Day 1,138 - A Salsa-Making, Salsa-Eating, Potty Training Machine

At first glance, only two of those descriptors seem to actually be related and it's probably the ones referring to salsa. However, it goes without saying that if I can find any possible way to tie seemingly unrelated things together, I'm going to make it happen. 

I'll lead with the somewhat obvious fact that we are currently working on potty training Ethan. A part of me wishes that we had already been able to do so. However, he simply didn't have much interest. This week has been a different story. After Bethany spent time over the weekend working with him, Ethan suddenly had the desire to learn. Therefore, on an otherwise routine Walmart run, we picked up some brand-new underwear for Ethan.

Actually, that Walmart run is a story in itself. While we led with a relatively normal package of no frills underwear, Ethan became enamored by a package of Paw Patrol-themed boxer briefs. The problem was that the Paw Patrol underwear was more than double the price of the no-frills stuff with less pairs to boot. However, given his palpable excitement, Bethany decided to make a deal. We agreed to buy the Paw Patrol underwear in addition to the no-frills stuff with the provision that he couldn't wear the Paw Patrol underwear until he stayed dry for an entire day.

That brings us to current day. While Ethan hasn't yet reached his goal of dry underwear for an entire day, we're making serious progress with the help of the timer on my phone. Every 20 to 30 minutes, the time will blare and Ethan and I will make a beeline for the bathroom. There he'll hop up onto the toilet and let 'er rip. When he's done, he's rewarded with a nice, soft, chewy marshmallow for a job well done. Of course, a marshmallow alone isn't enough to keep potty training moving. No, the real trick is keeping Ethan hydrated. That brings us to the salsa.

Now, I know that salsa really provides no assistance whatsoever when it comes to rehydrating oneself. However, if it has enough spice content, then the water consumed to offset said spice content will do the trick. Lucky for us, that's exactly the case with our current batch of homemade salsa.

Before this week, I can't say that I've ever actually made salsa before. For one thing, I've never actually had any inkling to do so. For another, I didn't have a recipe or an excessive amount of tomatoes. Between the bountiful harvest of our tomato plants and a recipe courtesy of our friend, Amy, those issues were no longer a problem. Therefore, on Tuesday, Ethan and I got to work making some salsa.

For his part, Ethan was pretty much convinced that watching the food processor do its thing was the most amazing thing he had ever experienced. Before we knew it, our concoction of tomatoes, onion, jalapeño, and cilantro had been pulverized into a tasty blend. The thing about our tasty blend though is that it did have a little kick to it. That didn't stop Ethan though as he kept asking for more and more. Along with the salsa though, he needed milk or water to counteract that little kick. Therefore, that definitely aided our cause of keeping potty training going.

I think what all of my previous rambling shows is that there are definitely non-traditional aids that parents can use when potty training their kids and apparently homemade salsa is one of those aids. Who knew? #DaddyWrite

Day 1,128 - "I do not like the cone of shame."

I'm not trying to give myself a big head or anything BUT I have to say that I think I'm fairly decent at being a stay-at-home parent. The kids are fed, clothed, and washed on a semi-regular basis. They only play in the street when I'm watching and it's been at least two months since anyone tried to eat a rock. That being said though, I am not infallible.

There are those times when the most miniscule thing will slip my mind. It can happen to anyone. Well, it just so happens that I recently had a couple of miniscule things slip my mind on back-to-back days. Unfortunately those miniscule things were necessary for Ellie's day at school. It's not like the things I forgot would cause my children to be removed from my care permanently. Instead, it just meant I probably deserved whatever the human version of the "cone of shame" from Up would be.

I'm going to make the argument that the first day of forgetfulness can be explained away due to circumstances being out of the ordinary. What does that mean? Well, it means that the thing I forgot isn't a daily necessity for Ellie to take to school. What is that item? Well, it was Ellie's lunch box, complete with her lunch.

I know on the surface that sounds bad but I assure it's not. The simple fact of the matter is that Ellie's school currently offers free school lunches. As a result, we have been taking advantage of that more often than not. The only reason we packed Ellie's lunch on this day was because she didn't really like the idea of eating Nachos Supreme for lunch. At least I think it was Nachos Supreme. I don't remember and it doesn't really matter. Regardless, the lovingly packed lunch Bethany made for Ellie consisting of a PBJ, carrots, and fruit was left hanging out in the fridge next to our pitcher of water. 

Not going to lie, I felt pretty bad once I saw this.

Ellie, for her part, didn't notice that her lunch was missing until lunchtime. Once she noticed though, the sadness kicked in. Ellie's teacher stepped in though and reminded Ellie that in addition to the hot meal options, she could also get the cold meal consisting of a PBJ with vegetable and fruit. While it wasn't lovingly packed by Bethany, at least Ellie was able to enjoy a similar meal to what she had expected. That's something, right?

On day two, I probably can't make as good of a case for the item I forgot to send with her. That's because the thing I forgot to send was a mask. You know, the very thing we have to wear on our faces anytime we go in public right now. Good work, me! The really sad thing about forgetting Ellie's mask was that Bethany sent me a checklist reminding me of everything I needed to make sure Ellie had for school that day which definitely included "mask". Fortunately, the school stepped in again and provided Ellie with a disposable mask she could wear for the day. Although, I do feel the urge to state that Ellie did have an emergency cloth mask in her backpack so maybe that mistake is a little less egregious considering that info.

I'm proud to say though that since those rough days last week, I have been successful in remembering everything that Ellie needed for her day at school each day. Now, will that continue to be the case? Unlikely. After all, I'm only human...and a dad. #DaddyWrite

 

Day 1,121 - My very own shadow

For what seems like most of the past five years, I found myself feeling a little jealous of Bethany. Not because she goes to work and gets paid or because she gets a daily break from child rearing. No, I'm a little jealous of the special bond she and Ellie share.

I'm guessing this is probably pretty normal for mothers and daughters but Ellie wants to be exactly like Bethany. She wants to dress like her, talk like her, and just do whatever she is doing at any given moment. While there's no problem with Ellie loving her mommy, there are those occasional moments where I get a little upset about it. For example, on nights and weekends, I am not allowed to do anything for Ellie. That edict comes straight FROM Ellie so you know there's no disputing it.

It's definitely not easy having a child that seemingly doesn't want to include you as part of her life. However, it's getting much easier seeing as how I recently realized how I'm gaining my own little shadow and his name happens to be Ethan.

This revelation has been a long time coming. For quite a while, Ethan has wanted to be wherever I am and to do exactly what I'm doing. However, I didn't realize just how true that statement is until a couple of days ago and then again today. Flashback to Wednesday with me for a moment. I had been putting off mowing the lawn for nearly two weeks due to the combination of heat and precipitation. However, things finally got so bad that I knew it was time. Therefore, I begrudgingly dragged the mower out of the garage and began making laps.

It didn't take long for Ethan to join in on the fun, pushing his toy mower around the lawn while staying right in my footprints. That's fairly normal though so I didn't think anything of it until he suddenly disappeared. When he reappeared, he did so with his Royals hat firmly planted on his head. According to Bethany, Ethan had come inside the house and informed her that since I was wearing an old trucker hat to mow, he needed his Royals hat on while he "mowed" so that he could be just like Daddy.

Fast forward to today. With me going out of town on a guys' trip this weekend, I decided to clean the house so that Bethany and the kids would have a nice, clean house to relax in. That includes vacuuming, dusting, and cleaning the bathrooms. I had already finished some of those tasks throughout the week but had left vacuuming for today.

When it was time to begin, I headed to our living room closet, took out the vacuum, and plugged it in. Before I could start vacuuming though, Ethan ran to the kitchen and grabbed our dust buster off its charger and brought it into the living room alongside me. When I looked down and asked him what was going on, he responded with "Daddy is big man so he needs big vacuum. I little man so I need little vacuum." With that, Ethan proceeded to follow me all over the house with his dust buster, being sure to get anything I might have missed.

I must say that it's been kind of nice having a little shadow over the past few weeks. I've always been a little jealous of Ellie wanting to be exactly like Bethany and now I'm excited to experience that with Ethan. While it might become a little exhausting at some point, I'm going to do my best to enjoy this phase of life with a son for as long as I can! #DaddyWrite

Day 1,115 - Screaming child...dentist office...What?

Four days in to Ellie's kindergarten career and things are going pretty well (unless you count the fact that Ethan just accidentally spilled his bowl of animal crackers on the couch). Ellie seems to be thriving. She even got awarded three good citizenship points by her teacher yesterday! If she makes it to 100, she can wear her pajamas to school. By the time 4:00 pm rolls around each day, Ethan and I are super excited to get to hear everything about her day. Of course, there's the mild inconvenience of having to wait in the car line for about 30 minutes before Ellie can finally climb inside the Traverse. That can't really be helped though.

In between Ellie going to school and Ethan and me picking her up, there's plenty of excitement to be had. While the past several days have included park trips and the ever-exciting trip to a thrift store, today reached a new level of excitement. That's right, today we went to the dentist's office! I'm willing to concede that a dentist visit isn't exactly the thing to help someone break out of the doldrums. However, this was definitely an out of the ordinary visit for several reason.

 

The first reason this was a different visit to the dentist was that this would be my first time having a check-up with Ethan in tow. Ellie was near Ethan's age the first time she accompanied me to a dentist appointment and it went fantastic. She patiently waited in a kid-sized camping chair while my teeth were cleaned. She even rubbed my hand to make sure I wasn't scared before finally hopping up in the chair to get her very own "check-up".

For Ethan's first visit, things went very, very differently. While the visit started simply enough with Ethan excitedly staring at the giant fish tank in the waiting room, it was a different story once we retreated back to the exam room. The first thing my hygienist did was bring Ethan a kid-sized camping chair. While that seems like an innocent gesture, it was anything but to Ethan. To him, it was a declaration of war and an indictment upon his independence. The first thing he did was start screaming. Then, he angrily threw the camping chair on the floor. Then, for his coup de grace, he flung himself down onto the floor and began kicking and screaming.

At this point, I had pretty much resigned myself to finding a new dentist because I doubted we would ever be allowed back in Zone Rosa, let alone the dentist's office. However, before leaving in shame, I first attempted to calm Ethan. I figured out pretty quickly that the reason for his anger was that he wasn't allowed to get the camping chair he was meant to sit in on his own. Once the egregious camping chair left the room, Ethan began to calm slightly. Then, when I offered him my phone to watch "Cocomelon" on during my exam, he calmed even more. Finally, he was willing to climb onto a spare stool in the corner of the exam room for the duration of my appointment. There he sat, watching "Cocomelon" while my teeth were cleaned.

One thing that did help. As we were leaving, rather than shame me for being an abject failure as a parent, my hygienist instead complimented me on being able to figure out what was going on with Ethan and for getting him calmed down. While it hardly fixed the embarrassment of what had occurred, it definitely did make me feel as if I'll be welcomed back. However, we'll have to see once March gets here if I am indeed allowed to return to Zona Rosa Dental or if I'll be in the market for a new dentist. Time will ultimately tell.

#DaddyWrite

Day 1,112 - "Bye, Ellie."

Hi, I'm Jesse.

1,112 days ago (according to the infallible #DaddyWrite timekeeping rules), I began my new career in earnest as a stay-at-home parent. At the time, I had no idea what I was in for. Early on, it was evident there would be plenty of screaming (from both dad and daughter) and lots of poop (mostly from daughter). As time went on though, I definitely got into more of a groove and actually became pretty decent as this whole stay-at-home parent thing. 

It seems appropriate that the picture on the left is from the first-ever #DaddyWrite post.

 

Today though, I definitely reached the clear end of a chapter in the #DaddyWrite book. Hmm, think anyone would pay me to publish that book? Where was I? Oh yes, today marked the end of a chapter as Ellie officially started Kindergarten. I'd be lying if I said I don't have feelings about it. It's actually a really weird set of emotions. I'm unbelievably proud of the person my little girl has turned out to be. She's loving, kind, and wise. She's also got an adventurous side to her, is stubborn as a mule, and has a mischievous streak a mile wide. Overall though, she is one of the most determined people I have ever met and I know she can do anything she sets her mind to. Look out, world; Ellie's coming through! 

As I look back on this morning, it's undeniable that tears were spilled by yours truly on multiple occasions. The first time was when I was packing Ellie's water bottle and snack into her backpack. The second came when I pulled her onto my lap in the brown rocking chair in the kids' room and held her tight while she put her socks on. The third came in the drop-off line as we prayed together, something we did before every single day of preschool and K2K this summer. The fourth and final was as I pulled away from the school knowing that Ellie was just fine without me.

As I write this, it's 2:30 in the afternoon and the next hour and a half cannot go fast enough. I miss my buddy and can't wait to talk to her and hear about her day. I hope she's already made new friends and has bravely flown her own flag. This morning, I reminded her that she is special and I don't want her to ever feel like she has to change who she is for anyone. Most of all though, I told her that I love her and I am proud of her. Just watching her face light up at those simple words was enough to bring me unspeakable joy AND start the tears all over again. Crazy how that works, right?

My job isn't changing anytime soon as Ethan's not quite ready to stay by himself yet. However, it's obvious that things are going to be different in the short-term and the long-term. For one thing, I know now that my time with Ellie is going  to be a lot more precious than before as there's going to be a lot less of it. For another, today was a reminder that I need to enjoy the next couple of years that I have with Ethan before he starts preschool as it will undoubtedly go fast.

Picking up right where his sister left off...

Five years ago, I ended a blog post with the following comment.

"BTW, I really wanted to call this blog #MissingMommy.  Apparently that's the name of a bereavement book for helping kids deal with the loss of their mother.  Not applicable in this case even if young Ellie is indeed #MissingMommy."

Today, I think it's appropriate for me to end this blog post by saying that yes, I am indeed #MissingEllie.

#DaddyWrite

Day 1,107 - It's "WORLDS OF FUN!"

With summer coming to an end and with it, Ellie's tenure as a full-time stay-at-home child, I've been trying to make the remainder of our time together count. Part of the way I've been doing that is to try and come up with special things for Ellie, Ethan, and me to do together each day. Thus far, we've done some cool things like going to Union Station to see the model trains or splash pad/park visits or even going to Cabela's to see some quality taxidermy. Our biggest event though was on Friday as Ellie and I headed to Worlds of Fun to spend some quality time together.

You may be wondering, "Isn't Ethan a little small for Worlds of Fun?". He is indeed. That's why I had my parents come down and spend the afternoon at the house with him so that Ellie and I could enjoy Worlds of Fun on our own. Once they arrived around 12:30, Ellie and I headed out the door almost immediately to head on our little date.

For nearly as long as I can remember, Ellie has been enthralled by the sight of the massive roller coasters out the car window whenever we've driven by Worlds of Fun. It was not uncommon to hear her muse about going there someday. Therefore, with a pair of free passes in my possession, I decided now was the perfect time to let her experience Worlds of Fun.

Upon our arrival, the first thing she wanted to do was get her picture taken in front of the massive air balloon statue at the front of the park. After that, we headed to our very first ride, the "Nordic Chaser." Situated near the front of the park, I thought the ride seemed tame enough. It looked as if we would just sit in a car shaped like a Viking ship and travel in a circle. I did not take into account how quickly said vessel would travel and was treated to the loud screams of panic from my seatmate riding next to me. After that, I decided that maybe our time was better spent in the "Planet Snoopy" section of the park.

After a short detour at "Le Taxitour" and the "Autobahn" bumper cars, we finally arrived at "Planet Snoopy". We first headed to "Snoopy's Cosmic Coaster" where I painfully squeezed myself into a car right next to Ellie. Ellie was slightly nervous as the ride began but her nerves quickly subsided. She even was willing to raise her arms momentarily into the sky in an expression of glee. After that, we spent some time wandering around "Planet Snoopy" riding anything that Ellie deemed to be not "too spinny or scary." 

Those taxicabs can be terrifying!

After a couple of hours, I decided that we had exhausted all that "Planet Snoopy" had to offer and tempted Ellie out of that section of the park with the promise of ice cream. After a nice treat of Dippin' Dots, Ellie and I set out in search of the Ferris Wheel. After riding one at the Beatrice County Fair with her grandma, Ellie was enthralled with riding yet another one. We finally found the Ferris Wheel and settled in for our first ride. When the wheel stopped at the top, Ellie took in all of the sights of the park and provided a running commentary on each. Once our ride ended, Ellie suspended her rule of only riding each ride once in favor of immediately riding the Ferris Wheel again.

Once we finished up our ride(s) on the Ferris Wheel, I knew our time at Worlds of Fun was growing short as it was already after 4:00. That being said though, I couldn't resist trying to convince Ellie that we needed to try my favorite ride, the "Viking Voyager". The ride consisting of an increasingly bumpier journey down a river before finally making one final climb up a large hill and splashing down below is one of my all-time favorites. Despite the initial line, we hopped in line and eventually took our place in a blue and orange Viking ship. While I was initially disgusted at the thought of riding in a Denver Broncos-colored ship, I decided to think of it as being Florida Gators-colored instead and that seemed to help. With that, we were off down the river with Ellie smiling gleefully all the way.

After our final splashdown, Ellie turned around and looked at me, declaring that the "Viking Voyager" was her new favorite ride! She also began lamenting how she wanted to ride again but it was time to go home. It didn't take much convincing for me to agree to one more ride on the "Viking Voyager" even if somewhat ironically, it was in the same Broncos/Gators-colored ship.  Despite her best efforts to obtain one more ride, I had to sadly say no as it was nearing 5:00 and we needed to get home.

 Overall, I'd say Ellie's first trip to Worlds of Fun was a success. Despite her fearfulness of certain rides, she was willing to step out of her comfort zone on others. While we likely won't make this a yearly occurrence at this time, I definitely see many more trips in our future!

#DaddyWrite

 P.S.: The Saturday Night Live skit from last year doesn't lie. I did actually see full grown adults riding the "Viking Voyager" with life-sized stuffed animals. If only it would have actually been the guy from "Soul".

Day 1,105 - Something, Something Change...Something, Something Same...

Wow, as I sat down to write this post, I came to the realization that I have now been a stay-at-home dad for over 1,100 days! At this point, allow me to reiterate that the official #DaddyWrite countdown only reflects days in which I am alone with the kids. Weekends, holidays, and maternity leaves DO NOT count!

MINIONS!!!

 It really is kind of an accomplishment if you ask me and I'm actually pretty proud of that number. It's crazy to think back at how much things have changed over the past five years and how much things will continue to change. I mean, Ellie starts kindergarten in a mere six days if you're going by the official #DaddyWrite countdown. However, I'm constantly reminded that even though things may change, there will always be ways in which they stay the same.

One of those big changes I'm talking about was on display yesterday as Ellie and I headed to Fox Hill Elementary for Kindergarten Roundup. I wanted that experience to be all about Ellie so I even found a sitter to hang out with Ethan for the duration of our time at Fox Hill!

Even though we arrived at Fox Hill right at 4:30, we still found ourselves having to wait outside the building for a little bit. Finally though, our time came to head inside. Once we made it through the doors, we were immediately introduced to Ellie's new principal, Dr. Bradley. Nice guy if you're wondering although I do kind of miss the folding knee walker he was sporting over the summer due to injury.

After meeting Dr. Bradley, we were guided down a hallway to the library where pre-Kindergarten screening was taking place. After a short wait, Ellie was accompanied into the room by a teacher while I took up residence sitting on a little wall near a window on the side of the library. There I watched, not creepily, as Ellie went through a variety of little tests. Per Ellie, the tests included counting to 100, naming shapes and colors, writing her name, identifying letters, and reading a few words. When Bethany asked her later how she did on her screening, Ellie replied, "Good, except the teacher said I missed number 39." I'm sure it was a soul-crushing disappointment to her...not really. After Ellie finished the screening phase, we headed down to the classrooms for a quick meet-and-greet with the Kindergarten teachers before heading home.

True story: moments after this shot was taken, Ellie pointed at me and she and the teacher waved in unison.

While Ellie starting Kindergarten is certainly going to change things in our household, today was a reminder that some things likely will never change. I'm not going to go into much detail but today was likely one of the worst days of Bethany's entire career due to some unfortunate office tragedies. Needless to say, she was upset and really sad about. When I mentioned the situation to the kids at lunch time, Ellie immediately knew something had to be done. Therefore, during her quiet time, Ellie got right to work.

When she later emerged from our guest bedroom, she had a piece of paper in tow. On it, she had drawn a giant rainbow and a self-portrait of herself which inexplicably included pig ears. However, the real prize on the drawing was a note she had written to Bethany. The note said, and I quote Ellie, "Mom I am soree yor sad." While the spelling left a little to be desired, the sentiment was indisputable. Even though Ellie makes little love drawings daily for Bethany, I would bet this one will go into the keeper pile.

For the record, don't talk about Ellie's "cute, little mouse".

Overall, the last two days just served to remind that things will undoubtedly change around our home into the not-too-distant future. However, no matter how much things change, it currently looks like our little girl is going to stay the same sweet girl that she's always been...95% percent of the time. That's still an 'A' if we're talking in school terms!

#DaddyWrite