See this?

That’s Porter.  We find him like this all of the time.  In this instance, I walked into the living room this morning and found him just sitting there.  ”IIIII’m hiding!” he said.  It is particular creepy when we open his bedroom door in the morning and he is awake, sitting bolt upright with a blanket over his head.  ”I’m a ghost!” he giggles out from under the covers.  Sometimes when we find him like that in the morning we walk out of his room saying, “Oh.  He’s gone.  Oh well…”

Porter finds this hilarious.

You know what I don’t find hilarious?  When he falls asleep with the covers over his head.  He has been covering himself up head to toe pretty much since we first started letting him sleep with a blanket.  Since we have a video monitor, we can see if he is completely covered and then creep into his room and gently pull the blanket back so he can breathe (and that is always an adventure because Porter is probably one of the lightest sleepers in the world.)

So if you ever come over and find a blanket in the shape of a little boy.  Don’t be alarmed.  It is just our friendly household giggling ghost.

As you might have noticed due to the appearance of pastel colored eggs everywhere, Easter is right around the corner.  This is Porter’s third Easter and he is more aware of the traditions of the holiday.  He knows that there are eggs, baskets, candy and bunnies.

Bunnies.

THE bunny.

The Easter Bunny.

Porter hasn’t really grasped the whole concept of the Easter Bunny.  I don’t think he entirely understands the myth of the giant rabbit that comes to your home during the night and leaves you a basket of treats.   And yet for the first time in his life I have been considering taking him to get his photo taken with our local Easter Bunny.  I don’t know why, really…it just seems like the seasonal thing to do.

I brought the idea up to Aaron.  ”Should we take Porter to see the Easter Bunny this year?” I said.  Aaron sort of shrugged an “I dunno…if you wanna” sort of shrug.  ”You don’t think we should?”  I said.  Aaron then proceeded to give a few reasons about why he wasn’t really into the idea.

1. It’s not like seeing Santa.  With Santa, you have a request to make.  Then you have to state your case–”Yes Santa, I was very good this year…”  There is a dialog that is supposed to happen.  You have to go to visit Santa to ensure that you get your dream Christmas gift.

2. The Bunny costume is creepy.  At least with Santa, his beard may be fake but you are looking into the face of a real dude.  Not so much with the Easter Bunny.

Aaron’s points were valid.  I hated a lot of costumed characters as a kid (I remember FREAKING OUT at a Chuck E. Cheese once when I set eyes on Chuck E. Cheese himself.  I was four.)  I could easily see that seeing a human-sized fake rabbit would be terrifying.  And he’s right–it’s not like you make your Easter list and present it to EB.

Or do you?  I mean, we never did…

So.  I’m still on the fence about this.  Part of me is like, “But it is Easter tradition!”  Another part of me is like, “It is a weird tradition…?”  Maybe we’ll skip it this year and see if Porter asks to go next year once he understands the concept a little better.

What do you think:  Do you take your littles to see EB?  If so, do they enjoy it?  If you don’t take them, why not?

P.S.:  I hit 60,000 followers on Twitter today.  IT IS BLOWING MY MIND.  Thanks, Readers!

This year my husband has to attend four work-related conferences.  That means that Porter and I get to have some quality Mother-Son time while he is away.  In years past, Aaron would only have to attend one or two conferences so four seems like a lot.  So far this year he has been to Houston, Chattanooga and he just returned from Long Beach last night.  In early May he will go to Philadelphia.  At least that is in our home state!

I use to dread when Aaron went away.  Of course, I miss him when he is gone but my dread mostly was about being a solo parent.  I was scared/anxious that I couldn’t handle being the sole responsible adult in the house while Aaron was gone.  However, this year is different.  Maybe it is because these conferences are so frequent and stacked so close together I don’t have time to freak out.  Maybe it is because Porter is a little older and needs me just a little less.  Maybe I am just better at this parenting thing now.  I don’t know, but I do know that I am more comfortable now when Aaron is away.

This doesn’t mean that I like it when he is away, just that we can manage to survive.

Even just if it is just barely.

Out of the three trips that Aaron has taken so far, Porter or I have been sick during two of those trips.  And let me tell you, some of my worst parenting moments happened when I had the stomach bug!  It is hard to make good decisions when you are on the verge of vomiting…or worse.  But that doesn’t matter now–what matters is that we made it through!

The bedtime routine, which use to be a struggle for Porter and I when Daddy was away, now goes swimmingly.  No longer does he scream and cry when I wash his hair or fight me when I try to brush his teeth.  Everything goes pretty well.  Porter even excitedly uses the potty before bath without much nudging from me.  This is a good thing for us because I use to dread the struggles bathtime and bedtime would bring.  It would really stress me out.   Not anymore!  I’ve learned to relax a bit and since Porter is a little older now, I’ve learned to give him some space and time to be independent.  I think that helps.

Although we miss Dad when he is gone, P-Bo and I do okay when he’s not here.  We never ask for souvenirs from the places he’s been–which just hope he always comes back to us.  (But Aaron does occasionally bring us souvenirs anyway!)

Last August I heard that clock tick again.   THE Clock.  That Biological Clock–with its, at times, deafening TICK.  But I knew that we weren’t financially ready to have another baby yet.

And before you get your hopes up, let me just tell you now that we still are not financially ready to add another little person to our family.

But that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to.

I don’t know what is going on with me, but my hormones are going CRAZY.  Every time I see a baby it is like my ovaries stand up and yell, “YAY!!!  LOOK AT THAT SWEET LITTLE FACE!!!  OH EM GEE–DID YOU SEE THAT TINY, LITTLE AMAZING CREATURE?!  LET’S GET US ONE OF THOSE!!!”  Babies on tv.  Babies on Instagram (that one’s the worst AND the best!)  Even babies we see when we are out.  While just yesterday, Aaron and I had a lunch date out since we were working together.  Seated next to us at this diner was a new mom and dad with a little baby who was all of a week or two old.  I set eyes on that baby and I said to Aaron, “Oh god.  I can’t.  I can’t handle it.”  And my eyes welled up with tears.  Then the baby was crying and I was crying and my husband thought I was crazy…so yeah.

I got The Fever.

The Baby Fever.

Bad.

And that Clock is LOUD.

But…

It just can’t happen right now.  Our schedules are crazy.  My current job, though steady, doesn’t pay much and I am the only painter in a non-climate controlled shop which means no heat and no A/C.  Not an ideal situation for a pregnancy.  And we are thinking of moving–so there is the added stress of trying to find a new place to live.

The timing just isn’t right.

But I still think about it.  Recently, my gynecologist sent me some forms to fill out since the office is updating its database.  One of the questions on the form is: “Is your family complete?”  I just about cried just reading the question!  I neatly wrote in “no.”  And since I have an appointment at the office bright and early Monday morning, I’m sure that the subject will come up.  I am hoping to keep my hormones/emotions in check while my doctor and I broach the subject.

No one wants to cry while wearing a paper gown.

Oh oh–and you know what makes this whole thing even harder?  Every time Porter sees a baby he says, “Ooh a little baby!  It’s so cute!”

Ugh.  This is so difficult.  It’s hard when your brain and ovaries are in a fight.  But logic tells me that waiting is best.  So.  We will wait.

And if you need me, I’ll be here obeying my Virgoan logic…while keeping a list of possible second baby names.

Porter is going to be three years old in only one month’s time.  Let’s start the monthly update before I start crying wondering where my baby went…

 What Porter Is Wearing:

• Size 6 diapers…I got him to wear a pull-up once last weekend (size 2T-3T) which was a major accomplishment!
• Size 2T and 3T in shirts but some brands of 3T are still WAY too big.
• With the exception of one pair or 2T pants, all pants are still 24 month size.  This is strictly due to length.  Most 2T pants are too long on him.
• 2T pajamas still fit him perfectly.
• Now in size 8 shoes.

• Fruit
• Celery
• Cucumber
• Cheese
• Pickles
• Crackers
• Hot dogs
• Salami
• Tacos
• Peanuts
• Sunflower seeds
• He now requests “crunchy chicken”–he no longer will eat chicken without a coating on it.  In fact recently he is barely eating chicken at all.
• Cereal in a bowl with milk and a spoon (this is major!)
• Still won’t touch pizza, macaroni and cheese or grilled cheese
• He pretty much won’t touch anything else.  When do kids outgrow the picky eating phase again…?

What Porter Is Saying:

• Porter is talking non-stop these days and he is saying some incredibly funny things…here is an example:

Me: (after getting Porter out of the bath tub) Look, your fingers are all pruny.

Porter:  My fingers are all wrinkly–just like Daddy!

• He has started adding in “t” sounds to words.  Didn’t is now Didtint.
• Overall he is becoming more expressive and conversational.  Tonight I asked him to pick a book for me to read at bedtime and he walked over to the bookshelf and said, “Oh The Cat in the Hat!  This is perfect!”

What Porter Likes These Days:

• Being outside!
• Thomas and Friends “Rescue on the Rails.”
• Trains, trains, trains.
• Did I mention trains?
• Giving hugs and kisses.
• Going to the car wash.
• Bubbles.
• Talking.  A lot.
• Pretending.

What Porter Doesn’t Like These Days:

• Using the potty at home at any other time besides bath time.
• Pull-ups.
• Underwear.
• Most food we want him to eat.

What Porter Is Doing:

• Being sneaky.  While I was sick last week I caught him using his Elmo step stool to try to reach cookies on the counter, he managed to steal my flash drive from my computer and my notebook for work (both were in his room.)  This was all in that matter of an hour’s time.  Last weekend, I was in the shower for all of seven minutes and I came out to discover him upstairs (totally off-limits without me or Aaron to supervise) rummaging around in my bedroom.
• He is doing really well on the potty at daycare.  There have even been some days during which he stays dry all day and uses the potty successfully each time!  But he had an off week this week and we still aren’t progressing at home (other than the bathtime potty try.)
• He has moments during which he is obstinate and demanding.  I’m seeing glimpses of the “Terrible Threes” I keep hearing so much about…
• Porter likes to help me feed the cats.

What We Are Working On:

• As always, potty potty potty.
• Picking up his own toys/mess.
• I want him to be more involved with dressing himself , but he has no interest.

Since Aaron and I are working almost every weekend in April, we are only going to have a small, small get-together for Porter’s birthday.  A few family friends, snacks and cake.  Then at the end of April we are taking a trip up to NY to see my parents.  Unfortunately with work and the rising gas prices, we really can’t afford to give Porter the big shin-dig he deserves.  But I do think he will definitely have a Thomas the Tank Engine cake!

It’s been a weird week at our house.  I’m still having stomach virus issues.  Aaron is out of town.  Everything is just a little out of whack.  I need a little pick-me-up.  Lo and behold, I read Bookish Penguins “Question Time” post (inspired by a post at Constructive Compulsion) and I decided to jump on board.

There are some rules involved, so let us get to those first.

The Rules:
1. Post the rules (check!)
2. Share 11 random things about yourself
3. Answer the questions posted to you from your tagger (my tagger is Candice from Bookish Penguin)
4. Come up with 11 new questions for the people you tag
5. Tag your peeps on Twitter, Facebook, or on your blog (I will probably bend this rule.)

Here it goes…

11 Random Things About Me

1. As of yesterday I am finally down to me pre-pregnancy weight!  This stomach flu managed to push me those few extra pounds down to this milestone.  (I know a virus isn’t a healthy way to diet, but it was the nudge that got me here–so I am going to take it!)
2. I have been slowly working my way through Twin Peaks on Netflix.  I watched it when it originally aired when I was 12 and of course I didn’t understand it.  I do understand a little more now than I did then, but it still creeps me out (but I won’t stop watching!)  And I didn’t know that Heather Graham was in this until recently (she has big early 90s hair!)
3.  When I was 23 I dated a guy who was 33.  Not a very bright choice on my part.
4. Even when I was little I knew that I would be an artist someday.
5. Theatre helped me get over my fear of public speaking.
6. I think Panera’s coffee is better than Starbucks.  (Just straight coffee, not fancy coffee drinks.)
7. I hate nail polish.  I guess because I have paint on my hands all of time I have no desire to intentionally put it there.
8. I want to run a 5k this year.
9. I want to go on a vacation really, really badly but we don’t have the money nor the time for one.
10. I have an incredible gift for picking out wonky shopping carts.  I always pick the one with the ear-piercing squeak or the bum wheel and then I have to go back and get a different one.
11. You would be shocked at how empty my closet and dresser drawers are.  I own very few clothes.  I sold every piece of clothing that didn’t fit me at the time of our move in 2010 and I have been steadily losing weight since then.  My wardrobe is getting smaller and smaller.

Now I will answer Candice’s 11 questions:

1. What was your favorite vacation and why?  
Hands down, our roadtrip in 2005.  Aaron asked me to marry him on that trip.  Not only that, but we planned that trip for probably eight months.  It was to be our big celebratory vacation after a summer apart and  to kick off Aaron’s last year of graduate school.  Little did I know that we would have FAR more celebrate by the end of that trip.  We went from New Haven, CT up to Bar Harbor, ME (we met in Maine and he asked me to marry him there,) over to Vermont, all over New York state and back to CT.  We camped 75% of the time–and I had never camped before!

2.  If you could live anywhere in the world and not have to worry about things like family being far away, where would you live?
Well first of all, I live far away from all of my family anyway so that isn’t really an issue for me!  I can’t say that I have seen enough of the world to really know where else I would want to live.  I’ve been to Italy, Canada and Hawaii.  I’ve been up and down the east coast of the US, but I still haven’t seen most of the country.  But out of the places I have been, Asheville, NC would be pretty cool I guess.

3.  What reading significantly impacted your life? (Book, article, poem, anything)
Madwives : Schizophrenic Women In The 1950s I have to tell you that it took me a good two hours trying to remember the exact name of this book since I read it while I was in college–over a decade ago.  I even had to search the online catalog of my alma mater’s library to get it right!  This book was a springboard for my senior art show back in the day.

4.  What’s one thing you hate that it seems like everyone else likes?
Romantic comedies.

5. What do you daydream about?
Our next house.  Due to the short sale of our home in Florida, we won’t be eligible for a mortgage until around Christmas 2013 but that doesn’t stop Aaron and I from looking at houses (on the internet) all of the time.  There are so many cool neighborhoods and old homes here with lots of character–we just can’t help ourselves!

6. What did your bedroom look like when you were younger? (Any age you want to share.)
My brother was born when I was seven and we shared a room until I was nine.  At that point I got my own room (once again) and for the first time I got to pick out the paint color!  It was called “Raspberry Whip”–yes, I do remember the name of the color!  It was a mauvey-late 1980s pink.  By the time I had turned 11 it didn’t matter what color the walls were because they were plastered–ceiling to floor–with anything and everything New Kids On The Block.

7. What’s your morning routine?
Because I work freelance and work at different locations and for different companies all the time, my morning routine is always changing due to my ever-changing schedule.  So all I can really say is that my most basic morning routine involves a shower, coffee, breakfast and a kiss for Aaron and Porter.

8.  Is there any food you absolutely refuse to eat (other than things you may be allergic to)? Why?
Calamari, escargot, eel, anchovies, sardines, sauerkraut–none of that is appealing to me.

9. If skill/ability/money was no issue, what would be your dream job?
At this point, the same line of work I am in now only full-time, year-round with benefits and teaching!  Either that or being paid to write this blog at my leisure.

10.  What memory has stuck with you even though you wish you could forget it?
A few things, but I’d rather not discuss them here.  Or at all.  Sorry, y’all.

11. What do you want your life to look like when you’re 75?
I hope that Aaron and I are alive, healthy and happy together.  I hope our children, and our children’s children, are healthy and happy too.

Like Candice, I am not “tagging” anyone in particular to participate in this.  If you’d like to do it on your blog, please leave a comment with a link to your post–I’d love to read it.  Now on to my questions for you…

1.  What color is your bedroom and did you pick it out?

2. What holiday could you do without?

3. Your friend has asked you to come over this weekend for a barbecue.  You have to bring a dish to share: what do you bring?

4. What were you to be named if you were born of the opposite gender?  (If I was a boy, my parents were going to name me Jason Thomas.)

5. What is your favorite kind of Girl Scout Cookie?

6.  Have you ever walked out of a movie/play/performance because you thought it was horrid?  Please elaborate.

7. When did know your were falling in love with your partner?

8. What is something that you learned in high school that, though you thought it was useless knowledge at the time, turned out to be very useful to you in adult life?  (I’m referring to standard school subject matter, not life lessons–but go there if you like.  For me it was the Pythagorean Theorem.)

9. What is your go-to cocktail?  If you don’t drink alcohol, what is your favorite beverage?

10. Everyone is struggling in this economy.  What is one thing that you have had to cut back on/give up/sacrifice for the sake of your budget?

11. What was your favorite cartoon when you were a kid and what were your Saturday mornings like?

It was a typical Saturday.  We enjoyed a Dr. Seuss birthday party at a local toy store, a lunch out and a bit of work related shopping.  We came home, had dinner and started getting Porter ready for bed.  Once our boy was freshly bathed, he settled into bed with his daddy for a bedtime story.  That’s when it happened.

From the living room I heard Aaron call out–it wasn’t really a sentence because it was lacking verbs and nouns, but I could tell he was panicked and something was wrong.

Porter was throwing up in his bed.

The poor guy was freaking out.  He had only been sick like this one time before–the night before we left Tallahassee–so he didn’t have any idea what was happening to his body.  We calmed him down, cleaned him up, stripped and remade his bed and tried bedtime Part Two.  He was sick again within minutes of lights out.  We calmed him down, cleaned him up, stripped his bed and now had one load of laundry going and one on deck.   We brought Porter, who was now completely pale, out to the living room and put him on the couch which we lined with towels.  He continued getting sick for about an hour or so.  I made a quick run to the store for Pedialyte, ginger snaps and a new thermometer (ours was dead and it was cheaper to just buy a new one.)

By the time I got back, Porter was asleep in bed–which was lined with only a vinyl mattress cover and towels.  He slept for a few hours but was sick again at 11pm.  Luckily he went right back to sleep and only woke up for a drink at 3am.  I was up until 1am finishing laundry and to be honest I wouldn’t have slept much anyway because I was worried.

Sunday Porter woke up chipper.  He gobbled down his breakfast and shortly after Aaron went to work, the poor kid was sick again.  And again.  I cleared the middle of the living room.  I rolled up the carpet and using some blankets and a vinyl mattress cover, I made a little cushy bed for him on the floor.  (In hindsight, I could have just pulled his waterproof crib mattress up from the basement–but that didn’t occur to me until hours later.)  I covered the bed and pillow with towels.  Porter loved his little bed.  He laid on it for a while, but soon left and went to his bedroom.  He spent some time just standing and staring at his train table.  It was like he just couldn’t even bring himself to play because he was feeling so crummy.  Shortly after that, Porter laid down on the cold, hardwood floor of his room between the train table and the wall. He laid there for about an hour, occasionally whimpering.

It broke my heart.

He came out eventually–after the diarrhea started.  He couldn’t keep anything down so he was getting dehydrated.  He eventually felt well enough for some lunch, but that reappeared shortly after–right after Aaron returned home.  Then Porter slept on his little bed in the living room for about three hours, while Aaron and I sat there watching over him and worrying.

After he woke up, the diarrhea continued.  He refused to eat or drink anything.  Porter was saying things like, “I don’t like being sick.  This is not fun at all.”  So sad.  In a last-ditch effort to get him to eat and drink something–anything–I wandered into the kitchen and decided to improvise.

I pulled out a mini muffin tin from the cupboard.  I started filling it with bits of food: raisins, peanuts, grapes, hulled sunflower seeds, dried apricots, crackers, a ginger snap and chocolate chips (just a few, those were the bribe to get him interested.)  I excitedly presented this to Porter while he was on his little bed in the living room.  I called it a “Tiny Foods Picnic” and he was THRILLED!

He started eating right away.  As you can tell from the photo, the grapes were the first things to go.  He then made the special request of water with ice in a sippy cup and I happy obliged.  Soon he was eating and drinking (and it wall was staying put!)  He was much better the next day and he requested a “Tiny Picnic” for breakfast and dinner.

On Tuesday Porter was well enough for daycare, but unfortunately I was not well enough for work.  Tuesday was ROUGH and I now completely understand why that poor kid was on the floor of his room whimpering under his train table.  I spent most of yesterday in the fetal position.  I couldn’t even watch television because the mere sight of a commercial for food made me queasy.  I couldn’t watch movies or even look at my computer–I couldn’t handle the sensory overload.  I just wanted to lay down on my side and just be.  It felt like my stomach lining and esophagus were burning.  I ached from my shoulders to my knees.  I had the chills and was wrapped in several blankets.

I’m feeling better today, but still not 100%.  I can sit upright without much trouble so that’s a plus!  I still have no desire to eat.  Aaron left for a conference in Chattanooga today and he won’t be back until Sunday.  I am praying that he doesn’t get sick on his trip!  He swears to me that he won’t since he is taking the Ron Swanson approach to illness–which means he absolutely refuses to get sick.  God, I hope that works!

Porter has been consistently using the potty at daycare once or twice a day, but not so much at home.  About a week and a half ago we decided to take a more structured approach.  This was quite different from our former approach which was ask P if he would like to try sitting on the potty, he would protest and then we would give up.  Obviously, this was a terrible system.

One weekend we decided to take him to the bathroom and encourage him to use the potty at 9am, noon, 3pm (all the times he goes at daycare) and before bathtime.  Porter was not pleased about any of this–especially the daytime visits.  He was rather uncooperative that first weekend.  But we did have some success at the evening try before bath.  All last week he used the potty most nights of the week!

Here is how the evening potty visit goes:

1.) He strips down for bath.  He has no desire to only partially disrobe for potty.  Apparently it is all or nothing.

2.)  He gets a small treat for just sitting on the potty.  So far we have used M&Ms or chocolate chips (these things just happened to be what we had in the house.)  He gets a single M&M/chip just for sitting on the potty without his diaper.

3.)  We use to read Porter a book about the potty while he was trying to go, but recently he requests “privacy” so we leave the bathroom and wait in his room (two steps from the bathroom.)

4.)  He does his business–hooray!

5.)  Then it is appropriate clean up, flushing, hand washing, etc. all while we celebrate his accomplishment.

6.)  He gets a “big treat” for his efforts which is one single Hershey kiss (again, ’cause it is what he have in the house.)

And finally, step 7.) he gets a sticker on his potty chart–which frankly he couldn’t care less about.

But again this weekend, no luck trying the potty during the day while at home.  I thought we were on the right track when Saturday morning he tried to teach one of his stuffed animals to use the potty–even “reading” a potty how-to book to his stuffed doggie in the bathroom.  Sadly, things went down hill from there.  By the afternoon Porter was telling me he was “scared” to use the potty.  I asked him why and he said, “Monsters.”  I asked him where he thought the monsters were and he pointed to the wall.  That only happened once.  The rest of the time it was “I don’t want to sit on the potty!” with a lot of whimpering, whining and fake crying.

Despite those experiences, we are still trying to patiently stick with the routine and rewards and I am very happy with the progress we have made so far.  I am hoping that the success in the evenings will eventually make him more cooperative during the daytime bathroom visits at home.  Mornings have been rough here (Porter doesn’t want to get ready for daycare) so we have yet to incorporate a potty visit after he wakes up.  I’m hoping that in a few weeks time he will actually want to put on a pull-up or big boy underwear, but we’ll see.

I was sneaky and recorded Porter reading  “My Big Boy Potty” to his Magenta doll (from Blue’s Clues) on the potty:

You know, there was a time in my life when Friday night was a big deal.  It meant anxiously counting down the hours, then minutes until class got out or work was over.  Then it was a night full of hanging out with friends, having some beers, maybe seeing a movie or going out to dinner.

Now things are different.  I have bills to pay and mouths to feed so no money to spend all willy-nilly on cocktails and nights on the town.  I’m tired.  And besides I can’t drink like I use to and I’m in bed by 10:30, so even if I could go out I would have one drink and fall asleep in a booth somewhere…did I mention the part about being tired?  And of course the biggest difference: I’m a mother.

So now Friday nights are exciting in a different way.

Last Friday night there was squealing, clapping, dancing, and laughing in our house.  Was it because we were blowing off steam from a long week of work?

No.

It was because Porter pooped in the potty.

Yes for the first time ever, Porter pooped in the potty!  Not only that but at our pre-bathtime potty time he said, “I’m going to poop in the potty.”  And he DID.

DOUBLE.  AWESOME.

There was so much whooping, hollering and clapping that if you were walking past our house you would have probably thought someone inside hit the lottery.  But no, it was just two overly excited parents wildly and loudly praising their son and his momentous achievement.  And though Aaron and I did celebrate our own fantastic parenting skills over a beer after Porter went to bed, Friday nights are quite different now.

And I am very much okay with that!

Truth be told, Porter doesn’t spend a whole lot of time in Time Out.  Don’t get me wrong–he has his moments.  But really, at this stage of the game, he is in Time Out about twice a month.  And I have always wondered if Porter is listening to what we say to him when he is in the process of a Time Out.  He’s upset and sometimes crying–is he listening to me or just nodding in agreement so this whole thing will be over?

Time Out at our house usually works like this:

1.) I catch Porter doing something he isn’t supposed to be doing.

2.) I ask him to stop doing the offending action.  He doesn’t.

3.) I tell him one more time to stop or he is going to Time Out.  He continues with the naughtiness.

4.) I bring him to his Time Out place–which is the corner of our dining room.  He stands in the corner facing me while I explain to him what he did wrong.

5.) Then I explain to him why I don’t want him to do what he did.  For example, “Porter I don’t want you climbing on the stairs by yourself.  Those stairs are very steep and dangerous.  I don’t want you to fall and get hurt.  So if you want to go upstairs you have to ask me or Daddy to help you.  Do you understand?”

6.) Then, if appropriate, I ask him to say he is sorry.

7.) Finally, I give him a big hug and kiss and tell him that I love him.

*Please note that if the offence is severe enough he will go straight to Time Out without being asked to stop the offending action.  Do not pass GO.  Do not collect $200.

The whole thing lasts only a few minutes depending on how worked up P is.  I don’t really know if it is effective but that’s how I do it.  I never really know if he really understands what’s going on.

After dinner last night, Porter was playing with some toys  on the couch.  He had a Mater tow truck from Cars and some other little penguin toy from a movie no one in our house has seen.  Porter was making the toys “fight”–something I had never seen him do before.  I turned and said to him, “Mater, Penguin: no fighting.”  At which point, Porter told his toys, “No fighting, ” and put his toys in Time Out in the corner of the couch!  He then proceeded to tell these pieces of plastic, “Fighting is not nice.  Do you understand?”

I’m not sure if Mater and unidentified penguin guy understood, but I guess maybe Porter understand a little more than I thought!