Poo and the Fries

Let me preface this story by saying Katie isn't potty trained. Yes, I know. She's 4 and a 1/2. Yes, I've tried positive reinforcement. Yes, we've done the sticker charts. And wearing panties no matter what. And going sans any type of bottom covering, hoping that it forces her to go. Yes, I've taken away priveleges, too. We've also bribed, punished, ignored, cried, plead... nothing works with her. She has chronic constipation issues, which the pediatricians and GIs say is completely normal, and as such is on major laxatives, which leads to problems with control. This being said, she knows when she's going and refuses to use the potty. We'll go for a few weeks where she tries very hard and willingly goes. Then one morning she wakes up and will have nothing to do with it. It becomes a major battle of wills, which we try to avoid because we know she's stubborn and hard-headed as heck. As our pediatrician told us, if it comes down to a battle of wills, the kid will win every time. Yep. So, that's the build up for this story.

We went to Katie's Montessori school open house this past week and got to see some of the "work" Katie does and meet some of the parents. Afterward, Jason and I decided it was time to try to go out and eat as a family. We've done this all of once since Sadie's arrival, and it ended in disaster after 15 minutes. We took the kids into Nacho Mama's, I settled in with a good margarita, Sadie fell asleep and Katie behaved and sat all the way through dinner. It was a miracle. Until I looked over and noticed Katie was making a face and looking at her hand. She had put her hand down her pants and had poop on it. Yum. So I grabbed a napkin and wiped it off immediately. About this time Sadie woke up and began to cry. Jason and I decided to make a break for it, and I did the only think I could think of with the napkin of poo - put it in the fries basket that Katie had. It was the only place I could think of that would prevent anyone from picking it up. Jason gave me a look of complete disgust and informed me that he had not finished cleaning up Katie's fries. Needless to say, i don't think any of us will be eating fries any time soon. Gross, but a good sample of the life we lead these days.

Last night I got to go visit Maddie and her parents at the PICU in UVA. She is still fighting, and such a pretty little girl. Yesterday she turned six months old. This week she is scheduled for diaphram surgery in the hopes that it will enable her to get off the ventilator, or at least help her to be able to get onto the heart transplant list, which is her hope for survival. If you're reading this, please take a minute to stop and say a little prayer or send some positive power up for this beautiful baby and her brave parents. Every little bit helps. Like her parents, I'm hoping and praying for a miracle on Tuesday.

We've had more firsts this week that are exciting to report. Katie wrote her name for the first time! And, Sadie had her first cookie. She's addicted to them now, and I love it. I can stick her in the high chair with one of her biter biscuits and actually get through the dishes before she cries. Onward and upward!!