Happy June All! Summer has definitely arrived here in Michigan, so I’m taking a quick break from the sun and heat to enjoy the comfort of my little mantle fan and some time to write. Here’s what’s been going on with us these days.
1.Mark has been making bubbles with William and in their search for the perfect bubble recipe, they have landed on this one from my Alma Mater, Emory University, where the physics department has been working on improving the process by which oil flows through industrial pipes and how to better clear polluting foams from streams and rivers. And somehow giant bubbles are a part of that. But since I have never in my life taken a physics class, I cannot tell you how. But the bubble recipe is awesome, and the kids have been loving making and popping them with their dad.
2. Charlotte has decided that she is ready to potty train. Or rather, I should say, Charlotte has learned how to take off her diaper and all her clothes and 100% prefers being naked, so we find ourselves needing to potty train her. Potty training is one of those areas of parenting where I reassure myself that somehow this will all work out, and when they are 12 years old this will no longer be a struggle, even if I can’t see how we get from here to there. Even at our 3rd kid, we still don’t have a “method” that we use and love and have found wildly helpful. We offer toilet time regularly, we use whatever bribery we need to, we make sure the child helps with cleaning up accidents. But that’s about it, because each of them has been so different.
Gianna simply decided one day that she was done with diapers and potty trained, and that was pretty much it. She had a few accidents and minor setbacks, but by and large, once she had made the decision that was it and she stuck to it. It was the same way with night time training. That’s just how she is.
William did not want to be done with diapers at all, and had to be dragged kicking and screaming into potty training. Nothing worked, and he didn’t care one iota if he was wet or dirty in his underwear. He didn’t care much for candy or sweets for treats. It didn’t bother him to have to help cleaning up. We had neighbors who gave us a giant bin of matchbox cars, and those were great for bribes for a few days, but eventually he had a lot of trucks and didn’t really care about getting another one. After awhile, when it became very very clear that he was perfectly capable of potty training (he could pull up and down his underwear, he knew when he had to go, he understood the process) and was just choosing not to care, we instituted some negative consequences for accidents. If he was dry for the morning he received a matchbox car, but if he had an accident he lost 5. That was enough of an incentive to have him fully trained in matter of days.
All that to say, I don’t know how it’s going to go with Charlotte, and we’re only about a week in, so it’s still hit or miss. Giving her hatred of clothes, diapers, and training pants, mostly I’m glad its summer and she can run around naked in the backyard to her heart’s content.
3. I have been on a hot reading streak lately, and am loving it, except for the fact that I have reached my holds limit for e-books at the library. But here are a few wonderful books I’ve read since I last shared in case anyone needs something good.
- The Gown This one was AMAZING. It’s the story of two women who worked on Queen Elizabeth’s wedding gown, and the granddaughter who seeks to learn about their history.It checked all my boxes: historical fiction, multiple timelines intertwined, great character development. It’s a lovely read. I cried at the end because it was just so perfect.
- Of Literature and Lattes is the sequel to The Printed Letter Bookshop, though sequel isn’t quite the right word; it’s more of an extension of the book. The characters are more developed, new storylines are introduced.
- The Lamb’s Supper by Scott Hahn has been on my TBR list forever, and I’ve finally gotten to it. I like Hahn’s style, and I appreciate that it’s got enough meat on it to keep me engaged without being so dense that I don’t get lost when I get interrupted by the kids while reading.
4. Homeschooling continues as usual here, though we have primarily moved outside to work so as to enjoy the cool of the morning. I wasn’t sure how G would be able to focus outdoors because she usually does best learning in a separate space, but she is doing great. Her current favorite subject is geography thanks to the Around the World with Picture Books collection from Beautiful Feet Books.
William is challenging me to stick to my promise to myself that I would change up our methods when they stopped working for a child, and so we have given up our sounds boxes and sandpaper letters for now in an effort to get him to finally learn his sounds. He is so incredible capable, but he has to want to learn it or he just plain won’t, so we’re changing gears. After a lot of research I found this app, which focuses on letter sounds and not names, and does a lot of what I would do with him with the sound boxes, but on a tablet. So he and I spend about 10 minutes a day working together with it, and I’m hoping it helps.
5. Mark’s on trauma surgery this month, so our schedule is back to being a little wonky. He’s on a 30 hour shift currently, which is brutal for everyone. But it’s our last month of general surgery rotations, and we have only 4 30 hour shifts to go after this one before we are done forever!
6. Thank goodness for Nana! We are so blessed to have my mom down the street, quarantining alongside of us. She has been over every day and always has a project or idea or something to break up the monotony. The kids especially love it when she brings over her watercolors and paints with them.
7. We may not be going anywhere this summer, but we are busting out our favorite hot weather activities (with the exception of going on day trips, thank you covid) and our seashell collection from last year’s Florida trip to make the days special over here.
What are you doing to beat the heat/keep away the monotony of a summer in quarantine?
Linking up with Kelly this week, who has some great insights into homeschooling as their eldest graduates this week.
Potty training is a tough stage and it’s so true that every single child is different! No matter how many kids you have, it all depends on their personalities. With the exception of my special needs son, my youngest son(our 7th out of 8 that we potty trained) was the most challenging! Like your son, he just didn’t care! The only phase I dislike more is the learning to drive phase!
Oh gosh, I’m already dreading the learning to drive phase!!!