Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Big brother Rion

When Cordelia was born Rion pretty much denied her existence. Today he can't help but be aware of her existence as the two of them constantly bicker and fight. If Rion doesn't start an argument, Cordelia does. They know how to push each other's buttons and they do it often. I keep telling myself that deep down they really do love each other even if they never acknowledge it.

On Sunday as we were getting ready to leave church, Cordelia decided to have a monster tantrum. It started at church and continued all the way home. Nothing short of giving in and giving her what she wanted would end the tantrum so I ignored her and just rode it out. Rion, however, wasn't going to ignore her. Instead, he gave her a hug and in the sweetest voice told her that he had something to show her. He took her hand and brought her over to the computer to show her a game he was playing. Cordelia wasn't much interested in the game so she again sought me out to continue with her tantrum. Again, Rion came over to her, hugged her and talked to her in the sweetest voice I have heard come from his mouth. This boy that is regularly getting yelled out for his potty mouth and for his behavior towards his sister had taken a 180 turn and was now the sweetest boy on the planet.

After the tantrum subsided, I gave Rion a big hug. I told him he was a great big brother. I see this kind of sweetness from Torii on a regular basis and I know he'll always take care of his little sister, but seeing it from Rion is rare. Now I know that even if they get on each other's nerves, Rion will be there looking out for his sister and taking care of her. I couldn't help but watch as Rion tended to his little sister and feel extremely proud.

Wordless Wednesday

Oblivious

A month or so ago a co-worker asked if I had graduated with a certain person. I knew I did, but I couldn't quite place her face. When I got home I dug out my yearbooks and flipped through to find my class. I came to the beginning of our section which is filled with casual photos of students. As I saw the largest photo on the page my mouth dropped open. I couldn't believe it. The caption confirmed the identity of who I was looking at. "Rion," I said, "Want to see a picture of your teacher in high school?" We are well into our second half of the school year and it was only then that I realized that I had graduated with Rion's teacher. I immediately felt incredibly dumb for not realizing it right away. He really hasn't changed much since high school. I didn't know him well, but as soon as I saw his picture I knew who he was. My next thought was this: Did he recognize me? I sure hoped he didn't. I remember "meeting" him on the first day of school. He was really friendly, but I chalked it up to him already knowing Torii and the fact that he really is a nice guy. But was it more of a "hey I remember you from high school friendly"? Then I totally brushed him aside and moved onto Torii's class. Now I want to tell him that I'm not a snob. I'm just an oblivious idiot. The next day I asked Rion if he told his teacher that I had graduated with him. He said he did. I asked him what his teacher had said about it. "He said that you would have graduated with Hailey's mom too," Rion said. Great. Now who in the world is Hailey's mom? And how many times have I seen her at school and totally brushed her off? Really I'm not a snob! I'm just really, really oblivious.

It's come to bribery

We have tried off and on for about a year to potty train Cordelia. She started off really well, but then got stubborn and insisted she wanted to remain a baby. The ways we got the boys to be potty trained did not work with Cordelia. In fact nothing worked. Then suddenly a few weeks ago she started using the potty on her own. We stopped putting Pull-ups on her and amazingly she didn't need them anymore anyway. She is doing great except for one thing: pooping on the potty. I told her I would buy her something special if she stops pooping in her pants, but it hasn't worked. So today after worked I stopped by Wal-Mart and saw that the Dora dollhouse she wanted was marked down to $17 (originally $69!). Maybe actually seeing the special treat will help. The kids weren't home when I got home so I set the dollhouse on the table. When they got home Cordelia spotted the dollhouse right away. I explained that she could have the dollhouse, but we wouldn't open it until she started pooping on the potty. I can't say it has worked yet, but it looks promising. I also found some of the furniture for the dollhouse on sale and Cordelia holds the package as she sits on the potty. She wants to open it so badly. She tried many times to poop on the potty tonight with no success, but no accidents either. I told Cordelia I would put the dollhouse someplace she could see it to remind her to get to the potty, but I couldn't decide where. Fred had the perfect solution. Put it behind the couch because that's the spot where she goes to do her business. So there the Dora dollhouse sits. Hopefully we will get to open it soon.