the tall toilet without help. Although I don't relish the thought of having to transition from the little potty to the regular toilet, I am thrilled that she actually likes using the little potty, which she calls the "Fairy Potty" because it has fairy stickers on it, courtesy of my friend's little girls.

The day was going swimmingly, Ella was using the potty and I was actually getting housework, laundry, and Piddies done. As I was packaging a pair of bunnies and a pair of mice to ship this afternoon, Naked Ella climbed up on a chair to see what I was doing. She wanted to help cut the packing tape, so I let her use the small scissors. She asked if she could cut her hair, and when I told her, "Of course not!" she responded with her usual, "Why?" I replied that she would look silly if she cut her hair and left it at that. She climbed down, seemingly satisfied, and went over to her little table where her crayons and crafting supplies are. I turned around just in time to catch her with her little pinking shears up against her head, cutting away. I got them away from her just in the nick of time, and when I asked her why she was cutting her hair, she said, "I want to look silly." Naturally.

A few minutes after the scissors incident, she was racing around the house laughing and giggling in that hilarious high-pitched toddler way, and I was chuckling listening to her while loading the dishwasher. I noticed on her third lap that she was in hot pursuit of the poor cat, and worse, that she had found one of our spray bottles full of water and was unleashing its full fury on poor Daisy. As I was trying to catch her to get the spray bottle away, Ella cornered Daisy and yelled, "ANY QUESTIONS!?" before spraying her in the face, like some kind of tiny, naked Dirty Harry.

We're excited for Easter, and Ella has been thoroughly enjoying the "pwizes" she has received in the mail from Wah Wah Janet, Grandma Betty, Aunt Marie ("Aunt Puh-mie"), and Uncle Denny (who totally outdid himself with the packaging this time - see photo). I'm planning to color Easter eggs with her on Friday at Wah Wah Jill's house, assuming I get my act together in time to actually *get* to Wah Wah Jill's house before Easter. I've got about 6 pairs of bunnies to cobble tonight, and tomorrow I have to go get the little "pwizes" for Ella's Easter basket. My insane belief that I can do about twice as much as I actually can strikes again.

Showing off the rather hefty box sent by Uncle Denny (and Uncle Richard by proxy).


Sporting some of her fun new Easter "pwizes".

Potty Training Begins, and A Summary of a Marriage

Ella woke up this morning and told me she wanted to wear her "big girl panties" today, so I thought we'd give the potty training a concerted effort. She did really well for the first part of the morning, but after three accidents in a row I decided to give it a go again later. Wish us luck!

In the meantime, this relationship questionnaire is running rampant all over Facebook, so I decided to post it here.

What are your middle names?
My middle name is Eve, Sean's is Richard.

How long have you been together?
We've been together for just over 5 years, married for four and a half.

How long did you know each other before you started dating?
I met Sean in the Scary Chair at his former dental office, as a very phobic patient with what I thought was a giant cavity. I had been having nightmares that my teeth were turning black & falling out, so I asked the guy I was dating at the time to call his Friend the Nice Dentist and see if he'd see me. Sean and I were both in relationships at the time, so we didn't start dating for about two years, after we both found ourselves single.

Who asked whom out?
We went out as friends to get some sushi, so no one asked anyone out, per se. By the end of the night it was clear that we were headed down a more-than-friends road.

How old are each of you?
I'm 32, and Sean is 37.

Whose siblings do you see the most?
Well, Sean is an only child, and I only have one brother so there's not much competition. We're lucky enough to live relatively close to my family, so we see my brother often.

Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
In the beginning, parenthood was definitely the most challenging situation we had faced as a couple. It continues to be a challenge, but now the biggest problem is that we don't get much time together, or much time to ourselves as individuals. It has certainly gotten much easier as Ella has gotten older and more able to express herself.

Did you go to the same school?
No. I went to the University of Utah, and Sean attended Augustana College for his undergraduate degree and Southern Illinois University for dental school.

Are you from the same home town?
No, but we're both from very small towns. I grew up in Fillmore, Utah, and Sean grew up in Elmwood, Illinois.

Who is smarter?
We both have our strengths. My memory is better (probably due to his multiple head injuries), but he is less likely to fly off the handle and explode, which is a much smarter way of dealing with things than I tend to do.

Who is the most sensitive?
See above and flying off the handle (me).

Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Takashi is probably our top place, for sushi and in general, but we also love Chanon Thai for great, incredibly spicy food, and Fresco for a nice, intimate meal with great service.

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Vanuatu.

Who has the craziest exes?
I don't think either of us have crazy exes, per se. Any imploding relationship results in some craziness, but the people themselves are perfectly rational, normal people.

Who has the worst temper?
No question, doubt, or competition. Me.

Who does the cooking?
I absolutely love to cook (nothing makes me happier than sitting down with a cuisine magazine or a cookbook to find new recipes), so I do most of the cooking, but Sean is great to take on the clean-up.

Who is the neat-freak?
I think messes bother me more than they do him, but I wouldn't necessarily call myself a neat-freak.

Who is more stubborn?
That's hard to say - we're both pretty darned stubborn.

Who hogs the bed?
Definitely me, but if he wouldn't try to get away from me I wouldn't have to chase him all the way over to the last sliver of his side of the bed.

Who wakes up earlier?
Sean, but he also goes to bed hours before I do. Nighttime is sewing time for me, so I'm often up until the wee hours.

Where was your first date?
Sushi at Shogun in Salt Lake, then back to his place to play pool.

Who is more jealous?
Neither of us are jealous.

How long did it take to get serious?
About 4 hours. Hahaha! We both knew almost immediately that we wanted to be together, so not long at all. I had moved into his house after 2 months, and we were married in 9 months.

Who eats more?
Sean, unless we're talking about ice cream.

Who does the laundry?
I do most of it, but Sean pitches in.

Who's better with the computer?
Definitely me. We grew up on either side of the huge recent leaps in computer innovation, so when I was a freshman in college setting up my first email account, he was already in grad school.

Who drives when you are together?
Sean. I'm not sure why, it just kind of worked out that way.