Man, I REALLY Don't Like Whites!!!

How's that for self-deprecation? Actually, it sounds pretty prejudiced against not only myself but the majority of people in my life. That is, until I tell you it has nothing to do with people and all to do with what I said as I was throwing a load of clothes in the washer this afternoon.

While Reiss was finishing up a load of poop in his Pull-Up (I detest trying to put him on the toddler potty after he has already started doing his business!), I decided to start a load of whites in the washer. It felt like I spent an eternity in the laundry room pitching dirty socks into the washer. Seriously, I'm on to the sock scheming of the men in this household (which consists of only James and Reiss) - they're either changing their socks every fourteen minutes or those little buggers are breeding in the dirty clothes bin.

Before all the sock business we, as in, Reiss, Milla, and myself, had spent the better part of an hour in the bathroom. We got home from the library and immediately Milla grabbed herself and yelled "Pee!" as she always does when she needs to go. And it's so cute, by the way. She grabs herself and yells "Pee!" and gets the most accusatory look on her face as if to say, "Oh no, the nerve that I, the princess, would be made to do something so incredibly unclean!"

We went in the bathroom and Milla did her thing. She got up and I got her all cleaned up and helped her wash her hands and then Reiss declared he had to poop. So then I got Reiss all situated and, of course, Milla decided she had to go again. I never know when to tell her she can't go just because Reiss is in there because many times when she plays this game, she does actually produce some results in the potty, despite the fact that she just got off the potty less than a minute or two before. This was one of those times. So I got her back off the potty while Reiss still sat there and sat and sat and sat. We sang the ABC's and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and some other song Reiss was singing. I'm not sure what it was but it sounded like he was singing the words to the Menard's (a chain of large home improvement/hardware stores primarily in the Midwest) theme song to the tune of the Go Daddy website song. Danica Patrick would be proud.

Finally, Reiss got up and hadn't produced anything. He went about playing and sure enough, next thing I knew he was going in his Pull-Up. Anymore, he generally wears underwear under his pants or shorts and only wears Pull-Ups when he is a)sleeping at night b)napping in the afternoon or c)going somewhere. Since we had just gotten back from the library and he was going to be napping soon thereafter, I didn't bother to take off his Pull-Up. As I said before, I do not like to try to get him to the potty in "mid-poop" so I just let him finish it up. If we are to get him potty-trained before say, high school, I think I may just have to bite the bullet and deal with the mess even if it means pulling him to the potty mid-poop occasionally. And please, don't anyone try to reassure me by saying "He won't go to kindergarten in diapers." While I would like to be optimistic and believe that about Reiss, I also know of many moms of children with special needs who can attest to the fact that that is exactly how their child showed up to kindergarten....in a diaper.

Enough about poop.....

Today we went to the library and if you read this blog even occasionally, you know this is a big thing for me. We used to go to the library all the time until one day I finally threw in the towel and decided I was done making trips to the library until Reiss either stopped running from me in public or until we got him a locator bracelet. He still runs from me occasionally and he doesn't have a locator bracelet (yet - although we are in contact with an organization to see about getting him one) but I am trying to be more bold these days in my attempts at making outings without hubs along to assist.

The library seems like it would be a rather harmless place to go except the one near us can be quite dangerous. Since I cannot draw a picture I will try to describe it the best I can. First, the outside of the library has a pretty large parking lot that surrounds two sides of the building in the shape of an "L." Getting into the library can be a challenge because it is ALWAYS busy and we have to park a ways from the entrance. Reiss has little to no concept of danger so I can explain all day why he needs to hold my hand and he will still say, "Wanna get hit by a car."

Going into the library, the entrance consists of two sets of automatic doors. Once inside the library, the children's section is off to the right. All the way far, far back at the very back of the children's section is a place for the children to play. There is a wide aisle in the middle of the children's section separating row after row after row of bookshelves. Typically, we try to stay in the play area. However, if Reiss bolts for the door going out of the children's section, he only has to make it out of that section and about another fifteen feet before he would reach the automatic doors going out into the parking lot where people seemingly feel they need to race by the front entrance as if they are in the Indy 500. Should he decide to do so, Reiss could do it all in a matter of seconds. Not exactly comforting when I have Milla to look after as well.

In summary, when you combine a child who loves to run (I can't hold his hand ALL the time!) with automatic doors exiting a building, and cars whizzing by as soon as one exits the building, it's like a recipe for Reiss Roadkill. Call me biased but that's not really something I'd like on the menu of a single one of my days. See why the library can be quite an endeavor for us?

Today was a little different though. Reiss did not run from me even one time and I was very proud of him. Maybe all my lecturing is starting to pay off. No matter where we go, we always have these little discussions with Reiss about the behavior that is expected once we reach our destination. It's hit and miss whether it actually works.

Furthermore, my Momma Duggar impersonation was right on tack today. That's what I call my attempts at gentle parenting or whatever it's called when the parent remains calm regardless of the situation. Honestly, I don't know how Michelle does it....I think the world could be falling down around her and she would still have every last nerve in line and under control and would have the energy and patience to calmly say, "Now, J....... (whichever "J" named child needed some behavior correction), we don't do that." Seriously, does anything rattle that woman? If I sound annoyed, it's only because I'm so darn envious that I don't seem to have the same patience within myself.

What a boring day....Is anyone still reading? How many people left after all the poop talk? If you didn't leave after that, are you still awake and reading my mindless blathering?