We’ve done it! We’ve toilet trained a child or the third and final time, and that feels good!

Just before Christmas, Daniel decided that he didn’t want to wear a nappy anymore. We had known from late summer that he was ready, but in our laziness kept putting the inevitable off. We just didn’t want to spend a week mopping up puddles from every corner of the house.

When the time came though, wee Dan displayed amazing control. He took off his nappy one day, sat on the toilet and pee’d. He got such a great response from us that he more or less refused to put the nappy back on. We persevered, got out the new Thomas The Tank Engine underwear and the whole thing was actually quite easy.

Here we are, one month later and Daniel has had only a handful of accidents. Like his father (definitely not his mother!) he displays superior bladder control, and usually adequate bowel control, though when he misses the toilet, he does it in a big way.

It’s strange to think that for the first time in more than six years, we have no nappy wearers in our house. No having to change that stinker every morning, which is great, but also no more babies, which is weird.  Once again it has hit home that our babies are growing up!

This one’s for Rachel. I had a bad dream at the weekend. About you. And in the dream we’d lost you in a car crash.

It was one of those strange dreams - it lasted long enough for me to feel grief. And there was a bizarre amount of detail. For example, Jake was having trouble adjusting and I remember him having difficulty with suddenly being the eldest. And there only being two boys.

I woke up sad that Sunday morning, but you were up with the dawn as usual and probably didn’t notice me being extra huggy around you. And at the moment, you probably don’t notice that I’m trying to spend a bit more time talking to you, getting to know you and what’s going on in your little life.

The dream may have been significant, because I’ve been feeling that you and I are drifting at the moment. You’re busy with friends and school, and I’m wrapped up in a lot of things. Jake and Dan are about the house quite a bit, but you’re a busy little scamp and rarely up for a chat during waking hours!

So, knowing that you hate going straight to sleep at night, I’m calling in for little chats after you go to bed. We’ll sit high up on your bed and talk about what’s going on. You’ll tell me about stories you’ve read, and maybe I’ll share some stories with you. If I can get a word in edgeways.

I’m enjoying watching you grow up. At the moment, you’re funny, sociable and quick-witted. You enjoy teasing and being teased (but not by the boys). Sometimes you’re volatile, and you’re still a fickle eater. You’re getting along unusually well with Aiden and Lucy right now, but your friendship with Lauren is becoming a bit strange as she’s not keen to share you and wants to stay in her house a lot. We’ve noticed that this bothers you and you want to be in our house a little bit more.

Anyway, there’s a little update for you. I just wanted to share this one in case I forgot it. Hopefully no more of those bad dreams for the foreseeable future.

Little Jake, tonight was your finest hour. You peed for the first time standing up.

In years to come, we’ll take this for granted and you’ll probably boggle that I even bothered to write this down at all. But I’m so proud wee man.

A couple of months ago, I talked to you about going to the toilet standing up. The idea sounded fun to you, and I even gave you a couple of demos as to how it should be done.

I think it was a mix of stage fright and impatience that made you give up after about a week. We decided it wasn’t the right time, and I didn’t want to pressure you.

Seems it was a good idea, because this evening, after Daniel vacated the bathroom (he’s toilet training at the moment), you just sauntered up to the bowl. Noticing the swagger, I casually suggested that you might want to try it standing up tonight. We lifted the seat up and you got in position and let it fly.

Funny how watching someone pee can make your heart sing, but I was (and still am) so proud that you did this without thinking about it, without worrying. I think I’m going to try this at bedtime for a few nights and see if we can work it into the daily routine until you’re comfortable working by yourself.

Oh, and congratulations on the wee shake at the end. You looked like you’d been doing it for years!

This article is in no way related to my family or children, but I am so excited I just had to post.

Last April I shelled out almost £90 for two Take That concert tickets. It may have pushed us into our overdraft, but if it helps me regain my youth, I say its worth it!

True to form, six months later, and I had forgotten all about the tickets, the concert and the date. It was only two days ago that Gerard happened to ask when the concert was taking place. I panicked, thinking I had missed the show, but thankfully life is not that cruel.

So tonight, I will be dragging Gerard to the Odyseey Arena in Belfast, where he will have to watch me boogie, jump and scream at Howard Donald…..isn’t he just the best husband in the world?

UPDATE: I LOVED the concert, and have written a review here. Have a read and let me know what you think!

Jake was due to start nursery school in the middle of the month as part of the phased introduction to school life. However, Lisa got a call yesterday to say that Jake could start tomorrow if it suited.

Even though it was slightly short notice, we were more than happy to let Jake go in earlier - the classroom size would be slightly smaller and he’d benefit from being able to meet his classmates gradually. Going in toward the end means you’re walking into a huge class full of strange faces.

Read more »

There are points in the parenting cycle I love and those I don’t. Most men I speak to seem to agree that the baby stage is hard to deal with - the crying, the tantrums and the dirty nappies. And that’s just their wives.

Seriously though, the first couple of years are the hardest as far as I’m concerned. Daniel had his second birthday last week. A milestone by any standard, but it seems to be marked by how quickly he’s progressing lately.

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Despite our best laid plans to go out for the day on Sunday, Lisa wasn’t feeling well, so it looked like we’d have to stay at home. Instead, I gave my Dad a call and asked him if he fancied going out for the day. It took a bit of arm twisting, but he eventually relented.

We took a drive round the North Antrim coast to Glenarm and went for a walk. Glenarm’s got a real olde worlde feel to it, and despite the ravages of modern technology, it still looks much the same as it did in the days of yore. Read more »

I was in the local supermarket last week and feeling rather harrassed. The weather was rubbish, the kids were bored and I was trying to do my weekly grocery shop while one tried to kamikaze out of the trolley and the others disappeared under shelves and around corners.

By the time I got to the checkout I was nearing the end of my tether and it must have showed. The checkout operator said:

“I see you have your hands full there.”

I rolled my eyes and heartily agreed. But he made me think when he told me that his youngest boy was now 15 and he despaired day and night about where he was and whether he was safe. He shared an old saying that his mother used to say when his children were young:

“As Long As They Are Around Your Feet, You Know Where They Are”

It made me stop and take stock. Yes the children were full of energy, yes they wore me out at times, but at least they were always within earshot. I dread the day when they grow up and don’t want to spend time with their parents anymore. My kids are great company and full of personality. I like being with them and I like knowing they are safe and well……I’ll think twice before I complain in the future.

I got a little weepy tonight as my wee 4 year old blew out the candles on his chocolate caterpillar birthday cake.

In honesty, he won’t be four until tomorrow, but we had a party tonight in his granny’s so his cousins could join him.

He is such a massive wee boy, he actually looks like he is about five or six years old, but it seems like yesterday when we brought him home from hospital all fresh and new.

His birthday has turned out to be quite power ranger themed. It doesn’t matter what other gifts he gets….he has a green mystic force ranger, so all is right with the world.

Lisa has a history of making wild purchases that she forgets about almost immediately. She’ll deny it, but there’s a legacy of clothes in her wardrobe that were bought years ago, but still sport the label from the shop. And there’s a wide range of obscure tat that inhabits our house that testify to the fact that she’s an impulse shopper par excellence.

The story of the juicer comes to mind. For months, all I heard about was how fantastic a juicer would be for us. We could make our own fruit juices and live long, healthy fulfilled happy lives with the taste of tropical drinks never far from our lips.

The juicer was used a maximum of 3 times and was offloaded to another impulse shopper via eBay after it was discovered at the back of a kitchen cupboard.

So, history has been repeating itself lately. “You know what we really need?” she asked. But it wasn’t really a question. “A bread maker.” It was one of those moments where a spousal decision had already been made without me.

However, Lisa knows that any failure in the breadmaker project will result in universal ridicule. She’s baking every other day at the moment, and trying out some unusual bread recipes. And so far, she’s managed to justify the purchase.

I remain convinced that this is one of Lisa’s faddy purchases and it’ll go the way of the juicer before long. Why? Because she’s admitted that the cost of baking your own bread is roughly the same as buying it and there’s a much higher investment in time, which we’re already short on. The only ‘benefit’ is that home-made bread is apparently healthier because it has less additives and stuff.

It’ll be interesting to look back on this post in a few years time and see how Project Loaf turned out….

[tags]Lisa, Hare Brained Schemes, Baking, Cookery[/tags]