My Son the Charmer

Mikie has always been very affectionate and considerate. But, this evening, he made most men look bad. While I was wrestling Hannah into her carseat, he started singing:

"When I see your face
There's not a thing that I would change
'Cause you're amazing
Just the way you are
And when you smile
The whole world stops and stares for a while
Cause you're amazing
Just the way you are"

Yes, the lyrics to Bruno Mars' "Just the Way You Are".

And when I teased Mike that Mikie was making him look bad, Mikie told him to repeat after him and got Mike to sing to me. After which, he said "Good job, Dad. See, you can sing almost as good as me."

Considerate AND humble.

Love, The Trahans

Hello, Al Gore Calling

Since she was old enough to stand, Hannah has been wasting water. She likes to flush the toilet, even if she didn't make a deposit. And, if she does, she feels compelled to flush more than once. She will wash her hands repeatedly just so she can splash in the water. And, my least favorite, she will request a cup of water, take a sip, dump the rest, only to request more immediately after.

So began my running joke: every time Hannah does something to waste water, energy or generally waste natural resources, I joke that Al Gore called.

On Monday, Mikie was reading his summer reading to Mike and I. When he finished, I remembered that the principal had called earlier to invite us (and all incoming second graders) to an open house. After praising him for doing such a good job with his reading, I said, "I almost forgot, do you know who called earlier?" To which Mikie responded, without skipping a beat, "Al Gore?"

Even funnier since I don't think Mikie could pick Al Gore out of a line-up.

Love, The Trahans

I Missed My Calling in Life

Throughout my life, I frequently find myself complaining about all the things I should be doing that are making someone a small fortune. My big complaint tends to surround personal care products (obviously) because I DO make them for a living, just for someone else. And, then I get catalogs for places like The Skin Store, and see other niche brands making a fortune. I'm not saying they don't work. I'm just saying I know what the raw material cost is, and, even if you put straight peptide in a bottle, it isn't costing these brands the $150/oz they are selling it for. . .

My favorite example is Sarah Happ's Lip Scrub. Now found available for purchase in Sephora, Sarah Happ started as a 20 something post-college student living in California with dry lips. So, she whipped up her famous lip scrub and started selling it to spas in stock jars wrapped in upscale little truffle boxes. The original "secret formula" consists of a whopping three ingredients: Vaseline, sugar, and (originally) vanilla extract for flavor. But, some people (including many celebrities) are willing to pay $25 for less than an ounce of lip scrub that they could make a lifetime supply of for half the price. sigh.

As I beginning potty training child #2, my new complaint is "Potty Trainers". Yeah, "Potty Trainers" is the word used by most websites to describe anything that isn't a disposable diaper or thin cotton underpants. Typically, it has multiple layers of fabric to provide some absorption, but may or may not include a waterproof layer (either vinyl exterior or concealed between cute layers of cotton) to prevent leaks.

With Mikie, potty training was a necessity. We had him in Huggies Pull-Ups, but the kid was too big. The largest Pull-Up allowed no circulation, leading to frequent diaper rashes. And, because Mikie was prone to croup, he was frequently on antibiotics or steroids, which made him more susceptible to yeast infections. So, we got rid of the Pull-Ups in favor of underwear and a lot of changes of clothes. Since Mikie always seemed to attract dirt, I didn't notice that I was doing to many extra loads of laundry. Instead of changing him because he got food all over himself, we would change him because he peed through his clothes so, net, I was doing the same amount of laundry.

There were two reasons why potty training Mikie was easier than Hannah. Reason #1: he could hold his bladder all night from a very early age. He may also have gone to bed later than Hannah and woken up earlier (because he has boundless amounts of energy), but either way, Mikie woke up dry. And, when you wake up dry, you inevitably have a full bladder. So, if you force your kid to sit (or stand) in front of the toilet and wait long enough, eventually, pee will end up in the toilet. Hannah has not yet reached this stage. And, unlike her brother, Hannah is an absolute grouch in the morning. Even if she is dry when she gets up, she throws a fit if I sit her on a toilet.

Reason #2: Mikie is a boy. So, while both kids commute to the same daycare 45 - 60 minutes from our house, if Mikie realized along the way that he had to pee, we could pull over and do so. Granted, this is often challenging (in the winter when there is no shoulder to pull over on) or leads to embarrassment on behalf of mom (when we pee in parking lots because he can't make it into a store). But, at least he was making the connection "I have to pee" and actually doing so somewhere other than his carseat.

Hannah isn't built to pee anywhere she wants. And, for fear that she will empty her bladder during our commute, resulting in a wet, smelly car seat that "cooks" in my car during the 8 hours I am at work, I usually put her in the good old Huggie's Pull-Ups every morning.

The problem with wearing underwear at school and Pull-Ups in the car, at home, etc. is a lack of consistency. In this case, it means that Hannah isn't learning to use the potty. Sure, she uses the potty. But, only when she wants to use the potty. Specifically, when she is at school and all of her friends are using the potty, when we are out and Mike or I go to use the bathroom, or when we are at Friendly's. (I bet you didn't know how cool the bathroom at Friendly's is?) And, the "Cool Alert" Pull-Ups that I use (they undergo an endothermic reaction when you pee, helping the child associate a negative sensation with peeing in a diaper) are impossible to find in stores in large quantity. And, while it is cheaper to buy online, it isn't convenient when daycare informs you at 5pm that they ran out of Pull-Ups at noon and you have to wait 48 hours for your order to arrive.

Hence why I began researching "Potty Trainers". My biggest pet peeve is that no "Potty Trainer" is created equally. I can't just decide, Gerber is cheapest (3 pairs for $11), so I will buy Gerber. Because, Gerber is not absorbent at all, leading to a lot of pee on my carpet and hard wood floors (and, potentially, that wet, smelly carseat). Bambino Mio ($10/pair) and Blueberry ($16/pair) are cute but look like they function no better than Gerber. So, why spend the extra money? SuperUndies look like a great solution from the standpoint of leak protection. But, "you get what you pay for seems to be the company motto", since the SuperUndies are $20/pair. Yes, all brands are washable and reusable, and seemingly cheaper long term than Pull-Ups. But, if they get wet, they still need to be changed. So, at a minimum, I need 6 pairs, or I am going to be washing training pants every night to use again the next day. And, ultimately, she will outgrow them. So, I run the risk of shelling out $120, only to still be dealing with potty training in 3 months and needing a larger size. If I were having more children, I might balk less at the cost. But (and I apologize to anyone who lived under other delusions), there are ZERO plans for other Trahans.

Clearly I am not the only mom on the planet realizing the potential margin these niche brands are making on "Potty Trainers". There is another company, Ladder Hill Design, selling a pattern to make your own "Potty Trainers" ($9 for immediate download). The pattern appears to be very functional and allows for customization of pattern, waterproofing, etc. While I admit this seems like the most cost effective solution, it requires that I have free time (which I don't, hence the big gaps between blog posts).

So, hear I sit, after hours of research. . . planning a trip to Target for more "Learning Design" Pull-Ups as a way to forestall my decision making. . . resigned to the fact that I am going to get soaked (literally and figuratively) in this potty training process.

And, as a last comment, could they use another term other than "Potty Trainers"? It implies that, for $20 a pair, those SuperUndies are going to train my kid to use the potty. Inevitably, I still have to put in a lot of leg work. Unless each pair comes with a maid to wash the clothes and scrub the floors plus Mr. Rodgers to discuss how you "know when you have to go", I think "Potty Facilitators" or something else seems more appropriate.

Love, The Trahans