Family

I feel bad. I feel like the worst mommy in the world because I wasn’t in town for my son’s third birthday. I wasn’t there to wake him up, give him a giant hug, or wish him a happy birthday. I feel worse that we had to celebrate it on a day that fit better into my busy travel schedule.

There is a ton of potty training tips for boys out there, but a lot of those didn’t really work for us. I already wrote about our early adventures in potty training with our two and a half-year-old, Rocco. The standard ‘sticker chart’ was a big flop, and using a training potty seemed to inhibit rather than help Rocco learn.

I never thought this day would come, that my parents would sell my childhood home. Yes, my dad had been talking about it for several years, but something always stopped them from moving forward with the sale. This summer, they finally decided it was time to move into a new place, with less maintenance and more convenience as they grow older. I (not so secretly) hoped something would happen so they would keep our home, but the sale went through last week and they are closing on their new place later this month.

Since he first started solids, Rocco has remained a picky eater. We’ve tried our best to get him to try new things, and every now and then, he surprises us (raw broccoli anyone?). Most of the time, he sticks to what he knows.

I love my kids more than anything, but there are times when I miss some aspects of my pre-kid life. I try not to dwell on the negative aspects of parenting, but I got to thinking about this yesterday after one more absurd attempt to use the bathroom in private. Here are the 10 things I miss about life before kids.

My friend was telling me about how her son started kindergarten this week, which got me thinking about Rocco. In just a couple years, I’ll be preparing to send him to his first day of school. I can distinctly remember my first day of kindergarten. I was so excited to start school and I absolutely loved shopping for back to school clothes for kindergarten — and every year there after.

It’s 5 pm some random weekday afternoon and Rocco’s daycare teacher asks if we’ve thought about potty training. Rocco asked to use the potty at school, so she thinks he’s ready. I wince, but admit that he’s asked to sit on the potty at home several times (with his pants on). I concede that he is probably ready to potty train, but I’m not at all prepared. I thought boys usually learned later. He’s just over 2 and a half, I thought I had more time with my baby boy.

For the long 4th of July weekend, we considered a road trip to escape the heat to Sedona or Flagstaff, but then we remembered that Gigi starts crying about 30 minutes into any car ride. Scratch that idea.

How are you celebrating this 4th of July? We’re planning a pretty low-key long weekend at home with trips to the local splash pads and a few dips in our pool. We will definitely throw some burgers or brats on the grill and make some yummy side dishes, but I want to make some fun and festive.